Do Structured Preschool Programs Enhance a Child\u27s Learning Potential in Kindergarten?

This paper concentrates on whether structured preschool programs enhance a child\u27s learning potential in kindergarten. Through research this writer will attempt to find out if the child who attends a structured preschool program will score significantly higher on standardized readiness tests than t hose who have only training by parents in the home. Included in this paper the researcher has a historical review of preschool education, preschool information of structured and unstructured curriculum, parental involvement in preschools, various researchers\u27 opinions of preschool education, and the pro and con of preschool education. The method used to determine if children who have attended a structured preschool program score significantly higher on standardized readiness tests than those who have only parental training in the home is done by ex post facto research. The researcher will be using students who have already attended a structured preschool program and compare them with children who have had only parental home training. The tests to be used are the ABC Inventory to identify children who are immature for a standard school program, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, to assess a child\u27s global intelligence and the Gates - Macrinite Reading Test to measure reading readiness. A questionnaire will be sent to parents to determine what type of preschool their child attended . Students with structured preschool experience will comprise The experimental group . Students without structured preschool will comprise the control group population. Both groups will be administered the ABC Inventory to determine school readiness and to establish a base . Students with a handicapping condition will be excluded from their respective general population. From the general population of both groups , five students from each of the four cycles will be randomly selected using the table of random numbers. Each student selected to participate will be given the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence to establish the I.Q. range of each group . The ranges will be compared to determine if t here are significant differences in t he intellectual functioning of t he groups as a whole. After completion of the first semester, each student from both groups will be administered the Gates - MacGinitie Reading Test to determine t he academic growth of each Student . The pre and post- test data will be compared and analyzed to determine if there is a significant difference between the two groups . It is to be assumed t hat the I.Q. of the control group and e:x-perimental group will not vary significantly, thereby eliminating I.Q. as a contributing factor that would account for the readiness scores on t he past tests . Further , the random selection of students from each of t he four cycle attendance areas of the community would eliminate any socio-economic considerations that would prohibit predictions and generalizations regarding the entire population of the school district

Serumantikörperreaktivitäten gegen Membranproteine von Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens und Tannerella forsythensis bei Patienten mit chronischer Parodontitis

Die Parodontitis ist eine chronische polymikrobielle Biofilminfektion. Im Verlauf der bakteriellen Kolonisation werden gegen Mikroorganismen hochspezifische Antikörper gebildet. Ziel dieser Studie war es, bei 35 Patienten mit chronischer Parodontitis mit Hilfe des Western Blots zu untersuchen, gegen welche Oberflächenantigene von Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens und Tannerella forsythensis die Serumimmunglobuline gerichtet sind, ob eine Korrelation zwischen den Antikörperreaktivitäten und den klinischen Parametern besteht und Unterschiede zwischen Therapiebeginn (Phase I), und 6 Monate später (Phase IV) zu verzeichnen sind. Die vorliegende Arbeit hat gezeigt, dass für P.i. ein Hauptantigen bei ca. 79-kDa, für P.n. bei ca. 47-kDa und für T.f. bei 58-kDa und 68-kDa in beiden Phasen besteht. Jedoch konnte beim Vergleich der zwei Phasen keine Korrelation zwischen der Antikörperreaktivität, der Infektion und der Progredienz der klinischen Parameter festgestellt werden

The Myocyte Expression of Adiponectin Receptors and PPARδ Is Highly Coordinated and Reflects Lipid Metabolism of the Human Donors

