Publications by authors named "Robert B Mccall"

Canine atopic dermatitis (AD) is associated with increased levels of allergen-specific IgE due to hyper-sensitization to environmental allergens. Intradermal testing (IDT) and allergen-specific IgE serology testing are often used to determine the allergens which elicit an IgE response in animals with a diagnosis of AD. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of oclacitinib on IDT and allergen-specific IgE serology testing using a laboratory model of house-dust mite sensitized Beagle dogs.

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This project is a community case study implemented by local professionals and caregivers to improve the quality of caregiving in two Kazakhstan institutions for infants and toddlers. Local professionals first received comprehensive training by an international team experienced in relevant research-based practices, and then the locals trained institutional staff. Over nearly 2 years, one institution progressively implemented changes in three wards and the other institution in one ward.

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This study is a post-adoption follow-up of a social-emotional intervention in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation Baby Homes (BHs). Children previously resided in BHs and received Care as Usual (CAU, =220), Training Only (TO, =94), or Training plus Structural Changes (T+SC, =45).

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We review a series of interrelated studies on the development of children residing in institutions (i.e., orphanages) in the Russian Federation or placed with families in the USA and the Russian Federation.

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The current study addressed whether two institution-wide interventions in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, that increased caregiver sensitivity (Training Only: TO) or both caregiver sensitivity and consistency (Training plus Structural Changes: T+SC) promoted better socioemotional and cognitive development than did a No Intervention (NoI) institution during the first year of life for children who were placed soon after birth. It also assessed whether having spent less than 9 versus 9 to 36 months with a family prior to institutionalization was related to children's subsequent socioemotional and cognitive development within these three institutions.

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This study examined the effect of a social-emotional intervention implemented in one St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) institution (called a Baby Home, BH) on the general behavioral development of preterm children (gestational ages of 30-36 weeks) during their first two years of life. The intervention consisted of training caregivers and implementing structural changes to create a more family-like environment.

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Study Objective: To assess the effects of the Seventeen Days interactive video on young women's perceived self-efficacy for using condoms 6 months after being offered the intervention, relative to a control.

Design: Multisite randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Twenty participating health clinics and county health departments in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

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This report describes a secondary analysis of data from a comprehensive intervention project which included training and structural changes in three Baby Homes in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Multiple mediator models were tested according to the R.

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This study examined whether interventions in Russian Baby Homes promoting warm, sensitive, and responsive caregiver-child interactions and relationships would be associated with advantages in those children's behavior years after they transitioned to family care. Children ( = 135) who had resided for at least 3 months ( = 13.8 months) in one of three intervention institutions were subsequently placed in Russian families (relatives or non-relatives) for at least 1 year ( = 33.

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In studies of children adopted from institutions, being raised in an institution has been associated consistently with an increased risk of persistent cognitive, academic, and social-emotional problems. These findings raise questions about the neurocognitive mechanisms that contribute to these negative outcomes. Theory and models based on studies of animals indicate that development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and executive function (EF) may be particularly susceptible to environmental influences during early childhood.

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This study assessed social skills in post-institutionalized (PI) children with respect to age-at-adoption, age-at-assessment, and gender. Parent ratings of social skills (Social Skills Rating System) and behavior problems (Child Behavior Checklist) were obtained for 214 children and 127 adolescents who were adopted from socially-emotionally depriving Russian institutions. Results showed that children adopted before 18 months of age have better social skills than those adopted after this age; those assessed in childhood demonstrate better social skills than those assessed in adolescence.

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A total of 149 children, who spent an average of 13.8 months in Russian institutions, were transferred to Russian families of relatives and nonrelatives at an average age of 24.7 months.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on pruritus (itchiness) in dogs, particularly those with atopic dermatitis, examining the role of IL-31, a cytokine linked to itchy behaviors.
  • Researchers compared the effects of three treatments—prednisolone, dexamethasone, and oclacitinib—on IL-31-induced pruritus in beagle dogs through randomized, blinded trials.
  • Results showed that oclacitinib was more effective in reducing pruritus at various intervals than both prednisolone and dexamethasone, suggesting a promising model for studying treatments for allergic dermatitis in dogs.
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Behavior problems were studied in fifty 5- to 8-year-old children transferred from a socioemotionally depriving Russian institution to domestic families. Results indicated that the postinstitutional (PI) sample as a whole had higher clinical/borderline behavior problem rates on the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 (T.M.

