Early Developmental Period Research Articles

Role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders

The literature review reflects the contemporary information on the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders. We present data on the importance of genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and epigenetic influences on the development of oxidative stress, which, during critical periods of early brain development, may influence the induction and progression of the disease. The role of mitochondrial dysfunction, immunological disorders, increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier, hypoperfusion of the brain causing or aggravating the redox imbalance in patients with autism spectrum disorders is shown. Analysis of the literature data indicates that the increased content of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione, ceruloplasmin and transferrin in the blood and brain of patients with autism spectrum disorders reflects the activation of compensatory mechanisms. Increased levels of malondialdehyde, xanthine oxidase, nitric oxide in various biological media indicate insufficiency of antioxidant protection system. Taking into account the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders, therapy including antioxidant drugs is indicated for correction of metabolic disorders.

Peran Budaya dalam Perubahan Penggunaan Lahan di Permukiman Adat Kasepuhan Ciptagelar Sukabumi

Kasepuhan Ciptagelar has unique customs and culture that are still maintained today and does not close itself from the development of the times, but accepts it consciously. Over time, traditional settlements are faced with challenges to be able to meet their needs. This can change land use in this traditional settlement. This study aims to determine changes in land use and its relation to cultural factors. This research uses qualitative methods. The research was conducted in Kasepuhan Ciptagelar traditional settlement area between of 2001 to 2022. The research was carried out by reconstructing land use maps in Kasepuhan Ciptagelar which then identified changes from year to year. Furthermore, an analysis of the cultural factor in influencing land use changes in these settlements is carried out. The results of the analysis shows that during the research period there has been a continuous land use change. Cultural factors also influence the land use changes. The ngalalakon tradition became a major factor in the early period of settlement development. The perspective of accepting changes of era by the Ciptagelar community can be interpreted as an adaptation of settlements to keep up with the times and this perspective also makes continuous changes to Kasepuhan Ciptagelar.

The Impact of Physical Activity Intensity on the Dynamic Progression of Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity: Prospective Cohort Study Using UK Biobank Data.

Although many studies have reported on the associations between the amount of physical activity (PA) and the transitions of cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM), the evidence for PA intensity has not been fully evaluated. This study aimed to explore the impact of PA intensity on the dynamic progression of CMM. The prospective cohort of this study using data from the UK Biobank included 359,773 participants aged 37-73 years who were recruited from 22 centers between 2006 and 2010. The diagnoses of CMM, which included the copresence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), ischemic heart disease, and stroke, were obtained from first occurrence fields provided by the UK Biobank, which included data from primary care, hospital inpatient record, self-reported medical condition, and death registers. The PA intensity was assessed by the proportion of vigorous PA (VPA) to moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). Multistate models were used to evaluate the effect of PA intensity on the dynamic progression of CMM. The first model (model A) included 5 transitions, namely free of cardiometabolic disease (CMD) to first occurrence of CMD (FCMD), free of CMD to death, FCMD to CMM, FCMD to mortality, and CMM to mortality. The other model (model B) used specific CMD, namely T2D, ischemic heart disease, and stroke, instead of FCMD and included 11 transitions in this study. The mean age of the included participants (N=359,773) was 55.82 (SD 8.12) years at baseline, and 54.55% (196,271/359,773) of the participants were female. Compared with the participants with no VPA, participants with intensity levels of >0.75 to <1 for VPA to MVPA had a 13% and 27% lower risk of transition from free of CMD to FCMD (hazard ratio [HR] 0.87, 95% CI 0.83-0.91) and mortality (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.66-0.79) in model A, respectively. The HR for the participants with no moderate PA was 0.82 (95% CI 0.73-0.92) compared with no VPA. There was a substantially protective effect of higher PA intensity on the transitions from free of CMD to T2D and from T2D to mortality, which reveals the importance of PA intensity for the transitions of T2D. More PA and greater intensity had a synergistic effect on decreasing the risk of the transitions from free of CMD to FCMD and mortality. Male participants, younger adults, adults with a higher BMI, current or previous smokers, and excessive alcohol drinkers could obtain more benefits from higher PA intensity for the lower risk of at least 1 transition from free of CMD, then to CMM, and finally to mortality. This study suggests that higher PA intensity is an effective measure for preventing CMM and mortality in the early period of CMM development. Relevant interventions related to higher PA intensity should be conducted.

