Preparing a reading readiness program that allows each child to progress at his own rate,

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1949. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

An annotated edition of the letters of Arthur Hugh Clough to his American friends: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Eliot Norton, James Russell Lowell, Francis James Child and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, over the period 1847-1861.

This is a textually complete and comprehensively annotated edition of the poet Arthur Hugh Clough’s letters to five of the leading American poets and scholars of his day: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Eliot Norton, James Russell Lowell, Francis James Child and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, over the period 1847–1861. Fifteen of these letters have not previously been published, and those that appear in published editions are largely incomplete and unannotated. The letters in this edition have been transcribed from the original manuscripts held at the Bodleian and Houghton Libraries. They provide a great deal of valuable information about the less well-known later period of Clough’s life and have been extensively annotated to modern scholarly standards using information from primary literary and historical sources. The introduction to the thesis contextualises Clough’s visit to America and the initiation of the correspondence with his American friends, highlighting the central importance of the ‘American dimension’ to Clough’s life and work. I also discuss aspects of nineteenth-century letter-writing that have only relatively recently become the subject of critical attention, such as the impact of material factors – postage rates, steamship schedules, etc – on Clough’s transatlantic correspondence. Clough’s creation of an ‘epistolary self’ in his private letters, together with his distinctive habit of writing ‘journal-letters’ and the idea of letters as historical ‘testimony’ are the subject of detailed analysis, and I draw a number of parallels with his use of the epistolary form in his major poetry. Chapter 2 of the thesis evaluates existing ‘theories’ of annotation, reviews current practice in relation to the annotation of nineteenth-century correspondence and concludes with a reflection on my own experience of editing Clough’s letters. The absence of a definitive version of Clough’s American letters and the comprehensive introduction will make this edition an original contribution to scholarly work on nineteenth-century correspondence and poetry

OP3 NASA JAXA Rodent Research Collaboration Opportunities

Space Biology and Human Research Projects Integrated Proposal to use the JAXA MARS facility to be presented to JAXA and JAXA investigator audience at JAXA Kibo Utilization Symposium and OP3 negotiation for 2019 ISS rodent mission. Slides present a pictorial overview of the proposed science and analysis techniques desired from the US investigator team. Prior published data form a recent collaboration with JAXA is also mentioned

An investigation of the effects of age and stroke on implicit motor imagery as demonstrated by a hand laterality judgment test

Background Explicit motor imagery is recommended for stroke rehabilitation but can be difficult to practice. Hand Laterality Judgement (HLJ) stimulates implicit motor imagery which may be easier for stroke patients, but its benefits are unknown. Previous studies are inconclusive and have not considered the effects of older age. Objectives. This thesis investigated the effects of older age and stroke on HLJ and the effects of practising HLJ after a stroke. Methods Three experiments were undertaken. The first compared HLJ in twenty young, healthy participants (mean=22(2) years) with twenty aged 60 -70 years (mean=67(3) years) and twenty-two aged ≥ 70 years (mean=77(5) years). The second compared HLJ of eleven stroke survivors aged ≥ 60 years (mean =69 (6)) with age-matched controls. The third examined the effects of practising HLJ in four stroke survivors. Main findings There were no significant differences in HLJ response times between the young and older groups (p=.06) or between the stroke and control group (p=.13). Both older groups were significantly less accurate than the younger group (young group =92%; older groups= 81%-86% p≤ .00). There were no significant differences in accuracy between the two older groups (P=.10) or between the stroke and control groups (p=.59). All groups engaged in implicit motor imagery, but this was impaired by early old age. Visuospatial imagery was impaired in later old age and by stroke. There were no significant relationships between HLJ performance and upper limb impairment post-stroke. There were no significant effects of practising HLJ, but trends towards increased accuracy (d=.24) and slower response times (d=.46). Conclusion. Stroke survivors can perform HLJ as well as similarly aged healthy individuals. Stroke may impair visuospatial imagery, but accuracy improves with practice. Further research is needed to determine if there are any benefits to post-stroke upper limb rehabilitation

Recognising and responding to suicidal crisis within family and social networks: qualitative study

Objective To shed light on the difficulties faced by relatives, friends, and colleagues in interpreting signs of suicidality and deciding whether and how to intervene

Movements of Two Rabid Raccoons, Procyon lotor, in Eastern Ontario

An adult female Raccoon Procyon lotor was captured about 3 km north of Mallorytown, Ontario, on 27 August 2004, as part of a government rabies control program. The animal was vaccinated against rabies, ear-tagged and released, and recaptured the next day 1.7 km south of the initial capture location. Upon recapture, the Raccoon had porcupine quills in its facial area and seemed agitated and was submitted for rabies testing. It was confirmed as rabies positive on 31 August 2004, by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Similarly, a juvenile male raccoon was captured, ear-tagged, vaccinated, and released near Junetown, Ontario (about 4 km NW of the other rabid Raccoon) on 5 September 2004. It was found dying in a residential window well on 22 September 2004, 700 meters from the original capture location. It was diagnosed as rabid on 23 September 2004

Speaking vocabulary of first grade children

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Developing decision support tools incorporating personalised predictions of likely visual benefit versus harm for cataract surgery:research programme

