Cube law, condition factor and weight-length relationships: history, meta-analysis and recommendations

This study presents a historical review, a meta-analysis, and recommendations for users about weight–length relationships, condition factors and relative weight equations. The historical review traces the developments of the respective concepts. The meta-analysis explores 3929 weight–length relationships of the type W = aLb for 1773 species of fishes. It shows that 82% of the variance in a plot of log a over b can be explained by allometric versus isometric growth patterns and by different body shapes of the respective species. Across species median b = 3.03 is significantly larger than 3.0, thus indicating a tendency towards slightly positive-allometric growth (increase in relative body thickness or plumpness) in most fishes. The expected range of 2.5 < b < 3.5 is confirmed. Mean estimates of b outside this range are often based on only one or two weight–length relationships per species. However, true cases of strong allometric growth do exist and three examples are given. Within species, a plot of log a vs b can be used to detect outliers in weight–length relationships. An equation to calculate mean condition factors from weight–length relationships is given as Kmean = 100aLb−3. Relative weight Wrm = 100W/(amLbm) can be used for comparing the condition of individuals across populations, where am is the geometric mean of a and bm is the mean of b across all available weight–length relationships for a given species. Twelve recommendations for proper use and presentation of weight–length relationships, condition factors and relative weight are given

Porphyromonas gingivalis oral infection exacerbates the development and severity of collagen-induced arthritis

Abstract Introduction Clinical studies suggest a direct influence of periodontal disease (PD) on serum inflammatory markers and disease assessment of patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the influence of PD on arthritis development remains unclear. This investigation was undertaken to determine the contribution of chronic PD to immune activation and development of joint inflammation using the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model. Methods DBA1/J mice orally infected with Porphyromonas gingivalis were administered with collagen II (CII) emulsified in complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) or incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (IFA) to induce arthritis. Arthritis development was assessed by visual scoring of paw swelling, caliper measurement of the paws, mRNA expression, paw micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) analysis, histology, and tartrate resistant acid phosphatase for osteoclast detection (TRAP)-positive immunohistochemistry. Serum and reactivated splenocytes were evaluated for cytokine expression. Results Mice induced for PD and/or arthritis developed periodontal disease, shown by decreased alveolar bone and alteration of mRNA expression in gingival tissues and submandibular lymph nodes compared to vehicle. P. gingivalis oral infection increased paw swelling and osteoclast numbers in mice immunized with CFA/CII. Arthritis incidence and severity were increased by P. gingivalis in mice that received IFA/CII immunizations. Increased synovitis, bone erosions, and osteoclast numbers in the paws were observed following IFA/CII immunizations in mice infected with P gingivalis. Furthermore, cytokine analysis showed a trend toward increased serum Th17/Th1 ratios when P. gingivalis infection was present in mice receiving either CFA/CII or IFA/CII immunizations. Significant cytokine increases induced by P. gingivalis oral infection were mostly associated to Th17-related cytokines of reactivated splenic cells, including IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-22 in the CFA/CII group and IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, transforming growth factor-β, IL-6 and IL-23 in the IFA/CII group. Conclusions Chronic P. gingivalis oral infection prior to arthritis induction increases the immune system activation favoring Th17 cell responses, and ultimately accelerating arthritis development. These results suggest that chronic oral infection may influence RA development mainly through activation of Th17-related pathways.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112639/1/13075_2013_Article_4062.pd

Does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Youth Anxiety Outperform Usual Care in Community Clinics? An Initial Effectiveness Test

