Real-time teaching and learning: Caregivers teaching infants to descend stairs.

Learning to descend stairs requires motor and cognitive capacities on the part of infants and opportunities for practice and assurance of safety offered by caregivers. The American Academy of Pediatrics prescribes the age strategy to teach toddlers to safely descend stairs but without much consideration for individual differences in infants' skills or caregivers' techniques. The purpose of this study was to observe the natural ways in which caregivers teach infants to descend stairs at home and the extent to which infants abide. Of particular interest was to examine the dynamic nature of caregivers' teaching and infants' learning over the session with attention to individual differences. Dyads (N = 59) were videorecorded on Zoom for 10 min interacting on stairs at home in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Italy, and Spain. Infants (n = 30 girls, 29 boys; 13-month-olds ± 1 week) were novice walkers (M = 2.04 months walking experience). Caregivers used a variety of teaching strategies and focused on "backing" and "scooting." Infants were more likely to heed caregivers' guidance when caregivers provided hands-on support and verbal encouragement suggesting infants were engaged and responsive to caregivers' overtures. Infants' walking experience predicted change in descent strategy over the session. Although infants did not show evidence of learning over the session, consistent caregiver instruction suggested caregivers were persistent, if not effective, teachers. Teaching and learning motor skills in a potentially risky task creates a unique opportunity for interaction, allowing infants and caregivers to learn from one another. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development: where are we?

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has proved to be one of the most challenging infectious diseases in the modern era, and despite several countermeasures to lessen its impact, the spread of the virus is still affecting most countries. This renders the goal of active immunization of the population through vaccination a worldwide public health priority. In fact, only when efficient vaccination programs will be successfully implemented, a return to pre-pandemic normality can be considered. The scientific community has made a tremendous effort to blow the lid off the pathogenesis of the disease, and unprecedented efforts are ongoing with governments, private organizations, and academics working together to expeditiously develop safe and efficacious vaccines. Previous research efforts in the development of vaccines for other coronaviruses (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 1 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus) as well other emerging viruses have opened the door for exploiting several strategies to design a new vaccine against the pandemic virus. Indeed, in a few months, a stunning number of vaccines have been proposed, and almost 50 putative vaccine candidates have entered clinical trials. The different vaccine candidates use different vaccine development platforms, from inactivated whole virus vaccine to subunit vaccine, nucleic acid, and vectored vaccines. In this review, we describe strengths, flaws, and potential pitfalls of each approach to understand their chances of success.

A tumor deconstruction platform identifies definitive end points in the evaluation of drug responses.

Tumor heterogeneity and the presence of drug-sensitive and refractory populations within the same tumor are almost never assessed in the drug discovery pipeline. Such incomplete assessment of drugs arising from spatial and temporal tumor cell heterogeneity reflects on their failure in the clinic and considerable wasted costs in the drug discovery pipeline. Here we report the derivation of a flow cytometry-based tumor deconstruction platform for resolution of at least 18 discrete tumor cell fractions. This is achieved through concurrent identification, quantification and analysis of components of cancer stem cell hierarchies, genetically instable clones and differentially cycling populations within a tumor. We also demonstrate such resolution of the tumor cytotype to be a potential value addition in drug screening through definitive cell target identification. Additionally, this real-time definition of intra-tumor heterogeneity provides a convenient, incisive and analytical tool for predicting drug efficacies through profiling perturbations within discrete tumor cell subsets in response to different drugs and candidates. Consequently, possible applications in informed therapeutic monitoring and drug repositioning in personalized cancer therapy would complement rational design of new candidates besides achieving a re-evaluation of existing drugs to derive non-obvious combinations that hold better chances of achieving remission.

