Costs and benefits of orthographic inconsistency in reading:evidence from a cross-linguistic comparison

We compared reading acquisition in English and Italian children up to late primary school analyzing RTs and errors as a function of various psycholinguistic variables and changes due to experience. Our results show that reading becomes progressively more reliant on larger processing units with age, but that this is modulated by consistency of the language. In English, an inconsistent orthography, reliance on larger units occurs earlier on and it is demonstrated by faster RTs, a stronger effect of lexical variables and lack of length effect (by fifth grade). However, not all English children are able to master this mode of processing yielding larger inter-individual variability. In Italian, a consistent orthography, reliance on larger units occurs later and it is less pronounced. This is demonstrated by larger length effects which remain significant even in older children and by larger effects of a global factor (related to speed of orthographic decoding) explaining changes of performance across ages. Our results show the importance of considering not only overall performance, but inter-individual variability and variability between conditions when interpreting cross-linguistic differences

Effect of dentin pre-treatment with a casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) paste on dentin bond strength in tridimensional cavities

Objective. This study aimed to evaluate the push-out bond strength of dimethacrylate (Clearfil SE Bond/Filtek Z250; and Adper SE Plus/Filtek Z250) and silorane-based (Filtek P90 adhesive system/Filtek P90 composite resin) restorative systems following selective dentin pre-treatment with a CPP-ACP-containing paste (MI Paste). Materials and methods. Sixty bovine incisors were utilized. The buccal surface was wet-ground to obtain a flat dentin area. Standardized conical cavities were then prepared. Adhesive systems were applied according to manufacturers' directions and the composites were bulk-inserted into the cavity. The push-out bond strength test was performed at a universal testing machine (0.5 mm/min) until failure; failure modes were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test (p < 0.05). Results. For Clearfil SE Bond/Filtek Z250 and Filtek P90 adhesive system/Filtek P90 composite resin, the dentin pre-treatment did not influence bond strength means. For Adper SE Plus/Filtek Z250, dentin samples treated with MI Paste had statistically higher bond strength means than non-treated specimens. Adhesive failures were more frequent. Conclusion. Dentin pre-treatment with the CPP-ACP containing paste did not negatively affect bond strength for Clearfil SE Bond/Filtek Z250 and Filtek P90 adhesive system/Filtek P90 composite resin restorative systems and improved bond strength for the Adper SE Plus/Filtek Z250 restorative system.71127127

Women, men, and rheumatoid arthritis: analyses of disease activity, disease characteristics, and treatments in the QUEST-RA study

INTRODUCTION: Gender as a predictor of outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has evoked considerable interest over the decades. Historically, there is no consensus whether RA is worse in females or males. Recent reports suggest that females are less likely than males to achieve remission. Therefore, we aimed to study possible associations of gender and disease activity, disease characteristics, and treatments of RA in a large multinational cross-sectional cohort of patients with RA called Quantitative Standard Monitoring of Patients with RA (QUEST-RA). METHODS: The cohort includes clinical and questionnaire data from patients who were seen in usual care, including 6,004 patients at 70 sites in 25 countries as of April 2008. Gender differences were analyzed for American College of Rheumatology Core Data Set measures of disease activity, DAS28 (disease activity score using 28 joint counts), fatigue, the presence of rheumatoid factor, nodules and erosions, and the current use of prednisone, methotrexate, and biologic agents. RESULTS: Women had poorer scores than men in all Core Data Set measures. The mean values for females and males were swollen joint count-28 (SJC28) of 4.5 versus 3.8, tender joint count-28 of 6.9 versus 5.4, erythrocyte sedimentation rate of 30 versus 26, Health Assessment Questionnaire of 1.1 versus 0.8, visual analog scales for physician global estimate of 3.0 versus 2.5, pain of 4.3 versus 3.6, patient global status of 4.2 versus 3.7, DAS28 of 4.3 versus 3.8, and fatigue of 4.6 versus 3.7 (P < 0.001). However, effect sizes were small-medium and smallest (0.13) for SJC28. Among patients who had no or minimal disease activity (0 to 1) on SJC28, women had statistically significantly higher mean values compared with men in all other disease activity measures (P < 0.001) and met DAS28 remission less often than men. Rheumatoid factor was equally prevalent among genders. Men had nodules more often than women. Women had erosions more often than men, but the statistical significance was marginal. Similar proportions of females and males were taking different therapies. CONCLUSIONS: In this large multinational cohort, RA disease activity measures appear to be worse in women than in men. However, most of the gender differences in RA disease activity may originate from the measures of disease activity rather than from RA disease activity itself