Search Results (65)

As Taiwan is about to enter a super-elderly society (the elderly over 65 years old account for more than 20% of the total population), how to delay disability and dementia in the elderly has become an important issue. Increasing the use of toys and games for the elderly delays their disability. Therefore, we developed three 3D interactive games for the elderly using mixed-reality (MR) technology. The three games were designed for hand-eye coordination, including digital cognition, object shape recognition, and color recognition ability. The reaction time was recorded to analyze the elderly’s reaction ability when playing the games. The questionnaire survey results showed that more than 83% of the elderly were satisfied with the use of MR equipment. More than 87% of the elderly accepted the interactive mechanism of MR while more than 80% felt that the three games improved their reaction ability. Full article

Children’s engagement with toys and play materials can contribute to the foundational cognitive processes that drive learning. Loose parts are interactive, open-ended materials originally not designed as toys but can be incorporated into children’s play (e.g., acorns, cardboard, and fabric). Practitioners and researchers widely endorse loose parts for fostering creativity, divergent thinking, and problem-solving skills. Despite these recommendations, research on their specific role in young children’s cognitive development remains limited. This systematic review examines how indoor loose parts play has been studied in relation to young children’s (0–6 years) cognitive development. Following PRISMA guidelines, searches in bibliographic databases and forward and backward citation tracking identified 5721 studies published until December 2024. We identified 25 studies and evaluated the quality and risk of bias. Studies focused on children’s general cognitive outcomes, language development, and specific cognitive subdomains, with many reporting positive associations between children’s play materials and cognitive development. However, five studies found no such associations, and another seven did not address the relationship between play materials and outcomes. Despite methodological variation across studies, our systematic review identified a relationship between play materials similar to loose parts and children’s problem-solving, creativity, academic skills (reading and math), and both convergent and divergent thinking. Notably, only one study explicitly used the term “loose parts.”Our review identified empirical and methodological gaps regarding the relationship between play materials and cognitive development, which can inform future research. Full article

Thyroid hormones (THs) play a crucial role in various biological functions, including metabolism, cell growth, and nervous system development, and any alteration involving the structure of the thyroid gland and TH secretion may result in thyroid disease. Growing evidence suggests that phthalate plasticizers, which are commonly used in a wide range of products (e.g., food packaging materials, children’s toys, cosmetics, medical devices), can impact thyroid function, primarily affecting serum levels of THs and TH-related gene expression. Like phthalate compounds, recently introduced alternative plasticizers can leach from their source material into the environment, particularly into foods, although so far only a very limited number of studies have investigated their thyroid toxicity. This review aimed at summarizing the current knowledge on the role of phthalate and non-phthalate plasticizers in thyroid dysfunction and disease, describing the major biological mechanisms underlying this relationship. We will also focus on the food industry as one of the main players for the massive spread of such compounds in the human body, in turn conveyed by edible compounds. Given the increasing worldwide use of plasticizers and the essential role of THs in humans, novel strategies should be envisaged to reduce this burden on the thyroid and, in general, on human health. Full article

Background/Objectives: Blast-induced traumatic ocular injuries (bTOI) pose a significant risk to military and civilian populations, often leading to visual impairment or blindness. Retina, the innermost layer of ocular tissue consisting of photoreceptor and glial cells, is highly susceptible to blast injuries. Despite its prevalence, the molecular mechanisms underlying retinal damage following bTOI remain poorly understood, hindering the development of targeted therapies. Melatonin, a neuroprotective indoleamine with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and circadian regulatory properties, is synthesized in the retina and plays a crucial role in retinal health. Similarly, retina-specific genes, such as Rhodopsin, Melanopsin, and RPE65, are essential for photoreceptor function, visual signaling, and the visual cycle. However, their responses to blast exposure have not been thoroughly investigated. Methods: In this study, we utilized a ferret model of bTOI to evaluate the temporal expression of melatonin-synthesizing enzymes, such as tryptophan hydroxylase 1 and 2 (TPH1 and TPH2), Aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT), and Acetylserotonin-O-methyltransferase (ASMT), and retina-specific genes (Rhodopsin, Melanopsin) and retinal pigment epithelium-specific 65 kDa protein (RPE65) at 4 h, 24 h, 7 days, and 28 days post-blast. Ferrets were exposed to tightly coupled blast overpressure waves using an advanced blast simulator, and retinal tissues were collected for quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis. Results: The results revealed dynamic and multiphasic transcriptional responses. TPH1 and TPH2 exhibited significant upregulation at 24 h, followed by downregulation at 28 days, indicating blast-induced dysregulation of tryptophan metabolism, including melatonin synthesis. Similarly, AANAT and ASMT showed acute downregulation post-blast, with late-phase disruptions. Rhodopsin expression increased at 24 h but declined at 28 days, while Melanopsin and RPE65 demonstrated early upregulation followed by downregulation, reflecting potential disruptions in circadian regulation and the visual cycle. Conclusions: These findings highlight the complex regulatory mechanisms underlying retinal responses to bTOI, involving neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and disruptions in melatonin synthesis and photoreceptor cell functions. The results emphasize the therapeutic potential of melatonin in mitigating retinal damage and preserving visual function. Full article

