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A solid-phase microextraction procedure followed by analysis by gas chromatography is proposed to determine total flavouring content in encapsulated flavouring. The method showed a good selectivity, as well as good intraday and interday precision, CVs = 1 % in both cases. The calibration curves were linear at the tested ranges (R = 0.998). The limits of detection and quantification were 17 and 48 g kg−1, respectively. Good recoveries were obtained (95.9–105.4 %). In the ruggedness test, sample temperature, extraction time, sample amount, magnetic stirring and desorption temperature were the factors that stood out as the causing of the greater effects on the analytical results. These results present a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) methodology, which may be applied as a quality control tool for industrial laboratories.

The extractives separated from sugarcane bagasse with a mixture of ethanol:benzene (1:2) were analyzed in a GC-17A/MS-QP5050 (Shimadzu). Hernández and others (2012) carried out a qualitative and quantitative determination of such extractives, with a cautious percentage of confidence. This confidence in the results was solved calculating the index of retention kovats that allows us to corroborate the accuracy of the identification of a certain molecule. The studied samples correspond to the integral bagasse, desmedullated and pre-hydrolysated. Among 98-99% of the separate compounds they were identified by their retention time, the molecular fragments of their spectrum of mass, and for the index of retention kovats, all were compared with their data reported in the different available libraries.

Within a dimensional view of reading disorders, it is important to understand the role of environmental factors in determining individual differences in literacy outcome. In the present study, we compared a group of 40 parents of children with dyslexia (PDys) with a group of 40 parents of typically developing children. The two parent groups did not differ in socioeconomic status or nonverbal IQ. Participants were assessed on cognitive (IQ, digit span) and literacy (reading fluency and accuracy) tasks, phonological awareness and verbal fluency measures. Questionnaires addressed reading history, parental distress, family functioning, anxiety and depression. The PDys group performed worse in all literacy measures and more frequently reported a history of poor reading; they also showed more parental distress. There were no differences between the two groups in depression or family functioning and no differences between mothers and fathers. Findings indicate that PDys show a cognitive profile consistent with the broader phenotype of dyslexia (i.e. reading impairment and poor phonological awareness), whereas, considering the emotional profile, the impact of dyslexia on the family system is limited to parental distress associated with the perception of having a child with specific needs.

The study assessed how decoding and pronunciation times contribute to total reading time in reading aloud and how these measures change in the presence of developmental dyslexia. Vocal reaction times (RTs), pronunciation times, and total reading times were measured while 25 children with dyslexia and 43 age-matched typically developing readers read singly presented words and non-words that varied for length. Group differences were large for vocal RTs; children with dyslexia were increasingly slower as a function of condition difficulty (over-additivity effect); lexicality and length influenced RTs even when over-additivity was controlled for by z-score transformation. The group differences were also large for vocal total reading times, but the effect of over-additivity was smaller than that of vocal RTs and no selective influence of lexicality and length was detected. Pronunciation times showed very small individual differences and no over-additivity effect; children with dyslexia were more sensitive to the effect of lexicality and length than controls. To assess the contribution of the cognitive and sensory-motor compartments in determining group differences, we applied the difference engine model. As for RTs, the relationship between means and standard deviations closely supported the prediction of a general cognitive delay in the slow group, with no group difference in the sensory-motor compartment. The variance in total reading times was predicted by combining the model results for RTs with the linear relationship between pronunciation times and task difficulty. The results help clarify the internal structure of reading times, a measure largely used in clinical testing to assess reading rate.

Le autrici propongono una metodologia per l’osservazione longitudinale degli apprendimenti e per l’individuazione precoce delle difficoltà di lettura e scrittura, così da avviare tempestivi interventi di potenziamento con i bambini del primo biennio di scuola primaria

International audience

International audience

A clean method for the rapid and solventless preparation of herbicides based on 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D esters) is reported. Micro-particulate inorganic materials such as silica, clays and zeolites are able to act as supports for the 2,4-D esterification reactions under mild conditions in the absence of organic solvents. The synthesis takes place with elevated yield and the conversion rate of the process is strongly enhanced when the reaction is microwave-assisted. Not only can well-defined supports be used but soil can also be used for this synthesis, except when iron oxides are present which lead to extensive oxidation under microwave irradiation. The 2,4-D ester remains adsorbed on the solid support as a bioactive product. Therefore the resulting powder is a partially formulated compound that can be directly applied in the field avoiding the use of solvents and with minimal hazardous and pollutant effects.

