Developing family-based care : complexities in implementing the UN guidelines for the alternative care of children

In response to immense challenges facing children in out-of-home care in all parts of the world, there is a growing international trend towards the development of family-based placements for children in out-of-home care, away from large-scale institutions. This development of family based care within a range of care options is recommended within the international Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (the Guidelines), which were welcomed unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009. This paper offers an overview of these guidelines’ key principles, and considers the complexities that arise in efforts towards their implementation. Drawing on the literature, supported by research that informed Moving forward (the implementation handbook on the Guidelines) and illustrated by practice examples from across global regions, the authors examine three fundamental challenges in States’ efforts to implement the Guidelines’ ‘suitability’ principle, namely: de-institutionalising the care system; financing suitable family-based care and supporting the suitability of kinship care. The paper critically reflects on de-institutionalised systems and practices, and the cross-cultural assumptions about suitable foster and kinship care that emerge in efforts towards de-institutionalisation; it aims to spark new thinking on strategic ways in which alternative care is planned and delivered, to impact on future practice

Short take: designing a multinational smartphone app survey during COVID-19 : rewards, risks and recommendations

Cost-effective and user-friendly, mobile phone-assisted methods have remained underutilised in qualitative social science research. The scarce methodological guidance, together with recruitment and ethical challenges, has arguably stifled advancements in this area. COVID-19 exposed the need to better equip researchers with the expertise and tools to conduct remote research effectively. In 2020, we designed and launched a smartphone survey application to collect real-time data from children’s sector professionals across the globe regarding best practices in, and challenges to, responding to the pandemic. In this short article, we reflect on the efficiency, quality and acceptability afforded by the smartphone app survey, and outline recommendations for enhancing rigour and feasibility. We also present data snippets illustrating the positive impact of participation on respondents – a seldom-documented aspect of app-based research. Altogether, we advocate a flexible, pragmatic and user-centred study and app design that aligns with respondents’ specific, situational needs and preferences

Practitioners’ and policymakers’ successes, challenges, innovations, and learning in promoting children’s well-being during COVID-19: protocol for a multinational smartphone app survey

Background: The advent of COVID-19 abruptly thrust the health and safety of children and families into greater risk around the world. As regional and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, communities, families, and children grapple with the immediate public health impact of COVID-19, the rights and well-being of children, especially those who are already marginalized, have been overlooked. Those working with children have likely encountered unprecedented challenges and responded in innovative ways in efforts to address the needs and rights of all children. Objective: This paper presents a protocol for a large-scale, multinational study using a new smartphone app to capture the real-time experiences and perspectives of practitioners and policymakers supporting children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic around the globe in relation to a children’s human rights 4P framework of protection, provision, prevention, and participation. Methods: This protocol describes a mixed methods survey utilizing a custom-built iOS and Android smartphone app called the COVID 4P Log for Children’s Wellbeing, which was developed in close consultation with 17 international key partner organizations. Practitioners and policymakers working with and for children’s well-being across 29 countries and 5 continents were invited to download the app and respond to questions over the course of 8 weeks. The anticipated large amount of qualitative and quantitative response data will be analyzed using content analysis, descriptive statistics, and word frequencies. Results: Formal data collection took place from October 2020 until March 2021. Data analysis was completed in July 2021. Conclusions: The findings will directly inform the understanding of the ways in which COVID-19 has impacted practitioners’, managers’, and policymakers’ efforts to support children’s well-being in their practices, services, and policies, respectively. Innovative and ambitious in its scope and use of smartphone technology, this project also aims to inform and inspire future multinational research using app-based methodologies—the demand for which is likely to continue to dramatically rise in the COVID-19 era. Mitigating the risks of longitudinal remote data collection will help maximize the acceptability of the app, respondents’ sustained engagement, and data quality

Short take: designing a multinational smartphone app survey during COVID-19: rewards, risks, and recommendations

Cost-effective and user-friendly, mobile phone-assisted methods have remained underutilized in qualitative social science research. The scarce methodological guidance, together with recruitment and ethical challenges, has arguably stifled advancements in this area. COVID-19 exposed the need to better equip researchers with the expertise and tools to conduct remote research effectively. In 2020, we designed and launched a smartphone survey application to collect real-time data from children’s sector professionals across the globe regarding best practices in, and challenges to, responding to the pandemic. In this short article, we reflect on the efficiency, quality, and acceptability afforded by the smartphone app survey, and outline recommendations for enhancing rigor and feasibility. We also present data snippets illustrating the positive impact of participation on respondents—a seldom-documented aspect of app-based research. Altogether, we advocate a flexible, pragmatic, and user-centered study and app design that aligns with respondents’ specific, situational needs, and preferences

