Diagnóstico de la redacción académica en estudiantes de la carrera de educación inicial de la universidad estatal península de Santa Elena

The objective of this article was to diagnose the academic writing skills of the students of the Early Childhood Education program at the Peninsula de Santa Elena State University - Ecuador.  The study is framed towards a quantitative approach, field research with a transversal descriptive scope. For data collection, a survey was designed with its respective Likert scale, which was applied to 81 students in the first semester of the Early Childhood Education Career. The reliability of the instrument was obtained by means of Cronbach's Alpha with a value of 0.903, which determines its applicability. The main results show that 84.6% of the students present spelling difficulties, that is, they do not correctly use the rules of writing during the development of academic writing.El presente Artículo se planteó como objetivo: Diagnosticar la redacción académica en los estudiantes de la Carrera de Educación Inicial de la Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena – Ecuador.  El estudio se encuentra enmarcado hacia un enfoque cuantitativo, investigación de campo con un alcance descriptivo trasversal. Para la recolección de datos se diseñó una encuesta con su respectiva escala de Likert, misma, que se aplicó a 81 estudiantes que cursan el Primer semestre de la Carrera de Educación Inicial. La confiabilidad del instrumento se la obtuvo, mediante, el Alfa de Cronbach con un valor de 0,903 que lo determina como aplicable. Los principales resultados determinan que el 84,6% de estudiantes presentan dificultades de Ortografía, es decir, no emplean correctamente las reglas de la escritura durante el desarrollo de la redacción académica

The Effects of Code-Switching on the Social Development of Bilingual Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a widely diagnosed developmental disability. There is a discrepancy between research showing that bilingualism and code-switching have no negative effect on language development in children with ASD and advice given by practitioners surrounding the adoption of bilingualism. Research shows that children who practice code-switching may benefit more than those who do not. This proposed study will examine the effect of code-switching on the social interactions of bilingual children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), specifically focusing on Hispanic children during ABA intervention. Code-switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages in conversation. In this proposed study, therapists will conduct therapy sessions with 102 children, ages eight to ten. Children will randomly be assigned into two conditions, one in which the trained ABA therapists code-switch at least five times per session and the others in which the therapists do not code-switch. The first and penultimate sessions will be recorded to measure the instances of code-switching. Social interactions will be measured by using the direct observational measure, the Behavioral Assessment of Social Interaction in Young Children (BASYC). I hypothesize that children in the code-switching condition will also code-switch and have higher social interaction scores than the children in the control condition. If future results from this proposed study suggest that the proposed hypotheses are correct, it can help practitioners and parents make a decision regarding language use and possibly find a strategy to increase social communication in children with ASD

Caracterización de bacterias del género Azotobacter aisladas de rizoplano y rizósfera de Asparagus officinalis L. y su potencial como promotoras de crecimiento en plantas

En el rizoplano y rizósfera de Asparagus officinalis L. “espárrago” se aislaron bacterias de género Azotobacter, con el objetivo de determinar su potencial como promotoras de crecimiento en plantas. Las bacterias con y sin enriquecimiento se aislaron en los medios sólidos sin nitrógeno Ashby sacarosa y LG y se identificaron fenotípicamente. Se cuantificó el nitrógeno fijado como amonio, fósforo soluble producto de la solubilización de fosfato tricálcico e indoles producidos por las bacterias in vitro. Los ocho cultivos de bacterias (9 x 108 cel mL-1) que alcanzarón los mayores valores se inocularon por aspersión en coronas de espárrago cultivar UC-157 F2 y se determinó el efecto en la altura y número de tallos, durante 60 días en invernadero. Se aisló e identificó Azotobacter spp., obteniéndose 198 cultivos puros, con los que se cuantificaron 3,406 a 34,527ppm de amonio; 0,275 a 5,391ppm de fósforo soluble y 0,244 a 62,022ppm de indoles. Los cultivos de bacterias seleccionados, a excepción de Azotobacter sp.25-60LG incrementaron la altura y número de tallos de las plantas de espárrago, con índices de efectividad de 3,519 a 38,094% y 8,259 a 86,046%, respectivamente. Se demostró la promoción de crecimiento de las plantas de espárrago por Azotobacter spp

What really happens in the home: a comparison of parent-reported and observed tooth brushing behaviors for young children

Abstract Background Most studies of tooth brushing behaviors rely on self-report or demonstrations of behaviors conducted in clinical settings. This study aimed to determine the feasibility of objective assessment of tooth brushing behaviors in the homes of high-risk children under three years old. We compared parent self-report to observations to determine the accuracy of self-report in this population. Methods Forty-five families were recruited from dental and medical clinics and a community social service agency. Research staff asked questions about oral health behaviors and observed tooth brushing in the homes. Brushing was also video-recorded. Video-recordings were coded for brushing behaviors by staff that did not collect the primary data; these abstracted data were compared to those directly observed in homes. Results Most families were Hispanic (76%) or Black (16%) race/ethnicity. The majority of parents had a high school education (42%) or less (24%). The mean age of children was 21 months. About half of parents reported brushing their child’s teeth twice a day (58%). All parents tried to have their children brush, but three children refused. For brushing duration, 70% of parents reported differently than was observed. The average duration of brushing was 62.4 s. Parent report of fluoride in toothpaste frequently did not match observations; 39% said they used toothpaste with fluoride while 71% actually did. Sixty-eight percent of parents reported using a smear of toothpaste, while 61% actually did. Brushing occurred in a variety of locations and routines varied. Abstracted data from videos were high in agreement for some behaviors (rinse with water, floss used, brushing location, and parent involvement: Kappa 0.74–1.0). Behaviors related to type of brushing equipment (brushes and toothpaste), equipment storage, and bathroom organization and clutter had poor to no agreement. Conclusions Observation and video-recording of brushing routines and equipment are feasible and acceptable to families. Observed behaviors are more accurate than self-report for most components of brushing and serve to highlight some of the knowledge issues facing parents, such as the role of fluoride

Design and sample characteristics of COordinated Oral health Promotion (CO-OP) Chicago: A cluster-randomized controlled trial

COordinated Oral health Promotion (CO-OP) Chicago is a two-arm cluster-randomized trial with a wait-list control. The primary aim is to evaluate the efficacy of an oral health community health worker (CHW) intervention to improve oral health behaviors in low-income, urban children under the age of three years. Exploratory aims will determine cost-effectiveness, and if any CHW intervention impact on child tooth brushing behaviors varies when CHWs are based out of a medical clinic compared to a community setting. This paper describes progress toward achieving these aims. Participating families were recruited from community social service centers and pediatric primary care medical clinics in Cook County, Illinois. Sites were cluster-randomized to CHW intervention or usual services (a wait-list control). The intervention is oral health support from CHWs delivered in four visits to individual families over one year. The trial sample consists of 420 child/caregiver dyads enrolled at the 20 participating sites over 11 months. Participant demographics varied across the sites, but primary outcomes values at baseline did not. Data on brushing frequency, plaque, and other oral health behaviors are collected at three timepoints: baseline, 6-, and 12-months. The primary analysis will assess differences in caregiver-reported child brushing frequency and observed plaque score between the two arms at 12-months. The trial is currently in the active intervention phase. The trial's cluster-randomized controlled design takes a real-world approach by integrating into existing health and social service agencies and collecting data in participant homes. Results will address an important child health disparity. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03397589. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: University of Illinois at Chicago Protocol Record 2017-1090. National Institutes of Dental & Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health (NIDCR) Protocol Number: 17-074-E. NCT03397589