Future Reading Research Articles

Mismatch responses of basic auditory temporal processing: early predictive biomarkers of Chinese Reading

ABSTRACT The study aimed to explore whether neurophysiological measures of auditory processing in preschoolers can predict Chinese reading after going to school. Mismatch responses (MMRs) to auditory frequency, duration, and temporal pattern deviants were examined in 24 Chinese preschoolers (6.59 ± 0.25 years old). Reading abilities were tracked in Grades 2 (8.09 ± 0.29 years old) and 4 (9.65 ± 0.28 years old). We found that temporal pattern MMRs in preschoolers continuously contributed to Chinese reading fluency in Grades 2 and 4. However, MMRs to frequency or duration deviants did not predict their reading abilities in Grades 2 or 4. These findings suggest that MMRs of basic auditory temporal processing in preliterate children can serve as predictive biomarkers for future Chinese reading acquisition, thus holding promise for identifying Chinese children at risk of dyslexia before formal school education and further guiding early intervention to support their reading development.

P190 POST-COVID INFECTION AS AN INDEPENDENT PREDICTOR OF DIASTOLIC HYPERTENSION IN AFRICAN POPULATION: SUDAN MMM 2022

Introduction: Several clinical studies reported a mutual relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and high blood pressure (BP) readings. It was established that hypertension is associated with increased COVID-19 severity, morbidity, and mortality; however, its effect on the future blood pressure reading and development of hypertension is not apparent. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analytic study based on MMM 2022, Sudan data. The targeted population was >18 years old. Blood pressure was measured on 3 consecutive measures. Participants who had a history of hypertension were excluded. Systolic hypertension was defined if systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg, and diastolic hypertension was defined if diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg. Continuous data was presented in mean and standard deviation, and categorical data was presented in frequency and percentages. Logistic regression models (unadjusted and adjusted) were used to predict high blood pressure readings. Results: A total of 14,402, (42.92%) were male and the mean age was (35.1±14.7 years) patients were included in this study. The prevalence of associated medical conditions, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, arrhythmia, and stroke were 6.3%, 1.12%, 1.5%, 0.8%, 4.8%, and 1.1% respectively. The mean SBP was (118.88±17.42) mmHg, and the mean DBP was (78.89±11.0) mmHg. Furthermore, the COVID-19 infection affected (4.48%) of this study population. They were older (36.8±12.2 vs. 35.0±14.8, p=0.003), more frequently males (56.1% vs. 42.3%, p <0.001), and diabetic (8.8% vs. 6.2%, p=0.006). The incidence of systolic hypertension and diastolic hypertension, in the population, was (10.98%) and (14.57%) respectively. The post-COVID patients had a significantly higher mean DBP (80.0±10.7 vs. 78.8±11.0, p=0.008) but not the SBP. Using unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression, the odd ratio is significant for predicting high DBP post-COVID infection (table 1). Conclusions: Post-COVID infection carries a huge burden on healthy individuals. After adjusting for the possible confounders, post-COVID-19 infection was an independent predictor of diastolic hypertension in the African population.

Unique longitudinal contributions of sulcal interruptions to reading acquisition in children.

A growing body of literature indicates strong associations between indentations of the cerebral cortex (i.e., sulci) and individual differences in cognitive performance. Interruptions, or gaps, of sulci (historically known as pli de passage) are particularly intriguing as previous work suggests that these interruptions have a causal effect on cognitive development. Here, we tested how the presence and morphology of sulcal interruptions in the left posterior occipitotemporal sulcus (pOTS) longitudinally impact the development of a culturally-acquired skill: reading. Forty-three children were successfully followed from age 5 in kindergarten, at the onset of literacy instruction, to ages 7 and 8 with assessments of cognitive, pre-literacy, and literacy skills, as well as MRI anatomical scans at ages 5 and 8. Crucially, we demonstrate that the presence of a left pOTS gap at 5 years is a specific and robust longitudinal predictor of better future reading skills in children, with large observed benefits on reading behavior ranging from letter knowledge to reading comprehension. The effect of left pOTS interruptions on reading acquisition accumulated through time, and was larger than the impact of benchmark cognitive and familial predictors of reading ability and disability. Finally, we show that increased local U-fiber white matter connectivity associated with such sulcal interruptions possibly underlie these behavioral benefits, by providing a computational advantage. To our knowledge, this is the first quantitative evidence supporting a potential integrative gray-white matter mechanism underlying the cognitive benefits of macro-anatomical differences in sulcal morphology related to longitudinal improvements in a culturally-acquired skill.

