Specific Interaction Patterns Research Articles

A Longitudinal Analysis of Sibling Relationships as Mediators of the Link between Family Processes and Youths' Best Friendships

The importance of peers in influencing young people's decisions has long been recognized by both local youth programs (e.g., through schools and social service agencies) and national campaigns (e.g., Just Say No) established to prevent behavior that is potentially dangerous to the youths and to others. Although teaching youths how to resist peer pressure to engage in behavior that they would otherwise reject is important, it may also be advantageous to teach young people how to form friendships in which negative peer pressure would be minimized. Such relationships would be based on mutual trust, respect, and caring (Youniss & Smollar, 1985), thus enabling the youths to feel a greater sense of equality in the friendship (Berndt & Savin-Williams, 1993; Furman & Robbins, 1985), which minimizes unwanted influence. The extent to which these attributes characterize youths' friendships varies, and the factors in young people's lives that are likely to be associated with their establishment of such friendships has yet to be fully identified. The purpose of this article is to identify characteristics of young people and their families that are important to the establishment of strong best friend ships. Although a number of researchers have examined the impact of individual and familial factors on youths' peer relationships (Cohn, 1990; Dekovic & Janssens, 1992; Dishion, 1990; Gold & Yanof, 1985; Lewis & Feiring, 1989; Patterson, Kupersmidt, & Griesle, 1990; Putallaz, 1987; Roff, Sells, & Golden, 1972; Winder & Rau, 1962), most have taken a bivariate approach, with youths' popularity within their school classrooms as the outcome. In the present study, we examined the predictive links between youths' individual temperaments, several of the relationship systems within their families, and the quality of their best friendships. We used a structural equation modeling technique in order to consider both the direct and indirect effects of the different predictors. We were particularly interested in the contribution of youths' sibling relationships to those factors that predict strong best friendships. In several studies (Abramovitch, Corter, Pepler, & Stanhope, 1986; Berndt & Bulleit, 1985; East & Rook, 1992; Stocker & Dunn, 1990; Vandell, Minnett, Johnson, & Santrock, cited in Dunn & McGuire, 1992), researchers have considered the link between youths' sibling and peer relationships; however, the findings regarding both the magnitude and role of that link have been inconsistent. In the present study, we looked beyond the direct effects of youths' sibling relationships on their best friendships, hypothesizing that youths' sibling relationships may assume a mediating role in which youths translate their familial experiences into behaviors that are generalized to interactions with age mates outside the home. THE CONCEPTUAL MODEL We tested a social learning model (Patterson, 1986) in which children learn specific interaction patterns in their relationships with other family members, which are then generalized to their peer relations. Thus, we expected the quality of youths' best friendships to be positively associated with warmth, and negatively associated with conflict, in their sibling relationships. We also examined the mediational role that youths' sibling relationships play in the links between the quality of their best friendships and several individual and family variables: youths' temperaments, the quality of their relationships with their parents, and their exposure to conflict in their parents' marital relationship. Figure 1 presents the conceptual model that we tested and the predicted relations among the constructs. (Figure 1 omitted) Sibling relationship quality. Sibling relationships provide children and adolescents with experiences that are different from those they have with both parents and peers (Azmitia & Hesser, 1993; Brody, Stoneman, & MacKinnon; 1982; Whiting & Whiting, 1975). …

Age specific interactions between smoking and radon among United States uranium miners.

United States uranium miners who smoked have death rates from lung cancer that are intermediate between the rates predicted by the additive and multiplicative models (on a ratio scale) across all age groups. Age specific patterns of interaction have not been thoroughly examined, and most analyses have been internal ones in which there was no truly non-exposed group. Here age specific death rates of lung cancer among ever smoking uranium miners have been examined for conformity with the additive and multiplicative models. The multiplicative model fits well for the youngest and oldest categories, but poorly for the middle age ranges. In the middle age range, predicted rates under the multiplicative model were quite high, surpassing the corresponding United States death rates for all causes combined. If the multiplicative model is assumed to hold across all ages, one hypothesis that might explain the observed age specific patterns is that the full expression on the multiplicative model might not be seen at certain ages due to a limited pool of miners susceptible to lung cancer. These data, however, have several limitations such as small numbers of deaths from lung cancer among never smokers, the use of qualitative rather than quantitative smoking and radon exposure data, and ignorance of the underlying biological mechanisms of interaction.

