Psychosis or Spiritual Emergency: The Potential of Developmental Psychopathology for Differential Diagnosis

This paper reviews the nosological systems in the field of psychology, comparing the classic medical model with a developmental approach to psychopathology and wellbeing. The argument is made that a developmental model offers greater refinement for distinguishing phenomenologically similar experiential states. Due to their substantial overt resemblance, a contrast between spiritual emergencies and pathological psychotic reactions is presented as an example. To make this comparison, the nature and etiology of psychotic disorders is reviewed, underscoring their developmental, as opposed to spontaneous, origins. This is followed by a brief overview of spirituality and its place in psychological wellbeing and development. Finally, the concept of spiritual emergency is presented, followed by a discussion of how a holistic, developmental understanding of psychological disorder and wellbeing can aid clinicians in differentiating psychotic experiences indicative of psychopathology from spiritual emergencies

Validity Evidence for Progress Monitoring With Star Reading: Slope Estimates, Administration Frequency, and Number of Data Points

The increasing use of computerized adaptive tests (CATs) to collect information about students' academic growth or their response to academic interventions has led to a number of questions pertaining to the use of these measures for the purpose of progress monitoring. Star Reading is an example of a CAT-based assessment with considerable validity evidence to support its use for progress monitoring. However, additional validity evidence could be gathered to strengthen the use and interpretation of Star Reading data for progress monitoring. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to focus on three aspects of progress monitoring that will benefit Star Reading users. The specific research questions to be answered are: (a) how robust are the estimation methods in producing meaningful progress monitoring slopes in the presence of outliers; (b) what is the length of the time interval needed to use Star Reading for the purpose of progress monitoring; and (c) how many data points are needed to use Star Reading for the purpose of progress monitoring? The first research question was examined using a Monte Carlo simulation study. The second and third research questions were examined using real data from 6,396,145 students who took the Star Reading assessment during the 2014–2015 school year. Results suggest that the Theil-Sen estimator is the most robust estimator of student growth when using Star Reading. In addition, it appears that five data points and a progress monitoring window of approximately 20 weeks appear to be the minimum parameters for Star Reading to be used for the purpose of progress monitoring. Implications for practice include adapting the parameters for progress monitoring according to a student's current grade-level performance in reading

Erratum: Evaluation of DNA Methylation Episignatures for Diagnosis and Phenotype Correlations in 42 Mendelian Neurodevelopmental Disorders (The American Journal of Human Genetics (2020) 106(3) (356–370), (S0002929720300197), (10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.01.019))

(The American Journal of Human Genetics 106, 356–370; March 5, 2020) In the version of this paper originally published, the underlying cause for Hunter McAlpine syndrome was incorrectly described in Table 1. The relevant description has been changed to read “Chr5q35-qter duplication involving NSD1” in the updated Table 1 reflected here. The authors apologize for this error

Evaluation of DNA Methylation Episignatures for Diagnosis and Phenotype Correlations in 42 Mendelian Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Genetic syndromes frequently present with overlapping clinical features and inconclusive or ambiguous genetic findings which can confound accurate diagnosis and clinical management. An expanding number of genetic syndromes have been shown to have unique genomic DNA methylation patterns (called episignatures ). Peripheral blood episignatures can be used for diagnostic testing as well as for the interpretation of ambiguous genetic test results. We present here an approach to episignature mapping in 42 genetic syndromes, which has allowed the identification of 34 robust disease-specific episignatures. We examine emerging patterns of overlap, as well as similarities and hierarchical relationships across these episignatures, to highlight their key features as they are related to genetic heterogeneity, dosage effect, unaffected carrier status, and incomplete penetrance. We demonstrate the necessity of multiclass modeling for accurate genetic variant classification and show how disease classification using a single episignature at a time can sometimes lead to classification errors in closely related episignatures. We demonstrate the utility of this tool in resolving ambiguous clinical cases and identification of previously undiagnosed cases through mass screening of a large cohort of subjects with developmental delays and congenital anomalies. This study more than doubles the number of published syndromes with DNA methylation episignatures and, most significantly, opens new avenues for accurate diagnosis and clinical assessment in individuals affected by these disorders

Laser Patterning Pretreatment before Thermal Spraying: A Technique to Adapt and Control the Surface Topography to Thermomechanical Loading and Materials

Coating characteristics are highly dependent on substrate preparation and spray parameters. Hence, the surface must be adapted mechanically and physicochemically to favor coating–substrate adhesion. Conventional surface preparation methods such as grit blasting are limited by surface embrittlement and produce large plastic deformations throughout the surface, resulting in compressive stress and potential cracks. Among all such methods, laser patterning is suitable to prepare the surface of sensitive materials. No embedded grit particles can be observed, and high-quality coatings are obtained. Finally, laser surface patterning adapts the impacted surface, creating large anchoring area. Optimized surface topographies can then be elaborated according to the material as well as the application. The objective of this study is to compare the adhesive bond strength between two surface preparation methods, namely grit blasting and laser surface patterning, for two material couples used in aerospace applications: 2017 aluminum alloy and AISI 304L stainless steel coated with NiAl and YSZ, respectively. Laser patterning significantly increases adherence values for similar contact area due to mixed-mode (cohesive and adhesive) failure. The coating is locked in the pattern

