Late adoptions:Attachment security and emotional availability in mother-child and father-child dyads

A growing body of research suggests that a history of neglect, abuse and institutionalization can negatively affect late-adopted children's attachment representations, and that adoptive parents can play a key role in enabling adopted children to earn secure attachments. Still, only a few studies have explored the quality of caregiver-child interaction in adoptive families. The present study aimed at verifying both the concordance of attachment in adoptive dyads (mother-children and father-children) and the relationship between attachment representations and parent-child interaction. The research involved 20 adoptive families in which the child's arrival had occurred between 12 to 36 months before the assessment, and where children were aged between 4.5 and 8.5 years. Attachment was assessed through the Adult Attachment Interview for parents and through the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task for children. The emotional quality of parent-child interaction was assessed trough the Emotional Availability Scales. Our results pointed out the presence of a relation between attachment representations of late-adopted children and their adoptive mothers (75%, K = 0.50, p =.025). In addition, we found that both insecure children and mothers showed lower levels of EA than secure ones. Some explanations are presented about why, in the early post-adoption period, child attachment patterns and dyadic emotional availability seem to be arranged on different frameworks for the two parental figures

Effort angina in a patient with advanced coronary artery disease. Role played by coronary angiography, Ivus and cardiac CT: case report

Coronary angiography is considered to be the gold standard technique for assessing the severity of obstructive luminal narrowing; however, in a few circumstances it may be misleading. In these cases, cardiac computed tomography (CT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) may help to give a correct interpretation

Evidence for the adaptation of protein pH-dependence to subcellular pH

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The availability of genome sequences, and inferred protein coding genes, has led to several proteome-wide studies of isoelectric points. Generally, isoelectric points are distributed following variations on a biomodal theme that originates from the predominant acid and base amino acid sidechain pKas. The relative populations of the peaks in such distributions may correlate with environment, either for a whole organism or for subcellular compartments. There is also a tendency for isoelectric points averaged over a subcellular location to not coincide with the local pH, which could be related to solubility. We now calculate the correlation of other pH-dependent properties, calculated from 3D structure, with subcellular pH.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For proteins with known structure and subcellular annotation, the predicted pH at which a protein is most stable, averaged over a location, gives a significantly better correlation with subcellular pH than does isoelectric point. This observation relates to the cumulative properties of proteins, since maximal stability for individual proteins follows the bimodal isoelectric point distribution. Histidine residue location underlies the correlation, a conclusion that is tested against a background of proteins randomised with respect to this feature, and for which the observed correlation drops substantially.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There exists a constraint on protein pH-dependence, in relation to the local pH, that is manifested in the pKa distribution of histidine sub-proteomes. This is discussed in terms of protein stability, pH homeostasis, and fluctuations in proton concentration.</p

A New Academic Quality at Work Tool (AQ@workT) to Assess the Quality of Life at Work in the Italian Academic Context

The present study provides evidence for a valid and reliable tool, the Academic Quality at Work Tool (AQ@workT), to investigate the quality of life at work in academics within the Italian university sector. The AQ@workT was developed by the QoL@Work research team, namely a group of expert academics in the field of work and organizational psychology affiliated with the Italian Association of Psychologists. The tool is grounded in the job demands-resources model and its psychometric properties were assessed in three studies comprising a wide sample of lecturers, researchers, and professors: a pilot study (N = 120), a calibration study (N = 1084), and a validation study (N = 1481). Reliability and content, construct, and nomological validity were supported, as well as measurement invariance across work role (researchers, associate professors, and full professors) and gender. Evidence from the present study shows that the AQ@workT represents a useful and reliable tool to assist university management to enhance quality of life, to manage work-related stress, and to mitigate the potential for harm to academics, particularly during a pandemic. Future studies, such as longitudinal tests of the AQ@workT, should test predictive validity among the variables in the tool

Terrestrial support of lake food webs: Synthesis reveals controls over cross-ecosystem resource use

