Caregiver Perceptions of Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) Communication: Examining How SLPs Talk With Caregivers About Child Language Disorders

The purpose of this study was to identify how SLP communication regarding language disorders was perceived by caregivers. Employing a qualitative methodology, the caregivers of 10 children, identified with a language-based reading impairment, participated in semi-structured interviews concerning their experiences communicating with SLPs. As a whole, the findings showed the value caregivers place on receiving clear, concrete, and timely diagnostic information, the variability and complexity associated with caregivers’ understanding of language disorders, and the reciprocal relationship between key SLP communication practices, caregiver knowledge, and effective collaboration. Some of the key themes emphasized in regard to SLP communication practices included: recognition of the importance of diagnostic labels to caregivers, recognition of the potentially different ways caregivers may interpret diagnostic labels, recognition of the need for initiating and following-up on communication opportunities with caregivers, recognition of the necessity of checking for caregiver understanding of messages, recognition of how caregiver roles and responsibilities influence caregiver collaboration, and recognition of the importance of providing caregivers with informational resources across time that increase their knowledge and understanding of the diagnostic and intervention process

Intrauterine Device (IUD) Associated Pathology: A Review of Pathogenic Mechanisms

This paper summarizes our studies of IUD-related disease with those previously published by others. Our data are based upon 51 IUDs and 42 index cases of IUD-related disease demonstrating specific processes. Gross, dissecting microscope, scanning electron microscope and X-ray microanalysis examinations were made of selected IUDs and associated tissues. Tissue associated with the IUDs revealed inflammation in 59.4%, calcific material in 6.3% and no abnormality in 34.4%. JUD-associated tissue responses were accompanied by changes of the IUD; these changes involved deposition of substances upon the IUD surface and degradation of the JUD itself. Disintegration of the IUD, its string or both, has been repeatedly observed. The material deposited upon the surface of the IUD included proteins and calcium salts. The changes which involve the IUD and the host appear to be operative in the genesis of IUD-related disease. Inflammatory changes and infections are the most common IUD-related disease processes and are also the mechanisms commonly associated with the most serious complications of JUD use, reproductive failure and death. We propose that serious IUD-related disease is caused by or is a direct consequence of processes which alter the JUD and which potentiate inflammation and infection. A model amenable to testing is proposed

Understanding Forced Sex During Adolescence: An Exploratory Study of Risk and Protective Factors

The overall purpose of this study was to explore predictors of forced sex among a sample of middle school students. Youth Risk Behavior Surveys were distributed to middle school youth in southeast Florida. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID), and logistic regression. In the final CHAID model, the segment most at risk was comprised of youth who had been harassed for being gay, lesbian, or bisexual and youth who had experienced dating violence. Past exposure with violence yielded the highest association with forced sex. Moreover, having multiple sexual partners, use of prescription drugs, and experiencing harassment for being gay, lesbian, or bisexual are predictors of forced sex. This study has implications for school-based prevention of forced sex through the identification of risk and protective factors that can be targeted with evidence-based interventions

Screen Time Reduction

Children and adolescents are spending an alarming amount of time engaging in screen time (ST) activities on mobile devices, computers, televisions (TV), and video games; activities include, but are not limited to, watching shows or movies, playing video games, searching the internet, texting, or using social media. This excessive ST is contributing to a vast array of serious childhood complications and health concerns, of which are rarely discussed, acknowledged, or remedied. The proposed implementation of a structured 3-day elementary school based screen time reduction program (STRP) that would target not only the children and adolescents, but their parents and/or caregivers as well, is necessary to protect the physical and mental well-being of these youth. Such a program would ideally provide the education and support needed to motivate the target audiences to modify and/or restrict their, or their children’s, allotted ST at home. Multiple prior studies have shown that interventions targeting ST are effective and worthwhile. To explore the relationship between the proposed intervention and time spent watching TV, on the computer/phone, or playing video games, this paper examines the question: In children and adolescents, to include parents and/or caregivers (P), how does education over the effects of excessive ST and implementation of a STRP (I) compared to no education or intervention (C) affect daily ST (O) within 6 months of implementation (T)

Single-Layer Deposits of Nickel Base Superalloy by Means of Selective Laser Sintering

Single layer deposits consisting of Mar-M 247 powder were consolidated on Alloy 718 polycrystalline flat sheets by means of the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technique. The deposition process consisted in selectively fusing a powder bed precompacted using of an insulating non-wettable mask trough. The mask-powder-substrate arrangement was pre-heated inside a processing chamber under high vacuum. An inertreducing atmosphere was applied, and a focused Nd:YAG laser beam was then raster scanned at high speed along the contour of the trough, providing energy to induce a melting front to propagate along the powder as well as over the surface of the plate. As the laser beam moved forward a solidification front was left behind with a metallurgical bond between the substrate and the deposited layer. Optical microscopy revealed that epitaxial growth occurred in the [001] direction from the melted substrate to about half the height of the deposits. Above that height, the [001] dendritic front bowed towards the [100] direction. A dendritic-equiaxed transition appeared near the free surface of the deposit. These results indicate that the SLM technique could have potential application for growing single crystal structures as well as in repairing damaged or worn turbine blades.Funding for this project was provided by Rolls-Royce North America and the University of Texas at Austin.Mechanical Engineerin

Monetary discounting and ventral striatal dopamine receptor availability in nontreatment-seeking alcoholics and social drinkers

