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Frontiers in Psychology 2021In 1980, Robert Seyfarth, Dorothy Cheney and Peter Marler published a landmark paper in claiming language-like semantic communication in the alarm calls of vervet... (Review)
Review
Aping Language: Historical Perspectives on the Quest for Semantics, Syntax, and Other Rarefied Properties of Human Language in the Communication of Primates and Other Animals.
In 1980, Robert Seyfarth, Dorothy Cheney and Peter Marler published a landmark paper in claiming language-like semantic communication in the alarm calls of vervet monkeys. This article and the career research program it spawned for its authors catalyzed countless other studies searching for semantics, and then also syntax and other rarefied properties of language, in the communication systems of non-human primates and other animals. It also helped bolster a parallel tradition of teaching symbolism and syntax in artificial language systems to great apes. Although the search for language rudiments in the communications of primates long predates the vervet alarm call story, it is difficult to overstate the impact of the vervet research, for it fueled field and laboratory research programs for several generations of primatologists and kept busy an equal number of philosophers, linguists, and cognitive scientists debating possible implications for the origins and evolution of language and other vaunted elements of the human condition. Now 40-years on, the original vervet alarm call findings have been revised and claims of semanticity recanted; while other evidence for semantics and syntax in the natural communications of non-humans is sparse and weak. Ultimately, we are forced to conclude that there are simply few substantive precedents in the natural communications of animals for the high-level informational and representational properties of language, nor its complex syntax. This conclusion does not mean primates cannot be taught some version of these elements of language in artificial language systems - in fact, they can. Nor does it mean there is no continuity between the natural communications of animals and humans that could inform the evolution of language - in fact, there is such continuity. It just does not lie in the specialized semantic and syntactic properties of language. In reviewing these matters, I consider why it is that primates do not evince high-level properties of language in their natural communications but why we so readily accepted that they did or should; and what lessons we might draw from that experience. In the process, I also consider why accounts of human-like characteristics in animals can be so irresistibly appealing.
PubMed: 34366994
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.675172 -
International Journal of Environmental... Nov 2020We determined the concentrations of toxic and essential elements in rice and other grains (lentils, barleys, beans, oats, wheat, and peas) grown in the United States...
We determined the concentrations of toxic and essential elements in rice and other grains (lentils, barleys, beans, oats, wheat, and peas) grown in the United States (US) and other countries using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS). Results showed that median concentrations (in µg/kg) for toxic elements in white rice from the US were 131, 2.8, and 6.5 for arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd), respectively. White rice from Thailand, India, and Italy showed higher median toxic elements concentrations (in µg/kg) of 155 for As, 3.6 for Pb, and 8.4 for Cd, than for white rice from the US. Brown rice from the US showed median concentrations (in µg/kg) of 217 (As), 4.5 (Pb), and 17.4 (Cd) while other grains showed median concentrations (in µg/kg) of 5.4, 4.6, and 6.7 for these elements, respectively. None of the samples exceeded the codex standards set for Pb (200 μg/kg in cereals and pulses) and Cd (100 μg/kg in cereals/pulses and 400 μg/kg in polished rice). However, brown rice and one white rice sample did exceed the codex standard for As (200 μg/kg). Essential elements were higher in other grains than in white and brown rice. These findings suggest that alternating or coupling rice with other grains in one's diet could reduce exposure to toxic metals while providing more essential elements to rice diet.
Topics: Cadmium; Food Packaging; India; Italy; Oryza; Thailand; United States
PubMed: 33153201
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17218128 -
Annals of Botany Nov 2019Strigolactones (SLs) are a diverse class of butenolide-bearing phytohormones derived from the catabolism of carotenoids. They are associated with an increasing number of...
BACKGROUND
Strigolactones (SLs) are a diverse class of butenolide-bearing phytohormones derived from the catabolism of carotenoids. They are associated with an increasing number of emerging regulatory roles in plant growth and development, including seed germination, root and shoot architecture patterning, nutrient acquisition, symbiotic and parasitic interactions, as well as mediation of plant responses to abiotic and biotic cues.
