Secure base scripted knowledge and preschoolers' social competence in samples from Mexico and Peru.

A central hypothesis in attachment theory poses that child-mother relationships have implications for children's social competence. A key task for researchers is that of investigating the pathways responsible for the association found between child attachment security and social competence. We studied whether children's secure base representations, defined as scripts, are associated with assessments of social competence in a preschool setting. We tested this association in samples from Mexico and Peru. Preschoolers' attachment representations were assessed via narratives gathered with the Attachment Story Completion Task. Teachers (in Mexico) and mothers (in Peru) provided questionnaire information about social competence. Attachment scripts predicted children's social competence in both samples. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for theory and research.

Integration of Contrast-enhanced US into a Multimodality Approach to Imaging of Nodules in a Cirrhotic Liver: How I Do It.

Accurate characterization of cirrhotic nodules and early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are of vital importance. Currently, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are standard modalities for the investigation of new nodules found at surveillance ultrasonography (US). This article describes the successful integration of contrast material-enhanced US into a multimodality approach for diagnosis of HCC and its benefits in this population. The application of contrast-enhanced US immediately following surveillance US allows for prompt dynamic contrast-enhanced evaluation, removing the need for further imaging of benign lesions. Contrast-enhanced US also provides dynamic real-time assessment of tumor vascularity so that contrast enhancement can be identified regardless of its timing or duration, allowing for detection of arterial hypervascularity and portal venous washout. The purely intravascular nature of US contrast agents is valuable as the rapid washout of nonhepatocyte malignancies is highly contributory to their differentiation from HCC. The authors believe contrast-enhanced US provides complementary information to CT and MR imaging in the characterization of nodules in high-risk patients. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Magnitude of Hematoma Volume Measurement Error in Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Limiting intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) expansion is a common target for acute ICH studies and, therefore, accurate measurement of hematoma volumes is required. We investigated the amount of hematoma volume difference between computed tomography scans that can be considered as measurement error. METHODS: Five raters performed baseline (<6 hours) and 24-hour total hematoma (ICH+IVH) computer-assisted volumetric analysis from 40 selected ICH patients from the Predicting Hematoma Growth and Outcome in Intracerebral Hemorrhage Using Contrast Bolus CT (PREDICT) study cohort twice. Estimates of intrarater and interrater reliability are expressed as intraclass correlation coefficients and minimum detectable difference (MDD). RESULTS: Total hematoma volumetric analyses had excellent intra- and interrater agreements (intraclass correlation coefficients 0.994 and 0.992, respectively). MDD for intra- and interrater volumes was 6.68 and 7.72 mL, respectively, and were higher the larger total hematoma volume was and in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage or IVH. MDD for total hematoma volume measurement of 10.4 mL was found in patients with largest hematoma volumes. In patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage or IVH, MDD for total hematoma volume was 10.3 and 10.4 mL, respectively. In patients without IVH, MDD for intra- and interrater pure ICH volumes were 3.82 and 5.83 mL, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A threshold higher than 10.4 mL seems to be reliable to avoid error of total hematoma volume measurement in a broad range of patients. An absolute ICH volume increase of >6 mL, commonly used as outcome in ICH studies, seems well above MDD and, therefore, could be used to reliably detect ICH expansion.

Social Information Processing Theory Indicators of Child Abuse Risk: Cultural Comparison of Mothers from Peru and the United States.

Much of the research conducted on social information processing (SIP) factors predictive of child abuse risk has been conducted in North America, raising questions about how applicable such models may be in other cultures. Based on the premise that the parents' child abuse risk is affected by both risk and protective factors, the current study considered how specific SIP socio-cognitive risk factors (acceptability of parent-child aggression as a discipline approach; empathic ability; frustration tolerance) as well as social support satisfaction as a resource related to child abuse risk by comparing a sample of mothers in Peru (n = 102) with a sample of mothers in the U.S. (n = 180). Using multi-group regression analyses, the current investigation identified that lower empathy was more salient for the abuse risk of U.S. mothers relative to the salience of lower frustration tolerance for Peruvian mothers. Although effects were observed for the approval of parent-aggression for the child abuse risk of both samples, such approval did not appear to be related to the Peruvian mothers' actual use of such tactics. When considered alongside the socio-cognitive risk factors, greater social support satisfaction did not significantly relate to child abuse risk for either sample. The findings are discussed in reference to future cross-cultural work that may need to better examine how factors may or may not be universal to craft more culturally informed child abuse prevention programs.

Nox4 is required for maintenance of the differentiated vascular smooth muscle cell phenotype.

