The Efficacy of Scaffolding Strategies in Holistic Language Intervention on Language and Phonologically Delayed Children.

This study investigated the efficacy of scaffolding strategies within holistic language intervention with six language and phonologically delayed preschool children. The scaffolding condition was compared to two experimental controls using either wh-questions or print awareness techniques. It was hypothesizsd that the use of scaffolding strategies would result in greater semantic displacement, syntactic complexity, and phonological complexity than the use of either the wh-questions or print awareness controls. Efficacy of the conditions was measured by (a) semantic levels, (b) mean length of utterance, and (c) percent of words produced correctly. An alternating treatment was employed in the single-subject study. The subjects included six preschool children ranging in age from 2;10 to 4;10. Many of the measures yielded significant differences between the scaffolding condition and the two control conditions. Differences all favored the scaffolding condition. Results suggested that during the scaffolding condition semantic levels increased, syntactic complexity increased, and phonological complexity increased. Five out of the six subjects increased semantic levels, three out of five subjects increased syntactic complexity, and four out of five subjects increased phonological complexity. Results are discussed relative to current intervention strategies, theoretical constructs, implications for intervention, and future research

Sheep Updates 2015 - Moora

This session covers thirteen papers from different authors: 1. The Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, Bruce Mullan, Sheep Industry Development Director, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 2. Western Australian sheep stocktake, Kate Pritchett and Kimbal Curtis, Research Officers, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 3. Tedera - a perenial forage legume to reduce your supplementary feeding in summer and autumn, Dr. Daniel Real, Senior Plant Breeder, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 4. National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for sheep and goats - what is the NLIS database? Jac Pearson, Biosecurity Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 5. Myths, Facts and the role of animal welfare in farming, Lynne Bradshaw, president, RSPCA WA 6. Latest research and development on breech strike prevention, Geoff Lindon, Manager Productivity and Animal Welfare, AWI 7. Lamb Survival Initiative and 100% Club, Katherine Davies, Development Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 8. Subsidised disease investigation pilot program, Kevin Hepworth, Program Coordinator, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 9. Using genomic technology to increase genetic gain, Stephen Lee, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide and Sheep Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) 10. A case study of sheep breeding using the latest genetic and genomic technology, Dawson Bradford, Producer, Hillcroft Farms, Narrogin WA 11. Economics of feed lotting - to feed-lot or not?, Lucy Anderton, Economist, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 12. Sheep industry traineeships - encouraging a new generation of farmers, Jackie Jarvis, Consultant, Agrifood Labour & Skills 13.Opportunities and challenges facing youth in the sheep and wool industry, Ben Patrick, Yarrawonga Stu

Sheep Updates 2015 - Merredin

This session covers fourteen papers from different authors: 1. The Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, Bruce Mullan, Sheep Industry Development Director, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 2. Western Australian sheep stocktake, Kate Pritchett and Kimbal Curtis, Research Officers, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 3. Wool demand and supply - short term volatility, long term opportunities, Chris Wilcox, Principal of Poimena Analysis 4. Myths, Facts and the role of animal welfare in farming, Lynne Bradshaw, president, RSPCA WA 5. Latest research and development on breech strike prevention, Geoff Lindon, Manager Productivity and Animal Welfare, AWI 6. Lamb Survival Initiative and 100% Club, Katherine Davies, Development Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 7. How to boost your lamb survival, Joe Young, Sheep Consultant, R.B. Young and Son 8. Using genomic technology to increase genetic gain, Stephen Lee, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide and Sheep Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) 9. A case study of sheep breeding using the latest genetic and genomic technology, Dawson Bradford Producer, Hillcroft Farms, Narrogin WA 10. The impact of lamb growth on meat quality, Khama Kelman Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 11. Economics of feed lotting - to feed-lot or not?, Lucy Anderton, Economist, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 12. National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for sheep and goats - what is the NLIS database? Jaq Pearson Biosecurity Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 13. Sheep industry traineeships - encouraging a new generation of farmers, Jackie Jarvis, Consultant, Agrifood Labour & Skills 14. Opportunities and challenges facing youth in the sheep and wool industry, Ben Patrick, Yarrawonga Stu