Adverse effects of plastic leachate and its component 2,4-DTBP on the early development of zebrafish embryos

Plastic waste has become a global environmental problem threatening the health of aquatic organisms especially via leachate. In this study, the test of zebrafish embryo showed adverse effects of leachate from some agricultural mulching films after UV light aging for 60 h. A typical phenolic antioxidant 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (2,4-DTBP) was detected in the leachate and tested further for the zebrafish embryo biotoxicity. The microplastic leachate (6, 8 g/L, mass concentration measured by weight of plastic) increased the death and malformation rates, and reduced the hatching rate, heart rate, and body length of zebrafish larvae in the 96-hour early development period. Similar adverse effects were also caused by the 2,4-DTBP (0.01, 0.1, 1.0 mg/L, corresponding to 0.049, 0.49, and 4.85 μM) to some degree but could not completely explain the significant influences caused by the plastic leachate. Transcriptome analysis of zebrafish embryos exposed to the 2,4-DTBP for 96 h showed that the protein, fat, and carbohydrate digestion and absorption pathways, pancreatic secretion, PPAR signaling pathway, tryptophan metabolism, and adipocytokine signaling pathway were considerably down-regulated, but the cholesterol metabolism pathway was up-regulated in larval zebrafish. The altered transcriptional expression of mRNA at early development stage (96 h post fertilization) of zebrafish suggested that the 2,4-DTBP caused reduction of digestive capacity and pancreatic secretory function, and adversely affected processes associated with energy metabolism and glycolipid metabolism of larval zebrafish. This study helps us further understanding the effects of plastic leachate on the early development of fishes.

Protective Effect of L-Carnitine against Deltamethrin Induced Male Reproductive Toxicity in Adult Rats Exposed at their Prepubertal Stage

The present study aims to investigate the protective role of L-Carnitine (LC) against Deltamethrin-induced testicular toxicity in male rats exposed during their early developmental period. DTM was administered at a dose of 6 mg/kg body weight to the prepubertal rat’s Post-Natal Day (PND) 23 rats through oral route and exposure was continued until they reach PND 90. After completion of the exposure period, male rats were assessed for reproductive endpoints. Deltamethrin exposure caused a significant reduction in testosterone production and decreased the sperm parameters such as sperm count, sperm motility, sperm viability and sperm membrane integrity. Deltamethrin intoxication also reduced the reproductive organs’ weight and testicular steroidogenic enzymes (3β-hydroxysteriod dehydrogenase and 17β-hydroxysteriod dehydrogenase) levels. Further DTM exposure induced the oxidative stress as evidenced by the significant reduction in the superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione levels with significant elevation in the malondialdehyde. DTM also induced the significant sperm DNA damage. In addition, DTM exposure significantly declined the testosterone levels over the control group, indicating the impaired steroidogenesis. In addition to the compromised steroidogenesis DTM exposure also deteriorated the testicular architecture according to the histological observations. On the other hand, therapy with LC (100 mg/kg body weight) improved the biomass of reproductive organs, the features of the sperm, testicular steroidogenesis and testicular antioxidant enzymes levels. Concluding that DTM might disturb the testicular antioxidant level that eventually impaired the reproductive health of rats. However, LC supplementation mitigated the reproductive toxicity through its antioxidant property.

Ontogeny of working memory and behavioural flexibility in the free movement pattern (FMP) Y-maze in zebrafish

The acquisition of executive skills such as working memory, decision-making and adaptive responding occur at different stages of central nervous system development. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are increasingly used in behavioural neuroscience for complex behavioural tasks, and there is a critical need to understand the ontogeny of their executive functions. Zebrafish across developmental stages (4, 7, 14, 30 and 90 days post fertilisation (dpf)), were assessed to track development of working memory (WM) and behavioural flexibility (BF) using the free movement pattern Y-maze (FMP Y-maze). Several differences in both WM and BF were identified during the transition from yolk-dependent to independent feeding. Specifically, WM is evident in all age groups, even from 4 dpf. However, BF is not developed until larvae start free feeding, and show significant improvement thereafter, with young adults (90 dpf) demonstrating the most well-defined BF. We demonstrate, for the first time, objective WM processes in 4 dpf zebrafish larvae. This suggests that those wishing to study WM in zebrafish may be able to do so from 4 dpf, thus drastically increasing throughput. In addition, we show that zebrafish follow distinct stages of cognitive development and age-related changes during the early developmental period. Finally, our findings indicate distinct WM and BF mechanisms, which may be useful to study for translational purposes.

