Cross Linguistic Transfer of Phonological Awareness and Word Recognition: An Exploratory Study on English Language Learners

Bilingual studies on cross-linguistic transfer of phonological awareness and word recognition emphasize the relevance of nature of language and orthography. The current study was designed to examine the significance of language and orthographic structure for phonological awareness and word recognition skills in children who are native speakers of Malayalam language learning English at school. The association of phonological awareness and word recognition in 30 Malayalam speaking preschool English Language Learners (ELL’s) was tested using a set of stimuli in both English and Malayalam.  Results revealed that word recognition was associated with phoneme awareness in English whereas in Malayalam, all the three levels tested in this study (rhyme, syllable and phoneme awareness) showed association with word recognition. However, considering the cross-linguistic associations, Malayalam word recognition was related to all levels of phonological awareness in English whereas no strong association was observed for word recognition in Malayalam with phonological awareness in English. Regression analysis revealed phoneme awareness in English as a strong predictor of word recognition in both the languages. These findings highlight the cross-linguistic transfer of phonological awareness between English and Malayalam supporting the Transfer Facilitation Model (TFM). Pedagogical implications of these findings on ELLs are discussed

Tele Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology in India - A Short Report

Background: The discipline of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology is half-a-century old in India. Speech language pathologists and audiologists (SLPs and AUDs) have identified the need to ‘reach-the-unreached’ in India by using a telehealth model for rehabilitation of persons with communication disorders. The aim of this paper is to present a panoramic view of telepractice in India right from its emergence to its current state, drawing support from a review of published work by SLPs and AUDs in India. Methods: A questionnaire was developed to elicit responses on barriers for telepractice and similarities and differences in face-to-face and telepractice of speech-language pathology service delivery. Using survey research design, 17 speech-language pathologists practicing in India were purposively selected for the study. Results: 15 questionnaires were completed. Most respondents (53.3% - 86.6%) reported technical issues as barriers for telepractice. Face-to-face and telepractice of speech language pathology service delivery was reported to be different in terms of instructions for caregivers, documentation, face validity, acceptance and responsibility on caregivers. Many participants felt that more sensitivity and caution, special ICT skills for clinician and caregiver/client, exclusive software, dedicated professionals to trouble shoot technical issues are additional requirements for telepractice. Concerns about client confidentiality were expressed and lack of direct feedback and environmental distractions at client end were reported as challenges in telepractice delivery. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that service delivery through telemodel is mostly positively embraced in India, despite the challenges.   &nbsp

A Survey of Telepractice in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology in India

Telepractice has emerged as a form of service delivery to assess and treat individuals with communication disorders. The present study surveyed speech-language pathologists and audiologists in India about the use of telepractice. Two hundred and five (N=205) speech-language pathologists and audiologists responded to a questionnaire, with 12.19% reporting their use of telepractice to deliver clinical services. Respondents also indicated an urgent shortage of professionals in India to deliver clinical services in speech-language pathology and audiology, and opined that these needs can be met via the use of telepractice. India is well known throughout the world for the advanced application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with 931.95 million telephone subscribers, over 900 million mobile phone users, and the second-largest mobile phone usage in the world.  India has also experienced a tremendous rise in the number of internet users. Therefore, India is well poised to fully develop telepractice to overcome the barriers of distance and amplify the availability of speech-language pathology, audiology and other healthcare services. But first, the widespread use of telepractice throughout the nation will require an improved infrastructure (e.g., to uphold privacy and security); training for professionals; and telepractice policies. While very promising, the deployment of telepractice throughout India will require the attention of policy makers and government organizations. Keywords: Audiology, India, Speech Language Pathology, Telehealth, Telepractic

Giant omental lipoma: Report of a case with review of the literature

Omental lipoma is an extremely rare abdominal tumor that, despite its large size, often remains asymptomatic. A giant lipoma arising from the greater omentum in a  21-monthold girl is reported. The mass was excised completely and the patient is doing well at the 12-month follow-up, with no recurrence. Nontender lobulated mobile mass, location, and uniformly low attenuation on computed tomography were diagnostic.Keywords: abdominal tumor, giant lipoma, omentu

ESTIMATION OF PAROXETINE HYDROCHLORIDE FROM ITS TABLET FORMULATION BY UV SPECTROPHOTOMETRY

A simple, precise and accurate UV Spectrophotometric method was developed for the estimation of Paroxetine hydrochloride. The developed method obeyed Beer-Lambert’s law in the concentration range of 5-30 µg/ml with a correlation coefficient of 0.995. The recovery study was carried out at three different levels and was found to be satisfactory. The percent amount of drug estimated by this method is 100%, found to be in good agreement with label claim of marketed tablet formulation. The validation parameters like linearity, precision, accuracy, robustness and ruggedness were studied and were found to be within limits. The proposed method can be adopted for routine quality control analysis of estimation of Paroxetine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical formulation

