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AbstractWhile social skills training allows students to acquire social skills, often it does not enhance their performance of those skills outside the social skills training context. A withdrawal design was used to determine if a modified Tootling intervention could enhance at-risk, first-grade students’ performance of two recently trained social skills (complimenting and encouraging) as they played. Following social skills training, baseline data was collected as students played a modified Jenga game in small groups. During the intervention phase, a Tootling intervention was added and the class earned a group reward contingent upon their reports of peers engaging in these recently trained social skills. After Tootling was withdrawn, it was reinstated. Analysis of class-wide data shows immediate and large (effect size estimates) increases in compliments and encouragements each time Tootling was applied, and an immediate decrease when Tootling was withdrawn. These findings suggest that the modified Tootling intervention enhanced performance of these social skills while students played. Discussion focuses on future research designed to determine if Tootling can cause meaningful increases in social skill development by increasing students’ performance of social skills across social contexts.Impact StatementSocial skills training allows students to acquire social skills, but typically does not result in students performing these behaviors in other social contexts. A peer-mediated intervention known as Tootling, which involves students being reinforced for reporting classmates’ performance of recently trained social skills (i.e., providing encouragements and compliments), caused large and immediate increases in first-grade students’ performance of these prosocial behaviors as they engaged in a small-group game.

To demonstrate that functional spermatids can be derived in vitro from nonhuman primate pluripotent stem cells.

Betaine improves insulin sensitivity during glucose tolerance testing but has little other metabolic effect. Dimethylglycine dehydrogenase limits betaine metabolism in prediabetes.

IMPORTANCE: Inflammation may contribute to pathological associations among obesity, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether targeting inflammation using salsalate compared with placebo reduces progression of noncalcified coronary artery plaque. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In the Targeting Inflammation Using Salsalate in Cardiovascular Disease (TINSAL-CVD) trial participants were randomly assigned between September 23, 2008, and July 5, 2012, to 30 months of salsalate or placebo in addition to standard, guideline-based therapies. Randomization was computerized and centrally allocated, with patients, health care professionals, and researchers masked to treatment assignment. Participants were overweight and obese statin-using patients with established, stable coronary heart disease. INTERVENTIONS: Salsalate (3.5 g/d) or placebo orally over 30 months. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was progression of noncalcified coronary artery plaque assessed by multidetector computed tomographic angiography. Secondary outcomes were other measures of safety and efficacy. RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-seven participants were randomized to salsalate (n = 129) or placebo (n = 128). Their mean (SD) age was 60.8 (7.0) years, and 94.0% (236 of 251) were male. One hundred ninety participants (89 in the salsalate group and 101 in the placebo group) completed the study. Compared with baseline, there was no increase in noncalcified plaque volume in the placebo-treated patients and no difference in change between the salsalate and placebo groups (mean difference, −1 mm3; 95% CI, −11 to 9 mm3; P = .87). Salsalate treatment decreased total white blood cell, lymphocyte, monocyte, and neutrophil counts and increased adiponectin levels without change in C-reactive protein levels. Fasting glucose, triglycerides, uric acid, and bilirubin levels were decreased in the salsalate group compared with the placebo group, while hemoglobin levels were increased. Urinary albumin levels increased, with tinnitus and atrial arrhythmias more common, in the salsalate group compared with the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Salsalate when added to current therapies that include a statin does not reduce progression of noncalcified coronary plaque volume assessed by multidetector computed tomographic angiography in statin-using patients with established, stable coronary heart disease. The absence of progression of noncalcified plaque volume in the placebo group may limit interpretation of the trial results. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00624923

This article reviews recent developments in our knowledge of the reciprocal interactions between epilepsy and sex hormones and how these interactions may play a role in the pathophysiology and treatment of both.

This investigation assessed the frequency of catamenial epilepsy in 87 women who charted seizures and menses during three cycles. Catamenial epilepsy designation was made if two of three cycles showed at least one of three previously defined catamenial patterns. Among ovulatory cycles, average daily seizure frequency was significantly greater during the perimenstrual and preovulatory phases. Among anovulatory cycles, average daily seizure frequency was substantially less during the midfollicular phase than during the remainder of the cycle. Overall, 39.1% of the women had catamenial epilepsy. Ann Neurol 2004;56:431–434