Age differences in reading with distraction: Sensory or inhibitory deficits?

Two experiments examined how sensory acuity affects age differences in susceptibility to interference in the reading-with-distraction task. In both experiments, older and younger adults read texts in an italic font and were required to ignore distractor words in an upright font. Experiment 1 examined whether the age-related increase in distractibility can be simulated in younger adults by reducing their visual acuity. Experiment 2 investigated whether the age differences in distractibility disappear if visual acuity is equated across all participants in both age groups. Both experiments showed that an impairment in visual acuity leads to increased interference in the reading-with-distraction task. However, older adults were much more impaired by the distractor material than younger adults with reduced visual acuity (Experiment 1). The age differences in the reading-with-distraction task persisted when visual acuity was equated between older and younger adults (Experiment 2). We conclude that the age-related increase in susceptibility to interference in the reading-with-distraction task is not solely due to perceptual deficits of older adults but arises from a deficit in higher cognitive processes such as inhibitory attention. Nevertheless, sensory acuity has to be taken into account as a potential confounding factor in perceptually demanding visual attention tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early reading achievement of children in immigrant families: Is there an immigrant paradox?

This article examines whether longitudinal reading trajectories vary by the generational status of immigrant children as they begin formal schooling through the 3rd grade. The results of the hierarchical linear model indicated that 1st and 2nd generation children (i.e., those born in a foreign country and those born in the United States to foreign-born parents, respectively) had higher achievement scores at the spring of kindergarten than did 3rd generation children. Yet, controlling for race/ethnicity and maternal education fully reduced the 1st generation advantage. In addition, 1st generation children grew in reading achievement at a faster rate than did 3rd generation children. Controlling for a host of proximal and distal factors that included demographic, race/ethnic, family, and school characteristics somewhat reduced the association between generational status and rate of growth. First and 2nd generation children continued to increase their reading scores at a faster rate than did 3rd generation children. It is likely that additional factors not measured in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten cohort, such as selection, cultural, or motivational factors, would be useful in further explaining the immigrant advantage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

“Progress monitoring in oral reading fluency within the context of RTI”: Correction.

Reports an error in "Progress monitoring in oral reading fluency within the context of RTI" by Amy-Jane Griffiths, Amanda M. VanDerHeyden, Mary Skokut and Elena Lilles (School Psychology Quarterly, 2009[Mar], Vol 24[1], 13-23). The slopes reported in text were incorrect. The correct information is as follows: The average slope across the four measurement occasions for students who had a successful RTI on the familiar passage was 8.98 wc/min per week and on the novel passage was 2.06 wc/min per week. The average slope for students who had an unsuccessful RTI was 4.6 wc/min per week on the familiar passage and -1.5 wc/min per week on the novel passage. These values were correctly depicted in Figure 1. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-03189-002.) Selecting appropriate measures to make decisions about child response to intervention is a key concern. The most commonly used assessment tool in response to intervention (RTI) models is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). However, an issue related to the use of CBM is the identification of measures that are of similar difficulty. To the degree that variation in performance across measurement occasions can be attributed to anything other than student learning, errors in judgment about student RTI may be made. The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy and efficiency of using a single CBM passage for progress monitoring at key intervals during individual reading intervention compared to using several passages that had been individually equated. Results indicated that decisions made based on a standard passage did not differ from decisions made based on scores obtained on the individually equated passages but were much more cost efficient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speech perception, metalinguistic awareness, reading, and vocabulary in Chinese–English bilingual children.

In this study, we examined the intercorrelations among speech perception, metalinguistic (i.e., phonological and morphological) awareness, word reading, and vocabulary in a 1st language (L1) and a 2nd language (L2). Results from 3 age groups of Chinese–English bilingual children showed that speech perception was more predictive of reading and vocabulary in the L1 than L2. While morphological awareness uniquely predicted reading and vocabulary in both languages, phonological awareness played such a role after we controlled for morphological awareness only in the L2, which was alphabetic. L1 speech perception and metalinguistic awareness predicted L2 word reading but not vocabulary, after we controlled for the corresponding L2 variables. Hence, there are both similarities and differences between the 2 languages in how the constructs are related. The differences are attributable to variations in language properties and learning contexts. Implications of the present results for an effective L2 learning program are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When writing impairs reading: Letter perception’s susceptibility to motor interference.

