Neuropsychological Test Performance and Other Predictors of Adult Outcome in a Prospective Follow-Up Study of Children with ADHD

The present research is a prospective follow-up study which investigates the neuropsychological test performance of children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and examines whether test performance and severity of childhood disruptive behaviors predict adult psychiatric status and functioning in major domains (educational, social, and occupational). Participants were 100 middle-class, White boys (mean age = 9) of average intelligence diagnosed with ADHD without comorbid conduct disorder (CD) diagnoses. Childhood predictors were teacher behavioral ratings and performance on a variety of neuropsychological tests. Participants were later assessed at mean age 25 by clinicians blind to childhood status. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to determine the impact of childhood predictor variables on adult outcome. Results showed no significant impairment on measures of neuropsychological functioning, nor was neuropsychological test performance generally correlated with severity of disruptive behaviors. ADHD boys with low ratings of conduct disorder behaviors (not at all, just a little) demonstrated lower verbal ability than those without CD behaviors. Severity of childhood CD behaviors emerged as the most consistent predictor of adult functioning and prevalence of psychiatric disorders. Measures of working memory and attention (Working Memory Index and Freedom from Distractibility Factor of the WISC-R) inconsistently predicted functioning in some areas, although this may reflect the well-known relationship between childhood IQ and later adult functioning. Taken together, the findings suggest that in boys with ADHD who are of average intelligence and have intact neuropsychological functioning, even low levels of CD behaviors are associated with poor prognosis in adulthood

Explaining the Fijian childhood mortality decline: trends, levels and government response

The trends and levels in childhood mortality from the cession of Fiji to the British in 1874 to the most recent census in 1986 are described and analysed. The core, and more detailed, analysis covers the period from 1893 -- when the first major Government inquiry into the decrease of the population was carried out -- to the late 1960s when relatively low mortality was reached. Both direct and indirect demographic methods are used to estimate levels of mortality. Explanatory material is drawn from a variety of documentary and ethnographic source describing the disease environment, public health programs, and changing technology. The social, cultural and biological determinants of infant and child mortality are considered. Special attention is given to the role of the Colonial Government, in public health policy, in the use of medical interventions, and in the establishment of a medical infrastructure. In the first decades of the 20th century the Government initiated a number of public health interventions and in the establishment of a medical infrastructure. In the first decades of the 20th century the Government initiated a number of public health interventions. The effects of these on child mortality are evaluated in the context of the disease environment. In the late 1920s and 1930s, they were supplemented by a child welfare campaign aimed at the active involvement of the village communities. Despite the modernity of this campaign its effects on child mortality were limited. The demographic analysis suggests that the "breakthrough" in Fijian child mortality, the period of steep decline over a relatively short time, came in the late 1950s. The factors contributing to this are explored and it is concluded that major elements in the accelerated decline were successive specific disease-related campaigns (particularly against tuberculosis and yaws) pushed through by an activist Government, making use of new medical technologies and drugs, and building on the decentralised medical infrastructure developed over the previous half-century. Fiji offers a rare opportunity for a study of this kind, since the Government was concerned from the outset of colonial rule with the problem of Fijian depopulation, and the place within it of child mortality; the need for an accurate system of vital registration was early recognised, and active programmes of public health and medical intervention pursued and well documented

The role of temperature and Coulomb correlation in stabilization of CsCl-phase in FeS under pressure

The iron-sulfur system is important for planetary interiors and is intensely studied, particularly for better understanding of the cores of Mars and Earth. Yet, there is a paradox about high-pressure stability of FeS: ab initio global optimization (at DFT level) predicts a Pmmn phase (with a distorted rocksalt structure) to be stable at pressures above ~120 GPa, which has not yet been observed in the experiments that instead revealed a CsCl-type phase which, according to density functional calculations, should not be stable. Using quasiharmonic free energy calculations and the dynamical mean field theory, we show that this apparent discrepancy is removed by proper account of electron correlations and entropic effects.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

The Democratic Viability of Islamic Opposition in Egypt: A Theoretical and Comparative Perspective

