scholarly journals Long Term Effect of Phonetic Instruction on the Production of /p/ by EFL Arab Learners: an Exploratory Study

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Ghazi Algethami
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Long Term Effect ◽  
Phonetic Instruction

Most previous studies, that have examined the effect of explicit pronunciation instruction on foreign language speech, have focused on the short term effect of explicit pronunciation instruction, usually measured immediately after instruction. For this reason, it is not yet clear whether the attested benefit from pronunciation instruction can be sustained for a long time after instruction. The current study attempted to explore the long term effect of phonetic instruction on the production of the English bilabial voiceless stop /p/ by Arab learners of English as foreign language (EFL, henceforth). Nine Arab EFL learners were assigned to two groups, control and experimental. The experimental group received phonetic instruction on how to produce the English sound /p/, whereas the control group did not. The production of the English sound /p/ was elicited from all the learners in both groups, once before the instruction and once after 11 weeks of the instruction. Two experienced native English instructors were asked to judge whether the students produced /p/ or /b/. The results generally showed no benefit from the phonetic instruction on the delayed production of /p/ by the EFL Arab learners. Although the results do not seem encouraging for pronunciation instruction, it is difficult to reach a conclusion with regard to pronunciation instruction due to the small sample size used in the current exploratory study, and to the difficulty to generalize the results on /p/ to all other sounds. Future studies may use larger sample sizes and include more sounds in their instruction methods.

scholarly journals Lichtenstein inguinal hernia repairs with porcine small intestine submucosa: a 5- year follow-up. a prospective randomized controlled study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baoshan Li ◽  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Yi Man ◽  
Jiadong Xie ◽  
Wei Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Inguinal Hernia ◽  
Hernia Repair ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Small Intestine Submucosa ◽  
Long Term Effect ◽  
Porcine Small Intestine Submucosa

Abstract Porcine small intestine submucosa (SIS) biologic patch has been used in inguinal hernia repair. However, there are little data available to assess the long-term effect after repair. This study aimed to explore the long-term effect of SIS patch in open inguinal hernia repair. Sevent-six patients with unilateral inguinal hernia were treated with Lichtenstein tension-free hernia repair using SIS patch (Beijing Datsing Bio-Tech Co., Ltd.) and Surgisis patch (COOK, USA) in Tianjin Union Medical Center and China-Japan Friendship Hospital. In the trial, the long-term efficacy of the treatment group and the control group were compared. A total of 66 patients in both groups received long-term follow-up (> 5 years) after surgery, with a follow-up rate of 86.8%. During the follow-up period, there was one case of recurrence, one case of chronic pain in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) in terms of recurrence, chronic pain, foreign body sensation and infection between the two groups of patients. After long-term observations, it has been found that the porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) biological patch is safe and effective for inguinal hernia Lichtenstein repair, and has a low recurrence rate and complication rate.

Efficacy assessment of radiosynoviorthesis on the progression of radiological osteoarthritic features of hip and ankle joint in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (03) ◽  
pp. 269-275
Author(s):  
Imre Szerb ◽  
Tamás Gál ◽  
Dániel Kiss ◽  
Viktória Nagy ◽  
László Hangody
Keyword(s):  
Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽  
Ankle Joint ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Hip Joints ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Long Term Effect ◽  
Structural Progression ◽  
Ankle Joints

Abstract Objective The study objective was to evaluate the long-term effect of radiosynoviorthesis (RSO) on the progression of radiological and nuclear-medical osteoarthritic features of hip and ankle joint in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Patients and Methods The study included 89 hip joints of 81 patients, of which 48 had osteoarthritis (OA) and 33 had rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In terms of ankle joints, 64 patients were included of which 43 suffered from OA and 21 from RA. The mean follow-up time was 9.2 years for OA and 8.9 years for RA patients. Patients with RA were the active control group. Structural alterations of the hip joints were evaluated following Kellgren-Lawrence score and of ankle joint following Takakura score for both disease entities. For the evaluation of synovitis 2-phase bone scintigraphy was performed. Results RSO could prevent radiologic status deterioration among 70.6 % of hip osteoarthritic patients and 73.7 % among the hip RA patients. No structural progression was observed in 79.1 % of the treated ankle joints in patients with OA and in 85.7 % of the ankle joints in patients with RA.The scintigraphic response rate for the hip joints of OA patients was 68.6 %, 76.3 % for hip joints of RA patients, 83.1 %, ankle joints of OA patients, and 90.4 % ankle joints of RA patients.The radiographic and scintigraphic RSO response rates were not significantly higher for both joints in RA than OA patients. Conclusion RSO can be a good alternative in the treatment of synovitis and prevention of deterioration of inflammatory and radiographic features even in patients suffering from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. RSO may have also a long-term effect to stop or delay progression of both diseases.

scholarly journals Long COVID symptoms and duration in SARS-CoV-2 positive children — a nationwide cohort study