The effect of writing on the concurrent visual perception of letters was investigated in a series of studies using an interference paradigm. Participants drew shapes and letters while simultaneously visually identifying letters and shapes embedded in noise. Experiments 1–3 demonstrated that letter perception, but not the perception of shapes, was affected by motor interference. This suggests a strong link between the perception of letters and the neural substrates engaged during writing. The overlap both in category (letter vs. shape) and in the perceptual similarity of the features (straight vs. curvy) of the seen and drawn items determined the amount of interference. Experiment 4 demonstrated that intentional production of letters is not necessary for the interference to occur, because passive movement of the hand in the shape of letters also interfered with letter perception. When passive movements were used, however, only the category of the drawn items (letters vs. shapes), but not the perceptual similarity, had an influence, suggesting that motor representations for letters may selectively influence visual perception of letters through proprioceptive feedback, with an additional influence of perceptual similarity that depends on motor programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Catching up or falling behind? Initial English proficiency, concentrated poverty, and the reading growth of language minority learners in the United States.

This study contrasts growth trajectories in English reading for 2 groups of language minority (LM) learners--those who enter kindergarten with limited oral English proficiency and those who enter kindergarten proficient in oral English--with that of native English speakers. Fitting a multilevel model for change to longitudinal data on a nationally representative sample, this study examines students' growth trajectories from kindergarten through 5th grade. Three noteworthy findings emerge. First, LM learners entering kindergarten proficient in English have trajectories similar to those of native English speakers, but LM learners entering kindergarten with limited English have trajectories that diverge from those of native English speakers, yielding large differences in achievement by the 5th grade. Second, controlling for demographic risk factors, including socioeconomic status (SES), reduces the effect of initial English proficiency from large to moderate and yields differences that narrow over time. Finally, these differences depend on school poverty, with smaller differences evident among students in high-poverty schools than among students in low-poverty schools. Results emphasize the need for academic interventions for LM learners who enter school with limited English proficiency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unlocking the door: Is parents' reading to children the key to early literacy development?

Parents are encouraged to read to their children, and they frequently engage in shared book reading on the belief that the experience will foster their children's literacy development. In this article, the authors draw on a body of published studies to argue that shared book reading often does not lead to the benefits expected of it. The studies show that during parent-child shared reading, the adults typically do not draw the children's attention to features of the print and the children most often will attend to the illustrations and not to the print. As a consequence, shared book reading often does not advance children's early literacy development. However, the authors point to research showing that when shared book reading is enriched with explicit attention to the development of children's reading skills and strategies, then shared book reading is an effective vehicle for promoting the early literacy ability even of disadvantaged children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification of an alternative open reading frame ("hidden gene"?) stringently required for infectivity of poliovirus cDNA clones

Upon cell junction formation, the microtubules of polarizing epithelial cells become reorganized by unknown signaling mechanisms and regulating proteins. Microtubule-associated (MAPs) and other types of proteins are likely to be involved in this process, but most of these are unknown. Such proteins are called here collectively microtubule-regulating proteins (MRPs). As a first step towards their characterization, we used co-sedimentation of cytosolic proteins of MDCK cells and A72, a dog fibroblastoid line, with an excess of taxol-stabilized MTs, to obtain a cell fraction enriched in putative MRPs ("MRPs"). Additional tests have led to the inventory of around 40 "MRPs" among the 80 proteins present in the microtubule pellet. We also found that "MRPs" are recovered in higher amounts from MDCK cytosol, and that half of these are cell-type specific. These results corroborate data from yeast cells and insect eggs, and show that in mammalian somatic cells too, a large number of proteins seems to be involved in microtubule regulation, and that different cell types use a specific set of MRPs. "MRPs" found in both cell types are the intermediate chain of cytoplasmic dynein, Arp1, the major subunit of the dynactin complex, and CLIP-170. Two MDCK-specific "MRPs" were identified as the actin-binding proteins ezrin and alpha-fodrin. These results are discussed with regard to a possible involvement of ezrin and fodrin in morphogenetic interactions of microtubules with the membrane cytoskeleton in polarizing epithelia upon junction formation.     

