Assessing the Reliability and Use of the Expository Scoring Scheme as a Measure of Developmental Change in Monolingual English and Bilingual French/English Children

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Kay-Raining Bird ◽  
Nila Joshi ◽  
Patricia L. Cleave

Purpose The Expository Scoring Scheme (ESS) is designed to analyze the macrostructure of descriptions of a favorite game or sport. This pilot study examined inter- and intrarater reliability of the ESS and use of the scale to capture developmental change in elementary school children. Method Twenty-four children in 2 language groups (monolingual English and bilingual French/English) and 2 age groups (7–8 years, 11–12 years) participated (6 in each subgroup). Participants orally explained how to play their favorite game or sport in English. Expository discourse samples were rated for 10 macrostructure components using the ESS. Ratings were summed for a total score. Results Inter- and intrarater reliability was high for the total ESS score and for some but not all ESS components. In addition, the total score and ratings for many ESS components increased with age. Few differences were found in use of macrostructure components across language groups. Conclusions The ESS captures developmental change in the use of expository macrostructure in spoken discourse samples. It may be beneficial to take into account the lower reliability found for ratings of some ESS components in clinical practice. Due to the small sample size, these results should be considered preliminary and interpreted with caution.

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher L. McDonald ◽  
Russell P. Saneto ◽  
Lionel Carmant ◽  
Márcio A. Sotero de Menezes

The SCN1A gene has been implicated in the etiology of various forms of epilepsy. New research has linked this gene to specific types of epilepsy, all of which present in infancy or early childhood. This study examines the time course and pathology of pediatric patients who have a mutation in the SCN1A gene in order to open a discussion regarding the key trends of this form of epilepsy as well as important clinical considerations in management for patients who present with symptoms relating to the SCN1A mutations. We retrospectively examined 20 patients who presented to the clinic with focal seizures, as well as were positive for an SCN1A genetic mutation. Despite the small sample size, we were able to find important trends in the time course of the disorder as well as important areas of clinical practice that must be taken into consideration for these patients.


Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 2540-2540
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Papaioannou ◽  
Kati Maharry ◽  
Krzysztof Mrózek ◽  
Heiko Becker ◽  
Klaus H. Metzeler ◽  
...  

Abstract In CN-AML, mutations of specific genes have prognostic significance and are used for treatment guidance. However, these mutations are in general not mutually exclusive and CN-AML patients (pts) frequently harbor mutational combinations with unclear prognostic significance because of the concurrent presence of mutations with favorable (CEBPA, NPM1) and unfavorable (ASXL1, DNMT3A, IDH1, IDH2, FLT3-ITD, MLL-PTD, RUNX1, TET2, WT1) impact on outcome. Here, we report the frequency and clinical significance of isolated mutations and their combinations in 364 CN-AML pts. Younger [<60 years (y); n=163] and older (≥60 y; n=201) pts were intensively treated on frontline CALGB/Alliance protocols and, per protocol, did not undergo allogeneic stem cell transplantation in first complete remission (CR). Median follow-up for pts alive was 8.7 y. Pts were analyzed centrally for mutations in the ASXL1, CEBPA, DNMT3A, IDH1, IDH2, NPM1, RUNX1, TET2, and WT1 genes and the presence of FLT3-ITD, FLT3-TKD and MLL-PTD. We found that 99% of pts had ≥1 and 88% ≥2 of the 12 mutations. Specifically, 11% of pts had 1 gene mutated (n1), 40% had 2 (n2), 31% 3 (n3), and 18% harbored ≥4 mutated genes (n4). The distribution of the different n groups in younger and older pts was similar (Fig 1). The expected frequency of each mutated gene in every numerical (n) group was calculated as follows: [no. of pts with the mutated gene] x [total no. of mutations in the n group] / [total no. of mutations in all pts], and compared with the observed frequency. CEBPA, IDH2, NPM1, and RUNX1 mutations were overrepresented in the n1 and n2 groups (P<.001, P<.001, P=.002, P=.02, respectively) and thus likely represent “early” events in leukemogenesis. In contrast, DNMT3A, FLT3-ITD, and TET2 mutations were more frequent in the n3 and n4 groups (P=.008, P<.001, P=.02, respectively) suggesting that they are likely “late” events. The distribution among age groups and clinical impact of the “early” mutations (i.e., CEBPA, NPM1, IDH2) presenting as isolated mutations or in combination with other mutations were then investigated. Isolated RUNX1 mutations could not be evaluated due to small sample size. Younger pts were more likely to harbor an isolated “early” mutated gene than older pts (21% v 12%, P=.03). Specifically, isolated CEBPA and NPM1 mutations were more frequent in younger pts compared with the older (7% v 2%, P=.007; 7% v 3%, P=.07, respectively). In pts with isolated CEBPA mutations, these were always bi-allelic. Single “early” mutated genes varied in their impact on CR achievement (CEBPA: 100%, NPM1: 94%, IDH2: 67%), and overall survival (OS; 3-y OS: CEBPA: 87%, NPM1: 69%, IDH2: 22%). Acquisition of additional mutations adversely modified the prognostic significance of favorable “early” mutations in the CEBPA (Fig 2A) and NPM1 (Fig 2B) genes, but left unchanged the unfavorable effect of IDH2 mutations (Fig 2C). Two mutational combinations were exceptions to this: younger pts with both NPM1 and DNMT3A mutations (8 pts) had an excellent prognosis with 3-y OS of 100%; and older pts with concurrent NPM1 and IDH2 mutations (9 pts; all IDH2 mutations were in codon R140) had a high 3-y OS rate of 67%. We conclude that CEBPA and NPM1 mutations mainly define pts with favorable prognosis when they present as single markers, whereas mutated IDH2 predominantly associates with adverse outcome. The NPM1+DNMT3A and NPM1+IDH2 mutational patterns may define novel favorable molecular subtypes in younger and older CN-AML pts, respectively, but these results require corroboration in larger pt cohorts. Disclosures: Mrózek: AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEMATOLOGY: I will review abstracls submitted for presentation at the 55th ASH Annual Meeting in the 611 category Other. Eisfeld:AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEMATOLOGY: I will review abstracls submitted for presentation at the 55th ASH Annual Meeting in the 608 category Other.


