Early starters

Nature ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 550 (7674) ◽  
pp. S10-S11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessa Gamble
Keyword(s):  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Chen ◽  
Qingshu Liu ◽  
Rejesh Babu Moorakonda ◽  
Nagaendran Kandiah ◽  
Boon Yeow Tan ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundPreclinical and clinical studies indicate a role for MLC901 (NeuroAiDTMII) in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). We investigated its safety and efficacy as add-on therapy to standard treatment and evaluated a disease modifying effect in mild to moderate AD.MethodsMild-moderate probable AD patients by NINCDS-ADRDA criteria, stable on acetylcholinesterase inhibitors or memantine (n=125) were randomized to receive MLC901 (early starters) or placebo (delayed starters) for 6 months, followed by a further 6 months during which all patients received MLC901, in a delayed-start design. The primary outcome measure was serious adverse events at 6 months, secondary outcomes included the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) and other cognitive assessment scales.ResultsThere was no significant difference in the risk of serious adverse events between early and delayed starters at month (M) 6 (22.6% vs. 27.0%, risk difference = -4.4%, 90% CI -16.9 to 8.3%). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the risk of adverse events, including the occurrence of stroke or vascular events, between early and delayed starters throughout the 12-month study period. The early-starters differed significantly on ADAS-Cog from the delayed-starters at M9 (mean difference -3.36, 95% CI -5.64 to -1.09) and M12 (mean difference -2.35, 95% CI -5.45 to 0.74). Other cognitive assessment scales showed trends in favor of MLC901.ConclusionsMLC901 is a safe adjunct to standard treatment for mild-moderate AD. There is no indication that the risk of any adverse events, including vascular, is increased with MLC901 in the study population. The cognitive outcomes provide support for a disease-modifying effect of MLC901 which requires confirmation in further studies. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03038035. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03038035


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Jeberedar Ali Rizg-Allah ◽  
Salaheldin Adam Ahmed Eldouma

This study investigates the relationship between the age of onset of learning English and the ultimate attainment in that language. To this end, it tests the lexical and morphosyntactic competence of 62 intermediate school students who have different points of onset. They have to do a grammaticality judgment test and a vocabulary test. Using the methods of descriptive statistics, the result showed that late starters have outperformed early starters in all aspects of the language examined. The study also revealed that there is a relatively weak correlation between the age of headstart and the ultimate attainment in both levels of language tested. The correlations between the age of exposure and vocabulary attainment is (r = 0.2), whereas it is (r= 0.18) between the age of exposure and morphosyntactic knowledge. It is also found that there’s a strong positive correlation between ESs and LSs grammar and vocabulary (r= 0.75). This suggests that vocabulary and grammar are interdependent fields in that the abstract morphosyntactic rules would remain null and void without the lexical component at work, and the intrinsic meaning of a vocabulary item can’t be fully grasped without adequate knowledge of the morphosyntactic rules that assign meaning to each word in a sentence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 643-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore P. Beauchaine ◽  
Stephen P. Hinshaw ◽  
Jeffrey A. Bridge

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) affects 15% to 20% of adolescents—disproportionately girls—and is a strong predictor of eventual suicide attempts and suicide. Many girls now initiate NSSI before age 10. These early starters exhibit greater frequency of NSSI, use more diverse methods, and are hospitalized more often than later starters, yet there are no empirically supported prevention programs for preadolescents. Obstacles to prevention include ascertaining who is sufficiently vulnerable and specifying mechanistic intervention targets. Recent research indicates that (a) preadolescent girls with ADHD who are also maltreated are at alarming risk for NSSI and suicide attempts by adolescence and (b) the conjoint effects of these vulnerabilities are sufficiently potent for targeted prevention. Research also indicates that existing interventions are effective in altering child- and family-level mechanisms of NSSI. These interventions alter neurobiological markers of vulnerability, which can be used as proximal efficacy signals of prevention response without waiting for NSSI and suicide attempts to emerge.


