Adaptations for Teaching Children with Special Educational Needs in ESL Context

Public policy for inclusive education in Ecuador favors the entry of students with Special Education Needs into conventional schools. However, teachers require to develop adaptations to improve their work with students who have such conditions. This research aims to study the contribution of audiovisuals in adaptations and modifications for teaching English Language to a child reported with attention-deficit. This case of study refers to a boy attending the 4th Grade of elementary school in Manta-Ecuador. The research team designed a 10-sessions educational intervention for stimulating the child attention and improving his communication skills in English as a foreign language. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies is applied to determine the participant’s English language skills evolution. This work also introduces teaching strategies that convine games and technology to support the vocabulary acquisition process of children with physical or intellectual disabilities. Results show how the videos catch and keep the participant’s attention during more time; and how the voice self-recording supports his listening and speaking practice. Such circumstance opens multiple possibilities to innovate the current adaptations and modifications for improving the teaching and learning process of children with special educational needs in ESL context

The Role of Neural Crest Cells in Vertebrate Cardiac Outflow Development

<p>Throughout vertebrate evolution, the cardiac outflow vasculature has changed from a branchial arch system to a systemic and pulmonary circulatory system. However, all vertebrate hearts and outflow tracts still develop from a single heart tube. In the chick and mouse, cardiac neural crest cells divide the single outflow tract into the aorta and pulmonary arteries. Additionally, cardiac neural crest cells provide the smooth muscle of the aortic arch arteries, help to remodel the aortic arch arteries into asymmetrical structures, and contribute cardiac ganglia. I review the major contributions of cardiac neural crest cells to the outflow vasculature of the chick and mouse and apply this information to study cardiac neural crest cell contributions to vertebrates that lack a divided circulatory system. I re-evaluate the role of cardiac neural crest cells in zebrafish vasculature and find that these cells do contribute to the gill arch arteries, the ventral aorta and cardiac ganglia, but they do not contribute to myocardium. I also study the outflow tract development of the turtle Trachemys scripta to understand the process of outflow septation in a vertebrate that has a divided outflow tract but an incomplete division of the ventricle. I compare the chick outflow tract to the turtle. The formation of the proximal versus distal cushions and the appearance of smooth muscle cells within the distal cushions of the turtle are very similar to the cushion position and cell types within the cushions of the chick. In the chick, the smooth muscle positive cells in the distal cushions are derived from cardiac neural crest cells. I hypothesize that cardiac neural crest cells are also responsible for the outflow tract septation of reptiles. These results demonstrate that the pattern of cardiac neural crest cell contribution to vertebrate vasculature remains predictable and consistent, enabling future studies to focus on changes in vascular patterning caused by cardiac neural crest cells among different vertebrate lineages.</p>Dissertatio

Do Employees From Less-Healthy Communities Use More Care and Cost More? Seeking to Establish a Business Case for Investment in Community Health.

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have examined the impact of community health on employers. We explored whether employed adults and their adult dependents living in less-healthy communities in the greater Philadelphia region used more care and incurred higher costs to employers than employees from healthier communities. METHODS: We used a multi-employer database to identify adult employees and dependents with continuous employment and mapped them to 31 zip code regions. We calculated community health scores at the regional level, by using metrics similar to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) County Health Rankings but with local data. We used descriptive analyses and multilevel linear modeling to explore relationships between community health and 3 outcome variables: emergency department (ED) use, hospital use, and paid claims. Business leaders reviewed findings and offered insights on preparedness to invest in community health improvement. RESULTS: Poorer community health was associated with high use of ED services, after controlling for age and sex. After including a summary measure of racial composition at the zip code region level, the relationship between community health and ED use became nonsignificant. No significant relationships between community health and hospitalizations or paid claims were identified. Business leaders expressed interest in further understanding health needs of communities where their employees live. CONCLUSION: The health of communities in which adult employees and dependents live was associated with ED use, but similar relationships were not seen for hospitalizations or paid claims. This finding suggests a need for more primary care access. Despite limited quantitative evidence, business leaders expressed interest in guidance on investing in community health improvement

Measuring the Efficiency of Chilean Primary Healthcare Centres

This paper examines whether different approaches for estimating the technical efficiency of a primary healthcare centre —PHC— can have significantly different results. Although effective regulation demands the development of measures for establishing good operation levels, few studies have compared results from a data envelopment analysis ―DEA― and stochastic frontier analysis ―SFA― in a PHC. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have used Chilean nationwide data. Efficiency refers to the relation between the number of output units per input unit. Effectiveness evaluates the outcome of medical care and can be influenced by efficiency. The data that were used in this study came from 259 Chilean municipalities. We included two outputs - medical and check-up visits - and three inputs - staff, general service and drugs expenses. For the DEA, we used a variable return to scale output-oriented model. Before applying the SFA, a principal component analysis ―PCA― combined the two outputs. The results were similar for both methods: the SFA efficiency averages were 70.89% and 65.83% and the DEA averages were 68.37% and 54.46% for the urban and rural municipalities, respectively. In addition to defining a frontier of “best practice”, this study merged the PCA with the SFA to form an innovative approach to combining outputs