2009 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Plaud ◽  
Olli Meretoja ◽  
Rainer Hofmockel ◽  
Julien Raft ◽  
Peter A. Stoddart ◽  
...  

Background Sugammadex reverses neuromuscular blockade by chemical encapsulation of rocuronium. This phase IIIA study explored efficacy and safety of sugammadex in infants (28 days to 23 months), children (2-11 yr), adolescents (12-17 yr), and adults (18-65 yr). Methods Anesthetized patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists class 1-2) received 0.6 mg/kg rocuronium and were randomized to receive sugammadex (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, or 4.0 mg/kg) or placebo at reappearance of T2. Neuromuscular monitoring was performed using acceleromyography. Primary endpoint was time from sugammadex/placebo administration to recovery of the train-of-four ratio to 0.9. Adverse events and electrocardiograms were recorded, and blood samples were collected for safety and determination of sugammadex and rocuronium plasma concentrations. Results A dose-response relation was demonstrated in children (n = 22), adolescents (n = 28), and adults (n = 26), but not infants because of the small sample size (n = 8). After placebo, median recovery time of train-of-four to 0.9 was 21.0, 19.0, 23.4, and 28.5 min in infants, children, adolescents, and adults, respectively. After 2.0 mg/kg sugammadex train-of-four 0.9 was attained in 0.6, 1.2, 1.1, and 1.2 min, respectively. The sugammadex plasma concentrations were similar for the children, adolescent, and adult age groups across the dose range. Sugammadex was well tolerated: No reoccurrence of blockade, inadequate reversal, significant QT prolongation, or other abnormalities were observed. Conclusions Sugammadex is a new reversal agent that rapidly, effectively, safely, and with similar recovery times reverses rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade in children, adolescents, adults, and the small number of infants studied.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anouck Amestoy ◽  
Etienne Guillaud ◽  
Giulia Bucchioni ◽  
Tiziana Zalla ◽  
Daniel Umbricht ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Inhibitory control and attention processing atypicalities are implicated in various diseases, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These cognitive functions can be tested by using visually guided saccade-based paradigms in children, adolescents and adults to determine the time course of such disorders. Methods In this study, using Gap, Step, Overlap and Antisaccade tasks, we analyzed the oculomotor behavior of 82 children, teenagers and adults with high functioning ASD and their peer typically developing (TD) controls in a two-year follow-up study under the auspices of the InFoR-Autism project. Analysis of correlations between oculomotors task measurements and diagnostic assessment of attentional (ADHD-RS and ADHD comorbidity indices) and executive functioning (BRIEF scales) were conducted in order to evaluate their relationship with the oculomotor performance of participants with ASD. Results As indicated by the presence of a Gap and Overlap effects in all age groups, the oculomotor performances of ASD participants showed a preserved capability in overt attention switching. In contrast, the difference in performances of ASD participants in the Antisaccade task, compared to their TD peers, indicated an atypical development of inhibition and executive functions. From correlation analysis between our oculomotor data and ADHD comorbidity index, and scores of attention and executive function difficulties, our findings support the hypothesis that a specific dysfunction of inhibition skills occurs in ASD participants that is independent of the presence of ADHD comorbidity. Limitations These include the relatively small sample size of the ASD group over the study’s two-year period, the absence of an ADHD-only control group and the evaluation of a TD control group solely at the study’s inception. Conclusions Children and teenagers with ASD have greater difficulty in attention switching and inhibiting prepotent stimuli. Adults with ASD can overcome these difficulties, but, similar to teenagers and children with ASD, they make more erroneous and anticipatory saccades and display a greater trial-to-trial variability in all oculomotor tasks compared to their peers. Our results are indicative of a developmental delay in the maturation of executive and attentional functioning in ASD and of a specific impairment in inhibitory control.


