Performance of Mental Health Counselors in Integrated Primary and Behavioral Health Care

Integrated primary and behavioral health care (IPBH) is becoming a preferred mode of service delivery in the United States. Integrated care includes the participation of medical and mental health professionals, such as mental health counselors. The clinical outcomes of these professionals need to be studied to determine their effectiveness in such settings. We examined the performance of 10 mental health counselors on the clinical outcome of 1,747 clients treated in an IPBH center. Analyses using growth curve modeling and pre‐post test design revealed that mental health counselors were effective overall, but they differed in client dropout rates and efficiency in reducing clients' initial symptoms. We used the analyses to rank order counselors based on their effectiveness. Counselors who were the most effective varied in their efficiency but demonstrated the lowest client dropout rates. Implications for future research and counseling practice were discussed.     

Decursin from Angelica gigas mitigates amnesia induced by scopolamine in mice

We previously reported that a total methanolic extract of the underground part of Angelica gigas Nakai (Umbelliferae) (here-in-after abbreviated AG) significantly inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. We characterized 12 coumarin derivatives including both decursin and decursinol from extracts of AG. In this study, we evaluated the anti-amnestic activity of decursin, a major coumarin constituent isolated from AG, in vivo using ICR mice with amnesia induced by scopolamine (1 mg/kg body weight, s.c.). Decursin, when administered to mice at 1 and 5 mg/kg body weight i.p., significantly ameliorated scopolamine-induced amnesia as measured in both the passive avoidance test and the Morris water maze test. Moreover, decursin significantly inhibited AChE activity by 34% in the hippocampus of treated mice. These results indicate that decursin may exert anti-amnestic activity in vivo through inhibition of AChE activity in the hippocampus.     

Do infants recognize the Arcimboldo images as faces? Behavioral and near-infrared spectroscopic study

Arcimboldo images induce the perception of faces when shown upright despite the fact that only nonfacial objects such as vegetables and fruits are painted. In the current study, we examined whether infants recognize a face in the Arcimboldo images by using the preferential looking technique and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). In the first experiment, we measured looking preference between upright and inverted Arcimboldo images among 5- and 6-month-olds and 7- and 8-month-olds. We hypothesized that if infants perceive the Arcimboldo images as faces, they would prefer the upright images to the inverted ones. We found that only 7- and 8-month-olds significantly preferred upright images, suggesting that they could perceive the Arcimboldo images as faces. In the second experiment, we measured hemodynamic responses using NIRS. Based on the behavioral data, we hypothesized that 7- and 8-month-olds would show different neural activity for upright and inverted Arcimboldo images, as do adults. Therefore, we measured hemodynamic responses in 7- and 8-month-olds while they were looking at upright and inverted Arcimboldo images. Their responses were then compared with the baseline activation during the presentation of individual vegetables. We found that the concentration of oxyhemoglobin increased in the left temporal area during the presentation of the upright images compared with the baseline during the presentation of vegetables. The results of the two experiments suggest that (a) the ability to recognize the upright Arcimboldo images as faces develops at around 7 or 8 months of age and (b) processing of the upright Arcimboldo images is related to the left temporal area of the brain.     

Influence of Siblings on Child Health Behaviors and Obesity: A Systematic Review

Family structure plays an important role in childhood obesity but the association between having siblings and childhood obesity is not well established. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the relationship between sibling factors and child health behaviors and child obesity. CINAHL, Cochrane Reviews, PsycINFO and PubMed were searched to identify relevant publications between 2000 and 2016. Of 141 identified studies, 22 peer-reviewed, primary research reports satisfied inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Findings indicated that children without siblings are more likely to be overweight or obese. Having fewer siblings was associated with decreased physical activity, inadequate sleep, and unhealthy dietary habits. The relationship between the number of siblings and childhood obesity persisted over time. All but two studies reported an association between birth order and childhood obesity. Youngest siblings were at a higher risk of becoming overweight or obese than their older siblings. Overall, the findings emphasize the importance of sibling factors in the development of childhood obesity. Further studies are needed to understand the dynamics underlying the effect of siblings on child’s health-related behaviors in order to develop effective childhood obesity prevention programs. Healthcare professionals should focus on family structure and at-risk children when intervening to prevent childhood obesity.     

Perceptual transparency in 3- to 4-month-old infants

We examined perceptual transparency in infants. In a previous study, Johnson and Aslin (2000 Developmental Psychology 36 808 - 816) found that 4-month-olds could perceive transparency in a moving chromatic display, but not in an achromatic display. In this study, we further examined perceptual transparency in infants using a static achromatic display. Considering the development of figural organisation and contrast sensitivity, we assumed that 3- to 4-month-olds would perceive transparency even in a static achromatic display. We created a transparency and a non-transparent display composed of a partially overlapping circle and square, by switching the colours. Infants aged 3 to 4 months (n = 24) were familiarised with the transparency display (experiment 1) or with the non-transparent display (experiment 2). Then, they were confronted with a uniform colour and a two-colour figure. Infants showed novelty preference for the two-colour figure after they had been familiarised with the transparency display (experiment 1), but not after they had been familiarised with the non-transparent display (experiment 2). These results suggest that 3- to 4-month-old infants can perceive transparency in a static achromatic display.     

