Sync or sink? Interpersonal synchrony impacts self-esteem

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Coordination Matters : Interpersonal Synchrony Influences Collaborative Problem-Solving

The authors thank Martha von Werthern and Caitlin Taylor for their assistance with data collection, Cathy Macpherson for her assistance with the preparation of the manuscript, and Mike Richardson, Alex Paxton, and Rick Dale for providing MATLAB code to assist with data analysis. The research was funded by the British Academy (SG131613).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Parents with complicated lives: do child protection services help or hinder?

This paper will outline a research project which seeks to centre the voices of parents who have been involved with Child Protection services. The need for a study which focuses on the experiences of service users who have ‘complicated lives’ is discussed with reference to some literature about the intersection of child protection with multiple difficulties relating to violence, disability and problematic substance use. The term ‘complicated lives’ is drawn from the work of Liz Kelly (2000). She uses this expression in her analysis of the systemic constraints facing women who experience multiple and repetitive forms of violence and abuse in order to describe the complex and compound difficulties that may characterise people’s lives. We have chosen to use the term ‘complicated lives’ because it enables us to purposefully avoid pathologising approaches and language which rigidly categorise and stigmatise those with such experiences. Australian research confirms the significant extent to which parents who come to the attention of statutory child protection services are experiencing multiple difficulties. In up to 75% of child protection cases, parents experience problematic substance use, a physical, psychiatric or intellectual disability or ‘family violence’ (Community Care Division, Victorian Government Department of Human Services 2002). The Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care reports an increase in child protection applications resulting from parental issues with substance use, mental illness and/or violence (Senate Community Affairs Committee 2005). Child protection figures from the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare show that 44% of such parents experience two or more of these problems (Australian Institute for Health and Welfare 2003)

GEOLOGIC SETTING, CHARACTERISTICS, AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF GOLD-BEARING QUARTZ VEINS IN THE KLAMATH MOUNTAINS IN THE REDDING 1x2 DEGREE QUADRANGLE, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

ABSTRACT More than three million ounces of gold have been produced from several geological terranes of the Eastern Klamath Mountains in the Redding, California 1x2 degree quadrangle. The most common lode-gold deposits are mesothermal-type quartz or quartz-carbonate veins which are hosted by a variety of rock types including metasedimentary, meta-volcanic and granitic rocks. There is a spatial association between significant gold deposits and granitic plutons or hypabyssal intrusions that are related to the plutons. The gold-bearing quartz veins have similar physical characteristics and mineralogy, but they occur in at least seven different geologic settings. Distinct trace element compositions occur in veins hosted by different rock types

Marital conflict, parent-child relations and children's psychological adjustment: a longitudinal investigation into the role of parental warmth and hostility

The corpus of research presented in this thesis applies a process-oriented perspective to understanding the interplay between marital conflict, parent-child relations and children's adjustment Specifically, this thesis focuses on the conceptually important question concerning the relative impact of parent-child warmth versus hostility on children's appraisals of the interparental and parent-child relationship, and how children's appraisals mediate the influence of parent-child relations on children's adjustment in the context of a discordant interparental relationship. Using data from a sample of over 500 children, parents and teachers living in the United Kingdom, a set of interlocking studies were conducted. First, two studies addressed the direction of effects between marital conflict and parent-child warmth and hostility, and between parent-child warmth and hostility and children's internalising symptoms and externalising problems. In addition, differences according to parent and child gender, and parent and child reports of interparental and parent-child relations were identified. This provided a necessary first step to confirm the orienting influence of marital conflict on the quality of parent-child relations, and to identify the influence of parent-child relations on children's adjustment, whilst also considering the theoretically plausible alternative that children's behaviour influences parents' expressions of warmth and hostility within parent-child relations, which, in turn, may influence the level of interparental conflict. Following on from this, a third study examined the mediating role of parent-child warmth and hostility in accounting for the relationship between interparental conflict and children's long-term internalising symptoms and externalising problems. This study examined the relative influence of parental hostile and rejecting behaviour versus warm and responsive behaviour on children's adjustment considered in the context of marital conflict. Finally, an integrative model examined whether the affective quality of parent-child relations determines children's appraisals of parent-child insecurity and children's perceptions of threat and self-blame derived from exposure to interparental conflict, and in turn, how these appraisals of marital and parent-child relations determine changes in children's symptoms of psychological and behavioural distress. Collectively, the studies contained within this thesis are among the very first to systematically consider the direction of effects between interparental conflict, parent- child warmth and hostility and children's adjustment and serve as a primer for researchers interested in factors that may reduce children's maladjustment in response to a discordant marital relationship

Knowledge and Education as Barriers and Facilitators to Nicotine Replacement Therapy Use for Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy:A Qualitative Study with Health Care Professionals

