Digit ratio and autism spectrum disorders in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children:a birth cohort study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), a measure commonly used as a proxy for fetal testosterone exposure, is associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), as predicted by the extreme male brain theory of autism. DESIGN: A birth cohort study. SETTING: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). PARTICIPANTS: 6015 ALSPAC children with data on digit ratio, at least 1 outcome measure and information on potential confounding variables (parental occupational class, maternal education and age at digit ratio measurement). Digit ratio was measured by the photocopy and calliper method. OUTCOMES: ASD diagnosis (cases were identified previously by record linkage or maternal report) and 4 measures that combine optimally within ALSPAC to predict ASD: the Children's Communication Checklist (coherence subscale), the Social and Communication Disorders Checklist, a repetitive behaviour measure, and the Emotionality, Activity and Sociability scale (sociability subscale). These measures were dichotomised, with approximately 10% defined as the ‘risk’ group. RESULTS: Using logistic regression, we examined the association of 2D:4D with ASDs and 4 dichotomised ASD traits. Covariates were occupational class, maternal education and age at 2D:4D measurement. 2D:4D was not associated with ASDs in males (adjusted OR per 1 SD increase in mean 2D:4D, 0.88 (95% CI 0.65 to 1.21), p=0.435) or females (adjusted OR=1.36 (95% CI 0.81 to 2.28), p=0.245). Similar results were observed after adjustment for IQ. There was 1 weak association between reduced coherence and increased left 2D:4D in males, in the opposite direction to that predicted by the extreme male brain theory (adjusted OR=1.15 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.29), p=0.023). Given multiple comparisons, this is consistent with chance. CONCLUSIONS: In this population-based study, there was no strong evidence of an association between 2D:4D and ASD diagnosis or traits, although the CIs were wide. These results are not consistent with the extreme male brain theory

A positioning pillow to improve lumbar puncture success rate in paediatric haematology-oncology patients: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lumbar punctures (LPs) are common in children with cancer. Although pain management during the lumbar puncture has been well standardized, dealing with stress and anxiety is not well addressed yet. Our objective was to evaluate the potential improvement of the LP success rate using a positioning pillow, to ensure maximum lumbar flexion, and allow paravertebral muscles to relax, in children who are awake, with either conscious sedation or no sedation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Children aged 2–18 years undergoing LP were randomly assigned to a positioning pillow or no intervention. The primary outcome was the rate of success, i.e. achieving the LP (sampling or injection) at the first attempt, without bleeding (RBC < 50/mm³). The secondary outcomes included: the child's pain, assessed by a self-administered visual analogical scales (VAS) for children over 6 years of age; the parents' and caregivers' perception of the child's pain; the satisfaction of the children, the parents, the caregivers and the physician. The child's cooperation and the occurrence of post-LP syndrome were also evaluated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>124 children (62 in each group) were included. The LP pillow tended to increase the success rate of LPs (67% vs. 57%, p = 0.23), and decreased the post-LP syndromes (15% vs. 24%, p = 0.17) but the differences were not statistically significant. In children over 6-year of age (n = 72), the rate of success was significantly higher in the pillow group (58.5% vs. 41.5%, p = 0.031), with a tendency to feel less pain (median VAS 25 vs. 15 mm, p = 0.39) and being more satisfied (84.4% vs. 75.0%, p = 0.34).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall results do not demonstrate a benefit in using this pillow for lumbar punctures. This study results also suggest a benefit in the sub group of children over 6-year of age; this result needs confirmation.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>The trial was registered with Clinical Trials.gov (number NCT00775112).</p

Preoperative muscle weakness as defined by handgrip strength and postoperative outcomes: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Reduced muscle strength- commonly characterized by decreased handgrip strength compared to population norms- is associated with numerous untoward outcomes. Preoperative handgrip strength is a potentially attractive real-time, non-invasive, cheap and easy-to-perform "bedside" assessment tool. Using systematic review procedure, we investigated whether preoperative handgrip strength was associated with postoperative outcomes in adults undergoing surgery.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>PRISMA and MOOSE consensus guidelines for reporting systematic reviews were followed. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials (1980-2010) were systematically searched by two independent reviewers. The selection criteria were limited to include studies of preoperative handgrip strength in human adults undergoing non-emergency, cardiac and non-cardiac surgery. Study procedural quality was analysed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment score. The outcomes assessed were postoperative morbidity, mortality and hospital stay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nineteen clinical studies (17 prospective; 4 in urgent surgery) comprising 2194 patients were identified between1980-2010. Impaired handgrip strength and postoperative morbidity were defined inconsistently between studies. Only 2 studies explicitly ensured investigators collecting postoperative outcomes data were blinded to preoperative handgrip strength test results. The heterogeneity of study design used and the diversity of surgical procedures precluded formal meta-analysis. Despite the moderate quality of these observational studies, lower handgrip strength was associated with increased morbidity (n = 10 studies), mortality (n = 2/5 studies) and length of hospital stay (n = 3/7 studies).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Impaired preoperative handgrip strength may be associated with poorer postoperative outcomes, but further work exploring its predictive power is warranted using prospectively acquired, objectively defined measures of postoperative morbidity.</p

Quietly sharing the load? The role of school psychologists in enabling teacher resilience