Autres productions; International audience

In this study, we examined the effect of multiple versus single stimulus presentation in typically developing readers and children with developmental dyslexia. The tasks involved either reading single words or arrays of words or naming single or multiple colors and digits (rapid automatized naming or RAN). To be able to compare these sets of conditions, we recorded total response times (i.e., the time between stimulus onset and the end of the participant's vocal response) in all cases. The study included 43 typically developing readers and 25 children with dyslexia. Results indicate that typically developing readers have a clear advantage with multiple over single items on both RAN and reading tasks. The children with dyslexia showed a moderate advantage for multiple stimuli in naming colors and digits but presented the opposite pattern in reading. With regard to reading, the disproportionate impairment of the children with dyslexia in dealing with multiple arrays suggests difficulty in integrating the multiple subcomponents of the reading task over and above the basic nuclear deficit in decoding words. Regarding the RAN tasks, results confirm that the requirement of integrating multiple subcomponents may be critical in mediating the predictive value of these measures on reading.

Language delay is a frequent antecedent of literacy problems, and both may be linked to phonological impairment. Studies on developmental dyslexia have led to contradictory results due to the heterogeneity of the pathological samples. The present study investigated whether Italian children with dyslexia showed selective phonological processing deficits or more widespread linguistic impairment and whether these deficits were associated with previous language delay. We chose 46 children with specific reading deficits and divided them into two groups based on whether they had language delay (LD) or not (NoLD). LD and NoLD children showed similar, severe deficits in reading and spelling decoding, but only LD children showed a moderate impairment in reading comprehension. LD children were more impaired in phonological working memory and phonological fluency, as well as in semantic fluency, grammatical comprehension, and verbal IQ. These findings indicate the presence of a moderate but widespread linguistic deficit (not limited to phonological processing) in a subset of dyslexic children with previous language delay that does not generalize to all children with reading difficulties.

This study investigated the development of language and communication in children with Down syndrome (DS). More specifically, the aim was to examine the relations among verbal comprehension, verbal production, and gesture production in the very early stages of development. Forty children (age range: 10–49 months) with DS and 40 children with normal development (age range: 8–17 months) participated in this study. Children with DS came from two Italian health centers. The communicative and linguistic development of children with DS was measured by administering the Italian version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory. The children with DS were severely delayed when compared with normally developing children in reaching the developmental stages. In such children a dissociation emerged between verbal comprehension and production, in favor of comprehension, whereas a synchronous development was found between vocal lexical comprehension and gestural production. The individual differences previously reported in these children are also evident in all domains examined. There were no significant differences between children with DS and typically developing controls matched for lexical comprehension on verbal production. However the two groups differed significantly in gestural development, suggesting a "gesture advantage" in children with DS compared with controls matched for word comprehension. Some possible reasons for this dissociative profile are discussed.

Within a dimensional view of reading disorders, it is important to understand the role of environmental factors in determining individual differences in literacy outcome. In the present study, we compared a group of 40 parents of children with dyslexia (PDys) with a group of 40 parents of typically developing children. The two parent groups did not differ in socioeconomic status or nonverbal IQ. Participants were assessed on cognitive (IQ, digit span) and literacy (reading fluency and accuracy) tasks, phonological awareness and verbal fluency measures. Questionnaires addressed reading history, parental distress, family functioning, anxiety and depression. The PDys group performed worse in all literacy measures and more frequently reported a history of poor reading; they also showed more parental distress. There were no differences between the two groups in depression or family functioning and no differences between mothers and fathers. Findings indicate that PDys show a cognitive profile consistent with the broader phenotype of dyslexia (i.e. reading impairment and poor phonological awareness), whereas, considering the emotional profile, the impact of dyslexia on the family system is limited to parental distress associated with the perception of having a child with specific needs. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Considerando congiuntamente gli obiettivi prioritari della programmazione sanitaria e gli sviluppi della più recente letteratura internazionale, nell’ambito delle attività di screening volte all’identificazione precoce dei DSA emerge con chiarezza la necessità di sviluppare modelli evidence-based che includano il monitoraggio longitudinale, per arrivare alla definizione di protocolli osservativi che permettano di individuare predittori qualitativi e quantitativi delle traiettorie evolutive e delle ricadute sul SSN. Nel presente contributo vengono riportati i primi dati longitudinali dell’attività di screening condotta su un campione di circa 1500 bambini tra classi 1° (Prove Zero) e 2° (Prova di Dettato, Prova di Divisione, SPILLO + approfondimento su un sottogruppo con prove MT) della scuola primaria nell’ambito del progetto coordinato dalla AUSL di Bologna, in collaborazione con il laboratorio L.A.D.A. del Dipartimento di Psicologia di Bologna. Nella descrizione del modello verrà approfondita anche la parte applicativa sulle attività di potenziamento condotte nelle scuole.