Agreement between retrospective and prospective assessments of childhood abuse revisited.

A recent meta-analytic review demonstrated that retrospective assessments of childhood abuse acquired during adulthood - typically via self-report - demonstrate weak agreement with assessments of maltreatment gathered prospectively. The current report builds on prior findings by investigating the agreement of prospectively documented abuse from birth to age 17.5 years in the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation with retrospective, Adult Attachment Interview-based assessments of childhood abuse administered at ages 19 and 26 years. In this sample, an agreement between prospective and retrospective assessments of childhood abuse was considerably stronger (κ = .56) than was observed meta-analytically. Retrospective assessments identified prospectively documented sexual abuse somewhat better than physical abuse, and the retrospective approach taken here was more sensitive to identifying abuse perpetrated by primary caregivers compared to non-caregivers based on prospective records.

Insights into child abuse and neglect: Findings from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation.

The Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA) is a landmark prospective, longitudinal study of human development focused on a sample of mothers experiencing poverty and their firstborn children. Although the MLSRA pioneered a number of important topics in the area of social and emotional development, it began with the more specific goal of examining the antecedents of child maltreatment. From that foundation and for more than 40 years, the study has produced a significant body of research on the origins, sequelae, and measurement of childhood abuse and neglect. The principal objectives of this report are to document the early history of the MLSRA and its contributions to the study of child maltreatment and to review and summarize results from the recently updated childhood abuse and neglect coding of the cohort, with particular emphasis on findings related to adult adjustment. While doing so, we highlight key themes and contributions from Dr Dante Cicchetti's body of research and developmental psychopathology perspective to the MLSRA, a project launched during his tenure as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota.

The predictive validity of the strange situation procedure: Evidence from registered analyses of two landmark longitudinal studies.

Meta-analyses demonstrate that the quality of early attachment is modestly associated with peer social competence (r = .19) and externalizing behavior (r = -.15), but weakly associated with internalizing symptoms (r = -.07) across early development (Groh et al., Child Development Perspectives, 11(1), 70-76, 2017). Nonetheless, these reviews suffer from limitations that undermine confidence in reported estimates, including evidence for publication bias and the lack of comprehensive assessments of outcome measures from longitudinal studies in the literature. Moreover, theoretical claims regarding the specificity of the predictive significance of early attachment variation for socioemotional versus academic outcomes had not been evaluated when the analyses for this report were registered (but see Dagan et al., Child Development, 1-20, 2023; Deneault et al., Developmental Review, 70, 101093, 2023). To address these limitations, we conducted a set of registered analyses to evaluate the predictive validity of infant attachment in two landmark studies of the Strange Situation: the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA) and the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD). Across-time composite assessments reflecting teacher report, mother report, and self-reports of each outcome measure were created. Bivariate associations between infant attachment security and socioemotional outcomes in the MLSRA were comparable to, or slightly weaker than, those reported in the recent meta-analyses, whereas those in the SECCYD were weaker for these outcomes. Controlling for four demographic covariates, partial correlation coefficients between infant attachment and all socioemotional outcomes were r ≤ .10 to .15 in both samples. Compositing Strange Situations at ages 12 and 18 months did not substantively alter the predictive validity of the measure in the MLSRA, though a composite measure of three different early attachment measures in the SECCYD did increase predictive validity coefficients. Associations between infant attachment security and academic skills were unexpectedly comparable to (SECCYD) or larger than (MLSRA) those observed with respect to socioemotional outcomes.

Childcare providers' views of challenging child behaviors, suspension, and expulsion: A qualitative analysis.

Previous research has underscored a need to understand the experiences and decision-making processes that contribute to suspension and expulsion in early care and education settings, particularly among young children of color. The present study conducted qualitative interviews with 20 center- and family-based childcare providers from the Minnesota Early Care and Education (MECE) study. Participants were asked about challenging child behaviors that they have encountered, their perceptions of these behaviors and how they manage them, and their thought processes around suspension and expulsion. Overall, the most frequently reported categories of challenging behaviors were physical aggression and noncompliance/defiance/arguing. The most commonly reported perceived causes of challenging behaviors were typical child development and parenting problems. The primary reported strategy for addressing challenging behaviors was connecting with the child, with relatively few providers reporting using other evidence-based strategies. Finally, the most commonly reported reasons for considering suspension or expulsion were the providers feeling they had exhausted options and could not meet the child's needs, and the child's behavior being perceived as dangerous to self or others. Implications for future research and practice (including increased support services for childcare providers) are discussed.

