Social play in African savannah elephants may inform selection against aggression.

In social groups, competition for individual advantage is balanced with cooperation, for the collective benefit. Selection against aggression has favored cooperation and non-aggressive competitive strategies. Because social play is a behavioral system that fluctuates between cooperation and competition, selection against aggression might have especially influenced this behavior.

Fractional Sobolev spaces on Riemannian manifolds.

This article studies the canonical Hilbert energy on a Riemannian manifold for , with particular focus on the case of closed manifolds. Several equivalent definitions for this energy and the fractional Laplacian on a manifold are given, and they are shown to be identical up to explicit multiplicative constants. Moreover, the precise behavior of the kernel associated with the singular integral definition of the fractional Laplacian is obtained through an in-depth study of the heat kernel on a Riemannian manifold.

Beware! Different methods lead to divergent results on yawn contagion modulation in bonobos.

Contagious yawning (CY)-linked to physiological synchronization and possibly emotional contagion-occurs when one individual's yawn induces yawning in others. CY was investigated over different time windows (minutes from the triggering stimulus) via naturalistic or experimental studies (using real and video yawns, respectively) with contrasting results, especially in bonobos. We verified whether in bonobos result divergences may derive from different methods.

Lexical skills and gesture use: A comparison between expressive and receptive/expressive late talkers.

Background: Studies on late talkers (LTs) highlighted their heterogeneity and the relevance of describing different communicative profiles.

Aims: To examine lexical skills and gesture use in expressive (E-LTs) vs. receptive-expressive (R/E-LTs) LTs through a structured task.

Describing communication profiles of low-risk preterm and full-term late talkers.

Introduction: Late talkers represent a heterogeneous population. We aimed to describe communication profiles of low-risk preterm and full-term late talkers according to their receptive and expressive vocabulary size, considering communicative, linguistic, cognitive, and motor skills, as well as biological and environmental risk factors.

Methods: Sixty-eight late talkers (33 born low-risk preterm and 35 full-term) were identified through a language screening at 30 months.

Mechanical thrombectomy in patients with heart failure: the Italian registry of Endovascular Treatment in Acute Stroke.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is the second most important cardiac risk factor for stroke after atrial fibrillation (AF). Few data are available on mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients with HF.

Methods: The source of data is the multicentre Italian Registry of Endovascular Treatment in Acute Stroke (IRETAS).

Is Specific Learning Disorder Predicted by Developmental Language Disorder? Evidence from a Follow-Up Study on Italian Children.

Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) is a complex disorder with a strong genetic component, characterized by varying manifestations and considerable differences among children. Several studies have highlighted that difficulties in language acquisition and the presence of Developmental Language Disorders (DLDs) are frequently associated with SLD, suggesting a continuity between the two disorders. This study aimed to add evidence on the proximal and distal predictors of SLD, focusing on the eventual continuity for the presence of DLD at 4-5 years, on some linguistic and communicative abilities at 27-30 months, and on biological and environmental factors.

The Predictive Role of Quantity and Quality Language-Exposure Measures for L1 and L2 Vocabulary Production among Immigrant Preschoolers in Italy.

In this study, we investigated the lexical ability in L1 and L2 of 60 immigrant children who were 37 to 62 months old and exposed to minority languages (L1) and Italian (L2). Using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, we measured children's vocabulary production in L1 and L2. From interviews, we collected data on quantitative language exposure (parental input, child output, length of exposure to L2 at preschool, and parental oral fluency) and qualitative home-language exposure (HLE) practices (active, play, and passive) in L1 and L2.

More Than Just Kibbles: Keeper Familiarity and Food Can Affect Bonobo Behavior.

The welfare of captive animals relies on numerous factors. Keepers can affect animals' welfare and this could especially apply to emotionally and cognitively complex species, such as great apes. We collected video data over three months on 17 bonobos (La Vallée des Singes, France) and extracted five behaviours (play, aggression, anxiety, gestures, sociosexual interactions) -during two-minute slots-under three conditions: keeper-present/food-unavailable; keeper-present/food-available; keeper-absent/food-unavailable.

Enriching Zoo-Housed Ring-Tailed Lemurs (): Assessing the Influence of Three Types of Environmental Enrichment on Behavior.

Environmental enrichment is a management tool used to promote positive animal welfare by stimulating species-specific behaviors and providing animals with opportunities to exert choice and control over the environment. Our study aimed to evaluate the combined effect of three enrichment types and environmental/individual factors (i.e.

The Role of Amyloid-β, Tau, and α-Synuclein Proteins as Putative Blood Biomarkers in Patients with Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy.

Background: Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by the deposition of amyloid-β protein (Aβ) within brain blood vessels that develops in elderly people and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Therefore, the investigation of biomarkers able to differentiate CAA patients from AD patients and healthy controls (HC) is of great interest, in particular in peripheral fluids.

Objective: The current study aimed to detect the neurodegenerative disease (ND)-related protein (i.

From the lockdown to the new normal: individual mobility and local labor market characteristics following the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.

