Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and risk of re-operation due to post-surgical bleeding in breast cancer patients: a Danish population-based cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) decrease platelet-function, which suggests that SSRI use may increase the risk of post-surgical bleeding. Few studies have investigated this potential association.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a population-based study of the risk of re-operation due to post-surgical bleeding within two weeks of primary surgery among Danish women with primary breast cancer. Patients were categorised according to their use of SSRI: never users, current users (SSRI prescription within 30 days of initial breast cancer surgery), and former users (SSRI prescription more than 30 days before initial breast cancer surgery). We calculated the risk of re-operation due to post-surgical bleeding within 14 days of initial surgery, and the relative risk (RR) of re-operation comparing SSRI users with never users of SSRI adjusting for potential confounders.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>389 of 14,464 women (2.7%) were re-operated. 1592 (11%) had a history of SSRI use. Risk of re-operation was 2.6% among never users, 7.0% among current SSRI users, and 2.7% among former users. Current users thus had an increased risk of re-operation due to post-operative bleeding (adjusted relative risk = 2.3; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.4, 3.9) compared with never users. There was no increased risk of re-operation associated with former use of SSRI (RR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.66, 1.3).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Current use of SSRI is associated with an increased risk of re-operation due to bleeding after surgery for breast cancer.</p

Combining Comprehension Reading Instruction with Video Anchors with Middle-Level Learners

Reading comprehension is a multidimensional process and a key component of this process is the activation of prior knowledge in the comprehension of text. This study utilized video clips as a means to anchor instruction and assist struggling middle-level readers in comprehending text. Participants in this study were 17 seventh- and eighth-grade students from a rural middle school. The study used a single-subject reversal design. During the baseline phase of the study, students read four different titles before a stable baseline could be established. The data collected were the combined mean scores of the teacher-created comprehension assessments and commercially produced computer-based assessments at the completion of reading each title during all phases of the study. In the second and fourth phases (books 5 and 7), no treatment was used and the regular instructional routine was followed. In the third and fifth phase (books 6 and 8), the treatment (video clips) was introduced to assist the reader with background knowledge pertinent to the content of the book being read. Books 6 and 8 were taught in combination with the viewing of video clips, class discussion of the materials viewed, and the regular instructional routine. Findings from the study were analyzed to explore (a) what effect did viewing video clips as a means to anchor instruction have on the mean classroom scores of combined teacher-developed and commercially developed comprehension assessments for remedial, struggling middle-level readers; and (b) how did viewing video clips related to text topics affect individual student scores on combined teacher-developed and commercially developed end-of-book comprehension questions. The findings indicated that the use of video clips as a means of either activating or developing background knowledge may have a positive effect on struggling middle-level readers\u27 comprehension test scores. This combined condition (regular instructional routine and the viewing of video clips) was better than the regular instructional routine alone; the addition of the video clips appeared to contribute to higher mean comprehension scores

Parent Workshops Focused on Mathematics Knowledge for Parenting (MKP): Shifting Beliefs About Learning Mathematics

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which parents of first, second, and third grade students who attended a two-day workshop on mathematics strategies shifted beliefs about learning mathematics as compared to parents who did not attend the workshops. Parents impact their children’s mathematics learning when the students are at home working on homework.This can be an important barrier to overcome.The results suggested parents could benefit from workshops focused on solving mathematics problems in multiple ways, similar to ways their children are learning mathematics

Parent Workshops Focused on Mathematics Knowledge for Parenting (MKP): Shifting Beliefs About Learning Mathematics

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which parents of first, second, and third grade students who attended a two-day workshop on mathematics strategies shifted beliefs about learning mathematics as compared to parents who did not attend the workshops. Parents impact their children’s mathematics learning when the students are at home working on homework. This can be an important barrier to overcome. The results suggested parents could benefit from workshops focused on solving mathematics problems in multiple ways, similar to ways their children are learning mathematics

Conceptual and Procedural Understanding: Prospective Teachers’ Interpretations and Applications

The preparation of prospective secondary mathematics teachers often revolves around working to improve knowledge of mathematics for teaching and understanding the conceptual development and trajectories of mathematics. “Effective teaching of mathematics builds fluency with procedures on a foundation of conceptual understanding so that students, over time, become skillful in using procedures flexibly as they solve contextual and mathematical problems” (NCTM, 2014, p. 42). Prospective teachers need to be prepared to teach concepts along with procedures (Ball, Thames, & Phelps, 2008) particularly with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In their own experience as a learner of mathematics, however, many prospective teachers come with procedural understandings of mathematics and many struggle to understand the underlying concepts and why those procedures work. Challenging prospective teachers to examine their own understandings of mathematical concepts and their preconceived ideas of good mathematics instruction becomes an important aspect of mathematics teacher preparation. In this study, prospective secondary mathematics teachers were asked to read Principles to Actions’ section on Conceptual Understanding and Procedural Fluency (NCTM, 2014). Having individually defined conceptual and procedural understanding in their own words, they were asked to apply those understandings to determine how a student might solve a percentage problem with a conceptual and with a procedural understanding. Prospective teachers’ definitions and student solutions were examined to answer the question: In what ways do prospective secondary mathematics teachers define conceptual understanding and procedural understanding and subsequently apply those definitions to solve a percent problem? Using the prospective teachers’ own definitions of these two terms, the researchers compared the definitions with how each prospective teacher distinguished between the types of understandings when applied to the given percent problem. Data showed some disconnect between definitions and applications. Additionally, responses of prospective teachers to the percentage problem could have been either conceptual or procedural based upon varying aspects of student solutions