Heightened response to positive facial cues as a potential marker of resilience following childhood adversity.

Background: Childhood maltreatment profoundly influences social and emotional development, increasing psychiatric risk. Alterations in the implicit processing of threat-related cues following early abuse and neglect represent a marker of mental health vulnerability. Less is known about how early adversity influences the perception of positive social cues, despite their central role in establishing and maintaining social interactions and their association with better mental health outcomes.Methods: The sample consisted of 42 children and adolescents with substantiated childhood maltreatment experiences and 32 peers (mean age 13.3), matched on age, pubertal status, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and cognitive ability. A computerised experimental task assessed the perceived emotional intensity of positive (happy) and negative (fearful) facial expressions. Mental health symptoms were measured via self- and parental reports, and perceived social support was self-reported.Results: The experience of abuse and neglect was associated with heightened perceived intensity of positive facial cues. Cross-sectional post-hoc moderation and mediation analyses, employing a model-building approach, revealed that in maltreatment-exposed participants: (i) their increased response to positive facial cues was associated with lower symptoms; (ii) the presence of social support accounted for their heightened perceived intensity of positive facial cues; (iii) the presence of social support putatively contributed to lower symptoms by increasing the perceived intensity of positive facial cues. No group differences in perceived intensity of negative expressions were observed.Conclusions: These findings provide fresh insight into how positive faces are processed following maltreatment experience in childhood. Maltreatment experience was found to be associated with heightened perceived intensity of happy faces, which in turn was associated with better mental health and greater levels of social support. This suggests that heightened saliency of positive emotions acts protectively in children with maltreatment experience.

The impact of childhood maltreatment on perceiving positive social cues, especially explicit emotional intensity appraisal, is less understood compared to the extensive focus on its role in processing threat-related cues and psychiatric risk.In this study, we found that maltreatment experience was associated with heightened perceived intensity of happy faces, which in turn was associated with better mental health and greater levels of social support.These findings suggest that heightened saliency of positive emotions may act protectively in children with maltreatment experience.

Serotype-Dependent Effects on the Dynamics of Pneumococcal Colonization and Implications for Transmission.

Capsule-switch mutants were compared to analyze how serotype affects the success of Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) during colonization and transmission. Strains of multiple serotypes were tested in highly susceptible infant mice, both singly and in competitive assays. Our findings demonstrated a role of serotype, apart from genetic background, in competitive success of strains, but this depended on timing postinoculation. As is the case for natural carriage, there was a hierarchy of success among serotypes using capsule-switch strains. The long-term dominance of a serotype was established within the first 4 h after acquisition, suggesting an effect independent of Spn-induced host responses. The hierarchy of serotype dominance correlated with decreased clearance rather than increased growth in vivo. Competitive assays staggering the timing of challenge showed that the first strain to dominate the niche sustained its competitive advantage, potentially explaining how increased density from delayed early clearance could result in serotype-dependent success. Effector molecules of intrastrain competition (fratricide), regulated by the competence operon in a quorum-sensing mechanism, were required for early niche dominance. This suggested a winner-takes-all scenario in which serotype is a major factor in achieving early niche dominance, such that once a strain reaches a threshold density it is able to exclude competitors through fratricide. Serotype was also an important determinant of transmission dynamics, although transit to a recipient host depended on effects of serotype different from its contribution to the dominance of colonization in the donor host. IMPORTANCE Capsule is the major virulence factor and surface antigen of the opportunistic respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn). Strains of Spn express at least 100 structurally and immunologically distinct types (serotypes) of capsule, but for unknown reasons only a few are common. The effect of serotypes during the commensal interactions of Spn and its host, colonization and transmission, was tested. This was carried out by comparing genetically modified strains differing only in serotype in infant mouse models. Results show that serotype is an important factor in a strain's success during colonization. This was attributed to the effect of serotype on early clearance of the organism in the host. Competitive factors expressed by Spn (in a mechanism referred to as fratricide) allow the strain gaining this initial advantage to then dominate the upper respiratory tract niche. Serotype also plays an important role in a strain's success during transmission from one host to another.

Trust and childhood maltreatment: evidence of bias in appraisal of unfamiliar faces.

