The role of parental achievement goals in predicting autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting

Although autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting are linked to numerous positive and negative child outcomes respectively, fewer studies have focused on their determinants. Drawing on achievement goal theory and self-determination theory, we propose that parental achievement goals (i.e., achievement goals that parents have for their children) can be mastery, performance-approach or performance-avoidance oriented and that types of goals predict mothers' tendency to adopt autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviors. A total of 67 mothers (aged 30-53 years) reported their goals for their adolescent (aged 13-16 years; 19.4 % girls), while their adolescent evaluated their mothers' behaviors. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that parental performance-approach goals predict more controlling parenting and prevent acknowledgement of feelings, one autonomy-supportive behavior. In addition, mothers who have mastery goals and who endorse performance-avoidance goals are less likely to use guilt-inducing criticisms. These findings were observed while controlling for the effect of maternal anxiety

Modeling Operator Behavior in the Safety Analysis of Collaborative Robotic Applications

Human-Robot Collaboration is increasingly prominent in peo- ple's lives and in the industrial domain, for example in manufacturing applications. The close proximity and frequent physical contacts between humans and robots in such applications make guaranteeing suitable levels of safety for human operators of the utmost importance. Formal veri- cation techniques can help in this regard through the exhaustive explo- ration of system models, which can identify unwanted situations early in the development process. This work extends our SAFER-HRC method- ology with a rich non-deterministic formal model of operator behaviors, which captures the hazardous situations resulting from human errors. The model allows safety engineers to rene their designs until all plausi- ble erroneous behaviors are considered and mitigated

Expression of high p53 levels in colorectal cancer: a favourable prognostic factor

The expression of p53 protein was examined in a series of 111 colorectal cancer adenocarcinomas with a long follow-up. A quantitative luminometric immunoassay (LIA) was used for the measurement of wild-type and mutant p53 protein in extracts from colorectal tumour cytosols, p53 being detected in 42% of the samples (range 0.0–52 ng mg−1). Using an arbitrary cut-off value of 2.7 ng mg−1, 25% of the tumours were classified as manifesting high p53 levels. There was no association of p53 expression with patient age, sex, serum preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, tumour site and size, nodal status or TNM stage. Significant and independent correlation was found to exist between high p53 levels and prolonged disease-free survival (P = 0.05) at a median follow-up of 60 months. This survival advantage was most apparent among stage III cancer patients. The results from this study would suggest that expression of high p53 levels appear to be useful in selecting a group of colorectal cancer patients with a better prognosis. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Parental attributions of control for child behaviour and their relation to discipline practices in parents of children with and without developmental delays

Children with developmental delays (DD) are at risk for developing behavior problems. Research suggests that parents’ causal attributions for child behavior are related to parenting. This study investigated this association in parents of children with DD compared to parents of typically developing (TD) children. It specifically focused on attributions of child control by separating these from attributions of responsibility, blame and intent, and from attributions of parent control and responsibility. Fifty-one parents of children with DD and 69 parents of TD children completed two questionnaires. The Written Analogue Questionnaire measured causal attributions. The Parenting Scale measured dysfunctional discipline practices. Parents of children with DD viewed the child’s role in problematic behavior more positively while also viewing misbehavior as more fixed than parents of TD children. Parents of TD children who viewed their child as more in control over misbehavior used less dysfunctional discipline, but this association was not found for parents of children with DD. The results advance understanding of how parents perceive behavior problems in children with DD and the important role these perceptions play in parental behavior management strategies. More importantly, these perceptions relate to discipline practices differently for parents of children with DD compared to parents of TD children, highlighting that parent interventions should be adapted to the specific needs of parents of children with DD

ONYX-015: mechanisms of action and clinical potential of a replication-selective adenovirus

Accumulated knowledge in the molecular processes of tumour development combined with the availability of genetically modified viruses resemble the basis for new promising cancer therapeutics. The main advantages of employing replication-competent viruses are achievement of tumour selective killing and amplification of their oncolytic potential within the tumour mass. In this review, we describe the development of ONYX-015, one of the first and most advanced replication-competent viruses for cancer therapy. We discuss the molecular biology of this therapeutic approach and the interesting results obtained with this virus in clinical trials

Persistent and polarised global actin flow is essential for directionality during cell migration

Cell migration is hypothesized to involve a cycle of behaviours beginning with leading edge extension. However, recent evidence suggests that the leading edge may be dispensable for migration, raising the question of what actually controls cell directionality. Here, we exploit the embryonic migration of Drosophila macrophages to bridge the different temporal scales of the behaviours controlling motility. This approach reveals that edge fluctuations during random motility are not persistent and are weakly correlated with motion. In contrast, flow of the actin network behind the leading edge is highly persistent. Quantification of actin flow structure during migration reveals a stable organization and asymmetry in the cell-wide flowfield that strongly correlates with cell directionality. This organization is regulated by a gradient of actin network compression and destruction, which is controlled by myosin contraction and cofilin-mediated disassembly. It is this stable actin-flow polarity, which integrates rapid fluctuations of the leading edge, that controls inherent cellular persistence

