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Attempted to replicate study which proved predictive validity of premarital inventory PREPARE. Conducted longitudinal study with couples (N=179) who took PREPARE. Found PREPARE predicted with about 80 percent accuracy couples who got divorced from those that were happily married. Claims premarital counseling could potentially help high-risk couples. (Author/ABL)

This study investigated the impacts of bacterial DNA extraction methodology on downstream analysis of fish gut microbiota. Feces and intestine samples were taken from three sympatric freshwater fish species with varying diets. Samples were processed immediately (approximately 4 h after capture; fresh), stored at -20?C for 15 days or preserved in RNAlater® reagent for 15 days. DNA was then extracted using two commercial kits: one designed for animal tissues and one specifically formulated for stool samples. Microbial community fingerprints were generated using ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis. Factors including diversity as depicted by band number, band intensity, repeatability and practicalities such as cost and time were considered. Despite significant differences in microbiota structure, results were similar between feces and intestine samples. Frozen samples were consistently outperformed by other storage methods and the stool kit typically outperformed the tissue kit. Overall, we recommend extraction of bacterial DNA from fresh samples using the stool kit for both sample types. If samples cannot be processed immediately, preservation in RNAlater® is preferred to freezing. Choice of DNA extraction method significantly influences the results of downstream microbial community analysis and thus should be taken into consideration for metadata analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of Vibrio vulnificus on the external surfaces of fish from the northern Gulf of Mexico was determined in this study. A collection of 242 fish comprising 28 species was analyzed during the course of 12 sampling trips over a 16-month period. The prevalence of V. vulnificus was 37% but increased up to 69% in summer. A positive correlation was found between the percentages of V. vulnificus-positive fish and water temperatures, while salinity and V. vulnificus-positive fish prevalence were inversely correlated. A general lineal model (percent V. vulnificus-positive fish = 0.5930 - 0.02818 × salinity + 0.01406 × water temperature) was applied to best fit the data. Analysis of the population structure was carried out using 244 isolates recovered from fish. Ascription to 16S rRNA gene types indicated that 157 isolates were type A (62%), 72 (29%) were type B, and 22 (9%) were type AB. The percentage of type B isolates, considered to have greater virulence potential, was higher than that previously reported in oyster samples from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to resolve the genetic diversity within the species. One hundred twenty-one unique AFLP profiles were found among all analyzed isolates, resulting in a calculated Simpson's index of diversity of 0.991. AFLP profiles were not grouped on the basis of collection date, fish species, temperature, or salinity, but isolates were clustered into two main groups that correlated precisely with 16S rRNA gene type. The population of V. vulnificus associated with fishes from the northern Gulf of Mexico is heterogeneous and includes strains of great virulence potential [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the associations of stress exposure to various aspects of school-based competence in a normative sample of 205 children aged 8-13. Potential moderators of these relations, including child attributes of sex and IQ, and environmental attributes of socioeconomic status (SES) and family qualities, were also studied. Stress exposure was indexed by a life event questionnaire. Competence was assessed by teacher ratings, peer assessments and school record data. Family attributes were derived from a set of rating scales completed by interviewers after 6 hours of interviews with a parent. Results suggest that the relations of stress exposure to competence vary as a function of individual differences as well as the competence criterion. Disadvantaged children, with lower IQ and SES, and less positive family qualities, were generally less competent and more likely to be disruptive at high stress levels. Advantaged children were more competent, and with stress were less positively engaged in school, but were not likely to be disruptive. Boys were less socially competent than girls and, when stress was high, appeared to be less protected by positive family qualities. Causal hypotheses for future research in this area are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary component of a comprehensive program evaluation report in early intervention is a detailed account of the intervention. Careful analysis of the program documentation requires a description of the amount and type of intervention. As one component of a larger evaluation project, the present interim report describes the implementation variation of physical and occupational therapy for 43 infants with motor delays across six early intervention programs. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to determine the influences of infant, family, and program variables on the actual therapy services administered over a 6-month data collection period. Variations in the intensity of intervention were related to therapist availability and the severity of infant motor delay; variations in the setting and service mode were poorly predicted by the variables identified. This article demonstrates how implementation, considered as an independent variable for program evaluation documentation, can be examined as a dependent variable to help explain factors affecting the degree and structure of therapy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]