Smoking during pregnancy is a leading cause of negative pregnancy and perinatal outcomes. While UK guidelines recommend nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation during pregnancy, adherence to NRT is generally low and may partially explain why NRT appears less effective in pregnancy compared to non-pregnant smokers. This study aimed to identify and describe factors associated with NRT adherence from a health professional's perspective. Two focus groups and one expert group were conducted with 26 professionals involved in antenatal stop smoking services and the data were analysed thematically using a template methodology. From our analyses, we extracted two main themes: (i) 'Barriers to NRT use in pregnancy' explores the issues of how misinformation and unrealistic expectations could discourage NRT use, while (ii) 'Facilitators to NRT use in pregnancy' describes the different information, and modes of delivery, that stop smoking professionals believe will encourage correct and sustained NRT use. Understanding the barriers and facilitators to improve NRT adherence may aid the development of educational interventions to encourage NRT use and improve outcomes for pregnant women wanting to stop smoking

Utility of Phase Angle to Identify Cachexia and Assess Mortality in End-Stage Renal Disease

© 2020 American Society for Nutrition. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an Open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Objectives This cross-sectional analysis sought to identify cachexia and assess survival using phase angle (PA) in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving haemodialysis. Methods Patients receiving haemodialysis (n = 87, mean age 65.9 +/– 13.0) completed a Phase Angle (PA; 50 khz) measurement using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Cachexia variables were recorded according to Evans et al. definition (2008) including nutritional and functional measures (weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), Hand Grip Strength (HGS), Lean Tissue Mass (LTM), C-Reative Protein (CRP), serum albumin, haemoglobin, appetite (Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Treatment (FAACT)) and fatigue (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)). Survival was assessed at 12 months. Mann Whitney-U and Spearman correlation coefficient were conducted. Results The majority of patients completed follow up (n = 76). Eleven patients had died. Mean PA was not statistically different between those identified as cachectic and non-cachectic according to Evans et al. (2008) definition or between those patients that survived and died. However, patients that survived had better mean scores of weight, BMI, HGS, CRP, serum albumin and fatigue (FACIT). In addition, LTM scores were significantly better in patients that survived (P < .01). Appetite scores were also significantly better in patients that survived (P < .01) and those without cachexia (P = .01). Conclusions This study was part of a larger effort to clarity a phenotype of cachexia in ESRD. Unlike previous research, this study did not find PA useful in identifying patients at a higher risk of cachexia or death. However overall these patients had a very low mean PA. FAACT did discriminate between groups indicating self-reporting measurement tools of nutritional status were useful in identifying patients at a higher risk of cachexia and death. A larger sample and longer follow up is required to balance the limitations of this small study. Timing the administration of PA also requires consideration in future studies. Funding Sources Public Health Agency; Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund.Peer reviewe

Using a generic definition of cachexia in patients with kidney disease receiving haemodialysis: a longitudinal (pilot) study

International audienceBACKGROUND: Research indicates that cachexia is common among persons with chronic illnesses and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, there continues to be an absence of a uniformed disease-specific definition for cachexia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patient populations. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to identify cachexia in patients receiving haemodialysis (HD) using a generic definition and then follow up on these patients for 12 months. METHOD: This was a longitudinal study of adult chronic HD patients attending two hospital HD units in the UK. Multiple measures relevant to cachexia, including body mass index (BMI), muscle mass [mid-upper arm muscle circumference (MUAMC)], handgrip strength (HGS), fatigue [Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)], appetite [Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Therapy (FAACT)] and biomarkers [C-reactive protein (CRP), serum albumin, haemoglobin and erythropoietin resistance index (ERI)] were recorded. Baseline analysis included group differences analysed using an independent t-test, dichotomized values using the χ2 test and prevalence were reported using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 24 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). Longitudinal analysis was conducted using repeated measures analysis. RESULTS: A total of 106 patients (30 females and 76 males) were recruited with a mean age of 67.2 years [standard deviation (SD) 13.18] and dialysis vintage of 4.92 years (SD 6.12). At baseline, 17 patients were identified as cachectic, having had reported weight loss (e.g. \textgreater5% for \textgreater6 months) or BMI \textless20 kg/m2 and three or more clinical characteristics of cachexia. Seventy patients were available for analysis at 12 months (11 cachectic versus 59 not cachectic). The FAACT and urea reduction ratio statistically distinguished cachectic patients (P = 0.001). However, measures of weight, BMI, MUAMC, HGS, CRP, ERI and FACIT tended to worsen in cachectic patients. CONCLUSION: Globally, cachexia is a severe but frequently underrecognized problem. This is the first study to apply the defined characteristics of cachexia to a representative sample of patients receiving HD. Further, more extensive studies are required to establish a phenotype of cachexia in advanced CKD