Emotional Competence in Primary School Children: Examining the Effect of a Psycho-Educational Group Intervention: A Pilot Prospective Study

Emotional competence (EC) is a key component of children's psychological, cognitive, and social development, and it is a central element of learning. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing a psycho-educational group intervention aimed at improving children's emotional competence (EC), quality of integration and scholastic skills. A total of 229 children (123 females; M Age = 7.22 years; SD = 0.97 years) completed the Pictures of Facial Affect (POFA), the Drawn Stories Technique, the Classroom Drawing, and the Colored Progressive Matrices. The total sample was randomly divided into an intervention group (N = 116) who took part in psycho-educational activities and a control (no-intervention) group (N = 84). Both groups were tested at baseline, before the intervention started, and at the end of the intervention (4 months from baseline). Results from mixed-model ANOVA revealed a significant main effect for POFA score over time (F = 6.24, p = 0.01) and an interaction effect between POFA and group (F = 4.82, p = 0.03). No significant main effect was found for classroom drawing over time (F = 0.81, p > 0.05) or for quality of integration and group intervention. These findings support the importance of developing psycho-educational programmes in school for promotion of emotional health for preventing not only the onset of problematic behaviours at school such as bullying but also the development of clinical conditions linked to difficulties in emotional recognition, expression, and regulation such as alexithymia

Nest-site fidelity in parental male bluegill Lepomis macrochirus: spatial patterns and the influence of prior mating success

A 4 year mark-recapture study examined the pattern of nesting site fidelity of parental-type male bluegill Lepomis macrochirus. The study results indicated that iteroparous male L. macrochirus choose new nest sites near their own previously used sites. The scale of site fidelity varied, but generally males choose to renest within shoreline areas rather than specific or exact nest locations (94% within-year, 86% among-years). Iteroparous males also displayed no preference to nest in proximity to neighbouring males from previous colonies to suggest social fidelity. Contrary to expectation, manipulating males' reproductive success had no significant effect on the pattern or scale of male reproductive site fidelity

Late Post-traumatic Epilepsy in Children and Young Adults : Impropriety of Long-Term Antiepileptic Prophylaxis and Risks in Tapering

Background: After traumatic brain injury, epilepsy affects up to 20\uc2 % of children. It is a risk factor, for both clinical recovery and cognitive performance; therefore pharmacological therapy is advisable. Current guidelines recommend prophylaxis to be initiated as soon as possible and tapered 1\uc2 week after trauma. However, no guideline exists for paediatric patients and the clinical practice is heterogeneous. Objective: In our institute, prophylaxis was routinely tapered 6\uc2 months after trauma. Therefore we investigated whether this prophylaxis or its tapering influenced the development of post-traumatic epilepsy, together with several clinical-demographic factors. Methods: The study population comprised all patients with post-traumatic brain injury referred to this institute between 2002 and 2009 who consented to participate. Clinical, epileptological and pharmacological data were collected. The role of prophylaxis and several other predictors on occurrence of post-traumatic epilepsy was analysed through logistic regressions. Results: Two hundred and three patients (145 paediatric) were followed for 57\uc2 months on average. Risk factors for epilepsy were past neurosurgery [odds ratio (OR)\uc2 =\uc2 2.61, 95\uc2 % confidence interval (CI) 1.15\u20135.96], presence of epileptiform anomalies (OR\uc2 =\uc2 6.92, 95\uc2 % CI 3.02\u201315.86) and the presence of prophylaxis (OR\uc2 =\uc2 2.49, 95\uc2 % CI 1.12\u20135.52), while higher intelligence quotient (IQ) was protective (OR\uc2 =\uc2 0.96, 95\uc2 % CI 0.95\u20130.98). While evaluating possible different effects within and after 6\uc2 months (tapering, for those under prophylaxis), we found that epileptiform anomalies (OR\uc2 =\uc2 7.61, 95\uc2 % CI 2.33\u201324.93, and OR\uc2 =\uc2 8.21, 95\uc2 % CI 3.00\u201322.44) and IQ (OR\uc2 =\uc2 0.96, 95\uc2 % CI 0.94\u20130.98, and OR\uc2 =\uc2 0.97, 95\uc2 % CI 0.95\u20130.98) were always significant predictors of epilepsy, while neurosurgery (OR\uc2 =\uc2 4.38, 95\uc2 % CI 1.10\u201317.45) was significant only within 6\uc2 months from trauma, and prophylaxis (OR\uc2 =\uc2 3.98, 95\uc2 % CI 1.62\u20139.75) only afterwards. Conclusions: These results suggest that prophylaxis was irrelevant when present; furthermore its tapering increased the risk of epilepsy. Since the presence of epileptiform anomalies was the main predictor of post-traumatic epilepsy, such anomalies may be useful to better direct the choice of prophylaxis

