Educational Effects of a Vocabulary Intervention on Preschoolers' Word Knowledge and Conceptual Development: A Cluster‐Randomized Trial

The purpose of this study was to examine the hypothesis that helping preschoolers learn words through categorization may enhance their ability to retain words and their conceptual properties, acting as a bootstrap for self‐learning. We examined this hypothesis by investigating the effects of the World of Words instructional program, a supplemental intervention for children in preschool designed to teach word knowledge and conceptual development through taxonomic categorization and embedded multimedia. Participants in the study included 3‐ and 4‐year‐old children from 28 Head Start classrooms in 12 schools, randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Children were assessed on word knowledge, expressive language, conceptual knowledge, and categories and properties of concepts in a yearlong intervention. Results indicated that children receiving the WOW treatment consistently outperformed their control counterparts; further, treatment children were able to use categories to identify the meaning of novel words. Gains in word and categorical knowledge were sustained six months later for those children who remained in Head Start. These results suggest that a program targeted to learning words within taxonomic categories may act as a bootstrap for self‐learning and inference generation. كان الغرض من هذه الدراسة هو فحص فرضية أن مساعدة الأطفال في الروضة تعلم كلمات عن طريق التصنيف بإمكانه أن يعزز من قدراتهم على تذكر الكلمات وخصائصها المفاهيمية، بوصفها محفزا للتعلم. قمنا بفحص هذه الفرضية وذلك بالتحقيق في أثر البرنامج التعليمي "عالم المفردات" (WOW) الذي يعتبر تدخلا تكميليا لأطفال الروضة ومصمما من أجل تعليم معرفة الكلمات والتطور المفاهيمي، من خلال النظام التصنيفي ووسائل الإعلام. تضمنت الدراسة مشاركين تتراوح أعمارهم بين 3 و4 سنوات ينتمون إلى 28 روضة أطفال، التي تنتمي إلى 12 مدرسة, خضعت عشوائيا للبحث ومراقبة المجموعات. جرى تقييم الأطفال على معرفة الكلمات واللغة التعبيرية والمعرفة المفاهيمية وأصناف وخصائص المفاهيم في تدخل لمدة سنة كاملة. أظهرت النتائج أن الأطفال الذين خضعوا للبرنامج التعليمي "عالم المفردات" (WOW) قد تفوقوا بصورة مستمرة على نظرائهم الذين خضعوا للمراقبة. علاوة على ذلك, فإن أطفال البحث قد تمكنوا من استخدام الأصناف والتعرف على معنى الكلمات الجديدة. استمر اكتساب الكلمات والمعرفة التصنيفية بعد 6 أشهر بالنسبة للأطفال الذين بقوا في روضة الأطفال. توحي هذه النتائج إلى أنه يمكن لبرنامج يهدف إلى تعلم الكلمات أن يعمل كمحفز للتعلم الذاتي، وتوليد الاستنتاجات. 本研究旨在考查一个假设：帮助学龄前儿童通过分类来学习单词，可提高他们记忆单词及其概念属性的能力，从而发展他们的自主学习能力。作者通过调查「单词世界」(WOW)教学计划的影响来考查这个假设。该教学计划是一个学龄前儿童补充干预计划，旨在透过使用分类学的分类方法及嵌入式多媒体，教授单词知识和发展单词概念。研究参与者是来自12所学校中的28个「启蒙计划」学前儿童班里的3‐4岁儿童，他们被随机分配到干预组和对照组。在一年的干预中，儿童接受单词知识、表达语言、概念知识、类别和概念属性的评估。结果显示，「单词世界」(WOW)干预组的表现一致地优于对照组；此外，干预组儿童可以使用类别来确定新词的词义。仍然留在「启蒙计划」班里的儿童，其单词和类别知识的改进保持稳定至干预后6个月。这些研究结果显示，针对透过分类学的分类方法来学习单词的教学计划，可引导儿童凭自己的力量学习自学和产生推断。 Cette étude avait pour but d'examiner l'hypothíse qu'aider des enfants d'âge préscolaire à apprendre des mots en les catégorisant pourrait favoriser leur capacité à retenir les mots et leurs propriétés, agissant alors comme une amorce d'auto‐apprentissage. Nous avons examiné cette hypothíse en analysant les effets du matériel d'enseignement le Monde des Mots (MDM), un supplément pédagogique destiné aux enfants d'âge préscolaire conçu pour la connaissance des mots et le développement des concepts à l'aide d'une catégorisation taxinomique avec multimédia impliqué. Ont participé à l'étude des enfants de 3 et 4 ans provenant de 28 classes Head Start issus de 12 écoles assignées au hasard au groupe de traitement et au groupe contrôle. Les enfants ont été évalués sur leur connaissance des mots, l'expression orale, les connaissances conceptuelles, les catégories et les propriétés des concepts tout au long de l'année de l'intervention. Les résultats ont montré que les enfants du groupe de traitement MDM ont de maniíre systématique dépassé leur contrepartie du groupe contrôle; en outre, les enfants soumis au traitement ont été en mesure de se servir des catégories pour trouver le sens des mots nouveaux. Les bénéfices dans la connaissance des mots et les connaissances catégorielles sont demeurés six mois plus tard chez les enfants restés dans Head Start. Ces résultats suggírent qu'un programme visant l'apprentissage de mots au sein de catégories taxonomiques peut agir comme une amorce pour l'auto‐apprentissage et la production d'inférences. Проверялась гипотеза о том, что категоризация лексики при обучении дошкольников новым словам может существенно увеличить способность к запоминанию слов и их концептуальных свойств и стимулировать малышей к самообучению. Для расширения их словарного запаса и умения работать с концептами авторы исследовали учебный модуль “Мир слов” (WOW), разработанный в качестве дополнительного вмешательства для дошкольников, которые обучаются по программе Head Start. WOW знакомит детей с таксономической классификацией посредством мультимедийных средств. Трех‐ и четырехлетние дети из 28‐и дошкольных групп в 12‐и школах были случайным образом включены либо в экспериментальную, либо в контрольную группу. На протяжении годичного обучения оценивалось знание слов, выразительность речи, знание концептов, их свойств и категорий, к которым они могут быть причислены. Дети, обучавшиеся по программе WOW, стабильно показывали более высокие результаты, чем их ровесники из контрольных групп. Помимо прочего, эти дети способны использовать категоризацию для определения значений новых слов. Через полгода после окончания обучения эти дети продолжали опережать сверстников по знанию слов и умению категоризировать. Это свидетельствует о том, что программа, предлагающая изучение слов в рамках таксономических категорий, может помочь вырастить поколение, которое будет способно к самообучению и к самостоятельным выводам. La meta de este estudio fue el de investigar la hipótesis que ayudar a los preescolares a aprender palabras por medio de la categorización mejoraría su capacidad de retener palabras y sus propiedades conceptuales, sirviendo de arranque para el auto aprendizaje. Investigamos esta hipótesis estudiando los efectos del programa de enseñanza World of Words (Mundo de palabras; WOW por sus siglas en inglés), una intervención adicional para niños preescolares diseñada para el aprendizaje de palabras y el desarrollo conceptual por medio de la categorización taxonómica y el uso de diversos medios. En este estudio participaron niños de 3 y 4 años de 20 aulas de Head Start en 12 escuelas escogidas al azar en cuanto a grupos de tratamiento y de control. En un año completo de intervención, se evaluaron los estudiantes en cuanto a su conocimiento de palabras, su lenguaje expresivo, su conocimiento conceptual, y las categorías y propiedades de los conceptos. Los resultados mostraron que los niños del grupo de WOW sistemáticamente superaban a los niños del grupo de control; además, los niños del grupo de tratamiento podían usar categorías para encontrar el significado de palabras nuevas. Los adelantos en el conocimiento de palabras y categorías todavía existían 6 meses más tarde para los niños que seguían con Head Start. Estos resultados sugieren que un programa dedicado al aprendizaje de palabras dentro de categorías taxonómicas puede ayudar al autoaprendizaje y la producción de inferencias.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88072/1/RRQ.46.3.3.pd