Anisotropic motion coherence sensitivities to expansion/contraction motion in early infancy

We investigated 2- and 3-month-olds' motion coherence sensitivities to radial expansion/contraction by using the preferential looking method. The infants were tested with a stimulus composed of two dynamic random dot patterns placed side by side: an expansion (or a contraction) pattern and a random directional pattern. The results showed that the 3-month-old infants tested with both a contraction and random directional pattern could discriminate between those two motions significantly, even when the contraction motion coherence was relatively low (50%). On the other hand, the 3-month-old infants who were tested with both expansion and random directional pattern could not discriminate between those two motions. None of the 2-month-old infants showed significant discrimination between the expansion/contraction and random motion patterns. Results of the present study suggest that anisotropic motion coherence sensitivities to radial expansion/contraction emerge at around 3 months of age.     

Infants’ recognition of objects using canonical color

We explored infants’ ability to recognize the canonical colors of daily objects, including two color-specific objects (human face and fruit) and a non-color-specific object (flower), by using a preferential looking technique. A total of 58 infants between 5 and 8 months of age were tested with a stimulus composed of two color pictures of an object placed side by side: a correctly colored picture (e.g., red strawberry) and an inappropriately colored picture (e.g., green-blue strawberry). The results showed that, overall, the 6- to 8-month-olds showed preference for the correctly colored pictures for color-specific objects, whereas they did not show preference for the correctly colored pictures for the non-color-specific object. The 5-month-olds showed no significant preference for the correctly colored pictures for all object conditions. These findings imply that the recognition of canonical color for objects emerges at 6 months of age.     

Normal Versus Noncentral Chi-square Asymptotics of Misspecified Models

In this article, we present a Bayesian spatial factor analysis model. We extend previous work on confirmatory factor analysis by including geographically distributed latent variables and accounting for heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation. The simulation study shows excellent recovery of the model parameters and demonstrates the consequences of ignoring spatial dependence. Specifically, we find inefficiency in the estimates of the factor score means and bias and inefficiency in the estimates of the corresponding covariance matrix. We apply the model to Schwartz value priority data obtained from 5 European countries. We show that the Schwartz motivational types of values, such as Conformity, Tradition, Benevolence, and Hedonism, possess high spatial autocorrelation. We identify several spatial patterns—specifically, Conformity and Hedonism have a country-specific structure, Tradition has a North–South gradient that cuts across national borders, and Benevolence has South–North cross-national gradient. Finally, we show that conventional factor analysis may lead to a loss of valuable insights compared with the proposed approach.     

Infants’ perception of curved illusory contour with motion

Recently, Masuda et al. (submitted for publication) showed that adults perceive moving rigid or nonrigid motion from illusory contour with neon color spreading in which the inducer has pendular motion with or without phase difference. In Experiment 1, we used the preferential looking method to investigate whether 3–8-month-old infants can discriminate illusory and non-illusory contour figures, and found that the 7–8-month-old, but not the 3–6-month-old, infants showed significant preference for illusory contour with phase difference. In Experiment 2, we tested the validity of the visual stimuli in the present study, and whether infants could detect illusory contour from the current neon color spreading figures. The results showed that all infants might detect illusory contour figure with neon color spreading figures. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 suggest that 7–8-month-old infants potentially perceive illusory contour from the visual stimulus with phase-different movement of inducers, which elicits the perception of nonrigid dynamic subjective contour in adults.     

Formation of Ga–Pd–Sc icosahedral quasicrystal and approximant phases

ABSTRACT

We report the formation of an icosahedral quasicrystal and its approximant in the Ga–Pd–Sc alloy. The primitive-type quasicrystal with a six-dimensional lattice constant of 0.713?nm formed in the melt-quenched Ga₅₃Pd₃₀Sc₁₇ alloy, with a similar composition to that of the Ga₅₅Pd₃₀Sc₁₅ 1/1 approximant. The atomic-scale observation and chemical analysis of the 1/1 approximant by scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that the approximant consisted of Tsai-type clusters with a characteristic chemical ordering. Furthermore, a series of approximants were observed in the Ga₅₅Pd₃₀RE₁₅ alloys by replacing Sc with other rare-earth elements (REs) (RE?= Y, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu). These approximants, which have relatively small lattice constants and consequently smaller RE–RE distances compared with those for other RE-containing Tsai-type approximants, may be candidates for materials with novel electronic and magnetic properties similar to those observed in Au-based quasicrystals and approximants.