An Exploratory Study of the Prosecution of Fatal Child Maltreatment: Criminal Charges Filed Against Presumed Perpetrators in the United States in 2017

In the United States child maltreatment fatalities (CMFs) do not usually meet the standard for manslaughter or murder, resulting in convictions of lesser crimes and little jail time. This exploratory study examined the charges brought against suspected CMF perpetrators in 2017. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using data obtained from the Nexis Uni newspaper database, that has over 40,000 high quality media sources, for the year 2017. We found that the most frequently used charges were endangering the welfare of a child and murder, the former of which was more related to neglect-deaths and the latter to physical abuse-deaths. There was no difference between charges for male and female perpetrators. Practical implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed

Reconceptualizing Cognitive Media Effects Theory and Research Under the Judged Usability Model

This review synthesizes the existing literature on cognitive media effects, including agenda setting, framing, and priming, in order to identify their similarities, differences, and inherent commonalities. Based on this review, we argue that the theory and research on each of these cognitive effects share a common view that media affect audience members by influencing the relative importance of considerations used to make subsequent judgments (including their answers to post-exposure survey questions). In reviewing this literature, we note that one important factor is often ignored, the extent to which a consideration featured in the message is deemed usable for a given subsequent judgment, a factor called judged usability, which may be an important mediator of cognitive media effects like agenda setting, framing, and priming. Emphasizing judged usability leads to the revelation that media coverage may not just elevate a particular consideration, but may also actively suppress a consideration, rendering it less usable for subsequent judgments. Thus, it opens a new avenue for cognitive effects research. In the interest of integrating these strands of cognitive effects research, we propose the Judged Usability Model as a revision of past cognitive models

Quantifying stretching and rearrangement in epithelial sheet migration

Although understanding the collective migration of cells, such as that seen in epithelial sheets, is essential for understanding diseases such as metastatic cancer, this motion is not yet as well characterized as individual cell migration. Here we adapt quantitative metrics used to characterize the flow and deformation of soft matter to contrast different types of motion within a migrating sheet of cells. Using a Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponent (FTLE) analysis, we find that - in spite of large fluctuations - the flow field of an epithelial cell sheet is not chaotic. Stretching of a sheet of cells (i.e., positive FTLE) is localized at the leading edge of migration. By decomposing the motion of the cells into affine and non-affine components using the metric D$^{2}_{min}$, we quantify local plastic rearrangements and describe the motion of a group of cells in a novel way. We find an increase in plastic rearrangements with increasing cell densities, whereas inanimate systems tend to exhibit less non-affine rearrangements with increasing density.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in the New Journal of Physics. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at doi:10.1088/1367-2630/15/2/02503

Computerized Response Inhibition Training For Children With Trichotillomania

Evidence suggests that trichotillomania is characterized by impairment in response inhibition, which is the ability to suppress pre-potent/dominant but inappropriate responses. This study sought to test the feasibility of computerized response inhibition training for children with trichotillomania. Twenty-two children were randomized to the 8-session response inhibition training (RIT; n = 12) or a waitlisted control (WLT; n = 10). Primary outcomes were assessed by an independent evaluator, using the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I), and the NIMH Trichotillomania Severity (NIMH-TSS) and Impairment scales (NIMH-TIS) at pre, post-training/waiting, and 1-month follow-up. Relative to the WLT group, the RIT group showed a higher response rate (55% vs. 11%) on the CGI-I and a lower level of impairment on the NIMH-TIS, at post-training. Overall symptom reductions rates on the NIMH-TSS were 34% (RIT) vs. 21% (WLT) at post-training. The RIT\u27s therapeutic gains were maintained at 1-month follow-up, as indicated by the CGI-I responder status (= 66%), and a continuing reduction in symptom on the NIMH-TSS. This pattern of findings was also replicated by the 6 waitlisted children who received the same RIT intervention after post-waiting assessment. Results suggest that computerized RIT may be a potentially useful intervention for trichotillomania

The Kentucky plan: an innovative approach to professional doctoral education in public health.

The Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) degree is designed to prepare graduates for the highest levels of leadership in public health related careers in both public and private settings. The Kentucky School of Public Health has developed an innovative generalist professional degree program offering an extensive battery of courses based on the body of professional public health knowledge. The degree includes extensive supervised field experience as part of the academic training, linking theory with practice. Issues related to professional degrees, curriculum, accreditation and certification, admission, evaluation, plans for institutional cooperation, and demand are addressed

The crystal structure of the peptide-binding fragment from the yeast Hsp40 protein Sis1

AbstractBackground: Molecular chaperone Hsp40 can bind non-native polypeptide and facilitate Hsp70 in protein refolding. How Hsp40 and other chaperones distinguish between the folded and unfolded states of proteins to bind non-native polypeptides is a fundamental issue.Results: To investigate this mechanism, we determined the crystal structure of the peptide-binding fragment of Sis1, an essential member of the Hsp40 family from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The 2.7 Å structure reveals that Sis1 forms a homodimer in the crystal by a crystallographic twofold axis. Sis1 monomers are elongated and consist of two domains with similar folds. Sis1 dimerizes through a short C-terminal stretch. The Sis1 dimer has a U-shaped architecture and a large cleft is formed between the two elongated monomers. Domain I in each monomer contains a hydrophobic depression that might be involved in binding the sidechains of hydrophobic amino acids.Conclusions: Sis1 (1–337), which lacks the dimerization motif, exhibited severe defects in chaperone activity, but could regulate Hsp70 ATPase activity. Thus, dimer formation is critical for Sis1 chaperone function. We propose that the Sis1 cleft functions as a docking site for the Hsp70 peptide-binding domain and that Sis1–Hsp70 interaction serves to facilitate the efficient transfer of peptides from Sis1 to Hsp70

The Kentucky plan revisited: lessons learned from an innovative doctoral education program.

In the first doctoral education special issue of the Journal of Health Administration Education, the authors presented the University of Kentucky College of Public Health\u27s plans for an innovative new Doctor of Public Health (Dr. P.H.) degree. The degree as designed, prepares graduates for professional practice, and included extensive supervised field experience as part of the academic training linking theory with practice. Based upon the interest that the Kentucky Dr.P.H. degree program received, the authors will share the experience of the degree\u27s initial years of operation through a lessons learned paper. As the program evolved there have been many lessons related to trends, curriculum design, admissions, prerequisite requirements, curriculum innovations, scheduling, the comprehensive examination, and attrition. In addition, there are many questions for the future. In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. -- Lawrence Peter Yogi Berra

Short-term stability of psychopathic traits in adolescent offenders

There is considerable debate about the assessment of psychopathic traits in adolescence due in part to questions regarding the stability of traits. We investigated the 6-month stability of psychopathic traits in a sample of 83 male adolescent offenders using an augmented protocol for the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version and the self-report Antisocial Process Screening Device. Findings suggested moderate to high stability of psychopathic traits, as indexed by total scores, and low to moderate stability of psychopathic traits at the factor level. The interpersonal and behavioral traits demonstrated greater stability relative to the affective traits, and stability varied by developmental stage, with lower stability in early adolescence. Implications for understanding the developmental expression of psychopathic traits in adolescence, as well as for clinical-forensic practice, are discussed