A Community-Based Parenting Program with Low-Income Mothers of Young Children

Research has established a significant relationship between certain parental characteristics. such as income or parenting practices, and the development of child behavior problems. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a parenting program for low-income parents of children one to five years old which was offered through community-based family resource centers. Seventy-one mothers completed the program and showed significant decreases in their use of verbal and corporal punishment and significant increases in nurturing behaviors: their children’s behavior also improved significantly. Forty-five percent of parents also met Jacobson and Truax’s (1991) criteria for clinically significant change. Implications for practitioners working With this challenging population are discussed

The Experiences of Beginning Counselor Education and Supervision Faculty In The Supervision-Of-Supervision Relationship

This narrative study attempted to explore the experience of beginning counselor educators in providing supervision to doctoral supervisors-in-training. The need for a greater understanding of the supervision-of-supervision process is well recognized within the profession of counseling (e.g., Barker & Hunsley, 2013; Borders & Giordano, 2016). Four counselor educators in the beginning years of employment at a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2015) accredited counselor education and supervision doctoral program provided narratives of their own experiences providing supervision-of-supervision. Nine themes and 18 subthemes emerged from the data analysis; the following nine themes were confirmed by the participants of this study: Uncertainty, Imposter Phenomenon, Overwhelm in a Variety of Professional Roles, Accomplishment and Validation, Experience of Navigating Conflict, Liability, Elements that Provided Support, Elements that Proved to Be Challenging, and Elements that Might Be Helpful. The story that unfolded from the words of the participants conveyed an experience that at times was overwhelming with a great deal of uncertainty while also providing a sense of accomplishment and validation. The themes aligned with research within the profession of counselor education (e.g., Borders et al., 2011; Boswell et al., 2017) and higher education (e.g., Murray, 2008; Waalkes, 2016). The implications from this study provided suggestions for faculty members within counselor education doctoral programs that could be implemented to ease the transition for these beginning faculty supervisors. These suggestions included the assignment of a faculty member mentor who facilitated reflection on entering the role of faculty supervisor, greater clarity in department dynamics and procedures, as well as providing opportunities for continued education surrounding guiding doctoral supervisor identity development. This continued education could be provided for advanced doctoral students as well as beginning faculty members. Areas of recommended future research included a greater exploration of the supervisor identity development stages, the development of more unified evaluation criteria of doctoral supervisors-in-training, and ways in which faculty mentors could assist beginning counselor educators in the transition to faculty supervisor

Maternal Factors Related to Parenting Young Children with Congenital Heart Disease

The purpose of this study was to compare the early child-rearing practices between mothers of young children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and mothers of healthy children. In addition, maternal stress, parental developmental expectations, and the early behavioral and emotional development of their children were explored. Maccoby’s (1992) socialization theory emphasizing the reciprocal nature of mother-child interactions provided the framework for this study. Findings from quantitative self-report measures and videotaped parent-child interactions showed a remarkable similarity between mothers of children with CHD and mothers of healthy children. In contrast, qualitative data revealed important differences with mothers of CHD children reporting high levels of vigilance with their children. The important role of promoting the principle of normalization among mothers of children with CHD and ensuring a sufficient support system is discussed

Challenging Behaviors in Young Children: The Father\u27s Role

In this study, the authors examined the parenting practices, developmental expectations, and stress levels of 136 fathers and the challenging and prosocial behaviors of their 1- to 5-year-old children. In addition, the authors systematically addressed fathers\u27 qualitative concerns about their parenting. The authors divided the participants into 4 groups and controlled for family socioeconomic status (SES) and the focus child\u27s gender. Results showed a significantly higher use of corporal and verbal punishment and parenting stress among lower income fathers. Secondary analyses demonstrated a significant effect of paternal disciplinary practices that emphasized the frequent use of corporal and verbal punishment on child behavior problems, regardless of SES level. On a positive note, fathers from both lower and higher SES groups had reasonable developmental expectations for their boys and girls, and they reported similar frequencies of their children\u27s prosocial behavior. The authors discuss the need for early parent education programs that include fathers and that teach specific strategies to address child behavior problems

