Posttraumatic Stress and Parenting Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation

Maternal trauma has been linked with problematic parenting, including both harsh and permissive behaviors. However, little is known about mechanisms accounting for this association. The current study examined the potential impact of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and emotion regulation on dysfunctional parenting behaviors in a sample of community mothers. We hypothesized a mediation model wherein PTSD would be associated with dysfunctional parenting (i.e., lax and overreactive behaviors) indirectly through deficits in maternal emotion regulation. Seventy-eight community mothers of 18- to 36-month-old children were administered the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) and 19 mothers met criteria for PTSD. Mothers also completed self-report measures of difficulties with emotion regulation and maternal laxness and overreactivity in parenting. Results revealed that emotion dysregulation fully mediated relations between PTSD status and lax (but not overreactive) parenting behaviors. Compared to mothers without PTSD, those with PTSD reported greater lax parenting behaviors indirectly through greater emotion dysregulation. Mothers with PTSD may struggle to parent assertively when trauma symptoms interfere with emotion regulation abilities. The current study highlights the need to design interventions focused on helping trauma-exposed mothers manage distress, ultimately aiming to enhance parenting effectiveness and improve child outcomes

“You would if you loved me”: Toward an improved conceptual and etiological understanding of nonphysical male sexual coercion

This paper reviews current research regarding the prevalence and possible etiological factors associated with male sexual coercion, defined here as a class of inappropriate male behaviors in which nonphysical tactics (e.g., verbal pressure, lying, deceit, and continual arguments) are utilized to obtain sexual contact with an unwilling adult female. This form of sexual misconduct is contrasted with sexual aggression (i.e., forcible rape), in which the threat or use of physical force is utilized to gain sexual contact. A conceptual framework for understanding and examining sexual coercion within the broader context of male sexual misconduct is offered. This model consists of two primary dimensions: (1) types of sexual contact and (2) tactics for obtaining sexual contact, which intersect to form quadrants representing distinct categories of sexual misconduct. The broader sexual misconduct literature is utilized to shed light on possible predictors and etiological factors associated specifically with sexual coercion. These factors fall into four categories: (1) attitudinal or belief systems, (2) behavioral tendencies, (3) personality characteristics, and (4) childhood abuse experiences. Literature in each of these areas is reviewed and discussed. Finally, methodological and conceptual considerations for sexual misconduct research are presented

“You would if you loved me”: Toward an improved conceptual and etiological understanding of nonphysical male sexual coercion

This paper reviews current research regarding the prevalence and possible etiological factors associated with male sexual coercion, defined here as a class of inappropriate male behaviors in which nonphysical tactics (e.g., verbal pressure, lying, deceit, and continual arguments) are utilized to obtain sexual contact with an unwilling adult female. This form of sexual misconduct is contrasted with sexual aggression (i.e., forcible rape), in which the threat or use of physical force is utilized to gain sexual contact. A conceptual framework for understanding and examining sexual coercion within the broader context of male sexual misconduct is offered. This model consists of two primary dimensions: (1) types of sexual contact and (2) tactics for obtaining sexual contact, which intersect to form quadrants representing distinct categories of sexual misconduct. The broader sexual misconduct literature is utilized to shed light on possible predictors and etiological factors associated specifically with sexual coercion. These factors fall into four categories: (1) attitudinal or belief systems, (2) behavioral tendencies, (3) personality characteristics, and (4) childhood abuse experiences. Literature in each of these areas is reviewed and discussed. Finally, methodological and conceptual considerations for sexual misconduct research are presented

Adult coping with childhood sexual abuse: A theoretical and empirical review

Coping has been suggested as an important element in understanding the long-term functioning of individuals with a history of child sexual abuse (CSA). The present review synthesizes the literature on coping with CSA, first by examining theories of coping with trauma, and, second by examining how these theories have been applied to studies of coping in samples of CSA victims. Thirty-nine studies were reviewed, including eleven descriptive studies of the coping strategies employed by individuals with a history of CSA, eighteen correlational studies of the relationship between coping strategies and long-term functioning of CSA victims, and ten investigations in which coping was examined as a mediational factor in relation to long-term outcomes. These studies provide initial information regarding early sexual abuse and subsequent coping processes. However, this literature is limited by several theoretical and methodological issues, including a failure to specify the process of coping as it occurs, a disparity between theory and research, and limited applicability to clinical practice. Future directions of research are discussed and include the need to understand coping as a process, identification of coping in relation to adaptive outcomes, and considerations of more complex mediational and moderational processes in the study of coping with CSA

Partner Support and Connection Protect Couples during Pregnancy: A Daily Diary Investigation