SCOPE
Here, we provide a concise overview of SL biosynthesis, signal transduction pathways and SL-mediated plant responses with a detailed discourse on the crosstalk(s) that exist between SLs/components of SL signalling and other phytohormones such as auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, abscisic acid, ethylene, jasmonates and salicylic acid.
CONCLUSION
SLs elicit their control on physiological and morphological processes via a direct or indirect influence on the activities of other hormones and/or integrants of signalling cascades of other growth regulators. These, among many others, include modulation of hormone content, transport and distribution within plant tissues, interference with or complete dependence on downstream signal components of other phytohormones, as well as acting synergistically or antagonistically with other hormones to elicit plant responses. Although much has been done to evince the effects of SL interactions with other hormones at the cell and whole plant levels, research attention must be channelled towards elucidating the precise molecular events that underlie these processes. More especially in the case of abscisic acid, cytokinins, gibberellin, jasmonates and salicylic acid for which very little has been reported about their hormonal crosstalk with SLs.
Topics: Cytokinins; Indoleacetic Acids; Lactones; Plant Development; Plant Growth Regulators; Plants
PubMed: 31190074
DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcz100 -
Archaea (Vancouver, B.C.) 2012During the last few years, the analysis of microbial diversity in various habitats greatly increased our knowledge on the kingdom Archaea. At the same time, we became... (Review)
Review
During the last few years, the analysis of microbial diversity in various habitats greatly increased our knowledge on the kingdom Archaea. At the same time, we became aware of the multiple ways in which Archaea may interact with each other and with organisms of other kingdoms. The large group of euryarchaeal methanogens and their methane oxidizing relatives, in particular, take part in essential steps of the global methane cycle. Both of these processes, which are in reverse to each other, are partially conducted in a symbiotic interaction with different partners, either ciliates and xylophagous animals or sulfate reducing bacteria. Other symbiotic interactions are mostly of unknown ecological significance but depend on highly specific mechanisms. This paper will give an overview on interactions between Archaea and other organisms and will point out the ecological relevance of these symbiotic processes, as long as these have been already recognized.
Topics: Animals; Archaea; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Ecosystem; Eukaryota; Humans; Metagenome; Methane; Symbiosis
PubMed: 23326206
DOI: 10.1155/2012/596846 -
The Journal of Medicine Access 2023Mental health walk-in clinics (MHWCs) are a model of service delivery that has gained increasing interest and traction. The aim of the study was to better understand how...
BACKGROUND
Mental health walk-in clinics (MHWCs) are a model of service delivery that has gained increasing interest and traction. The aim of the study was to better understand how MHWC use is related to use of other services provided by agencies.
OBJECTIVES
(1) Explore if and how MHWCs are used alongside other services, including the different time points (e.g. MHWCs used exclusively, MHWCs used before other agency services); (2) identify correlates of MHWC use alongside other agency services.
DESIGN
Administrative data from two child and youth mental health agencies in Ontario were extracted, including demographics, visit data, and presenting concerns.
METHODS
In this exploratory, descriptive study, analyses of administrative data were conducted to identify patterns and correlates of MHWC use before other agency services, compared with MHWC use exclusively.
RESULTS
More than half of families used MHWCs and other agency services before or concurrently with other agency services. Child age, guardianship, and disposition at discharge emerged as correlates of MHWC use before other agency services.
CONCLUSIONS
MHWCs are sufficient for some families, easing the pressure on other agency services. For the remaining families, MHWCs can help support them at the beginning of their service use journey.
PubMed: 37534052
DOI: 10.1177/27550834231186682 -
BMJ Clinical Evidence Aug 2016Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease, which most often presents as a symmetrical polyarthritis of the hands and feet. Pharmacological treatments include... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease, which most often presents as a symmetrical polyarthritis of the hands and feet. Pharmacological treatments include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), glucocorticoids (GCs) and other disease-modifying anti-rheumatoid drugs (DMARDs), which may be synthetic (either conventional [csDMARDs] or targeted [tsDMARDs]) or biological (bDMARDs).
