Empirical correlations for diffusivity and the partition coefficient for phthalates in PVC materials and modelling emissions of automotive sealants.

Polyvinylchloride (PVC) based sealants commonly contain phthalate plasticizers that are emitted into the air over time. The low volatility classifies them as Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs). Empirical relationships are determined for estimation of the diffusion and solid/air partition coefficients for phthalates in PVC materials using data compiled from studies of phthalates in other PVC materials, such as vinyl flooring.

The Influence of Prescribed Fire, Habitat, and Weather on Amblyomma americanum (Ixodida: Ixodidae) in West-Central Illinois, USA.

The distribution of (L.) is changing and reports of tick-borne disease transmitted by are increasing in the USA. We used flagging to collect ticks, surveyed vegetation and collected weather data in 2015 and 2016.

Early Childhood Predictors of Severe Youth Violence in Low-Income Male Adolescents.

Using a cohort of 310 low-income male adolescents living in an urban community and followed prospectively from 18 months through adolescence (ages 15-18 years), the current study examined whether individual, family, and community risk factors from ages 18 to 42 months were associated with adolescents' violent behavior, as indexed by juvenile petitions. Results of multivariate analyses indicated that although family income was the only factor to discriminate those with no arrest record from those with nonviolent arrests, rejecting parenting, child oppositional behavior, emotion regulation, and minority status during the toddler period contributed unique variance in distinguishing male adolescents arrested for violent behavior compared to those never arrested and those arrested for nonviolent behavior. Implications for prevention efforts are discussed.

EARLY CHILDHOOD PREDICTORS OF LOW-INCOME BOYS' PATHWAYS TO ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN CHILDHOOD, ADOLESCENCE, AND EARLY ADULTHOOD.

Guided by a bridging model of pathways leading to low-income boys' early starting and persistent trajectories of antisocial behavior, the current article reviews evidence supporting the model from early childhood through early adulthood. Using primarily a cohort of 310 low-income boys of families recruited from Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Supplement centers in a large metropolitan area followed from infancy to early adulthood and a smaller cohort of boys and girls followed through early childhood, we provide evidence supporting the critical role of parenting, maternal depression, and other proximal family risk factors in early childhood that are prospectively linked to trajectories of parent-reported conduct problems in early and middle childhood, youth-reported antisocial behavior during adolescence and early adulthood, and court-reported violent offending in adolescence. The findings are discussed in terms of the need to identify at-risk boys in early childhood and methods and platforms for engaging families in healthcare settings not previously used to implement preventive mental health services.

Plasma engineered surfaces for orthopedic devices.

Atmospheric pressure plasma was used to graft various biocompatible polymers to the surface of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). Polymers used as grafts in this study were poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) (PHEMA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). A significant decrease in contact angle was noted for grafted surfaces, indicating increased hydrophilicity.

Maternal depression in childhood and aggression in young adulthood: evidence for mediation by offspring amygdala-hippocampal volume ratio.

Background: There is abundant evidence that offspring of depressed mothers are at increased risk for persistent behavior problems related to emotion regulation, but the mechanisms by which offspring incur this risk are not entirely clear. Early adverse caregiving experiences have been associated with structural alterations in the amygdala and hippocampus, which parallel findings of cortical regions altered in adults with behavior problems related to emotion regulation. This study examined whether exposure to maternal depression during childhood might predict increased aggression and/or depression in early adulthood, and whether offspring amygdala:hippocampal volume ratio might mediate this relationship.

Developmental trajectories of the corpus callosum in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Background: It was recently found that the development of typical patterns of prefrontal, but not posterior, cortical asymmetry is disrupted in right-handed youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Using longitudinal data, we tested the hypothesis that there would be a congruent disruption in the growth of the anterior corpus callosum, which contains white matter tracts connecting prefrontal cortical regions.

Methods: Areas of five subregions of the corpus callosum were quantified using a semiautomated method from 828 neuroanatomic magnetic resonance scans acquired from 236 children and adolescents with ADHD (429 scans) and 230 typically developing youth (399 scans), most of whom had repeated neuroimaging.

Cortical development in typically developing children with symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity: support for a dimensional view of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Objective: There is considerable epidemiological and neuropsychological evidence that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is best considered dimensionally, lying at the extreme end of a continuous distribution of symptoms and underlying cognitive impairments. The authors investigated whether cortical brain development in typically developing children with symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity resembles that found in the syndrome of ADHD. Specifically, they examined whether a slower rate of cortical thinning during late childhood and adolescence, which they previously found in ADHD, is also linked to the severity of symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity in typically developing children.