The frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy and Pompe disease in children with isolated transaminase elevation: results from the observational VICTORIA study

IntroductionElevated transaminases and/or creatine phosphokinase can indicate underlying muscle disease. Therefore, this study aims to determine the frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) in male children and Pompe disease (PD) in male and female children with isolated hypertransaminasemia.MethodsThis multi-center, prospective study enrolled patients aged 3–216 months with serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and/or aspartate transaminase (AST) levels >2× the upper limit of normal (ULN) for ≥3 months. Patients with a known history of liver or muscle disease or physical examination findings suggestive of liver disease were excluded. Patients were screened for creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, and molecular genetic tests for DMD/BMD in male patients and enzyme analysis for PD in male and female patients with elevated CPK levels were performed. Genetic analyses confirmed PD. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the patients were analyzed.ResultsOverall, 589 patients [66.8% male, mean age of 63.4 months (standard deviation: 60.5)] were included. In total, 251 patients (188 male and 63 female) had CPK levels above the ULN. Of the patients assessed, 47% (85/182) of male patients were diagnosed with DMD/BMD and 1% (3/228) of male and female patients were diagnosed with PD. The median ALT, AST, and CPK levels were statistically significantly higher, and the questioned neurological symptoms and previously unnoticed examination findings were more common in DMD/BMD patients than those without DMD/BMD or PD (p < 0.001).DiscussionQuestioning neurological symptoms, conducting a complete physical examination, and testing for CPK levels in patients with isolated hypertransaminasemia will prevent costly and time-consuming investigations for liver diseases and will lead to the diagnosis of occult neuromuscular diseases. Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT04120168

Ortaöğretimde yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğretiminde öğretmen ve öğrencilerin anadili kullanımı üzerine bir çalışma.

TEZ10585Tez (Yüksek Lisans) -- Çukurova Üniversitesi, Adana, 2017.Kaynakça (s. 50-55) var.xiii, 69 s. : 29 cm.İngilizce dili eğitimi sınıflarında anadilin kullanılıp kullanılmamasına yönelik destekleyici ve karşıt tartışmalar yıllardır devam etmektedir. Bu konuyla ilgili önemli iki zıt yaklaşım ortaya çıkmıştır: Tek dil kullanan ya da çift dil kullanan yaklaşım. Tek dil kullanan yaklaşım sadece İngilizce kullanılması fikrini benimserken, öğrencilerin ana dilini İngilizce öğrenmeyi engelleyen bir faktör olarak görür. Çift dil kullanan yaklaşım ise öğrencilerin ana dilini İngilizce öğrenmeye yardım eden bir araç olarak görür. Bu çalışma Türkiye’deki ortaöğretim okullarında ana dilin kullanılmasının hedef dili öğrenmeyi geliştirebileceğini yahut olumsuz etkileyebileceğini ayrıntılarla gözler önüne sermeyi amaçlamaktadır. Ayrıca çalışma Türkiye’de İngilizce derslerinde ana dilin kullanılmasına yönelik öğretmen ve öğrencilerin algılarını incelemekte ve Türkiye’deki İngilizce öğretmenlerinin sınıflarda ana dili kullanmalarındaki nedenleri bulmaya çalışmaktadır. Pek çok yabancı dil öğretmeni için sınıfta hedef dili kullanmak temel amaç olmuştur ve öğretmenler ana dili kullanmaktan kaçınmışlardır. Fakat, ana dilin kullanılması asla az olmamıştır. Tam aksine öğretmenler farkında olmadan ana dili yoğun bir şekilde kullanmaya devam etmektedirler. Bu araştırmada karma araştırma metodu kullanılmıştır. Anketler için beşli Likert ölçeği kullanılıp 100 öğrenci ve 40 öğretmene uygulanmıştır. Ancak dört öğretmenle görüşme yapılmış ve dört hafta boyunca haftada iki saat bu öğretmenlerin dersleri gözlemlenmiştir. Araştırma sonuçları uygun ve sınırlı miktarda ana dilin kullanımının yabancı dil öğrenirken yararlı olduğunu göstermiştir. Ayrıca, İngilizce derslerinde aşırı derecede ana dilin kullanılmasının öğrenme süreci üzerinde olumsuz etkileri vardır. İngilizce dersleri gözlemlendiğinde ana dil kullanımın çeşitli sebepleri olduğu bulunmuş ve bu ana dil kullanımı fonksiyonları araştırma bulguları kısmında listelenmiştir.Whether or not to use L1 in language classrooms has been a controversial issue for years. Mainly, two contrasting approaches have emerged: using the monolingual approach or using the bilingual approach. The monolingual approach adopts the English-onlypolicy but sees the students' native languages (L1) as a factor that prevents them from learning English. The bilingual approach sees students' L1 as a tool to help them learn English. This study tries to explain in detail whether the use of L1 in Turkish secondary schools has a negative or positive effect on the target language (L2) learning. In addition, the study examines the perceptions of teachers and students for the use of L1 in English classes in Turkey and seeks to find the rationale for English teachers in Turkey using their L1 in the classroom. For many foreign language teachers, using L2 in the classroom has been the main goal, and the teachers refrain from using L1. But the use of L1 has never been less frequent. On the contrary, teachers unwittingly continue to use the main language intensively. In this study, a mixed-method research design was used to obtain the necessary data. For the questionnaires, a five-point Likert scalewas used and the questionnaires were conducted with 100 students and 40 teachers. There were also interviews with four teachers and their lessons were observed for two hours per week for four weeks. The results of the research have shown that the use of L1 in an appropriate and limited amount is useful when learning a foreign language. Moreover, excessive use of L1 in English lessons has negative effects on the learning process. When English lessons were observed, it was found that there were various reasons for the use of L1, and these functions of L1 use are listed in the findings chapter of this study

Seasonality and objective physical activity and sedentary behaviour among older adults from four european countries

© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Objective: The present study aimed to explore the relationship between objective physical activity and sedentary behaviour with seasonality among a sample of older adults living in four European countries. Methods: A sample of 169 older adults living in Croatia, Greece, Portugal, and Poland (mean age = 72.2 ± 6.0, 68% female) had valid objective physical activity and sedentary behaviour data collected in different seasons of the year: spring and autumn/winter. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour were collected with accelerometers (ActiGraph, GT3X), over 7 consecutive days, in both periods. A valid record was defined as at least two weekdays and one weekend day with 10 hours of wearing time. Analyses were performed with IBM SPSS 28.0, using t-test, ANOVA, and binary logistic regressions. Results: Most older adults from the four countries met the physical activity guidelines in spring and autumn/winter. No significant variations were found across seasons for sedentary behaviour and physical activity both for light and vigorous intensity, regardless of sex, country, education, and body mass index (BMI). A decline in moderate physical activity intensity from spring to autumn/winter was found for those with lower education and higher BMI. Conclusion: The promotion of physical activity must be considered in programs to promote healthy aging throughout the year, especially considering the moderate intensity and those populations with higher BMI and lower educational levels.The current study has been designed as a part of the project “Interventions in the Elderly’s Mobility Modes for Promotion of their Physical Activity and Fitness” (FITOLD; project number 622623-EPP-1-2020-1-DE-SPO-SCP) funded by the ERASMUS+ program of the European Commission.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio