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This paper presents rational inattention as a new, transdiagnostic theory of information seeking in neurodevelopmental conditions that have uneven cognitive and socio‐emotional profiles, including developmental language disorder (DLD), dyslexia, dyscalculia and autism. Rational inattention holds that the optimal solution to minimizing epistemic uncertainty is to avoid imprecise information sources. The key theoretical contribution of this report is to endogenize imprecision, making it a function of the primary neurocognitive difficulties that have been invoked to explain neurodivergent phenotypes, including deficits in auditory perception, working memory, procedural learning and the social brain network. We argue that disengagement with information sources with low endogenous precision (e.g. speech in DLD, orthography‐phonology mappings in dyslexia, numeric stimuli in dyscalculia and social signals in autism) constitutes resource‐rational behaviour. We demonstrate the strength of this account in a series of computational simulations. In experiment 1, we simulate information seeking in artificial agents mimicking an array of neurodivergent phenotypes, which optimally explore a complex learning environment containing speech, text, numeric stimuli and social cues. In experiment 2, we simulate optimal information seeking in a cross‐modal dual‐task paradigm and qualitatively replicate empirical data from children with and without DLD. Across experiments, simulated agents' only aim was to maximally reduce epistemic uncertainty, with no difference in reward across information sources. We show that rational inattention emerges naturally in specific neurodivergent phenotypes as a function of low endogenous precision. For instance, an agent mimicking the DLD phenotype disengages with speech (and preferentially engages with alternative precise information sources) because endogenous imprecision renders speech not conducive to information gain. Because engagement is necessary for learning, simulation demonstrates how optimal information seeking may paradoxically contribute negatively to an already delayed learning trajectory in neurodivergent children. Research Highlights: We present the first comprehensive theory of information seeking in neurodivergent children to date, centred on the notion of rational inattention.We demonstrate the strength of this account in a series of computational simulations involving artificial agents mimicking specific neurodivergent phenotypes that optimally explore a complex learning environment containing speech, text, numeric stimuli, and social cues.We show how optimal information seeking may, paradoxically, contribute negatively to an already delayed learning trajectory in neurodivergent children.This report advances our understanding of the factors shaping short‐term decision making and long‐term learning in neurodivergent children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Little is known regarding the shared genetic influences underlying the observed phenotypic association between chronotype and breast cancer in women. Leveraging summary statistics from the hitherto largest genome‐wide association study conducted in each trait, we investigated the genetic correlation, pleiotropic loci, and causal relationship of chronotype with overall breast cancer, and with its subtypes defined by the status of oestrogen receptor. We identified a negative genomic correlation between chronotype and overall breast cancer (rg = −0.06, p = 3.00 × 10−4), consistent across oestrogen receptor‐positive (rg = −0.05, p = 3.30 × 10−3) and oestrogen receptor‐negative subtypes (rg = −0.05, p = 1.11 × 10−2). Five specific genomic regions were further identified as contributing a significant local genetic correlation. Cross‐trait meta‐analysis identified 78 loci shared between chronotype and breast cancer, of which 23 were novel. Transcriptome‐wide association study revealed 13 shared genes, targeting tissues of the nervous, cardiovascular, digestive, and exocrine/endocrine systems. Mendelian randomisation demonstrated a significantly reduced risk of overall breast cancer (odds ratio 0.89, 95% confidence interval 0.83–0.94; p = 1.30 × 10−4) for genetically predicted morning chronotype. No reverse causality was found. Our work demonstrates an intrinsic link underlying chronotype and breast cancer, which may provide clues to inform management of sleep habits to improve female health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astle, Johnson, and Akarca (2024) and Mani (2024) raise important questions about the representativeness of the theory and neural network model presented in Jones et al. (2024). In response, we briefly lay out future research priorities and the implications of a fully developed theory of rational inattention for how we think about, measure, and respond to individual differences in child development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Real‐time quaking‐induced conversion (RT‐QuIC) assays offer a sensitive and specific means for detection of prions, although false negative results are recognized in clinical practice. We profile the clinical, laboratory, and pathologic features associated with false negative RT‐QuIC assays and extend these to frame the diagnostic approach