Background Surgery for established cataract is highly cost-effective and uncontroversial, yet uncertainty remains for individuals about when to proceed and when to delay surgery during the earlier stages of cataract. Objective We aimed to improve decision-making for cataract surgery through the development of evidence-based clinical tools that provide general information and personalised risk/benefit information. Design We used a mixed methodology consisting of four work packages. Work package 1 involved the development and psychometric validation of a brief, patient self-reported measure of visual difficulty from cataract and its relief from surgery, named Cataract Patient-Reported Outcome Measure, five items (Cat-PROM5). Work package 2 involved the review and refinement of risk models for adverse surgical events (posterior capsule rupture and visual acuity loss related to cataract surgery). Work package 3 involved the development of prediction models for the Cat-PROM5-based self-reported outcomes from a cohort study of 1500 patients; assessment of the validity of preference-based health economic indices for cataract surgery and the calibration of these to Cat-PROM5; assessment of patients’ and health-care professionals’ views on risk–benefit presentation formats, the perceived usefulness of Cat-PROM5, the value of personalised risk–benefit information, high-value information items and shared decision-making; development of cataract decision aid frequently asked questions, incorporation of personalised estimates of risks and benefits; and development of a cataract decision quality measure to assess the quality of decision-making. Work package 4 involved a mixed-methods feasibility study for a fully powered randomised controlled trial of the use of the cataract decision aid and a qualitative study of discordant or mismatching perceptions of outcome between patients and health-care professionals. Setting Four English NHS recruitment centres were involved: Bristol (lead centre), Brighton, Gloucestershire and Torbay. Multicentre NHS cataract surgery data were obtained from the National Ophthalmology Database. Participants Work package 1 – participants (n = 822) were from all four centres. Work package 2 – electronic medical record data were taken from the National Ophthalmology Database (final set > 1M operations). Work package 3 – cohort study participants were from Bristol (n = 1200) and Gloucestershire (n = 300); qualitative and development work was undertaken with patients and health-care professionals from all four centres. Work package 4 – Bristol, Brighton and Torbay participated in the recruitment of patients (n = 42) for the feasibility trial and recruitment of health-care professionals for the qualitative elements. Interventions For the feasibility trial, the intervention was the use of the cataract decision aid, incorporating frequently asked questions and personalised estimations of both adverse outcomes and self-reported benefit. Main outcome measures There was a range of quantitative and qualitative outcome measures: questionnaire psychometric performance metrics, risk indicators of adverse surgical events and visual outcome, predictors of self-reported outcome following cataract surgery, patient and health-care practitioner views, health economic calibration measures and randomised controlled trial feasibility measures. Data sources The data sources were patient self-reported questionnaire responses, study clinical data collection forms, recorded interviews with patients and health-care professionals, and anonymised National Ophthalmology Database data. Results Work package 1 – Cat-PROM5 was developed and validated with excellent to good psychometric properties (Rasch reliability 0.9, intraclass correlation repeatability 0.9, unidimensionality with residual eigenvalues ≤ 1.5) and excellent responsiveness to surgical intervention (Cohen delta –1.45). Work package 2 – earlier risk models for posterior capsule rupture and visual acuity loss were broadly affirmed (C-statistic for posterior capsule rupture 0.64; visual acuity loss 0.71). Work package 3 – the Cat-PROM5-based self-reported outcome regression models were derived based on 1181 participants with complete data (R2 ≈ 30% for each). Of the four preference-based health economic indices assessed, two demonstrated reasonable performance. Cat-PROM5 was successfully calibrated to health economic indices; adjusted limited dependent variable mixture models offered good to excellent fit (root-mean-square error 0.10–0.16). The personalised quantitative risk information was generally perceived as beneficial. A cataract decision aid and cataract decision quality measure were successfully developed based on the views of patients and health-care professionals. Work package 4 – data completeness was good for the feasibility study primary and secondary variables both before and after intervention/surgery (data completeness range 100–88%). Considering ability to recruit, the sample size required, instrumentation and availability of necessary health economic data, a fully powered randomised controlled trial (patients, n = 800, effect size 0.2 standard deviations, power 80%; p = 0.05) of the cataract decision aid would be feasible following psychometric refinement of the primary outcome (the cataract decision quality measure). The cataract decision aid was generally well-received by patients and health-care professionals, with cautions raised regarding perceived time and workload barriers. Discordant outcomes mostly related to patient dissatisfaction, with no clinical problem found. Limitations The National Ophthalmology Database data are expected to include some errors (mitigated by large multicentre data aggregations). The feasibility randomised controlled trial primary outcome (the cataract decision quality measure) displayed psychometric imperfections requiring refinement. The clinical occurrence of discordant outcomes is uncommon and the study team experienced difficulty identifying patients in this situation. Future work Future work could include regular review of the risk models for adverse outcomes to ensure currency, and the technical precision of complex-numbers analysis of refractive outcome to invite opportunities to improve post-operative spectacle-free vision. In addition, a fully powered randomised controlled trial of the cataract decision aid would be feasible, following psychometric refinement of the primary outcome (the cataract decision quality measure); this would clarify its potential role in routine service delivery. Conclusions In this research programme, evidence-based clinical tools have been successfully developed to improve pre-operative decision-making in cataract surgery. These include a psychometrically robust, patient-reported outcome measure (Cat-PROM5); prediction models for patient self-reported outcomes using Cat-PROM5; prediction models for clinically adverse surgical events and adverse visual acuity outcomes; and a cataract decision aid with relevant general information and personalised risk/benefit predictions. In addition, the successful mapping of Cat-PROM5 to existing health economic indices was achieved and the performances of indices were assessed in patients undergoing cataract surgery. A future full-powered randomised controlled trial of the cataract decision aid would be feasible (patients, n = 800, effect size 0.2 standard deviations, power 80%; p = 0.05). Trial registration This trial is registered as ISRCTN11309852. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Programme Grants for Applied Research programme and will be published in full in Programme Grants for Applied Research; Vol. 10, No. 9. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Using global remote camera data of a solitary species complex to evaluate the drivers of group formation

We would like to thank Megan Whatton, Belden Giman, Hongliang Bu, Dajun Wang, Fang Wang, Roland Kays, Jillian Kilborn, and New Hampshire Fish and Game for their roles in contributing data that was used in this analysis. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.Peer reviewe