Dual cases of type 1 narcolepsy with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Cases of narcolepsy in association with psychotic features have been reported but never fully characterized. These patients present diagnostic and treatment challenges and may shed new light on immune associations in schizophrenia. METHOD: Our case series was gathered at two narcolepsy specialty centers over a 9-year period. A questionnaire was created to improve diagnosis of schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder in patients with narcolepsy. Pathophysiological investigations included full HLA Class I and II typing, testing for known systemic and intracellular/synaptic neuronal antibodies, recently described neuronal surface antibodies, and immunocytochemistry on brain sections to detect new antigens. RESULTS: Ten cases were identified, one with schizoaffective disorder, one with delusional disorder, two with schizophreniform disorder, and 6 with schizophrenia. In all cases, narcolepsy manifested first in childhood or adolescence, followed by psychotic symptoms after a variable interval. These patients had auditory hallucinations, which was the most differentiating clinical feature in comparison to narcolepsy patients without psychosis. Narcolepsy therapy may have played a role in triggering psychotic symptoms but these did not reverse with changes in narcolepsy medications. Response to antipsychotic treatment was variable. Pathophysiological studies did not reveal any known autoantibodies or unusual brain immunostaining pattern. No strong HLA association outside of HLA DQB1*06:02 was found, although increased DRB3*03 and DPA1*02:01 was notable. CONCLUSION: Narcolepsy can occur in association with schizophrenia, with significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Dual cases maybe under diagnosed, as onset is unusually early, often in childhood. Narcolepsy and psychosis may share an autoimmune pathology; thus, further investigations in larger samples are warranted.

In vitro anti-metastatic activity of enterolactone, a mammalian lignan derived from flax lignan, and down-regulation of matrix metalloproteinases in MCF-7 and MDA MB 231 cell lines.

BACKGROUND: Actin cytoskeleton is involved in actin-based cell adhesion, cell motility, and matrix metalloproteinases(MMPs) MMP2, MMP9, MMP11 and MMP14 are responsible for cell invasion in breast cancer metastasis. The dietary intake of lignan from flax seed gets converted to enterolactone (EL) and enterodiol in the human system. Here we show that the enterolactone has a very significant anti-metastatic activity as demonstrated by its ability to inhibit adhesion and invasion and migration in MCF-7 and MDA MB231 cell lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Migration inhibition assay, actin-based cell motility assay along with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for MMP2, MMP9, MMP11 and MMP14 genes were performed in MCF-7 and MDA MB 231 cell lines. RESULTS: Enterolactone seems to inhibit actin-based cell motility as evidenced by confocal imaging and photo documentation of cell migration assay. The results are supported by the observation that the enterolactone in vitro significantly down-regulates the metastasis-related metalloproteinases MMP2, MMP9 and MMP14 gene expressions. No significant alteration in the MMP11 gene expression was found. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore we suggest that the anti-metastatic activity of EL is attributed to its ability to inhibit cell adhesion, cell invasion and cell motility. EL affects normal filopodia and lamellipodia structures, polymerization of actin filaments at their leading edges and thereby inhibits actin-based cell adhesion and cell motility. The process involves multiple force-generating mechanisms of actin filaments i.e. protrusion, traction, deadhesion and tail-retraction. By down-regulating the metastasis-related MMP2, MMP9 and MMP14 gene expressions, EL may be responsible for cell invasion step of metastasis.

Understanding of tobacco and lung cancer among medical students in Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences (KUSMS).

BACKGROUND: Often, lung cancer is diagnosed at terminal stages. Poor awareness about the symptoms or risk factors of lung cancer among medics may be one of the factors for delayed diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: We explored the knowledge of medical students and their behavior with the patients of lung cancer. METHOD: Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used for data collection from 153 medical student of Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences from December 2011 to May 2012. RESULTS: Among the results, eighty-nine students had over 80% knowledge of the 14 cancer warning signs, among them 83% knew the nine risk factors for lung cancer. Twenty-three students told lung cancer can be hereditary. Sixty five percent of all participants believed that lung cancer can be detected at early stage; of them 81% told that it can be treated. About 24% of the total students were current or exsmokers and about half of them believed that lung cancer does not occur in light smokers. Only 10% have heard of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Nepal. CONCLUSION: Study finds that all medical students who know about any cancers may not necessarily have knowledge about lung cancers. Their perception about the cause of lung cancer may be influenced by their smoking behavior and there was little knowledge of public health measures for smoking control. Awareness about national policies needs to be increased.

