Children's use of linguistic information when learning in a bilingual context.

Children prefer to learn from people who are like themselves. However, who is considered "like themselves" is complex for bilingual children. Thus, the current study examined whether children's language experiences affect who they prefer to imitate. A sample of 3- to 5-year-old monolingual English-speaking children (n=16), Japanese-English bilingual children (n=16), and children bilingual in English and a non-Japanese language (n=16) watched videos of a monolingual English speaker and a Japanese-English bilingual speaker playing with novel toys and were asked to play with the same novel toys. Although all children--regardless of language background--imitated the monolingual speaker at similar rates, the two bilingual groups imitated the bilingual speaker more often than did the monolingual children. Such results suggest that experience in speaking two languages affects children's imitation behaviors.

Same, varied, or both? Contextual support aids young children in generalizing category labels.

Children have a difficult time in generalizing among changes in background context. We examined the role of two processes that may aid in generalizing category labels in new contexts. In this study, 2-year-old children were taught novel object categories in one type of contextual condition and were tested for category generalization in a new context. In Experiment 1, children (N=48) learned in one of three conditions: (a) all category instances presented in the same context, (b) all category instances presented in varied contexts, or (c) some category instances presented in the same context and some presented in varied contexts. In Experiment 2, children (N=48) learned in one of three conditions, all of which included presentations in the same context and varied contexts but differed in order. Results from both experiments revealed that children were significantly more likely to choose the correct object when training was in both same and varied contexts regardless of order. The results suggest that contextual factors, by providing both support for aggregation and support for decontextualization, contribute to word learning and generalization for novice word learners.

Contextual variation in language input to children: A naturalistic approach.

Children learn what words mean from hearing words used across a variety of contexts. Understanding how different contextual distributions relate to the words young children say is critical because context robustly affects basic learning and memory processes. This study examined children's everyday experiences using naturalistic video recordings to examine two contextual factors-where words are spoken and who speaks the words-through analyzing the nouns in language input and children's own language productions. The families in the study (n = 8) were two-parent, dual-income, middle-class families with a child between 1 year, 3 months to 4 years, 4 months (age M = 3 years, 5 months) and at least one additional sibling. The families were filmed as they interacted in their homes and communities over 2 weekdays and 2 weekend days. From these videos, we identified when the focal child was exposed to language input and randomly selected 9 hr of contiguous speech segments per family to obtain 6,129 noun types and 30,257 noun tokens in language input and 1,072 noun types and 5,360 noun tokens in children's speech. We examined whether the words that children heard in more variable spatial and speaker contexts were produced with greater frequency by children. The results suggest that both the number of places and the number of speakers that characterized a child's exposure to a noun were positively associated with the child's production of that noun, independent of how frequently the word was spoken. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Third-party social interaction and word learning from video.

In previous studies, very young children have learned words while "overhearing" a conversation, yet they have had trouble learning words from a person on video. In Study 1, 64 toddlers (mean age=29.8 months) viewed an object-labeling demonstration in 1 of 4 conditions. In 2, the speaker (present or on video) directly addressed the child, and in 2, the speaker addressed another adult who was present or was with her on video. Study 2 involved 2 follow-up conditions with 32 toddlers (mean age=30.4 months). Across the 2 studies, the results indicated that toddlers learned words best when participating in or observing a reciprocal social interaction with a speaker who was present or on video.

Improvement in Aortic Valve Area in Patients With Aortic Stenosis Through Use of a New "Hourglass-Shaped" Valvuloplasty Balloon.