Sheep Updates 2015 - Ravensthorpe

This session covers fourteen papers from different authors: 1. The Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, Bruce Mullan, Sheep Industry Development Director, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 2. Western Australian sheep stocktake, Kate Pritchett and Kimbal Curtis, Research Officers, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 3. Wool demand and supply - short term volatility, long term opportunities, Chris Wilcox, Principal of Poimena Analysis 4. Lifetime management for maternal ewes, Mike Hyder, Research Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 5. National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for sheep and goats - what is the NLIS database? Leigh Sonnermann, Biosecurity Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 6. Myths, Facts and the role of animal welfare in farming, Lynne Bradshaw, president, RSPCA WA 7. Latest research and development on breech strike prevention, Geoff Lindon, Manager Productivity and Animal Welfare, AWI 8. Lamb Survival Initiative and 100% Club, Katherine Davies, Development Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 9. How to boost your lamb survival, Joe Young, Sheep Consultant, R.B. Young and Son 10. Using genomic technology to increase genetic gain, Stephen Lee, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide and Sheep Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) & Ian Robertson, Merinotech WA 11. Economics of feed lotting - to feed-lot or not?, Lucy Anderton, Economist, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 12. Anameka and other shrubs to fill feed gaps, Hayley Norman CSIRO & Ed Barrett-Lennard UWA & Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 13. Sheep industry traineeships - encouraging a new generation of farmers, Jackie Jarvis, Consultant, Agrifood Labour & Skills 14. Opportunities and challenges facing youth in the sheep and wool industry, Ben Patrick, Yarrawonga Stu

Sheep Updates 2015 - Katanning

This session covers fourteen papers from different authors: 1. The Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, Bruce Mullan, Sheep Industry Development Director, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 2. Western Australian sheep stocktake, Kate Pritchett and Kimbal Curtis, Research Officers, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 3. Wool demand and supply - short term volatility, long term opportunities, Chris Wilcox, Principal of Poimena Analysis 4. Lifetime management for maternal ewes, Mike Hyder, Research Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 5. National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for sheep and goats - what is the NLIS database? Leigh Sonnermann, Biosecurity Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 6. Myths, Facts and the role of animal welfare in farming, Lynne Bradshaw, president, RSPCA WA 7. Latest research and development on breech strike prevention, Geoff Lindon, Manager Productivity and Animal Welfare, AWI 8. Lamb Survival Initiative and 100% Club, Katherine Davies, Development Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 9. How to boost your lamb survival, Joe Young, Sheep Consultant, R.B. Young and Son 10. Using genomic technology to increase genetic gain, Stephen Lee, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide and Sheep Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) & Ian Robertson, Merinotech WA 11. Economics of feed lotting - to feed-lot or not?, Lucy Anderton, Economist, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 12. Anameka and other shrubs to fill feed gaps, Hayley Norman CSIRO & Ed Barrett-Lennard UWA & Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia 13. Sheep industry traineeships - encouraging a new generation of farmers, Jackie Jarvis, Consultant, Agrifood Labour & Skills 14. Opportunities and challenges facing youth in the sheep and wool industry, Ben Patrick, Yarrawonga Stu

Association of the platelet GPIIb/IIIa polymorphism with atherosclerotic plaque morphology. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Platelet activation and aggregation play an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. We examined the association of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the GPIIIa platelet glycoprotein (Leu33Pro) with carotid artery plaque morphology and with expression of platelet markers using data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Carotid MRI study

Ten-year mortality, disease progression, and treatment-related side effects in men with localised prostate cancer from the ProtecT randomised controlled trial according to treatment received

