Gifted children may underachieve in various subjects, putting them at risk of dropping out of school. Several factors can influence both achievement and underachievement. In the understanding of these children’s success or difficulties at school, teacher–student and parent–child relationships should be considered. The objective of this article is to document the level of performance and underachievement of 71 gifted children ages 6 to 12 and to assess the contribution of both type of relationships. Results indicate that gifted children demonstrate overall good academic results, yet an appreciable proportion exhibit underachievement. Autonomy in school tasks is a significant factor enhancing children performance. Therefore, educators are encouraged to facilitate their autonomy within the classroom and during learning activities. Although the parent–child relationship is not linked to performance or underachievement, it is nevertheless important to pursue the study of this variable, given its influence on learning and academic success.
Global change and associated disturbances are increasing the risk of regeneration failure for tree species in temperate forests. Seedlings are particularly vulnerable to water stress due to their shallow root systems, making belowground plasticity a potentially key component of species adaptive capacity. Quantifying root trait variability and its drivers can improve our understanding of regeneration success under increasingly warm and dry conditions. We quantified between species variation (BTV) and intraspecific variation (ITV) in seven root traits linked to water uptake—root-to-shoot ratio, maximum rooting depth, proportion of absorptive roots, specific root length, root tissue density, average absorptive root diameter, and root branching density—for seedlings of seven common, co-occurring tree species in forests of northeastern North America. We sampled seedlings under contrasting climate and light conditions, and assessed the influence of abiotic (climate, light conditions, soil properties) and biotic drivers (neighboring vegetation) as well as seedling characteristics (species identity, age, spermatophyte type) on root ITV at local and regional scales. Species differed significantly for some traits but differed even more strongly in multivariate trait syndromes, suggesting distinct belowground strategies. ITV was substantial but trait-dependent, with maximum rooting depth and root to shoot ratio being the most variable (coefficient of variation > 45%) and branching density the least variable. BTV was the primary driver of overall trait variation for three traits, explaining more than 60% of variation, whereas within-plot ITV accounted for more than 50% of variation in the remaining four traits. Local drivers did not outweigh regional factors, and the overall explanatory power of measured drivers was limited, suggesting that fine-scale heterogeneity, not captured in our study, may strongly influence root ITV. High ITV in most traits suggests substantial plasticity in roots, which may contribute to the adaptive capacity of seedlings facing climate change. Integrating this plasticity into mechanistic models is critical for predicting regeneration dynamics or root-mediated ecosystem processes. We propose a set of guidelines for integrating root traits into comparative studies and models based on trait measurability and extent of ITV. We further highlight the need to account for the scale- and gradient-intensity dependence of ITV-environment relationships.
Cell culture relies heavily on serum supplementation, but serum composition makes it difficult to ensure reproducibility and consistency of experimental results. Consequently, research groups must test multiple batches to ensure the functionality and reproducibility of their models of their models. The commonly used serums are fetal bovine serums (FBS) and calf serums (CS), which have been recognized as crucial in modulating cellular processes. While having been utilized for decades, little information is known about their respective lipid mediator contents. This study explored the presence of several major bioactive lipids involved in the regulation of inflammation, metabolism, differentiation, immune response, neuroprotection, and vascular homeostasis. These included polyunsaturated fatty acids, monoacylglycerols (MAGs), N -acyl-ethanolamines (NAEs), and oxylipins. As compared to FBS, CS samples were enriched in most fatty acids except for arachidonic acid. The levels of the endocannabinoids 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG) and N -arachidonoyl-ethanolamine (AEA) followed the same pattern as arachidonic acid. On the other hand, most lipoxygenase-derived mediators, including, leukotriene B 4 , showed higher abundance in CS. Accordingly, CS serum activated the random migration of human neutrophils to a much greater extent than FBS, an effect attenuated by the BLT 1 receptor antagonist CP 105,696. These findings highlight how bovine serum lipid composition is a major determinant modulating cellular responses and might thus impact experimental reproducibility. The data presented herein will help key insights beyond conventional cell culture optimization and might represent key features to consider when planning in cellulo experiments across numerous fields, also beyond immunology.
Elexacaftor-tezacaftor-ivacaftor (ETI) has become a mainstay in the treatment of CF patients who are at least heterozygotes for the F508del mutation. It improves pulmonary function and quality of life and reduces respiratory exacerbations. However, scarce data is available regarding its effect on lung bacterial colonization. Our objective was to assess the influence of ETI on the number of different respiratory pathogens found in patients with CF (pwCF) one year before and one year after its initiation. Our secondary objective was to compare the prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus in pwCF airways for the same periods. We conducted an observational cohort study in our CF clinic. PwCF were included if they were aged 6 to 17 years. We studied 56 patients in total after ethical approval was obtained. We calculated the mean difference between the number of different pathogens 12 months and 6 months before and after ETI. Mean differences were also calculated to compare the prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus for the same periods. Samples were obtained by sputum or throat cultures. We used multivariate generalized linear models, based on the generalized estimating equations (GEE) method. Models were adjusted for age, genotype, and the duration of antibiotic treatment for exacerbation or eradication. We found a statistically significant difference in means of 0.65 (95% CI: 0.51,0.81; p=0.002) between the number of respiratory pathogens in the year following ETI compared to the year before. Regarding Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we found a statistically significant decrease in its prevalence in the year after ETI, with an odds ratio of 0.45 (95% CI: 0.24,0.83; p=0.02). For Staphylococcus aureus, we found a non-statistically significant decrease in its prevalence after ETI with an odds ratio of 0.79 (95% CI: 0.41,1.5; p=0.47). Our study shows a reduction in the number of bacteria in the airways of pwCF one year after ETI. It also shows a decrease in the prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. These findings are consistent with the improvement seen in FEV1 and reduction of respiratory exacerbations after ETI. It will eventually be important to study its effect on the diversity of respiratory microbiota and to understand its effect on chronic lung inflammation.
