New migrants' access to primary healthcare services in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Aim: To explore new migrants' access to primary healthcare services in the first 10 years after arrival in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Methods: Data come from three New Zealand Health Surveys (2014/2015, 2015/2016 and 2016/2017), which each sampled around 13,500 people, aged 15+ years, who were usual residents of Aotearoa New Zealand. Respondents who said they were born overseas were asked the first year they had come to Aotearoa New Zealand.

Do Infants With Down Syndrome Show an Early Receptive Language Advantage?

Purpose The study explored longitudinally the course of vocabulary and general language development in a group of infants with Down syndrome (DS) compared to a group of typically developing (TD) infants matched on nonverbal mental ability (NVMA). Method We compared the vocabulary and general language trajectories of the two groups in two ways: (a) at three time points during a 12-month period and (b) at two time points when the groups had made equal progress in NVMA (a period of 6 months for the TD infants vs. 12 months for the infants with DS).

Longitudinal predictors of early language in infants with Down syndrome: A preliminary study.

Purpose: Children with Down syndrome (DS) typically have marked delays in language development relative to their general cognitive development, with particular difficulties in expressive compared to receptive language. Although early social communication skills, including gestures and joint attention, have been shown to be related to later language outcomes in DS, knowledge is limited as to whether these factors exclusively predict outcomes, or whether other factors (e.g.

Facebook study: a little bit unethical but worth it?

Human research involving the use social media raises many of the same issues as medical research. The publication of a paper in June 2014 investigating "emotional contagion" received extensive publicity recently because of the methods used. The approach involved manipulating the "News Feeds" of Facebook users, but the participants were not informed of their involvement in the research and had no opportunity to consent or opt out.

Amniotic fluid stem cells inhibit the progression of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis via CCL2 modulation in bronchoalveolar lavage.

The potential for amniotic fluid stem cell (AFSC) treatment to inhibit the progression of fibrotic lung injury has not been described. We have previously demonstrated that AFSC can attenuate both acute and chronic-fibrotic kidney injury through modification of the cytokine environment. Fibrotic lung injury, such as in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), is mediated through pro-fibrotic and pro-inflammatory cytokine activity.

Computerized memory training leads to sustained improvement in visuospatial short-term memory skills in children with Down syndrome.

This study evaluated the impact of a computerized visuospatial memory training intervention on the memory and behavioral skills of children with Down syndrome. Teaching assistants were trained to support the delivery of a computerized intervention program to individual children over a 10-16 week period in school. Twenty-one children aged 7-12 years with Down syndrome were randomly allocated to either an intervention or waiting list control group.

Modulating the alveolar milieu to enhance resolution of fibrotic lung injury.

Fibrotic lung injury is often attributed to a myriad of factors, including environmental exposure, age, genetic predisposition, epigenetics, coexisting conditions, acute lung injury, and viral infection. No effective therapies, other than lung transplantation, have proven effective against lung fibrosis. Loss of cellular homeostasis mechanisms in alveolar epithelial type I cells and any inability of type II progenitor cells to resist and repair epithelial injury are indicators that impaired response to injury and regeneration is a critical component of this disorder.

Molecular mechanisms of MMP9 overexpression and its role in emphysema pathogenesis of Smad3-deficient mice.

Previous studies have found that inappropriate elevation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) expression and activity is coincident with early onset of emphysema in Smad3-null mice. Herein, we further investigated the role of increased MMP9 in emphysema pathogenesis and the related molecular regulatory mechanisms of elevated MMP9 in Smad3-null lung. Genetic blockade of MMP9 in Smad3-null mice significantly attenuated emphysema pathology but not hypoalveolarization during early postnatal lung development.

Efficacy of a reading and language intervention for children with Down syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: This study evaluates the effects of a language and literacy intervention for children with Down syndrome.

Methods: Teaching assistants (TAs) were trained to deliver a reading and language intervention to children in individual daily 40-min sessions. We used a waiting list control design, in which half the sample received the intervention immediately, whereas the remaining children received the treatment after a 20-week delay.

Eya1 controls cell polarity, spindle orientation, cell fate and Notch signaling in distal embryonic lung epithelium.

Cell polarity, mitotic spindle orientation and asymmetric division play a crucial role in the self-renewal/differentiation of epithelial cells, yet little is known about these processes and the molecular programs that control them in embryonic lung distal epithelium. Herein, we provide the first evidence that embryonic lung distal epithelium is polarized with characteristic perpendicular cell divisions. Consistent with these findings, spindle orientation-regulatory proteins Insc, LGN (Gpsm2) and NuMA, and the cell fate determinant Numb are asymmetrically localized in embryonic lung distal epithelium.

"Healthy Eating - Healthy Action": evaluating New Zealand's obesity prevention strategy.

Background: New Zealand rates of obesity and overweight have increased since the 1980s, particularly among indigenous Māori people, Pacific people and those living in areas of high deprivation. New Zealand's response to the obesity epidemic has been The Healthy Eating-Healthy Action: Oranga Kai - Oranga Pumau (HEHA) Strategy ('the Strategy'), launched in 2003. Because the HEHA Strategy explicitly recognises the importance of evaluation and the need to create an evidence base to support future initiatives, the Ministry of Health has commissioned a Consortium of researchers to evaluate the Strategy as a whole.

It is time to take memory training seriously.

It has been known for a long while that children with Down syndrome have specific impairments in verbal shortterm memory. Research now indicates that memory training activities may be effective.

The power of behavioural approaches - we need a revival.

Behavioural approaches can be used very effectively to teach new skills and to change behaviours that are challenging and not socially adaptive. They have gone out of fashion but should be revived, as the studies discussed here indicate.

Increasing opportunities for physical activity.

Being physically active can have a number of benefits - having fun, meeting with friends, keeping healthy and experiencing success. For children with Down syndrome the foundations need to be laid early if they are to keep active in school, teenage and adult years and parents ask for more help in this area from professionals.

Oral health problems and quality of life.

There is a higher incidence of oral health problems among individuals with Down syndrome, particularly after 10 years of age, indicating a need for better teaching of teeth brushing and more regular visits to the dentist. Do these oral health problems affect their quality of life?

Teeth grinding.

Teeth grinding turns out to be no more common in children with Down syndrome than it is in other children and it reduces with age. These are reassuring findings as teeth grinding can be quite an annoying problem at home and at school.

Shaping speech.

Clear speech can often be challenging for people with Down syndrome. The shape of the hard palate in the top of the mouth influences speech production. A new paper reports detailed measures of the shape and size of the hard palate among children with Down syndrome.

Teaching numeracy.

Understanding number concepts and basic mathematical skills is important for many everyday activities in modern societies. Little is understood about the numeracy abilities of people with Down syndrome. At present, it appears that numeracy is an area of relative difficulty and that progress with more complex mathematical understanding is slow.

Ten years of achievement in Russia.

The Moscow charity Downside Up is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year. In Russia, on average only 15% of children with Down syndrome live with their families. In Moscow, thanks to the work of Downside Up, some 45% of new babies are now being taken home.

A comparison of mainstream and special education for teenagers with Down syndrome: implications for parents and teachers.

This article presents data from a research study designed to compare the achievements of teenagers with Down syndrome educated in mainstream classrooms or in special education classrooms throughout their full-time education. Progress is reported for speech and language, literacy, socialisation, daily living skills and behaviour. For all the teenagers, there is evidence of progress with age on all the measures except for communication.