A novel μ-fluidic whole blood coagulation assay based on Rayleigh surface-acoustic waves as a point-of-care method to detect anticoagulants

A universal coagulation test that reliably detects prolonged coagulation time in patients, irrespective of the anticoagulant administered, has not been available to date. An easily miniaturised, novel μ-fluidic universal coagulation test employing surface acoustic waves (SAW) is presented here. SAW was employed to instantly mix and recalcify 6 μl citrated whole blood and image correlation analysis was used to quantify clot formation kinetics. The detection of clinically relevant anticoagulant dosing with old anticoagulants (unfractionated heparin, argatroban) and new anticoagulants (dabigatran, rivaroxaban) has been tested and compared to standard plasma coagulation assays. The applicability of this novel method has been confirmed in a small patient population. Coagulation was dose-proportionally prolonged with heparin, argatroban, dabigatran, and rivaroxaban, comparable to standard tests. Aspirin and clopidogrel did not interfere with the SAW-induced clotting time (SAW-CT), whereas the strong GPIIb/IIIa-inhibitor abciximab did interfere. Preliminary clinical data prove the suitability of the SAW-CT in patients being treated with warfarin, rivaroxaban, or dabigatran. The system principally allows assessment of whole blood coagulation in humans in a point-of-care setting. This method could be used in stroke units, emergency vehicles, general and intensive care wards, as well as for laboratory and home testing of coagulation.     

Overreporting and underreporting of child abuse: teachers' use of professional discretion

OBJECTIVE: According to mandatory reporting laws for professionals, the relationship between initial recognition that a child may have been abused and the subsequent reporting of that suspected case of child abuse to the responsible agency would, at first glance, appear to be clear. However, this relationship has developed into one of the major social policy controversies of the recent past. Our major goal is to present research findings that address this social policy debate concerning the problems of underreporting and overreporting, focusing specifically on teachers. METHOD: A factorial survey design, that combines the advantages of the factorial experiment with those of surveys, was employed in a probability sample of teachers (N=480) who responded to vignettes in which case characteristics were systematically manipulated. Teachers responded with judgments about whether the vignette was child abuse and the likelihood that they would report this suspected case. Characteristics of the teachers and their work setting (school) were also measured. RESULTS: When comparing the teachers' recognition and reporting scores, we found that they gave the same score for 63% of the vignettes they judged, gave higher reporting than recognition scores (overreporting) for 4% of the vignettes, and gave higher recognition than reporting scores (underreporting) for 33% of the vignettes. Discrepancies between recognition and reporting (over and under reporting) were related to characteristics of the case, teacher, and school where the teacher was employed. CONCLUSIONS: Teachers in our Ohio sample evidence the use of professional discretion in making judgments about the recognition and reporting of child abuse and do not appear to make these judgments with equal certainty. Their use of discretion is more likely to result in underreporting than overreporting.     

Students’ experiences of academic success with dyslexia: A call for alternative intervention

This article describes a small‐scale study exploring the perspectives of five undergraduate students with dyslexia. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted in two universities in the UK. The interviews explored participants’ perceptions of their dyslexia label and how it had affected their academic success. The aim of the research was to identify facilitating factors that supported participants with dyslexia during their education. The following themes were identified: age of dyslexia identification, family support, dyslexic identity, self‐advocacy skills and learning resources. The study makes a case for an intervention for children and young people (CYP) with dyslexia that, in addition to remedial literacy support, explores self‐advocacy, thinking and study skills and facilitates positive academic self‐concepts. Future research could evaluate such an intervention for its effectiveness on CYP's social emotional well‐being and literacy skills.     

Gender-fair psychotherapy in the United States: A possible dream?

Since Freud's era, women have been counseling and psychotherapy's largest consumers. White Freud talked and wrote almost exclusively about men, his patients were primarily women. This practice of treating women as patients, while perceiving men as the prevailing standard for percept and practice has resulted in the largely androcentric or mate-determined psychology of human behavior which we have today (Denmark, 1980; Hare-Mustin, 1983).A number of studies commencing with the Broverman's work in the 1970(s) has demonstrated that psychotherapists, for the most part, share the same sex role biases toward women as the rest of society (Broverman et al., 1970; Fabrikant, 1973, 1974; Nickerson, 1978; Orlinsky & Howard, 1980). Most disconcerting, however, is a recent extensive replication of the Brovermans' study (O'Malley & Richardson, 1985), using 249 counselors, which found that they still described males and females in stereotypic ways, though they did attribute some female designated traits to healthy adults.The evidence regarding the measured effects of therapists' attitudes, whether reportedly biased or gender-fair, however, is mixed in nature and replete with methodological problems (Maffeo, 1979; Marachek & Johnson, 1980; Orlinsky & Howard, 1980; Smith, 1980; Whiteley, 1979); as is the evidence for effectiveness of therapy generally (Garfield, 1981). Some have argued that a counselor's values and expectations do not matter, as long as she or he is aware and does not impose them (Smith, 1980; Whiteley, 1979). It would seem equally probable, based on other evidence that choice of therapeutic goals and processes can be influenced by the therapist's expectations (Brovermans et al., 1970; Nickerson, 1978; O'Malley & Richardson, 1985).The crucial point is that in a sexist society (Such as the United States), it is improbable that anyone without special non-sexist, gender-fair training can adequately aid women in exercising their independence and selecting their goals. Hence, a format is presented for insuring the dream of gender-fair counseling through the inclusion of appropriate training experiences and materials.     