Widespread evidence that organic matter exported from terrestrial into aquatic ecosystems supports recipient food webs remains controversial. A pressing question is not only whether high terrestrial support is possible but also what the general conditions are under which it arises. We assemble the largest data set, to date, of the isotopic composition (δ$^{2}$H, δ$^{13}$C, and δ$^{15}$N) of lake zooplankton and the resources at the base of their associated food webs. In total, our data set spans 559 observations across 147 lakes from the boreal to subtropics. By predicting terrestrial resource support from within-lake and catchment-level characteristics, we found that half of all consumer observations that is, the median were composed of at least 42% terrestrially derived material. In general, terrestrial support of zooplankton was greatest in lakes with large physical and hydrological connections to catchments that were rich in aboveground and belowground organic matter. However, some consumers responded less strongly to terrestrial resources where within-lake production was elevated. Our study shows that multiple mechanisms drive widespread cross-ecosystem support of aquatic consumers across Northern Hemisphere lakes and suggests that changes in terrestrial landscapes will influence ecosystem processes well beyond their boundaries.Support to organize the working group that produced this manuscript came from Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/M005968/1. B.W.K. also received travel support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Collaborative Research and Training Experiencein Biodiversity Research at the University of British Columbia. J.K. received funding from the Swedish Research Council (2012–2015, funding number 621-2011-3908). M.L.P. acknowledges funding from the NSF Division of Environmental Biology (grant number 1456151)

Terrestrial support of lake food webs: Synthesis reveals controls over cross-ecosystem resource use

Widespread evidence that organic matter exported from terrestrial into aquatic ecosystems supports recipient food webs remains controversial. A pressing question is not only whether high terrestrial support is possible but also what the general conditions are under which it arises. We assemble the largest data set, to date, of the isotopic composition (δ$^{2}$H, δ$^{13}$C, and δ$^{15}$N) of lake zooplankton and the resources at the base of their associated food webs. In total, our data set spans 559 observations across 147 lakes from the boreal to subtropics. By predicting terrestrial resource support from within-lake and catchment-level characteristics, we found that half of all consumer observations that is, the median were composed of at least 42% terrestrially derived material. In general, terrestrial support of zooplankton was greatest in lakes with large physical and hydrological connections to catchments that were rich in aboveground and belowground organic matter. However, some consumers responded less strongly to terrestrial resources where within-lake production was elevated. Our study shows that multiple mechanisms drive widespread cross-ecosystem support of aquatic consumers across Northern Hemisphere lakes and suggests that changes in terrestrial landscapes will influence ecosystem processes well beyond their boundaries.Support to organize the working group that produced this manuscript came from Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/M005968/1. B.W.K. also received travel support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Collaborative Research and Training Experiencein Biodiversity Research at the University of British Columbia. J.K. received funding from the Swedish Research Council (2012–2015, funding number 621-2011-3908). M.L.P. acknowledges funding from the NSF Division of Environmental Biology (grant number 1456151)

Illness perceptions and explanatory models of viral hepatitis B & C among immigrants and refugees: a narrative systematic review.

© 2015 Owiti et al.; licensee BioMed Central. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B and C (HBV, HCV) infections are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Many countries with traditionally low prevalence (such as UK) are now planning interventions (screening, vaccination, and treatment) of high-risk immigrants from countries with high prevalence. This review aimed to synthesise the evidence on immigrants' knowledge of HBV and HCV that might influence the uptake of clinical interventions. The review was also used to inform the design and successful delivery of a randomised controlled trial of targeted screening and treatment. METHODS: Five databases (PubMed, CINHAL, SOCIOFILE, PsycINFO & Web of Science) were systematically searched, supplemented by reference tracking, searches of selected journals, and of relevant websites. We aimed to identify qualitative and quantitative studies that investigated knowledge of HBV and HCV among immigrants from high endemic areas to low endemic areas. Evidence, extracted according to a conceptual framework of Kleinman's explanatory model, was subjected to narrative synthesis. We adapted the PEN-3 model to categorise and analyse themes, and recommend strategies for interventions to influence help-seeking behaviour. RESULTS: We identified 51 publications including quantitative (n = 39), qualitative (n = 11), and mixed methods (n = 1) designs. Most of the quantitative studies included small samples and had heterogeneous methods and outcomes. The studies mainly concentrated on hepatitis B and ethnic groups of South East Asian immigrants residing in USA, Canada, and Australia. Many immigrants lacked adequate knowledge of aetiology, symptoms, transmission risk factors, prevention strategies, and treatment, of hepatitis HBV and HCV. Ethnicity, gender, better education, higher income, and English proficiency influenced variations in levels and forms of knowledge. CONCLUSION: Immigrants are vulnerable to HBV and HCV, and risk life-threatening complications from these infections because of poor knowledge and help-seeking behaviour. Primary studies in this area are extremely diverse and of variable quality precluding meta-analysis. Further research is needed outside North America and Australia

