Trauma-informed interventions in early childhood education and care settings : A scoping review

Trauma in early childhood is a significant public health concern. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services are uniquely positioned to buffer the negative impact of early childhood trauma on children. This scoping review synthesized studies evaluating trauma-informed interventions in ECEC settings through a systematic search of four relevant online databases (PsycINFO, Medline, ERIC, A+ Education). Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria, with 12 ECEC centerbased trauma-informed interventions evaluated. Types and components of trauma-informed interventions, outcomes, and measures are presented. Findings suggest that trauma-informed interventions in ECEC settings are nascent but growing. Increasingly, programs are adopting multi-tiered system of support to address early childhood trauma, with these models suggesting promising results. The predominant focus of ECEC center-based trauma-informed interventions was upskilling teachers through training and coaching, with studies focused on assessment of teacher-level outcomes. Child, organization, and caregiver-level outcomes are not explored to the same extent, with evaluation of organizational outcomes relying predominately on qualitative methods. Whilst the short-term outcomes of trauma-informed approaches in ECEC have been examined, longer-term impacts and the causal mechanistic pathways of such programs have yet to be explored

Development and initial validation of a school self-assessment tool to measure the extent to which schools are prepared to prevent and respond to cyberbullying and other challenges to the school social environment

Bullying, which includes cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying, is amongst the most pervasive threats to the wellbeing of children and young people. As social environments, schools are at the forefront of managing bullying behaviours. The rapidly changing and complex nature of bullying requires schools to put in place and maintain systems to prepare for and respond to such activities, and to continually test and refine these systems to ensure optimal performance. Despite this clear need, there is a lack of school level, self-assessment tools that enable schools to assess and measure their preparedness to deal with bullying and related disruptive activities. The aim of this paper was to describe the development, and reliability and validity testing, of such a tool—the School Self-Assessment Tool. The result is a 22-item, evidence-based, reliable, and validated instrument, situated within socio-ecological theory, and drawing on theories of behaviourism, social learning theory, prevention science, and systems change in the school climate literature. Schools may use the SSAT-22 in a number of ways depending on their needs, including to monitor progress, examine areas of strengths or challenges, and/or assist in collaborative efforts with other schools

Pth4, an ancient parathyroid hormone lost in eutherian mammals, reveals a new brain-to-bone signaling pathway

Regulation of bone development, growth, and remodeling traditionally has been thought to depend on endocrine and autocrine/paracrine modulators. Recently, however, brain-derived signals have emerged as key regulators of bone metabolism, although their mechanisms of action have been poorly understood. We reveal the existence of an ancient parathyroid hormone (Pth)4 in zebrafish that was secondarily lost in the eutherian mammals' lineage, including humans, and that is specifically expressed in neurons of the hypothalamus and appears to be a central neural regulator of bone development and mineral homeostasis. Transgenic fish lines enabled mapping of axonal projections leading from the hypothalamus to the brainstem and spinal cord. Targeted laser ablation demonstrated an essential role for of pth4-expressing neurons in larval bone mineralization. Moreover, we show that Runx2 is a direct regulator of pth4 expression and that Pth4 can activate cAMP signaling mediated by Pth receptors. Finally, gain-of-function experiments show that Pth4 can alter calcium/phosphorus levels and affect expression of genes involved in phosphate homeostasis. Based on our discovery and characterization of Pth4, we propose a model for evolution of bone homeostasis in the context of the vertebrate transition from an aquatic to a terrestrial lifestyle.Spanish Economy and Competitiveness Ministry Project [ALG2011-23581, AGL2014-52473R]; Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [PTDC/BIA-ANM/4225/2012-phos-fate]; U. S. National Institutes of Health/Office of the Director Grant [R01OD011116, R01 RR020833]; Generalitat de Catalunya [SGR2014-290]; Spanish Economy and Competitiveness Ministry [BFU2010-14875]; Science and Innovation Ministry [AGL2010-22247-C03-01]; Campus do Mar Ph.D. grant; Xunta de Galicia (Santiago, Spain) [AGL2014-52473R]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors modulate osteoclastogenesis