First Report of Leaf Spot Caused by Phoma costarricensis on Delphinium malabaricum in Western Ghats of India.

Delphinium L. is a genus of more than 300 species of perennial flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae and is native throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In India, 24 species are found mainly in the Himalayan regions. Delphinium malabaricum (Huth) Munz is the only species of the genus endemic to northern Western Ghats. Its mediumsized violet-to-metallic blue spurred flowers have considerable ornamental value as a floriculture crop (3). There is no report of serious diseases of this genus in India. Since 2008, a severe foliar disease was observed each year on D. malabaricum cultivated on the experimental plots located at Shivaji University, Kolhapur, India. Symptoms were small, necrotic spots on the abaxial and adaxial sides of infected leaves, with spots enlarging to form round areas that were 6 to 9 mm in diameter and well defined by a dark black margin. Severely infected leaves wilted without abscising. No symptoms were observed on other plant parts. From infected leaves, a fungus was isolated on Czapek Dox agar (CDA) amended with 25 mg/liter of streptomycin sulfate. The fungus was grown on CDA and cultures were maintained at 4°C for further studies. After 6 days, black pycnidia developed, which were variable in size, releasing abundant hyaline, elliptical conidia measuring from 3 to 4 × 1.5 to 2 µm. On the basis of cultural and morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as Phoma costarricensis (1,2). The identification was verified by sequencing a region of 28S ribosomal RNA with the geneOmbio LSU gene sequencing primers and ABI BigDye Terminator v3.1 Cycle Sequencing Reaction Kit (Applied Biosystems, Carlsbad, CA). The sequence was deposited as Accession No. HE608244 in EMBL-Bank. Blast analysis of the sequence obtained showed a 99% homology with several isolates of P. costarricensis in the GenBank database (Accession No. GU238058.1). Pathogenicity tests were performed by spraying leaves of 10 healthy plants with spores (~10,000 spores or mycelial fragments per ml) on the abaxial and adaxial surface of leaves. Noninoculated plants served as control. Symptoms identical to those on field samples developed on all inoculated plants 1 week after inoculation but controls remained asymptomatic during the observation period. P. costarricensis was reisolated from inoculated symptomatic plants and the identity was confirmed, which completed Koch's postulates. This experiment was repeated three times in a greenhouse, confirming the pathogenicity of P. costarricensis on D. malabaricum. P. ajacis (Thum.) Aa & Boerema, P. delphinii (Rabenh.) Cooke, P. aquilegiicola M. Petrov, and P. xanthina Sacc. are reported to cause leaf spot and stem rot in Delphinium spp. (1). However, to our knowledge, there are no previous reports of leaf spot of D. malabaricum caused by P. costarricensis. Leaf spot severity induced premature defoliation, leading to reduction in flower setting and ultimately the yield. The disease could lead to an economic crisis in the farmer community of western India. The only other known host of P. costarricensis is Coffea arabica (2). References: (1) G. H. Boerema et al. Phoma Identification Manual. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK and Cambridge, MA, 2004. (2) E. Echandi. Rev. Biol. Trop. 5:83, 1957. (3) S. R. Pai et al. Cytologia 72:319, 2007.

[Preliminary results concerning the effectiveness of early intervention from the STEEP practice research project "WiEge"]. / Erste Ergebnisse zur Wirksamkeit Früher Hilfen aus dem STEEP-Praxisforschungsprojekt "WiEge".