2008 ◽  
Vol 363 (1503) ◽  
pp. 2505-2518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheilagh Hodgins

Robust evidence has accumulated showing that individuals who develop schizophrenia are at elevated risk when compared to the general population to engage in violence towards others. This violence impacts negatively on victims as well as perpetrators and poses a significant financial burden to society. It is posited that among violent offenders with schizophrenia there are three distinct types defined by the age of onset of antisocial and violent behaviour. The early starters display a pattern of antisocial behaviour that emerges in childhood or early adolescence, well before illness onset, and that remains stable across the lifespan. The largest group of violent offenders with schizophrenia show no antisocial behaviour prior to the onset of the illness and then repeatedly engage in aggressive behaviour towards others. A small group of individuals who display a chronic course of schizophrenia show no aggressive behaviour for one or two decades after illness onset and then engage in serious violence, often killing, those who care for them. We hypothesize that both the developmental processes and the proximal factors, such as symptoms of psychosis and drug misuse, associated with violent behaviour differ for the three types of offenders with schizophrenia, as do their needs for treatment.


2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 631-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Jaekel ◽  
Michael Schurig ◽  
Merle Florian ◽  
Markus Ritter

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-31
Author(s):  
Jelena Filipović ◽  
Alenka Mikulec ◽  
Ivana Cindrić

Speaking is a language skill that dominates the notion of communicative language competence. Language teachers, especially early starters’ pre-service teachers, should undergo very intensive programmes of pronunciation practice as they will in many cases present the only models for their learners to imitate (Vilke 1993). To develop such fluency in speaking and propositional accuracy, students and prospective teachers should not only use but also be aware of a range of speaking strategies. This study examines pre-service EFL teachers’ perceived use of speaking strategies, as defined in the Oral Communication Strategy Inventory (Nakatani 2006). Since previous studies have identified various factors associated with learners' strategy use, we focused on determining whether the participants’ perceived strategy use is related to their EFL and speaking proficiency and their preference for engaging in speaking activities in their EFL classes. The results confirmed rather high strategy use, but the relation between the tested variables was only partially confirmed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Ji

This study aims to test the validity of Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) by investigating the influence of starting age on Chinese English learners’ pronunciation. The study compares the degree of foreign accent of native Chinese English learners with different starting ages in learning English, in an attempt to determine whether early Chinese English learners could outperform late ones in terms of English pronunciation when exposed to an English-speaking setting. Furthermore, this research also proposes to investigate other possible factors that affect Chinese English learners’ pronunciation. Participants were asked to provide spontaneous speech samples through semi-structured interviews conducted face-to-face or via Skype. In addition, an additional read-aloud task was required to ensure a more thorough and in-depth interpretation. The final results run counter to the Critical Period Hypothesis as there appeared to be late starters who also achieved native-like pronunciation, and there was no significant difference between early starters and late ones in terms of pronunciation. However, the study also yielded some results suggesting that greater efforts and stronger motivations were required for late starters in order to achieve the same pronunciation levels as early starters’, indicating that starting age can be a sensitive rather than critical factor for second language (L2) pronunciation acquisition.


2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 103-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Navés ◽  
Maria Rosa Torras ◽  
M. Luz Celaya

The aim of this paper is to analyse the development of the written production of six groups of learners (N=520) in a formal instruction setting and to investigate the effects of onset and age on the levels of attainment in writing performance. The written production was measured after 200, 416 and 726 hours of instruction. Both intragroup and intergroup analyses were carried out (a) to analyse the long-term effects of an earlier start in second language writing in a school setting, (b) to analyse the patterns of development between the four writing component measures depending on learners’ age, and (c) to test whether the relationships found between the measures in the four areas of writing differ depending on learners’ age group. This study concludes that (a) at the end of the instructional period Early Starters still have not surpassed Late Starters, (b) there seem to be two patterns of writing performance depending on learners’ age, and (c) the correlations found between the writing component indicators change depending on learners’ age group.


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