Unraveling the bidirectional associations between parental knowledge and children’s externalizing behavior

Although within- and between-family bidirectional associations between parental knowledge and children’s externalizing behavior have been theoretically proposed, studies that unravel these associations simultaneously remain scarce. This study examined these bidirectional associations within and between German families. 3611 families participated across one-year intervals between children ages 8 to 15 (50.6% boys, 34.5% fathers, 89.0% German-born, Mwaves = 3.63, SDwaves = 2.00). Random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) with linear slopes revealed negative between-family associations between parental knowledge and children’s externalizing behavior, and a negative association between the random linear slopes. Generally, no within-family cross-lagged effects were found, but there were some correlated slopes across families. When teasing apart paternal and maternal knowledge, father-driven but not mother-driven lagged effects of increased knowledge predicting decreased externalizing behavior were found. The findings illustrate the importance of fathers’ knowledge and new directions for within-family studies of parent-child interactions

Parenting adolescents in times of a pandemic:Changes in relationship quality, autonomy support, and parental control?

This Dutch multi-informant study examined effects of the first COVID-19 lockdown (LD; e.g., school closure and social restrictions) on parent-adolescent relationships. Four biweekly measurements before and 4 biweekly measurements during the LD were collected among adolescents (N = 179, Mage = 14.26 years, 69% girls) and their parents (N = 144, Mage = 47.01 years, 81% female). Parents' educational level was relatively diverse: 12% low (high school or lower), 33% medium (vocational training), and 55% high (college or university). Adolescents and parents reported on parental support, parent-adolescent conflict, autonomy support, psychological control, behavioral control, and time spent on various activities. Adolescents spent more time with their parents during LD (before M = 8.6 hr, during M = 12.7 hr), but less time with friends (before M = 8.1 hr, during M = 2.1 hr), and reported on average 13 COVID-19-related rules. Preregistered piecewise growth models confirmed that autonomy support decreased immediately during the LD, but no mean level changes were observed in the other relationship dimensions. During the first 2 months of the LD, parents reported gradual increases in autonomy support and decreases in behavioral control. Moreover, significant differences between families were found in sudden and more gradual relationship changes, which correlated strongly with pre-LD characteristics of the relationship, and in some models with adolescent oppositional defiance and legitimacy beliefs. In sum, findings suggest resilience in most families, but also heterogeneity: Some families were negatively affected, and others were positively affected. A tailored approach is therefore needed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on family functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Демифологизация/ремифологизация в историко-политической парадигме «Саги о Золотом веке, 1776 – 1952» Гора Видала

Zelfredzaamheid en eigen verantwoordelijkheid staan de laatste tijd sterk in de politieke belangstelling. De troonrede van 2013 stelde zelfs dat ‘de klassieke verzorgingsstaat langzaam maar zeker verandert in een participatiesamenleving’. In deze publicatie zijn we geïnteresseerd in twee bewegingen op het gebied van burgerparticipatie:de ‘zelfredzame’, waarbij burgers zelf het heft in handen nemen om hun leefomgeving te verbeteren, en de ‘beleidsbeïnvloedende’, waarbij burgers door lobbyen, stemmen, inspraak en medezeggenschap proberen richting te geven aan het beleid. In vijf Nederlandse gemeenten die veel ervaring hebben met burgerparticipatie is empirisch onderzoek gedaan naar de resultaten en de waardering van de bevolking. In alle vijf gemeenten vindt een meerderheid dat de actieve inbreng van inwoners leidt tot beter beleid dat bovendien meer aansluit bij wat mensen willen. Er is ook gezocht naar mogelijk interessante voorbeelden van burgerparticipatie in het verleden en in andere landen. Voor een vergelijking in de tijd is teruggegaan naar de vroegmoderne Nederlanden (zeventiende eeuw), toen dorpelingen en stedelingen bij gebrek aan een sterke centrale overheid zelf voor publieke voorzieningen zorgden. Voor een vergelijking met andere landen is de keus gevallen op Japan, waar burgers traditioneel de sociale ‘plicht’ hebben hun buurt op orde te houden; Groot-Brittannië, dat vanuit de filosofie van de Big Society de macht probeert te verleggen naar lokale gemeenschappen; en Duitsland, waar veel gemeenten uit financiële noodzaak taken overdragen aan hun inwoners

New cut-off values for ferritin and soluble transferrin receptor for the assessment of iron deficiency in children in a high infection pressure area

Background: Due to the potential risk of iron supplementation in iron replete children, it is important to properly identify children who may require iron supplementation. However, assessment of the iron status has proven to be difficult, especially in children living in areas with high infection pressure (including malaria). Aims and Methods: Biochemical iron markers were compared to bone marrow iron findings in 381 Malawian children with severe anaemia. Results: Soluble transferrin receptor/log ferritin (TfR-F index), using a cut-off of 5.6, best predicted bone marrow iron stores deficiency (sensitivity 74%, specificity 73%, accuracy 73%). In order to improve the diagnostic accuracy of ferritin or sTfR as a stand-alone marker, the normal cut-off value needed to be increased by 810% and 83% respectively. Mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), using a cut-off of 32.1 g/dl, had a sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 64% for detecting iron stores deficiency. Conclusion: TfR-F index incorporated the high sensitivity of sTfR, a proxy for cellular iron need, and the high specificity of ferritin, a proxy for iron stores. In areas with a high infection pressure, the TfR-F index best predicted iron deficiency. However, in settings where diagnostic tests are limited, MCHC may be an acceptable alternative screening test

