Impact of vaccination on the epidemiology and prognosis of pneumonia.

Adults with lung diseases, comorbidities, smokers, and elderly are at risk of lung infections and their consequences. Community-acquired pneumonia happen in more than 1% of people each year. Possible pathogens of community-acquired pneumonia include viruses, pneumococcus and atypicals. The CDC recommend vaccination throughout life to provide immunity, but vaccination rates in adults are poor. Tetravalent and trivalent influenza vaccine is designed annually during the previous summer for the next season. The available vaccines include inactivated, adjuvant, double dose, and attenuated vaccines. Their efficacy depends on the variant of viruses effectively responsible for the outbreak each year, and other reasons. Regarding the pneumococcal vaccine, there coexist the old polysaccharide 23-valent vaccine with the new conjugate 10-valent and 13-valent conjugate vaccines. Conjugate vaccines demonstrate their usefulness to reduce the incidence of pneumococcal pneumonia due to the serotypes present in the vaccine. Whooping cough is still present, with high morbidity and mortality rates in young infants. Adult's pertussis vaccine is available, it could contribute to the control of whooping cough in the most susceptible, but it is not present yet in the calendar of adults around the world. About 10 vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been developed in a short time, requiring emergency use authorization. A high rate of vaccination was observed in most of the countries. Booster doses became frequent after the loss of effectiveness against new variants. The future of this vaccine is yet to be written.

Skin Conductance Responses to a Discrete Threat in Virtual Reality: Associations with Psychopathy and Anxiety.

People with high levels of psychopathic traits are often described as fearless and lacking in emotional depth, particularly when evaluating threats in their environments. Skin conductance responsivity (SCR) to negative emotional stimuli represents a robust autonomic correlate of conduct problem behavior in children (Fanti et al., in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 100, 98-107, 2019). However, studies that have examined threat-related processing in youth with conduct problems have tended to use a variety of negative stimuli that might induce various and unspecific negative emotions. Few studies have taken in to account the moderating effects of anxiety on the relationship of distinct psychopathic traits (e.g., narcissism, callousness, impulsivity) with SCR to a fear inducing stimulus. In this study, we examined SCR to a virtual reality rollercoaster drop - that is, a discrete fear inducing event - in a sample of 75 youths (61 males; M = 14 years, SD = 1.4) enrolled in a non-mainstream school. The rollercoaster drop was used to more clearly examine an event-related response to a discrete threat, rather than examining SCR throughout the rollercoaster ride. We used the teacher-reported Antisocial Process Screening Device (Frick & Hare, in Antisocial process screening device: APSD. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems, 2001) to examine the relations of distinct psychopathic traits with SCR and self-reported anxiety. Lower anxiety was associated with higher callousness, but only in youths with low SCR to discrete threat. These findings suggest that fear and anxiety show complex and interactive relations with distinct psychopathic traits.

Explaining the relation between early mind-mindedness and children's mentalizing abilities: The development of an observational preschool assessment.

The aim of this research was to develop a new observation-based measure for assessing caregivers' mind-mindedness in the preschool years and investigate whether this measure could explain the link between mothers' early appropriate mind-related comments and children's later mentalizing abilities. The new measure was developed using a sample of mothers and 44-month-olds (N = 171), characterizing mind-mindedness in terms of (a) solicited child involvement, (b) adaptive communication, and (c) internal state talk. These indices were positively related to established assessments of mind-mindedness at 8, 44, and 61 months. Positive associations were also observed with children's later mentalizing abilities. The new measure of mind-mindedness did not, however, mediate the relation between mind-mindedness in the first year of life and children's mentalizing abilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Callous-unemotional traits and fearlessness: A cardiovascular psychophysiological perspective in two adolescent samples using virtual reality.

There has been a longstanding debate about the link between callous-unemotional traits and fearlessness. However, biological evidence for a relationship in adolescents is lacking. Using two adolescent samples, we measured emotional reactivity and cardiac measures of sympathetic (pre-ejection period) and parasympathetic (respiratory sinus arrhythmia) reactivity during 3D TV and virtual reality fear induction. Study 1 included 62 community adolescents from a stratified sample. Study 2 included 60 adolescents from Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties schools. Results were consistent across both studies. Adolescents with high callous-unemotional traits showed coactivation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Consistent with these results, youths with callous-unemotional traits self-reported that they felt more in control after the fear induction. Thus, in both samples, youth with callous-unemotional traits displayed a physiological and emotional profile suggesting they maintained control during fear induction. Therefore, it is proposed here that a shift in thinking of youth with callous-unemotional traits as fearless to youth with callous-unemotional traits are better able to manage fearful situations, may be more appropriate.

