•Question-asking is a powerful learning strategy but is relatively understudied.•The ability to ask questions is present in infancy but undergoes rapid development.•We introduce a framework for ...understanding question asking in childhood.
Children’s ability to query others is remarkable because it attests to their coordination of a range of complex cognitive capacities and because it allows them to initiate and redirect pedagogical exchanges. It is therefore a catalyst for their ability to learn from others. However, despite its importance for cognitive developmental theorizing and its implications for educational practice, relative to other aspects of children’s exploratory behavior, research on children’s questions has been relatively sparse and siloed across several disciplines. The aim of this review is to provide a framework for organizing past and future research on question-asking and to use this framework to describe what development and variability in children’s question asking looks like between infancy and the elementary school years. We propose that question-asking can be divided into four components: (1) initiation, (2) formulation, (3) expression, and (4) response evaluation and follow-up. Drawing on research from the fields of psychology, education, and developmental psycholinguistics we review what is known and not known about these four components between infancy and elementary school as well as describe sources of variability across development.
Although there are over 1,150 bat species worldwide, the diversity of viruses harbored by bats has only recently come into focus as a result of expanded wildlife surveillance. Such surveys are of ...importance in determining the potential for novel viruses to emerge in humans, and for optimal management of bats and their habitats. To enhance our knowledge of the viral diversity present in bats, we initially surveyed 415 sera from African and Central American bats. Unbiased high-throughput sequencing revealed the presence of a highly diverse group of bat-derived viruses related to hepaciviruses and pegiviruses within the family Flaviridae . Subsequent PCR screening of 1,258 bat specimens collected worldwide indicated the presence of these viruses also in North America and Asia. A total of 83 bat-derived viruses were identified, representing an infection rate of nearly 5%. Evolutionary analyses revealed that all known hepaciviruses and pegiviruses, including those previously documented in humans and other primates, fall within the phylogenetic diversity of the bat-derived viruses described here. The prevalence, unprecedented viral biodiversity, phylogenetic divergence, and worldwide distribution of the bat-derived viruses suggest that bats are a major and ancient natural reservoir for both hepaciviruses and pegiviruses and provide insights into the evolutionary history of hepatitis C virus and the human GB viruses.
The majority of emerging zoonoses originate in wildlife, and many are caused by viruses. However, there are no rigorous estimates of total viral diversity (here termed "virodiversity") for any ...wildlife species, despite the utility of this to future surveillance and control of emerging zoonoses. In this case study, we repeatedly sampled a mammalian wildlife host known to harbor emerging zoonotic pathogens (the Indian Flying Fox, Pteropus giganteus) and used PCR with degenerate viral family-level primers to discover and analyze the occurrence patterns of 55 viruses from nine viral families. We then adapted statistical techniques used to estimate biodiversity in vertebrates and plants and estimated the total viral richness of these nine families in P. giganteus to be 58 viruses. Our analyses demonstrate proof-of-concept of a strategy for estimating viral richness and provide the first statistically supported estimate of the number of undiscovered viruses in a mammalian host. We used a simple extrapolation to estimate that there are a minimum of 320,000 mammalian viruses awaiting discovery within these nine families, assuming all species harbor a similar number of viruses, with minimal turnover between host species. We estimate the cost of discovering these viruses to be ~$6.3 billion (or ~$1.4 billion for 85% of the total diversity), which if annualized over a 10-year study time frame would represent a small fraction of the cost of many pandemic zoonoses.
Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in viral discovery efforts. However, most lack rigorous systematic design, which limits our ability to understand viral diversity and its ecological drivers and reduces their value to public health intervention. Here, we present a new framework for the discovery of novel viruses in wildlife and use it to make the first-ever estimate of the number of viruses that exist in a mammalian host. As pathogens continue to emerge from wildlife, this estimate allows us to put preliminary bounds around the potential size of the total zoonotic pool and facilitates a better understanding of where best to allocate resources for the subsequent discovery of global viral diversity.
