Maternal depression and early positive parenting predict future conduct problems in young children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for adverse outcomes such as substance abuse and criminality, particularly if they develop conduct problems. Little is known about early predictors of the developmental course of conduct problems among children with ADHD, however. Parental psychopathology and parenting were assessed in 108 children who first met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) criteria for ADHD at 4-7 years old. When demographic variables and baseline ADHD and conduct problems were controlled, maternal depression predicted conduct problems 2-8 years following the initial assessment, whereas positive parenting during the structured parent- child interaction task predicted fewer future conduct problems. These findings suggest that maternal depression is a risk factor, whereas early positive parenting is a protective factor, for the developmental course of conduct problems among children with ADHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal analysis of the relationship between symptoms and quality of life in veterans treated for posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study examined how change in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms relates to change in quality of life. The sample consisted of 325 male Vietnam veterans with chronic PTSD who participated in a randomized trial of group psychotherapy. Latent growth modeling was used to test for synchronous effects of PTSD symptom change on psychosocial and physical health-related quality of life within the same time period and lagged effects of initial PTSD symptom change on later change in quality of life. PTSD symptoms were associated with reduced quality of life before treatment. There were synchronous effects of symptom change on change in quality of life but no significant lagged effects. Results indicate the importance of measuring quality of life in future investigations of PTSD treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neighborhood disadvantage moderates associations of parenting and older sibling problem attitudes and behavior with conduct disorders in African American children.

Data from 296 sibling pairs (mean ages 10 and 13 years), their primary caregivers, and census records were used to test the hypothesis that African American children's likelihood of developing conduct problems associated with harsh parenting, a lack of nurturant-involved parenting, and exposure to an older sibling's deviance-prone attitudes and behavior would be amplified among families residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods. A latent construct representing harsh-inconsistent parenting and low levels of nurturant-involved parenting was positively associated with younger siblings' conduct disorder symptoms, as were older siblings' problematic attitudes and behavior. These associations were strongest among families residing in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Future research and prevention programs should focus on the specific neighborhood processes associated with increased vulnerability for behavior problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

GaAsP混晶中Fe杂质能级的无序分裂

GaAsP混晶中Fe杂质基态与激发态的光离化截面的幅度比S(x)随组分x有规律地变化,本文提出一种理论估算,认为它是Fe能级无序分裂的结果.     

An Engineered sgsh Mutant Zebrafish Recapitulates Molecular and Behavioural Pathobiology of Sanfilippo Syndrome A/MPS IIIA

Mucopolysaccharidosis IIIA (MPS IIIA, Sanfilippo syndrome type A), a paediatric neurological lysosomal storage disease, is caused by impaired function of the enzyme N-sulfoglucosamine sulfohydrolase (SGSH) resulting in impaired catabolism of heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan (HS GAG) and its accumulation in tissues. MPS IIIA represents a significant proportion of childhood dementias. This condition generally leads to patient death in the teenage years, yet no effective therapy exists for MPS IIIA and a complete understanding of the mechanisms of MPS IIIA pathogenesis is lacking. Here, we employ targeted CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis to generate a model of MPS IIIA in the zebrafish, a model organism with strong genetic tractability and amenity for high-throughput screening. The sgsh^Δex5−6 zebrafish mutant exhibits a complete absence of Sgsh enzymatic activity, leading to progressive accumulation of HS degradation products with age. sgsh^Δex5−6 zebrafish faithfully recapitulate diverse CNS-specific features of MPS IIIA, including neuronal lysosomal overabundance, complex behavioural phenotypes, and profound, lifelong neuroinflammation. We further demonstrate that neuroinflammation in sgsh^Δex5−6 zebrafish is largely dependent on interleukin-1β and can be attenuated via the pharmacological inhibition of Caspase-1, which partially rescues behavioural abnormalities in sgsh^Δex5−6 mutant larvae in a context-dependent manner. We expect the sgsh^Δex5−6 zebrafish mutant to be a valuable resource in gaining a better understanding of MPS IIIA pathobiology towards the development of timely and effective therapeutic interventions.     

Paramedics on the job: Dynamic trunk motion assessment at the workplace

Many paramedics' work accidents are related to physical aspects of the job, and the most affected body part is the low back. This study documents the trunk motion exposure of paramedics on the job. Nine paramedics were observed over 12 shifts (120 h). Trunk postures were recorded with the computer-assisted CUELA measurement system worn on the back like a knapsack. Average duration of an emergency call was 23.5 min. Sagittal trunk flexion of >40° and twisting rotation of >24° were observed in 21% and 17% of time-sampled postures. Medical care on the scene (44% of total time) involved prolonged flexed and twisted postures (∼10 s). The highest extreme sagittal trunk flexion (63°) and twisting rotation (40°) were observed during lifting activities, which lasted 2% of the total time. Paramedics adopted trunk motions that may significantly increase the risk of low back disorders during medical care and patient-handling activities.     

Fluoroelastomers-dependence of relaxation phenomena on composition

The dynamic-mechanical properties of some fluoroelastomers were determined as a function of composition at low frequency (≈ 1 Hz), by means of a free oscillation torsion pendulum, between −180°C and the softening point. Vinylidenefluoride (VDF)-hexafluoropropene (HFP) copolymers of molar composition 0–39% HFP and terpolymers of VDF and HFP with up to 30mol% tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and a constant VDF to HFP molar ratio of 3.4 were considered. Two relaxation processes typical of the amorphous phase were found. The first, located at about −87°C, is related to local motions and the transition temperature was found to be independent of composition for copolymers, while it depends on TFE molar content for terpolymers. The second is related to the glass transition and the transition temperature depends on the composition. However, for semicrystalline copolymers the double glass transition phenomenon was observed. When crystallinity goes to zero at about 20 mol% HFP, only one transition is observed. It was also found that ordered structures can take place for terpolymers when TFE molar concentration exceeds 20%. The crystal disorder transition of pure PVDF (75°C) is observed also for low HFP concentrations but the transition temperature is strongly reduced. Analogies between the VDF-HFP and E-P systems are also discussed.     

Crystal structures and phase transformation of deuterated lithium imide, Li2ND

Half-Heusler compounds of Sn-doped TiCoSb “TiCoSn_xSb_1−x (x = 0.0, 0.01, and 0.05)” were prepared and their thermoelectric properties were measured above room temperature. From the EDX analysis, all the samples have three phases: the TiCoSn_xSb_1−x, Co-rich, and Ti-rich phases. The values of the thermoelectric power increase with Sn doping, and a positive thermoelectric power is obtained in the sample of TiCoSn_0.05Sb_0.95. The thermal conductivity decreases both with increasing temperature and with Sn content. The maximum value of ZT for p-type material is 0.030 at 988 K in the sample of TiCoSn_0.05Sb_0.95.     

Automatic eye fixations identification based on analysis of variance and covariance

Eye movement is the simplest and repetitive movement that enables humans to interact with the environment. The common daily activities, such as reading a book or watching television, involve this natural activity, which consists of rapidly shifting our gaze from one region to another. In clinical application, the identification of the main components of eye movement during visual exploration, such as fixations and saccades, is the objective of the analysis of eye movements: however, in patients affected by motor control disorder the identification of fixation is not banal. This work presents a new fixation identification algorithm based on the analysis of variance and covariance: the main idea was to use bivariate statistical analysis to compare variance over x and y to identify fixation. We describe the new algorithm, and we compare it with the common fixations algorithm based on dispersion. To demonstrate the performance of our approach, we tested the algorithm in a group of healthy subjects and patients affected by motor control disorder.