Subject–Verb Number Agreement in Bilingual Processing: (Lack of) Age of Acquisition and Proficiency Effects

Children acquire language more easily than adults, though it is controversial whether this faculty declines as a result of a critical period or something else. To address this question, we investigate the role of age of acquisition and proficiency on morphosyntactic processing in adult monolinguals and bilinguals. Spanish monolinguals and intermediate and advanced early and late bilinguals of Spanish read sentences with adjacent subject–verb number agreements and violations and chose one of four pictures. Eye-tracking data revealed that all groups were sensitive to the violations and attended more to more salient plural and preterit verbs than less obvious singular and present verbs, regardless of AoA and proficiency level. We conclude that the processing of adjacent SV agreement depends on perceptual salience and language use, rather than AoA or proficiency. These findings support usage-based theories of language acquisition.

Revisiting the concept of the critical period of weed control

Weeds are a major biotic constraint to the production of crops. Studies on the critical period of weed control (CPWC) consider the yield loss due to the presence of all weeds present in the crop cycle. The CPWC is the time interval between the critical timing of weed removal (CTWR) and the critical weed-free period (CWFP), and the weed presence before and after the extremes of CTWR and CWFP may not significantly reduce crop yield. The crop yield is taken into consideration and weed density or biomass of individual weeds (annual or perennial) is not so important while calculating the CPWC. Only weed density or biomass is considered for calculating weed control efficiency of a particular management practice for which the weed seed bank is also a criterion. However, weed biomass is the outcome after competition experienced by each weed species with the fellow crop and the weeds. Consequently, the weed pressure in the subsequent season will be the cumulative effect of the preceding season too, which is unaccounted for in CPWC. It is argued that in organic farming or low-input farming systems, where herbicides are not used, the concept of CPWC can be misleading and should be avoided. It is concluded that CTWR is more meaningful than the CPWC.

The First 1000 Days of Infant

The third edition of the Nursing and Pediatrics Congress was held in Paris from 16–19 June 2021, with the aim of contributing the experiences and reflections of relevant health professionals (pediatricians, pediatric surgeons, obstetricians, nurses, midwives, dieticians, and lactation consultants) to the knowledge of the most critical period of human life: its first 1000 days [...]

Pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris bagi Anak-anak Usia TK di Dusun Ngroto

Bahasa Inggris diakui sebagai bahasa internasional dengan jumlah penutur terbanyak di dunia. Saat ini, kemampuan berbahasa Inggris dianggap menjadi salah satu kemampuan yang seharusnya mampu dikuasai oleh semua orang, secara khusus bagi kelompok anak-anak. Menurut psikologi perkembangan, anak-anak usia sekolah pada umumnya berada di tahap periode kritis (critical period). Pada tahap ini, anak-anak mampu menyerap bahasa secara maksimal sehingga pendidikan bahasa Inggris bagi anak-anak di usia sekolah dirasa akan lebih tepat untuk dilakukan. Sayangnya, akses pendidikan bahasa Inggris di beberapa tempat masih sangat terbatas, termasuk di Dusun Ngroto. Keterbatasan akses pendidikan bahasa Inggris di Dusun Ngroto disebabkan oleh terbatasnya pengajar yang tersedia. Oleh karena itu, kegiatan ini berfokus pada pengajaran bahasa Inggris bagi anak-anak usia sekolah, yakni usia TK dan SD melalui kegiatan bimbingan belajar bahasa Inggris. Kegiatan bimbingan belajar bahasa Inggris ini juga merupakan bagian dari rangkaian kegiatan Pembelajaran Lapangan Terpadu Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Komunikasi UKSW.

PENGARUH SPA BAYI TERHADAP PENINGKATAN BERAT BADAN BAYI USIA 4-6 BULAN DI WILAYAH KERJA PUSKESMAS TAPIAN DOLOK KABUPATEN SIMALUNGUN

Infan is the period as well as the time of Christ's development. It is said to be a critical period because this period is very short for the environment and it is said to be a development period because infancy is not very short and can be repeated again. The most important period of child development is infancy and toddlerhood. In infancy / toddler there is a basic growth that will determine the next child's development. Infancy is the first month of life, the baby will adapt to the environment, changes in blood circulation, and begin to work the organs of the body, and in post-neonatal the baby will experience very fast growth. One way to stimulate growth and development in children is to use the baby solus per aqua (SPA) technique. Babies who are given SPA Babies will certainly grow and develop differently from the growth and development of babies who are not given SPA Babies. This is because the Baby SPA series aims to awaken the baby's sensory and motor nerves early with certain stimuli so that babies can grow actively and be more optimal both physically and mentally. This study aims to obtain an overview of the effect of Infant SPA on weight gain aged 4 to 6 months, Measuring the weight gain of infants aged 4 to 6 months who receive and Infant SPA and those who do not receive massage and Infant SPA at the Tapian Dolok Health Center, Simalungun Regency. The hypothesis in this study is that the increase in the weight of the babies who received the Baby Spa was greater than the standard deviation of the weight gain of 36.9 with a mean difference of 48.7 grams between the two groups. The sample size obtained is 12 respondents so that the number of samples will be increased to 30 according to the minimum sample that can be analyzed statistically. So the intervention group was 30 babies and the control group was 30 babies. The results showed that there was an effect of SPA for infants on weight gain of infants at the age of 4 to 6 months. This study is expected to provide knowledge to mothers who have babies aged 4 6 months the importance of SPA for babies to the baby's weight gain.

