High taurine supplementation in plant protein-based diets improves growth and organoleptic characteristics of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

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The development of children's metamorphological abilities from kindergarten to grade 2 and their relationship with learning to read and spell

This research examined the longitudinal development of 215 children’s metamorphological abilities from kindergarten to the second grade of primary school and their relationship with learning to read and learning to spell. Morphological awareness was assessed both in kindergarten and in the first two grades of primary school with seven tasks, each of which evaluated different metamorphological abilities. At the same time, the children in kindergarten were evaluated for their general cognitive abilities (e.g. short-term memory, expressive vocabulary) and their early literacy skills (e.g. sound-letter knowledge, phonological awareness). Participants in the survey were also the children’s preschool teachers and parents, who were asked to respond via questionnaires on the frequency of teaching practices in the cultivation of morphological knowledge and the frequency of children’s contact with the written language during the preschool years respectively. At the end of both A and B classes of primary school, their reading ability was evaluated based on their decoding accuracy and speed of words and non-words as well as on their reading comprehension. At the same period, their spelling ability was assessed viewing both their spelling of inflectional suffixes and spelling of stems in words and non-words.The results indicated both the evolution and the different rate of growth of metamorphological skills and the close relationship with specific cognitive and metalinguistic factors. It also highlighted the prognostic role of morphological awareness in reading comprehension, and secondly, in reading accuracy of words with morphemic features. On the contrary, the results did not record any contribution of metamorphological skills to reading speed of words and non-words regardless of their morphemic structure. In addition, they identified the prognostic role of morphological awareness in spelling of inflectional suffixes in words but not in non-words. Finally, they demonstrated that specific metamorphological skills both in kindergarten and first grade contributed significantly to the spelling of stems in words and non-words in A and B grades respectively .The findings of this research may be useful in designing specific research approaches of cognitive functions of reading and spelling based on the development framework of individual metamorphological abilities.Η έρευνα αυτή εξέτασε διαχρονικά την ανάπτυξη των μεταμορφολογικών ικανοτήτων 215 παιδιών από το νηπιαγωγείο στη Β΄ τάξη δημοτικού και τη σχέση τους με τη μάθηση της ανάγνωσης και της ορθογραφημένης γραφής. Η μορφολογική επίγνωση αξιολογήθηκε τόσο στο νηπιαγωγείο όσο και στις δύο πρώτες τάξεις του δημοτικού με εφτά κριτήρια μέτρησης, καθένα από τα οποία αξιολογούσε διαφορετική μεταμορφολογική ικανότητα. Παράλληλα, στο νηπιαγωγείο τα παιδιά αξιολογήθηκαν ως προς τις γενικές γνωστικές τους ικανότητες (π.χ. βραχύχρονη μνήμη, εκφραστικό λεξιλόγιο) και τις πρώιμες δεξιότητες γραμματισμού (π.χ. γνώση ήχου γραμμάτων, φωνολογική επίγνωση). Συμμετέχοντες στην έρευνα ήταν επίσης οι νηπιαγωγοί και οι γονείς των παιδιών από τους οποίους ζητήθηκε να απαντήσουν μέσω ερωτηματολογίων για τη συχνότητα των διδακτικών πρακτικών ως προς την καλλιέργεια των μορφολογικών γνώσεων και για τη συχνότητα επαφής των παιδιών με το γραπτό λόγο κατά την προσχολική ηλικία αντίστοιχα. Στο τέλος τόσο της Α΄ όσο και της Β΄ τάξης του δημοτικού αξιολογήθηκε η αναγνωστική ικανότητα ως προς την ακρίβεια και την ταχύτητα ανάγνωσης λέξεων ψευδολέξεων και ως προς την αναγνωστική κατανόηση, καθώς και η ικανότητα ορθογραφημένης γραφής κλιτικών επιθημάτων και θεματικών ριζών σε λέξεις ψευδολέξεις.Τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας επισήμαναν αφενός την εξελικτική πορεία και το διαφορετικό ρυθμό ανάπτυξης των μεταμορφολογικών ικανοτήτων και αφετέρου τη στενή σχέση τους με συγκεκριμένους γνωστικούς και μεταγλωσσικούς παράγοντες. Επίσης, ανέδειξαν τον προγνωστικό ρόλο της μορφολογικής επίγνωσης στην αναγνωστική κατανόηση και σε ένα δεύτερο βαθμό στην ακρίβεια ανάγνωσης λέξεων με μορφηματικά χαρακτηριστικά. Αντίθετα, δεν κατέγραψαν οποιαδήποτε συμβολή των μεταμορφολογικών ικανοτήτων στην ταχύτητα ανάγνωσης λέξεων και ψευδολέξεων ανεξάρτητα από τη μορφηματική τους δομή. Επιπλέον, επισήμαναν τον προγνωστικό ρόλο της μορφολογικής επίγνωσης στην ορθογραφημένη γραφή των κλιτικών επιθημάτων των λέξεων και όχι των ψευδολέξεων. Τέλος, κατέδειξαν ότι συγκεκριμένες μεταμορφολογικές ικανότητες τόσο στο νηπιαγωγείο όσο και στην Α΄ τάξη συνέβαλαν σημαντικά στην ορθογραφημένη γραφή των θεματικών ριζών λέξεων και ψευδολέξεων στην Α΄ και τη Β΄ τάξη αντίστοιχα.Τα ευρήματα της παρούσας έρευνας μπορούν να χρησιμεύσουν στο σχεδιασμό ειδικότερων ερευνητικών προσεγγίσεων των γνωστικών λειτουργιών της ανάγνωσης και της ορθογραφημένης γραφής με βάση το αναπτυξιακό πλαίσιο των επιμέρους μεταμορφολογικών ικανοτήτων

