Psychopathology in Williams syndrome: the effect of individual differences across the lifespan

The present research aimed to comprehensively explore psychopathology in Williams syndrome (WS) across the lifespan and evaluate the relationship between psychopathology and age category (child or adult), gender and cognitive ability. The parents of 50 participants with WS, aged 6-50 years, were interviewed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (K-SADS-PL). The prevalence of a wide range of Axis I DSM-IV disorders was assessed. In addition to high rates of anxiety and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (38% and 20% respectively), 14% of our sample met criteria for a depressive disorder and 42% of participants were not experiencing any significant psychopathological difficulties. There was some evidence for different patterns of psychopathology between children and adults with WS and between males and females. These relationships were largely in keeping with those found in the typically developing population, thus supporting the validity of applying theory and treatment approaches for psychopathology in the typically developing population to WS

Parenting interventions for ADHD: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Objective. To evaluate the evidence base relating to the effectiveness of parent-administered behavioral interventions for ADHD

Separable Measurement Estimation of Density Matrices and its Fidelity Gap with Collective Protocols

We show that there exists a gap between the performance of separable and collective measurements in qubit mixed-state estimation that persists in the large sample limit. We characterize such gap in terms of the corresponding bounds on the mean fidelity. We present an adaptive protocol that attains the separable-measurement bound. This (optimal separable) protocol uses von Neumann measurements and can be easily implemented with current technology.Comment: version published in PR

Efficacy of Online Training for Improving Camp Staff Competency

Preparing competent staff is a critical issue within the camp community. This quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of an online course for improving staff competency in camp healthcare practices among college-aged camp staff and a comparison group (N = 55). We hypothesized that working in camp would increase competency test scores due to opportunities for staff to experientially apply knowledge learned online. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyse the cross-level effects of a between-individuals factor (assignment to experimental or comparison group) and within-individual effects of time (pre-test, post-test #1, and post-test #2) on online course test scores. At post-test #2, the difference in average test scores between groups was ~30 points, with the treatment group scoring lower on average than the comparison group. Factors that may have influenced these findings are explored, including fatigue and the limited durability of online learning. Recommendations for research and practice are discussed

Radiation-induced root surface caries restored with glass-ionomer cement placed in conventional and ART cavity preparations: Results at two years

The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association (8th Jan 2008). An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Background: There are no published studies comparing the clinical performances of more-viscous glass-ionomer cement (GIC) restorations when placed using conventional and atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) cavity preparation methods to restore root surface caries. Methods: One dentist used encapsulated Fuji IX GP and Ketac-Molar to restore 72 conventional and 74 ART cavity preparations for 15 patients who had received cervicofacial radiation therapy. Two assessors evaluated the restorations at six, 12, and 24 months for retention, marginal defects and surface wear, and recurrent caries. Results: After two years, the cumulative restoration successes were 65.2 per cent for the conventional and 66.2 per cent for the ART cavity preparations, without statistical or clinical significance (P>0.50). Restoration dislodgement accounted for 82.8 per cent and marginal defects for 17.2 per cent of all failures. There were no instances of unsatisfactory restoration wear or recurrent caries observed. Teeth with three or more restored cervical surfaces accounted for 79.3 per cent of all failures (P<0.0001). Conclusions: For root surface caries restored with GIC, the use of hand instruments only with the ART method was an equally effective alternative to conventional rotary instrumentation for cavity preparation. Larger restorations had higher failures, usually from dislodgement.JY Hu, XC Chen, YQ Li, RJ Smales and KH Yi

Image based simulation of one-dimensional compression tests on carbonate sand

High factors of safety and conservative methods are commonly used on foundation design on shelly carbonate soils. A better understanding of the behavior of this material is, thus, critical for more sustainable approaches for the design of a number of offshore structures and submarine pipelines. In particular, understanding the physical phenomena taking place at the microscale has the potential to spur the development of robust computational methods. In this study, a one-dimensional compression test was performed inside an X-ray scanner to obtain 3D images of the evolving internal structure of a shelly carbonate sand. A preliminary inspection of the images through five loading increments has shown that the grains rearrange under loading and in some cases cracks develop at the contacts. In order to replicate of the experiments in the numerical domain, the 3D image of the soil prior to loading was imported into a micro Finite Element (µFE) framework. This image-based modelling tool enables measurements of the contact force and stress map inside the grains while making use of the real microstructure of the soil. The potential of the µFE model to contribute insights into yield initiation within the grain is demonstrated here. This is of particular interest to better understand the breakage of shelly grains underpinning their highly compressive behavior

Addiction to Highly Pleasurable Food as a Cause of the Childhood Obesity Epidemic: A Qualitative Internet Study

An interactive, open-access website was launched as an overweight intervention for teens and preteens, and was generally unsuccessful. An understanding was needed of the reasons for weight loss failures versus successes in youth using the site. Bulletin board posts, chat room transcripts, and poll responses were prospectively gathered and qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed over a ten-year period. Many respondents, ages 8 to 21, exhibited DSM-IV substance dependence (addiction) criteria when describing their relationship with highly pleasurable foods. Further research is needed on possible addiction to highly pleasurable foods in youth. Incorporating substance dependence methods may improve the success rate in combating the childhood obesity epidemic

Preparing athletes and teams for the Olympic Games: experiences and lessons learned from the world's best sport psychologists

As part of an increased effort to understand the most effective ways to psychologically prepare athletes and teams for Olympic competition, a number of sport psychology consultants have offered best-practice insights into working in this context. These individual reports have typically comprised anecdotal reflections of working with particular sports or countries; therefore, a more holistic approach is needed so that developing practitioners can have access to - and utilise - a comprehensive evidence-base. The purpose of this paper is to provide a panel-type article, which offers lessons and advice for the next generation of aspiring practitioners on preparing athletes and teams for the Olympic Games from some of the world’s most recognised and experienced sport psychologists. The sample comprised 15 sport psychology practitioners who, collectively, have accumulated over 200 years of first-hand experience preparing athletes and/or teams from a range of nations for six summer and five winter Olympic Games. Interviews with the participants revealed 28 main themes and 5 categories: Olympic stressors, success and failure lessons, top tips for neophyte practitioners, differences within one’s own consulting work, and multidisciplinary consulting. It is hoped that the findings of this study can help the next generation of sport psychologists better face the realities of Olympic consultancy and plan their own professional development so that, ultimately, their aspirations to be the world’s best can become a reality

The multifaith campus: Transforming colleges and universities for spiritual engagement

Dafina Lazarus Stewart, Michael M. Kocet, and Sharon Lobdell explore what college and university campuses would look like if transformed to promote and sustain religious and secular pluralism and interfaith cooperation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83741/1/20049_ftp.pd

Enthalpies of formation of L12 intermetallics derived from heats of reordering

A new method is proposed for estimating the enthalpies of formation of L12 (fcc-ordered) intermetallics from the heat release measured during ordering of their disordered polymorphs. The method is applied to Cu3Au, Ni3Al, and Ni3Si. The resulting estimates of enthalpies of formation are close to values obtained by high temperature dissolution calorimetry. They also appear to be more precise than estimates based on Miedema's correlations provided that care is taken to account properly for the magnetic and lattice stability contributions to the formation enthalpies in the ordered and disordered states