The Influence of Texting Language on Grammar and Executive Functions in Primary School Children

When sending text messages on their mobile phone to friends, children often use a special type of register, which is called textese. This register allows the omission of words and the use of textisms: instances of non-standard written language such as 4ever (forever). Previous studies have shown that textese has a positive effect on children’s literacy abilities. In addition, it is possible that children’s grammar system is affected by textese as well, as grammar rules are often transgressed in this register. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate whether the use of textese influences children’s grammar performance, and whether this effect is specific to grammar or language in general. Additionally, studies have not yet investigated the influence of textese on children’s cognitive abilities. Consequently, the secondary aim of this study was to find out whether textese affects children’s executive functions. To investigate this, 55 children between 10 and 13 years old were tested on a receptive vocabulary and grammar performance (sentence repetition) task and various tasks measuring executive functioning. In addition, text messages were elicited and the number of omissions and textisms in children’s messages were calculated. Regression analyses showed that omissions were a significant predictor of children’s grammar performance after various other variables were controlled for: the more words children omitted in their text messages, the better their performance on the grammar task. Although textisms correlated (marginally) significantly with vocabulary, grammar and selective attention scores and omissions marginally significantly with vocabulary scores, no other significant effects were obtained for measures of textese in the regression analyses: neither for the language outcomes, nor for the executive function tasks. Hence, our results show that textese is positively related to children’s grammar performance. On the other hand, use of textese does not affect—positively nor negatively—children’s executive functions.     

Application of a reference convolution method to tryptophan fluorescence in proteins. A refined description of rotational dynamics

A reference method for the deconvolution of polarized fluorescence decay data is described. Fluorescence lifetime determinations for p-terphenyl, p-bis[2-(5-phenyloxazolyl)]benzene and N-acetyltryptophanamide (AcTrpNH2) show that with this method more reliable fits of the decays can be made than with the scatterer method, which is most frequently used. Analysis of the AcTrpNH2 decay with p-terphenyl as the reference compound yields an excellent fit with lifetimes of 2.985 ns for AcTrpNH2 and 1.099 ns for p-terphenyl (20 degrees C), whereas the AcTrpNH2 decay cannot be satisfactorily fitted when the scatterer method is used. The frequency of the detected photons is varied to determine the conditions where pulse pile-up starts to affect the measured decays. At detection frequencies of 5 kHz and 15 kHz, which corresponds to 1.7% and 5% respectively of the rate of the excitation photons no effects are found. Decays measured at 30 kHz (10%) are distorted, indicating that pile-up effects play a role at this frequency. The fluorescence and fluorescence anisotropy decays of the tryptophan residues in the proteins human serum albumin, horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase and lysozyme have been reanalysed with the reference method. The single tryptophan residue of the albumin is shown to be characterized by a triple-exponential fluorescence decay. The anisotropy decay of albumin was found to be mono-exponential with a rotational correlation time of 26 ns (20 degrees C). The alcohol dehydrogenase has two different tryptophan residues to which single lifetimes are assigned. It is found that the rotational correlation time for the dehydrogenase changes with excitation wavelength (33 ns for lambda ex = 295 nm and 36 ns for lambda ex = 300 nm at 20 degrees C), indicating a nonspherical protein molecule. Lysozyme has six tryptophan residues, which give rise to a triple-exponential fluorescence decay. A single-exponential decay with a rotational correlation time of 3.8 ns is found for the anisotropy. This correlation time is significantly shorter than that arising from the overall rotation and probably originates from intramolecular, segmental motion.     

