Effect of bacterial filter on measurement of interrupter resistance in preschool and school-aged children

BACKGROUND: The interrupter technique is increasingly used in preschool children to assess airway resistance (Rint). Use of a bacterial filter is essential for prevention of cross-infection in a clinical setting. It is not known how large an effect this extra resistance and compliance exert upon interrupter measurements, especially on obstructive airways and in smaller children. We aim to determine the contribution of the filter to Rint, in a sample of children attending lung function testing at an asthma clinic. METHODS: Interrupter measurements were performed according to ATS/ERS guidelines during quiet normal breathing at an expiratory flow trigger of 200 ml s(-1), with the child seated upright with cheeks supported and wearing a nose clip. A minimum of 10 interrupter measurements was made with and without a bacterial filter. Spirometric and plethysmographic tests were also performed. RESULTS: A small but significant difference (0.12 (95% CI 0.06-0.17) kPa s L(-1), P = 0.0002) with 2x SD of 0.34 kPa s L(-1) was observed between Rint with and without filter in 39 children, with a large spread. This difference was not dependent on Rint magnitude, age or height, nor on lung function parameters (effective resistance, forced expiratory volume in 1 sec, and maximal expiratory flow at 50% of expired vital capacity). CONCLUSIONS: A bacterial filter causes a small difference but is not clinically significant, with a wide spread comparable to the variability of the technique and recommended cut-offs for assessing repeatability and bronchodilation. Age, height or severity of obstruction need not be corrected for in general.

How Insecurity impacts on school attendance and school drop out among urban slum children in Nairobi

This paper discusses how perceptions of personal security can impact on school enrolment and attendance. It mainly focuses on threats to physical harm, crime, community and domestic violence. These security fears can include insecurity that children suffer from as they go to school, maybe through the use of unsafe routes; insecurity that children feel at school; and the insecurity they suffer from in their homes. Although poverty is an indicator of insecurity, this paper does not focus solely on poverty as it is well covered elsewhere in the literature. The paper relies on qualitative data collected in Korogocho and Viwandani slum areas in Nairobi, Kenya between October and November 2004. The paper analyses data from individual interviews and focus group interviews and focuses on the narrative of slum dwellers on how insecurity impacts on educational attainment. The conclusion in this paper is that insecure neighbourhoods may have a negative impact on schooling. As a result policies that address insecurity in slum neighbourhoods can also improve school attendance and performance.

Modular training in vascular and endovascular surgery exemplified by the Vascular International Foundation and School

The partial shift from patient to model is a reasonable and necessary paradigm shift in surgery in order to increase patient safety and to adapt to the reduced training time periods in hospitals and increased quality demands. Since 1991 the Vascular International Foundation and School has carried out many training courses with more than 2,500 participants. The modular build training system allows to teach many open vascular and endovascular surgical techniques on lifelike models with a pulsatile circulation. The simulation courses cannot replace training in operating rooms but are suitable for supporting the cognitive and associative stages for achieving motor skills. Scientific evaluation of the courses has continually shown that the training principle established since 1991 can lead to significant learning success. They are extremely useful not only for beginners but also for experienced vascular surgeons. They can help to shorten the learning curve, to learn new techniques or to refine previously used techniques in all stages of professional development. Keywords Advanced training · Advanced training regulations · Training model · Vascular International · Certification

High-school students' need for cognition, self-control capacity, and school achievement: testing a mediation hypothesis

In the present article, we examine the hypothesis that high-school students' motivation to engage in cognitive endeavors (i.e., their need for cognition; NFC) is positively related to their dispositional self-control capacity. Furthermore, we test the prediction that the relation between NFC and school achievement is mediated by self-control capacity. A questionnaire study with grade ten high-school students (N = 604) revealed the expected relations between NFC, self-control capacity, and school achievement. Sobel tests showed that self-control capacity mediated the relation between NFC and school grades as well as grade retention.