Parenting Among Hispanic and Anglo-American Mothers With Young Children

The authors examined parenting practices and developmental expectations among 38 Hispanic and 38 Anglo-American mothers living in the United States. Mothers of children 3 to 5 years of age completed the Parent Behavior Checklist (R. A. Fox, 1994), a 100-item measure of parents\u27 developmental expectations, discipline, and nurturing practices. In addition, the authors appraised the Hispanic mothers\u27 acculturation and selected them for participation if their scores on an acculturation scale indicated (a) that their lifestyle was predominantly Hispanic and (b) that they had not been assimilated into the dominant culture. The 2 ethnic groups were also divided by socioeconomic status (SES). There were significant main effects for ethnicity and SES on the discipline and nurturing scores but not on the expectations scores. The Hispanic and higher SES mothers reported higher discipline and lower nurturing scores than did the Anglo-American and lower SES mothers. An unexpected finding was the tendency for higher SES Hispanic mothers to report more frequent use of discipline than the other 3 groups

Parenting Young Children: Comparison of a Psychoeducational Program in Mexico and the United States

The purpose of this study was to compare the cross-cultural effectiveness of a psychoeducational program with 82 Mexican and 63 American mothers with very young children. The 10-hour program was presented by trained facilitators in Mexico and the United States to small groups of mothers. Results showed that the both groups of mothers significantly increased their expectations and use of nurturing strategies and reduced their use of verbal and corporal punishment with their young children following the program. In addition, the reported frequency of child behavior problems decreased significantly at post-test. The similar results obtained across cultures were explained based on research finding similar parenting practices with young children between Mexican and American parents