to patients with suspected prion disease. Methods: A total of 113 patients with probable or definite prion disease were assessed at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN; Jacksonville, FL; Scottsdale, AZ) or Washington University School of Medicine (Saint Louis, MO) from 2013 to 2021. RT‐QuIC testing for prions was performed in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) at the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (Cleveland, OH). Results: Initial RT‐QuIC testing was negative in 13 of 113 patients (sensitivity = 88.5%). RT‐QuIC negative patients were younger (median = 52.0 years vs. 66.1 years, p < 0.001). Other demographic and presenting features, and CSF cell count, protein, and glucose levels were similar in RT‐QuIC negative and positive patients. Frequency of 14‐3‐3 positivity (4/13 vs. 77/94, p < 0.001) and median CSF total tau levels were lower in RT‐QuIC negative patients (2517 vs. 4001 pg/mL, p = 0.020), and time from symptom onset to first presentation (153 vs. 47 days, p = 0.001) and symptomatic duration (710 vs. 148 days, p = 0.001) were longer. Conclusions: RT‐QuIC is a sensitive yet imperfect measure necessitating incorporation of other test results when evaluating patients with suspected prion disease. Patients with negative RT‐QuIC had lower markers of neuronal damage (CSF total tau and protein 14‐3‐3) and longer symptomatic duration of disease, suggesting that false negative RT‐QuIC testing associates with a more indolent course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species‐level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Single nucleotide polymorphism–based genetic risk scores (GRS) model genetic risk as a continuum and can discriminate coeliac disease but have not been validated in clinic. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DQ gene testing is available in clinic but does not include non‐HLA attributed risk and is limited by discrete risk stratification. Aims: To accurately characterise both HLA and non‐HLA coeliac disease genetic risk as a single nucleotide polymorphism–based GRS and evaluate diagnostic utility. Methods: We developed a 42 single nucleotide polymorphism coeliac disease GRS from a European case‐control study (12 041 cases vs 12 228 controls) using HLA‐DQ imputation and published genome‐wide association studies. We validated the GRS in UK Biobank (1237 cases) and developed direct genotyping assays. We tested the coeliac disease GRS in a pilot clinical cohort of 128 children presenting with suspected coeliac disease. Results: The GRS was more discriminative of coeliac disease than HLA‐DQ stratification in UK Biobank (receiver operating characteristic area under the curve [ROC‐AUC] = 0.88 [95% CIs: 0.87‐0.89] vs 0.82 [95% CIs: 0.80‐0.83]). We demonstrated similar discrimination in the pilot clinical cohort (114 cases vs 40 controls, ROC‐AUC = 0.84 [95% CIs: 0.76‐0.91]). As a rule‐out test, no children with coeliac disease in the clinical cohort had a GRS below 38th population centile. Conclusions: A single nucleotide polymorphism–based GRS may offer more effective and cost‐efficient testing of coeliac disease genetic risk in comparison to HLA‐DQ stratification. As a comparatively inexpensive test it could facilitate non‐invasive coeliac disease diagnosis but needs detailed assessment in the context of other diagnostic tests and against current diagnostic algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Closely related tropical bird species often occupy mutually exclusive elevational ranges, but the mechanisms generating and maintaining this pattern remain poorly understood. One hypothesis is that replacement species are segregated by interference competition (e.g. territorial aggression), but the extent to which competition combines with other key factors such as specialization to distinct habitats remains little studied. Using vegetation surveys and reciprocal playback experiments, we explored the dynamics of interspecific aggression between two Nightingale‐Thrushes Catharus sp. in Central America. We show that lower‐elevation Black‐headed Nightingale‐Thrushes Catharus mexicanus are aggressive towards higher‐elevation Ruddy‐capped Nightingale‐Thrushes Catharus frantzii where they meet at contact zones. However, interspecific aggressive responses were weak and unidirectional, and the two species were associated with different habitats. We conclude that the contact zone is maintained and located primarily by habitat selection, and is probably reinforced by interspecific aggression. This has important implications for understanding how montane species will respond to climate change because the pace and extent of range shifts will not depend solely on habitat shifts or interspecific competition, but instead on interactions between these two factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Among burn patients, research is conflicted, but may suggest that females are at increased risk of mortality, despite the opposite being true in non-burn trauma. Our objective was to determine whether sex-based differences in burn mortality exist, and assess whether patient demographics, comorbid conditions, and injury characteristics explain said differences. Methods: Adult patients admitted with burn injury—including inhalation injury only—between 2004 and 