The relationship between attachment representations and minimal intergroup bias in preschool-aged children.

Attachment theory proposes that young children's experiences with their caregivers has a tremendous influence on how children navigate their social relationships. By the end of early childhood, intergroup contexts play an important role in their social life and children build strong ties to their ingroups. Although both domains relate to the same psychological processes-children's affective ties to others-surprisingly very little research has addressed how children's attachment relates to their intergroup attitudes and behavior. In this study, we investigate the link. For that purpose, 5-year-old children (n = 100) first underwent the German Attachment Story Completion Task (GEV-B). Then we allocated children into minimal groups based on T-Shirt color and assessed their intergroup attitudes and intergroup behavior. Results showed that while most children showed a strong and robust ingroup bias in their attitudes and behavior, children with an insecure-ambivalent attachment representation treated in- and outgroup similarly. Overall, this study provides novel perspectives on the relationship between children's attachment representation and their interactions in the social world. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This study provides novel insights into the relationship between children's attachment security and the development of intergroup bias in a minimal group context Children with secure, insecure-avoidant and disorganized attachment representation showed a strong intergroup bias in explicit attitudes and behavior Children with insecure-ambivalent attachment representation displayed no intergroup bias Insecure-ambivalent attachment representations might be detrimental to the formation of ingroup attachment.

Ocular Neuromyotonia: Clinical Features, Diagnosis, and Outcomes.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical features, management, outcomes, and diagnostic pitfalls in a large series of patients with ocular neuromyotonia. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with ocular neuromyotonia from January 1, 2004, through January 1, 2023, seen at one of the 3 Mayo Clinic sites in Rochester, MN, Scottsdale, AZ, and Jacksonville, FL, comprised the study population. We ascertained patients with ocular neuromyotonia through a search using the medical records database. Only patients with an observed episode of ocular neuromyotonia were included and the medical records were reviewed. The main outcome measures were clinical features and outcomes of patients with ocular neuromyotonia. RESULTS: Forty-two patients who were diagnosed with ocular neuromyotonia were included. The median age was 58 years (range, 16-80 years). A history of cranial radiation therapy was present in 39 patients (93%). The sixth cranial nerve was involved in 31 patients (74%). Bilateral disease was found in 2 patients (5%). The median time from onset of diplopia to diagnosis was 8 months (range, 1 month-25 years), with a high rate of initial misdiagnosis in 52%. Twenty of 42 patients (48%) were treated with oral medication, of whom 95% had significant improvement or resolution of symptoms. CONCLUSION: Prior cranial irradiation is the most common cause for ocular neuromyotonia, affecting the sixth cranial nerve most often. Although delayed and initial misdiagnosis is common, most patients show improved symptoms on medical treatment.

Characteristics of childhood intermittent exotropia with and without DVD.

Purpose: Although dissociated vertical deviation (DVD) is reported to occur rarely in children with intermittent exotropia (IXT), little is known regarding the clinical features of these children. The purpose of this study was to compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of children with intermittent exotropia and DVD to those without DVD. Methods: The medical records of all children diagnosed with intermittent exotropia at our institution from 1 January 2002, through 31 December 2018, who had 2 or more exams with 3 or more assessments of control, were retrospectively reviewed. Exotropic children with DVD were compared to those without DVD. Results: During the 17-year study period, 115 children met the inclusion criteria, of which 25 (21.7%) had DVD. Compared to the 90 exotropic children without DVD, children with IXT and DVD were more likely to have a motility disorder (p = .021), a worse mean distance control score (2.8 vs 2.4; p = .09), a larger mean angle of deviation (27.8 prism diopters [PD] vs 25.1 PD; p = .04), and a lower median stereopsis (200 secs vs 100 secs; p = .08). The children with DVD were more likely to have undergone surgery (p = .17) although there was no difference in the mean age at initial surgery between the two groups. Conclusions: The presence of dissociated vertical deviation in children with intermittent exotropia is associated with more motility disorders and worse binocular function compared to those without DVD. These children will likely require closer observation and earlier intervention.

