A school curriculum for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: advice from a young adult with FASD

While a significant number of individuals in Canada and globally are affected by prenatal fetal alcohol exposure, scant research exists that focuses specifically on the subjective experiences of this population. Based on a single case study exploring through Photovoice methodology the life experiences of a young adult with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), this research paper utilises Schwab’s curriculum commonplaces as a framework to present results pertinent to the field of Education. Four themes emerged that illuminate the participants’ resilience and self-awareness of issues related to independence versus support, strengths and challenges, attitude and adaptation strategies, and advice for others. Curriculum suggestions based on the findings are offered for educators working with young people with FASD in general education settings. Further implications for Education and suggestions for additional research are included.     

Educating students with FASD: linking policy,research and practice

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD ) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disability with significant implications for learning and behaviour. International research suggests that the prevalence of FASD in school‐aged children is 2.3–6.3%. In this paper, we address the questions: (1) what is FASD ; (2) what is the prevalence of FASD in schools; (3) what is the impact of FASD ; and (4) why develop special FASD education strategies and programmes? We summarise the 18‐year history of W innipeg S chool D ivision's development of its FASD P rogramme of services, describe the specialised FASD classrooms and then present the results from a consensus‐generating workshop comprised of 36 FASD education professionals, with over 209 years of collective FASD education programme experience, who were asked to identify and reach consensus on best strategies and lessons learned in FASD education programmes. We then suggest that effectively educating children with FASD is critical to get right if positive educational outcomes are to be realised.     

Dialogic voices in talk about drinking and pregnancy

Alcohol use during pregnancy poses a significant risk of fetal alcohol syndrome. This study presents the interpretive findings of the formative research phase of a funded grant to develop a community‐based public health media campaign on the topic of drinking during pregnancy. In the initial wave of data collection, 50 rural women were recruited from four Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics in southeastern Iowa to participate in semi‐structured interviews. In the second wave, 10 additional WIC clients were interviewed for member‐checking purposes. Findings revealed two competing discourses that organized these women's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors surrounding drinking and pregnancy: the discourse of individualism and the discourse of responsible motherhood. These two discourses offer opposing normative guidelines for talk among their close female relatives and friends. The implications of these findings for designing a community‐based media campaign are discussed.     

Correlation between serum lipid profile and carotid intima-media thickness in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Abnormal lipid profile is often found in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. To assess the impact of abnormal lipid profile on atherosclerosis in young Polycystic Ovary Syndrome women, carotid intima-media thickness as judged by B-mode ultrasonography were done in 30 young (18–35 yrs) Polycystic Ovary Syndrome women and in similarly age-matched 30 apparently healthy controls. Compared to controls, young Polycystic Ovary Syndrome women had significantly elevated serum total cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL-C levels and carotid intima-media thickness. HDL-C level did not differ significantly between two groups of women. In Polycystic Ovary Syndrome women carotid intima-media thickness was positively correlated with serum total cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL-C and negatively correlated with serum HDL-C. Our study suggests that even young Polycystic Ovary Syndrome women are prone to atherosclerosis from early age.     

Comparison study of harmonic imaging (HI) and fundamental imaging (FI) in fetal echocardiography

Objectives: To directly compare the quality of harmonic imaging (HI) and fundamental imaging (FI) in fetal echocardiography and to determine any differences in image quality between the two modalities. Methods: Fetal echocardiograms were performed with the use of FI and HI in 58 fetuses, image quality and visualization of left and right atria, left and right ventricles, mitral and tricuspid valves, aortic and pulmonary valves, left and right ventricular outflow tracts were evaluated and compared between FI and HI. Results: Mean HI scores were higher than mean FI scores (2.73±0.43 vs 2.16±0.69, P<0.001)for all the cardiovascular structures evaluated. Compared with FI, HI improved the image quality and visualization of fetal cardiac structures in subjects with both good (2.73±0.43 vs 2.88±0.32, P<0.001) and suboptimal (1.65±0.41 vs 2.58±0.47, P<0.001) echocardiographic windows. The interobserver correlation coefficient for the grading scores was 0.74 (P<0.001). Conclusions: harmonic imaging enhances and improves the image quality of fetal echocardiography; and has important potential role in cardiac imaging in the fetus.     

