Atypical MEG inter-subject correlation during listening to continuous natural speech in dyslexia

Listening to speech elicits brain activity time-locked to the speech sounds. This so-called neural entrainment to speech was found to be atypical in dyslexia, a reading impairment associated with neural speech processing deficits. We hypothesized that the brain responses of dyslexic vs. normal readers to real-life speech would be different, and thus the strength of inter-subject correlation (ISC) would differ from that of typical readers and be reflected in reading-related measures. We recorded magnetoencephalograms (MEG) of 23 dyslexic and 21 typically-reading adults during listening to ∼10 min of natural Finnish speech consisting of excerpts from radio news, a podcast, a self-recorded audiobook chapter and small talk. The amplitude envelopes of band-pass-filtered MEG source signals were correlated between subjects in a cortically-constrained source space in six frequency bands. The resulting ISCs of dyslexic and typical readers were compared with a permutation-based t-test. Neuropsychological measures of phonological processing, technical reading, and working memory were correlated with the ISCs utilizing the Mantel test. During listening to speech, ISCs were mainly reduced in dyslexic compared to typical readers in delta (0.5–4 Hz) and high gamma (55–90 Hz) frequency bands. In the theta (4−8 Hz), beta (12–25 Hz), and low gamma (25−45 Hz) bands, dyslexics had enhanced ISC to speech compared to controls. Furthermore, we found that ISCs across both groups were associated with phonological processing, technical reading, and working memory. The atypical ISC to natural speech in dyslexics supports the temporal sampling deficit theory of dyslexia. It also suggests over-synchronization to phoneme-rate information in speech, which could indicate more effort-demanding sampling of phonemes from speech in dyslexia. These irregularities in parsing speech are likely some of the complex neural factors contributing to dyslexia. The associations between neural coupling and reading-related skills further support this notion.Peer reviewe

Five Key Ideas to Teach Fractions and Decimals with Understanding

The teaching of fractions and decimals is a significant challenge for many teachers due to the inherent difficulty of the topic for students as well as the lack of high-quality, modernized curricular materials. This article examines the key ideas of teaching fractions and decimals for understanding that are evident in the current research literature and the curricular materials and teaching strategies from high-achieving nations

Curiosity in exploring chemical spaces: Intrinsic rewards for deep molecular reinforcement learning

Computer-aided design of molecules has the potential to disrupt the field of drug and material discovery. Machine learning, and deep learning, in particular, have been topics where the field has been developing at a rapid pace. Reinforcement learning is a particularly promising approach since it allows for molecular design without prior knowledge. However, the search space is vast and efficient exploration is desirable when using reinforcement learning agents. In this study, we propose an algorithm to aid efficient exploration. The algorithm is inspired by a concept known in the literature as curiosity. We show on three benchmarks that a curious agent finds better performing molecules. This indicates an exciting new research direction for reinforcement learning agents that can explore the chemical space out of their own motivation. This has the potential to eventually lead to unexpected new molecules that no human has thought about so far

Drawings as Diagnostic Cues for Metacomprehension Judgment

The accuracy of comprehension monitoring affects the effectiveness of rereading, which in turn affects comprehension. Thus, much research has focused on finding ways to improve monitoring accuracy. The cue-utilization framework of metacognitive monitoring provides a framework for understanding how to improve monitoring accuracy. It suggests that accuracy is driven by cues people use to judge comprehension. When people utilize cues that are highly diagnostic of performance on a test of comprehension, accuracy should improve. Many interventions that have been shown to improve monitoring accuracy have attributed the improved accuracy to increased access to highly diagnostic cues, but have failed to identify highly diagnostic cues. In our recent research, we found that instructing students to generate drawings before judging comprehension improved monitoring accuracy. Using graphic analyses protocol, we identified highly diagnostic cues. In this chapter, we will describe the procedure we used to identify these cues contained in drawings

Developing Mathematical Thinking: Changing Teachers’ Knowledge and Instruction

In the present research, we evaluated the effectiveness of a multi-year professional development program in mathematics for elementary teachers. Each year the program focused on a different domain of mathematics. We found the program increased teachers’ knowledge of (a) number and operations, (b) measurement and geometry, and (c) probability and statistics. We also examined the relation between mathematical knowledge and teaching practices. Across the three domains neither pretest nor posttest mathematical knowledge were related to classroom teaching practices. However, change in knowledge was positively related to six different dimensions of teaching practice for number and operations, and for measurement and geometry; and was positively related to four or six dimensions for probability and statistics. That is, those teachers with greater changes in knowledge demonstrated more effective instruction

Statewide Mathematics Professional Development: Teacher Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Beliefs

