Exploring face perception in disorders of development: evidence from Williams syndrome and autism

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) and autism are characterized by different social phenotypes but have been said to show similar atypicalities of face-processing style. Although the structural encoding of faces may be similarly atypical in these two developmental disorders, there are clear differences in overall face skills. The inclusion of both populations in the same study can address how the profile of face skills varies across disorders. The current paper explored the processing of identity, eye-gaze, lip-reading, and expressions of emotion using the same participants across face domains. The tasks had previously been used to make claims of a modular structure to face perception in typical development. Participants with WS (N=15) and autism (N=20) could be dissociated from each other, and from individuals with general developmental delay, in the domains of eye-gaze and expression processing. Individuals with WS were stronger at these skills than individuals with autism. Even if the structural encoding of faces appears similarly atypical in these groups, the overall profile of face skills, as well as the underlying architecture of face perception, varies greatly. The research provides insights into typical and atypical models of face perception in WS and autism

Job design meets organizational sociology

No Abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64909/1/604_ftp.pd

Attitudes towards emotional expression mediate the relationship between childhood invalidation and adult eating concern

Previous research has suggested that invalidating childhood environments are positively related to the symptoms of eating disorders. However, it is unclear how childhood environments might impact upon the development of eating disorder symptoms. This study examined the relationship between parental invalidation and eating disorder-related attitudes in a nonclinical sample and tested the mediating effect of attitudes towards emotional expression. Two hundred women, with a mean age of 21 years, completed measures of invalidating childhood environments, attitudes towards emotional expression, and eating pathology. Eating concerns were positively associated with recollections of an invalidating parental environment. The belief that the expression of emotions is a sign of weakness fully mediated the relationship between childhood maternal invalidation and adult eating concern. Following replication and extension to a clinical sample, these results suggest that targeting the individual's attitude towards emotional expression might reduce eating attitudes among women who have experienced an invalidating childhood environment

Homocysteine-Lowering Treatment and the Risk of Fracture: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial and an Updated Meta-Analysis

High plasma homocysteine is a risk factor for osteoporotic fractures. Several studies have assessed the possible preventive effect of homocysteine-lowering B-vitamin treatment on the risk of fracture with inconclusive results. In the current study, we include new results from the Aspirin Folate Polyp Prevention Study (AFPPS) together with an updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Our objective was to determine whether there is an association between homocysteine-lowering B-vitamin treatment and the risk of fracture. The AFPPS trial was performed between 1994 and 2004 in nine clinical centers in the United States, and 1021 participants were randomized to a daily folic acid dose of 1 mg (n = 516) or placebo (n = 505). The main outcome was fracture of any type. In addition, we analyzed the risk of hip fracture. In the meta-analysis, studies were identified following a search strategy in electronic database and by hand searching. Risk ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) was chosen for pooled analyses. In the AFPPS, no statistically significant association was found between folic acid treatment and fractures of any type (risk ratio [RR] = 0.95; 95% CI 0.61–1.48) or hip fracture (RR = 0.98; 95% CI 0.25–3.89). In the meta-analysis, six RCTs were included with a total of 36,527 participants. For interventions including folic acid and/or vitamin B12, the pooled RR for treatment was 0.97 (95% CI 0.87–1.09) for fractures of any type (n = 1199) and 1.00 (95% CI 0.81–1.23) for hip fractures (n = 335). In conclusion, no association was found between homocysteine-lowering treatment with B vitamins (folic acid and vitamin B12) and the risk of fracture

COMPARAÇÃO MORFOANATÔMICA DE FOLHAS DE Campomanesia xanthorcapa O. Berg E Campomanesia guaviroba (DC.) Kiaersk. (Myrtaceae) COMO CONTRIBUIÇÃO A FARMACOGNOSIA

Campomanesia Ruiz & Pav. é um gênero bem delimitado dentro de Myrtaceae, porém o limite entre alguns táxons inferiores são problemáticos. Desse modo o presente trabalho teve como propósito investigar caracteres morfoanatômicos foliares de Campomanesia xanthocarpa O.Berg e C. guaviroba (DC.) Kiaersk. Contribuindo para a disgnose das espécies. Amostras foram coletadas em um remanescente da Floresta Atlântica no Paraná e submetidas a análises morfológicas, anatômicas, microscopia eletrônica de varredura e testes histoquímicos. Os resultados mostraram grande variação foliar em C. xanthocarpa possibilitando a divisão em sete morfotipos, sendo três destes muito próximos a C. guaviroba, que apresentou caracteres anatômicos constantes como células epidérmicas com formato isodiamétrico de paredes pouco sinuosas em ambas as faces, cavidades secretoras epidérmicas discretamente inseridas na face abaxial e uma camada de células coletoras entre os parênquimas paliçádico e lacunoso,  no mesofilo. A composição histoquímica também se mostrou similar com presença de compostos fenólicos, amido, lipídios e cristais no pecíolo e limbo. Embora C. xanthocarpa tenha apresentado grandes variações morfológicas e anatômicas, o padrão anatômico observado em C. guaviroba possui características que permitem separá-las

Defining the cognitive phenotype of autism

Although much progress has been made in determining the cognitive profile of strengths and weaknesses that characterise individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), there remain a number of outstanding questions. These include how universal strengths and deficits are; whether cognitive subgroups exist; and how cognition is associated with core autistic behaviours, as well as associated psychopathology. Several methodological factors have contributed to these limitations in our knowledge, including: small sample sizes, a focus on single domains of cognition, and an absence of comprehensive behavioural phenotypic information. To attempt to overcome some of these limitations, we assessed a wide range of cognitive domains in a large sample (N = 100) of 14- to 16-year-old adolescents with ASDs who had been rigorously behaviourally characterised. In this review, we will use examples of some initial findings in the domains of perceptual processing, emotion processing and memory, both to outline different approaches we have taken to data analysis and to highlight the considerable challenges to better defining the cognitive phenotype(s) of ASDs. Enhanced knowledge of the cognitive phenotype may contribute to our understanding of the complex links between genes, brain and behaviour, as well as inform approaches to remediation

Quality of life assessment of cabozantinib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in the CELESTIAL trial

BACKGROUND: The CELESTIAL trial (NCT01908426) demonstrated overall survival benefit for cabozantinib versus placebo in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC) who had received prior sorafenib treatment. This analysis of CELESTIAL compared the impact of cabozantinib versus placebo on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Health status was assessed using the EuroQol five-dimension five-level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire over the 800-day follow-up period. EQ-5D-5L health states were mapped to health utility scores using reference values for the UK population. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were calculated for each treatment group as the area under the curve for the plot of health utility score over time. The between-treatment group difference in restricted mean QALYs was calculated by generalized linear models and adjusted for baseline differences. A difference of 0.08 in health utility score (or in QALY) was deemed a minimally important difference and to be clinically significant. RESULTS: At week 5, the difference in mean health utility score between cabozantinib and placebo was -0.097 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: -0.126, -0.067; p ≤ 0.001). Between-group differences in health utility scores diminished over time and were generally non-significant. The cabozantinib group accrued more QALYs than the placebo group over follow-up. Differences in mean QALYs (cabozantinib minus placebo) were statistically and clinically significant, ranging from +0.092 (95% CI: 0.016, 0.169) to +0.185 (95% CI: 0.126, 0.243) in favour of cabozantinib, depending on the reference value set used. CONCLUSIONS: These HRQoL findings support a positive benefit-risk profile for cabozantinib in previously treated patients with aHCC