新生儿窒息母、脐血红细胞流变性变化

目的：探讨新生儿窒息母、脐血中红细胞参数及红细胞电泳指标的变化。方法：胎儿娩出后迅速进行1min的Apgar评分和脐血pH值检测,作为新生儿窒息的诊断标准;选择产后出现急性胎儿窘迫孕妇60例,其中出现新生儿窒息的30例为窒息组,娩出后胎儿正常的30例为窘迫组;另外选择正常足月孕妇30例为对照组。留取母血、脐血,检测红细胞压积（HcT）、平均红细胞体积（MCV）、红细胞体积分布宽度（RDW）等红细胞参数,并进行红细胞电泳等红细胞流变学指标检测。结果：窒息组脐血pH值显著低于其他两组,窒息组脐血与窘迫组和对照组相比MCV及RDW值明显增高,红细胞电泳时间延长,红细胞电泳长度与迁移率明显降低;母血MCV、RDW、红细胞电泳能力等红细胞流变学指标三组之间差异无统计学意义。结论：缺氧窒息可致新生儿脐血红细胞参数、红细胞电泳等流变性指标异常。     

孕妇外周血分离胎儿有核红细胞与FISH分析技术在无创性产前诊断中的应用分析

目的探讨孕妇外周血分离胎儿有核红细胞与FISH分析技术在无创性产前诊断中的应用。方法选取于2018年1月至2019年1月期间,20例11~24周妊娠高危孕妇,对外周血均按照常规密度梯度法,对单个核细胞进行分离,并选择红细胞特异性抗体CD71,HbF结合运用流式细胞仪设备行FACS分选富集NRBC,并行FISH分析技术。结果完成20例孕妇的外周血标本NRBC分选,达100%的分选率,其中CD71及HbF双阳性细胞(3.46±1.65)×10-2;对其中18例孕妇运用FISH分析技术均成功分析,未发现任何异常问题。结论经孕妇外周血内分离富集所得胎儿有核红细胞,运用FISH分析技术对胎儿特定染色体进行检测,能够实现无创性产前诊断及时发现遗传性疾病,可为临床改善母婴分娩预后结局提供指导。     

基于MATLAB的自适应噪声抵消器设计及应用研究

自适应噪声抵消技术在信号处理中得到越来越广泛的应用。在讨论自适应噪声抵消器原理的基础上,进行了自适应噪声抵消器的设计并借以MATLAB予以实现。最后,以胎儿心电图信号检测为例,分析了自适应噪声抵消技术的应用,通过计算机模拟仿真,给出了仿真结果,使待检测信号得到了较好的噪声去除。     

Comparison study of harmonic imaging (HI) and fundamental imaging (FI) in fetal echocardiography

INTRODUCTIONHarmonicimaging (HI)isoneofthemostimportantultrasoundimagingproceduresdevel opedrecently,differingfromfundamentalimag ing (FI)bytransmittingultrasoundatonefre quencyandreceivingitattwoormoretimesthetransmittedfrequency .Clinicalapplicationshad…     

Gene transfer into primary cultures of fetal neural stem cells by a recombinant adenovirus carrying the gene for green fluorescent protein

Objective: To evaluate the transduction efficiency of a recombinant adenovirus carrying the gene for green fluorescent protein (Ad-GFP) into the primary cultures of fetal neural stem cells (NSCs) by the expression of GFP. Methods: The Ad-GFP was constructed by homologous recombination in bacteria with the AdEasy system; NSCs were isolated from rat fetal hippocampus and cultured as neurosphere suspensions. After infection with the recombinant Ad-GFP, NSCs were examined with a fluorescent microscopy and a flow cytometry for their expression of GFP. Results: After the viral infection, flow cytometry analysis revealed that the percentage of GFP-positive cells was as high as 97.05%. The infected NSCs sustained the GFP expression for above 4 weeks. After differentiated into astrocytes or neurons, they continued to express GFP efficiently. Conclusion: We have successfully constructed a viral vector Ad-GFP that can efficiently infect the primary NSCs. The reporter gene was showed fully and sustained expression in the infected cells as well as their differentiated progenies.