Muscle lipid oxidation is stimulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) δ or adiponectin receptor signalling. We studied human myocyte expression of the PPARδ and adiponectin receptor genes and their relationship to lipid parameters of the donors. The mRNA levels of the three adiponectin receptors, AdipoR1, AdipoR2, and T-cadherin, were highly interrelated (r ≥ 0.91). However, they were not associated with GPBAR1, an unrelated membrane receptor. In addition, the adiponectin receptors were positively associated with PPARδ expression (r ≥ 0.75). However, they were not associated with PPARα. Using stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, PPARδ was a significant determinant of T-cadherin (P = .0002). However, pharmacological PPARδ activation did not increase T-cadherin expression. The myocyte expression levels of AdipoR1 and T-cadherin were inversely associated with the donors' fasting plasma triglycerides (P < .03). In conclusion, myocyte expression of PPARδ and the adiponectin receptors are highly coordinated, and this might be of relevance for human lipid metabolism in vivo

Common Genetic Variation in the SERPINF1 Locus Determines Overall Adiposity, Obesity-Related Insulin Resistance, and Circulating Leptin Levels

OBJECTIVE: Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) belongs to the serpin family of peptidase inhibitors (serpin F1) and is among the most abundant glycoproteins secreted by adipocytes. In vitro and mouse in vivo data revealed PEDF as a candidate mediator of obesity-induced insulin resistance. Therefore, we assessed whether common genetic variation within the SERPINF1 locus contributes to adipose tissue-related prediabetic phenotypes in humans. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A population of 1,974 White European individuals at increased risk for type 2 diabetes was characterized by an oral glucose tolerance test with glucose and insulin measurements (1,409 leptin measurements) and genotyped for five tagging SNPs covering 100% of common genetic variation (minor allele frequency ≥ 0.05) in the SERPINF1 locus. In addition, a subgroup of 486 subjects underwent a hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp and a subgroup of 340 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS). RESULTS: After adjustment for gender and age and Bonferroni correction for the number of SNPs tested, SNP rs12603825 revealed significant association with MRI-derived total adipose tissue mass (p = 0.0094) and fasting leptin concentrations (p = 0.0035) as well as nominal associations with bioelectrical impedance-derived percentage of body fat (p = 0.0182) and clamp-derived insulin sensitivity (p = 0.0251). The association with insulin sensitivity was completely abolished by additional adjustment for body fat (p = 0.8). Moreover, the fat mass-increasing allele of SNP rs12603825 was significantly associated with elevated fasting PEDF concentrations (p = 0.0436), and the PEDF levels were robustly and positively associated with all body fat parameters measured and with fasting leptin concentrations (p<0.0001, all). CONCLUSION: In humans at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, a functional common genetic variant in the gene locus encoding PEDF contributes to overall body adiposity, obesity-related insulin resistance, and circulating leptin levels

Insulin Promotes Glycogen Storage and Cell Proliferation in Primary Human Astrocytes

In the human brain, there are at least as many astrocytes as neurons. Astrocytes are known to modulate neuronal function in several ways. Thus, they may also contribute to cerebral insulin actions. Therefore, we examined whether primary human astrocytes are insulin-responsive and whether their metabolic functions are affected by the hormone.Commercially available Normal Human Astrocytes were grown in the recommended medium. Major players in the insulin signaling pathway were detected by real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting. Phosphorylation events were detected by phospho-specific antibodies. Glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis were assessed using radio-labeled glucose. Glycogen content was assessed by histochemistry. Lactate levels were measured enzymatically. Cell proliferation was assessed by WST-1 assay.We detected expression of key proteins for insulin signaling, such as insulin receptor β-subunit, insulin receptor substrat-1, Akt/protein kinase B and glycogen synthase kinase 3, in human astrocytes. Akt was phosphorylated and PI-3 kinase activity increased following insulin stimulation in a dose-dependent manner. Neither increased glucose uptake nor lactate secretion after insulin stimulation could be evidenced in this cell type. However, we found increased insulin-dependent glucose incorporation into glycogen. Furthermore, cell numbers increased dose-dependently upon insulin treatment.This study demonstrated that human astrocytes are insulin-responsive at the molecular level. We identified glycogen synthesis and cell proliferation as biological responses of insulin signaling in these brain cells. Hence, this cell type may contribute to the effects of insulin in the human brain