A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF ORAL LANGUAGE ABILITIES IN JUNIOR AND SENIOR KINDERGARTEN AS PREDICTORS OF READING OUTCOMES IN EARLY AND LATE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Literature supports that development of oral language is strongly related to future reading abilities and hence, academic success. In order to further investigate the oral language skills which may predict reading disorders, the present study reported a longitudinal investigation of the reading abilities of children in early and late elementary school who were originally assessed for their oral language abilities when they were in Junior Kindergarten (JK) and Senior Kindergarten (SK). Findings of the present study indicated that sentence repetition abilities predicted outcomes for reading accuracy, reading comprehension, as well as text levels on the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA). Further, story comprehension and retell abilities were also found to predict reading comprehension outcomes on the DRA. Overall, the investigated oral language skills predicted reading outcomes better at grade 3 than at grade 6. The oral language skills also predicted reading outcomes differently based on their assessment at JK or SK. Finally, the analysis revealed that significantly more kindergarten students categorized with not average speech and/or language (s/l) skills were distributed into below reading expectation categories on the DRA compared to average speech and language kindergarten students. Results from the present study may add to the literature supporting the use of early language markers to anticipate potential vulnerability for the development of literacy

The Challenges Facing Distance Students in Undertaking Geography Field Practical Projects: The Case of the Open University of Tanzania Students

This paper discusses the challenges facing distance students in Geography field Practical projects (GFPs) at The Open University of Tanzania (OUT). A random sample size of 19 students who participated in GFP1 in 2009 and 2010 were selected from randomly sampled regional centres of Singida, Dodoma, Njombe, and Morogoro centres of OUT. The respondents were interviewed using questionnaires on their experience in GFP. They also formed a focused discussion group (FDG) for this study. Both content analysis and descriptive analysis were used. Findings showed a downward trend of students’ attendance to fieldwork as compared to the early years when GFPs was introduced. The study sample revealed that, in 2006 the four selected regional centres recorded 375 (76.5%) students attended fieldwork out of 490 (100%) students who registered for GFP. In year 2010, only 132 (53.9%) attended out of 245 students who registered for GFP. Besides, 63.2% of the respondents in the study sample said they were supervised in GFP1 under limited time of 2-3 days as supervisors had to leave fieldwork due to time constraint. The paper recommends the urgent need to improve GFP organization, especially adherence to 21 days allocated for GFP and financial support in order to achieve its established objectives and goals at large.Key words: The Open University of Tanzania, Geography field Practical projects, challenges, distance educatio

Assessment on Vulnerable Youths Integration to Dar es Salaam Solid Waste Management for Improvement: Kinondoni Municipality Case

The present study assessed the possibility of integrating vulnerable youths to complement government and community based efforts in improving the existing municipal solid waste management crisis facing Dar es Salaam City using a case study of Kinondoni Municipality. The study was motivated by the fact that, many literature and mass media have extensively commented on uncollected decomposing heaps of solid waste rendering Dar es Salaam City to be ranked the 12th dirtiest city in Africa. This reported crisis of unmanged solid waste in Dar es slaam city, prompted the present study to conduct a problem-solving oriented research by looking at “solid waste collection” as one of the employment opportunities that could liberate the unprecedented growing numbers of unemployed youths frequently found on “vijiwe” (A Kiswahili word meaning “jobless corners”) sitting idle or contemplating to commit crimes for survival. To this direction, it was necessary to start by conducting a baseline survey in order to bench mark the magnitude of solid waste collection and challenges in the study area. Then the study assessed the potentiality of involving neighbourhood-based waste management groups and other partners with a view of seeking the possibility of integrating youths into community-based initiatives (CBI), community based organizations (CBOs) and self-employing individuals. Furthermore, where such community groups exist - but failed to attract youths to join in, the study used in-depth study to unearth the underlying causes so that they could be uprooted to facilitate an enabling environment of turning rampant solid waste collection a commercial and potential employer of vulnerable groups of youths in community areas. Research methodology involved the use of quantitative method to collect information from 6 youth camps randomly selected in informal settlements which required labour for effective collection of MSW. Thus, questionnaires and in-depth study were interchangeably employed to probe different stakeholder institutions involved in decentralized MSWM system on general performance in solid waste collection. They included CBOs, individuals and small scale private agents. Qualitative method based on in-depth study was equally employed in order to extract views of respondents from focused group discussions (FGDs). It was intended to obtain respondents particularly youth’s awareness, readiness and challenges in undertaking solid waste collection employment. Finally, the study drew conclusions and recommendations on the way forward to reducing Dar es Salaam city solid waste management crisis while sustaining employment to disadvantaged groups of youths.Key words: Solid waste, Community based Organizations (CBOs), Employment, waste collection