Roles of Anti-Müllerian hormone (Amh) and its duplicates in sex determination and germ cell proliferation of Nile tilapia

Duplicates of amh are crucial for fish sex determination and differentiation. In Nile tilapia, unlike in other teleosts, amh is located on X chromosome. The Y chromosome amh (amh△-y) is mutated with 5 bp insertion and 233 bp deletion in the coding sequence, and tandem duplicate of amh on Y chromosome (amhy) has been identified as the sex determiner. However, the expression of amh, amh△-y and amhy, their roles in germ cell proliferation and the molecular mechanism of how amhy determines sex is still unclear. In this study, expression and functions of each duplicate were analyzed. Sex reversal occurred only when amhy was mutated as revealed by single, double and triple mutation of the three duplicates in XY fish. Homozygous mutation of amhy in YY fish also resulted in sex reversal. Earlier and higher expression of amhy/Amhy was observed in XY gonads compared with amh/Amh during sex determination. Amhy could inhibit the transcription of cyp19a1a through Amhr2/Smads signaling. Loss of cyp19a1a rescued the sex reversal phenotype in XY fish with amhy mutation. Interestingly, mutation of both amh and amhy in XY fish or homozygous mutation of amhy in YY fish resulted in infertile females with significantly increased germ cell proliferation. Taken together, these results indicated that up-regulation of amhy during the critical period of sex determination makes it the sex-determining gene, and it functions through repressing cyp19a1a expression via Amhr2/Smads signaling pathway. Amh retained its function in controlling germ cell proliferation as reported in other teleosts, while amh△-y was nonfunctionalized.

The GnRH Antagonist Degarelix Suppresses Gonadotropin Secretion and Pituitary Sensitivity in Midgestation Sheep Fetuses

The specific role of GnRH on brain sexual differentiation remains unclear. To investigate whether gonadotropin and, in turn, testosterone (T) secretion is regulated by GnRH during the critical period for brain differentiation in sheep fetuses, we attempted to selectively suppress pituitary-testicular activation during midgestation with the long-acting GnRH antagonist degarelix. Fetuses received subcutaneous injections of the antagonist or vehicle on day 62 of gestation. After 2 to 3 weeks we examined consequences of the intervention on baseline and GnRH-stimulated plasma LH and T levels. In addition, we measured the effect of degarelix-treatment on mRNA expression for the pituitary gonadotropins and key gonadal steroidogenic enzymes. Baseline and GnRH-stimulated plasma LH levels were significantly suppressed in degarelix-treated male and female fetuses compared to control values. Similarly, T concentrations were suppressed in degarelix-treated males. The percentage of LHβ-immunoreactive cells colocalizing c-fos was significantly reduced by degarelix treatment indicating that pituitary sensitivity was inhibited. Degarelix treatment also led to the significant suppression of mRNA expression coding for the pituitary gonadotropin subunits and for the gonadal enzymes involved in androgen synthesis. These findings demonstrate that pharmacologic inhibition of GnRH early in gestation results in suppression of LH secretion and deficits in the plasma T levels of male lamb fetuses. We conclude that GnRH signaling plays a pivotal role for regulating T exposure during the critical period of sheep gestation when the brain is masculinized. Thus, disturbance to gonadotropin secretion during this phase of gestation could have long-term consequence on adult sexual behaviors and fertility.

NALYSIS OF THE ADAPTIVE POTENTIAL OF MODERN VARIETIES FLAX-DOLGUNETS IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE CENTRAL REGION OF RUSSIA

В статье представлены результаты оценки 16 сортов льна-долгунца отечественной и зарубежной селекции по урожайности волокна и основным параметрам адаптивности в условиях Центрального региона России. Погодные условия в годы проведения испытаний были различными, наиболее благоприятные условия сложились в 2018 году, гидротермический коэффициент за период вегетации составил 1,3, урожайность в среднем по опыту составила 2,02 т/га. Стрессовые условия, связанные с переувлажнением в критический период роста и развития растений льна-долгунца (ГТК в июне и июле 1,7 и 1,8 соответственно), имели место в 2017 году, урожайность в среднем по опыту – 1,03 т/га. Наиболее высокую урожайность льноволокна (1,78-1,97 т/га) в среднем за три года (2017 - 2019 гг.) показали сорта Цезарь, Синель, Добрыня (Россия), Marylin (Голландия), Белита (Республика Беларусь), Andrea и Altea (Франция). При стрессовых условиях (индекса условий среды -0,51) высокой адаптивностью обладали Цезарь (157,7%), Синель (152,9) и Добрыня (137,4). The article presents the results of evaluating 16 varieties of fiber flax of domestic and foreign selection in terms of fiber yield and the main parameters of adaptability in the conditions of the Central region of Russia. The weather conditions in the years of testing were different, the most favorable conditions developed in 2018, the hydrothermal coefficient for the growing season was 1.3, the average yield in the experiment was 2.02 c/ha. Stress conditions associated with waterlogging during the critical period of growth and development of fiber flax plants (GTC in June and July 1.7 and 1.8, respectively) took place in 2017, the average yield in experience was 1.03 c/ha. The highest yield of flax fiber (1.78-1.97 t/ha) on average over three years (2017 - 2019) was shown by the varieties Caesar, Sinel, Dobrynya (Russia), Marylin (Holland), Belita (Republic of Belarus), Andrea and Altea (France). Under stressful conditions (index of environmental conditions -0.51), Caesar (157.7%), Chenille (152.9) and Dobrynya (137.4) have high adaptability.