Species-specific effects of production practices on genetic diversity in plant reintroduction programs.

Plant production practices can influence the genetic diversity of cultivated plant materials and, ultimately, their potential to adapt to a reintroduction site. A common step in the plant production process is the application of seed pretreatment to alleviate physiological seed dormancy and successfully germinate seeds. In production settings, the seeds that germinate more rapidly may be favored in order to fill plant quotas. In this study, we investigated how the application of cold-moist stratification treatments with different durations can lead to differences in the genetic diversity of the propagated plant materials. Specifically, we exposed seeds of three Viola species to two different cold stratification durations, and then we analyzed the genetic diversity of the resulting subpopulations through double-digestion restriction site-associated sequencing (ddRADseq). Our results show that, in two out of three species, utilizing a short stratification period will decrease the genetic diversity of neutral and expressed loci, likely due to the imposition of a genetic bottleneck and artificial selection. We conclude that, in some species, the use of minimal stratification practices in production may jeopardize the adaptive potential and long-term persistence of reintroduced populations and suggest that practitioners carefully consider the evolutionary implications of their production protocols. We highlight the need to consider the germination ecology of target species when selecting the length of dormancy-breaking pretreatments.

Adaptation to pollination by fungus gnats underlies the evolution of pollination syndrome in the genus Euonymus.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Dipteran insects are known pollinators of many angiosperms, but knowledge on how flies affect floral evolution is relatively scarce. Some plants pollinated by fungus gnats share a unique set of floral characters (dark red display, flat shape and short stamens), which differs from any known pollination syndromes. We tested whether this set of floral characters is a pollination syndrome associated with pollination by fungus gnats, using the genus Euonymus as a model. METHODS: The pollinator and floral colour, morphology and scent profile were investigated for ten Euonymus species and Tripterygium regelii as an outgroup. The flower colour was evaluated using bee and fly colour vision models. The evolutionary association between fungus gnat pollination and each plant character was tested using a phylogenetically independent contrast. The ancestral state reconstruction was performed on flower colour, which is associated with fungus gnat pollination, to infer the evolution of pollination in the genus Euonymus. KEY RESULTS: The red-flowered Euonymus species were pollinated predominantly by fungus gnats, whereas the white-flowered species were pollinated by bees, beetles and brachyceran flies. The colour vision analysis suggested that red and white flowers are perceived as different colours by both bees and flies. The floral scents of the fungus gnat-pollinated species were characterized by acetoin, which made up >90 % of the total scent in three species. Phylogenetically independent contrast showed that the evolution of fungus gnat pollination is associated with acquisition of red flowers, short stamens and acetoin emission. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the observed combination of floral characters is a pollination syndrome associated with the parallel evolution of pollination by fungus gnats. Although the role of the red floral display and acetoin in pollinator attraction remains to be elucidated, our finding underscores the importance of fungus gnats as potential contributors to floral diversification.

The Effectiveness of A Slow-Paced Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise in Children's Daily Life: A Micro-Randomized Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Breathing exercises have been proposed as an effective intervention to improve subjective well-being and manage anxiety symptoms. As they are comparatively easy to learn and to implement, breathing exercises may be particularly beneficial for children. Although breathing exercises are ultimately supposed to provide salutary effects in individuals' everyday lives, immediate effects of breathing exercises in naturalistic contexts have received limited empirical attention. The purpose of this study was to examine immediate effects of slow-paced diaphragmatic breathing on negative affect as well as on relaxation in an ecologically valid setting. To that end, we conducted a micro-randomized trial in children's daily life. METHOD: On each of 15 days, children (N = 171, aged 9-13 years, 54% female) were randomized to different conditions: performing a video-guided slow-paced diaphragmatic breathing exercise (experimental condition), watching a different video (active control condition), or a passive control condition. RESULTS: The breathing exercise had no immediate effects on negative affect or relaxation compared to both control conditions. However, in situations when children reported higher levels of worries than usual, relaxation was higher when children performed the breathing exercise compared to the passive control condition. Compared to the active control condition, the breathing exercise did not result in higher levels of relaxation in situations when children worried more than normally. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight that context-specific factors can modulate the effectiveness of breathing exercises and should be taken into account to tailor interventions to individuals' needs.

