Validation of the scale of perceived self-efficacy of maternal parenting in Brizilian sample

Self-efficacy matches the belief that a person has that she is able to produce theresults she wants to achieve. The beliefs of self-efficacy that parents have about the baby emerge asa powerful predictor of positive parenting. Objective: this study aimed to evaluate the maternalself-efficacy behavior in hospitalized mothers and validate an instrument for measuring this conceptdeveloped and validated in England by Barnes and Adamson-Macedo, in 2007. Method: this cross-sectional exploratory study convenience cohort comprised 87 mothers of newborn babies, 26premature and 61 full-term infants. The scale Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy (PMP S-E),which consists of 20 items that represent four subscales was tested for reliability and validity. Results:the internal consistency of the scale PAEPM reached a value of .86, the internal consistency andreliability estimates for each of the subscales also reached acceptable values. Exploratory FactorAnalysis (EFA) confirmed the validity of the construct and the scores of self-efficacy were normallydistributed for both subgroups and total sample. Conclusions: PMP S-E scale proved to be an easyapplication tool and psychometrically robust, reliable and valid for use with mothers of hospitalizednew-borns both premature as the term clinically stable. It is a reliable method of identifying mothersof babies who need more support from the hospital staff

Cosmic Texture from a Broken Global SU(3) Symmetry

We investigate the observable consequences of creating cosmic texture by breaking a global SU(3) symmetry, rather than the SU(2) case which is generally studied. To this end, we study the nonlinear sigma model for a totally broken SU(3) symmetry, and develop a technique for numerically solving the classical field equations. This technique is applied in a cosmological context: the energy of the collapsing SU(3) texture field is used as a gravitational source for the production of perturbations in the primordial fluids of the early universe. From these calculations, we make predictions about the appearance of the anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) which would be present if the large scale structure of the universe was gravitationally seeded by the collapse of SU(3) textures.Comment: 28 pages, latex, 11 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Inhaled insulin for controlling blood glucose in patients with diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a significant worldwide health problem, with the incidence of type 2 diabetes increasing at alarming rates. Insulin resistance and dysregulated blood glucose control are established risk factors for microvascular complications and cardiovascular disease. Despite the recognition of diabetes as a major health issue and the availability of a growing number of medications designed to counteract its detrimental effects, real and perceived barriers remain that prevent patients from achieving optimal blood glucose control. The development and utilization of inhaled insulin as a novel insulin delivery system may positively influence patient treatment adherence and optimal glycemic control, potentially leading to a reduction in cardiovascular complications in patients with diabetes

A Bayesian Approach to Calibrating Period-Luminosity Relations of RR Lyrae Stars in the Mid-Infrared

A Bayesian approach to calibrating period-luminosity (PL) relations has substantial benefits over generic least-squares fits. In particular, the Bayesian approach takes into account the full prior distribution of the model parameters, such as the a priori distances, and refits these parameters as part of the process of settling on the most highly-constrained final fit. Additionally, the Bayesian approach can naturally ingest data from multiple wavebands and simultaneously fit the parameters of PL relations for each waveband in a procedure that constrains the parameter posterior distributions so as to minimize the scatter of the final fits appropriately in all wavebands. Here we describe the generalized approach to Bayesian model fitting and then specialize to a detailed description of applying Bayesian linear model fitting to the mid-infrared PL relations of RR Lyrae variable stars. For this example application we quantify the improvement afforded by using a Bayesian model fit. We also compare distances previously predicted in our example application to recently published parallax distances measured with the Hubble Space Telescope and find their agreement to be a vindication of our methodology. Our intent with this article is to spread awareness of the benefits and applicability of this Bayesian approach and encourage future PL relation investigations to consider employing this powerful analysis method.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science. Following a presentation at the conference The Fundamental Cosmic Distance Scale: State of the Art and the Gaia Perspective, Naples, May 201

Cognitive, emotional and environmental mediators of early parenting in high risk families

