Young infants' reasoning about physical events involving inert and self-propelled objects.

The present research examined whether 5- to 6.5-month-old infants would hold different expectations about various physical events involving a box after receiving evidence that it was either inert or self-propelled. Infants were surprised if the inert but not the self-propelled box: reversed direction spontaneously (Experiment 1); remained stationary when hit or pulled (Experiments 3 and 3A); remained stable when released in midair or with inadequate support from a platform (Experiment 4); or disappeared when briefly hidden by one of two adjacent screens (the second screen provided the self-propelled box with an alternative hiding place; Experiment 5).

Phase 1 first-in-human studies of the reactogenicity and immunogenicity of a recombinant meningococcal NspA vaccine in healthy adults.

Background: Neisserial surface protein A (NspA) is a highly conserved, surface-exposed outer membrane protein of Neisseria meningitidis that has been shown to induce a bactericidal immune response in animals against all pathogenic Neisserial serogroups.

Methods: Healthy 18-50-year-old adults were assigned to receive, in a dose escalating manner, 3 doses of 1 of 5 formulations of an experimental, unfolded, recombinant NspA (rNspA) vaccine or placebo, or 1 dose of commercially available quadravalent (A, C, Y, W-135) meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (Menomune((R))). Adverse events were collected during the first week post-immunization, prior to the next dose and 1 month after the last dose.

Should all stationary objects move when hit? Developments in infants' causal and statistical expectations about collision events.

Four experiments examined 8- and 9-month-old infants' expectations about collision events. The infants saw test events in which a small cylinder rolled down a ramp and hit one of several different boxes. These boxes varied in width and height and always remained stationary when hit.