The Relationship between Argumentation Skills and Cognitive Flexibility of Pre-Service Science Teachers

The present study aims to investigate the relationship between pre-service science teachers' argumentation skills and cognitive flexibility levels. Within the scope of the study, an argumentation-based science laboratory application was applied to first year science teaching students for 4 weeks. The arguments were assessed by eight faculty members and doctoral students. The Argumentation Assessment Rubric (Choi, 2008) was used to assess the quality of the written arguments. The quality of the arguments and descriptions used by the students in the reports were evaluated as total writing scores. The “Cognitive Flexibility Inventory” developed by Dennis and Vander Wal (2010) was employed to assess the cognitive flexibility levels of pre-service teachers. Simple Correlation analysis and Simple Linear Regression analysis methods were used to determine the relationship between the sub-dimensions of cognitive flexibility inventory and argumentation skills of pre-service science teachers and the effect of cognitive flexibility levels on argumentation skills. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between pre-service teachers’ cognitive flexibility levels and argumentation skills

Lack of Association of Childhood Partial Epilepsy with Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Gene

Brain-derived factor (BDNF) is a member of neurotrophin family and is localized and upregulated in areas implicated in epileptogenesis. Several lines of evidence make the BDNF gene a plausible candidate gene for predisposition to epilepsy. In this study, we tested that BDNF might be involved in the etiology of childhood PE. To assess whether BDNF gene C270T polimorphism could be implicated in vulnerability to PE, we conducted a case-control association analysis (112 partial epileptic and 100 controls) in Turkish children. Epileptic children were divided into two groups: 1—idiopathic (n=85) and 2—symptomathic epilepsy (n=27). There was no significant difference in genotypic distribution and allelic frequencies of the BDNF gene C270T polimorphism between the PE and control groups. However, the BDNF gene TT genotype was more frequently seen in the epileptic children (15 versus 11 patients, resp.). Interestingly, in the epilepsy group, both two children with TT genotype have posttraumatic epilepsy. The data indicate a possible association with the 270T genotype of the BDNF gene with a posttraumatic epilepsy. To draw any conclusion, further studies using larger sample sizes should be carried out in various ethnic populations in childhood epilepsies

Combined metabolic activators improve cognitive functions in Alzheimer’s disease patients: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase-II trial

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with metabolic abnormalities linked to critical elements of neurodegeneration. We recently administered\ua0combined metabolic activators (CMA) to the AD rat model and observed that CMA improves the AD-associated histological parameters in the animals. CMA promotes mitochondrial fatty acid uptake from the cytosol, facilitates fatty acid oxidation in the mitochondria, and alleviates oxidative stress. Methods: Here, we designed a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase-II clinical trial and studied the effect of CMA administration on the global metabolism of AD patients. One-dose CMA included 12.35\ua0g L-serine (61.75%), 1\ua0g nicotinamide riboside (5%), 2.55\ua0g\ua0N-acetyl-L-cysteine (12.75%), and 3.73\ua0g L-carnitine tartrate (18.65%). AD patients received one dose of CMA or placebo daily during the first 28\ua0days and twice daily between day 28 and day 84. The primary endpoint was the difference in the cognitive function and daily living activity scores between the placebo and the treatment arms. The secondary aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of CMA. A comprehensive plasma metabolome and proteome analysis was also performed to evaluate the efficacy of the CMA in AD patients. Results: We showed a significant decrease of AD Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) score on day 84 vs day 0 (P = 0.00001, 29% improvement) in the CMA group. Moreover, there was a significant decline (P = 0.0073) in ADAS-Cog scores (improvement of cognitive functions) in the\ua0CMA compared to the placebo group in patients with higher ADAS-Cog scores. Improved cognitive functions in AD patients were supported by the relevant alterations in the hippocampal volumes and cortical thickness based on imaging analysis. Moreover, the plasma levels of proteins and metabolites associated with NAD + and glutathione metabolism were significantly improved after CMA treatment. Conclusion: Our results indicate that treatment of AD patients with CMA can lead to enhanced cognitive functions and improved clinical parameters associated with phenomics, metabolomics, proteomics and imaging analysis. Trial registration\ua0ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04044131 Registered 17 July 2019, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04044131

The home numeracy environment: What do cross-cultural comparisons tell us about how to scaffold young children’s mathematical skills?

