COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION OF MATHEMATICAL OPERATIONS IN ADHD AND TYPICAL STUDENTS – THE ONLINE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

This study examines the effectiveness of Computer – Assisted Instruction (CAI) on mathematical operations of addition and subtraction performance of students diagnosed with Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder and their typical peers, in the context of an online Learning Management System. The mathematical operation performance of students was assessed right before, just after and after three months’ time in “paper and pencil” and CAI conditions in order to determine maintenance of intervention’s effects. Six ADHD students diagnosed by public centers of diagnosis and attending 1st to 3rd grades of elementary school took part in the study. They were facing minor to major difficulties in mathematical operations of addition and subtraction. Twelve typical students of the same age and with no mathematical difficulties also took part. The research method was an experimental 2 (groups) X 4 (conditions) nonequivalent-control group design was created as students were different by ADHD existence. Typical students had significantly better performance in mathematical operations prior, after and in CAI implementation compared to the ADHD students with major problems. Their performance was actually in the same levels with students with ADHD with minor difficulties. Examination of within ADHD subjects revealed significant differences when CAI implemented. CAI found to be an effective instructional strategy on mathematical operations’ performance either of students with ADHD or non-disabled in a “working at home” educational setting. Although all students had gains from CAI implementation, a “Mathew” effect was revealed, as typical and ADHD students with minor difficulties had better performance gains which were maintained more after treatment and a follow up examination after three months.  Article visualizations

Changing Beliefs about Health in Early Elementary School Years: Effect of a Motor Creativity Intervention

School physical education offers an ideal venue to promote healthy habits. Motor creativity has been found to effectively increase children’s learning and attitude formation. The aim of the present study was to test for the effectiveness of an intervention promoting motor creativity through healthy lifestyle stimuli in the promotion of elementary children’s knowledge regarding health, as well as in the change of their attitudes about nutrition and exercise. One hundred twelve elementary school students participated in the study. Participants were assigned into the experimental (n = 58) and control (n = 54) groups. Students performed the TCAM and they were administered the Health Lifestyle Evaluation Instrument along with measures of attitudes towards healthy nutrition and exercise. Analyses of variance with repeated measures showed a significant increase of knowledge towards health in the intervention group. However no differences were found between the two groups regarding the attitudes towards healthy nutrition and exercise. The results provided useful information regarding the effect of motor creativity in the learning process in elementary schools

GeneMANIA: a real-time multiple association network integration algorithm for predicting gene function

Abstract Background: Most successful computational approaches for protein function prediction integrate multiple genomics and proteomics data sources to make inferences about the function of unknown proteins. The most accurate of these algorithms have long running times, making them unsuitable for real-time protein function prediction in large genomes. As a result, the predictions of these algorithms are stored in static databases that can easily become outdated. We propose a new algorithm, GeneMANIA, that is as accurate as the leading methods, while capable of predicting protein function in real-time. Results: We use a fast heuristic algorithm, derived from ridge regression, to integrate multiple functional association networks and predict gene function from a single process-specific network using label propagation. Our algorithm is efficient enough to be deployed on a modern webserver and is as accurate as, or more so than, the leading methods on the MouseFunc I benchmark and a new yeast function prediction benchmark; it is robust to redundant and irrelevant data and requires, on average, less than ten seconds of computation time on tasks from these benchmarks. Conclusion: GeneMANIA is fast enough to predict gene function on-the-fly while achieving state-of-the-art accuracy. A prototype version of a GeneMANIA-based webserver is available at http://morrislab.med.utoronto.ca/prototype

Assessment of kinematic characteristics of preschoolers’ gait during the implementation of an intervention training program

The purpose of this study was to assess the kinematic characteristics of the gait of preschoolers before and after the implementation of an intervention training program. A group of twenty preschoolers without motor disorders participating in the study were assigned to two groups: the experimental group - 10 preschoolers (mean age 4.9±0.2 years) - and the control group - 10 preschoolers (mean age 4.8±0.3 years). Participants were assessed using the same test before and after the implementation of the intervention training program: they had to walk in a straight line three times along a distance of 5 meters (m). Kinematic variables were analysed based on 3D video processing using APAS software. Repeated Measures ANOVA was used to examine the effectiveness of the intervention training program (p<0.05). Results indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the Displacement of the Center of Mass during the Right Foot Support phase. There is a need for intervention training programs to enhance motor skill levels and the quality of movement in all children

Application of an integrated physical and functional screening approach to identify inhibitors of the Wnt pathway

