Attachment and inter-individual differences in empathy, compassion, and theory of mind abilities.

Social processing, namely the ability to understand others' cognitive and affective states, is crucial for successful social interaction. It encompasses socio-affective abilities such as empathy and compassion, as well as socio-cognitive abilities such as theory of mind (ToM). This study examined the link between social processing and attachment.

Predictors of the rate and course of reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder symptoms in foster children during the first year of placement.

Background: Due to adverse care experiences, foster children are at risk for developing symptoms of reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED).

Objective: This study investigated the factors influencing rate and course of RAD and DSED symptoms during the first year of placement in long-term foster care.

Participants And Setting: The sample consisted of 55 foster children aged 1 to 6 years.

Diverse potential of secretome from natural killer cells and monocyte-derived macrophages in activating stellate cells.

Chronic liver diseases, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-induced cirrhosis, are characterized by an increasing accumulation of stressed, damaged, or dying hepatocytes. Hepatocyte damage triggers the activation of resident immune cells, such as Kupffer cells (KC), as well as the recruitment of immune cells from the circulation toward areas of inflammation. After infiltration, monocytes differentiate into monocyte-derived macrophages (MoMF) which are functionally distinct from resident KC.

Precursors and Effects of Self-reported Parental Reflective Functioning: Links to Parental Attachment Representations and Behavioral Sensitivity.

Parental reflective functioning is thought to provide a missing link between caregivers' own attachment histories and their ensuing parenting behaviors. The current study sought to extend research on this association involving 115 parents, both mothers and fathers, of 5-to-6-year-old preschoolers using the German version of the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ). Our study was the first to combine Adult Attachment Interview classifications of parental attachment, behavioral observations of parental sensitivity and PRFQ ratings while drawing on a sizable father subsample.

Attachment disorder symptoms in foster children: development and associations with attachment security.

Background: Children in foster care constitute a risk population for developing symptoms of attachment disorders. However, little is known about the longitudinal course of attachment disorders and their association with attachment security in foster children.

Method: This longitudinal study assessed attachment disorder symptoms in a sample of foster children (n = 55) aged 12 to 82 months.

Antifibrotic Drug Nintedanib Inhibits CSF1R to Promote IL-4-associated Tissue Repair Macrophages.

Profibrotic and prohomeostatic macrophage phenotypes remain ill-defined, both and , impeding the successful development of drugs that reprogram macrophages as an attractive therapeutic approach to manage fibrotic disease. The goal of this study was to reveal profibrotic and prohomeostatic macrophage phenotypes that could guide the design of new therapeutic approaches targeting macrophages to treat fibrotic disease. This study used nintedanib, a broad kinase inhibitor approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, to dissect lung macrophage phenotypes during fibrosis-linked inflammation by combining and bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing approaches.

[Debate about Accural Accounting - Reply and Response].

In its September 2020 issue, Wirtschaftsdienst published an article entitled "Bremst die Doppik öffentliche Investitionen? Ergebnisse aus drei aktuellen Evaluationsstudien" by Désirée Christofzik, Florian Dorn, Stefanie Gäbler, Christian Raffer and Felix Rösel. Stephan Stüber takes a different view in a reply, and Christofzik et al. explain their point of view in a response.

Mothers With Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders: Proposal for an Adapted Method to Assess Maternal Sensitivity in Interaction With the Child.

About 15% of mothers suffer from postpartum psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety, or psychosis. Numerous studies have shown maternal caregiving behavior to be negatively affected under these circumstances. The current study sets out to shed light on specific caregiving behaviors of affected mothers in the context of parental mental illness at an early stage.

Designing Trials of Disease Modifying Agents for Early and Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease Intervention: What Evidence is Meaningful to Patients, Providers, and Payers?

Background: Drug development for disease modifying agents in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is focused increasingly on targeting underlying pathology in very early stages of AD or in cognitively normal patients at elevated risk of developing dementia due to Alzheimer's. Very early interventional studies of this type have many uncertainties, including whether they can provide the clinical results that payers, providers, and patients will wish to see for decisions. This paper describes an initiative to create greater transparency for researchers to anticipate these decision needs.

Secretin-Activated Brown Fat Mediates Prandial Thermogenesis to Induce Satiation.

The molecular mediator and functional significance of meal-associated brown fat (BAT) thermogenesis remains elusive. Here, we identified the gut hormone secretin as a non-sympathetic BAT activator mediating prandial thermogenesis, which consequentially induces satiation, thereby establishing a gut-secretin-BAT-brain axis in mammals with a physiological role of prandial thermogenesis in the control of satiation. Mechanistically, meal-associated rise in circulating secretin activates BAT thermogenesis by stimulating lipolysis upon binding to secretin receptors in brown adipocytes, which is sensed in the brain and promotes satiation.