The contribution of morphological awareness on the early stages of spelling development

Σκοπός της παρούσας διαχρονικής έρευνας ήταν να εξετάσει το βαθμό συμβολής της μορφολογικής επίγνωσης που διαθέτουν τα παιδιά στο Νηπιαγωγείο και στην Α΄ τάξη δημοτικού στην ανάπτυξη της ικανότητας ορθογραφημένης γραφής κλιτικών επιθημάτων στην Α΄ τάξη και στη Β΄ τάξη αντίστοιχα. Διακόσια δεκαπέντε παιδιά από το Νηπιαγωγείο έως και την Α΄ τάξη του δημοτικού αξιολογήθηκαν ως προς: (α) το επίπεδο ανάπτυξης της μορφολογικής τους επίγνωσης με διάφορες δοκιμασίες (π.χ. αναλογίας λέξεων, σχηματισμού – αποσχηματισμού παράγωγων λέξεων, αναστροφής συνθέτων), (β) γενικές γνωστικές δεξιότητες (μη λεκτική νοημοσύνη, γλωσσική νοητική ικανότητα, βραχύχρονη μνήμη, λεξιλόγιο), και (γ) πρώιμες δεξιότητες γραμματισμού (φωνολογική επίγνωση, αυτοματοποιημένη ονομασία ερεθισμάτων, γνώση γραμμάτων). Παράλληλα, στην Α΄ τάξη και στη Β΄ τάξη τα παιδιά αξιολογήθηκαν ως προς την ικανότητα ορθογραφημένης γραφής κλιτικών επιθημάτων σε λέξεις και ψευδολέξεις. Τα αποτελέσματα ιεραρχικών παλινδρομικών αναλύσεων έδειξαν ότι η μορφολογική επίγνωση των παιδιών στο Νηπιαγωγείο και στην Α΄ τάξη προέβλεψε σημαντικά την επίδοση στην ορθογραφημένη γραφή των κλιτικών επιθημάτων μόνο στις λέξεις, στην Α΄ τάξη και στη Β΄ τάξη αντίστοιχα, ανεξάρτητα από την επίδραση των γνωστικών και γλωσσικών δεξιοτήτων. Συνολικά, τα ευρήματα αυτά δείχνουν ότι η μορφολογική επίγνωση μπορεί να αποτελεί προγνωστικό δείκτη της ανάπτυξης της ικανότητας ορθογραφημένης γραφής ακόμη και κατά την πρώτη σχολική ηλικία.Λέξεις κλειδιά: μορφολογική επίγνωση, ορθογραφημένη γραφή κλιτικών επιθημάτων  Summary.Recent research studies in several alphabetic orthographic systems have shown a significant contribution of morphological awareness in the development of spelling ability. It is assumed that awareness of morphemes facilitates understanding and the appropriate application of morphophonemic principles of spelling. However, apart from its effect on understanding the conventions of the general spelling system of a language, morphological awareness seems to facilitate the orthographic performance of specific morphemes as well, especially inflectional suffixes, through their morphemic differentiation. The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the contribution of morphological awareness in Kindergarten and Grade 1, on children’s spelling ability of inflectional suffixes in both Grades 1 and 2. Two hundred and fifteen Greek – speaking children from Kindergarten up to Grade 1 were assessed on measures of: (a) morphological awareness (e.g., word analogy, decomposition of derivative words, reversing compounds), (b) general cognitive skills (nonverbal intelligence, verbal intelligence, short-term memory, vocabulary), and (c) early literacy skills (phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, letter knowledge). Also, in both Grades 1 and 2 children were assessed on measures of spelling ability of inflectional suffixes in words and pseudowords. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that the morphological awareness of children in both Kindergarten and Grade 1 predicted significantly their spelling of inflectional suffixes only in words, in Grades 1 and 2 respectively, beyond the effects of cognitive and language skills. Morphological awareness skills did not contribute significantly on children’s’ spelling of inflectional suffixes in pseudowords. Overall, these findings highlight that early morphological awareness skills contribute significantly to the development of spelling ability even at the early primary school years. Therefore, it is suggested that the teaching of spelling inflectional suffixes has to emphasize the semantic and syntactic role of inflectional suffixes through activities of writing rather than memorizing rules for the correct spelling of each inflectional suffix. Keywords: morphological awareness, spelling of inflectional suffixesRecent research studies in several alphabetic orthographic systems have shown a significant contribution of morphological awareness in the development of spelling ability. It is assumed that awareness of morphemes facilitates the application of morphophonemic principles on spelling. However, apart from its effect on understanding the conventions of the general spelling system of a language, morphological awareness seems to facilitate the orthographic performance of specific morphemes as well, especially inflectional suffixes, through their morphemic differentiation. The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the contribution of morphological awareness in Kindergarten and Grade 1, on children’s spelling ability of inflectional suffixes in both Grades 1 and 2. Two hundred and fifteen Greek – speaking children from Kindergarten up to Grade 1 were assessed on measures of: (a) morphological awareness (e.g., word analogy, decomposition of derivative words, reversing compounds), (b) general cognitive skills (nonverbal intelligence, verbal intelligence, short-term memory, vocabulary), and (c) early literacy skills (phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, letter knowledge). Also, in both Grades 1 and 2 children were assessed on measures of spelling ability of inflectional suffixes in words and pseudowords. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that the morphological awareness of children in both Kindergarten and Grade 1 predicted significantly their spelling of inflectional suffixes only in words, in Grades 1 and 2 respectively, beyond the effects of cognitive and language skills. Morphological awareness skills did not contribute significantly to children’s spelling of inflectional suffixes in pseudowords. Overall, these findings highlight that early morphological awareness skills contribute significantly to the development of spelling ability even at the early primary school years. Therefore, it is suggested that the teaching of spelling inflectional suffixes has to emphasize the semantic and syntactic role of inflectional suffixes through activities of writing rather than memorizing rules for the correct spelling of each inflectional suffix

