Longitudinal falls data in Parkinson’s disease: feasibility of fall diaries and effect of attrition

Background: Identifying causes of falls for people with Parkinson’s disease has met with limited success. Prospective falls measurement using the “gold standard” approach is challenging. This paper examines the process and outcomes associated with longitudinal falls reporting in this population. Methods: Participants were recruited from ICICLE-GAIT (a collaborative study with ICICLE-PD; an incident cohort study). Monthly falls diaries were examined over 48 months for accuracy of data and rate of attrition. To further inform analysis, characteristics of participants with 36-month completed diaries were compared with those who did not complete diaries. Results: One hundred and twenty-one participants were included at baseline. By 12 months, falls diary data had reduced to 107 participants; to 81 participants by 36 months; and to 59 participants by 48 months. Key reasons for diary attrition were withdrawal from ICICLE-gait (n = 16) (13.2%), and noncompliance (n = 11) (9.1%). The only significant difference between the completed and non-completed diary groups was age at 36 months, with older participants being more likely to send in diaries. Conclusions: Prospective falls data is feasible to collect over the long term. Attrition rates are high; however, participants retained in the study are overall representative of the total falls diary cohort

What is the Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on the Host Economy? An Analysis For Developed Countries with a Focus on Canada

Numéro de référence interne originel : a1.1 g 111

The effect of literature mapping of basal vocabulary on word knowledge and comprehension

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether two instructional interventions in reading that utilize literature mapping within a story element frame, T-CaPS MaP via transparency mapping, or computer-designed mapping via Inspiration, would affect reading ability of leveled sixth grade groups. T-CaPS MaP, designed by the researcher, is a combination of well-known story grammars that was used to expand and enhance basal vocabulary instruction. T represents the title of the story, C represents characters in the story; arepresents and; P represents point of view of the author; S represents setting of the story; M represents the mood of the story; arepresents and; and P represents plot/theme. Fifth grade scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS ) were used to determine a high group, at or above the 60 th percentile, and a low group, at or below the 40th percentile. A quasi-experimental design utilizing the nonequivalent control-group design was used with six individual ANCOVAs to compare group mean test scores with the high and low groups among the three treatments: traditional, transparency, and Inspiration. Three schools with similar characteristics were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions using the randomized, pretest-posttest control group design. The control school used traditional instruction as defined by the instructional practices of the classroom teacher. Six individual analyses of covariance were used to compare the three groups using pretest scores as a statistical means to remove preexisting academic elements. The level of statistical significance was set at p \u3c .05. Five of the six ANCOVAS showed that Reading Level had a significant main effect on the dependent variable scores. A relationship between reading levels and methods of instruction was determined using student scores on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, used to evaluate general vocabulary and comprehension, and the Harcourt Reading Skills Assessment, used to evaluate specific vocabulary and comprehension taught from the Harcourt Reading Series. The critical comparison was between the experimental and control groups on pretests and posttests evaluating the dependent variables of vocabulary and reading comprehension. There was one interaction effect with the instructional method of Inspiration, a computer software program that produces semantic maps, between the high and low groups measuring general comprehension skills on the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test. Students in the high group, those with scores at or above the 60th percentile, scored higher on the general comprehension posttest than the other tests, and students in the low group, those with scores at or below the 40th percentile, scored lower on the general comprehension posttest than the other tests. This unexpected interaction could imply that classroom teachers should be aware of the effect of various teaching styles in the area of reading and their impact on student achievement

The relational-interdependent self-construal at work: an examination of relations to employee attitudes and behaviors

This study examined the relational-interdependent self-construal (RISC; Cross, Bacon, & Morris, 2000) and relations to work-related variables such as job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior. It was hypothesized that the RISC scale (Cross et al., 2000) would predict the altruism facet of organizational citizenship behavior, and moderate the relationships between interactional justice and coworker satisfaction when predicting other important attitudes such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Employees from three different organizations completed surveys either with on paper or over the Internet at a secure website. The results largely failed to support hypotheses involving the RISC, although relations among work-related variables were largely consistent with previous theory and research. The results did indicate some unexpected findings, such as a positive relation between RISC scale scores and age, and between RISC scale scores and work withdrawal. RISC scale scores also moderated several relations between work attitudes and organizational withdrawal

CHANNELING THE CURRENT: THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF MOVING MEDITATION FOR FINDNG A FLOW IN THINKING AND WRITING

CHANNELING THE CURRENT: THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF MOVING MEDITATION FOR FINDNG A FLOW IN THINKING AND WRITING Sarah Lynn Morris, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Dissertation Directed by: Professor Francine H. Hultgren Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland, College Park This phenomenological study explores lived experience of moving meditation for finding flow in thinking and writing. Moving meditation is intentional practice of mindfulness that brings us deeply into our selves and the world. Connecting to pedagogical implications for teaching composition, this study suggests embodied practices may open a flow of words and ideas for those practicing movement meditation. Grounded in the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Heidegger, and van Manen, this work explores embodiment and lived experience, using human science phenomenology as method. Further grounded in writing process and moving meditation texts, this work connects body movement and writing practices through lived experience. I first turn toward my own experience to examine moving meditation as method of finding flow in my thinking and writing. Next, I explore the phenomenon in a range of traditions to further uncover the lived experience of moving writers. The metaphor of the circuit as descriptive of writing process and body process further illuminates the phenomenon. Initial emergent themes include process, practice, flow, solitude, and nature. Recognizing the intersubjective in the particular, this study focuses on lived experience of four high school English teachers as they make meaning through focused movement. In four sessions of meditative contemplation, these teachers walked in the woods, wrote reflections, and considered personal and pedagogical experiences. Renderings of these teachers' journals and conversations suggest themes including fear, care, wholeness, and transcendence. Drawing from these conversants' insights, I explore ways in which meditative movement opens a flow in thinking and writing for these teachers, writers themselves in the current of life. Orienting toward pedagogical implications, I engage with lived experience in order to suggest ways in which teachers of writing may create wholeness of experience for classroom communities: taking students outside, seeing students in wholeness, positioning themselves as more experienced writers, focusing on process rather that product, and being bodies themselves. In doing so, they may generate a culture of care that fosters growth of writing and writers--body, mind, and spirit wholeness-- with the world as classroom and lived life as text

