Lack of association between TYK2 and STAT3 genes and Crohn's disease in the Malaysian population.

This study aimed to investigate the potential association of TYK2 and STAT3 genes with the susceptibility to Crohn's disease (CD) among Malaysians. DNA samples were obtained from 80 CD patients and 100 healthy controls. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods were employed for genotyping, followed by statistical analysis. In our current study, none of the single nucleotide polymorphisms of either TYK2 or STAT3 was statistically associated with the susceptibility to CD in our local population (P > 0.05). In contrast, there was a statistically significant association between the G/G homozygotes of the STAT3 rs2293152 and the healthy control group (χ(2) = 6.229, P < 0.05). In conclusion, our study does not support the role of the TYK2 and STAT3 genes influencing CD susceptibility.

Vasa previa: prenatal diagnosis, natural evolution, and clinical outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis, natural evolution, and clinical outcomes of vasa previa in a large population at a single institution. METHODS: We attempted to view the internal cervical os of 93,874 women with second- and third-trimester pregnancies during an 8-year period. Echogenic parallel or circular lines near the cervix, seen by gray-scale ultrasonography, raised the possibility of vasa previa. Diagnosis was confirmed by Doppler and endovaginal studies if aberrant vessels over the internal cervical os were suspected. Abnormal placental morphology and velamentous cord insertion were documented if they were identified during prenatal scans. Ultrasonographic findings were correlated with clinical courses, perinatal outcomes, and placental pathology examinations. RESULTS: Eighteen cases of vasa previa were suspected at a mean (+/- standard deviation) gestational age of 26.0 +/- 6.3 weeks; the earliest diagnosis was at 15.6 weeks' gestation. Eight of those cases initially showed placental edge over the internal os and later developed vasa previa after the placenta "receded" from the cervix. Six women had mild vaginal bleeding at a mean gestational age of 31.3 weeks. Three women had normal late third-trimester scans and were allowed to have uncomplicated vaginal deliveries. The remaining subjects delivered by cesarean. There were two deaths (one fetal and one neonatal), and minor preterm complications slightly prolonged infant hospitalizations. One set of preterm twins needed neonatal transfusions. Pathology findings included ten cases of velamentous insertion and three cases each of bilobed placentas, succenturiate lobes, and marginal cord insertion. CONCLUSION: Vasa previa was detected in asymptomatic women as early as the second trimester. Perinatal outcome was generally favorable, although several infants had slightly extended newborn nursery admissions due to mild complications of prematurity.

Effects of back care lessons on sitting and lifting by primary students.

This study investigated some of the effects of back care education. Four classes of students aged from 10 to 12 years were given three lessons structured to teach acceptable sitting posture, safe lifting techniques and sports injury prevention procedures. Data on the students' sitting postures and lifting skills were collected over a period of six weeks. The results of the study indicate that lessons on aspects of back care can have an immediate impact on students' sitting and lifting behaviours. Further research along the present lines is indicated to determine whether continued instruction and feedback over a longer interval would produce more durable changes.

Low interrater agreement on the semantic base of textual material.

The present paper describes three experiments which were conducted to determine whether independent raters could agree upon the semantic base of textual materials. These experiments were occasioned by an earlier experiment in which the investigators reported success in increasing the ability of students to extract the semantic base from textual materials. The present paper reports our unsuccessful attempts to obtain an acceptable level of agreement among independent raters about what constituted the semantic base of a number of texts. The paper concludes by raising some doubts about the strategy of extending behavior-analytic research to verbal behavior by combining behavior-change procedures with cognitive constructs.

Some contingencies of spelling.

This paper presents some speculation about the contingencies that might select standard spellings. The speculation is based on a new development in the teaching of spelling-the process writing approach, which lets standard spellings emerge collateral to a high frequency of reading and writing. The paper discusses this approach, contrasts it with behavior-analytic research on spelling, and suggests some new directions for this latter research based on a behavioral interpretation of the process writing approach to spelling.

A note on the composition of response forms.

This note is about composition-the process by which fragments of verbal behavior are combined in novel verbal forms. The note begins by discussing recent studies of morpheme combining behavior. It then outlines the concept of composition and shows how the concept implies a new direction for this area of research.

Effects on spelling of training children to read.

Experiment 1 investigated whether training subjects to read words aloud would induce correct written spelling of the words even though spelling had no experimental consequences. Training in reading was followed by a weak increment in correct spelling. Experiment 2 investigated whether overtraining in reading would improve spelling more. Spelling improved as overtraining continued until the subjects spelled all the words correctly. Experiments 3 and 4 investigated the components of overtraining responsible for this improvement in spelling. Initial training in reading followed by repeated opportunities to look at (but not say aloud) the printed words resulted in the same gradual improvement in spelling as seen in Experiment 2. The results were related to Skinner's theory of verbal behavior and to studies of the relationship between speaking and instruction-following in children.

Prepositional phrases spoken and heard.

The relation between verbal and nonverbal behavior with common syntactic properties was investigated, using retarded and nonretarded children. Reinforcement was contingent on either verbal or nonverbal responses whereas responses of the other repertoire had no experimental consequences. Changes sometimes occurred in the unreinforced (collateral) repertoire, but they were always changes in the stimulus control of pre-existing topographies. A contingency involving responses of one repertoire never instated new topographies in the collateral repertoire. This suggested that the problem of "cross-modality generalization" should be reformulated to distinguish explicitly between instating new topographies and changing the stimulus control of pre-existing topographies. The result confirmed Skinner's hypothesis about "the same response spoken and heard" and clarified some anomalies in previous studies.