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The present study explored the effects of the pandemic on individuals with Down Syndrome (DS; n = 67) compared to other groups with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND; n = 48) and their Typically Developing Siblings (TDS; n = 56). In total, 115 caregivers reported on their own anxiety and worries and of their children. Anxiety levels for individuals with DS appeared to be lower compared to other SEND populations and to TDS. In terms of worries, individuals with DS worried more about social-related worries but worried less about family-related aspects compared to the other groups. In sum, individuals with DS might show less anxiety but still worried more about specific aspects related to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their lives.

COVID-19 has affected people across the world. The current study examined anxiety and worries during the first UK national lockdown in March 2020. Parents (n = 402) reported on their own anxiety and worries as well as that of their son/daughter with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and typically developing (TD) child (n = 186) at three time points. Although both groups showed increased anxiety across the three time points, levels of anxiety in the SEND group, but not the TD siblings, were predicted by awareness about COVID-19. In addition, worries differed between the groups showing that COVID-19 impacts the wellbeing of those with SEND differently to that of their TD siblings.

This study identified and analyzed the common linguistic errors encountered by Linguistics, Literature, and Advertising Arts majors in their Thesis Proposal classes in the First Semester 2016-2017. The data were the drafts of the thesis proposals of the students from the three different programs. A total of 32 manuscripts were analyzed which was based on the actual number of groups. Results showed that of the three kinds of errors, namely grammatical, syntactical, and mechanics/substance, grammar as a main concern in writing competency was the most common linguistic error among these students. Moreover, the prevalent grammatical errors were: disagreement between the pronoun and antecedent, wrong usage of tense, and disagreement between the verb and subject. In the area of syntax, the most problematic areas were: fragments and run-ons. Lastly, in terms of mechanics, the top errors were: punctuation and spelling. This study recommends that an intensive refresher writing course that focuses on the error-prone areas be conducted to prepare graduating students for their thesis proposal writing; to consider that team teaching and other interventions be considered so linguistic problems together with content can be addressed, since form and content go together, and finally, that a thesis editing guide or writing handbook be prepared, with an abundance of examples, practice exercises and writing activities, for instructors' and students' use.

In order to better understand protective factors for internalizing problems, this longitudinal study examined positive emotions, emotion awareness and (non-)emotional communication skills in relation to somatic complaints and social anxiety in children with (N = 104) and without (N = 183) Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) using self-reported measures twice with a 9-month interval. Additionally, parents reported on their child's communication problems and emotion communication at Time 1. Most importantly, since we found that increasing levels of emotion awareness related to decreases in social anxiety and somatic complaints in children with and without DLD, we conclude that children with DLD are likely to benefit from interventions aimed at improving their emotion awareness in addition to language interventions.

Background: Depressive symptoms are common in children with developmental language disorder (DLD). However, risk and protective factors contributing to these problems are currently underspecified. Aims: The current longitudinal study examined the role of emotion-regulation (ER) strategies in the severity of depressive symptoms in children with and without DLD, taking into account the severity of communication problems of children with DLD. Methods & Procedures: We followed clinically referred children with DLD (n = 114, 49% girls) and without DLD (n = 214, 58% girls) between the ages of 8 and 16 years across an 18-month period. Participants completed self-report questionnaires at three time points. Parents of children with DLD reported on their child's communication problems. Outcomes & Results: Multilevel analyses confirmed higher levels of depressive symptoms in youngsters with DLD compared with peers without DLD, with a decrease across time in the DLD group. In both groups, higher levels of approach and increasing avoidant strategies aimed at distraction or trivializing a problem explained lower depressive symptoms, whereas more worry and externalizing strategies contributed to more depressive symptoms. Within the DLD group, semantic language problems were associated with higher depressive symptoms. However, this relation was mediated by the tendency to worry or use externalizing strategies. Conclusions & Implications: Results suggest that interventions for children with DLD should focus on enhancing their adaptive ER strategies to help them cope with daily stressors just as in the general population.

