A Pilot Study to Assess the Feasibility of a Multicenter Cluster Randomized Trial for the Management of Asymptomatic Persons with a Thrombophilia

There is controversy whether asymptomatic first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) and thrombophilia should be screened, followed, and prescribed prophylaxis during risk periods. We recruited consecutive probands with idiopathic VTE and thrombophilia from our thrombosis clinics. Those FDRs with thrombophilia were randomized in family clusters to receive one-time verbal counseling and no organized follow-up or counseling, educational material, reminder aids and follow-up. Only 203 of 1,129 FDRs were eligible and consented. Dropouts were common; 1 FDR (1.7%) developed VTE. VTE risk, ability to treat and prevent were underestimated by the participants. Patients with VTE and thrombophilia and their FDRs are often not interested in thrombophilia testing. Despite education to inform their knowledge, interest and follow-up were less than ideal. The question of the best educational approach in these patients remains unanswered. The value of testing and following asymptomatic carriers of probands with VTE and thrombophilia remains unknown.     

Effects of Different Telephone Intervention Styles with Suicidal Callers at Two Suicide Prevention Centers: An Empirical Investigation

To determine the relative effectiveness of telephone intervention styles with suicidal callers, researchers listened unobtrusively to 617 calls by suicidal persons at two suicide prevention centers and categorized all 66,953 responses by the 110 volunteer helpers according to a reliable 20-category checklist. Outcome measures showed observer evaluations of decreased depressive mood from the beginning to the end in 14% of calls, decreased suicidal urgency ratings from the beginning to the end in 27% of calls, and reaching a contract in 68% of calls, of which 54% of contracts were upheld according to follow-up data. Within the context of relatively directive interventions, a greater proportion of Rogerian nondirective responses was related to significantly more decreases in depression. Reduction in urgency and reaching a contract were related to greater use of Rogerian response categories only with nonchronic callers.     

The effects of polydrug use with and without cocaine on mother-infant interaction at 3 and 6 months

The face-to-face interactions of 43 polydrug-with-cocaine-using mothers and their infants at 3 and 6 months were compared to 17 non-cocaine-but other-drug-using mothers and 21 mothers who used no drugs during their pregnancy. Coders blind to mothers' drug use status scored 3 min of face-to-face interactions for 16 measures of maternal and infant interactive behaviors. A principal component of 7 behaviors formed a measure of maternal attentiveness; a principal component of 5 behaviors formed a measure of mother-infant dyadic organization; and a principal component of 4 behaviors formed a measure of infant readiness to interact. A measure of maternal interruption was computed as the mean standard score of 3 additional interruptive behaviors. At 3 and 6 months, polydrug-with-cocaine-using mothers were less attentive to interactions, and polydrug-with-cocaine-using mothers and their infants engaged in fewer dyadic interactions than either non-cocaine or non-drug-using mothers. Compared to 3 months, polydrug-with-cocaine-using mothers at 6 months were less attentive to interactions and more frequently interrupted interactions by looking away, redirecting the infant, or withdrawing, whereas non-cocaine-using and non-drug- using mothers showed no change or an improvement in attentiveness to interactions and a decrease in interruptions. No differences emerged in the interactive behaviors of the infants of polydrug- with-cocaine-using, non-cocaine-using, or non-drug-using mothers. Cocaine use represents a significant risk for diminished parental attentiveness and responsiveness to infants and for diminished interactiveness in infants.     

Identification and adaptation of hue: Parallels in the operation of mechanisms that underlie categorical perception in vision and in audition

Summary Four experiments were conducted to examine processes in identification and selective adaptation of hues in color perception that exactly parallel processes in identification and adaptation of auditory detectors that provide information for phonemic perception. The first experiment demonstrated an effect of adaptation on identification of blue and green when a hue category center was used as the adaptor; this experiment also assessed recovery from adaptation. Adaptation to one hue was found to shift identification to favor the alternative hue, implicating a single detector underlying hue categorization. The second experiment demonstrated similar effects of adaptation between green and yellow. The third experiment compared the magnitudes of shift following adaptation with a category center, a near-boundary hue, and variously graded adaptation series. Adaptation was found to be related to the category representativeness of the adaptor(s). Results of the third experiment also provided support for the view that adaptation, rather than response bias, is responsible for shifts in the position of identification functions following extended stimulus exposure. The fourth experiment explored the neural loci of adaptation by an interocular transfer test. Hue adaptation was found to occur at both central and peripheral loci. In the four main experiments, reaction times to identify hues in unadapted and adapted states were also analyzed and compared. Subsidiary experiments assessed the effects of stimulus luminance on the magnitude of adaptation. General principles of categorical perception and its underlying bases, including the sweep, magnitude, and symmetry of adaptation, are discussed. The principal findings of these studies provide new data on hue perception which strikingly parallel findings in speech perception.     

