EACOL (Scale of Evaluation of Reading Competence by the Teacher): evidence of concurrent and discriminant validity

Hugo Cogo-Moreira,1 George B Ploubidis,2 Clara Regina Brandão de Ávila,3 Jair de Jesus Mari,1 Angela Maria Vieira Pinheiro41Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; 2Department of Population Studies, University of London, London, UK; 3Department of Hearing and Speech Pathology, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; 4Department of Psychology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, BrazilAim: The study aimed to provide information about the concurrent and discriminant validation of the Scale of Evaluation of Reading Competence by the Teacher (EACOL), which is composed of 27 dichotomous items concerning reading aloud (17 items) and reading silently (10 items).Samples: Three samples were used in this validation study. The first was composed of 335 students with an average age of 9.75 years (SD = 1.2) from Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais State), Brazil, where the full spectrum of reading ability was assessed. The second two samples were from São Paulo city (São Paulo State), Brazil, where only children with reading difficulties were recruited. The first São Paulo sample was labeled “SP-screening” and had n = 617, with a mean age of 9.8 years (SD = 1.0), and the other sample was labeled “SP-trial” and had n = 235, with a mean age of 9.15 years (SD = 0.05).Methods: Results were obtained from a latent class analysis LCA, in which two latent groups were obtained as solutions, and were correlated with direct reading measures. Also, students’ scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale and on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire tested the discriminant validation.Results: Latent groups of readers underlying the EACOL predicted all direct reading measures, while the same latent groups showed no association with behavior and intelligence assessments, giving concurrent and discriminant validity to EACOL, respectively.Conclusion: EACOL is a reliable screening tool which can be used by a wide range of professionals for assessing reading skills.Keywords: school children, latent class analysis, assessment, reading difficulties, validatio

Indoor pollution in high-altitude dwellings: An assessment of affecting factors across four Sherpa villages in the Khumbu region, Nepal

Household air pollution (HAP) from biomass fuel smoke is a major health risk, especially in developing countries. The ventilation of buildings and the type of fume discharge could also affect HAP. The present study aims to investigate the impact of stove type and kitchen characteristics on levels of pollutants. In particular, we investigated the potential geometric ve ntilation of buildings using geometric ventilation index (GVI), the presence of chimneys, the type of fuel and the environmental carbon monoxide level (a marker of indoor pollution) in the households of four Sherpa villages located in a mountain region of Nepal at altitudes between 2500 and 3900 m. We analysed 114 buildings (76 private residences and 38 lodges that accommodate tourists). Lodges had a more effective discharge system and a higher GVI, which had an inverse, significant correlation with indoor CO levels (r = 0.52). The level of indoor CO was more than 50% higher in private residences than in lodges. In the univariate analysis, only the absence of a chimney was associated with higher indoor CO (OR 3.4 (CL95%, 1.2–10.0), p = 0.02). We conclude that the adoption of chimneys and sealed stoves with exhaust pipes should be the first measure taken to reduce pollutants inside the households of high mountain regions until a switch to clean fuels can be achieved

Cardiovascular function in healthy Himalayan high-altitude dwellers.

BACKGROUND: Residents of the Himalayan valleys uniquely adapted to their hypoxic environment in terms of pulmonary vasculature, but their systemic vascular function is still largely unexplored. The aim of the study was to investigate vascular function and structure in rural Sherpa population, permanently living at high altitude in Nepal (HA), in comparison with control Caucasian subjects (C)living at sea level. METHODS AND RESULTS: 95 HA and 64 C were enrolled. Cardiac ultrasound,flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery, carotid geometry and stiffness, and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) were performed. The same protocolwas repeated in 11 HA with reduced FMD, after 1-h 100% O2 administration. HA presented lower FMD (5.18 ± 3.10 vs. 6.44 ± 2.91%, p = 0.02) and hyperemicvelocity than C (0.61 ± 0.24 vs. 0.75 ± 0.28 m/s, p = 0.008), while systolic pulmonary pressure was higher (29.4 ± 5.5 vs. 23.6 ± 4.8 mmHg, p < 0.0001). In multiple regression analysis performed in HA, hyperemic velocity remained an independent predictor of FMD, after adjustment for baseline brachial artery diameter, room temperature and pulse pressure, explaining 8.7% of its variance. On the contrary, in C brachial artery diameter remained the only independent predictor of FMD, after adjustment for confounders. HA presented also lower carotid IMT than C (0.509 ± 0.121 vs. 0.576 ± 0.122 mm, p < 0.0001), higher diameter (6.98 ± 1.07 vs. 6.81 ± 0.85 mm, p = 0.004 adjusted for body surface area) and circumferential wall stress (67.6 ± 13.1 vs. 56.4 ± 16.0 kPa, p < 0.0001), while PWV was similar. O2 administration did not modify vascular variables. CONCLUSIONS: HA exhibit reduced NO-mediated dilation in the brachial artery, which is associated to reduced hyperemic response, indicating microcirculatory dysfunction. A peculiar carotid phenotype, characterized by reduced IMT andenlarged diameter, was also found

Effect of Bothrops leucurus venom in chick biventer cervicis preparations

Bothrops leucurus is a poorly studied pitviper found in northeastern Brazil. We examined the action of B. leucurus venom (5-100 mug/ml) on contractile responses in chick biventer cervicis preparations. Muscle damage was assessed by quantifying the release of creatine kinase (CK) and by histological analysis. B. leucurus venom dose-dependently inhibited the contractile responses of indirectly stimulated preparations, the maximum inhibition with 100 mug of venom/ml being 74.0 +/- 6.6% (mean +/- SEM) after 120 min. The venom also reduced contractures to exogenous acetylcholine (55 and 110 muM) and K+ (13.4 mM) (85-100% reduction with 100 mug of venom/ml) and increased the release of CK (348 +/- 139 U/ml in controls vs 1260 263 U/ml with 20 [mug of venom/ml after 120 min, p < 0.05). The accompanying morphological changes included multivacuolated, swollen, amorphous fibers and agglutinated myofibrils. These results indicate that B. leucurus venom can adversely affect neuromuscular transmission and produce muscle damage in avian preparations. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.41559560