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This Special Issue includes articles that contribute to (a) the global research base pertaining to the development of infants and toddlers at risk, primarily those who are institutionalized in lower resource countries; (b) interventions in institutions and to promote family alternatives to institutionalization; and (c) attempts to create modern child welfare systems emphasizing family care in entire states and countries. This introduction places these articles into the broader contexts of the literature in these three domains of interest. Across the world, urbanization, migration, armed conflict, epidemics, and famine disrupt families.

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Background And Scope: The focus of this review is on institutionalized children, one of the most inequitably and severely treated groups of children. Although institutions vary, many share some common characteristics, including large groups, high children: caregiver ratios, many and changing caregivers, and caregiver-child interactions that lack warm, sensitive, contingently-responsive, and child-directed behaviors. Resident children develop poorly physically, mentally, and social-emotionally, but those adopted from institutions display substantial catch-up growth in many domains of development.

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Children adopted from institutions at older ages are at increased risk of persistent attention problems, lower cognition, and academic difficulties. This study examined cognitive and behavior problems as mediators of the association between early psychosocial deprivation and academic functioning. Participants were 8-17-year-old children adopted from psychosocially-depriving Russian institutions after 14 months of age ( = 34) and before 9 months of age ( = 39).

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Children who spend their early life in social-emotionally depriving institutions have limited opportunities to engage in relationships. This early experience has been associated with many problematic behavioral outcomes; however, researchers have not frequently examined relationship quality of post-institutional adoptees, nor have they examined aspects of the adoptive family that might moderate institutionalization effects. The purpose of this study was to examine the self-reported relationship quality of 10-17-year-old children adopted into the USA from Russian institutions and to determine whether sibling characteristics (relative age, gender composition, sibling adoption status) moderate institutionalization effects.

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Selective responding bias, though under-researched, is of particular concern in the study of post-institutionalized children because many studies rely on mailed questionnaires and response rates are often low. The current study addresses the impact of selective responding in a single wave of data collection and in a multi-wave study. Participants were 121 parents from a larger four-wave study of post-institutionalized children, identified as Never Responders, Previous Responders (but not to the current wave), or Wave 4 Responders.

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This article reports the maintenance of one of the largest interventions conducted in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) orphanages for children birth to 4 years using regular caregiving staff. One orphanage received training plus structural changes, another training only, and a third business as usual.

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Inhibitory control and working memory were examined in post-institutionalized (PI) children adopted into United States families from Russian institutions. The PI sample originated from institutions that were less severely depriving than those represented in previous studies and approximated the level of psychosocial deprivation, which is characterized by adequate physical resources but a lack of consistent and responsive caregiving. PI children (N = 75; 29 male) ranged in age from 8-17 years (M = 12.

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This study compared parent-rated executive functioning (EF) in 6- to 18-year-old children adopted from psychosocially depriving institutions to that in children adopted from severely or "globally" depriving institutions. Individual continuity in EF over 2 years was examined in children adopted from psychosocially depriving institutions. There were 471 children adopted from psychosocially depriving Russian institutions that provided adequate physical resources but failed to provide a consistent set of responsive caregivers.

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Background: Interleukin-31 (IL-31) is a member of the gp130/interleukin-6 cytokine family that is produced by cell types such as T helper 2 lymphocytes and cutaneous lymphocyte antigen positive skin homing T cells. When overexpressed in transgenic mice, IL-31 induces severe pruritus, alopecia and skin lesions. In humans, IL-31 serum levels correlate with the severity of atopic dermatitis in adults and children.

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Children in two institutions in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) experienced ward transitions, one in which caregivers were trained to provide sensitive, responsive caregiving and one that conducted business as usual. A third institution eliminated transitions, received the same training, and implemented a variety of structural and employment changes designed to promote improved caregiver-child interactions and relationships.

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The Interactive Systems Framework (ISF; Wandersman et al. in Am J Commu Psychol 41(3-4):171-181, 2008) was used to implement a kindergarten transition demonstration project collaboratively developed by elementary and early education providers, community-based family and housing services, parents, and a University intermediary and technical assistance group. First person accounts from stakeholders at all levels provide a complementary and broad perspective on the project's implementation.

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