Synergistic Sensitization of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Cells Lacking Caspase-8 Expression to Chemotherapeutics Using Combinations of Small-Molecule BRD4 and CDK9 Inhibitors.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal gynecological cancers worldwide, with approximately 70% of cases diagnosed in advanced stages. This late diagnosis results from the absence of early warning symptoms and is associated with an unfavorable prognosis. A standard treatment entails a combination of primary chemotherapy with platinum and taxane agents. Tumor recurrence following first-line chemotherapy with Carboplatin and Paclitaxel is detected in 80% of advanced ovarian cancer patients, with disease relapse occurring within 2 years of initial treatment. Platinum-resistant ovarian cancer is one of the biggest challenges in treating patients. Second-line treatments involve PARP or VEGF inhibitors. Identifying novel biomarkers and resistance mechanisms is critical to overcoming resistance, developing newer treatment strategies, and improving patient survival. In this study, we have determined that low Caspase-8 expression in ovarian cancer patients leads to poor prognosis. High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (HGSOC) cells lacking Caspase-8 expression showed an altered composition of the RNA Polymerase II-containing transcriptional elongation complex leading to increased transcriptional activity. Caspase-8 knockout cells display increased BRD4 expression and CDK9 activity and reduced sensitivities to Carboplatin and Paclitaxel. Based on our work, we are proposing three potential therapeutic approaches to treat advanced ovarian cancer patients who exhibit low Caspase-8 expression and resistance to Carboplatin and/or Paclitaxel-combinations of (1) Carboplatin with small-molecule BRD4 inhibitors; (2) Paclitaxel with small-molecule BRD4 inhibitors, and (3) small-molecule BRD4 and CDK9 inhibitors. In addition, we are also proposing two predictive markers of chemoresistance-BRD4 and pCDK9.

The non-apoptotic function of Caspase-8 in negatively regulating the CDK9-mediated Ser2 phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II in cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most frequently diagnosed and fatal gynecological cancer. 15-61% of all cases metastasize and develop chemoresistance, reducing the 5-year survival of cervical cancer patients to as low as 17%. Therefore, unraveling the mechanisms contributing to metastasis is critical in developing better-targeted therapies against it. Here, we have identified a novel mechanism where nuclear Caspase-8 directly interacts with and inhibits the activity of CDK9, thereby modulating RNAPII-mediated global transcription, including those of cell-migration- and cell-invasion-associated genes. Crucially, low Caspase-8 expression in cervical cancer patients leads to poor prognosis, higher CDK9 phosphorylation at Thr186, and increased RNAPII activity in cervical cancer cell lines and patient biopsies. Caspase-8 knock-out cells were also more resistant to the small-molecule CDK9 inhibitor BAY1251152 in both 2D- and 3D-culture conditions. Combining BAY1251152 with Cisplatin synergistically overcame chemoresistance of Caspase-8-deficient cervical cancer cells. Therefore, Caspase-8 expression could be a marker in chemoresistant cervical tumors, suggesting CDK9 inhibitor treatment for their sensitization to Cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Supporting long-term sustainability of ex situ collections using a pedigree-based population management approach.

