Family composition and age at menarche: findings from the international Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study

This research was funded by The University of St Andrews and NHS Health Scotland.Background Early menarche has been associated with father absence, stepfather presence and adverse health consequences in later life. This article assesses the association of different family compositions with the age at menarche. Pathways are explored which may explain any association between family characteristics and pubertal timing. Methods Cross-sectional, international data on the age at menarche, family structure and covariates (age, psychosomatic complaints, media consumption, physical activity) were collected from the 2009–2010 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. The sample focuses on 15-year old girls comprising 36,175 individuals across 40 countries in Europe and North America (N = 21,075 for age at menarche). The study examined the association of different family characteristics with age at menarche. Regression and path analyses were applied incorporating multilevel techniques to adjust for the nested nature of data within countries. Results Living with mother (Cohen’s d = .12), father (d = .08), brothers (d = .04) and sisters (d = .06) are independently associated with later age at menarche. Living in a foster home (d = −.16), with ‘someone else’ (d = −.11), stepmother (d = −.10) or stepfather (d = −.06) was associated with earlier menarche. Path models show that up to 89% of these effects can be explained through lifestyle and psychological variables. Conclusions Earlier menarche is reported amongst those with living conditions other than a family consisting of two biological parents. This can partly be explained by girls’ higher Body Mass Index in these families which is a biological determinant of early menarche. Lower physical activity and elevated psychosomatic complaints were also more often found in girls in these family environments.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Eteokles in Spain? On Brecht’s Mein Bruder war ein Flieger

One of Bertolt Brecht’s most famous poems, Mein Bruder war ein Flieger, is often invoked as a manifesto for pacifist ideals, but some essential questions (who is the lyric I? what is the literal meaning of the poem?) have hardly received any attention. By evoking the poem’s nature as a Kinderlied, the context of its first publication, and its relationship with Brecht’s play Die Gewehre der Frau Carrar, this article tentatively identifies the source of its final pointe in a famous passage of Aeschylus’ Seven against Thebes, thereby suggesting—on the basis of textual comparisons—an example of far-reaching, ideological Antikerezeption in Brecht’s oeuvre, working all the way down to his Kalendergeschichten and to his Antigone

Data for: A novel method for prediction of postoperative global sagittal alignment based on full-body musculoskeletal modeling and posture optimization

Details of the sample analyzed in the study: demographic parameters, treatment information, preoperative and follow-up radiographic measures as well as measures predicted by the simulation

Data for: A novel method for prediction of postoperative global sagittal alignment based on full-body musculoskeletal modeling and posture optimization

Details of the sample analyzed in the study: demographic parameters, treatment information, preoperative and follow-up radiographic measures as well as measures predicted by the simulation.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Analiza właściwości mechanicznych cebuli zwyczajnej

The study investigated the physical properties of onion for purpose of developing a mechanical peel assembly. In addition, tests of cutting force and compressive stresses resulting in onion damage were performed. The results of study constitute the basis for developing a concept of main mechanical peeling assembly, which is responsible for incision of top layer onion and removal of a root and pinch.W ramach badań przeprowadzono badania właściwości fizycznych cebuli dla potrzeb opracowania mechanicznego zespołu obierającego. Ponadto wykonano badania siły przecinania oraz naprężeń ściskających wywołujących uszkodzenie cebuli. Wyniki uzyskanych badań stanowią podstawę do opracowania koncepcji głównego elementu wchodzącego w skład mechanicznego zespołu obierającego, który odpowiada za nacięcie wierzchniej warstwy cebuli oraz usunięcie korzenia i szczypioru