Few month old human infants are able to detect the social roles of artificial agents and consistently choose the object behaving as 'approacher' rather than 'repulser'. This preference has been considered evidence of a pre-linguistic and pre-cultural origin of the social mind. Similar preferences have not been described in other species, though comparative data could help clarify the nature of this phenomenon and its evolutionary origin. In this study, we investigated sensitivity to the social role of an artificial agent in domestic chicks. Birds offer an excellent model to study the evolutionary roots of cognitive abilities, since they separated from mammals over 300 Ma. Moreover, the investigation of newly hatched chicks allows control for previous experience. After being exposed to computer-presented animations depicting an interaction among two agents, chicks underwent a free choice test among those same objects. While no initial evidence of a clear preference emerged from the planned analysis, chicks in the experimental condition showed a preference for the 'approacher' when controlling for side bias, mirroring human infants behaviour. This suggests the existence of an early ability to discriminate agents from their interactions, independent from any social experience.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.210020 | DOI Listing |
Medicine (Baltimore)
January 2025
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
This study aimed to investigate the direct association between domestic violence and the indirect association of exposure through pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal risk factors with severe maternal morbidity (SMM). The target population of this case-control study included all women who gave birth in the hospitals of the Torbat Heidarieh University of Medical Science from June 2018 to May 2020. A total of 123 mothers with SMM according to the World Health Organization criteria were selected as cases, and 127 mothers who did not meet the World Health Organization criteria were included in the control group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Developmental and Early Physiotherapy Unit, Faculty of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye.
Objective: The aims of this study were (i) to describe the early spontaneous movements in 3-to 5-month-old infants in groups of infants born to mothers with GDM and/or PE, (ii) to compare them, and (iii) to analyze the differences between infants with these risk factors and typically developing infants born to mothers without GDM and/or PE and other risk factors.
Methods: This cohort study included 255 infants in 4 groups: (i) 96 infants born to mothers with GDM, (ii) 78 infants born to mothers with PE, (iii) 31 infants born to mothers with GDM and PE, and (iv) 50 typically developing infants. Early spontaneous movements, including not only fidgety movements but also concurrent movement and postural patterns, were assessed using the General Movements Assessment (GMA), which determines the Motor Optimality Score-Revised (MOS-R).
PLoS One
January 2025
Université Paris Cité, IRD, MERIT, F-75006, Paris, France.
Introduction: Recently, efforts to eliminate malaria have shifted focus from symptomatic cases alone to include asymptomatic carriers, who are now recognized as significant contributors to the disease's transmission and control. This study examines the relationship between asymptomatic malaria infection and hemoglobin levels in Benin.
Methods: A cohort in Benin was enrolled and categorized into three age groups (under 5 years, 5-15 years, and over 15 years) for follow-up from August to November 2021.
PLoS One
January 2025
Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
This study quantifies the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on hospitalization for COVID-19 infection in a South African private health insurance population. This retrospective cohort study is based on the analysis of demographic and claims records for 550,332 individuals belonging to two health insurance funds between 1 March 2020 and 31 December 2022. A Cox Proportional Hazards model was used to estimate the impact of vaccination (non-vaccinated, partly vaccinated, fully vaccinated) on COVID-19 hospitalization risk; and zero-inflated negative binomial models were used to estimate the impact of vaccination on hospital utilization and hospital expenditure for COVID-19 infection, with adjustments for age, sex, comorbidities and province of residence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Department of Clinical Sciences, Health Economics Unit, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Background: In the last three decades, the increasing trend in female employment in Bangladesh has been critically analyzed from a socioeconomic point of view; however, its impact on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices has yet to be systematically reviewed. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to investigate the association between these variables.
Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, and Google Scholar to retrieve relevant records with no restriction of publication period.
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