Corporate governance and financial performance of long-term insurance companies in South Africa

The research examines the effect between corporate governance and company-specific variables to financial performance among a sample of long-term insurance companies in South Africa from 2011 to 2016. The study employed a panel regression technique using board size, board independence, audit committee size and CEO tenure as proxies for corporate governance while controlling for firm size, reinsurance usage and leverage. The proxies used for financial performance were underwriting profits, return on assets (ROA) and returns on equity (ROE). The findings show that board size is the only corporate governance variable that is statistically significant with financial performance in the sample of South African longterm insurance providers. The remaining corporate governance variables did not have a statistically significant relationship with financial performance because each company in the sample set them in line with the recommendations outlined in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance. The implication of the adherence to the recommendations in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance reduced the variation in corporate governance structures between the companies in the sample. The findings also show leverage as the only control variable that is statistically significant with financial performance in the sample. The dissertation recommends that the corporate governance guidelines outlined in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance be made statutory in the South African longterm insurance sector, because these guidelines do not adversely affect the financial performance in a statistically significant way. Further, the dissertation recommends a board size ceiling be set in the sector to address the observed negative and statistically significant relationship between board size and financial performance. Finally, the dissertation recommends the use of regulation to limit the amount of leverage that companies in the sector can take on to address the observed negative and statistically significant relationship between leverage and financial performance

Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera L.): A review

Approaches for studying antimicrobial susceptibility and discovering new antimicrobial agents from the plants and other natural sources have been extensively utilized. Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, commonly known as Ashwagandha or Indian ginseng or winter cherry, is a popular medicinal plant in Ayurvedic medicine. The principal active compounds include several withanolide-type compounds. Various plant parts, like roots and less often leaves and fruits of Ashwagandha, have been used as plant-derived medicines. The plant possesses various pharmacological activities including antimicrobial activity. Many bacterial and fungal species have been used as a test microorganism for the assessment of the antimicrobial activity of extracts and purified compounds of various plant parts of Ashwagandha. In this article, we tried to compile and to discuss the information about the antimicrobial activity of W. somnifera. This will provide the platform for the researchers to select plants, plant parts, solvent system, test microorganisms, method of evaluation and other related factors affecting the analysis

Homeostatic cytokines orchestrate the segregation of CD4 and CD8 memory T-cell reservoirs in mice

Memory T cells (T_Ms) have been detected in many tissues but their quantitative distribution remains largely undefined. We show that in mice there is a remarkably biased accumulation of long-term CD4 T_Ms into mucosal sites (mainly gut, especially Peyer patches), and CD8 T_Ms into lymph nodes and spleen (in particular, peripheral lymph nodes [PLNs]). This distinction correlates with their differentiated expression of PLN- and gut-homing markers. CD8 and CD4 T_Ms selectively require the expression of PLN-homing marker CCR7 or gut-homing marker α4β7 for maintenance. PLNs and gut supply CD8 and CD4 T_Ms with their individually favored homeostatic cytokine, IL-15, or IL-7. Cytokine stimulation in turn regulates the different gut-homing marker expression on CD4 and CD8 T_Ms. IL-15 plays a major role in vivo regulating CD8 TMs homing to PLNs. Thus, the reservoir segregation of CD4 and CD8 T_Ms meets their individual needs for homeostatic cytokines and is under feedback control of cytokine stimulation

