The development of concrete operations: a short term longitudinal study

Piaget's theory of concrete operations structures d'ensemble is discussed, and certain predictions derived from it investigated in a longitudinal study of 120 children aged between 5.0 and 11.10. The data of these testings were submitted to a variety of analyses. The results suggested that the development of concrete operations was unlike the succession of discontinuous generalised stages which Piaget has postulated. His model is criticised as taking insufficient account of individual differences and of the structure of the testing situation. <p

Empathy for the Vulnerable? The Fourth Circuit\u27s Internal Struggle to Grapple With the Trump Administration\u27s Immigration Policies: Part II

Part I of this article described and analyzed Portillo-Flores v. Barr, a case in which the Fourth Circuit, over Judge Stephanie Thacker’s dissent, upheld the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of asylum to a Salvadorian asylum seeker who, as a child, was beaten nearly to death by MS-13 because his sister fled the country to avoid becoming a gang leader’s girlfriend. It contends not only that Portillo-Flores is inconsistent with general immigration standards, but also that the Fourth Circuit committed two main legal errors. First, the Fourth Circuit erred in requiring that Portillo-Flores should have reported the persecution to police, even though such a report would have been ineffective or put him in more danger. Second, the Fourth Circuit failed to apply a child-specific standard when evaluating persecution against 14-year-old Portillo-Flores. Part II of this article addresses a different class of vulnerable persons: the “public charge.” Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), “any alien who . . . is likely at any time to become a public charge is inadmissible” to the U.S. “Public charges” cannot receive a visa to travel to the U.S., be granted admission to it, or receive status in it. While vulnerable groups like refugees, asylees, and other individuals admitted to the U.S. on humanitarian grounds are exempt from the public charge rule, 40% of all immigrants that are subject to the rule constitute another, equally vulnerable group: spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens seeking family-sponsored admission. This is the focus of Part II of this article

Empathy for the Vulnerable? The Fourth Circuit\u27s Internal Struggle to Grapple With the Trump Administration\u27s Immigration Policies: Part I

The Trump Administration’s immigration policies consistently targeted immigrants, refugees, children, victims of gang violence, and individuals classified as “public charges.” For example, one of former President Trump’s first Executive Orders increased detention of immigrants at the border, including women and children, and limited access to asylum nationwide by expanding expedited removal. Another Order issued the very same day cut federal funding to “sanctuary cities” —jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities in enforcing immigration laws for the sake of protecting immigrant communities. And still another originally suspended the issuance of visas to nationals from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen—the so-called “Muslim Travel Ban”; shut down the U.S. refugee program for 120 days; slashed the number of refugees admissible to the U.S. in FY 2017 in half; and halted the resettlement of Syrian refugees indefinitely. Further, in 2018, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions overruled a 2016 Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision, stating that judges generally cannot consider domestic and gang violence as grounds for asylum. And in 2020, the ACLU reported that over 600 children have yet to be reunited with their parents after being subject to a policy of separation at the U.S. border. Needless to say, appellate courts have become embroiled in disputes over these contentious policy changes. This two-part series of articles reviews two such disputes. Part I describes and analyzes Portillo-Flores v. Barr, a case in which the Fourth Circuit, over Judge Stephanie Thacker’s dissent, upheld the BIA’s denial of asylum to a Salvadorian asylum seeker who, as a child, was beaten nearly to death by MS-13 because Portillo-Flores’s sister fled the country to avoid becoming a gang leader’s girlfriend. Part II analyzes Casa de Maryland v. Trump, a case that upheld the Trump Administration’s exceedingly broad definition of the statutory term “public charge,” over Judge Robert B. King’s dissent. Both cases showcase the extent to which the Fourth Circuit and other reviewing courts are grappling with the Trump Administration’s disdain for some of the most vulnerable members of the human race—children, refugees, asylum seekers, and the poor

Factors associated with psychological and behavioral functioning in people with type 2 diabetes living in France

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To identify demographic and clinical factors associated with psychological and behavioral functioning (PBF) in people with type 2 diabetes living in France.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In March 2002, approximately 10,000 adults, who had been reimbursed for at least one hypoglycemic treatment or insulin dose during the last quarter of 2001, received a questionnaire about their health status and PBF (3,646 responders). For this analysis, the 3,090 persons with type 2 diabetes, aged 18-85 years old were selected.</p> <p>PBF was measured with the adapted version of the Diabetes Health Profile for people with type 2 diabetes. This permitted the calculation of three functional scores - psychological distress (PD), barriers to activity (BA), and disinhibited eating (DE) - from 0 (worst) to 100 (best).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Major negative associations were observed with PBF for microvascular complications (a difference of 6.7 in the BA score between persons with and without microvascular complications) and severe hypoglycemia (difference of 7.9 in the BA score), insulin treatment (-8.5 & -9.5 in the PD & BA scores respectively, as compared to treatment with oral hypoglycemic agents), non-adherence to treatment (-12.3 in the DE score for persons forgetting their weekly treatment), increasing weight (-8.5 & -9.7 in the PD & DE scores respectively, as compared to stable weight), at least one psychiatrist visit in 2001 (-8.9 in the DE score), and universal medical insurance coverage (-7.9 in the PD score) (due to low income).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Prevention and management of microvascular complications or adherence to treatment (modifiable factors) could be essential to preserving or improving PBF among people with type 2 diabetes. A specific approach to type 2 diabetes management may be required in groups with a low socioeconomic profile (particularly people with universal medical insurance coverage), or other non modifiable factors.</p

