Preschool children use linguistic form class and pragmatic cues to interpret generics

Generic noun phrases (e.g., "Bats live in caves") are important for expressing knowledge about abstract kinds. Past work has found that parents frequently use generic noun phrases in their speech to young children. However, little is known regarding how children understand these expressions, nor which cues signal generic meaning. The present set of 5 studies examined the influence of linguistic form class (e.g., "What color are dogs?" [generic] versus "What color are the dogs?" [nongeneric]) and of pragmatic context (e.g., "What color are they?" in the presence of either a single exemplar [generic] or multiple exemplars [nongeneric]). Participants were 2-year-olds (N = 42), 3-year-olds (N = 40), 4-year-olds (N = 40), and adults (N = 51). The data indicate that by 2 years of age, children use linguistic form class, and by 3 years of age, children use pragmatic context. These findings demonstrate that young children have begun to understand the distinction between generic and nongeneric noun phrases from a very young age, and that identification of generics is signaled not by formal or pragmatic cues alone, but by a combination of information from both language form and pragmatic context. It is suggested that children make use of multiple linguistic and conceptual cues to acquire and interpret generics.     

Circulating peptide and steroid hormone levels in patients with breast cancer

Circulating levels of gonadotropins (FSH,LH), prolactin (PRL), estradiol and progesterone were measured by radioimmunoassay in the sera of 60 patients with histopathologically proven breast cancer. 30 patients belonged to the post and 30 to the premenopausal group. 30 healthy women, 15 each in the pre and post menopausal groups served as controls for the study. Prolactin was elevated in 33% and 26% of pre and post menopausal breast cancer patients respectively. Lower levels of estradiol and progesterone were observed during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle in premenopausal breast cancer patients. Among postmenopausal patients with breast cancer, LH was elevated in 32%, FSH in 15% and estradiol in 30% of the patients studied.     

Troponin T and Heart Type Fatty Acid Binding Protein (h-Fabp) as Biomarkers in Patients Presenting with Chest Pain

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a term for a range of clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of myocardial ischemia. It results in functional and structural changes and ultimately releasing protein from injured cardiomyocytes. These cardiac markers play a major role in diagnosis and prognosis of ACS. This study aims to assess the efficacy of heart type fatty acid binding protein (h-FABP) as a marker for ACS along with the routinely used hs-TropT. In our observational study, plasma h-FABP (cut-off 6.32 ng/ml) and routinely done hs-Trop T (cutoff 0.1 and 0.014 ng/ml) were estimated by immunometric laboratory assays in 88 patients with acute chest pain. Based on the clinical and laboratory test findings the patients were grouped into ACS (n = 41) and non-ACS (n = 47). The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, NPV, PPV and ROC curve at 95 % CI were determined. Sensitivity of hs-TropT (0.1 ng/ml), hs-TropT (0.014 ng/ml) and h-FABP were 53, 86 and 78 % respectively and specificity for the same were 98, 73 and 70 % respectively. Sensitivity, specificity and NPV calculated for a cut-off combination of hs-TropT 0.014 ng/ml and h-FABP was 100, 51 and 100 % respectively. These results were substantiated by ROC analysis. Measurement of plasma h-FABP and hs-TropT together on admission appears to be more precise predictor of ACS rather than either hs-Trop T or h-FABP.     

Evaluation of Oxidative Stress and hsCRP in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in a Tertiary Care Hospital

PCOS is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder with diverse clinical presentation. Oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathophysiology of this disease. Serumhigh sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), a marker of chronic low grade inflammation, is indicative of future development of cardiovascular disease. Our aim is to evaluate the oxidant status and hsCRP levels in PCOS. The study involved 61 cases and 61 controls in the age group of 18–40 years diagnosed with PCOS. Erythrocyte malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), serum hsCRP, gonadotrophins, thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin, glycemic status and lipid profile were estimated. Erythrocyte MDA (p < 0.001), SOD (p = 0.007) and serum hsCRP (p < 0.001) were significantly elevated in PCOS patients than controls. Oxidative stress is present in women with PCOS along with elevated hsCRP.     

Screening for lead poisoning in urban school children of southern India using capillary and venous blood samples

Our study aimed at comparing lead and zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) levels in capillary and venous blood samples in a small population and to employ an easier method of sample collection for a major screening program in school children in major Indian cities. An awareness program on lead and its effects was conducted in two different schools. A total of thirty urban school children from South India, with an age group between 4–12 years consented for dual blood sampling and reported for the study. Venous and capillary blood samples were obtained simultaneously. Blood lead and zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) levels were estimated using ESA Lead Analyzer and Haematofluorometer respectively. A significant correlation between capillary and venous ZPP (r=0.98) and lead (r=0.99) was observed. Rank sum test showed that there is no statistically significant difference between capillary and venous ZPP (P=0.891) and lead (P=0.672) values. This pilot study recommends that screening for lead may be done using capillary blood samples since significant correlation is observed between capillary and venous blood measurements. Obtaining samples using this mode is a non-invasive, less expensive, quick and easy method in children. Appropriately performed capillary sampling may be considered as an acceptable alternative to venipuncture for screening of blood for lead poisoning both in children and adults.     

The 5I’s of Virtual Technologies in Laboratory Teaching for Faculties of Higher Education in Kerala

Journal of Science Education and Technology - In this paper, the effectiveness of training faculty in laboratory teaching (the teaching of science in a laboratory setting using experiments and...     

Young children’s ability to make predictions about novel illnesses

Understanding disease transmission is a complex problem highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These studies test whether 3- to 6-year-old children in the United States use information about social interactions to predict disease transmission. Before and during COVID-19, children predicted illness would spread through close interactions. Older children outperformed younger children with no associations between task performance and pandemic experience. Children did not predict that being hungry or tired would similarly spread through close interactions. Participants include 196 three- to six-year-olds (53% girls, 47% boys; 68% White, 9% Black, 7% Asian, 6% Hispanic or Latinx), with medium-sized effects (d = .6,  = .3). These findings suggest that thinking about social interaction supports young children's predictions about illness, with noted limitations regarding children's real-world avoidance of disease-spreading behaviors.     

Estimation of reference values in liver function test in health plan individuals of an urban south Indian population

Reference intervals in clinical chemistry are commonly based on results of measurements in reference western population or are taken from the western literature. Reference Values are thought to aid physicians to interpret results of measurements and, should be representative of a defined group of individuals. This group should be as similar as possible to the patients under investigation. The reference population in this, study has been recruited from the individuals attending the Health Plan Clinic who fulfill the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria as well as defined partition criteria. The samples were sorted based on the decision by the physician. The emerging group of individuals was considered as a reference population for the hospital patients and the results of measurements in this study was evaluated statistically, to stress on the urgent need to establish the in-house reference values. The reference limits are defined as the central 95 percentile of the population after eliminating the outliers. The lower, reference limit is the 2.5 percentile while the upper reference limit constituted the 97.5 percentile for the population.