A study of the effect of interactive language in the stimulation of cognitive functioning for students with learning disabilities

Much can be gained by applying knowledge and insight gleaned from the field of neuropsychology to the field of education. Diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities (LD) could be enhanced through an increased understanding of neurolinguistic functioning. The present study examined the effect of five instructional techniques aimed at stimulating the cognitive functioning of students with diagnosed learning disabilities. The defining characteristic of each of the five techniques is the use of interactive dialogue to stimulate oral language production leading to greater cognitive efficiency. Evidence is presented for the need for interhemispheric collaboration in complex linguistic tasks such as reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic. Students with learning disabilities could be viewed as having a breakdown in dynamic functioning impacting neurological systems.;The intervention model developed by the National Institute for Learning Disabilities (NILD) assessed in the present study is based upon the theoretical foundations of Feuerstein (1980), Luria (1981), Piaget (1959), and Vygotsky (1962/1975). The interrelatedness of thought and language, the creation of the zone of proximal development, the recognition of the plasticity of intelligence and the belief in the importance of a human mediator in the learning process, each contributes to the design of techniques used in the NILD program.;The statistical analysis showed significant group-by-time interaction effects in the areas of general and verbal cognitive functioning for the experimental group (n = 47), as assessed by the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude - Second Edition (DTLA-2) when compared to the control group (n = 25). Significant gains over time were evidenced by the experimental group in reading, spelling, and arithmetic scores as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test - Revised (WRAT-R), and in nonverbal cognitive functioning as measured by the DTLA-2.;Overall results indicated that students with diagnosed learning disabilities benefited from an intensive individualized program over a three-year period in a modified pull-out approach involving 160 minutes of instruction per week. Specifically, the interactive effects of five core instructional techniques appeared to significantly impact neurolinguistic functioning for the experimental group

An Exploration of Italian Social Services

Special Studies Experience, Summer 2016 -- Tuscany, Italy -- Partner Agencie(s): Santa Rita; Caritas; Gruppo Giovani e Communita Lucca; Villa Marene; Villa Marene; Gruppo Pediatricohttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134349/1/Poster_Ricards.pd

Low cardiac content of long-chain acylcarnitines in TMLHE knockout mice prevents ischaemia-reperfusion-induced mitochondrial and cardiac damage

Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.Increased tissue content of long-chain acylcarnitines may induce mitochondrial and cardiac damage by stimulating ROS production. N6-trimethyllysine dioxygenase (TMLD) is the first enzyme in the carnitine/acylcarnitine biosynthesis pathway. Inactivation of the TMLHE gene (TMLHE KO) in mice is expected to limit long-chain acylcarnitine synthesis and thus induce a cardio- and mitochondria-protective phenotype. TMLHE gene deletion in male mice lowered acylcarnitine concentrations in blood and cardiac tissues by up to 85% and decreased fatty acid oxidation by 30% but did not affect muscle and heart function in mice. Metabolome profile analysis revealed increased levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and a global shift in fatty acid content from saturated to unsaturated lipids. In the risk area of ischemic hearts in TMLHE KO mouse, the OXPHOS-dependent respiration rate and OXPHOS coupling efficiency were fully preserved. Additionally, the decreased long-chain acylcarnitine synthesis rate in TMLHE KO mice prevented ischaemia-reperfusion-induced ROS production in cardiac mitochondria. This was associated with a 39% smaller infarct size in the TMLHE KO mice. The arrest of the acylcarnitine biosynthesis pathway in TMLHE KO mice prevents ischaemia-reperfusion-induced damage in cardiac mitochondria and decreases infarct size. These results confirm that the decreased accumulation of ROS-increasing fatty acid metabolism intermediates prevents mitochondrial and cardiac damage during ischaemia-reperfusion.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Credible knowledge: A pilot evaluation of a modified GRADE method using parent-implemented interventions for children with autism

Abstract Background Decision-making in child and youth mental health (CYMH) care requires recommendations that are developed through an efficient and effective method and are based on credible knowledge. Credible knowledge is informed by two sources: scientific evidence, and practice-based evidence, that reflects the "real world" experience of service providers. Current approaches to developing these recommendations in relation to CYMH will typically include evidence from one source or the other but do not have an objective method to combine the two. To this end, a modified version of the Grading Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was pilot-tested, a novel method for the CYMH field. Methods GRADE has an explicit methodology that relies on input from scientific evidence as well as a panel of experts. The panel established the quality of evidence and derived detailed recommendations regarding the organization and delivery of mental health care for children and youth or their caregivers. In this study a modified GRADE method was used to provide precise recommendations based on a specific CYMH question (i.e. What is the current credible knowledge concerning the effects of parent-implemented, early intervention with their autistic children?). Results Overall, it appeared that early, parent-implemented interventions for autism result in positive effects that outweigh any undesirable effects. However, as opposed to overall recommendations, the heterogeneity of the evidence required that recommendations be specific to particular interventions, based on the questions of whether the benefits of a particular intervention outweighs its harms. Conclusions This pilot project provided evidence that a modified GRADE method may be an effective and practical approach to making recommendations in CYMH, based on credible knowledge. Key strengths of the process included separating the assessments of the quality of the evidence and the strength of recommendations, transparency in decision-making, and the objectivity of the methods. Most importantly, this method combined the evidence and clinical experience in a more timely, explicit and simple process as compared to previous approaches. The strengths, limitations and modifications of the approach as they pertain to CYMH, are discussed

