Cardiovascular prevention in clinical practice (ESC and German guidelines 2007).

Preventive efforts should be guided by the patient's global cardiovascular (CV) risk. A risk stratification should be done in every person > age 35 with more than a single risk factor. Recommendations for improved lifestyle are applicable to all persons with CV risk factors: smoking cessation, daily exercise, normal body mass index, Mediterranean diet, blood pressure < 140 mmHg systolic, and LDL cholesterol < 130 mg/dl are beneficial.

Agreement among response to intervention criteria for identifying responder status.

In order to better understand the extent to which operationalizations of response to intervention (RTI) overlap and agree in identifying adequate and inadequate responders, an existing database of 399 first grade students was evaluated in relation to cut-points, measures, and methods frequently cited for the identification of inadequate responders to instruction. A series of 543 2x2 measures of association (808 total comparisons) were computed to address the agreement of different operationalizations of RTI. The results indicate that agreement is generally poor and that different methods tend to identify different students as inadequate responders, although agreement for identifying adequate responders is higher.

Teaching struggling readers who are native Spanish speakers: what do we know?

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to share what we have learned from a series of 4 scientific studies about preventing reading failure through early intervention with native Spanish-speaking students who are struggling readers. The goal is to provide guidance to practitioners about effective practices for working with native Spanish-speaking children who are struggling to become readers using evidence rather than conjecture and opinion.

Method: First, the method and findings are summarized from each of 4 scientific studies (2 English, 2 Spanish) examining supplemental reading intervention that was provided in addition to core reading instruction in first grade.

Effectiveness of Spanish intervention for first-grade English language learners at risk for reading difficulties.

The effectiveness of an explicit, systematic reading intervention for first-grade students whose home language was Spanish and who were at risk for reading difficulties was examined. Participants were 69 students in 20 classrooms in 7 schools from 3 districts who initially did not pass the screening in Spanish and were randomly assigned within schools to a treatment or comparison group; after 7 months, 64 students remained in the study. The intervention matched the language of instruction of their core reading program (Spanish).

[Value of coronary artery calcium measurements in primary prevention].

Frequently, myocardial infarction or sudden coronary death are the index manifestations of coronary artery disease. In view of the high out-of-hospital mortality of acute myocardial infarction, medical care is unable to provide a benefit for many patients. Against this background, it is an important aim of measuring coronary calcium to identify asymptomatic subjects with an increased coronary risk who are likely to derive a benefit from risk-modifying therapy.