Effects of acupuncture on the heart rate variability, cortisol levels and behavioural response induced by thunder sound in beagles.

Sound stimuli such as fireworks, firearms, and claps of thunder have been used as a stress reactivity model for dogs. Acupuncture has been widely used to treat and prevent physiological and behavioural disorders induced by stress. Our study aims to evaluate the effects of acupuncture on cardiac autonomic modulation (heart rate variability - HRV), behavioural (reactivity) and endocrine (cortisol levels) responses in dogs exposed to sounds of thunder. Twenty-four laboratory beagles (12 males and 12 females, 1-6years old) with no history of phobia to thunder were subjected to a sound stimulus that consisted of a standardized recording of thunder over a 150s period with a maximum intensity of 103-104dB. Before the sound, the dogs underwent a 20-minute session of needle insertion at acupuncture points Yintang, GV20, HT7, PC6 and ST36 (ACUP), in non-points (NP) or left undisturbed (CTL). Cardiac intervals were recorded using a frequency meter (RS 800cx, Polar, Kempele, Finland) to evaluate the HRV, and the data were later analysed using CardioSeries v2.4.1 software. Acupuncture (ACUP) changed the sympathovagal balance with a shift towards parasympathetic modulation, reducing the prompt sound-induced increase in LF/HF (low frequency/high frequency) ratio and in the power of the LF band of the cardiac interval spectrum, and decreased the power of the HF band of the cardiac interval spectrum (p<0.05); however there was no change in the heart rate. Acupuncture reduced the behavioural response induced by sounds of thunder (when all behavioural parameters were considered together) and the behaviours hiding, restlessness, bolting and running around (when the parameters were analysed separately (p<0.05). There were no changes in cortisol levels due to the sound stimulus or acupuncture. Our results demonstrate that a session of acupuncture prior to sound stimulus can reduce cardiac autonomic and behavioural responses, without changing cortisol levels in beagles.

Examining the impact of feedback and repeated readings on oral reading fluency: let's not forget prosody.

Although extensive research supports repeated readings (RR) as an intervention for improving reading fluency, it largely ignores reading prosody, which is a key component of reading fluency. The current study extends the RR literature by examining the impact of RR on prosody and whether the content of directions and feedback might impact what components of fluency are improved. Elementary students (N = 76) were randomly assigned to either a rate- or prosody-focused RR intervention. The study differs from existing RR research in that (a) students were average as opposed to struggling students, (b) prosody was evaluated, and (c) measures of prosody were objective as opposed to subjective. Results support previous research suggesting that RR improves fluency but indicate that the nature of the instruction and performance feedback provided to students influences the components of reading fluency (i.e., rate or prosody) that are improved.

A systematic review and summarization of the recommendations and research surrounding Curriculum-Based Measurement of oral reading fluency (CBM-R) decision rules.

Research and policy have established that data are necessary to guide decisions within education. Many of these decisions are made within problem solving and response to intervention frameworks for service delivery. Curriculum-Based Measurement in Reading (CBM-R) is a widely used data collection procedure within those models of service delivery. Although the evidence for CBM-R as a screening and benchmarking procedure has been summarized multiple times in the literature, there is no comprehensive review of the evidence for its application to monitor and evaluate individual student progress. The purpose of this study was to identify and summarize the psychometric and empirical evidence for CBM-R as it is used to monitor and evaluate student progress. There was an emphasis on the recommended number of data points collected during progress monitoring and interpretive guidelines. The review identified 171 journal articles, chapters, and instructional manuals using online search engines and research databases. Recommendations and evidence from 102 documents that met the study criteria were evaluated and summarized. Results indicate that most decision-making practices are based on expert opinion and that there is very limited psychometric or empirical support for such practices. There is a lack of published evidence to support program evaluation and progress monitoring with CBM-R. More research is required to inform data collection procedures and interpretive guidelines.