Longitudinal Relationships Between Sibling Behavioral Adjustment and Behavior Problems of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Siblings of children with developmental disabilities were assessed twice, 2 years apart (N = 75 at Time 1, N = 56 at Time 2). Behavioral adjustment of the siblings and their brother or sister with developmental disability was assessed. Comparisons of adjustment for siblings of children with autism, Down syndrome, and mixed etiology mental retardation failed to identify group differences. Regression analysis showed that the behavior problems of the child with developmental disability at Time 1, but not the change in their behavior over time, predicted sibling adjustment over 2 years. There was no evidence that this putative temporal relationship operated bidirectionally: sibling adjustment did not appear to be related to the behavior problems of the children with developmental disabilities over time.     

Direct replication of task‐dependent neural activation patterns during sadness introspection in two independent adolescent samples

Functional neuroimaging results need to replicate to inform sound models of human social cognition and its neural correlates. Introspection, the capacity to reflect on one's thoughts and feelings, is one process required for normative social cognition and emotional functioning. Engaging in introspection draws on a network of brain regions including medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), middle temporal gyri (MTG), and temporoparietal junction (TPJ). Maturation of these regions during adolescence mirrors the behavioral advances seen in adolescent social cognition, but the neural correlates of introspection in adolescence need to replicate to confirm their generalizability and role as a possible mechanism. The current study investigated whether reflecting upon one's own feelings of sadness would activate and replicate similar brain regions in two independent samples of adolescents. Participants included 156 adolescents (50% female) from the California Families Project and 119 adolescent girls from the Pittsburgh Girls Study of Emotion. All participants completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) and underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan while completing the same facial emotion‐processing task at age 16–17 years. Both samples showed similar whole‐brain activation patterns when engaged in sadness introspection and when judging a nonemotional facial feature. Whole‐brain activation was unrelated to ERQ scores in both samples. Neural responsivity to task manipulations replicated in regions recruited for socio‐emotional (mPFC, PCC, MTG, TPJ) and attention (dorsolateral PFC, precentral gyri, superior occipital gyrus, superior parietal lobule) processing. These findings demonstrate robust replication of neural engagement during sadness introspection in two independent adolescent samples.     

Chromosome 7 long arm deletion in myeloid disorders: a narrow breakpoint region in 7q22 defined by molecular mapping

The involvement of the erythropoietin (EPO), plasminogen activator inhibitor type I (PAI1), and multi-drug resistance (MDR2) genes located in chromosomal region 7q21-22 was studied in patients with myeloid disorders and with or without a chromosome 7 abnormality. Separated blood mononuclear cells and granulocytes from 21 patients were used in restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) studies with gene- specific DNA probes. A marked weakness of one of the allelic bands was observed in granulocyte-derived DNA from heterozygous patients with monosomy 7. In four patients with a partial deletion of chromosome 7 long arm (7q-), marked weakness of an allelic band was observed in granulocyte-derived DNA with PAI1 probe (four heterozygous patients) and MDR2 probe (one heterozygous patient), implying deletion of these genes. In contrast, the EPO gene was not deleted in these patients, as demonstrated by the presence of two allelic bands of equal strength in granulocyte-derived DNA (two patients) or by gene dosage estimation (two patients). Two allelic bands of equal strength were also observed in three heterozygous patients with an arbitrary probe (pKV13) located in 7cen-q21.3. Unexpected hemizygosity or hybridization bands were not observed in any patient. We conclude that PAI1 and MDR2 are located distally of EPO in 7q22, and that none of these genes is commonly rearranged in myeloid disorders. The chromosome 7 long arm deletion breakpoint is located in a relatively narrow segment between the PAI1 and EPO genes in different patients. The deletion may involve a specific site in DNA, since the genetic distance between the PAI1 and EPO genes is only 3 cM.     