Story Reading interactions between preschoolers who use AAC and their mothers

The study investigated the early literacy experiences of five preschool-aged children with severe physical and speech impairments. The children were videotaped during two 10-minute story reading sessions with their mothers; the interactions were transcribed and coded. Results indicated that the participation patterns were asymmetrical. The mothers dominated the exchanges, and the children forfeited many of their communicative opportunities. The interactions were synchronous; the dyads shared a focus in the interactions. There was some variation across the dyads with respect to the specific communicative interaction patterns observed. The children in Dyads 3 and 4 participated infrequently during the story reading sessions; the children in Dyads 1, 2, and 5 were more active in the story reading interactions and demonstrated a greater range of communicative behaviors. Directions for intervention and for future research are discussed in light of the results.

Motor Mechanisms Relevant to Auditory-Vocal Interactions in Songbirds

Vocal learning through imitation underlies both human speech acquisition and song acquisition in oscine birds; both processes depend on auditory information. In songbirds, a specialized forebrain pathway is responsible for producing the learned temporal and acoustic features of vocalizations, and auditory input reaches every level of this pathway. Nucleus robustus archistriatalis (RA) is the source of the final common output from this pathway; RA is topographically organized into subregions that control the syringeal, respiratory and other effectors involved in vocal production. The acoustic features of learned vocalizations are primarily produced by specific patterns and combinations of syringeal muscle activity, while the overall temporal structure is primarily under respiratory control. In RA, and other vocal control structures, the individual bird's own learned song (BOS) is the most effective stimulus for eliciting auditory responses. Some neurons are 'combination-selective' in that they respond maximally to stimuli consisting of sequences of syllables from song. The recording sites that respond selectively to BOS tend to be located in more ventral parts of RA, the subregion that projects to motor neurons controlling syringeal muscles. These observations do not distinguish between motor feedback and perceptual hypotheses about the function of auditory responses in vocal motor pathways but are consistent with the idea that such responses may reflect a specific pattern of interaction between sensory and motor events that reflects vocal learning.

Neural network interactions related to auditory learning analyzed with structural equation modeling

AbstractIf learning is an emergent property of interacting brain regions, understanding it requires a network analysis of the patterns of interaction between brain regions. Brain mapping techniques have the potential of providing information about functional interactions within entire neural systems, but computational methods are needed to make sense of the complex interactions that take place in the brain. This review paper illustrates, with examples from auditory learning studies, the application of a computational method that quantifies the interactions among neural regions in terms of networks, and what is gained from this approach. The method is Structural Equation Modeling, and it computes network interactions by combining anatomical circuitry with the covariation in the activity between auditory structures. Activity was assessed by fluorodeoxyglucose uptake, and the functional strengths of auditory pathways were quantified by computing path coefficients representing the strength of the functional influence through each anatomical path. Changes in these values were used as indices of how learned information was processed and modified within the auditory system. Structural models of the auditory system revealed the patterns of network interactions related to habituation to a sound, as well as the patterns related to the opposite learned associative properties of the same sound. They illustrated how the functional interactions among parallel auditory neural pathways were modified as a result of auditory learning. This analysis supports the hypothesis that auditory learning is an emergent network property, distributed among connected brain regions showing specific patterns of interaction. ©1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Recurrent alpha beta loop structures in TIM barrel motifs show a distinct pattern of conserved structural features.

A systematic survey of seven parallel alpha/beta barrel protein domains, based on exhaustive structural comparisons, reveals that a sizable proportion of the alpha beta loops in these proteins--20 out of a total of 49--belong to either one of two loop types previously described by Thornton and co-workers. Six loops are of the alpha beta 1 type, with one residue between the alpha-helix and beta-strand, and 13 are of the alpha beta 3 type, with three residues between the helix and the strand. Protein fragments embedding the identified loops, and termed alpha beta connections since they contain parts of the flanking helix and strand, have been analyzed in detail revealing that each type of connection has a distinct set of conserved structural features. The orientation of the beta-strand relative to the helix and loop portions is different owing to a very localized difference in backbone conformation. In alpha beta 1 connections, the chain enters the beta-strand via a residue adopting an extended conformation, while in alpha beta 3 it does so via a residue in a near alpha-helical conformation. Other conserved structural features include distinct patterns of side chain orientation relative to the beta-sheet surface and of main chain H-bonds in the loop and the beta-strand moieties. Significant differences also occur in packing interactions of conserved hydrophobic residues situated in the last turn of the helix. Yet the alpha-helix surface of both types of connections adopts similar orientations relative to the barrel sheet surface. Our results suggest furthermore that conserved hydrophobic residues along the sequence of the connections, may be correlated more with specific patterns of interactions made with neighboring helices and sheet strands than with helix/strand packing within the connection itself. A number of intriguing observations are also made on the distribution of the identified alpha beta 1 and alpha beta 3 loops within the alpha/beta-barrel motifs. They often occur adjacent to each other; alpha beta 3 loops invariably involve even numbered beta-strands, while alpha beta 1 loops involve preferentially odd beta-strands; all the analyzed proteins contain at least one alpha beta 3 loop in the first half of the eightfold alpha/beta barrel. Possible origins of all these observations, and their relevance to the stability and folding of parallel alpha/beta barrel motifs are discussed.

