Sex differences in aggression: The role of inhibitory control.

Women engage in far less direct aggression and crime than men. Given the potential rewards of aggression, women’s desistance requires explanation. This thesis examined Campbell’s (2006) proposal that sex differences in aggression are mediated by women’s greater fear and inhibitory control. Campbell (1999) argued that women are more fearful of activities associated with risk of physical harm due to high fitness costs incurred by offspring as a result of maternal death or injury in the ancestral environment. In a large adolescent sample (Chapter 3), harm avoidance emerged as the primary mediator of sex differences, though inhibitory control was a significant partial mediator. Campbell’s theory has been extended to explaining sex differences in experiences of aggression (‘social representations’). Women’s more expressive experience (as a loss of control) may represent an accurate ‘readout’ of their experience, whereby superior inhibitory control of anger results in behavioural expression at a higher level of arousal. Chapter 2 reports the results of a confirmatory factor analysis, which confirmed the superior psychometric status of the Revised Short Expagg (which measures the experience of aggression); This measure was incorporated into the study reported in Chapter 3. Women’s lesser aggression was also explained by their relatively more expressive representation, providing support for the ‘readout’ theory. Research which has established sex symmetry in partner-directed aggression (Chapter 4) presented a critical test of Campbell’s theory. It was proposed that women experience a reduction in fear and inhibitory control in intimate relationships. To test this, a context-specific measure of inhibition was developed (Chapter 5). Women from community samples reported significantly less inhibition than men on this measure (Chapters 5 & 6). In the study reported in Chapter 6, women’s perpetration of partner aggression was associated with lower inhibition on one measured domain (the tendency to express honest appraisals rather than engage in tactful dishonesty). Women’s aggression was associated with an instrumental experience, indicative of control motives. However, fear was positively associated with aggression perpetration, though it was unclear whether fear was a precursor to, or a consequence of aggression. Implications for avoidant and appetitive theories of sex differences are discussed in Chapter 7

Heart failure nursing in Australia: Challenges, strengths, and opportunities

Australia has a land mass similar to the United States of America, supporting a population of just over 20 million, which is distributed predominantly across the coastal perimeter. The Australian society is rich in cultural diversity fostered by decades of migration. Both these factors present challenges for health care. First, because resources are scare in rural and remote regions, health outcomes are poorer in these regions, especially among indigenous populations. Second, the cultural diversity of Australians is a challenge to providing evidence-based treatment recommendations. In Australia, in parallel with international trends, there is a strong association between socioeconomic status, chronic conditions, and health outcomes

Languages learning at Key Stage 2: a longitudinal study

This is the final report of a 3 year longitudinal study of the teaching of French, German and Spanish at Key Stage 2, funded from 2006-2009 by the Department for Children Schools and Families. The report covers the attitudes of teachers and children towards languages; the organisation and administration of languages within primary schools; current practice in the teaching of languages; the development of children's intercultural understanding; children's attainment in target language oracy and literacy; and concludes with a discussion of the future sustainability of languages in the primary curriculum and steps needed to secure this

Candidate Sequence Variants and Fetal Hemoglobin in Children with Sickle Cell Disease Treated with Hydroxyurea

Fetal hemoglobin level is a heritable complex trait that strongly correlates with the clinical severity of sickle cell disease. Only few genetic loci have been identified as robustly associated with fetal hemoglobin in patients with sickle cell disease, primarily adults. The sole approved pharmacologic therapy for this disease is hydroxyurea, with effects largely attributable to induction of fetal hemoglobin. In a multi-site observational analysis of children with sickle cell disease, candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with baseline fetal hemoglobin levels in adult sickle cell disease were examined in children at baseline and induced by hydroxyurea therapy. For baseline levels, single marker analysis demonstrated significant association with BCL11A and the beta and epsilon globin loci (HBB and HBE, respectively), with an additive attributable variance from these loci of 23%. Among a subset of children on hydroxyurea, baseline fetal hemoglobin levels explained 33% of the variance in induced levels. The variant in HBE accounted for an additional 13% of the variance in induced levels, while variants in the HBB and BCL11A loci did not contribute beyond baseline levels. These findings clarify the overlap between baseline and hydroxyurea-induced fetal hemoglobin levels in pediatric disease. Studies assessing influences of specific sequence variants in these and other genetic loci in larger populations and in unusual hydroxyurea responders are needed to further understand the maintenance and therapeutic induction of fetal hemoglobin in pediatric sickle cell disease

The Lantern Vol. 56, No. 2, Spring 1990

• Brasil • Plastic Flowers • Be a Pepper • Grunge • Handling the Responsibility • Returning to the Forest • How Nice • Nooze • Emma • Restoration • Chestnuts • Frozen Moments • Once Upon A • Clipped Wings • Gerard Manley Hopkins • Roaches • In Grand Central • The Steelville Shark • Panama 1989 • Betrayal • Violations • Detourhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1136/thumbnail.jp

Histopathology of familial versus nonfamilial dilated cardiomyopathy

Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is most likely a heterogenous group of diseases characterized by ventricular dilatation and dysfunction. Approximately 20% of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy have familial disease, which may be inapparent by review of the family history alone. It has been suggested that histopathologic features, particularly the presence of bizarrely shaped mitochondria, may be useful in distinguishing familial from nonfamilial disease.We investigated 57 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, 13 familial and 43nonfamilial or indeterminate. Pathologic examination of right endomyocardial biopsy specimens showed no significant differences between the familial, nonfamilial, or indeterminate groups by light microscopy or electron microscopy. We conclude that the distinction between familial and nonfamilial dilated cardiomyopathy cannot be made by histopathologic examination in most cases.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30544/1/0000177.pd

