The informant matters: Differences in bullying victim categorization rates assessed with self- and peer-reports in children with developmental language disorder and reading difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Reading Difficulties (RD) can show more peer relation problems depending on the informant. AIMS: (1) To explore bullying victims' categorization, evaluated by self- and peer-reports, in children with DLD and RD; and (2) to assess agreement rates between informants. METHOD AND PROCEDURES: Victimization was assessed using a self-report (EBIP-Q) and a peer-report sociogram (CESC) in a sample of 83 participants (9-12 years; 10.5 ± 1.1 years), comprising of DLD (n = 19), RD (n = 32), and Control (n = 32) groups. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: We found a higher frequency of the rejected sociometric profile in the DLD and RD groups, a higher peer-reported victimization in the DLD group, and more severe self-reported victimization in the DLD and RD groups. Odds of being classified as victimized were higher for self-report except in the DLD group. Informants' agreement was high using the most restrictive EBIP-Q criterion (7 points) for both the Control and the RD groups, being non-significant for the DLD group regardless of the criteria used. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: We found a higher victimization risk in children with language difficulties, although self-assessment seems to under-detect children with DLD according to the agreement rates, pointing out the need to combine assessments and informants. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD?: Several studies have shown that children with DLD or RD obtain higher scores of victimization and score lower on several scales of social skills with continuous data. Although continuous analyses are usual in research, professional decisions are usually based on cut-off criteria more than how high or low a score is in contrast to another group. This is one of the first works that analyses victimization following the cut-off criteria of self and peer assessments that professionals used in the school settings in children with DLD and RD. Our results will raise awareness among school professionals based on the evidence about the high risk of victimization, especially in children with DLD, and the implications of selecting between several measures of victimization, in this group of children. We think that our results would help to better detect and prevent bullying in schools for children with DLD.

Utility of applying a diagnostic algorithm in giant cell arteritis based on the level of clinical suspicion. / Utilidad de la aplicación de un algoritmo diagnóstico en la arteritis de células gigantes en función del grado de sospecha clínica.

INTRODUCTION: To reach the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA), signs, symptoms, laboratory tests, imaging findings, and occasionally anatomopathological results from temporal artery biopsy are evaluated. This study describes the results of an algorithm analysis based on clinical and ultrasound evaluation of patients with suspected GCA, highlighting its diagnostic utility by contrasting its use in different clinical suspicion scenarios. METHOD: Prospective multicenter study evaluating patients referred with suspected GCA through a preferential circuit (fast track), grouping them according to low or high clinical suspicion of GCA. Each of these scenarios is evaluated by biopsy and ultrasound for all patients, resulting in positive, indeterminate, or negative outcomes, yielding six possible groups. Potential areas of improvement are explored, emphasizing that, following a negative or indeterminate ultrasound, 18-FDG-PET-CT could be recommended. We analyze the results and application of a diagnostic algorithm, confirming its efficiency and applicability based on whether there is high or low clinical suspicion. RESULTS: Sixty-nine patients (41 in the high suspicion group and 28 in the low suspicion group). There were 41 new diagnoses of GCA: 35 in the high suspicion group and 6 in the low suspicion group. Using ultrasound alone, the initial algorithm has an overall diagnostic efficiency of 72.5%, which improves to 80.5% when including 18F-FDG-PET/CT. The negative predictive value of ultrasound in patients with low clinical suspicion is 84.6%, and the positive predictive value of ultrasound in patients with high suspicion is 100%, improving sensitivity from 57.1% to 80.8% with 18F-FDG-PET/CT in this scenario. Temporal artery biopsy was performed on all patients, with no differences in sensitivity or specificity compared to ultrasound. In cases where all three tests - ultrasound, biopsy, and 18F-FDG-PET/CT - are performed, sensitivity increases to 92.3% in patients with high clinical suspicion. CONCLUSION: In situations of high clinical suspicion, the algorithm provides sufficient information for the diagnosis of GCA if ultrasound is positive. A negative ultrasound is sufficient to rule out the diagnosis in the context of low clinical suspicion. 18-FDG-PET-CT may be useful in patients with high suspicion and negative or indeterminate ultrasound results.

Meanness trumps language: Lack of foreign language effect in early bilinguals' moral choices.

