Stepping Stones Triple P: The theoretical basis and development of an evidence-based positive parenting program for families with a child who has a disability.

Stepping Stones Triple P is the first in a series of programs based on the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program that has been specifically designed for families who have a child with a disability. This paper presents the rationale, theoretical foundations, historical development and distinguishing features of the program. The multi-level intervention adopts a self-regulation framework in consulting with parents that involves the promotion of parental self-sufficiency, selfefficacy, self-management skills, personal agency and problem-solving skills. This paper describes the key program design features, intervention techniques, model of clinical consultation, its clinical applicability, and empirical base. The 10-session individually administered version of the program, known as Standard Stepping Stones Triple P is described and the important role of training, supervision and agency support in disseminating the program is discussed

Effects of age of acquisition (AoA) and proficiency on processing of syntax in 6- to 8-year-old monolingual and bilingual children: an ERP study

Even though language proficiency in children is strongly related to success in almost all domains, neurocognitive studies of L2 processing are typically limited to adults with several years of exposure, who may use general cognitive mechanisms to compensate for any difficulties in L2 processing. For example, whereas previous studies of adult bilinguals have reported differences in the anterior negativity elicited by syntactic violations with delays in exposure to English of less than 3 years (Weber-Fox & Neville, 1996) a precursor to the anterior negativity has been reported in monolingual children as young as 2.5 years of age (Oberecker, et al., 2005). In the current ERP study, processing of English phrase structure was explored in 6- to 8-year old monolingual and bilingual children who acquired English as a second language around 4 years of age. Monolingual children of higher proficiency displayed relatively mature processing of phrase structure violations as indicated by a left anterior negativity over lateral sites and a posterior positivity. High-proficiency bilingual children tended to display a medial anterior negativity and a posterior positivity. The difference in distribution of the anterior effect across groups could only be explained by AoA. However, lower proficiency affected the posterior ERP effect and amplitude of the anterior effects in response to syntactic violations. These results suggest that the more automatic syntactic processing in children is affected by AoA while more controlled, metalinguistic processing may be related to language proficiency

Shocked Gas in IRAS F17207-0014: ISM Collisions and Outflows

We combine optical and near-infrared AO-assisted integral field observations of the merging ULIRG IRAS F17207-0014 from the Wide-Field Spectrograph (WiFeS) and Keck/OSIRIS. The optical emission line ratios [N II]/H$\alpha$, [S II]/H$\alpha$, and [O I]/H$\alpha$ reveal a mixing sequence of shocks present throughout the galaxy, with the strongest contributions coming from large radii (up to 100% at $\sim$5 kpc in some directions), suggesting galactic-scale winds. The near-infrared observations, which have approximately 30 times higher spatial resolution, show that two sorts of shocks are present in the vicinity of the merging nuclei: low-level shocks distributed throughout our field-of-view evidenced by an H$_{2}$/Br$\gamma$ line ratio of $\sim$0.6-4, and strong collimated shocks with a high H$_{2}$/Br$\gamma$ line ratio of $\sim$4-8, extending south from the two nuclear disks approximately 400 pc ($\sim$0.5 arcsec). Our data suggest that the diffuse shocks are caused by the collision of the interstellar media associated with the two progenitor galaxies and the strong shocks trace the base of a collimated outflow coming from the nucleus of one of the two disks.Comment: accepted to MNRA

Kinematic classifications of local interacting galaxies: implications for the merger/disk classifications at high-z