METHODS AND OUTCOMES
We conducted a systematic overview, aiming to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of methotrexate in combination with other csDMARDs versus methotrexate monotherapy in people with rheumatoid arthritis who have not previously received any DMARD treatment (first-line treatment)? What are the effects of bDMARDs as monotherapy versus methotrexate or other csDMARDs in people with rheumatoid arthritis who have not previously received any DMARD treatment (first-line treatment)? What are the effects of bDMARDs in combination with methotrexate versus methotrexate monotherapy or other csDMARDs in people with rheumatoid arthritis who have not previously received any DMARD treatment (first-line treatment)? What are the effects of glucocorticoids in combination with methotrexate or with other csDMARDs versus methotrexate or other csDMARDs in people with rheumatoid arthritis who have not previously received any DMARD treatment (first-line treatment)? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to December 2014 (Clinical Evidence overviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this overview).
RESULTS
At this update, searching of electronic databases retrieved 2058 studies. Of the full articles evaluated, 10 systematic reviews, 22 RCTs, and one follow-up report were added at this update. We performed a GRADE evaluation for 18 PICO combinations.
CONCLUSIONS
In this systematic overview, we categorised the efficacy for 22 comparisons based on information about the effectiveness and safety of bDMARDs (monotherapy or combined with csDMARDs), csDMARDs (monotherapy or combined with other csDMARDs), glucocorticoids combined with methotrexate or other csDMARDs, and methotrexate (monotherapy or combined with other csDMARDs), identifying interventions which were likely or unlikely to be beneficial.
Topics: Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Antirheumatic Agents; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Humans
PubMed: 27479367
DOI: No ID Found -
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2020Sex categorization from faces is a crucial ability for humans and non-human primates for various social and cognitive processes. In the current study, we performed two...
Sex categorization from faces is a crucial ability for humans and non-human primates for various social and cognitive processes. In the current study, we performed two eye tracking experiments to examine the gaze behavior of participants during a sex categorization task in which participants categorize face pictures from their own-race (Caucasian), other-race (Asian) and other-species (chimpanzee). In experiment 1, we presented the faces in an upright position to 16 participants, and found a strong other-race and other-species effect. In experiment 2, the same faces were shown to 24 naïve participants in an upside-down (inverted) position, which showed that, although the other-species effect was intact, other-race effect disappeared. Moreover, eye-tracking analysis revealed that in the upright position, the eye region was the first and most widely viewed area for all face categories. However, during upside-down viewing, participants' attention directed more towards the eye region of the own-race and own-species faces, whereas the nose received more attention in other-race and other-species faces. Overall results suggest that other-race faces were processed less holistically compared to own-race faces and this could affect both participants' behavioral performance and gaze behavior during sex categorization. Finally, gaze data suggests that the gaze of participants shifts from the eye to the nose region with decreased racial and species-based familiarity.
PubMed: 31906368
DOI: 10.3390/bs10010024 -
JAMA Network Open Aug 2022Improper aggregation of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander individuals with Asian individuals can mask Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander patient...
IMPORTANCE
Improper aggregation of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander individuals with Asian individuals can mask Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander patient outcomes. A comprehensive assessment of cancer disparities comparing Asian with Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander populations is lacking.
OBJECTIVE
To compare comorbidity burden and survival among East Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, South Asian, and Southeast Asian individuals with non-Hispanic White individuals with cancer.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This retrospective cohort study used a national hospital-based oncology database enriched with Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander and Asian populations. Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and White individuals diagnosed with the most common cancers who received treatment from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2017, were included. Patients younger than 18 years, without pathologic confirmation of cancer, or with metastatic disease were excluded. Data were analyzed from January to May 2022.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The primary end points were comorbidity burden by Charlson-Deyo Comorbidity Index and overall survival (OS).