Sosialisasi PHBS Di SDN Pohsangit Leres I Sebagai Strategi Pencegahan Stunting

Stunting is a problem in nutrition that is in the spotlight of the world, especially a priority for Indonesia. Stunting is a condition that occurs in the early period of growth and development that occurs in the early period of development that occurs due to nutritional status. stunting can cause problems in children's health so that it interferes with educational productivity. Therefore, an effort is needed to prevent stunting, one of which is by carrying out socialization activities on Clean and Healthy Behavior (PHBS). Provide an understanding related to PHBS that can be instilled early on by conducting socialization on Clean and Healthy Behavior in elementary schools. The purpose of this PHBS socialization is to provide education regarding the importance of PHBS for health so that it is hoped that it can be applied in everyday life. The method used is by giving pre-test andpost-test and provide materials related to PHBS. The material presented begins with an explanation of what is meant by clean and healthy living, the benefits of clean and healthy living, why it is necessary to practice clean and healthy living behaviors and what needs to be done for a clean and healthy life.Pre-test andpost-test which is to measure students' understanding of PHBS before and after teaching the material. The results of this socialization were an increase in understanding of Clean and Healthy Behavior at SDN Pohsangit Leres I before the socialization touched 44.83% to 88.33%.

Anti-Black racism in the early years: the experiences of Black families and early childhood educators in Nova Scotia.

Anti-Black racism is a social determinant of health that has significantly impacted Black children and families. Limited research has examined anti-Black racism during the early years-a critical period of development. In this study, we sought to understand the manifestations of anti-Black racism in early childhood and explore its impact on Black children and families. This qualitative research project was informed by critical race theory, Black Critical Theory and interpretive description. Early childhood educators (ECEs) and parents with Black children between the ages of 18 months and 5 years (n = 15) participated in virtual, semistructured interviews. Awareness of and protection against anti-Black racism was a constant in Black families' lives. Parents felt as though they had to remain hypervigilant and overprotective of their Black children, knowing they were liable to encounter racial violence. The early learning environment was a source of heightened stress for families, given the significant amount of time young children spend in child care. Black children were often "othered" in predominately White spaces and had been objectified by White ECE staff and children. Parents worked to instill a strong sense of self-confidence in their children to counteract the negative impacts of racial discrimination. Results from this study suggest that children as young as 18 months are experiencing racial violence and adverse childhood experiences. Findings may contribute to antiracist policy development and a focus on more inclusive early childhood education for Black children and families.

프로축구선수의 데뷔 시기에 따른 선수 경력 분석

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the professional footballers’ career in K league through their debut age and year. Data set of 3,287 footballers from 1983 to 2021 was collected and utilized for this study. Their debut age has been decreased since the league started and there were the biggest statistical differences between early period(EP) and developmental period(DP)(p&lt;.05). There were statistical differences in the number of match played among sub-variables of debut age and year. The players in youngest cohort and the players in DP cohort played the most number of matches respectively. Their debut age and year had negative causation with the number of match played. These results means that the earlier player debuts, the more matches they can play in K league. Also, the number of football club and league structure will have restrictively impact on K league players career due to the current stable number of club and situation of league structure.

Pediatric reference intervals for hematology parameters in healthy infants and young children in Iran.