Objective: This study aimed to assess the psychological health status of children aged 3–7 years in Wuxi and analyze the correlation between dietary behaviors, lifestyle, and psychological problems. Methods: Using a stratified cluster random sampling method, 3–7-year-old children from 18 kindergartens across Wuxi were selected as the survey subjects. An online survey was conducted to collect demographic information about children and their parents, dietary information, lifestyle data, and family backgrounds. Psychological assessments were conducted using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results: A total of 3727 preschool children were included. The average SDQ score was 16.12 ± 4.00, with an abnormal rate of 40.81% (1521/3727). After adjusting for various confounding factors, logistic regression analysis indicated that low dietary diversity (OR = 1.299, 95% CI: 1.131–1.492), daily consumption of ultra-processed foods (OR = 1.202, 95% CI: 1.051–1.376), picky eating behavior or ideas occurring more than twice per week (OR = 1.405, 95% CI: 1.227–1.608), engaging in other activities while eating (such as watching TV or playing with toys) more than twice per week (OR = 1.742, 95% CI: 1.510–2.011), lack of a fixed dining position (OR = 1.222, 95% CI: 1.012–1.476), daily screen time exceeding 1 h (OR = 1.353, 95% CI: 1.152–1.590), and daily sleep duration of less than 9 h or more than 13 h (OR = 1.535, 95% CI: 1.262–1.866) were risk factors for psychological problems. Conclusions: The findings highlight the urgent need for targeted interventions addressing insufficient dietary diversity, distracted eating, excessive screen time, and unhealthy sleep habits to improve the psychological well-being of preschool children. Future studies should explore the effectiveness of tailored health and lifestyle interventions for children and their families to mitigate these risks. Full article

Early childhood education (ECE) settings play a crucial role in promoting physical and social development among children aged 3–7 years. This systematic review sought to examine the associations between characteristics of ECE outdoor environments, social interactions, physical activity, and motor competence. The secondary aim examines previously applied methods to capture children’s behaviour in the context of their social and physical environment. Methods: This review used the PRISMA framework and study quality was assessed using the mixed-methods appraisal tool (MMAT). Keyword searches were conducted in seven databases. Studies were eligible if children were aged 3–7 years in ECE; physical activity, social interactions and/or motor competence were measured; location and/or social context were measured. Results were synthesised using an effect direct plot, a table of associations, and narrative synthesis. Results: Twenty-three studies from eight countries met the inclusion criteria. Intervention and controlled cross-sectional studies (n = 9) favoured high-quality outdoor environments rich in affordances, portable play equipment, and natural features to increase children’s physical activity, social interactions, and cooperative play. Cross-sectional and descriptive studies (n = 14) positively associated open grassy space, portable and fixed equipment, wheeled toys, and paths with physical activity (p < 0.05). Based on limited evidence, playground size and active games in small groups were associated with greater MC. Conclusions: The findings highlight the benefit of creating diverse affordance rich outdoor environments in early childhood settings to promote physical and social development. Limitations include variability in study designs and protocols for conducting systematic observations, thus emphasising the need for standardised approaches to future research. Full article

Neurodevelopment is a highly intricate process, and early detection of abnormalities is critical for optimizing outcomes through timely intervention. Accurate and cost-effective diagnostic methods for neurological disorders, particularly in infants, remain a significant challenge due to the heterogeneity of data and the variability in neurodevelopmental conditions. This study recruited twelve parent–infant pairs, with infants aged 3 to 12 months. Approximately 25 min of 2D video footage was captured, documenting natural play interactions between the infants and toys. We developed a novel, open-source method to classify and analyse infant movement patterns using deep learning techniques, specifically employing a transformer-based fusion model that integrates multiple video features within a unified deep neural network. This approach significantly outperforms traditional methods reliant on individual video features, achieving an accuracy of over 90%. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis revealed that the pose estimation contributed far less to the model’s output than the pre-trained transformer and convolutional neural network (CNN) components, providing key insights into the relative importance of different feature sets. By providing a more robust, accurate and low-cost analysis of movement patterns, our work aims to enhance the early detection and potential prediction of neurodevelopmental delays, whilst providing insight into the functioning of the transformer-based fusion models of diverse video features. Full article