Untethered soft robotic matter with passive control of shape morphing and propulsion

There is growing interest in creating untethered soft robotic matter that can repeatedly shape-morph and self-propel in response to external stimuli. Toward this goal, we printed soft robotic matter composed of liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) bilayers with orthogonal director alignment and different nematic-to-isotropic transition temperatures (T_(NI)) to form active hinges that interconnect polymeric tiles. When heated above their respective actuation temperatures, the printed LCE hinges exhibit a large, reversible bending response. Their actuation response is programmed by varying their chemistry and printed architecture. Through an integrated design and additive manufacturing approach, we created passively controlled, untethered soft robotic matter that adopts task-specific configurations on demand, including a self-twisting origami polyhedron that exhibits three stable configurations and a “rollbot” that assembles into a pentagonal prism and self-rolls in programmed responses to thermal stimuli

Untethered soft robotic matter with passive control of shape morphing and propulsion

There is growing interest in creating untethered soft robotic matter that can repeatedly shape-morph and self-propel in response to external stimuli. Toward this goal, we printed soft robotic matter composed of liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) bilayers with orthogonal director alignment and different nematic-to-isotropic transition temperatures (T_(NI)) to form active hinges that interconnect polymeric tiles. When heated above their respective actuation temperatures, the printed LCE hinges exhibit a large, reversible bending response. Their actuation response is programmed by varying their chemistry and printed architecture. Through an integrated design and additive manufacturing approach, we created passively controlled, untethered soft robotic matter that adopts task-specific configurations on demand, including a self-twisting origami polyhedron that exhibits three stable configurations and a “rollbot” that assembles into a pentagonal prism and self-rolls in programmed responses to thermal stimuli

Molecular basis of fatty acid selectivity in the zDHHC family of S-acyltransferases revealed by click chemistry

S-Acylation is a major post-translational modification, catalysed by the zDHHC enzyme family. S-acylated proteins can be modified by different fatty acids; however, very little is known about how zDHHC enzymes contribute to acyl chain heterogeneity. Here, we employed fatty acid azide/alkyne labelling of mammalian cells, showing their transformation into acyl-CoAs and subsequent click chemistry-based detection, to demonstrate that zDHHC enzymes have marked differences in their fatty acid selectivity. This was apparent even for highly related enzymes such as zDHHC3 and zDHHC7, which displayed a marked difference in ability to use C18:0 acyl CoA as a substrate. Furthermore, we identified Isoleucine-182 in the third transmembrane domain of zDHHC3 as a key determinant limiting the use of longer chain acyl-CoAs by this enzyme. This is the first study to uncover differences in the fatty acid selectivity profiles of cellular zDHHC enzymes and to map molecular determinants governing this selectivit

The College News, 1945-02-14, Vol. 31, No. 15

Bryn Mawr College student newspaper. Merged with The Haverford News in 1968 to form the Bi-college News (with various titles from 1968 on). Published weekly (except holidays) during the academic year

Placental DNA Methylation Related to Both Infant Toenail Mercury and Adverse Neurobehavioral Outcomes

Background: Prenatal mercury (Hg) exposure is associated with adverse child neurobehavioral outcomes. Because Hg can interfere with placental functioning and cross the placenta to target the fetal brain, prenatal Hg exposure can inhibit fetal growth and development directly and indirectly. Objectives: We examined potential associations between prenatal Hg exposure assessed through infant toenail Hg, placental DNA methylation changes, and newborn neurobehavioral outcomes. Methods: The methylation status of \u3e 485,000 CpG loci was interrogated in 192 placental samples using Illumina’s Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadArray. Hg concentrations were analyzed in toenail clippings from a subset of 41 infants; neurobehavior was assessed using the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scales (NNNS) in an independent subset of 151 infants. Results: We identified 339 loci with an average methylation difference \u3e 0.125 between any two toenail Hg tertiles. Variation among these loci was subsequently found to be associated with a high-risk neurodevelopmental profile (omnibus p-value = 0.007) characterized by the NNNS. Ten loci had p \u3c 0.01 for the association between methylation and the high-risk NNNS profile. Six of 10 loci reside in the EMID2 gene and were hypomethylated in the 16 high-risk profile infants’ placentas. Methylation at these loci was moderately correlated (correlation coefficients range, –0.33 to –0.45) with EMID2 expression. Conclusions: EMID2 hypomethylation may represent a novel mechanism linking in utero Hg exposure and adverse infant neurobehavioral outcomes