Background: Our aim was to investigate the role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in in-vitro osteoclastogenesis and in in-vivo bone homeostasis. Methods: The presence of nAChR subunits as well as the in-vitro effects of nAChR agonists were investigated by ex vivo osteoclastogenesis assays, real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot and flow cytometry in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages differentiated in the presence of recombinant receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). The bone phenotype of mice lacking various nAChR subunits was investigated by peripheral quantitative computed tomography and histomorphometric analysis. Oscillations in the intracellular calcium concentration were detected by measuring the Fura-2 fluorescence intensity. Results: We could demonstrate the presence of several nAChR subunits in bone marrow-derived macrophages stimulated with RANKL and M-CSF, and showed that they are capable of producing acetylcholine. nAChR ligands reduced the number of osteoclasts as well as the number of tartrate-resistant acidic phosphatase-positive mononuclear cells in a dose-dependent manner. In vitro RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis was reduced in mice lacking α7 homomeric nAChR or β2-containing heteromeric nAChRs, while bone histomorphometry revealed increased bone volume as well as impaired osteoclastogenesis in male mice lacking the α7 nAChR. nAChR ligands inhibited RANKL-induced calcium oscillation, a well-established phenomenon of osteoclastogenesis. This inhibitory effect on Ca2+ oscillation subsequently led to the inhibition of RANKL-induced NFATc1 and c-fos expression after long-term treatment with nicotine. Conclusions: We have shown that the activity of nAChRs conveys a marked effect on osteoclastogenesis in mice. Agonists of these receptors inhibited calcium oscillations in osteoclasts and blocked the RANKL-induced activation of c-fos and NFATc1. RANKL-mediated in-vitro osteoclastogenesis was reduced in α7 knockout mice, which was paralleled by increased tibial bone volume in male mice in vivo. © 2016 Mandl et al

Multislice CT in thoracic trauma

The introduction of CT imaging in the 1970s revolutionized all aspects of medical care, perhaps nowhere more so than in the evaluation of acutely injured patients. Just as single-slice helical scanning was a great advance over conventional CT, the capabilities of MSCT are proving to be dramatically superior to single-slice methods. Improved contrast bolus imaging, thinner slices, and isotropic voxels should enable the trauma radiologist to identify both major organ system disruption and subtle injuries more promptly. Multiplanar and three-dimensional reconstructions, a forte of MSCT, facilitate rapid communication of disease states with surgeons and others involved in the care of injured patients. In many centers, whole-body CT is beginning to supplant plain films of the chest and spine in the evaluation of severe trauma victims; the cost-effectiveness of such methods is still under evaluation

Novel computed tomography scan scoring system predicts the need for intervention after splenic injury

The purpose of this study was to develop a computed tomography (CT) scan screening test to predict the need for intervention in patients with splenic injury. CT scans of 20 patients with blunt injury to the spleen were reviewed to identify findings that correlated with the need for intervention (surgery or embolization). A screening test was created and then validated in CT scans from 56 consecutive patients. Three findings correlated with the need for intervention: 1) devascularization or laceration involving 50% or more of the splenic parenchyma, 2) contrast blush greater than one centimeter in diameter (from active extravasation of intravenous contrast material or pseudoaneurysm formation), and 3) a large hemoperitoneum. The sensitivity of the screening test was 100%, specificity was 88%, and overall accuracy was 93%. These CT scan grading criteria appears to reliably predict the need for invasive management in patients with blunt injury to the spleen

sj-docx-1-tva-10.1177_15248380231162967 – Supplemental material for Trauma-informed Interventions in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings: A Scoping Review

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-tva-10.1177_15248380231162967 for Trauma-informed Interventions in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings: A Scoping Review by Yihan Sun, Claire Blewitt, Victoria Minson, Rachael Bajayo, Lee Cameron and Helen Skouteris in Trauma, Violence, & Abuse</p