Imaginary Companions and Young Children\u27s Coping and Competence

Imaginary companions (ICs) are purported to bolster children’s coping and self-competence, but few studies address this claim. We expected having/not having ICs would distinguish children’s coping strategies and competence less than type of companion (i.e., personified object or invisible friend) or quality of child-IC relationship (i.e., egalitarian or hierarchical). We interviewed 72 3- to 6-year-olds and their mothers about children’s coping strategies and competence; teachers rated competence. Mothers reported ICs. IC presence and type did not differentiate coping strategies, but children with egalitarian relationships chose more constructive/prosocial coping strategies, and teachers rated them more socially competent than children with hierarchical child-IC relationships. Mothers related ICs to cognitive competence. Findings highlight (a) modest relations between imaginary relationships and coping/competence, (b) distinctions between mothers’ perceptions and IC functions, and (c) that ICs parallel real relationships in that different dimensions (presence, type/identity, and relationship quality) might be unique contributors to children’s socioemotional development

An observational cohort feasibility study to identify microvesicle and miRNA biomarkers of acute kidney injury following paediatric cardiac surgery

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Objectives: Micro-RNA, small noncoding RNA fragments involved in gene regulation, and microvesicles, membrane-bound particles less than 1 μm known to regulate cellular processes including responses to injury, may serve as disease-specific biomarkers of acute kidney injury. We evaluated the feasibility of measuring these signals as well as other known acute kidney injury biomarkers in a mixed pediatric cardiac surgery population. Design: Single center prospective cohort feasibility study. Setting: PICU. Patients: Twenty-four children (≤ 17 yr) undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass without preexisting inflammatory state, acute kidney injury, or extracorporeal life support. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Acute kidney injury was defined according to modified Kidney Diseases Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Blood and urine samples were collected preoperatively and at 6–12 and 24 hours. Microvesicles derivation was assessed using flow cytometry and NanoSight analysis. Micro-RNAs were isolated from plasma and analyzed by microarray and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Data completeness for the primary outcomes was 100%. Patients with acute kidney injury (n = 14/24) were younger, underwent longer cardiopulmonary bypass, and required greater inotrope support. Acute kidney injury subjects had different fractional content of platelets and endothelial-derived microvesicles before surgery. Platelets and endothelial microvesicles levels were higher in acute kidney injury patients. A number of micro-RNA species were differentially expressed in acute kidney injury patients. Pathway analysis of candidate target genes in the kidney suggested that the most often affected pathways were phosphatase and tensin homolog and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 signaling. Conclusions: Microvesicles and micro-RNAs expression patterns in pediatric cardiac surgery patients can be measured in children and potentially serve as tools for stratification of patients at risk of acute kidney injury

Schizotypy and the vicarious experience of agency

Sense of agency is the experience of initiating and controlling an action in order to influence one’s environment. It is widely accepted that various different sources of information contribute to sense of agency, including sensorimotor signals and external situational information. Moreover, it has been suggested that atypical experiences in sense of agency in schizophrenia are linked to changes in the relative influence of these agency cues, with external cues being more dominant. This study tests this hypothesis in a non-clinical population by investigating the relationship between schizotypy and performance on the vicarious agency task (a classic demonstration of the effect of external cues on sense of agency). We found that increased susceptibility to the vicarious agency illusion (i.e. an increased feeling of controlling someone else’s action) was linked to higher schizotypy scores. This supports the idea that aberrant experiences of agency in schizophrenia are linked to an increased sensitivity to external agency cues

Outdoor performance of a reflective type 3D LCPV system under different climatic conditions

Concentrating sunlight and focusing on smaller solar cells increases the power output per unit solar cell area. In the present study, we highlight the design of a low concentrating photovoltaic (LCPV) system and its performance in different test conditions. The system essentially consists of a reflective type 3.6× cross compound parabolic concentrator (CCPC) designed for an acceptance angle of ± 30°, coupled with square shaped laser grooved buried contact (LGBC) silicon solar cells. A heat exchanger is also integrated with the PV system which extracts the thermal energy rejected by the solar cells whilst maintaining its temperature. Indoor characterization is carried out to evaluate the system performance under standard conditions. Results showed a power ratio of 3.12 and an optical efficiency of 73%. The system is placed under outdoor environment on a south facing roof at Penryn, UK with a fixed angular tilt of 50°. The high angular acceptance of the system allows collection of sunlight over a wider range. Results under different climatic conditions are presented and compared with a non-concentrating system under similar conditions. On an average, the LCPV system was found to collect an average of 2.54 times more solar energy than a system without the concentrator

A Multidisciplinary Investigation to Determine the Structure and Source of Dimeric Impurities in AMG 517 Drug Substance

In the initial scale-up batches of the experimental drug substance AMG 517, a pair of unexpected impurities was observed by HPLC. Analysis of data from initial LC-MS experiments indicated the presence of two dimer-like molecules. One impurity had an additional sulfur atom incorporated into its structure relative to the other impurity. Isolation of the impurities was performed, and further structural elucidation experiments were conducted with high-resolution LC-MS and 2D NMR. The dimeric structures were confirmed, with one of the impurities having an unexpected C-S-C linkage. Based on the synthetic route of AMG 517, it was unlikely that these impurities were generated during the last two steps of the process. Stress studies on the enriched impurities were carried out to further confirm the existence of the C-S-C linkage in the benzothiazole portion of AMG 517. Further investigation revealed that these two dimeric impurities originated from existing impurities in the AMG 517 starting material, N-acetyl benzothiazole. The characterization of these two dimeric impurities allowed for better quality control of new batches of the N-acetyl benzothiazole starting material. As a result, subsequent batches of AMG 517 contained no reportable levels of these two impuritie

The University of Florida’s Scientific Thinking and Educational Partnership Program: An Approach for Genetics Outreach

In an effort to compete for multimillion-dollar grants that require researchers to translate their findings for the general public in the form of outreach programs, the University of Florida developed the Scientific Thinking and Educational Partnership (STEP) program. This article describes the evolution of the STEP program, from the creation of a model outreach program called ufgenetics.com—a Web site geared toward media professionals and middle school and high school teachers—to the testing, evaluation, and promotion of that project. The STEP program has garnered over $1 million in grants in just 2 years of existence

(Re)branding Tokyo: coexisting views of Tokyo in the Tokyo 2020 audiovisual advertising campaign

This dissertation focuses on the image of Tokyo, Japan’s capital, within a Japanese and international context in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The aim of this work is to determine how and why Tokyo is simultaneously branded and rebranded in the audiovisual campaigns surrounding the event. After a historical contextualisation of Tokyo within Western and Japanese narratives, Tokyo’s past images are analysed. As Chapter One shows, Japan’s past depictions of Tokyo are negative, seen as Tokyo was associated with Westernisation and occupation. Chapter Two explores Tokyo’s reputation in Western cinema, which has resorted to Occidental patterns of Orientalising in order to turn Tokyo into a colonised, exploitable space. Finally, Chapter Three compares the findings of Chapter One and Two with the images of Tokyo found in Tokyo 2020 advertising campaigns. It shows how Tokyo is indeed unchanged for the West but rebranded for Japanese audiences. Through a discussion of the Tokyo 2020 advertisements as autoethnographic texts, it becomes apparent that there is more to the rebranding of Tokyo as it may seem