Relationships between working memory, expressive vocabulary and arithmetical reasoning in children with and without intellectual disabilities.

This experiment examined the relationships between working memory and two measures of achievement, namely expressive vocabulary and arithmetical reasoning, in children with and without intellectual disabilities (ID). For 11-12-year-old children with intellectual disabilities, memory measures tapping the central executive were the most important predictors of both expressive vocabulary and arithmetical reasoning, with phonological memory making a small additional contribution to expressive vocabulary. For mainstream 11-12-year-old children, phonological memory was the best predictor of expressive vocabulary, whereas, arithmetical reasoning ability was predicted by visual memory and to a lesser extent phonological memory. The third group of children, 7-8-year-old mainstream children, had been matched on mental age with the intellectual disability group. For these children the most important predictor of expressive vocabulary was phonological memory, with a small additional contribution from visual memory. Arithmetical reasoning was best predicted by memory measures tapping the central executive with an additional contribution from phonological memory. These results suggest that different working memory resources are used by children of varying ages and ability levels to carry out at least some cognitive tasks

Family Law and Social Welfare: Toward a New Equality

The rising divorce rate in Canada has had a differential economic impact upon men and women, and the author speculates ready divorce has been a major contributing factor in the \u27feminization of poverty . Principles in family law which have emerged for determining eligibility for support upon divorce or separation are not consistent with the principles of social assistance legislation. Future reforms must address the different economic positions of former husbands and wives following marital breakdown if the principles of equality and independence espoused as ideal are to apply to everyone

Multimedia technology and the acquisition of reading skills: An evaluation of Talking Stories.

Multimedia technology is bringing a new dimension to literacy-related educational software. Talking Book software is designed to support young children in independent reading practice.\ud This study took Talking Stories software, a constituent of the Oxford Reading Tree scheme, into the classroom to evaluate its effectiveness in supporting the acquisition of literacy skills with normal, beginning readers.\ud Reading practice with the computer was compared with reading practice with an equivalent printed book on 2 measures.\ud The results indicate significant benefits, particularly for less able and emergent readers on single word reading.\u

Accident frequency and unrealistic optimism: children's assessment of risk

Accidental injury is a major cause of mortality and morbidity among children, warranting research on their risk perceptions. Three hundred and seven children aged 10-11 years assessed the frequency, danger and personal risk likelihood of 8 accidents. Two socialcognitive biases were manifested. The frequency of rare accidents (e.g. drowning) was overestimated, and the frequency of common accidents (e.g. bike accidents) underestimated; and the majority of children showed unrealistic optimism tending to see themselves as less likely to suffer these accidents in comparison to their peers, offering superior skills or parental control of the environment as an explanation. In the case of pedestrian accidents, children recognised their seriousness, underestimated the frequency of this risk and regarded their own road crossing skill as protection. These findings highlight the challenging task facing safety educators who, when teaching conventional safety knowledge and routines, also need to alert children to the danger of over-confidence without disabling them though fear

The Carrying Stream Flows On: Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the School of Scottish Studies

The School of Scottish Studies came into being at the University of Edinburgh in 1951 as a research unit dedicated to ‘the study and conservation of the folk culture of Scotland’ when Professor Angus McIntosh was enabled to turn a vision which he and others had long held into reality. In that year Calum Iain Maclean was seconded from the Irish Folklore Commission to continue his collecting in Scotland, while other pioneers such as Hamish Henderson and Alan Lomax were also beginning the monumental task of systematically recording the rich oral culture of Scotland in Scots and Gaelic. The School of Scottish Studies Archives, now located in Celtic and Scottish Studies at Edinburgh University, continue as a dynamic and inspiring resource for all with an interest in Scotland and her cultural heritage, a treasure-house of sound recordings and photographs from Shetland to the Borders, from the Western Isles to Buchan, supported by an outstanding research library and other materials. The contributions brought together in this volume are based on talks given at a conference organised by the Islands Book Trust in association with the University of Edinburgh in August 2011 to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the School

One-year outcomes in a multicentre cohort study of incident rare diffuse parenchymal lung disease in children (ChILD)

We performed a prospective, observational, cohort study of children newly diagnosed with children's interstitial lung disease (ChILD), with structured follow-up at 4, 8, 12 weeks and 6 and 12 months. 127 children, median age 0.9 (IQR 0.3-7.9) years had dyspnoea (68%, 69/102), tachypnoea (75%, 77/103) and low oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) median 92% (IQR 88-96). Death (n=20, 16%) was the most common in those <6 months of age with SpO(2)<94% and developmental/surfactant disorders. We report for the first time that ChILD survivors improved multiple clinical parameters within 8-12 weeks of diagnosis. These data can inform family discussions and support clinical trial measurements

Baseline Characteristics of the TOPaZ Study: Randomised Trial of Teriparatide and Zoledronic Acid Compared with Standard Care in Adults with Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Baseline Characteristics of the TOPaZ Study: Randomised Trial of Teriparatide..