OBJECTIVES: The study aim was to assess the effect of hourglass-shaped V8 and TAV8 balloons (InterValve, Inc) on aortic valve area (AVA) and other outcomes in patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV). BAV has re-emerged with transcatheter therapy. Cylindrical balloons have been the device of choice despite limitations. The hourglass-shaped balloons, with shorter, broader segments separated by a narrowed waist, permit enhanced fixation and better leaflet opening without annular or sinotubular compromise. METHODS: We compared outcomes of InterValve balloon use in patients undergoing BAV with outcomes of cylindrical balloon use in patients from a BAV database. Patients were propensity matched by age, gender, baseline AVA, left ventricular ejection fraction, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons mortality risk score. Endpoints included change in AVA and aortic insufficiency (AI) by echocardiography, new permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation, and major adverse events (ie, procedural death, emergency surgery, or stroke). RESULTS: Forty InterValve balloon patients were matched with 40 cylindrical balloon patients. Postprocedure change in AVA trended strongly in favor of InterValve balloon patients (0.29 ± 0.17 cm² vs 0.22 ± 0.15 cm²; P=.06). Maximum balloon sizes were significantly smaller for InterValve balloon patients. Worsened AI occurred less frequently with InterValve balloons. There was no difference in postprocedure PPM implantations or major adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Use of the hourglass-shaped balloons provided larger AVA, as compared with use of cylindrical balloons. Use of the novel balloons was not associated with an increase in AI, PPM, or major adverse events.

Nutrient Status 9 Years After Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch (BPD/DS): an Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Since biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD/DS) produces hypoabsorption, evaluation of long-term nutrient changes is appropriate. METHODS: Measurements of micronutrients, trace elements, PTH, iron studies, and protein were completed for consented patients at baseline prior to surgery and at yearly intervals. The patients were advised and supplements were adjusted by blood studies with compliance checks. Independent t tests and ANOVAs compared changes between cross-sectional cohorts based on follow-up time from surgery. A p value of 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Between 1999 and 2010, 284 patients had BPD/DS. At baseline, nutrient analysis was available for only 190 patients (70% women), age 42.7 ± 10.0 years, BMI 53.0 ± 11.9 kg/m2; at year 1, 189 were available; at year 3, 193; at year 5, 132; at year 7, 98; and at year 9, 68. Gender distribution was not significantly different between cohorts. Baseline vitamin D was low and PTH high. All of the patients took some supplements. Fat-soluble vitamins remained low. Protein deficiency appeared at year 3 and increased to 30% at year 9. Baseline zinc was normal, but at year 5, 45% were low. Over time, hematocrit was low for 40% and hemoglobin for 46%. Iron deficiency continued through year 9, more marked in males. Calcium deficiency increased from year 3 and remained steady. Half of the patients had abnormal PTH at baseline, and the percentage increased over time. Twenty percent had abnormal baseline magnesium values. Magnesium fluctuated during observation. CONCLUSIONS: Major deficits in nutrient status occurred and persisted after surgery although supplementation was prescribed. Interventions are mandated to avoid nutrient deficiency.

Category generalization in a new context: the role of visual attention.

Infants and children have difficulty categorizing objects in new contexts. However, learning in both same and varied contexts can help young word learners overcome contextual learning difficulties. We examined the relation between infants' visual attention to the category member and background context during learning and their ability to generalize a new category member in a new context. Of particular interest is how this relation is affected by learning in various contextual conditions. Infants (16-20 months; n=48) were presented with eight novel noun categories in one of three contextual conditions (same context, varied context, or a combination of same and varied contexts), and tested for their generalization ability in a new context. Context was defined as the colored and patterned fabric upon which the object was presented. Results suggest that visual attention during learning is associated with category generalization ability in a new context only for infants whose learning took place in a combination of same and varied background contexts. The results are discussed in terms of the mechanisms by which context affects generalization.

Who is she? Changes in the person context affect categorization.

Changes between the learning and testing contexts affect learning, memory, and generalization. We examined whether a change (between learning and testing) in the person children were interacting with affects generalization. Three-, four-, and five-year-old children were trained on eight novel noun categories by one experimenter. Children were tested for their ability to generalize the label to a new category member by either the same experimenter who trained them or by a novel experimenter. Three-year-old children's performance was not affected by who they were tested by. Four- and five-year-old children's performance was lower when tested by the novel experimenter. The results are discussed in terms of source monitoring and the effect of perceptual context change on category generalization.