Increasing On-Task Behavior Using Teacher Attention Delivered on a Fixed-Time Schedule

The effectiveness of fixed-time delivery of attention to increase the on-task behavior of 2 students in general education was examined. The teacher in this study provided attention to students on a 5-min fixed-time schedule and responded to students in her typical manner between cued intervals. An ABAB withdrawal design was used to test the effects of the intervention. The results of this study indicate that a fixed-time schedule of attention was effective in increasing students’ on-task behavior and decreasing their off-task behavior. Implications of the study for research and practice are discussed

A Longitudinal Study of the Reciprocal Relationship Between Ever Smoking and Urgency in Early Adolescence

Background—Among early adolescents in the United States (U.S.), the prevalence of cigarette smoking is at its lowest level in recent decades. Nonetheless, given the risks of smoking in early development, it remains critically important to study both risk factors for smoking and risks from smoking. This longitudinal study with U.S. early adolescents examines smoking initiation and tests a model of reciprocal prediction between ever smoking and the personality trait of urgency (i.e., mood-based impulsivity), a trait that increases risk for multiple forms of dysfunction. Methods—Participants (n=1906; 90% 10–11 years old, 50% female, 39% racial minorities at baseline) completed questionnaires 1–2 times per year starting in 5th grade and ending in 9th grade. Structural equation modeling allowed tests of bidirectional relationships between ever smoking and urgency controlling for pubertal status and negative affect at each wave. Results—Incidence of ever smoking increased from 5% to 27% over time, with current smoking around 5% at the last wave. Urgency at each wave predicted ever smoking at the next wave above and beyond covariates and prior smoking (all p \u3c .01). Likewise, with one exception, ever smoking predicted an increase in urgency at the subsequent wave above and beyond covariates and prior urgency (all p \u3c .05). Conclusion—Results show that risk for smoking increases with higher levels of urgency and urgency increases secondary to engagement in smoking. Future work should therefore explore urgency as a point of prevention for smoking and smoking cessation as a means to mitigate mood-based impulsivity

Nonsuicidal Self-injury as a Risk Factor for Purging Onset: Negatively Reinforced Behaviours that Reduce Emotional Distress

Both nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and purging behaviour are thought to involve harm to the self. The acquired capability for self-harm model holds that engaging in one self-harming behaviour increases the capability to tolerate harm to the self, thus increasing risk for engaging on other such behaviours. In addition, both behaviours are thought to serve the similar function of relief from distress. We thus tested whether engagement in one of these behaviours predicts the subsequent onset of the other. In a longitudinal design, 1158 first-year college women were assessed for purging and NSSI at two time points. Engagement in NSSI at time 1 predicted the college onset of purging behaviour 9 months later (OR = 2.20, p \u3c .04, CI = 1.07-4.19) beyond prediction from time 1 binge behaviour, and purging behaviour at time 1 predicted the subsequent onset of NSSI (OR = 6.54, p \u3c .01, CI = 1.71-25.04). These findings are consistent with the acquired capability for harm model and with the possibility that the two behaviours serve a similar function

Alcohol Use and Strenuous Physical Activity in College Students: A Longitudinal Test of 2 Explanatory Models of Health Behavior

Objective: To help clarify the effect of gender on the bidirectional relationship between alcohol use and strenuous physical activity in college students. Participants: Five hundred twenty-four (52% female) college students recruited in August 2008 and 2009 and followed up in April 2009 and April 2011, respectively. Methods: Participants reported their alcohol use and strenuous physical activity on 2 occasions (baseline and follow-up) spaced approximately 1 or 2 years apart. Results: For females, alcohol use quantity at baseline was associated with increased strenuous physical activity at 1- and 2-year follow-ups, and alcohol use frequency at baseline was associated with decreased strenuous physical activity at 2-year follow-up. For males, alcohol use frequency at baseline predicted decreased strenuous physical activity at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions: Gender differences may be explained from an eating disorders perspective such that women use physical activity as a compensatory strategy to combat potential weight gain from calories consumed during alcohol use