2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 591-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven B Ambler

Abstract Background The growing student debt of physical therapists entering the workforce, coupled with the growth in projected need, raises concerns about where and how entry-level physical therapists will practice and if these choices will be affected by their debt burden. Objective The purpose of this study was to identify the debt profile of entry-level physical therapists and explore relationships between student debt and clinical practice setting choices. Methods This study utilized a cross-sectional survey design to identify debt profiles and explore relationships between student debt and the clinical practice choices of entry-level physical therapists. Results The mean debt-to-income ratio based on the total reported educational debt was 197% (93%). The most frequently reported debt range for doctor of physical therapy (DPT) debt and total educational debt was $100,000 to $124,999. Despite the setting itself being rated as the most important factor (83%), 28% of participants reported debt as a barrier to their desired practice setting. In addition, when considering job choice overall, 57% of the participants reported that their student debt has had an effect on their decision. Limitations This study is limited by its small sample size, originating from 1 state, and being taken by convenience from a special interest group. Data were collected via an anonymous survey, which increases the risk of selection bias. In addition, there are further personal, family, and institutional characteristics that were not collected in this study, which may influence the interaction between student debt and clinical practice choices. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that practice setting choice may be affected by physical therapist student debt, and student debt may be a barrier overall to practice and career choices in physical therapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liat Haruvi Catalan ◽  
Mira Levis Frenk ◽  
Ella Adini Spigelman ◽  
Yair Engelberg ◽  
Shira Barzilay ◽  
...  

In recent years, suicidal behaviors have shown substantial increase worldwide. This trend is also prominent in Israel and has led to a dramatic increase in mental health treatment demand resulting in long wait times and low treatment acceptance rate. To address the critical need in crisis intervention for children and adolescents at suicidal risk we developed an ultra-brief acute crisis intervention, based on Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). IPT is an evidence-based intervention for various psychopathologies among different age groups. The current adaptation of IPT-A is comprised of five weekly sessions, followed by monthly follow-up caring email contacts to the patients and their parents, over a period of 3 months. This paper aims to review the theoretical foundation of this intervention, describe the research design, and present preliminary results of a pilot study. Preliminary Results from our samples of 26 adolescents indicate meaningful trends for both the suicidal ideation (SIQ) and depression (MFQ) outcome measures. Significant interaction was found concerning suicidal ideation but not for depression. Main limitations include small sample size and stratified controls. The treatment appears to be safe, feasible and acceptable and initial results show promising trends to support further study of the approach.