Moral decision-making is influenced by various factors, including personality and language. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the Foreign-Language effect (FLe) in early, highly proficient, Catalan-Spanish bilinguals and examined the role of several personality dimensions in their responses to moral dilemmas. We obtained a multilevel data structure with 766 valid trials from 52 Catalan-dominant undergraduate students who read and responded anonymously to a computerized task with 16 standardized moral dilemmas, half in Catalan and half in Spanish. Results of a multilevel multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that consistent with previous research, participants gave more utilitarian responses to impersonal than personal dilemmas. The language of the dilemma had no effect on the response (dichotomous: utilitarian vs. deontological), decision time, or affective ratings, contradicting the hypothesis of shallower emotional processing of the information in the second language. Interestingly, cruelty features of psychopathy were significantly associated with an enhanced proportion of utilitarian decisions irrespective of the language or the nature of the dilemmas. Furthermore, cruelty features interacted with participants' assessment of dilemma aspects like vividness and verisimilitude. Overall, our findings suggest that early bilinguals immersed in a dual-language context using close Romance languages do not show the FLe and that personality traits like cruelty can modulate moral decisions regardless of language or dilemma type.

Trait anxiety slows speed of processing but does not affect specific components of executive control.

The present work aimed to establish the influence of self-reported trait anxiety on computerized and self-reported measures of executive control, and speed of processing in young adults using latent variable modeling. One hundred and six participants completed the State-trait anxiety questionnaire (STAI-t), the Attentional Control Scale (ACS), and a set of computerized tasks of executive control, tapping into the updating, inhibition, and shifting components. Higher scores in the latent variable of trait anxiety were negatively associated with the self-reported latent variable of attentional control. Notably, self-reported and performance-based indicators of executive control showed no associations at the latent level. Contrary to our hypotheses, higher trait anxiety did not affect any performance-based executive component but was associated with an increase in response times. We show that self-reported trait anxiety is related to a lower self-perceived sense of attentional control and does not affect executive functioning in non-clinical samples. In turn, trait anxiety is mainly associated with a slowed speed of processing. In conclusion, the tendency to experience a negative mood is related with cognitive processing by reducing its speed even in the absence of threatening stimuli.

Introduction to Language Development in Children: Description to Detect and Prevent Language Difficulties.

The present Special Issue focuses on studies of language acquisition in children [...].

Retrospective bullying trajectories in adults with self-reported oral language difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has consistently evidenced that children with speech and language difficulties suffer more bullying victimisation during middle school years, whereas other educative stages remain less explored. Moreover, there are divergent results in previous evidence about the types of victimisation (physical, verbal, relational) youths may experience. AIMS: To examine the retrospective developmental trajectories of bullying victimisation in adults with and without self-reported oral language difficulties across seven educational stages (preschool to university). Special attention was given to the prevalence and types of victimisation. METHODS & PROCEDURES: A total of 336 participants (ages between 18 and 65, M = 30.3) from a sample of 2259 participants that fully answered an online survey were classified as having experienced oral language difficulties (LD) not associated with a biomedical condition. A comparable control group (n = 336; ages between 18 and 72, M = 30.0) was randomly selected for statistical between-groups contrasts. Responses to the California Bullying Victimization Scale-Retrospective (CBVS-R) were analysed by generalised estimating equations (GEE) including language groups, types of bullying, and educational stages as explanatory variables. Specific language group comparisons in terms of percentages were conducted using chi-square tests. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: GEE results suggested that experiencing LD was associated with an overall increase in the likelihood of bullying victimisation, Wald's χ2 (1) = 8.41, p < 0.005 for the main effect of the LD group, along almost all educational stages, Wald's χ2 (6) = 3.13, p = 0.69 for the LD group × educational stage interaction. Finally, a higher proportion of participants in the LD group reported having suffered teasing behaviours at the second cycle of elementary, the first cycle of secondary, and baccalaureate. They also reported with a higher proportion being physically hurt at preschool and having received sexual comments at the second cycle of elementary, Wald's χ2 (93) = 259.87, p < 0.001 for the LD group × educational stage × type of bullying interaction. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: People with oral language difficulties experience more bullying victimisation behaviours than their typically developing peers. Heightened bullying prevalence in children with language difficulties seems to emerge as early as 6-9 years old and persists along the rest of schooling. Not all victimisation forms seem to show differential increased rates in people with speech/language difficulties, evidencing important implications for bullying assessment. Results highlight the need to provide particular support to individuals with language difficulties against bullying during the entire schooling.

Associations Between Self, Peer, and Teacher Reports of Victimization and Social Skills in School in Children With Language Disorders.