Preliminary results of the attachment-based STEEP(TM) (Steps toward effective and enjoyable parenting) research practice project "WiEge" are presented. Within a multisite, longitudinal intervention study, young high-risk mothers enrolled in the 2-year STEEP(TM) program have developed significantly more secure attachment relationships with their 1-year old children compared to mothers of the control group, who received the standard support as usual in the German welfare system. Age of mothers at birth of their children, educational level, single motherhood status, and mental health diagnoses indicate that both groups are comparable. A global measure of risk status indicates that mothers of the STEEP(TM) group confront even more risks than control group mothers. Additional data on depression (Edinburgh postnatal depression scale, EPDS), parenting stress (PSI), or risky parental attitudes (Adult-Adolescent Parenting Interview®, AAPI) are being presented and discussed with regard to the differences found being an effect of the STEEP(TM) program. Since the focus of the STEEP(TM) program is on empirically validated mechanisms in attachment development, it is also important that the results are in line with attachment theory. At the same time, we did not find significant group differences with regard to attachment disorganization. Supporting mothers in being more sensitive and to improve on reflective functioning--as being done in STEEP(TM)--does not seem to be sufficient to prevent attachment disorganization, as others studies have also shown. Although based on small sample sizes, the results are informative for improving intervention strategies, which need to focus more on the developmental process underlying attachment disorganization, i.e., unusual parental behavior.

The formation and development of individual and ethnic identity: insights from psychiatry and psychoanalytic theory.

This paper describes the concept of identity formation, examining the historical development of identity, particularly ethnic identity. The author distinguishes the normative developmental achievement of self and group identity with pathological identity diffusion due to an earlier attachment disorder. The clinical case of a young male's experience of his Persian family's immigration to a new host country details the challenges encountered in ethnic identity formation and its interference in consolidating this ongoing process. The complicated task of self identity formation during this phase of development in the face of parental unresolved and ambivalent attitudes toward their own sense of threatened self and group identity diffusion is discussed. Parental intrapsychic conflict combined with environmental conflict such as racism, prejudice, and more recent paranoia toward Middle Eastern immigrant families interferes further with the normal identity formation process. The paper elaborates the compromised bicultural identity of a youngster who struggles through his developmental life phases.

Immigrant parents and their emigrant adolescents: the tension of inner and outer worlds.

This article examines different experiences of immigrant parents and their children in transit between the parents' ethnic world and American culture through three clinical cases: a 16-year-old male, whose mother is Persian and father East Indian and who presents with depression and lack of focus; an 18-year-old girl, whose mother is Nigerian and father African American and who was reporting depressive symptoms and confusion about sexual identity; and an 18-year-old depressed male from an Assyrian Iraqi background whose parents both are from Northern Iraq, but have lived in the United States for 20 years. Adolescents of immigrant families have much more complicated tasks during this phase of their development to establish a future sense of self-identity. A well-consolidated sense of self-identity is more complicated for these types of multiethnic immigrant families. The adolescents must rely on parental ego functions and their coherent sense of identity to weather this stage of their turbulent experience. In their strong fantasy framework, these adolescents strive to belong to their new peer groups, in which parents do not belong, particularly when the immigrant parents present a variety of different social and cultural values discordant to the contemporary culture. The cases suggest that both positive and negative aspects of ethnic identification become diluted during adolescence, when identification with parental mores occurs.

[Placenta accreta with placenta previa after previous cesarean sections--a growing danger in modern obstetrics].

The increased rate of cesarean sections in recent decades has brought with it an increase in the frequency of placenta accreta. There are direct correlations between previous cesarean deliveries and also maternal age, with the risk of placenta accreta. There is also a direct correlation between placenta accreta and placenta previa. The risk of placenta accreta in women who have had placenta previa is 2% for those younger than 35 years and with no history of uterine surgery. The risk increases to 39% for those over 35 who have had 2 or more cesarean sections. We present 3 cases of placenta accreta admitted in 15 months, all of whom had a history of cesarean sections. The frequency of placenta accreta in our hospital is 1:1,579 deliveries, in line with the 1:1,420 in the literature. We consider hysterectomy the treatment of choice for this serious complication. When performing a cesarean in cases of placenta previa with a history of cesarean sections, the possibility of placenta accreta should be considered.