Visual exogenous and endogenous attention and visual memory in preschool children who stutter

PURPOSE

Attention develops gradually from infancy to the preschool years and beyond. Exogenous attention, consisting of automatic responses to salient stimuli, develops in infancy, whereas endogenous attention, or voluntary attention, begins to develop later, in the preschool years. The purpose of this study was to examine (a) exogenous and endogenous attention in young children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS) through two conditions of a visual sustained selective attention task, and (b) visual short-term memory (STM) between groups within the context of this task.

METHOD

42 CWS and 42 CWNS, ages 3;0-5;5 (years;months), were pair-matched in age, gender (31 males, 11 females per group), and socioeconomic status. Children completed a visual tracking task (Track-It Task; Fisher et al., 2013) requiring sustained selective attention and engaging exogenous and endogenous processes. Following each item, children were asked to recall the item they had tracked, as a memory check.

RESULTS

The CWS group demonstrated significantly less accuracy in overall tracking and visual memory for the tracked stimuli, compared to the CWNS group. Across groups, the children performed better in sustained selective attention when the target stimuli were more salient (the condition tapping both exogenous and endogenous attention) than when stimuli were less so (the condition tapping primarily endogenous processes).

CONCLUSIONS

Relative to peers, preschool-age CWS, as a group, display weaknesses in visual sustained selective attention and visual STM.

Word learning from context in school-age children: relations with language ability and executive function

Purpose: Although school-age children learn most new word meanings from surrounding context, the joint roles of language ability and executive function (EF) in the word learning process remain unclear. This study examined children's acquisition of word meanings from context in relation to oral language ability and three EF skills (working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility). Method: Typically developing school-age children completed measures of language and EF, then read and listened to short stories containing unfamiliar target words. A multiple-choice pretest-posttest measure assessed children's target word knowledge gains. Results: Regression analyses showed that language and cognitive flexibility were both related to word knowledge gains; each skill assumed greater importance among children with relative weakness in the other skill. Conclusion: Language ability and cognitive flexibility may each play a direct role in contextual word learning among school-age children, with children naturally relying on one skill if the other is weaker.

Caregivers' Perceptions of Their Child's Language Disorder: Alignment between Caregivers and Speech-Language Pathologists

Caregivers' perceptions regarding their child's language disorder may influence caregivers' involvement in therapy as well as daily home interactions, thus impacting developmental outcomes. However, little is known about the alignment between caregivers' perceptions of their child's language disorder and those of speech-language pathologists (SLPs), nor of factors that might relate to alignment between caregivers and SLPs. This study addressed three aims: (1) to characterize caregivers' perceptions regarding children's quality of communicative interactions, competence in communicative abilities, and outcomes of communicative improvement; (2) to measure alignment between caregivers' and SLPs' perceptions; and (3) to explore caregiver- and child-level factors that might relate to alignment. Caregivers and SLPs of 3- to 4-year-old children currently receiving treatment for language disorders completed questionnaires to assess perceptions along with two caregiver factors (maternal education and self-efficacy) and child language disorder severity. Caregivers' perceptions were more positive and more variable than those of SLPs. However, caregivers and SLPs agreed in rating perceptions of present and future outcomes higher than either quality or competence. Maternal education, caregiver's self-efficacy, and children's language disorder severity were not related to alignment between caregivers and SLPs. Given the variability in caregivers' perceptions, future research should explore the role of perceptions in children's language intervention outcomes.

Semantic-syntactic partial word knowledge growth through reading

PURPOSE

Incidental reading provides a powerful opportunity for partial word knowledge growth in the school-age years. The extent to which children of differing language abilities can use reading experiences to glean partial knowledge of words is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to compare semantic-syntactic partial word knowledge growth of children with higher language skills (HL group; overall language standard scores of 85 or higher) to that of children with relatively lower language skills (LL group; overall receptive or expressive standard score below 85).

METHOD

Thirty-two children, 16 per group, silently read stories containing unfamiliar nouns and verbs 3 times over a 1-week period. Semantic-syntactic partial word knowledge growth was assessed after each reading and 2-3 days later to assess retention.

