Literary tastes are as heritable as other human phenotypes: Evidence from twins' library borrowing.

Social science research argues that differences in individuals' literary and cultural tastes originate in social environments. Yet, it might be that these differences are partly associated with genetic differences between individuals. To address this possibility, we use nation-scale registry data on library borrowing among Danish twins (N = 67,900) to assess the heritability of literary tastes. We measure literary tastes via borrowing of books of different genres (e.g., crime and biographical novels) and formats (physical, digital, and audio) and decompose the total variance in literary tastes into components attributable to shared genes (heritability), shared environments (social environment shared by siblings), and unique environments (social environments not shared by siblings). We find that genetic differences account for 45-70 percent of the total variance in literary tastes, shared environments account for almost none of the variance, and unique environments account for a moderate share. These results suggest that literary tastes are approximately as heritable as other human phenotypes (e.g., physical traits, cognition, and health). Moreover, heritability is higher for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups than for advantaged groups. Overall, our results suggest that research should consider the role of genetic differences in accounting for individual differences in literary and broader cultural tastes.

Book now for BVA Congress!

BVA Live may be over, but there's more CPD on offer at London Vet Show in November. BVA Congress will also return with a programme of topical debates.

[Xuezheng Quanji, the earliest monograph on blood disorder].

Xuezheng Quanji(«¼) written by Sun Guangyu, a doctor in the Ming Dynasty, is the first known book on blood disorders in China. The book mainly deals with bleeding. The book begins with a collection of the Neijing and the treatises of the sages, focusing on systematically summarizing the theories and experiences of the past dynasties in the treatment of bleeding, interspersed with Sun's own opinions.The main part discusses four types of bleeding, summarizing Sun's profound experience in clinical practice, and many of his personal creative opinions.In terms of causes,Sun believed that there are three causes of bleeding and more due to heat. In terms of treatment,he opposed the abuse of bitter cold and attached great importance to nourishing yin and strengthening kidney and proposed four treatment methods of dispelling stasis, nourishing Yin and suppressing Yang, regulating Qi and blood, and tonifying deficiency. He advocated that bleeding should not be treated quickly, and emphasized that the disease should be judged according to the bleeding location and bleeding color to use herbs flexibly.Special attention should be paid to daily life care during and after illness as well.

[The annotation and compilation of Shennong Classic of Materia Medica in the period of the Republic of China].

A variety of books on the annotation and compilation of Shennong Classic of Materia Medica (Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing) appeared in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the period of the Republic of China at the beginning of the last century, a total of eight annotated and compiled books on Shennong Classic of Materia Medica were published. This paper discusses the authors of these books, their contents and their academic features. It was found that the research on Shennong Classic of Materia Medica in the period of the Republic of China was basically divided into two main sections: the continuation of reverence for classical texts with extensive commentary and the 'scientific' transformation of traditional materia medica in the context of Sino-Western medicine integration.

A Curiosity Estimation in Storytelling with Picture Books for Children Using Wearable Sensors.

Storytelling is one of the most important learning activities for children since reading aloud from a picture book stimulates children's curiosity, emotional development, and imagination. For effective education, the procedures for storytelling activities need to be improved according to the children's level of curiosity. However, young children are not able to complete questionnaires, making it difficult to analyze their level of interest. This paper proposes a method to estimate children's curiosity in picture book reading activities at five levels by recognizing children's behavior using acceleration and angular velocity sensors placed on their heads. We investigated the relationship between children's behaviors and their levels of curiosity, listed all observed behaviors, and clarified the behavior for estimating curiosity. Furthermore, we conducted experiments using motion sensors to estimate these behaviors and confirmed that the accuracy of estimating curiosity from sensor data is approximately 72%.

Book-Sharing for Toddlers with Clefts (BOOST): Protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a remote intervention to promote language development in children with cleft palate.