Fish Species Distribution in Seagrass Habitats of Chesapeake Bay are Structured by Abiotic and Biotic Factors

Seagrass habitats have long been known to serve as nursery habitats for juvenile fish by providing refuges from predation and areas of high forage abundance. However, comparatively less is known about other factors structuring fish communities that make extensive use of seagrass as nursery habitat. We examined both physical and biological factors that may structure the juvenile seagrass-associated fish communities across a synoptic-scale multiyear study in lower Chesapeake Bay. Across 3years of sampling, we collected 21,153 fish from 31 species. Silver Perch Bairdiella chrysoura made up over 86% of all individuals collected. Nine additional species made up at least 1% of the fish community in the bay but were at very different abundances than historical estimates of the fish community from the early 1980s. Eight species, including Silver Perch, showed a relationship with measured gradients of temperature or salinity and Spot Leiostomus xanthurus showed a negative relationship with the presence of macroalgae. Climate change, particularly increased precipitation and runoff from frequent and intense events, has the potential to alter fish-habitat relationships in seagrass beds and other habitats and may have already altered the fish community composition. Comparisons of fish species to historical data from the 1970s, our data, and recent contemporary data in the late 2000s suggests this has occurred

Työvoiman ikääntyminen ja ikäjohtaminen Suomen kunnissa asiakirja-analyysi kuntien strategioista

In response to a sharp decline in recreational fishing participation in Queensland, Australia, I sought to identify constraints experienced by fishers in Queensland and understand how demographic variables, fishing participation variables, and fishing motivations influence the amount and type of constraints experienced. In a survey of Queensland recreational fishers, 70% reported experiencing constraints-predominantly lack of time, crowding, unavailability of facilities, and costs associated with fishing. Fishers with higher incomes, fishers with higher centrality of fishing to lifestyle, fishers who placed higher importance on motivations related to catching fish and relaxation, and fishers who were male were more likely to experience constraints. With the exception of gender, variables found to have a significant effect on the presence of constraints also had a significant influence on the types of constraints experienced. Results provide insight into factors affecting recreational fishing participation in Queensland; however, additional research-particularly with recent fishing drop-outs-is needed to fully understand recent declines in fishing participation

Expanding Phenotype of Poirier\u2013Bienvenu Syndrome: New Evidence from an Italian Multicentrical Cohort of Patients

Background: Poirier\u2013Bienvenu Neurodevelopmental Syndrome (POBINDS) is a rare disease linked to mutations of the CSNK2B gene, which encodes for a subunit of caseinkinase CK2 involved in neuronal growth and synaptic transmission. Its main features include early-onset epilepsy and intellectual disability. Despite the lack of cases described, it appears that POBINDS could manifest with a wide range of phenotypes, possibly related to the different mutations of CSNK2B. Methods: Our multicentric, retrospective study recruited nine patients with POBINDS, detected using next-generation sequencing panels and whole-exome sequencing. Clinical, laboratory, and neuroimaging data were reported for each patient in order to assess the severity of phenotype, and eventually, a correlation with the type of CSNK2B mutation. Results: We reported nine unrelated patients with heterozygous de novo mutations of the CSNK2B gene. All cases presented epilepsy, and eight patients were associated with a different degree of intellectual disability. Other features detected included endocrinological and vascular abnormalities and dysmorphisms. Genetic analysis revealed six new variants of CSNK2B that have not been reported previously. Conclusion: Although it was not possible to assess a genotype\u2013phenotype correlation in our patients, our research further expands the phenotype spectrum of POBINDS patients, identifying new mutations occurring in the CSNK2B gene

