Empowering Schools to Implement Effective Research-Based Reading Remediation Delivers Long-Lasting Improvements to Children's Reading Trajectories.

There is a wide gap between what research evidence identifies as effective reading intervention and what is currently offered in schools. This effectiveness study reports the results of a long-term research/school system partnership that is implementing reading intervention for children with reading difficulties in community schools. In Study 1, growth-curve analyses revealed significant long-term shifts in the reading trajectories of children (n = 731) from Kindergarten to Grade 5 as a function of receiving the Empower™ Reading: Decoding and Spelling intervention. Long-term outcomes were higher in children who received intervention in Grade 2 than in Grade 3, supporting the benefit of earlier intervention. In Study 2, we compare reading outcomes before and after children participated in school system-led intervention (Empower™ Reading, n = 341) to results from previously reported researcher-led intervention and business-as-usual controls. Children in both school system-led and researcher-led interventions showed greater improvement than controls on standardized measures of decoding and reading comprehension. Among school system participants, greater gains were seen for those with stronger reading skills at pre-test. Findings demonstrate successful school system implementation of research-originated and validated reading intervention. Researcher/school system partnerships may be integral in closing the research-practice gap.

SARS-COV-2 Serological Profile in Healthcare Professionals of a Southern Italy Hospital.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the first coronavirus that has caused a pandemic. Assessing the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare worker groups offers a unique opportunity to study the correlation between seroconversion and immunization because of their occupational exposure and a higher risk of contagion. The study enrolled 3242 asymptomatic employees of "Policlinico Riuniti", Foggia. After the first screening, we collected sequential serum samples for up to 23 weeks from the same subjects. In order to perform a longitudinal follow-up study and get information about the titration of IgG levels, we analyzed data from subjects (33) with at least two consecutive serological IgG-positive tests; 62 (1.9%; 95% CI: 1.4-2.3) tested positive for at least one anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody. The seroprevalence was lower in the high-risk group 1.4% (6/428; 95% CI: 0.5-2.6) vs. the intermediate-risk group 2.0% (55/2736; 95% CI: 1.5-2.5). Overall, within eight weeks, we detected a mean reduction of -17% in IgG levels. Our data suggest a reduction of about 9.27 AU/mL every week (R2 = 0.35, p = 0.0003). This study revealed the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among Foggia's hospital healthcare staff (1.9%). Moreover, the IgG level reduction suggests that the serological response fades fast in asymptomatic infections.

Evaluating the efficacy of remediation for struggling readers in high school.

Preliminary efficacy data are reported for a research-based reading intervention designed for struggling readers in high school. PHAST PACES teaches (a) word identification strategies, (b) knowledge of text structures, and (c) reading comprehension strategies. In a quasi-experimental design, 268 intervention and 83 waiting list control students meeting criteria for reading disability were assessed before and after their semester. After 60 to 70 hours of PHAST PACES instruction, struggling readers demonstrated significant gains on standardized tests of word attack, word reading, and passage comprehension and on experimental measures of letter-sound knowledge and multisyllabic word identification relative to control students. An average effect size of .68 was revealed across these outcome measures. One year follow-up data on 197 PHAST PACES students revealed an average trend to decelerated growth after the intervention, except for passage comprehension outcomes that demonstrated continued growth over follow-up.

Tuberculosis screening in migrant reception centers: results of a 2009 Italian survey.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is a social disease that is common in immigrants who are forced to live in difficult circumstances. In Italy, the guidelines for preventing TB include X-ray screening and application of the Mantoux test for migrants from high-TB-endemic countries as soon as possible after admission to Italy. This article describes a field survey conducted in the reception center for asylum seekers in Bari Palese in southern Italy following the death of a center resident from pulmonary TB. METHODS: A Mantoux screening test, followed by chest X-ray, was carried out in March 2009 on 982 immigrants, representing 97.5% of the residents of the center. RESULTS: A positive Mantoux test result was seen in 60.7% of the residents screened. The chest X-rays were performed on 92.9% of cuti-positive patients and on cuti-negative patients who were recent contacts of the deceased TB case and/or with symptoms suspicious for TB. Eight residents were diagnosed with active TB (0.8% of residents), and 117 residents (11.9%) had TB sequelae. In our survey, the Mantoux test demonstrated 88% sensitivity, 17% specificity, and a positive predictive value of 1% for active TB. CONCLUSION: The survey results suggest that residents in asylum centers are a special type of immigrant. Specific risk factors, such as overcrowding, may expose these residents to a greater risk for infectious diseases.

Prevalence of Hepatitis B, C, HIV and syphilis markers among refugees in Bari, Italy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) serological markers and the prevalence of VDRL positive subjects in a population of refugees of various nationalities, living in the Asylum Seeker Centre in Bari Palese, Southern Italy. METHODS: The study was carried out in the period May-July 2008 and recruited only voluntarily enrolled healthy refugees. HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HCV and anti-HIV virus antibodies were detected. VDRL syphilis screening was also carried out on the serum samples. RESULTS: A total of 529 refugees, 442 males and 87 females, aged between 7 and 52 years, were studied. Of these, 510 were from Africa and 19 from Asia.Forty-four individuals (8.3%) were HBsAg positive and 241 (45.6%) were anti-HBc positive. A total of 24 (4.5%) individuals were anti-HCV positive. Eight asylum seekers (1.5%) were HIV positive. VDRL tests were performed on 269 subjects and 4 (1.5%) were positive. 12.3% of the study population had serological markers of chronic and transmissible infections with potential blood-borne or sexual transmission. CONCLUSIONS: In Italy, a suitable protocol is necessary for the early diagnosis of infectious diseases on entering Asylum Centres, so allowing the adoption of prevention measures to safeguard the health of the individuals, the residents and workers in the Centres and the general population.

Report of varicella outbreak in a low vaccination coverage group of otherwise healthy children in Italy: the role of breakthrough and the need of a second dose of vaccine.

We describe an outbreak of varicella at a preschool center in Southern Italy, in the period January-May 2009, among children with a vaccination coverage of 53.9% for one dose. The outbreak occurred in a small community in Puglia and enrolled 41 children. The attack rates for unvaccinated and vaccinated children were 72.3% and 12.7%, respectively. The vaccine effectiveness against disease was 82.4%. Our findings add a further piece of evidence in supporting the routine use of a second dose of vaccine for all children without a history of disease, as recently recommended by the ACIP of the CDC.

Interventions for reading difficulties: a comparison of response to intervention by ELL and EFL struggling readers.

This article explores whether struggling readers from different primary language backgrounds differ in response to phonologically based remediation. Following random assignment to one of three reading interventions or to a special education reading control program, reading and reading-related outcomes of 166 struggling readers were assessed before, during, and following 105 intervention hours. Struggling readers met criteria for reading disability, were below average in oral language and verbal skills, and varied in English as a first language (EFL) versus English-language learner (ELL) status. The research-based interventions proved superior to the special education control on both reading outcomes and rate of growth. No differences were revealed for children of EFL or ELL status in intervention outcomes or growth during intervention. Oral language abilities at entry were highly predictive of final outcomes and of reading growth during intervention, with greater language impairment being associated with greater growth.