Early family adversity, stability and consistency of institutional care and infant cognitive, language and motor development across the first six months of institutionalization

This study extends research on the effects of institutionalization—by examining the trajectories of cognitive, language and motor development of 64 Portuguese infants and toddlers across the first six months of institutionalization, while determining whether pre-institutional adversities and the stability and consistency of institutional care predict children’s development. At time of enrollment, 23.4%, 32.8% and 31.3% of the children were moderately to severely delayed, respectively, in their cognitive, linguistic and motor functioning. Developmental problems persisted after six months of institutionalization. The accumulation of early pre-institutional adversities predicted cognitive and motor limitations at admission to the institutions, but not variation in subsequent development. The stability and consistency of institutional care also failed to predict developmental growth and change. Children who had never lived with their families of origin showed a better language development at enrollment than their counterparts who had lived with their families of origin before institutionalization. Such advantage was followed by a deceleration in language growth after six months of institutional placement. Results are discussed in terms of short- vs. longer-term effects of institutionalization.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

ВОПРОСЫ РАЗВИТИЯ СЕЛЬСКОГО ХОЗЯЙСТВА БЕЛАРУСИ В КОНТЕКСТЕ ТЕНДЕНЦИЙ ТРАНСГРАНИЧНОГО РЫНКА АГРОПРОДОВОЛЬСТВЕННОЙ ПРОДУКЦИИ

The article is devoted to estimation of prospects of agriculture development in Belarus in the context of modern trends of international economic integration, formation of consumer preferences and competitive advantages. Risks for financial market and agricultural organizations stability as well as agricultural industry of the country are revealed. The author's estimation of the consequences for the agricultural sector of the Belarusian economy, the dynamics of agricultural development in Russia against background of product embargo against states applying sanctions to the Russian Federation is given in the article. A conclusion is made that in the near future the Republic of Belarus will face increased competition in the Russian market in the field of poultry and pig production, and there is a high probability it can lead to escalation of contradictions and barriers in trade. It is possible to save the position of Belarusian producers subject to high-quality production that is safe, natural and authentic. Proposals for strengthening the agro-industrial policy by updating directions of agricultural specialization, adjustment of financial and credit mechanisms, development of effective agribusiness motivation with incentive payments from revenues and profits, as well as property endowment are presented. Recommendations for training the agrarian and industrial complex specialists on the basis of a balanced combination of theoretical and practical training are proposed. Implementation of these measures will create a basis for flexibility of agricultural economic mechanism, self-development, state and private partnership, adaptability in relation to the rapidly changing conditions in the Eurasian market.Статья посвящена оценке перспектив развития сельского хозяйства Беларуси в контексте современных тенденций международной экономической интеграции, формирования потребительских предпочтений и конкурентных преимуществ. Раскрываются риски нарушения финансовой и рыночной устойчивости сельскохозяйственных организаций и отрасли сельского хозяйства страны. Представлена авторская оценка последствий для аграрного сектора белорусской экономики динамики развития сельского хозяйства России на фоне продуктового эмбарго в отношении государств, применивших в отношении Российской Федерации экономические санкции. Делается вывод, что в ближайшее время Республика Беларусь столкнется с усилением конкурентной борьбы на российском рынке по продукции птицеводства и свиноводства, с высокой вероятностью это может повлечь усиление противоречий и барьеров в торговле. Сохранение позиций белорусских товаропроизводителей возможно при производстве высококачественной продукции, отличающейся безопасностью, натуральностью, аутентичностью. Излагаются предложения по усилению агропромышленной политики за счет актуализации направлений специализации сельского хозяйства, корректировки финансово-кредитных механизмов, развития мотивации эффективного агробизнеса с применением стимулирующих выплат из выручки и прибыли, а также наделением собственностью. Предложены рекомендации по развитию подготовки кадров для АПК на основе сбалансированного сочетания теоретической подготовки и практического обучения. Реализация данных мер позволит создать основу гибкости аграрного экономического механизма, задействования рычагов саморазвития, государственно-частного партнерства, адаптивности по отношению к стремительно меняющимся условиям на евразийском рынке. 