Objective: The objective of the current study was to examine associations between daily subjective stress and relationship satisfaction as a function of two protective factors—partner support and connection (i.e., intimacy, passion, and commitment)—among couples during pregnancy. Background: Stress brought into the intimate relationship by each partner is often associated with relational dissatisfaction and discord, referred to as stress spillover. Although much research has focused on risk for poor relational outcomes associated with partner stress, it is equally important to focus on resilience. Method: We examined this phenomenon among 154 couples navigating pregnancy. Couples attended an initial laboratory session and then completed daily diary measures from home across 14 days. Results: Multilevel modeling techniques revealed that higher daily subjective stress than usual was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction that day for fathers and mothers, and partner support and connection attenuated this link to a significant degree. As these protective factors increased, the strength of the negative association between daily stress and relationship satisfaction decreased for both parents. Exploratory analyses showed no significant within-person associations between daily stress and next-day relationship satisfaction at any level of support or connection. Conclusion: These findings add innovative components to the investigation of the spillover process, including the examination of this process among couples during pregnancy, utilization of daily diary methods to study this phenomenon on a micro-level over time, and identification of protective factors mitigating daily stress spillover

Enabling MSI-Guided Laser Capture Microdissection

Introduction/Rationale: Coupling MALDI mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) with Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) allows for precise dissection of tissue regions based on molecular features [1]. Automated methods for alignment of the coordinate systems of the MSI and LCM platforms reduces errors associated with manual definition of ROI’s and increases throughput (a major bottleneck for LCM). Here we present the development of a method to transfer regions of interest from MALDI MSI images to an LCM platform, using consecutive tissue sections mounted on ITO conductive slides for MALDI MSI and on PEN-coated slides for LCM. Methods: The test system consists of a gelatin-embedded mouse liver. 12 µm slices were cut using a cryostat and two consecutive slices were mounted on ITO and PEN slides. The ITO slide was spray-coated with DHB (30mg/mL, MeOH 70%, water 30%, 0.2% TFA) and a MALDI image was acquired with an EP-MALDI source coupled to a Q-Exactive mass spectrometer. The MSI data was imported into MATLAB. The tissue mounted on the PEN slide was stained with hematoxylin and a high resolution optical image acquired using an Aperio Scanscope. The LCM instrument used was an Apotome 2 Axio Observer Z1 microscope equipped with a Palm Robomover LCM system (both Zeiss). Results: An image of an ion with a regular distribution on the tissue is used to align the MS image to the optical image of the hematoxylin-stained tissue section mounted on the PEN slide. The optical image of the PEN slide tissue section is imported in MATLAB and cropped to match the size of the MALDI image. An intensity-based co-registration algorithm is then used to align the MS image to the cropped optical image. The MS image is then rescaled to match to the original optical image. To obtain regions-of-interest to transfer to the LCM platform, the MSI data was TIC normalized and a k-means cluster analysis performed. The image of the cluster of interest was aligned to the PEN slide using the same transformations used for the whole MSI data, binarized and segmented to obtain the coordinates of the vertices of the cluster region. Vertex coordinates were expressed after setting the axes origin to a user-defined reference point on the slide. The coordinates of the origin in the Aperio reference system were then matched to the coordinates of the reference point in the Zeiss coordinate system and the same transformation applied. Coordinates were then formatted as an Element file readable by the LCM and exported as text files. Border coordinates were imported in the Zeiss PALMRobo software and regions of interest automatically dissected. Conclusions/Novelty: The presented method enables rapid transfer of coordinates from a MALDI image to an LCM instrument, increasing throughput and reducing errors due to freehand cutting. The method is applicable to consecutive tissue sections, and ROI’s can be defined either by MSI or via histopathological specification

The Clinical Psychology Training Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln

The Clinical Psychology Training Program (CPTP) at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) since 1948, the first year any programs were accredited. The CPTP’s history and approach to training through the years have been described in numerous articles (DiLillo & McChargue, 2007; Hargrove, 1991; Hargrove & Howe, 1981; Hargrove & Spaulding, 1988; Hope, Hansen, & Cole, 1994; Howe, 1974; Howe & Neimeyer, 1979; Jones & Levine, 1963; Rivers & Cole, 1976). Our program was historically described as a “Community-Clinical” psychology training program, and this focus on understanding and enhancing well-being at the individual, family, and community levels continues to be valued in our program today across a variety of clinical and research activities. The CPTP has followed the scientistpractitioner, Boulder-model of clinical training since its inception. Our Director of Clinical Training in 1949, Marshall Jones, was a participant in the Boulder Conference on Graduate Education in Clinical Psychology. Both clinical and research training are continuous, integrated processes in the CPTP, continuously supervised and monitored by the clinical faculty. The CPTP subscribes to the APA evidence- based practice model (APA, 2006) across all of our clinical training. Integration of EBP into our scientist-practitioner curriculum was highlighted in a special issue of Journal of Clinical Psychology that focused on EBP training (DiLillo & McChargue, 2007). Students in the CPTP are trained to be both consumers and producers of research, applying best research evidence in clinical practice and generating new knowledge to improve treatment. Within this EBP framework our emphasis is on behavioral and cognitive behavioral therapies. The department made an active decision, beginning in 1990, to hire scientist- practitioner faculty members with a behavioral or cognitive-behavioral orientation. The core clinical faculty provide clinical and research training in behavioral and cognitive-behavioral therapies, third-generation cognitive-behavioral approaches (e.g., mindfulness and acceptance-based), motivational enhancement approaches, and, to a lesser degree, family systems. The CPTP was honored to receive the 2013 ABCT Outstanding Training Program Award. The award is given for “significant contribution to training behavior therapists and/or promoting behavior therapy.

Searching for long faint astronomical high energy transients: a data driven approach

HERMES Pathfinder is an in-orbit demonstration consisting of a constellation of six 3U nano-satellites hosting simple but innovative detectors for the monitoring of cosmic high-energy transients. The main objective of HERMES Pathfinder is to prove that accurate position of high-energy cosmic transients can be obtained using miniaturized hardware. The transient position is obtained by studying the delay time of arrival of the signal to different detectors hosted by nano-satellites on low-Earth orbits. In this context, we need to develop novel tools to fully exploit the future scientific data output of HERMES Pathfinder. In this paper, we introduce a new framework to assess the background count rate of a spaceborne, high energy detector; a key step towards the identification of faint astrophysical transients. We employ a neural network to estimate the background lightcurves on different timescales. Subsequently, we employ a fast change-point and anomaly detection technique called Poisson-FOCuS to identify observation segments where statistically significant excesses in the observed count rate relative to the background estimate exist. We test the new software on archival data from the NASA Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), which has a collecting area and background level of the same order of magnitude to those of HERMES Pathfinder. The neural network performances are discussed and analyzed over period of both high and low solar activity. We were able to confirm events in the Fermi-GBM catalog, both solar flares and gamma-ray bursts, and found events, not present in Fermi-GBM database, that could be attributed to solar flares, terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, gamma-ray bursts and galactic X-ray flashes. Seven of these are selected and further analyzed, providing an estimate of localisation and a tentative classification

Gamma-Ray Burst Detection with Poisson-FOCuS and Other Trigger Algorithms

We describe how a novel online change-point detection algorithm, called Poisson-FOCuS, can be used to optimally detect gamma-ray bursts within the computational constraints imposed by miniaturized satellites such as the upcoming HERMES-Pathfinder constellation. Poisson-FOCuS enables testing for gamma-ray burst onset at all intervals in a count time series, across all timescales and offsets, in real time and at a fraction of the computational cost of conventional strategies. We validate an implementation with automatic background assessment through exponential smoothing, using archival data from Fermi-GBM. Through simulations of lightcurves modeled after real short and long gamma-ray bursts, we demonstrate that the same implementation has higher detection power than algorithms designed to emulate the logic of Fermi-GBM and Compton-BATSE, reaching the performance of a brute-force benchmark with oracle information on the true background rate, when not hindered by automatic background assessment. Finally, using simulated data with different lengths and means, we show that Poisson-FOCuS can analyze data twice as fast as a similarly implemented benchmark emulator for the historic Fermi-GBM on-board trigger algorithms

Peak Power Estimation: A Case Study on CPU Cores

International audienceHigh peak power consumption during test may lead to yield loss. On the other hand, reducing too much test power may lead to test escape. In order to overcome this problem, test power has to mimic the power consumed during functional mode, being as high as possible but not crossing the frontier of over-consumption. Measuring power consumption is a very time consuming activity, therefore many works in the literature focused on the indirect ways to provide power consumption estimation in a fast manner. In this paper we concentrate on a similar issue, concentrating our effort on devising a fast method for the identification and estimation of the peak power produced by test patterns. In particular we provide a detailed discussion on case studies related to peak power estimation of CPU cores when executing functional patterns, the proposed method uses the gate-level description of the CPU to identify a subset of time points over the entire test pattern that are showing the most significant peak power values. The proposed methodology has been validated on two case studies synthesized in a 65nm industrial technology