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment is associated with poorer social functioning and increased risk of mental health problems in adolescence and adulthood, but the processes underlying these associations remain unclear. Although crucial for establishing and maintaining relationships, trust judgements have not been experimentally investigated in children who have experienced abuse and neglect. METHODS: A community-based sample of 75 children aged 8-16 years with maltreatment documented on the basis of social services records, and a group of 70 peers matched on age, gender, cognitive ability, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity took part in the study. Children completed a trustworthiness face-judgement task in which they appraised the trustworthiness of unfamiliar facial stimuli varying along a computationally modelled trustworthiness dimension. RESULTS: In line with clinical observations that childhood maltreatment is associated with an atypical pattern of trust processing, children with maltreatment experience were significantly less likely than their peers to rate unfamiliar faces as trustworthy. Moreover, they were more variable in their trust attributions than their peers. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides compelling experimental evidence that children with documented maltreatment perceive others as less trustworthy than their peers and are less consistent in their estimates of trustworthiness in others. Over time, alterations in trust processing may disrupt the development of social bonds and contribute to 'social thinning' (a reduction in the extent and quality of social relationships), leaving children more vulnerable to environmental stressors, increasing risk of mental health difficulties.

Group B Streptococcus Capsular Serotype Alters Vaginal Colonization Fitness.

BACKGROUND: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) remains a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. A candidate vaccine targets 6 GBS serotypes, offering a potential alternative to intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis to reduce disease burden. However, our understanding of the contributions of specific capsule types to GBS colonization and disease remains limited. METHODS: Using allelic exchange, we generated isogenic GBS strains differing only in the serotype-determining region in 2 genetic backgrounds, including the hypervirulent clonal complex (CC) 17. Using a murine model of vaginal cocolonization, we evaluated the roles of the presence of capsule and of expression of specific capsular types in GBS vaginal colonization fitness independent of other genetic factors. RESULTS: Encapsulated wild-type strains COH1 (CC17, serotype III) and A909 (non-CC17, serotype Ia) outcompeted isogenic acapsular mutants in murine vaginal cocolonization. COH1 wild type outcompeted A909. Notably, expression of type Ia capsule conferred an advantage over type III capsule in both genetic backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS: Specific capsule types may provide an advantage in GBS vaginal colonization in vivo. However, success of certain GBS lineages, including CC17, likely involves both capsule and noncapsule genetic elements. Capsule switching in GBS, a potential outcome of conjugate vaccine programs, may alter colonization fitness or pathogenesis.

Autobiographical memory as a latent vulnerability mechanism following childhood maltreatment: Association with future depression symptoms and prosocial behavior.

OBJECTIVES: Childhood maltreatment is associated with altered neural reactivity during autobiographical memory (ABM) recall and a pattern of overgeneral memory (OGM). Altered ABM and OGM have been linked with psychopathology and poorer social functioning. The present study investigated the association between altered ABM and subsequent socio-emotional functioning (measured two years later) in a sample of adolescents with (N = 20; maltreatment group, MT) and without (N = 17; non-MT group) documented childhood maltreatment histories. METHOD: At baseline, adolescents (aged 12.6 ± 1.45 years) were administered the Autobiographical Memory Test to measure OGM. Participants also recalled specific ABMs in response to emotionally valenced cue words during functional MRI. Adolescents in both groups underwent assessments measuring depressive symptoms and prosocial behavior at both timepoints. Regression analyses were carried out to predict outcome measures at follow-up controlling for baseline levels. RESULTS: In the MT group, greater OGM at baseline significantly predicted reduced prosocial behavior at follow-up and showed a trend level association with elevated depressive symptoms. Patterns of altered ABM-related brain activity did not significantly predict future psycho-social functioning. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings highlight the potential value of OGM as a cognitive mechanism that could be targeted to reduce risk of depression in adolescents with prior histories of maltreatment.

Thinking about Others' Minds: Mental State Inference in Boys with Conduct Problems and Callous-Unemotional Traits.

Children with conduct problems (CP) and high levels of callous-unemotional traits (CP/HCU) have been found to have an intact ability to represent other minds, however, they behave in ways that indicate a reduced propensity to consider other people's thoughts and feelings. Here we report findings from three tasks assessing different aspects of mentalising in 81 boys aged 11-16 [Typically developing (TD) n = 27; CP/HCU n = 28; CP and low levels of callous-unemotional traits (CP/LCU) n = 26]. Participants completed the Movie Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC), a task assessing ability/propensity to incorporate judgements concerning an individual's mind into mental state inference; provided a written description of a good friend to assess mind-mindedness; and completed the Social Judgement Task (SJT), a new measure assessing mentalising about antisocial actions. Boys with CP/HCU had more difficulty in accurately inferring others' mental states in the MASC than TD and CP/LCU boys. There were no group differences in the number of mind-related comments as assessed by the mind-mindedness protocol or in responses to the SJT task. These findings suggest that although the ability to represent mental states is intact, CP/HCU boys are less likely to update mental state inferences as a function of different minds.