Investigation of the effect of combined thermomechanical processing on the brass microstructure evolution and the microhardness change

The article investigates the effect of combined thermomechanical processing, including pre-heat treatment and radial-shear rolling on the brass microstructure evolution and the microhardness change. The microstructure analysis of heat-treated samples according to various modes showed that the most optimal heat treatment before radialshear rolling for L63 brass is annealing at a temperature of 500 °C. As a result of combined thermomechanical processing, a gradient structure was obtained, so in the resulting rods with a diameter of 16 mm in the surface layer, a structure with an average grain size of 9 μm was obtained. In rods with a diameter of 12 mm, a fine–grained, equalgrained structure of 3 μm was obtained in the surface layer

Investigation of the effect of combined thermomechanical processing on the brass microstructure evolution and the microhardness change

The article investigates the effect of combined thermomechanical processing, including pre-heat treatment and radial-shear rolling on the brass microstructure evolution and the microhardness change. The microstructure analysis of heat-treated samples according to various modes showed that the most optimal heat treatment before radialshear rolling for L63 brass is annealing at a temperature of 500 °C. As a result of combined thermomechanical processing, a gradient structure was obtained, so in the resulting rods with a diameter of 16 mm in the surface layer, a structure with an average grain size of 9 μm was obtained. In rods with a diameter of 12 mm, a fine–grained, equalgrained structure of 3 μm was obtained in the surface layer

Diverse physical growth trajectories in institutionalized portuguese children below age 3: relation to child, family, and institutional factors

The authors would like to thank the students involved in the data collection and coding, and especially the children, caregivers, and other institutional staff who participated in the study. Funding from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.Objective: To identify and analyze diverse longitudinal trajectories of physical growth of institutionalized children and their relation to child, family, and institutional factors. Methods: 49 institutionalized children were studied for 9 months after admission. Weight, height, and head circumference were measured on 4 occasions, beginning at admission. Data were analyzed using latent class analysis, yielding diverse patterns of growth for each feature, and relations with child characteristics, early family risk factors, and institutional relational care were investigated. Results: For each growth feature, 4 classes emerged: ‘‘Persistently Low,’’ ‘‘Improving,’’ ‘‘Deteriorating,’’ and ‘‘Persistently High.’’ Younger age at admission was a risk factor for impaired physical growth across all domains. Physical characteristics at birth were associated with trajectories across all domains. Lower prenatal risk and better institutional relational care were associated with Improving weight over time. Conclusions: Discussion highlights the role of children’s physical features at birth, prenatal risk, and caregiver’s cooperation with the child in explaining differential trajectories.This research was supported in part by grant 13/06 from Fundação BIAL and by grant PTDC/PSI-PCL/101506/2008 from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia

Child's oxytocin response to mother-child interaction: the contribution of child genetics and maternal behavior

The oxytocinergic system is a primary biological system involved in regulating a child’s needs for bonding and for protection from threats. It is responsive to social experiences in close relationships, though evidence across studies is not entirely consistent. Guided by previous literature, we investigated individual and environmental factors predicting and presumably affecting children’s oxytocin (OT) response during mother-child interaction. by focusing on children’s OXTR genotype, and maternal behavior, respectively. This was achieved by assessing salivary OT levels of 88 Portuguese preschoolers prior to and following a mother-child interaction task, and by genotyping children’s OXTR SNP rs53576. Maternal interactive behavior was assessed using Ainsworth scales. Results indicated that child genotype and mother’s sensitive responsiveness interacted in predicting change in child OT concentrations from before to after the interaction. Specifically, Genotypic differences emerged under conditions of low maternal sensitive responsiveness: OT levels increased over time for children with the GG genotype when maternal sensitive responsiveness was low, but no such genotypic differences were evident when mothers were highly sensitive responsive. Findings provide preliminary support for the notion that increased understanding of children’s OT and close relationships requires consideration of both individual and environmental factors.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Differential susceptibility in youth: evidence that 5-HTTLPR x positive parenting is associated with positive affect ‘for better and worse'

Positive affect has been implicated in the phenomenological experience of various psychiatric disorders, vulnerability to develop psychopathology and overall socio-emotional functioning. However, developmental influences that may contribute to positive affect have been understudied. Here, we studied youths' 5-HTTLPR genotype and rearing environment (degree of positive and supportive parenting) to investigate the differential susceptibility hypothesis (DSH) that youth carrying short alleles of 5-HTTLPR would be more influenced and responsive to supportive and unsupportive parenting, and would exhibit higher and lower positive affect, respectively. Three independent studies tested this gene–environment interaction (GxE) in children and adolescents (age range 9–15 years; total N=1874). In study 1 (N=307; 54% girls), positive/supportive parenting was assessed via parent report, in study 2 (N=197; 58% girls) via coded observations of parent–child interactions in the laboratory and in study 3 (N=1370; 53% girls) via self report. Results from all the three studies showed that youth homozygous for the functional short allele of 5-HTTLPR were more responsive to parenting as environmental context in a ‘for better and worse' manner. Specifically, the genetically susceptible youth (that is, S'S' group) who experienced unsupportive, non-positive parenting exhibited low levels of positive affect, whereas higher levels of positive affect were reported by genetically susceptible youth under supportive and positive parenting conditions. These GxE findings are consistent with the DSH and may inform etiological models and interventions in developmental psychopathology focused on positive emotion, parenting and genetic susceptibility

