This study provides preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of an 8-week core stability training programme in improving balance and mobility in ambulant people with MS. Variations in response to intervention are evident. Assessor-blinded randomized controlled studies are required to confirm these findings and determine patient characteristics which identify those who benefit most from this intervention.

The evolution and dissemination of the Rome criteria for the past 15 years have not substantially changed evaluation or treatment practices for children with abdominal pain. Many areas of inconsistency and controversy remain. More focused research is needed to better understand this common pain condition and to establish an effective treatment program that can be disseminated across practitioners.

We examined the factor structure of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) among a sample of 523 African American children (m age = 12.76) and a sample of 564 European American youth (m age = 12.43). Previous investigations have produced discrepant factor structures among samples of predominantly majority-culture children, but fewer investigations of the factor structure of the CDI have been conducted among nonEuropean American samples. Confirmatory factor analyses of the original 5 factors identified by Kovacs (1983Kovacs ( , 1991 revealed that the items had invariant measurement properties across the samples. The latent factor structure, however, revealed telling differences between the two samples. For European American youth, only one of the original five factors was meaningfully differentiated from the others, whereas for the African American youth, two of the factors clearly emerged as unique facets of depression. Consistent with other reports, between-group mean differences on the CDI and its factors were noted. We argue that further validation of the CDI among traditionally underserved populations is warranted. Predictive R. G. Steele ( ) Clinical Child Psychology Program,

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Gait impairments in Parkinson's disease (PD) are often present at diagnosis and respond selectively to treatment. 1 Novel interventions targeting dopa-resistant gait impairments and their consequences-falls risk-are urgently needed. Recent evidence suggests that neuronal cholinergic loss from the basal forebrain (nucleus basalis of Meynert) and brain stem (pedunculopontine nucleus) contribute to a functional decline in gait. 2 A noninvasive technique that activates the cholinergic circuitry, which has gained recent traction in neurological disorders, is noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS). 3 The exact underlying mechanism of action of nVNS is poorly understood, but an indirect effect mediated through the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway has been postulated through the altered regulation of acetylcholine. 3 Therefore, our aim was to assess the effect of a single dose of nVNS on dopa-resistant gait characteristics (step time variability and step length variability) 4 in a pilot feasibility study in PD.A total of 30 participants with idiopathic PD (15 active and 15 sham) were recruited. The participants were included if they were able to walk independently for 2 minutes, had stable medication during the previous month, and provided written consent. Those with significant cognitive impairment (MoCA ≤21) treated with anticholinergics and with contraindications to nVNS were excluded. Figure 1A displays the study design. The visits lasted approximately 2 hours. Gait was measured within 1 hour both pre-and post-intervention during a 2-minute continuous walk at a comfortable walking pace around a 25 m circuit inclusive of a 7 × 0.6 m instrumented walkway while ON dopaminergic medication. The participants in the active group received a single dose (120 seconds) of nVNS between the pre-and postassessments with the gammaCore (Basking Ridge, NJ, USA) handheld device applied to the left side of the neck. For the sham group, an identical device delivered an electrical stimulus that did not activate the vagus nerve. Absolute and percentage change pre-and post-intervention were compared by treatment groups using Mann-Whitney tests. A significant P value was classified as ≤.05.

POWELL, CHARLES STEPHENSON, MATTHEW L.BLAYLOCK, RUIXUE WANG, HEATHER L. HUNTER, GARY L. JOHANNING, AND TIM R. NAGY. Effects of energy expenditure and Ucp1 on photoperiod-induced weight gain in collared lemmings. Obes Res. 2002;10: 541-550. Objective: To determine the role of total energy expenditure (TEE) and its components in the ability of collared lemmings to increase weight in response to a decrease in photoperiod. Research Methods and Procedures: Energy expenditure was measured by 24-hour indirect calorimetry concurrent with food-intake studies. TEE and resting and nonresting energy expenditure (REE and NREE, respectively) were adjusted for body weight by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) mRNA levels from interscapular brown adipose tissue were determined by Northern blot. Results: TEE and REE of lemmings exposed to a short photoperiod for 10 days were significantly lower than that of lemmings exposed to a long photoperiod (p Ͻ 0.05), whereas NREE was not significantly different (p ϭ 0.44). Ucp1 mRNA levels in interscapular brown adipose tissue were 50% lower in short-vs. long-photoperiod lemmings (p Ͻ 0.01). Ucp1 mRNA levels were positively related to REE (r 2 ϭ 0.79, p Ͻ 0.01). After adjustment of REE for differences in Ucp1 mRNA levels, there was no longer a significant difference attributable to photoperiod treatment (p ϭ 0.54). Discussion: The results of this study indicate that the increase in body mass that occurs when collared lemmings are exposed to a short photoperiod may be primarily fueled by a decrease in REE and is correlated with a decrease in Ucp1 mRNA levels.

Research consistently shows that children exposed to interparental conflict are at-risk for experiencing psychopathology. Establishing a link, however, between interparental conflict and maladjustment is not the same as understanding how specific outcomes manifest. Therefore, we examined the relation of interparental conflict and appraisal with adolescent outcome with 169 high school students (ages 14-19 years). Specifically, threat and self-blame appraisals were hypothesized to mediate the relation between interparental conflict and both adaptive and maladaptive outcomes. Results suggest that threat partially mediated the relation between interparental conflict and externalizing problems, interparental conflict and internalizing problems, and interparental conflict and adaptive behaviors. Additionally, self-blame appears to partially mediate the relation between interparental conflict and internalizing problems. Implications of the current findings are discussed.