RESULTS

Over time, both groups showed significant partial word knowledge growth, with the HL group showing significantly more growth. In addition, both groups retained knowledge several days later.

CONCLUSION

Regardless of language skill level, children benefit from multiple exposures to unfamiliar words in reading in their development and retention of semantic-syntactic partial word knowledge growth.

Identification of the Xenopus laevis cDNA for EXT1: a phylogenetic perspective

The EXT family of genes is involved in the developmentally important biosynthesis of heparan sulfate molecules. Members of the EXT family have a demonstrated role in gastrulation, wing formation in flies, and proper bone development in vertebrates. EXT family members have been isolated from several phylogenetically diverse species. We report here, the isolation of the first Xenopus laevis EXT1 family member and discuss the evolutionary origins of this gene family.

Minority recruitment in the prostate cancer prevention trial

PURPOSE

African American men have a higher prostate cancer risk profile than that of other men in the United States. The purpose of this manuscript is to summarize the challenges associated with enrolling and randomizing African American and other minority participants in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT).

METHODS

The PCPT is a randomized trial of finasteride versus placebo for preventing prostate cancer in healthy men age 55 years and older; it is coordinated by the Southwest Oncology Group. The manuscript describes demographic and lifestyle characteristics of the PCPT randomized sample (18,882 men) by four racial and ethnic groups (Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and other). African American men comprised 4% of the total randomized sample compared to our goal of 8%. Minority recruitment was emphasized through the Study Manual and training that occurred at trial activation. Supplemental minority recruitment activities were initiated a year after study activation and continued through the end of the accrual period. Minority recruitment was emphasized as follows: minority recruitment presentations at PCPT training seminars (held during twice yearly Southwest Oncology Group meetings); distribution of additional minority recruitment materials; engagement of four consultants for minority recruitment; production of a Minority Recruitment Manual; and a small pilot study involving minority outreach recruiters at five PCPT sites.

RESULTS

The consultants were helpful in implementing the pilot project and in suggesting and reviewing materials for minority recruitment. The five-site pilot project did not increase either enrollment or randomization of minorities (with a possible exception at one site).

CONCLUSIONS

We suggest that a long-term perspective is required for successful recruitment of minority participants in clinical trials. Likewise, extensive minority recruitment efforts must be ready to implement at trial activation.

Selection of children to provide care: the effect of earlier parental transfers

We use the first wave of data from the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) study to examine the effects of past parent-to-child financial transfers on selection of a child to provide assistance with basic personal care for unmarried parents. We estimate a fixed-effects conditional logit model and find a positive and significant association between past financial transfers and a child's current helping behavior. The coefficient of past financial transfers is in the direction hypothesized, and its magnitude is 80% as large as that of gender, a well-documented powerful predictor of parental caregiving. There appears to be substantial evidence that earlier parent-to-child financial gifts play a role in determining which child in the family will provide assistance.

Welfare dependence within and across generations

A central question in the debate about the effects of welfare programs is whether their intended positive results--providing needed resources to recipients and their children--outweigh any unintended negative results--for example, the breaking up of families, reduction in work effort, or the fostering of a welfare "culture" that is passed on from parent to child. Recent research shows that although work effort is affected adversely by the generosity of welfare programs, effects on family structure appear quite weak, most welfare experiences are relatively short, and the majority of women who grew up in homes heavily dependent on welfare do not rely on those programs when they are young adults.

Effect of wheat fiber on blood lipids, fecal steroid excretion and serum iron

Adding 36 g of wheat fiber for 3 weeks to the metabolically controlled diets of six subjects produced a significant increase in daily fecal weight from 70.8 g +/- 6.2 SEM to 217 g +/- 12.1; serum iron also fell by 21 micrograms/100 ml +/- 2.1 SEM (P less than 0.001) during the added fiber period (measured in five subjects) as did mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin. Fecal neutral steroid concentration (measured in four subjects) fell from 31 to 17.3 mg/g dry weight (P less than 0.05) but the change in neutral steroid output and in acid steroid concentration and output was not significant. No change was seen in the serum levels of cholesterol and triglyceride.