Assessing Vocabulary in Deaf and Hearing Children using Finnish Sign Language.
Abstract This study investigates children’s vocabulary knowledge in Finnish Sign Language (FinSL), specifically their understanding of different form-meaning mappings by using a multilayered assessment format originally developed for British Sign Language (BSL). The web-based BSL vocabulary test by Mann (2009) was adapted for FinSL following the steps outlined by Mann, Roy and Morgan (2016) and piloted with a small group of deaf and hearing native signers (N = 24). Findings showed a hierarchy of difficulty between the tasks, which is concordant with results reported previously for BSL and American Sign Language (ASL). Additionally, the reported psychometric properties of the FinSL vocabular…
Single Cell RT-PCR on Mouse Embryos: A General Approach for Developmental Biology
Preimplantation development is a complicated process, which involves many genes. We have investigated the expression patterns of 17 developmentally important genes and isoforms in early mouse embryos as well as in single cells of the mouse embryo. The comparison is an excellent example for showing the importance of studying heterogeneity among cell populations on the RNA level, which is being increasingly addressed in basic research and medical sciences, particularly with a link to diagnostics (e.g. the analysis of circulating tumor cells and their progenitors). The ubiquitously expressed histone variant H3f3a and the transcription factor Pou5f1 generated mRNA-derived products in all analyz…
Multiplex RT-PCR Expression Analysis of Developmentally Important Genes in Individual Mouse Preimplantation Embryos and Blastomeres1
We have developed a microfluidic chip-based qualitative assay for sensitive (10 RNA copies) detection of multiple transcripts in single cells. We determined the expression patterns of 17 developmentally important genes and isoforms in individual mouse preimplantation embryos from superovulated matings and blastomeres. The ubiquitously expressed histone variant H3f3a and the transcription factor Pou5f1 generated mRNA-derived products in all analyzed (1-cell, 2-cell, 4-cell, and morula stage) embryos and in all analyzed blastomeres from 16-cell embryos, indicating a uniform reactivation of pluripotency gene expression during mouse preimplantation development. In contrast, mRNA expression of d…