A Multitrait–Multimethod Analysis of the Construct Validity of Child Anxiety Disorders in a Clinical Sample

The present study examines the construct validity of separation anxiety disorder (SAD), social phobia (SoP), panic disorder (PD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in a clinical sample of children. Participants were 174 children, 6 to 17 years old (94 boys) who had undergone a diagnostic evaluation at a university hospital based clinic. Parent and child ratings of symptom severity were assessed using the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC). Diagnostician ratings were obtained from the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children and Parents (ADIS: C/P). Discriminant and convergent validity were assessed using confirmatory factor analytic techniques to test a multitrait–multimethod model. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the current classification of these child anxiety disorders. The disorders demonstrated statistical independence from each other (discriminant validity of traits), the model fit better when the anxiety syndromes were specified than when no specific syndromes were specified (convergent validity), and the methods of assessment yielded distinguishable, unique types of information about child anxiety (discriminant validity of methods). Using a multi-informant approach, these findings support the distinctions between childhood anxiety disorders as delineated in the current classification system, suggesting that disagreement between informants in psychometric studies of child anxiety measures is not due to poor construct validity of these anxiety syndromes

Chagas Cardiomyopathy in the Context of the Chronic Disease Transition

Latin America is undergoing a transition from disease patterns characteristic of developing countries with high rates of infectious disease and premature deaths to a pattern more like industrialized countries, in which chronic conditions such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes are more common. Many rural residents with Chagas disease have now migrated to cities, taken on new habits and may suffer from both types of disease. We studied heart disease among 394 adults seen by cardiologists in a public hospital in the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia; 64% were infected with T. cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Both T. cruzi infected and uninfected patients had a high rate of hypertension (64%) and overweight (67%), with no difference by infection status. Nearly 60% of symptomatic congestive heart failure was due to Chagas disease; mortality was also higher for infected than uninfected patients. Males and older patients had more severe Chagas heart disease. Chagas heart disease remains an important cause of congestive heart failure in this hospital population, but often occurs in patients who also have obesity, hypertension and/or other cardiac risk factors

Anxiety Levels in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder:A Meta-Analysis

The aim of the current study was to meta-analytically examine whether anxiety levels in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are elevated. A total of 83 articles were selected from a systematic literature search and were included in the meta-analyses. Results demonstrated that children with ASD had higher anxiety levels compared to typically developing children, and this difference increased with IQ. Youth with ASD also tended to have higher anxiety levels compared to clinically referred children, and this difference increased with age. Children with ASD had higher anxiety levels compared to youth with externalizing or developmental problems, but not when compared to youth with internalizing problems. The study findings highlight the importance of more research in order to fully understand the nature and development of anxiety in children with ASD. More specifically, the results suggest that especially high-functioning adolescents with ASD may be at risk for developing anxiety disorders. Therefore, it seems important to carefully follow and monitor children with ASD transcending to adolescenc

A surgical model of composite cystoplasty with cultured urothelial cells: a controlled study of gross outcome and urothelial phenotype

OBJECTIVES : To study the outcome of composite cystoplasty using cultured urothelial cells combined with de-epithelialized colon or uterus in a porcine surgical model, using appropriate controls, and to characterize the neo-epithelium created by composite cystoplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS : Urothelial cells were isolated and propagated in vitro from open bladder biopsies taken from nine female minipigs. Cohesive sheets of confluent urothelial cells were transferred to polyglactin carrier meshes and sutured to de-epithelialized autologous colon in four animals and de-epithelialized autologous uterus in five. These composite segments were then used for augmentation cystoplasty. Conventional colocystoplasty, de-epithelialized colocystoplasty and sham operations were carried out in six control animals. After killing the animals at ≈ 90 days the bladders were removed for examination and immunohistochemical analysis, using a panel of antibodies against cytokeratins and urothelial differentiation-associated antigens. RESULTS : Macroscopically, the bladders augmented with composite segments derived from uterine muscle had no evidence of shrinkage or contracture. Histological analysis showed that in four of five composite uterocystoplasties, the neo-urothelium was stratified and had a transitional morphology, although in some areas coverage was incomplete. Immunohistochemical analysis showed evidence of squamous differentiation in both native and augmented segments. All composite and de-epithelialized colonic segments showed significant contraction with poor urothelial coverage, reflecting the unsuitability of the thin-walled porcine colon for de-epithelialization. CONCLUSIONS : The functional and macroscopic outcome of bladder augmentation with a composite derived from cultured urothelium and de-epithelialized smooth muscle of uterine origin endorses the feasibility of composite cystoplasty

Coupling N2 and CO2 in H2O to synthesize urea under ambient conditions

© 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited. The use of nitrogen fertilizers has been estimated to have supported 27% of the world’s population over the past century. Urea (CO(NH2)2) is conventionally synthesized through two consecutive industrial processes, N2 + H2 → NH3 followed by NH3 + CO2 → urea. Both reactions operate under harsh conditions and consume more than 2% of the world’s energy. Urea synthesis consumes approximately 80% of the NH3 produced globally. Here we directly coupled N2 and CO2 in H2O to produce urea under ambient conditions. The process was carried out using an electrocatalyst consisting of PdCu alloy nanoparticles on TiO2 nanosheets. This coupling reaction occurs through the formation of C–N bonds via the thermodynamically spontaneous reaction between *N=N* and CO. Products were identified and quantified using isotope labelling and the mechanism investigated using isotope-labelled operando synchrotron-radiation Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A high rate of urea formation of 3.36 mmol g–1 h–1 and corresponding Faradic efficiency of 8.92% were measured at –0.4 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. [Figure not available: see fulltext.