Assessment of attachment disorder symptoms in foster children: comparing diagnostic assessment tools.

Background: Standardized methods for assessing attachment disorders are scarce but needed for research and practice.

Methods: In the current study, several assessments for attachment disorder symptoms are used within a German sample of foster children after being exposed to neglect and maltreatment in their biological families. The symptoms were assessed with four established assessment methods based on both parents' report and behavioral observation: The Rating for Infant Stranger Engagement, the Stranger at the Door, the Disturbances of Attachment Interview and the Reactive Attachment Disorder Questionnaire.

Inhibited symptoms of Attachment Disorder in children from institutional and foster care samples.

The main objective of the article was to study the prevalence of symptoms of the inhibited attachment disorder depending on type and quality of the caregiving environment. Analyses were based on data of a sample of institutionalized children from Georgia (N = 16), and two samples of foster children from Georgia (N = 27) and Germany (N = 55). Inhibited attachment disorder symptoms were assessed by the Disturbances of Attachment Interview (DAI) and the Rating of Inhibited Attachment Behavior (RInAB).

Predictors of foster parents' stress and associations to sensitivity in the first year after placement.

In Germany, almost 70 000 children are living in foster families (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2016). Many foster children show mental health problems as they were exposed to an accumulation of risk factors. Hence, foster parents are often faced with challenging parenting situations.

Screening and Characterization of Phytases from Bacteria Isolated from Chilean Hydrothermal Environments.

Phytases are enzymes involved in organic phosphorus cycling in nature and widely used as feed additives in animal diets. Thermal tolerance is a desired property of phytases. The objectives of this study were to screen and characterize bacterial phytases from Chilean hydrothermal environments.

Counseling, screening, and therapy for newly-diagnosed HIV patients.

Newer testing methods, simplified treatment options, and advances in prevention have changed the way HIV is diagnosed and managed. This article reviews issues relevant for primary care clinicians and highlights the latest advances in HIV care and prevention. In addition, considerations for special populations are highlighted.

Performance of Seven Commercial Phytases in an in Vitro Simulation of Poultry Digestive Tract.

The aim of this study was to compare the biochemical properties of seven commercially available phytase products as well as their catalytic performance in an in vitro simulation of the digestive tract of poultry. Their enzymatic properties relevant with respect to phytate dephosphorylation in the digestive tract of birds were determined under identical assay conditions. All phytase products included in the study showed an acid pH optimum of activity and were capable of releasing the organically bound phosphate from phytate during the in vitro simulation.

Adsorption and reaction of sub-monolayer films of an ionic liquid on Cu(111).

The reactive interaction of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [BMP][TFSA] with Cu(111) was investigated by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. Decomposition between 300 K and 350 K is manifested by changes in the surface structure monitored with STM. XPS reveals that mainly the [TFSA] anion is decomposed.

Foster children's attachment security and behavior problems in the first six months of placement: associations with foster parents' stress and sensitivity.

Both traumatic experiences in their birth families and multiple placement histories lead to increased mental health problems in foster children. The formation of secure attachments to new caregivers could be a protective factor for foster children. The current study focused on the associations between foster parents' sensitivity, parenting stress and foster children's attachment behavior as well as behavior problems.

Physicochemical vs. Vibrational Descriptors for Prediction of Odor Receptor Responses.

Responses of olfactory receptors (ORs) can be predicted by applying machine learning methods on a multivariate encoding of an odorant's chemical structure. Physicochemical descriptors that encode features of the molecular graph are a popular choice for such an encoding. Here, we explore the EVA descriptor set, which encodes features derived from the vibrational spectrum of a molecule.

Functional organization of information flow in the corticospinal pathway.

Transmission of information in the corticospinal (CS) route constitutes the fundamental infrastructure for voluntary actions. The anatomy of this pathway has been studied extensively, but there is little direct evidence regarding its functional organization. Here we explored the areal specificity of CS connections by studying two related questions: the functional significance of the parallel, motor, and premotor CS pathways; and the way in which finger-related motor commands are handled by this pathway.

Child Abuse and Neglect: Screening for Risks During the Perinatal Period.

Currently, there is a claim for earlier interventions for families in order to prevent child maltreatment. Here, a screening instrument to assess risk indicators for child abuse and neglect already in the context of maternity clinics is introduced. The present study is the first report on the psychometric properties of this instrument, the "short questionnaire for risk indices around birth" (RIAB).