Session - 3 December 19, 2007 Cardiovascular risk markers - II

Oral Cancer is one of the five leading sites of cancer in Indian population. The circulating immune complexes were investigated in 100 serum samples of 60 oral cancer patients having different grades of the disease and 40 patients with precancerous lesions obtained from Nair Hospital Dental collage, Mumbai. The results obtained were compared with those of group of 40 healthy blood donors. Elevated levels of Circulating Immune Complexes were observed in oral cancer patients and patients with oral precancerous lesions. 92% positive samples were observed in well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma whereas 100% positive samples were observed in both moderately and poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Oral leukoplakia and oral submucous fibrosis showed 15% and 90% positivity respectively. Increased level of Circulating Immune complexes in high grade tumor suggest that Circulating Immune complexes is likely to contribute in evaluating the degree of malignancy, but follow up study is needed to draw any conclusion regarding it's prognostic role     

Collaboration Between Counseling Services and an Academic Program: An Exploratory Study of Student Outcome

This study assessed the progress of students involved in a collaborative early warning intervention conducted by counseling services and a teacher preparation program. Results indicated that counseling services increased both students' academic and social integration and their confidence in their ability to teach and perform the duties of a teacher. Findings and implications are discussed.     

One size still does not fit all in specific learning disability assessment across ethnic groups

The use of IQ scores and discrepancy formulas for identifying specific learning disabilities (SLD) has been widely discredited by prominent researchers for more than a decade. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of state policies still specify the use of discrepancy formulas, including the simple difference method, which is psychometrically inferior to regression-based methods. This study compares the use of a minimum IQ cutoff score and a simple difference method versus a regression-based method for identifying SLD in a sample of African American and European American full-time college students (N = 117). Replicating the findings from previous studies using typically achieving children, typically achieving adults, and school-age children with SLD, this study adds to the chorus of voices criticizing the use of outdated assessment practices that can have deleterious effects for individuals with SLD. The implications for legislative policy are discussed in the context of the historical overrepresentation of African Americans in all special education categories except SLD and the increased access to higher education that students with SLD have gained during the past decade.     

The Effect of Relationship on Children's Distributive Justice Reasoning

Kindergarten, third-grade, and sixth-grade children were told 2 stories about a group of children who made artwork that was subsequently sold at a craft fair. The characters in one story were described as friends, while the characters in the other story were described as strangers (relationship condition). 1 character in each story was presented as the oldest in the group, 1 as the most productive, and 1 as the poorest. Children were asked to allocate 9 dollars to the 3 characters under each relationship condition, provide rationales for those allocations, and rate the fairness of 4 different patterns of allocation. Older children allocated more money to needy friends than to needy strangers and more to productive strangers than to productive friends. Kindergartners' allocations and fairness ratings did not vary with relationship. Rationales for allocation judgements suggested that equality was the most salient principle for decisions at all ages, but the older children provided rationales based on benevolence more often than younger children when characters were presented as friends.     

Students' misconceptions about U.S. westward migration

Fifth-grade students with learning disabilities (LD) and their typically achieving (TA) peers participated in an 8-week investigation about 19th-century U.S. westward migration. During their investigations, the students analyzed primary and secondary sources to understand the experiences of these emigrants and Native peoples. The analysis of source material was preceded by teacher-led discussions about the possibility of bias in evidence that affects the trustworthiness of historical documentation. Quantitative analyses showed that these investigations were associated with gains in students' knowledge about the period of westward expansion and a better understanding of historical content and historical inquiry; however, these gains were not always comparable for students with LD and their TA peers. Furthermore, misconceptions about this historical period and the processes of historical investigation were evident in students' responses before and after instruction. We discuss how design features of the instruction and its implementation may have contributed to the development and persistence of these misconceptions.