The parallel development of ODD and CD symptoms from early childhood to adolescence

This study examined the developmental relations between symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) from early childhood to adolescence. Specifically we tested, according to parent-reported problems, whether symptoms of ODD precede the development of CD symptoms, whether ODD and CD symptoms are reciprocally associated across time, or whether ODD and CD symptoms develop parallel to each other across time. Participants were a community-based sample (at time 1: N = 485, 48% boys) assessed biannually five times from age 4 to 6 until age 12-14. The findings suggested that, with control for stability effects, baseline SES, and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ODD and CD symptoms develop parallel to each other. No gender differences were obtained. We conclude that without the initial presence of CD symptoms, ODD symptoms are not developmental precursors to CD symptoms

Assessing the Quality of Goal Setting in Behavioural Support for Smoking Cessation and its Association with Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Smoking cessation behavioural support can be effective but practitioners differ markedly in effectiveness, possibly due to variation in the quality of delivery of key behaviour change techniques, such as goal setting (i.e. setting a quit date). OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to (i) develop a reliable method for assessing the quality of practitioners' support in setting quit dates and (ii) assess whether quality predicts initiation of abstinence as a first step to quitting. METHODS: A scale for scoring the quality of goal setting was developed from national guidance documents and applied to 85 transcribed behavioural support sessions. Inter-rater reliability was assessed. Associations between quality scores and quit attempts were assessed. RESULTS: The 10-item scale produced had good inter-rater reliability (Kappa = 0.68). Higher quality goal setting was associated with increased self-reported quit attempts (p < .001; OR = 2.60, 95 % CI 1.54-4.40). The scale components 'set a clear quit date' (χ (2) (2, N = 85) = 22.3, p < .001) and 'within an appropriate timeframe' (χ (2) (2, N = 85) = 15.5, p < .001) were independently associated with quit attempts. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to reliably assess the quality of goal setting in smoking cessation behavioural support. Higher quality of goal setting is associated with greater likelihood of initiating quit attempts

PG545, a dual heparanase and angiogenesis inhibitor, induces potent anti-tumour and anti-metastatic efficacy in preclinical models

BACKGROUND: PG545 is a heparan sulfate (HS) mimetic that inhibits tumour angiogenesis by sequestering angiogenic growth factors in the extracellular matrix (ECM), thus limiting subsequent binding to receptors. Importantly, PG545 also inhibits heparanase, the only endoglycosidase which cleaves HS chains in the ECM. The aim of the study was to assess PG545 in various solid tumour and metastasis models

Motivational component profiles in university students learning histology: a comparative study between genders and different health science curricula

Background: The students' motivation to learn basic sciences in health science curricula is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of different components of motivation (intrinsic motivation, self-determination, self-efficacy and extrinsic -career and grade-motivation) on learning human histology in health science curricula and their relationship with the final performance of the students in histology. Methods: Glynn Science Motivation Questionnaire II was used to compare students' motivation components to learn histology in 367 first-year male and female undergraduate students enrolled in medical, dentistry and pharmacy degree programs. Results: For intrinsic motivation, career motivation and self-efficacy, the highest values corresponded to medical students, whereas dentistry students showed the highest values for self-determination and grade motivation. Genders differences were found for career motivation in medicine, self-efficacy in dentistry, and intrinsic motivation, self-determination and grade motivation in pharmacy. Career motivation and self-efficacy components correlated with final performance in histology of the students corresponding to the three curricula. Conclusions: Our results show that the overall motivational profile for learning histology differs among medical, dentistry and pharmacy students. This finding is potentially useful to foster their learning process, because if they are metacognitively aware of their motivation they will be better equipped to self-regulate their science-learning behavior in histology. This information could be useful for instructors and education policy makers to enhance curricula not only on the cognitive component of learning but also to integrate students' levels and types of motivation into the processes of planning, delivery and evaluation of medical education.This research was supported by the Unidad de Innovación Docente, University of Granada, Spain through grants UGR11-294 and UGR11-303

Refined physical map of the human PAX2/HOX11/NFKB2 cancer gene region at 10q24 and relocalization of the HPV6AI1 viral integration site to 14q13.3-q21.1