Bridging the age gap in breast cancer: cluster randomized trial of the effects of two decision support interventions for older women with operable breast cancer on quality of life, survival, decision quality, and treatment choices

Background Rates of surgery and adjuvant therapy for breast cancer vary widely between breast units. This may contribute to differences in survival. This cluster RCT evaluated the impact of decision support interventions (DESIs) for older women with breast cancer, to ascertain whether DESIs influenced quality of life, survival, decision quality, and treatment choice. Methods A multicentre cluster RCT compared the use of two DESIs against usual care in treatment decision-making in older women (aged at least ≥70 years) with breast cancer. Each DESI comprised an online algorithm, booklet, and brief decision aid to inform choices between surgery plus adjuvant endocrine therapy versus primary endocrine therapy, and adjuvant chemotherapy versus no chemotherapy. The primary outcome was quality of life. Secondary outcomes included decision quality measures, survival, and treatment choice. Results A total of 46 breast units were randomized (21 intervention, 25 usual care), recruiting 1339 women (670 intervention, 669 usual care). There was no significant difference in global quality of life at 6 months after the baseline assessment on intention-to-treat analysis (difference –0.20, 95 per cent confidence interval (C.I.) –2.69 to 2.29; P = 0.900). In women offered a choice of primary endocrine therapy versus surgery plus endocrine therapy, knowledge about treatments was greater in the intervention arm (94 versus 74 per cent; P = 0.003). Treatment choice was altered, with a primary endocrine therapy rate among women with oestrogen receptor-positive disease of 21.0 per cent in the intervention versus 15.4 per cent in usual-care sites (difference 5.5 (95 per cent C.I. 1.1 to 10.0) per cent; P = 0.029). The chemotherapy rate was 10.3 per cent at intervention versus 14.8 per cent at usual-care sites (difference –4.5 (C.I. –8.0 to 0) per cent; P = 0.013). Survival was similar in both arms. Conclusion The use of DESIs in older women increases knowledge of breast cancer treatment options, facilitates shared decision-making, and alters treatment selection. Trial registration numbers: EudraCT 2015-004220-61 (https://eudract.ema.europa.eu/), ISRCTN46099296 (http://www.controlled-trials.com)

Protests against the COVID Certificate in the Swedish evening press : A qualitative study of how protests against the COVID Certificate in France are constructed in the Swedish evening press

This qualitative study examines how Swedish evening press constructs protests against the COVID Certificate in France in their news articles. During the new coronavirus, various protests are taking place around the world. An example of a massive protest against the COVID Certificate is the major protests in France, that took place in July 2021. France had one of the largest protests against the COVID Certificate in the world. Tens of thousands of people protested across the country. In this study, 15 news articles are analysed about protests against the COVID Certificate in France from both Aftonbladet and Expressen, by using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), both as a theoretical perspective and method. Study even use framing theory, news values theory, and biopolitics as a theoretical perspective. Results of this study shows that the Swedish evening press constructs protests against the COVID Certificate in France in their news articles as violent, and demonstrators at these protests are portrayed primarily as dissatisfied, but sometimes also as low-educated, cuckoos, dangerous, and heroes. It is both elite people and demonstrators who got to speak in these news articles. Ministers, president, researchers, and police were allowed to speak more often than demonstrators, and they even got more space in quotes

Teaching how to learn in a what-to-learn culture/ Hopkins

xvi, 158 hal.: ill.; 26 cm

Some non-linear geometric and kinetic EVOLUTIONS AND THEIR APPROXIMATIONS

This thesis deals with three non-linear evolution problems: mean curvature flow, Willmore flow, and the evolution of solutions to the space homogeneous Boltzmann equation. Generalized mean curvature flows are also considered. A major part of the study focuses on the construction of approximations to these evolutions. The thesis consists of four papers. <p />A unified convolution-thresholding approach to the generalized mean curvature flow and to the Willmore flow is suggested in the first and the second paper. The convergence of the approximations to viscosity solutions of the corresponding PDE is shown for the generalized mean curvature flow. For the Willmore flow the convergence of the convolution-thresholding scheme is shown in the case when the evolution is smooth and embedded. <p />The third paper concentrates on an analytical and numerical study of self-similar (homothetic) mean curvature and Willmore flows. Two qualitatively different families of such evolutions for each type of the flows are found. Representatives from the first family become singular in finite time, while representatives from the second family come from singular initial data. In particular considerably new examples of smooth surfaces that develop a singularity in finite time during the Willmore evolution are obtained numerically. Another new result of this study is the construction of the mean curvature and Willmore evolutions starting from certain surfaces with singularities. <p />In the fourth paper a new deterministic numerical method for solution of the Boltzmann equation is constructed. The suggested method is the only known deterministic scheme that effectively handles discontinuous solutions. It is based on a combination of two qualitatively different approaches: the approximation of discontinuous solutions on a non-uniform adaptive grid, and the approximation of smooth terms in the Boltzmann equation by a Fourier based spectral method