Precursors and outcomes of sibling bullying

Sibling relationships have a great impact on children's social and psychological development. This thesis provides an all-encompassing examination of the precursors and outcomes of sibling bullying through three quantitative studies: the first study, a meta-analysis, provides a foundational schema of the factors associated with sibling conflicts; the second study, a short-term longitudinal study, examines the individual and proximal precursors of sibling bullying and its short-term outcomes (one and two years later); the third study, a long-term longitudinal study, examines the distal precursors of sibling bullying and its long-term outcomes (five years later). The first study assessed the strongest effect sizes associated with sibling conflicts. It examined the link between parent-child relationships, familial factors and sibling conflicts. Studies were identified through a systematic search, coded, and selected based on criteria relevant for this study resulting in 60 studies (178 effect sizes), which in total involved 43,270 participating children and adolescents. Studies were categorised as proximal and distal factors. Those involved in sibling conflicts were significantly less likely to have authoritative, and warm and affectionate parents, and less likely to come from families with affluent socioeconomic-status, positive family climate and good marital quality. Conversely, more sibling conflicts were significantly related to abusive and neglectful parents, and parent-child conflicts; and more likely to come from families with poor mental health, low SES, adverse family atmosphere and parental conflict. The factors were moderated by assessment methods, study design, direction and form conflict, gender constellation, and continent. This study served as a building block for the two following studies, as it highlighted key factors to focus on in further assessing the precursors and outcomes of sibling bullying. The second study, which was based on the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transition and Crime (ESYTC, 2014) found that parenting factors were crucial to sibling bullying. Parental involvement, parent-child conflict and parent-child leisure time were precursors and outcomes of sibling bullying, so that more parental involvement and parent-child leisure time were associated with less sibling bullying perpetration and victimisation. Further, sibling bullying perpetration and sibling victimisation were precursors of peer bullying perpetration and victimisation one and two years later. However, the strength of the association declined over the course of two years. Impulsive behaviour and social alienation seem to be fundamental influencing factors in the development of sibling bullying and sibling victimisation, respectively. Additionally, children who were involved in peer bullying were more likely to have been involved in sibling bullying, compared to peer neutrals one and two years later. The third study, which was based on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, Boyd et al., 2012) found that maternal somaticism was the strongest predictor of sibling bullying. Further, the strongest predictor of sibling victimisation was partner-to-mother verbal violence. Symptoms of depression at 16.5 years of age was the strongest outcome of sibling bullying perpetration and victimisation at 12.5 years of age. Children who were peer bully-victims when they were 17.5 years old were more likely to have been sibling pure bullies and sibling bully-victims, compared to children who were peer neutrals. The results suggest that familial factors significantly influence the quality of sibling relationships. Additionally, the findings show that sibling bullying is related to peer bullying, so that children mirror bullying behaviours across social contexts (i.e. family environment and school environment). The findings of this thesis are important for clinical practitioners, social workers, parents and schools. Based on these findings practitioners could tailor family and parenting intervention programs that prevent siblings from establishing conflictual relationships with one another. Particularly, it is suggested that bullying intervention programs should integrate three aspects: family members should play an integrated and active role in their plans to reduce bullying and victimisation; bullying intervention and prevention studies should commence at preschool ages; positive family climate should actively be nurtured, in addition to lowering hostility

Changes in surface solar radiation in Northeastern Spain over the past six centuries recorded by tree-ring δ13C.

Although solar radiation at the surface plays a determinant role in carbon discrimination in tree rings, stable carbon isotope chronologies (δ13C) have often been interpreted as a temperature proxy due to the co-variability of temperature and surface solar radiation. Furthermore, even when surface solar radiation is assumed to be the main driver of 13C discrimination in tree rings, δ13C records have been calibrated against sunshine duration or cloud cover series for which longer observational records exists. In this study, we use different instrumental and satellite data over northeast Spain (southern Europe) to identify the main driver of tree-ring 13C discrimination in this region. Special attention is paid to periods in which the co-variability of those climate variables may have been weaker, such as years after large volcanic eruptions. The analysis identified surface solar radiation as the main driver of tree-ring δ13C changes in this region, although the influence of other climatic factors may not be negligible. Accordingly, we suggest that a reconstruction of SSR over the last 600 years is possible. The relation between multidecadal variations of an independent temperature reconstruction and surface solar radiation in this region shows no clear sign, and warmer (colder) periods may be accompanied by both higher and lower surface solar radiation. However, our reconstructed records of surface solar radiation reveals a sunnier Little Ice Age in agreement with other δ13C tree-ring series used to reconstruct sunshine duration in central and northern Europe

CO2 adsorption on pyrolysis char from protein-containing livestock waste: How do proteins affect?

