Maternal supportive and interfering control as predictors of adaptive and social development in children with and without developmental delays

BACKGROUND

Parents of children with developmental delays (DD) have been found to use more controlling behaviour with their children than parents of children with typical development (TD). While controlling behaviour is related to poorer developmental outcomes in TD children, there is little research on how it predicts outcomes in DD children. Furthermore, existing research tends to use inconsistent or non-specific definitions of controlling behaviour, often combining parent control which follows the child's goal (e.g. supportive direction) and that which interferes with the child's goal (e.g. interference).

METHODS

Participants were 200 mother-child dyads observed at child age 3, with follow-up assessments of adaptive behaviour and social skills administered at child ages 5 and 6, respectively. We coded the frequency of both types of controlling behaviour based on mothers' interactions with their children with TD (n = 113) or DD (n = 87) at age 3.

RESULTS

Mothers in the DD group used more interfering but not more supportive directive acts compared to mothers in the TD group. Adaptive behaviour was assessed at child age 5 and social skills were assessed at age 6. Higher frequency of supportive directive acts predicted better adaptive functioning for the TD group and better social skills for the DD group. Higher frequency of interfering acts predicted lower adaptive and social skills for children with DD but not with TD.

CONCLUSIONS

Results are discussed in terms of the differential developmental needs of children with and without DD as well as implications for early intervention.

Septic arthritis in the era of immunosuppressive treatments

Immunosuppressants have been the mainstay of treatment for certain inflammatory joint conditions for many years. Developments in this field, namely biological treatments, have led to a change in the classical presentation of acute bone, joint and soft tissue infections. The normal findings of severe pain and tenderness on examination may be absent or simply mimic a typical exacerbation of the chronic joint condition. A minimally raised white cell count and elevated C-reactive protein in the absence of systemic signs of infection may be interpreted as further evidence for the diagnosis of an exacerbation of inflammatory arthritis. We present a unique case of recurrent polyarticular septic arthritis in a patient treated with immunosuppression for refractory rheumatoid arthritis. We hope this article will enable doctors to appreciate and recognise the changing face of septic arthritis in the modern era of immunosuppressant treatments.

Diversity of movements by individual anadromous coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii

Wild, downstream-migrating cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii, smolts and adults were captured at a weir in Big Beef Creek, Hood Canal, Washington, surgically implanted with acoustic tags and tracked to identify spring and summer movements using stationary receivers in order to test the assumption that the species moves little while in marine waters. Overall, 93-96% migrated from the stream into the east side of the long narrow fjord, where they dispersed north and south along the shoreline. Most O. c. clarkii were detected nearshore within 10 km of the release site, with declining detection rates to 77 km. Over one-third (36%) crossed c. 2-4 km of deep water to the other side but only one O. c. clarkii left the Hood Canal basin. Movements and behaviour patterns did not differ between smolts and adults but cluster analysis revealed two modes of distribution, here categorized as residents and migrants. Within these categories of overall distribution, a range of finer-scale behaviour patterns was observed, including sedentary individuals, daily moving between proximate sites and more continuous long-distance travel. Diel movement patterns varied markedly among individuals but overall activity increased near dawn, peaked around mid-day and declined but continued at night. These patterns contrast with sympatric and closely related steelhead trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, providing new insights into the diversity of salmonid behaviour.

Enriching the captive elephant population genetic pool through artificial insemination with frozen-thawed semen collected in the wild

The first successful AI in an elephant was reported in 1998, using fresh semen. Since then almost 40 calves have been produced through AI in both Asian and African elephants worldwide. Following these successes, with the objective of enriching the captive population with genetic material from the wild, we evaluated the possibility of using frozen-thawed semen collected from wild bulls for AI in captivity. Semen, collected from a 36-yr-old wild African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) in South Africa was frozen using the directional freezing technique. This frozen-thawed semen was used for four inseminations over two consecutive days, two before and two after ovulation, in a 26-yr-old female African savanna elephant in Austria. Insemination dose of 1200 × 10(6) cells per AI with 61% motility resulted in pregnancy, which was confirmed through ultrasound examination 75, 110 and 141 days after the AI procedure. This represents the first successful AI using wild bull frozen-thawed semen in elephants. The incorporation of AI with frozen-thawed semen into the assisted reproduction toolbox opens the way to preserve and transport semen between distant individuals in captivity or, as was done in this study, between wild and captive populations, without the need to transport stressed or potentially disease-carrying animals or to remove animals from the wild. In addition, cryopreserved spermatozoa, in combination with AI, are useful methods to extend the reproductive lifespan of individuals beyond their biological lifespan and an important tool for genetic diversity management and phenotype selection in these endangered mammals.