L'hypercholesterolemie — La comprendre et la maitriser

This article describes how patients express their anxiety during gynecological consultations and how gynecologists react to these anxiety expressions. Data for the interactional analysis consisted of 31 audiotaped gynecological consultations, which were transcribed literally. The results revealed that patients generally present their fear in very covert ways, e.g., by implicit allusions to the possibility of having malignancies or by pressure for more drastic medical intervention. Patients' anxiety was identified in speech disturbances, such as unfinished sentences and hesitations. Doctors had three types of reactions to patients' anxiety: they explored it, they started to reassure immediately or they negated the anxiety expressions of patients. Together these anxiety presentations and reactions form three interactional scenarios, which are illustrated by representative examples. Each observed consultation appeared to contain one of these three scenarios. The findings indicate that communication about emotions always takes place within a limited set of specific interactional patterns. The paper finishes with an examination of the relevance of the findings for medical practice.

Anxiety-scenarios in communication during gynecological consultations

This article describes how patients express their anxiety during gynecological consultations and how gynecologists react to these anxiety expressions. Data for the interactional analysis consisted of 31 audiotaped gynecological consultations, which were transcribed literally. The results revealed that patients generally present their fear in very covert ways, e.g., by implicit allusions to the possibility of having malignancies or by pressure for more drastic medical intervention. Patients' anxiety was identified in speech disturbances, such as unfinished sentences and hesitations. Doctors had three types of reactions to patients' anxiety: they explored it, they started to reassure immediately or they negated the anxiety expressions of patients. Together these anxiety presentations and reactions form three interactional scenarios, which are illustrated by representative examples. Each observed consultation appeared to contain one of these three scenarios. The findings indicate that communication about emotions always takes place within a limited set of specific interactional patterns. The paper finishes with an examination of the relevance of the findings for medical practice.

Nigral grafts in neonatal rats protect from aphagia induced by subsequent adult 6-OHDA lesions: the importance of striatal location

Previous studies have shown that dopamine-rich nigral grafts, implanted bilaterally into the intact neonatal brain, will provide some protection from the eating disorders induced by subsequent nigrostriatal 6-OHDA lesions. This has been repeated in the present study using unilaterally transplanted nigral grafts. Following adult lesions, the control animals displayed the full syndrome of aphagia, adipsia and akinesia. By contrast, 37% of the rats in the transplanted group recommenced eating following the adult lesion. Recovery was related to the size and position of the graft: protection was associated in particular with transplants located in the posterior-ventral neostriatum. The results are discussed in terms of specific patterns of graft-host interaction that may underlie protection of the regulation of eating from the loss of forebrain dopamine systems.

X-Ray Studies on Crystalline Complexes Involving Amino Acids and Peptides. Part XX. Crystal Structures of DL-Arginine Acetate Monohydrate and DL-Lysine Acetate and a Comparison with the Corresponding L-Amino Acid Complexes

Crystals of DL-arginine acetate monohydrate, C6H15N4O2+C2H3O2-.H2O, are monoclinic, P2(1)/c, with a = 13.552(2), b = 5.048(2), c = 18.837(3) A, beta = 101.34(2) degrees and Z = 4, and those of DL-lysine acetate, C6H15N2O2+.C2H3O2- are triclinic, P1, with a = 5.471(2), b = 7.656(2), c = 12.841(2) A, alpha = 94.48(1), beta = 94.59(2), gamma = 98.83(2) degrees and Z = 2. The structures have been solved by direct methods and refined to R = 0.058 and 0.077 for 1522 and 1259 observed reflections respectively. The difference in the number and the nature of proton donors leads to a difference in hydrogen bond density in the two structures. The basic elements of aggregation in both the structures are pairs of amino acid molecules, each pair stabilized by two centrosymmetrically related hydrogen bonds involving alpha-amino and alpha-carboxylate groups, stacked along the shortest dimension to form columns. The pairs are held together in each column by head-to-tail sequences. The columns stack along a crystallographic axis to form layers. Adjacent layers are bridged by acetate ions. The amino acid-acetate interactions are primarily through side chains and involve specific interactions and characteristic interaction patterns. The gross features of molecular aggregation are nearly the same in DL-arginine acetate monohydrate and L-arginine acetate whereas they are substantially different in the lysine complexes. In both cases, one of the two head-to-tail sequences in the L complex is replaced by a hydrogen bonded loop involving alpha-amino and alpha-carboxylate groups, in the DL complex. This may have implications for prebiotic condensation during chemical evolution.