Biodiversity conservation is a complex and transdisciplinary problem that requires engagement and cooperation among scientific, societal, economic, and political institutions. However, historical ...approaches have often failed to bring together and address the needs of all relevant stakeholders in decision‐making processes. The Tropical Andes, a biodiversity hotspot where conservation efforts often conflict with socioeconomic issues and policies that prioritize economic development, provides an ideal model to develop and implement more effective approaches. In this study, we present a co‐design approach that mainstreams and improves the flow of biodiversity information in the Tropical Andes, while creating tailored outputs that meet the needs of economic and societal stakeholders. We employed a consultative process that brought together biodiversity information users and producers at the local, national, and regional levels through a combination of surveys and workshops. This approach identified priority needs and limitations of the flow of biodiversity information in the region, which led to the co‐design of user‐relevant biodiversity indicators. By leveraging the existing capacities of biodiversity information users and producers, we were able to co‐design multiple biodiversity indicators and prioritize two for full implementation ensuring that the data was findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable based on the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles. This approach helped address limitations that were identified in the stakeholder engagement process, including gaps in data availability and the need for more accessible biodiversity information. Additionally, capacity‐building workshops were incorporated for all producers of biodiversity information involved, which aimed to not only improve the current flow of biodiversity information in the region but also facilitate its future sustainability. Our approach can serve as a valuable blueprint for mainstreaming biodiversity information and making it more inclusive in the future, especially considering the diverse worldviews, values, and knowledge systems between science, policy, and practice.
Our study presents a co‐design approach to improve biodiversity information flow in the Tropical Andes. Through stakeholder engagement and collaborative workshops, we identified priority needs and co‐designed user‐relevant indicators, addressing data gaps and enhancing inclusivity. Our approach offers a valuable framework for mainstreaming biodiversity information and fostering collaboration between science, policy, and practice in conservation efforts.
We report on a new measurement of the beam transverse single spin asymmetry in electron-proton elastic scattering, A_{⊥}^{ep}, at five beam energies from 315.1 to 1508.4 MeV and at a scattering angle ...of 30°<θ<40°. The covered Q^{2} values are 0.032, 0.057, 0.082, 0.218, 0.613 (GeV/c)^{2}. The measurement clearly indicates significant inelastic contributions to the two-photon-exchange (TPE) amplitude in the low-Q^{2} kinematic region. No theoretical calculation is able to reproduce our result. Comparison with a calculation based on unitarity, which only takes into account elastic and πN inelastic intermediate states, suggests that there are other inelastic intermediate states such as ππN, KΛ, and ηN. Covering a wide energy range, our new high-precision data provide a benchmark to study those intermediate states.
Children (N = 278, 34–71 months, 54% girls) were told which of two figurines turned on a music box and also observed empirical evidence either confirming or conflicting with that testimony. Children ...were then asked to sort novel figurines according to whether they could make the music box work or not. To see whether children would explore which figurine turned on the music box, especially when the observed and testimonial evidence conflicted, children were given access to the music box during their sorting. However, children rarely explored. Indeed, they struggled to disregard the misleading testimony both when sorting the figurines and when asked about a future attempt. In contrast, children who explored the effectiveness of the figurines dismissed the misleading testimony.
•Preschool children show initial trust in an informant’s claim.•Children reassess an informant’s misleading claim in light of empirical evidence.•Children transfer their conclusions regarding the ...validity of a claim across tasks.•Preschoolers are able to integrate and align information from different sources.
Across two experiments, an adult informant presented 220 preschoolers (34–71 months of age) with either a correct claim or an incorrect claim about how to activate a music box by using one of two toy figures. Children were then prompted to explore the figures and to discover whether the informant’s claim was correct or incorrect. Children who discovered the claim to be incorrect no longer endorsed it. Moreover, their predictions regarding a new figure’s ability to activate the music box were clearly affected by the reliability of the informant’s prior claim. Thus, children reassess an informant’s incorrect claim about an object in light of later empirical evidence and transfer their conclusions regarding the validity of that claim to subsequent objects.
