Parenting Stress and Child Disruptive Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Parental Negative Talk

High parental stress and child disruptive behaviors tend to coexist. Furthermore, parental negative talk towards children cam impair child functioning later in life. In the present study, we sought to determine whether parental negative talk was a mediating variable between parenting stress and child disruptive behaviors. Fifty-two parent-child dyads from Eastern Kentucky participated in an analog Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) behavioral observation and parents were given self-report measures for parenting stress and child disruptive behaviors. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were used to predict variance in child disruptive behaviors based on parenting stress with parental negative talk as a mediating variable. Bivariate regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between parenting stress and child disruptive behaviors, t(1, 50)= 4.646, p \u3c .000, but multiple regression analysis did not support mediation by parental negative talk in this relationship, t(2,46)= 1.941, p \u3c .058. Findings supported the hypothesis that increased levels of parenting stress are related to increased levels of child disruptive behaviors, but findings did not support the hypothesis that parental negative talk during Parent Led Play mediates between parenting stress and child disruptive behaviors

Age changes in shape and morphology in Arikara subadult ilia

This study examines the growth of the ilium in an American Indian skeletal series. This study was done because of the lack of previous study in this area using statistical interpretation of the changes. The samples consists of subadults from four Arikara cemeteries found in northern South Dakota; two of the samples are separate occupations of the same site. An unknown age and sex sample was used because of its availability and because of the unavailability of known subadult skeletal samples. Eight measurements were taken on each ilium and two non-metric traits recorded. Maximum femur lengths, gathered in a previous study, were then matched with their corresponding ilia. Femur length was used as an indication of biological age and used to hold age changes constant. Logrithmic transformation of the raw data was performed to eliminate non-linear trends in the femur length to iliac relationships

Dermatoglyphic variation among Sub-Saharan Africans: $ba multivariate analysis of population structure

It has been previously observed that population structure analysis using dermatoglyphics tends to follow similar patterns formed by other biological features (serology, craniometric, anthropometrics), and reflect relevant linguistic or geographical distributions. But the level of these correlations has not been consistantly identified, causing some debate over the validity of dermatoglyphics as a form of study in human populations. A systematic analysis of a series of populations needs to be made to evaluate how well dermatoglyphic variables generate significant genetic, cultural and geographical relationships dermatoglyphic affinities. between groups, and which features best present these particular population affinities. Using multivariate statistical methods, the five most widely employed dermatoglyphic techniques are tested for their ability to present understandable population structure. Complete 20 finger ridge-counts, 10 finger ridge-counts, palmar interdigital ridge-counts, finger pattern frequencies and palmar pattern frequencies, following standard methods, were obtained for 50 African tribal populations

Shotgun metagenomic analysis of microbial communities from the Loxahatchee nature preserve in the Florida Everglades.

BackgroundCurrently, much is unknown about the taxonomic diversity and the mechanisms of methane metabolism in the Florida Everglades ecosystem. The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a section of the Florida Everglades that is almost entirely unstudied in regard to taxonomic profiling. This short report analyzes the metagenome of soil samples from this Refuge to investigate the predominant taxa, as well as the abundance of genes involved in environmentally significant metabolic pathways related to methane production (nitrogen fixation and dissimilatory sulfite reduction).MethodsShotgun metagenomic sequencing using the Illumina platform was performed on 17 soil samples from four different sites within the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and underwent quality control, assembly, and annotation. The soil from each sample was tested for water content and concentrations of organic carbon and nitrogen.ResultsThe three most common phyla of bacteria for every site were Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Proteobacteria; however, there was variation in relative phylum composition. The most common phylum of Archaea was Euryarchaeota for all sites. Alpha and beta diversity analyses indicated significant congruity in taxonomic diversity in most samples from Sites 1, 3, and 4 and negligible congruity between Site 2 and the other sites. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed the presence of biogeochemical biomarkers of particular interest (e.g., mrcA, nifH, and dsrB) within the samples. The normalized abundances of mcrA, nifH, and dsrB exhibited a positive correlation with nitrogen concentration and water content, and a negative correlation with organic carbon concentration.ConclusionThis Everglades soil metagenomic study allowed examination of wetlands biological processes and showed expected correlations between measured organic constituents and prokaryotic gene frequency. Additionally, the taxonomic profile generated gives a basis for the diversity of prokaryotic microbial life throughout the Everglades

Qualitative Development of Items for a Young Adult Autism Spectrum Disorder Screener

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits across multiple domains such as deficits in social communication and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior. The prevalence of ASD has increased over time, and while there are ample screeners and assessments for children, there is a distinct lack of screeners for young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years. The present study focused on exploring the gap in screeners for ASD in young adults and assessing the insight of experts in the field toward the development of a screener for ASD in young adults. Participants (N = 6) were individuals who have earned a doctorate, have expertise diagnosing or working with individuals diagnosed with ASD, and have been working with this population for at least two years. Thematic analysis was utilized to reveal themes of the presentation of ASD in young adults between the ages of 18 to 25 years through the lens of each of the diagnostic criteria for ASD found in the DSM-5-TR. This study helps to shed light on the gap in psychological screeners for ASD, and it provides potential information for the development of a psychological screener for ASD in young adults

Shotgun metagenomic analysis of microbial communities from the Loxahatchee nature preserve in the Florida Everglades.

BackgroundCurrently, much is unknown about the taxonomic diversity and the mechanisms of methane metabolism in the Florida Everglades ecosystem. The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a section of the Florida Everglades that is almost entirely unstudied in regard to taxonomic profiling. This short report analyzes the metagenome of soil samples from this Refuge to investigate the predominant taxa, as well as the abundance of genes involved in environmentally significant metabolic pathways related to methane production (nitrogen fixation and dissimilatory sulfite reduction).MethodsShotgun metagenomic sequencing using the Illumina platform was performed on 17 soil samples from four different sites within the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and underwent quality control, assembly, and annotation. The soil from each sample was tested for water content and concentrations of organic carbon and nitrogen.ResultsThe three most common phyla of bacteria for every site were Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Proteobacteria; however, there was variation in relative phylum composition. The most common phylum of Archaea was Euryarchaeota for all sites. Alpha and beta diversity analyses indicated significant congruity in taxonomic diversity in most samples from Sites 1, 3, and 4 and negligible congruity between Site 2 and the other sites. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed the presence of biogeochemical biomarkers of particular interest (e.g., mrcA, nifH, and dsrB) within the samples. The normalized abundances of mcrA, nifH, and dsrB exhibited a positive correlation with nitrogen concentration and water content, and a negative correlation with organic carbon concentration.ConclusionThis Everglades soil metagenomic study allowed examination of wetlands biological processes and showed expected correlations between measured organic constituents and prokaryotic gene frequency. Additionally, the taxonomic profile generated gives a basis for the diversity of prokaryotic microbial life throughout the Everglades