Phenotypic spectrum and transcriptomic profile associated with germline variants in TRAF7

PURPOSE: Somatic variants in tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 7 (TRAF7) cause meningioma, while germline variants have recently been identified in seven patients with developmental delay and cardiac, facial, and digital anomalies. We aimed to define the clinical and mutational spectrum associated with TRAF7 germline variants in a large series of patients, and to determine the molecular effects of the variants through transcriptomic analysis of patient fibroblasts. METHODS: We performed exome, targeted capture, and Sanger sequencing of patients with undiagnosed developmental disorders, in multiple independent diagnostic or research centers. Phenotypic and mutational comparisons were facilitated through data exchange platforms. Whole-transcriptome sequencing was performed on RNA from patient- and control-derived fibroblasts. RESULTS: We identified heterozygous missense variants in TRAF7 as the cause of a developmental delay-malformation syndrome in 45 patients. Major features include a recognizable facial gestalt (characterized in particular by blepharophimosis), short neck, pectus carinatum, digital deviations, and patent ductus arteriosus. Almost all variants occur in the WD40 repeats and most are recurrent. Several differentially expressed genes were identified in patient fibroblasts. CONCLUSION: We provide the first large-scale analysis of the clinical and mutational spectrum associated with the TRAF7 developmental syndrome, and we shed light on its molecular etiology through transcriptome studies

Optimized Screening for At-Risk Students in Mathematics: A Machine Learning Approach

Traditional screening approaches identify students who might be at risk for academic problems based on how they perform on a single screening measure. However, using multiple screening measures may improve accuracy when identifying at-risk students. The advent of machine learning algorithms has allowed researchers to consider using advanced predictive models to identify at-risk students. The purpose of this study is to investigate if machine learning algorithms can strengthen the accuracy of predictions made from progress monitoring data to classify students as at risk for low mathematics performance. This study used a sample of first-grade students who completed a series of computerized formative assessments (Star Math, Star Reading, and Star Early Literacy) during the 2016–2017 (n = 45,478) and 2017–2018 (n = 45,501) school years. Predictive models using two machine learning algorithms (i.e., Random Forest and LogitBoost) were constructed to identify students at risk for low mathematics performance. The classification results were evaluated using evaluation metrics of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, F1, and Matthews correlation coefficient. Across the five metrics, a multi-measure screening procedure involving mathematics, reading, and early literacy scores generally outperformed single-measure approaches relying solely on mathematics scores. These findings suggest that educators may be able to use a cluster of measures administered once at the beginning of the school year to screen their first grade for at-risk math performance

Measurement of Elastic and Rotation Fields during Irreversible Deformation using Heaviside-Digital Image Correlation

International audienceThe recent development of the high resolution and discontinuity-tolerant digital image correlation technique enables the extraction of discontinuities within a displacement field. The technique provides quantitative analysis of discontinuities arising from slip, shear bands, cracks, and grain boundary sliding in a variety of material systems, including polycrystalline metallic materials. The discontinuity-tolerant digital image correlation method can be implemented to retrieve not only quantitative discontinuity analysis but also the local strain and rotation fields that operate near these discontinuities. The present implementation includes high-resolution digital image correlation (HR-DIC) measurements collected in a scanning electron microscope for analysis of both the plastic and elastic fields that develop during deformation of polycrystalline metallic materials. The combination of the discontinuity-tolerant DIC technique with the computation of internal gradients enables extraction of non-localized strain and rotation fields during plastic deformation of a nickel-based superalloy. Therefore the lattice rotation/expansion and plastic localization that occur during deformation can be determined in a single experiment. This method is validated using synthetic images with preset deformation, and experimental measurements using the electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) technique

High Resolution Strain Measurements in a Polycrystalline Superalloy during Plastic Deformation: Slip Band Discontinuity Analysis

International audienceDamage mechanisms in polycrystalline metallic alloys involve the accumulation of plastic strain at the sub-grain level. Measurements of the heterogeneous strain field that results from the complex grain boundary networks present in engineering alloys are combined with microstructural and orientation information to extract quantitative data on the deformation mechanisms. Digital image correlation (DIC) has been extended to higher resolution for analysis of discontinuities that evolve during fatigue and to measure strains at the sub-grain scale and below, where plastic strain localization can be directly correlated with physical slip bands. Strain fields have been measured in the polycrystalline nickel-base superalloy René 88DT to assess the deformation processes under monotonic and cyclic loading at room and intermediate temperature. A new analysis approach is presented to extract, for the first time, physical values of the magnitude of plastic localization and strain accumulation locally at the scale of the slip bands

Supplemental_File_-_Coding_Form – Supplemental material for Developing Proficiency in Standardized Cognitive Assessment Scoring: How Much Is Enough?

<p>Supplemental material, Supplemental_File_-_Coding_Form for Developing Proficiency in Standardized Cognitive Assessment Scoring: How Much Is Enough? by Damien C. Cormier, Ethan R. Van Norman, Clarissa Cheong, Kathleen E. Kennedy, Okan Bulut, and Martin Mrazik in Canadian Journal of School Psychology</p