Teaching English rhythm

Rhythm is basic to our home identity. The first part of language that we all learned as infants (starting even before birth) is the rhythm of our mother’s language (Werker & Gervain, 2013). By the time we have reached the age of one, the rhythm of the mother tongue is deeply familiar to us, and we unconsciously tend to apply it to any L2 that we are learning. That is why it is highly important that students of English be made consciously aware of how rhythm is at the centre of how spoken English works. Students and teachers need to be encouraged to think not of subtracting an accent, but of adding a new one for use when it would be helpful. This is known as code-switching. Students should be helped to view English pronunciation like a jacket that you can choose to put on or take off, depending on who you are speaking with. This is practical.Trabajo publicado en Caldiz, A. y Rafaelli, V. (coords.) (2020). Exploraciones fonolingüísticas. V Jornadas Internacionales de Fonética y Fonología y I Jornadas Nacionales de Fonética y Discurso.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

The Name of the Game: Utilizing Experiential Learning in the Classroom to Engage, Empower and Reflect on Student Learning and Assessment

In the modern post-secondary classroom, there is a push for more experiential and active learning activities for students. A variety of benefits such as engagement, improved learning and self regulated learning have ensued with these different types of learning. Studies regarding these benefits have mostly centered on experiences carefully orchestrated by instructors, rather than experiences that were created by students under the guidance of instructors. Herein is a study of the benefits and efficiency, of the latter type of activity, which requires students to generate chemical puzzles in a large post-secondary classroom. The authors determined that not only is a puzzle generation activity possible, but students’ reflections on instructor examples highlights the potential for learning and for a new form of assessment. Going forward, however, the study also shows more support and examples are required in future iterations of the puzzle framework, to help students create a meaningful experience

Neonatal neurobehavioral abnormalities and MRI brain injury in encephalopathic newborns treated with hypothermia

Background Neonatal Encephalopathy (NE) is a prominent cause of infant mortality and neurodevelopmental disability. Hypothermia is an effective neuroprotective therapy for newborns with encephalopathy. Post-hypothermia functional–anatomical correlation between neonatal neurobehavioral abnormalities and brain injury findings on MRI in encephalopathic newborns has not been previously described. Aim To evaluate the relationship between neonatal neurobehavioral abnormalities and brain injury on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in encephalopathic newborns treated with therapeutic hypothermia. Study design Neonates with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) referred for therapeutic hypothermia were prospectively enrolled in this observational study. Neurobehavioral functioning was assessed with the NICU network neurobehavioral scale (NNNS) performed at target age 14 days. Brain injury was assessed by MRI at target age 7–10 days. NNNS scores were compared between infants with and without severe MRI injury. Subjects & outcome measures Sixty-eight term newborns (62% males) with moderate to severe encephalopathy underwent MRI at median 8 days (range 5–16) and NNNS at median 12 days of life (range 5–20). Fifteen (22%) had severe injury on MRI. Results Overall Total Motor Abnormality Score and individual summary scores for Non-optimal Reflexes and Asymmetry were higher, while Total NNNS Z-score across cognitive/behavioral domains was lower (reflecting poorer performance) in infants with severe MRI injury compared to those without (p \u3c 0.05). Conclusions Neonatal neurobehavioral abnormalities identified by the NNNS are associated with MRI brain injury in encephalopathic newborns post-hypothermia. The NNNS can provide an early functional assessment of structural brain injury in newborns, which may guide rehabilitative therapies in infants after perinatal brain injury

Culture-Modified Bone Marrow Cells Attenuate Cardiac and Renal Injury in a Chronic Kidney Disease Rat Model via a Novel Antifibrotic Mechanism