La investigación previa ha subrayado una necesidad de comprender las experiencias y los procesos de toma de decisiones que contribuyen a la suspensión y expulsión en centros de tempranos cuidados y educación, particularmente entre niños pequeños de color. El presente estudio llevó a cabo entrevistas cualitativas con 20 proveedores de cuidado infantil con base en el centro y en la familia, del estudio Tempranos Cuidados y Educación en Minnesota (MECE). A los participantes se les preguntó acerca de los retos enfrentados en cuanto al comportamiento de los niños, sus percepciones de estos comportamientos y cómo los manejaron, así como los procesos de pensamiento sobre la suspensión y expulsión. En términos generales, las categorías más frecuentemente reportadas de comportamientos desafiantes fueron la agresión física y la desobediencia/desafío/discusión. Las más comúnmente reportadas causas percibidas de comportamientos desafiantes fueron el típico desarrollo del niño y problemas de crianza. La estrategia primariamente reportada para hablar de y dirigir los comportamientos desafiantes fue la conexión con el niño, con relativamente pocos proveedores que reportaron el uso de otra estrategia con base en la evidencia. Finalmente, las razones más comúnmente reportadas en cuanto a considerar la suspensión o la expulsión fueron el instinto del proveedor de haber agotado las opciones y el no haber podido satisfacer las necesidades del niño, así como la percepción de que el comportamiento del niño era peligroso para el propio niño y otros. Se discuten las implicaciones para la futura investigación (incluyendo el aumento de servicios de apoyo para proveedores del cuidado infantil).

Les recherches précédentes ont souligné un besoin de comprendre les expériences et les processus décisionnels qui contribuent à la suspension et à l'expulsion dans les contextes de la crèche ou de l'éducation, particulièrement chez les jeunes enfants racialisés / de couleur. Cette étude a procédé à des entretiens qualitatifs avec 20 prestataires de service de garde d'enfants (centres ou crèches et prestataires à domicile) de l'étude des Soins Précoces et de l'Education (abrégé MECE) dans l'état du Minnesota aux Etats-Unis. Les participants ont répondu à des questions sur les comportements difficiles de l'enfant auxquels ils ont fait face, leurs perceptions de ces comportements et la manière dont ils les ont gérés, et leurs processus de réflexion au sujet de la suspension et de l'expulsion. Dans l'ensemble les catégories les plus fréquemment rapportées de comportements difficiles étaient l'agression physique et le non-respect, la défiance et la dispute. Les causes perçues de comportements difficiles les plus fréquemment rapportées étaient les problèmes typiques de comportement de l'enfant et de parentage. La stratégie la plus rapportée pour faire face aux comportements difficiles était de communiquer avec l'enfant, avec relativement peu de prestataires utilisant d'autres stratégies fondées sur des données probantes. Enfant, les raisons les plus communément rapportées quant à la considération de la suspension ou de l'expulsion étaient que les prestataires sentaient qu'ils avaient épuisé les options et ne pouvaient pas répondre aux besoins de l'enfant et que le comportement de l'enfant était perçu comme dangereux pour lui / elle ou les autres. Les implications pour les recherches et la pratique futures (y compris l'augmentation de services de soutien pour les prestataires de garde d'enfant) sont discutées.

The age of the opening of the Ice-Free Corridor and implications for the peopling of the Americas.

SignificanceThe Ice-Free Corridor (IFC) has long played a key role in hypotheses about the peopling of the Americas. Earlier assessments of its age suggested that the IFC was available for a Clovis-first migration, but subsequent developments now suggest a pre-Clovis occupation of the Americas that occurred before the opening of the IFC, thus supporting a Pacific coastal migration route instead. However, large uncertainties in existing ages from the IFC cannot preclude its availability as a route for the first migrations. Resolving this debate over migration route is important for addressing the questions of when and how the first Americans arrived. We report cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages that show that the final opening of the IFC occurred well after pre-Clovis occupation.

Secure attachment in infancy predicts context-dependent emotion expression in middle childhood.