Cryptogenic Epileptic Syndromes Related to SCN1A Twelve Novel Mutations Identified

Background: Sodium channel alpha 1 subunit gene, SCN1A, is the gene encoding the neuronal voltage-gated sodium channel alpha 1 subunit (Na(v)1.1) and is mutated in different forms of epilepsy. Mutations in this gene were observed in more than 70% of patients with severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI) and were also found in different types of infantile epileptic encephalopathy. Objective: To search for disease-causing mutations in SCN1A in patients with cryptogenic epileptic syndromes (ie, syndromes with an unknown cause). Design: Clinical characterization and molecular genetic analysis of a cohort of patients. Setting: University hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and molecular biology laboratories. Patients: Sixty unrelated patients with cryptogenic epileptic syndromes. Main Outcome Measures: Samples of DNA were analyzed for mutations and for large heterozygous deletions encompassing the SCN1A gene. A search for microdeletions in the SCN1A gene was also performed in the subset of patients with SMEI/SMEI-borderland who had negative results at the point mutation screening. Results: No large deletions at the SCN1A locus were found in any of the patients analyzed. In contrast, 13 different point mutations were identified in 12 patients: 10 with SMEI, 1 with generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus, and 1 with cryptogenic focal epilepsy. An additional search for SCN1A intragenic microdeletions in the remaining patients with SMEI/SMEI-borderland and no point mutations was also negative. Conclusions: These results confirm the role of the SCN1A gene in different types of epilepsy, including cryptogenic epileptic syndromes. However, large deletions encompassing SCN1A were not common disease-causing rearrangements in this group of epilepsies

Aviation turbulence: dynamics, forecasting, and response to climate change

Atmospheric turbulence is a major hazard in the aviation industry and can cause injuries to passengers and crew. Understanding the physical and dynamical generation mechanisms of turbulence aids with the development of new forecasting algorithms and, therefore, reduces the impact that it has on the aviation industry. The scope of this paper is to review the dynamics of aviation turbulence, its response to climate change, and current forecasting methods at the cruising altitude of aircraft. Aviation-affecting turbulence comes from three main sources: vertical wind shear instabilities, convection, and mountain waves. Understanding these features helps researchers to develop better turbulence diagnostics. Recent research suggests that turbulence will increase in frequency and strength with climate change, and therefore, turbulence forecasting may become more important in the future. The current methods of forecasting are unable to predict every turbulence event, and research is ongoing to find the best solution to this problem by combining turbulence predictors and using ensemble forecasts to increase skill. The skill of operational turbulence forecasts has increased steadily over recent decades, mirroring improvements in our understanding. However, more work is needed—ideally in collaboration with the aviation industry—to improve observations and increase forecast skill, to help maintain and enhance aviation safety standards in the future

Diagnosis and management of Silver–Russell syndrome: first international consensus statement

This Consensus Statement summarizes recommendations for clinical diagnosis, investigation and management of patients with Silver–Russell syndrome (SRS), an imprinting disorder that causes prenatal and postnatal growth retardation. Considerable overlap exists between the care of individuals born small for gestational age and those with SRS. However, many specific management issues exist and evidence from controlled trials remains limited. SRS is primarily a clinical diagnosis; however, molecular testing enables confirmation of the clinical diagnosis and defines the subtype. A 'normal' result from a molecular test does not exclude the diagnosis of SRS. The management of children with SRS requires an experienced, multidisciplinary approach. Specific issues include growth failure, severe feeding difficulties, gastrointestinal problems, hypoglycaemia, body asymmetry, scoliosis, motor and speech delay and psychosocial challenges. An early emphasis on adequate nutritional status is important, with awareness that rapid postnatal weight gain might lead to subsequent increased risk of metabolic disorders. The benefits of treating patients with SRS with growth hormone include improved body composition, motor development and appetite, reduced risk of hypoglycaemia and increased height. Clinicians should be aware of possible premature adrenarche, fairly early and rapid central puberty and insulin resistance. Treatment with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues can delay progression of central puberty and preserve adult height potential. Long-term follow up is essential to determine the natural history and optimal management in adulthood