Biogas generation through anaerobic digestion provides an interesting opportunity to valorize some types of animal waste materials whose management is increasingly complicated by legal and environmental restrictions. To successfully expand anaerobic digestion in livestock areas, operational issues such as digestate management must be addressed in an economical and environmentally sustainable way. Biogas upgrading is another necessary stage before intending it to add-value applications. The high concentration of CO2 in biogas results in a reduced caloric value, so the removal of CO2 would be beneficial for most end-users. The current work evaluates the CO2 uptake properties (thermogravimetry study) of low-cost adsorbent materials produced from the animal wastes generated in the livestock area itself, specifically via pyrolysis of poorly biodegradable materials, such as meat and bone meal, and the digestate from manure anaerobic digestion. Therefore, the new element in this study with respect to other studies found in the literature related to biochar-based CO2 adsorption performance is the presence of high content of pyrolyzed proteins in the adsorbent material. In this work, pyrolyzed chars from both meat and bone meal and co-digested manure have been proven to adsorb CO2 reversibly, and also the chars produced from their representative pure proteins (collagen and soybean protein), which were evaluated as model compounds for a better understanding of the individual performance of proteins. The ultra-microporosity developed in the protein chars during pyrolysis seems to be the main explanation for such CO2 uptake capacities, while neither the BET surface area nor N-functionalities on the char surface can properly explain the observed results. Although the CO2 adsorption capacities of these pristine chars (6–41.0 mg CO2/g char) are far away from data of commercially activated carbons (~80 mg CO2/g char), this application opens a new via to integrate and valorize these wastes in the circular economy of the primary sector

Reduction of blood C-reactive protein concentration complements the resolution of sputum bacillary load in patients on anti-tuberculosis therapy

Funding: This study was conducted under the PanACEA Biomarkers Expansion (PanBIOME) programme and the establishment of Maputo Tuberculosis Trial Unit (MaTuTU Project) which was funded in parts through the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), PZA-study and Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany.Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a difficult-to-treat disease requiring the combination of four antibiotics for a minimum of 6 months. Rapid and quantitative biomarkers to monitor treatment response are urgently needed for individual patient management and clinical trials. C-reactive protein (CRP) is often used clinically as a rapid marker of inflammation caused by infection. We assessed the relationship of TB bacillary load and CRP as biomarkers of treatment response. Methods: Xpert MTB/RIF-confirmed pulmonary TB cases were enrolled for treatment response assessment in Mozambique. Treatment response was measured using the Tuberculosis Molecular Bacterial Load Assay (TB-MBLA) in comparison with standard-of-care Mycobacterium Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) culture at baseline and at weeks 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 17, and 26 of treatment. Blood CRP concentration was measured at baseline, week 8, and week 26. Treatment response was defined as increase in MGIT culture time to positivity (TTP), and reduction in TB-MBLA-measured bacillary load and blood CRP concentration. Results: Out of the 81 screened presumptive TB cases, 69 were enrolled for 6-month treatment follow-up resulting in 94% treatment completion rate. Four participants did not complete TB treatment and 22 participants had missing CRP or TB-MBLA results and were excluded from TB-MBLA-CRP analysis. The remaining 43 participants—median age, 31 years old [interquartile range (IQR): 18–56]; 70% (30/43) male; and 70% (30/43) infected with HIV—were considered for analysis. Culture TTP and bacillary load were inversely correlated, Spearman’s r = −0.67, p < 0.0001. Resolution of sputum bacillary load concurred with reduction of blood CRP, r = 0.70, p < 0.0001. At baseline, bacillary load had a median (IQR) of 6.4 (5.5–7.2), which reduced to 2.4 (0.0–2.9) and 0.0 (0.0–0.0) log10 CFU/ml at months 2 and 6 of treatment, respectively. Correspondingly, blood CRP reduced from 1.9 (1.6–2.1) at baseline to 1.3 (0.9–1.7) and 0.4 (0.1–0.8) log10 mg/dl at months 2 and 6 of treatment, respectively. CRP reduction trialed bacteriological resolution at a rate of −0.06 log10 mg/dl compared to a bacillary load of 0.23 log10 CFU/ml per week. Consequently, 14 (33%) and 37 (88%) patients had reduced CRP to normal concentration and bacillary load to zero by the end of treatment, respectively. Pre-treatment CRP concentration and bacillary load, and resolution during treatment were slightly lower in HIV co-infected patients but not significantly different from HIV-uninfected TB patients. Conclusion: TB-MBLA-measured bacillary load and blood CRP complement each other in response to anti-TB therapy. Slow CRP reduction probably reflects residual TB bacilli in the lung not expectorated in sputum. Combining both measures can improve the accuracy of these biomarkers for monitoring TB treatment response and shorten turnaround time since the results of both assays could be available in 24 h.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

