Maternal mind-mindedness during infancy, general parenting sensitivity and observed child feeding behavior:a longitudinal study

Maternal mind-mindedness, or the tendency to view the child as a mental agent, has been shown to predict sensitive and responsive parenting behavior. As yet the role of mind-mindedness has not been explored in the context of feeding interactions. This study evaluates the relations between maternal mind-mindedness at 6 months of infant age and subsequently observed maternal sensitivity and feeding behaviors with children at age 1 year. Maternal mind-mindedness was greater in mothers who had breast-fed compared to formula-fed. Controlling for breast-feeding, mind-mindedness at 6 months was correlated with observations of more sensitive and positive feeding behaviors at 1 year of age. Mind-mindedness was also associated with greater general maternal sensitivity in play and this general parenting sensitivity mediated the effect of mind-mindedness on more sensitive and positive feeding behaviors. Interventions to promote maternal tendency to consider their child's mental states may encourage more adaptive parental feeding behaviors. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

A Systematic Review of Race and Ethnicity in Hepatitis C Clinical Trial Enrollment.

The African American/Black population in the United States (US) is disproportionately affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV) and has lower response rates to current treatments. This analysis evaluates the participation of African American/Blacks in North American and European HCV clinical trials. The data source for this analysis was the PubMed database. Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCT) on HCV treatment with interferon 2a or 2b between January 2000 and December 2011 were reviewed. Inclusion criteria included English language and participants 18 years or older with chronic HCV. Exclusion criteria included non-randomized trials, case reports, cohort studies, ethnic specific studies, or studies not using interferon-alfa or PEG-interferon. Of the 588 trials identified, 314 (53.4%) fit inclusion criteria. The main outcome was the rate of African American/ Black participation in North American HCV clinical trials. A meta-analysis comparing the expected and observed rates was performed. Of the RCT's that met search criteria, 123 (39.2%) reported race. Clinical trials in North America were more likely to report racial data than European trials. Racial reporting increased over time. There was a statistically significant difference among the expected and observed participation of African Americans in HCV clinical trials in North America based on the prevalence of this disease within the population. The burden of HCV among African Americans in North America is not reflected in those clinical trials designed to treat HCV. Research on minority participation in clinical trials and how to increase minority participation in clinical trials is needed.

Cortisol Reactivity and Observed Parenting among Mothers of Children with and without ADHD

Parenting is a robust predictor of developmental outcomes among children with ADHD. Early parenting predicts the persistence and course of ADHD and comorbid problems above and beyond risk associated with shared genetic effects. Yet, on average, mothers of children with ADHD are less positive and more negative in their parent-child interactions compared to mothers of non-disordered children. Little is known about psychobiological markers which may be associated with individual variations in maternal parenting in families of children with ADHD. Neurobiological models of parenting suggest that maternal cortisol levels following a stressor may be positively associated with hostile and intrusive parenting; however, to date no studies have examined maternal cortisol reactivity and parenting in school-age, or clinical samples of, children. Mothers’ regulation of physiological stress responses may be particularly important for families of children with ADHD, as parenting a child with chronically challenging behaviors represents a persistent environmental stressor. The current study sought to extend the existing literature by providing an empirical examination of the relationship between maternal cortisol reactivity following two laboratory stressors and parenting among mothers of children with and without ADHD. It was hypothesized that child ADHD group would moderate the relationship between cortisol reactivity and self-reported and observed parenting. Greater total cortisol output and greater increase in cortisol during the TSST were associated with decreased positive parenting and increased negative and directive parenting, with the exception of parental involvement, which was associated with increased cortisol output during the TSST. Conversely, cortisol output during the PCI was associated with increased positive parenting, increased parental involvement, and decreased negative parenting. In contrast to the TSST, a greater decrease in cortisol during the PCI indicated more positive parenting and parental involvement. These associations were specific to mothers of children with ADHD, with the exception of maternal directiveness, which was specific to comparison mothers. Findings add to our understanding of physiological processes associated with maternal parenting and contribute to an integrative biological, psychological, and cognitive process model of parenting in families of children with ADHD.

Microsatellite Loci For Orthophytum Ophiuroides (bromelioideae, Bromeliaceae) Species Adapted To Neotropical Rock Outcrops.