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luise Borch ◽  
Mette Holm ◽  
Maria Knudsen ◽  
Svend Ellermann-Eriksen ◽  
Soeren Hagstroem
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Chest Pain ◽  
Muscle Weakness ◽  
Joint Pain ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Respiratory Problems

AbstractMost children have a mild course of acute COVID-19. Only few mainly non-controlled studies with small sample size have evaluated long-term recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate symptoms and duration of ‘long COVID’ in children. A nationwide cohort study of 37,522 children aged 0–17 years with RT-PCR verified SARS-CoV-2 infection (response rate 44.9%) and a control group of 78,037 children (response rate 21.3%). An electronic questionnaire was sent to all children from March 24th until May 9th, 2021. Symptoms lasting > 4 weeks were common among both SARS-CoV-2 children and controls. However, SARS-CoV-2 children aged 6–17 years reported symptoms more frequently than the control group (percent difference 0.8%). The most reported symptoms among pre-school children were fatigue Risk Difference (RD) 0.05 (CI 0.04–0.06), loss of smell RD 0.01 (CI 0.01–0.01), loss of taste RD 0.01 (CI 0.01–0.02) and muscle weakness RD 0.01 (CI 0.00–0.01). Among school children the most significant symptoms were loss of smell RD 0.12 (CI 0.12–0.13), loss of taste RD 0.10 (CI 0.09–0.10), fatigue RD 0.05 (CI 0.05–0.06), respiratory problems RD 0.03 (CI 0.03–0.04), dizziness RD 0.02 (CI 0.02–0.03), muscle weakness RD 0.02 (CI 0.01–0.02) and chest pain RD 0.01 (CI 0.01–0.01). Children in the control group experienced significantly more concentration difficulties, headache, muscle and joint pain, cough, nausea, diarrhea and fever than SARS-CoV-2 infected. In most children ‘long COVID’ symptoms resolved within 1–5 months.Conclusions: Long COVID in children is rare and mainly of short duration. What is Known:• There are increasing reports on ‘long COVID’ in adults.• Only few studies have evaluated the long-term recovery from COVID-19 in children, and common for all studies is a small sample size (median number of children included 330), and most lack a control group. What is New:• 0.8% of SARS-CoV-2 positive children reported symptoms lasting >4 weeks (‘long COVID’), when compared to a control group.• The most common ‘long COVID’ symptoms were fatigue, loss of smell and loss of taste, dizziness, muscle weakness, chest pain and respiratory problems.• These ‘long COVID’ symptoms cannot be assigned to psychological sequelae of social restrictions.• Symptoms such as concentration difficulties, headache, muscle- and joint pain as well as nausea are not ‘long COVID’ symptoms.• In most cases ‘long COVID’ symptoms resolve within 1-5 months.

scholarly journals Does gamification improve physical activity? A systematic review and meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Mazéas ◽  
Martine Duclos ◽  
Bruno Pereira ◽  
Aïna Chalabaev
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Long Term Effect

Background. The use of gamification to change behaviors and promote physical activity is a promising avenue to tackle the global physical inactivity pandemic and the current prevalence of chronic diseases. However, we do not have yet evidence of the effectiveness of gamified interventions with the existence of mixed results in the literature.Objective. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of gamified interventions and their healthcare potential by testing the scalability and sustainability of their influence on physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviors (SB).Methods. Five electronic databases (Pubmed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science and CENTRAL) were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published since 2010. Eligibility criteria were based on components of PICO (participants, interventions, comparators, and outcomes). Studies were included when they used gamified interventions in daily life with an active or inactive control group, and when they assessed a PA or SB outcome. Studies were excluded when the intervention was based on an active video game using a gaming console. We conducted meta-analyses using a random effects model approach. Sensitivity analyses, influence analyses and publication bias analyses were performed to examine the robustness of our results.Results. The main meta-analysis performed on 16 studies and 2407 participants, revealed a small to medium summary effect of gamified interventions on PA behavior (g = 0.42 (95%CI [0.14, 0.69]). No statistical difference was found between different subgroups (adults vs adolescents, healthy participants vs adults with chronic diseases) and no interaction effects with moderators like age, gender or BMI, suggesting good scalability of gamified interventions. Moreover, the effect appears better on the step count (MD = +1609.56 steps per day (95%CI [372.39, 2846.73]) than on moderate-to-vigorous PA (g = 0.31 (95%CI [-0.19, 0.80]). The long-term effect (measured with follow-up averaging 14 weeks after the end of the intervention) is more volatile with a very small to small effect (g = 0.15, [0.07, 0.23]). Conclusions. This meta-analysis confirms that gamified interventions are promising to promote PA in various publics. However, if the effect persists after the end of the program, suggesting that it is not just a novelty effect due to the playful nature of gamification, it seems volatile with a small long-term effect. The integration of gamification in more global healthcare interventions could be a way to address this low sustainability. Future rigorous trials are needed to explore these perspectives.