How do Stakeholders Perceive the Sustainability and Resilience of EU Farming Systems?

An increasing variety of stresses and shocks provides challenges and opportunities for EU farming systems. This article presents findings of a participatory assessment on the sustainability and resilience of eleven EU farming systems, to inform the design of adequate and relevant strategies and policies. According to stakeholders that participated in workshops, the main functions of farming systems are related to food production, economic viability and maintenance of natural resources. Performance of farming systems assessed with regard to these and five other functions was perceived to be moderate. Past strategies were often geared towards making the system more profitable, and to a lesser extent towards coupling production with local and natural resources, social self‐organisation, enhancing functional diversity, and facilitating infrastructure for innovation. Overall, the resilience of the studied farming systems was perceived as low to moderate, with robustness and adaptability often dominant over transformability. To allow for transformability, being reasonably profitable and having access to infrastructure for innovation were viewed as essential. To improve sustainability and resilience of EU farming systems, responses to short‐term processes should better consider long‐term processes. Technological innovation is required, but it should be accompanied with structural, social, agro‐ecological and institutional changes

Lernprozessbegleitende Diagnostik und Fachdidaktik: Gestufte digitale Lernhilfen als Professionalisierungskonzept für adaptiven Unterricht (DiLernProfis)

In inklusiven Settings sind Differenzierungen der Lerninhalte für ein adaptives Unterrichten unabdingbar. Diagnostische Erkenntnisse für die Planung, Durchführung und Reflexion von Unterricht sind von herausgehobener Bedeutung. In dem hier vorgestellten Verbundprojekt „DiLernProfis“ sollen die Praxen und Gelingensbedingungen der Verknüpfung von Diagnostik und adaptivem Unterricht analysiert werden. Dies erfolgt entlang der Konzeption und des Einsatzes von binnendifferenziert gestuften Lernhilfen, die in Form einer App für den naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht erprobt werden. Dies erfolgt im Rahmen einer Fortbildung, die auf Lehrkräfteprofessionalisierung im Spannungsfeld von Diagnostik und Förderung zielt und in der die beteiligten Lehrpersonen als Community of Practice (CoP) organisiert sind. Die wissenschaftliche Begleitung des Projekts umfasst qualitative und quantitative Erhebungen. Die Befunde münden in einem zertifizierten Konzept zur Lehrpersonen-Professionalisierung. Dies umfasst lerndiagnostisch-adaptiven Unterricht in der Aus- und Weiterbildung zum Fachunterricht der Sekundarstufe. Der fachdidaktisch fundierte Praxistransfer wird über eine interdisziplinäre Community of Research (CoR) von universitären Fachdidaktiken des Forschungs- und Entwicklungszentrums (FuE-Zentrums) für inklusionssensible Lehrer*innenbildung sowie Lehrpersonenforscher*innen der Versuchsschulen „Oberstufen-Kolleg“ und „Laborschule“ gewährleistet

Human Rights and German Intellectual History in Transnational Perspective

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156446/1/gequ12147.pd