Children with conduct problems and high callous-unemotional (CP+CU) traits are characterized by dampened emotional responding, limiting their ability for affective empathy and impacting the development of prosocial behaviors. However, research documenting this dampening in young children is sparse and findings vary, with attachment-related stimuli hypothesized to ameliorate deficits in emotional responding. Here we test emotional responsiveness across various emotion-eliciting stimuli using multiple measures of emotional responsiveness (behavioral, physiological, self-reported) and attention, in young children aged 2–8 years (M age = 5.37), with CP+CU traits (CP+CU; n = 36), CPs and low CU traits (CP−CU; n = 82) and a community control sample (CC; n = 27). We found no evidence that attachment-related stimulus ameliorated deficits in emotional responding. Rather, at a group level we found a consistent pattern of reduced responding across all independent measures of responsiveness for children with CP+CU compared to the CC group. Few differences were found between CP+CU and CP−CU groups. When independent measures were standardized and included in a regression model predicting to CU trait score, higher CU traits were associated with reduced emotional responding, demonstrating the importance of multimodal measurement of emotional responsiveness when investigating the impact of CU traits in young children.

SNP in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene is associated with risk of lower respiratory infections. The influence of genetic variation in the vitamin D pathway resulting in susceptibility to upper respiratory infections (URI) has not been investigated. We evaluated the influence of thirty-three SNP in eleven vitamin D pathway genes (DBP, DHCR7, RXRA, CYP2R1, CYP27B1, CYP24A1, CYP3A4, CYP27A1, LRP2, CUBN and VDR) resulting in URI risk in 725 adults in London, UK, using an additive model with adjustment for potential confounders and correction for multiple comparisons. Significant associations in this cohort were investigated in a validation cohort of 737 children in Manchester, UK. In all, three SNP in VDR (rs4334089, rs11568820 and rs7970314) and one SNP in CYP3A4 (rs2740574) were associated with risk of URI in the discovery cohort after adjusting for potential confounders and correcting for multiple comparisons (adjusted incidence rate ratio per additional minor allele ≥1·15, Pfor trend ≤0·030). This association was replicated for rs4334089 in the validation cohort (Pfor trend=0·048) but not for rs11568820, rs7970314 or rs2740574. Carriage of the minor allele of the rs4334089 SNP in VDR was associated with increased susceptibility to URI in children and adult cohorts in the United Kingdom.

Experiments were conducted to compare barnyardgrass control and rice injury and yield with emulsifiable concentrate and dry flowable formulations of propanil as single or repeat applications with crop oil concentrate, methylated seed oil, a blend of organosilicone surfactant and methylated seed oil or conventional nonionic surfactant, and organosilicone surfactant. Two applications of propanil were more effective in controlling barnyardgrass than a single application. The emulsifiable concentrate formulation of propanil controlled barnyardgrass more effectively than the dry flowable formulation in some but not all experiments. Differences in barnyardgrass control with propanil as influenced by adjuvants were minor and inconsistent. The most consistent barnyardgrass control and the highest rice yields were obtained with repeat applications of the emulsifiable concentrate formulation of propanil.

Significant new opportunities for astrophysics and cosmology have been identified at low radio frequencies. The Murchison Widefield Array is the first telescope in the southern hemisphere designed specifically to explore the low-frequency astronomical sky between 80 and 300 MHz with arcminute angular resolution and high survey efficiency. The telescope will enable new advances along four key science themes, including searching for redshifted 21-cm emission from the EoR in the early Universe; Galactic and extragalactic all-sky southern hemisphere surveys; time-domain astrophysics; and solar, heliospheric, and ionospheric science and space weather. The Murchison Widefield Array is located in Western Australia at the site of the planned Square Kilometre Array (SKA) low-band telescope and is the only low-frequency SKA precursor facility. In this paper, we review the performance properties of the Murchison Widefield Array and describe its primary scientific objectives.

Older African Americans tend to perform poorly in comparison with older Whites on episodic memory tests. Observed group differences may reflect some combination of biological differences, measurement bias, and other confounding factors that differ across groups. Cognitive reserve refers to the hypothesis that factors, such as years of education, cognitive activity, and socioeconomic status, promote brain resilience in the face of pathological threats to brain integrity in late life. Educational quality, measured by reading test performance, has been postulated as an important aspect of cognitive reserve. Previous studies have not concurrently evaluated test bias and other explanations for observed differences between older African Americans and Whites. We combined data from two studies to address this question. We analyzed data from 273 African American and 720 White older adults. We assessed DIF using an item response theory/ordinal logistic regression approach. DIF and factors associated with cognitive reserve did not explain the relationship between race, and age- and sex-adjusted episodic memory test performance. However, reading level did explain this relationship. The results reinforce the importance of considering education quality, as measured by reading level, when assessing cognition among diverse older adults. (JINS, 2011, 17, 625–638)