• Microsatellite primers were developed for Orthophytum ophiuroides, a rupicolous bromeliad species endemic to neotropical rocky fields. These microsatellite loci will be used to investigate population differentiation and species cohesion in such fragmented environments. The loci were tested for cross-amplification in related bromeliad species. • Eleven polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized from an enriched library of O. ophiuroides. The loci were tested on 42 individuals from two populations of this species. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to nine and the expected and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.167 to 0.870 and from 0.369 to 0.958, respectively. Seven loci successfully amplified in other related bromeliad species. • Our results suggest that the microsatellite loci developed here will be useful to assess genetic diversity and gene flow in O. ophiuroides for the investigation of population differentiation and species cohesion in neotropical mountainous habitats.

Vom Finanz- zum Wissenschaftsbetrug : Methode, den Irrungen in der medizinischen Literatur beizukommen [From financial to scientific fraud : Methods to detect discrepancies in the medical literature].

Fraud is as old as Mankind. There are an enormous number of historical documents which show the interaction between truth and untruth; therefore it is not really surprising that the prevalence of publication discrepancies is increasing. More surprising is that new cases especially in the medical field generate such a huge astonishment. In financial mathematics a statistical tool for detection of fraud is known which uses the knowledge of Newcomb and Benford regarding the distribution of natural numbers. This distribution is not equal and lower numbers are more likely to be detected compared to higher ones. In this investigation all numbers contained in the blinded abstracts of the 2009 annual meeting of the Swiss Society of Anesthesia and Resuscitation (SGAR) were recorded and analyzed regarding the distribution. A manipulated abstract was also included in the investigation. The χ(2)-test was used to determine statistical differences between expected and observed counts of numbers. There was also a faked abstract integrated in the investigation. A p<0.05 was considered significant. The distribution of the 1,800 numbers in the 77 submitted abstracts followed Benford's law. The manipulated abstract was detected by statistical means (difference in expected versus observed p<0.05). Statistics cannot prove whether the content is true or not but can give some serious hints to look into the details in such conspicuous material. These are the first results of a test for the distribution of numbers presented in medical research.

Quantitative sequence analysis of FBN1 premature termination codons provides evidence for incomplete NMD in leukocytes.

We improved, evaluated, and used Sanger sequencing for quantification of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants in transcripts and gDNA samples. This improved assay resulted in highly reproducible relative allele frequencies (e.g., for a heterozygous gDNA 50.0+/-1.4%, and for a missense mutation-bearing transcript 46.9+/-3.7%) with a lower detection limit of 3-9%. It provided excellent accuracy and linear correlation between expected and observed relative allele frequencies. This sequencing assay, which can also be used for the quantification of copy number variations (CNVs), methylations, mosaicisms, and DNA pools, enabled us to analyze transcripts of the FBN1 gene in fibroblasts and blood samples of patients with suspected Marfan syndrome not only qualitatively but also quantitatively. We report a total of 18 novel and 19 known FBN1 sequence variants leading to a premature termination codon (PTC), 26 of which we analyzed by quantitative sequencing both at gDNA and cDNA levels. The relative amounts of PTC-containing FBN1 transcripts in fresh and PAXgene-stabilized blood samples were significantly higher (33.0+/-3.9% to 80.0+/-7.2%) than those detected in affected fibroblasts with inhibition of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) (11.0+/-2.1% to 25.0+/-1.8%), whereas in fibroblasts without NMD inhibition no mutant alleles could be detected. These results provide evidence for incomplete NMD in leukocytes and have particular importance for RNA-based analyses not only in FBN1 but also in other genes.

A note on influence diagnostics in nonlinear mixed-effects elliptical models

This paper provides general matrix formulas for computing the score function, the (expected and observed) Fisher information and the A matrices (required for the assessment of local influence) for a quite general model which includes the one proposed by Russo et al. (2009). Additionally, we also present an expression for the generalized leverage on fixed and random effects. The matrix formulation has notational advantages, since despite the complexity of the postulated model, all general formulas are compact, clear and have nice forms. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A lethal effect associated with polymorphism of the NOR-bearing chromosomes in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Anisotropias da radiação cósmica de fundo e vínculos em modelos com decaimento do vácuo