A pilot study on culture of Asian seabass Lates calcarifer (Bloch)in open sea cage at Munambam, Cochin coast, India

India ranks third in global fish production with 6.4 million metric t, but mariculture in the Indian seas is yet to be popularised. The limited availability of protected sites and the probable conflicts with other activities such as fishing, tourism and navigation are factors likely to influence mariculture development in India, besides finance, technology, expertise and government policy. A pilot scale inshore marine cage culture experiment has been undertaken since 2007 at Visakhapatnam coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. A similar cage was launched at Munambam for the culture of Asian seabass Lates calcarifer. Asian seabass seed (3.5 ±1.5 g) reared in hapa installed in ponds for a period of 30 days were stocked in the cage and cultured for a period of 120 days and harvested at an average weight of 315.5 g. Analysis of nutrient levels in seawater near the cage, revealed no noticeable accumulation of solid particulate wastes indicating that water current (0.5 to 1.0 m sec-1) was adequate in the site to prevent accumulation of wastes in the cage as well as in the premises. The cage culture activity was found to influence the planktonic and benthic fauna

Type cultures for the micro-biological assay of amino-acids

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Observations on selected characteristics of water and sediment at the open sea cage culture site of Asian seabass Lates calcarifer (Bloch) off Cochin, south-west coast of India

Study was undertaken to assess the impact of open sea cage culture of Asian seabass Lates calcarifer on selected parameters of water as well as sediment at Munambam off Cochin, Kerala coast from November 2008 to March 2009. Periodic observations were made on temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, nutrients (NO3, PO4, SiO3), nitrite, ammonia, BOD, total suspended solids, chlorophyll a, gross and net primary productivity as well as bacterial load of the surface and near bottom water from the cage site (N 10º 08' 162''; E 76º 08' 901'') and also from a reference site (N 10º 07' 189''; E 76º 09' 210'') during pre- as well as post-stocking periods. Sediment samples were collected simultaneously from both the sites and analysed for texture, pH, organic carbon and bacterial load. A significant reduction (p<0.05) in silicate and chlorophyll a was perceived in surface water at the cage site, during the culture period as compared to pre-stocking period. No significant variations were noticed in any of the other parameters studied. The sand, silt, clay and organic carbon content in sediment at cage site differed significantly (p<0.05) from that of the reference site. There was no significant difference in the mean values of total heterotrophic bacterial count as well as presumptive Vibrio count of the water and sediment, either between the cage site and reference site or between the pre- and post-stocking samplings. No adverse effect as influenced by cage culture of fish was observed on any of the environmental parameters studied during the period of investigation

The role of growth arrest-specific 6 in venous thromboembolism /

Background. Growth-arrest specific 6 (gas6) is a novel vitamin-K dependent protein whose role in venous thromboembolism was recently characterized in murine models. Gas6 is suggested to be a prothrombotic protein capable of mediating thrombus stability. However, the association between gas6 and venous thromboembolism has yet to be elucidated in humans. The present work aims to delineate the existence of such an association in humans and propose a mechanism by which gas6 expression is related to venous thromboembolic disease.Methods. To analyze the association between gas6 and venous thromboembolism, a highly specific ELISA method was used to measure plasma gas6 levels in 306 patients with a history of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and 89 control volunteers. Medication history, comorbid conditions and DVT characteristics were documented for the purposes of statistical analyses. Median gas6 levels were compared between the subgroups, and prevalence rate ratios were calculated. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were used to measure the effect of gas6 treatment on the expression of various mediators of coagulation. Murine thrombosis models were developed to serve as in vivo models for thrombosis.Results. The median levels of gas6 were 28.21 ng/ml in patients compared to 26.15 ng/ml in controls (p=0.01). After adjustment for age, sex, comorbidity and medications, DVT patients had a PRR of 2.5 (95% CI 1.36 to 4.61, p=0.003) compared with controls. Within the DVT subgroup, median gas6 levels were significantly higher in those with cancer-associated (vs. unprovoked or secondary) DVT (p&lt;0.001) and in those with more extensive DVT (p=0.037), while levels were significantly lower in those taking warfarin (vs. no warfarin) (p=0.03). Preliminary results with endothelial cell cultures are inconclusive with regards to the effect of gas6 on endothelium derived mediators of coagulation.Conclusions. Elevated plasma gas6 is associated with venous thromboembolism. The etiology of the clot influences detected levels of gas6, with the highest levels seen in cancer-patients. Furthermore, increasing clot burden correlates with elevated levels of gas6. A mechanistic explanation for how gas6 modulates this association is in its preliminary stages, and is worth pursuing