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AbstractThis pilot study examines the effectiveness of an adapted literacy intervention focused on the acquisition of seven letter-sound correspondences (LSC) with a child with cerebral palsy who uses high-tech eye-gaze to communicate. A single case multiple probes across letter-sounds design was used. The independent variable was explicit instruction with materials that were adapted on the participant’s AAC device. Instruction was provided by a trained graduate student. The dependent variable was the child’s accuracy in identifying the correct letter from a high-tech eye-gaze grid of four letters, when provided with the letter-sound by the graduate student. Results indicated that the implementation of the literacy instruction by the graduate clinician was effective in teaching seven LSCs to the child with cerebral palsy who uses high-tech eye-gaze to communicate and participate in instruction. The participant demonstrated gains for all targeted LSCs and positive trends continued after the intervention was introduced through replications of each new LSC. Average gain scores ranged from +60% to +90%. Calculation of IRD was 1.0 across all LSCs, indicative of a very large effect. The student’s gains in this pilot study indicate the promise of adapted literacy instruction for individuals with severe speech and motor impairments, who use alternative access to participate in literacy instruction. More literacy research is needed for learners who use AAC and alternative access methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The recovery of isolated reef systems is a complex process that is usually associated with the supply of coral larvae from distant reefs (or large‐scale connectivity). However, a frequently neglected process is the potential for supply within the reef itself (or local connectivity). In this study, we quantify and characterize the role of local connectivity over 21 yr of simulated annual coral spawning on an isolated coral reef atoll using outputs from a high‐resolution biophysical model (< 150 m horizontal resolution) along with network analysis. We find that approximatively half of the coral reef larvae dispersal remains local (within 100 s m to 10 s km of release location), while the remaining half contributes to long‐distance dispersal (> 100 s km) and is exported away from the system. Local dispersal plays a pivotal role in creating a highly‐connected network across the reef, enhancing exchanges of larvae within the same reef patches (local retention), across reef zones (e.g., lagoon, reef flat), and across the larger reef system. Finally, we show that this highly‐connected network exhibits a certain level of robustness, even when exposed to environmental stressors such as thermal‐induced mortality. Our findings highlight the previously overlooked role of local scale dispersal in driving recovery of isolated reef systems and emphasize the importance of targeted local management actions, indicating that efforts directed at enhancing and preserving local connectivity can have a substantial impact on the overall health and resilience of isolated reef ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

ObjectiveInfantile spasms (IS) represent a severe epileptic encephalopathy presenting in the first 2 years of life. Recommended first-line therapies (hormonal therapy or vigabatrin) often fail. We evaluated response to second treatment for IS in children in whom the initial therapy failed to produce both clinical remission and electrographic resolution of hypsarhythmia and whether time to treatment was related to outcome.MethodsThe National Infantile Spasms Consortium established a multicenter, prospective database enrolling infants with new diagnosis of IS. Children were considered nonresponders to first treatment if there was no clinical remission or persistence of hypsarhythmia. Treatment was evaluated as hormonal therapy (adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH] or oral corticosteroids), vigabatrin, or "other." Standard treatments (hormonal and vigabatrin) were compared to all other nonstandard treatments. We compared response rates using chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression models.ResultsOne hundred eighteen infants were included from 19 centers. Overall response rate to a second treatment was 37% (n = 44). Children who received standard medications with differing mechanisms for first and second treatment had higher response rates than other sequences (27/49 [55%] vs. 17/69 [25%], p < 0.001). Children receiving first treatment within 4 weeks of IS onset had a higher response rate to second treatment than those initially treated later (36/82 [44%] vs. 8/34 [24%], p = 0.040).SignificanceGreater than one third of children with IS will respond to a second medication. Choosing a standard medication (ACTH, oral corticosteroids, or vigabatrin) that has a different mechanism of action appears to be more effective. Rapid initial treatment increases the likelihood of response to the second treatment. more...

A fundamental question in stem-cell biology concerns the extent to which stem cells are regulated by long-range signals to ensure that stem-cell function within individual tissues is integrated with the [...], Sexually dimorphic mammalian tissues, including sexual organs and the brain, contain stem cells that are directly or indirectly regulated by sex hormones (1-6). An important question is whether stem cells also exhibit sex differences in physiological function and hormonal regulation in tissues that do not show sex-specific morphological differences. The terminal differentiation and function of some haematopoietic cells are regulated by sex hormones (7-10), but haematopoietic stem-cell function is thought to be similar in both sexes. Here we show that mouse haematopoietic stem cells exhibit sex differences in cell-cycle regulation by oestrogen. Haematopoietic stem cells in female mice divide significantly more frequently than in male mice. This difference depends on the ovaries but not the testes. Administration of oestradiol, a hormone produced mainly in the ovaries, increased haematopoietic stem-cell division in males and females. Oestrogen levels increased during pregnancy, increasing haematopoietic stem-cell division, haematopoietic stem cell frequency, cellularity, and erythropoiesis in the spleen. Haematopoietic stem cells expressed high levels of oestrogen receptor-α (ERα). Conditional deletion of ERα from haematopoietic stem cells reduced haematopoietic stem-cell division in female, but not male, mice and attenuated the increases in haematopoietic stem-cell division, haematopoietic stem-cell frequency, and erythropoiesis during pregnancy. Oestrogen/ERα signalling promotes haematopoietic stem-cell self-renewal, expanding splenic haematopoietic stem cells and erythropoiesis during pregnancy. more...