The effectiveness of using reinforcements in the classroom on the academic achievement of students with intellectual disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two kinds of reinforcements, tangible reinforcements and social reinforcements, on the academic achievement of eighth-grade female students with intellectual disabilities in the science subject. The study was an experimental method by pretest, with a control group. The participants of the study comprised 45 female students with intellectual disabilities from three different middle schools in the province of Tehran. The multistage cluster method was chosen to determine the sample. The Wechsler intelligence test for matching the groups in terms of IQ and teacher-applied tests were used for all students to measure the progress of students in science. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that (a) there was a significant difference in the academic achievement scores of the groups after applying the intervention and (b) the mean difference in achievement scores for the tangible reinforcements group was significantly higher than the social reinforcement group and the control group. Also the mean scores for the social reinforcement group were significantly higher than the control group.

Sexual function: a comparison between male renal transplant recipients and hemodialysis patients.

INTRODUCTION: For all the studies into the sexual health of kidney transplant recipients, there is a paucity of controlled studies regarding the difference in the sexual relationship of kidney transplant recipients and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients under hemodialysis. AIM: We compared the sexual function of kidney transplant recipients and ESRD patients under hemodialysis in male patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The patients' sexual function was assessed using the Relationship and Sexuality Scale. METHOD: In this case-controlled study, 89 male renal transplant recipients and 25 male hemodialysis patients were randomly selected from the outpatient clinic of Baqiyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran, in 2006. The two groups were not significantly different in terms of age, living place, level of education, duration of ESRD (months), ESRD cause, and somatic comorbidities (Ifudu index). RESULTS: The renal transplant patients in comparison with the hemodialysis group reported a better overall sexual relationship (17.3 +/- 0.6 vs. 21.6 +/- 1.4; P = 0.001), and all subscales including sexual function (9.9 +/- 0.3 vs. 11.4 +/- 0.6; P = 0.03), sexual frequency (6.3 +/- 0.3 vs. 7.4 +/- 0.6; P = 0.04), and sexual fear (1.1 +/- 0.2 vs. 2.8 +/- 0.5; P = 0.001). In addition, kidney recipients had significantly more sexual intercourse in a 2-week period prior to the study (P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: In our male population, kidney transplant recipients, in comparison with the ESRD patients under hemodialysis, reported a better sexual relationship.