Phonemic awareness of English second language learners

BACKGROUND : The PA skills of phonological blending and segmentation and auditory word discrimination relate directly to literacy and may be weak in English second language (EL2) learners. In South Africa, literacy skills have been found to be poor in especially EL2 learners. OBJECTIVES : The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of vowel perception and production intervention on phonemic awareness (PA) and literacy skills of Setswana first language (L1) learners. These learners are English second language (EL2) learners in Grade 3. METHOD : The present study employed a quasi-experimental, pre-test–post-test design. RESULTS : The findings of low–literacy skill levels concurred with previous investigations. However, post-test results of intervention in PA seemed to improve the literacy skills of EL2 learners. CONCLUSION : PA skills should be a crucial part of the literacy curriculum in South Africa.This work is based on the research supported in part by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (UNIQUE GRANT No: 92701).http://www.sajcd.org.za/index.php/SAJCDam2018Speech-Language Pathology and AudiologyAfrican Language

Proximal femur anatomy-implant geometry discrepancies

Objectives: Due to ongoing concern about femur anatomy-implant mismatches, this cross-sectional study aimed to create a geometric femur profile and used it to identify and quantify possible mismatches between femur anatomy and cephalomedullary nail dimensions. The work further aimed to assess whether patient demographics affect anatomy-implant coherence. Methods: One hundred skeletally mature complete femur computer tomography (CT) scans were collected and exported to software enabling landmark placement and measures with multiplanar reconstruction techniques. Results: Clinically relevant anatomy-implant discrepancies included the femur neck and shaft axis offset 6.1 ± 1.7 mm (95% CI [5.7–6.4]), femur radius of curvature 1.2 ± 0.3 m (95% CI [1.1–1.2]), femur anteversion 18.8 ± 9.2 (95% CI [16.9–20.6]). The implants reviewed in this study did not compensate for the femur neck and shaft axis offset and had a larger radius of curvature than the studied population. Clinically significant demographic geometry differences were not identified. Conclusion: There were discrepancies between femur anatomy and cephalomedullary nail implant design; however, no clinically significant femur feature inconsistency was identified among the demographic subgroups. Due to the identified anatomy-implant discrepancies, including the femur neck and shaft axis offset, we suggest that these measurements be considered for future implant design and surgical technique

Digital TKA Alignment Training with a New Digital Simulation Tool (Knee-CAT) Improves Process Quality, Efficiency, and Confidence

Individual alignment techniques have been introduced to restore patients’ unique anatomical variations during total knee arthroplasty. The transition from conventional mechanical alignment to individualised approaches, with the assistance of computer and/or robotic technologies, is challenging. The objective of this study was to develop a digital training platform with real patient data to educate and simulate various modern alignment philosophies. The aim was to evaluate the training effect of the tool by measuring the process quality and efficiency, as well as the post-training surgeon’s confidence with new alignment philosophies. Based on 1000 data sets, a web-based interactive TKA computer navigation simulator (Knee-CAT) was developed. Quantitative decisions on bone cuts were linked to the extension and flexion gap values. Eleven different alignment workflows were introduced. A fully automatic evaluation system for each workflow, with a comparison function for all workflows, was implemented to increase the learning effect. The results of 40 surgeons with different experience levels using the platform were assessed. Initial data were analysed regarding process quality and efficiency and compared after two training courses. Process quality measured by the percentage of correct decisions was increased by the two training courses from 45% to 87.5%. The main reasons for failure were wrong decisions on the joint line, tibia slope, femoral rotation, and gap balancing. Efficiency was obtained with a reduction in time spent per exercise from 4 min 28 s to 2 min 35 s (42%) after the training courses. All volunteers rated the training tool as helpful or extremely helpful for learning new alignment philosophies. Separating the learning experience from OR performance was mentioned as one of the main advantages. A novel digital simulation tool for the case-based learning of various alignment philosophies in TKA surgery was developed and introduced. The simulation tool, together with the training courses, improved surgeon confidence and their ability to learn new alignment techniques in a stress-free out-of-theatre environment and to become more time efficient in making correct alignment decision