Phage lambda Cro protein and cI repressor use two different patterns of specific protein-DNA interactions to achieve sequence specificity in vivo.

By assaying the binding of wild-type Cro to a set of 40 mutant lambda operators in vivo, we have determined that the 14 outermost base pairs of the 17 base pair, consensus lambda operator are critical for Cro binding. Cro protein recognizes 4 base pairs in a lambda operator half-site in different ways than cI repressor. The sequence determinants of Cro binding at these critical positions in vivo are nearly perfectly consistent with the model proposed by W. F. ANDERSON, D. H. OHLENDORF, Y. TAKEDA and B. W. MATTHEWS and modified by Y. TAKEDA, A. SARAI and V. M. RIVERA for the specific interactions between Cro and its operator, and explain the relative order of affinities of the six natural lambda operators for Cro. Our data call into question the idea that lambda repressor and Cro protein recognize the consensus lambda operator by nearly identical patterns of specific interactions.

Aggressive behavior in normal and deviant members of intact versus mother-only families.

Single-parent families have been identified as using more coercion and aggression to elicit compliance than intact families. The present study compared 9 mother-only and 15 intact families from a referred clinical sample to 9 mother-only and 16 intact nonreferred "normal" families using a family behavioral observation code. Clinical families emitted higher rates of aggressive behavior than normals, and mother-only emitted higher rates than intact. However, mother-only normals had lower rates than intact clinical families. The intact versus mother-only factor appears to be less important in understanding aggression than do the specific interactional patterns of family members.

The Histones

This chapter discusses evidence develops a hypothesis concerning the dynamic structural role of histones in chromatin. Histones are primarily structural proteins. Independent of species and tissue, they interact in the same repetitive fashion with the chromosomal DNA to form nucleosomes. Their lack of diversity and nonsequence-specific binding to DNA argue against their playing any explicit role in gene regulation. Histone microheterogeneity, arising from postsynthetic modifications and intraspecies sequence variations leaves open the possibility that histones are involved in the dynamics of chromosome structure. The chapter correlates the rather unique structural aspects of the five histone molecules—the differences among them as well as their similarities—with their biological function. A study of the many protein–protein and protein–DNA interactions in which the histones participate is discussed in the chapter. The four core histones H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 are focused, and H1 is discussed in relation to its interaction with DNA. The histones constitute part of a self-assembly system. And histone–histone interactions have a fundamental role in chromatin structure. Under conditions of high salt concentration, histone complexes related to the histone octamer—which is the histone core of the nucleosome—are obtained. Higher oligomeric structures are obtained from complexes of H2A·H2B, H3·H4, and all four histones. Intranucleosomal interactions of the histones are essential for the formation of the nucleosome. The basic general pattern of histone structure can be anticipated from the presence of a specific pattern of interactions of the core histones and the existence of histone variants and histone postsynthetic modifications.

Separation of polymer from a matrix polymerized complex of ionene-poly(vinyl sulphonate)

Poly(vinyl sulphonate) prepared on a polycationic matrix of low molecular weight has been successfully separated and studied; it has a low molecular weight analogous to the molecular weight of the matrix and is characterized by a specific interaction pattern with the original matrix.

Naming Gender and Ideology in Arab Culture

First names have been studied in different settings to identify specific patterns of culture and interaction (Goodenough, 1965), or changes in the political and social arena (Bulliett, 1978). Very few studies, however, have addressed the question of whether names represent ideological structures. This article summarizes the findings of a study on ideology and gender in a specific cultural context by examining first names.

SINE: support for single function agents

1.0 Introduction Our premise is that Design Expert Systems can be built using many small, cooperating, limited function expert systems, called Single Function Agents (SiFAs). We expect to be able to investigate and discover specific design-related primitive problem-solving and interaction patterns. The approach should also lead to a deeper understanding of the types of knowledge involved. In contrast to other multi-agent approaches, which are based on powerful agents with relatively unconstrained functionality and knowledge, we try to start with elementary components and add structure and functionality as necessary.

Methodology for studying family interaction.

Much of clinical psychiatric research and therapy has been traditionally oriented towards the individual patient, in particular toward the "intrapsychic meaning" of his behavior. In recent years, however, there has been increasing attention devoted to the interpersonal aspects of an individual's behavior, especially his interaction with other members of his family. This shift in emphasis has paralleled the development of the therapeutic technique of conjoint family therapy, in which the identified patient and his family meet together with a therapist.² Along with the therapeutic implications of this change in focus, much more explicit attention has been given to the complex relationships between the specific patterns of family interaction and the developing personalities of the children. In only a few years much clinical material has been gathered, suggesting the specific kinds of family environments in which a child learns those