Distinguishing multi-voxel patterns and mean activation: Why, how, and what does it tell us?

The introduction of multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) to the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) community has brought a deeper appreciation for the diverse forms of information that can be present within fMRI activity. The conclusions drawn from MVPA investigations are frequently influenced by both the ability to decode information from multi-voxel patterns and mean activation levels. In practice, MVPA studies vary widely in why and how they test for differing overall response levels. In this article, I examine the place of univariate information in MVPA investigations. I first discuss the variety of interpretations given to finding univariate response differences. I go on to discuss some of the analysis approaches used to investigate and compare univariate and multivariate sources of information, which can illuminate their respective contributions. It will be important for the MVPA and general fMRI community to continue to discuss and debate these important issues.     

Improving Classroom Quality with The RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning: Proximal and Distal Outcomes

The RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning (“RULER”) is designed to improve the quality of classroom interactions through professional development and classroom curricula that infuse emotional literacy instruction into teaching–learning interactions. Its theory of change specifies that RULER first shifts the emotional qualities of classrooms, which are then followed, over time, by improvements in classroom organization and instructional support. A 2-year, cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted to test hypotheses derived from this theory. Sixty-two urban schools either integrated RULER into fifth- and sixth-grade English language arts (ELA) classrooms or served as comparison schools, using their standard ELA curriculum only. Results from multilevel modeling with baseline adjustments and structural equation modeling support RULER’s theory of change. Compared to classrooms in comparison schools, classrooms in RULER schools exhibited greater emotional support, better classroom organization, and more instructional support at the end of the second year of program delivery. Improvements in classroom organization and instructional support at the end of Year 2 were partially explained by RULER’s impacts on classroom emotional support at the end of Year 1. These findings highlight the important contribution of emotional literacy training and development in creating engaging, empowering, and productive learning environments.     

Influence of delayed muscle reflexes on spinal stability: Model-based predictions allow alternative interpretations of experimental data

Model-based calculations indicate that reflex delay and reflex gain are both important for spinal stability. Experimental results demonstrate that chronic low back pain is associated with delayed muscle reflex responses of trunk muscles. The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of such time-delayed reflexes on the stability using a simple biomechanical model. Additionally, we compared the model-based predictions with experimental data from chronic low back pain patients and healthy controls using surface-electromyography. Linear stability methods were applied to the musculoskeletal model, which was extended with a time-delayed reflex model. Lateral external perturbations were simulated around equilibrium to investigate the effects of reflex delay and gain on the stability of the human lumbar spine. The model simulations predicted that increased reflex delays require a reduction of the reflex gain to avoid spinal instability. The experimental data support this dependence for the investigated abdominal muscles in chronic low back pain patients and healthy control subjects. Reflex time-delay and gain dependence showed that a delayed reflex latency could have relevant influence on spinal stability, if subjects do not adapt their reflex amplitudes. Based on the model and the experimental results, the relationship between muscle reflex response latency and the maximum of the reflex amplitude should be considered for evaluation of (patho) physiological data. We recommend that training procedures should focus on speeding up the delayed reflex response as well as on increasing the amplitude of these reflexes.     

Entrevista con Jean-Paul Bronckart

RESUMEN

Bronckart comienza revisando su trayectoria científica y explicando cuáles son sus dos enfoques básicos: el análisis del contexto o de situaciones y el análisis del lenguaje en función de sus operaciones subyacentes definidas en el marco de las teorías de la enunciación. Seguidamente justifica su renuncia a posiciones estructuralistas porque no tienen en cuenta el problema de las relaciones funcionales ni prestan atención al contexto. El autor relaciona las operaciones psicológicas con universales funcionales diferenciándolos de los estructurales de Chomsky y del enfoque de Searle, defendiendo su interés por la lingüística comparativa. Seguidamente aborda el tema de análisis de textos en ambientes escolares, sugiriendo que hay que sensibilizar a los educadores sobre el hecho de que constantemente estamos en situaciones de comunicación que van cambiando y crear instrumentos para que puedan analizar su propia práctica. Con relación al aspecto cognitivo del lenguaje, enfatiza la proliferación excesiva de los enfoques representativos y seguidamente desarrolla qué entiende por especificidad de la naturaleza del lenguaje y de su carácter comunicativo. Esta entrevista aborda, además, cuestiones tales como el fenómeno presuposicional, las aportaciones de Vygotsky o las experiencias de enseñar lenguaje a chimpancés, y finaliza planteando algunos aspectos de la teoría de Culioli.