Previous studies have shown that teachers and parents of children with language disorders report them to have higher victimization scores, a heightened risk of low-quality friendships and social difficulties, and may be more vulnerable to peer rejection than control peers. However, there are few studies of bullying in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and reading difficulties (RD), and none has considered the mutual relationships between teacher reports, the perceptions of classmates, and children's self-reports. We analyzed the experiences of bullying and peer relationships in primary school students with DLD and RD as compared to their age-matched peers using teacher reports, peer reports, and self-reports on victimization. Additionally, we explored how these three perspectives are associated. Results indicated lower levels of peer-rated prosocial skills in DLD and RD students compared to their peers, as well as higher levels of victimization as assessed by peers for students with DLD. In the same line, the teachers' ratings showed that students with DLD presented poorer social skills, less adaptability, and more withdrawal in social interaction. Contrastingly, self-reports informed of similar rates of interpersonal relationships, social stress, and peer victimization between the three groups. Consequently, we found significant correlations between measures of peer reports and teacher reports that contrasted with the lack of correlations between self and other agents' reports. These findings stress the importance of using self-reports, peer reports, and teacher reports at the same time to detect bullying situations that might go unnoticed.

Long-Term Profiles of Bullying Victims and Aggressors: A Retrospective Study.

Bullying is a widespread and worrying phenomenon, related to many different personal, behavioral, and social variables which can modulate it and its outcomes, also in the long term. These relationships are usually studied in children and adolescents, but less often in adults who have suffered or perpetrated bullying in the past. The present work explored the long-term characteristics of bullying victims and aggressors using a retrospective design. A sample of 138 adults of different ages completed an on-line protocol that included measures of bullying and victimization, substance use, sensitivity to reward and punishment, social skills, antisocial behavior, emotional regulation strategies, depression, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, and risk of suicide. The sample was divided into three groups (victims, aggressors, and controls) based on their responses to bullying-related questions. A set of Multiple Analyses of Variance with group as a fixed factor was carried out for each dependent variable. Victims and aggressors did not significantly differ in their self-reported substance consumption. Victims showed higher global depression, anxiety and stress in the past than aggressors (M = 34.66, SD = 11.74; aggressors: M = 19.70, SD = 16.53), higher emotional lack of control (M = 23.97, SD = 10.62; controls: M = 17.11, SD = 7.95) and rejection (M = 21.72, SD = 7.24; controls: M = 16.33, SD = 5.67), lower self-esteem (M = 27.72, SD = 6.70; controls: M = 31.60, SD = 6.60), and a larger frequency of suicidal thoughts (in the past) than controls. Aggressors showed higher sensitivity to reward (M = 12.03, SD = 3.66; controls: M = 8.42, SD = 3.92), larger communicational and relational skills (M = 22.10, SD = 7.20; controls: M = 17.96, SD = 7.16), and lower emotional sensitivity (M = 14.80, SD = 4.10; controls: M = 16.76, SD = 2.21). Accordingly, the logistic regression analysis identified sensitivity to reward and low psychological adjustment as the main predictors of the aggressor and victim profiles, respectively. The present results are discussed considering the extant literature on bullying and may help to improve prevention programs for this relevant social scourge.

California Bullying Victimization Scale-Retrospective (CBVS-R): Validation of the Spanish Adaptation.

BACKGROUND: Bullying in childhood and adolescence is a worldwide problem. There is a general lack of validated retrospective measures of bullying, especially in Spanish-speaking populations. The present study aimed to adapt the retrospective version of the California Bullying Victimization Scale (CBVS-R) to Spanish and examine its psychometric properties. METHOD: The CBVS-R was translated and adapted into Spanish, and school victimization was evaluated in a sample of 1,855 Spanish adults (69.3% women). Factor structure, test-retest reliability, and predictive validity were explored. The types of victimization by educational level and the total victimization score for each participant were analyzed. RESULTS: Factor analysis showed a one-factor structure. Values of internal consistency (α = .80) and test-retest reliability ( r = .87, k = .73) were satisfactory. Victimization was associated with self-reports of mental health. Victimization patterns peaked around adolescence, the most frequent victimizing behavior was being teased or called names. CONCLUSIONS: Results support the usefulness and suitability of the Spanish adaptation of the CBVS-R as a retrospective self-report measure of bullying victimization in adults.

Do Bilinguals Outperform Monolinguals in Switching Tasks? Contrary Evidence for Nonlinguistic and Linguistic Switching Tasks.

The benefits of bilingualism in executive functions are highly debated. Even so, in switching tasks, these effects seem robust, although smaller than initially thought (Gunnerud et al., 2020; Ware et al., 2020). By handling two languages throughout their lifespan, bilinguals appear to train their executive functions and show benefits in nonlinguistic switching tasks compared to monolinguals. Nevertheless, because bilinguals need to control for the interference of another language, they may show a disadvantage when dealing with task-switching paradigms requiring language control, particularly when those are performed in their less dominant language. The present work explored this issue by studying bilingualism's effects on task switching within the visual and language domains. On the one hand, our results show that bilinguals were overall faster and presented reduced switch costs compared to monolinguals when performing perceptual geometric judgments with no time for task preparation. On the other hand, no bilingual advantage was found when a new sample of comparable bilinguals and monolinguals completed a within-language switching task. Our results provide clear evidence favoring the bilingual advantage, yet only when the task imposes greater executive demands and does not involve language control.

California Bullying Victimization Scale-Retrospective (CBVS-R): Validation of the Spanish Adaptation / California Bullying Victimization Scale-Retrospective (CBVS-R): Validación de la Adaptación Española

Background: Bullying in childhood and adolescence is a worldwide problem. There is a general lack of validated retrospective measures of bullying, especially in Spanish-speaking populations. The present study aimed to adapt the retrospective version of the California Bullying Victimization Scale (CBVS-R) to Spanish and examine its psychometric properties. Method: The CBVS-R was translated and adapted into Spanish, and school victimization was evaluated in a sample of 1,855 Spanish adults (69.3% women). Factor structure, test-retest reliability, and predictive validity were explored. The types of victimization by educational level and the total victimization score for each participant were analyzed. Results: Factor analysis showed a one-factor structure. Values of internal consistency (α = .80) and test-retest reliability (r = .87, κ = .73) were satisfactory. Victimization was associated with self-reports of mental health. Victimization patterns peaked around adolescence, themost frequent victimizing behavior was being teased or called names. Conclusions: Results support the usefulness and suitability of the Spanish adaptation of the CBVS-R as a retrospective self-report measure of bullying victimization in adults. (AU)

Antecedentes: el acoso escolar o bullying es un problema generalizado en la infancia y la adolescencia a nivel mundial. Existen pocas medidas retrospectivas de bullying validadas, especialmente en población de habla hispana. El objetivo del presente estudio fue adaptar al español la versión retrospectiva de la California Bullying Victimization Scale (CBVS-R) y examinar sus propiedades psicométricas. Método: se tradujo y adaptó al español la CBVS-R y se evaluó la victimización escolar en una muestra de 1.855 adultos españoles (69,3% mujeres). Se exploró la estructura factorial, la fi abilidad test-retest y su validez predictiva. Se analizaron los tipos de victimización por niveleducativo y la puntuación total de victimización para cada participante. Resultados: el análisis factorial mostró una estructura unifactorial.Los valores de consistencia interna (α = .80) y fiabilidad test-retest (r = .87, κ = .73) fueron satisfactorios. La victimización estuvo asociada con medidas autoinformadas de salud mental. Los patrones de victimización mostraron su valor más elevado en torno a la adolescencia, siendo la conducta más frecuente ser objeto de burla o insultos. Conclusiones: los resultados respaldan la utilidad y conveniencia de la adaptación española del CBVS-R como autoinforme retrospectivo de victimización por acoso escolar en adultos. (AU)

Impact of the Use of Media Devices within the Family Context on the Language of Preteens.

Several studies have found a negative impact of media use on the language of children under 5 years. This impact seems to be related to the linguistic input of their parents. However, less is known about the influence of media on language in preteens. This study aims to analyze the relationship between the use of media, the quantity of parental language input, and the linguistic level of preteens. We assessed the language level of 60 bilingual Spanish-Catalan preteens aged 11-12 years with four subtests of the Spanish version of the standardized clinical evaluation of language fundaments (CELF-5-Spanish) as well as media use at home through a multiple-choice questionnaire. Results showed lower language scores in preteens who had access to more media devices, who used them more frequently, and who talked less with their parents. Language scores were also significantly lower in preteens who used media devices to communicate compared to those who used it as a school aid or to learn new things. These results are not influenced by socioeconomic level, sex, chronological age, or family language. The present results highlight the negative impact of media use on the language level of older children, which is also related to the amount of linguistic input received from their parents.

Behavioral, Emotional and School Adjustment in Adolescents with and without Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Is Related to Family Involvement.

