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To identify the relationship between non-verbal working memory and graphic symbol selection, this study examined whether the response time to select target symbols in a sentence construction task differed between two groups: a high non-verbal working memory group and a low non-verbal working memory group. The interaction effect between non-verbal working memory skills and the degree of exposure to graphic symbols was also examined. Thirty-two non-disabled young adults participated in this study. Based on the quartile of the participants' scores on the non-verbal working memory task (i.e., the backward matrix task), data were selected from the sentence construction task completed by seven participants who belonged to the 25%ile and less and seven who belonged to the 75%ile and more; these data were used to examine group differences. A Mann-Whitney "U" test showed that non-verbal working memory skills had a significant effect on graphic symbol selection, as the high non-verbal working memory group combined three symbols faster than did the low memory group. No significant interaction effect was found between non-verbal working memory skills and the degree of exposure to symbols. The theoretical and clinical implications of the research findings are discussed.

Purpose: This study is aimed to identify the high-frequency vocabulary (HFV), otherwise termed "core vocabulary" for adults with complex communication needs. Method: Three major characteristics of the HFV--a relatively small number of different words (NDW), a relatively high word frequency, and a high word commonality across speakers--were examined so as not to lose any candidate words for the HFV. Specifically, instead of applying the traditionally used cutoff word frequency of 0.5‰, a grouped frequency distribution was used to examine the appropriate frequency ranges to determine the HFV candidates. To improve the representativeness of the HFV across ages, social backgrounds, conversation situations, and topics, 330,000 spoken words of 66 adults (29 men and 37 women; M[subscript age] = 45.47 years, SD = 16.07) were extracted from the British National Corpus database for analysis. Results: A distinct pattern of NDW was observed from the frequency of 0.1‰ in the grouped frequency distribution. In total, 671 words were found to be candidates for the HFV, accounting for 90.94% of the total sample words. After the word commonality analysis indicated at least 80% commonality across speakers, 203 words were selected for the final HFV; accountability was calculated at 80.62%. Conclusions: With the innovative word analysis approach, this study provided an HFV list that can be used for a wide range of conversation topics. This method provides a scientific and principled approach to identifying and organizing vocabulary for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention that does not exist in many AAC resources that promote "core vocabulary" with identifying the source for vocabulary selection.

Simple Summary: Acute heat stress in animals impairs the intestinal barrier function, particularly tight junction (TJ) depression, which occurs in pigs owing to the lack of functional sweat glands for evaporative heat loss. However, the mechanisms by which heat stress affects TJ regulation are not fully understood. We investigated the effect of heat stress on the TJ and its interaction with potential genes using transcriptomic analysis of the porcine jejunum. We found that heat stress reduced the expression of TJ proteins and induced alterations in genes involved in the actin cytoskeleton and filament-binding pathways. We aimed to investigate the impact of heat stress (HS) on the expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins and the interaction between genes affecting intestinal barrier function using transcriptomics in the porcine jejunum. Twenty-four barrows (crossbred Yorkshire × Landrace × Duroc; average initial body weight, 56.71 ± 1.74 kg) were placed in different temperatures (normal temperature [NT]; HS) and reared for 56 days. At the end of the experiment, jejunal samples were collected from three pigs per treatment for transcriptome and reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analyses. We identified 43 differentially expressed genes, involving five Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, eight molecular functions, seven cellular components (CCs), and nine biological processes, using gene ontology enrichment analysis. Genes associated with the actin cytoskeleton, filament-binding pathways, and TJ proteins were selected and analyzed by RT-qPCR. Significant differences in relative mRNA expression showed that downregulated genes in the HS group included ZO1, CLDN1, OCLN, PCK1, and PCK2, whereas ACTG2, DES, MYL9, MYLK, TPM1, TPM2, CNN1, PDLIM3, and PCP4 were upregulated by HS (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that HS in growing-finishing pigs induces depression in gut integrity, which may be related to genes involved in the actin cytoskeleton and filaments of CC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined teachers' perceptions and practices of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education in South Korea, drawing on a survey of teachers in STEAM model schools. Results showed that the majority of Korean teachers, especially experienced teachers and male teachers, had a positive view on the role of STEAM education. At the same time, Korean teachers highlighted various challenges in implementing STEAM education, such as finding time to carry out STEAM lessons, increased workloads, and lack of administrative and financial support. Our findings suggest that sufficient support from the government, the reconstruction of national curriculum, and significant changes in the national assessment system are needed to better promote STEAM education.