The Development of a Screening Tool for Childcare Professionals to Detect and Refer Infant and Toddler Maltreatment and Trauma: A Tale of Four Countries

Abstract: Child maltreatment is considered a pressing social question, compromising the present and future mental and physical health of one in four children in Europe. While children younger than three years of age are especially vulnerable, few screening instruments are available for the detection of risk in this age group. The purpose of this research was to develop a screening tool for childcare professionals working in public and private daycare settings to support them in the early identification and referral of infants and toddlers exposed to emotional and physical abuse and neglect by primary caregivers, to be used in different settings across four European countries: Belgium, Italy, Latvia, and Hungary. Method: A stratified process was used to create the screening tool: We started by using Living lab methodology to co-create the screening tool with its final users, which was followed by testing the tool with a total of 120 childcare professionals from the four participating countries. Results: During the Living Lab phase, a screening tool with three layers was developed. The initial layer includes five “red flags” that signal particular concern and require immediate action. The second layer is a quick screener with twelve items focused on four areas: neglect of basic needs, delays in development, unusual behaviors, and interaction with caregivers. The third layer is an in-depth questionnaire that aids in formalizing a thorough observation of twenty-five items within the same four areas as the quick screener. After a one-day training session, 120 childcare professionals caring for children aged 0–3 from four countries assessed the screening tool and their overall training experience. Childcare professionals reported great satisfaction with the three-layered structure, which made the tool versatile, and agreed on its content, which was considered helpful in the daycare setting for the regular evaluation of the behavior of children and their primary caregivers, thus improving the early observation of change from the normal behavior of the infant or toddler. Conclusion: The three-layered screening tool was reported as feasible, practical, and with great content validity by childcare professionals working in four European countries

Tuberculosis in the Caribbean: using spacer oligonucleotide typing to understand strain origin and transmission.

We used direct repeat (DR)-based spacer oligonucleotide typing (spoligotyping) (in association with double-repetitive element polymerase chain reaction, IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism [RFLP], and sometimes DR-RFLP and polymorphic GC-rich sequence-RFLP) to detect epidemiologic links and transmission patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana. In more than a third of the 218 strains we typed from this region, clusters and isolates shared genetic identity, which suggests epidemiologic links. However, because of limited epidemiologic information, only 14.2% of the strains could be directly linked. When spoligotyping patterns shared by two or more isolates were pooled with 392 spoligotypes from other parts of the world, new matches were detected, which suggests imported transmission. Persisting foci of endemic disease and increased active transmission due to high population flux and HIV-coinfection may be linked to the recent reemergence of tuberculosis in the Caribbean. We also found that several distinct families of spoligotypes are overrepresented in this region

Broadening the miRNA Catalogue in Livestock Species

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The great tit HapMap project: a continental-scale analysis of genomic variation in a songbird

A major aim of evolutionary biology is to understand why patterns of genomic diversity vary within taxa and space. Large-scale genomic studies of widespread species are useful for studying how environment and demography shape patterns of genomic divergence. Here, we describe one of the most geographically comprehensive surveys of genomic variation in a wild vertebrate to date; the great tit (Parus major) HapMap project. We screened ca 500,000 SNP markers across 647 individuals from 29 populations, spanning ~30 degrees of latitude and 40 degrees of longitude - almost the entire geographic range of the European subspecies. Genome-wide variation was consistent with a recent colonisation across Europe from a South-East European refugiam, with bottlenecks and reduced genetic diversity in island populations. Differentiation across the genome was highly heterogeneous, with clear “islands of differentiation”, even among populations with very low levels of genome-wide differentiation. Low local recombination rates were a strong predictor of high local genomic differentiation (), especially in island and peripheral mainland populations, suggesting that the interplay between genetic drift and recombination causes highly heterogeneous differentiation landscapes. We also detected genomic outlier regions that were confined to one or more peripheral great tit populations, probably as a result of recent directional selection at the species’ range edges. Haplotype-based measures of selection were related to recombination rate, albeit less strongly, and highlighted population-specific sweeps that likely resulted from positive selection. Our study highlights how comprehensive screens of genomic variation in wild organisms can provide unique insights into spatio-temporal evolutionary dynamics

[Avian cytogenetics goes functional] Third report on chicken genes and chromosomes 2015

High-density gridded libraries of large-insert clones using bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and other vectors are essential tools for genetic and genomic research in chicken and other avian species... Taken together, these studies demonstrate that applications of large-insert clones and BAC libraries derived from birds are, and will continue to be, effective tools to aid high-throughput and state-of-the-art genomic efforts and the important biological insight that arises from them