Obstacles to Nurse-Performed Ultrasound Guided Peripheral IV Placement

With an aging population, the rate of obesity, the regional prevalence of dialysis patients and the increase in IV drug abuse, obtaining routine vascular access in the emergency department (ED) has become more challenging. Ultrasound (US) guided IV placement has been pivotal in identifying deeper veins to access. This is traditionally performed by ED physicians, however given the time constraints, lower acuity patients who require US IV access can experience significant delays to care. We attempted to train ED nurses to perform this skill, however many trained nurses are still not attempting US IVs regularly. This study aimed to identify barriers to ED nurse performed US IV attempts

Social-Media, Influencers, and Adoption of an Eco-Friendly Product: Field Experiment Evidence from Rural China

Can low-cost marketing tools that are used to enhance business performance also contribute to creating a better world? The authors investigate the role of online social media tools in alleviating customer (farmer) uncertainty and promoting the adoption of a new ecofriendly pesticide in rural China. The key finding is that even for a new product such as a pesticide, a low-cost social media support platform effectively promotes its adoption. The combination of information from peers and the firm on the platform facilitates learning about product features and alleviates uncertainty associated with product quality and appropriate product usage. Nevertheless, at the trial stage of the funnel the platform underperforms the firm’s customized one-on-one support because available information does not resolve uncertainty in supplier credibility and product authenticity. Having an influencer on the platform, albeit not an expert on this product, vouching for its credibility helps resolve this funnel-holdup problem. From a theoretical perspective this paper provides suggestive evidence for referent influence and credibility signaling on social media platforms and their consequences for new product trial. The authors also provide direct empirical evidence on how information facilitates learning; a phenomenon typically assumed as being present in marketing studies estimating learning model

FGF23 Deficiency Leads to Mixed Hearing Loss and Middle Ear Malformation in Mice

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a circulating hormone important in phosphate homeostasis. Abnormal serum levels of FGF23 result in systemic pathologies in humans and mice, including renal phosphate wasting diseases and hyperphosphatemia. We sought to uncover the role FGF23 plays in the auditory system due to shared molecular mechanisms and genetic pathways between ear and kidney development, the critical roles multiple FGFs play in auditory development and the known hearing phenotype in mice deficient in klotho (KL), a critical co-factor for FGF23 signaling. Using functional assessments of hearing, we demonstrate that Fgf mice are profoundly deaf. Fgf mice have moderate hearing loss above 20 kHz, consistent with mixed conductive and sensorineural pathology of both middle and inner ear origin. Histology and high-voltage X-ray computed tomography of Fgf mice demonstrate dysplastic bulla and ossicles; Fgf mice have near-normal morphology. The cochleae of mutant mice appear nearly normal on gross and microscopic inspection. In wild type mice, FGF23 is ubiquitously expressed throughout the cochlea. Measurements from Fgf mice do not match the auditory phenotype of Kl−/− mice, suggesting that loss of FGF23 activity impacts the auditory system via mechanisms at least partially independent of KL. Given the extensive middle ear malformations and the overlap of initiation of FGF23 activity and Eustachian tube development, this work suggests a possible role for FGF23 in otitis media

miR-146a is a significant brake on autoimmunity, myeloproliferation, and cancer in mice

Excessive or inappropriate activation of the immune system can be deleterious to the organism, warranting multiple molecular mechanisms to control and properly terminate immune responses. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), ~22-nt-long noncoding RNAs, have recently emerged as key posttranscriptional regulators, controlling diverse biological processes, including responses to non-self. In this study, we examine the biological role of miR-146a using genetically engineered mice and show that targeted deletion of this gene, whose expression is strongly up-regulated after immune cell maturation and/or activation, results in several immune defects. Collectively, our findings suggest that miR-146a plays a key role as a molecular brake on inflammation, myeloid cell proliferation, and oncogenic transformation