Morphological Awareness,Orthographic Knowledge,and Spelling Errors: Keys to Understanding Early Chinese Literacy Acquisition

This 1-year longitudinal study examined the extent to which morphological awareness, orthographic knowledge, and phonological awareness, along with speeded naming, uniquely explained word recognition, dictation (i.e., spelling), and reading comprehension among 171 young Hong Kong Chinese children. With age and vocabulary knowledge statistically controlled, both morphological awareness and orthographic knowledge were uniquely associated with all three concurrently measured literacy skills, as well as longitudinal measures of specific literacy skills. Naming speed was also uniquely associated with concurrent word reading, as well as all three literacy skills longitudinally, even with their autoregressive effects controlled. Analyses of children's spelling mistakes indicated that 97% and 95% of all errors were either morpholexically or orthographically based at times 1 and 2, respectively. Morphologically based spelling errors were also uniquely associated with all three literacy skills across time. Findings underscore the importance of morphological awareness and orthographic knowledge for Chinese literacy acquisition.     

Collaborative learning: A memorable model

Abstract

Reform movements envision schools that will involve greater levels of cooperation and collaboration. Collaborative learning strategies provide a powerful mechanism not only to address affective goals in education but also to enhance students’ cognitive development; to deepen their understanding of concepts; and to press them to examine, articulate, and elaborate their ideas with greater clarity and rigor. Unless teachers have effective means to manage the complex problem solving involved in implementing collaborative learning strategies, the rich possibilities offered will not be realized. This paper proposes a five‐part conceptual framework to guide teachers decision making in order to capitalize on these powerful strategies. The framework incorporates a “G” mnemonic to make the elements memorable.     

New teachers,mentoring and the discursive formation of professional identity

This paper considers the implications of mentoring for the discursive formation of professional identities of newly graduated teachers. The site for this analysis is the Teacher Mentoring and Induction Program, in Victoria, Australia. The paper draws attention to the effects of mentoring as conceived in this context on the construction of new teacher identities, the close relationship between professional standards and mentoring, the relationship between mentoring and the performative culture of schools, and what it means to be ‘a good teacher’ within this culture. The aim is to reposition mentoring as a product of its contexts and times, and in so doing contribute to the development of a more theoretically informed and critical platform from which to conduct research into its effects and benefits.     

Longitudinal predictors of very early Chinese literacy acquisition

This 2‐year longitudinal study examined both concurrent and longitudinal relations of a variety of reading‐related cognitive tasks and Chinese word reading and word dictation among 187 Hong Kong Chinese kindergarteners aged 4–6. Homophone awareness, visual skills and syllable awareness were all uniquely associated with Chinese word reading across time, with age, vocabulary knowledge and nonverbal IQ statistically controlled. Only visual skill and syllable deletion uniquely explained early Chinese word dictation, however. Results extend previous research on cognitive correlates of Chinese literacy and highlight the small but unique contribution of homophone awareness for early reading acquisition in Chinese.     

Exploration of teachers' awareness and knowledge of (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder ((C)APD)

The aim of this study was to explore primary school teachers' awareness and knowledge of (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder ((C)APD). Teachers' awareness and knowledge are crucial for initial recognition and appropriate referral of children suspected of having (C)APD. When a child is diagnosed with (C)APD, teachers have a role in implementing and monitoring the effectiveness of interventions. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to 53 primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Findings indicated that 89.1% of participants reported poor/very poor awareness, while 92% reported poor/very poor knowledge of (C)APD. Results were compared with specific data obtained from a similar study carried out simultaneously in Northern Ireland. Overall, the majority of the participants reported that they have poor/very poor awareness and knowledge of (C)APD. These findings emphasise the need to establish training programmes for teachers and ultimately to support the provision of an appropriate service for children with (C)APD.     

Child Care Subsidy and Program Quality Revisited

Research Findings: Previous research has documented conflicting results on the relationship between program quality and the percentage of children receiving subsidized child care (subsidy density) in early childhood centers. This research examined the relationship between subsidy density and the quality of infant and preschool classrooms in child care centers, taking into consideration teacher education and salary as well as other structural variables associated with quality. A multimethod evaluation was conducted with 110 child care centers utilizing an interview of center directors as well as classroom observations using standardized measures of quality and language/literacy in the classroom. Regression analyses indicate that subsidy density does not predict the quality of infant classrooms. However, subsidy density is a significant predictor of the quality of preschool classrooms. Teacher education is predictive of some quality indicators, but teacher salary is not. Practice or Policy: Practice and policy implications are discussed to promote the quality of child care centers that serve low- income children. Statewide initiatives should target centers with higher subsidy density for quality improvements. Local programs and state policy should provide teachers with opportunities to obtain additional education and then offer incentives to remain in their current early childhood settings.