Process and Product in Prereferral Intervention: A Study of Planning, Integrity, and Outcome.

The purpose of the study was to obtain data on the intervention planning processes engaged in by prereferral intervention teams, primarily, through a focus on the verbal processes of teacher and committee team member interactions. Teacher and committee participation in the prereferral intervention planning process was operationalized in terms of the frequency of teacher and committee verbal interactions, in terms of numbers of questions, responses, and initiated comments made by each, as well as teacher and committee speaking time. Results of analysis of these data revealed that teachers asked few questions and initiated relatively few comments in comparison with their committee colleagues. Teachers also had a smaller share of the total meeting interaction time in comparison with their committee counterparts. Results of analyses of content and process data from the consultation analysis record (Bergan, 1977) indicated unequal distribution of teacher and committee information seeking and information giving behaviors parallel with other participation indices. Overall, meeting interactions focused on intervention relevant topics, rather than topics hypothesized to be irrelevant to the implementation of intervention plans (Gutkin & Curtis, 1980). The results of correlational analyses involving indices of active teacher involvement and measures of satisfaction with the process and outcomes of intervention planning meetings indicated little relationship between teacher satisfaction and active involvement in the planning process as operationalized in the present study. However, more specific features of teacher and committee verbal interaction during meetings did provide substantial information relevant to the perceptions teachers have of both the prereferral intervention meeting process and overall meeting results. As expected, teacher perceptions of intervention acceptability and teacher consumer satisfaction with the intervention planning process were related to amount of attention committee and teachers give to specific topic areas. However, some outcomes were counter to what was anticipated given previous research and the results are discussed in terms of their implications for the existing literature, given the limitations of the present study

Spatial and Temporal Variation in Feather Corticosterone in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) and Eurasian Tree Sparrows (Passer montanus)

We currently lack knowledge of how the hormone corticosterone (CORT) varies across broad spatial and temporal scales. In birds, CORT acts to make energy available for routine tasks and is also secreted in response to stressors. Evaluating CORT physiology is a powerful tool for determining how individuals are coping with their environment. While CORT has traditionally been measured instantaneously, from plasma, a novel technique for measuring CORT deposited into feathers during growth (CORTf) provides a more holistic, integrated measure of hormone secretion over days to weeks. In addition to exploring how CORT varies in space and time, the present study shows that CORTf is associated with weather variables, corroborating previous findings obtained using plasma CORT. House sparrow (Passer domesticus) CORTf was high in individuals sampled in the hot, dry, north-central region of Mexico. In this population, CORTf was also negatively related to measures of temperature and precipitation. Weather conditions outside of the moult period were stronger predictors of CORTf than conditions experienced during feather growth, indicating that past energetic challenges may have lasting effects on CORT physiology. Over 27 years, variation in CORTf of Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus) in Illinois was not linear, and showed a notable increase in the early 1980s. Tree sparrow CORTf was consistently negatively related to temperature. However, as CORTf was positively associated with spring precipitation and negatively associated with late summer precipitation, temperature-precipitation interactions appear to influence overall energetic requirements. This is the first macrophysiological study using CORTf and these results provide valuable data that can be used as a reference point in future CORTf studies. These findings bring us closer to understanding what habitat conditions are energetically challenging and conversely what conditions are ideal for bird populations. This information is critical for identifying causes of population declines and developing effective conservation measures. The ability to retrospectively analyze CORT using feathers is a highly innovative approach, and by understanding past responses to variation we can more accurately predict how future environmental change will impact populations.

