Baculovirus inhibitors of apoptosis

A putative inhibitor of apoptosis gene was located in the Heliothis zea nucleopolyhedrovirus (HzSNPV) genome, at map units 76 to 77. Alignment of the predicted amino sequence encoded by this gene with reported inhibitor of apoptosis (iap) sequences identifted a RING finger and baculovirus IAP repeat (BIR) conserved in all the members of this protein family. The predicted sequence of the HzSNPV iap was found to be 42% identical to that of Orgyia pseudosugata (0p) MNPV iap and 39% identical to that of Cydia pomenella (Cp) GV iap. Primer extension analysis of the HzSNPV iap mRNA identified two transcription start sites typical of early (CAGT) and late (TAAG) baculovirus promoters. Activity from the early promoter motif was detected from 12 hours post infection, whilst activity from the late baculovirus promoter was detected from 24 hours post infection. The p35-deficient mutant of AcMNPV (Acp351acZ) induces apoptosis in Spodopterafrugiperda (Sf21) cells, but not in Richoplusia ni (T. nil cells. In complementation assays with Acp351acZ in MI. cells, both OpMNPV iap and CpGV iap are capable of complementing P35 function to produce a normal infection, characterised by the formation of occluded virus from 18 hours post infection. The HzSNPV iap was unable to produce this complementation effect and is therefore unique amongst the iap homologues identified in baculoviruses other than AcMNPV. Recombinant HzSNPV deficient in the production of iap was unstable and could not be isolated from the parental virus. The role of this gene in the infection process of HzSNPV remains unclear. Recombinant AcMNPV deficient in the synthesis of IAPI. (AciapllacZ) was derived. In addition, a virus deficient in both p35 and iapl was constructed (Acp35Aiap I lacZ). Both viruses replicated normally in T. ni cells, suggesting that 1AP1 is not responsible for inhibiting apoptosis in T. ni cells. In subsequent studies the host range of Acp351acZ, AciapilacZ and Acp35Aiap11acZ was examined in seven Lepidopteran cell lines. These results indicated that all three viruses replicated normally in T. nL Mamestra brassicae or Panotis flammea cells, thus discounting a role for AcMNPV IAP I in inhibiting apoptosis in the cells tested.

Neonatal Brain MRI and Motor Outcome at School Age in Children with Neonatal Encephalopathy: A Review of Personal Experience

The aim of this paper is to review (i) the spectrum of neuromotor function at school age in children who had been born full-term and presented with neonatal encephalopathy (NE) and low Apgar scores and (ii) the relation between the presence/absence of such difficulties and neonatal brain MRI. Motor outcome appears to be mainly related to the severity of basal ganglia and internal capsule involvement. Severe basal ganglia lesions were always associated with the most severe outcome, microcephaly, tetraplegia, and severe global delay, whereas more discrete basal ganglia lesions were associated with athetoid cerebral palsy, with normal cognitive development or minor neuro-motor abnormalities. White matter lesions were associated with abnormal motor outcome only if the internal capsule was involved. Children with moderate white matter changes but normal internal capsule, had normal motor outcome at school age

Movement difficulties in children

The development of adequate motor control and coordination is an important part of general development, allowing an infant to interact with and learn about the world around them and making possible so many everyday activities for children - at home, at school and at play. We know that severe neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy can have devastating effects on movement. Bugt the effects of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are perhaps less well known. What is our current understanding of the nature and impact of this condition? And how might psychologists help

The interaction of reading, spelling and handwriting difficulties with writing development