Attachment security has been linked to healthy socioemotional development, but less is known about how secure attachment in infancy relates to emotional functioning in middle childhood, particularly across multiple contexts. The present study examined associations between secure attachment in infancy and children's context-dependent emotion expression during a parent-child interaction at age 9 (N = 78) among families with Child Protective Services involvement (i.e., children at risk for emotion dysregulation). The results indicated that children classified as securely attached in infancy exhibited less task-incongruent affect (i.e., less positive affect during a distressing discussion, less negative affect during a positive discussion) and a greater decrease in negative affect from a distressing discussion to a positive discussion than children classified as insecurely attached. In addition, secure children were rated as more appropriate in their emotion expression than insecure children. The present study highlights attachment as a promising intervention target for children at risk for emotion dysregulation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The redesign of an advanced practice registered nurse professional evaluation process and tool at a midwest academic medical center: A pilot project.

BACKGROUND: Inconsistency and a lack of clarity exist regarding the advanced practice registered nurse peer review process in hospitals throughout the country. LOCAL PROBLEM: The current APRN peer review process in place for over a decade at an academic medical center has never been evaluated, and neither fulfills ongoing professional practice evaluation requirements nor meets the expectations of peer review. METHODS: Pre-post intervention quality improvement project (Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence checklist). INTERVENTIONS: Using current professional standards and guidelines that meet the requirements for ongoing professional practice evaluation and nursing peer review, a redesigned process and tool was created and piloted in three specialty groups of nurse practitioners (NPs) at the medical center. Satisfaction before and after the pilot survey was measured using a Likert-type scale, and results were compared and analyzed following the completion of the pilot survey. RESULTS: The posttest measure revealed a statistically significant improvement in satisfaction with the redesigned professional evaluation tool compared with the prepilot peer review tool. CONCLUSIONS: The redesign project demonstrated that using current professional standards and guidelines, a comprehensive process and tool for professional evaluation and peer review is achievable across NP specialties.

Extracellular circular RNA profiles in plasma and urine of healthy, male college athletes.

Circular RNA (circRNA) are a recently discovered class of RNA characterized by a covalently-bonded back-splice junction. As circRNAs are inherently more stable than other RNA species, they may be detected extracellularly in peripheral biofluids and provide novel biomarkers. While circRNA have been identified previously in peripheral biofluids, there are few datasets for circRNA junctions from healthy controls. We collected 134 plasma and 114 urine samples from 54 healthy, male college athlete volunteers, and used RNASeq to determine circRNA content. The intersection of six bioinformatic tools identified 965 high-confidence, characteristic circRNA junctions in plasma and 72 in urine. Highly-expressed circRNA junctions were validated by qRT-PCR. Longitudinal samples were collected from a subset, demonstrating circRNA expression was stable over time. Lastly, the ratio of circular to linear transcripts was higher in plasma than urine. This study provides a valuable resource for characterization of circRNA in plasma and urine from healthy volunteers, one that can be developed and reassessed as researchers probe the circRNA contents of biofluids across physiological changes and disease states.

Childhood abuse and neglect and self-reported symptoms of psychopathology through midlife.

Although abuse and neglect in the early years of life have been reliably linked to poor mental health outcomes in childhood, only a few studies have examined whether the predictive significance of childhood abuse and neglect endures for symptoms of psychopathology into adulthood. Here we examined to what extent prospectively assessed child abuse and neglect is associated with self-reported symptoms of psychopathology measured from ages 23 through 39 years, controlling for early demographic covariates and self-reported symptoms of psychopathology measured at age 16 years. The sample included 140 participants from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation. Participants were 49% female and 69% White/non-Hispanic. At the time of their child's birth, 48% of the mothers were teenagers (M = 20.5 years, SD = 3.74), 65% were single, and 42% had completed less than a high school education. Results indicated that childhood abuse and neglect was robustly associated with symptoms of psychopathology in adulthood. Exploratory analyses focusing on specific parametrizations of abuse/neglect suggested that abuse perpetrated by maternal figures (rather than paternal or nonparental figures) was uniquely associated with high levels of self-reported symptoms of psychopathology in adulthood. We found no evidence that any subtype of abuse and/or neglect or abuse/neglect during any particular phase of development uniquely predicted symptoms of psychopathology after controlling for relevant covariates. These results highlight the long-lasting significance of childhood abuse and neglect for reports of mental health in adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Comparison of glucose concentrations in canine whole blood, plasma, and serum measured with a veterinary point-of-care glucometer.