Online misinformation about climate change

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Policymakers, scholars, and practitioners have all called attention to the issue of misinformation in the climate change debate. But what is climate change misinformation, who is involved, how does it spread, why does it matter, and what can be done about it? Climate change misinformation is closely linked to climate change skepticism, denial, and contrarianism. A network of actors are involved in financing, producing, and amplifying misinformation. Once in the public domain, characteristics of online social networks, such as homophily, polarization, and echo chambers—characteristics also found in climate change debate—provide fertile ground for misinformation to spread. Underlying belief systems and social norms, as well as psychological heuristics such as confirmation bias, are further factors which contribute to the spread of misinformation. A variety of ways to understand and address misinformation, from a diversity of disciplines, are discussed. These include educational, technological, regulatory, and psychological-based approaches. No single approach addresses all concerns about misinformation, and all have limitations, necessitating an interdisciplinary approach to tackle this multifaceted issue. Key research gaps include understanding the diffusion of climate change misinformation on social media, and examining whether misinformation extends to climate alarmism, as well as climate denial. This article explores the concepts of misinformation and disinformation and defines disinformation to be a subset of misinformation. A diversity of disciplinary and interdisciplinary literature is reviewed to fully interrogate the concept of misinformation—and within this, disinformation—particularly as it pertains to climate change. This article is categorized under:. Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Communication.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Molecular characterization of an estrogen receptor and estrogen-related receptor and their autoregulatory capabilities in two Mytilus species

Vertebrate-like sex steroid hormones have been widely detected in mollusks, and numerous experiments have shown the importance of steroids in gonad development. Nevertheless, their signaling pathways in invertebrates have not been uncovered yet. Steroid receptors are an ancient class of transcription factors with multiple roles in not only vertebrates but also invertebrates. Estrogen signaling is thought to have major roles in mollusk physiology, but the full repertoire of estrogen receptors is unknown. We presented the successful cloning of two novel forms of estrogen receptor-like genes. These receptors are present in two closely related species of Mytilus: Mytilus edulis and Mytilus galloprovincialis, commonly known and widely distributed sentinel species. Our phylogenetic analysis revealed that one of these receptors is an estrogen receptor (ER) and the other one is an estrogen-related receptor (ERR). Studies of expression analysis showed that both receptor mRNAs were localized in the oocytes and follicle cells in contact with developing oocytes in the ovary and Sertoli cells in the testis, and in the ciliated cells of the gill. In addition, we have evidence that one (ER) of these may have a capacity to autoregulate its own expression in the gonadal cells by estrogen (E2) and that this gene is responsive to estrogenic compounds

Discussion of Climate Change on Reddit: Polarized Discourse or Deliberative Debate?

This is the final version. Available on open access from Routledge via the DOI in this recordData availability statement: The data used in this study is from two publicly available datasets on bigquery: the fh-bigquery:reddit_posts project available at bigquery.cloud.google.com/dataset/fh-bigquery:reddit_posts, and the fh-bigquery:reddit_comments project available at: bigquery.cloud.google.com/dataset/fh-bigquery:reddit_comments. The data was accessed on 05/02/2019.Studies of climate discourse on social media platforms often find evidence of polarization, echo chambers, and misinformation. However, the literature’s overwhelming reliance on Twitter makes it difficult to understand whether these phenomena generalize across other social media platforms. Here we present the first study to examine climate change discourse on Reddit, a popular – yet understudied – locus for climate debate. This contributes to the literature through expansion of the empirical base for the study of online communication about climate change beyond Twitter. Additionally, platform architecture of Reddit differs from many social media platforms in several ways which might impact the quality of the climate debate. We investigate this through topic modeling, community detection, and analysis of sources of information on a large corpus of Reddit data from 2017. Evidence of polarization is found through the topics discussed and sources of information shared. Yet, while some communities are dominated by particular ideological viewpoints, others are more suggestive of deliberative debate. We find little evidence for the presence of polarized echo chambers in the network structure on Reddit. These findings challenge our understanding of social media discourse around climate change and suggest that platform architecture plays a key role in shaping climate debate online.University of ExeterLeverhulme TrustEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Obstetric Phenotypes in the Heterogeneity of Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder with genetic and environmental components. Obstetric complications (OCs) are one of the most common environmental risk factors described. However, despite being different in timing and outcome, OCs are usually described as a homogeneous entity. In the present study, we evaluate the presence of different patterns of OCs evaluated with the Lewis-Murray Scale in chronic schizophrenia patients (n = 101) and their association with a crude marker of the intrauterine environment such as weight at birth.OCs related with abnormal fetal growth (p < 0.001) and OCs during gestation (p = 0.003) were associated with lower birth weight. However, difficulties in delivery, complications in pregnancy, and OCs all together (as a set) were not associated with weight at birth.Our results infer that OCs cannot be taken as a homogeneous group. Different patterns of OCs result in different birth weights, which is associated with specific metabolic, cognitive, and brain structure outcomes.This work was supported by the Government of Catalonia, Secretaria d'Universitats i Recerca del Departament d'Economia i Coneixement (2014SGR441), with the grants FI-DGR-2013 Contract of the Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR) (2015 FI_B2 00100) and from Fundació Bosch Gimpera (FBG) within the RETOS COLABORACIÓN 2015, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness (RTC-2015-3440-1) to G. Mezquida. Dr. Bernardo has been supported by research funding from the Spanish Ministry of Health, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education, the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), by Secretaria d'Universitat i Recerca del Departament d'Economia I Coneixement (2014SGR441), Foundation European Group for Research In Schizophrenia (EGRIS), and the 7th Framework Program of the European Union. Dr. Garcia-Rizo is supported by the PI14/00753 project, integrated into the State Plan of Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013–2016 and co-financed by the ISCIII-General Evaluation Branch and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Dr. Bobes is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Health, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education, the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness and CIBERSAM. Dr. Paz-Portilla has been also supported by the European Commission, ISCIII-General Evaluation Branch and CIBERSAM. Dr. Savulich is funded by a grant from Eton College and theWallitt Foundation. Dr. Fernanez-Egea is supported, in part, by the NIRH-Biomedical Research Center, Cambridge