In vitro efficacy of bismuth thiols against biofilms formed by bacteria isolated from human chronic wounds

AIMS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of thirteen bismuth thiol preparations for bactericidal activity against established biofilms formed by two bacteria isolated from human chronic wounds.

METHODS

Single species biofilms of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa or a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were grown in either colony biofilm or drip-flow reactors systems. Biofilms were challenged with bismuth thiols, antibiotics or silver sulfadiazine, and log reductions were determined by plating for colony formation.

CONCLUSIONS

Antibiotics were ineffective or inconsistent against biofilms of both bacterial species tested. None of the antibiotics tested were able to achieve >2 log reductions in both biofilm models. The 13 different bismuth thiols tested in this investigation achieved widely varying degrees of killing, even against the same micro-organism in the same biofilm model. For each micro-organism, the best bismuth thiol easily outperformed the best conventional antibiotic. Against P. aeruginosa biofilms, bismuth-2,3-dimercaptopropanol (BisBAL) at 40-80 μg ml⁻¹ achieved > 7·7 mean log reduction for the two biofilm models. Against MRSA biofilms, bismuth-1,3-propanedithiol/bismuth-2-mercaptopyridine N-oxide (BisBDT/PYR) achieved a 4·9 log reduction.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Bismuth thiols are effective antimicrobial agents against biofilms formed by wound bacteria and merit further development as topical antiseptics for the suppression of biofilms in chronic wounds.

Parents' emotion expression as a predictor of child's social competence: children with or without intellectual disability

BACKGROUND

Parents' expression of positive emotion towards children who are typically developing (TD) is generally associated with better social development. However, the association between parents' negative emotion expression and social development can be positive or negative depending upon a number of factors, including the child's emotion regulation abilities. Given the lower emotion regulation capabilities of children with intellectual disability (ID), we hypothesised that parents' negative emotion expression would be associated with lower social development in children with ID compared to those with TD.

METHODS

Participants were 180 families of children with or without ID enrolled in a longitudinal study. Parents' positive and negative affect were coded live from naturalistic home interactions at child ages 5-8 years, and child's social skills were measured by using mother report at child ages 6-9 years. We examined mothers' and fathers' emotion expression as a time-varying predictor of social skills across ages 5-9 years.

RESULTS

Mothers, but not fathers, expressed less positive affect and more negative affect with ID group children. Parents' positive affect expression was related to social skills only for TD children, with mothers' positive affect predicting higher social skills. Contrary to expectations, fathers' positive affect predicted lower social skills. Parents' negative affect predicted significantly lower social skills for children with ID than for children with TD.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings support the theory that low to moderate levels of negative expression may be less beneficial or detrimental for children with ID compared to children with TD. Implications for further research and intervention are discussed.

Transposition of the maize controlling element "Activator" in tobacco

Transposition of the maize autonomous controlling element Activator (Ac) and a nonautonomous derivative, Dissociation (Ds), was investigated in tobacco cells. Tobacco protoplasts were transformed with Ti-plasmid vectors that contained Ac or Ds flanked by short maize wx gene sequences. The structures of the elements and surrounding wx and T-DNA sequences were investigated in nine Ac and five Ds tobacco transformants by digestion with restriction enzymes, Southern blotting, and hybridization using specific probes. In four of the nine Ac transformed lines, Ac had excised from its original position in the T-DNA and inserted at new sites in the tobacco genome. Ds did not excise from its original T-DNA position in any of the transformants examined. Two Ac fragments and cellular flanking sequences were cloned from a line of tobacco in which Ac had transposed. Fragments, comprised of sequences flanking the newly integrated Ac elements, were used as hybridization probes to normal tobacco DNA and to the tobacco DNA from which they were isolated. The Ac copies were integrated into repetitive tobacco DNA sequences. Two tobacco fragments containing empty Wx donor sites were cloned from the DNA of the same Ac transformant and sequenced. Both sequences are among the types of excision products observed to result from Ac-catalyzed excision events in maize. Our results indicate that the maize controlling element Ac is capable of self-catalyzed transposition in tobacco.