A method for studying protistan diversity using massively parallel sequencing of V9 hypervariable regions of small-subunit ribosomal RNA genes

© 2009 The Authors. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS ONE 4 (2009): e6372, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006372.Massively parallel pyrosequencing of amplicons from the V6 hypervariable regions of small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes is commonly used to assess diversity and richness in bacterial and archaeal populations. Recent advances in pyrosequencing technology provide read lengths of up to 240 nucleotides. Amplicon pyrosequencing can now be applied to longer variable regions of the SSU rRNA gene including the V9 region in eukaryotes. We present a protocol for the amplicon pyrosequencing of V9 regions for eukaryotic environmental samples for biodiversity inventories and species richness estimation. The International Census of Marine Microbes (ICoMM) and the Microbial Inventory Research Across Diverse Aquatic Long Term Ecological Research Sites (MIRADA-LTERs) projects are already employing this protocol for tag sequencing of eukaryotic samples in a wide diversity of both marine and freshwater environments. Massively parallel pyrosequencing of eukaryotic V9 hypervariable regions of SSU rRNA genes provides a means of estimating species richness from deeply-sampled populations and for discovering novel species from the environment.This work was supported by grants from the W.M. Keck Foundation and the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health from the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation (NIH/NIEHS 1 P50 ES012742-01 and NSF/OCE 0430724-J) (LAZ and SH)

The relation between paracetamol use and asthma:a GA2LEN European case-control study

Studies from the UK and USA suggest that frequent use of paracetamol (acetaminophen) may increase the risk of asthma, but data across Europe are lacking. As part of a multicentric case-control study organised by the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA(2)LEN), it was examined whether or not frequent paracetamol use is associated with adult asthma across Europe. The network compared 521 cases with a diagnosis of asthma and reporting of asthma symptoms within the last 12 months with 507 controls with no diagnosis of asthma and no asthmatic symptoms within the last 12 months across 12 European centres. All cases and controls were selected from the same population, defined by age (2045 yrs) and place of residence. In a random effects meta-analysis, weekly use of paracetamol, compared with less frequent use, was strongly positively associated with asthma after controlling for confounders. There was no evidence for heterogeneity across centres. No association was seen between use of other analgesics and asthma. These data add to the increasing and consistent epidemiological evidence implicating frequent paracetamol use in asthma in diverse populations

Using the RDP Classifier to Predict Taxonomic Novelty and Reduce the Search Space for Finding Novel Organisms

BACKGROUND: Currently, the naïve Bayesian classifier provided by the Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) is one of the most widely used tools to classify 16S rRNA sequences, mainly collected from environmental samples. We show that RDP has 97+% assignment accuracy and is fast for 250 bp and longer reads when the read originates from a taxon known to the database. Because most environmental samples will contain organisms from taxa whose 16S rRNA genes have not been previously sequenced, we aim to benchmark how well the RDP classifier and other competing methods can discriminate these novel taxa from known taxa. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Because each fragment is assigned a score (containing likelihood or confidence information such as the boostrap score in the RDP classifier), we "train" a threshold to discriminate between novel and known organisms and observe its performance on a test set. The threshold that we determine tends to be conservative (low sensitivity but high specificity) for naïve Bayesian methods. Nonetheless, our method performs better with the RDP classifier than the other methods tested, measured by the f-measure and the area-under-the-curve on the receiver operating characteristic of the test set. By constraining the database to well-represented genera, sensitivity improves 3-15%. Finally, we show that the detector is a good predictor to determine novel abundant taxa (especially for finer levels of taxonomy where novelty is more likely to be present). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that selecting a read-length appropriate RDP bootstrap score can significantly reduce the search space for identifying novel genera and higher levels in taxonomy. In addition, having a well-represented database significantly improves performance while having genera that are "highly" similar does not make a significant improvement. On a real dataset from an Amazon Terra Preta soil sample, we show that the detector can predict (or correlates to) whether novel sequences will be assigned to new taxa when the RDP database "doubles" in the future