The Longitudinal Contribution of Early Morphological Awareness Skills to Reading Fluency and Comprehension in Greek

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the role of three morphological awareness (MA) skills (inflection, derivation, and compounding) in word reading fluency and reading comprehension in a relatively transparent orthography (Greek). Two hundred and fifteen (104 girls; Mage = 67.40 months, at kindergarten) Greek children were followed from kindergarten (K) to grade 2 (G2). In K and grade 1 (G1), they were tested on measures of MA (two inflectional, two derivational, and three compounding), letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and general cognitive ability (vocabulary and non-verbal IQ). At the end of G1 and G2, they were also tested on word reading fluency and reading comprehension. The results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that the inflectional and derivational aspects of MA in K as well as all aspects of MA in G1 accounted for 2–5% of unique variance in reading comprehension. None of the MA skills predicted word reading fluency, after controlling for the effects of vocabulary and RAN. These findings suggest that the MA skills, even when assessed as early as in kindergarten, play a significant role in reading comprehension development

Chemical quality and sensory profile of the Mediterranean farmed fish shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa) as affected by its dietary protein/fat levels

Two groups of identically-reared shi drum, having received different diets (Group A: 45% protein and 16% fat and Group B: 48% protein and 12% fat), were compared for their yields and their chemical and sensory quality. They exhibited similar dressing and filleting yields, fat deposit and fillet composition. Differences were observed in the fillet fatty acids, with group B exhibiting higher 16:1ω-7, 16:1ω-9, 16:0, 18:0, and total saturate contents. Their fillet volatile compounds also differed (group A, in particular, contained higher levels of carbonyl-compounds). A triangle test revealed that the two shi drum groups were perceived as sensory different. A Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) test showed that group A (high dietary lipids) was perceived as having a significantly higher ‘fish oil’ aroma, hardness and elasticity, while group B was characterised mainly by higher ‘sweet taste’, higher ‘hay’ and ‘fresh seaweed’ aroma and ‘crab/prawn’ flavour

Taurine supplementation in high-soy diets affects fillet quality of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