Introduction: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare disorder causing multiple fractures throughout life. No treatment has been shown to reduce the risk of fractures in OI. Here, we present the baseline characteristics of participants in the Treatment of Osteogenesis Imperfecta with Parathyroid Hormone and Zoledronic Acid (TOPaZ) trial. The aim of the trial is to determine whether teriparatide and zoledronic acid are superior to standard care in reducing the risk of clinical fractures. Methods: We summarised data on the baseline characteristics of TOPaZ participants, including demographics, genetic diagnosis, clinical features, bone density measurements, previous treatments, and fracture history. Results: We recruited 350 adults with a clinical diagnosis of OI in 27 European referral centres between June 2017 and October 2022. Overall, 266 (76.2%) had type I OI, 55 (15.8%) had type IV, and 19 (5.4%) had type III. The type was unknown in 9 (2.6%). Blue sclera were noted in 80.8%, and 35.8% had dentinogenesis imperfecta. Bisphosphonates had been administered to 28.1% in the 2 years prior to enrolment. Pathogenic variants in COL1A1 or COL1A2 were found in 87.6%. Fractures occurring in the 2 years prior to enrolment were not associated with bone density. Conclusions: The TOPaZ population represents a unique cohort with which to study the genetic epidemiology and outcome of OI in relation to bone density and biochemical markers of bone turnover. When the trial reports, it will also provide new insights into the effect of an anabolic therapy, followed by antiresorptive treatment in the management of OI

Leadership in compassionate care programme: final report.

The Leadership in Compassionate Care programme is a collaborative venture between Edinburgh Napier University and NHS Lothian and is supported by a generous benefactor. The aim of the 3 year project is to ensure that compassionate nursing practice is integral to care within NHS Lothian and within the undergraduate nursing programme at Napier University. An important part of this programme is to disseminate both the learning and outcomes to other organisations.The programme has 4 key strands which are: Embedding the principles of Compassionate Care with in the undergraduate curriculum. Supporting newly qualified nurses during their first year in practice to facilitate the transition from student to competent and compassionate staff nurse. Establishing NHS Lothian centres of excellence in Compassionate Care – called Beacon Wards. Supporting development of leadership skills in Compassionate Care in NHS Lothian

International management platform for children's interstitial lung disease (chILD-EU)

BACKGROUND: Children's interstitial lung diseases (chILD) cover many rare entities, frequently not diagnosed or studied in detail. There is a great need for specialised advice and for internationally agreed subclassification of entities collected in a register.Our objective was to implement an international management platform with independent multidisciplinary review of cases at presentation for long-term follow-up and to test if this would allow for more accurate diagnosis. Also, quality and reproducibility of a diagnostic subclassification system were assessed using a collection of 25 complex chILD cases. METHODS: A web-based chILD management platform with a registry and biobank was successfully designed and implemented. RESULTS: Over a 3-year period, 575 patients were included for observation spanning a wide spectrum of chILD. In 346 patients, multidisciplinary reviews were completed by teams at five international sites (Munich 51%, London 12%, Hannover 31%, Ankara 1% and Paris 5%). In 13%, the diagnosis reached by the referring team was not confirmed by peer review. Among these, the diagnosis initially given was wrong (27%), imprecise (50%) or significant information was added (23%).The ability of nine expert clinicians to subcategorise the final diagnosis into the chILD-EU register classification had an overall exact inter-rater agreement of 59% on first assessment and after training, 64%. Only 10% of the 'wrong' answers resulted in allocation to an incorrect category. Subcategorisation proved useful but training is needed for optimal implementation. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that chILD-EU has generated a platform to help the clinical assessment of chILD. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Results, NCT02852928

Baseline Characteristics of the TOPaZ Study: Randomised Trial of Teriparatide and Zoledronic Acid Compared with Standard Care in Adults with Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Introduction Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare disorder causing multiple fractures throughout life. No treatment has been shown to reduce the risk of fractures in OI. Here, we present the baseline characteristics of participants in the Treatment of Osteogenesis Imperfecta with Parathyroid Hormone and Zoledronic Acid (TOPaZ) trial. The aim of the trial is to determine whether teriparatide and zoledronic acid are superior to standard care in reducing the risk of clinical fractures. Methods We summarised data on the baseline characteristics of TOPaZ participants, including demographics, genetic diagnosis, clinical features, bone density measurements, previous treatments, and fracture history. Results We recruited 350 adults with a clinical diagnosis of OI in 27 European referral centres between June 2017 and October 2022. Overall, 266 (76.2%) had type I OI, 55 (15.8%) had type IV, and 19 (5.4%) had type III. The type was unknown in 9 (2.6%). Blue sclera were noted in 80.8%, and 35.8% had dentinogenesis imperfecta. Bisphosphonates had been administered to 28.1% in the 2 years prior to enrolment. Pathogenic variants in COL1A1 or COL1A2 were found in 87.6%. Fractures occurring in the 2 years prior to enrolment were not associated with bone density. Conclusions The TOPaZ population represents a unique cohort with which to study the genetic epidemiology and outcome of OI in relation to bone density and biochemical markers of bone turnover. When the trial reports, it will also provide new insights into the effect of an anabolic therapy, followed by antiresorptive treatment in the management of OI