The Role of The Father in Child Development: A Review Of The Literature

Traditionally, the role of the father in the psychological development of children has received relatively little attention. Recently, however, an increasing number of researchers have evinced considerable interest in this area. \u27Much of the current interest...seems to have been intensified by the growing awareness of the prevalence of fatherless families and the social, economic, and psychological problems that such families encounter\u27 (Biller, 1971, p. l). the present review brings together most of the available research in this field. The first and most substantial aspect to be discussed involves the role of the father in the sex-role development of children. Although there are a few studies that have dealt with the development of femininity in girls and its relationship to various paternal factors, the emphasis in the literature has been primarily on the sex-role development of boys. The second segment of this paper will discuss the role of the father in the general personality functioning of children. This area consists almost entirely of retrospective studies, with an emphasis on factors relating to abnormality. The third category is composed of information on the father\u27s role in the child\u27s cognitive development. The fourth section will contain information not directly related to any of the first three points. The last portion of this article will present some concluding remarks and a few suggestions for future investigations

Health behaviours and attitudes towards being role models

Nurses are often viewed by the general public as role models for health. This study investigated health behaviours in pre-registered nurses and their attitudes towards being role models to their patients. In total, 540 pre-registered nurses self-reported their level of physical activity, smoking habits, alcohol intake and dietary habits. Overall, 24% were overweight or obese, 47% were not physically active enough to benefit their health, 73% did not eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables per day, 40% reported binge drinking and 17% were smokers. However, respondents commonly held the belief that nurses should be role models for health, although opinions varied according to the individual's own health profile. Despite being educated in health promotion practice, health behaviours were less than exemplary in this sample and for many, appeared contradictory to participant's beliefs that nurses should be exemplars for health. Nursing education should emphasise the importance of translating learning to their own health behaviours to support a healthy future NHS workforce

Functional rescue of dystrophin deficiency in mice caused by frameshift mutations using Campylobacter jejuni Cas9

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal, X-linked muscle wasting disease caused by mutations in the DMD gene. In 51% of DMD cases, a reading frame is disrupted because of deletion of several exons. Here, we show that CjCas9 derived from Campylobacter jejuni can be used as a gene editing tool to correct an out-of-frame Dmd exon in Dmd knockout mice. Herein, we used Cas9 derived from S. pyogenes to generate Dmd knockout (KO) mice with a frameshift mutation in Dmd gene. Then, we expressed CjCas9, its single-guide RNA, and the eGFP gene in the tibialis anterior muscle of the Dmd KO mice using an all-in-one adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector. CjCas9 cleaved the target site in the Dmd gene efficiently in vivo and induced small insertions or deletions at the target site. This treatment resulted in conversion of the disrupted Dmd reading frame from out-of-frame to in-frame, leading to the expression of dystrophin in the sarcolemma. Importantly, muscle strength was enhanced in the CjCas9-treated muscles, without off-target mutations, indicating high efficiency and specificity of CjCas9. This work suggests that in vivo DMD frame correction, mediated by CjCas9 has great potential for the treatment of DMD and other neuromuscular diseases

A phase 1 trial dose-escalation study of tipifarnib on a week-on, week-off schedule in relapsed, refractory or high-risk myeloid leukemia.

Inhibition of farnesyltransferase (FT) activity has been associated with in vitro and in vivo anti-leukemia activity. We report the results of a phase 1 dose-escalation study of tipifarnib, an oral FT inhibitor, in patients with relapsed, refractory or newly diagnosed (if over age 70) acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), on a week-on, week-off schedule. Forty-four patients were enrolled, two patients were newly diagnosed, and the rest were relapsed or refractory to previous treatment, with a median age of 61 (range 33-79). The maximum tolerated dose was determined to be 1200 mg given orally twice daily (b.i.d.) on this schedule. Cycle 1 dose-limiting toxicities were hepatic and renal. There were three complete remissions seen, two at the 1200 mg b.i.d. dose and one at the 1000 mg b.i.d. dose, with minor responses seen at the 1400 mg b.i.d. dose level. Pharmacokinetic studies performed at doses of 1400 mg b.i.d. showed linear behavior with minimal accumulation between days 1-5. Tipifarnib administered on a week-on, week-off schedule shows activity at higher doses, and represents an option for future clinical trials in AML