The Well of the Educator: An investigation into how well-being is maintained by Educators working in Youthreach.

‘As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject and our way of being together.’ (Palmer, 2007, p.1) I believe that what is going on inside of an educator has a direct impact on the learner’s life and this impact has a ripple effect on their families’ lives and society. I see being an educator as a huge responsibility that requires thoughtfulness and self-awareness. This responsibility can be draining, as being an educator is an occupation that requires immense energy both physically and emotionally. In my role as an educator I aim to maintain my wellness and to have a positive impact on the learner and my colleagues. In this research I am looking into the world of educators who in my eyes are successful at maintaining their wellbeing. They deal with stress well, enjoy their job and are productive. I will be uncovering what their thinking is about self-care and wellness, how they deal with stress and what commonalities appear between them. For some self-care is common sense but from my experience this perceived ‘common sense’ is not as common as people who manage to maintain wellness may think. The similarities were surprising as the four interviewees have different backgrounds and are of various ages. I purposely chose very different educators from a variety of subjects in the hope of uncovering a wide array of experiences and knowledge. They coincidentally proved to have similar mind-sets and attitudes towards their roles and ways of going about maintaining their wellness. This research has been a transformative process for me and has been an opportunity for me to improve my self-care practice and in turn strengthen my ability to work as an educator with integrity

Exploring the self-reference effect in ADHD

Objectives: The self-reference effect (SRE) is an extremely reliable memory advantage for information encoded in relation to self, which is linked to increased attention during encoding. The present study examined whether children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) show a typical SRE, or if this is reduced as a result of their attentional difficulties. Design: The study was a mixed design, comparing children with ADHD and a typically developing (TD) control group on their memory for items encoded in a self-referent and other-referent context.Methods: There were 32 participants aged 5 - 10 years, 16 in the ADHD group and 16 TD children matched closely for chronological age, verbal age, non-verbal IQ and sex. Participants were tested using an evaluative self-referencing paradigm, in which a series of object images were presented with an image of either the child’s own or another child’s face. On each trial, the child was asked whether or not the child pictured would like the object. Recognition and source memory for the objects were then assessed.Results: TD children displayed the expected SRE, remembering more items shown with their own face. However, this effect was not found within the ADHD sample.Conclusions: These findings are the first to show that children with ADHD may not benefit from the usually robust SRE. The results support the suggestion that attention is a prerequisite for the enhanced encoding of incoming self-referential information, and have implications for the use of SRE strategies in the classroom for children with attentional difficulties

The self‐reference effect in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The self‐memory system depends on the prioritization and capture of self‐relevant information, so may be disrupted by difficulties in attending to, encoding and retrieving self‐relevant information. The current study compares memory for self‐referenced and other‐referenced items in children with ADHD and typically developing comparison groups matched for verbal and chronological age. Children aged 5–14 (N = 90) were presented with everyday objects alongside an own‐face image (self‐reference trials) or an unknown child's image (other‐referenced trials). They were asked whether the child shown would like the object, before completing a surprise source memory test. In a second task, children performed, and watched another person perform, a series of actions before their memory for the actions was tested. A significant self‐reference effect (SRE) was found in the typically developing children (i.e. both verbal and chronological age‐matched comparison groups) for the first task, with significantly better memory for self‐referenced than other‐referenced objects. However, children with ADHD showed no SRE, suggesting a compromised ability to bind information with the cognitive self‐concept. In the second task, all groups showed superior memory for actions carried out by the self, suggesting a preserved enactment effect in ADHD. Implications and applications for the self‐memory system in ADHD are discussed

The Self Referent Effect in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The self-memory system depends on the prioritisation and capture of self-relevant information, so may be disrupted by difficulties in attending to, encoding and retrieving self-relevant information. The current study compares memory for self-referenced and other-referenced items in children with ADHD and typically-developing comparison groups matched for verbal and chronological age. Children aged 5-14 (N=90) were presented with everyday objects alongside an own-face image (self-reference trials) or an unknown child’s image (other-referenced trials). They were asked whether the child shown would like the object, before completing a surprise source memory test. In a second task, children performed, and watched another person perform, a series of actions before their memory for the actions was tested. A significant self-reference effect (SRE) was found in the typically-developing children (i.e., both verbal and chronological age-matched comparison groups) for the first task, with significantly better memory for self-referenced than other-referenced objects. However, children with ADHD showed no SRE, suggesting a compromised ability to bind information with the cognitive self-concept. In the second task, all groups showed superior memory for actions carried out by the self, suggesting a preserved enactment effect in ADHD. Implications and applications for the self-memory system in ADHD are discussed.<br/

