Cognitive Mechanisms Supporting the Formation and Maintenance of Social Judgments in Physical Aggression

Physical aggression is a harmful yet ubiquitous form of human behavior. A large body of research has established that physical aggression is rooted in aberrations at the formation and maintenance stages of social cognition. At the formation stage, more physically aggressive individuals are more likely to interpret ambiguous social stimuli as threatening; at the maintenance stage, more physically aggressive individuals are more likely to “hold on” to interpretations of others as threatening. However, very little research has examined the cognitive mechanisms that contribute to these aberrations during online social decision-making. The three experimental studies that comprise this dissertation apply theory and methods from the cognitive and decision sciences to specify the influences of putative cognitive mechanisms, namely initial bias (the starting point of an individual’s decision-making), efficiency of evidence accumulation (the quality of evidence extracted from a stimulus), and extent of evidence accumulation (the quantity of evidence gathered for a decision). The three studies provide a comprehensive perspective on social cognition by examining both lower-order facial emotion judgments and higher-order trait judgments in samples of incarcerated male offenders. Study 1 applies a form of computational modeling called diffusion modeling to parse the cognitive mechanisms contributing to the formation of lower-order facial emotion judgments. The findings of Study 1 suggest that more physically aggressive individuals display more efficient accumulation of anger-related evidence, which may help explain physically aggressive individuals’ heightened tendency to perceive ambiguous faces as threatening. Study 2 focuses on the extent of evidence accumulation and examines its role in the formation of higher-order trait judgments using a novel adaptation of an established experimental task. The findings of Study 2 suggest that more physically aggressive individuals display less extensive evidence accumulation while making trait judgments, particularly hostile trait judgments. Finally, Study 3 focuses on the maintenance of lower-order facial emotion judgments by examining post-decisional processing, again using a novel adaptation of an established experimental task. The findings of Study 3 suggest that more efficient accumulation of anger-related evidence in physically aggressive individuals is also evident following emotion decisions, which may help account for the persistence of threat-based social judgments over time in physical aggression. Taken together, this set of studies provides novel insights into the cognitive mechanisms driving aberrant social cognition in physical aggression. Implications for theory and clinical practice are discussed, as well as directions for future research

Hints for the Spring Wardrobe

The cold blasts of winter winds may easily be thought of as heralders of spring. To the well-dressed woman the signs of spring are a warning to her to think of her spring wardrobe. Every woman wants to be well dressed, and this privilege is becoming more possible every day thru the numerous fashion magazines and daily papers. The first essential for the well-dressed woman is to be appropriately dressed and this is really the hard part. However, by close observation of the current styles with consideration of her type and the occasion, a very pleasing result may be secured. The really well-dressed woman takes into consideration every detail of her costume from the tip of her head to the soles of her shoes

Home Visiting Services for Refugee, Immigrant, Migrant, and Dual Language Learner Families

Thousands of refugees and asylum seekers come to the United States each year to escape humanitarian crises in their home countries. Some face hurdles to accessing services, including language barriers, incomplete documentation, and ineligibility for public programs. Immigrant families often face similar barriers while also fearing deportation or other unintended consequences if they seek help. Home visiting services can support refugee and immigrant families in engaging with others, coping with trauma, and accessing community resources and services. Access to services, in turn, may help offset concerns such as food and housing insecurity and negative health and educational outcomes.This brief produced spotlights five home visiting programs using innovative, strengths-based practices to reach and serve refugee, immigrant, migrant, and dual language learner families

Analytic approaches to clinical validation of results from preclinical models of glioblastoma:A systematic review

INTRODUCTION: Analytic approaches to clinical validation of results from preclinical models are important in assessment of their relevance to human disease. This systematic review examined consistency in reporting of glioblastoma cohorts from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) or Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) and assessed whether studies included patient characteristics in their survival analyses. METHODS: We searched Embase and Medline on 02Feb21 for studies using preclinical models of glioblastoma published after Jan2008 that used data from TCGA or CGGA to validate the association between at least one molecular marker and overall survival in adult patients with glioblastoma. Main data items included cohort characteristics, statistical significance of the survival analysis, and model covariates. RESULTS: There were 58 eligible studies from 1,751 non-duplicate records investigating 126 individual molecular markers. In 14 studies published between 2017 and 2020 using TCGA RNA microarray data that should have the same cohort, the median number of patients was 464.5 (interquartile range 220.5–525). Of the 15 molecular markers that underwent more than one univariable or multivariable survival analyses, five had discrepancies between studies. Covariates used in the 17 studies that used multivariable survival analyses were age (76.5%), pre-operative functional status (35.3%), sex (29.4%) MGMT promoter methylation (29.4%), radiotherapy (23.5%), chemotherapy (17.6%), IDH mutation (17.6%) and extent of resection (5.9%). CONCLUSION: Preclinical glioblastoma studies that used TCGA for validation did not provide sufficient information about their cohort selection and there were inconsistent results. Transparency in reporting and the use of analytic approaches that adjust for clinical variables can improve the reproducibility between studies