Advances in Organolanthanide Chmistry in China

ＡｄｖａｎｃｅｓｉｎＯｒｇａｎｏｌａｎｔｈａｎｉｄｅＣｈｍｉｓｔｒｙｉｎＣｈｉｎａＳｈｅｎＱｉ（沈琪）（ＤｅｐａｒｔｍｅｎｔｏｆＣｈｅｍｉｓｔｒｙ，ＳｕｚｈｏｕＵｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ，Ｓｕｚｈｏｕ２１５００６，Ｃｈｉｎａ）Ｒｅｃｅｉｖｅｄ：Ａｐｒｉｌ２...     

Mine Production in Concentrate form in 2000

~~Mine Production in Concentrate form in 2000~~     

Mine Production in Concentrate form in 2000

┌────────────────┬──────┬───────┬──────┐│Nam6 Of ConCGnt门te$ │PmdUdion in │TOta!at 6ndof │{%Change ││ │ SePt 2000 │ SePt 2000 │}1999一2000 │├────────────────┼──────┼───────┼──────┤│COPPer concentrate │59032 │427565 │ID26 │├────────────────┼──────┼───────┼──────┤│Lead ConCGntrate │44065一 │402709 │17.65 │├────────────────┼────…     

Mine Production in Concentrate form in 2000

Unit:metd。ton。f meta一。o。坦。鱼竺望些竺丝里些Name of eoncentrates户奋6ductlon诬nM盯空里塑些竺旦些些些些 Lead coneentrate Z百nC COncGntrate一雨雨药而而而蔽而 2000 4111735849.83122494.7 44737671.25 7265.3 3334 35811’O tal at end of May20叼些一 192458T吸n concent找deAntimon丫coneentrate WoreConCGntr日t6Mo ore eonCentfate饭m护曰03 65%)砚mtIM醒旦型里丛166171.7454279.81 20640 32325.5 31540.39 13911 17638%Change1999一000 8、51 7 .57 9 .78 8 .57 1 1.24 0一42 24一9 13.87Mine Production in …     

Mine Production in Concentrate form in 1999

┌─────────────────┬───────┬────────┬──────┐│Nam6 Of COnC6ntrateS │ProdUCtion in │TOtal at 6nd of │%Change ││ │ Aug,1999 │ Aug,,999 │ ,98一,99│├─────────────────┼───────┼────────┼──────┤│CoPPer concentrate │36024.69 │284540.17 │4 .39 │├─────────────────┼───────┼────────┼──────┤│L6ad COnCGntrate │34130.22 │270055.83 │一11、55 │├──────…     

Mine Production in Concentrate form in 2001

┌───────────────┬───────┬────────┬─────┐│Nsme of CollCentrateS │Produetion in │Totsl at end of │%Change ││ │入18rCh 2001 │Mareh 2001 │2000·2001│├───────────────┼───────┼────────┼─────┤│CoPPer eoneentrate │46271 │138748 │9 .81 │├───────────────┼───────┼────────┼─────┤│Lead CollCelltfatC │56374 │128782 │3 .25 │├───────────────┼────…     

Mine Production in Concentrate form in 2001

┌───────────────┬───────┬────────┬─────┐│Name of ConCentrateS │Produetion in │Total at end of │%Change ││ │February 2001 │February 2001 │2000一2001│├───────────────┼───────┼────────┼─────┤│CoPPer eoncentrate │42767 │78311 │9 .14 │├───────────────┼───────┼────────┼─────┤│LCad eoneentrate │34652 │69756 │15.23 │├───────────────┼─────…     

Application of Rare Earth in Steel in China

Application of rare earth in steels has gone through three stages in China.The investigation of rare earthadding method begun at the late 1970's has solved the technical problems caused by rare earth addition.Controlling sulphide morphology,several rare earth treated steel grades with improved properties have been developedand put into production.Rare earth exerts remarkable effect on the performance of low sulphur steel and on thehydrogen behavior in steel.Rare earth used for surface treatment of iron and steel materials expands rare earthutilization.