Results from Ireland North and South’s 2022 report card on physical activity for children and adolescents

BackgroundThe Ireland North and South Report Card on Physical Activity (PA) for Children and Adolescents aims to monitor progress in PA participation across a range of internationally established indicators.MethodsData were collated for 11 indicators and graded following the harmonised Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance report card process. Six representative studies (sample size range n = 898 to n = 15,557) were primarily used in the grading, with many indicators supplemented with additional studies and reports. Data collected since the implementation of COVID-19 public health measures in March 2020 were excluded.ResultsGrades were awarded as follows: ‘Overall physical activity’, C-; ‘Organised Sport and Physical Activity’, C; ‘Active Play’, INC; ‘Sedentary Behaviours’, C-; ‘Physical Fitness’, INC; ‘Family and Peers’, D+; ‘School’, C-; ‘Physical Education’, D; ‘Community and Environment’, B+ and ‘Government’, B. Separate grades were awarded for disability as follows; ‘Overall physical activity’, F; ‘Organised Sport and Physical Activity’, D; ‘Sedentary Behaviours’, C-; ‘Family and Peers’, C; ‘School’, C- and ‘Government’, B. ‘Active Play’, ‘Physical Fitness’, ‘Physical Education’ and ‘Community and Environment’ were all graded INC for disability. Since the last report card in 2016, four grades remained the same, three increased (‘Overall physical activity’, ‘School’ and ‘Physical Education’) and two (‘Family and Peers,’ and ‘Government’) were awarded grades for the first time.ConclusionGrades specific to children and adolescents with disability were generally lower for each indicator. While small improvements have been shown across a few indicators, PA levels remain low across many indicators for children and adolescents

Results from Ireland North and South’s 2022 report card on physical activity for children and adolescents

BackgroundThe Ireland North and South Report Card on Physical Activity (PA) for Children and Adolescents aims to monitor progress in PA participation across a range of internationally established indicators.MethodsData were collated for 11 indicators and graded following the harmonised Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance report card process. Six representative studies (sample size range n = 898 to n = 15,557) were primarily used in the grading, with many indicators supplemented with additional studies and reports. Data collected since the implementation of COVID-19 public health measures in March 2020 were excluded.ResultsGrades were awarded as follows: ‘Overall physical activity’, C-; ‘Organised Sport and Physical Activity’, C; ‘Active Play’, INC; ‘Sedentary Behaviours’, C-; ‘Physical Fitness’, INC; ‘Family and Peers’, D+; ‘School’, C-; ‘Physical Education’, D; ‘Community and Environment’, B+ and ‘Government’, B. Separate grades were awarded for disability as follows; ‘Overall physical activity’, F; ‘Organised Sport and Physical Activity’, D; ‘Sedentary Behaviours’, C-; ‘Family and Peers’, C; ‘School’, C- and ‘Government’, B. ‘Active Play’, ‘Physical Fitness’, ‘Physical Education’ and ‘Community and Environment’ were all graded INC for disability. Since the last report card in 2016, four grades remained the same, three increased (‘Overall physical activity’, ‘School’ and ‘Physical Education’) and two (‘Family and Peers,’ and ‘Government’) were awarded grades for the first time.ConclusionGrades specific to children and adolescents with disability were generally lower for each indicator. While small improvements have been shown across a few indicators, PA levels remain low across many indicators for children and adolescents

Results from Ireland North and South's 2022 report card on physical activity for children and adolescents

