How toddlers begin to learn verbs

Any theory of language must account for how children learn verbs, the gateway to grammar. Yet verbs can be difficult to learn. Building on Gentner's 'natural partitions hypothesis' we suggest that, to learn a verb, infants must conceptualize components of events and map verbs in the ambient language onto those components. Although toddlers detect and categorize at least some of the conceptual underpinnings of verb categories, the mapping of verbs onto these representations is not transparent. Mapping is a difficult problem in its own right. The Emergentist Coalition Model that has been used to explain noun learning also begins to explain how children move from perceptual to social and then to linguistic information to link verbs to actions and events.     

A meta-analysis of children’s self-reports of dietary intake

Objective: Although research studies increasingly use children as primary reporters in dietary assessments, it is unclear how well children’s self-reported intake correlates with independently validated reports of their intake; this meta-analysis assesses that correlation.

Design: Moderators of the correlation between self-reported and independently validated intake were predicted a priori: type of dietary intake assessment (24 h recall, food diary and food frequency questionnaires), validation measures, parental assistance and age. Online databases were searched for articles published from 1990 to 2014 that compared children’s self-reports of dietary intake to validated observations of food intake in children age 4–16.

Main outcome measures: Summary effect size Pearson r between children’s self-reported dietary intake and independently validated dietary intake were calculated.

Results: In k = 32 samples from 23 studies, a statistically significant correlation (r = .48, Z = 7.26, p < .001) was found between children’s self-reported dietary intake and independently validated reports of dietary intake. Validation method (Q = 17.49, df = 2, p < .001) and parental assistance (Z = 2.03, p = .042) were significant moderators of this correlation. Self-report methodology (Q = 3.95, df = 2, p = .139) and age (Q = .02, p = .879) were not significant moderators of the distribution of effect sizes.

Conclusion: Together, these results provide baseline information about children’s recall in dietary intake assessments conducted with children as primary reporters.     

Trajectories and future avenues in Pauline Studies and Jewish–Christian relations: the relevance of William S. Campbell’s approach to Paul

Abstract

William S. Campbell’s research on the apostle Paul has been at the forefront of overcoming anti-Jewish interpretations. His career has been characterised by academic rigour and social and interfaith engagement. His interpretive approach is committed to formulating Christian identity in positive relation to others and thus contributes to provide a vital basis for Jewish-Christian and Interfaith relations in general for the future.     

Association of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function with neuropsychological performance in children with mild/moderate asthma.

The present study examines the relationship between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function and child psychological/neuropsychological function in a group of children with mild to moderate asthma. The goal of the study was to determine whether child neuropsychological functioning and psychological functioning were associated with cortisol production in response to adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH) stimulation when assessed as area under the curve. Data for this study were gathered from 63 children who participated in an ancillary study within the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP) during the pre-randomization phase of the CAMP trial. At 2 of the 8 CAMP clinical centers participants completed an ACTH stimulation test after an overnight stay in the General Clinical Research Center. Gender differences on baseline cortisol and change in cortisol 30 minutes after infusion of ACTH were present. Results further indicated significant associations between cortisol production and measures of child neuropsychological function. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that cortisol change could be predicted by measures of gender, working memory, and arousal maintenance, providing support for the hypothesis that cortisol plays a modest role in the neuropsychological function of children with mild and moderate asthma. In contrast, cortisol production was not associated with child reports of psychological functioning. Limitations to the methods employed in this study are discussed.     

Neuropsychological profile following suicide attempt by hanging: two adolescent case reports.

Hippocampal damage and amnesia following hypoxia and ischemia are described in the few published adult cases of suicide attempt by hanging. However, a recent review (Caine & Watson, 2000) suggests a variable pattern of brain involvement and neuropsychological impairments following hypoxic-ischemic injury that may or may not involve amnesia. To help clarify the impact of hanging on the developing brain, we examined neuropsychological functioning in two adolescents who survived suicide attempt by hanging. Despite differences in Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), coma duration, and structural imaging findings, both patients had similar IQ (VIQ>PIQ) and presented with various combinations of deficits in expressive/receptive language, visual-constructional and perceptual ability, processing speed, attention, working memory, and/or executive functioning shortly after injury. In spite of their similarities, only one of the patients presented with classic amnesia symptoms in his early recovery. This patient was evaluated 1 year postinjury, and persistent deficits in processing speed and memory encoding were noted. Several hanging-related variables, including longer estimated hanging duration, greater weight, and severe airway edema, were thought to place this patient at increased risk for cognitive deficits. Clinical MRI scans of this patient obtained 6 weeks postinjury revealed mild volume loss as well as abnormalities in bilateral superior cortex. However, CT and MRI scans obtained throughout early recovery did not reveal overt evidence of injury to specific memory-related structures. Comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation of all adolescent survivors of suicide attempt by hanging is recommended, as a variety of postacute cognitive deficits were observed in these patients despite relatively short (相似文献