Expressed emotion in children: associations with sibling relationships

Objective   To investigate the reliability and validity of the expressed emotion (EE) measure, the Pre-school Five Minute Speech Sample (PFMSS), in child-to-child sibling relationships.
Method   A total of 106 boys aged 7–11 were recruited from 12 mainstream primary schools in North Wales. The children completed the PFMSS regarding their sibling and two self-report measures of sibling relationship: the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) and a Child Visual Analogue Scale (CVAS). The parents of 60 participants completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire regarding the behavioural problems of the participating child and his younger sibling.
Results   The PFMSS demonstrated good inter-rater and code–recode reliability. The significant associations between EE dimensions such as relationship, positive comments and critical comments with various components of the SRQ and CVAS provided support for the concurrent validity of the PFMSS. Significantly higher levels of Conflict and Rivalry and significantly lower levels of Warmth/Closeness on the SRQ were reported by children with high EE, demonstrating good discriminant validity for the PFMSS. There was no significant association between the child's EE profile and the behavioural difficulties of both siblings as reported by parents.
Conclusions   The study found that the PFMSS is a valid and reliable measure of child EE. Future research is needed to clarify the concurrent validity of the warmth and initial statement components of the measure as well as the association between EE dimensions and behaviour.     

论高校大学生绿色网络环境的营造

介绍了网络文化的迅猛发展对高校大学生的学习方式、生活方式、交往方式产生了巨大冲击,尤其对大学生的身心发展产生了不可忽视的消极影响。指出在高校信息化校园建设中,要加强网络文明的建设,提倡和重视绿色网络,并且从高校大学生的实际出发,努力营造一个健康、文明、有序、安全、具有活力、没有污染的绿色网络环境。     

An Academic Internist Looks at Euthanasia

This paper points out that to persons unfamiliar with the context and suffering of dying patients, their loved ones, and last, but by no means least, the health care team can only discuss the very concrete question of euthanasia in an abstract way unaware of the fact that this question must, in the final analysis, be differently addressed in different specific patients and under specific circumstances. This paper poses questions which must be addressed and will rarely find a good answer but at least the best among a series of unpalatable options. It again points out the important and legitimate place that emotions play in decision-making.     

Identifying the affected hemisphere by 1H-MR spectroscopy in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and no pathological findings in high resolution MRI

Up to 30% of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) remain without remarkable changes in MRI. In this study we investigated the role of (1)H-MR spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) in lateralizing the affected hemisphere in the mentioned patient group. Twenty-two consecutive patients diagnosed with TLE were investigated by high resolution MRI and (1)H-MRS. We examined the incidence and diagnostic accuracy of temporal metabolite alterations determined by Linear Combination of Model Spectra (L C Model) via water reference. Metabolite values of each hemisphere of TLE patients were compared with healthy controls. Results of metabolite alterations were related to intensive video EEG focus localization. Reduction of N-acetylaspartate + N-acetylaspartyl-glutamate (tNAA) in the affected hemisphere revealed identification in six of nine patients (66%) with unilateral TLE. Group comparison revealed a significant reduction of tNAA (6.1+/-0.8*) in the involved temporal lobe compared with controls (6.67+/-0.4*, P=0.026). Choline levels were significantly increased in the affected hemisphere (1.42+/-0.17*) compared with healthy controls (1.22+/-0.17*, P=0.035). The results of our study show that (1)H-MRS is able to identify the affected hemisphere of MRI negative TLE patients and can be used as an additive tool in multimodal focus localization.     

Comparative study of TRUE Test and Finn Chamber patch test techniques in Singapore

This is a report on a comparative study of the reactivity of TRUE Test and Finn Chamber patch test techniques. 413 patients attending a contact dermatitis clinic in Singapore were simultaneously patch tested with panels 1 and 2 of the TRUE Test standard series and with corresponding allergens (Hermal, Hamburg) using Finn Chambers. The left/right application of the TRUE Test and Finn Chambers was randomized. The concordance of positive patch test reactions to the 2 test techniques was studied. The number of patient with positive reactions was 38% and 42% for TRUE Test and Finn Chamber techniques, respectively (n.s.). The overall concordance of positive patch test reactions was 64% (209/328). 13% (42/328) of positive reactions appeared on TRUE Test only and 24% (77/328) on Finn Chamber only. When only relevant positive reactions were considered, the concordance rate was 67%; 11.6% of positive reactions appeared on TRUE Test only and 21% on Finn Chamber only. Positive reactions to p-phenylenediamine (PPD) and neomycin were more frequent with the Finn Chamber technique than with TRUE Test, i.e., false negative reactions to PPD and neomycin were more likely to occur with TRUE Test. It appeared that the TRUE Test and Finn Chamber techniques were comparable when used for patch testing. However false negative and false positive patch test reactions can occur when using either technique.     