Italy was among the first countries to introduce drastic measures to reduce individual mobility in order to slow the diffusion of COVID-19. The first measures imposed by the central authorities on March 8, 2020, were unanticipated and highly localized, focusing on 26 provinces. Additional nationwide measures were imposed after one day, and were removed only after June 3.

Do Spoken Vocabulary and Gestural Production Distinguish Children with Transient Language Delay from Children Who Will Show Developmental Language Disorder? A Pilot Study.

The literature on the role of gestures in children with language delay (LD) is partial and controversial. The present study explores gestural production and modality of expression in children with LD and semantic and temporal relationships between gestures and words in gesture + word combinations. Thirty-three children participated (mean age, 26 months), who were recruited through a screening programme for LD.

Yawn contagion in bonobos: Another group, another story.

In primates, yawn contagion (the yawning response elicited by others' yawn) is variably influenced by individual (e.g., sex, age) and social factors (e.

Robots and risk of COVID-19 workplace contagion: Evidence from Italy.

This work investigates the cross-industry relationship between robot adoption and the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace in Italy. Using a novel dataset on the risk of workplace contagion, we show that industries employing more robots tend to exhibit lower risks, thereby providing some empirical support for the widely held, but so far untested, hypothesis that robots can help mitigate the risk of contagion among workers by reducing the need for physical interactions. While we acknowledge the relevance of robots in the fight against COVID-19 and their possible role in enhancing the resilience of economic systems against future pandemics, we also thoroughly discuss a series of potential trade-offs between workplace safety and employment conditions that could arise (especially in the short run) due to a substantial increase in the rate of robot adoption.

Infant handling increases grooming towards mothers in wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada).

Infant handling - involving affiliative behavior from non-mothers to infants - is a phenomenon that is variably present in Old World monkeys and can be granted by mothers to obtain social services, such as grooming. Here we investigated for the first time whether infant handling could influence grooming exchange in wild geladas. We gathered data on the population of Kundi highland (Ethiopia) in 2019/2020.

First evidence of yawn contagion in a wild monkey species.

Yawn contagion occurs when individuals yawn in response to the yawn of others (triggers). This is the first account of yawn contagion in wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada), a monkey species that shows yawn contagion in captivity and is organized in core units (one-male/bachelor groups) forming multilevel associations. In a population of geladas from the Kundi plateau (Ethiopia) we found that the yawning response was highest when geladas could perceive a triggering yawn, which confirms that yawn contagion is present in the wild.

Innovation Inspired by COVID: A Virtual Treatment Program for Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment at Mayo Clinic.

Limited access to mental health and behavioral interventions is a public health issue that predated and is further worsened by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) social distancing restrictions. The Healthy Action to Benefit Independence and Thinking (HABIT) program is a cognitive rehabilitation and wellness program for patients with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and their partners that involves groups of up to 32 people (16 dyads) at a time. Thus, the public health recommendation to avoid groups at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic immediately impacted our ability to offer this treatment protocol.

Yawning Is More Contagious in Pregnant Than Nulliparous Women : Naturalistic and Experimental Evidence.

Contrary to spontaneous yawning, which is widespread in vertebrates and probably evolutionary ancient, contagious yawning-yawning triggered by others' yawns-is considered an evolutionarily recent phenomenon, found in species characterized by complex sociality. Whether the social asymmetry observed in the occurrence of contagious yawning is related to social and emotional attachment and may therefore reflect emotional contagion is a subject of debate. In this study we assessed whether yawn contagion was enhanced in pregnant women, a cohort of subjects who develop prenatal emotional attachment in preparation for parental care, via hormonal and neurobiological changes.

Gender differences in early stages of language development. Some evidence and possible explanations.

It is a common feeling that girls speak earlier than boys; however, whether or not there are gender differences in early language acquisition remains controversial. The present paper aims to review the research on gender effects in early language acquisition and development, to determine whether, and from which age, an advantage for girls does eventually emerge. The focus is on the production of actions and communicative gestures, and early lexical comprehension and production, by girls and boys.

Language Profiles and Their Relation to Cognitive and Motor Skills at 30 Months of Age: An Online Investigation of Low-Risk Preterm and Full-Term Children.

Purpose Wide interindividual variability characterizes language development in the general and at-risk populations of up to 3 years of age. We adopted a complex approach that considers multiple aspects of lexical and grammatical skills to identify language profiles in low-risk preterm and full-term children. We also investigated biological and environmental predictors and relations between language profiles and cognitive and motor skills.

Wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada) in crops-more than in pasture areas-reduce aggression and affiliation.

Human-primate interfaces are expanding and, despite recent studies on primates from peri-urban environments, little research exists on the impact of agriculture and/or pasture areas on primate social behavior and health. We assessed how crop/pasture areas potentially alter social behavior and health of wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada) frequenting the unprotected area of Kundi (Ethiopia). We predicted that compared to pasture areas, crop areas (i) would be more challenging for geladas (prediction 1) and (ii) would have a greater impact on both aggressive and affiliative behavior, by reducing grooming time and enhancing competition (prediction 2).