Premise: Living collections maintained for generations are at risk of diversity loss, inbreeding, and adaptation to cultivation. To address these concerns, the zoo community uses pedigrees to track individuals and implement crosses that maximize founder contributions and minimize inbreeding. Using a pedigree management approach, we demonstrate how conducting strategic crosses can minimize genetic issues that have arisen under current practices. Methods: We performed crosses between collections and compared progeny fitness, including plant performance and reproductive health. We genotyped the progeny and parental accessions to measure changes in diversity and relatedness within and between accessions. Results: The mean relatedness values among individuals within each accession suggest they are full siblings, demonstrating that there was high inbreeding and low diversity within accessions, although less so among accessions. Progeny from the wider crosses had increased genetic diversity and were larger and more fertile, while self-pollinated accessions were smaller and less fertile. Discussion: Institutions that hold exceptional species should consider how diversity is maintained within their collections. Implementing a pedigree-based approach to managing plant reproduction ex situ will slow the inevitable loss of genetic diversity and, in turn, result in healthier collections.

Assessing domain-general need fulfillment in children and adults: Introducing the General Need Satisfaction and Frustration scale.

Fulfillment of basic psychological needs has been postulated to be essential for mental health across the human life span. So far, validated domain-general instruments using the same items to assess these constructs in different age groups are lacking. To close this gap, we introduce the General Need Satisfaction and Frustration scale, a multidimensional instrument to capture fulfillment of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in children and adults. The factor structure and correlates of this new instrument are examined in two cross-sectional studies with children (N = 185, age range = 7-14) and adults (N = 380, age range = 18-77), and one ambulatory assessment study with children (N = 84, age range = 8-10). Confirmatory factor analyses suggest adequate fit of the postulated six-dimensional measurement model (three needs, each split into satisfaction and frustration). Need satisfaction was linked to higher well-being, and need frustration was linked to higher ill-being in both children and adults. Findings suggest that the instrument introduced in this work is suitable to capture between-person differences as well as day-to-day fluctuations in the fulfillment of the basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in children and adults. The measurement instrument therefore is a useful tool to capture core ingredients for mental health in samples across a broad range of the human life span. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The Critical Intervention Screen: A Novel Tool to Determine the Use of Lights and Sirens during the Transport of Trauma Patients.

Objective: EMS use of lights and sirens has long been employed in EMS systems, despite an increased risk of motor vehicle collisions associated with their use. The specific aims of this study were to assess the current use of lights and sirens during the transport of trauma patients in a busy metropolitan area and to subsequently develop a novel tool, the Critical Intervention Screen, to aid EMS professionals tasked with making transport decisions in the presence of acute injury.Methods: This single-center, retrospective study included all patients transported to an academic Level One trauma center by ground ambulance from the scene of presumed or known injury. A subset of patients was identified as being most likely to benefit from shorter transport times if they received one of the following critical interventions within 20 minutes of emergency department arrival: intubation, thoracotomy, chest tube, blood products, central line, arterial line, REBOA, disposition to an operating room, or death. Stepwise logistic regression was employed for the development of the Critical Intervention Screen, with a subset of data retained for internal validation.Results: 1296 patients were available for analysis. Overall, 217 patients (16.7%) received a critical intervention, and 112 patients (8.6%) of those patients received a critical intervention within 20 minutes of emergency department arrival. At baseline, EMS use of lights and sirens was 91.1% sensitive and 80.3% specific for receiving a critical intervention. Stepwise logistic regression demonstrated that the need for assisted ventilation, GCS Motor < 6, and penetrating trauma to the trunk were the most predictive prehospital data for receiving at least one critical intervention. The Critical Intervention Screen, defined as having at least one of these risk factors in the prehospital setting, modestly increased sensitivity and specificity (96.4% and 87.9%, respectively) predicting the need for a critical intervention.Conclusion: These findings indicate that EMS are able to correctly identify high-acuity trauma patients, but at times employ L&S during the transport of patients with a low likelihood of receiving a time-sensitive intervention upon emergency department arrival. Therefore, the Critical Intervention Screen has the potential to reduce the use of lights and sirens and improve EMS safety.