BACKGROUND: Children with cleft palate, with or without cleft lip (CP±L), exhibit language delays on average compared to children without clefts. Interventions to address these disparities are scarce. In this multi-center study, Book Sharing for Toddlers with Clefts (BOOST), we will test a remote, parent-focused intervention to promote language development in children with CP±L. OBJECTIVES: The study will test two primary hypotheses. First, toddlers randomized to BOOST will exhibit better language outcomes than children receiving standard-of-care (SOC). Second, we hypothesize that the BOOST program's effect on language outcomes is mediated by the frequency and quality of parent-child reading interactions. METHODS: The study is a randomized-controlled trial comparing the BOOST group to a SOC comparison group. We will enroll N = 320 English and/or Spanish-speaking children ages 24-32 months with isolated CP±L (n = 160 per group). Both groups will receive children's books, and parents will record and upload videos of themselves reading the books with their children using a smartphone app developed for the study. Parents will also complete surveys asking whether they read to their children on five randomly selected days each week. In addition, the BOOST group will participate in 3 remote dialogic book-sharing intervention sessions via Zoom. We will code book-sharing videos to assess parents' target skill usage and children's expressive language. End-of-study assessments will include measures of child language outcomes (e.g., clinician-administered measures, parent reports, and naturalistic child language samples). RESULTS: Enrollment began in April 2024 and will continue through approximately April 2028. CONCLUSION: The BOOST study will address a critical gap in the literature on interventions to improve language in children with CP±L. The results will inform the care for toddlers with oral clefts and have potential applications for other populations.

Early parent-child intervention with Dialogic Book-Sharing: effects on child communicative and socio-emotional development and on parenting. Study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial in Italy.

BACKGROUND: Research in the neurosciences has highlighted the importance of intersubjective relationships in promoting neuromental development of the child. Children's learning in early childhood occurs mainly in a dyadic context of an interaction with their parents: from this perspective, good dialogic parent-child communication is required to be promoted also through good educational practices. Dialogic Book-Sharing (DBS), a dialogic form of parent-child communication through the use of wordless picture books, provides a privileged 'intersubjective' space and is highly effective in promoting communication, language, attention, behavioural development and the parent-child relationship. DBS programme, successfully previously trialled in South Africa and the UK, will be applied for the first time in Italy for research purposes in Italian health, educational and maternal-child centres. METHODS: A multicentre randomised controlled trial is being conducted to evaluate DBS parenting intervention for children aged between 14 and 20 months. Parent-child dyads are randomly allocated to a book-sharing intervention group or to a wait-list control group. In the intervention, parents are trained in supportive book-sharing with their children by local staff of the centres. DBS intervention is carried out in small groups over a period of 4 weeks. Data are collected at baseline, post-intervention and at 6 months post-intervention with a questionnaire and video recording of parent-child interaction. DISCUSSION: DBS programme in early childhood could enhance the educational resources offered by Italian health, educational and maternal-child centres, in support of child's development and parenting. DBS represents a strategic opportunity for bringing about positive effects, also in terms of prevention of socio-emotional and cognitive difficulties. As such it represents a promising response to the new social, health and educational needs of the post-COVID-19 pandemic era caused by the social isolation measures. Furthermore, the application of the DBS methodology is a way to promote the use of books, and thereby counteract the excessive use of technological devices already present in early childhood. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered on the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number database, registration number ISRCTN11755019 Registered on 2 November 2023. This is version 1 of the protocol for the trial.

How researchers can translate health evidence into books for children.

The health promotion literature that considers how scientific evidence can be effectively communicated tends to focus on evaluating the effectiveness of communication materials. This has resulted in a knowledge gap regarding effective knowledge translation processes. This study explores the process, reasoning and practices for developing books for children that incorporate evidence-based information to aid understanding of scientific evidence about health and environmental or natural disasters. This study is informed by a systematic review of the literature combined with responses to an email interview with authors of books for children. Nine published studies were included in the systematic review. Twenty-two authors responded to the email survey (25% response rate, following 86 invitations). We report seven key findings to guide the development of health-promoting books for children: (i) understand the needs and expectations of the audience, (ii) articulate the topic and research evidence, (iii) assemble a team with a mix of content knowledge and creative expertise, (iv) format should be chosen to suit the user group and guided by the creative team, (v) early testing with children and their support system is crucial, (vi) develop a dissemination strategy to reach the user group and (vii) engage in reflexivity through evaluation of effectiveness of messaging. The current investigation can guide the process, reasoning and practice of developing books for children that incorporate evidence about health and environmental disasters.