Revolutionising Fish Ageing: Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy to Age Fish

The project aimed to evaluate the innovative application of NIRS as a reliable, repeatable, and cost-effective method of ageing fish, using otoliths of Barramundi and Snapper as study species. Specific research questions included assessing how geographic and seasonal variation in otoliths affects NIRS predictive models of fish age, as well as how the NIR spectra of otoliths change in the short-term (i.e., <12 months) and long-term (i.e., historical otolith collections) and what effect this has on the predictive ability of NIRS models. The cost-effectiveness of using NIRS to supplement standard fish ageing methods was also evaluated using a hypothetical case study of Barramundi

Embeddings of SL(2,Z) into the Cremona group

Geometric and dynamic properties of embeddings of SL(2,Z) into the Cremona group are studied. Infinitely many non-conjugate embeddings which preserve the type (i.e. which send elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic elements onto elements of the same type) are provided. The existence of infinitely many non-conjugate elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic embeddings is also shown. In particular, a group G of automorphisms of a smooth surface S obtained by blowing-up 10 points of the complex projective plane is given. The group G is isomorphic to SL(2,Z), preserves an elliptic curve and all its elements of infinite order are hyperbolic.Comment: to appear in Transformation Group

Persistent Polypharmacy and Fall Injury Risk: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study