BACKGROUND: Most forms of chronic kidney disease are characterized by progressive renal and cardiac fibrosis leading to dysfunction. Preliminary evidence suggests that various bone marrow-derived cell populations have antifibrotic effects. In exploring the therapeutic potential of bone marrow derived cells in chronic cardio-renal disease, we examined the anti-fibrotic effects of bone marrow-derived culture modified cells (CMCs) and stromal cells (SCs). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In vitro, CMC-conditioned medium, but not SC-conditioned medium, inhibited fibroblast collagen production and cell signalling in response to transforming growth factor-beta. The antifibrotic effects of CMCs and SCs were then evaluated in the 5/6 nephrectomy model of chronic cardio-renal disease. While intravascular infusion of 10(6) SCs had no effect, 10(6) CMCs reduced renal fibrosis compared to saline in the glomeruli (glomerulosclerosis index: 0.8+/-0.1 v 1.9+/-0.2 arbitrary units) and the tubulointersitium (% area type IV collagen: 1.2+/-0.3 v 8.4+/-2.0, p<0.05 for both). Similarly, 10(6) CMCs reduced cardiac fibrosis compared to saline (% area stained with picrosirius red: 3.2+/-0.3 v 5.1+/-0.4, p<0.05), whereas 10(6) SCs had no effect. Structural changes induced by CMC therapy were accompanied by improved function, as reflected by reductions in plasma creatinine (58+/-3 v 81+/-11 micromol/L), urinary protein excretion (9x/divided by 1 v 64x/divided by 1 mg/day), and diastolic cardiac stiffness (left ventricular end-diastolic pressure-volume relationship: 0.030+/-0.003 v 0.058+/-0.011 mm Hg/microL, p<0.05 for all). Despite substantial improvements in structure and function, only rare CMCs were present in the kidney and heart, whereas abundant CMCs were detected in the liver and spleen. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Together, these findings provide the first evidence suggesting that CMCs, but not SCs, exert a protective action in cardio-renal disease and that these effects may be mediated by the secretion of diffusible anti-fibrotic factor(s)

Introductory programming: a systematic literature review

As computing becomes a mainstream discipline embedded in the school curriculum and acts as an enabler for an increasing range of academic disciplines in higher education, the literature on introductory programming is growing. Although there have been several reviews that focus on specific aspects of introductory programming, there has been no broad overview of the literature exploring recent trends across the breadth of introductory programming. This paper is the report of an ITiCSE working group that conducted a systematic review in order to gain an overview of the introductory programming literature. Partitioning the literature into papers addressing the student, teaching, the curriculum, and assessment, we explore trends, highlight advances in knowledge over the past 15 years, and indicate possible directions for future research

Evaluating the clinical and cost effectiveness of a behaviour change intervention for lowering cardiovascular disease risk for people with severe mental illnesses in primary care (PRIMROSE study):study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: People with severe mental illnesses die up to 20 years earlier than the general population, with cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death. National guidelines recommend that the physical care of people with severe mental illnesses should be the responsibility of primary care; however, little is known about effective interventions to lower cardiovascular disease risk in this population and setting. Following extensive peer review, funding was secured from the United Kingdom National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to deliver the proposed study. The aim of the trial is to test the effectiveness of a behavioural intervention to lower cardiovascular disease risk in people with severe mental illnesses in United Kingdom General Practices. METHODS/DESIGN: The study is a cluster randomised controlled trial in 70 GP practices for people with severe mental illnesses, aged 30 to 75 years old, with elevated cardiovascular disease risk factors. The trial will compare the effectiveness of a behavioural intervention designed to lower cardiovascular disease risk and delivered by a practice nurse or healthcare assistant, with standard care offered in General Practice. A total of 350 people will be recruited and followed up at 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome is total cholesterol level at the 12-month follow-up and secondary outcomes include blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, smoking status, quality of life, adherence to treatments and services and behavioural measures for diet, physical activity and alcohol use. An economic evaluation will be carried out to determine the cost effectiveness of the intervention compared with standard care. DISCUSSION: The results of this pragmatic trial will provide evidence on the clinical and cost effectiveness of the intervention on lowering total cholesterol and addressing multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors in people with severe mental illnesses in GP Practices. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN13762819 . Date of Registration: 25 February 2013. Date and Version Number: 27 August 2014 Version 5