Teacher resilience is associated with positive student outcomes and plays an important role in teacher retention and well-being. School ecologies can enable the resilience of teachers, with prior research illustrating the importance of supportive colleagues, strong leadership, and positive school culture. There is limited research, however, exploring the role of school psychologists in supporting or enabling teacher resilience. Using data from experienced Australian school psychologists and teachers, this exploratory qualitative study examines the role of school psychologists in enabling teacher resilience. Findings show that school psychologists directly and indirectly support teacher resilience, although teachers perceive school psychologists’ main role as work with individual students. Issues pertaining to variations in access and particular roles of school psychologists are discussed. Although further research is needed to clarify and promote the role of school psychologists, this study points to them potentially playing an important role in school ecologies that enable teacher resilience

Photon and Graviton Mass Limits

Efforts to place limits on deviations from canonical formulations of electromagnetism and gravity have probed length scales increasing dramatically over time.Historically, these studies have passed through three stages: (1) Testing the power in the inverse-square laws of Newton and Coulomb, (2) Seeking a nonzero value for the rest mass of photon or graviton, (3) Considering more degrees of freedom, allowing mass while preserving explicit gauge or general-coordinate invariance. Since our previous review the lower limit on the photon Compton wavelength has improved by four orders of magnitude, to about one astronomical unit, and rapid current progress in astronomy makes further advance likely. For gravity there have been vigorous debates about even the concept of graviton rest mass. Meanwhile there are striking observations of astronomical motions that do not fit Einstein gravity with visible sources. "Cold dark matter" (slow, invisible classical particles) fits well at large scales. "Modified Newtonian dynamics" provides the best phenomenology at galactic scales. Satisfying this phenomenology is a requirement if dark matter, perhaps as invisible classical fields, could be correct here too. "Dark energy" {\it might} be explained by a graviton-mass-like effect, with associated Compton wavelength comparable to the radius of the visible universe. We summarize significant mass limits in a table.Comment: 42 pages Revtex4. This version contains corrections and changes contained in the published version, Rev. Mod. Phys. 82, 939-979 (2010), with a few addition

Understanding and examining teacher resilience from multiple perspectives

In this chapter, I argue that differing conceptualisations of the construct of resilience shape and enrich the research questions and methodology used to examine it. In addition, the conceptual focus has implications for questions such as whose responsibility it is for the development of resilience. Research conducted within two Australian projects, Keeping Cool and BRiTE (Building Resilience in Teacher Education) is used as an illustration of the impact of a changing conceptual focus. For example, beginning with a psychological perspective led to an examination of risk and protective factors for individuals. More contextual approaches involved a comparison of countries. Recent systemic views support a model that encompasses both personal and contextual characteristics, as well as strategies used and outcomes achieved. It is argued that taking multiple perspectives in this programme of work has enabled the incorporation of a broad range of research methods and findings, and contributed to a deeper understanding of the construct of teacher resilience

The challenge to professionals of using social media: teachers in England negotiating personal-professional identities

Social media are a group of technologies such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn which offer people chances to interact with one another in new ways. Teachers, like other members of society, do not all use social media. Some avoid, some experiment with and others embrace social media enthusiastically. As a means of communication available to everyone in modern society, social media is challenging teachers, as other professionals in society, to decide whether to engage with these tools and, if so, on what basis – as an individual (personally), or as a teacher (professionally). Although teachers are guided by schools and codes of practice, teachers as individuals are left to decide whether and how to explore social media for either their own or their students' learning. This paper analyses evidence from interviews with 12 teachers from England about their use of social media as to the challenges they experience in relation to using the media as professional teachers.. Teachers are in society’s spotlight in terms of examples of inappropriate use of social media but also under peer pressure to connect. This paper explores their agency in responding. The paper focuses on how teachers deal with tensions between their personal and professional use of social media. These tensions are not always perceived as negative and some teachers' accounts revealed a unity in their identities when using social media. The paper reflects on the implications of such teachers' identities in relation to the future of social media use in education

Teachers' resilience: conceived, perceived or lived-in

[Extract] Schools in Western countries are places where work related conditions lead to teacher disaffection and attrition. To mitigate this employers and scholars advocate fostering teacher resilience. This chapter presents a critical examination of teacher resilience. Originally conceived as a personal trait, later research showed human resilience is an attribute that can be developed. Resilience is one’s ability to manage stressors and maintain adaptive functioning across all domains of life. Latterly, scholars investigated resilience in teachers, mainly through qualitative or quantitative self-report studies. This research constitutes perceived teacher resilience, because as formulated, teacher resilience is conceptually flawed, limited in scope, based on teachers’ functioning within their professional lives. We do not know what constitutes long serving teachers’ actual, lived-in resilience: what enables teachers to maintain their wellbeing and effectiveness in the classroom, reflecting human resilience as originally conceived. For an accurate profile of teacher resilience we must study those still teaching, and teachers who have exited the profession to determine why they left. Perhaps exiting the profession signals a resilient person who does accept working conditions that do not support wellbeing or teaching effectiveness. Perhaps ‘teacher resilience’ is inaccurately used in the context of teacher attrition and disaffection

COUP-TFII Controls Mouse Pancreatic β-Cell Mass through GLP-1-β-Catenin Signaling Pathways

Background: The control of the functional pancreatic beta-cell mass serves the key homeostatic function of releasing the right amount of insulin to keep blood sugar in the normal range. It is not fully understood though how beta-cell mass is determined