2013 were included. Inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTW) and inverse probability of censor weights (IPCW) were calculated using admit year, patient demographics, comorbid conditions, and injury characteristics to adjust for potential confounding and informative censoring. Standardized Kaplan–Meier survival curves, weighted by both IPTW and IPCW, were used to estimate the 30-day and 60-day risk of inpatient mortality across sex. Results: Females were older (median age 44 vs. 41 years old, p < 0.0001) and more likely to be Black (32% vs. 25%, p < 0.0001), have diabetes (14% vs. 10%, p < 0.0001), pulmonary disease (14% vs. 7%, p < 0.0001), heart failure (4% vs. 2%, p = 0.001), scald burns (45% vs. 26%, p < 0.0001), and inhalational injuries (10% vs. 8%, p = 0.04). Even after weighting, females were still over twice as likely to die after 60 days (RR 2.87, 95% CI 1.09, 7.51). Conclusion: Female burn patients have a significantly higher risk of 60-day mortality, even after accounting for demographics, comorbid conditions, burn size, and inhalational injury. Future research efforts and treatments to attenuate mortality should account for these sex-based differences. The project was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Grant Number UL1TR001111. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate may influence the distribution and abundance of a species through a number of demographic and ecological processes, but the proximate drivers of such responses are only recently being identified. The Ethiopian Bush‐crow Zavattariornis stresemanni is a starling‐like corvid that is restricted to a small region of southern Ethiopia. It is classified as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of globally threatened species. Previous work suggested that this range restriction is almost perfectly defined by a climate envelope that is cooler than surrounding areas, but the proximate mechanism remains unexplained. The heavily altered habitats which the species inhabits are widespread across Africa, and recent work has shown that the Bush‐crow is behaviourally adaptable and has a catholic diet. We assess whether its enigmatic distribution can be explained by behavioural responses to the higher temperatures that surround its current range. Using environmental niche models and field observations of thermally mediated behaviour, we compare the range restriction and behavioural thermoregulation of the Ethiopian Bush‐crow with those of two sympatric control species that are similar in size and ecology, but have much larger ranges that include hotter environments. White‐crowned Starling Lamprotornis albicapillus and Superb Starling L. superbus occupy similar habitats to the Ethiopian Bush‐crow and all three frequently forage together. We found that the Bush‐crow's range is limited primarily by temperature, with a secondary effect of dry season rainfall, whereas the ranges of the two starling species are better predicted by wet season rainfall alone. Bush‐crows exhibited panting behaviour and moved into the shade of trees at significantly lower ambient temperatures than did the starlings, and their food intake declined more steeply with increasing temperature. These results indicate that the limited geographical range of the Bush‐crow reflects an inability to cope with higher temperatures. This suggests that a species' response to climate change might not be easily predicted by its ecological generalism, and may represent an inherited debt from its evolutionary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Breast cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide, accounting for 25% of all female cancers. Although the survival rate has increased significantly in the past few decades, patients who develop secondary site metastasis as well as those diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer still represent a real unmet medical challenge. Previous studies have shown that chloropyramine ( C4) inhibits FAK-VEGFR3 signalling. More recently, C4 is reported to have SASH1 inducing properties. However, C4 exerts its antitumour and antiangiogenic effects at high micromolar concentrations (>100 μ m) that would not be compatible with further drug development against invasive breast cancer driven by FAK signalling. In this study, molecular modelling guided structural modifications have been introduced to the chloropyramine C4 scaffold to improve its activity in breast cancer cell lines. Seventeen compounds were designed and synthesized, and their antiproliferative activity was evaluated against three human breast cancer lines (MDA-MB-231, BT474 and T47D). Compound 5c was identified to display an average activity of IC50 = 23.5-31.3 μ m, which represents a significant improvement of C4 activity in the same assay model. Molecular modelling and pharmacokinetic studies provided more promising insights into the mechanistic features of this new series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the documentation of the arthropod diet of an African Orange-bellied parrot, Poicephalus rufiventris, incidentally sighted and recorded at the Yabello National Park in Oromia, Ethiopia. Studied are diet sources and foraging techniques of African parrots found at the wildlife park. Also noted is the diversity of parrot's feeding behavior.