Differentiation between Xanthomonas campestris pv. graminis (ISPP List 1980), pv. phleipratensis (ISPP List 1980) emend., pv. poae Egli and Schmidt 1982 and pv. arrhenatheri Egli and Schmidt 1982, by Numerical Analysis of Phenotypic Features and Protein Gel Electrophoregrams

A numerical analysis of 257 phenotypic features of 45 bacterial isolates from grasses, revealed three phenons corresponding to (i) X. campestris pv. graminis (ISPP List 1980), (ii) X. campestris pv. phleipratensis (ISPP List 1980) and (iii) X. campestris pv. poae Egli and Schmidt 1982 and X. campestris pv. arrhenatheri Egli and Schmidt 1982. In each phenon, the strains clustered together regardless of the geographical origin of the isolates orthe year of isolation. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of soluble proteins and host range studies, revealed four groups corresponding to the pathovars mentioned above. The four pathovars constitute definite biological entities that can be differentiated by phenotypic, gel electrophoretic and host range features.     

De novo t(2;13)(p24.3;q14.2) and retinoblastoma

Summary The two probes H3-8 and H2-42, known to be located in 13q14, were mapped by in situ hybridization to either side of the 13 breakpoint of an apparently balanced de novo t(2;13)(p24.3;q14.2) detected in a patient with retinoblastoma as the only phenotypic manifestation.     

The effect of the H2 partial pressure on the metabolite pattern ofLactobacillus casei,Escherichia coli andClostridium butyricum

Summary The metabolite pattern of batch cultures ofLactobacillus casei LMG 6400,Clostridium butyricum LMG 1213t1 andEscherichia coli LMG 2093 was effected only for the latter organism when the H₂ partial pressure was below 1 atmosphere: high hydrogen partial pressures increased the formate formation, low pressures gave rise to increased acetate production and higher cell yields.     

Methyl linoleate ozonide as a substrate for rat glutathione S-transferases: reaction pathway and isoenzyme selectivity

The 9,10-mono-ozonide of methyl linoleate was shown to be a substrate for rat hepatic cytosolic, rat lung cytosolic and rat hepatic microsomal glutathione S-transferases (GST). The activities of lung cytosol and liver microsomes with methyl linoleate ozonide (MLO) were found to be high relative to the activity demonstrated by liver cytosol, as compared with their respective activities towards 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB). Only a slight catalytic activity towards the ozonide was noticed for rat lung microsomes. Isoenzyme 2-2 exhibited the highest specific activity (208 nmol/min/mg) when isoenzymes 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-3, 3-4, 4-4 and 7-7 were compared. This isoenzyme accounts for approx. 25% of cytosolic GST protein in rat lung, while in rat liver it represents approx. 9%. This may partly explain the high activity towards the ozonide noticed for rat lung cytosol. No stable conjugates were formed as products of the reaction of MLO with glutathione; although two glutathione-conjugates were noticed on TLC, they were only formed as intermediate compounds. Coupling of an aldehyde dehydrogenase assay or a glutathione reductase assay to the GST-catalyzed conjugation, demonstrated that oxidized glutathione and aldehydes are formed as the major products in the reaction. To further confirm the formation of aldehydes, the products of the GST-catalyzed reaction were incubated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, which resulted in hydrazone formation. In conclusion, the activity of the GST towards the ozonide of methyl linoleate is similar to their peroxidase activity with lipid hydroperoxides as substrates.     

The β heterochromatic sequences flanking the I elements are themselves defective transposable elements

Phylogenetic studies suggest that mobile element families are unstable components of the Drosophila genome. Two examples of immobilization of a transposable element family are presented here: as judged by their constant genomic organization among unrelated strains, the F and I element families have been respectively immobilized for a long time in D. simulans and in the reactive D. melanogaster strains (these are the laboratory strains which escaped the recent I invasion of D. melanogaster natural populations). All the elements of these defective families are located in the heterochromatic portion of the genome. Moreover, most if not all of the heterochromatic sequences into which the defective I elements are embedded are themselves non-mobile members of various nomadic families such as mdg 4, 297, 1731, F and Doc. These results are discussed with special emphasis on the possible nomadic origin of heterochromatin components and on the mechanisms of evolutionary turnover of the transposable element families.