Editorial

Use of spellcheck in text production by college students with dyslexia

It is widely assumed that by identifying spelling errors and suggesting replacement words, spellcheck allows writers to revise spelling errors even if they do not have the necessary spelling knowledge. However, there have been no studies evaluating the efficacy of modern spellcheck tools for students with spelling difficulties, such as dyslexia. In fact, the very limited and dated research into use of spellcheck by writers with dyslexia indicated that, even when using spellcheck to revise spelling errors, this group left many misspellings in their texts. The current study is the first to investigate whether a modern spellcheck program allows college students with dyslexia to produce texts that are as free from misspellings as texts by their peers, and whether this affects the quality of the text in other ways. College students with dyslexia (n=18) and a control group of peers (n=18) wrote two short essays using Microsoft Word, one with spellcheck active and one without spellcheck active. Spelling accuracy and overall quality of the texts were measured. Without spellcheck, students with dyslexia made more misspellings than the control group, however, with spellcheck active students from both groups left almost zero misspelled words in their texts. Text quality was not affected. Results demonstrate that spellcheck helps college students with dyslexia to overcome the limitations that poor spelling knowledge imposes. Importantly, results indicate that spellcheck does not lead to improvements in text beyond spelling accuracy, or lead to poorer quality texts, indicating that it is suitable for use in exam conditions

Handwriting and typing: Occupational therapy practice when supporting adolescents with handwriting difficulties

INTRODUCTION: While most children have developed effective handwriting by secondary school age, some have handwriting difficulties that hamper academic progress. Occupational therapists play a role in assessment and planning support, which may include introducing typing as an alternative. However, there is limited understanding regarding how decisions are made about recommending typing. This study explored the support provided to adolescents with handwriting difficulties by occupational therapists, and the contextual factors that influence their decision-making. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 occupational therapists and analysed using thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Although there was shared practice underpinned by occupational therapy philosophy, there was also divergent practice due to different approaches. Roles and responsibilities, resources, and evidence and experience influenced occupational therapists’ practice. Understanding the adolescent’s motivation, the effect of handwriting difficulties on well-being and the need for a functional method to record schoolwork, was central to occupational therapists’ decision-making to recommend typing. CONCLUSION: Strategies are needed to address the knowledge-practice gap, including evidence-based guidelines. Closer collaboration between occupational therapists and school staff could increase understanding of roles and highlight the unique occupational therapy contribution. Further research examining whether, when and how to introduce typing as an alternative to handwriting would support best practice

Doing the ‘write’ thing: handwriting and typing support in secondary schools in England

Students must be able to produce legible and fluent text when completing classwork and for exam purposes. Some students, however, present with handwriting difficulties in secondary school. When these are significant, intervention may be necessary or alternatives to handwriting may be offered (e.g. use of a word processor). Little is known about current practice of supporting secondary students with handwriting difficulties in England and how recommendations are made to transition to typing. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 practitioners with a responsibility for supporting students with handwriting difficulties. Two themes were identified. The first theme, ‘doing the right thing’, illustrated the tension between practitioners' commitment to supporting students with handwriting difficulties and their uncertainty around what is the ‘right’ approach. The second theme, ‘influencing practice’, described the contextual factors (student and family, school environment and national context) that impact on practitioners' practice and their decision to transition from handwriting to typing. Findings highlight the complexities of supporting this group of students and an urgent need for guidance at a national level to assist best practice. Implications for practice are discussed. Further research examining the effectiveness of handwriting interventions with secondary students and the optimum time to start typing is warranted

