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BackgroundDespite the wealth of scientific information on the health effects of air pollution, the adult public's lifestyle continues to be largely detrimental towards the environment.ObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to determine whether a short interactive teaching session on air pollution could shift reported behavioral choices of adolescents towards environmentally friendlier options.MethodsWe performed a pilot randomized control trial in which eighth-grade students were randomized to receive a one-hour script-based teaching on either the effects of air pollution on lung health (intervention group) or the role of vaccination in public health (active control group). The enrolled students completed a survey (15 multiple-choice questions; five targeting understanding (score range 5 to 20); ten targeting behavioral choices (score range 10 to 38) newly designed for this study to evaluate their understanding and predict their future behavior towards air pollution immediately before, immediately after, and one month after the teaching sessions.ResultsSeventy-seven students (age = 13.5±0.6 years; 50.4% female; median annual family income = $25K-$50K with 70.1%

Purpose: The aim of this study was to advance the use of structured, monologic discourse analysis by validating an automated scoring procedure for core lexicon (CoreLex) using transcripts. Method: Forty-nine transcripts from persons with aphasia and 48 transcripts from persons with no brain injury were retrieved from the AphasiaBank database. Five structured monologic discourse tasks were scored manually by trained scorers and via automation using a newly developed CLAN command based upon previously published lists for CoreLex. Point-to-point (or word-by-word) accuracy and reliability of the two methods were calculated. Scoring discrepancies were examined to identify errors. Time estimates for each method were calculated to determine if automated scoring improved efficiency. Results: Intraclass correlation coefficients for the tasks ranged from 0.998 to 0.978, indicating excellent intermethod reliability. Automated scoring using CLAN represented a significant time savings for an experienced CLAN user and for inexperienced CLAN users following step-by-step instructions. Conclusions: Automated scoring of CoreLex is a valid and reliable alternative to the current gold standard of manually scoring CoreLex from transcribed monologic discourse samples. The downstream time saving of this automated analysis may allow for more efficient and broader utilization of this discourse measure in aphasia research. To further encourage the use of this method, go to https://aphasia.talkbank.org/discourse/CoreLexicon/ for materials and the step-by-step instructions utilized in this project.

Background: It is important to capture a comprehensive language profile from speakers with aphasia. One way to do this is to evaluate spoken discourse, which is language beyond a single simple clause used for a specific purpose. While the historical trend in aphasiology has been to capture performance during isolated language tasks, such as confrontation naming, there is a demonstrated need and benefit to collecting language information from tasks that resemble everyday communication. As a result, there has been an increase in discourse analysis research over time. However, despite clinicians' and researchers' desire to analyse spoken discourse, they are faced with critical barriers that inhibit implementation. Aims: To use scoping review methodology to identify transcription‐less tools developed to analyse discourse from individuals with aphasia. The review addressed the following question: 'What transcription‐less tools and analysis procedures are available to assess discourse in people with aphasia?' and included several sub‐questions to further characterise the type of discourse and tool being used, participants on whom the tool was used to rate discourse abilities, tool users (raters), and psychometric properties. Methods: The scoping review was conducted between the months of October 2022 and January 2023, concluding 30 January 2023, on PubMed/NCBI, Academic Search Complete and Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts. Major inclusion parameters included peer‐reviewed papers written in English; that the tool was used to analyse discourse elicited by individuals with acquired aphasia; and that the tool was not a part of a standardised battery or assessment. Perceptual discourse analysis was defined as any analysis which primarily relied on listener impressions and did not numerically quantify specific language behaviours. 'Transcription‐less' analysis was defined as any discourse analysis which did not require a written record of the discourse sample in order to be completed. A total of 396 abstracts were screened and 39 full articles were reviewed, yielding 21 papers that were included in the review. Main Contribution: An overview of the state of transcription‐less tools for aphasic discourse analysis is provided, and next steps are identified to facilitate increased implementation of discourse analysis in clinical and research settings. Conclusion: Transcription‐less tools have many benefits for analysing multiple levels (e.g., linguistic, propositional, macrostructural, pragmatic) of discourse, but require more research to establish sound psychometric properties and to explore the implementation of these tools in clinical settings. What this paper adds: What is already known on this subject: Individuals with aphasia prioritise treatment outcomes at the discourse level such as being able to engage in conversations with friends and family about important topics and participating in social and leisure activities. However, discourse is rarely used as a treatment outcome measure in clinical practice due to multiple barriers. When speech‐language pathologists do assess discourse, they often make perceptual judgements without transcribing the discourse sample. Transcription‐less analysis procedures may improve clinical implementation of discourse assessment, which would better match treatment outcome measurement to clients' desired outcomes. However, little is known about the current state of transcription‐less discourse analysis, blocking progress. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study provides an overview of currently available transcription‐less discourse analysis procedures that are not part of published standardised aphasia assessments. Transcription‐less measures are available to evaluate discourse at all levels (i.e., lexical, propositional, macro‐structural/planning, and pragmatic) and most measures include items that assess discourse abilities across multiple levels. Additionally, there are transcription‐less measures available for both structured (e.g., picture scene description) and spontaneous (e.g., conversation) discourse tasks. However, current transcription‐less procedures are lacking psychometric data including information about validity and reliability. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Transcription‐less analysis methods may provide an avenue for increased implementation of discourse measurement into clinical practice. Further research is needed to determine the clinical utility of transcription‐less discourse analysis to better monitor clients' desired treatment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction European settlement swept across Canada, ignoring Indigenous peoples' existing laws and institutions. Today, two parallel systems of law exist: settler legal systems, which assert Crown sovereignty to all of [...]