Dynamic relations among COVID-19-related media exposure and worries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated how COVID-19-related media exposure during the COVID-19 crisis was related to same-day and next-day COVID-19-related worries. DESIGN: A 21-day diary study was conducted between late March and late April 2020 in Germany. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 561 participants (Mage = 42.79, SDage = 6.12). Every evening, participants indicated their exposure to COVID-19-related media (e.g., TV, print, online) and their COVID-19-related worries. RESULTS: Same-day analyses showed that participants reported more COVID-19-related worries on days with higher exposure to COVID-19-related media. Dynamical structural equation models provided evidence for a reciprocal cycle across days: Higher media exposure at one day predicted higher worries the next day, and higher worries at one day also predicted higher media exposure the next day. Individuals with high trait anxiety reported an enhanced general level of media exposure during the 21 days of assessment, and individuals high in neuroticism and anxiety reported an enhanced level of worries. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest a self-reinforcing cycle whereby consuming crisis-related media and worrying reciprocally influence each other across days, possibly amplifying adverse effects of the COVID-19 crisis and other crises alike on mental and physical health.

Stressor anticipation and subsequent affective well-being: A link potentially explained by perseverative cognitions.

Anticipatory stress can prospectively and negatively influence diverse outcomes, including cognitive performance and emotional well-being. It has been suggested that perseverative cognitions (e.g., worry, rumination) during the anticipation period constitute a key mechanism driving these effects. The present study investigated the temporal dynamics among stressor anticipation, perseverative cognitions, and affective well-being. To accurately test the suggested mechanism, we focused on how these dynamics unfold within individuals over time. To that end, we analyzed data from an ecological momentary assessment study in an ethnically diverse sample (N = 243, 25-65 year olds, 68.7% Hispanic or non-Hispanic Black; 14 days, 5 measurement occasions per day) using dynamic structural equation modeling. Anticipating an upcoming stressor was linked to higher levels of perseverative cognitions approximately 3 hours later. At times when individuals reported higher levels of recent perseverative cognitions than typical for them, they also reported higher levels of negative affect and lower levels of positive affect. Mediational modeling indicated that perseverative cognitions accounted for the persistent effects of previous stressor anticipation on negative as well as positive affect several hours later. These findings suggest that perseverative cognitions may play an important role in explaining the detrimental effects of anticipatory stress on subsequent emotional well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Distance learning, parent-child interactions, and affective well-being of parents and children during the COVID-19 pandemic: A daily diary study.

To slow down the spread of the COVID-19 virus, schools around the world were closed in early 2020, transferring children's scholastic activities to the homes and imposing a massive burden on parents and school-age children. Using data of a 21-day diary study conducted between March and April 2020 in Germany, this work examined whether (a) distance learning and (b) parents' involvement therein were associated with negative parent-child interactions and affective well-being of parents and children, over and above the effect of daily stressors. Participants were 562 parents (489 mothers, Mage = 42.79, SDage = 6.12, range = 25-63) most of whom were married (n = 382, 68.0%). They responded to the daily items with respect to the youngest child living in their household (Mage = 9.74, SDage = 2.81, range = 6-19). On days when children were working on school tasks, parents reported more negative parent-child interactions as well as lower parental and child positive affect and higher child negative affect, but not higher parental negative affect. Moreover, days when parents were more heavily involved in learning (i.e., when children worked less independently) were days with more negative parent-child interactions, lower parental and child positive affect, and higher parental and child negative affect. Negative parent-child interactions were linked to lower affective well-being of parents and children, and partially accounted for the relation among daily stressors and affective well-being. The present work highlights the need for measures to better support school-age children and their parents during distance learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Reciprocal relations of subjective sleep quality and affective well-being in late childhood.