A 'must-have' book for vets working with aquatic species.

Reviewed by Matthijs Metselaar, a specialist in fish health and production.

Effect of electronic book "Traumatic dental injury to children's permanent teeth" on primary school teacher's knowledge.

Most dental trauma in children aged 8-12 years occurs in schools. Teachers should properly and timely manage the emergency pertaining to traumatic dental injuries before paying visit to dental health center. Studies had revealed that the elementary school teachers carried poor knowledge of managing the dental trauma. Electronic books were the easily accessible digital and visual educational media for the users through internet-connected devices. This study compared the knowledge of primary school teachers before and after reading the innovative electronic book "Traumatic Dental Injury to Children's Permanent Teeth". The questionnaire was shared via a link, before and after reading this electronic book. The contents of electronic book included the kinds of trauma, management, and preventive measures as explained via appealing illustrations. The median score of knowledge before the intervention was 6 (poor), and afterwards it was 13 (good). Wilcoxon test on scores before and after reading this book resulted in statistically significant difference p-value ≤ 0.05. The electronic book "Traumatic Dental Injury to Children's Permanent Teeth" was innovative, and effective educational media having high impact of increasing the dental trauma knowledge among primary school teachers.

Electronic knowledge books (eK-Books) as a medium to capitalise on and transfer scientific, engineering, operational, technological and craft knowledge.

The capitalisation on and transfer of technological, engineering and scientific knowledge associated with empirical know-how is an important issue for the sustainability and development of manufacturing. Indeed, certain sectors of industry are facing the increasing ageing of the labour force, recruitment difficulties and high staff turnover, leading to a loss of knowledge and know-how. In a context of numerical and digital transition and the migration of processes to industry 4.0, one of major challenges manufacturers face today is their capacity to build intelligent platforms for acquiring, storing and transferring their know-how and knowledge. It is crucial to create new media and tools for staff training and development capable of capturing knowledge and reusing it to create a project history through expertise and data collection. This paper presents the methodology and guidelines for implementing electronic knowledge books (eK-Books), along with their uses. The eK-Book is a semantic web-based hypertext medium (channel) allowing stakeholders to capitalise on, structure and transfer knowledge by using concept maps, process maps, influence graphs, downloadable documents, web pages and hypermedia knowledge sheets. They are intended for engineers, expert or novice technicians, manufacturers, sector coordinators and plant managers, as well as trainers and learners. They are usable and manageable in all types of environments and with different levels of accessibility. This paper highlights (1) the transfer knowledge capacity of eK-Books and (2) their usability in two agri-food sectors namely (1) the cheese sector with protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI), and (2) the butchery and cold meat sectors.

Inclusive multisensory science and immunology books for blind, low-vision and diverse-needs audiences.

This paper presents interdisciplinary research exploring the development of inclusive multisensory science books, communicating immunology data for blind, low-vision and diverse-needs audiences. The research adopted an inductive theory-building approach, practice-based art methods and music and design methods, leveraging the lived experience of a legally blind artist. The research also involved designers and scientists in a cocreation process, producing books that incorporate tactile artworks, Braille-inspired protein models, image sonification and interaction. Two multisensory book titles, "The Heroes Within You: A Multisensory Exploration of Infection and Immunity" and "My Goodness: A Multisensory Exploration of Nutrition and Immunity", were developed for the Monash Sensory Science 2023 Exhibition Day. The books offer an innovative way to make science and art more accessible and engaging, addressing the limitations of traditional museum methods. Feedback from audiences has been positive, emphasizing the fascination, sensory engagement and ease of understanding. This paper highlights the potential for an interdisciplinary and inclusive approach to science and art, demonstrating the value of multisensory books as tools for science communication. The findings highlight the positive reception of this novel approach and suggest its potential for broader applications, promoting inclusivity and accessibility.