The 3-O-sulfotransferase (3-OST) family catalyzes rare modifications of glycosaminoglycan chains on heparan sulfate proteoglycans, yet their biological functions are largely unknown. Knockdown of 3-OST-7 in zebrafish uncouples cardiac ventricular contraction from normal calcium cycling and electrophysiology by reducing tropomyosin4 (tpm4) expression. Normal 3-OST-7 activity prevents the expansion of BMP signaling into ventricular myocytes, and ectopic activation of BMP mimics the ventricular noncontraction phenotype seen in 3-OST-7 depleted embryos. In 3-OST-7 morphants, ventricular contraction can be rescued by overexpression of tropomyosin tpm4 but not by troponin tnnt2, indicating that tpm4 serves as a lynchpin for ventricular sarcomere organization downstream of 3-OST-7. Contraction can be rescued by expression of 3-OST-7 in endocardium, or by genetic loss of bmp4. Strikingly, BMP misregulation seen in 3-OST-7 morphants also occurs in multiple cardiac noncontraction models, including potassium voltage-gated channel gene, kcnh2, affected in Romano-Ward syndrome and long-QT syndrome, and cardiac troponin T gene, tnnt2, affected in human cardiomyopathies. Together these results reveal 3-OST-7 as a key component of a novel pathway that constrains BMP signaling from ventricular myocytes, coordinates sarcomere assembly, and promotes cardiac contractile function.

Expressive incoherence can be implicated in socio-emotional communicative problems in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study examined expressive incoherence in 37 children with ASD and 41 typically developing (TD) children aged 3-13 years old during a frustration task. The role of alexithymia in expressive incoherence was also assessed. Compared to TD children, children with ASD had higher expressive incoherence, such as more neutral and positive emotion expressions during negative behaviors, but not in the expression of negative emotions during positive behaviors. Further analyses revealed that alexithymia moderated the expressions of positive emotions during negative behaviors. These results suggest that children with ASD may benefit from interventions targeting alexithymia to increase emotional coherence, which may improve socio-emotional communication.

Maladaptive behavior is common in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, the factors that give rise to maladaptive behavior in this context are not well understood. The present study examined the role of emotion experience and emotion regulation in maladaptive behavior in individuals with ASD and typically developing (TD) participants. Thirty-one individuals with ASD and 28 TD participants and their parents completed questionnaires assessing emotion experience, regulation, and maladaptive behavior. Compared to TD participants, individuals with ASD used cognitive reappraisal less frequently, which was associated with increased negative emotion experience, which in turn was related to greater levels of maladaptive behavior. By decreasing negative emotions, treatments targeting adaptive emotion regulation may therefore reduce maladaptive behaviors in individuals with ASD.

Background: Although emotion dysregulation is not a defining feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), there is a growing consensus that emotional problems play a prominent role in this disorder. Methods: The present study examined a wide range of emotion regulation (ER) strategies in 32 individuals with ASD compared to 31 group-matched typically developing (TD) participants in three emotional domains (anger, anxiety, and amusement). Parents of individuals with ASD and TD individuals were interviewed about their child's emotional experience and the use and efficacy of 10 ER strategies. In addition, participants filled out daily diaries on experience and regulation in the same emotional domains. Results: Compared to TD individuals, parents reported that individuals with ASD experienced more anger and anxiety and less amusement, made less frequent use of a variety of adaptive ER strategies (e.g. problem solving, cognitive reappraisal), and made more frequent use of maladaptive strategies (e.g. repetitive behavior). Moreover, individuals with ASD were less effective at utilizing adaptive ER strategies. Self-reports showed differences in experience of amusement and in ER strategies for anger and anxiety, but not in experience of anger and anxiety. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that individuals with ASD less frequently use adaptive -- but more frequently use maladaptive -- ER strategies. Implications for ASD treatments that focus on increasing the use of adaptive strategies are discussed.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between emotion dysregulation and the core features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which include social/communication deficits, restricted/repetitive behaviors, and sensory abnormalities. An 18-item Emotion Dysregulation Index was developed on the basis of expert ratings of the Child Behavior Checklist. Compared to typically developing controls, children and adolescents with ASD showed more emotion dysregulation and had significantly greater symptom severity on all scales. Within ASD participants, emotion dysregulation was related to all core features of the disorder, but the strongest association was with repetitive behaviors. These findings may facilitate the development of more effective therapeutic strategies targeting emotion dysregulation in order to optimize long-term outcomes for individuals with ASD.

The present paper investigated the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) in relation to recalled experiences of having been laughed at in the past in individuals with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). About 45% of the individuals with AS (N = 40), but only 6% of the controls (N = 83) had at least a slight form of gelotophobia, which is the highest percentage ever found in the literature. Gelotophobia correlated with the frequency and severity of remembered teasing and mocking situations in the past. This indicates that gelotophobia is an important issue in individuals with AS. Furthermore, individuals with AS are less able to laugh at themselves (gelotophilia), but enjoy laughing at others (katagelasticism, a more hostile form of humor) to the same extent as controls do.

