The Role of Maternal Depression on Treatment Outcome for Children with Externalizing Behavior Problems

Studies have shown that, on average, Parent Management Training combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy decreases children’s externalizing behavior, but some children do not improve through treatment. The current study aimed to examine the role of maternal depression in understanding this variability in treatment outcome. Children with externalizing behavioral problems and their parents were recruited from combined Parent Management Training and Cognitive-Behavioral programs in “real-world” clinical settings. At pre- and post treatment, maternal depression and children’s externalizing behavior were assessed. Results showed that treatment was less effective for children of depressed mothers compared to non-depressed mothers and that improvements in maternal depression were associated with improvements in children’s externalizing behavior. These findings suggest that treatment programs for children with externalizing problems may be able to improve outcomes if maternal depression is a target of intervention

The Role of Friends’ Disruptive Behavior in the Development of Children’s Tobacco Experimentation: Results from a Preventive Intervention Study

Having friends who engage in disruptive behavior in childhood may be a risk factor for childhood tobacco experimentation. This study tested the role of friends’ disruptive behavior as a mediator of the effects of a classroom based intervention on children’s tobacco experimentation. 433 Children (52% males) were randomly assigned to the Good Behavior Game (GBG) intervention, a universal preventive intervention targeting disruptive behavior, and facilitating positive prosocial peer interactions. Friends’ disruptive behavior was assessed from age 7–10 years. Participants’ experimentation with tobacco was assessed annually from age 10–13. Reduced rates in tobacco experimentation and friends’ disruptive behavior were found among GBG children, as compared to controls. Support for friends’ disruptive behavior as a mediator in the link between intervention status and tobacco experimentation was found. These results remained after controlling for friends’ and parental smoking status, and child ADHD symptoms. The results support the role of friends’ disruptive behavior in preadolescents’ tobacco experimentation

The Cytosolic Domain of Fis1 Binds and Reversibly Clusters Lipid Vesicles

Every lipid membrane fission event involves the association of two apposing bilayers, mediated by proteins that can promote membrane curvature, fusion and fission. We tested the hypothesis that Fis1, a tail-anchored protein involved in mitochondrial and peroxisomal fission, promotes changes in membrane structure. We found that the cytosolic domain of Fis1 alone binds lipid vesicles, which is enhanced upon protonation and increasing concentrations of anionic phospholipids. Fluorescence and circular dichroism data indicate that the cytosolic domain undergoes a membrane-induced conformational change that buries two tryptophan side chains upon membrane binding. Light scattering and electron microscopy data show that membrane binding promotes lipid vesicle clustering. Remarkably, this vesicle clustering is reversible and vesicles largely retain their original shape and size. This raises the possibility that the Fis1 cytosolic domain might act in membrane fission by promoting a reversible membrane association, a necessary step in membrane fission

Observations of Lyα\alpha Emitters at High Redshift

In this series of lectures, I review our observational understanding of high-$z$ Ly$\alpha$ emitters (LAEs) and relevant scientific topics. Since the discovery of LAEs in the late 1990s, more than ten (one) thousand(s) of LAEs have been identified photometrically (spectroscopically) at $z\sim 0$ to $z\sim 10$. These large samples of LAEs are useful to address two major astrophysical issues, galaxy formation and cosmic reionization. Statistical studies have revealed the general picture of LAEs' physical properties: young stellar populations, remarkable luminosity function evolutions, compact morphologies, highly ionized inter-stellar media (ISM) with low metal/dust contents, low masses of dark-matter halos. Typical LAEs represent low-mass high-$z$ galaxies, high-$z$ analogs of dwarf galaxies, some of which are thought to be candidates of population III galaxies. These observational studies have also pinpointed rare bright Ly$\alpha$ sources extended over $\sim 10-100$ kpc, dubbed Ly$\alpha$ blobs, whose physical origins are under debate. LAEs are used as probes of cosmic reionization history through the Ly$\alpha$ damping wing absorption given by the neutral hydrogen of the inter-galactic medium (IGM), which complement the cosmic microwave background radiation and 21cm observations. The low-mass and highly-ionized population of LAEs can be major sources of cosmic reionization. The budget of ionizing photons for cosmic reionization has been constrained, although there remain large observational uncertainties in the parameters. Beyond galaxy formation and cosmic reionization, several new usages of LAEs for science frontiers have been suggested such as the distribution of {\sc Hi} gas in the circum-galactic medium and filaments of large-scale structures. On-going programs and future telescope projects, such as JWST, ELTs, and SKA, will push the horizons of the science frontiers.Comment: Lecture notes for `Lyman-alpha as an Astrophysical and Cosmological Tool', Saas-Fee Advanced Course 46. Verhamme, A., North, P., Cantalupo, S., & Atek, H. (eds.) --- 147 pages, 103 figures. Abstract abridged. Link to the lecture program including the video recording and ppt files : https://obswww.unige.ch/Courses/saas-fee-2016/program.cg

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Anticipating Poor Surgical Outcomes while Honoring Patient Autonomy

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/175716/2/Between a Rock and a Hard Place Chapter.pdfPublished versionDescription of Between a Rock and a Hard Place Chapter.pdf : Published versio