Children’s numeracy knowledge and performance varies across countries, regions, and languages. These cross-cultural differences occur even prior to formal schooling. Much existing cross-cultural numeracy research was focused on the role of language in accounting for these differences in children’s early numeracy development and performance. However, when cross-cultural research studies have assessed both language-related effects and differences in children’s numeracy-related experiences at home, both factors have been linked to performance differences. Longitudinal studies show that the frequency of parents’ numeracy-related activities at home is correlated with children’s numeracy knowledge in kindergarten and primary school. Thus, home experiences may be an important factor in cross-cultural differences in young children’s numerical development. In this chapter, we summarize cross-cultural differences in young children’s early educational experiences and the parental practices that have been linked to superior performance. On the basis of that research, we suggest ways that parents and educators can facilitate the numeracy development of all young children. We also identify gaps in cross-cultural home numeracy research and briefly discuss ways to overcome some of the methodological challenges of such work

Effect of learning approaches of pre-service science teachers on the argument create skills

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between science teacher candidates’ ability to construct an argument and learning approaches. For this purpose, the “Learning Approach Scale” was applied to Inonu University Educational Faculty Science teachers ‘first grade students’, and the results were compared with the arguments which were created by the same students. The findings shows that there is a significant relationship between their argument create skills and learning approaches

Linking Quantities and Symbols in Early Numeracy Learning

What is the foundational knowledge that children rely on to provide meaning as they construct an exact symbolic number system? People and animals can quickly and accurately distinguish small exact quantities (i.e., 1 to 3). One possibility is that children’s ability to map small quantities to spoken number words supports their developing exact number system. To test this hypothesis, it is important to have valid and reliable measures of the efficiency of quantity-number word mapping. In the present study, we explored the reliability and validity of a measure for assessing the efficiency of mapping between small quantities and number words – speeded naming of quantity. Study 1 (N = 128) with 5- and 6-year-old children and Study 2 (N = 182) with 3- and 4-year-old children show that the speeded naming of quantities is a simple and reliable measure that is correlated with individual differences in children’s developing numeracy knowledge. This measure could provide a useful tool for testing comprehensive theories of how children develop their symbolic number representations

A profile of children and youth whose families received Family Support for Children with Disabilities services

This report used administrative data to profile young Albertans (0 to 17 years old) who received services from the Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) program between 2005/06 and 2010/11. Families caring for children with disabilities may require a wide range of supports to assist them. This report used administrative data to profile young Albertans (0 to 17 years old) who received a range of services from the Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) program between 2005/06 and 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns based on their primary reason for support. This report found that (1) more than half of FSCD clients with mental health disorders met or exceeded educational expectations during the report period, (2) a higher proportion of FSCD clients who had mental health conditions and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder received child intervention support (to protect against abuse, neglect, or another risk) than the non-FSCD population, and (3) a higher proportion of FSCD clients with developmental delay and mental health or health conditions were in single-parent/blended families receiving child support payments than the non-FSCD population. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support children with disabilities.Government of Albert

The role of number naming systems and numeracy experiences in children's rote counting: Evidence from Turkish and Canadian children

How important is the regularity of a number naming system when young children are learning to count? Three- and four-year-old English- and Turkish-speaking children (N=. 75) played one of two versions of a board game. The number game involved counting and naming numbers from 1 to 20 whereas the color game involved naming colors. All of the Turkish-speaking children in the number game condition showed some improvement in their rote counting skills whereas almost half of the English-speaking children did not. Despite the advantage of the regular number naming system, however, the Turkish-speaking children had lower scores than the English-speaking children on other early numeracy tasks. These results support the view that both the characteristics of the number language and factors such as children's numeracy-related experiences must be considered when comparing children's early numeracy skills across language groups

The cientificWorldJOURNAL Clinical Study Lack of Association of Childhood Partial Epilepsy with Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Gene

Brain-derived factor (BDNF) is a member of neurotrophin family and is localized and upregulated in areas implicated in epileptogenesis. Several lines of evidence make the BDNF gene a plausible candidate gene for predisposition to epilepsy. In this study, we tested that BDNF might be involved in the etiology of childhood PE. To assess whether BDNF gene C270T polimorphism could be implicated in vulnerability to PE, we conducted a case-control association analysis (112 partial epileptic and 100 controls) in Turkish children. Epileptic children were divided into two groups: 1-idiopathic (n = 85) and 2-symptomathic epilepsy (n = 27). There was no significant difference in genotypic distribution and allelic frequencies of the BDNF gene C270T polimorphism between the PE and control groups. However, the BDNF gene TT genotype was more frequently seen in the epileptic children (15 versus 11 patients, resp.). Interestingly, in the epilepsy group, both two children with TT genotype have posttraumatic epilepsy. The data indicate a possible association with the 270T genotype of the BDNF gene with a posttraumatic epilepsy. To draw any conclusion, further studies using larger sample sizes should be carried out in various ethnic populations in childhood epilepsies