Lymph node yield in rectal cancer surgery: effect of preoperative chemoradiotherapy

AIM

Adequate lymph node resection in rectal cancer is important for staging and local control. This study aims to verify the effect of neoadjuvant chemoradiation, as well as some clinicopathological features, on the yield of lymph nodes in rectal carcinoma.

METHODS

Data on consecutive patients who had total mesorectal excision for rectal adenocarcinoma at a single cancer center between January 2003 and July 2008 were reviewed. No patient had any prior pelvic surgery or radiotherapy. Patients had neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy if they were stage II or III.

RESULTS

A total of 116 patients were included. The mean age was 53 years (range 29-83). Fifty-nine patients (51%) received neoadjuvant therapy before resection. The mean number of lymph nodes removed was 18 (range 4-67) per specimen. There was less lymph node yield in patients who received neoadjuvant therapy (16 vs. 19, p = 0.008). Only 64% of patients who had preoperative therapy had 12 lymph nodes or more in the specimen as opposed to 88% of those who had surgery upfront (p = 0.003). Other factors associated with lower lymph node yield included: female sex (p = 0.03) and tumour location in the lower rectum (p = 0.002). Age, tumour stage and grade, type of operation and surgical delay did not affect the number of lymph nodes removed.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer results in reduction in lymph node yield. Female sex and lower rectal tumours are also associated with retrieval of fewer lymph nodes.

Predicting maternal parenting stress in middle childhood: the roles of child intellectual status, behaviour problems and social skills

BACKGROUND

Parents of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) typically report elevated levels of parenting stress, and child behaviour problems are a strong predictor of heightened parenting stress. Interestingly, few studies have examined child characteristics beyond behaviour problems that may also contribute to parenting stress. The present longitudinal study examined the contribution of child social skills to maternal parenting stress across middle childhood, as well as the direction of the relationship between child social skills and parenting stress.

METHOD

Families of children with ID (n = 74) or typical development (TD) (n = 115) participated over a 2-year period. Maternal parenting stress, child behaviour problems and child social skills were assessed at child ages six and eight.

RESULTS

Child social skills accounted for unique variance in maternal parenting stress above and beyond child intellectual status and child behaviour problems. As the children matured, there was a significant interaction between child social skills and behaviour problems in predicting parenting stress. With respect to the direction of these effects, a cross-lagged panel analysis indicated that early parenting stress contributed to later social skills difficulties for children, but the path from children's early social skills to later parenting stress was not supported, once child behaviour problems and intellectual status were accounted for.

CONCLUSION

When examining parenting stress, child social skills are an important variable to consider, especially in the context of child behaviour problems. Early parenting stress predicted child social skills difficulties over time, highlighting parenting stress as a key target for intervention.

Increased maternofetal calcium flux in parathyroid hormone-related protein-null mice

The role of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) in fetal calcium homeostasis and placental calcium transport was examined in mice homozygous for the deletion of the PTHrP gene (PTHrP^−/− null; NL) compared to PTHrP^+/+ (wild-type; WT) and PTHrP^+/− (heterozygous; HZ) littermates. Fetal blood ionized calcium was significantly reduced in NL fetuses compared to WT and HZ groups at 18 days of pregnancy (dp) with abolition of the fetomaternal calcium gradient. In situ placental perfusion of the umbilical circulation at 18 dp was used to measure unidirectional clearance of ⁴⁵Ca across the placenta in maternofetal (^CaK_mf) and fetoplacental (^CaK_fp) directions; ^CaK_fp was < 5% of ^CaK_mf for all genotypes. At 18 dp, ^CaK_mf across perfused placenta and intact placenta (^CaK_mf(intact)) were similar and concordant with net calcium accretion rates in vivo. ^CaK_mf was significantly raised in NL fetuses compared to WT and HZ littermates. Calcium accretion was significantly elevated in NL fetuses by 19 dp. Placental calbindin-D_9K expression in NL fetuses was marginally enhanced (P < 0.07) but expression of TRPV6/ECaC2 and plasma membrane Ca²⁺-ATPase (PMCA) isoforms 1 and 4 were unaltered. We conclude that PTHrP is an important regulator of fetal calcium homeostasis with its predominant effect being on unidirectional maternofetal transfer, probably mediated by modifying placental calbindin-D_9K expression. In situ perfusion of mouse placenta is a robust methodology for allowing detailed dissection of placental transfer mechanisms in genetically modified mice.