The UK currently has the highest number of premature births (babies born before 37 weeks gestation age and below 2.5kg) in Europe affecting around 70,000 babies and their caregivers each year. Consequently many interventions have been created to support the development of the preterm newborn and minimise the complications of prematurity. Many of the interventions developed have been predominantly tactile and have almost exclusively focused upon their effect upon the baby and not, for example considered the effect that this type of intervention might have upon the parents; specifically the mother, when they are the ones who perform the therapy. In fact there is a severe lack of systematic studies investigating the latter. Hence, the aim of this thesis was to search for research-based evidence on the benefits of environmental support to both babies (e.g. increased weight gain or awake periods) and their mothers (e.g. higher perceptions of themselves as a mother) during hospital confinement and within the context of Neonatal Health Psychology (NNHP). For this reason, the main hypothesis investigated whether mothers’ cognitions and emotions; specifically Maternal Self-Efficacy, Self-Esteem and Attachment, would be affected by environmental mediators in the form of structured or non-structured tactile sensory nurturing interventions. The empirical work reported in this thesis is divided into 3 distinct phases. Firstly, as their was no appropriate measure of maternal Self-Efficacy for mothers of hospitalised preterm neonates the main aim of Phase-1 was to develop and validate an appropriate measure. Using a prospective survey method and a mixed design (between/within and correlational) a total of 160 mother-preterm dyads (pooled from 2 cohorts; cohort 1, N=100; cohort 2, N=60) were recruited. The results demonstrated that the Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy (PMPS-E) tool had good initial psychometric properties (including internal/external reliability and construct validity) for its use with mothers of relatively healthy hospitalised preterm neonates. Secondly, in order to investigate mothers’ perceived maternal parenting self-efficacy beliefs further Phase-2 examined whether the type of feeding a mother chose to give to her baby mediated her self-efficacy beliefs. The results suggested that breastfeeding a preterm neonate during hospital confinement may adversely affect mothers’ perceptions of their efficacy in all aspects of parenting. Finally, using an experimental method Phase-3 tested the main hypothesis of this thesis and used a randomised cluster control trial (RCCT) design to allocate 60 mothers and their preterms equally to one of three cluster groups; consisting of either structured (e.g. TAC-TIC therapy or Using a Toy) or non-structured (Placebo/Control) tactile sensory nurturing interventions. The main findings illustrate that tactile sensory nurturing interventions do mediate maternal cognitions and emotions, preterm weight gain and behavioural state. In particular, mothers who performed TAC-TIC demonstrated significantly higher self-reported perceptions in their self-efficacy, self-esteem and attachment, which was attributed to the fact that these babies spent increased amounts of time in an alert and responsive behavioural state, and gained more weight throughout the study period. Thus, the work presented throughout this thesis has implications for Neonatal Health Psychologists and other Health Care professionals’ practice within neonatal units, the use of Neonatal Health Psychology as a framework to study the preterm neonate and their family, and also the way in which both mothers and their hospitalised preterm neonates are supported during hospital confinement.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Money Minute: Using short informational videos during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a money crunch for some families. To help families struggling financially while capitalizing on at-home time, The University of Tennessee (UT) Extension consumer economics leadership team developed a series of money management videos called Money Minute. The primary purpose of the videos was to provide research-based financial education during this time of financial hardships. Filmed using Zoom, each video offers a piece of research-based information, additional resources, and a call to action. The video series proved to be effective in reaching clientele with financial information in the midst of a pandemic

Hierarchical decomposition and simulation of manufacturing cells using Ada

A useful tool in the development of flexible automation is a system description language which can generate a complete func tional description of a manufacturing cell of arbitrary complexity. We propose a description system based on the concept of hierar chical decomposition utilizing the Ada programming language in conjunction with established diagrammatical decomposition methods. The distinguishing aspect of our work is that it takes advantage of certain features of Ada (such as type checking) to create a description that can be automatically verified for con sistency Simulation is often an indispensable tool in the develop ment of manufacturing systems. We show how a simulation of the operation of the manufacturing cell can be embedded in its description. Finally, we apply the methodology to a specific instance of a manufacturing cell.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68498/2/10.1177_003754978604600402.pd

Integrin-mediated traction force enhances paxillin molecular associations and adhesion dynamics that increase the invasiveness of tumor cells into a three-dimensional extracellular matrix.

Metastasis requires tumor cells to navigate through a stiff stroma and squeeze through confined microenvironments. Whether tumors exploit unique biophysical properties to metastasize remains unclear. Data show that invading mammary tumor cells, when cultured in a stiffened three-dimensional extracellular matrix that recapitulates the primary tumor stroma, adopt a basal-like phenotype. Metastatic tumor cells and basal-like tumor cells exert higher integrin-mediated traction forces at the bulk and molecular levels, consistent with a motor-clutch model in which motors and clutches are both increased. Basal-like nonmalignant mammary epithelial cells also display an altered integrin adhesion molecular organization at the nanoscale and recruit a suite of paxillin-associated proteins implicated in invasion and metastasis. Phosphorylation of paxillin by Src family kinases, which regulates adhesion turnover, is similarly enhanced in the metastatic and basal-like tumor cells, fostered by a stiff matrix, and critical for tumor cell invasion in our assays. Bioinformatics reveals an unappreciated relationship between Src kinases, paxillin, and survival of breast cancer patients. Thus adoption of the basal-like adhesion phenotype may favor the recruitment of molecules that facilitate tumor metastasis to integrin-based adhesions. Analysis of the physical properties of tumor cells and integrin adhesion composition in biopsies may be predictive of patient outcome

Temporal dynamics of aquatic communities and implications for pond conservation

Conservation through the protection of particular habitats is predicated on the assumption that the conservation value of those habitats is stable. We test this assumption for ponds by investigating temporal variation in macroinvertebrate and macrophyte communities over a 10-year period in northwest England. We surveyed 51 ponds in northern England in 1995/6 and again in 2006, identifying all macrophytes (167 species) and all macroinvertebrates (221 species, excluding Diptera) to species. The alpha-diversity, beta-diversity and conservation value of these ponds were compared between surveys. We find that invertebrate species richness increased from an average of 29. 5 species to 39. 8 species between surveys. Invertebrate gamma-diversity also increased between the two surveys from 181 species to 201 species. However, this increase in diversity was accompanied by a decrease in beta-diversity. Plant alpha-, beta and gamma-diversity remained approximately constant between the two periods. However, increased proportions of grass species and a complete loss of charophytes suggests that the communities are undergoing succession. Conservation value was not correlated between sampling periods in either plants or invertebrates. This was confirmed by comparing ponds that had been disturbed with those that had no history of disturbance to demonstrate that levels of correlation between surveys were approximately equal in each group of ponds. This study has three important conservation implications: (i) a pond with high diversity or high conservation value may not remain that way and so it is unwise to base pond conservation measures upon protecting currently-speciose habitats; (ii) maximising pond gamma-diversity requires a combination of late and early succession ponds, especially for invertebrates; and (iii) invertebrate and plant communities in ponds may require different management strategies if succession occurs at varying rates in the two groups