The ABCC4 gene is associated with pyometra in golden retriever dogs

Pyometra is one of the most common diseases in female dogs, presenting as purulent inflammation and bacterial infection of the uterus. On average 20% of intact female dogs are affected before 10 years of age, a proportion that varies greatly between breeds (3-66%). The clear breed predisposition suggests that genetic risk factors are involved in disease development. To identify genetic risk factors associated with the disease, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in golden retrievers, a breed with increased risk of developing pyometra (risk ratio: 3.3). We applied a mixed model approach comparing 98 cases, and 96 healthy controls and identified an associated locus on chromosome 22 (p = 1.2 x 10(-6), passing Bonferroni corrected significance). This locus contained five significantly associated SNPs positioned within introns of the ATP-binding cassette transporter 4 (ABCC4) gene. This gene encodes a transmembrane transporter that is important for prostaglandin transport. Next generation sequencing and genotyping of cases and controls subsequently identified four missense SNPs within the ABCC4 gene. One missense SNP at chr22:45,893,198 (p.Met787Val) showed complete linkage disequilibrium with the associated GWAS SNPs suggesting a potential role in disease development. Another locus on chromosome 18 overlapping the TESMIN gene, is also potentially implicated in the development of the disease

Alk2/ACVR1 and Alk3/BMPR1A Provide Essential Function for Bone Morphogenetic Protein–Induced Retinal AngiogenesisHighlights

OBJECTIVE: Increasing evidence suggests that bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling regulates angiogenesis. Here, we aimed to define the function of BMP receptors in regulating early postnatal angiogenesis by analysis of inducible, endothelial-specific deletion of the BMP receptor components Bmpr2 (BMP type 2 receptor), Alk1 (activin receptor-like kinase 1), Alk2, and Alk3 in mouse retinal vessels. APPROACH AND RESULTS: Expression analysis of several BMP ligands showed that proangiogenic BMP ligands are highly expressed in postnatal retinas. Consistently, BMP receptors are also strongly expressed in retina with a distinct pattern. To assess the function of BMP signaling in retinal angiogenesis, we first generated mice carrying an endothelial-specific inducible deletion of Bmpr2. Postnatal deletion of Bmpr2 in endothelial cells substantially decreased the number of angiogenic sprouts at the vascular front and branch points behind the front, leading to attenuated radial expansion. To identify critical BMPR1s (BMP type 1 receptors) associated with BMPR2 in retinal angiogenesis, we generated endothelial-specific inducible deletion of 3 BMPR1s abundantly expressed in endothelial cells and analyzed the respective phenotypes. Among these, endothelial-specific deletion of either Alk2/acvr1 or Alk3/Bmpr1a caused a delay in radial expansion, reminiscent of vascular defects associated with postnatal endothelial-specific deletion of BMPR2, suggesting that ALK2/ACVR1 and ALK3/BMPR1A are likely to be the critical BMPR1s necessary for proangiogenic BMP signaling in retinal vessels. CONCLUSIONS: Our data identify BMP signaling mediated by coordination of ALK2/ACVR1, ALK3/BMPR1A, and BMPR2 as an essential proangiogenic cue for retinal vessels

Urinary Follicle-Stimulating Hormone as a Measure of Natural Fertility in a Community Cohort

High serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels have been associated with diminished ovarian reserve; however, the association between high urinary FSH and reduced natural fertility has yet to be established. We sought to characterize the relationship between a single or multiple measurements of early follicular phase urinary FSH and fertility. Women (n = 209), 30 to 44 years old with no history of infertility, who had been trying to conceive for less than 3 months, provided early follicular phase urine. Participants subsequently kept a diary to record bleeding and intercourse and conducted standardized pregnancy testing for up to 6 months. A subset of women (N = 95) collected urine on cycle day 3 for up to 6 cycles. Urine was analyzed for FSH and creatinine (cr) corrected. Proportional hazard models were used to calculate fecundability ratios (FRs). Urinary FSH levels across cycles from the same woman were highly correlated (adjusted intraclass correlation = .77); within-woman variance was 3-fold lower than variance among women. Women with an initial urinary FSH level <7 mIU/mg cr exhibited a nonsignificant reduction in the probability of pregnancy (adjusted FR 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45-1.13), as did women with elevated urinary FSH (≥12 mIU/mg cr; adjusted FR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.46-1.32). Using the most recent or maximum urinary FSH value did not strengthen the association. In the general population, urinary FSH levels appear to be nonlinearly associated with fertility; however, broad CIs indicate a lack of statistical significance. Repetitive testing appears to be of little benefit