Objective: Most tests of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for youth anxiety disorders have shown beneficial effects, but these have been efficacy trials with recruited youths treated by researcher-employed therapists. One previous (nonrandomized) trial in community clinics found that CBT did not outperform usual care (UC). The present study used a more stringent effectiveness design to test CBT versus UC in youths referred to community clinics, with all treatment provided by therapists employed in the clinics. Method: A randomized controlled trial methodology was used. Therapists were randomized to training and supervision in the Coping Cat CBT program or UC. Forty-eight youths (56% girls, 8 to 15 years of age, 38% Caucasian, 33% Latino, 15% African-American) diagnosed with DSM-IV anxiety disorders were randomized to CBT or UC. Results: At the end of treatment more than half the youths no longer met criteria for their primary anxiety disorder, but the groups did not differ significantly on symptom (e.g., parent report, eta-square = 0.0001; child report, eta-square = 0.09; both differences favoring UC) or diagnostic (CBT, 66.7% without primary diagnosis; UC, 73.7%; odds ratio 0.71) outcomes. No differences were found with regard to outcomes of comorbid conditions, treatment duration, or costs. However, youths receiving CBT used fewer additional services than UC youths (χ21 = 8.82, p = .006). Conclusions: CBT did not produce better clinical outcomes than usual community clinic care. This initial test involved a relatively modest sample size; more research is needed to clarify whether there are conditions under which CBT can produce better clinical outcomes than usual clinical care.Psycholog

Clinician and Parent Perspectives on Parent and Family Contextual Factors that Impact Community Mental Health Services for Children with Behavior Problems

The present study employed qualitative methods to examine multiple stakeholder perspectives regarding the role of parent and family contextual factors on community child mental health treatment for children with behavior problems. Findings suggest agreement between clinicians and parents on the number, types and importance of parent and family factors in children’s mental health services; however, stakeholders differed in reports of which factors were most salient. Specifically, clinicians endorsed most factors as being equally salient, while parents described a few salient factors, with parental stress and inadequate social support being the most frequently discussed. These qualitative data further elucidate the context of community services and have implications for evidence-based practice implementation and improving community care

Testing Standard and Modular Designs for Psychotherapy Treating Depression, Anxiety, and Conduct Problems in Youth

CONTEXT: Decades of randomized controlled trials have produced separate evidence-based treatments for depression, anxiety, and conduct problems in youth, but these treatments are not often used in clinical practice, and they produce mixed results in trials with the comorbid, complex youths seen in practice. An integrative, modular redesign may help. OBJECTIVE: Standard/separate and modular/integrated arrangements of evidence-based treatments for depression, anxiety, and conduct problems in youth were compared with usual care treatment, with the modular design permitting a multidisorder focus and a flexible application of treatment procedures. DESIGN: Randomized effectiveness trial. SETTING: Ten outpatient clinical service organizations in Massachusetts and Hawaii. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 84 community clinicians were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions for the treatment of 174 clinically referred youths who were 7 to 13 years of age (70% of these youths were boys, and 45% were white). The study was conducted during the period from January 12, 2005 to May 8, 2009. INTERVENTIONS: Standard manual treatment (59 youths [34% of the sample]; cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety, and behavioral parent training for conduct problems), modular treatment (62 youths [36%]; integrating the procedures of the 3 separate treatments), and usual care (53 youths [30%]). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcomes were assessed using weekly youth and parent assessments. These assessments relied on a standardized Brief Problem Checklist and a patient-generated Top Problems Assessment (ie, the severity ratings on the problems that the youths and parents had identified as most important). We also conducted a standardized diagnostic assessment before and after treatment. RESULTS: Mixed effects regression analyses showed that modular treatment produced significantly steeper trajectories of improvement than usual care and standard treatment on multiple Brief Problem Checklist and Top Problems Assessment measures. Youths receiving modular treatment also had significantly fewer diagnoses than youths receiving usual care after treatment. In contrast, outcomes of standard manual treatment did not differ significantly from outcomes of usual care. CONCLUSIONS: The modular approach outperformed usual care and standard evidence-based treatments on multiple clinical outcome measures. The modular approach may be a promising way to build on the strengths of evidence-based treatments, improving their utility and effectiveness with referred youths in clinical practice settings. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01178554.Psycholog

Predictors of Treatment Attrition Among an Outpatient Clinic Sample of Youths With Clinically Significant Anxiety