Defining accurate age- and sex-specific reference intervals (RIs) for hematology parameters, especially for the pediatric population, is important for making an appropriate clinical diagnosis. To address gaps, we established age-specific RIs for 11 hematologic parameters in Iranian children younger than 30 months for the first time. Fresh whole blood samples collected from a total of 344 participants (males: 158 and females: 186) ages 3 days to 30 months, with a mean age of 12.91 ± 7.15 months, were recruited from healthcare centers in Mashhad, Iran. Hematologic parameters, including complete blood count (CBC), were analyzed on the Sysmex auto-analyzer system (KX-21 N). RIs were calculated with 90% confidence intervals using the direct method based on CLSI Ep28-A3 and C28-A3 guidelines. None of the CBC parameters required sex partitioning. Of 11 CBC parameters, six required age partitions of 3 days-<4 months, 4-<10, 10-<15, and 4-<30 months. Five parameters (i.e., white blood cell count, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean platelet volume, red cell distribution width, and platelet distribution width) did not demonstrate age-specific changes. RIs of red blood cell count and hematocrit, as well as hemoglobin, increased with age, while mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and platelet count, decreased with age. In this study, we established RIs for 11 hematology parameters in young children. Age partitioning was required for six parameters demonstrating marked changes during the early period of growth and development and necessitating the use of pediatric-specific reference standards.

Effectiveness of Adas Leaf Infusion (Foeniculum vulgare L.) in Post-Best White Rats (Rattus Sp.) On The Growth Of Children

Adas leaf (Foeniculum vulgare L.) was known by the people around the mountain sides of Merbabu as one type of vegetable to increase breast milk secretion. Increased breast milk secretion has positive effect on pups development in early period of life. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of infusion of adas leaves, the effective dose of infusion against the growth of body weight and body length of pups and the levels of flavonoids, steroids, and stigmasterol on adas leaf. The study was conducted using 12 post-partum rats that have each 5 pups. White rats were divided into 4 groups: control group; the G1 (20 grams/300 ml dose infusion); the G2 (40 grams/300 ml dose infusion); and G3 (60 grams/300 ml dose infusion). Each group consisted of three replications. All of rats mother treated with the adas leaves by infuse feeding (sonde). Adas leaves was infused by 1 ml for 2 times a day on the rats mother (morning and evening). Rats mother were given pellets and also drinking water by adlibitum. Both mother and inbred rats were weighed, length of its body weight was measured every 5 days for 15 days. Data were analyzed by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) two way and continued by Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Quantitatively measurements of total flavonoids, steroids and stigmasterol of adas leaves analyzed using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). The results showed that infusion of adas leaves significant difference in the growth of body weight and body length between control and treatment groups (p &lt; 0.05). A dose of 60 grams/300 ml of distilled water can effectively increase the growth of body weight and body length of pups. Levels of total flavonoids, steroids and stigmasterol of adas leaves, respectively, are 0.43 %, 0.029 %, and &lt; 0.011 %.

Wildfire smoke exposure and early childhood respiratory health: a study of prescription claims data

Wildfire smoke is associated with short-term respiratory outcomes including asthma exacerbation in children. As investigations into developmental wildfire smoke exposure on children’s longer-term respiratory health are sparse, we investigated associations between developmental wildfire smoke exposure and first use of respiratory medications. Prescription claims from IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database were linked with wildfire smoke plume data from NASA satellites based on Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). A retrospective cohort of live infants (2010–2016) born into MSAs in six western states (U.S.A.), having prescription insurance, and whose birthdate was estimable from claims data was constructed (N = 184,703); of these, gestational age was estimated for 113,154 infants. The residential MSA, gestational age, and birthdate were used to estimate average weekly smoke exposure days (smoke-day) for each developmental period: three trimesters, and two sequential 12-week periods post-birth. Medications treating respiratory tract inflammation were classified using active ingredient and mode of administration into three categories:: 'upper respiratory', 'lower respiratory', 'systemic anti-inflammatory'. To evaluate associations between wildfire smoke exposure and medication usage, Cox models associating smoke-days with first observed prescription of each medication category were adjusted for infant sex, birth-season, and birthyear with a random intercept for MSA. Smoke exposure during postnatal periods was associated with earlier first use of upper respiratory medications (1–12 weeks: hazard ratio (HR) = 1.094 per 1-day increase in average weekly smoke-day, 95%CI: (1.005,1.191); 13–24 weeks: HR = 1.108, 95%CI: (1.016,1.209)). Protective associations were observed during gestational windows for both lower respiratory and systemic anti-inflammatory medications; it is possible that these associations may be a consequence of live-birth bias. These findings suggest wildfire smoke exposure during early postnatal developmental periods impact subsequent early life respiratory health.

The long-term effects of maternal deprivation on the number and size of inhibitory interneurons in the rat amygdala and nucleus accumbens.