Developmental language disorder (DLD) refers to a language delay in the absence of other underlying causes. Individuals with DLD can also present other problems related to behavioral, scholarly, and emotional aspects of their daily lives because of their language difficulties. Moreover, these difficulties could be influenced by family and socioeconomic characteristics. Twenty-eight bilingual adolescents with and without DLD in typical schools were followed from childhood to adolescence. At age five, language and cognitive variables were assessed. In addition, language, behavior, emotional and school adjustment, and socioeconomic and family aspects were evaluated at age 12. Results reveal that adolescents with DLD show poorer school adjustment and less adaptive skills when evaluated by their tutors, and a larger index of emotional problems when self-assessed. Moreover, family involvement, but not socioeconomic status (SES), emerged as a protective factor since it was related to behavioral, emotional, and school adjustment, a result that was further confirmed by structural equation modeling. Therefore, a more global approach involving individuals, schools and families is needed to provide adolescents with DLD adequate support. It is important to stimulate their social skills and emotional adjustment so they can cope with social difficulties more easily, especially at school.

Academic Outcomes in Bilingual Children With Developmental Language Disorder: A Longitudinal Study.

Previous studies have shown that most English-speaking children with language difficulties show academic difficulties during their schooling. The present study aimed to describe the academic achievement of children speaking Spanish and Catalan with developmental language disorder (DLD) during their primary education and to predict their academic outcomes using several processing skills assessed at the beginning of their schooling. To this end, we followed 28 children during their schooling (6-12 years of age). Participants were divided into two groups, one with DLD (n = 14) and a control group (n = 14) paired by age, gender, socio-economic status (SES), family language (L1), and classroom. All participants were assessed through different processing skills with the Spanish version of the NEPSY at the beginning of their schooling (age 6): attention (visual attention, auditory attention, and response set), phonological awareness, verbal short-term memory (sentence repetition, and narrative memory), access to language (semantic verbal fluency and rapid naming), and language comprehension (comprehension of verbal commands). At the end of primary education, schools reported the official academic marks at the 1st cycle (6-8 years), 2nd cycle (8-10 years) and 3rd cycle (10-12 years). Direct scores of the processing skills and academic results were used for statistical analyses. Results showed that children with DLD had more frequent grade retention, and their academic marks were significantly lower than those of their peers in all the cycles and for all academic subjects with a high language dependency (all except physical education and mathematics). Those subjects with lower language dependence did not show significant differences (physical education and mathematics). Rapid naming accounted for most of the variance of academic outcomes, followed by phonological awareness, and language comprehension when both groups were taken together. Only rapid naming accounted for academic results in the DLD group and phonological awareness did so for the control group. In sum, children with DLD experienced more academic difficulties during their primary education. Those children (with and without DLD) who experienced difficulties not only with rapid naming but also with phonological awareness and oral language comprehension at the beginning of their schooling showed a higher probability of academic failure.

Genetic variation at the glycosaminoglycan metabolism pathway contributes to the risk of psoriatic arthritis but not psoriasis.

OBJECTIVE: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis affecting up to 30% of patients with psoriasis (Ps). To date, most of the known risk loci for PsA are shared with Ps, and identifying disease-specific variation has proven very challenging. The objective of the present study was to identify genetic variation specific for PsA. METHODS: We performed a genome-wide association study in a cohort of 835 patients with PsA and 1558 controls from Spain. Genetic association was tested at the single marker level and at the pathway level. Meta-analysis was performed with a case-control cohort of 2847 individuals from North America. To confirm the specificity of the genetic associations with PsA, we tested the associated variation using a purely cutaneous psoriasis cohort (PsC, n=614) and a rheumatoid arthritis cohort (RA, n=1191). Using network and drug-repurposing analyses, we further investigated the potential of the PsA-specific associations to guide the development of new drugs in PsA. RESULTS: We identified a new PsA risk single-nucleotide polymorphism at B3GNT2 locus (p=1.10e-08). At the pathway level, we found 14 genetic pathways significantly associated with PsA (pFDR<0.05). From these, the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) metabolism pathway was confirmed to be disease-specific after comparing the PsA cohort with the cohorts of patients with PsC and RA. Finally, we identified candidate drug targets in the GAG metabolism pathway as well as new PsA indications for approved drugs. CONCLUSION: These findings provide insights into the biological mechanisms that are specific for PsA and could contribute to develop more effective therapies.

Is bilingualism losing its advantage? A bibliometric approach.