Many astronomical observations in the last few years are strongly suggesting that the current Universe is spatially flat and dominated by an exotic form of energy. This unknown energy density accelerates the universe expansion and corresponds to around 70% of its total density being usually called Dark Energy or Quintessence. One of the candidates to dark energy is the so-called cosmological constant (Λ) which is usually interpreted as the vacuum energy density. However, in order to remove the discrepancy between the expected and observed values for the vacuum energy density some current models assume that the vacuum energy is continuously decaying due to its possible coupling with the others matter fields existing in the Cosmos. In this dissertation, starting from concepts and basis of General Relativity Theory, we study the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation with emphasis on the anisotropies or temperature fluctuations which are one of the oldest relic of the observed Universe. The anisotropies are deduced by integrating the Boltzmann equation in order to explain qualitatively the generation and c1assification of the fluctuations. In the following we construct explicitly the angular power spectrum of anisotropies for cosmologies with cosmological constant (ΛCDM) and a decaying vacuum energy density (Λ(t)CDM). Finally, with basis on the quadrupole moment measured by the WMAP experiment, we estimate the decaying rates of the vacuum energy density in matter and in radiation for a smoothly and non-smoothly decaying vacuum

Search for WH associated production in pp̄ collisions at √s=1.96TeV

This report describes a search for associated production of W and Higgs bosons based on data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of L≈5.3fb -1 collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp̄ Collider. Events containing a W→ν candidate (with corresponding to e or μ) are selected in association with two or three reconstructed jets. One or two of the jets are required to be consistent with having evolved from a b quark. A multivariate discriminant technique is used to improve the separation of signal and backgrounds. Expected and observed upper limits are obtained for the product of the WH production cross section and branching ratios and reported in terms of ratios relative to the prediction of the standard model as a function of the mass of the Higgs boson (M H). The observed and expected 95% C.L. upper limits obtained for an assumed M H=115GeV are, respectively, factors of 4.5 and 4.8 larger than the value predicted by the standard model. © 2012 American Physical Society.

MICROSATELLITE LOCI FOR ORTHOPHYTUM OPHIUROIDES (BROMELIOIDEAE, BROMELIACEAE) SPECIES ADAPTED TO NEOTROPICAL ROCK OUTCROPS

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Search for new resonances decaying via WZ to leptons in proton–proton collisions √s=8TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Quantitative sequence analysis of FBN1 premature termination codons provides evidence for incomplete NMD in leukocytes

We improved, evaluated, and used Sanger sequencing for quantification of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants in transcripts and gDNA samples. This improved assay resulted in highly reproducible relative allele frequencies (e.g., for a heterozygous gDNA 50.0+/-1.4%, and for a missense mutation-bearing transcript 46.9+/-3.7%) with a lower detection limit of 3-9%. It provided excellent accuracy and linear correlation between expected and observed relative allele frequencies. This sequencing assay, which can also be used for the quantification of copy number variations (CNVs), methylations, mosaicisms, and DNA pools, enabled us to analyze transcripts of the FBN1 gene in fibroblasts and blood samples of patients with suspected Marfan syndrome not only qualitatively but also quantitatively. We report a total of 18 novel and 19 known FBN1 sequence variants leading to a premature termination codon (PTC), 26 of which we analyzed by quantitative sequencing both at gDNA and cDNA levels. The relative amounts of PTC-containing FBN1 transcripts in fresh and PAXgene-stabilized blood samples were significantly higher (33.0+/-3.9% to 80.0+/-7.2%) than those detected in affected fibroblasts with inhibition of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) (11.0+/-2.1% to 25.0+/-1.8%), whereas in fibroblasts without NMD inhibition no mutant alleles could be detected. These results provide evidence for incomplete NMD in leukocytes and have particular importance for RNA-based analyses not only in FBN1 but also in other genes.

Characterization of 27 microsatellite loci in the European flat oyster Ostrea edulis

The flat oyster Ostrea edulis is native to Europe and populations have been severely depleted by the parasite Bonamia ostreae since the 1980s. Additional genetic markers are required to improve population genetics study and linkage map development for selection for B. ostrea-resistance in this species. Here, we characterized 27 novel microsatellite loci for O. edulis. Number of alleles per locus ranged from 6 to 25 and observed heterozygosity between 0.375 and 1. Null alleles were suggested at a few loci but most loci were in Hardy-Weinberg agreement enabling their reliable use in further population and mapping genetics approaches.