University and school students' motivation for effortful thinking: Factor structure, reliability, and validity of the German Need for Cognition Scale

Need for cognition (NFC) reflects a relatively stable trait regarding the degree to which one enjoys and engages in cognitive endeavors. We examined whether the previously demonstrated one-dimensional structure of the German NFC Scale could be replicated in three samples of undergraduates and secondary school students. Moreover, we investigated the test-retest reliability of the German NFC Scale, which has not yet been tested. Further, we investigated whether the scale would be valid in a sample of secondary school students. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses established the one-dimensional factor structure of the long form as well as the short form of the German NFC Scale for undergraduates (N = 559), students of academic track secondary schools (German Gymnasium; N = 555), and students of vocational track secondary schools (German Realschule; N = 486). The scale proved to have a high test-retest reliability in a university student sample (N = 43). For secondary school students, we again found a high test-retest reliability (N = 157), and also found the scale to be valid (N = 181).

Cyberbullying and school attachment: An analysis of the 2005-2006 U.S. health behavior in school-aged children (HBSC) study

Despite a lack of consistent research, the possible association between school attachment and cyberbullying suggests that targeting school attachment as a method of increasing help-seeking behaviors may be important in intervention strategies for cyberbullying. The present study sought to fill the gap in current literature by examining cyberbullying and school attachment in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents, grades 6-10 (n=9,227). Results found that negative school attachment was significantly associated with greater odds of cyberbullying victimization (OR=4.71, p<0.001), perpetration (OR=2.95, p<0.001), and cyberbully-victim status (OR=3.38, p<0.001). After adjustment for confounding variables, cyberbullying victimization remained significant (OR=1.90, p=0.002). Overall, the present analyses suggest that higher negative school attachment may be associated with higher frequency of cyberbullying behaviors. These findings provide evidence for an association between school attachment and cyberbullying, and support considerations that improving school attachment may be a potential source of intervention against cyberbullying in an adolescent population.^

The Impact of Shyness on Loneliness, Social Anxiety, and School Liking in Late Childhood

Author: Charity M. Walker Title: THE IMPACT OF SHYNESS ON LONELINESS, SOCIAL ANXIETY, AND SCHOOL LIKING IN LATE CHILDHOOD Advisor: Maria T. Riva, Ph.D. Degree Date: August 2011 ABSTRACT Shyness is associated with several emotional, social, and academic problems. While there are multiple difficulties that often accompany shyness, there appear to be some factors that can moderate negative effects of shyness. Research has demonstrated that certain parenting factors affect the adjustment of shy children in early childhood, but there is minimal research illuminating the effect of parenting factors in older age groups. The first purpose of this study was to examine relationships between shyness and loneliness, social anxiety, and school liking. The second purpose was to investigate whether the quality of the relationship between a parent and a 10- to 15-year-olds child influences the amount of loneliness or social anxiety a shy child experiences or how the child feels about school. Parent-child dyads served as participants and were recruited from public and private middle schools and church youth groups in Colorado and Indiana. Child participants completed several self-report surveys regarding their relationship with a parent, shyness, loneliness, social anxiety, and their attitude toward school. Parents completed a survey about their relationship with their child and responded to questions related to their perceptions of their child's shyness. Data was analyzed with a series of correlation and regression analyses. Greater degrees of self-reported shyness were found to be associated with higher levels of loneliness and social anxiety and less positive feelings about school. Due to a problem with multicollinearity during data analysis, this study was not able to explore the effect of the parent-child relationship quality on the associations between shyness and adjustment factors. Overall, these findings imply that shyness remains an important issue as children approach adolescence. Further research is needed to continue learning about the potential importance of parent-child interactions in reducing maladjustment for shy children during late childhood.

Affirmative action and school choice

This paper studies a way of introducing affirmative action in the school choice problem to implement integration policies. The paper proposes the use of a natural two-step mechanism. The (equitable) first step is introduced as an adaptation of the deferred-acceptance algorithm designed by Gale and Shapley, when students are divided into two groups. The (efficient) second step captures the idea of exchanging places inherent to Gale's top trading cycle.

Luther on education in the Christian home and school.

"Sources and bibliography": p. 115-116.

Eye tests for pre-school and school age children

Mode of access: Internet.

Cooperation of library and school.

Extract from the Normal Seminar, v. 1, no. 1, March, 1904.

Special warfare : the professional bulletin of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

Latest issue consulted: Vol. 19, issue 4 (July/Aug. 2006).