Role of TET1 in adipose tissue

The global obesity epidemic is associated with 2.8 million deaths per year and contributes to the prevalence of numerous cardiometabolic disease risk factors, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and stroke. The Ten-Eleven-Translocation enzymes (TET1-3) modify DNA by adding a methyl group to generate 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) from 5-methylcytosine (5mC). This DNA methylation mark can alter the nature of the information conveyed by DNA; for example by modulating access of transcription factors. TET1 plays an important role in promoting adipocyte differentiation. I hypothesised that Tet1 gene deficiency impairs adipocyte development and function, thereby counteracting the development of obesity. TET enzymatic activity requires the TCA cycle metabolite α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) as a substrate, and is allosterically inhibited by TCA cycle metabolites succinate and fumarate. Obesity is associated with a number of key metabolic changes including increased levels of glutamate and many constitutive metabolites of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (such as α- ketoglutarate, succinate, fumarate, and malate). I therefore additionally hypothesised that TET activity is altered as a consequence of the metabolic perturbations that accompany obesity. To test these hypotheses, male Tet1 gene knockout (Tet1–/–) mice and littermate mice wildtype for the Tet1 allele (Tet1+/+) were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 11 weeks. Food intake, adiposity (TD-NMR), energy expenditure (indirect calorimetry) and fat depot mass, including bone marrow adipose tissue (MAT) were measured. RNA-sequencing of adipose tissue gene expression and analysis of 5hmC in adipose tissue DNA was performed. Fat mass of Tet1–/– mice was 50% lower than that of Tet1+/+ littermates after 11 weeks HFD. No changes in MAT were observed. Tet1–/– mice showed a relative reduction in food intake over 11 weeks and a reduction in energy expenditure in the absence of changes in activity levels. RNA-sequencing of mesenteric adipose tissue revealed changes in gene expression related to muscle organ development, synaptic vesicle exocytosis and acyl-coA metabolic processes in Tet1–/– mice. Notably, leptin mRNA and circulating leptin levels were lower in Tet1–/– mice compared to Tet1+/+. Tet1–/– mice challenged with exogenous leptin had a greater reduction in food intake, indicating higher leptin sensitivity. Hydroxymethylated DNA immunoprecipitation-sequencing (hMeDIP-seq) was performed to analyse 5hmC patterns: however, no global differences in 5hmC levels were identified between Tet1–/– and Tet1+/+ mice. Specifically, despite the marked change in leptin mRNA expression, no changes in 5hmC or 5mC were observed within the leptin promoter to indicate causality of DNA methylation changes in altered leptin expression. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is the main organ of thermogenesis in rodents and has a high energy demand when activated. The recent discovery of active BAT, or an intermediate thermogenic fat called “beige”, in human adults has prompted research into the potential of therapeutic BAT activation for the treatment of obesity. A number of epigenetic marks, of which DNA methylation is one, have been associated with activation of thermogenesis in BAT including histone acetylation. However, the potential role of 5mC and 5hmC in BAT function has not been investigated. While histone modifications – most notably histone acetylation in the enhancer regions of Pparg and Ucp1, and putative regulatory regions of Ppara – have been shown to play a role in the transcriptional activation of the thermogenic gene programme, the role of 5mC and 5hmC has not been investigated. I hypothesised that TET1 activity would be altered by changes in metabolite levels in cold-induced thermogenesis, resulting in altered 5hmC. To test this hypothesis, C57BL/6J mice were maintained at 30°C or 4°C for 48 hours, after which adipose tissue was collected. RNA and DNA were extracted from white (WAT), brown (BAT) and beige adipose tissue for RNA-seq and hMeDIP-seq, and the polar phase metabolites were extracted for gas chromatography mass-spectrometry. In mice exposed to 4°C, all metabolites of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle were significantly increased in WAT and BAT compared to mice housed at 30°C, with the exception of α-KG and succinate in BAT. TET activity was decreased in WAT at 4°C but not in BAT or beige adipose tissue. No global changes in 5hmC were observed in WAT or BAT between the 4°C and 30°C conditions. However, there is a decrease in 5hmC in BAT at 30°C and 4°C, and in WAT at 4°C, at 10% of gene length in a select subset of genes involved in neuromuscular synaptic transmission and perception of chemical stimuli. Many gene pathways were upregulated transcriptionally in all three adipose depots, including mitochondrial function, oxidative phosphorylation and the TCA cycle, but these transcriptional changes are not associated with changes in 5hmC. In summary, this data supports my original hypothesis by showing that Tet1–/– mice have decreased susceptibility to diet-induced obesity due to a reduction in food intake, in association with higher leptin sensitivity. However, in contrast to published data, 5hmC or 5mC modification was not altered at the leptin promoter in adipocytes, and therefore the hypothesis that DNA methylation at the leptin promoter accounts for the observed Tet1–/– phenotype must be rejected. Finally, numerous changes occur in the TCA cycle metabolites in BAT and WAT with cold exposure, which may contribute to the selective decrease in TET activity in WAT. However, no changes are observed in 5hmC in WAT, rejecting the hypothesis that altered TET1 activity in cold exposure results in altered 5hmC. In conclusion, this thesis contends that TET enzymes and 5hmC are not primary drivers of gene expression changes in obesity or cold-induced thermogenesis. However, TET enzymes may act in synergy with other epigenetic changes to alter gene expression in this context, and may remain important contributors to altered adiposity and its metabolic consequences

One Family at a Time: A Prevention Program for At-Risk Parents

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a psychoeducational parenting program with at-risk parents of young children. At-risk was defined as excessive parental use of verbal and corporal punishment combined with low-income status. All families were seen for 10 weeks, either individually or in very small groups. Results showed that compared with the control group, parents participating in the program significantly decreased their levels of verbal and corporal punishment, anger, stress, and reported child behavior problems; results were maintained at follow-up. Implications for counselors are provided

Evidence of Titan's Climate History from Evaporite Distribution

Water-ice-poor, 5-$\mu$m-bright material on Saturn's moon Titan has previously been geomorphologically identified as evaporitic. Here we present a global distribution of the occurrences of the 5-$\mu$m-bright spectral unit, identified with Cassini's Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) and examined with RADAR when possible. We explore the possibility that each of these occurrences are evaporite deposits. The 5-$\mu$m-bright material covers 1\% of Titan's surface and is not limited to the poles (the only regions with extensive, long-lived surface liquid). We find the greatest areal concentration to be in the equatorial basins Tui Regio and Hotei Regio. Our interpretations, based on the correlation between 5-$\mu$m-bright material and lakebeds, imply that there was enough liquid present at some time to create the observed 5-$\mu$m-bright material. We address the climate implications surrounding a lack of evaporitic material at the south polar basins: if the south pole basins were filled at some point in the past, then where is the evaporite