СТАТИСТИЧЕСКАЯ ОЦЕНКА ГОТОВНОСТИ К ЦИФРОВОЙ ТРАНСФОРМАЦИИ ЭКОНОМИКИ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ

The concept of digital transformation and its difference from informatization processes are considered in the article. The dynamics of the share of the gross added value of the ICT sector in theRepublicofBelarusis analyzed, and this indicator is compared with the OECD countries. A multiplicative index model that allows assessing the influence of the main factors on the dynamics of the share of the ICT sector in the GVA has been developed. A cluster analysis of the types of economic activity on the indicators of the use of ICT was carried out (e-mail, Internet, local area networks), as well as the availability of its own website, as a result of which groups of "digital leaders" and "digital outsiders" were singled out. The estimation of readiness of the economy of theRepublicofBelarusfor digital transformation in 2016 is presented on the basis of the share of economic activities that are "digital leaders" in the total value of GVA.В статье рассмотрены сущность и определения понятия цифровой трансформации, а также ее отличие от процессов информатизации. Проанализирована динамика доли валовой добавленной стоимости сектора информационно-коммуникационных технологий в Республике Беларусь, произведено сопоставление данного показателя со странами Организации экономического сотрудничества и развития. Разработана мультипликативная индексная модель, позволяющая оценить влияние таких факторов, как опережающий рост производительности труда и сокращение доли занятых в секторе ИКТ, на динамику удельного веса данного сектора в общей величине ВДС по экономике страны. Осуществлен кластерный анализ видов экономической деятельности по показателям использования ИКТ (электронной почты, сети Интернет, локальных вычислительных сетей), а также наличия собственного веб-сайта, в результате которого были выделены группы «цифровых лидеров» и «цифровых аутсайдеров». Представлена оценка готовности экономики Республики Беларусь к цифровой трансформации в 2016 г. на основе доли видов экономической деятельности, являющихся «цифровыми лидерами», в общей величине ВДС

ТЕХНОЛОГИИ 3D-ПЕЧАТИ В ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОМ ПРОЦЕССЕ

The article touches upon the topic of using 3D-printing technologies in education. 3D-printing technologies can be used to teach technological skills in engineering and design as the main tool. They also help to reorient attention from the digital or virtual environment to the real world, because as a result of learning activity, not sketches and layouts, but real objects with specified characteristics act. 3D-printing technologies are fast-developing and promising technologies that can find their application in various fields, including in the field of education. These technologies due to the appearance of personal printing devices can facilitate the introduction of new forms of organization of the educational process, increase the motivation and formation of the necessary competencies of graduates and teachers.В статье затрагивается тема использования технологий 3D-печати в сфере образования. Технологии 3D-печати могут применяться для обучения технологическим навыкам в конструировании, машиностроении, проектировании в качестве основного инструмента. Также они способствуют переориентации внимания с цифровой или виртуальной среды на реальный мир, поскольку результатами учебной деятельности выступают не эскизы и макеты, а реальные объекты с заданными характеристиками. Технологии 3D-печати относятся к быстроразвивающимся и перспективным технологиям, которые могут найти свое применение в различных областях, в том числе и в сфере образования. Данные технологии благодаря появлению персональных печатающих устройств могут способствовать внедрению новых форм организации учебного процесса, повышению мотивации и формированию необходимых компетенций выпускников и преподавателей

Molecular-genetic correlates of infant attachment: A cautionary tale

This paper advises caution in relation to the increasing interest in molecular-genetic association studies in developmental psychology based on a set of empirical examples from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) that highlight the fragility of effects reported in the literature on the molecular-genetic correlates of infant attachment. Specifically, this paper updates and provides three extensions to results reported in Luijk et al. (2011), which recently failed to replicate evidence from smaller-sample studies that a set of dopaminergic, serotonergic, and oxytonergic markers are significantly associated with infant attachment security or disorganization. First, we report here that the average effect of “usual suspect” polymorphisms on infant attachment security and disorganization in the SECCYD is approximately zero. Second, because Luijk et al. (2011) reported data based exclusively on the White infants in the SECCYD, this paper reveals that the average effect of polymorphisms featured in this literature is also of trivial magnitude in the non-White sub-sample (cf. Chen, Barth, Johnson, Gotlib, & Johnson, 2011). Third, this paper attempts, but fails, to replicate a recent finding by Raby et al. (2012) suggesting that, although molecular-genetic polymorphisms might not be implicated in security versus insecurity, the serotonin transporter gene contributes to variation in emotional distress during the Strange Situation Procedure. Implications for future research on the genetics of developmental phenotypes in general and attachment in particular are discussed, with a focus on statistical power and model-based theory testing