We examined the impact of a state mandated K-12 mathematics professional development course on knowledge, self-efficacy and beliefs of nearly 4,000 teachers and administrators. Participants completed the Mathematical Thinking for Instruction course, emphasizing student thinking, problem-solving, and content knowledge specific to mathematics instruction. Inventories utilizing items fromthe Learning Mathematics for Teaching project (2005) measured changes in participants’ Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) and an end-of-course self-evaluation enabled analysis of changes in MKT, self-efficacy and beliefs. Statistically significant changes were found in all three variables. This study adds to our understanding of the potential usefulness of mandating professional development as a policy vehicle for influencing educators’ mathematics knowledge and beliefs

Tissue Engineering: Applications in Developmental Toxicology

In vivo toxicology assays are expensive, low-throughput, and often not predictive of a human response. Three-dimensional in vitro human cell-based tissue systems incorporating cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions have promise to provide high-throughput, physiologically-relevant information on the mechanism of the toxin and a more accurate assessment of the toxicity of a chemical before progression to human trials. Quantification of the disruption of vasculogenesis, the de novo formation of blood vessels from endothelial progenitor cells, can serve as an appropriate indicator of developmental toxicity since vasculogenesis is critical to the early development of the circulatory system. The current routinely used in vitro angiogenesis assays are 2D and thus not physiologically-relevant and analyzed semi-quantitatively. Recently, a 3D in vitro model of vasculogenesis, involving a type I collagen oligomer matrix and endothelial colony forming cells, was described to be capable of producing and maintaining lumenized blood vessel networks up to 14 days. Here we utilized this model to develop a 3D vasculogenesis assay. We quantified the performance of this assay with a set of known angiogenesis modulators (imazamox, thalidomide, 2-methoxyestradiol, levamisole) through cytotoxicity testing and 3D image analysis. Preliminary data suggests a difference in the drug sensitivity and response when measured with the 3D vasculogenesis assay and compared to a well-established 2D angiogenesis assay. We expect our model to more closely mimic results from in vivo studies, but further validation is needed. This new 3D vasculogenesis model can provide a physiologically-relevant, high-throughput screening and mechanistic assay for applications in pharmaceutical development and developmental toxicology

Subfractions of enamel matrix derivative differentially influence cytokine secretion from human oral fibroblasts.

Enamel matrix derivative is used to promote periodontal regeneration during the corrective phase of the treatment of periodontal defects. Our main goal was to analyze the bioactivity of different molecular weight fractions of enamel matrix derivative. Enamel matrix derivative, a complex mixture of proteins, was separated into 13 fractions using size-exclusion chromatography and characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. Human periodontal ligament fibroblasts were treated with either enamel matrix derivative or the different fractions. Proliferation and cytokine secretion to the cell culture medium were measured and compared to untreated cells. The liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry analyses revealed that the most abundant peptides were amelogenin and leucine-rich amelogenin peptide related. The fractions containing proteins above 20 kDa induced an increase in vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin-6 secretion, whereas lower molecular weight fractions enhanced proliferation and secretion of interleukin-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and reduced interleukin-4 release. The various molecular components in the enamel matrix derivative formulation might contribute to reported effects on tissue regeneration through their influence on vascularization, the immune response, and chemotaxis

The Effects of Professional Development on Elementary Students’ Mathematics Achievement

This paper describes the effects of a professional development (PD) program – Developing Mathematical Thinking – on student achievement. Six Title I elementary schools with similar demographics, within one school district, were chosen to participate as either a treatment or comparison school. Three schools were chosen to participate in professional development that incorporates effective PD recommendations. All the teachers had to participate in all aspects of the PD, thereby eliminating potential self-selection bias. Using the state standardized achievement test as the before and after measure, results suggest improved student performance after professional development was implemented over a two year period

Developing a Multi-Dimensional Early Elementary Mathematics Screener and Diagnostic Tool: The Primary Mathematics Assessment

There is a critical need to identify primary level students experiencing difficulties in mathematics to provide immediate and targeted instruction that remediates their deficits. However, most early math screening instruments focus only on the concept of number, resulting in inadequate and incomplete information for teachers to design intervention efforts. We propose a mathematics assessment that screens and provides diagnostic information in six domains that are important to building a strong foundation in mathematics. This article describes the conceptual framework and psychometric qualities of a web-based assessment tool, the Primary Math Assessment (PMA). The PMA includes a screener to identify students at risk for poor math outcomes and a diagnostic tool to provide a more in-depth profile of children’s specific strengths and weaknesses in mathematics. The PMA allows teachers and school personnel to make better instructional decisions by providing more targeted analyses