Not just about food : an attachment perspective on feeding

In infancy feeding is a central part of the mother-infant relationship and contributes greatly to the creation of an emotional bond between them. The purpose of this study was to investigate the quality of mother-infant interactions during feeding through an attachment perspective and to explore the long-term effects of these interactions on children’s mental health. Three main hypotheses were proposed. The first hypothesis investigated if maternal attachment representations influence mothers’ behaviors during feeding and thus the quality of feeding interactions. The second hypothesis concerned the long-term effects of feeding interactions on children’s later development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The third hypothesis implied testing mediation models predicting how maternal attachment influences maternal feeding behaviors and how these behaviors impact children’s risk of internalizing and externalizing problems. To test the first hypothesis, maternal attachment representations were assessed prenatally and mother-infants feeding interactions were evaluated when the infant was 8 months old. Data were collected for 116 mother-infant dyads. The second hypothesis was tested by gathering information on children’s mental health symptoms at age 7. Data for 71 children were available. The third hypothesis was tested using the data previously collected to analyze hypothesis one and two. Mothers’ representations of the relationship with their own parents during childhood, assessed prior to the baby’s birth, predicted the extent to which they would develop controlling and conflicted interaction patterns with their infants. Children who experienced controlling maternal behaviors during feeding at 8 months were at risk for developing symptoms of anxious depression at age 7. On the other hand, children who engaged in feeding interactions marked by conflicts with their mothers were more likely to display symptoms of ADHD and aggression at age 7.Educational Psycholog

Attachment and doubt in the work of Stanley Cavell

In his autobiography, Little Did I Know, the Harvard philosopher Stanley Cavell traces the roots of his philosophical approach to his childhood, examining what he had to learn to make sense of his father’s anger at the world and at him. Cavell describes the huge shadow his father cast over his work, even as Cavell himself achieved success in an academic sphere “quite beyond comprehension” for his uneducated father (Little Did I Know, p.356). This chapter will begin by considering Cavell’s account of his relationship with his father, and what it was that he learnt about doubt and acknowledgement in making sense of his father’s hate. The next section will outline the main current of Cavell’s philosophical work: his thinking about what is at stake in scepticism regarding the pain of others. The powerful implications of his reflections on this issue will then be demonstrated through attention to Cavell’s work on Shakespeare, with particular attention to themes of attachment and doubt in King Lear

“Pulling the world in and pushing it away”: Participating bodies and the concept of coping

In her lead article in this special issue, Monica Greco offers the concept of participating bodies as a “possibility of conceiving bodies themselves – and bodily events such as disease/illness - as expressing values and perhaps even socially meaningful ‘preferences’.” Such a position seeks to avoid capitulation to a) an image of bodily processes as without values or responsiveness, object rather than participant; b) an image of human agents as unitary, self-knowing, sovereign choosers - unless ill. This article will explore this perspective as applied to the idea of coping. The article will explore strategies of everyday living, through particular consideration of Lauren Berlant’s reading of Two Girls, Fat and Thin by Mary Gaitskill. In her interpretation of the novel, Berlant assesses the kinds of problems for subjects and bodies that may be solved or managed through participation in or refraining from participation in thinking, food or sex. The account of coping and embodiment in Berlant’s reflections will then be placed in dialogue with findings by Alexandra Michel, who watched the process of physical burnout in investment banking associates during a thirteen-year cultural ethnography, observing as the bankers heeded or ignored the cues their bodies gave about the limits of feasible demands. The article as a whole offers an illustration of the value of Greco’s reflections for offering a fresh and valuable perspective on the concept of coping.Wellcome Trust - via grant to Goldsmiths University. Contact person at Goldsmiths is: [email protected]

Orofacial muscles activity in children with swallowing dysfunction and removable functional appliances

Swallowing dysfunction is a frequent disorder among children and refers to an altered tongue posture and abnormal tongue movement during swallowing. Removable functional appliance is one of the treatments applied by dentistry to correct this disorder. The aim of this study was to evaluate any differences on orofacial muscles activity in children with swallowing dysfunction with and without removable functional appliances. 68 children were eligible for the study and divided into the orthodontic group (OG) and the no-orthodontic group (NO-OG). Both groups performed a dental occlusion-class evaluation, a swallowing function test and a myoscan analysis in order to measure perioral forces (i.e. tongue extension force, lip pressure, masseter contraction force). Our results showed a significant difference (P=0.02) between OG and NO-OG for the tongue extension force, whereas no significant differences (P>0.05) were found for the other parameters. Our findings suggest that children with swallowing dysfunction and removable functional appliance show orofacial muscles activity within the range of reference values (except for the lip pressure). However, we hypothesize that orthodontic treatment can achieve more effective results with integration of myofunctional therapy

Fathers' attachment representations and infant feeding practices.

