Parental attitudes toward disclosure of the mode of conception to their child conceived by in vitro fertilization

OBJECTIVES: To survey the level of disclosure of conception method within families of children conceived using conventional IVF or ICSI and to examine the factors that may influence parental attitudes and plans for disclosure. DESIGN: An in-depth questionnaire. SETTING: Participants recruited through UK fertility clinics. PATIENTS: Parents of IVF/ICSI children aged 5-6 years (n=181, 51%). INTERVENTION: Mothers and fathers of IVF/ICSI children were sent questionnaires to complete and return in a reply paid envelope. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Completion of the questionnaire. RESULTS: Most parents had told somebody about their child’s method of conception, mostly close friends and family. Fewer (26% mothers/17% fathers) had already discussed the child’s mode of conception with their child. 58% mothers/57% fathers intended to tell their child at some point. 16% mothers/21% fathers were undecided. 4% fathers never wanted to discuss the subject with their child. Children were more likely to be told if conception was ICSI, rather than conventional IVF, and if an only child. 29% undecided fathers and 36% undecided mothers stated that they would tell their child if appropriate child-friendly explanatory literature was available. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of parents wish to tell their child at some point but are unsure about the most appropriate timing and method of disclosure. Fertility clinics may have a role in providing the necessary support. Child-friendly literature may be helpful

Social Participation of Students with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Seventh Grade

AbstractThis study addresses the social participation of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream 7th grade in Flanders (Belgium). Social participation (i.e., social interactions, peer acceptance, friendships, and social self-concept) was assessed by means of questionnaires among 86 students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 61 students with motor and/or sensory disabilities (MOTSENS) and 1926 normally developing classmates. Seventh grade students with ASD scored less favorably in all aspects. Girls with MOTSENS scored less favorably on some aspects of social participation than typically expected of their peers. The social participation of students with ASD and students with MOTSENS did not differ significantly

Refractometry of organosilica microspheres

The refractive index of novel organosilica (nano/micro)material is determined using two methods. The first method is based on analysis of optical extinction efficiency of organosilica beads versus wavelength, which is obtained by a standard laboratory spectrometer. The second method relies on the measurable trapping potential of these beads in the focused light beam (laser tweezers). Polystyrene beads were used to test these methods, and the determined dispersion curves of refractive index values have been found accurate. The refractive index of organosilica beads has been determined to range from 1.60-1.51 over the wavelength range of 300-1100 nm.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

The role of affective teacher–student relationships in bullying and peer victimization: A multilevel meta-analysis

This meta-analysis synthesizes evidence about the associations of affective teacher–student relationships with bullying perpetration and peer victimization. A systematic database search resulted in 65 primary studies (k) that met the inclusion criteria. The final sample included 185,881 students from preschool to high school. Separate multilevel analyses were conducted for bullying perpetration (k = 25, N = 97,627) and peer victimization (k = 57, N = 151,653). Results showed small to medium, negative overall correlations between teacher-student relationship quality and both bullying perpetration (r = −.17, 95% CI [−.21, −.14]) and peer victimization (r = −.14, 95% CI [−.17, −.11]). Teacher-student relationship quality was also related to less subsequent peer victimization (b = −0.05, 95% CI [−0.08, −0.02]). Associations between teacher-student relationship quality and bullying were stronger for ethnic minority students and when the same informant reported about both variables. Associations with peer victimization were stronger for negative (e.g., conflict) than for positive (e.g., closeness) relationship indicators and when the same informant was used for both variables. Generally, findings demonstrate that higher-quality teacher-student relationships are related to less bullying perpetration and less peer victimization. Hence, promoting positive and minimizing negative teacher-student relationships may help to tackle school-based bullying and peer victimization

