Preventative Behavioral Parent Training: A Preliminary Investigation of Strategies for Preventing At-Risk Children from Developing Later Conduct Problems

Children exhibiting conduct problems comprise the largest source of referrals to children\u27s mental health services in this county. Significant research has been conducted in an attempt to identify specific risk factors that result in increased vulnerability of a child developing conduct problems. Knowledge of these factors increases our ability to identify young children who are at greater risk for developing conduct problems. The treatment for conduct problems that possesses the greatest amount of empirical support is behavioral parent training. Yet behavioral parent training fails to address behaviors and risk factors that are present during a child\u27s early development. Preventative behavioral parent training is a very brief primary prevention strategy designed to prevent the development of chronic and age-inappropriate display of conduct problems. This project was an initial longitudinal assessment examining the merits of preventative behavioral parent training as a primary prevention strategy for young children at-risk of developing conduct problems. Results demonstrated that prevention participants were engaging in normative rates of noncompliance and tantruming at 6-month follow-up, whereas comparison children showed a general worsening in their disruptive behaviors over time

Extrinsic and intrinsic drivers of feline immunodeficiency virus evolution in the mountain lion

2018 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Viruses are among the most rapidly evolving entities in biology and are so intricately associated with their obligate hosts that the boundary between host and pathogen, and thus the study of one versus the other, is blurred by intimate interactions at scales ranging from proteins to populations. Viral genetic variation is both ecologically and molecularly determined, and thus viruses serve as measurably evolving populations that provide a window into adaptations and behaviors of their vertebrate hosts. Of all viral families, the biology of retroviruses is coupled especially tightly to that of the host due to permanent integration of viral DNA into eukaryotic chromosomes, producing an inherently dynamic infection that persists for life. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is among the oldest of viruses in the Lentivirus genus and puma (Puma concolor) are the most extensively ranging New World terrestrial mammal. We used molecular analyses to investigate the host-pathogen interactions between pumas and FIV across geographic and temporal space, within and across populations, and among FIV subtypes. In Chapter One, we investigate cross-species transmission of FIV from bobcats to pumas and compare the outcome of spillover infections in two populations separated by vast geographic space. Our findings reveal that the puma is typically a dead-end host of bobcat FIV infection, although altered population dynamics can promote stuttering chains of infection following spillover events. In Chapter Two, we employed a novel next generation sequencing technique to investigate the impact of management interactions such as population supplementation on FIV dynamics in the endangered Florida panther. Results from this chapter show evidence for cointroduction of one subtype of FIV with translocated pumas from Texas, followed by local extinction of the previously circulating, 'less fit' subtype in the puma host. Chapter Three describes an important intrinsic driver of viral evolution through characterization of the APOBEC3 protein A3Z3 in the puma, a primary cellular restriction factor against FIV. We show evidence that at least one geographically associated genotype of puma FIV is able to evade lethal hypermutation typical of A3Z3 activity despite a deficiency in the viral counter protein Vif. The collective findings of this work explore the ancient relationship between a vastly ranging apex predator and a chronic lentiviral infection by applying both novel and conventional methodologies to a unique, naturally occurring host-pathogen system. Although our questions were specific to FIV in pumas, the methodologies described here can be applied to other systems and models to address inherent limitations of opportunistic field studies including DNA degradation and sequencing of low copy number templates from archival biological samples. Ancient viral infections have the potential to elucidate the life history of mammalian hosts, which is particularly useful in the study of elusive and broadly ranging carnivores threatened by urbanization and habitat fragmentation. Future objectives of this work will expand analyses to incorporate additional populations, such as the modern Texas puma, and more thoroughly investigate genotype variation in Vif-A3Z3 interactions. Collectively, our results will inform additional studies that seek to elucidate determinants of host-pathogen interactions in naturally-occurring systems across diverse ecosystems and broad spatiotemporal scales

Preventative Behavioral Parent Training in a Primary Care Context: Initial Evaluation of a Universal Prevention Program for Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Externalizing behavior problems such as noncompliance, tantrums, and aggression constitutes the most frequently cited reason for referral of young children to mental health clinics. The treatment for conduct problems (CP) that possesses the greatest amount of empirical support is referred to as behavioral parent training (BPT). Yet available data suggest that after accounting for treatment failures and dropouts, only about one third of children receiving BPT benefit significantly. More recently, there has been a shift towards the development of early intervention and prevention models for treating children at-risk for developing CP. While many of these programs have been shown to be effective, they fail to address shortcomings of BPT such as the length of treatment and the context of service delivery. Furthermore, the majority of these programs continue to be classified as selective or indicated prevention programs, thereby targeting children once they have already begun showing elevated levels of disruptive behaviors. More recently, a preventative and abbreviated version of BPT, called preventative behavioral parent training (PBPT), has been developed to address the limitations inherent in BPT. A recent evaluation of PBPT has demonstrated its utility in reducing rates of noncompliance and tantruming in children at-risk for developing CP. This study sought to add to previous findings regarding PBPT by evaluating its effectiveness when disseminated as a universal prevention program within a primary care setting. More specifically, this study aimed to evaluate whether PBPT could be utilized to support parents in learning effective strategies for managing their young child\u27s typical misbehaviors, thereby preventing the development of clinical levels of CP and strengthening the practices of all parents. Results demonstrated that PBPT yielded positive outcomes in regards to both child and parent outcome variables. Furthermore, program evaluation data revealed that the PBPT program was socially acceptable and the strategies discussed were both feasible and effective. Taken together, the current study provides preliminary evidence of the positive proximal impact of the PBPT program. Potential clinical implications of these findings and future directions for research are discussed