Guided Notes in the Pre-Algebra Mathematics Classroom

Students who attend an 8th grade mathematics class in the middle school at my district and who are not placed in an accelerated class, are placed in Book 3 of MathThematics (Billstein & Williamson, 2002, p. 393-466). I have introduced guided notes for the pre-algebra classroom in an effort to increase 8th graders\u27 classroom participation and engagement and to improve content mastery of Pre-Algebra. This study was an effort to understand if the guided notes increase student\u27s level of Pre-Algebra mastery in my classroom. I wanted to find out if guided notes increased participation and engagement compared to those students taking their own notes. Four key themes have emerged from the notes and test data, as well as the student survey and student interviews. They are student success, student focus, notes as a reference, and notes as an organizational tool. Recommendations based on the findings include ways that I should modify the guided notes along with classroom instruction to increase student success in the Pre-Algebra classroom

Gait and cognition: mapping the global and discrete relationships in ageing and neurodegenerative disease

Recent research highlights the association of gait and cognition in older adults but a stronger understanding is needed to discern coincident pathophysiology, patterns of change, examine underlying mechanisms and aid diagnosis. This structured review mapped associations and predictors of gait and cognition in older adults with and without cognitive impairment, and Parkinson's disease. Fifty papers out of an initial yield of 22,128 were reviewed and a model of gait guided analysis and interpretation. Associations were dominated by the pace domain of gait; the most frequently studied domain. In older adults pace was identified as a predictor for cognitive decline. Where comprehensive measurement of gait was conducted, more specific pathological patterns of association were evident highlighting the importance of this approach. This review confirmed a robust association between gait and cognition and argues for a selective, comprehensive measurement approach. Results suggest gait may be a surrogate marker of cognitive impairment and cognitive decline. Understanding the specific nature of this relationship is essential for refinement of diagnostics and development of novel therapies

Within and among population genetic variation in Fagus grandifolia within Great Smoky Mountains National Park

In this study I use ISSR markers to assess levels of genetic variation within and among populations of Fagus grandifolia in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). I specifically test the following questions: 1) Do high elevation populations of F. grandifolia in GSMNP reproduce more frequently by root sprouting than by seed, resulting in fewer genets than ramets within a population? 2) Do low elevation populations of F. grandifolia in GSMNP reproduce more fi^equently by seed than by root sprouting, resulting in a relatively equal number of ramets and genets within a population? 3) Are high elevation populations of F. grandifolia in GSMNP genetically distinct from low elevation populations? and 4) Is an absence of beech scale (Cryptococcus fagisuga) infection on an individual tree in an otherwise infected stand correlated with genotype as a result of genetic resistance? The data collected in this research suggest that there is more genetic differentiation among high and low elevations than within high or low elevations sites, clonal reproduction is not limited to high elevation sites, and there is little evidence for genetic resistance in the trees sampled

The miRNAome of the postpartum dairy cow liver in negative energy balance

peer-reviewedBackground: Negative energy balance (NEB) is an altered metabolic state in high yielding cows that occurs during the first few weeks postpartum when energy demands for lactation and maintenance exceed the energy supply from dietary intake. NEB can, in turn, lead to metabolic disorders and to reduced fertility. Alterations in the expression of more than 700 hepatic genes have previously been reported in a study of NEB in postpartum dairy cows. miRNAs (microRNA) are known to mediate many alterations in gene expression post transcriptionally. To study the hepatic miRNA content of postpartum dairy cows, including their overall abundance and differential expression, in mild NEB (MNEB) and severe NEB (SNEB), short read RNA sequencing was carried out. To identify putative targets of differentially expressed miRNAs among differentially expressed hepatic genes reported previously in dairy cows in SNEB computational target identification was employed. Results: Our results indicate that the dairy cow liver expresses 53 miRNAs at a lower threshold of 10 reads per million. Of these, 10 miRNAs accounted for greater than 95% of the miRNAome (miRNA content). Of the highly expressed miRNAs, miR-122 constitutes 75% followed by miR-192 and miR-3596. Five out of thirteen let-7 miRNA family members are also among the highly expressed miRNAs. miR-143, down-regulated in SNEB, was found to have 4 putative up-regulated gene targets associated with SNEB including LRP2 (low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 2), involved in lipid metabolism and up-regulated in SNEB. Conclusions: This is the first liver miRNA-seq profiling study of moderate yielding dairy cows in the early postpartum period. Tissue specific miR-122 and liver enriched miR-192 are two of the most abundant miRNAs in the postpartum dairy cow liver. miR-143 is significantly down-regulated in SNEB and putative targets of miRNA-143 which are up-regulated in SNEB, include a gene involved in lipid metabolism.Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programm