Linear and discrete foreign body small intestinal obstruction outcomes, complication risk factors, and single incision red rubber catheter technique success in cats.

Objective: To compare survival and report perioperative complications in cats undergoing surgery for small intestinal (SI) linear (LFBO) and discrete (DFBO) foreign body obstructions (FBO). To report success of a red rubber catheter technique (RRCT) to remove LFBOs.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Cooled feline intestine and fresh intestine did not differ in enterotomy leak pressure testing or in gross wall thickness measurement.

Objective: To report gross anatomical gastrointestinal measurements and compare enterotomy leak pressures between fresh and cooled feline cadavers.

Study Design: Ex vivo, randomized study.

Animals: Fresh feline cadavers (n = 20).

Use of serum osmolality to identify heart disease stage in dogs and relationship to mathematical chloride correction.

Background: Heart failure-associated hypochloremia can be depletional from diuretics or dilutional from water retention. Serum osmolality reflects water balance but has not been evaluated in dogs with heart disease.

Hypothesis: To determine if serum osmolality is related to heart disease stage and amount of mathematical correction of serum chloride (Cl ) concentrations in healthy dogs and dogs with myxomatous mitral valve degeneration (MMVD).

Selecting effective intervention strategies for escape-maintained academic-performance problems: Consider giving 'em a break!

This study compared consequence-and antecedent-based strategies to determine which treatments or combination of treatments produced the strongest improvements in math computation fluency with four elementary-aged students whose math computation was under the control of an escape contingency. Functional analyses were conducted to identify elementary-school students whose academic responding was under a negative-reinforcement contingency. A multielement design was then used to examine the impact of four treatments (DNRA, DRA, task choice, and task choice plus DRA) on each student's rate of correct digits per min.

Identifying controlling variables for math computation fluency through experimental analysis: the interaction of stimulus control and reinforcing consequences.

This study investigated a method for conducting experimental analyses of academic responding. In the experimental analyses, academic responding (math computation), rather than problem behavior, was reinforced across conditions. Two separate experimental analyses (one with fluent math computation problems and one with non-fluent math computation problems) were conducted with three elementary school children using identical contingencies while math computation rate was measured.

A comparison of two flash-card methods for improving sight-word reading.

Flash cards have been shown to be useful for teaching sight-word reading. To date, the most effective flash-card instruction method is incremental rehearsal (IR). This method involves the instructor interspersing unknown stimulus items into the presentation of known stimulus items.

Improving oral reading fluency with a peer-mediated intervention.

This study examined the effects of an experimentally derived, peer-delivered reading intervention on the oral reading fluency of a first-grade student who had been referred for poor reading fluency. Same-grade peers were trained to lead the target student through a structured intervention protocol based on the results of a brief experimental analysis. Results indicated that reading improvements were obtained and are discussed in terms of selecting efficient interventions for use by peers.

Evaluation of the multiple-stimulus without replacement preference assessment method using activities as stimuli.

The current study examined the accuracy of the multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment for identifying preferred common classroom activities as reinforcers with children with behavioral disorders. The accuracy of predictions from the MSWO regarding high, medium, and low stimulus preference was tested by providing contingent access to activities for completing math problems within an independent seatwork format. Overall, there was an interaction effect between preference ranking (high, medium, or low) and number of problems completed.

Improving reading outcomes for children with learning disabilities: using brief experimental analysis to develop parent-tutoring interventions.

The present study assessed the effects of summer parent tutoring on 3 children with learning disabilities using empirically derived reading interventions. Brief experimental analyses were used to identify customized reading fluency interventions. Parents were trained to use the intervention strategies with their children.

Refining the experimental analysis of academic skills deficits: part II. Use of brief experimental analysis to evaluate reading fluency treatments.

The technology of brief experimental analysis is just beginning to be used for identification of effective treatments for individual students who experience difficulty with oral reading fluency. In this study, the effect of a reading fluency treatment package was examined on easy and hard passages, and generalization was assessed on passages with high content overlap. The results suggest that the treatment package increased reading fluency for all 3 students.

Refining the experimental analysis of academic skills deficits: Part I. An investigation of variables that affect generalized oral reading performance.

Experimental analyses for improving reading fluency deficits have rarely targeted generalized increases in academic responding. As a consequence, the variables that may help students to generalize newly learned forms of academic responding like reading are not well understood. Furthermore, experimental analyses of reading fluency interventions have not systematically examined difficulty level as a variable that may affect instructional outcomes.

An experimental analysis of reading interventions: generalization across instructional strategies, time, and passages.

This study examined the generalized effects of three treatment conditions (performance based, skill based, and a combination of the two) on oral reading fluency by an elementary school student. Results indicated equal effectiveness of all treatments, maintenance, and possible evidence of generalization across passages.

Improving oral reading fluency: a brief experimental analysis of combining an antecedent intervention with consequences.

A brief experimental analysis was used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of combining two consequences (contingent reinforcement or performance feedback) with an antecedent intervention (listening passage preview and repeated readings) on the oral reading fluency of 6 elementary students. The antecedent intervention increased the number of correctly read words per minute for all 6 students. For 4 of the students, pairing the antecedent intervention with either of the consequences resulted in higher reading rates over the antecedent intervention alone.