Background Older adults receive treatment for fall injuries in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The effect of persistent polypharmacy (i.e. using multiple medications over a long period) on fall injuries is understudied, particularly for outpatient injuries. We examined the association between persistent polypharmacy and treated fall injury risk from inpatient and outpatient settings in community-dwelling older adults. Methods The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study included 1764 community-dwelling adults (age 73.6 ± 2.9 years; 52% women; 38% black) with Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) claims at or within 6 months after 1998/99 clinic visit. Incident fall injuries (N = 545 in 4.6 ± 2.9 years) were defined as the initial claim with an ICD-9 fall E-code and non-fracture injury, or fracture code with/without a fall code from 1998/99 clinic visit to 12/31/08. Those without fall injury (N = 1219) were followed for 8.1 ± 2.6 years. Stepwise Cox models of fall injury risk with a time-varying variable for persistent polypharmacy (defined as ≥6 prescription medications at the two most recent consecutive clinic visits) were adjusted for demographics, lifestyle characteristics, chronic conditions, and functional ability. Sensitivity analyses explored if persistent polypharmacy both with and without fall risk increasing drugs (FRID) use were similarly associated with fall injury risk. Results Among 1764 participants, 636 (36%) had persistent polypharmacy over the follow-up period, and 1128 (64%) did not. Fall injury incidence was 38 per 1000 person-years. Persistent polypharmacy increased fall injury risk (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.31 [1.06, 1.63]) after adjusting for covariates. Persistent polypharmacy with FRID use was associated with a 48% increase in fall injury risk (95%CI: 1.10, 2.00) vs. those who had non-persistent polypharmacy without FRID use. Risks for persistent polypharmacy without FRID use (HR: 1.22 [0.93, 1.60]) and non-persistent polypharmacy with FRID use (HR: 1.08 [0.77, 1.51]) did not significantly increase compared to non-persistent polypharmacy without FRID use. Conclusions Persistent polypharmacy, particularly combined with FRID use, was associated with increased risk for treated fall injuries from inpatient and outpatient settings. Clinicians may need to consider medication management for FRID and other fall prevention strategies in community-dwelling older adults with persistent polypharmacy to reduce fall injury risk

Pitt Political Review: GSPIA Edition (Spring 2011, Volume 3)

This volume of the Pitt Political Review: GSPIA Edition includes "Legal and Societal Injustice: Gender Inequality and Land Rights in Tanzania" and "The Transformation of Philanthropy in Sub-Saharan Africa: from Traditional Practices to the Establishment of Grantmaking Foundations." The aim of "Legal and Societal Injustice: Gender Inequality and Land Rights in Tanzania" is to increase awareness of the problems surrounding land rights and gender inequality in Tanzania's Karagwe District. "The Transformation of Philanthropy in Sub-Saharan Africa: from Traditional Practices to the Establishment of Grantmaking Foundations" discusses the effectiveness of African foundations in development over the long-term

Monocytes regulate the mechanism of T-cell death by inducing Fas-mediated apoptosis during bacterial infection.

Monocytes and T-cells are critical to the host response to acute bacterial infection but monocytes are primarily viewed as amplifying the inflammatory signal. The mechanisms of cell death regulating T-cell numbers at sites of infection are incompletely characterized. T-cell death in cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) showed 'classic' features of apoptosis following exposure to pneumococci. Conversely, purified CD3(+) T-cells cultured with pneumococci demonstrated necrosis with membrane permeabilization. The death of purified CD3(+) T-cells was not inhibited by necrostatin, but required the bacterial toxin pneumolysin. Apoptosis of CD3(+) T-cells in PBMC cultures required 'classical' CD14(+) monocytes, which enhanced T-cell activation. CD3(+) T-cell death was enhanced in HIV-seropositive individuals. Monocyte-mediated CD3(+) T-cell apoptotic death was Fas-dependent both in vitro and in vivo. In the early stages of the T-cell dependent host response to pneumococci reduced Fas ligand mediated T-cell apoptosis was associated with decreased bacterial clearance in the lung and increased bacteremia. In summary monocytes converted pathogen-associated necrosis into Fas-dependent apoptosis and regulated levels of activated T-cells at sites of acute bacterial infection. These changes were associated with enhanced bacterial clearance in the lung and reduced levels of invasive pneumococcal disease

Systematic review of outcome domains and instruments used in clinical trials of tinnitus treatments in adults