High sleep quality has been associated with beneficial outcomes across the life span. Intensive longitudinal studies suggest that these beneficial effects can also be observed on a day-to-day level. However, the dynamic interplay between subjective sleep quality and affective well-being in children's daily life has only rarely been investigated. The aims of the present work were (a) to replicate findings from a prior ambulatory assessment study in this area (Könen et al., 2016), (b) to explore the effect of subjective sleep quality on well-being throughout the day, and (c) to examine the reciprocal relation between subjective sleep quality and well-being in more detail. Data from two ambulatory assessment studies with children between 8 and 11 years (N = 108/84, with assessments over 28/21 consecutive days) consistently showed that positive affect was higher and negative affect was lower after nights with better sleep quality, and that the effects of subjective sleep quality were stronger on well-being assessed in the morning compared with later in the day. Results from dynamic structural equation models revealed reciprocal effects of subjective sleep quality and positive affect. Negative affect was not consistently related to worse subsequent sleep quality after controlling for positive affect and prior night's sleep quality. Results suggest a close relation of sleep quality and positive affect, which strengthens the idea behind interventions targeting both, children's sleep and well-being. Differences between children in the dynamic interplay between sleep and affect may be important predictors of long-term outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Stereopsis in children with intermittent exotropia and dissociated vertical deviation.

Dissociated vertical deviation (DVD) is generally associated with early-onset esotropic strabismus and poor stereopsis. It is infrequently observed among patients with intermittent exotropia. In this cohort of 242 consecutive children with intermittent exotropia examined over a 17-year period, 25 (10.3%) were found to have DVD, 13 (52%) of whom had normal stereopsis. In the children with both intermittent exotropia and DVD, disease severity appears to depend more on the quality of stereopsis than on the presence of DVD.

Ambulatory assessment of rumination and worry: Capturing perseverative cognitions in children's daily life.

Rumination and worry are common forms of perseverative cognition in children. Research has started to target perseverative cognitions in the everyday life of children, however, valid measurement instruments reliably capturing rumination and worry in children's daily life are still missing. We conducted two ambulatory assessment studies validating short scales suitable for the measurement of rumination and worry in children's daily life. Results of the first study (N = 110, 8-11 year-olds, 31 days, up to 4 daily measurements) supported a unidimensional structure of the rumination scale. Rumination was associated with negative affect (but not positive affect) on the within- and on the between-person level. On the between-person level, children who ruminated more showed poorer working memory performance. In the second study (N = 84, 8-10 year-olds, 21 days, up to 3 daily measurements), findings of Study 1 were largely replicated. Moreover, we established a unidimensional worry scale in Study 2 reliably capturing worry in children's daily life. Importantly, Study 2 showed that worry and rumination share common variance but can be differentiated in children. On the within-person level, higher levels of worry were associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower levels of positive affect. On the between-person level, worry was associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower working memory performance. Altogether, findings of both studies demonstrated that the short scales had excellent psychometric properties suggesting that they are helpful tools for the assessment of rumination and worry in children's daily life.person level, worry was associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower working memory performance. Altogether, findings of both studies demonstrated that the short scales had excellent psychometric properties suggesting that they are helpful tools for the assessment of rumination and worry in children's daily life (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Homeschooling during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: the role of students' trait self-regulation and task attributes of daily learning tasks for students' daily self-regulation.

As a means to counter the SARS-CoV­2 pandemic, schools were closed throughout Germany between mid-March and end of April 2020. Schooling was translocated to the students' homes where students were supposed to work on learning tasks provided by their teachers. Students' self-regulation and attributes of the learning tasks may be assumed to have played important roles when adapting to this novel schooling situation. They may be predicted to have influenced students' daily self-regulation and hence the independence with which they worked on learning tasks. The present work investigated the role of students' trait self-regulation as well as task difficulty and task enjoyment for students' daily independence from their parents in learning during the homeschooling period. Data on children's trait self-regulation were obtained through a baseline questionnaire filled in by the parents of 535 children (M age  = 9.69, SD age  = 2.80). Parents additionally reported about the daily task difficulty, task enjoyment, and students' learning independence through 21 consecutive daily online questionnaires. The results showed students' trait self-regulation to be positively associated with their daily learning independence. Additionally, students' daily learning independence was shown to be negatively associated with task difficulty and positively with task enjoyment. The findings are discussed with regard to students' daily self-regulation during the homeschooling period. Finally, implications for teaching practice during the pandemic-related school closures are derived.