A Multicultural-Multidisciplinary Approach to Speech/Language Intervention with Black Children

There is no better way to teach African-American children than through their dialect. Yet, American schools generally respond to the language needs of black youth inappropriately. This conference presentation focuses on appropriate educational practices that support the language and cognitive development of African-American children, and the ways in which special education, speech, and language professionals can work with teachers to alter black children\u27s school environments. The introduction, Part I (Ruby Burgess), emphasizes the influence of cultural differences on students\u27 success or failure in school. Part II (Nola Burl) delineates characteristics of the multidisciplinary team approach and implications for language intervention with black children. Discussion concerns the present implementation of the approach and the role of the speech-language pathologist as a multidisciplinary team member in establishing practices that support black children\u27s language acquisition. The section concludes with an overview of current perspectives on language that are consistent with a multicultural perspective. Part III (Ralph Calhoun) explores the role of the special educator as it relates to language instruction and advocacy for African-American children. Concluding comments summarize goals and directions for multicultural education and list critical actions that need to be taken in implementing nonracist practices

Transcranial alternating current stimulation to the inferior parietal lobe decreases Mu suppression to egocentric, but not allocentric hand movements

Egocentric vs. allocentric perspective during observation of hand movements has been related to self-other differentiation such that movements observed from an egocentric viewpoint have been considered as self-related while movements observed from an allocentric viewpoint have been considered as belonging to someone else. Correlational studies have generally found that egocentric perspective induces greater neurophysiological responses and larger behavioural effects compared to an allocentric perspective. However, recent studies question previous findings by reporting greater (μ) suppression and greater transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) induced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) during observation of allocentric compared to egocentric movements. Furthermore, self-other differentiation has been generally related to activity within the inferior parietal lobe (IPL), but direct evidence for a causal and functional role of IPL in self-other differentiation is lacking. The current study was therefore designed to investigate the influence that IPL exerts on self-other differentiation. To this aim, we measured the impact of individually adjusted alpha-tuned transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) applied over IPL on μ-suppression during hands movement observation from an egocentric and allocentric perspective. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded during movement observation before and immediately after tACS. Results demonstrated that tACS decreased μ-reactivity over sensorimotor (but not visual) regions for egocentric (but not allocentric) movement observation providing direct evidence for a causal involvement of IPL in the observation of self- but not other-related hands movement

Multivariate genomic scan implicates novel loci and haem metabolism in human ageing

Ageing phenotypes are of great interest but are difficult to study genetically, partly due to the sample sizes required. Here, the authors present a multivariate framework to combine GWAS summary statistics and increase statistical power, identifying additional loci enriched for aging

Communication in bacteria: an ecological and evolutionary perspective

Individual bacteria can alter their behaviour through chemical interactions between organisms in microbial communities - this is generally referred to as quorum sensing. Frequently, these interactions are interpreted in terms of communication to mediate coordinated, multicellular behaviour. We show that the nature of interactions through quorum-sensing chemicals does not simply involve cooperative signals, but entails other interactions such as cues and chemical manipulations. These signals might have a role in conflicts within and between species. The nature of the chemical interaction is important to take into account when studying why and how bacteria react to the chemical substances that are produced by other bacteria

Stress, the cortisol awakening response and cognitive function

There is evidence that stress-induced disruption of the circadian rhythm of cortisol secretion, has negative consequences for brain health. The cortisol awakening response (CAR) is the most prominent and dynamic aspect of this rhythm. It has complex regulatory mechanisms making it distinct from the rest of the cortisol circadian rhythm, and is frequently investigated as a biomarker of stress and potential intermediary between stress and impaired brain function. Despite this, the precise function of the CAR within the healthy cortisol circadian rhythm remains poorly understood. Cortisol is a powerful hormone known to influence cognition in multiple and complex ways. Studies of the CAR and cognitive function have used varied methodological approaches which have produced similarly varied findings. The present review considers the accumulating evidence linking stress, attenuation of the CAR and reduced cognitive function, and seeks to contextualize the many findings to study populations, cognitive measures, and CAR methodologies employed. Associations between the CAR and both memory and executive functions are discussed in relation to its potential role as a neuroendocrine time of day signal that synchronizes peripheral clocks throughout the brain to enable optimum function, and recommendations for future research are provided

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

English Language Learner Instruction in Middle School Mainstream Classrooms

In a southeastern state, Grade 7 and 8 middle school general education teachers were not implementing cultural and individual instructional strategies consistently to support the academic achievement of the growing population of English Language Learners (ELLs). The purpose and key research questions of this qualitative study were designed to (a) identify what cultural relevant instructional strategies Grades 7 and 8 middle school general education teachers implement, (b) identify what individual relevant instructional strategies, and (c) understand what perceptions teachers have regarding strategies to facilitate consistent implementation of cultural and individual instruction to support ELLs. The nine participants were middle school (i.e., Grade 7 and 8) general education teachers from a school district in a southeastern state. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews and the themes included teachers’ beliefs in their abilities to provide consistent instruction to support ELLs, use of varied individual instructional strategies to support ELLs, use of varied cultural instructional strategies to support the needs of ELLs, and their want of preparation and relevant professional development to instruct ELLs. The findings have implications for positive social change, including identifying areas where professional development and focused instruction on the cultural and individual needs of ELLs increase teachers’ knowledge, skills, consistency, and perceived ability to support ELLs in the local school district