This study used an online-structured interview methodology to examine the impact of an intensive field experience in facilitating problem (PBL) and project-based learning (PjBL) on teachers' pedagogy. The purpose of the study was to determine to what extent the field experience had transformed their teaching. Data were collected in the form of online interviews with 36 participants who completed the gifted education licensure program at a regional state university in the southeast. The online interviews were followed up with telephone interviews with four of the participants. The resulting themes can be grouped under the major categories of teacher-related and student-related themes. This article will focus on the teacherrelated themes, the most important being the change in the teachers' pedagogy. The article will further discuss the obstacles that stood in the way of the teachers' successful implementation of PBL and PjBL.
Some studies have shown that low frequency stimulation (LFS, most commonly 60 Hz), compared to high frequency stimulation (HFS, most commonly 130 Hz), has beneficial effects, short-term or even long-term, on improving freezing of gait (FOG) and other axial symptoms, including speech and swallowing function, in Parkinson disease (PD) patients with bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN DBS). However, other studies failed to confirm this. It seems not clear what determines the difference in response to LFS. Differences in study design, such as presence or absence of FOG, exact LFS used (60 Hz versus 80 Hz), study size, open label versus randomized double blind assessment, retrospective versus prospective evaluation, medication On or Off state, total electric energy delivered maintained or not with the change in frequency, and the location of active contacts could all potentially affect the results. This mini-review goes over the literature with the aforementioned factors in mind, focusing on the effect of LFS versus HFS on FOG and other axial symptoms in PD with bilateral STN DBS, in an effort to extract the essential data to guide our clinical management of axial symptoms and explore the potential underlying mechanisms as well. Overall, LFS of 60 Hz seems to be consistently effective in patients with FOG at the usual HFS in regards to improving FOG, speech, swallowing function and other axial symptoms, though LFS could reduce tremor control in some patients. Whether LFS simply addresses the axial symptoms in the context of HFS or has other beneficial effects requires further studies, along with the mechanism.
Online social networking interventions have potential to support young people who experience suicidal thoughts by specifically addressing interpersonal risk factors for suicide, but may also pose a risk of harm. This uncontrolled, single-group pilot study aimed to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and acceptability of an enhanced online social networking intervention (“Affinity”) among a sample of young people who experienced active suicidal ideation, and to explore potential changes in clinical outcomes and the therapeutic targets of the intervention. Twenty young people with current or recent suicidal ideation who were receiving treatment for depression at a tertiary-level mental health service were given access to Affinity for two months. Participants were assessed at baseline and 8-week follow-up; 90 percent reported clinical suicidal ideation at baseline. A priori criteria related to feasibility, safety and acceptability were satisfied. In terms of potential clinical effects, significant and reliable pre-post improvements were found on self-report outcomes including suicidal ideation. This study provides initial world-first evidence to support the use of an online intervention incorporating social networking as an adjunct to treatment for young people who experience suicidal ideation. The effectiveness of Affinity needs to be evaluated in a randomised controlled trial.
Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal syndrome (CBS; the most common phenotype of corticobasal degeneration) are tauopathies with a relentless course, usually starting in the mid-60s and leading to death after an average of 7 years. There is as yet no specific or disease-modifying treatment. Clinical deficits in PSP are numerous, involve the entire neuraxis, and present as several discrete phenotypes. They center on rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability, gait freezing, supranuclear ocular motor impairment, dysarthria, dysphagia, incontinence, sleep disorders, frontal cognitive dysfunction, and a variety of behavioral changes. CBS presents with prominent and usually asymmetric dystonia, apraxia, myoclonus, pyramidal signs, and cortical sensory loss. The symptoms and deficits of PSP and CBS are amenable to a variety of treatment strategies but most physicians, including many neurologists, are reluctant to care for patients with these conditions because of unfamiliarity with their multiplicity of interacting symptoms and deficits. CurePSP, the organization devoted to support, research, and education for PSP and CBS, created its CurePSP Centers of Care network in North America in 2017 to improve patient access to clinical expertise and develop collaborations. The directors of the 25 centers have created this consensus document outlining best practices in the management of PSP and CBS. They formed a writing committee for each of 12 sub-topics. A 4-member Steering Committee collated and edited the contributions. The result was returned to the entire cohort of authors for further comments, which were considered for incorporation by the Steering Committee. The authors hope that this publication will serve as a convenient guide for all clinicians caring for patients with PSP and CBS and that it will improve care for patients with these devastating but manageable disorders.
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