COVID-19 Unmasked Global Collaboration Protocol: longitudinal cohort study examining mental health of young children and caregivers during the pandemic

Background: Early empirical data shows that school-aged children, adolescents and adults are experiencing elevated levels of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, there is very little research on mental health outcomes for young children. Objectives: To describe the formation of a global collaboration entitled, ‘COVID-19 Unmasked’. The collaborating researchers aim to (1) describe and compare the COVID-19 related experiences within and across countries; (2) examine mental health outcomes for young children (1 to 5 years) and caregivers over a 12-month period during the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) explore the trajectories/time course of psychological outcomes of the children and parents over this period and (4) identify the risk and protective factors for different mental health trajectories. Data will be combined from all participating countries into one large open access cross-cultural dataset to facilitate further international collaborations and joint publications. Methods: COVID-19 Unmasked is an online prospective longitudinal cohort study. An international steering committee was formed with the aim of starting a global collaboration. Currently, partnerships have been formed with 9 countries (Australia, Cyprus, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Turkey, the UK, and the United States of America). Research partners have started to start data collection with caregivers of young children aged 1–5 years old at baseline, 3-months, 6-months, and 12-months. Caregivers are invited to complete an online survey about COVID-19 related exposure and experiences, child’s wellbeing, their own mental health, and parenting. Data analysis: Primary study outcomes will be child mental health as assessed by scales from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System–Early Childhood (PROMIS-EC) and caregiver mental health as assessed by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). The trajectories/time course of mental health difficulties and the impact of risk and protective factors will be analysed using hierarchical linear models, accounting for nested effects (e.g. country) and repeated measures

Chapitre 2. Remobiliser le corps à l’école : regards croisés

International audienceL’école est immobilité, cours d’éducation physique ou pas. La sédentarité juvénile croît et les projets pour « faire bouger » les élèves achoppent. Conjuguer mouvement humain et apprentissage serait-il impossible ? Pour diffuser des pistes de solutions, le Réseau des écoles publiques alternatives du Québec (RÉPAQ), associé à des écoles européennes « différentes » (Viaud, 2005) et à des chercheurs du Québec et de France a lancé un « Festival Bouger » vidéo. En trois minutes, des écoles partagent leurs astuces populaires pour faire apprendre et bouger les jeunes. Ces pratiques ingénieuses pourraient inspirer d’autres écoles vers une sortie de leur quasi-immobilité physique. Des chercheurs d’horizons différents ont analysé ces vidéos publiques. Dans une démarche inductive et qualitative, ils posent des repères théoriques et critiques pour mieux lire ces pratiques. Quatre perspectives de recherches émergent : apprentissage par le vécu moteur, éducation relative à l’environnement, apprentissage par corps grâce au mouvement dansé, pédagogie

Building an environmentally accountable medical curriculum through international collaboration

Background: Global environmental change is associated with significant health threats. The medical profession can address this challenge through advocacy, health system adaptation and workforce preparedness. Stewardship of health systems with attention to their environmental impacts can contribute to mitigation of and adaptation to negative health impacts of environmental change. Medical schools have an integral role in training doctors who understand the interdependence of ecosystems and human health. Yet integrating environmental perspectives into busy medical curricula is not a simple task. Content: At the 2016 Association for Medical Education in Europe conference, medical educators, students and clinicians from six continents discussed these challenges in a participatory workshop. Here we reflect on emerging themes from the workshop and how to plan for curricular change. Firstly, we outline recent developments in environmental health and associated medical education. Secondly, we reflect on our process and outcomes during this innovative approach to international collaboration. Thirdly, we present learning objectives which cover core content for environmentally accountable medical curricula, developed through a reflective process of international collaboration integrating current literature and the workshop outcomes. Conclusions: International collaboration can bring together diverse perspectives and provide critical insights for the inclusion of environmental health into basic education for medical practitioners

Clinically Distinct Phenotypes of Canavan Disease Correlate with Residual Aspartoacylase Enzyme Activity

International audienc

Sustained inflammation and differential expression of interferons type I and III in PVM-infected interferon-gamma (IFNγ) gene-deleted mice

AbstractInterferon gamma (IFNγ) has complex immunomodulatory and antiviral properties. While IFNγ is detected in the airways in response to infection with the pneumovirus pathogen, pneumonia virus of mice (PVM; Family Paramyxoviridae), its role in promoting disease has not been fully explored. Here, we evaluate PVM infection in IFNγ−/− mice. Although the IFNγ gene-deletion has no impact on weight loss, survival or virus kinetics, expression of IFNβ, IFNλ2/3 and IFN-stimulated 2–5′ oligoadenylate synthetases was significantly diminished compared to wild-type counterparts. Furthermore, PVM infection in IFNγ−/− mice promoted prominent inflammation, including eosinophil and neutrophil infiltration into the airways and lung parenchyma, observed several days after peak virus titer. Potential mechanisms include over-production of chemoattractant and eosinophil-active cytokines (CXCL1, CCL11, CCL3 and IL5) in PVM-infected IFNγ−/− mice; likewise, IFNγ actively antagonized IL5-dependent eosinophil survival ex vivo. Our results may have clinical implications for pneumovirus infection in individuals with IFNγ signaling defects