BackgroundEpidemiologic studies have linked inhalation of air pollutants such as ozone to cardiovascular mortality. Human exposure studies have shown that inhalation of ambient levels of ozone causes airway and systemic inflammation and an imbalance in sympathetic/parasympathetic tone.MethodsTo explore molecular mechanisms through which ozone inhalation contributes to cardiovascular mortality, we compared transcriptomics data previously obtained from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells obtained from healthy subjects after inhalational exposure to ozone (200 ppb for 4 h) to those of various cell samples from 11 published studies of patients with atherosclerotic disease using the Nextbio genomic data platform. Overlapping gene ontologies that may be involved in the transition from pulmonary to systemic vascular inflammation after ozone inhalation were explored. Local and systemic enzymatic activity of an overlapping upregulated gene, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), was measured by zymography after ozone exposure.ResultsA set of differentially expressed genes involved in response to stimulus, stress, and wounding were in common between the ozone and most of the atherosclerosis studies. Many of these genes contribute to biological processes such as cholesterol metabolism dysfunction, increased monocyte adherence, endothelial cell lesions, and matrix remodeling, and to diseases such as heart failure, ischemia, and atherosclerotic occlusive disease. Inhalation of ozone increased MMP-9 enzymatic activity in both BAL fluid and serum.ConclusionsComparison of transcriptomics between BAL cells after ozone exposure and various cell types from patients with atherosclerotic disease reveals commonly regulated processes and potential mechanisms by which ozone inhalation may contribute to progression of pre-existent atherosclerotic lesions.

Background: Findings from language sample analyses can provide efficient and effective indicators of cognitive impairment in older adults. Objective: This study used newly automated core lexicon analyses of Cookie Theft picture descriptions to assess differences in typical use across three groups. Methods: Participants included adults without diagnosed cognitive impairments (Control), adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (ProbableAD), and adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Cookie Theft picture descriptions were transcribed and analyzed using CLAN. Results: Results showed that the ProbableAD group used significantly fewer core lexicon words overall than the MCI and Control groups. For core lexicon content words (nouns, verbs), however, both the MCI and ProbableAD groups produced significantly fewer words than the Control group. The groups did not differ in their use of core lexicon function words. The ProbableAD group was also slower to produce most of the core lexicon words than the MCI and Control groups. The MCI group was slower than the Control group for only two of the core lexicon content words. All groups mentioned a core lexicon word in the top left quadrant of the picture early in the description. The ProbableAD group was then significantly slower than the other groups to mention a core lexicon word in the other quadrants. Conclusions: This standard and simple-to-administer task reveals group differences in overall core lexicon scores and the amount of time until the speaker produces the key items. Clinicians and researchers can use these tools for both early assessment and measurement of change over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dr. Audrey Holland was a friend to people with aphasia and related disorders, care partners, community advocates, students, clinicians, educators, researchers, and more. Her profound impact extended across these diverse communities within aphasiology and speech-language pathology. Through her words and deeds, Audrey established a rich legacy that continues to guide and inspire countless individuals. A careful examination of her contributions reveals a roadmap for those seeking to embark on a similar journey of compassion and influence. To pay tribute to our mentor and friend, we conducted a thematic analysis of her solo works to identify enduring themes, laugh-out-loud anecdotes, and poignant insights to share with her friends, colleagues, mentees, and even strangers who, after reading this article, will be touched and changed by her wisdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors identified the process that 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) high school students used to establish an informal adult-mentor relationship with a school personnel member. Five major themes emerged: (a) how LGBT students determined whether this person would be a safe mentor, (b) a listing of the important qualities of LGBT mentors, (c) a description of the process LGBT students used to approach possible mentors, (d) how the mentor relationship was beneficial to LGBT students, and (e) why the relationship was different from their parental relationships. The results revealed that LGBT students were cautious in identifying a potential school personnel mentor because they were concerned about mentor acceptance. Participants looked for mentors to have qualities of independent thinking, liberal political views, genuine interest in the student's life, helping with student career development, and a commitment to bullying prevention. School personnel who are interested in being a mentor to LGBT students can demonstrate an appreciation of diversity by including normalized talk of sexual diversity in conversations or lessons, and making their classroom a safe for LGBT students before, during, and after school.