English as an Additional Language (EAL) and educational achievement in England: An analysis of the National Pupil Database

The project was commissioned by three charitable groups – the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Unbound Philanthropy and The Bell Foundation – to analyse the evidence from national data in England on the achievement of students with English as an Additional Language (EAL) and to review the literature on effective interventions to raise the attainment of pupils with EAL. The key questions addressed by the project were: - Who are the most at-risk groups of EAL learners and what are the predictors of low attainment for these learners? - What are the most promising programmes and interventions to address EAL achievement gaps on the basis of causal evidence? This report presents an analysis of the most recent England National Pupil Database (NPD) from 2013 with respect to the first question above. A sister report focuses on the second question concerning effective interventions and is published in parallel with this report. The overall purpose of the project is to help schools and policymakers to effectively target policy, interventions and funding to address achievement gaps.Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Unbound Philanthropy and The Bell Foundation

Overweight and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction - Is there a link?

Background The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of body mass index with regard to exercise performance, exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), and respiratory symptoms in 7- to 16-year-old children. Methods A total of 1120 outdoor running exercise challenge test results of 7- to 16-year-old children were retrospectively reviewed. Lung function was evaluated with spirometry, and exercise performance was assessed by calculating distance per 6 minutes from the running time and distance. Respiratory symptoms in the exercise challenge test were recorded, and body mass index modified for children (ISO-BMI) was calculated for each child from height, weight, age, and gender according to the national growth references. Results Greater ISO-BMI and overweight were associated with poorer exercise performance (P <.001). In addition, greater ISO-BMI was independently associated with cough (P = .002) and shortness of breath (P = .012) in the exercise challenge. However, there was no association between ISO-BMI and EIB or with wheeze during the exercise challenge. Conclusion Greater ISO-BMI may have a role in poorer exercise performance and appearance of respiratory symptoms during exercise, but not in EIB in 7- to 16-year-old children.Peer reviewe

Creative clusters and innovation (C.Chapain, P.Cooke, L.De Propris, S.MacNeill, J.Mateos-Garcia, NESTA)

Copyright @ 2012 Intellec

Developing a second, third, and fourth grade environmental unit on water education

Past research into the ability of students to 'bounce back' from everyday academic setback (academic buoyancy) has lacked sensitivity to the contexts in which children demonstrate this behavior. Here we aimed to contextualize past findings by reporting the results of an exploratory investigation that featured: (1) repeated measurement of students' self-reported buoyancy across English, mathematics, science, and physical education; (2) measures of students' psychological appraisal as a test of external validity; (3) a novel national context (England rather than Australia). In total 260 English secondary school students aged 11-16. years completed self-report questionnaires. Students were found to hold relatively consistent views about their ability to bounce back from everyday academic setbacks (e.g., negative feedback, poor results, study stress or pressure) compared to the relatively less consistent views they held regarding the difficulty of the four school subjects as well as corresponding personal competences and effort. These results are discussed in the context of past research, the implications for interventions, and the need for further confirmatory investigations

Analysis of septins across kingdoms reveals orthology and new motifs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Septins are cytoskeletal GTPase proteins first discovered in the fungus <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>where they organize the septum and link nuclear division with cell division. More recently septins have been found in animals where they are important in processes ranging from actin and microtubule organization to embryonic patterning and where defects in septins have been implicated in human disease. Previous studies suggested that many animal septins fell into independent evolutionary groups, confounding cross-kingdom comparison.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the current work, we identified 162 septins from fungi, microsporidia and animals and analyzed their phylogenetic relationships. There was support for five groups of septins with orthology between kingdoms. Group 1 (which includes <it>S. cerevisiae </it>Cdc10p and human Sept9) and Group 2 (which includes <it>S. cerevisiae </it>Cdc3p and human Sept7) contain sequences from fungi and animals. Group 3 (which includes <it>S. cerevisiae </it>Cdc11p) and Group 4 (which includes <it>S. cerevisiae </it>Cdc12p) contain sequences from fungi and microsporidia. Group 5 (which includes <it>Aspergillus nidulans </it>AspE) contains sequences from filamentous fungi. We suggest a modified nomenclature based on these phylogenetic relationships. Comparative sequence alignments revealed septin derivatives of already known G1, G3 and G4 GTPase motifs, four new motifs from two to twelve amino acids long and six conserved single amino acid positions. One of these new motifs is septin-specific and several are group specific.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our studies provide an evolutionary history for this important family of proteins and a framework and consistent nomenclature for comparison of septin orthologs across kingdoms.</p

Experimental investigation of the fundamental modes of a collisionless plasma Final report, 10 Mar. 1964 - 31 Oct. 1967

Propagation of electron cyclotron waves and effects of low frequency noise in collisionless plasm