Large-scale proteomic approaches have been used to study signaling pathways. However, identification of biologically relevant hits from a single screen remains challenging due to limitations inherent in each individual approach. To overcome these limitations, we implemented an integrated, multi-dimensional approach and used it to identify Wnt pathway modulators. The LUMIER protein–protein interaction mapping method was used in conjunction with two functional screens that examined the effect of overexpression and siRNA-mediated gene knockdown on Wnt signaling. Meta-analysis of the three data sets yielded a combined pathway score (CPS) for each tested component, a value reflecting the likelihood that an individual protein is a Wnt pathway regulator. We characterized the role of two proteins with high CPSs, Ube2m and Nkd1. We show that Ube2m interacts with and modulates β-catenin stability, and that the antagonistic effect of Nkd1 on Wnt signaling requires interaction with Axin, itself a negative pathway regulator. Thus, integrated physical and functional mapping in mammalian cells can identify signaling components with high confidence and provides unanticipated insights into pathway regulators

Foot Loading Characteristics of Chinese Bound Feet Women: A Comparative Analysis

The custom of bound feet among Chinese women has existed for almost a century. This practice has influenced the daily life of Chinese women, especially during everyday locomotion. The primary aim of this study is to analyze the loading patterns of bound feet. Specifically, the plantar pressure and center of pressure were analyzed for peak pressure, contact area, force time integral, center of pressure displacement velocity and trajectory in the anterior- posterior direction via a comparison with normal feet. The key outcomes from this work were that the forefoot and rearfoot of bound feet bear the whole loading during stance phase. The center of pressure displacement velocity of bound feet was also greatly reduced with the shortening of trajectories. This suggests that the proprioceptive system adjusts motor function to adapt to new loading patterns while maintaining locomotive stability. A biomechanical understanding of bound feet may assist with prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of bound feet disorders

The GeneMANIA prediction server: biological network integration for gene prioritization and predicting gene function

GeneMANIA (http://www.genemania.org) is a flexible, user-friendly web interface for generating hypotheses about gene function, analyzing gene lists and prioritizing genes for functional assays. Given a query list, GeneMANIA extends the list with functionally similar genes that it identifies using available genomics and proteomics data. GeneMANIA also reports weights that indicate the predictive value of each selected data set for the query. Six organisms are currently supported (Arabidopsis thaliana, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, Mus musculus, Homo sapiens and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and hundreds of data sets have been collected from GEO, BioGRID, Pathway Commons and I2D, as well as organism-specific functional genomics data sets. Users can select arbitrary subsets of the data sets associated with an organism to perform their analyses and can upload their own data sets to analyze. The GeneMANIA algorithm performs as well or better than other gene function prediction methods on yeast and mouse benchmarks. The high accuracy of the GeneMANIA prediction algorithm, an intuitive user interface and large database make GeneMANIA a useful tool for any biologist

Distribution and correlates of plantar hyperkeratotic lesions in older people

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Plantar hyperkeratotic lesions are common in older people and are associated with pain, mobility impairment and functional limitations. However, little has been documented in relation to the frequency or distribution of these lesions. The aim of this study was to document the occurrence of plantar hyperkeratotic lesions and the patterns in which they occur in a random sample of older people.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A medical history questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 301 people living independently in the community (117 men, 184 women) aged between 70 and 95 years (mean 77.2, SD 4.9), who also underwent a clinical assessment of foot problems, including the documentation of plantar lesion locations, toe deformities and the presence and severity of hallux valgus.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 301 participants, 180 (60%) had at least one plantar hyperkeratotic lesion. Those with plantar lesions were more likely to be female (χ²= 18.75, <it>p </it>< 0.01; OR = 2.86), have moderate to severe hallux valgus (χ²= 6.15, <it>p </it>< 0.02; OR = 2.95), a larger dorsiflexion range of motion at the ankle (39.4 ± 9.3 <it>vs </it>36.3 ± 8.4°; <it>t </it>= 2.68, <it>df </it>= 286, <it>p </it>< 0.01), and spent more time on their feet at home (5.1 ± 1.0 <it>vs </it>4.8 ± 1.3 hours, <it>t </it>= -2.46, <it>df </it>= 299, <it>p </it>= 0.01). No associations were found between the presence of plantar lesions and body mass index, obesity, foot posture, dominant foot or forefoot pain. A total of 53 different lesions patterns were observed, with the most common lesion pattern being "roll-off" hyperkeratosis on the medial aspect of the 1^stmetatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ), accounting for 12% of all lesion patterns. "Roll-off" lesions under the 1^stMPJ and interphalangeal joint were significantly associated with moderate to severe hallux valgus (<it>p </it>< 0.05), whereas lesions under the central MPJs were significantly associated with deformity of the corresponding lesser toe (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Factor analysis indicated that 62% of lesion patterns could be grouped under three broad categories, relating to medial, central and lateral locations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Plantar hyperkeratotic lesions affect 60% of older people and are associated with female gender, hallux valgus, toe deformity, increased ankle flexibility and time spent on feet, but are not associated with obesity, limb dominance, forefoot pain or foot posture. Although there are a wide range of lesion distribution patterns, most can be classified into medial, central or lateral groups. Further research is required to determine whether these patterns are related to the dynamic function of the foot or other factors such as foot pathology or morphology.</p