The great tit HapMap project: a continental‐scale analysis of genomic variation in a songbird

A major aim of evolutionary biology is to understand why patterns of genomic diversity vary within taxa and space. Large-scale genomic studies of widespread species are useful for studying how environment and demography shape patterns of genomic divergence. Here, we describe one of the most geographically comprehensive surveys of genomic variation in a wild vertebrate to date; the great tit (Parus major) HapMap project. We screened ca 500,000 SNP markers across 647 individuals from 29 populations, spanning ~30 degrees of latitude and 40 degrees of longitude – almost the entire geographical range of the European subspecies. Genome-wide variation was consistent with a recent colonisation across Europe from a South-East European refugium, with bottlenecks and reduced genetic diversity in island populations. Differentiation across the genome was highly heterogeneous, with clear ‘islands of differentiation’, even among populations with very low levels of genome-wide differentiation. Low local recombination rates were a strong predictor of high local genomic differentiation (FST), especially in island and peripheral mainland populations, suggesting that the interplay between genetic drift and recombination causes highly heterogeneous differentiation landscapes. We also detected genomic outlier regions that were confined to one or more peripheral great tit populations, probably as a result of recent directional selection at the species' range edges. Haplotype-based measures of selection were related to recombination rate, albeit less strongly, and highlighted population-specific sweeps that likely resulted from positive selection. Our study highlights how comprehensive screens of genomic variation in wild organisms can provide unique insights into spatio-temporal evolutionary dynamics

Ancient pigs reveal a near-complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe

Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ~10,500 y before the present (BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers ~8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local Euro-pean wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic con-tribution from the Near East. To test these hypotheses, we obtained mtDNA sequences from 2,099 modern and ancient pig samples and 63 nuclear ancient genomes from Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses revealed that European domestic pigs dating from 7,100 to 6,000 y BP possessed both Near Eastern and European nuclear ancestry, while later pigs possessed no more than 4% Near Eastern ancestry, indicating that gene flow from European wild boars resulted in a near-complete disappearance of Near East ancestry. In addition, we demonstrate that a variant at a locus encoding black coat color likely originated in the Near East and persisted in European pigs. Altogether, our results indicate that while pigs were not independently domesticated in Europe, the vast majority of human-mediated selection over the past 5,000 y focused on the genomic fraction derived from the European wild boars, and not on the fraction that was selected by early Neolithic farmers over the first 2,500 y of the domestication process

Risicofactoren van geweld bij stalking.

