A Relationship Between Auditory Evoked Responses to Speech Sounds Recorded at Birth and Vocabulary Size as Measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Administered at Three Years of Age

The role of biological components as related to language processes has received increased attention in recent years. Evidence from a variety of different methodologies has indicated the presence of early hemisphere differences in young infants. Yet the relationship between such early differences and later language development has remained unclear although several recent reports suggest a marked relationship between the two. The present paper examined the relationship between such lateralized responses in young infants and performance on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary test at three years of age

Spaces where we know who to be: Black girls reading reflections of and speaking for themselves

This study explores how academically talented Black girls read, write and narrate their lived experiences while attending a predominantly white, selective admissions urban high school. Black girls in these types of settings often experience feelings of isolation and silencing, unjust treatment, and underrepresentation in the curriculum (Carter, 2006; Fordham, 1996; Henry, 1998b; Pastor et al., 1996; Rollock, 2007). Drawing from a year-long qualitative study on the development and enactment of a special interest class, this narrative inquiry documents the co-construction of this class, or safe space, with eight young women. Drawing upon Critical Race Theory, Black feminist epistemology, and New Literacy Studies, the study addresses questions of agency, social injustice, and under/representation by exploring with Black girls the counternarratives of their lived experiences. This study describes how young Black women used discursive and literacy practices to transgress common notions of Black girlhood, as well as to sort out queries into their own identities. In this setting, all of the students were academically gifted, so the usual issues often facing Black students in schools in terms of the achievement gap were absent. Instead, the participants in this study explored issues of racial tensions in and out of school. The data in this study suggest that the participants have feelings of invisibility in school, experience social injustice both in and out of school, and struggle with complex relationships with other Black kids. Additionally, the space that was created within the context of this study was used by the participants not only to work on their individual identities, but also to help each other sort through some of the disruptions they were facing in their common experiences. The stories of the participants in this study offer new perspectives on socially just educational practices for gifted Black girls. They also suggest a number of opportunities and challenges associated with addressing racial tensions in schools, and confirm the importance of capitalizing on students\u27 epistemologies. This study examines possibilities for reimagining what it would mean to have multiracial educational practices that respect and build on the complexities of the concept of diversity

Spaces where we know who to be: Black girls reading reflections of and speaking for themselves

This study explores how academically talented Black girls read, write and narrate their lived experiences while attending a predominantly white, selective admissions urban high school. Black girls in these types of settings often experience feelings of isolation and silencing, unjust treatment, and underrepresentation in the curriculum (Carter, 2006; Fordham, 1996; Henry, 1998b; Pastor et al., 1996; Rollock, 2007). Drawing from a year-long qualitative study on the development and enactment of a special interest class, this narrative inquiry documents the co-construction of this class, or safe space, with eight young women. Drawing upon Critical Race Theory, Black feminist epistemology, and New Literacy Studies, the study addresses questions of agency, social injustice, and under/representation by exploring with Black girls the counternarratives of their lived experiences. This study describes how young Black women used discursive and literacy practices to transgress common notions of Black girlhood, as well as to sort out queries into their own identities. In this setting, all of the students were academically gifted, so the usual issues often facing Black students in schools in terms of the achievement gap were absent. Instead, the participants in this study explored issues of racial tensions in and out of school. The data in this study suggest that the participants have feelings of invisibility in school, experience social injustice both in and out of school, and struggle with complex relationships with other Black kids. Additionally, the space that was created within the context of this study was used by the participants not only to work on their individual identities, but also to help each other sort through some of the disruptions they were facing in their common experiences. The stories of the participants in this study offer new perspectives on socially just educational practices for gifted Black girls. They also suggest a number of opportunities and challenges associated with addressing racial tensions in schools, and confirm the importance of capitalizing on students\u27 epistemologies. This study examines possibilities for reimagining what it would mean to have multiracial educational practices that respect and build on the complexities of the concept of diversity

Potential Benefits of Dietary Fibre Intervention in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Intestinal dysbiosis is thought to be an important cause of disease progression and the gastrointestinal symptoms experienced in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Inflammation appears to be a major contributor in perpetuating a dysregulated gut microbiota. Although current drug therapies can significantly induce and maintain disease remission, there is no cure for these diseases. Nevertheless, ongoing human studies investigating dietary fibre interventions may potentially prove to exert beneficial outcomes for IBD. Postulated mechanisms include direct interactions with the gut mucosa through immunomodulation, or indirectly through the microbiome. Component species of the microbiome may degrade dietary-fibre polysaccharides and ferment the products to form short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate. Prebiotic dietary fibres may also act more directly by altering the composition of the microbiome. Longer term benefits in reducing the risk of more aggressive disease or colorectal cancer may require other dietary fibre sources such as wheat bran or psyllium. By critically examining clinical trials that have used dietary fibre supplements or dietary patterns containing specific types or amounts of dietary fibres, it may be possible to assess whether varying the intake of specific dietary fibres may offer an efficient treatment for IBD patients

Bacterial antimutagenesis by hydroxycinnamic acids from plant cell walls

We have determined the abilities of (E)-ferulic acid, (E)-p-coumaric acid and (E,E)-5-5-dehydrodiferulic acid to protect against different types of mutation in a simple bacterial model. These antimutagenic properties were compared with those of the related compound curcumin, and also with those of an extract containing hydroxycinnamic acids obtained by the saponification of the cell walls of wheat coleoptiles. Three known mutagens, bleomycin, hydrogen peroxide and 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) were used to chemically induce reversion mutation, while the known antimutagen Trolox was used as a positive control. Both the pure hydroxycinnamic acids and the extract from the cell walls showed antimutagenic properties. It is known that hydroxycinnamic acids ester-linked to plant cell walls can be released in the human colon by the action of microbial esterases. Providing the current data extrapolate to mammalian cells, they suggest that antimutagenic properties of hydroxycinnamic acids released from plant cell walls could play a role in dietary fibre protection against cancer