2016 ◽  
Vol 154 (4) ◽  
pp. 732-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. SCHEFFLER ◽  
E. STAMER ◽  
I. TRAULSEN ◽  
J. KRIETER

SUMMARYThe mixing of pigs unacquainted with each other in commercial pig production is a standard procedure which leads to agonistic interactions with a wide range of individual pig behaviour. Hence, the aims of the present study were to assess the heritabilities of agonistic behaviour and to estimate correlations between three different age groups (weaned pigs n = 1111, growing pigs n = 446 and breeding gilts n = 279). The behavioural observation analysis included a period of 17 h directly after mixing as weaned pigs, growing pigs and breeding gilts (220 days of age) whereby the following agonistic traits were observed: number of fights (NF), duration of fights (DF), initiated fights (IF), received fights (RF), fights won (FW) and fights lost (FL). The behaviour of the weaned and growing pigs was significantly influenced by cross-fostering, their weight at mixing and litter attributes. Cross-fostered animals showed fewer agonistic interactions as weaned pigs and as growing pigs than non-cross-fostered animals. The influence of weight revealed that heavier pigs had a higher NF score at weaning and as growing pigs. The random litter effect explained up to 0·08 of the total variance in weaned and 0·04 in growing pigs, whereby this could partly be explained by litter size. Pigs from larger litters tended to have more agonistic interactions. The heritabilities of the recorded traits were at a low to medium level but similar between the age groups. There were high correlations between NF and all other traits in weaned pigs. The trait IF showed that the more fights a pig initiated, the more it won. This was also found for growing pigs and breeding gilts. The relationships between the age groups provided no uniform trend. The phenotypic correlations were low and the genetic correlations varied widely, partly due to the small sample size.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 3194-3194
Author(s):  
Bindu Kanapuru ◽  
Susan Jin ◽  
Kunthel By ◽  
Theresa Carioti ◽  
Yuan-Li Shen ◽  
...  

Background: Multiple novel therapies have been approved for the treatment of RRMM in recent years, resulting in improvements in progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). However, clinical trials in MM often enroll only a small proportion of older patients, particularly patients ≥75 years (Kanapuru 2017). Evaluating the impact of novel therapies, especially triplet therapies, in older adults with RRMM from individual clinical trials is challenging due to the small sample size. Furthermore, significant heterogeneity exists among the older adult population with regards to tolerability of anti-myeloma therapy. In newly diagnosed transplant-ineligible patients with MM, evidence from pooled analysis indicates that patients >80 years may be at increased risk for adverse clinical outcomes (Palumbo 2015). We evaluated the prognostic impact of age on survival outcomes in patients with RRMM receiving novel therapies. Methods: Data from 10 clinical trials submitted for approval between 2011-2015 were pooled for this analysis. Participants were grouped according to four age strata: <65, 65-74, 75-80, and >80 years. PFS and OS were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method (K-M). Within each age stratum, we conducted a subgroup analysis comparing doublet versus triplet regimens. Cox's proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for gender, race, ISS stage, ECOG status, regimen (only for primary age analysis) and prior transplant. Results: In total, 4766 patients were included in the analysis. Forty-seven percent were <65 years, 39% were 65-74 years, 11% were 75-80 years and only 4% were >80 years of age. The percentage of patients with baseline ISS stage III and ECOG 2 was higher in the 75-80 years (31.0% and 11.0%) and >80 years group (32.0%, 19.0%) compared to 65-74 years (24.0%, 8.0%) and <65 years group (22.0%, 6.0%) respectively. K-M plots for PFS and OS and adjusted HR by age is shown below. Estimated median PFS and OS results by regimen type is displayed in Table 1. Adjusted PFS HR (95% CI) for triplet versus doublet regimens was 0.69 (0.60, 0.79), 0.71 (0.61, 0.83), 0.61 (0.46, 0.81), and 0.62 (0.36, 1.05) for <65, 65-74, 75-80 and >80 years respectively. The HR (95% CI) for OS was 0.70 (0.59, 0.83), 0.86 (0.72, 1.02), 0.55 (0.40, 0.77) and 0.98 (0.56, 1.73). Conclusions: Improvement in PFS with novel therapies, including triplet regimens, appears to extend to older adults including patients >80 years of age. No trend in treatment effect for PFS was observed across the age groups. Overall survival was lower in adults ≥65 years of age compared to patients <65 years although results were not significant for patients >80 years of age. Triplet regimens appear to improve survival over doublet regimens; however, a consistent trend across age groups was not observed. The OS results from this analysis must be interpreted with caution due to immature OS data at the time of submission, differential follow-up for individual trials, and small sample size, particularly in patients >80 years of age. Enrolling a representative population of older adults in MM clinical trials is needed to allow for an accurate assessment of outcomes in this population. Furthermore, considering biologic age rather than chronologic age to identify older patients who can benefit from these therapies would serve to further advance treatment in patients with MM. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 275-286
Author(s):  
Laura Jane Hancox ◽  
David M. Gresswell ◽  
Danielle De Boos