There is an increasing evidence supporting the hypothesis that traumatic experiences during early developmental periods might be associated with psychopathology later in life. Maternal deprivation (MD) in rodents has been proposed as an animal model for certain aspects of neuropsychiatric disorders. To determine whether early-life stress leads to changes in GABAergic, inhibitory interneurons in the limbic system structures, specifically the amygdala and nucleus accumbens, 9-day-old Wistar rats were exposed to a 24 h MD. On postnatal day 60 (P60), the rats were sacrificed for morphometric analysis and their brains were compared to the control group. Results show that MD affect GABAergic interneurons, leading to the decrease in density and size of the calcium-binding proteins parvalbumin-, calbindin-, and calretinin-expressing interneurons in the amygdala and nucleus accumbens. This study indicates that early stress in life leads to changes in the number and morphology of the GABAergic, inhibitory interneurons in the amygdala and nucleus accumbens, most probably due to the loss of neurons during postnatal development and it further contributes to understanding the effects of maternal deprivation on brain development.

Biomarkers for predicting disease course in Sanfilippo syndrome: An urgent unmet need in childhood-onset dementia.

Sanfilippo syndrome (MPS III) is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder causing dementia in children, following an essentially normal early developmental period. First symptoms typically include delayed language development, hyperactivity and/or insomnia from 2 years of age, followed by unremitting and overt loss of previously acquired skills. There are no approved treatments, and the median age of death is 18 years. Treatments under clinical trial demonstrate therapeutic benefit when applied pre-symptomatically in children diagnosed early through known familial inheritance risk. Newborn screening for Sanfilippo syndrome would enable pre-symptomatic diagnosis and optimal therapeutic benefit, however, many fold more patients with Sanfilippo syndrome are expected to be identified in the population than present with childhood dementia. Therefore, the capacity to stratify which Sanfilippo infants will need treatment in toddlerhood is necessary. While diagnostic methods have been developed, and continue to be refined, currently there are no tools or laboratory-based biomarkers available to provide pre-symptomatic prognosis. There is also a lack of progression and neurocognitive response-to-treatment biomarkers; disease stage and rate of progression are currently determined by age at symptom onset, loss of cerebral grey matter volume by magnetic resonance imaging and developmental quotient score for age. Robust blood-based biomarkers are an urgent unmet need. In this review, we discuss the development of biomarker assays for Sanfilippo based on the neuropathological pathways known to change leading into symptom onset and progression, and their performance as biomarkers in other neurodegenerative diseases. We propose that neural-derived exosomes extracted from blood may provide an ideal liquid biopsy to detect reductions in synaptic protein availability, and mitochondrial function. Furthermore, given the prominent role of neuroinflammation in symptom expression, glial fibrillary acidic protein detection in plasma/serum, alongside measurement of active brain atrophy by neurofilament light chain, warrant increased investigation for prognostic, progression and neurocognitive response-to-treatment biomarker potential in Sanfilippo syndrome and potentially other childhood dementias.

The Effects of a Western Diet vs. a High-Fiber Unprocessed Diet on Health Outcomes in Mice Offspring.

Diet influences critical periods of growth, including gestation and early development. We hypothesized that a maternal/early life diet reflecting unprocessed dietary components would positively affect offspring metabolic and anthropometric parameters. Using 9 C57BL-6 dams, we simulated exposure to a Western diet, a high-fiber unprocessed diet (HFUD), or a control diet. The dams consumed their respective diets (Western [n = 3], HFUD [n = 3], and control [n = 3]) through 3 weeks of pregnancy and 3 weeks of weaning; their offspring consumed the diet of their mother for 4.5 weeks post weaning. Measurements included dual X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans, feed consumption, body weight, blood glucose, and insulin and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in the offspring. Statistical analyses included one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc analysis. The offspring DEXA measures at 5 and 7.5 weeks post parturition revealed higher lean body mass development in the HFUD and control diet offspring compared to the Western diet offspring. An analysis indicated that blood glucose (p = 0.001) and HbA1c concentrations (p = 0.002) were lower among the HFUD offspring compared to the Western and control offspring. The results demonstrate that diet during gestation and early life consistent with traditional diet patterns may influence hyperglycemia and adiposity in offspring.