scholarly journals Long-Term Effect of Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion in Treating Patients with Previous Ischemic Stroke on the Disease Recurrence

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Jia Yu ◽  
Yufeng Liu ◽  
Peng Sun ◽  
Xing Guo ◽  
Haiyang Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Left Atrial Appendage ◽  
Disease Recurrence ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Observation Group ◽  
Systemic Embolism ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion ◽  
Long Term Effect

Background and Objective. Thrombolytics and anticoagulants are conventional drugs for ischemic stroke (IS) treatment, whereas some patients have unfavorable responses to these drugs. The disease presents a relatively high recurrence rate. This investigation attempted to unveil the long-term effect of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) in treating patients with previous IS on the disease recurrence. Methods. A total of 120 patients with IS admitted to Tangdu Hospital from July 2016 to September 2017 were grouped into the control group ( n = 60 ) and the observation group ( n = 60 ). Patients in the control group were only treated with thrombolytics and anticoagulants while those in the observation group were treated with both drugs and LAAO. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was performed to observe the occlusion of LAA in patients in the observation group after 45 d and 6 months, respectively. Clinical outcomes in two groups were compared from the following aspects: recurrence of IS, incidence of systemic embolism, and the 3-year recurrence-free survival (RFS). The 3-year IS recurrence of patients was compared by Fisher’s exact test. Results. No significant differences were observed at baseline levels (age, sex, etc.) between the observation group and control group ( p > 0.05 ). During follow-up visit of 45 d and 6 months, all occluders met the efficacious occludsion criteria. The results of TEE at 45 d after LAAO showed that 50% of patients (30/60) in the observation group had complete occlusion of LAA. The results of TEE at 6 months after LAAO suggested that 58.3% of patients (35/60) had complete occlusion of LAA. IS recurrence in the observation group (3.33%, 2/60) was significantly lower than that in the control group (18.33%, 11/60), with the difference presenting statistical significance ( p = 0.008 ). Incidence of systemic embolism in the observation group (1.67%, 1/60) was markedly lower than that in the control group (13.33%, 11/60) ( p = 0.014 ). The average RFS in the observation group (31.97 months, 95% CI: 27.50~32.31 months) was notably longer than that in the control group (29.91 months, 95% CI: 29.85~32.92 months) ( p < 0.05 ). The 3-year IS recurrence of patients between two groups compared by Fisher’s exact test showed significant differences (1 year: p = 0.014 , 2 year: p = 0.008 , 3 year: p = 0.008 ). Conclusion. Regarding patients with previous IS who had poor response to thrombolytics and anticoagulants, LAAO could effectively decrease recurrence of IS and incidence of systemic embolism and prolong RFS of patients. LAAO was, therefore, an alternative for patients with high IS recurrence risk.

Does gamification improve physical activity? A systematic review and meta-analysis (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Mazeas ◽  
Martine Duclos ◽  
Bruno Pereira ◽  
Aïna Chalabaev
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Long Term Effect

BACKGROUND The use of gamification to change behaviors and promote physical activity is a promising avenue to tackle the global physical inactivity pandemic and the current prevalence of chronic diseases. However, we do not have yet evidence of the effectiveness of gamified interventions with the existence of mixed results in the literature. OBJECTIVE This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of gamified interventions and their healthcare potential by testing the scalability and sustainability of their influence on physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviors (SB). METHODS Five electronic databases (Pubmed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science and CENTRAL) were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published since 2010. Eligibility criteria were based on components of PICO (participants, interventions, comparators, and outcomes). Studies were included when they used gamified interventions in daily life with an active or inactive control group, and when they assessed a PA or SB outcome. Studies were excluded when the intervention was based on an active video game using a gaming console. We conducted meta-analyses using a random effects model approach. Sensitivity analyses, influence analyses and publication bias analyses were performed to examine the robustness of our results. RESULTS The main meta-analysis performed on 16 studies and 2407 participants, revealed a small to medium summary effect of gamified interventions on PA behavior (g = 0.42 (95%CI [0.14, 0.69]). No statistical difference was found between different subgroups (adults vs adolescents, healthy participants vs adults with chronic diseases) and no interaction effects with moderators like age, gender or BMI, suggesting good scalability of gamified interventions. Moreover, the effect appears better on the step count (MD = +1609.56 steps per day (95%CI [372.39, 2846.73]) than on moderate-to-vigorous PA (g = 0.31 (95%CI [-0.19, 0.80]). The long-term effect (measured with follow-up averaging 14 weeks after the end of the intervention) is more volatile with a very small to small effect (g = 0.15, [0.07, 0.23]). CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis confirms that gamified interventions are promising to promote PA in various publics. However, if the effect persists after the end of the program, suggesting that it is not just a novelty effect due to the playful nature of gamification, it seems volatile with a small long-term effect. The integration of gamification in more global healthcare interventions could be a way to address this low sustainability. Future rigorous trials are needed to explore these perspectives.

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