This study uses several bibliometric indices to explore the temporal course of publication trends regarding the bilingual advantage in executive control over a ten-year window. These indices include the number of published papers, numbers of citations, and the journal impact factor. According to the information available in their abstracts, studies were classified into one of four categories: supporting, ambiguous towards, not mentioning, or challenging the bilingual advantage. Results show that the number of papers challenging the bilingual advantage increased notably in 2014 and 2015. Both the average impact factor and the accumulated citations as of June 2016 were equivalent between categories. However, of the studies published in 2014, those that challenge the bilingual advantage accumulated more citations in June 2016 than those supporting it. Our findings offer evidence-based bibliometric information about the current state of the literature and suggest a change in publication trends regarding the literature on the bilingual advantage.

PASE and EARP questionnaires for the identification of enthesitis, synovitis, and tenosynovitis in patients with psoriasis.

The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of the Psoriatic Arthritis Screening Evaluation (PASE) and Early Psoriatic Arthritis Screening Questionnaire (EARP) questionnaires in the ultrasonographic detection of enthesitis, synovitis, and tenosynovitis. A cross-sectional study was done in a total of 96 consecutive patients. Double blind clinical examination and echographic assessment were performed. A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) model analysis for the questionnaires was established using echographic findings as reference variable. The optimal diagnostic point was determined following a Youden analysis model from the obtained data, calculating sensitivity and specificity along with predictive values, likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio. A logistic regression analysis was used to determine possible predictor variables of enthesitis, synovitis, and tenosynovitis. When enthesitis, synovitis, and tenosynovitis were considered as one outcome for the diagnostic study of the PASE or EARP questionnaire, there were no statistically significant differences among the score of the study groups and the rest of patients. The PASE and EARP tests had a diagnostic performance for enthesitis, synovitis, and tenosynovitis that followed the expected pattern when the prevalence of findings is low. In these cases, the tests increase their negative predictive value, being particularly interesting in ruling out the disease.

Longitudinal trajectories of the representation and access to phonological information in bilingual children with specific language impairment.

PURPOSE: Language development in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is still poorly understood, especially if children with SLI are bilingual. This study describes the longitudinal trajectory of several linguistic abilities in bilingual children with SLI relative to bilingual control children matched by their age and socioeconomic status. METHOD: A set of measures of non-word repetition, sentence repetition, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming and verbal fluency were collected at three time points, from 6-12 years of age using a prospective longitudinal design. RESULT: Results revealed that, at all ages, children with SLI obtained lower values in measures of sentence repetition, non-word repetition, phonological fluency and phonological awareness (without visual cues) when compared to typically-developing children. Other measures, such as rapid automatic naming, improved over time, given that differences at 6 years of age did not persist at further moments of testing. Other linguistic measures, such as phonological awareness (with visual cues) and semantic fluency were equivalent between both groups across time. CONCLUSION: Children with SLI manifest persistent difficulties in tasks involved in manipulating segments of words and in maintaining verbal units active in phonological working memory, while other abilities, such as the access to underlying phonological representations are unaffected.

A deletion at ADAMTS9-MAGI1 locus is associated with psoriatic arthritis risk.

OBJECTIVE: Copy number variants (CNVs) have been associated with the risk to develop multiple autoimmune diseases. Our objective was to identify CNVs associated with the risk to develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA) using a genome-wide analysis approach. METHODS: A total of 835 patients with PsA and 1498 healthy controls were genotyped for CNVs using the Illumina HumanHap610 BeadChip genotyping platform. Genomic CNVs were characterised using CNstream analysis software and analysed for association using the χ(2) test. The most significant genomic CNV associations with PsA risk were independently tested in a validation sample of 1133 patients with PsA and 1831 healthy controls. In order to test for the specificity of the variants with PsA aetiology, we also analysed the association to a cohort of 822 patients with purely cutaneous psoriasis (PsC). RESULTS: A total of 165 common CNVs were identified in the genome-wide analysis. We found a highly significant association of an intergenic deletion between ADAMTS9 and MAGI1 genes on chromosome 3p14.1 (p=0.00014). Using the independent patient and control cohort, we validated the association between ADAMTS9-MAGI1 deletion and PsA risk (p=0.032). Using next-generation sequencing, we characterised the 26 kb associated deletion. Finally, analysing the PsC cohort we found a lower frequency of the deletion compared with the PsA cohort (p=0.0088) and a similar frequency to that of healthy controls (p>0.3). CONCLUSIONS: The present genome-wide scan for CNVs associated with PsA risk has identified a new deletion associated with disease risk and which is also differential from PsC risk.