THE ESSENCE OF AN IMAGE IN ENGLISH-AMERICAN IMAGISM: SINGULAR VERSUS UNIVERSAL

The paper is aimed at filling the gap in learning the formative image peculiarities of the English and American Imagistic poetry by analyzing the correspondence of the internal and the external and their correlation. This is where the answer lies, why T.S. Eliot called Imagism “an opening salvo” of English/ American Modernist poetry. It also explains the reason for a long-term effect of this short-term “school” in the English poetry of the twentieth century. Imagism hasn’t left any extended or profound theory as far as the criteria for producing “hard, dry images” (T.E.Hulme) are concerned. Since then the problem has been under-studied and calls for more in-depth analysis. The modern theoretical background of the paper includes the ideas of S. Averintsev and M. Gasparov, Paul Ricoeur and Gaston Bachelard; the criticism of the Imagism founders (T.E. Hulme and E. Pound) as well as its present-day English and American researchers. The major theoretical points highlight the important features of image transformation in Imagism: the dual (semantic and psychological) nature of an image (P. Ricoeur); loss of its axiological constituent thus forfeiting its wholeness (M. Girshman); its non-permanent essence (G. Bachelard). All these “new” sides underlie too general and vague definition of an image as “an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time” given by Ezra Pound, his definitive denial of using images as “ornaments” and the emphasis on the image affiliation with speech, not language. The fight doesn’t have to be limited only to opposing Romanticism (as in Hulme’s “Romanticism and Classicism”). Equally significant and far more sophisticated is the distinction between Symbolic and Imagistic essence of an image (Pound’s “Retrospect” and “Gaudier Brzeska”). For Pound, the main criterion is the receptive potential of an image, its semantic openness which offsets its meaning as finally fixed in some symbol. The paper examines the possibility to apply Roland Barthes’s idea (“L`imagination du signe”, 1962) of the crucial influence of the interior (symbolic) relationship and two exterior (paradigmatic and syntagmatic) relationships on the formation of both single image and the total imagery of a certain type of art conscience – consequently, of Symbolism, Romanticism and Imagism. In the early period of Imagism development (the poetry of F. Flint, E. Storer, to a lesser extent, of T.E. Hulme) the images still preserve the inner affinity with the signified objects (concepts) as seen in Romantic and Symbolic image “patterns”. And throughout Imagism development, this inner affinity is being weakened until a distant outer resemblance is left. It is clearly seen in Hulme’s “Autumn”, Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro”, H.D.’s “Oread”, “Hermes of the Ways” et al. The close reading of the W.C. Williams’s poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” is carried out in front of the “Tall Nettles” by Edward Thomas (1878–1917), his contemporary, who is now considered to be one of the “non-Modernist modern” poets. It is stated that the central image of the red wheelbarrow in its every detail constitutes a modern pastoral while Thomas’s nettles stand for psychological matrix of personal melancholy and despair. Syntagmatic relations also involve the further interaction of signs in the form of “superposition”, forming montage as one of the important Мodernist techniques not only in poetry, but also in Мodernist prose. And it becomes evident that it is not a mechanically borrowed cinema technique, as it is commonly viewed, but a deeper, “syntagmatic” similarity. The result of the research, based on the analysis undertaken, seems to prove its initial point: the poems of T.E. Hulme, Ezra Pound, W. Carlos Williams, Hilda Doolittle (H.D.) taken as models, manifest that the image in Imagism is every time constructed as a new actual syntagma of the common imagination of a poet and a reader to become the unique image for every single poem without its further “universal” use in any virtual paradigm.

Effects of microplastic exposure on the early developmental period and circadian rhythm of zebrafish (Danio rerio): A comparative study of polylactic acid and polyglycolic acid

Polyglycolic acid (PGA) is an emerging biodegradable plastic material. Together with polylactic acid (PLA), PGA is considered a suitable alternative to conventional plastics and has been widely used in biomedical and food packaging industries. However, degradable plastics continue to face the drawbacks of harsh degradation environment and long degradation time, and may harm the environment and the human body. Therefore, our study focused on assessing the effects of degradable microplastics PGA and PLA on the development and neurobehavior of zebrafish. The results showed that PGA and PLA had little effect on 3–10 hpf embryos. However, developmental stunting was observed in a100 mg/L PGA and PLA-exposed group at 24 hpf. In addition, PGA and PLA exposure decreased the survival and hatching rates, increased wakefulness, and reduced sleep in zebrafish. This indicates that PGA and PLA may affect the circadian behavior of zebrafish by affecting the brain–derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Therefore, our results suggest that PGA and PLA exposure induces developmental toxicity, reduces voluntary locomotion, induces of anxiety–like behaviors, and impairs sleep/wake behaviors in zebrafish larvae. This also suggests that the potentially toxic effects of degradable plastics cannot be ignored and that the biological effects of PGA require further research.