The impact of individual differences on jurors' note taking during trials and recall of trial evidence, and the association between the type of evidence recalled and verdicts.

Although note taking during trials is known to enhance jurors' recall of trial evidence, little is known about whether individual differences in note taking underpin this effect. Individual differences in handwriting speed, working memory, and attention may influence juror's note taking. This, in turn, may influence their recall. It may also be the case that if jurors note down and recall more incriminating than non-incriminating evidence (or vice versa), then this may predict their verdict. Three studies examined the associations between the aforementioned individual differences, the amount of critical evidence jurors noted down during a trial, the amount of critical evidence they recalled, and the verdicts they reached. Participants had their handwriting speed, short-term memory, working memory, and attention assessed. They then watched a trial video (some took notes), reached a verdict, and recalled as much trial information as possible. We found that jurors with faster handwriting speed (Study 1), higher short-term memory capacity (Study 2), and higher sustained attention capacity (Study 3) noted down, and later recalled, the most critical trial evidence. However, working memory storage capacity, information processing ability (Study 2) and divided attention (Study 3) were not associated with note taking or recall. Further, the type of critical evidence jurors predominantly recalled predicted their verdicts, such that jurors who recalled more incriminating evidence were more likely to reach a guilty verdict, and jurors who recalled more non-incriminating evidence were less likely to do so. The implications of these findings are discussed.

The Impact of Prior Trial Experience on Mock Jurors' Note Taking During Trials and Recall of Trial Evidence.

Although jurors' recall of trial evidence is often incomplete and inaccurate, courts rely on jurors' ability to remember trial evidence to reach just verdicts. Note taking has been found to enhance jurors' memory of trial evidence. However, the impact of serving on multiple trials on juror note taking and recall has not been examined. Findings from the educational literature demonstrate that students who are more experienced at note taking will take more notes and recall more lecture material. Thus, the current study is the first to investigate if similar benefits are obtained in jurors. Sixty participants attended two experimental sessions and acted as mock jurors. In each session, they watched one of two trial videos, a criminal and a civil trial (order of trials was counterbalanced). All jurors were permitted to take notes whilst watching the trials. Lastly, they were asked to reach a verdict and recall as much trial evidence as they could remember (none of the jurors had access to their notes during the recall task). Jurors wrote down more correct and critical evidence during the second session when compared to the first session. However, there was no statistically significant difference between session one and session two with regards to the quantity of correct and critical evidence jurors recalled. Thus, the present study demonstrates that trial experience enhances mock jurors' note taking, however, there is no additional enhancement regarding recall.

Mothers' Early Mind-Mindedness Predicts Educational Attainment in Socially and Economically Disadvantaged British Children.

Relations between mothers' mind-mindedness (appropriate and nonattuned mind-related comments) at 8 months (N = 206), and children's educational attainment at ages 7 (n = 158) and 11 (n = 156) were investigated in a British sample. Appropriate mind-related comments were positively correlated with reading and mathematics performance at both ages but only in the low-socioeconomic status (SES) group. Path analyses showed that in the low-SES group, appropriate mind-related comments directly predicted age-11 reading performance, with age-4 verbal ability mediating the relation between appropriate mind-related comments and age-7 reading. In contrast, maternal sensitivity and infant-mother attachment security did not predict children's educational attainment. These findings are discussed in terms of genetic and environmental contributions to reading and mathematics performance.

Parental Adjustment following Pediatric Burn Injury: The Role of Guilt, Shame, and Self-Compassion.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between factors: guilt, shame, self-compassion, and parents' psychological adjustment to their child's burn injury. Methods: Participants were 91 parents and primary caregivers (63 mothers, 25 fathers, 3 other) of 71 children recruited on the ward or at outpatient clinics during the first 8 weeks following their child's burn injury. In 20 cases, both parents participated, while for 51 children only one parent participated. Participants completed questionnaires which assessed adjustment (symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress syndrome [PTSS]) as well as guilt, shame, and self-compassion. Results: Multilevel analysis indicated that feelings of guilt and shame were associated with poorer adjustment in parents, while parents who rated high in self-compassion reported fewer symptoms of depression and PTSS. Guilt and shame showed a differing pattern of effects with shame explaining more variance for anxiety and depression. Length of hospitalization predicted PTSS; however, the remaining injury factors (size of burn, requiring a skin graft) were unrelated to parental adjustment. Conclusions: Health-care professionals should pay close attention to families' subjective injury experiences. Screening for psychological distress should be offered to all families regardless of the size and severity of the burn injury.

