Bilingualism and processing speed in typically developing children and children with developmental language disorder.

Purpose: The aim of the current study was to investigate whether dual language experience modulates processing speed in typically developing (TD) children and in children with developmental language disorder (DLD). We also examined whether processing speed predicted vocabulary and sentence-level abilities in receptive and expressive modalities. Method: We examined processing speed in monolingual and bilingual school-age children (ages 8–12 years) with and without DLD. TD children (35 monolinguals, 24 bilinguals) and children with DLD (17 monolinguals, 10 bilinguals) completed a visual choice reaction time task. The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the Expressive Vocabulary Test were used as language measures. Results: The children with DLD exhibited slower response times relative to TD children. Response time was not modified by bilingual experience, neither in children with typical development nor children with DLD. Also, we found that faster processing speed was related to higher language abilities, but this relationship was not significant when socioeconomic status was controlled for. The magnitude of the association did not differ between the monolingual and bilingual groups across the language measures. Conclusions: Slower processing speed is related to lower language abilities in children. Processing speed is minimally influenced by dual language experience, at least within this age range.</p

Bilingualism and Attention in Typically Developing Children and Children With Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose: The aim of the current study was to investigate whether dual language experience modulates the efficiency of the 3 attentional networks (alerting, orienting, and executive control) in typically developing (TD) children and in children with developmental language disorder (DLD).Method: We examined the attentional networks in monolingual and bilingual school-aged children (ages 8–12 years) with and without DLD. TD children (35 monolinguals, 23 bilinguals) and children with DLD (17 monolinguals, 9 bilinguals) completed the Attention Network Test (Fan et al., 2002; Fan, McCandliss, Fossella, Flombaum, & Posner, 2005).Results: Children with DLD exhibited poorer executive control than TD children, but executive control was not modified by bilingual experience. The bilingual group with DLD and both TD groups exhibited an orienting effect, but the monolingual group with DLD did not. No group differences were found for alerting.Conclusions: Children with DLD have weak executive control skills. These skills are minimally influenced by dual language experience, at least in this age range. A potential bilingual advantage in orienting may be present in the DLD group.</p

Australasian Malignant PLeural Effusion (AMPLE)-3 trial: Study protocol for a multi-centre randomised study comparing indwelling pleural catheter (±talc pleurodesis) versus video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for management of malignant pleural effusion

Introduction: Malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) are common. MPE causes significant breathlessness and impairs quality of life. Indwelling pleural catheters (IPC) allow ambulatory drainage and reduce hospital days and re-intervention rates when compared to standard talc slurry pleurodesis. Daily drainage accelerates pleurodesis, and talc instillation via the IPC has been proven feasible and safe. Surgical pleurodesis via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is considered a one-off intervention for MPE and is often recommended to patients who are fit for surgery. The AMPLE-3 trial is the first randomised trial to compare IPC (±talc pleurodesis) and VATS pleurodesis in those who are fit for surgery. Methods and analysis: A multi-centre, open-labelled randomised trial of patients with symptomatic MPE, expected survival of ≥ 6 months and good performance status randomised 1:1 to either IPC or VATS pleurodesis. Participant randomisation will be minimised for (i) cancer type (mesothelioma vs non-mesothelioma); (ii) previous pleurodesis (vs not); and (iii) trapped lung, if known (vs not). Primary outcome is the need for further ipsilateral pleural interventions over 12 months or until death, if sooner. Secondary outcomes include days in hospital, quality of life (QoL) measures, physical activity levels, safety profile, health economics, adverse events, and survival. The trial will recruit 158 participants who will be followed up for 12 months. Ethics and dissemination: Sir Charles Gairdner and Osborne Park Health Care Group (HREC) has approved the study (reference: RGS356). Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific meetings. Discussion: Both IPC and VATS are commonly used procedures for MPE. The AMPLE-3 trial will provide data to help define the merits and shortcomings of these procedures and inform future clinical care algorithms. Trial registration: Australia New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12618001013257. Registered on 18 June 2018. Protocol version: Version 3.00/4.02.1

Outcome and complications of living donor pediatric renal transplantation: Experience from a tertiary care center

Introduction: We retrospectively reviewed the patient characteristics, outcome, and complications of renal transplantation in pediatric age group performed at our center and compared the results with various centers in India and other developed countries. Materials and Methods: Patients younger than eighteen years of age who underwent renal transplantation from 2003 to 2014 at our institute were reviewed. Demographic data of the transplant recipients and donors, etiology of ESRD, mode of dialysis, surgical details of renal transplantation, immunosuppression, medical and surgical complications, and post-transplant follow-up were assessed. Graft survival was determined at 1, 3 and 5 years post-transplant. All data collected were entered into Microsoft excel program and analyzed using SPSS 20. Kaplan–Meier method was applied to determine the graft survival at 1, 3, and 5 years. The log-rank test was applied to test the statistical significance of the difference in survival between groups. Results: Thirty-two children underwent transplantation comprising of 18 females and 14 males. The mean age was 14.5 years (range 10–17 years). The primary cause of renal failure was glomerular diseases in 53% (17/32) of patients. Seventeen postsurgical complications were noted in our series. Two grafts were lost over a follow-up of 5 years. The 1, 3, and 5 year graft survival rates were 96.7%, 92.9%, and 85%, respectively. There was no mortality. Conclusion: The etiology of ESRD in our region is different from that of developed countries. The mean age at which children undergo renal transplantation is higher. Graft survival at our center is comparable to that of developed nations. Renal transplantation can be safely performed in children with ESRD

Gymnothorax smithi Sumod & Mohapatra & Sanjeevan & Kishor & Bineesh 2019, sp. nov.