This study evaluated the effects of taurine supplementation to diets containing a high dietary inclusion of soybean meal and soy protein concentrate on growth performance and fillet quality of juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). A control diet (C+) was produced containing high levels of fishmeal (30% FM) and soybean meal (20% SBM). Three other experimental diets were prepared to contain a lower FM inclusion (25%), and a higher amount of soy products (20% of SBM plus 12% soy protein concentrate, SPC) supplemented with three graded levels of crystalline taurine, 0.2%, 0.5% and 1.0% (T0.2, T0.5 and T1.0), respectively. A fifth diet was also prepared having a similar composition as the latter three diets but without the addition of crystalline taurine (negative control diet, C-). All diets were iso-nitrogenous (44%), iso-lipidic (20%) and iso-energetic (22 ​MJ ​kg−1) and were fed to five triplicate groups of sea bass (initial weight 86 g) over the course of a 12-week trial. Dietary taurine supplementation did not affect the growth performance and feed efficiency (P > 0.05). Proximate composition of whole body and muscle were similar among groups (P > 0.05). Taurine dietary supplementation had no effect on the level of intraperitoneal fat deposition (P > 0.05). However, muscle taurine concentration was found to increase gradually in sea bass fed the elevated levels of taurine (P  0.05) impact of diets on texture fillet springiness and cohesiveness was found (P > 0.05). In general, no significant differences were observed by the test panel, however, fish fed the diet supplemented with 1.0% taurine exhibited lower fillet elasticity, thus indicating a potential textural difference in accordance with those obtained from the texture analysis of fish muscles. The histological analysis did not indicate any differences in the gut and liver of the fish fed the experimental diets. Overall, the findings of the present study showed that 1.0% taurine supplementation in diets incorporating high levels of soy products might have a pronounced effect on flesh quality of European sea bass.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Growth, feed utilization, health and organoleptic characteristics of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fed extruded diets including low and high levels of three different legumes

Three legumes [field peas (P), chickpeas (CP) and faba beans (B)] were evaluated at two inclusion levels; 170 (L) and 350 g kg- 1 (H) in a 14-week experiment with triplicate groups of 97.9 ñ 6.1 g European seabass. A control diet included wheat meal, fish meal (FM) and a mixture of plant ingredients as protein sources. Diets, processed in a twin-screw extruder, were isonitrogenous and isoenergetic. All experimental diets improved growth compared to the control. Weight gain, feed intake, FCR and SGR were improved for fish fed diet CPL, while fish fed diet CPH gave higher FCR. Protein and starch digestibility were highest for the control diet, while fish fed diets CPL and PL showed significantly lower protein ADCs and lower starch ADC (P = 0.05) for diet PH. Among H diets, significantly better fillet yield was found for fish fed diet PH, but no other differences were found in seabass fillet organoleptic characteristics. Serum glucose and cholesterol were elevated in fish fed CP diets, while protein and triacylglycerols did not show significant differences among treatments. Fish fed the test diets showed no significant evidence of either immunosuppression or immunostimulation. Histology of liver, spleen, kidney and foregut revealed no pathological abnormalities. Field peas, chickpeas and faba beans can be included in European seabass diets up to 350 g kg- 1 substituting for wheat with no negative effects on growth performance, carcass composition or organoleptic characteristics

Cleavage Stage versus Blastocyst Stage Embryo Transfer in Oocyte Donation Cycles

Background and Objective: During the last few years, a trend has been noted towards embryos being transferred at the blastocyst stage, which has been associated with improved rates regarding implantation and clinical pregnancy in comparison to cleavage stage embryo transfers. There is a limited number of studies investigating this notion in oocyte donation cycles employing cryopreserved embryos. The aim of this study is to evaluate the implantation potential and clinical pregnancy rates between the day 3 cleavage stage and blastocyst stage embryo transfers in oocyte donation cycles employing vitrified embryos. Methods: This is a retrospective evaluation of oocyte donation frozen–thawed transfers completed in our clinic from January 2017 to December 2017. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection was conducted for all oocytes. Following fertilization, all embryos were cryopreserved either at the cleavage or blastocyst stage. Embryo transfer of two embryos was performed under direct sonographic guidance in all cases. Results: Our results confirmed a 55.6% clinical pregnancy (CP) resulting from day 3 embryo transfers, a 68.8% CP from day 5, and 71.4% CP from day 6. Significantly improved pregnancy rates were related to embryo transfers at the blastocyst stage when compared to cleavage stage transfers (68.9% and 55.6% respectively, p = 0.016). The risk with regards to multiple pregnancies was similar. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that in oocyte donation cycles employing vitrified embryos, embryo transfer at the blastocyst stage is accompanied with a significant improvement in pregnancy rates and merits further investigation