Perceived Teacher Responses to Bullying Influence Students' Social Cognitions

Teachers’ responses to bullying incidents are key in bullying intervention at school. Scholars have suggested that teacher responses can predict student cognitions that are associated with their bullying behaviors. However, little is known about whether and how teacher responses affect these cognitions. Therefore, the current study investigated the effects of four immediate teacher responses on four bullying-related student cognitions, using an experimental vignette design. Additionally, it was examined whether students’ own participant role behaviors in actual bullying moderated these effects. The investigated teacher responses were non-response, comforting the victim, correcting the bully, and a combination of comforting the victim and correcting the bully. The investigated student cognitions were perceived teacher attitudes toward bullying, perceived teacher moral disengagement regarding bullying, student willingness to report bullying to the teacher and student expectations regarding bullying participant role behaviors in the classroom. Fourth-to-sixth grade students (N = 910; 47% boys; Mage = 11.04 years, SD = 0.91) read a vignette describing a hypothetical teacher’s response to a same bullying incident, following random assignment to one of eight conditions (i.e., four teacher responses × two genders of bully and victim in the vignette). Afterward, students completed questionnaires about their social cognitions and manipulation checks. ANOVA demonstrated that students perceived stronger teacher anti-bullying attitudes and less teacher moral disengagement when the hypothetical teacher displayed an active response. These effects were even stronger when the teacher corrected the bully compared to when only the victim was comforted. Further, students were more willing to report bullying when the teacher corrected the bully than when the teacher only comforted the victim. Finally, students expected less pro-bullying behaviors, more defending and less victimization in the vignette’s classroom following active teacher response compared to non-response. The effects of teacher responses on student cognitions were not moderated by students’ own participant roles in bullying. Taken together, these findings emphasize the importance of active teacher responses to bullying, and especially, responses that clearly show that bullying is not tolerated. Teachers are encouraged to be aware that students can deduce beliefs from teacher responses which can, in turn, affect bullying processes in the classroom

Adolescents' peer status profiles and differences in school engagement and loneliness trajectories:A person-centered approach

This study used a person-centered approach to identify adolescents' peer status profiles and examined how these profiles differed regarding the development of school engagement and loneliness. A sample of 794 adolescents was followed from Grades 7 to 11 (M-ageWave1 = 13.81 years). Measures included peer nominations of peer status, and student reports of school engagement and peer-related loneliness. Latent class growth analysis identified three profiles: popular-liked, unpopular-disliked, and normative. The popular-liked class revealed the lowest levels of behavioral engagement and loneliness. The unpopular-disliked class had higher levels of behavioral engagement, less steep increases in behavioral disaffection, and showed more loneliness. The normative class revealed moderate trajectories of engagement and loneliness. Moreover, boys and girls differed in their academic and psychosocial development. Implications of the findings for school practitioners are discussed

Direct and indirect relationships between parental personality and externalising behaviour:The role of negative parenting

Although the impact of parent characteristics and parenting practices on the development of behavioural problems in childhood is often recognised, only a few research programmes have assessed the unique contributions of negative parenting as well as the parent personality characteristics in the same study. Using the Five Factor Model, we examined the extent to which mothers' and father's personality characteristics were related to parenting and children's externalising behaviour in a proportional stratified sample of 599 nonclinical elementary school-aged children. Path analysis indicated that negative parenting practices and parents personality characteristics operate together to predict children's externalising problem behaviour. Consistent with past research (Patterson & Dishion, 1988; Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992), parent personality traits were indirectly related to children's externalising problem behaviour. Their effect was mediated by negative parenting practices. But in addition and in contrast to Patterson's theoretical model, parent personality traits also contributed directly to children's externalising problem behaviour. For the mother data, as well as for the father data, the personality dimensions Emotional Stability and Conscientiousness were negatively and Autonomy was positively related to children's externalising problem behaviours

Photoluminescent diamond nanoparticles for cell labeling: study of the uptake mechanism in mammalian cells

Diamond nanoparticles (nanodiamonds) have been recently proposed as new labels for cellular imaging. For small nanodiamonds (size <40 nm) resonant laser scattering and Raman scattering cross-sections are too small to allow single nanoparticle observation. Nanodiamonds can however be rendered photoluminescent with a perfect photostability at room temperature. Such a remarkable property allows easier single-particle tracking over long time-scales. In this work we use photoluminescent nanodiamonds of size <50 nm for intracellular labeling and investigate the mechanism of their uptake by living cells . By blocking selectively different uptake processes we show that nanodiamonds enter cells mainly by endocytosis and converging data indicate that it is clathrin mediated. We also examine nanodiamonds intracellular localization in endocytic vesicles using immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. We find a high degree of colocalization between vesicles and the biggest nanoparticles or aggregates, while the smallest particles appear free in the cytosol. Our results pave the way for the use of photoluminescent nanodiamonds in targeted intracellular labeling or biomolecule deliver