OBJECTIVE: The mechanisms responsible for maintaining the differentiated phenotype of adult vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are incompletely understood. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in VSMC differentiation, but the responsible sources are unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of Nox1 and Nox4-derived ROS in this process. METHODS AND RESULTS: Primary VSMCs were used to study the relationship between Nox homologues and differentiation markers such as smooth muscle alpha-actin (SM alpha-actin), smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SM-MHC), heavy caldesmon, and calponin. We found that Nox4 and differentiation marker genes were downregulated from passage 1 to passage 6 to 12, whereas Nox1 was gradually upregulated. Nox4 co-localized with SM alpha-actin-based stress fibers in differentiated VSMC, and moved into focal adhesions in de-differentiated cells. siRNA against nox4 reduced NADPH-driven superoxide production in serum-deprived VSMCs and downregulated SM-alpha actin, SM-MHC, and calponin, as well as SM-alpha actin stress fibers. Nox1 depletion did not decrease these parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Nox4-derived ROS are critical to the maintenance of the differentiated phenotype of VSMCs. These findings highlight the importance of identifying the specific source of ROS involved in particular cellular functions when designing therapeutic interventions.

Split-bolus single scan CTA for evaluation of mesenteric ischemia.

PURPOSE: To evaluate split-bolus single scan CTA protocol for evaluation of acute mesenteric ischemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this HIPAA-compliant IRB-approved study, consecutive patients evaluated for mesenteric ischemia between 11/2015 and 10/2016 were included. Patients scanned prior to 4/2016 were scanned with multiphasic CTA protocol and after with split-bolus single scan CTA. Objective and subjective evaluation was performed by three board-certified readers. Findings were correlated to composite clinical reference outcome. RESULTS: Eighty patients were included: 40 with split-bolus and 40 with multiphasic CTA protocol with similar age (60.3 ± 16.2 years vs. 64.7 ± 17.0 years, p = 0.19) and BMI (28.0 ± 6.7 vs. 27.0 ± 8.7, p = 0.56). SMA attenuation was higher in multiphasic protocol compared to split-bolus protocol (336.5 ± 97.5 HU vs. 258.0 ± 67.3 HU, p < 0.001) with similar SMV attenuation (multiphasic 213.7 ± 58.4 HU vs. split-bolus 194.2 ± 52.2 HU, p = 0.14). Optimal phase of bowel, liver, and spleen enhancement was seen in similar high proportion (94-99%) in both protocols. There were 8/40 (20%) positive cases of mesenteric ischemia in each group. There was no difference in the diagnostic confidence of the readers for evaluation of the mesenteric vessels and bowel ischemia. There were no missed cases of mesenteric ischemia in either group. Mean effective dose was 42% lower in the split-bolus group, p < 0.001. There was a higher number of axial images to review in multiphasic protocol compared to split-bolus protocol (437.9 ± 48.7 vs. 263.5 ± 31.2, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The split-bolus protocol for evaluation of mesenteric ischemia is clinically feasible with confident and accurate diagnostic ability, while reducing number of images and decreasing radiation exposure to the patient.

Temperamento y competencia social en niños y niñas preescolares de San Juan de Lurigancho: un estudio preliminar / Temperament and social competence in preschool children from San Juan de Lurigancho: a preliminary study

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo conocer la relación entre temperamento, competencia social y problemas de conducta en niños y niñas preescolares. Para ello, se contó con una muestra de 66 participantes: 40 niños y 26 niñas, entre 2 y 6 años de edad (M = 3.92, DE = 1.01) y sus madres. Para medir temperamento se utilizó el Cuestionario sobre Conducta Infantil, versión corta (CBQ; Putnam & Rothbart, 2006). Además, se usó el Inventario de Evaluación de Competencia Social y Comportamiento (SCBE-30, LaFreniere & Dumas, 1996) para medir competencia social, problemas de ansiedad y de agresividad del niño o la niña. El análisis principal del estudio identificó una asociación negativa y significativa entre extraversión y ansiedad. Además, las tres dimensiones del temperamento se asociaron con los problemas de conducta agresiva: extraversión y afecto negativo de manera positiva y control intencional de forma negativa. Finalmente, el control intencional, que fue el único predictor, correlacionó positiva y moderadamente con competencia social. Los resultados obtenidos son consistentes con lo reportado por las evidencias teóricas y empíricas contemporáneas sobre el tema; sin embargo, es necesario llevar a cabo futuros estudios con muestras de mayor tamaño para ampliar la información sobre características de temperamento y competencia social en preescolares

The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between temperament, social competence, and behavioral problems in preschool children. To that end, the study had a sample of 66 children, 40 boys and 26 girls, between 2 and 6 years old (M = 3.92, SD = 1.01), and their mothers. Temperament was assessed using the Children s Behavior Questionnaire, Short Form (CBQ-SF, Putnam & Rothbart, 2006). Additionally, the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale (SCBE-30, LaFreniere & Dumas, 1996) was used to assess social competence as well as anxiety and aggressive behavior problems in children. The study s main analysis identified a significant negative association between surgency and anxiety. In addition, the three dimensions of temperament were associated with aggressive behavior problems: surgency and negative affectivity were associated positively, whereas effortful control was associated negatively. Finally, effortful control, which was the only predictor, showed a moderate and positive correlation with social competence. These results are consistent with contemporary theoretical and empirical evidence on the topic. However, future studies should consider larger samples to get more information about the temperament and social competence in preschool children