BACKGROUND: There is no evidence-based guidance to facilitate design decisions for confirmatory trials or systematic reviews investigating treatment efficacy for adults with tinnitus. This systematic review therefore seeks to ascertain the current status of trial designs by identifying and evaluating the reporting of outcome domains and instruments in the treatment of adults with tinnitus. METHODS: Records were identified by searching PubMed, EMBASE CINAHL, EBSCO, and CENTRAL clinical trial registries (ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN, ICTRP) and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Eligible records were those published from 1 July 2006 to 12 March 2015. Included studies were those reporting adults aged 18 years or older who reported tinnitus as a primary complaint, and who were enrolled into a randomised controlled trial, a before and after study, a non-randomised controlled trial, a case-controlled study or a cohort study, and written in English. Studies with fewer than 20 participants were excluded. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-eight studies were included. Thirty-five different primary outcome domains were identified spanning seven categories (tinnitus percept, impact of tinnitus, co-occurring complaints, quality of life, body structures and function, treatment-related outcomes and unclear or not specified). Over half the studies (55 %) did not clearly define the complaint of interest. Tinnitus loudness was the domain most often reported (14 %), followed by tinnitus distress (7 %). Seventy-eight different primary outcome instruments were identified. Instruments assessing multiple attributes of the impact of tinnitus were most common (34 %). Overall, 24 different patient-reported tools were used, predominantly the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (15 %). Loudness was measured in diverse ways including a numerical rating scale (8 %), loudness matching (4 %), minimum masking level (1 %) and loudness discomfort level (1 %). Ten percent of studies did not clearly report the instrument used. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate poor appreciation of the basic principles of good trial design, particularly the importance of specifying what aspect of therapeutic benefit is the main outcome. No single outcome was reported in all studies and there was a broad diversity of outcome instruments. PROSPERO REGISTRATION: The systematic review protocol is registered on PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews): CRD42015017525. Registered on 12 March 2015 revised on 15 March 2016. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1399-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24&nbsp;months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500&nbsp;steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30&nbsp;minutes spent performing activities ≥500&nbsp;counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24&nbsp;months), both the number of steps per day (per 500&nbsp;steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500&nbsp;counts per minute (per 30&nbsp;minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score &gt;10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500

Cancer health disparities in racial/ethnic minorities in the United States

There are well-established disparities in cancer incidence and outcomes by race/ethnicity that result from the interplay between structural, socioeconomic, socio-environmental, behavioural and biological factors. However, large research studies designed to investigate factors contributing to cancer aetiology and progression have mainly focused on populations of European origin. The limitations in clinicopathological and genetic data, as well as the reduced availability of biospecimens from diverse populations, contribute to the knowledge gap and have the potential to widen cancer health disparities. In this review, we summarise reported disparities and associated factors in the United States of America (USA) for the most common cancers (breast, prostate, lung and colon), and for a subset of other cancers that highlight the complexity of disparities (gastric, liver, pancreas and leukaemia). We focus on populations commonly identified and referred to as racial/ethnic minorities in the USA—African Americans/Blacks, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians/other Pacific Islanders and Hispanics/Latinos. We conclude that even though substantial progress has been made in understanding the factors underlying cancer health disparities, marked inequities persist. Additional efforts are needed to include participants from diverse populations in the research of cancer aetiology, biology and treatment. Furthermore, to eliminate cancer health disparities, it will be necessary to facilitate access to, and utilisation of, health services to all individuals, and to address structural inequities, including racism, that disproportionally affect racial/ethnic minorities in the USA.Fil: Zavala, Valentina A.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Bracci, Paige M.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Carethers, John M.. University of Michigan; Estados UnidosFil: Carvajal Carmona, Luis. University of California at Davis; Estados UnidosFil: Coggins, Nicole B.. University of California at Davis; Estados UnidosFil: Cruz Correa, Marcia R.. Universidad de Puerto Rico; Puerto RicoFil: Davis, Melissa. No especifíca;Fil: de Smith, Adam J.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Dutil, Julie. Ponce Research Institute; Puerto RicoFil: Figueiredo, Jane C.. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Fox, Rena. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Graves, Kristi D.. University Of Georgetown; Estados UnidosFil: Gomez, Scarlett Lin. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Llera, Andrea Sabina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Neuhausen, Susan L.. No especifíca;Fil: Newman, Lisa. No especifíca;Fil: Nguyen, Tung. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Palmer, Julie R.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Palmer, Nynikka R.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Pérez Stable, Eliseo J.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Piawah, Sorbarikor. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Rodriquez, Erik J.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Sanabria Salas, María Carolina. Instituto Nacional de Cancerología; ColombiaFil: Schmit, Stephanie L.. University of Southern California; Estados UnidosFil: Serrano Gomez, Silvia J.. Instituto Nacional de Cancerología; ColombiaFil: Stern, Mariana Carla. University of Southern California; Estados UnidosFil: Weitzel, Jeffrey. No especifíca;Fil: Yang, Jun J.. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; Estados UnidosFil: Zabaleta, Jovanny. No especifíca;Fil: Ziv, Elad. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Fejerman, Laura. University of California; Estados Unido