Education, Social Engagement, and Cognitive Function: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis.

Objectives: Although education and social engagement are considered cognitive reserves, the pathway of both reserves on cognitive function has been rarely studied. This study aimed to examine the underlying mechanism between education, social engagement, and cognitive function.

Methods: This study used 2-wave data (2010 and 2014) from Health and Retirement Study in the United States (N = 3,201).

Cross-level covariance approach to the disaggregation of between-person effect and within-person effect.

In longitudinal studies, researchers are often interested in investigating relations between variables over time. A well-known issue in such a situation is that naively regressing an outcome on a predictor results in a coefficient that is a weighted average of the between-person and within-person effect, which is difficult to interpret. This article focuses on the cross-level covariance approach to disaggregating the two effects.

Moral injury and psychosocial functioning in health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Studies of moral injury among nonmilitary samples are scarce despite repeated calls to examine the prevalence and outcomes of moral injury among civilian frontline workers. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of moral injury and to examine its association with psychosocial functioning among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed health care workers (N = 480), assessing exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) and psychosocial functioning.

Bias for Treatment Effect by Measurement Error in Pretest in ANCOVA Analysis.

This paper investigated consequences of measurement error in the pretest on the estimate of the treatment effect in a pretest-posttest design with the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) model, focusing on both the direction and magnitude of its bias. Some prior studies have examined the magnitude of the bias due to measurement error and suggested ways to correct it. However, none of them clarified how the direction of bias is affected by measurement error.

Infant attention and maternal education are associated with childhood receptive vocabulary development.

Receptive vocabulary development was examined in 313 children (151 girls; 78% White) as a function of infant attention and maternal education (66% of mothers held a college degree or higher). Attention was measured at 10 months using a dynamic puppet task and receptive vocabulary was measured at 3-, 4-, 6-, and 9 years of age using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The best-fitting multilevel growth model was a quadratic model as a function of age.

Integrating Measurement-Based Care into Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder: Insights from a Community Clinic.

Measurement-based care (MBC), an evidence-based approach that has demonstrated efficacy for improving treatment outcomes, has yet to be investigated in clients with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The current paper investigates the use of MBC in autistic (n = 20) and non-autistic (n = 20) clients matched on age, sex, and presenting problem. Results of change score analysis indicated that utilizing routine symptom monitoring can enhance treatment evaluation.

Identification of county-level health factors associated with COVID-19 mortality in the United States.

Many studies have investigated causes of COVID-19 and explored safety measures for preventing COVID-19 infections. Unfortunately, these studies fell short to address disparities in health status and resources among decentralized communities in the United States. In this study, we utilized an advanced modeling technique to examine complex associations of county-level health factors with COVID-19 mortality for all 3141 counties in the United States.

Improving Transition to Adulthood for Students with Autism: A Randomized Controlled Trial of STEPS.

Emerging adulthood is a period of heightened risk for young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Due in part to a lack of evidence-based services and supports during the transition to adulthood, many emerging adults fail to matriculate into postsecondary education or thrive in productive employment. The Stepped Transition in Education Program for Students with ASD (STEPS) was developed to address the psychosocial, transition-related needs of emerging adults with ASD.

Multilevel analysis of BMI growth trajectories of US school children: Features and risk factors.

Childhood obesity continues to be a major focus of public health efforts in the United States, where nearly 17% of children are obese. In this study, we focused on two significant features that characterize U.S.

The Influence of Parent and Parent-Adolescent Relationship Characteristics on Sexual Trajectories into Adulthood.

To examine sexual partner acquisition into young adulthood and to explore what characteristics of the adolescent family context might predict this change, we used growth curve modeling to examine data from a nationally representative sample of adolescents followed longitudinally over 13 years through young adulthood (N = 5385). Growth curve modeling allowed us to treat the outcome as a dynamic variable and to examine 10 potential predictors of change while accounting for the nested nature of the data. Six family characteristics emerged as predictors of mean number of partners and rate of partner acquisition, while accounting for three significant adolescent predictors.

Students with autism spectrum disorder in college: Results from a preliminary mixed methods needs analysis.

Background: There is a growing call for empirically based programming to support the success of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as they transition to college.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to identify the needs and challenges faced by adolescents and young adults with ASD in postsecondary education.

Methods: A mixed methods approach was taken to explore the needs of college-bound and college-enrolled students with ASD.

Long-Term Effects of CBT on Social Impairment in Adolescents with ASD.