CAPE for measuring callous-unemotional traits in disadvantaged families: a cross-sectional validation study.

Background: Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are important for designating a distinct subgroup of children and adolescents with behaviour problems.  As a result, CU traits are now used to form the specifier "with Limited Prosocial Emotions" that is part of the diagnostic criteria for the Conduct Disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 th Edition (DSM-5) and International Classification of Diseases 11 th Revision (ICD-11).  Given this inclusion in major classification systems, it is important to develop and test methods for assessing these traits that can be used in clinical settings.  The present study aimed to validate a clinician rating of CU traits, the Clinical Assessment of Prosocial Emotions, Version 1.1 (CAPE 1.1), in a sample of hard-to-reach families referred to a government program designed to prevent the development of behaviour problems in high risk families. Methods: Clinical ratings of children were obtained from 34 families of children ages 5 to 18 (M=13.5; SD=3.2). The ratings on the CAPE 1.1 were based on interviews with both parent and child. Results: Of the sample, 21% (100% male) met the diagnostic cut-off for the specifier according to the CAPE 1.1, and CAPE 1.1 scores were associated with parent ratings of CU traits, psychopathic traits, and externalising behaviours. CAPE 1.1 ratings were also associated with risk for violence obtained from case files.  Conclusions: These findings provide preliminary evidence for the validity of the CAPE 1.1 as clinician rated measure of CU traits.

Strong evidence that callous-unemotional traits are not related to risk-taking task performance.

A hypothesized association between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and risk-taking may account for the link between CU traits and real-world risky behaviors, such as illegal behavior. Prior findings show that reward and punishment responsivity differs in relation to CU traits, but is not associated with general risk-taking. However this has only been examined previously with one task, only with a frequentist framework, and with limited interpretation. Here, we expand to another task and to Bayesian analyses. A total of 657 participants (52% female) completed the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (essentially a gambling task), and the Stoplight driving task, which repeatedly presents participants with riskier or less risky choices to make while driving. We found strong evidence for the null model, in which there is no relation between the two risk-taking tasks and CU traits (R 2 = 0.001; BF 10 = 1/60.22). These results suggest that general risk-taking does not underlie the real-world risky behavior of people with CU traits. Alternative explanations include a different method of valuing certain outcomes.

Proactive and Reactive Aggression Subgroups in Typically Developing Children: The Role of Executive Functioning, Psychophysiology, and Psychopathy.

This study aimed to assess whether groups of aggressive children differed on psychopathic traits, and neuropsychological and neurobiological measures of prefrontal functioning consistent with the objectives of their aggression-reactive or proactive. Including 110 typically developing children (9-11 years), a latent class analysis identified a low aggression group, a high reactive aggression group, and a mixed (high reactive and proactive) aggression group. Results show high callous-unemotional traits and low resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia increased the likelihood of children being in the mixed aggression group, when compared to the reactive and low aggression groups. However, deficits in planning and inhibitory control increased the likelihood of children being in the reactive aggression group, when compared to the mixed and low aggression groups. Executive functioning deficits did not differentiate the mixed group from the low aggression group. These findings highlight psychobiological and executive functioning differences that may explain heterogeneity in childhood aggression.

International ERS/ESICM/ESCMID/ALAT guidelines for the management of hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia

The most recent European guidelines and task force reports on hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) were published almost 10 years ago. Since then, further randomised clinical trials of HAP and VAP have been conducted and new information has become available. Studies of epidemiology, diagnosis, empiric treatment, response to treatment, new antibiotics or new forms of antibiotic administration and disease prevention have changed old paradigms. In addition, important differences between approaches in Europe and the USA have become apparent.The European Respiratory Society launched a project to develop new international guidelines for HAP and VAP. Other European societies, including the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, were invited to participate and appointed their representatives. The Latin American Thoracic Association was also invited.A total of 15 experts and two methodologists made up the panel. Three experts from the USA were also invited (Michael S. Niederman, Marin Kollef and Richard Wunderink).Applying the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology, the panel selected seven PICO (population-intervention-comparison-outcome) questions that generated a series of recommendations for HAP/VAP diagnosis, treatment and prevention.(AU)

Proof of concept of a mind-mindedness intervention for mothers hospitalized for severe mental illness.

