Will buffer zones around schools in agricultural areas be adequate to protect children from the potential adverse effects of pesticide exposure?

California has proposed limiting agricultural pesticide use within 0.4 km of schools and childcare facilities. However, the 0.4-km buffer may not be appropriate for all pesticides because of differing toxicities, fate, and application methods. Living near pesticide use has been associated with poorer birth outcomes, neurodevelopment, and respiratory function in children. More research about exposures in schools, childcare facilities, and homes is needed. Despite incomplete science, this regulation is an important step to reduce potential exposures to children. The most vulnerable exposure period may be in utero, and future regulations should also aim to reduce exposures to pregnant women

Decline and fall:a biological, developmental, and psycholinguistic account of deliberative language processes and ageing

Background: This paper reviews the role of deliberative processes in language: those language processes that require central resources, in contrast to the automatic processes of lexicalisation, word retrieval, and parsing. 10 Aims: We describe types of deliberative processing, and show how these processes underpin high-level processes that feature strongly in language. We focus on metalin- guistic processing, strategic processing, inhibition, and planning. We relate them to frontal-lobe function and the development of the fronto-striate loop. We then focus on the role of deliberative processes in normal and pathological development and ageing, 15 and show how these processes are particularly susceptible to deterioration with age. In particular, many of the commonly observed language impairments encountered in ageing result from a decline in deliberative processing skills rather than in automatic language processes. Main Contribution: We argue that central processing plays a larger and more important 20 role in language processing and acquisition than is often credited. Conclusions: Deliberative language processes permeate language use across the lifespan. They are particularly prone to age-related loss. We conclude by discussing implications for therapy

The Effects of Elevated CO2 Levels on Broad Bean, Vicia faba, Growth/Defense Tradeoffs

Atmospheric changes, associated with global climate change, are increasing at an unprecedented rate. Plants generally display higher rates of growth in response to elevated CO2 levels, but this response varies among species. In addition, very little is known about how plant growth/defense tradeoffs will be altered by increasing CO2 levels. By raising Broad bean, Vicia faba L., plants under ambient (400 ppm) and elevated (900 ppm) levels of CO2, it was shown that atmospheric composition directly altered plant growth/defense tradeoffs. Plants grown under elevated CO2 had lighter stem weights but greater numbers of extrafloral nectaries and higher rates of extrafloral nectar secretion. Thus, plants grown under elevated CO2 invested more in defense (extrafloral nectaries and extrafloral nectar production) than growth (biomass). These results indicate that CO2 may act as a stressor for Broad bean plants

Auditory Processing in Fluency Disorders

One possible cause of stuttering could be related to Auditory Processing Disorders (APD). However, at the present time there are few research studies that are able to support the relationship of APD and stuttering. One suggested link between auditory dysfunction and stuttering is that the poorer auditory processing scores by stutters reflect a basic auditory deficit, which interferes with fluency because speech is monitored through auditory feedback. The first technique to study binaural masking is the Masking Level Difference (MLD). The MLD is the difference between the SoNo and the SpNo binaurally masked thresholds. For the SoNo condition noise stimuli are presented to each ear at the same noise level and under the same conditions. However, for the SpNo condition, the signal is inverted 180 degrees. Under these two stimulus conditions the SpNo condition has a better threshold compared to the SoNo. The MLD threshold is the difference of the SoNo from the SpNo conditions. The second method of testing auditory processing differences can be accomplished using Backward Masking (BM). In a BM paradigm a target signal is presented followed by a masking signal. Typically, a pure tone is presented for 20 msec, followed by a 50 msec wide-band noise masker. Greater masking, both for the MLD and the BM tasks have been observed in subjects that are known to have APD. This study compared the results of these tests on stuttering subjects to that of non-stuttering controls. Stuttering subjects and age and gender matched non-stuttering control subjects were utilized. All subjects were at least 18 years of age

THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATION IN AN INTENSIVE COMPREHENSIVE APHASIA PROGRAM (ICAP) ON DEPRESSION IN PATIENTS WITH APHASIA

Title - The Impact of Participation in an Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (ICAP) on Depression in Patients with Aphasia. Purpose - The purpose of this quantitative research study was to provide an objective, retrospective analysis of the impact of participating in an intensive comprehensive aphasia program (ICAP) on depression in persons with aphasia (PWA) as measured by one standardized measure, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Methods - Participants included eight stroke survivors with aphasia and their family caregivers who participated in the summer 2018 ICAP at the University of Montana. Prior to and immediately following treatment, all participants underwent comprehensive cognitive-linguistic and psychosocial evaluation. The ICAP included 4.5 hours of treatment per day, 4 days per week, for 4 weeks. The ICAP treatment included individual, group, and technology-based speech, language, and cognitive therapy sessions, recreational outings, and home programming. Family caregiver education sessions were provided once per week, and family caregiver group counseling sessions occurred twice weekly. Results of pre and post-treatment administration of the GDS and implications of those results will be discussed. Significance - The significance of this project is multifaceted. The ICAP treatment model is relatively unexamined, with approximately 12-15 ICAPs existing worldwide. This ICAP is unique as it is the only ICAP with an interdisciplinary collaboration between speech-language pathology and counseling to address participant psychosocial well-being. Neglecting to treat depression and psychosocial well-being in PWA’s may slow recovery rates and hinder patient outcomes. Functional disabilities, such as depression, impact treatment outcomes and overall quality of life. The ICAP model encompasses the practice of treating the patient as a whole which may lessen the prevalence of depression and result in improved outcomes, both in rehabilitation and in PWA’s quality of life