The present paper aims to investigate whether individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) show global humor processing deficits or whether humor comprehension and appreciation depends on stimulus characteristics. Non-verbal visual puns, semantic and Theory of Mind cartoons were rated on comprehension, funniness and the punchlines were explained. AS individuals did not differ to the control group in humor appreciation of visual puns. However, they had difficulty understanding and appreciating Theory of Mind cartoons and provided mentalistic explanations less frequently than controls suggesting that humor processing is strongly related to the cognitive requirements that the stimuli pose on the perceiver. Furthermore, AS individuals referred in all conditions more frequently to non-joke relevant details. Therefore, humor processing is also influenced by their detail-oriented processing style.

Virtual reality (VR) is a valuable research tool offering advantages in terms of high experimenter control and standardization in the simulation of vivid personal and social experiences. It has been used for assessments and training in social cognition with the use of virtual agents instead of face-to-face interactions - but its potential for the study of social emotion regulation has, perhaps surprisingly, largely remained untapped. The present study evaluates a novel immersive VR scenario designed to study the efficacy of social support by a virtual agent using a modified version of Cyberball, an established paradigm to induce the feeling of ostracism. Participants embodied a new pupil in a virtual school environment and played Cyberball, after which they either did or did not receive emotional support. Self-reports and psychophysiological markers demonstrated that the negative impact of social exclusion in Cyberball was successfully replicated, while participants also reported a significant improvement in emotional state after being supported by the virtual agent. These results indicate the potential of the developed scenario for research on social emotion regulation in immersive VR. Future studies could aim to test the efficacy of social support for people with difficulties in self-regulation, for example individuals with high social anxiety, with a view to developing training programs in VR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes three writing assignments (on a scientist, a topic in science, and a topic in technical communication) that help technical writing students develop their technical backgrounds, familiarity with reference materials, peer editing skills, and writing skills. (RS)

Proposes 10 hypothetical "mini-cases," and calls upon upperclass technical writing students either to select from 1 of 4 given responses or to devise their own. Explains that, after choosing answers, students collaborate to devise the best answers, then talk about their solutions in open class discussion. Provides suggested answers. (SG)

Purpose: Our goal was to test transcutaneous focused ultrasound in the form of ultrasonic propulsion and burst wave lithotripsy to reposition ureteral stones and facilitate passage in awake subjects. Materials and Methods: Adult subjects with a diagnosed proximal or distal ureteral stone were prospectively recruited. Ultrasonic propulsion alone or with burst wave lithotripsy was administered by a handheld transducer to awake, unanesthetized subjects. Efficacy outcomes included stone motion, stone passage, and pain relief. Safety outcome was the reporting of associated anticipated or adverse events. Results: Twenty-nine subjects received either ultrasonic propulsion alone (n = 16) or with burst wave lithotripsy bursts (n = 13), and stone motion was observed in 19 (66%). The stone passed in 18 (86%) of the 21 distal ureteral stone cases with at least 2 weeks follow‐up in an average of 3.9±4.9 days post-procedure. Fragmentation was observed in 7 of the burst wave lithotripsy cases. All subjects tolerated the procedure with average pain scores (0-10) dropping from 2.1±2.3 to 1.6±2.0 (P = .03). Anticipated events were limited to hematuria on initial urination post-procedure and mild pain. In total, 7 subjects had associated discomfort with only 2.2% (18 of 820) propulsion bursts. Conclusions: This study supports the efficacy and safety of using ultrasonic propulsion and burst wave lithotripsy in awake subjects to reposition and break ureteral stones to relieve pain and facilitate passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the use of Tarot cards to help students achieve clarity in descriptive writing and learn how to interpret symbols. (TJ)

Disinfection byproducts (DBPs), including total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and the sum of five haloacetic acids (HAA5) are regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (DBPR). This study compiled DBP and related water quality parameter data for 395 public drinking water systems serving populations greater than 100,000 across 44 US states from 1980 to early 2015. Assessing DBP occurrence data from two years before (2010-2012) and after (2012-2014) Stage 2 DBPR implementation shows improved capture of higher DBP exposure locations within water distribution systems due to the initial distribution system evaluation. After Stage 2 DBPR implementation, TTHM and HAA5 concentrations have mean values of 30.5 μg/L and 19.6 μg/L and 95th percentile values of 71.2 μg/L and 46.5 μg/L, respectively. Comparing this data set with the 1997-1998 Information Collection Rule data set suggests a 20 pg/L reduction in average TTHM occurrence for the highest 5 % of systems nationally from 1997-1998 to 2010-2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]