This study examined how fathers' adult attachment representations, assessed before the birth of their first child, predict feeding practices with their 8-month-old infants. Fathers have been underrepresented in child feeding research, particularly in longitudinal and observational studies. Feeding is a key parenting task of infancy and a growing number of studies have begun to explore the connection between attachment and parental feeding practices and behavior, revealing a clear link between mothers' adult attachment and how they feed their children. This is the first longitudinal examination of attachment as a prenatal predictor of fathers' infant feeding behavior. Participants were 118 first-time fathers and their infants. Adult Attachment Interviews were conducted in the third trimester of pregnancy, and father-infant feeding interactions were observed at home when the infant was 8-months-old. Videotaped feedings were coded using Chatoor's Feeding Scale (1997). Compared to other fathers, (1) those with secure attachment representations were more attuned to their infants during feeding, (2) those with dismissing representations were less attuned, and (3) those with unresolved trauma displayed more controlling behaviors. Fathers were more controlling with their sons than their daughters across all attachment representations. Study results suggest that father's infant feeding behaviors may influence by their own attachment representations. The links to fathers' controlling feeding practices are noteworthy because of the negative implications controlling parental feeding practices can have on child outcomes. The prediction of paternal feeding behaviors from assessments conducted prenatally has important intervention implications

Association between sleep-disordered breathing and hearing disorders: Clinical observation in Sicilian patients

Introduction: To examine the putative association between Sleep-Disordered breathing and hearing disorders Material and methods: 120 Sicilian subjects ranging from 14 to 85 years of age who were divided in 46 cases suffering from tinnitus (G1 group) and 74 controls (G2 group) were evaluated through STOP BANG screening questionnaire and Four-Variable Screening Tool; after Data collecting each subject underwent Audiological assessment by multi-frequency audiometry (PTA) and Transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE-diagnostic) for each ear. Results: Cases showed: PTA significantly severe than the control group (58.70% vs. 16.89% hearing loss; P<0.001), such as a lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNRs) (P<0.05). Moreover Tinnitus subjects had a higher risk to develop Sleep-Disordered breathing respect to controls (P<0.001). OSA risk population - subjects positive to both screening questionnaires - had tinnitus, wore hearing threshold mean values and, lower SNRs values than total cohort (P<0.01). The relative risk of Sleep-Disordered breathing and tinnitus was 4.83 (P<0.0001). Conclusions: Our results stress a probable association between tinnitus, hearing loss and Sleep-Disordered breathing even if further studies will be needed to confirm our findings

Effectiveness of Rehabilitative Intervention on Pain, Postural Balance, and Quality of Life in Women with Multiple Vertebral Fragility Fractures: A Prospective Cohort Study

Patients with vertebral fragility fractures often experience chronic pain, postural and balance disorders, and poor quality of life (QoL). Although several studies have investigated the role of rehabilitation in severe osteoporosis, the effectiveness of this intervention in patients with multiple vertebral fractures is poorly known. The aim of our longitudinal cohort study is to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation, including postural training, resistance exercises, and visual stabilization exercises, for a 7-week period, on the pain, postural balance, and QoL of subjects with at least two vertebral fragility fractures receiving denosumab and vitamin D. We investigated, before (T0) and after (T1, at 7 weeks) rehabilitation, the following outcome measures on 28 patients: pain (Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)), self-perceived QoL (36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) and Mini-Osteoporosis Quality of Life Questionnaire (Mini-OQOL)), dizziness (Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI-I)), mobility (Timed-Up and Go (TUG) test), and instrumental posturographic assessment (FreeMed posturography system). At the end of the treatment, improvements of pain and QoL were recorded. Pain relief was highly obtained in patients with more than two vertebral fractures. Moreover, a significant functional improvement (TUG test) was found in those with two vertebral fractures, without any statistically significant change reported for other outcomes. Our findings suggest that combined intervention, including anti-osteoporotic drugs and postural rehabilitation, should be proposed to osteoporotic patients with multiple vertebral frac

Extramedullary plasmacytoma of the tonsil: A new management

Introduction: Extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) is a rare tumor of all plasma cell neoplasms. The tumor is mainly localized in the head and neck region, but rarely involving the tonsil. Case presentation: The authors report the 5th case of EMP of the tonsil in the literature occurred in a 57-year-old Caucasian male. Conclusions: Through a review of the relevant literature, we consider adjuvant radiotherapy not necessary for EMP of tonsil because of an adequate resection achieved by surgery

Benefits of glucocorticoids in non-ambulant boys/men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: A multicentric longitudinal study using the Performance of Upper Limb test

The aim of this study was to establish the possible effect of glucocorticoid treatment on upper limb function in a cohort of 91 non-ambulant DMD boys and adults of age between 11 and 26 years. All 91 were assessed using the Performance of Upper Limb test. Forty-eight were still on glucocorticoid after loss of ambulation, 25 stopped steroids at the time they lost ambulation and 18 were GC naive or had steroids while ambulant for less than a year. At baseline the total scores ranged between 0 and 74 (mean 41.20). The mean total scores were 47.92 in the glucocorticoid group, 36 in those who stopped at loss of ambulation and 30.5 in the naive group (p <0.001). The 12-month changes ranged between -20 and 4 (mean -4.4). The mean changes were -3.79 in the glucocorticoid group, -5.52 in those who stopped at loss of ambulation and -4.44 in the naive group. This was more obvious in the patients between 12 and 18 years and at shoulder and elbow levels. Our findings suggest that continuing glucocorticoids throughout teenage years and adulthood after loss of ambulation appears to have a beneficial effect on upper limb function. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

Effects of the Mediterranean Diet during pregnancy on the onset of allergy in at risk children: A study protocol of a multi-center, randomized- controlled, parallel groups, prospective trial (the PREMEDI study)

Maternal diet during pregnancy has been linked to offspring allergy risk and it could represent a potential target for allergy prevention. The Mediterranean Diet (MD) is considered one of the healthiest dietary models. Randomized-controlled trials on the effect of MD in preventing pediatric allergic diseases are still needed