The Ireland North and South Report Card on Physical Activity (PA) for Children and Adolescents aims to monitor progress in PA participation across a range of internationally established indicators. Data were collated for 11 indicators and graded following the harmonised Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance report card process. Six representative studies (sample size range n = 898 to n = 15,557) were primarily used in the grading, with many indicators supplemented with additional studies and reports. Data collected since the implementation of COVID-19 public health measures in March 2020 were excluded. Grades were awarded as follows: 'Overall physical activity', C-; 'Organised Sport and Physical Activity', C; 'Active Play', INC; 'Sedentary Behaviours', C-; 'Physical Fitness', INC; 'Family and Peers', D+; 'School', C-; 'Physical Education', D; 'Community and Environment', B+ and 'Government', B. Separate grades were awarded for disability as follows; 'Overall physical activity', F; 'Organised Sport and Physical Activity', D; 'Sedentary Behaviours', C-; 'Family and Peers', C; 'School', C- and 'Government', B. 'Active Play', 'Physical Fitness', 'Physical Education' and 'Community and Environment' were all graded INC for disability. Since the last report card in 2016, four grades remained the same, three increased ('Overall physical activity', 'School' and 'Physical Education') and two ('Family and Peers,' and 'Government') were awarded grades for the first time. Grades specific to children and adolescents with disability were generally lower for each indicator. While small improvements have been shown across a few indicators, PA levels remain low across many indicators for children and adolescents. [Abstract copyright: © 2023 The Society of Chinese Scholars on Exercise Physiology and Fitness. Published by Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Late pregnancy vitamin D deficiency is associated with doubled odds of birth asphyxia and emergency caesarean section: A prospective cohort study

Objectives: The aim of this prospective cohort study was to investigate the associations between maternal vitamin D status in late pregnancy and emergency caesarean section (EMCS) and birth asphyxia, in a population based sample of women in Sweden. Methods: Pregnant women were recruited at the antenatal care in Sweden and 1832 women were included after exclusion of miscarriages, terminated pregnancies and missing data on vitamin D status. Mode of delivery was retrieved from medical records. EMCS was defined as caesarean section after onset of labour. Birth asphyxia was defined as either 5 min Apgar score < 7 or arterial umbilical cord pH < 7.1. Serum was sampled in the third trimester of pregnancy (T3) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) was analysed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as 25OHD < 30 nmol/L, and associations were studied using logistic regression analysis and expressed as adjusted odds ratios (AOR). Results: In total, 141 (7.7%) women had an EMCS and 58 (3.2%) children were born with birth asphyxia. Vitamin D deficiency was only associated with higher odds of EMCS in women without epidural anaesthesia (AOR = 2.01, p = 0.044). Vitamin D deficiency was also associated with higher odds of birth asphyxia (AOR = 2.22, p = 0.044). Conclusions for Practice: In this Swedish prospective population-based cohort study, vitamin D deficiency in late pregnancy was associated with doubled odds of birth asphyxia and with EMCS in deliveries not aided by epidural anaesthesia. Prevention of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women may reduce the incidence of EMCS and birth asphyxia. The mechanism behind the findings require further investigation

Proneoplastic effects of PGE2 mediated by EP4 receptor in colorectal cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prostaglandin E₂(PGE₂) is the major product of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed to assess PGE₂cell surface receptors (EP 1–4) to examine the mechanisms by which PGE₂regulates tumour progression.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Gene expression studies were performed by quantitative RT-PCR. Cell cycle was analysed by flow cytometry with cell proliferation quantified by BrdU incorporation measured by enzyme immunoassay. Immunohistochemistry was employed for expression studies on formalin fixed paraffin embedded tumour tissue.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>EP4 was the most abundant subtype of PGE₂receptor in HT-29 and HCA7 cells (which show COX-2 dependent PGE₂generation) and was consistently the most abundant transcript in human colorectal tumours (n = 8) by qRT-PCR (ANOVA, p = 0.01). G0/G1 cell cycle arrest was observed in HT-29 cells treated with SC-236 5 μM (selective COX-2 inhibitor) for 24 hours (p = 0.02), an effect abrogated by co-incubation with PGE₂(1 μM). G0/G1 arrest was also seen with a specific EP4 receptor antagonist (EP4A, L-161982) (p = 0.01). Treatment of HT-29 cells with either SC-236 or EP4A caused reduction in intracellular cAMP (ANOVA, p = 0.01). Early induction in p21^WAF1/CIP1expression (by qRT-PCR) was seen with EP4A treatment (mean fold increase 4.4, p = 0.04) while other genes remained unchanged. Similar induction in p21^WAF1/CIP1was also seen with PD153025 (1 μM), an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, suggesting EGFR transactivation by EP4 as a potential mechanism. Additive inhibition of HCA7 proliferation was observed with the combination of SC-236 and neutralising antibody to amphiregulin (AR), a soluble EGFR ligand. Concordance in COX-2 and AR localisation in human colorectal tumours was noted.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>COX-2 regulates cell cycle transition via EP4 receptor and altered p21^WAF1/CIP1expression. EGFR pathways appear important. Specific targeting of the EP4 receptor or downstream targets may offer a safer alternative to COX-2 inhibition in the chemoprevention of CRC.</p