Relationship between trait anxiety and health-related factors

Growing evidence indicates that anxious individuals are more likely to engage in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors associated with coronary heart disease. We examined the relationship of Trait Anxiety (T-Anx) with lifestyle behaviors and physiological variables in a sample of 34 college undergraduates scoring in the upper/lower quartiles on T-Anx (50% women). Participants were assessed for physiological variables (BP, BMI) and behaviors including cigarette smoking, activity/exercise level, alcohol intake, and sleep. High T-Anx participants smoked significantly more cigarettes, slept significantly fewer hours, and engaged in significantly less vigorous-intensity physical activity than low T-Anx participants. No significant differences between groups were noted on BP, BMI, overall activity level, or alcohol use. These findings provide evidence that high TAnx college-age individuals engage in unhealthy behaviors

Uterine Torsion Dystocia Complicated by Perosomus Elumbis in an Angus Calf Associated with a Consanguineous Mating

A six-year-old multiparous Angus cow was presented for dystocia. Vaginal and rectal examinations revealed an approximately 360° counterclockwise uterine torsion. The torsion was corrected by rolling the cow counterclockwise (three episodes) with the aid of a plank coupled with manual detorsion via the vagina. The placement of obstetric chains followed by manual traction ultimately delivered a stillborn male calf with evidence of vertebral aplasia, arthrogryposis, and abdominal organ herniation. Patient history and subsequent parentage verification revealed that the calf was the result of a consanguineous (mother to son) mating. Tissue samples from the affected calf and blood samples from the dam, sire, and ten half siblings were collected for genetic testing and parentage verification. Necropsy, radiographic, and computed tomography examinations all supported a diagnosis of perosomus elumbis. Perosomus elumbis is a congenital abnormality of unknown origin(s), and this is the first report of a case associated with a consanguineous mating

Synthesis and Evaluation of Small Molecule Inhibitors of the Androgen Receptor N-Terminal Domain

Acknowledgments We thank Craig Irving for his assistance with NMR spectroscopy and Pat Keating, Dr. Jessica Bame, and Dr. Graeme Anderson for their assistance with HRMS.Peer reviewe

Current and emerging approaches to noncompetitive AR inhibition

The Androgen Receptor (AR) has been shown to be a key determinant in the pathogenesis of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Current standard of care therapies target the ligand-binding domain of the receptor, and afford improvements to life expectancy often only in the order of months before resistance occurs. Emerging preclinical and clinical compounds that inhibit receptor activity via differentiated mechanisms of action which are orthogonal to current anti-androgens show promise for overcoming treatment resistance. In this review we present an authoritative summary of molecules that non-competitively target the AR. Emerging small molecule strategies for targeting alternative domains of the AR represent a promising area of research that shows significant potential future therapies. The overall quality of lead candidates in the area of non-competitive AR inhibition is discussed, and identifies the key chemotypes and associated properties which are likely to be, or are currently, positioned for first in human applications

A Geologic Play Book for Utica Shale Appalachian Basin Exploration

This “Geologic Play Book for Utica Shale Appalachian Basin Exploration” (hereafter referred to as the “Utica Shale Play Book Study” or simply “Study”) represents the results of a two-year research effort by workers in five different states with the financial support of fifteen oil and gas industry partners. The Study was made possible through a coordinated effort between the Appalachian Basin Oil & Natural Gas Research Consortium (AONGRC) and the West Virginia University Shale Research, Education, Policy and Economic Development Center

Symmetry Breaking in Few Layer Graphene Films

Recently, it was demonstrated that the quasiparticle dynamics, the layer-dependent charge and potential, and the c-axis screening coefficient could be extracted from measurements of the spectral function of few layer graphene films grown epitaxially on SiC using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). In this article we review these findings, and present detailed methodology for extracting such parameters from ARPES. We also present detailed arguments against the possibility of an energy gap at the Dirac crossing ED.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures, Conference Proceedings of DPG Meeting Mar 2007 Regensburg Submitted to New Journal of Physic