Advances in blood pressure monitoring illuminate path forward for more comfortable devices

Non-invasive, light-based photoplethysmography sees improvements that boost device reliability for future continuous blood pressure readings, including during sleep.

Kato-Katz slide preservation technique: Extension of viability and the benefits for schistosomiasis control programs

The World Health Organization recommends the use of the Kato-Katz method in the procedures of schistosomiasis control programs. Studies show the importance of a fast reading of the slides due to the decline of their viability, with the appearance of fungi or desiccation of the sample, which hinders diagnosis. It is necessary to establish a procedure to improve the long-term preservation of these Kato-Katz slides in order to accomplish the following: (1) preserve the slides for future quality control procedures and readings; (2) allow for the production of durable materials for training; and (3) train health professionals involved in diagnosing schistosomiasis. Therefore, this study aims to test a slide preservation methodology for these purposes. The results showed that the modifications made to the experimental slides demonstrated that egg loss was within the expected range and the limit accepted by quality control standards, as well as improved the diagnostic durability of the slides during the preservation times tested. We concluded that the application of the preservation technique to the slides promoted stabilization and permanence for long-term storage.

Effects of a Teacher-Led Intervention Fostering Self-Regulated Learning and Reading among 5th and 6th Graders—Treatment Integrity Matters

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is a crucial competence in our rapidly changing society, yet its systematic promotion in the classroom remains limited. Addressing this gap, this study reports on a teacher-led intervention to promote SRL within reading tasks among 5th and 6th grade students. Although some interventions have been implemented to promote SRL, little attention has been paid to promoting SRL in primary schools. Building on a previous SRL intervention, the current study added cooperative learning among students and parental involvement, two aspects that are assumed to add value when fostering SRL. A randomized controlled field trial was designed to evaluate the effect of an intervention using pre-test, post-test and follow-up measures. A total of 757 students from 40 classes participated in the study. The data were analyzed using a multilevel approach. This study revealed no significant difference in SRL or reading comprehension outcomes in the post-test and the follow-up test between students of the experimental and control group. Further investigations showed that several aspects of treatment integrity had a significant impact on SRL outcome. This study encourages future SRL and reading intervention studies to assess and analyze the multiple aspects of treatment integrity.

Self-regulation and comprehension in shared reading: The moderating effects of verbal interactions and E-book discussion prompts.

The study examined how children's self-regulation skills measured by the strengths and weaknesses of ADHD symptoms and normal behavior rating are associated with story comprehension and how verbal engagement and e-book discussion prompts moderate this relation. Children aged 3-7 (N = 111, 50% female, Chinese as first language) read an interactive Chinese-English bilingual story e-book with or without discussion prompts twice with their parents (2020-2021). Results demonstrated that the lower children's self-regulation skills, the more they struggled with story comprehension. Critically, our data suggest that embedding e-book discussion prompts and more verbalization in English can mitigate this negative association for children with inattention/hyperactivity. These findings have critical implications for future e-book design, interventions, and home reading practice for children with inattention/hyperactivity and those at risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Gabriela Mistral: Nourished by and Constructed from the Sap and Blood of Life

Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature and was a mentor to Pablo Neruda who also went on to become a Nobel laureate, yet Mistral’s work is rarely studied in English translation today. This article aims to bring attention to the author’s life and legacy, particularly through her diplomatic work and writing, with an emphasis on Mistral’s poetry in the hope of returning Gabriela Mistral to a place of distinction and standing that encourages future reading and study. Illustrative of the author’s voice, excerpts of Mistral’s work are woven throughout. The article traces key moments in Mistral’s life from childhood in the Elqui Valley of Chile through her years as a rural schoolteacher and onward to her position as a leader in education reform in Mexico. Through both her writing and diplomatic work, Mistral gained worldwide prominence. Her work through the League of Nations demonstrated an ongoing concern for human rights and especially for the rights of children and women in poverty and in the workplace. She was instrumental in the founding of the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and an advocate for writers and artists and their crucial role in illuminating important societal issues. The article highlights Mistral’s 1937 talk before the Committee on Letters and Arts in Paris and addresses her connection with Pablo Neruda and the story of Juan Miguel, whom she adopted and called Yin-Yin; Yin-Yin died tragically at age seventeen. Finally, the article provides an overview of the life influences, themes, and timing of each of Mistral’s four major collections of poetry in their English translation by Doris Dana (1971): Desolation (1922), Tenderness (1924), Felling (1938) and Wine Press (1954).