Purpose This paper aims to address how one Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) programme contributes to the shaping of attitudes of its trainee clinical psychologists (TCPs) towards cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Design/methodology/approach A total of 28 TCPs completed an online, mixed-methods questionnaire relating to their attitudes towards CBT, what factors had influenced their attitude and how competent they felt in applying CBT to clinical practice. Findings The majority of respondents reported a positive attitude towards CBT. There was a statistically significant positive change at an individual level in TCPs’ views of CBT between the point at which they applied for the DClinPsy and the present day. Thematic analysis of qualitative data identified influential factors on the development of TCP attitudes towards CBT. The vast majority of TCPs reported that they felt competent applying CBT in their clinical practice. Research limitations/implications Overall, the DClinPsy has a positive effect on TCPs’ attitudes towards CBT. However, the influence of placements has a more mixed effect on attitudes. A small sample size reduced the reliability of these conclusions. Recommendations for further evaluation have been made. Originality/value This paper evaluates the effect of a DClinPsy programme on TCPs’ attitudes towards CBT. The value is that it establishes which components of the course have different effects on trainee attitudes.


Rheumatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry J S Vardon ◽  
Karen M J Douglas

Abstract Background/Aims  Baricitinib is an oral, reversible and selective inhibitor of JAK1 and JAK2 tyrosine kinases. It was approved for use in 2017 by NICE for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Considering the current risk of COVID-19, the BSR have advocated the use of short-acting drugs such as baricitinib when escalating treatment in RA. As real-world data is limited, we aimed to explore the efficacy of baricitinib in clinical practice. Methods  Observational data was collected retrospectively for patients at the Dudley Group NHSFT with RA (ACR/EULAR criteria) who had received at least one dose of baricitinib prior to 1st October 2019, with a follow up period to 1st October 2020. Patients were identified from a local biologics database. Further data was identified from patients’ medical records including, demographics, features of RA, previous RA therapy history and disease activity scores (DAS28) at 0, 6 and 12 months. Data was input into an Excel spreadsheet with subsequent analysis conducted using SPSS Version26. Results  We identified 26 RA patients (77% female) treated with baricitinib; mean age 61.6 (SD 14.6) years and median disease duration of 12.1 (IQR 5.8-18.4) years. Rheumatoid factor and anti-CCP antibody were positive in 73% and 65% respectively. 35% (n = 9) of patients were biologically naïve, in whom baricitinib was chosen due to needle-phobia (n = 7), or where anti-TNF drugs were considered inappropriate (bronchiectasis, ANA positivity). Mean DAS28 (SD) scores at baseline, 6 and 12 months were 5.9(0.8), 2.8(0.9) and 2.7(1.3) respectively, with significant reduction from baseline to both 6 and 12 months (P &lt; 0.001). A drop of ≥ 1.2 in DAS28 was recorded in 94% of patients with complete data at 6 months (n = 18, 4 missing, 4 discontinued). At 6 and 12 months, 85% and 81% of patients remained on Baricitinib. In total five patients discontinued Baricitinib due to side effects or tolerability issues. Reasons for discontinuation did not include thromboembolic events, zoster or serious infections. When comparing naïve and non-naïve groups, there was no significant difference in age, sex or disease duration. The number of previous biologics used by patients were 1(n = 6), 2(n = 3), ≥3(n = 8). Biologically naive compared to non-naïve patients had a higher DAS28 at baseline, (Mean [SD]) (6.2[0.9] versus 5.7[0.8] NS) but lower at 6 months (2.1[1.6] versus 3.1[1.1] P = 0.023) and greater DAS improvement at 6months (-4.4[1.2] versus -2.5[0.9] P &lt; 0.002). Conclusion  We observed that up to 94% of patients responded to baricitinib with a mean DAS improvement at 6 months of -3.1, biologic naïve patients doing best. Drug survival at 12 months was 81%. These trends are comparable to findings in clinical trials. However, due to our small sample size, the findings are vulnerable to type 1 and 2 errors and should be interpreted with caution. Disclosure  H.J.S. Vardon: None. K.M.J. Douglas: None.


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