Diblock copolymers form hierarchical morphologies with numerous applications in drug delivery and as nanoreactors. Yet, the visualization of these structures by electron microscopy can be extremely difficult, requiring complex staining techniques with associated health risks and the potential to alter structural morphology. Reported here is the synthesis of diblock copolymers by RAFT containing 3,5‐bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl functionality allowing for facile visualization of their resulting hierarchical structures by TEM with no further sample preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the neurobiology of pain in naturally occurring models of osteoarthritis (OA) may improve the understanding of human OA pain. Both COX and LOX have been associated with joint pain. This study evaluated COX-1, COX-2, and 5-LOX expression and activity in a naturally occurring canine model of secondary OA. Hip joint capsule with synovial tissue (HJC) and femoral head subchondral bone (FH) was collected from normal dogs and dogs undergoing total hip replacement for coxofemoral joint OA. Tissues were analyzed for COX-1, COX-2, and LOX protein, and PGE2 and LTB4. Significantly more COX-2 protein was present in OA HJC than normal joints ( p = 0.0009). There was no significant difference in COX-1 or LOX protein, although LOX protein was increased ( p = 0.069). PGE2 concentration in normal and OA HJC was similar ( p = 1.0). LTB4 concentration in OA HJC was significantly greater than normal HJC ( p = 0.028). Significantly more COX-1 ( p = 0.0098), COX-2 ( p = 0.0028), and LOX ( p = 0.0095) protein was present in OA FH tissue compared to normal FH tissue. There were no differences in PGE2 or LTB4 concentration in normal and OA FH tissue ( p = 0.77 and p = 0.11). Together, these data suggest both COX-2 and 5-LOX are appropriate targets for the management of pain associated with naturally occurring OA. © 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sword-billed hummingbird ( I Ensifera ensifera i ) is exquisitely adapted to its trophic niche as an aerial pollinator of flowerings plants (angiosperms) in the high Andes. The cover image is based on the Letter I AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds i by Tobias et al., https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. [Extracted from the article]

The topics of youth language, computer-mediated communication (CMC) and hip-hop language are all established fields of contemporary linguistic research. Research into the nexus of all three fields is however far less prevalent. Whilst papers have been published that provide excellent introductions to the field, little or no study has been dedicated to analysing particular aspects of the online hip-hop world with reference to the relationship between youth identity and language. This paper exclusively documents and analyses the strategies employed by textbattlers, who interact online in the equivalent of the traditional MC contest or battle and spar for lyrical dominance. The analysis of the corpus suggests the potential for a culture of linguistic hypersensitivity and conscious linguistic performance to arise within this specific online hip-hop genre, the textbattle. It is in this sense that this genre has particular relevance to the question of how far individuals can be seen to manage consciously their identity through linguistic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of skewness in the hedger's objective function is tested using a model of hedging derived from a third-order Taylor Series approximation of expected utility. To determine the effect of price skewness upon hedging and speculation, analytical results are derived using an example of cotton storage. Findings suggest that when forward risk premiums and price skewness in the spot asset have opposite signs, speculation increases relative to the mean-variance model. When the signs are identical, speculation will decrease, contradicting findings of mean-variance models. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 26:503–520, 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the non-native β-turn sequence (NPDG) in nucleating the folding of a β-hairpin peptide derived from the N-terminus of ubiquitin, has been examined by NMR and CD spectroscopy. The NPDG sequence, while representing a common two-residue type I turn sequence in proteins, folds to give a G1-bulged type I turn in the context of a β-hairpin peptide, to the exclusion of other possible conformations. The turn conformation results in misalignment of the two β strands and a β hairpin with non-native side chain interactions. A truncated 12-residue analogue of the hairpin, in which the majority of residues in the N-terminal β strand have been deleted, shows some weak propensity to fold into a G-bulged type I turn conformation in the absence of interstrand stabilizing interactions. The NPDG turn sequence pays some of the entropic cost in initiating folding allowing interstrand interactions, which in this case arise from the non-native pairing of residue side chains, to