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NPJ Science of Learning May 2024Young children's linguistic and communicative abilities are foundational for their academic achievement and overall well-being. We present the positive outcomes of a...
Young children's linguistic and communicative abilities are foundational for their academic achievement and overall well-being. We present the positive outcomes of a brief tablet-based intervention aimed at teaching toddlers and preschoolers new word-object and letter-sound associations. We conducted two experiments, one involving toddlers ( ~ 24 months old, n = 101) and the other with preschoolers ( ~ 42 months old, n = 152). Using a pre-post equivalent group design, we measured the children's improvements in language and communication skills resulting from the intervention. Our results showed that the intervention benefited toddlers' verbal communication and preschoolers' speech comprehension. Additionally, it encouraged vocalizations in preschoolers and enhanced long-term memory for the associations taught in the study for all participants. In summary, our study demonstrates that the use of a ludic tablet-based intervention for teaching new vocabulary and pre-reading skills can improve young children's linguistic and communicative abilities, which are essential for future development.
PubMed: 38816493
DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00249-3 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research May 2024Remote patient monitoring (RPM) enables clinicians to maintain and adjust their patients' plan of care by using remotely gathered data, such as vital signs, to...
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) enables clinicians to maintain and adjust their patients' plan of care by using remotely gathered data, such as vital signs, to proactively make medical decisions about a patient's care. RPM interventions have been touted as a means to improve patient care and well-being while reducing costs and resource needs within the health care ecosystem. However, multiple interworking components must be successfully implemented for an RPM intervention to yield the desired outcomes, and the design and key driver of each component can vary depending on the medical context. This viewpoint and perspective paper presents a 4-component RPM infrastructure framework based on a synthesis of existing literature and practice related to RPM. Specifically, these components are identified and considered: (1) data collection, (2) data transmission and storage, (3) data analysis, and (4) information presentation. Interaction points to consider between components include transmission, interoperability, accessibility, workflow integration, and transparency. Within each of the 4 components, questions affecting research and practice emerge that can affect the outcomes of RPM interventions. This framework provides a holistic perspective of the technologies involved in RPM interventions and how these core elements interact to provide an appropriate infrastructure for deploying RPM in health systems. Further, it provides a common vocabulary to compare and contrast RPM solutions across health contexts and may stimulate new research and intervention opportunities.
Topics: Humans; Monitoring, Physiologic; Telemedicine
PubMed: 38815263
DOI: 10.2196/51234 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jun 2024Theories of language development-informed largely by studies of Western, middleclass infants-have highlighted the language that caregivers direct to children as a key...
Theories of language development-informed largely by studies of Western, middleclass infants-have highlighted the language that caregivers direct to children as a key driver of language learning. However, some have argued that language development unfolds similarly across environmental contexts, including those in which childdirected language is scarce. This raises the possibility that children are able to learn from other sources of language in their environments, particularly the language directed to others in their environment. We explore this hypothesis with infants in an indigenous Tseltal-speaking community in Southern Mexico who are rarely spoken to, yet have the opportunity to overhear a great deal of other-directed language by virtue of being carried on their mothers' backs. Adapting a previously established gaze-tracking method for detecting early word knowledge to our field setting, we find that Tseltal infants exhibit implicit knowledge of common nouns (Exp. 1), analogous to their US peers who are frequently spoken to. Moreover, they exhibit comprehension of Tseltal honorific terms that are exclusively used to greet adults in the community (Exp. 2), representing language that could only have been learned through overhearing. In so doing, Tseltal infants demonstrate an ability to discriminate words with similar meanings and perceptually similar referents at an earlier age than has been shown among Western children. Together, these results suggest that for some infants, learning from overhearing may be an important path toward developing language.
Topics: Humans; Infant; Language Development; Female; Male; Comprehension; Mexico; Language; Vocabulary
PubMed: 38814865
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2311425121 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024Peer relationships play an indispensable role in the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. However, children exhibiting social withdrawal, such as...
Peer relationships play an indispensable role in the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. However, children exhibiting social withdrawal, such as unsociability, may face challenges in social adjustment. In collectivistic cultures like China, unsociability may be perceived negatively, aligning poorly with collective norms. The objective of the present investigation was to examine the associations between unsociability, receptive vocabulary, and indicators of social adjustment in a cohort of young migrant children residing in urban regions of mainland China. The study mainly aimed to investigate the potential moderating influence of receptive language on these associations. The study involved 148 young children (82 boys, 66 girls, = 62.32 months, = 6.76) enrolled in preschools or kindergartens in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Multiple sources of assessment were utilized, encompassing evaluations from mothers (about child unsociability), teacher (assessing social adjustment), and standardized tests (measuring receptive vocabulary). The results indicated that the relations between unsociability and peer exclusion were more positive among children with lower levels of receptive vocabulary but not significant for children with higher levels of receptive vocabulary. Similarly, the relations between unsociability and peer exclusion were more negative among children with lower levels of receptive vocabulary but not significant for children with higher levels of receptive vocabulary. Thus, this study informs us about how receptive vocabulary is jointly associated with unsociable children's development. As well, the findings highlight the importance of considering the meaning and implication of unsociability in Chinese culture.
PubMed: 38813559
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1259975 -
Clinical Anatomy (New York, N.Y.) May 2024One of the major challenges for health science students is the rapid acquisition of a new vocabulary in anatomy comprising several hundred new words. Research has shown...
One of the major challenges for health science students is the rapid acquisition of a new vocabulary in anatomy comprising several hundred new words. Research has shown that vocabulary learning can be improved when students are directed to vocabulary strategies. This paper reported a study with a formative intervention design inspired by Vygotsky's method of double stimulation. In this design, the students were put in a structured situation that invited them to identify the challenges in learning anatomy and then provided them with active guidance and a range of anatomy vocabulary learning strategies that scaffolded them to work out a solution to the challenge and develop their individualized anatomy learning resources. The data were collected from surveys, pre and postquiz results, and group discussion transcripts. The results revealed students perceived one of the main challenges in learning anatomy was learning, memorizing, and remembering many new words. A key finding in our study was that the formative intervention enhanced students' agency in creating resources for learning anatomy vocabulary. In addition, the development of their understanding showed a recursive form: from concrete experiences to abstract concepts and then to concrete new practices.
PubMed: 38808695
DOI: 10.1002/ca.24188 -
Autism & Developmental Language... 2024This study was conducted in a clinical setting with the aim of replicating previously used procedures for teaching receptive vocabulary. Researchers increased the number...
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
This study was conducted in a clinical setting with the aim of replicating previously used procedures for teaching receptive vocabulary. Researchers increased the number of vocabulary words and maintained use of match-to-sample (MtS), prompting, and reinforcement procedures. Researchers were also interested in the efficacy of the intervention from caregivers' perspectives.
METHODS
Using a concurrent multiple baseline design, two autistic preschoolers with receptive language impairment were taught to identify 30 common objects. MtS, prompting, and reinforcement procedures were individualized to support each child. Maintenance checks and generalization probes were completed after a predetermined number of intervention sessions (i.e. three or four clinic sessions). A social validity questionnaire was completed by parents following the final maintenance check.
RESULTS
Receptive object identification improved significantly for both participants. Despite exposure to vocabulary targets for only three or four sessions, they generalized the vocabulary targets to non-identical pictures and maintained words at maintenance checks. Participants were most successful when researchers individualized prompting and reinforcement.
CONCLUSION
MtS, prompting, and reinforcement were effective procedures for improving object identification, even with a limited number of intervention sessions. To support varying learner profiles, modifying prompting and reinforcement procedures was necessary. Caregivers of both participants reported positive improvements in areas such as communication, attention, and behaviors.
IMPLICATIONS
This replicated study provides support for MtS, prompting, and reinforcement as means of teaching receptive vocabulary to autistic preschoolers in a clinical setting. The materials used were simple and cost-effective. Overall, this study outlines and supports a flexible and effective evidence-based practice to teach receptive language to autistic children.
PubMed: 38808302
DOI: 10.1177/23969415241258699 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024This study examined lexical-semantic processing in children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) during visually situated comprehension of real-time spoken words....
This study examined lexical-semantic processing in children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) during visually situated comprehension of real-time spoken words. Existing evidence suggests that children with DLD may experience challenges in lexical access and retrieval, as well as greater lexical competition compared to their peers with Typical Development (TD). However, the specific nature of these difficulties remains unclear. Using eye-tracking methodology, the study investigated the real-time comprehension of semantic relationships in children with DLD and their age-matched peers. The results revealed that, for relatively frequent nouns, both groups demonstrated similar comprehension of semantic relationships. Both groups favored the semantic competitor when it appeared with an unrelated visual referent. In turn, when the semantic competitor appeared with the visual referent of the spoken word, both groups disregarded the competitor. This finding shows that, although children with DLD usually present a relatively impoverished vocabulary, frequent nouns may not pose greater difficulties for them. While the temporal course of preference for the competitor or the referent was similar between the two groups, numerical, though non-significant, differences in the extension of the clusters were observed. In summary, this research demonstrates that monolingual preschoolers with DLD exhibit similar lexical access to frequent words compared to their peers with TD. Future studies should investigate the performance of children with DLD on less frequent words to provide a comprehensive understanding of their lexical-semantic abilities.
PubMed: 38807960
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1338517 -
Annals of Clinical Biochemistry Jun 2024Healthcare laboratory systems produce and capture a vast array of information, yet do not always report all of this to the national infrastructure within the United...
BACKGROUND
Healthcare laboratory systems produce and capture a vast array of information, yet do not always report all of this to the national infrastructure within the United Kingdom. The global COVID-19 pandemic brought about a much greater need for detailed healthcare data, one such instance being laboratory testing data. The reporting of qualitative laboratory test results (e.g. positive, negative or indeterminate) provides a basic understanding of levels of seropositivity. However, to better understand and interpret seropositivity, how it is determined and other factors that affect its calculation (i.e. levels of antibodies), quantitative laboratory test data are needed.
METHOD
36 data attributes were collected from 3 NHS laboratories and 29 CO-CONNECT project partner organisations. These were assessed against the need for a minimum dataset to determine data attribute importance. An NHS laboratory feasibility study was undertaken to assess the minimum data standard, together with a literature review of national and international data standards and healthcare reports.
RESULTS
A COVID serology minimum data standard (CSMDS) comprising 12 data attributes was created and verified by 3 NHS laboratories to allow national granular reporting of COVID serology results. To support this, a standardised set of vocabulary terms was developed to represent laboratory analyser systems and laboratory information management systems.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper puts forward a minimum viable standard for COVID-19 serology data attributes to enhance its granularity and augment the national reporting of COVID-19 serology laboratory results, with implications for future pandemics.
PubMed: 38806176
DOI: 10.1177/00045632241261274 -
Journal of Biomedical Informatics Jul 2024Establishing collaborations between cohort studies has been fundamental for progress in health research. However, such collaborations are hampered by heterogeneous data...
BACKGROUND
Establishing collaborations between cohort studies has been fundamental for progress in health research. However, such collaborations are hampered by heterogeneous data representations across cohorts and legal constraints to data sharing. The first arises from a lack of consensus in standards of data collection and representation across cohort studies and is usually tackled by applying data harmonization processes. The second is increasingly important due to raised awareness for privacy protection and stricter regulations, such as the GDPR. Federated learning has emerged as a privacy-preserving alternative to transferring data between institutions through analyzing data in a decentralized manner.
METHODS
In this study, we set up a federated learning infrastructure for a consortium of nine Dutch cohorts with appropriate data available to the etiology of dementia, including an extract, transform, and load (ETL) pipeline for data harmonization. Additionally, we assessed the challenges of transforming and standardizing cohort data using the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) common data model (CDM) and evaluated our tool in one of the cohorts employing federated algorithms.
RESULTS
We successfully applied our ETL tool and observed a complete coverage of the cohorts' data by the OMOP CDM. The OMOP CDM facilitated the data representation and standardization, but we identified limitations for cohort-specific data fields and in the scope of the vocabularies available. Specific challenges arise in a multi-cohort federated collaboration due to technical constraints in local environments, data heterogeneity, and lack of direct access to the data.
CONCLUSION
In this article, we describe the solutions to these challenges and limitations encountered in our study. Our study shows the potential of federated learning as a privacy-preserving solution for multi-cohort studies that enhance reproducibility and reuse of both data and analyses.
Topics: Humans; Dementia; Netherlands; Cohort Studies; Algorithms; Information Dissemination; Biomedical Research
PubMed: 38806105
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbi.2024.104661 -
Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf... May 2024This study aims to examine the relationship between vocabulary proficiency and short-term memory capacity in deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. We test the...
This study aims to examine the relationship between vocabulary proficiency and short-term memory capacity in deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. We test the hypothesis that the relationship between vocabulary skills and digit span performance could be strengthened when the digit span task encompasses cross-modal integration processes. A group of DHH children performed two types of auditory digit span tasks. Furthermore, they participated in a standardized vocabulary proficiency test, comprising two subtests: Receptive Vocabulary and Expressive Vocabulary. The verbal digit span served as a significant predictor of Expressive Vocabulary among the DHH children. Simultaneously, the auditory-pointing digit span accounted for a substantial portion of performance variation in both Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary. After considering the impact of the duration of auditory-verbal intervention through regression models, likelihood ratio tests demonstrated that the auditory-pointing digit span persisted as a significant determinant of both receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. A positive influence of the intervention was also confirmed by the present results. This study provides evidence that memory span and the ability to integrate cross-modal information could serve as significant cognitive correlates of vocabulary proficiency in DHH children.
PubMed: 38804693
DOI: 10.1093/jdsade/enae020