Engineering History in Latin America: A Review of Spanish-Language Books.

This review essay examines five Spanish-language books published in Latin America on the emergence of engineering in the region. Focusing on a period from roughly 1850 to 1970, these works share themes of foreigners and foreign education, nation-state construction, and social conceptions of prestige. This research suggests that throughout Latin America foreign educators and models were prominent in early engineering programs and enterprises. However, many historians associate the growth of engineering, especially civil engineering, with increasing state consolidation and economic intervention. As social perceptions of the value of professional engineering changed, domestic engineers increasingly became important planners and mediators. Some engineers became state leaders. By contextualizing these works with other scholarship on the history of engineering, this review essay highlights new insights while suggesting the need for greater attention to gender, race, and labor; comparisons between developments in Latin America, Africa, and Asia; and more research on private-sector engineers.

Europe following Galen.

Unlike previous chapters, this is not about the teachings of a specific individual. Rather, it traces the slow changes in milieu and practice in the centuries following the death of Galen. They were to be profound. The Roman Empire fell in the middle of the 5th century. The Christian religion became increasingly dominant in the west, not only in spiritual matters but also in every activity related to culture and learning. The Byzantine Empire became increasingly important in the east. Islam was founded and began to spread in competition with Christianity. Academic advances develop best in stable societies so that it is not surprising that this was not a period of new ideas. Galen had gained overwhelming authority. The most valuable work on surgery to be written during these times was Book VI of Paul of Ægina's encyclopedia.

Prehistoric or current primitive cranial operations.

Humankind demonstrates boundless curiosity, mostly expressed through the activities of a small number of individuals, whose achievements affect all members of society. The extent and distribution of pre-historic trepanation and trepanation in contemporary unsophisticated societies are reviewed. In the great majority of cases the intention of trepanation has been therapeutic, even if the understanding of underlying pathophysiology is not the same as that which scientific societies now accept. This review demonstrates variation in surgical technique. In the Atlas Mountains it was unacceptable to operate on the cranial sutures whereas in New Ireland it was not important. Pain relief was unnecessary in Melanesia because the patients were largely unconscious following injury. In South America, there was access to the coca leaf which could help with pain relief. In East Africa, one patient described the application of a powder to his wound which was thought to be for pain relief. The nature of the powder remains unknown. There were differences in the indications for trepanation. In New Britain, the operation was performed only for cases of fracture. In nearby New Ireland, epilepsy and certain forms of mental disturbance were also indications. In North and East Africa, the indication was most frequently headache following trauma. Most of these trepanations did not involve drilling, which is the main subject of this book.

A noise audit of human-labeled benchmarks for machine commonsense reasoning.

With the advent of large language models, evaluating and benchmarking these systems on important AI problems has taken on newfound importance. Such benchmarking typically involves comparing the predictions of a system against human labels (or a single 'ground-truth'). However, much recent work in psychology has suggested that most tasks involving significant human judgment can have non-trivial degrees of noise. In his book, Kahneman suggests that noise may be a much more significant component of inaccuracy compared to bias, which has been studied more extensively in the AI community. This article proposes a detailed noise audit of human-labeled benchmarks in machine commonsense reasoning, an important current area of AI research. We conduct noise audits under two important experimental conditions: one in a smaller-scale but higher-quality labeling setting, and another in a larger-scale, more realistic online crowdsourced setting. Using Kahneman's framework of noise, our results consistently show non-trivial amounts of level, pattern, and system noise, even in the higher-quality setting, with comparable results in the crowdsourced setting. We find that noise can significantly influence the performance estimates that we obtain of commonsense reasoning systems, even if the 'system' is a human; in some cases, by almost 10 percent. Labeling noise also affects performance estimates of systems like ChatGPT by more than 4 percent. Our results suggest that the default practice in the AI community of assuming and using a 'single' ground-truth, even on problems requiring seemingly straightforward human judgment, may warrant empirical and methodological re-visiting.