Rapid online assessment of reading and phonological awareness (ROAR-PA)

Phonological awareness (PA) is at the foundation of reading development: PA is introduced before formal reading instruction, predicts reading development, is a target for early intervention, and is a core mechanism in dyslexia. Conventional approaches to assessing PA are time-consuming and resource intensive: assessments are individually administered and scoring verbal responses is challenging and subjective. Therefore, we introduce a rapid, automated, online measure of PA—The Rapid Online Assessment of Reading—Phonological Awareness—that can be implemented at scale without a test administrator. We explored whether this gamified, online task is an accurate and reliable measure of PA and predicts reading development. We found high correlations with standardized measures of PA (CTOPP-2, r = .80) for children from Pre-K through fourth grade and exceptional reliability (α = .96). Validation in 50 first and second grade classrooms showed reliable implementation in a public school setting with predictive value of future reading development.

초등학생의 읽기유창성과 언어능력과의 관계

Objectives This study aimed to explore the connections between language skills (vocabulary, syntactic ability, expressive sentence pattern production) and reading fluency in elementary school students. Methods The research involved 51 children from grades 1 to 6 in elementary schools across Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungcheong. Various tools, such as the text reading fluency test, receptive vocabulary test, and syntatic comprehension test, were utilized. Additionally, tasks evaluating written and spoken expressive sentence patterns were carried out through a fill-in-the-blank test and a discourse completion task. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze performance across different grade levels (low, middle, and high), examining significant differences between the groups. Correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between each variable, and multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the factors influencing reading fluency. Results The study revealed variations in reading fluency and language skills (vocabulary, syntactic ability, scores on written tasks assessing expressive sentence patterns, and the number of expressive sentence types in oral tasks) among different grades. Correlation analysis indicated that scores on written tasks assessing expressive sentence patterns, receptive vocabulary, and the number of expressive sentence types in spoken tasks were correlated with reading fluency. As a result of multiple regression analysis, the explanatory power of linguistic variables on reading fluency was 51.9%. Conclusions In this study, we identified linguistic variables that are correlated with reading fluency in school-age children. Specifically, we found that the ability to produce expressive sentences was correlated with reading fluency. The results of this study suggest new implications for future reading fluency interventions.

Critical Inquiry in (and About) Media Environments: Examining an Asset-Based Digital Literacy Curriculum

Scholars have long recognized that reading in digital spaces requires unique skills, strategies, and competencies in comparison to those needed for reading printed text. In recent years, the ubiquity of social media and algorithmically targeted content has radically changed the nature of online reading and meaning making. Technological changes have occurred simultaneously with radically altered sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts. To account for an altered technological and sociocultural landscape, new approaches to teaching digital reading and critical media literacy are needed. Addressing these concerns, this case study detailed a digital reading curriculum designed to be responsive to both the contemporary digital media environment and to students’ out-of-school digital literacy practices and contexts. The curriculum was collaboratively designed by five middle-school language arts teachers who participated in a semester-long professional learning group focused on digital reading. Drawing upon sociocultural, asset-based, and culturally relevant philosophies of education, these five teachers designed a unique digital reading curriculum. This study examined the nature of this curriculum. The findings detailed four aspects of the teachers’ unit: (1) digital reading instruction situated within students’ literate lives; (2) critical instruction regarding systemic features of the internet such as algorithms and clickbait; (3) lessons in which students interrogate socially situated meaning making; and (4) lessons focused on the role of emotions while reading online. The findings have implications for future digital reading and media literacy curricula intended to be responsive to students’ funds of knowledge, ever-changing literacy technologies, and new, emergent ways of reading and practicing literacy on the internet.

Baseline Calibration Scheme Embedded in Single-Slope ADC for Gas Sensor Applications

This paper introduces a single-slope analog-to-digital converter (SS ADC) with an embedded digital baseline calibration scheme designed to improve the accuracy and reliability of gas sensor measurements. The proposed SS ADC effectively leverages an up/down counter mechanism to ensure stable signal extraction from gas sensors, despite variations in the baseline distribution. The proposed SS ADC initiates with a down counting operation to capture the initial output value of the gas sensor, which, after A/D conversion, is stored as a reference point for future readings. Subsequent gas sensor output values are derived by performing an up counting operation from this baseline reference. This approach allows for real-time correction of the baseline during the SS A/D conversion process, obviating the need for complex post-processing and baseline correction algorithms. The proposed SS ADC with the baseline calibration scheme was designed using a 0.18 μm standard CMOS process to confirm its feasibility. It demonstrated a signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) of 57.56 dB and a spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) of 59.02 dB, resulting in an effective number of bits (ENOB) of 9.27 bits in the post-simulation level. The proposed SS ADC has a total power consumption of 1.649 mW. This work offers an efficient solution to the baseline distribution problem in gas sensors, facilitating more reliable and accurate gas detection systems.