El arte como herramienta didáctica para la lectoescritura: Análisis etapa diagnóstica del proyecto "Mundos ideales"

This text is part of a research-action process to create an educational program to promote reading and writing from applied art to a focus group of girls and boys. It is an interdisciplinary work in which researchers from different areas of knowledge come together to carry out a pedagogical proposal for children between 10 and 11 years old belonging to the Gordiano Guzmán school in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, Mexico. In search of the benefit to the community, this qualitative proposal investigates the specific needs of the focus group to carry out an intervention and to promote literacy. Cognitive development and context are taken into account for the representation of their ideal worlds through art and literature. In a first phase of the investigation, a diagnostic instrument was carried out that has given some results to continue with a proposal for artistic intervention. In this work, an analysis of these results is carried out considering a theoretical framework based on the semiotics of art and applied linguistics. The objective is to find significant elements that allow the development of a reading program and an artistic intervention based on the construction and representation of the ideal worlds expressed by the participants, as well as attending to and strengthening linguistic learning.El siguiente texto forma parte de un proceso de investigación-acción que tuvo como propósito crear un programa educativo de fomento a la lectoescritura a partir del arte, el cual fue aplicado a un grupo focal de niños entre los diez y once años pertenecientes a la escuela Gordiano Guzmán de Ciudad Guzmán en Jalisco, México. Se trata de un trabajo interdisciplinar en el cual investigadores de diferentes áreas se unieron para realizar una propuesta pedagógica a través de la indagación de las necesidades específicas del grupo focal, con el ánimo de proponer una intervención de fomento a la lectoescritura que considerase su desarrollo cognitivo y su contexto, a partir de la representación de sus mundos ideales por medio de la escritura y el arte. Así pues, en la primera fase de investigación se realizó un instrumento diagnóstico que dio algunos resultados para elaborar una propuesta de intervención artística. Precisamente, en este trabajo se lleva a cabo un análisis de dichos resultados, considerando un marco teórico basado en la semiótica del arte y la lingüística aplicada. Con todo, el objetivo fue encontrar elementos significativos que permitieran desarrollar un programa de lectura y una intervención artística basados en la construcción y la representación de los mundos ideales de los participantes, así como atender y fortalecer el aprendizaje lingüístico.Este texto faz parte de um processo de pesquisa-ação para a criação de um programa educativo de promoção da leitura e da escrita baseado em artes aplicadas para um grupo focal de meninos e meninas. É um trabalho interdisciplinar em que pesquisadores de diferentes áreas do conhecimento se unem para realizar uma proposta pedagógica para crianças entre 10 e 11 anos pertencentes à escola Gordiano Guzmán em Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, México. Em busca do benefício para a comunidade, esta proposta qualitativa investiga as necessidades específicas do grupo focal para realizar uma intervenção e promover a alfabetização. O desenvolvimento cognitivo e o contexto são levados em consideração para a representação de seus mundos ideais através da arte e da literatura. Na primeira fase da investigação, foi realizado um instrumento de diagnóstico que rendeu alguns resultados para dar continuidade a uma proposta de intervenção artística. Neste trabalho, foi realizada uma análise desses resultados a partir de um referencial teórico baseado na semiótica da arte e na linguística aplicada. O objetivo é encontrar elementos significativos que possibilitem o desenvolvimento de um programa de leitura e de uma intervenção artística a partir da construção e representação de mundos ideais expressos pelos participantes, bem como o encontro e fortalecimento da aprendizagem de línguas

Infection and coinfection by human papillomavirus, Epstein–Barr virus and Merkel cell polyomavirus in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx: a retrospective study

Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as an important risk factor for laryngeal carcinogenesis. Although HPV-16 and 18 have been strongly implicated, the presence of other high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) genotypes or the coinfection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPV) may increase the risk, but their etiological association has not been definitively established. Methods We characterized the genotype-specific HPV and the frequency of EBV and MCPV infections through the detection of their DNA in 195 laryngeal specimens of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) histologically confirmed. Results HPV DNA was detected in 93 (47.7%) specimens. HPV-11 was the most frequent with 68 cases (73.1%), and HPV-52 was the most frequently HR-HPV found with 51 cases, which corresponds to 54.8% of all HPV-positive specimens. EBV DNA was detected in 54 (27.7%) tumor tissue specimens of which 25 (46.3%) were in coinfection with HPV. MCPV DNA was detected only in 11 (5.6%) cases of which 5 (45.4%) were in coinfection with an HR-HPV. No association between the presence of DNA of the three examined viruses and the patient smoking habits, alcohol consumption, age, the keratinization status, differentiation grade, or localization of the tumor in the larynx were found. Discussion HPV-52 was the most prevalent HR-HPV, which may suggest that this and other genotypes in addition to HPV-16 and 18 could be considered for prophylaxis. However, further studies including non-cancer larynx cases and the evaluation of other molecular markers and viral co-infection mechanisms are needed to determine the role of the different HR-HPV genotypes, EBV, and MCPV in the etiology of SCC of the larynx

