1,721,044 research outputs found
Phonological development and word learning in children with Cochear implants.
No full textIn recent years many studies have shown that children who receive cochlear implants (CI) before two years of age display better speech perception and production compared to children who have been implanted at an older age (Ertmer & Jung, 2012). However, the incidence and the duration of phonological and lexical delay in these children remains unclear (Ertmer & Goffman, 2011). We report on preliminary research into the relation between phonological development and word learning in children who receive CI. Seven preschool hearing-impaired children (HI-group) who received CI between 28 to 63 months (mean age = 40.2 months) were compared to two groups of typically developing children (TD), one age-matched (TD-AM-group, mean age: 40.1), the other hearing-experience matched (TD-EM-group: age M = 33.3). Each child was observed with his/her mother during free-play and the level of phonological development was assessed. Furthermore, each child was tested in a fast-mapping and word-learning task. Data analysis indicated no significant differences in accuracy in the fast mapping and word learning tasks; however, differences emerged in the phonological characteristics of errors. The children in the HI-group display more difficulties in the repetition part of the word learning task (phonetic substitutions: 3/7 children in the HI-group vs. 0/7 in the TD-AM group; fast mapping 2/7 in the HI-group and 0/7 in both TD-AM and TD-EM groups) and the two groups displayed differences in the word learning task (comprehension target error: HI-group: 3.25 and TD-AM: 1.83; p = .07). These differences are related to differences in the phonological processes applied, especially in the case of longer words. The findings make it possible to investigate more deeply the factors associated with phonological delay in some children with CI
Immunobiology and pathogenesis of hepatitis B virus infection
No full textHepatitis B virus (HBV) is a non-cytopathic, hepatotropic virus with the potential to cause a persistent infection, ultimately leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Over the past four decades, the basic principles of HBV gene expression and replication as well as the viral and host determinants governing infection outcome have been largely uncovered. Whereas HBV appears to induce little or no innate immune activation, the adaptive immune response mediates both viral clearance as well as liver disease. Here, we review our current knowledge on the immunobiology and pathogenesis of HBV infection, focusing in particular on the role of CD8+ T cells and on several recent breakthroughs that challenge current dogmas. For example, we now trust that HBV integration into the host genome often serves as a relevant source of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) expression during chronic infection, possibly triggering dysfunctional T cell responses and favouring detrimental immunopathology. Further, the unique haemodynamics and anatomy of the liver — and the changes they frequently endure during disease progression to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis — profoundly influence T cell priming, differentiation and function. We also discuss why therapeutic approaches that limit the intrahepatic inflammatory processes triggered by HBV-specific T cells might be surprisingly beneficial for patients with chronic infection
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
A numeric symbolic tool in total hip arthroplasty
No full textMonitoring the result of a surgical operation of total hip arthroplasty is of the utmost importance, both for evaluating the condition of the prosthesis itself, its successful stability, or to promptly diagnose the necessity for a correction. To meet this need, at the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institutes a software system is under development; in particular, the accurate detection of the acetabular cup, through its radiographic evaluation, is under study and constitutes the motivation for this work.
We exploit the symbolic resources and the graphical capabilities of a system such as Mathematica, to simulate problem and model and validate numerical results obtained on real data. The problem naturally leads to an ill conditioned, overdetermined system, in which both the matrix and the known term entries are affected by measurement errors. A C implementation of a least squares fitting method is then provided; results are reported, related to a set of real data problems
The waiting room as a relational space: The experience of children and parents in a day hospital.
No full textIntroduction:Waiting in hospital is a condition of high stress for patients and theirfamilies, especially in childhood. The literature has investigated theemotional experiences of patients and their families, recognizing theneed for a comfortable environment, attention from the staff,information and sharing emotions with others (Bournes & Mitchell,2002; Kutash & Northrop, 2007). Pedro da Silva and colleagues (2007)have pointed out that playing in the waiting room is an opportunityfor small patients to express and elaborate negative emotions, suchas anxiety and fear. This exploratory study investigates theexperience of waiting children and their families go through duringtreatment in a Day Hospital. First, it aims to examine the youngpatients’ emotional state and the families’ representations ofwaiting; the study also intends to explore whether the waiting timespent in a Day Hospital can be used as an opportunity to express andelaborate emotions, and to relate with others.Methods:Fifty children, aged between 7 and 15 years, who were admitted to aDay Hospital of a Pediatric Hematology and Oncology ward of anItalian Hospital, completed the Emotional Reaction Instrument (Kimet al., 2012) and the Child Drawing: Hospital (Clatworth, Simon &Tiedeman, 1999). Their parents completed a demographicquestionnaire (Kim et al., 2012) and a semi‐structured interview onwaiting (Kutash & Northrop, 2007).Results:The qualitative analysis showed that parents experience waiting inthe Day Hospital as a moment of boredom, anxiety and concern forthe emotional state of their children. This condition is alleviated bygood relationships with the health care professionals, who arewelcoming and a source of emotional support. They would like moreentertainment activities. The patients showed a low level of anxietyand negative emotions; children (aged 7‐10) experienced highanxiety.Discussion:The data confirmed the literature on children’s and parents’ needs inthe waiting room and emphasized the role of the relationships andcommunication with health professionals in order to improve theperception of the quality of care service (Corsano et al., 2013)
An Inclusive Approach to Gardening in Children's Settings: An Observational Study
No full textIn recent years, gardening has spread in European Early Childhood Education and Care centres through projects and specific programs with a developmental, educational and inclusive focus. Despite the extensive literature that has confirmed the impact of gardening on the development of children's skills, and the importance of providing teachers with suggestions for the full implementation of this activity, most studies lack specific guidelines to help them conduct and plan gardening activities with a focus on inclusion. Based on video observations of gardening activities conducted in children's museums (Rome, Italy and Sofia, Bulgaria), kindergartens and primary schools (Italy, Bulgaria, United Kingdom and Spain) and an agro-ecological foundation (Spain), as part of a European Erasmus Plus Project, the study aim was first of all to map how gardening activities are planned and conducted and then to transfer the identified dimensions into a coding grid to be used as an instrument for training teachers to become observers both of themselves and of their colleagues. The data were analysed with reference to three indicators of an Inclusive Approach, that is, the organisation of activities, the children's emotional states and the forms of interaction. In the Discussion, reflections on the potential for inclusion of gardening activities are solicited and implications for the practice are advanced
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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