It Depends: The Conditional Correlation Between Frequency of Storybook Reading and Emergent Literacy Skills in Children At Risk for Language Difficulty

The current study examined the association between frequency of storybook reading and emergent literacy in 212 children at risk for language impairment, assessed during the fall semester of kindergarten. Measures included parent-reported storybook reading, as well as direct assessments of print knowledge, letter awareness, and expressive vocabulary. Results suggested nonsignificant to moderate (r = .11 to .25) correlations between frequency of storybook reading and child emergent literacy across the entire range of environment and ability. Quantile regression results suggested that the association was highest at low frequency of storybook reading, particularly for print knowledge, approaching r = .50. Moreover, the association between frequency of storybook reading and emergent literacy was highest at higher levels of emergent literacy for print knowledge, but particularly for letter naming, approaching r = .80. These results suggest that in children with language difficulties, the relationship between aspects of the home environment and emergent literacy is conditional upon the quality of the home environment as well as child’s proficiency in emergent literacy skills

Influence of Metoprolol Dosage Release Formulation on the Pharmacokinetic Drug Interaction With Paroxetine

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97158/1/0091270010365559.pd

Developing an alcohol and other drug serious game for adolescents: Considerations for improving student engagement

Objectives: To explore perceptions of alcohol and other drug (AOD) education and digital game design preferences among Australian adolescents with the goal of identifying key factors to promote engagement in an AOD serious game for Australian secondary school students. Methods: Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with 36 adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Participants described heightened engagement with AOD education that incorporated relatable and relevant real-life stories and interactive discussions. They also expressed a desire for learning to focus on practical strategies to reduce AOD harm and overcome social pressure to use AOD. Participants highlighted the importance of incorporating relatable characters and context-relevant scenarios in promoting engagement, and identified social elements, player choice, and optimal challenge as important game design considerations. Conclusions: A focus on meaningful realistic scenarios, relatable characters, relevant information and practical skills may promote high school aged students’ engagement with AOD educational content. Game designs incorporating social elements and decision-making opportunities may be conducive to promoting engagement and enhancing learning. Implications for public health: Findings from this study can be used by researchers and game designers for the development of future AOD serious games targeted at Australian adolescents

Exposure to Household Air Pollution from Biomass Cookstoves and Blood Pressure Among Women in Rural Honduras: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Growing evidence links household air pollution exposure from biomass cookstoves with elevated blood pressure. We assessed cross‐sectional associations of 24‐hour mean concentrations of personal and kitchen fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), and stove type with blood pressure, adjusting for confounders, among 147 women using traditional or cleaner‐burning Justa stoves in Honduras. We investigated effect modification by age and body mass index. Traditional stove users had mean (standard deviation) personal and kitchen 24‐hour PM2.5 concentrations of 126 μg/m3 (77) and 360 μg/m3 (374), while Justa stove users’ exposures were 66 μg/m3 (38) and 137 μg/m3(194), respectively. BC concentrations were similarly lower among Justa stove users. Adjusted mean systolic blood pressure was 2.5 mm Hg higher (95% CI, 0.7‐4.3) per unit increase in natural log‐transformed kitchen PM2.5 concentration; results were stronger among women of 40 years or older (5.2 mm Hg increase, 95% CI, 2.3‐8.1). Adjusted odds of borderline high and high blood pressure (categorized) were also elevated (odds ratio = 1.5, 95% CI, 1.0‐2.3). Some results included null values and are suggestive. Results suggest that reduced household air pollution, even when concentrations exceed air quality guidelines, may help lower cardiovascular disease risk, particularly among older subgroups

An analysis of variability in power output during indoor and outdoor cycling time-trials

Purpose: Regulation of power output during cycling encompasses the integration of internal and external demands to maximise performance. However, relatively little is known about variation in power output in response to the external demands of outdoor cycling. We compared mean power output and the magnitude of power output variability and structure during a 20-min time-trial performed indoors and outdoors. Methods: Twenty male competitive cyclists (V ̇O2peak 60.4 ± 7.1 mL·kg-1·min-1) performed two randomised maximal 20-min time-trial tests i) outdoors at a cycle-specific racing circuit or ii) indoors on a laboratory-based electromagnetically braked training ergometer, 7 days apart. Power output was sampled at 1 Hz and collected on the same bike equipped with a portable power meter in both tests. Results: Twenty-min time-trial performance indoor (280 ± 44 W) was not different from outdoor (284 ± 41 W) (P = 0.256), showing a strong correlation (r = 0.94; P < 0.001). Within-person SD was greater outdoors (69 ± 21 W) compared to indoors (33 ± 10 W) (P < 0.001). Increased variability was observed across all frequencies in data from outdoor cycling compared to indoors (P < 0.001) except for the very slowest frequency bin (<0.0033 Hz, P = 0.930). Conclusions: Our findings indicate a greater magnitude of variability in power output during cycling outdoors. This suggests that constraints imposed by the external environment lead to moderate and high frequency fluctuations in power output. Therefore, indoor testing protocols should be designed to reflect the external demands of cycling outdoors

