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Reading is vital for acquiring knowledge and studies have demonstrated that phonology-focused interventions generally yield greater improvements than meaning-focused interventions in English among children with reading disabilities. However, the effectiveness of reading instruction can vary among individuals. Among the various factors that impact reading skills like reading exposure and oral language skills, reading instruction is critical in facilitating children's development into skilled readers; it can significantly influence reading strategies, and contribute to individual differences in reading. To investigate this assumption, we developed a computational model of reading with an optimised MikeNet simulator. In keeping with educational practices, the model underwent training with three different instructional methods: phonology-focused training, meaning-focused training, and phonology-meaning balanced training. We used semantic reliance (SR), a measure of the relative reliance on print-to-sound and print-to-meaning mappings under the different training conditions in the model, as an indicator of individual differences in reading. The simulation results demonstrated a direct link between SR levels and the type of reading instruction. Additionally, the SR scores were able to predict model performance in reading-aloud tasks: higher SR scores were correlated with increased phonological errors and reduced phonological activation. These findings are consistent with data from both behavioral and neuroimaging studies and offer insights into the impact of instructional methods on reading behaviors, while revealing individual differences in reading and the importance of integrating OP and OS instruction approaches for beginning readers., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Chang, Chang, Lin, Kuo, Shi and Lee.)

Background: Tai chi has been increasingly applied in osteoporosis patients. However, systematic reviews of the efficacy of this practice have been few and of limited scope., Purpose: This study reviews previous experimental research work using tai chi as an intervention in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and to appraise the reported research designs used, tai chi methods used, and outcomes., Methods: A systematic review method was used to search 14 databases for articles published between January 1980 and July 2013. Searched keywords included: "tai chi," "osteoporosis," and "postmenopausal women". The 2,458 articles initially identified were reduced to 4 valid articles based on considerations of criteria and repeatability. The 4 valid articles used either a randomized clinical trial (RCT) or a controlled clinical trial (CCT). They were further analyzed and synthesized in terms of common variables such as balance, muscle strength, and quality of life., Result: Three of the 4 studies identified significant pretest / posttest differences in physiological aspects of quality of life in participants but did not obtain consistent results in terms of the psychological aspects. While reports identified a significant and positive tai chi effect on balance, they all used different measurements to do so. Only one of the four studies identified significant improvement in muscle strength. Therefore, this review could not identify clear support for the effectiveness of tai chi on balance or muscle strength., Conclusions: This review did not definitively support the positive effects of tai chi on balance, muscle strength, and quality of life in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. The designs used in the tai chi interventions may be referenced for future studies. We suggest that future studies use data triangulation rather than a single-item tool to validate the research in order to cross-verify the same information. This may strengthen the research and increase the credibility and the validity of related findings.