Gymnothorax smithi sp. nov. Proposed common name: Indian white spotted moray eel (Figs. 1–4, Table 1) Holotype. CMLRE IO /SS/FIS/00452 (342 mm TL), 200 m depth off Kochi, India (09°59.935’N, 75°36.086’E) collected on-board FORV Sagar Sampada during August 2011, by HSDT (High Speed Demersal Trawl). Paratypes. EBRC /ZSI/ F 11228 (362 mm TL); ZSI/ANRC-22842 (615 mm TL), collected from Neendakara fish landing centre, Kollam, Kerala, during November, 2018. Diagnosis. A moderate sized moray eel of the genus Gymnothorax with the following combination of characters: greyish brown colour overlain with small irregular white spots; anus slightly behind mid-point of body; head broad with short jaws; snout tip blunt and short; eyes small and closer to rictus than to snout tip; pointed and serrated teeth; vomerine teeth uniserial anteriorly, biserial centrally and uniserial posteriorly; 1–2 branchial pores; vertebral count 3–5 /57/130–132. Description. Morphometric data of holotype (in mm): total length 342; pre-anal length 182; pre-dorsal length 34; head length 57; snout length 9.3; eye diameter 4.5; interorbital 7.3; interbranchial 13; gill opening 5.7; depth at gill 27.6; depth at dorsal-fin origin 32; depth at anus 15; upper jaw length 19.8, and lower jaw length 19.3. A moderate sized eel with cylindrical to laterally compressed head and laterally compressed tail (Fig. 1). Dorsal and anal fins continuous with caudal fin. Dorsal fin commences before gill opening and its distance to snout tip is 8.4–10 times in TL. Anal fin-origin immediately behind anus. Anus located slightly behind mid-body, pre-anal distance is 1.83–1.88 in TL. Head broad and gently sloping towards snout, 5.5–6.0 in TL. Snout blunt and short, 6.1–6.9 in HL. Upper jaw and lower jaw are almost equal. All teeth concealed when mouth closed. Tongue well attached the floor of mouth. Eyes small, covered by membrane and closer to snout tip than rictus, eye diameter 12.7–13.1 in HL. Anterior nostril tubular at lateral side of tip of snout and posterior nostril above anterior margin of eye. Gill opening a diagonal slit at mid-body level. Head pores (Fig. 2) small but discernable. Two branchial pores located below dorsal-fin origin well before gill opening and closer to dorsal-fin origin than gill opening in holotype (both paratypes have a single branchial pore); three supra-orbital pores, first (ethmoid) pore at tip of snout above lip, second above base of anterior nostril, third between anterior and posterior nostrils; four infraorbital pores, first pore just behind base of anterior nostril, second between anterior nostril and anterior margin of eye, third below anterior margin of eye, and fourth after posterior margin of eye; six mandibular pores, first five before rictus and fifth below rictus. Teeth (Fig. 3) in jaws serrated and uniserial except in vomer and anterior dentary. Maxillary and mandibular teeth conical and sharp, vomerine teeth blunt and smaller. Intermaxillary teeth 6 on both sides, followed by 9 maxillary teeth on both sides, median intermaxillary teeth 2, inner maxillary teeth 1 on each side, just before vomerine teeth. Vomer with 4 uniserial teeth anteriorly, followed by 4 biserial teeth and 3 uniserial teeth posteriorly. Mandibular teeth 17 on each side, anterior 4 teeth a little enlarged with 4 smaller outer teeth on each side, remaining teeth decreasing in size posteriorly. Colour in formalin. Body greyish brown overlain with white spots of irregular shape. Snout, lower jaw and ventral portion of body pale. The white spots comparatively smaller in head region than body (Fig. 4). In enlarged view under microscope, there are small brown pigmentation spots inside the white spots. Margin of gill opening with similar brown pigmentation. Spots very small and more closely spaced in head region and becoming large and more widely spaced posteriorly, tail end is almost devoid of spots with dusky greyish brown colour. Dorsal fin greyish brown overlain with white spots similar to those on body. Anal fin dusky greyish brown with few isolated spots. Caudal fin ends with small white margin, visible only on close inspection. Mouth white in colour overlain with grey patches. Distribution. Presently known only from three type specimens collected by demersal trawl off Kerala coast, southeastern Arabian Sea, India at about 200 m depth (on the basis of holotype, not known for paratypes). Etymology. We are pleased to name this species as Gymnothorax smithi in honor of David G. Smith, United States National Museum, an eminent eel expert who has contributed significantly to the knowledge and understanding of Anguilliform fishes.Published as part of Sumod, K. S., Mohapatra, Anil, Sanjeevan, V. N., Kishor, T. G. & Bineesh, K. K., 2019, A new species of white-spotted moray eel, Gymnothorax smithi (Muraenidae: Muraeninae) from deep waters of Arabian Sea, India, pp. 359-366 in Zootaxa 4652 (2) on pages 360-362, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4652.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/336386