Accessible and reliable neurometric testing in humans using a smartphone platform

Tests of human brain circuit function typically require fixed equipment in lab environments. We have developed a smartphone-based platform for neurometric testing. This platform, which uses AI models like computer vision, is optimized for at-home use and produces reproducible, robust results on a battery of tests, including eyeblink conditioning, prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle response, and startle habituation. This approach provides a scalable, universal resource for quantitative assays of central nervous system function.</p

Impact of enriched environment on motor performance and learning in mice

Neuroscience heavily relies on animal welfare in laboratory rodents as it can significantly affect brain development, cognitive function and memory formation. Unfortunately, laboratory animals are often raised in artificial environments devoid of physical and social stimuli, potentially leading to biased outcomes in behavioural assays. To assess this effect, we examined the impact of social and physical cage enrichment on various forms of motor coordination. Our findings indicate that while enriched-housed animals did not exhibit faster learning in eyeblink conditioning, the peak timing of their conditioned responses was slightly, but significantly, improved. Additionally, enriched-housed animals outperformed animals that were housed in standard conditions in the accelerating rotarod and ErasmusLadder test. In contrast, we found no significant effect of enrichment on the balance beam and grip strength test. Overall, our data suggest that an enriched environment can improve motor performance and motor learning under challenging and/or novel circumstances, possibly reflecting an altered state of anxiety.</p

Virtual reality reduces anxiety of children in the plaster room:a randomized controlled trial

Aims:Paediatric fractures are highly prevalent and are most often treated with plaster. The application and removal of plaster is often an anxiety-inducing experience for children. Decreasing the anxiety level may improve the patients’ satisfaction and the quality of healthcare. Virtual reality (VR) has proven to effectively distract children and reduce their anxiety in other clinical settings, and it seems to have a similar effect during plaster treatment. This study aims to further investigate the effect of VR on the anxiety level of children with fractures who undergo plaster removal or replacement in the plaster room. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted. A total of 255 patients were included, aged five to 17 years, who needed plaster treatment for a fracture of the upper or lower limb. Randomization was stratified for age (five to 11 and 12 to 17 years). The intervention group was distracted with VR goggles and headphones during the plaster treatment, whereas the control group received standard care. As the primary outcome, the post-procedural level of anxiety was measured with the Child Fear Scale (CFS). Secondary outcomes included the children’s anxiety reduction (difference between CFS after and CFS before plaster procedure), numerical rating scale (NRS) pain, NRS satisfaction of the children and accompanying parents/guardians, and the children’s heart rates during the procedure. An independent-samples t-test and Mann-Whitney U test (depending on the data distribution) were used to analyze the data. Results: The post-procedural CFS was significantly lower (p &lt; 0.001) in the intervention group (proportion of children with no anxiety = 78.6%) than in the control group (56.8%). The anxiety reduction, NRS pain and satisfaction scores, and heart rates showed no significant differences between the control group and the intervention group. Subanalyses showed an increased effect of VR on anxiety levels in young patients, females, upper limb fractures, and those who had had previous plaster treatment. Conclusion: VR effectively reduces the anxiety levels of children in the plaster room, especially in young girls. No statistically significant effects were seen regarding pain, heart rate, or satisfaction scores.</p

Photoperiodic response in the formation of gametangia of the long-day plant Sphacelaria rigidula (Phaeophyceae)

The effect of daylength and irradiance on the formation of gametangia in the male gametophyte of Sphacelaria rigidula Kutz (= S. furcigera Kutz [Prud'homme van Reine 19821) was investigated. Formation of gametangia was restricted to long-day conditions: In light-dark regimes with 12 h of light per day or less, no gametangia were formed. In long-day regimes high irradiances caused a suboptimal response, especially near the critical daylength. Interruption of a long dark period with a light break promoted gametangia formation. Light breaks were most effective when given at about the 6th hour of darkness. Nine inductive long-day cycles were required to induce the formation of gametangia, which appeared after ca. 15 d. The plants remained in the induced state only for a very short time. In regimes with very long days and at high irradiance the number of fertile plants decreased after some time, when vigorous vegetative growth started without any further formation of gametangia

Tailored nanodiamonds for hyperpolarized ¹³C MRI

Nanodiamond is poised to become an attractive material for hyperpolarized ¹³C magnetic resonance imaging if large nuclear polarizations can be achieved without the accompanying rapid spin-relaxation driven by paramagnetic species. Here we report enhanced and long-lived ¹³C polarization in synthetic nanodiamonds tailored by acid-cleaning and air-oxidation protocols. Our results separate the contributions of different paramagnetic species on the polarization behavior, identifying the importance of substitutional nitrogen defect centers in the nanodiamond core. These results are likely of use in the development of nanodiamond-based imaging agents with size distributions of relevance for examining biological processes