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There is increasing evidence supporting the effectiveness of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) for children on the autism spectrum. However, substantial variability in response to the ESDM has been reported across participants. We examined the plausible yet untested hypothesis that variations in the fidelity level of therapists delivering the intervention contribute to variability in children's response to the ESDM. Videotaped sessions (n = 40) of toddlers on the autism spectrum who received the ESDM from trained therapists were coded to obtain measures of therapist fidelity and children's learning in response to the therapists' instruction. Variations in overall fidelity, along with variations in most items included in the ESDM fidelity checklist, contributed to the children's learning response during the sessions.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of providing comprehensive literacy instruction to preschool children starting at age three. The literacy development in two groups of four-year-old children (N = 1320) was compared during their enrollment in a literacy-enriched Head Start program. The first group entered the program at age four and participated in the program for only one year (Group 4-1); the second group had previously participated in the program at age three and at the time of the study were in their second year of the program (Group 4-2). Multilevel growth modelling procedures were used to compare literacy performance levels and growth rates between the two groups after controlling for relevant child, family, and educational variables. Results showed that Group 4-2 exhibited significantly higher literacy skills than Group 4-1 at both the beginning and end of the program year, although Group 4-2 had a slower growth rate than Group 4-1 over the program year. The theoretical and practical implications of the study were discussed. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.11.14

Red-Light Running (RLR) is one of the significant safety problems and the riskiest riding behavior at the mixed traffic intersections. This study aims to explore the rider's violation characteristics and factors influencing the occurrences. Observed data were recorded by the video cameras to monitor a rider's crossing behavior. The red-light runners are classified into the Risk-taking, the Opportunistic, and the Traffic-following riders. The results reveal that most violators are the opportunistic riders. These riders first stop and cross the intersection during the late stage of the red signal. Factors associated with each violation characteristic are unique. The opportunistic riders are likely to be on the right-turn maneuver, driving the manual gear motorcycles, not wearing safety helmets, driving at night, and have narrower crossing distances. Mapping the influencing factors on the chain of events provides useful information for countermeasures development. Based on the findings, the integrated measures to modify the environments and raise awareness are proposed to improve motorcycles' safety in the mixed traffic.

Nowadays, infant swimming is a rather relevant topic. Swimming has a beneficial effect on the child’s body as a whole, strengthening its nervous system and improving sleep, appetite, and adaptive capacity, as well as stimulating metabolism.Aim. To study infant swimming as a progressive direction in improving child health from birth to 3 years old. The objective was to study the importance of infant swimming, consider its main techniques, highlight indications and contraindications, conduct and analyze a survey among parents on this topic. Early start of swimming significantly improves the child’s health, or reduces the current health problems. The skill of independent swimming is not the main goal. The main goal is effective hardening, strengthening immunity and health, correcting identified abnormalities and stimulating proper development.The division of the education period of infants into stages is conditional and depends on the individual characteristics of a child. It is important to observe the basic hardening principles: consistency and graduality.Also, we conducted a survey of parents to study and understand their opinions on teaching swimming. Relevant conclusions were drawn from the results. The relevance of this topic and the need for more active promotion of infant swimming is evidenced by the fact that 69% of parents surveyed consider it necessary to provide home courses on infant swimming. Also, 84% spoke in favor of the need to open specialized centers for teaching swimming for children from birth to 3 years old.

Daily rainfall records for 50 years (1961 to 2010) were used to determine the start and end of rainy seasons in the southwestern region of Sri Lanka. The study was based on data records obtained from two weather stations in Colombo and Galle situated in the western and southern coastal belts of Sri Lanka, respectively, that have two growing seasons, Yala and Maha. The start and end dates were determined by using a method that is based on cumulative rainfall measured during a season. Substantial interannual variability is seen in start and end of rainy seasons in this study. For the Yala season, the mean start and end dates are in the standard weeks 12.0 ± 2.3 and 24.1 ± 2.0 (March 24 to June 20), respectively. For the Maha season, the mean start and end dates are in the standard weeks 35.4 ± 2.0 and 49.6 ± 2.0 (September 5 to December 15), respectively. The mean durations of the rainy season for Yala and Maha are 12.1 ± 2.6 weeks and 14.2 ± 2.3 weeks respectively. The start date and the duration of the rainy season for both Yala and Maha are correlated, leading to early start dates resulting in longer rainy seasons. It can be concluded from this study that it is possible to use daily rainfall records to determine the mean start and end dates of rainy seasons in the southwestern region of Sri Lanka.

At the end of 2019 an old collection of insects was found in the Zoological Museum of Saratov State University. It was collected in the vicinity of Saratov, in the Lower Volga region, as well as in the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia, by young Andrey A. Richter while he was studying at school and Saratov University (1926–1930). The collection (185 specimens) was not processed, with most insects left unidentified. Nevertheless, it has been well preserved. Its examination has already produced first results important for better understanding of A. A. Richter biography. Further species identification may reveal the entomofauna composition not yet affected by environmental changes at the time, hence facilitating ecological research in the area. Collector – Andrey Andreevich Richter (1911–1950), prominent entomologist, Doctor of Biological Sciences (1945), professor, head of the coleopterology laboratory at the Institute of Zoology, Russian Academy of Sciences. In 1938–1939 he was arrested and imprisoned on false allegations. His life and scientific career were cut short by terminal illness at the age of 39. His main studies were focused on elytral venation and its role in phylogenetics, and on the detailed jewel beetles taxonomy (Buprestidae). The article is based on the documents and correspondence from Russian state archives, as well as from Richter family archive.

Objectives Among the many intervention programs for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is one of the few approaches that has succeeded in demonstrating clinical efficacy in randomized control trials. Here, we inves-tigate the clinical efficacy of ESDM intervention in young children with ASD in a community setting within Japan. Methods All subjects were children with ASD who received ESDM intervention during the study period. Each ESDM session lasted 75 min and occurred once per week for at least 12 weeks. The outcome measures consisted of the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Develop-ment (K-test), Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Japanese version (ABC-J), and the Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale (CGI-S). Results Twenty-seven subjects (29.4±6.4 months old) received ESDM intervention that lasted for 8.0±2.6 months on average. The score on Language and Social developmental quotient on the K-test increased significantly after the intervention. The total scores on the ABC-J and CGI-S significantly decreased after completion of the ESDM intervention. Conclusion Our results suggest that ESDM intervention could reduce the severity of distinct clinical features of ASD, such as impair-ments in social interaction and communication assessed by the K-test, and maladaptive behavior rated by the ABC-J and CGI-S. We be-lieve that the ESDM adapted to each institution might become one of the standard options for children with ASD in Japan.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that early start of drug use can lead users to psychosocial problems in adulthood, but its relationship with users’ direct healthcare costs has not been well established OBJECTIVES: To estimate the direct healthcare costs of drug dependency treated at a community mental health service, and to ascertain whether early start of drug use and current drug use pattern may exert influences on these costs. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at a community mental health service in a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: The relationships between direct healthcare costs from the perspective of the public healthcare system, age at start of drug use and drug use pattern were investigated in a sample of 105 individuals. A gamma-distribution generalized linear model was used to identify the cost drivers of direct costs. RESULTS: The mean monthly direct healthcare costs per capita for early-start drug users in 2020 were 1,181.31 Brazilian reais (BRL) (274.72 United State dollars (USD) according to purchasing power parity (PPP)) and 1,355.78 BRL (315.29 USD PPP) for late-start users. Early start of drug use predicted greater severity of cannabis use and use of multiple drugs. The highest direct costs were due to drug dependence combined with alcohol abuse, and due to late start of drug use. CONCLUSIONS: Preventive measures should be prioritized in public policies, in terms of strengthening protective factors before an early start of drug use.

Experts in domains such as music or sports often start training early. It has been suggested that this may reflect a sensitive period in childhood for skill acquisition. However, it could be that familial factors (e.g., genetics) contribute to the association. Here, we examined the effect of age of onset of musical training on musical aptitude and achievement in professional musicians ( n = 310) and twins ( n = 7,786). In line with previous literature, results showed that an earlier age of onset was associated with higher aptitude and achievement in both samples. After we adjusted for lifetime practice hours, age of onset was associated only with aptitude ( p < .001; achievement: p > .14). Twin analyses showed that the association with aptitude was fully explained by familial factors. Thus, these findings provide little support for a sensitive period for music but highlight that familiar factors play an important role for associations between age of onset of training and skills in adulthood.

Rapid start of antiretroviral therapy (ART) pending genotypic resistance test (GRT) has been recently proposed, but the effectiveness of this strategy is still debated. The rate of virological success (VS), defined as HIV-RNA 50 copies/ml, with and without GRT was compared in drug-naïve individuals enrolled in the Italian ARCA cohort who started ART between 2015 and 2018. 521 individuals started ART: 397 without GRT (pre-GRT group) and 124 following GRT (post-GRT group). Overall, 398 (76%) were males and 30 (6%) were diagnosed with AIDS. In the pre-GRT group, baseline CD4+ cell counts were lower (p 0.001), and viral load was higher (p 0.001) than in the post-GRT group. The estimated probability of VS in pre-GRT versus post-GRT group was 72.54% (CI

The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is a promising early intervention for promoting improved social, cognitive, and communication outcomes for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, most studies evaluating group-based delivery of this program have used 15–25 h per week of intervention in specialized ESDM preschools with low child–teacher ratios. Thus, the positive results from such studies might not be obtained when this intervention model is evaluated in more typical inclusive preschool settings. In this study, a low-intensity version of the ESDM was delivered to three young children with ASD in their regular inclusive preschool by a certified therapist who did not typically work at any of the preschools. The intervention procedures were implemented for 3 h per week over an 8- to 10-week period. Data were gathered on children’s levels of participation, imitation, and communication from weekly 10-min video recordings. The effects of the intervention were evaluated using a multiple probe across participants design with 3 weekly follow-up probes, 3 weeks after the intervention ended. All participants showed improvement in active participation, imitation and either intentional vocalizations or spontaneous functional utterances. These results were generally maintained at follow-up. This low-intensity version of the ESDM would seem effective for use in real-world preschool environments.

The article presents the results of the study of the current trend of early start in sports, in particular football. In the course of the study, the age characteristics of the sports career of football players of various playing roles were determined. Statistical analysis of the professional careers of highly qualified football players made it possible to establish the average age of starting sports, the duration of a sports career and the average age of ending sports among footballers. The study involved goalkeepers, defensive line players, offensive line players who professionally practice football and represent the world's leading football clubs. The results obtained in the course of the study suggest the need to expand the age boundaries of the beginning of football and to correct the first stage of the long-term process of sports improvement of football players, taking into account the current trends in the development of world football.

Zusammenfassung. Die Vorverlegung des Fremdsprachenunterrichts von der Sekundar- in die Primarstufe ist im europäischen Bildungsraum innerhalb der letzten beiden Jahrzehnte annähernd flächendeckend umgesetzt worden. Grundlage dieser Politik des frühen Fremdsprachenlernens ist die Annahme, dass Kinder besser Sprachen lernten, je jünger sie seien. Der Frühbeginn soll damit neben dem erhöhten Sprachkontakt durch zusätzlichen Unterricht ( amount of exposure) auch den Vorteil größerer Lernerfolge durch geringes Alter bei Beginn ( age of onset) bieten. Der vorliegende Beitrag fasst den aktuellen Forschungsstand zusammen und beschreibt einschlägige empirische Studien, die sich mit den Effekten des Frühbeginns auseinandersetzen. Die Befundlage erweist sich dabei als ernüchternd: Der Frühbeginn führt weder zu mittel- noch zu langfristigen Vorteilen. Auch wenn die Leistungen am Ende der Grundschulzeit zufriedenstellend sind, können die höheren Lernraten bei Spätbeginn die zusätzliche Lernzeit bei Frühbeginn in den meisten Fällen vollständig kompensieren. Mögliche Erklärungsansätze hinsichtlich der Qualität des Fremdsprachenunterrichts, der Ausbildung von Grundschullehrkräften sowie des Übergangs in die Sekundarstufe werden diskutiert.

Cholinergic neurotransmission regulates neuroinflammation in Parkinson disease (PD). The authors conducted a delayed-start study of donepezil for cognitive decline in non-demented PD patients. The ...

‘The early start is (not) effective’ is one of the arguments often used in the political debate about early start policies in foreign language (FL) education in Europe and beyond. This paper sets out to explore the central arguments repeatedly used in the political discourse and media coverage on primary FL education in the German context. These arguments, which sometimes are used by both supporters and critics of the early start, will be critically discussed with reference to available empirical findings. As the current political debate in Germany is closely linked to its particular context and the conditions of primary FL education, the paper also provides a short overview of the current situation of primary FL education and primary teacher education in Germany. It will conclude by suggesting potential changes to the current organisation of primary FL education in Germany.

Increasing social-communication skills and peer interaction are high priority intervention targets for parents of children with autism (McConachie et al., 2018), including for 5-year-old Jimmy feat...

In her foreword to an important new treatment-oriented book, Klin (2020) remarked with optimism on the bright future that she sees laying ahead for children with autism spectrum disorder. Certainly...

This research investigates the Impact of Health Facilities and low death rate of COVID-19-in Germany compare to other European Countries. Data were collected from various secondary sources COVID-19 data base. According to results German health system with its up to 4 fold higher number regional public hospitals and topic of many political discussions might have been one factor to keep mortality rate -according to the given database- low. However German doctors, without out any medicine like colleges all over the world were as helpless as everywhere.One essential fact according the statements of reputed virologists might be an early discovery of Corona infection by sincere attention, focussed testing and early start of treatment. In Germany with its the easy access to health service in combination with the large number of hospitals might be the reason for the „lower“ death rate. Not to forget the tremendous engagement of highly qualified doctors and nurses who were willing and able to work beyond imagination of a routine work.

For young children with an autism spectrum disorder, deficits in social skills can impede appropriate peer interactions. The Early Start Denver Model is a promising intervention for young children ...

O cruzamento entre métodos avaliativos do campo da Ergonomia e Fatores Humanos com a área da Educação pode trazer maior formalidade a conhecimentos que hoje se apresentam como empíricos; os benefícios desta sistematização integram a possibilidade de reconhecer precocemente fatores de defasagem educacional dos alunos, antes mesmo do processo de alfabetização, contribuindo para o início de políticas de reforço escolar antes do eventual fracasso em provas e trabalhos escritos. Nesta perspectiva, foram analisados os Métodos Ergonômicos da Observação Sistemática, HTA e SAGAT, correlacionados com as práticas docentes de sala de aula no 2º ano do Ensino Fundamental, objetivando fomentar a formalização dos registros de desempenho discente e apoiar a implementação de técnicas de recuperação e reforço escolar.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasing health problem in all societies. The role of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in CKD is well established in the medical community. This is not necessarily the case for the various forms of glomerulonephitis (GN). The single entities of GN are rare diseases. In total, glomerulonephritis, however, is accountable for about 20 % of all patients which reach end stage renal disease (ESRD). GN therefore plays an important clinical role. Since many forms of GN have only sparse clinical symptoms at the beginning of the disease and the treatment is only effective in early stages, it is important for patients’ outcome to make an early diagnosis. In case of any – even small – changes in the urine of patients the diagnoses of GN should be considered. It is the purpose of this article to describe the clinical significance and the road to the diagnosis of the most frequent forms of GN to allow an early start of therapy in order to prevent the development of ESRD.

One of the challenges facing second and foreign language (L2) teachers and learners in primary and secondary school settings is the limited amount of time available. There is disagreement about how to meet this challenge. In this paper we argue against two ‘common sense’ recommendations for increasing instructional time – start as early as possible and use only the L2 (avoiding the use of the first language (L1)) in the classroom. We propose two better ways to increase the instructional time: provide periods of intensive instruction later in the curriculum and integrate the teaching of language and content. Studies in schools settings around the world have failed to find long-term advantages for an early start or exclusive use of the L2 in the classroom. Nevertheless, many language educators and policy makers continue to adopt these practices, basing their choice on their own intuitions and public opinion rather than on evidence from research.

Evidence-based, early intervention significantly improves developmental outcome in young children with autism. Nonetheless, there is high interindividual heterogeneity in developmental trajectories during the therapy. It is established that starting intervention as early as possible results in better developmental outcomes. But except for younger age at start, there is no clear consensus about behavioral characteristics that could provide a reliable individual prediction of a child’s developmental outcome after receiving an early intervention. In this study, we analyze developmental trajectories of preschoolers with autism who received 2 years of intervention using the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) approach in Geneva, Switzerland in an individual setting (n = 55, aged 28.7 ± 5.1 months with a range of 15 – 42). Our aim was to identify early predictors of response to treatment. We applied a cluster analysis to distinguish between 3 groups based on their cognitive level at intake, and rates of cognitive change over the course of treatment. The first group of children only had a mild cognitive delay at intake and nearly no cognitive delay by the end of treatment (Higher Cognitive at baseline: HC). The children in the two other groups all presented with severe cognitive delay at baseline. However, they had two very different patterns of response to treatment. The majority significantly improved developmental scores over the course of treatment (Optimal Responders: OptR) whereas a minority of children showed little to no improvement (Minimal Responders: MinR). Further analyses showed that children who ended up having an optimal two-year treatment outcome (OptR) were characterized by higher adaptive functioning at baseline combined with rapid developmental improvement during the first 6 months of intervention. Inversely, less significant progress by the sixth month of intervention was associated with a less optimal response to treatment (MinR).