Writing quality scale (WQS) : HE version. Administration and scoring guide

Writing is an important skill that takes time to master. Berninger and Amtmann’s (2003) ‘Simple view of writing’ is a useful framework for understanding the different skills; language, cognitive, and motor processes involved in writing and how they interact. In early childhood the focus is on mastering the ‘transcription’ skills of how to form the letters and words required to represent language in its written form. Once this essential skill is mastered, then the focus moves to ‘text generation’ and how to use written language effectively to convey information. Writing skills are important throughout education with handwritten work continuing to be used as a method of assessment. However, for some students, writing continues to present challenges in higher education (HE), with difficulties experienced in the accuracy and fluency of writing letters or spelling words (transcription skills) and/or in the planning and composition of ideas and thoughts into written text (text generation skills). This includes students with specific learning difficulties (SpLDs) such as dyslexia and in 2021-22 students with SpLDs accounted for 6.15% of the higher education (HE) student population in the UK and for 33% of the student population with a known disability (Higher Education Statistics Authority, 2023). Various tools are available to measure aspects of transcription. For example, the standardised Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting (DASH, Barnett et al., 2007; DASH17+, Barnett et al., 2010) measures handwriting speed across a range of writing tasks. Handwriting legibility can be assessed with the criterion referenced Handwriting Legibility Scale (HLS; Barnett et al., 2018). However, tools for measuring writing quality are limited, particularly for use with students in HE. The development of the Writing Quality Scale (WQS; Stuart & Barnett, 2023) arose out of the needs of specialist teacher assessors working in HE. The aim was to develop a quick, simple, and practical criterion referenced tool to help in gathering information about the difficulties that a student may experience in writing in HE and to help inform decisions about the support that they may need. The WQS has been designed to be used with the free writing task from the DASH 17+ 1(Barnett et al., 2010). The WQS uses an analytic scoring measure that provides an overall score for writing quality based on scores given for six individual criteria. The six criteria target areas known to predict writing quality in HE academic assignments (Crossley, 2020; Crossley et al., 2014) as well as the areas in which students with SpLDs (such as dyslexia) often have difficulty with when writing (Connelly et al., 2006; Galbraith et al., 2012; Sumner & Connelly, 2020). Within an overall score for writing quality (which can be categorised as: low, medium, high), the WQS indicates where areas of relative strength and difficultly lie and where support might best be targeted. The WQS was designed for use by a range of professionals, including specialist teacher assessors and educational psychologists, to identity students whose writing quality may be a cause for concern and require appropriate support. The WQS does not require the need for specialised or subject specific language and/or knowledge to administer it. The aim of the WQS is to help identify students (aged 17-25) in HE who have poor written expression or writing quality

When an object appears unexpectedly: anticipatory movement and object circumvention in individuals with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder

​Obstacles often appear unexpectedly in our pathway and these require us to make adjustments to avoid collision. Previous research has demonstrated that healthy adults will make anticipatory adjustments to gait where they have been told there is the possibility of an obstacle appearing. One population that may find this type of anticipatory movement difficult is individuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The current study considered how individuals with and without DCD adjust to the possibility of an obstacle appearing which would require circumvention. Forty four individuals with DCD and 44 agematched controls (aged from 7-34 years of age) walked down an 11m walkway under three conditions. Initially they were told this was a clear pathway and nothing in the environment would change (1, no possibility of an obstacle, no obstacle). They then performed a series of trials in which a gate may (2, possibility of an obstacle, obstacle) or may not (3, possibility of an obstacle, no obstacle) partially obstruct their pathway. We found that all participants increased medio-lateral trunk acceleration when there was the possibility of an obstacle but before the obstacle appeared, in addition the typical adults and older children also increased step width. When describing circumvention we found that the younger children showed an increase in trunk velocity and acceleration in all three directions compared to older children and adults. We also found that the individuals with DCD adjusted their path sooner and deviated more than their peers. The degree of adjustment to step width in anticipation of an obstacle was related to later medio-lateral velocity and timing of the deviation. Therefore, the lack of ‘readying’ the system where there is the possibility of an obstacle appearing seen in the individuals with DCD and the younger typical children may explain the increased mediolateral velocity seen during circumvention

Handwriting speed in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: Are they really slower?

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Research in Developmental Disabilities. The published article is available at the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V.Handwriting difficulties are often included in descriptions of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). They are cited as the most common reason for referral to health professionals following parent and teacher concerns about slow and untidy writing. The aim of this study was to compare handwriting performance in English children with and without DCD across a range of writing tasks, to gain a better understanding of the nature of ‘slowness’ so commonly reported. Twenty-eight 8–14 year-old children with a diagnosis of DCD participated in the study, with 28 typically developing age and gender matched controls. Participants completed the four handwriting tasks from the Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting (DASH) and wrote their own name; all on a digitising writing tablet. The number of words written, speed of pen movements and the time spent pausing during the tasks were calculated. The findings confirmed what many professionals report, that children with DCD produce less text than their peers. However, this was not due to slow movement execution, but rather a higher percentage of time spent pausing. Discussion centres on the understanding of the pausing phenomenon in children with DCD and areas for further research.Oxford Brookes Universit