Intervention and Outcomes of Children in Different Types of Listening and Spoken Language Programs

This study explores the impact of the type and dosage of listening and spoken language (LSL) services on speech and language outcomes in children with cochlear implants or hearing aids in two LSL programs. Identical demographic variables were collected across the two programs for use in the statistical analyses. Speech and language outcomes were examined at ages 3 and 5 using standardized test measures. At age 3, significant differences in LSL outcomes existed between programs for children using cochlear implants but not for children using binaural hearing aids. However, at age five, outcomes were similar between the different LSL programs for children with hearing aids and cochlear implants. Total hours of LSL services do not serve as a predictor of LSL outcomes at five years of age. However, early identification of hearing loss, early amplification, and early enrollment in a LSL program were highly influential factors affecting LSL outcomes at three and five years of age. Non-verbal IQ and maternal education levels also influence LSL outcomes. Children with earlier access to hearing technology and LSL intervention may need fewer hours of LSL services to achieve age-appropriate LSL outcomes. Overall, both of these LSL programs supported age-appropriate speech and language outcomes by age 5

Abnormal expression of p27kip1 protein in levator ani muscle of aging women with pelvic floor disorders – a relationship to the cellular differentiation and degeneration

BACKGROUND: Pelvic floor disorders affect almost 50% of aging women. An important role in the pelvic floor support belongs to the levator ani muscle. The p27/kip1 (p27) protein, multifunctional cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, shows changing expression in differentiating skeletal muscle cells during development, and relatively high levels of p27 RNA were detected in the normal human skeletal muscles. METHODS: Biopsy samples of levator ani muscle were obtained from 22 symptomatic patients with stress urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and overlaps (age range 38–74), and nine asymptomatic women (age 31–49). Cryostat sections were investigated for p27 protein expression and type I (slow twitch) and type II (fast twitch) fibers. RESULTS: All fibers exhibited strong plasma membrane (and nuclear) p27 protein expression. cytoplasmic p27 expression was virtually absent in asymptomatic women. In perimenopausal symptomatic patients (ages 38–55), muscle fibers showed hypertrophy and moderate cytoplasmic p27 staining accompanied by diminution of type II fibers. Older symptomatic patients (ages 57–74) showed cytoplasmic p27 overexpression accompanied by shrinking, cytoplasmic vacuolization and fragmentation of muscle cells. The plasma membrane and cytoplasmic p27 expression was not unique to the muscle cells. Under certain circumstances, it was also detected in other cell types (epithelium of ectocervix and luteal cells). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report on the unusual (plasma membrane and cytoplasmic) expression of p27 protein in normal and abnormal human striated muscle cells in vivo. Our data indicate that pelvic floor disorders are in perimenopausal patients associated with an appearance of moderate cytoplasmic p27 expression, accompanying hypertrophy and transition of type II into type I fibers. The patients in advanced postmenopause show shrinking and fragmentation of muscle fibers associated with strong cytoplasmic p27 expression

12 Revisiting Experimental Catchment Studies in Forest Hydrology (Proceedings of a Workshop held

Can forest watershed management mitigate climate change effects on water resources

NEW EVIDENCE ON THE TIMING OF EARLY LIFE COURSE TRANSITIONS: The United States 1900 to 1980

This article is a description and analysis of the timing of early life course transitions in the twentieth century. Using data from national microdata samples of the census for 1900, 1910, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, and 1980, the study investigates the timing of seven transitions to adulthood, relationships between pairs of transitions, and how changes in these patterns affected the behavior of several population subgroups. The results show that youth in the second half of the century made the transition to adulthood earlier and followed a more prescribed and compressed schedule of transitions than their early-twen tieth-century counterparts. The period of greatest change came after the Second World War, but by 1980 the trend toward earlier and increasingly age-graded familial transitions ap peared to have reversed. Between 1900 and 1980 there is also a homogenization of experi ence among subgroups.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66843/2/10.1177_036319909001500110.pd