BACKGROUND: Chromosome band 10q24 is a gene-rich domain and host to a number of cancer, developmental, and neurological genes. Recurring translocations, deletions and mutations involving this chromosome band have been observed in different human cancers and other disease conditions, but the precise identification of breakpoint sites, and detailed characterization of the genetic basis and mechanisms which underlie many of these rearrangements has yet to be resolved. Towards this end it is vital to establish a definitive genetic map of this region, which to date has shown considerable volatility through time in published works of scientific journals, within different builds of the same international genomic database, and across the differently constructed databases. RESULTS: Using a combination of chromosome and interphase fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), BAC end-sequencing and genomic database analysis we present a physical map showing that the order and chromosomal orientation of selected genes within 10q24 is CEN-CYP2C9-PAX2-HOX11-NFKB2-TEL. Our analysis has resolved the orientation of an otherwise dynamically evolving assembly of larger contigs upstream of this region, and in so doing verifies the order and orientation of a further 9 cancer-related genes and GOT1. This study further shows that the previously reported human papillomavirus type 6a DNA integration site HPV6AI1 does not map to 10q24, but that it maps at the interface of chromosome bands 14q13.3-q21.1. CONCLUSIONS: This revised map will allow more precise localization of chromosome rearrangements involving chromosome band 10q24, and will serve as a useful baseline to better understand the molecular aetiology of chromosomal instability in this region. In particular, the relocation of HPV6AI1 is important to report because this HPV6a integration site, originally isolated from a tonsillar carcinoma, was shown to be rearranged in other HPV6a-related malignancies, including 2 of 25 genital condylomas, and 2 of 7 head and neck tumors tested. Our finding shifts the focus of this genomic interest from 10q24 to the chromosome 14 site

Multiple factors influence compliance with colorectal cancer staging recommendations: an exploratory study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>For patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) retrieval by surgeons, and assessment by pathologists of at least 12 lymph nodes (LNs) predicts the need for adjuvant treatment and improved survival. Different interventions (educational presentation, engaging clinical opinion leaders, performance data sent to hospital executives) to improve compliance with this practice had variable results. This exploratory study examined factors hypothesized to have influenced the outcome of those interventions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 surgeons and pathologists at eleven hospitals. Clinicians were identified by intervention organizers, public licensing body database, and referral from interviewees. An interview guide incorporating open-ended questions was pilot-tested on one surgeon and pathologist. A single investigator conducted all interviews by phone. Transcripts were analyzed independently by two investigators using a grounded approach,ho then compared findings to resolve differences.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Improvements in LN staging practice may have occurred largely due to educational presentations that created awareness, and self-initiated changes undertaken by pathologists. Executives that received performance data may not have shared this with staff, and opinion leaders engaged to promote compliance may not have fulfilled their roles. Barriers to change that are potentially amenable to quality improvement included perceptions about the practice (perceived lack of evidence for the need to examine at least 12 LNs) and associated responsibilities (blaming other profession), technical issues (need for pathology assistants, better clearing solutions and laboratory facilities), and a lack of organizational support for multidisciplinary interaction (little communication between surgeons and pathologists) or quality improvement (no change leaders or capacity for monitoring).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Use of an exploratory approach provided an in-depth view of the way that numerous factors amenable to quality improvement influenced the adoption of new CRC LN staging recommendations. Continued interventions targeting physicians and executives, in the absence of a receptive organizational infrastructure, may be fruitless. Individualized rather than regional or punitive performance data, coupled with increased organizational capacity for change may stimulate greater surgical and organizational response to quality improvement. Descriptive or experimental studies are needed to test these hypotheses.</p

Einheit von Park und Architektur : der Park am IG Hochhaus

Cerebellar granule cells, which constitute half the brain's neurons, supply Purkinje cells with contextual information necessary for motor learning, but how they encode this information is unknown. Here we show, using two-photon microscopy to track neural activity over multiple days of cerebellum-dependent eyeblink conditioning in mice, that granule cell populations acquire a dense representation of the anticipatory eyelid movement. Initially, granule cells responded to neutral visual and somatosensory stimuli as well as periorbital airpuffs used for training. As learning progressed, two-thirds of monitored granule cells acquired a conditional response whose timing matched or preceded the learned eyelid movements. Granule cell activity covaried trial by trial to form a redundant code. Many granule cells were also active during movements of nearby body structures. Thus, a predictive signal about the upcoming movement is widely available at the input stage of the cerebellar cortex, a

