Deconstructing maternal sensitivity: Predictive relations to mother‐child attachment in home and laboratory settings

Despite the well‐documented importance of parental sensitivity for child development, there is a lack of consensus regarding how best to assess it. We investigated the factor structure of maternal caregiving behavior as assessed at 12 months by the Maternal Behavior Q‐Sort (Pederson & Moran) with 274 mother‐infant dyads. Subsequently, we examined associations between these empirically‐derived dimensions and child attachment, assessed in the home and laboratory (final N = 157). Three dimensions of maternal behavior were identified, corresponding fairly closely to Ainsworth's original scales. They were labeled Cooperation/Attunement, Positivity, and Accessibility/Availability. Only Cooperation/Attunement consistently predicted home‐based attachment at 15 months and 2 years, and at comparable strength to the overall sensitivity score, suggesting that this construct may be central to sensitivity. At 18 months, compared to their primarily secure counterparts, different types of laboratory‐assessed insecure attachment were associated with different patterns of maternal behavior. Mothers in avoidant relationships (n = 18) were low on Cooperation/Attunement and Accessibility/Availability, but fairly high on Positivity. Mothers of disorganized infants (n = 11) were Cooperative/Attuned but somewhat less Positive toward, and less Accessible/Available to, their infants. A multidimensional approach to parental behavior may facilitate the identification of parenting precursors of insecure parent‐child relationships.     

Evidence-based treatments for trauma among culturally diverse foster care youth: Treatment retention and outcomes

This study describes the implementation of three evidence-based treatments addressing traumatic stress symptoms within a wraparound foster care program in Illinois. Child–Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) were implemented with a racially diverse sample of youth ages 3–18 at six agencies. Culturally sensitive adaptations were made to treatment approaches to improve client retention and outcomes. Data analyses revealed no racial differences in retention in the program and no differences in outcomes between minority youth exposed to the intervention and other participants. All three evidence-based treatments were effective in reducing symptoms and improving functioning among minority youth. Implementation issues, including challenges and culturally competent accommodations, are discussed.     

Treatment of Uncertainty in Performance Assessments for Complex Systems

When viewed at a high level, performance assessments (PAs) for complex systems involve two types of uncertainty: stochastic uncertainty, which arises because the system under study can behave in many different ways, and subjective uncertainty, which arises from a lack of knowledge about quantities required within the computational implementation of the PA. Stochastic uncertainty is typically incorporated into a PA with an experimental design based on importance sampling and leads to the final results of the PA being expressed as a complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF). Subjective uncertainty is usually treated with Monte Carlo techniques and leads to a distribution of CCDFs. This presentation discusses the use of the Kaplan/Garrick ordered triple representation for risk in maintaining a distinction between stochastic and subjective uncertainty in PAs for complex systems. The topics discussed include (1) the definition of scenarios and the calculation of scenario probabilities and consequences, (2) the separation of subjective and stochastic uncertainties, (3) the construction of CCDFs required in comparisons with regulatory standards (e.g., 40 CFR Part 191, Subpart B for the disposal of radioactive waste), and (4) the performance of uncertainty and sensitivity studies. Results obtained in a preliminary PA for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of the MACCS reactor accident consequence analysis model, and the NUREG-1150 probabilistic risk assessments are used for illustration.     

重庆地区奶牛隐性乳房炎病原菌的分离鉴定及药敏试验

本文对重庆地区6个奶牛场的76头黑白花奶牛294份奶样,采用LMT方法检测隐性乳房炎,按常规方法分离鉴定病原菌,用纸片法对其病原菌进行药敏试验。结果表明,LMT阳性奶牛检出率为78.94％、阳性乳区的检出率为50.34％;阳性乳区的细菌检出率为87.83％;分离鉴定的病原菌以葡萄球菌和链球菌为主,占检出细菌总数的94.60％;而这些病原菌对庆大霉素、氯霉素和红霉素的敏感性最高。目前在临床是可首选此类药物治疗奶牛隐性乳房炎。     

Psychosocial Correlates of Interpersonal Sensitivity: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis examines how interpersonal sensitivity (IS), defined as accurate judgment or recall of others’ behavior or appearance, is related to psychosocial characteristics of the perceiver, defined as personality traits, social and emotional functioning, life experiences, values, attitudes, and self-concept. For 215 independent studies reported in 96 published sources, higher IS was generally associated with favorable or adaptive psychosocial functioning. Significant mean correlations were found for 27 of the 40 categories of psychosocial variables; these categories covered many different personality traits, indicators of mental health, and social and work-related competencies. Moreover, many additional studies that fell outside these conceptual categories also showed significant positive relations between IS and numerous other psychosocial variables. Taken together, the results support the construct validity of IS tests and demonstrate that IS is associated with many important aspects of personal and social functioning.

低渗储层应力敏感评价方法探讨

应力敏感评价是储层保护以及油气井产能评价的重要依据，尤其对低渗储层更显意义重大。目前国内对油气储层的应力敏感评价方法及标准尚存在争议,通过对国内外曾提出的应力敏感评价     

符号网络分析算法及计算机实现

提出了一种分析电路符号网络函数的新编码算法ＮＳＣＡ。它能有效降低基码，防止过早发生整数溢出，从而扩大分析电路的规模。提出了灵敏度分析算法和化简算法，并可对模块电路进行处理，增强了编码算法的适用范围。根据该算法开发了软件系统ＳＮＳＰＣ２．０。实例运行结果证明了算法理论的正确性和可行性     

Risk of Error and the Kappa Coefficient of a Binary Diagnostic Test in the Presence of Partial Verification

The accuracy of a binary diagnostic test is usually measured in terms of its sensitivity and its specificity, or through positive and negative predictive values. Another way to describe the validity of a binary diagnostic test is the risk of error and the kappa coefficient of the risk of error. The risk of error is the average loss that is caused when incorrectly classifying a non-diseased or a diseased patient, and the kappa coefficient of the risk of error is a measure of the agreement between the diagnostic test and the gold standard. In the presence of partial verification of the disease, the disease status of some patients is unknown, and therefore the evaluation of a diagnostic test cannot be carried out through the traditional method. In this paper, we have deduced the maximum likelihood estimators and variances of the risk of error and of the kappa coefficient of the risk of error in the presence of partial verification of the disease. Simulation experiments have been carried out to study the effect of the verification probabilities on the coverage of the confidence interval of the kappa coefficient.     

Cognitive Risk Factors to the Development of Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in Adolescents

This exploratory study examines cognitive risk factors, anxiety sensitivity, and positive and negative affect, as related to the development of anxiety and depression. In a mailed survey, adolescents completed the Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index and the Positive and Negative Affectivity Scale. Previous research utilized the broad and unified variable of anxiety sensitivity as a predictor of anxiety. In this study, we separate and examine the four specific factors of anxiety sensitivity: mental incapacitation concerns, social concerns, disease concerns, and unsteady concerns, and relate it to specific anxiety disorders and depression. Results indicate good convergent validity and improved divergent validity when utilizing the four factors of anxiety sensitivity as compared to using it as one construct. Results also suggest: (1) OCD and GAD share numerous similarities and (2) the importance of the role of negative affectivity in anxiety and depression. Being aware of the components of anxiety sensitivity and how they relate to specific anxiety disorders can help a social worker when rendering a diagnosis. Part of the data presented in this article was from David A. Dia’s doctoral dissertation.     

BSE Risk Assessment as a Basis for Updating French Screening Policy

The current French bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance system, based on rapid testing of all cattle over 24 months of age and on clinical diagnosis, detects all clinical cases and some preclinical cases of BSE. Several indicators point to a marked shrinkage of the French BSE epidemic in recent years, owing to risk reduction measures. Meat and bone meal, the only known vector of the BSE agent, was banned in feed for all farmed species in November 2000. Thus the surveillance system may be relaxed. The objective of this risk assessment study was to provide information for decisionmakers on the minimum age at which healthy and high-risk cattle now need to be screened with rapid tests. For this purpose, we used the back-calculation method to project the course of the BSE epidemic. We examined the predicted patterns of the number and age distribution of cases of BSE that would be detected by the different existing surveillance streams. Various theoretical sensitivities of rapid tests were explored. Assuming that feed-borne sources of infection no longer exist, and that BSE does not occur spontaneously, our models suggest that it would have been possible to raise the minimum age for rapid tests to 66 months in early 2006, whereas theoretical reasoning, based on the assumption that the total meat and bone meal ban was effective in November 2001, suggests that this age cutoff could only be raised to 48 months in early 2006. These results only apply to cattle born and bred in France. If the situation remains unchanged, the age cutoff could be raised incrementally each year.