Studies 1 and 2 investigated how maternal severe mental illness (SMI) related to mothers' mind-mindedness (appropriate and nonattuned mind-related comments). Study 1 showed that mothers with SMI (n = 50) scored lower than psychologically well mothers for both appropriate and nonattuned comments, whereas mothers with SMI in Study 2 (n = 22) had elevated levels of nonattuned comments. Study 2 also tested the efficacy of a single-session video-feedback intervention to facilitate mind-mindedness in mothers with SMI. The intervention was associated with a decrease in nonattuned comments, such that on discharge, mothers did not differ from psychologically well controls. Study 3 assessed infant-mother attachment security in a small subset of intervention-group mothers from Study 2 (n = 9) and a separate group of standard care mothers (n = 30) at infant mean age 17.1 months (SD = 2.1). Infants whose mothers completed the intervention were more likely to be securely attached and less likely to be classified as insecure-disorganized than those of mothers who received standard care. We conclude that a single session of video-feedback to facilitate mind-mindedness in mothers with SMI may have benefits for mother-infant interaction into the second year of life.

How does restricted and repetitive behavior relate to language and cognition in typical development?

Relations between restricted and repetitive behavior at age 26 months and children's concurrent (N = 203) and later (n = 161) social cognition and language development were investigated. Restricted and repetitive behavior was assessed using two scales: sensory and motor repetitive behaviors and rigidity/routines/restricted interests. Language was assessed at ages 26 and 51 months; social cognition was assessed at ages 26 (symbolic play) and 51 and 61 months (theory of mind). Sensory and motor repetitive behavior was negatively related to children's (a) language performance at 26 and 51 months, (b) instructed symbolic play at 26 months, and (c) theory of mind performance at 51 and 61 months. Path analyses showed that children's sensory and motor repetitive behavior at age 26 months was related to lower receptive verbal ability and theory of mind at 51 months, which led to lower theory of mind at 61 months. Rigidity/routines/restricted interests at 26 months were unrelated to concurrent and later social cognition and language. These results are discussed in terms of the pathways via which sensory and motor repetitive behavior might impact negatively on development.

Variability in colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and its effect on mycorrhizal dependency of improved and unimproved soybean cultivars.

Breeding selection of germplasm under fertilized conditions may reduce the frequency of genes that promote mycorrhizal associations. This study was developed to compare variability in mycorrhizal colonization and its effect on mycorrhizal dependency (MD) in improved soybean genotypes (I-1 and I-2) with differential tolerance to drought stress, and in unimproved soybean genotypes (UI-3 and UI-4). As inoculum, a mixed native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was isolated from soybean roots, showing spores mostly of the species Funneliformis mosseae. At 20 days, unimproved genotypes followed by I-2, showed an increase in arbuscule formation, but not in I-1. At 40 days, mycorrhizal plants showed an increase in nodulation, this effect being more evident in unimproved genotypes. Mycorrhizal dependency, evaluated as growth and biochemical parameters from oxidative stress was increased in unimproved and I-2 since 20 days, whereas in I-1, MD increased at 40 days. We cannot distinguish significant differences in AMF colonization and MD between unimproved and I-2. However, variability among improved genotypes was observed. Our results suggest that selection for improved soybean genotypes with good and rapid AMF colonization, particularly high arbuscule/hyphae ratio could be a useful strategy for the development of genotypes that optimize AMF contribution to cropping systems.

Adolescents as perpetrators of aggression within the family.

Although family violence perpetrated by juveniles has been acknowledged as a potentially serious form of violence for over 30years, scientific studies have been limited to examining the incidence and form of home violence. The present study examined the prevalence of family aggression as perpetrated by youths; we examined groups drawn from clinic-referred and forensic samples. Two audits of case files were conducted to systematically document aggression perpetrated by referred youths toward their family members. The purpose of the first audit was fourfold: i) to identify the incidence of the perpetration of family aggression among clinical and forensic samples; ii) to identify whether there were any reports of weapon use during aggressive episodes; iii) to identify the target of family aggression (parents or siblings); and iv) to identify the form of aggression perpetrated (verbal or physical). The second audit aimed to replicate the findings and to show that the results were not due to differences in multiple deprivation indices, clinical diagnosis of disruptive behavior disorders, and placement into alternative care. A sampling strategy was designed to audit the case notes of 25 recent forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) cases and 25 demographically similar clinic-referred CAMHS cases in the first audit; and 35 forensic cases and 35 demographically similar clinic-referred CAMHS cases in the second audit. Using ordinal chi-square, the forensic sample (audit 1=64%; audit 2=82.9%) had greater instances of family violence than the clinical sample (audit 1=32%; audit 2=28.6%). They were more likely to use a weapon (audit 1=69%; audit 2=65.5%) compared to the clinical sample (audit 1 and 2=0%). Examining only the aggressive groups, there was more perpetration of aggression toward parents (audit 1, forensic=92%, clinical=75%; audit 2, forensic=55.17%, clinical=40%) than toward siblings (audit 1, forensic=43%, clinical=50%; audit 2, forensic=27.58%, clinical=30%). Based on these findings, we would urge professionals who work within the child mental health, particularly the forensic area, to systematically collect reports of aggression perpetrated toward family members.