L2 Reading Assessment from a Sociocultural Theory Perspective: The Contributions of Dynamic Assessment

Our understanding of assessing L2 reading has significantly expanded in recent years, including both theoretical and practical aspects. There is a growing consensus that reading comprehension involves multiple skills and subskills. Classroom-based assessment practices reflecting such conceptualizations have also become widely utilized. This article explores the Vygotskyan sociocultural theory (SCT) and its implications for L2 reading assessment, with a specific focus on dynamic assessment as an effective classroom-based approach for L2 reading and literacy instruction. We will review the research that has applied DA principles to the assessment and teaching of L2 reading. We conclude by outlining potential avenues for future DA research and L2 reading instruction.

Enhanced Reading Skills are Associated with Auditory Spatial Attentional Rebalance Induced by the Exposure to Dual-language Contexts

ABSTRACT Purpose Research on the effects on early bilingualism on reading development is scarce. Here, we tackle this question by investigating whether the exposure to dual-language contexts (use of two languages in the same conversational situation) induces a boost in phonological and reading performance through more balanced spatial auditory attentional skills. Method Thirty Grade 1 early Spanish-Basque bilingual children predominantly exposed to dual-language contexts and 30 matched Spanish-Basque bilingual children predominantly exposed to single-language contexts were assessed on a dichotic listening task: syllables were simultaneously presented to the left and right ears and children were instructed to report the syllable they heard best. Results The dual-language contexts group demonstrated a reduced right ear advantage than the single-language contexts group, suggesting a more balanced report of syllables across ears in the former group. Moreover, more balanced reports were associated with more efficient reading skills. Conclusions These results suggest that the frequent exposure to dual-language contexts possibly triggers the spatial rebalance of attentional resources for speech processing, impacting positively the development of reading skills. Future studies will determine whether some bilingual experience might act as a protective factor to reduce the prevalence and severity of future reading impairments such as dyslexia.

학문 목적의 한국어 읽기 교육 연구 동향 분석

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the research trends related to reading education in the Korean language curriculum for academic purposes and to find a systematic and efficient educational direction for reading education through this. For this discussion, this article analyzed master's and doctoral dissertations on Korean reading education published in 2011-2021. In language education, reading can be
 said to be a key area directly connected to the achievement of language education. Despite the importance of learning, the results of reading education are to identify and analyze recent trends in educational research for international students by conducting trend analysis on master's and doctoral dissertations on the subject of reading Korean for international students. To this end, data on doctoral dissertations published from 2011 to 2021 were collected through the Academic Research Information Service (RISS), and 32 collected papers were classified into 'education theory, education plan, curriculum, educational materials, learning patterns, and learner variables'. And based on this, the distribution and trend of reading education research for international students were identified. Based on the final analysis results, the direction of future reading education research for international students was suggested, and the limitations of this study were also described.

Error-monitoring: A predictor of future reading skills? A 3-year longitudinal study in children

Investigation of the factors explaining individual differences in the acquisition of expert reading skills has become of particular interest these last decades. Non-verbal abilities, such as visual attention and executive functions play an important role in reading acquisition. Among those non-verbal factors, error-monitoring, which allows one to detect one's own errors and to avoid repeating them in the future, has been reported to be impaired in dyslexic readers. The present three-year longitudinal study aims at determining whether error-monitoring efficiency evaluated before and during reading instruction could improve the explanation of reading skills. To do so, 85 children will be followed from the last year of kindergarten to the second grade. The classic predictors of reading will be assessed at each grade level. Error-monitoring indices in domain-general and reading-related contexts will be derived from EMG data recorded during a Simon task in kindergarten and during both a Simon and a lexical decision tasks in the first and second grades. Findings concerning the role of error-monitoring on reading skills are expected to have an important impact on reading instruction to prevent reading difficulties in at-risk children and improve remediation to help children with reading difficulties.