Observing interactions between children and adolescents and their parents: the effects of anxiety disorder and age

Parental behaviors, most notably overcontrol, lack of warmth and expressed anxiety, have been implicated in models of the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders in children and young people. Theories of normative development have proposed that different parental responses are required to support emotional development in childhood and adolescence, yet age has not typically been taken into account in studies of parenting and anxiety disorders. In order to identify whether associations between anxiety disorder status and parenting differ in children and adolescents, we compared observed behaviors of parents of children (7–10 years) and adolescents (13–16 years) with and without anxiety disorders (n=120), while they undertook a series of mildly anxiety-provoking tasks. Parents of adolescents showed significantly lower levels of expressed anxiety, intrusiveness and warm engagement than parents of children. Furthermore, offspring age moderated the association between anxiety disorder status and parenting behaviors. Specifically, parents of adolescents with anxiety disorders showed higher intrusiveness and lower warm engagement than parents of non-anxious adolescents. A similar relationship between these parenting behaviors and anxiety disorder status was not observed among parents of children. The findings suggest that theoretical accounts of the role of parental behaviors in anxiety disorders in children and adolescents should distinguish between these different developmental periods. Further experimental research to establish causality, however, would be required before committing additional resources to targeting parenting factors within treatment

Chemoreception Regulates Chemical Access to Mouse Vomeronasal Organ: Role of Solitary Chemosensory Cells

Controlling stimulus access to sensory organs allows animals to optimize sensory reception and prevent damage. The vomeronasal organ (VNO) detects pheromones and other semiochemicals to regulate innate social and sexual behaviors. This semiochemical detection generally requires the VNO to draw in chemical fluids, such as bodily secretions, which are complex in composition and can be contaminated. Little is known about whether and how chemical constituents are monitored to regulate the fluid access to the VNO. Using transgenic mice and immunolabeling, we found that solitary chemosensory cells (SCCs) reside densely at the entrance duct of the VNO. In this region, most of the intraepithelial trigeminal fibers innervate the SCCs, indicating that SCCs relay sensory information onto the trigeminal fibers. These SCCs express transient receptor potential channel M5 (TRPM5) and the phospholipase C (PLC) β2 signaling pathway. Additionally, the SCCs express choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) for synthesizing and packaging acetylcholine, a potential transmitter. In intracellular Ca2+ imaging, the SCCs responded to various chemical stimuli including high concentrations of odorants and bitter compounds. The responses were suppressed significantly by a PLC inhibitor, suggesting involvement of the PLC pathway. Further, we developed a quantitative dye assay to show that the amount of stimulus fluid that entered the VNOs of behaving mice is inversely correlated to the concentration of odorous and bitter substances in the fluid. Genetic knockout and pharmacological inhibition of TRPM5 resulted in larger amounts of bitter compounds entering the VNOs. Our data uncovered that chemoreception of fluid constituents regulates chemical access to the VNO and plays an important role in limiting the access of non-specific irritating and harmful substances. Our results also provide new insight into the emerging role of SCCs in chemoreception and regulation of physiological actions

Sources of stakeholder salience in the responsible investment movement: why do investors sign the Principles for Responsible Investment?

Since its inception in 2006, the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have grown to over 1300 signatories representing over $45 trillion. This growth is not slowing down. In this paper, we argue that there is a set of attributes which make the PRI salient as a stakeholder and its claim to sign the six PRI important to institutional investors. We use Mitchell et al.’s (Acad Manag Rev 22:853–886, 1997) theoretical framework of stakeholder salience, as extended by Gifford (J Bus Eth 92:79–97, 2010). We use as evidence confidential data from the annual survey of signatories carried out by the PRI in a 5-year period between 2007 and 2011. The findings highlight pragmatic and organizational legitimacy, normative and utilitarian power, and management values as the attributes that contribute most to the salience of the PRI as a stakeholder