Previous studies have determined that, compared to whole blood, serum or plasma used in a portable blood glucometer (PBG) may provide more accurate results. We investigated the accuracy of a veterinary PBG (AlphaTRAK 2; Zoetis) for the measurement of glucose concentrations in serum, plasma, and whole blood compared to plasma glucose concentration measured by a biochemical analyzer. Blood samples from 53 client-owned dogs were collected. Lin concordance correlation coefficient (ρc) and Bland-Altman plots were used to determine correlation and agreement between the results obtained for the different sample types. Glucose concentration in whole blood measured by the veterinary PBG was more strongly correlated with the glucose concentration measured by the biochemical analyzer (ρc = 0.92) compared to plasma and serum glucose concentrations (ρc = 0.59 and 0.57, respectively). The mean differences between the glucose concentrations in whole blood, plasma, and serum measured by the veterinary PBG and the glucose concentration determined by the biochemical analyzer were 1.0, 6.3, and 6.7 mmol/L (18, 113, and 121 mg/dL), respectively. Our findings suggest that, when using this veterinary PBG, the accuracy of a glucose measurement obtained is higher when using whole blood compared to plasma or serum. Use of whole blood allows for more correct assessment and diagnosis, which are necessary for appropriate therapeutic intervention.

Microglial Calcium Waves During the Hyperacute Phase of Ischemic Stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Ischemic injury triggers multiple pathological responses in the brain tissue, including spreading depolarizations across the cerebral cortex (cortical spreading depolarizations [CSD]). Microglia have been recently shown to play a significant role in the propagation of CSD. However, the intracellular responses of myeloid cells during ischemic stroke have not been investigated. METHODS: We have studied intracellular calcium activity in cortical microglia in the stroke model of the middle cerebral artery occlusion, using the murine Polr2a-based and Cre-dependent GCaMP5 and tdTomato reporter (PC::G5-tdT). High-speed 2-photon microscopy through cranial windows was employed to record signals from genetically encoded indicators of calcium. Inflammatory stimuli and pharmacological inhibition were used to modulate microglial calcium responses in the somatosensory cortex. RESULTS: In vivo imaging revealed periodical calcium activity in microglia during the hyperacute phase of ischemic stroke. This activity was more frequent during the first 6 hours after occlusion, but the amplitudes of calcium transients became larger at later time points. Consistent with CSD nature of these events, we reproducibly triggered comparable calcium transients with microinjections of potassium chloride (KCl) into adjacent cortical areas. Furthermore, lipopolysaccharide-induced peripheral inflammation, mimicking sterile inflammation during ischemic stroke, produced significantly greater microglial calcium transients during CSD. Finally, in vivo pharmacological analysis with CRAC (calcium release-activated channel) inhibitor CM-EX-137 demonstrated that CSD-associated microglial calcium transients after KCl microinjections are mediated at least in part by the CRAC mechanism. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that microglia participate in ischemic brain injury via previously undetected mechanisms, which may provide new avenues for therapeutic interventions.

Life stress and cortisol reactivity: An exploratory analysis of the effects of stress exposure across life on HPA-axis functioning.

Stressful experiences affect biological stress systems, such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Life stress can potentially alter regulation of the HPA axis and has been associated with poorer physical and mental health. Little, however, is known about the relative influence of stressors that are encountered at different developmental periods on acute stress reactions in adulthood. In this study, we explored three models of the influence of stress exposure on cortisol reactivity to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) by leveraging 37 years of longitudinal data in a high-risk birth cohort (N = 112). The cumulative stress model suggests that accumulated stress across the lifespan leads to dysregulated reactivity, whereas the biological embedding model implicates early childhood as a critical period. The sensitization model assumes that dysregulation should only occur when stress is high in both early childhood and concurrently. All of the models predicted altered reactivity, but do not anticipate its exact form. We found support for both cumulative and biological embedding effects. However, when pitted against each other, early life stress predicted more blunted cortisol responses at age 37 over and above cumulative life stress. Additional analyses revealed that stress exposure in middle childhood also predicted more blunted cortisol reactivity.

Oncoplastic breast-conserving therapy and intraoperative radiotherapy for management of carcinoma in situ of the breast: A single-center experience.

Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) has been shown to reduce local recurrence rates among women with early-stage invasive ductal carcinoma, but data regarding its use among women with in situ carcinoma are limited. In this single-institution study, 50 women with in situ carcinoma were treated with oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery (OPS) and single-dose IORT. All 50 patients had "no tumor on ink," but 9 (16%) had margins < 2 mm and required additional therapy. No local recurrences were observed after a median follow-up of 46 months. Single-dose IORT is an efficacious treatment for well-selected patients with DCIS.