The habitual female offender inside: How psychopathic traits predict chronic prison violence.

Psychopathy is considered one of the best predictors of violence and prison misconducts and is arguably an important clinical construct in the correctional setting. However, we tested whether psychopathy can be used to predict misconducts in prison environments for women as has been done for men. To date, few studies exist that examine and validate this association in female offender samples. The present study included 182 ethnically diverse female offenders. The aim was to prospectively predict violent and nonviolent misconducts over a 9-month period using official records of prior violent criminal history (e.g., homicide, manslaughter, assault), and self-report measures of psychopathy, impulsivity, and empathy. Using negative binomial regression, we found that past violent criminal history, and callous and antisocial psychopathic traits were predictors of violent misconducts, whereas antisocial psychopathic traits and impulsivity best predicted nonviolent misconducts. Although empathy was negatively associated with psychopathy it was not a significant predictor of violent or nonviolent misconducts. Statistical models, which included impulsivity, were considered the most parsimonious at predicting misconducts. Our findings demonstrate how risk-factors found to be reliable in male offender samples, such as psychopathic traits, impulsivity, and past violent criminal history, generalize to female offenders for predicting nonviolent and violent misconducts. One notable difference is the importance of callous psychopathic traits when predicting chronic violent misconducts by female offenders. In sum, there are more similarities in psychopathy and impulsivity than differences in the prediction of misconducts among men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record

Callous-unemotional traits and impulsivity: distinct longitudinal relations with mind-mindedness and understanding of others.

BACKGROUND: Problems in understanding other people's mental states may relate to distinct personality traits that are associated with early externalizing behavior. A distinction between theory of mind (ToM) and empathy has proven important in shedding light on the problems in understanding other minds encountered by children high on callous-unemotional (CU) traits and exhibiting impulsivity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether children's early ToM and emotion understanding abilities predicted CU traits and impulsivity at age 10. A further aim was to explore whether the quality of the parent-child relationship very early in the development indirectly or directly predicted the children's CU traits and impulsivity. METHOD: We examined whether ToM and empathy skills might differentially relate to personality traits associated with externalizing behaviors (i.e., impulsivity and CU traits). We examined these relations over time in a longitudinal cohort of 96 boys and girls using follow-back analyses, incorporating measures of maternal mind-mindedness (appropriate mind-related talk) to examine the possible role of parent-child interaction quality. RESULTS: Appropriate mind-related talk indirectly predicted CU traits (at age 10 years) via its effect on children's emotion understanding. ToM predicted impulsive/irresponsible traits, but ceased to be significant when controlling for externalizing behaviors. CONCLUSION: The present findings demonstrate that parents who remark appropriately on their infant's mental states may help the child to understand emotions and may mold an empathic understanding of others, thereby preventing CU traits.

Types of Relational Aggression in Girls Are Differentiated by Callous-Unemotional Traits, Peers and Parental Overcontrol.

Adolescent girls often perpetrate aggression by gossiping and spreading rumours about others, by attempting to ruin relationships and by manipulating and excluding others. Further, males and females engage in reactive and proactive relational aggression differently. In this study, we examined the individual, peer and parental contextual factors that best explained the use of reactive and proactive relational aggression in girls. Female participants (n = 614; ages 11-18 years) completed questionnaires on aggression, callous-unemotional (CU) traits, delinquency, peer delinquency, gender composition of their peer group, resistance to peer influence and perceived parental overcontrol. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the effects of individual, peer- and parent-related variables on the likelihood of being classified as a low aggressor, reactive aggressor or proactive/reactive aggressor. Girls in the combined reactive/proactive aggression group were younger, had greater CU traits, a lower proportion of male peers and greater perception of parental control than both the reactive and low aggressive groups. Both highly aggressive groups were more delinquent and had greater peer delinquency than the low aggressive group. This study suggests those girls who show relational aggression for the purpose of gaining status and revenge feel restrained by their parents and may gravitate toward relationships that support their behaviour.