Motivated by the recent putative reproducibility crisis, we discuss the relationship between the replicability of scientific studies, the reproducibility of results obtained in these replications, and the philosophy of statistics. Our approach focuses on challenges in specifying scientific studies for scientific inference via statistical inference and is complementary to classical discussions in the philosophy of statistics. We particularly consider the challenges in replicating studies exactly, using the notion of the idealized experiment. We argue against treating reproducibility as an inherently desirable property of scientific results, and in favor of viewing it as a tool to measure the distance between an original study and its replications. To sensibly study the implications of replicability and results reproducibility on inference, such a measure of replication distance is needed. We present an effort to delineate such a framework here, addressing some challenges in capturing the components of scientific studies while identifying others as ongoing issues. We illustrate our measure of replication distance by simulations using a toy example. Rather than replications, we present purposefully planned modifications as an appropriate tool to inform scientific inquiry. Our ability to measure replication distance serves scientists in their search for replication-ready studies. We believe that likelihood-based and evidential approaches may play a critical role towards building statistics that effectively serve the practical needs of science. Full article

For the application of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and PLA/starch composites in technical components such as toys, it is essential to know their degradation behavior under relevant application conditions in a hydrothermal environment. For this purpose, composites made from PLA and native potato starch were produced using twin-screw extruders and then processed into test specimens, which were then subjected to various one-week ageing processes with varying temperatures (23, 50, 70, 90 °C) and humidity levels (10, 50, 75, 90%). This was followed by mechanical characterization (tensile test) and identification of degradation using Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (NMR). With increasing temperature and humidity, there was a clear degradation of the PLA, which could be reduced or slowed down by adding 50 wt.% starch, due to increased crystallinity. Hydrolysis was identified as the main degradation mechanism for PLA and PLA/starch composites, especially above the glass transition temperature, with thermo-oxidative degradation also playing a subordinate role. Both hydrolytic degradation and thermo-oxidative degradation led to a reduction in mechanical properties such as tensile strength. Full article

We consider a toy model for the study of monitored dynamics in many-body quantum systems. We study the stochastic Schrödinger equation resulting from continuous monitoring with a rate $\Gamma$ of a random Hermitian operator, drawn from the Gaussian unitary ensemble (GUE) at every time t. Due to invariance by unitary transformations, the dynamics of the eigenvalues ${\left\{{\lambda }_{\alpha }\right\}}_{\alpha =1}^n$ of the density matrix decouples from that of the eigenvectors, and is exactly described by stochastic equations that we derive. We consider two regimes: in the presence of an extra dephasing term, which can be generated by imperfect quantum measurements, the density matrix has a stationary distribution, and we show that in the limit of large size $n\to \infty$ it matches with the inverse-Marchenko–Pastur distribution. In the case of perfect measurements, instead, purification eventually occurs and we focus on finite-time dynamics. In this case, remarkably, we find an exact solution for the joint probability distribution of $\lambda$’s at each time t and for each size n. Two relevant regimes emerge: at short times $t\Gamma =O\left(1\right)$, the spectrum is in a Coulomb gas regime, with a well-defined continuous spectral distribution in the $n\to \infty$ limit. In that case, all moments of the density matrix become self-averaging and it is possible to exactly characterize the entanglement spectrum. In the limit of large times $t\Gamma =O\left(n\right)$, one enters instead a regime in which the eigenvalues are exponentially separated $\log ({\lambda }_{\alpha }/{\lambda }_{\beta })=O(\Gamma t/n)$, but fluctuations $\sim O\left(\sqrt{\Gamma t/n}\right)$ play an essential role. We are still able to characterize the asymptotic behaviors of the entanglement entropy in this regime. Full article

New technology has brought about a novel approach to play termed digital play. Digital play shares many characteristics with traditional play but also presents new possibilities (e.g., building concepts and skills about STEM, opportunities for physical, outdoor activities). Despite new toys with technological characteristics being popular, there is limited research on this specific area for children under four years old and their parents. This study explored parental perspectives and was part of a larger investigation that examined 68 (38 boys and 30 girls) very young children’s (1–4 years) engagement with technology-enhanced toys (TETs) in early childhood settings. A sequential explanatory design was employed, wherein parents completed questionnaires before and after their children engaged with TETs. Statistical and thematic analysis revealed that family demographics play an important role in children ‘s use of TETs and digital technologies (e.g., on the quality of engagement with their children during playing with TETs). Parents noted improvements in their children’s skills, including fine motor skills, language, and creativity. This study underscores the importance of considering parental backgrounds in digital technology initiatives for early childhood development. Policymakers and educators may benefit from these insights to tailor digital integration and support children’s digital competence effectively. Full article