A Genome-Wide Comparative Evolutionary Analysis of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and Varicella Zoster Virus

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) are closely related viruses causing lifelong infections. They are typically associated with mucocutaneous or skin lesions, but may also cause severe neurological or ophthalmic diseases, possibly due to viral- and/or host-genetic factors. Although these viruses are well characterized, genome-wide evolutionary studies have hitherto only been presented for VZV. Here, we present a genome-wide study on HSV-1. We also compared the evolutionary characteristics of HSV-1 with those for VZV. We demonstrate that, in contrast to VZV for which only a few ancient recombination events have been suggested, all HSV-1 genomes contain mosaic patterns of segments with different evolutionary origins. Thus, recombination seems to occur extremely frequent for HSV-1. We conclude by proposing a timescale for HSV-1 evolution, and by discussing putative underlying mechanisms for why these otherwise biologically similar viruses have such striking evolutionary differences

Diffusion in crowded biological environments: applications of Brownian dynamics

Biochemical reactions in living systems occur in complex, heterogeneous media with total concentrations of macromolecules in the range of 50 - 400 mgml. Molecular species occupy a significant fraction of the immersing medium, up to 40% of volume. Such complex and volume-occupied environments are generally termed 'crowded' and/or 'confined'. In crowded conditions non-specific interactions between macromolecules may hinder diffusion - a major process determining metabolism, transport, and signaling. Also, the crowded media can alter, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the reactions in vivo in comparison with their in vitro counterparts. This review focuses on recent developments in particle-based Brownian dynamics algorithms, their applications to model diffusive transport in crowded systems, and their abilities to reproduce and predict the behavior of macromolecules under in vivo conditions

Tectono-stratigraphic evolution and crustal architecture of the Orphan Basin during North Atlantic rifting

The Orphan Basin is located in the deep offshore of the Newfoundland margin, and it is bounded by the continental shelf to the west, the Grand Banks to the south, and the continental blocks of Orphan Knoll and Flemish Cap to the east. The Orphan Basin formed in Mesozoic time during the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean between eastern Canada and western Iberia–Europe. This work, based on well data and regional seismic reflection profiles across the basin, indicates that the continental crust was affected by several extensional episodes between the Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous, separated by events of uplift and erosion. The preserved tectono-stratigraphic sequences in the basin reveal that deformation initiated in the eastern part of the Orphan Basin in the Jurassic and spread towards the west in the Early Cretaceous, resulting in numerous rift structures filled with a Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous syn-rift succession and overlain by thick Upper Cretaceous to Cenozoic post-rift sediments. The seismic data show an extremely thinned crust (4–16 km thick) underneath the eastern and western parts of the Orphan Basin, forming two sub-basins separated by a wide structural high with a relatively thick crust (17 km thick). Quantifying the crustal architecture in the basin highlights the large discrepancy between brittle extension localized in the upper crust and the overall crustal thinning. This suggests that continental deformation in the Orphan Basin involved, in addition to the documented Jurassic and Early Cretaceous rifting, an earlier brittle rift phase which is unidentifiable in seismic data and a depth-dependent thinning of the crust driven by localized lower crust ductile flow

Mice Lacking Alkbh1 Display Sex-Ratio Distortion and Unilateral Eye Defects

Escherichia coli AlkB is a 2-oxoglutarate- and iron-dependent dioxygenase that reverses alkylated DNA damage by oxidative demethylation. Mouse AlkB homolog 1 (Alkbh1) is one of eight members of the newly discovered family of mammalian dioxygenases.In the present study we show non-Mendelian inheritance of the Alkbh1 targeted allele in mice. Both Alkbh1(-/-) and heterozygous Alkbh1(+/-) offspring are born at a greatly reduced frequency. Additionally, the sex-ratio is considerably skewed against female offspring, with one female born for every three to four males. Most mechanisms that cause segregation distortion, act in the male gametes and affect male fertility. The skewing of the sexes appears to be of paternal origin, and might be set in the pachythene stage of meiosis during spermatogenesis, in which Alkbh1 is upregulated more than 10-fold. In testes, apoptotic spermatids were revealed in 5-10% of the tubules in Alkbh1(-/-) adults. The deficiency of Alkbh1 also causes misexpression of Bmp2, 4 and 7 at E11.5 during embryonic development. This is consistent with the incompletely penetrant phenotypes observed, particularly recurrent unilateral eye defects and craniofacial malformations.Genetic and phenotypic assessment suggests that Alkbh1 mediates gene regulation in spermatogenesis, and that Alkbh1 is essential for normal sex-ratio distribution and embryonic development in mice