RESULTS
In total, 5 955 550 patients were assessed, including 60 047 East Asian, 11 512 Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 25 966 South Asian, 42 815 Southeast Asian, and 5 815 210 White patients. The median (IQR) age was 65 (56-74) years, median (IQR) follow-up was 58 (30-96) months, and 3 384 960 (57%) were women. Patients were predominantly from metropolitan areas (4 834 457 patients [84%]) and the Southern United States (1 987 506 patients [34%]), with above median education (3 576 460 patients [65%]), and without comorbidities (4 603 386 patients [77%]). Cancers included breast (1 895 351 patients [32%]), prostate (948 583 patients [16%]), kidney or bladder (689 187 patients [12%]), lung (665 622 patients [11%]), colorectal (659 165 patients [11%]), melanoma (459 904 patients [8%]), endometrial (307 401 patients [5%]), lymphoma (245 003 patients [4%]), and oral cavity (85 334 patients [1%]) malignant neoplasms. Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander patients had the highest comorbidity burden (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.70; 95% CI, 1.47-1.94) compared with Asian and White groups. Asian patients had superior OS compared with White patients for most cancers; only Southeast Asian patients with lymphoma had inferior survival (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.26; 95% CI, 1.16-1.37). In contrast, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander patients demonstrated inferior OS compared with Asian and White patients for oral cavity cancer (aHR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.14-2.13), lymphoma (aHR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.11-1.63), endometrial cancer (aHR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.12-1.50), prostate cancer (aHR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.14-1.46), and breast cancer (aHR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.00-1.18). No cancers among Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander patients had superior OS compared with White patients.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
In this cohort study, compared with White patients with the most common cancers, Asian patients had superior survival outcomes while Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander patients had inferior survival outcomes. Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander patients had significantly greater comorbidity burden compared with Asian and White patients, but this alone did not explain the poor survival outcomes. These results support the disaggregation of these groups in cancer studies.
Topics: Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Comorbidity; Endometrial Neoplasms; Female; Humans; Male; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; Retrospective Studies; United States
PubMed: 35960520
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.26327 -
Journal of Autoimmunity Oct 2023Several epidemiological studies show a co-occurrence of sarcoidosis with other immune-mediated diseases (IMD). There are many similarities between sarcoidosis and IMDs...
Several epidemiological studies show a co-occurrence of sarcoidosis with other immune-mediated diseases (IMD). There are many similarities between sarcoidosis and IMDs in their geographical distribution and risk factors. Understanding these similarities and identifying the differences can help us to better understand sarcoidosis and put it into context with other IMDs. In this review, we present the current knowledge about the overlap between sarcoidosis and other IMDs derived from epidemiological studies. Epidemiologic methods utilize study design and statistical analysis to describe the patterns in data and, ideally, identify causal relationships between an exposure and a health outcome. We discuss how study design and analysis may affect the interpretation of epidemiological studies on this topic and highlight some theories that attempt to explain the relation between sarcoidosis and other IMDs.
PubMed: 37816661
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaut.2023.103127 -
Brain Sciences May 2020The other-race effect (ORE) can be described as difficulties in discriminating between faces of ethnicities other than one's own, and can already be observed at...
The other-race effect (ORE) can be described as difficulties in discriminating between faces of ethnicities other than one's own, and can already be observed at approximately 9 months of age. Recent studies also showed that infants visually explore same-and other-race faces differently. However, it is still unclear whether infants' looking behavior for same- and other-race faces is related to their face discrimination abilities. To investigate this question we conducted a habituation-dishabituation experiment to examine Caucasian 9-month-old infants' gaze behavior, and their discrimination of same- and other-race faces, using eye-tracking measurements. We found that infants looked longer at the eyes of same-race faces over the course of habituation, as compared to other-race faces. After habituation, infants demonstrated a clear other-race effect by successfully discriminating between same-race faces, but not other-race faces. Importantly, the infants' ability to discriminate between same-race faces significantly correlated with their fixation time towards the eyes of same-race faces during habituation. Thus, our findings suggest that for infants old enough to begin exhibiting the ORE, gaze behavior during habituation is related to their ability to differentiate among same-race faces, compared to other-race faces.
PubMed: 32486016
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10060331