This paper is an exploration of play in tourism. It is situated in an approach to play and toys informed by phenomenological perspectives and theoretical insights drawn from existential anthropology. It argues that tourism and play are intimately linked and outlines the ways in which connections between the two have been made. This paper focuses on a particular practice of play in travel—one that involves the use of a toy. Using the notion of ‘toy tourism’, I examine the ways in which touristic practices associated with play are brought into being in the moment of doing. The research is located in the resorts of Palmanova and Magaluf on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca. I conducted the research using a doll from the Barbie Fashionista range, who I named Mordaith. I outline how and why Mordaith became my travel companion and the experience and events associated with my time with her in the resorts. This paper recounts the story of what happened when I brought about the play of toy tourism in Mallorca. It is an experimental approach that unfolds in the writing as much as in the gathering of information during fieldwork. I argue that what play is, and what a toy is, are neither fixed nor graspable objectivities. Rather, both toy and play, and, thus, toy tourism, emerge in my embodied imaginative understanding of what touristic and toy tourism practices are, as well as the actual embodied and emotional movements of employing a toy in practice. Full article

Word learning encompasses the understanding of interconnected clusters of words, where the comprehension of one word aids in the learning of another. Semantic networks, which have a long history in cognitive science, are commonly employed to explore these semantic relationships. However, limited research has been conducted on adults’ use of semantically relevant conversations in the field of early childhood education, and there is insufficient information regarding contextual factors influencing the development of semantic networks. The present study investigated the extent to which the use and effectiveness of semantically relevant conversations vary across activity contexts. This study analyzed data from the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development (HSLLD) Corpus available in the CHILDES database, focusing on a subset of 62 children. This study utilized four statistical features to describe the structure of semantic networks: short path length, diameter, density, and clustering coefficient. The following findings emerged: (1) Book reading displayed a significantly greater diameter than toy play and mealtime, indicating that there exist specific pairs of concepts or words within its semantic networks that are notably more distant from each other than in the other two activity settings. (2) Toy play exhibited a significantly greater density in comparison to book reading and mealtime, suggesting a higher degree of overlap or interdependence among the concepts within its semantic networks. (3) Book reading demonstrated a significantly greater clustering coefficient compared to toy play and mealtime, signifying the existence of cohesive word communities or groups of words characterized by dense internal connections. (4) Adults’ use of semantically relevant conversations during book reading was positively associated with children’s lexical diversity. Full article

Retail dog toys are often provided to companion animals to provide cognitive and physical stimu- lation and improve the animals’ quality of life. These toys, sometimes known as “enrichment toys”, have been shown to play a role in increasing appetite and activity levels and decreasing undesirable behaviors (e.g., barking, self-isolating behaviors) in some domestic dog (Canis familiaris) populations. In this study, we evaluate the effect of toys on appetite, activity levels, and positive affective states as measures of well- being in companion dogs. Behaviors were compared before and after regular interactions with different types of toys over twelve days. We found that provisioning companion dogs with toys did not significantly alter their activity level, rate of food consumption, or cognitive bias. While dogs who received more complex toys showed a slightly improved cognitive bias, there were no significant differences in behaviors be- tween the subjects who received “less complex” toys (e.g., a bone, ball) and “more complex” toys (e.g., puzzle toys). We conclude with reflections on the relevance of our subject population to the result seen, and on the different forms of the cognitive bias test. Full article

Children play with different toys in different ways which may be associated with different developmental outcomes. While existing work has investigated different categories of toys, differences may also be present within specific toy categories. Therefore, understanding how specific toys promote play behaviours and their associated developmental outcomes has important implications for teachers, parents, caregivers, and researchers. To better understand how children play with toy trains, whether groups of children show a particular preference for toy trains and what (if any) associated benefits there are for playing with toy trains, 36 studies published in psychology and educational databases up to December 2022 were reviewed. A key finding emerged regarding the importance of the structured, realistic, and familiar nature of toy trains being important for facilitating pretend play as well as social collaboration behaviours during social play. Whilst findings in relation to gender-stereotyped preferences for playing with toy trains were mixed and no gender differences were found in research investigating play styles, neurodivergent children were found to have a preference for toy trains. These findings are important given that certain play styles, pretend play in particular, have been associated with benefits in children’s executive function, language, creativity, and social understanding. Full article