RATIONALE: Dopamine (DA) in the ventral striatum (VST) has long been implicated in addiction pathologies, yet its role in temporal decision-making is not well-understood. OBJECTIVES: To determine if VST DA D2 receptor availability corresponds with greater impulsive choice in both nontreatment-seeking alcoholics (NTS) and social drinkers (SD). METHODS: NTS subjects (n = 10) and SD (n = 13) received PET scans at baseline with the D2/D3 radioligand [(11)C]raclopride (RAC). Outside the scanner, subjects performed a delay discounting procedure with monetary rewards. RAC binding potential (BPND) was estimated voxelwise, and correlations were performed to test for relationships between VST BPND and delay discounting performance. Self-reported impulsivity was also tested for correlations with BPND. RESULTS: Across all subjects, greater impulsive choice for $20 correlated with lower BPND in the right VST. NTS showed greater impulsive choice than SD and were more impulsive by self-report. Across all subjects, the capacity of larger rewards to reduce impulsive choice (the magnitude effect) correlated negatively (p = 0.028) with problematic alcohol use (AUDIT) scores. Self-reported impulsivity did not correlate with BPND in VST. CONCLUSIONS: Preference for immediate reinforcement may reflect greater endogenous striatal DA or lower D2 number, or both. Alcoholic status did not mediate significant effects on VST BPND, suggesting minimal effects from alcohol exposure. The apparent lack of BPND correlation with self-reported impulsivity highlights the need for objective behavioral assays in the study of the neurochemical substrates of behavior. Finally, our results suggest that the magnitude effect may be more sensitive to alcohol-induced problems than single discounting measures

Cognitive complaints in older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease are associated with altered resting-state networks

INTRODUCTION: Pathophysiological changes that accompany early clinical symptoms in prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD) may have a disruptive influence on brain networks. We investigated resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI), combined with brain connectomics, to assess changes in whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) in relation to neurocognitive variables. METHODS: Participants included 58 older adults who underwent rsfMRI. Individual FC matrices were computed based on a 278-region parcellation. FastICA decomposition was performed on a matrix combining all subjects' FC. Each FC pattern was then used as a response in a multilinear regression model including neurocognitive variables associated with AD (cognitive complaint index [CCI] scores from self and informant, an episodic memory score, and an executive function score). RESULTS: Three connectivity independent component analysis (connICA) components (RSN, VIS, and FP-DMN FC patterns) associated with neurocognitive variables were identified based on prespecified criteria. RSN-pattern, characterized by increased FC within all resting-state networks, was negatively associated with self CCI. VIS-pattern, characterized by an increase in visual resting-state network, was negatively associated with CCI self or informant scores. FP-DMN-pattern, characterized by an increased interaction of frontoparietal and default mode networks (DMN), was positively associated with verbal episodic memory. DISCUSSION: Specific patterns of FC were differently associated with neurocognitive variables thought to change early in the course of AD. An integrative connectomics approach relating cognition to changes in FC may help identify preclinical and early prodromal stages of AD and help elucidate the complex relationship between subjective and objective indices of cognitive decline and differences in brain functional organization

[(11)C]PiB PET in Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease

Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker Disease (GSS) is a familial neurodegenerative disorder characterized clinically by ataxia, parkinsonism, and dementia, and neuropathologically by deposition of diffuse and amyloid plaques composed of prion protein (PrP). The purpose of this study was to evaluate if [(11)C]Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography (PET) is capable of detecting PrP-amyloid in PRNP gene carriers. Six individuals at risk for GSS and eight controls underwent [(11)C]PiB PET scans using standard methods. Approximately one year after the initial scan, each of the three asymptomatic carriers (two with PRNP P102L mutation, one with PRNP F198S mutation) underwent a second [(11)C]PiB PET scan. Three P102L carriers, one F198S carrier, and one non-carrier of the F198S mutation were cognitively normal, while one F198S carrier was cognitively impaired during the course of this study. No [(11)C]PiB uptake was observed in any subject at baseline or at follow-up. Neuropathologic study of the symptomatic individual revealed PrP-immunopositive plaques and tau-immunopositive neurofibrillary tangles in cerebral cortex, subcortical nuclei, and brainstem. PrP deposits were also numerous in the cerebellar cortex. This is the first study to investigate the ability of [(11)C]PiB PET to bind to PrP-amyloid in GSS F198S subjects. This finding suggests that [(11)C]PiB PET is not suitable for in vivo assessment of PrP-amyloid plaques in patients with GSS

Olfactory identification in subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment: Association with tau but not amyloid positron emission tomography

Introduction We investigated the association between olfactory identification and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers, including amyloid, tau, and neurodegeneration. Methods Thirty-four older adults, including 19 cognitively normal (CN), 10 subjective cognitive decline (SCD), and 5 mild cognitive impairment, underwent amyloid positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). Twenty-six also underwent tau positron emission tomography. Associations between the UPSIT and regionally sampled amyloid, tau, and temporal atrophy were evaluated. Voxel-wise regression models were also utilized. Analyses were conducted with the full sample and only CN/SCD. Results Lower UPSIT scores were associated with increased temporal and parietal tau burden in regional and voxel-wise analyses in the full sample and in CN and SCD only. Temporal lobe atrophy was associated with lower UPSIT score. Amyloid was not associated with the UPSIT. Discussion Impairment on the UPSIT may be a good marker for tau and neurodegeneration in preclinical or prodromal Alzheimer's disease