Background The ProtecT trial reported intention-to-treat analysis of men with localised prostate cancer randomly allocated to active monitoring (AM), radical prostatectomy, and external beam radiotherapy. Objective To report outcomes according to treatment received in men in randomised and treatment choice cohorts. Design, setting, and participants This study focuses on secondary care. Men with clinically localised prostate cancer at one of nine UK centres were invited to participate in the treatment trial comparing AM, radical prostatectomy, and radiotherapy. Intervention Two cohorts included 1643 men who agreed to be randomised and 997 who declined randomisation and chose treatment. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis Analysis was carried out to assess mortality, metastasis and progression and health-related quality of life impacts on urinary, bowel, and sexual function using patient-reported outcome measures. Analysis was based on comparisons between groups defined by treatment received for both randomised and treatment choice cohorts in turn, with pooled estimates of intervention effect obtained using meta-analysis. Differences were estimated with adjustment for known prognostic factors using propensity scores. Results and limitations According to treatment received, more men receiving AM died of PCa (AM 1.85%, surgery 0.67%, radiotherapy 0.73%), whilst this difference remained consistent with chance in the randomised cohort (p = 0.08); stronger evidence was found in the exploratory analyses (randomised plus choice cohort) when AM was compared with the combined radical treatment group (p = 0.003). There was also strong evidence that metastasis (AM 5.6%, surgery 2.4%, radiotherapy 2.7%) and disease progression (AM 20.35%, surgery 5.87%, radiotherapy 6.62%) were more common in the AM group. Compared with AM, there were higher risks of sexual dysfunction (95% at 6 mo) and urinary incontinence (55% at 6 mo) after surgery, and of sexual dysfunction (88% at 6 mo) and bowel dysfunction (5% at 6 mo) after radiotherapy. The key limitations are the potential for bias when comparing groups defined by treatment received and changes in the protocol for AM during the lengthy follow-up required in trials of screen-detected PCa. Conclusions Analyses according to treatment received showed increased rates of disease-related events and lower rates of patient-reported harms in men managed by AM compared with men managed by radical treatment, and stronger evidence of greater PCa mortality in the AM group. Patient summary More than 95 out of every 100 men with low or intermediate risk localised prostate cancer do not die of prostate cancer within 10 yr, irrespective of whether treatment is by means of monitoring, surgery, or radiotherapy. Side effects on sexual and bladder function are better after active monitoring, but the risks of spreading of prostate cancer are more common

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Functional and quality of life outcomes of localised prostate cancer treatments (prostate testing for cancer and treatment [ProtecT] study)

Objective To investigate the functional and quality of life (QoL) outcomes of treatments for localised prostate cancer and inform treatment decision-making. Patients and Methods Men aged 50–69 years diagnosed with localised prostate cancer by prostate-specific antigen testing and biopsies at nine UK centres in the Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment (ProtecT) trial were randomised to, or chose one of, three treatments. Of 2565 participants, 1135 men received active monitoring (AM), 750 a radical prostatectomy (RP), 603 external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with concurrent androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) and 77 low-dose-rate brachytherapy (BT, not a randomised treatment). Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) completed annually for 6 years were analysed by initial treatment and censored for subsequent treatments. Mixed effects models were adjusted for baseline characteristics using propensity scores. Results Treatment-received analyses revealed different impacts of treatments over 6 years. Men remaining on AM experienced gradual declines in sexual and urinary function with age (e.g., increases in erectile dysfunction from 35% of men at baseline to 53% at 6 years and nocturia similarly from 20% to 38%). Radical treatment impacts were immediate and continued over 6 years. After RP, 95% of men reported erectile dysfunction persisting for 85% at 6 years, and after EBRT this was reported by 69% and 74%, respectively (P < 0.001 compared with AM). After RP, 36% of men reported urinary leakage requiring at least 1 pad/day, persisting for 20% at 6 years, compared with no change in men receiving EBRT or AM (P < 0.001). Worse bowel function and bother (e.g., bloody stools 6% at 6 years and faecal incontinence 10%) was experienced by men after EBRT than after RP or AM (P < 0.001) with lesser effects after BT. No treatment affected mental or physical QoL. Conclusion Treatment decision-making for localised prostate cancer can be informed by these 6-year functional and QoL outcomes