Guía Mexicana para el Diagnóstico y el Tratamiento de la Urticaria

La urticaria es una enfermedad que padece una quinta parte de la población en algún momento de su vida. Las guías inter- nacionales recientes han propuesto unos cambios de fondo en su diagnóstico y tratamiento, por lo que había la necesidad de crear una guía nacional y multidisciplinaria, con base amplia en los gremios de especialistas y médicos de primer contacto en México. ABSTRACT Urticaria is a disease that a fifth of the population shall suffer once in a lifetime. Recent clinical guidelines have proposed some fundamental changes in the diagnosis and treatment of urticaria, making the development of a national, multidisciplinary guideline, with wide acceptability among different professional groups –both specialists and primary health care workers–, necessary in Mexico

LA PSICOMOTRICIDAD Y SU IMPORTANCIA EN EL DESARROLLO CORPORAL EN LOS NIÑOS DE PRE-KINDER Y KINDER EN EL CENTRO DE EDUCACIÓN INICIAL RICHARD MACAY DE LA CIUDAD DE MANTA EN EL PERIODO LECTIVO 2013-2014.

LA REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA (RAE), RECONOCE TRES SIGNIFICADOS SOBRE PSICOMOTRICIDAD: EL PRIMERO DE ELLOS RECONOCE LA FACULTAD DE MOVERSE QUE NACE EN LA PSIQUIS; EL SEGUNDO HACE REFERENCIA A INTEGRAR LAS FUNCIONES PSÍQUICAS Y MOTRICES; MIENTRAS EL TERCERO SE ORIENTA A LAS TÉCNICAS QUE PERMITE COORDINAR ESTAS FUNCIONES.LA PRESENTE INVESTIGACIÓN TIENE COMO OBJETIVO: PROPONER UNA PSICOMOTRICIDAD DE CARÁCTER LÚDICO COMO UN APORTE DIDÁCTICO PARA EL DESARROLLO CORPORAL EN LOS NIÑOS Y NIÑAS EN EL CENTRO DE EDUCACIÓN INICIAL “RICHARD MACAY” DE LA CIUDAD DE MANTA. EN LO ESPECÍFICO: VALORAR EL PROCESO DOCENTE EDUCATIVO MEDIANTE EL DESARROLLO DEL TEST RP, EN LOS NIÑOS Y NIÑAS DEL CENTRO EDUCATIVO

Pantallas táctiles y enseñanza del inglés a niños con trastorno por déficit de atención: prácticas idiomáticas y juegos recreativos

This work aims to socialize an experience that uses the touchscreens in curricular adaptations to teach English through play to children with attention deficit disorder. The action research is administered to validate seven curricular adaptations designed for the acquisition of vocabulary in English as a foreign language. Three children diagnosed with autistic disorder participate, who are domiciled in Manabí, Ecuador. To monitor the progress of the participants, a rubric is applied that evaluates the number of new words acquired. The results show that the videos function captures and maintains the participants’ attention for a longer time during language practices. Voice recording contributes to the development of their listening comprehension and contributes to the improvement of pronunciation. It is concluded that the use of appropriately applied touch screens can be relevant to the design of curricular adaptations in the teaching and learning process of students with special educational needs.Este trabalho tem como objetivo socializar uma experiência que utiliza telas sensíveis ao toque nas adaptações curriculares para o ensino de inglês por meio de brincadeiras para meninos e meninas com transtorno de déficit de atenção. Por meio da pesquisa-ação, validamos sete adaptações curriculares destinadas à aquisição de vocabulário em inglês como língua estrangeira. Participaram três crianças com diagnóstico de transtorno autista, domiciliadas em Manabí, Equador. Para monitorar o progresso dos participantes, aplicamos uma rubrica que avalia a quantidade de novas palavras adquiridas. Os resultados mostram que a função de vídeo captura e mantém a atenção dos participantes nas práticas de linguagem por mais tempo. A gravação de voz contribui para o desenvolvimento de sua compreensão auditiva e para o aprimoramento da pronúncia. Em conclusão, o uso de telas sensíveis ao toque aplicadas de forma adequada pode ser relevante no desenho de adaptações curriculares no processo ensino-aprendizagem de alunos com necessidades educacionais especiais.Este trabajo tiene como objetivo socializar una experiencia que hace uso de las pantallas táctiles en adaptaciones curriculares para enseñar inglés mediante el juego a niños y niñas que presentan el trastorno por déficit de atención. Mediante una investigación-acción, validamos siete adaptaciones curriculares diseñadas para la adquisición de vocabulario en inglés como lengua extranjera. Participaron tres niños diagnosticados con trastorno autista, quienes están domiciliados en Manabí, Ecuador. Para el monitoreo de los avances en los participantes, aplicamos una rúbrica que evalúa el número de nuevas palabras adquiridas. Los resultados muestran que la función de videos capta y mantiene durante mayor tiempo la atención de los participantes en las prácticas idiomáticas. La grabación de voz aporta al desarrollo de su comprensión auditiva y al mejoramiento de la pronunciación. En conclusión, el uso de pantallas táctiles aplicadas de manera apropiada puede ser relevante en el diseño de adaptaciones curriculares en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de estudiantes con necesidades educativas especiales