Association of Novel Streptococcus sanguinis Virulence Factors With Pathogenesis in a Native Valve Infective Endocarditis Model.

Streptococcus sanguinis (S. sanguinis) is an abundant oral commensal which can cause disseminated human infection if it gains access to the bloodstream. The most important among these diseases is infective endocarditis (IE). While virulence phenotypes of S. sanguinis have been correlated to disease severity, genetic factors mediating these phenotypes, and contributing to pathogenesis are largely uncharacterized. In this report, we investigate the roles of 128 genes in virulence-related phenotypes of S. sanguinis and characterize the pathogenic potential of two selected mutants in a left-sided, native valve IE rabbit model. Assays determining the ability of our mutant strains to produce a biofilm, bind to and aggregate platelets, and adhere to or invade endothelial cells identified sixteen genes with novel association to these phenotypes. These results suggest the presence of many uncharacterized genes involved in IE pathogenesis which may be relevant for disease progression. Two mutants identified by the above screening process - SSA_1099, encoding an RTX-like protein, and mur2, encoding a peptidoglycan hydrolase - were subsequently evaluated in vivo. Wild type (WT) S. sanguinis reliably induced cardiac vegetations, while the SSA_1099 and mur2 mutants produced either no vegetation or vegetations of small size. Splenomegaly was reduced in both mutant strains compared to WT, while pathology of other distal organs was indistinguishable. Histopathology analyses suggest the cardiac lesions and vegetations in this model resemble those observed in humans. These data indicate that SSA_1099 and mur2 encode virulence factors in S. sanguinis which are integral to pathogenesis of IE.

Developing an emotional coping skills workbook for inpatient psychiatric settings: a focus group investigation.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests an unmet need for provision of psychological interventions in inpatient psychiatric settings. However, inpatient wards can present a challenging environment in which to implement interventions. The authors developed the Emotional Coping Skills workbook, a psychosocial intervention designed to overcome these challenges and provide inpatients with an opportunity for psychologically-informed therapeutic engagement. The workbook includes information and exercises to empower inpatients to understand their emotions and learn to cope with their distress. METHODS: A qualitative study using thematic analysis was undertaken in two UK inpatient psychiatric hospitals to explore staff's views about whether and how the workbook could be implemented, and on barriers to its use. Thirty-five nursing and occupational therapy staff members participated in four focus groups, and a further two psychologists in semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Staff identified key barriers to successful implementation of the workbook. These were firstly, the difficulty in finding time and space for therapeutic work in the stressful ward environment. Secondly, staff identified a culture of emotional neglect whereby neither staff nor inpatients felt able to talk about emotions, and patients' physical needs and medication were prioritised. Thirdly, staff discussed how psychotic symptoms and emotional distress could limit patients' ability to engage with the workbook material. Staff suggested ways in which the feasibility of using the workbook could be enhanced. Firstly, they discussed the importance of encouraging staff to value psychological approaches and to view the workbook as a resource to help them manage their existing tasks. Secondly, they emphasised the value of staff drawing on their expertise to deliver the workbook flexibly in different formats and settings, depending on each patient's particular presentation. Thirdly, they advocated empowering staff to decide the timing of intervention delivery in the context of each inpatient's fluctuations in distress and progress towards recovery. CONCLUSIONS: The study has highlighted key principles for flexible and well-integrated intervention delivery; these principles will be helpful for enhancing the feasibility of any nurse-delivered psychological intervention in inpatient settings.

The relation between television exposure and executive function among preschoolers.

This study investigated the relations between television exposure during the preschool years and the development of executive function (EF). Data were gathered from 107 parents of preschoolers who provided information on children's television viewing, background television exposure, exposure to specific televised content, and the age at which children began watching television. Preschoolers' EF was assessed via one-on-one interviews. We found that several indicators of television exposure were significantly related to EF. These findings suggest that EF may be an important construct for continued research on the effects of media on young children.