Sideffect GamePlan: Development of an alcohol and other drug serious game for high school students using a systematic and iterative user-centred game development framework

Serious games have shown to be effective in improving motivation to learn, knowledge and retention, thus are being increasingly used for alcohol and other drug (AOD) education. This paper outlines the development of an online AOD serious game for in-class use by Australian secondary school teachers for students in Years 9–10. Adapted from Edwards et al. (2018), the seven-step systematic and iterative user-centred development framework included: (1) Forming an expert multidisciplinary design team, (2) Defining the problem and establishing user preferences, (3) Incorporating the evidence base, (4) Serious game design, (5) Incorporating behavioural and psychological theory, (6) Developing a logic model and investigating causal pathways, and (7) User testing. High school students (n = 8), health and physical education teachers (n = 7), and parents (n = 8) were engaged throughout different stages of the development process to inform development and provide feedback on considerations for promoting engagement, acceptability, and usability of the game amongst both students and teachers. Overall, participants rated game acceptability and usability favourably and would recommend the game for learning about AOD. Constructive feedback and suggestions for improvements from user testing sessions were implemented to form the final version of the game and module. The next step is to test Sideffect GamePlan in a simulated classroom environment before piloting in school settings

Relations between Home Literacy Environment, Child Characteristics, and Print Knowledge for Preschool Children with Language Impairment

To contribute to the modest body of work examining the home literacy environment (HLE) and emergent literacy outcomes for children with disabilities, this study addressed two aims: (a) to determine the unique contributions of the HLE on print knowledge of preschool children with language impairment (LI); and (b) to identify whether specific child characteristics (oral language ability, print interest) moderated these relations. The sample consisted of 119 preschool children with LI. HLE was conceptualized as frequency of storybook reading and literacy teaching during book reading. Frequency of storybook reading was a unique predictor of print knowledge, which is consistent with research on children with typical language. Literacy teaching did not predict print knowledge, which diverges from research on children with typical language. No interactions between the HLE and child characteristics were significant, but language ability and print interest play a role in understanding individual differences in literacy development

Relations between Home Literacy Environment, Child Characteristics, and Print Knowledge for Preschool Children with Language Impairment

To contribute to the modest body of work examining the home literacy environment (HLE) and emergent literacy outcomes for children with disabilities, this study addressed two aims: (a) to determine the unique contributions of the HLE on print knowledge of preschool children with language impairment (LI); and (b) to identify whether specific child characteristics (oral language ability, print interest) moderated these relations. The sample consisted of 119 preschool children with LI. HLE was conceptualized as frequency of storybook reading and literacy teaching during book reading. Frequency of storybook reading was a unique predictor of print knowledge, which is consistent with research on children with typical language. Literacy teaching did not predict print knowledge, which diverges from research on children with typical language. No interactions between the HLE and child characteristics were significant, but language ability and print interest play a role in understanding individual differences in literacy development

Contractor tendering research: Going beyond bid/no-bid and markup models

Within a wider research programme into the effectiveness and efficiency of the tendering procedures of construction contractors (CCs), a content analysis of tender research published in 27 journals between 2010 and 2016 found that CC tendering procedure research remains a low-focus area. CC-related tender research commonly focuses on factors influencing ‘bid/no-bid’ and markup decisions, often combined with developed decision modelling. Comparing the content analysis results with semi-structured interviews with 20 Australian civil engineering CCs (including some of Australia’s largest contractors, and with eight involved in international operations), it was found that the industry remains largely unaware and unsupportive of such developed tender decision tools. Instead, CCs suggest tender research should focus on efficient tendering procedures, encouraging clients to use standard rather than bespoke contracts, and improved quality and risk transfer in tender documents. The combined semi-structured interview findings and content analysis results provide researchers with contemporary tender research themes that civil engineering CCs, and potentially more general contractors, are more likely to embrace, thereby advancing the efficiency of construction tendering and contractors’ work procurement management

Morphological features of distribution of branches of the ethmoid arteries on from the shape of the orbit

To study the topography of the lattice of the arteries of the labyrinth and their relationship to the form of the orbit was carried out anthropometric measurements by the method of V. N. Shevkunenko, A. M. Eselevich, T. V. Zolotareva, G. N. Toporov. To determine the shape of the orbit was measured by the following parameters: 1 - the height of the entrance to the eye socket - the distance between the upper and lower walls of the orbit; 2 - entrance width - the distance between the inner and outer walls of the orbit; 3 - the depth - the distance between the inner boundary of the entrance into the orbit to the optic canal