A Beliefs-based Strategy to Prepare Social Workers for Educational Practices with Asylum Seekers

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to optimise educational interventions with asylum seekers. Asylum seekers (n=284) completed a questionnaire that assessed the theory of planned behaviour constructs. The results highlight the importance of social norms and their perceived control over the decision to stay, when explaining their intention to remain in the host country until the reception of the answer to their asylum request. Moreover, behavioural beliefs about the new life, medical services, the feeling of security, employment and education perspectives were identified as motivators. Educational practices can be developed on the basis of these asylum seekers’ beliefs

Understanding high school students' attitude, social norm, perceived control and beliefs to develop educational interventions on sustainable development

AbstractEducation for sustainable development (ESD) is crucial to enhance or change students’ ways of thinking and acting in order to create a viable future for all. The present study investigates beliefs of high school students, which might be important to consider when developing an ESD intervention. Two hundred and twelve students participated. Results of multiple regression and correlational analysis reveal that different processes underlie students’ intention to engage in environmentally sustainable behaviours, as compared to their intention to perform socially sustainable behaviours. Reasons and ways to consider these divergences when planning an ESD intervention will be discussed

of the Organizing Committee of CY-ICER

Abstract Education for sustainable development (ESD) is crucial to enhance or change students' ways of thinking and acting in order to create a viable future for all. The present study investigates beliefs of high school students, which might be important to consider when developing an ESD intervention. Two hundred and twelve students participated. Results of multiple regression and correlational analysis reveal that different processes underlie students' intention to engage in environmentally sustainable behaviours, as compared to their intention to perform socially sustainable behaviours. Reasons and ways to consider these divergences when planning an ESD intervention will be discussed

Parameterization of oceanic whitecap fraction based on satellite observations

In this study, the utility of satellite-based white-cap fraction (W) data for the prediction of sea spray aerosol (SSA) emission rates is explored. More specifically, the study aims at evaluating how an account for natural variability of whitecaps in the W parameterization would affect SSA mass flux predictions when using a sea spray source function (SSSF) based on the discrete whitecap method. The starting point is a data set containing W data for 2006 together with matching wind speed U-10 and sea surface temperature (SST) T. Whitecap fraction W was estimated from observations of the ocean surface brightness temperature T-B by satellite-borne radiometers at two frequencies (10 and 37 GHz). A global-scale assessment of the data set yielded approximately quadratic correlation between W and U-10. A new global W(U-10) parameterization was developed and used to evaluate an intrinsic correlation between W and U-10 that could have been introduced while estimating W from T B. A regional-scale analysis over different seasons indicated significant differences of the coefficients of regional W(U-10) relationships. The effect of SST on W is explicitly accounted for in a new W(U-10, T) parameterization. The analysis of W values obtained with the new W(U-10) and W(U-10, T) parameterizations indicates that the influence of secondary factors on W is for the largest part embedded in the exponent of the wind speed dependence. In addition, the W(U-10, T) parameterization is able to partially model the spread (or variability) of the satellite-based W data. The satellite-based parameterization W(U-10, T) was applied in an SSSF to estimate the global SSA emission rate. The thus obtained SSA production rate for 2006 of 4.4 x 10(12) kg year(-1) is within previously reported estimates, however with distinctly different spatial distribution.Peer reviewe

Associations Between Nutrient Intake and Corresponding Nutritional Biomarker Levels in Blood in a Memory Clinic Cohort:The NUDAD Project

Diet is a promising intervention target to prevent or slow Alzheimer's disease (AD). Early (predementia) stages of AD offer a unique opportunity for dietary interventions. Nutritional assessment methods to estimate nutrient intake have, however, not been validated in clinical populations. Hence, we assessed the association between nutrient intake assessed by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and nutrient status measured by nutritional biomarkers in blood in a clinical sample of controls, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and patients with AD

Pathogenic variants in the paired-related homeobox 1 gene (PRRX1) cause craniosynostosis with incomplete penetrance

Purpose Studies previously implicated PRRX1 in craniofacial development, including demonstration of murine Prrx1 expression in the pre-osteogenic cells of the cranial sutures. We investigated the role of heterozygous missense and loss-of-function variants in PRRX1 associated with craniosynostosis. Methods Trio-based genome, exome or targeted sequencing were used to screen PRRX1 in patients with craniosynostosis; immunofluorescence analyses were used to assess nuclear localization of wild-type and mutant proteins. Results Genome sequencing identified 2 of 9 sporadically affected individuals with syndromic/multisuture craniosynostosis who were heterozygous for rare/undescribed variants in PRRX1. Exome or targeted sequencing of PRRX1 revealed a further 9/1449 patients with craniosynostosis harboring deletions or rare heterozygous variants within the homeodomain. By collaboration, seven additional individuals (four families) were identified with putatively pathogenic PRRX1 variants. Immunofluorescence analyses showed that missense variants within the PRRX1 homeodomain cause abnormal nuclear localization. Of patients with variants considered likely pathogenic, bicoronal or other multi-suture synostosis was present in 11/17 (65% of the cases). Pathogenic variants were inherited from unaffected relatives in many instances, yielding a 12.5% penetrance estimate for craniosynostosis. Conclusion This work supports a key role for PRRX1 in cranial suture development and shows that haploinsufficiency of PRRX1 is a relatively frequent cause of craniosynostosis