stabilize a significant population of the folded state. Examination of the relative abundance of the Pro–Asp type I turn, with G in the +B1 position, vs. the type I G-bulged turn PXG, in a database of high resolution structures, reveals 48 instances of PXG bulged turns for which X = Asp is by far the most common residue with 20 occurrences. Strikingly, there are no examples of a type I PD turn with G at the +B1 position, in good agreement with our experimental observations that the PDG G-bulged turn is populated preferentially in solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hostas native to Korea have never been carefully reviewed taxonomically and their patterns of variability are not well understood. For morphological and electrophoretic studies, samples of rootstocks were taken from 45 Korean Hosta populations and from two populations of H. tsushimensis N. Fujita on Tsushima Island, Japan. For morphometric analysis, ten plants from each of twenty populations were grown and observed under greenhouse conditions. Fifty-one floral and vegetative characters were examined on each plant and the data were analyzed using principal components and cluster analysis. Six Korean species can be recognized: H. yingeri S. B. Jones (Taehuksan, Sohuksan, and Hong islands); H. capitata (Koidz.) Nakai (southern Korea); H. clausa Nakai (central and northern Korea); H. minor (Baker) Nakai (southeastern Korea including Wan and Kojae islands); H. venusta F. Maekawa (Cheju Island); and H. jonesii M. Chung (southern islands). Morphological features contributing to recognition of the natural groups were: ridges on the scape; the width of inner and outer floral lobes; bracts pappillous at apex; length and color of the bracts; length of inflorescences; the withering condition of the bracts; scabrous nerves on the lower leaf surface; and size of the leaves. Isozyme analyses indicate a recent origin of H. venusta from H. minor. Although hostas are easily hybridized, natural hybridization seems to be rare in Korea. The morphological and isozyme studies identified no hybrids and the species are well characterized by their distribution patterns, phenology, and habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the case of a 10-year-old boy from Papua New Guinea who has multi drug-resistant tuberculosis and multi-bacillary leprosy who developed acute glomerulonephritis while being treated as an in-patient at a hospital in Torres Strait, Queensland. It outlines significant learning points in relation to the aetiology of renal disease among patients with leprosy and tuberculosis. It discusses the use of oral prednisolone to treat erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL).

High phonological neighborhood density has been associated with both advantages and disadvantages in early word learning. High density may support the formation and fine‐tuning of new word sound memories—a process termed lexical configuration (e.g., Storkel, 2004). However, new high‐density words are also more likely to be misunderstood as instances of known words, and may therefore fail to trigger the learning process (e.g., Swingley & Aslin, 2007). To examine these apparently contradictory effects, we trained an autoencoder neural network on 587,954 word tokens (5,497 types, including mono‐ and multisyllabic words of all grammatical classes) spoken by 279 caregivers to English‐speaking children aged 18–24 months. We then simulated a communicative development inventory administration and compared network performance to that of 2,292 children aged 18–24 months. We argue that autoencoder performance illustrates concurrent density advantages and disadvantages, in contrast to prior behavioral and computational literature treating such effects independently. Low network error rates signal a configuration advantage for high‐density words, while high network error rates signal a triggering advantage for low‐density words. This interpretation is consistent with the application of autoencoders in academic research and industry, for simultaneous feature extraction (i.e., configuration) and anomaly detection (i.e., triggering). Autoencoder simulation therefore illustrates how apparently contradictory density and distinctiveness effects can emerge from a common learning mechanism. Open Research Badges: This article has earned an Open Data badge for making publicly available the digitally‐shareable data necessary to reproduce the reported results. The data is available at https://osf.io/2qk5j/. Learn more about the Open Practices badges from the Center for Open Science: https://osf.io/tvyxz/wiki. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the cases of trachoma the remote island indigenous communities of the Torres Strait in North Queensland. It mentions the two different teams who surveyed the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) in 2008 and 2012. It states that the local medical officer organized tarsal swabbing for the children and family members diagnosed with C. trachomatis. It also mentions that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results were negative.