The role of parent and peer emotion socialization and emotion regulation in the development of internalizing problems in adolescents

Adolescence is a dynamic period for the development of emotion regulation skills. Difficulties in emotion regulation are an important predictor of risk for internalizing problems. Parents and peers play an important role in both emotion regulation (ER) skills and the development of internalizing problems, however, few studies have examined their influence concurrently using longitudinal data. This study investigated the impact of parent and peer emotion socialization and adolescent ER on adolescent (N = 213; aged 13 to 14 years old) internalizing problems 11 months later, as reported by adolescents. Results indicated peer but not parent emotion socialization predicted adolescent internalizing problems. Moreover, adolescent difficulties in ER at baseline moderated the impact of peer emotion socialization on adolescent internalizing problems. The findings highlight peer emotion dismissing responses impact internalizing problems, especially if adolescents also report difficulties in ER, underscoring the importance of prevention during earlier developmental periods.

Font disfluency and reading performance in children: An event-related potential study

Expert adult readers process fluent and disfluent fonts differently, at both early perceptual and late higher-order processing stages. This finding has been interpreted as reflecting the more difficult to read disfluent fonts requiring greater neural resources. We aimed to investigate whether neural activity is affected by font disfluency in pre-adolescent readers, and to determine if neural responses are related to reading performance. Thirty-three participants between 8 and 12 years old completed two one-back tasks using letter and word stimuli, where font was manipulated (fluent versus disfluent stimuli), during which electroencephalography was recorded. Event related potentials (ERPs) were calculated relative to non-target stimuli for both tasks. The Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement reading specific tests, and the Castles and Coltheart Test 2 were also collected. Font (fluent versus disfluent stimuli) did not consistently affect neural activity during both the letter and word tasks. Fluent stimuli elicited greater late activity (450–600 ms) than disfluent stimuli during the word task, suggesting easy-to-read fonts may enhance the maintenance of words in visual working memory and facilitate the retrieval of semantic information. However, reading performance was not associated with neural disfluency effects, suggesting that pre-adolescents are still at an early developmental reading period. Font manipulation may be a useful way to track developmental reading trajectories in the brain.

From terrible twos to sassy sixes: The development of vocabulary and executive functioning across early childhood.

Across the early childhood period of development, young children exhibit considerable growth in their executive functioning (EF) and vocabulary abilities. Understanding the developmental trajectory of these seemingly interrelated processes is important as both early vocabulary and EF have been shown to predict critical academic and socio-emotional outcomes later in childhood. Although previous research suggests that EF and vocabulary are correlated in early childhood, much of the existing longitudinal research has focused on unidirectional relations among preschool child samples. The current large-scale study, therefore, sought to examine whether children's vocabulary and EF abilities are bidirectionally related over time across four measurement waves in early childhood (i.e., at ages 2, 3, 4, and 6). At each timepoint, children's vocabulary skills were positively correlated with their concurrent EF abilities. After controlling for child sex and maternal education status, the best-fitting, cross-lagged panel model was a unidirectional model whereby children's early vocabulary scores predicted their later EF performance at each timepoint. Although age 2 EF significantly predicted age 3 vocabulary size, this association was no longer significant after accounting for maternal education status. Our results illustrate that vocabulary size plays an important role in predicting children's later EF performance across various timepoints in early childhood, even after controlling for children's initial EF scores. These findings have important implications for intervention research as fostering early vocabulary acquisition may serve as a possible avenue for improving EF outcomes in young children. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Children's vocabulary size is positively correlated with their concurrent executive functioning skill at ages 2, 3, 4, and 6 Young children's early vocabulary scores predict their later EF performance across measurement waves, even after controlling for initial EF skill There is stability in children's relative vocabulary size and executive functioning performance over time in early childhood.