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This study examined the effectiveness of child-centered group play therapy (CCGPT) and narrative therapy in reducing separation anxiety disorder (SAD) and boosting social-emotional behaviours in early childhood (2.5-4-year-olds). An 8-week-randomized controlled trial design with three intervention groups, i.e. CCGPT, narrative therapy, and a combination of both interventions (i.e. combined group), and one control group that provided data at a pre-test and post-test, was adopted. A total of 48 children who showed signs of SAD participated in the study. Results showed that compared to the control group, CCGPT and combined group interventions showed a lower separation anxiety level. Children in all three intervention groups showed lower behavioural problems and higher prosocial behaviours than the control group. The findings suggest that the three interventions could be effective selective psychotherapy methods to promote social-emotional competencies. The CCGPT and combined group, particularly, were effective psychotherapy methods for reducing SAD in early childhood.

Background/objective: Advancements in augmented reality (AR) technology enable developers to create augmented reality books (AR Books). AR Books can show interactive 3D objects and multimedia content to the user. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a developed AR Book on the theoretical and practical abilities in the administration of local anesthesia of the inferior alveolar nerve block. Methods: An exclusive AR Book was developed based on Chapter 14, Handbook of Local Anesthesia, seventh edition, Stanley F. Malamed, which enabled students to use their book (printed or electronic) as an AR Book. Forty dental students were randomly divided into control and study groups. In the control group, students were asked to use regular books, while in the study group, students were instructed to use interactive AR Books. All students took the written exam, scoring 0 to 10. Also, the administration of mandibular local anesthesia was evaluated in students. The level of concentration during the study, the written exam score, the practical score, the success rate of local anesthesia, and the needed time for injection were compared between the two groups. Results: There was a significant difference in the level of concentration during the study (p < 0.001), practical skill score (p = 0.037), and needed time for injection (p = 0.040) between the two groups. Conversely, the success rate of local anesthesia was almost similar (p = 0.705). Although the written exam score was higher in the study group than in the control group, the difference was not significant (p = 0.414). Conclusion: Using AR Books can engage students and help them to remain focused during the study. AR Books may be beneficial in enhancing the practical abilities of dental students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children who are not accepted in their peer group are at risk of developing internalizing problem behaviors. It is possible, however, that supportive parenting can provide a buffer against the detrimental effects of low peer acceptance. Objective: This study examined maternal and paternal affection and psychological control as moderators of the association between children's peer acceptance during the critical transition to primary school and level and subsequent development of internalizing problem behaviors from first to sixth grade. Method: A total of 608 children (264 girls, 344 boys) were rated by their teachers on their internalizing problems in grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Children's peer acceptance was measured in the first grade using a sociometric nomination procedure. At the same time point, mothers (n = 432) and fathers (n = 281) completed questionnaires measuring their levels of affection and psychological control. Results: The results of latent growth curve modelling showed, first, that on average children's internalizing problems decreased over the school years. Second, peer acceptance was associated with the development of internalizing problems: the higher the peer acceptance, the bigger the decrease--and the lower the peer acceptance, the smaller the decrease--in the level of internalizing problems across time. However, high maternal affection provided a buffer against this impact of low peer acceptance. Among boys, low levels of maternal psychological control also provided a buffer against the effects of low peer acceptance. No significant results were found on the moderating role of fathers' parenting styles. Conclusion: Overall, the results suggested that mothers' emotionally sensitive and supporting caregiving may protect children from the harmful long-term effects of low peer acceptance.

This study examined several early childhood education and care (ECEC) factors and their relation to children's salivary cortisol slope and hair cortisol concentration (HCC). The study is part of the cross-sectional DAGIS study, conducted in 2015–2016, examining 66 preschools and 677 children aged 3–6 years in Finland. Two saliva samples from one childcare day and a hair sample were collected from the children. Educators' education level, perceived stress, and occupational well-being factors, group size, child-adult ratio, and amount of childcare per week were assessed by questionnaires filled in by educators and guardians. Higher educators' education level was associated with a higher likelihood of children having a declining salivary cortisol slope. Educators with higher perceived stress were associated with a lower likelihood of children having a declining cortisol slope, but the result was attenuated in the adjusted model. Child-adult ratio was negatively associated with HCC. The results indicate that educators' higher education level and possibly lower stress associate with a favourable cortisol profile in children, suggesting less stress. These factors should receive attention when considering children's stress at childcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the identity profiles that upper secondary school Finnish student-athletes show and the extent to which these profiles were associated with their athletic and academic achievements and withdrawal from sports and school. A total of 391 adolescent athletes (51% female) completed assessments of student and athletic identity four times during their time in upper secondary school. Using growth mixture modeling, three groups were identified: dual identity (77%), changing identity (5%), and athletic identity (18%). The higher the academic achievement was at Time 1, the more likely the athletes were to show a dual identity than an athletic identity profile. Similarly, athletes with dual identity showed higher subsequent academic achievement at Time 4 than those with an athletic identity profile. Finally, athletes with dual identity were more likely and athletes with athletic identity less likely to withdraw from sport activities during upper secondary school than would be expected by chance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) of first-line anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs is a decisive tool, allowing the clinician to successfully treat TB patients. The objective of the study was to develop and optimize a simple, sensitive, and reliable high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of isoniazid (INH), pyrazinamide (PZA), and rifampin (RIF) levels in human plasma. Nicotinamide was used as the internal standard and the samples were prepared after protein precipitation using acetonitrile and zinc sulfate. The separation was achieved using a C18 reversed-phase applying gradient elution. The mobile phase was a combination of water-methanol solution with a ratio of 95:05 (v/v) at the initial phase. All calibration curves had good linearity (r² > 0.99) and the inter- and intra-day RSDs were lower than 15%. The limit of detection with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 3:1 was 0.16, 0.5, and 0.33 µg mL-1 for INH, PZA, and RIF, respectively. The method presented here was selective, sensitive, and reproducible, and could be used for therapeutic drug monitoring in the patients who were under treatment with these drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]