The classification of galaxy mergers and isolated disks is key for understanding the relative importance of galaxy interactions and secular evolution during the assembly of galaxies. The kinematic properties of galaxies as traced by emission lines have been used to suggest the existence of a significant population of high-z star-forming galaxies consistent with isolated rotating disks. However, recent studies have cautioned that post-coalescence mergers may also display disk-like kinematics. To further investigate the robustness of merger/disk classifications based on kinematic properties, we carry out a systematic classification of 24 local (U)LIRGs spanning a range of galaxy morphologies: from isolated spiral galaxies, ongoing interacting systems, to fully merged remnants. We artificially redshift the WiFeS observations of these local (U)LIRGs to z=1.5 to make a realistic comparison with observations at high-z, and also to ensure that all galaxies have the same spatial sampling of ~900 pc. Using both kinemetry-based and visual classifications, we find that the reliability of kinematic classification shows a strong trend with the interaction stage of galaxies. Mergers with two nuclei and tidal tails have the most distinct kinematic properties compared to isolated disks, whereas a significant population of the interacting disks and merger remnants are indistinguishable from isolated disks. The high fraction of late-stage mergers showing disk-like kinematics reflects the complexity of the dynamics during galaxy interactions. However, the exact fractions of misidentified disks and mergers depend on the definition of kinematic asymmetries and the classification threshold when using kinemetry-based classifications. Our results suggest that additional indicators such as morphologies traced by stars or molecular gas are required to further constrain the merger/disk classifications at high-z.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, ApJ accepte

The Effects of Cold and Lower Body Negative Pressure on Cardiovascular Effects

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to determine how cold exposure and lower body negative pressure effected cardiovascular variables. Methods. Eleven males (20.3 years ± 2.7) underwent two 20-minute exposures to LBNP. During the 2 trials, the subjects were exposed to cold air (10°C) (COLD) and to ambient temperature (23°C) (AMB). The trials consisted of a 100-minute pre-LBNP period followed by a 20-minute exposure to LBNP and then a 15-minute recovery period. Cardiovascular variables were recorded every 30 minutes using bioimpedance. Results. When LBNP was applied during the AMB trials, stroke volume immediately decreased. During the COLD trial, there was a five-minute delay before the decrease in stroke volume. Heart rate increased immediately after LBNP initiation during the AMB trials but there was a delay in the increase during the COLD trials. That same pattern was followed with mean arterial blood pressures. Cerebral oxygenation was significantly lower throughout the COLD trial as compared to the AMB trials. Six subjects reported symptoms of syncope or presyncope during the AMB trials but there were no reports of symptoms during the COLD trials. Conclusion. From analysis of this data, cold improved the subject’s tolerance to LBNP

HST/WFC3 Observations of an Off-Nuclear Superbubble in Arp 220

We present a high spatial resolution optical and infrared study of the circumnuclear region in Arp 220, a late-stage galaxy merger. Narrowband imaging using HST/WFC3 has resolved the previously observed peak in H$\alpha$+[NII] emission into a bubble-shaped feature. This feature measures 1.6" in diameter, or 600 pc, and is only 1" northwest of the western nucleus. The bubble is aligned with the western nucleus and the large-scale outflow axis seen in X-rays. We explore several possibilities for the bubble origin, including a jet or outflow from a hidden active galactic nucleus (AGN), outflows from high levels of star formation within the few hundred pc nuclear gas disk, or an ultraluminous X-ray source. An obscured AGN or high levels of star formation within the inner $\sim$100 pc of the nuclei are favored based on the alignment of the bubble and energetics arguments.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 12 pages, 10 figure

Ankyrin repeat domain-encoding genes in the wPip strain of Wolbachia from the Culex pipiens group

BACKGROUND: Wolbachia are obligate endosymbiotic bacteria maternally transmitted through the egg cytoplasm that are responsible for several reproductive disorders in their insect hosts, such as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in infected mosquitoes. Species in the Culex pipiens complex display an unusually high number of Wolbachia-induced crossing types, and based on present data, only the wPip strain is present. RESULTS: The sequencing of the wPip strain of Wolbachia revealed the presence of 60 ankyrin repeat domain (ANK) encoding genes and expression studies of these genes were carried out in adult mosquitoes. One of these ANK genes, pk2, is shown to be part of an operon of three prophage-associated genes with sex-specific expression, and is present in two identical copies in the genome. Another homolog of pk2 is also present that is differentially expressed in different Cx. pipiens group strains. A further two ANK genes showed sex-specific regulation in wPip-infected Cx. pipiens group adults. CONCLUSION: The high number, variability and differential expression of ANK genes in wPip suggest an important role in Wolbachia biology, and the gene family provides both markers and promising candidates for the study of reproductive manipulation