Evaluation of Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium training recommendations on modified Rodnan skin score assessment in scleroderma

AimThe modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) is a validated outcome measure for skin thickness in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Training has been shown to reduce variability in the measurement of mRSS. Our objective was to assess the interâ and intraâ observer variability of mRSS scoring using the proposed recommendations for training by the Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium (SCTC) and World Scleroderma Foundation (WSF).MethodFiftyâ two trainees and eight adult SSc patients participated in the SSc skin scoring workshop that was conducted in two sessions by four teachers. Each session, attended by 26 trainees, had a teaching and evaluation phase. The teaching phase comprised of: (a) lecture on mRSS scoring; (b) video demonstration of mRSS scoring; and (c) live demonstration of mRSS on one SSc patient. In the evaluation phase, each trainee independently assessed the mRSS in four SSc patients. For intraâ observer reliability, 14 trainees reâ assessed the mRSS of two SSc patients whom they had previously examined. We computed the interâ and intraâ observer variability using a linear mixed model.ResultsFor the evaluation phase, 34 (65.4%) trainees were within five units of the established teachers’ score in 3 out of 4 patients. Overall, the whole group had acceptable interâ observer variability (intraâ class correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.71, mean = 8.64 and withinâ patient standard deviation [SD] = 4.25). The intraâ observer ICC was 0.85 and withinâ patient SD was 2.73.ConclusionThere was good interâ observer and excellent intraâ observer reliability. This is the first study examining the training of assessors using the SCTC/WSF recommendations and our results support the importance of standardized training for skin scoring.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149705/1/apl13523.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149705/2/apl13523_am.pd

Physically stimulated nanotheranostics for next generation cancer therapy: Focus on magnetic and light stimulations

Physically or externally stimulated nanostructures often employ multimodality and show encouraging results at preclinical stage in cancer therapy. Specially designed smart nanostructures such as hybrid nanostructures are responsive to external physical stimuli such as light, magnetic field, electric, ultrasound, radio frequency, X-ray, etc. These physically responsive nanostructures have been widely explored as nonconventional innovative “nanotheranostics” in cancer therapies. Physically stimulated (particularly magnetic and light) nanotheranostics provide a unique combination of important properties to address key challenges in modern cancer therapy: (i) an active tumor targeting mechanism of therapeutic drugs driven by a physical force rather than passive antibody matching, (ii) an externally/remotely controlled drugs on-demand release mechanism, and (iii) a capability for advanced image guided tumor therapy and therapy monitoring. Although primarily addressed to the scientific community, this review offers valuable and accessible information for a wide range of readers interested in the current technological progress with direct relevance to the physics, chemistry, biomedical field, and theranostics. We herein cover magnetic and light-triggered modalities currently being developed for nonconventional cancer treatments. The physical basis of each modality is explained; so readers with a physics or, materials science background can easily grasp new developments in this field

The Iowa Homemaker vol.3, no.11

Table of Contents Identity by Ruth Elaine Wilson, page 2 The Responsibility of American Women to Citizenship by Marcia M. Roberts, page 3 Hearth and Home by Amanda Jacobsen, page 4 A Parent “That Needeth Not to be Ashamed” by Thomas F. Vance, page 5 Corn – Greatest Crop of Iowa by Gertrude E. Murray, page 6 American Home Economics Association Meets by Lela Johnson, page 7 The Evolution of Home Economics at Iowa State by Ruth Elaine Wilson, page 7 Hints for the Spring Wardrobe by Grace L. Heidbreder and Helen Brennan, page 8 Etiquette for College Girl by Marcella Dewell, page 9 Who’s There and Where by Dryden Quist, page 1