Care to Share? Children's Cognitive Skills and Concealing Responses to a Parent

Children begin to use methods of concealment to achieve interpersonal goals at an early age, and the ability to conceal information requires cognitive skills to be effective. Despite research on children's lie telling, there is little known about the “spectrum” of concealment methods that children use, which can range from full disclosures to active concealment through the use of deception. This study focused on children's use of concealment methods in a prosocial situation, in relation to their cognitive ability. Children aged 4–11 years (N = 106) completed several cognitive activities that measured theory of mind (ToM), working memory, and inhibitory control with an experimenter and created a surprise gift for a parent. After the activities were complete, children were told to keep the surprise gift a secret until it was ready, then they were sent back to their parents, who questioned them about their activities. Children were coded based on their concealment behavior (full disclosers, partial concealers, passive concealers, and active concealers) in response to their parents’ questions. A discriminant function analysis indicated that age and children's cognitive scores (first‐order ToM, second‐order ToM, and working memory) differentiated between children who disclosed the secret about the surprise gift and children who used partial‐to‐active concealment methods to keep the secret. Results suggest that younger children, and children with lower ToM and working memory were more likely to disclose the secret. Findings suggest that children employ various methods of concealment to keep a prosocial secret from a parent and that higher cognitive ability is associated with the tendency to use concealment methods in social interactions.     

Evaluation of Osteopontin as a Biomarker in Hepatocellular Carcinomas in Egyptian Patients with Chronic HCV Cirrhosis

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a high incidence disease in Egypt with a poor prognosis andsurvival. Biomarkers are important for diagnosis of HCC at an early stage. Osteopontin (OPN), a glycoprotein secreted bymacrophages, osteoblasts, and T cells, is also highly expressed in a variety of tumors, such as examples in the breast, colon,and stomach. The present study aimed to correlate the serum level of OPN in HCV-positive hepatocellular carcinomapatients, with OPN expression in tumor and non-tumor liver tissues in order to identify its efficacy as a biomarkerfor diagnosis. Material and Methods: Out of total of 146 patients, 80 were selected for inclusion in the study. Bloodsamples as well as specimens of tumor and non-tumor liver tissue were collected. In addition, blood samples from 20healthy volunteers were obtained as controls. Serum OPN and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were evaluated by ELISA forHCC and control groups. OPN and AFP gene expression were examined by real-time PCR, after homogenization andDNA extraction from serum samples and liver tissues. Results: It was found that serum OPN levels were significantlyhigher in the HCC group compared to normal group (P=0.009), with a strong positive correlation with AFP expression.However, there was no significant difference between OPN expression in tumor and non-tumor liver tissue. Conclusion:Serum OPN is highly suggested to be a professional candidate for HCC early diagnosis, with a diagnostic ability andaccuracy equal or higher than for AFP.     

Human parvovirus 4 infection, Cameroon

In a post hoc analysis of samples collected in 2009, we determined seroprevalence of parvovirus 4 (PARV4) among elderly Cameroonians. PARV4 seropositivity was associated with receipt of intravenous antimalarial drugs, intramuscular streptomycin, or an intramuscular contraceptive, but not hepatitis C virus seropositivity. Findings suggest parenteral acquisition of some PARV4 infections.