Isolated congenital tuberculosis otitis in a preterm infant

We report an unusual case of localized congenital tuberculosis otitis in a preterm infant. Unlike disseminated congenital cases, the manifestations of localized otitis are associated with a triad of signs: (i) regional lymphadenopathy in the absence of typical systemic features of tuberculosis; (ii) delayed onset of presentation; and (iii) refractory otitis unresponsive to conventional antimicrobial agents. The need for greater diligence in looking for neonatal tuberculosis is emphasized, especially in an ethnic or socioeconomic environment where the disease is prevalent. Congenital tuberculosis, otitis, preterm
PC Ng, Department of Paediatrics, Level 6, Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong     

The relationship between air particulate levels and upper respiratory disease in soldiers deployed to Bosnia (1997-1998)

The objective of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between levels of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 microns (PM10) and upper respiratory disease (URD) rates in soldiers deployed to Bosnia in 1997 and 1998. PM10 levels were divided into quartiles and upper and lower 50th percentiles. When all camps were combined, there was a statistically significant association between the PM10 maximum level and URD rates based on Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests, and the Pearson correlation was statistically significant. Although the relationship was not statistically significant in analyses conducted of the individual camps, the average URD rate increased with each quartile of PM10 maximum exposure. There was no statistically significant association between PM10 average exposure and URD rates, although the average URD rate increased with each quartile of PM10 average exposure. Although these results are not conclusive, there appears to be a relationship between PM10 levels and URD rates in soldiers deployed to Bosnia in 1997 and 1998.     

Do challenging behaviors affect staff psychological well-being? Issues of causality and mechanism

Little explicit attention has been given to the potential impact of client challenging behavior on staff psychological well-being. Relevant research was critically reviewed according to criteria required to establish a causal relationship. Reasonable evidence was found for an association between challenging behavior and staff stress, and some evidence for temporal precedence. However, few researchers had analyzed data enabling alternative explanations to be eliminated. Thus, empirical evidence of a causal relationship between challenging behavior and staff stress is weak. A fourth causality criterion was addressed by suggestion of a mechanism by which challenging behavior may have its effects. I propose that staff negative emotional reactions mediate the impact of challenging behaviors on staff stress and evaluate research evidence for this theory.     

Behavior problems of children with autism, parental self-efficacy, and mental health

Self-efficacy has been identified in the general parenting literature as an important variable affecting parent outcomes. In the present study, 26 mothers and 20 fathers of children with autism reported on their self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression. Teachers rated the behavior problems of the children. Regression analyses showed that self-efficacy mediated the effect of child behavior problems on mothers' anxiety and depression, but there was no evidence that it functioned as a mediator for fathers. However, there was evidence that self-efficacy moderated the effect of child behavior problems on fathers' anxiety. No evidence for the moderating effect of self-efficacy was apparent for mothers. Methodological issues and the theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Granule neurons generated during development extend divergent axon collaterals to hippocampal area CA3

cAMP is a ubiquitous second messenger, which acts mainly through specific protein kinases that consist of two regulatory and two catalytic subunits. An unsolved problem in cAMP physiology is how it can regulate so many cellular functions through this simple enzymatic cascade. A tentative explanation is related to the different biochemical properties of the four regulatory subunit isoforms (RI alpha and RI beta, RII alpha and RII beta) and to their differential cell and tissue distribution. For example, detergent insoluble aggregates of RI alpha are present in some cholinergic neurons of the adult rat brain. Rat brains, from the embryonic stage to old age, were examined for the presence of highly concentrated clusters of RI alpha. They are present only in some neurons of restricted brain areas, for a limited time span. During development, labeled neurons appear in different brain areas after neuron migration, at a stage of advanced functional maturation. They have their greatest expression after birth but before sexual maturation, and then they slowly decline, persisting only in a few brain areas throughout life. The first appearance, time course, and eventual disappearance is different in the different brain areas: RI alpha clusters appear in brainstem, hypothalamus, and accessory olfactory bulb at a late embryonic stage; in the main olfactory bulb, hippocampus, and medial thalamic nuclei shortly after birth; and in the cortex as late as in the third and fourth postnatal week. During the rat's lifespan, the distribution of these peculiar RI alpha clusters undergo changes that may contribute to shape neuronal responses differentially to agents modifying cAMP levels.