Challenges in Enhancing Letter-Name Knowledge Acquisition for Public Pre-Primary Children in Shinyanga Region

Letter Name Knowledge is among the most vital emergent literacy skills that predict future reading and writing among pre-primary children, and teachers are central to learning. Much has been researched on the factors influencing letter name acquisition, including the child's characteristics in the home and school environment. Less research has been done on pre-primary teachers’ views on the factors they encounter in enhancing letter name skills in children. This study investigated pre-primary teachers' challenges in enhancing letter-name knowledge among pre-primary learners in the Shinyanga District Council, Shinyanga Region. The study identified challenges pre-primary teachers encounter in enhancing letter-name knowledge. The study also assessed the challenges pre-primary teachers face in enhancing the knowledge of letter names for pre-primary children with the guidance of the Whole-Child Approach. A qualitative approach and phenomenological design were utilised for the study.20 (to the point of saturation) pre-primary teachers were involved in the interview for data collection. The obtained data were analyzed thematically. The findings identified the following challenges: pre-primary children’s use of mother tongue, inadequate teaching and learning facilities and instructional materials, lack of teachers’ professionalism, large class size and instructional burden, children absenteeism and implementation of pre-primary curriculum. In conclusion, the identified challenges influence pre-primary teachers' effectiveness in enhancing letter name knowledge acquisition for public pre-primary children in the Shinyanga region. The study recommends that the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoEST) create a mother tongue policy for pre-primary children for quality, fair and holistic comprehensive curricula provision in rural areas.

Reading Program in the National Learning Camp: Teachers’ Assessment of its Implementation and Teaching Strategies

This study delves into the assessment of secondary teachers implementing the reading program within the National Learning Camp (NLC), designed to address pandemic-induced learning losses and enhance reading skills for Grades 7 and 8. The research addresses a significant knowledge gap by exploring the experiences and strategies of trained public school teachers in a highly urbanized city during the 2023-2024 academic year. The study aims to fulfill its objectives by investigating four key aspects. Firstly, it explores teachers’ perspectives on the NLC’s reading program. Secondly, it examines the strategies teachers employ during the camp’s reading program. Thirdly, the study investigates the challenges encountered by teachers in executing the reading program. Lastly, it seeks recommendations from teachers to enhance future NLC reading programs. Four purposively selected teachers from Leyte National High School participated in the research. Utilizing a case study design and thematic analysis, the researcher delves into various themes such as diverse learning camps, program objectives, teacher reactions, and training. Teachers employed a range of strategies, including games, collaboration, peer tutoring, back-to-basics approaches, lectures, and module utilization. Identified challenges encompass module preparation, inappropriate materials, attendance issues, and disparities in reading skills. Teacher recommendations emphasize the importance of preparation, support for struggling readers, addressing challenges, and adapting materials. This research contributes nuanced insights into the dynamics of implementing a reading program within the NLC context. The findings offer valuable considerations for program enhancement and teacher support, providing a foundation for further improvements in the National Learning Camp initiative.

Guilty or Not Guilty

Here I describe an exercise that engages students and helps to introduce difficult concepts. The exercise can be used in a variety of courses, it can be tailored to help introduce future course concepts or readings, and it can be used in any level course; it engages both students with strong backgrounds in philosophy and students new to the discipline. The exercise can be used in courses covering ethics, social justice, philosophy of law, criminology, or epistemology. This paper explains the exercise and highlights some ways the exercise can be modified.

Persistence of primitive reflexes associated with asymmetries in fixation and ocular motility values.

This cross-sectional study examined eye movement performance in patients aged 4 to 16 years. Measurements of eye movements were obtained before and after performing therapy for inhibition of four primitive reflexes, asymmetric tonic neck reflex, symmetric tonic neck reflex, labyrinthine tonic reflex and Moro reflex. Subsequently the scores of the four primitive reflexes were compared with the results of five variables: fixation maintenance, % mean saccade size, motility excursions, fixations during excursions and mean duration of fixations. The comparisons showed a significant reduction in evidence of fixation maintenance as well as mean saccade size due to the inhibition of the four primitive reflexes. There was also a significant increase in ocular motility while fixations per saccade and average duration of fixations also decreased significantly. Visual balance between values of both eyes improved in all tests. A device called VisagraphTM III, which measures eye movements, was used for data collection. These results suggest that the oculomotor improvements reflect the involvement of other maturational processes such as the emergence and inhibition of primitive reflexes, the whole reorganization being key to future reading and attentional processes.