Patient preferences and willingness-to-pay for a home or clinic based program of chronic heart failure management: findings from the which? trial

BACKGROUND Beyond examining their overall cost-effectiveness and mechanisms of effect, it is important to understand patient preferences for the delivery of different modes of chronic heart failure management programs (CHF-MPs). We elicited patient preferences around the characteristics and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a clinic or home-based CHF-MP. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS A Discrete Choice Experiment was completed by a sub-set of patients (n = 91) enrolled in the WHICH? trial comparing home versus clinic-based CHF-MP. Participants provided 5 choices between hypothetical clinic and home-based programs varying by frequency of nurse consultations, nurse continuity, patient costs, and availability of telephone or education support. Participants (aged 71±13 yrs, 72.5% male, 25.3% NYHA class III/IV) displayed two distinct preference classes. A latent class model of the choice data indicated 56% of participants preferred clinic delivery, access to group CHF education classes, and lower cost programs (p<0.05). The remainder preferred home-based CHF-MPs, monthly rather than weekly visits, and access to a phone advice service (p<0.05). Continuity of nurse contact was consistently important. No significant association was observed between program preference and participant allocation in the parent trial. WTP was estimated from the model and a dichotomous bidding technique. For those preferring clinic, estimated WTP was ≈AU$9-20 per visit; however for those preferring home-based programs, WTP varied widely (AU$15-105). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Patient preferences for CHF-MPs were dichotomised between a home-based model which is more likely to suit older patients, those who live alone, and those with a lower household income; and a clinic-based model which is more likely to suit those who are more socially active and wealthier. To optimise the delivery of CHF-MPs, health care services should consider their patients’ preferences when designing CHF-MPs.Jennifer A. Whitty, Simon Stewart, Melinda J. Carrington, Alicia Calderone, Thomas Marwick, John D. Horowitz, Henry Krum, Patricia M. Davidson, Peter S. Macdonald, Christopher Reid, Paul A. Scuffha

Variations in hydrological connectivity of Australian semiarid landscapes indicate abrupt changes in rainfall-use efficiency of vegetation

[1] Dryland vegetation frequently shows self‐organized spatial patterns as mosaic‐like structures of sources (bare areas) and sinks (vegetation patches) of water runoff and sediments with variable interconnection. Good examples are banded landscapes displayed by Mulga in semiarid Australia, where the spatial organization of vegetation optimizes the redistribution and use of water (and other scarce resources) at the landscape scale. Disturbances can disrupt the spatial distribution of vegetation causing a substantial loss of water by increasing landscape hydrological connectivity and consequently, affecting ecosystem function (e.g., decreasing the rainfall‐use efficiency of the landscape). We analyze (i) connectivity trends obtained from coupled analysis of remotely sensed vegetation patterns and terrain elevations in several Mulga landscapes subjected to different levels of disturbance, and (ii) the rainfall‐use efficiency of these landscapes, exploring the relationship between rainfall and remotely sensed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. Our analyses indicate that small reductions in the fractional cover of vegetation near a particular threshold can cause abrupt changes in ecosystem function, driven by large nonlinear increases in the length of the connected flowpaths. In addition, simulations with simple vegetation‐thinning algorithms show that these nonlinear changes are especially sensitive to the type of disturbance, suggesting that the amount of alterations that an ecosystem can absorb and still remain functional largely depends on disturbance type. In fact, selective thinning of the vegetation patches from their edges can cause a higher impact on the landscape hydrological connectivity than spatially random disturbances. These results highlight surface connectivity patterns as practical indicators for monitoring landscape health

The Werner Syndrome Helicase/Exonuclease Processes Mobile D-Loops through Branch Migration and Degradation

RecQ DNA helicases are critical for preserving genome integrity. Of the five RecQ family members identified in humans, only the Werner syndrome protein (WRN) possesses exonuclease activity. Loss of WRN causes the progeroid disorder Werner syndrome which is marked by cancer predisposition. Cellular evidence indicates that WRN disrupts potentially deleterious intermediates in homologous recombination (HR) that arise in genomic and telomeric regions during DNA replication and repair. Precisely how the WRN biochemical activities process these structures is unknown, especially since the DNA unwinding activity is poorly processive. We generated biologically relevant mobile D-loops which mimic the initial DNA strand invasion step in HR to investigate whether WRN biochemical activities can disrupt this joint molecule. We show that WRN helicase alone can promote branch migration through an 84 base pair duplex region to completely displace the invading strand from the D-loop. However, substrate processing is altered in the presence of the WRN exonuclease activity which degrades the invading strand both prior to and after release from the D-loop. Furthermore, telomeric D-loops are more refractory to disruption by WRN, which has implications for tighter regulation of D-loop processing at telomeres. Finally, we show that WRN can recognize and initiate branch migration from both the 5′ and 3′ ends of the invading strand in the D-loops. These findings led us to propose a novel model for WRN D-loop disruption. Our biochemical results offer an explanation for the cellular studies that indicate both WRN activities function in processing HR intermediates