Identification of Characteristics Associated with Discrepancy Between Self-Estimated and Measured Interests

Student Personnel and Guidanc

The effect of intra-uterine growth on Verbal IQ scores in childhood: a monozygotic twin study

Objective. Given the adverse neurobiological effects of suboptimal nutrition on the developing brain, it is of social and medical importance to determine whether the global prevalence of poor intra-uterine growth causes lasting cognitive deficits. We examined whether sub-optimal intra-uterine growth relates to impaired cognitive outcome by comparing birthweight and cognition in monozygotic (MZ) twins. Our study considered whether children who do not reach their potential birthweight, as indexed by the weight of their heavier twin, also do not attain their potential IQ. Methods. 71 MZ twin pairs participated (7 years 11 months to 17 years 3 months). The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Third Edition (WISC-III) was administered and Verbal IQ (VIQ) and Performance IQ (PIQ) scores calculated. Regression was used to relate within pair differences in birthweight to within pair differences in IQ scores. Results. VIQ but not PIQ score was affected by pre-natal growth restriction. The results suggest that the mean advantage for heavier twins relative to their lighter co-twins can be as much as half a SD in VIQ points. In pairs with minimal birthweight discordance, heavier twins had lower VIQ scores than their lighter co-twins Conclusions. Our study suggests that lower birthweight can negatively impact on cognition in the long term, not only in infants born small, but across the birthweight spectrum. Restricting analyses to MZ twins enables the effect of reduced intra-uterine growth on cognition to be examined independently of confounding factors including parental IQ and education, gender, age, genes, and gestation

Inspection time and cognitive abilities in twins aged 7 to 17 years: age-related changes, heritability and genetic covariance

We studied the age-related differences in inspection time and multiple cognitive domains in a group of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins aged 7 to 17 years. Data from 111 twin pairs and 19 singleton siblings were included. We found clear age-related trends towards more efficient visual information processing in older participants. There were substantial correlations between inspection time and cognitive abilities. The heritability of inspection time was 45%, and ranged from 73% to 85% for cognitive abilities. There were significant non-shared environmental effects on inspection time and Wechsler IQ scores, but no shared environmental effects. The genetic correlation between inspection time and Performance IQ was 0.55 and with Verbal IQ it was 0.28. There was a significant non-shared environmental correlation of 0.24 between inspection time and Verbal IQ

Evaluation of clinical quality improvement interventions: feasibility of an integrated approach

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the largest cause of death and disability in Australia. Australian national guidelines for the primary prevention of CVD recommend that all adults without CVD and aged 45 years or more are screened for their absolute risk of CVD every 2 years. Despite the compelling evidence to address CVD risk, treatment gaps remain and evidence suggests that much of the shortcomings are attributed to the performance of primary care practices. To address this issue, a quality improvement initiative is being implemented in a large urban multidisciplinary primary care practice in the South West region of Victoria, Australia. The key outcome of this intervention will be to increase the use and acceptability of CVD risk assessment guidelines. To ensure the intervention is tracking toward its objectives, a robust monitoring and evaluation framework was established.Method/designA novel framework that assimilates key traditional and theory-driven evaluation practices was developed to assess the impact of the intervention. The framework approach is termed the integrated model of evaluation (IMoE). Researchers and stakeholders convened several times to discuss and develop the evaluation protocol and align it with the quality intervention. The main objective here is to explore the feasibility of an integrated approach to evaluating clinical quality improvement interventions. The sub-objectives are to test the alignment of the IMoE to clinical quality improvement projects and its ability to derive findings to the satisfaction of stakeholders. The design and establishment of the evaluation approach is discussed in further detail in this article.DiscussionThe novel feature of the IMoE is its emphasis on tracking &lsquo;change&rsquo; in practices that lead to quality improvement. This emphasis suits the quality improvement theme of this initiative as identification of change elements and explanation behind change is necessary to sustain and promote quality improvement. The other principle behind development of this model, which emphasises practicality in implementation, is to ensure stakeholders gain greatest value from the commissioning of program evaluation. By incorporating practical components and leaving out esoteric concepts, this approach ensures evaluation can be undertaken in realistic timeframes.Ethics approvalThe quality improvement intervention and evaluation framework received approval from the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval Number: 2017-313).<br /

Inspection time and cognitive abilities in twins aged 7 to 17 years: age-related changes, heritability and genetic covariance

We studied the age-related differences in inspection time and multiple cognitive domains in a group of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins aged 7 to 17 years. Data from 111 twin pairs and 19 singleton siblings were included. We found clear age-related trends towards more efficient visual information processing in older participants. There were substantial correlations between inspection time and cognitive abilities. The heritability of inspection time was 45%, and ranged from 73% to 85% for cognitive abilities. There were significant non-shared environmental effects on inspection time and Wechsler IQ scores, but no shared environmental effects. The genetic correlation between inspection time and Performance IQ was 0.55 and with Verbal IQ it was 0.28. There was a significant non-shared environmental correlation of 0.24 between inspection time and Verbal IQ. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved