RESUMEN
We compared the reading development of 77 deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) Japanese children, aged 5-7 (40 females), with 139 of their hearing peers (74 females) in 2018. We assessed each group's phonological awareness (PA), grammar, vocabulary, and reading of hiragana (Japanese orthography children learn first). DHH children showed significant delays in grammar and vocabulary but only a slight delay in PA. Younger DHH children scored better than their hearing peers in reading. Although PA predicted reading for hearing children, reading predicted PA for DHH children. PA partially explained grammar skills for both groups. The results suggest educational intervention for reading acquisition should be based on not only general linguistic features but also each language's unique characteristics.
Asunto(s)
Sordera , Niños con Discapacidad , Pueblos del Este de Asia , Desarrollo del Lenguaje , Alfabetización , Personas con Deficiencia Auditiva , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Lectura , Vocabulario , Pérdida Auditiva , Desarrollo Infantil , Masculino , Preescolar , Lenguaje InfantilRESUMEN
The present study investigated the development of literacy skills of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children in Japan. The three components of literacy, vocabulary, orthographic knowledge, and grammatical knowledge were assessed by using the subtests of the Adaptive Tests for Language Abilities (ATLAN), based on the item response theory developed by the authors). The participants consisted of 207 DHH children (first through twelfth grades) in Study 1, and 425 hearing children (first through sixth grades) in Study 2. The findings show that more than 80% of DHH children's vocabulary variance was explained by the other two componential skills, while the three tasks' difficulty was different. More specifically, their vocabulary and especially, their grammar lagged behind those of hearing children, whereas the difference between the two groups on kanji (one of the three orthographic systems in Japanese taught during the school years) was less. Although considerably delayed, their pattern of responses in grammar was similar to that predicted from normative data. Effective instruction for DHH children's literacy skills was generally discussed.
Asunto(s)
Sordera/psicología , Lingüística , Alfabetización/psicología , Vocabulario , Adolescente , Niño , Humanos , Japón , Lenguaje , Desarrollo del Lenguaje , Personas con Deficiencia Auditiva/psicologíaRESUMEN
In the present study, we newly developed a kanji writing subtest of ATLAN (Adaptive Tests for Language Abilities), which is based on item response theory (Takahashi & Nakamura, 2009; Takahashi, Otomo, & Nakamura, 2012) and can be administered via the Internet. In Study 1, we evaluated two parameters, difficulty and discrimination, of 244 kanji characters based on the results of 1,306 children from 2nd to 9th grade. In Study 2, we analyzed kanji reading and writing subtests of 283 children from 3rd to 6th grade, including their error patterns and stroke order while writing kanji. The results of hierarchical regression analysis showed that more than 60% of the variance of kanji writing is explained by grade, kanji reading, and accuracy of forms and stroke order while writing kanji. The practical significance of the test is discussed.
Asunto(s)
Lectura , Escritura , Adolescente , Pueblo Asiatico , Niño , Humanos , InternetRESUMEN
Management of oral leukoplakia-a potentially malignant disorder-is currently not evidence-based. Of the few randomized trials that have been reported, most have negative data. Therefore, a multi-centre, randomized, double-blind controlled trial (RCT) was undertaken to evaluate the use of low-dose beta-carotene combined with vitamin C supplements for the treatment and to prevent malignant transformation of oral leukoplakia. 46 Japanese participants with oral leukoplakia were allocated randomly either to an experimental arm (10 mg day(-1) of beta-carotene and 500 mg day(-1) of vitamin C) or placebo arm (50 mg day(-1) of vitamin C). Current or ex-smokers within 3 months of cessation were excluded. The supplements were continued over a period of 1 year. The primary endpoint was clinical remission at 1-year and the likelihood of malignant transformation during a 5-year follow-up period as a secondary endpoint. The overall clinical response rate in the experimental arm was 17.4% (4/23) and 4.3% (1/23) in the placebo arm (p = 0.346). During the median 60-month follow-up period, two subjects in the experimental arm and three in the control arm developed oral cancer. Under the intention-to-treat principle, relative risk by supplementing with beta-carotene and vitamin C was 0.77 (95%CI: 0.28-1.89) (p = 0.580) by the Cox proportional hazards model. No unfavorable side-effects were noted. Beta-carotene (10 mg day(-1) ) and vitamin C were neither effective for clinical remission, nor for protection against the development of cancer. Data from this RCT does not support the hypothesis that chemoprevention with this treatment is effective for oral leukoplakia.
Asunto(s)
Ácido Ascórbico/administración & dosificación , Suplementos Dietéticos , Leucoplasia Bucal/tratamiento farmacológico , beta Caroteno/administración & dosificación , Adulto , Anciano , Ácido Ascórbico/efectos adversos , Transformación Celular Neoplásica , Progresión de la Enfermedad , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Leucoplasia Bucal/patología , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Factores de Riesgo , Resultado del Tratamiento , beta Caroteno/efectos adversosRESUMEN
PURPOSE: Although the content of thoughts has received a considerable amount of attention in pain research, the importance of thought processes (metacognitions) has received less attention. METHOD: One hundred twenty-nine individuals with muscular dystrophy and chronic pain completed measures assessing metacognitions and frequency of both catastrophizing and pain control beliefs. RESULTS: Greater use of reappraisal and distraction metacognitions were associated with more perceived control over pain, whereas greater use of worry and punishment metacognitions were associated with more catastrophizing. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The current findings indicate that metacognitions are associated with both pain control beliefs and catastrophizing and therefore may play an important role in the development or maintenance of pain-related cognitive content thought to influence patient functioning. Research is needed to determine whether treatments that encourage changes in both metacognitions and cognitive content are more effective than treatments that focus on cognitive content alone.
Asunto(s)
Catastrofización/psicología , Dolor Crónico/psicología , Cognición , Control Interno-Externo , Distrofias Musculares/psicología , Manejo del Dolor , Adaptación Psicológica , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Atención , Catastrofización/prevención & control , Dolor Crónico/rehabilitación , Femenino , Encuestas Epidemiológicas , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Distrofias Musculares/rehabilitación , Análisis de RegresiónRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The primary objectives of the current study were to 1) confirm the three-factor model of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) items in a Japanese sample and 2) identify the catastrophizing subdomain(s) most closely associated with measures of pain and functioning in a sample of individuals with chronic pain. DESIGN: This was based on a cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: This study was conducted in a university-based clinic. PATIENTS: One hundred and sixty outpatients with chronic pain participated in this study. OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients completed the PCS, the Brief Pain Inventory, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; 30 patients completed the PCS again between 1 and 4 weeks later. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor structure of the Japanese version of the PCS, and univariate and multivariate associations with validity criterion supported the validity of the measure. Catastrophic helplessness was shown to make a unique contribution to the prediction of pain intensity, pain interference and depression, and catastrophic magnification made a unique contribution to the prediction of anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the cross-cultural generalizability of the three-factor structure of the PCS and indicate that the PCS-assessed catastrophizing subdomains provide greater explanatory power than the PCS total score for understanding pain-related functioning.
Asunto(s)
Dolor Crónico/fisiopatología , Dimensión del Dolor/métodos , Adulto , Anciano , Ansiedad/epidemiología , Ansiedad/etiología , Dolor Crónico/complicaciones , Estudios Transversales , Depresión/epidemiología , Depresión/etiología , Análisis Factorial , Femenino , Humanos , Japón , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Índice de Severidad de la EnfermedadRESUMEN
It has been shown that humans prefer consonant sounds from the early stages of development. From a comparative psychological perspective, although previous studies have shown that birds and monkeys can discriminate between consonant and dissonant sounds, it remains unclear whether nonhumans have a spontaneous preference for consonant music over dissonant music as humans do. We report here that a five-month-old human-raised chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) preferred consonant music. The infant chimpanzee consistently preferred to produce, with the aid of our computerized setup, consonant versions of music for a longer duration than dissonant versions. This result suggests that the preference for consonance is not unique to humans. Further, it supports the hypothesis that one major basis of musical appreciation has some evolutionary origins.
