FIRST GRADERS’ PREFERENCES FOR NARRATIVE AND/OR INFORMATION BOOKS AND PERCEPTIONS OF OTHER BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ BOOK PREFERENCES

In this article, we report on grade‐one children’s preferences for narrative and/or information books, and their perceptions of what boys and girls like to read. Data include responses on two book preference tasks by 40 children in four schools. Children chose books and explained the reasons for their choices. One task was a closed, force‐choice task, the other, an open‐ended task. Boys and girls had similar interests, either preferring stories or liking information books and stories to the same degree. Yet boys and girls perceived that boys prefer information texts and girls prefer narratives. The children’s perceptions reflect gendered stereotypes. Key words: literacy, reading, motivation, genre, gender Dans cet article, les auteurs signalent que les élèves de 1re année préfèrent les livres qui racontent des histoires ou donnent de l’information et présentent ce que, selon de ces élèves, les garçons et les filles aiment lire. Les données comprennent les réponses de 40 enfants dans quatre écoles à deux questionnaires, l’un à réponses libres et l’autre à choix multiples, sur les préférences en matière de livres. Les enfants ont choisi des livres et donné les raisons de leur choix. Les garçons et les filles avaient des intérêts similaires, préférant soit les histoires, soit les livres d’information et les histoires au même degré. Et pourtant, les garçons comme les filles avaient l’impression que les garçons aimaient mieux les livres d’information et les filles, les histoires. Les perceptions des enfants reflètent les stéréotypes marqués par le sexe. Mots clés : littératie, lecture, motivation, genre

Gathering the Voices: Marianne Lazlo

The aim of this project is to gather, contextualise and digitise oral testimony from men and women who sought sanctuary in Scotland to escape the racism of Nazi-dominated Europe

Sarcopenia/Muscle Mass is not a Prognostic Factor for Short- and Long-Term Outcome After Esophagectomy for Cancer

Background: Recent studies have suggested that sarcopenia is a prognostic risk indicator of postoperative complications and predicts survival in cancer patients. The aim of this study is to investigate whether sarcopenia is associated with postoperative short-term outcome (morbidity and mortality) and long-term survival in patients undergoing esophagectomy for cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Methods: All patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by esophagectomy for cancer, and of whom an adequate CT scan was available, were included in the current study. The presence of sarcopenia was defined by CT imaging using cut-off values of the total cross-sectional muscle tissue measured transversely at the third lumbar level. Results: A total number of 120 patients were eligible for analysis. Almost half of the patients (N = 54, 45 %) were classified as having sarcopenia; 24 sarcopenic patients (44 %) had overweight and 5 sarcopenic patients (9 %) were obese. Overall morbidity and mortality rate did not differ significantly between sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic patients, nor did long-term overall or disease-free survival. Also sarcopenic obesity was not associated with worse outcome. Conclusion: The presence of sarcopenia was not associated with a negative short- and long-term outcome in this selected group of esophageal cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by esophagectomy

Quaternary Structure Defines a Large Class of Amyloid-β Oligomers Neutralized by Sequestration

SummaryThe accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) as amyloid fibrils and toxic oligomers is an important step in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, there are numerous potentially toxic oligomers and little is known about their neurological effects when generated in the living brain. Here we show that Aβ oligomers can be assigned to one of at least two classes (type 1 and type 2) based on their temporal, spatial, and structural relationships to amyloid fibrils. The type 2 oligomers are related to amyloid fibrils and represent the majority of oligomers generated in vivo, but they remain confined to the vicinity of amyloid plaques and do not impair cognition at levels relevant to AD. Type 1 oligomers are unrelated to amyloid fibrils and may have greater potential to cause global neural dysfunction in AD because they are dispersed. These results refine our understanding of the pathogenicity of Aβ oligomers in vivo

Relationship of creative projects in anatomy to medical student professionalism, test performance and stress: an exploratory study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The anatomy course offers important opportunities to develop professionalism at an early stage in medical education. It is an academically significant course that also engenders stress in some students.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Over a three-year period, 115 of 297 students completed creative projects. Thirty-four project completers and 47 non-completers consented to participate in the study. Projects were analyzed for professionalism themes using grounded theory. A subset of project completers and non-completers were interviewed to determine their views about the stress of anatomy and medical school, as well as the value of the creative projects. We also compared test performance of project completers and non-completers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Projects completed early in the course often expressed ambivalence about anatomy, whereas later projects showed more gratitude and sense of awe. Project completers tended to report greater stress than noncompleters, but stated that doing projects reduced stress and caused them to develop a richer appreciation for anatomy and medicine. Project completers performed significantly lower than non-completers on the first written exam (pre-project). Differences between groups on individual exams after both the first and second creative project were nonsignificant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>For some students, creative projects may offer a useful way of reflecting on various aspects of professionalism while helping them to manage stress.</p

Wnt and Hedgehog Are Critical Mediators of Cigarette Smoke-Induced Lung Cancer

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world, and greater than 90% of lung cancers are cigarette smoke-related. Current treatment options are inadequate, because the molecular basis of cigarette-induced lung cancer is poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we show that human primary or immortalized bronchial epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke for eight days in culture rapidly proliferate, show anchorage-independent growth, and form tumors in nude mice. Using this model of the early stages of smoke-induced tumorigenesis, we examined the molecular changes leading to lung cancer. We observed that the embryonic signaling pathways mediated by Hedgehog and Wnt are activated by smoke. Pharmacological inhibition of these pathways blocked the transformed phenotype. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These experiments provide a model in which the early stages of smoke-induced tumorigenesis can be elicited, and should permit us to identify molecular changes driving this process. Results obtained so far indicate that smoke-induced lung tumors are driven by activation of two embryonic regulatory pathways, Hedgehog (Hh) and Wnt. Based on the current and emerging availability of drugs to inhibit Hh and Wnt signaling, it is possible that an understanding of the role of Hh and Wnt in lung cancer pathogenesis will lead to the development of new therapies

Impatience and Credit Behavior: Evidence from a Field Experiment

This paper tests whether heterogeneity of time preferences can explain individual credit behavior. In a field experiment targeting individuals from low-to-moderate income households, we measure individual time preferences through choice experiments, and then match these time preference measures to individual credit reports and annual tax returns. We find that, controlling for disposable income and other individual characteristics, individuals who are less patient have lower credit scores and higher default rates. Moreover, people with dynamically inconsistent (quasi-hyperbolic) preferences have higher active borrowing levels

Social Structure Predicts Genital Morphology in African Mole-Rats

BACKGROUND:African mole-rats (Bathyergidae, Rodentia) exhibit a wide range of social structures, from solitary to eusocial. We previously found a lack of sex differences in the external genitalia and morphology of the perineal muscles associated with the phallus in the eusocial naked mole-rat. This was quite surprising, as the external genitalia and perineal muscles are sexually dimorphic in all other mammals examined. We hypothesized that the lack of sex differences in naked mole-rats might be related to their unusual social structure. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We compared the genitalia and perineal muscles in three African mole-rat species: the naked mole-rat, the solitary silvery mole-rat, and the Damaraland mole-rat, a species considered to be eusocial, but with less reproductive skew than naked mole-rats. Our findings support a relationship between social structure, mating system, and sexual differentiation. Naked mole-rats lack sex differences in genitalia and perineal morphology, silvery mole-rats exhibit sex differences, and Damaraland mole-rats are intermediate. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:The lack of sex differences in naked mole-rats is not an attribute of all African mole-rats, but appears to have evolved in relation to their unusual social structure and reproductive biology