Conductas internalizantes y externalizantes en adolescentes / Internalizing and externalizing behavior in adolescents

La adolescencia es un periodo de cambios rápidos en todos los aspectos del desarrollo humano. Es en esta etapa en la que se suelen presentar dificultades y manifestaciones de problemas de salud mental. El objetivo del estudio es conocer las conductas internalizantes y externalizantes reportadas por adolescentes estudiantes de secundaria. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 298 estudiantes entre 12 a 18 años (M = 14.98, DE = 1.28) de ambos sexos (54.4 % mujeres) de dos instituciones educativas públicas donde la mayoría se encontraba cursando el 4.o año de secundaria (33.6 %). La muestra se seleccionó de manera no probabilística, por conveniencia, y se informó a todos los participantes del objetivo y actividades del estudio, del carácter voluntario de su participación, y del cuidado en mantener el anonimato y la confidencialidad de todos los datos recogidos. Se utilizó el autorreporte de jóvenes entre 11 y 18 años (YSR 11-18, Achenbach y Rescorla, 2001) para identificar las conductas internalizantes y externalizantes y sus respectivas dimensiones. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas por sexo. Las mujeres puntuaron más alto que los hombres en ansiedaddepresión, quejas somáticas, problemas de atención, y conductas internalizantes, mientras que los hombres puntuaron más alto en rompimiento de reglas y conductas externalizantes.

Adolescence is a period of rapid changes in all aspects of human development. It is at this stage that difficulties and mental health problems occur more often. The purpose of the study was to identify both internalizing and externalizing behavior reported by adolescent in high school. The sample was composed by 298 participants between 12 and 18 years old (M = 14.98, SD = 1.28), of both sexes, (54.4 % women) from two public educational institutions where the majority was enrolled in the 4th year of high school (33.6 %). The sample was selected in a non-probabilistic manner for convenience, and all the participants were informed of the purpose and activities of the study, of the voluntary nature of their participation, and of the care to preserve the anonymity and confidentiality of all data collected. We used the self-report of young people between 11 and 18 years old (YSR 11-18, Achenbach and Rescorla, 2001) to identify the internalizing and externalizing behavior and their respective dimensions. The results show significant differences according to sex. Women scored higher than men in anxiety-depression, somatic complaints, attention problems, and internalizing behavior; while men scored higher in breaking the rules, and externalizing behavior.

Maternal and child correlates of anxiety in 2½-year-old children.

The goal of this study was to predict the development of anxiety in 2½ year olds as a function of maternal anxiety and child inhibited temperament, and to test the mediating, moderating, and curvilinear effects of maternal sensitivity. Participants were 83 mothers and their 2½-year-old children (32 females). Maternal anxiety, child inhibition, and child anxiety were assessed by maternal report. Maternal sensitivity was rated based on the appropriateness and timeliness of mothers' responses to children's fear observed during their exposure to novel events in the laboratory and from mothers' diaries documenting their responses to children's fear in everyday situations. Gender predicted child anxiety, with mothers reporting girls as more anxious, as did child inhibition, with more inhibited children exhibiting more anxiety. Maternal sensitivity predicted child anxiety as a main effect and, in addition, inhibition moderated the curvilinear association of maternal sensitivity and child anxiety. For highly inhibited children, maternal sensitivity predicted anxiety in both a negative linear and a curvilinear fashion; anxiety decreased as maternal sensitivity increased up to a moderately high level, then increased at very high levels of maternal sensitivity. For less inhibited children, maternal sensitivity showed only a significant negative linear association with child anxiety.

Predicting aggressive behavior in the third year from infant reactivity and regulation as moderated by maternal behavior.

The degree to which infant attention behaviors, together with infant reactivity to frustrating events, predict aggressive behavior at 2.5 years, and the moderating effect of maternal behavior were tested with 64 low-risk mothers and infants. Mothers rated infant negative reactivity at 5 months and aggressive behavior and maternal trait anger at 2.5 years; infant and maternal behaviors were observed at 6 months. Based on hierarchical multiple regressions, infant attention to frustrating events at 6 months positively predicted aggressive behavior, whereas looking away from frustrating events was associated with less aggressive behavior for girls only. High reactivity to limits predicted aggressive behavior only when mothers encouraged infant attention to the frustrating event, suggesting that maternal behavior amplifies developmental pathways associated with infant temperament.