Research Findings: Although it is well documented that toy play and book sharing shape communication between adults and children in different ways, relatively few studies have compared teacher - ...child interactions in the two activities. The aim of this observational study was to describe and compare the conversational functions of teachers' and children's interactional contributions during book sharing and toy play. Examining dyads of five- to six-year-old children (N = 38) and their preschool teachers in the two activities, we found that the teachers produced significantly higher proportions of questions during toy play and higher proportions of statements during book sharing and that their questions tended to be more advanced (i.e. inferential) during book sharing compared to toy play. Moreover, sequential analyses of the immediate dependencies between the teachers' and children's contributions revealed that the teachers' statements were more likely to follow the children's questions during toy play than during book sharing, which may suggest more "back-and-forth" communication during play. Practice or Policy: The study findings indicate that toy play and book sharing provide children with complementary communication experiences and that the choice of activity may shape their opportunities to engage in educational dialogs.
Studies suggest that preterm delivery is a risk factor for early language delays, but knowledge is scarce about the persistence of the delays and whether the association is of a linear kind. To ...resolve this, effects of confounding risk factors that are both shared within a family and pregnancy specific need to be distinguished from effects of preterm delivery. Our study examines the association between early gestational age and language outcomes, using a sibling-control design.
The sample comprises 22,499 siblings from the Norwegian Mother and Child Birth Cohort Study, recruited between 1999 and 2008. Mothers rated child language comprehension and production at 18 and 36 months. Analyses compared siblings discordant on gestational age group (early preterm, delivery at week 22-33; late preterm, 34-36; early term, 37-38; full term, >38) and type of onset of delivery (spontaneous; provider-initiated), and compared these findings with conventional cohort analyses.
The findings revealed inverse linear relations between the gestational age groups, and persistent but diminishing language delays. Effects of preterm delivery were substantial on both language production and comprehension at 18 months. By 36 months, the effects of preterm delivery were weaker, but still extensive, in particular for language production in provider-initiated births. When comparing sibling-control with cohort analyses, preterm group was less important among spontaneous births, but remained important in provider-initiated births. Familial and pregnancy risk factors partly explained this.
Distinctive factors seem to underlie effects of preterm delivery across spontaneous and provider-initiated births.
Abstract
Objective
Testing of bilingual individuals still poses a challenge among neuropsychologists. Self-reported language proficiency and objective measures differ considerably. Consequently, we ...present a literature review on the neuropsychological testing of bilinguals and a case study to guide the discussion.
Data Selection
A narrative literature review approach to identify and describe variables that pose challenges in the neuropsychological testing of bilinguals. Interfaced search terms include (not limited to) biculturalism, acculturation, oppression, testing, bilingualism, types of bilingualism, and mastery of languages. The case study constitutes a bilingual/bicultural 68-year-old male native from Cuba who migrated to the United States at 14 years old and was referred secondary to memory concerns. The patient asked and insisted on being tested in English.
Data Synthesis
The following elements will be discussed: fairness in testing, the language of tester and testee, and optimal language for testing (i.e., native, preferred, or dominant) while considering the referral question. Challenging variables include age and method of languages acquisition, language of schooling, frequency and contexts of both languages, and personal/social/cultural attitudes toward each language.
Conclusion
This review presents 1) factors influencing bilingualism, 2) potential challenges in determining a neuropsychologically fair testing battery for bilinguals, and 3) highlights the importance of using a qualitative historic-sociocultural approach and quantitative measurements to inform this process. Hence, reducing the possibility of misdiagnosis. Lastly, based on the review, we will discuss the influence of various sociocultural variables that might have influenced the patient’s decision to be tested in English, such as, acculturation, cultural perception, and geographical location.
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