Nutrigenomics is the study of how constituents of the diet interact with genes, and their products, to alter phenotype and, conversely, how genes and their products metabolise these constituents into nutrients, antinutrients, and bioactive compounds. Results from molecular and genetic epidemiological studies indicate that dietary unbalance can alter gene–nutrient interactions in ways that increase the risk of developing chronic disease. The interplay of human genetic variation and environmental factors will make identifying causative genes and nutrients a formidable, but not intractable, challenge. We provide specific recommendations for how to best meet this challenge and discuss the need for new methodologies and the use of comprehensive analyses of nutrient–genotype interactions involving large and diverse populations. The objective of the present paper is to stimulate discourse and collaboration among nutrigenomic researchers and stakeholders, a process that will lead to an increase in global health and wellness by reducing health disparities in developed and developing countries.

We present results from our Parkes Multibeam H I survey of 3 loose groups of galaxies that are analogous to the Local Group. This is a survey of groups containing only spiral galaxies with mean separations of a few hundred kpc, and total areas of approximately 1 Mpc2; groups similar to our own Local Group. We present a census of the H I-rich objects in these groups down to a 1σ MHI sensitivity ~7×105M⊙, as well as the detailed properties of these detections from follow-up Compact Array observations. We found 7 new H I-rich members in the 3 groups, all of which have stellar counterparts and are, therefore, typical dwarf galaxies. The ratio of low-mass to high-mass gas-rich galaxies in these groups is less than in the Local Group meaning that the “missing satellite” problem is not unique. No high-velocity cloud analogs were found in any of the groups. If HVCs in these groups are the same as in the Local Group, this implies that HVCs must be located within ~300-400 kpc of the Milky Way.

The dynamics and feeding biology of a population of Marthasterias glacialis (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) was examined over a two-year period from 2000–2002 at Lough Hyne Marine Nature Reserve, Co. Cork, Ireland. A multivariate approach was used and both multiple factors and multiple interactions between factors were found to influence population structure. These included time of year, site, individual sea-star size, depth, and predator density. Individuals belonging to the smallest size-classes (0–50 mm and 51–100 mm) were most abundant amongst boulders in shallow water (0–1 m), while larger individuals were primarily found in water below 1 m in depth on finer grade substratum and shell debris. Dietary composition was also found to differ with depth; sea-stars in the immediate subtidal had an opportunistic diet, and fed on a variety of taxa, whilst those M. glacialis from 1–6 m were more selective and restrictive, feeding chiefly on bivalve prey. We propose that spatial partitioning of different size-classes and a generalist feeding strategy may account for the success of M. glacialis at Lough Hyne.

The Marine Nature Reserve of Lough Hyne (south-west Ireland) encompasses an extremely wide range of marine conditions within a small area. A total of 378 boulders were collected from a range of depths at five sites subjected to very different degrees of water movement and sedimentation. Encrusting biota were identified and the communities compared between sites and upper and lower surfaces. In all, 114 taxa were identified. Alpha diversity was generally found to be higher for lower surfaces at sites with intermediate flow/disturbance. Sites with high water flow had much greater space occupation, predominantly cheilostomatid bryozoans. Multivariate analyses divided the samples into six groupings. Similarity percentage analysis (SIMPER) was used to indicate particular species characteristic of each group. Equations for the species-area curves generated tended to indicate communities at equilibrium except at sites subjected to stresses such as high sediment load or high disturbance. For high disturbance sites it was apparent that number of species cm−2 was significantly negatively correlated with surface area of rock implying non-random distribution.

In Ireland the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Echinoidea) typically inhabits intertidal bored holes. At Lough Hyne, Co. Cork, a population occurs associated with rock scree in the shallow subtidal zone. This study provides unequivocal quantitative evidence to demonstrate diurnal migration in a population of P. lividus at Lough Hyne, Ireland. Most size groups/age-classes did not to migrate, the youngest always and oldest never occurring under rocks. Those that did migrate between the lower and upper surface of rocks (2+, 3+ and 4+ age categories) did so in exactly the reverse circadian pattern to those described from the Mediterranean Sea.

Abiotic and biotic aspects of the covering behaviour of the purple sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) were systematically examined in situ and in the laboratory to analyse potential intra-population differences in the nature of this behaviour. In the field, significant differences in the occurrence of covering behaviour were found between age groups. Smaller P. lividus covered at higher frequencies than larger individuals. Higher proportions of individuals were also observed to cover during afternoon sampling periods. Significant differences in the types of covering material used were found between P. lividus observed in the laboratory and in the field. These findings suggest that the benefits and/or opportunities of covering behaviour may change with size and habitat.