In response to the increasingly authoritarian government of Hosni Muburak, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has emerged as the only meaningful opposition party—even though the Brotherhood has been illegal for the last 50 years. Despite its often violent and murky past, in the last 25 years the Brotherhood has preached a platform based on moderate and peaceful Islamic activism as well as the compatibility of democracy and Islam. However, there are still elements of the Muslim Brotherhood that suggest certain democratic values would be abandoned should the Brotherhood achieve power, as well as critics who contend that the recent changes in the Brotherhood are a ploy to achieve political power. A comparison to Bharatiya Janata Party, an Indian Hindu-nationalist party, as well as a vein of democratic theory known as moderation theory, are both useful tools to address these concerns. Both analytical tools suggest that the Muslim Brotherhood would likely positively contribute to a democratic system of governance in Egypt should it be legalized and the appropriate political reforms take place

Exhaustive Suzuki-Miyaura Reactions of Polyhalogenated Heteroarenes with Alkyl Boronic Pinacol Esters

A novel Suzuki-Miyaura protocol is described that enables the exhaustive alkylation of polychlorinated pyridines. This method facilitates a formal synthesis of normuscopyridine and the rapid assembly of a dumbbell shaped portion of a [2]rotaxane

Purified palmitoleic acid for the reduction of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and serum lipids: A double-blinded, randomized, placebo controlled study

BackgroundPurified palmitoleic acid (16-1; omega-7) has shown lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory benefits in open label, epidemiologic, and animal studies.ObjectiveOur objective was to perform the first randomized controlled trial of purified palmitoleic acid supplementation in humans.MethodsAdults with dyslipidemia and evidence of mild systemic inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] between 2 and 5 mg/L) were randomly allocated to receive either 220.5 mg of cis-palmitoleic acid (n = 30) or an identical capsule with placebo (1000 mg of medium chain triglycerides, n = 30) once per day for 30 days. Participants were asked to maintain their current diet. Serum lipids and hs-CRP were drawn at baseline and study completion.ResultsAt 30 days, there were significant mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) reductions in CRP (−1.9 [−2.3 to −1.4] mg/L), triglyceride (−30.2 [−40.2 to −25.3] mg/dL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (−8.9 [−12.0 to −5.8] mg/dL), and a significant increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (2.4 [1.5, 3.3] mg/dL) in the intervention group compared with control. These changes equated to 44%, 15%, and 8% reductions in CRP, triglyceride, and LDL respectively, and a 5% increase in HDL compared with control.ConclusionsPurified palmitoleic acid may be useful in the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia with the beneficial added effects of decreasing LDL and hs-CRP and raising HDL. Further study is needed to elucidate mechanisms and establish appropriate human doses

Progress Toward an Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Ineleganolide

Investigations toward an enantioselective total synthesis of ineleganolide (1) are disclosed. These studies have driven the development of a novel asymmetric ketone alkylation to form C(α)-tetrasubstituted carbonyl compounds. Products of these alkylations have been converted to α-hydroxy ketones, acids, and esters, completing an asymmetric formal synthesis of (–)-quinic acid. Additionally, one of these products, a chloroalkene, has been advanced in the synthesis of the [6–7–5–5]-fused core of ineleganolide. The chloroalkene can be converted through a mild oxidative bromination, Wittig olefination, and Luche reduction sequence to rapidly access the enantioenriched cyclopentenol fragment of ineleganolide. Two of these alcohols can be coupled with a cyclohexenone-derived carboxylic acid to append the six-membered ring fragment. These flexible vinylogous β-ketoesters can be advanced to a rigid [5–5–3]-fused cyclopropane. At the outset of this work, we envisioned the advancement of a [5–5]-fused cyclopropane through a tandem Wolff/Cope rearrangement to access the [6–7–5–5]-fused core of ineleganolide. Synthetic studies toward this rearrangement are described. Additionally, we explore a translactonization/Cope rearrangement and a cyclopropanation/Cope/epoxidation cascade sequence to access the [6–7–5–5]-fused scaffold. In the course of these efforts, a rich body of chemistry has been developed exploring translactonizations in cis-substituted cyclopentane diols, including the translactonization/Cope cascade.</p