Predictors of treatment attrition were examined in a sample of 197 youths (ages 5–18) with clinically-significant symptoms of anxiety seeking psychotherapy services at a community-based outpatient mental health clinic (OMHC). Two related definitions of attrition were considered: (a) clinician-rated dropout (CR), and (b) CR dropout qualified by phase of treatment (pre, early, or late phases) (PT). Across both definitions, rates of attrition in the OMHC sample were higher than those for anxious youths treated in randomized controlled trials, and comorbid depression symptoms predicted dropout, with a higher rate of depressed youths dropping out later in treatment (after 6 sessions). Using the PT definition, minority status also predicted attrition, with more African-American youths lost pre-treatment. Other demographic (age, gender, single parent status) and clinical (externalizing symptoms, anxiety severity) characteristics were not significantly associated with attrition using either definition. Implications for services for anxious youths in public service settings are discussed. Results highlight the important role of comorbid depression in the treatment of anxious youth and the potential value of targeted retention efforts for ethnic minority families early in the treatment process

Studying Children's Intrapersonal Emotion Regulation Strategies from the Process Model of Emotion Regulation

peerreview_statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope. aims_and_scope_url: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=vgnt2

Family treatment of child anxiety: outcomes, limitations and future directions

Anxiety of childhood is a common and serious condition. The past decade has seen an increase in treatment-focussed research, with recent trials tending to give greater attention to parents in the treatment process. This review examines the efficacy of family-based cognitive behaviour therapy and attempts to delineate some of the factors that might have an impact on its efficacy. The choice and timing of outcome measure, age and gender of the child, level of parental anxiety, severity and type of child anxiety and treatment format and content are scrutinised. The main conclusions are necessarily tentative, but it seems likely that Family Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (FCBT) is superior to no treatment, and, for some outcome measures, also superior to Child Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CCBT). Where FCBT is successful, the results are consistently maintained at follow-up. It appears that where a parent is anxious, and this is not addressed, outcomes are less good. However, for children of anxious parents, FCBT is probably more effective than CCBT. What is most clear is that large, well-designed studies, examining these factors alone and in combination, are now needed

A Psychometric Analysis of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scales—Parent Version in a School Sample

The Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale—Parent Version (RCADS-P) is a parent-report questionnaire of youth anxiety and depression with scales corresponding to the DSM diagnoses of separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and major depressive disorder. The RCADS-P was recently developed and has previously demonstrated strong psychometric properties in a clinic-referred sample (Ebesutani et al., Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 38, 249–260, 2010b). The present study examined the psychometric properties of the RCADS-P in a school-based population. As completed by parents of 967 children and adolescents, the RCADS-P demonstrated high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and good convergent/divergent validity, supporting the RCADS-P as a measure of internalizing problems specific to depression and five anxiety disorders in school samples. Normative data are also reported to allow for the derivation of T-scores to enhance clinicians’ ability to make classification decisions using RCADS-P subscale scores

Carcass persistence and detectability : reducing the uncertainty surrounding wildlife-vehicle collision surveys

Carcass persistence time and detectability are two main sources of uncertainty on roadkill surveys. In this study, we evaluate the influence of these uncertainties on roadkill surveys and estimates. To estimate carcass persistence time, three observers (including the driver) surveyed 114km by car on a monthly basis for two years, searching for wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC). Each survey consisted of five consecutive days. To estimate carcass detectability, we randomly selected stretches of 500m to be also surveyed on foot by two other observers (total 292 walked stretches, 146 km walked). We expected that body size of the carcass, road type, presence of scavengers and weather conditions to be the main drivers influencing the carcass persistence times, but their relative importance was unknown. We also expected detectability to be highly dependent on body size. Overall, we recorded low median persistence times (one day) and low detectability (<10%) for all vertebrates. The results indicate that body size and landscape cover (as a surrogate of scavengers' presence) are the major drivers of carcass persistence. Detectability was lower for animals with body mass less than 100g when compared to carcass with higher body mass. We estimated that our recorded mortality rates underestimated actual values of mortality by 2±10 fold. Although persistence times were similar to previous studies, the detectability rates here described are very different from previous studies. The results suggest that detectability is the main source of bias across WVC studies. Therefore, more than persistence times, studies should carefully account for differing detectability when comparing WVC studies