Anxiety interventions involving social skills training and CBT for youth with ASD have shown promise, but few studies have examined the effects on social functioning or the maintenance of treatment gains. This study evaluated change in social skills during a randomized controlled trial of CBT and during the 1-year follow-up for 25 adolescents with ASD and anxiety. We examined the effect of pretreatment social anxiety and loneliness on treatment response.

Curriculum, Practice, and Diet Predict Health Among Experienced Taiji and Qigong Practitioners.

Objective: To explore the potential influence of curriculum, frequency of practice, and dietary quality on the health of experienced Taiji and qigong practitioners.

Design: Theoretical and cross-sectional study.

Methods: Responses from a volunteer sample of Taiji practitioners from across the United States were collected using an online survey.

Examining individual and school characteristics associated with child obesity using a multilevel growth model.

The childhood obesity epidemic continues to be a serious concern in the U.S., disproportionately affecting low socioeconomic and minority groups.

Effects of Verbal Ability and Severity of Autism on Anxiety in Adolescents With ASD: One-Year Follow-Up After Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

There is evidence supporting the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for treatment of anxiety in youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but long-term course of anxiety after treatment and individual predictors of treatment response are unknown. To meet the demands for personalized mental health care, information on the fit between patient and treatment as well as treatment durability is needed. We evaluated change in anxiety symptoms during intervention and 1 year after completion of the treatment, and evaluated predictors of response using an advanced analytical design, with follow-up data from a randomized controlled trial of 22 adolescents (12-17 years) with ASD and 1 or more anxiety disorders.

Comparing the health status of U.S. taijiquan and qigong practitioners to a national survey sample across ages.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine and compare health status across ages using a volunteer sample of U.S. Taijiquan and Qigong (TQG) practitioners (N=120; age range=24-83, M=54.

The effect of neoadjuvant therapy on the 5-fluorouracil metabolic and relative enzymes of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

To assess the effect of neoadjuvant therapy using tegafur/uracil (UFT) and radiation therapy on the 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) metabolic and relative enzymes, thymidylate synthase (TS), dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), orotate phosphoribosyl transferase (OPRT) and thymidine phosphorylase (TP) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), we examined the mRNA expression and immunohistochemical staining status of these enzymes using 17 surgical specimens. Seven patients did not receive any neoadjuvant therapy and 10 were treated with UFT and local irradiation therapy. Our result showed that the mRNA expression of these enzymes in neoadjuvant group was not significantly different from that of non-treated group using real-time quantitative PCR.

Global DNA hypomethylation suppresses squamous carcinogenesis in the tongue and esophagus.

Genome-wide DNA hypomethylation and concomitant site-specific gene hypermethylation are among the most common molecular alterations in human neoplasia. Previous studies revealed that genetic reduction of the DNA methylation level results in opposing effects on tumor development, depending on the tumor cell type and on the different stages of the tumorigenesis. For instance, reduced levels of DNA methylation in mice strongly inhibited tumor development of the intestine, whereas they induced thymic lymphomas and liver tumors.

Linking classical test theory and two-level hierarchical linear models.

This paper considers the link between classical test theory (CTT) and two-level hierarchical linear models (HLM). Conceptualizing that items are nested within subjects, we can reformulate the ANOVA classical test model as an HLM. In this HLM framework, item difficulty parameters are represented by the fixed effects, and subject's abilities are represented by the random effects.

Preventive effect of fermented brown rice and rice bran on N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-induced gastric carcinogenesis in rats.

A number of possible preventive agents for cancers in different organs have been reported, however, little information is available regarding the effective agents for the development of gastric cancers. The rice components are known to be effective for the prevention of the development of cancers. Our group has demonstrated that fermented brown rice by Aspergillus Orzae (FBRA) has chemopreventive potentials in several organs.

The effect of hypoxic microenvironment on matrix metalloproteinase expression in xenografts of human oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Hypoxia is a common environmental stress factor and is associated with physiological and pathological conditions related to cancer invasion and metastasis. The process of cancer cell invasion involves degradation of the extracellular matrix. Here, we examine the effect of hypoxic microenvironment on matrix metalloproteinase expression in human oral squamous cell carcinoma under in vitro and in vivo conditions.

Some links between classical and modern test theory via the two-level hierarchical generalized linear model.

This article considers some links between classical test theory (CTT) and modern test theory (MTT) such as item response theory (IRT) and the Rasch model in the context of the two-level hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM). Conceptualizing items as nested within subjects, both the CTT model and the MTT model can be reformulated as an HGLM where item difficulty parameters are represented by fixed effects and subjects' abilities are represented by random effects. In this HGLM framework, the CTT and MTT models differ only in the level 1 sampling model and the associated link function.