Asunto(s)
Música/psicología , Pan troglodytes/psicología , Animales , Femenino , HumanosRESUMEN
In the present study it was investigated whether children recognized deletions more accurately than additions in pictures of animate objects as a function of age between 4 and 6 years. Children, presented pictures of cats with features added to or deleted from the original pictures, judged whether the pictures were the same or different as those in a test of recognition. Analysis showed both 5-yr.-olds and 6-yr.olds discovered deletions more accurately than additions. This asymmetric effect is in accord with that of adults, with whom the same stimuli were used in earlier research, but are contrary to previous studies in which additions were recognized more accurately than deletions when inanimate objects were stimuli. Asymmetric effects, that is, greater recognition accuracy for deletions may be related to children's being uncomfortable about modified pictures of animals.
Asunto(s)
Formación de Concepto , Reconocimiento en Psicología , Percepción Visual , Animales , Gatos , Niño , Desarrollo Infantil , Preescolar , Femenino , Humanos , MasculinoRESUMEN
Nymphs of the univoltine shield bug, Parastrachia japonensis grow by feeding on the drupes of their sole food plant, which are available for only 2 weeks a year. The new adults soon enter a reproductive diapause and survive without feeding for at least 10 months up to 2 years. Uric acid was found to be the predominant component among four waste nitrogenous compounds, i.e., uric acid, allantoin, allantoic acid and urea in the body of both nymphs and adults in all stages, and to be predominantly excreted by the nymphs and reproductive adults. However, adults in diapause excreted negligible amounts of these compounds. Erwinia-like bacteria were found exclusively in the cecum of midgut, in which three uricolytic enzymes, i.e., uricase, allantoinase and allantoicase were detected. Ninety % of adults in diapause could survive on water for 9 months, but those given 0.02% rifampicin aqueous solution all died within this period, with significant reduction of the bacteria and uricase activity in the cecum. Rifampicin treatment resulted in a considerable reduction of free amino acids, especially proline in the hemolymph. These results suggest that uric acid is recycled as an amino acid source with the aid of Erwinia-like bacteria, and uricase functions as a key enzyme for this process.
Asunto(s)
Heterópteros/metabolismo , Ácido Úrico/metabolismo , Animales , Ciego/enzimología , Ciego/microbiología , Heces/microbiología , Femenino , Heterópteros/microbiología , Masculino , Nitrógeno/metabolismo , Ninfa/metabolismo , Simbiosis/fisiología , Urato Oxidasa/metabolismoRESUMEN
The present study examined whether scores on big five personality factors correlated with face-recognition response time in visual search paradigm. Sixty adjectives were used to measure personality scores of 60 participants along the five factors of Extroversion, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Picture of human faces or geometrical figures in a 4 x 4 array were used as stimuli. The sixteen faces or figures were either identical (absent condition) or one randomly placed target with 15 identical distracters (present condition). Participants were asked to respond 'present' or 'absent' as fast and accurately as possible. Results showed that the response time differed significantly between high and low groups of each personality factor except Agreeableness. For Extroversion, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness, the response time difference was observed only for human face recognition. The results suggested that personality differences and face recognition were related.
Asunto(s)
Cara/fisiología , Personalidad/fisiología , Reconocimiento en Psicología/fisiología , Adulto , Extraversión Psicológica , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Estimulación Luminosa , Tiempo de ReacciónRESUMEN
Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) is a common autosomal dominant disorder with cleft lip and/or palate and lower lip pits. Its prevalence is estimated to be 1/33,600 in the Finnish Population, and 1/47,813 in the Japanese. We performed mutation analysis of the IRF6 gene by direct sequencing in 2 unrelated Japanese families that consist of a total of 3 affected members with cleft lip and palate associated with lower lip pits. Consequently, we found novel base substitutions, 25C>T, in IRF6-exon 3 in a boy, his mother, and his phenotypically normal maternal grandmother in one of the families. A known mutation, 250C>T, was identified in exon 4 of a girl and her unaffected father in the other family. The same mutations were never observed among 190 healthy Japanese. The results indicate incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity in the families. Because 25C>T and 250C>T predict to lead to R9W and R84C substitutions, respectively, at the most conserved DNA binding domain of IRF6, and because arginine at positions 9 and 84 is highly conserved among IRFs, the 2 mutations may lead to abolish the DNA binding activity in the developing craniofacial region. To our knowledge, this is the first report of IRF6 mutations observed in Japanese VWS patients.