Risicofactoren van geweld bij stalkingINHOUDSTAFEL I LIJST MET FIGUREN EN TABELLEN V VOORWOORD VII INLEIDING 1 HOOFDSTUK 1: STRAFBAARSTELLING EN GEDRAGSWETENSCHAPPELIJKE DEFINITIES VAN STALKING 7 INLEIDING 7 1.1. PROCES VAN STRAFBAARSTELLING 8 1.1.1. Drie fasen 8 1.1.2. Erkenning van stalking als een sociaal probleem en strafbaarstelling 11 1.1.3. Strafbaarstelling in België 15 1.2. RELEVANTE CRITERIA BIJ STRAFBAARSTELLING 18 1.2.1. Zeven criteria 18 1.2.2. Toetsing van de criteria op de Belgische belagingswet 20 1.2.3. Kritieken op de belagingswet 24 1.3. GEDRAGSWETENSCHAPPELIJKE DEFINITIES VAN STALKING 27 1.3.1. Synoniemen 27 1.3.2. Definities 30 BESLUIT 33 HOOFDSTUK 2: PREVALENTIE EN KENMERKEN VAN SLACHTOFFERS EN DADERS VAN STALKING 35 INLEIDING 35 2.1. PREVALENTIE VAN STALKING 36 2.1.1. Methodologische aandachtspunten voor de interpretatie van officieel geregistreerde cijfers 36 2.1.2. Officieel geregistreerde politiecijfers en veroordelingsstatistieken 40 2.1.3. Methodologische aandachtspunten voor de interpretatie van prevalentieonderzoeken en slachtoffer- en daderstudies 42 2.1.4. Prevalentiecijfers van stalking 44 2.2. KENMERKEN VAN SLACHTOFFERS 51 2.2.1. Overzicht van bestudeerde kenmerken 51 2.2.2. Sociodemografische kenmerken 51 2.2.3. Beleving en reactiegedrag van het slachtoffer 54 2.3. KENMERKEN VAN DADERS 57 2.3.1. Overzicht van de bestudeerde kenmerken 57 2.3.2. Sociodemografische kenmerken 58 2.3.3. Stalkinggedrag 59 2.3.4. Motieven en types van stalkers 61 2.3.5. Typologieën van stalkers 63 BESLUIT 73 HOOFDSTUK 3: RISICOFACTOREN VAN FYSIEK GEWELD 77 INLEIDING 77 3.1. DEFINIËRING VAN GEWELD 79 3.1.1. Contextgebonden elementen 79 3.1.2. Gevoelige onderzoekstopic 83 3.1.3. Enge en ruime definities 85 3.2. PREDICTIEONDERZOEK 89 3.2.1. Situering en definiëring van risicofactoren 89 3.2.2. Predictieonderzoek 92 3.2.3. Klinische en actuariële benadering 94 3.2.4. Gestructureerde professionele beoordelingsmodellen en verhalenanalyse 96 3.3. RISICOFACTOREN VAN GEWELD BIJ STALKING 99 3.3.1. Overzichtsstudie van Meloy 99 3.3.2. Meta-analyse van Rosenfeld 103 3.3.3. Classificatie- en boomregressieanalyse van Rosenfeld 108 BESLUIT 111 HOOFDSTUK 4: ONDERZOEKSOPZET 113 INLEIDING 113 4.1. OPBOUW VAN HET ONDERZOEK 114 4.1.1. Doel, onderzoeksvraag en operationalisering 114 4.1.2. Dragers van informatie 118 4.1.3. Selectie van eenheden en dataverzamelingsmethode 124 4.2. DATA-ANALYSE 131 4.2.1. Logistische regressieanalyse 131 4.2.2. Kenmerken van het logistisch regressiemodel 133 4.2.3. Statistische testen 134 4.3.4. Assumpties 141 BESLUIT 145 HOOFDSTUK 5: ONDERZOEKSRESULTATEN 147 INLEIDING 147 5.1. KENMERKEN VAN DE PARKETDOSSIERS 148 5.1.1. Kwalificaties en aard van de feiten 148 5.1.2. Duur en aangifte 149 5.2. KENMERKEN VAN DE SLACHTOFFERS 151 5.2.1. Aantal 151 5.2.2. Sociodemografische kenmerken 152 5.2.3. Beleving en reactiegedrag 153 5.3. KENMERKEN VAN DE VERDACHTEN 155 5.3.1. Aantal 155 5.3.2. Sociodemografische kenmerken en antecedenten 155 5.3.3. Stalkinggedrag en fysiek geweld 157 5.4. RISICOFACTORENANALYSE 160 5.4.1. Chi-kwadraatanalyses 160 5.4.2. Logistische regressieanalyse: testen van assumpties 164 5.4.3. Classificatietabellen 165 5.4.4. Significantietesten en verklaarde variantie 169 BESLUIT 174 HOOFDSTUK 6: EERSTE TEST VAN HET RISICOFACTORENMODEL IN DE POLITIEPRAKTIJK 177 INLEIDING 177 6.1. OPZET 178 6.1.1. Doel en dragers van informatie 178 6.1.2. Selectie van casussen 179 6.1.3. Selectie van beoordelaars 184 6.1.4. Beoordelingstaak 185 6.2. RESULTATEN 185 6.2.1. Aantal correcte voorspellingen 185 6.2.2. Chi-kwadraatanalyse en variantieanalyse 187 BESLUIT 189 HOOFDSTUK 7: DISCUSSIE 191 INLEIDING 191 7.1. KENMERKEN VAN HET FENOMEEN STALKING 192 7.1.1. Ontstaansgeschiedenis 192 7.1.2. Definiëring 194 7.1.3. Registratie in processen-verbaal 197 7.2. KENMERKEN VAN DE SLACHTOFFERS 199 7.2.1. Sociodemografische kenmerken 199 7.2.2. Beleving en reactiegedrag 201 7.3. KENMERKEN VAN DE VERDACHTEN 203 7.3.1. Sociodemografische kenmerken 203 7.3.2. Stalkinggedrag 204 7.4. KENMERKEN VAN HET FENOMEEN GEWELD BIJ STALKING 205 7.4.1. Definiëring 205 7.4.2. Omvang van fysiek geweld bij stalking 207 7.4.3. Analyse van risicofactoren van fysiek geweld bij stalking 208 BESLUIT 213 UITLEIDING 215 BIBLIOGRAFIE 227 BIJLAGENstatus: publishe