Starvation sensing by mycobacterial RelA/SpoT homologue through constitutive surveillance of translation

The stringent response, which leads to persistence of nutrient-starved mycobacteria, is induced by activation of the RelA/SpoT homolog (Rsh) upon entry of a deacylated-tRNA in a translating ribosome. However, the mechanism by which Rsh identifies such ribosomes in vivo remains unclear. Here, we show that conditions inducing ribosome hibernation result in loss of intracellular Rsh in a Clp protease-dependent manner. This loss is also observed in nonstarved cells using mutations in Rsh that block its interaction with the ribosome, indicating that Rsh association with the ribosome is important for Rsh stability. The cryo-EM structure of the Rsh-bound 70S ribosome in a translation initiation complex reveals unknown interactions between the ACT domain of Rsh and components of the ribosomal L7/L12 stalk base, suggesting that the aminoacylation status of A-site tRNA is surveilled during the first cycle of elongation. Altogether, we propose a surveillance model of Rsh activation that originates from its constitutive interaction with the ribosomes entering the translation cycle

Autolesiones no suicidas en adolescentes: revisión de los tratamientos psicológicos

Self-harm in teenagers has become more important in recent years, given its increased prevalence and the greater risk involved of making a suicidal attempt and developing a borderline personality disorder or a major depressive disorder. We aim to review the literature as to psychological treatments for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI).  Studies assessing a psychotherapeutic intervention for self-harm have been included.  The results indicate that no treatment for self-harm has demonstrated enough evidence in adolescents. Mentalization based therapy (MBT-A) has shown efficacy in one study and the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT-A) has shown efficacy. However, the variety and heterogeneity of results make it difficult to draw more specific conclusions, such as regards the effective active components. Criteria and instruments in the field of the treatment of NSSI need to be standardized in order to improve the validity and clinical utility of results.Las autolesiones en adolescentes han adquirido mayor relevancia en los últimos años, por el aumento de prevalencia, el mayor riesgo de realizar una tentativa autolítica y de desarrollar un trastorno límite de la personalidad o un trastorno depresivo mayor.  Nuestro objetivo es revisar la bibliografía referente a tratamientos psicológicos para las autolesiones no suicidas (non-suicidal self-injury; NSSI).  Se incluyen estudios que evalúan una intervención psicoterapéutica para el tratamiento de las autolesiones.   Los resultados indican que ningún tratamiento para las autolesiones ha demostrado suficiente evidencia en adolescentes.  La terapia basada en mentalización (MBT-A) ha demostrado eficacia en un estudio y la terapia dialéctica-conductual (DBT-A) ha demostrado efectividad. La variedad y heterogeneidad de resultados dificulta extraer conclusiones más específicas, como cuáles son los componentes activos eficaces.  Valoramos la necesidad de estandarizar criterios e instrumentos en el campo del tratamiento de las autolesiones para mejorar la validez y utilidad de los resultados