Pathological laughter and crying in patients with multiple system atrophy-cerebellar type.

In the cerebellar type of multiple system atrophy (MSA-C), the burden of pathological changes involves the cerebellum and its associated brainstem structures in the basis pontis and the inferior olivary nucleus, and as a result, the clinical phenotype is dominated early on by the cerebellar dysfunction. We report our clinical and post mortem findings in a patient with MSA-C who exhibited pathological laughter in the absence of any congruent changes of mood. A review of the clinical notes of 27 other patients with MSA-C revealed a problem with pathological laughter, or crying, or both in 9 more patients. Our finding of about 36% occurrence suggests that the problem of dysregulation of emotional expression is more prevalent in MSA-C than the paucity of reports in the literature suggests. Our findings are consistent with the view that the cerebellum and its interconnected structures may be involved in the regulation of emotional expression.     

Selective attention to facial emotion and identity in schizophrenia.

The selective attention to facial emotion and identity was investigated in 12 patients with schizophrenia and 12 healthy participants. Both patients and controls were required to perform two classification tasks (according either to identity or emotion). Two separate values for identity (person A/person B) and for emotion (fear/anger) were used. When the classification task was on one dimension, the other dimension was either correlated, constant, or orthogonal (Garner WR. The Processing of Information and Structure. Potomac, MD: Erlbaum, 1974, Garner WR. Interaction of stimulus dimensions in concept and choice processes. Cognitive Psychology 1976;8:98-123). Results indicated that both patients and healthy participants had an asymmetrical pattern of performance: they were able to selectively attend to the identity of the face presented, regardless of the emotion expressed on the face, but variation in identity interfered with the classification of facial emotion. Moreover, a correlational study indicated that the identity interference on emotion classification for schizophrenic patients covaried with the severity of their negative symptoms. The selective attention competencies in schizophrenia and the independence hypothesis of emotion and face recognition are discussed in the framework of current face recognition models.     

Functional differences among those high and low on a trait measure of psychopathy.

BACKGROUND: It has been established that individuals who score high on measures of psychopathy demonstrate difficulty when performing tasks requiring the interpretation of other's emotional states. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relation of emotion and cognition to individual differences on a standard psychopathy personality inventory (PPI) among a nonpsychiatric population. METHODS: Twenty participants completed the PPI. Following survey completion, a mean split of their scores on the emotional-interpersonal factor was performed, and participants were placed into a high or low group. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected while participants performed a recognition task that required attention be given to either the affect or identity of target stimuli. RESULTS: No significant behavioral differences were found. In response to the affect recognition task, significant differences between high- and low-scoring subjects were observed in several subregions of the frontal cortex, as well as the amygdala. No significant differences were found between the groups in response to the identity recognition condition. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that participants scoring high on the PPI, although not behaviorally distinct, demonstrate a significantly different pattern of neural activity (as measured by blood oxygen level-dependent contrast)in response to tasks that require affective processing. The results suggest a unique neural signature associated with personality differences in a nonpsychiatric population.     

A hole in the T cell repertoire specific for a pigeon cytochrome c related peptide associated with amino acid substitutions on I-Ab molecules.

When C57BL/10(B10) mice were immunized with a pigeon cytochrome c related peptide, 50V (AEGFSYTVANKNKGIT), two helper T cell populations with different specificity were activated. A major T cell population reacted with a 50V analog, 50V54A (AEGFSYTVANKAKGIT), more potently than with the immunogen, 50V, in a heteroclitic fashion, whereas the other minor T cell population responded only to 50V. By contrast, when bm12 mice were immunized with 50V, the minor T cell population responding only to 50V could hardly be demonstrated. The apparent deletion of the minor T cell population in bm12 mice seems to be attributable to negative selection under the influence of I-Abm12 molecules, since the minor T cell population was undetectable in both I-Ab and I-Abm12 restricted T cells from (B10 x bm12)F1 mice. Thus, three mutant points on the I-A molecule in bm12 mice appear to be involved in the seemingly negative selection of the certain T cell repertoire. The present finding demonstrates that a T cell repertoire generated under the influence of a MHC product (Ab) on one parental strain is eliminated by a different MHC product (Abm12) on the other parental strain of F1 cross. The mechanism underlying the apparent negative selection is discussed.