Did tool-use evolve with enhanced physical cognitive abilities?

The use and manufacture of tools have been considered to be cognitively demanding and thus a possible driving factor in the evolution of intelligence. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that enhanced physical cognitive abilities evolved in conjunction with the use of tools, by comparing the performance of naturally tool-using and non-tool-using species in a suite of physical and general learning tasks. We predicted that the habitually tool-using species, New Caledonian crows and Galápagos woodpecker finches, should outperform their non-tool-using relatives, the small tree finches and the carrion crows in a physical problem but not in general learning tasks. We only found a divergence in the predicted direction for corvids. That only one of our comparisons supports the predictions under this hypothesis might be attributable to different complexities of tool-use in the two tool-using species. A critical evaluation is offered of the conceptual and methodological problems inherent in comparative studies on tool-related cognitive abilities

Some aspects of health impairment in workers from an epoxy resin (araldit) plant with regard to hygienic conditions

U ovom radu data je analiza higijenskih uslova, posebno zaprašenost vazduha i hemijskih profesionalnih štetnosti u Odjeljenju araldita. Zaprašenost vazduha (kvarcnom prašinom i prašinom staklenog vlakna) prelazila je MDK, a među hemijskim štetnostima posebno se ističe anhidrid ftalne kiseline koji takođe premašuje MDK. Predloženo je da MDK za prašinu staklenog vlakna iznosi 3 mg/m3. Ispitivanjem zdravstvenog stanja 72 radnika Odjeljenja araldita nađene su hronične upalne promjene na gornjim disajnim putevima. Pored toga ustanovljena su 2 slučaja punktiformne pneumokonioze, 1 slučaj punktiformne pneumokonioze udružene sa inaktivnom tuberkulozom pluća, 5 slučajeva inaktivne tuberkuloze pluća i visok procenat lakih opstruktivnih smetnji (27,1%). Predložene su neke zaštitne mjere koje se odnose na tehničku i medicinsku prevenciju.Hygienic conditions in an araldit plant were analyzed with particular regard to the concentration of dust and noxious chemical substances in the air. Dust level in the air (quartz dust and fiber glass dust) and among chemical noxious agents that of phthalic anhydride exceeded maximum permissible concentrations. It is proposed that maximum permissible concentration for the fiber glass dust be 3 mg/m3. A medical examination of 72 workers employed in the plant revealed chronic inflammatory changes in the upper respiratory airways. Besides, two cases of punctiform pneumoconiosis were found, one of them connected with inactive tuberculosis of lungs, then five cases of inactive tuberculosis of lungs and a high percentage of mild obstructive disturbances (27.1%). Several protective measures concerning technical and medical prevention are recommended

Early inhaled budesonide for the prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia

BACKGROUND Systemic glucocorticoids reduce the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia among extremely preterm infants, but they may compromise brain development. The effects of inhaled glucocorticoids on outcomes in these infants are unclear. METHODS We randomly assigned 863 infants (gestational age, 23 weeks 0 days to 27 weeks 6 days) to early (within 24 hours after birth) inhaled budesonide or placebo until they no longer required oxygen and positive-pressure support or until they reached a postmenstrual age of 32 weeks 0 days. The primary outcome was death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia, confirmed by means of standardized oxygen-saturation monitoring, at a postmenstrual age of 36 weeks. RESULTS A total of 175 of 437 infants assigned to budesonide for whom adequate data were available (40.0%), as compared with 194 of 419 infants assigned to placebo for whom adequate data were available (46.3%), died or had bronchopulmonary dysplasia (relative risk, stratified according to gestational age, 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75 to 1.00; P = 0.05). The incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia was 27.8% in the budesonide group versus 38.0% in the placebo group (relative risk, stratified according to gestational age, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.91; P = 0.004); death occurred in 16.9% and 13.6% of the patients, respectively (relative risk, stratified according to gestational age, 1.24; 95% CI, 0.91 to 1.69; P = 0.17). The proportion of infants who required surgical closure of a patent ductus arteriosus was lower in the budesonide group than in the placebo group (relative risk, stratified according to gestational age, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.83; P = 0.004), as was the proportion of infants who required reintubation (relative risk, stratified according to gestational age, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.96; P = 0.03). Rates of other neonatal illnesses and adverse events were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Among extremely preterm infants, the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia was lower among those who received early inhaled budesonide than among those who received placebo, but the advantage may have been gained at the expense of increased mortality