Obesity and Developmental Functioning Among Children Aged 2-4 Years

In developed countries, obesity tends to be associated with worse labor market outcomes. One possible reason is that obesity leads to less human capital formation early in life. This paper investigates the association between obesity and the developmental functioning of children at younger ages (2-4 years) than ever previously examined. Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study are used to estimate models of developmental functioning in four critical areas (verbal skills, activities of daily living, motor skills, and social skills) as a function of various measures of weight (including BMI and obesity status) controlling for various child and family characteristics. The findings indicate that, among boys, obesity is a significant risk factor for lagged development in verbal skills, social skills, and activities of daily living. Among girls, weight generally does not have a statistically significant association with these developmental outcomes. Further investigations show that the correlations exist even for those preschool children who spend no time in day care, which implies that the correlation between obesity and developmental functioning cannot be due to discrimination by teachers, classmates, or even day care providers.Obesity, human capital, children, child development, Germany, gender

Obesity and Developmental Functioning Among Children Aged 2-4 Years

In developed countries, obesity tends to be associated with worse labor market outcomes. One possible reason is that obesity leads to less human capital formation early in life. This paper investigates the association between obesity and the developmental functioning of children at younger ages (2-4 years) than ever previously examined. Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study are used to estimate models of developmental functioning in four critical areas (verbal skills, activities of daily living, motor skills, and social skills) as a function of various measures of weight (including BMI and obesity status) controlling for various child and family characteristics. The findings indicate that, among boys, obesity is a significant risk factor for lagged development in verbal skills, social skills, and activities of daily living. Among girls, weight generally does not have a statistically significant association with these developmental outcomes. Further investigations show that the correlations exist even for those preschool children who spend no time in day care, which implies that the correlation between obesity and developmental functioning cannot be due to discrimination by teachers, classmates, or even day care providers.Obesity, human capital, children, child development, Germany, gender

Are current levels of air pollution in England too high? The impact of pollution on population mortality

We examine the relationship between common sources of airborne pollution and population mortality in present day England. The current air quality limit values are low by both historical and international standards, and these are set at levels which are believed not to be harmful to health. We assess whether this view is correct. We use data at local authority level for the period 1998 to 2004 to examine whether current levels of airborne pollution, as measured by annual mean concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter (PM10) and ozone, are associated with excess deaths. We examine all cause mortality and deaths from specific cardiovascular and respiratory causes that are known to be exacerbated by air pollution. We exploit the panel nature of our data to control for any unobserved time-invariant associations at local authority level between high levels of pollution and poor population health and estimate multi-pollutant models to allow for the fact that three of the pollutants are closely correlated. We find higher levels of PM10 and ozone are associated with higher mortality rates. The size of the effects we find translates into around 4,500 deaths per annum.airborne pollutants, adult mortality, geographical analysis

Content-specific coordination of listeners' to speakers' EEG during communication

Cognitive neuroscience has recently begun to extend its focus from the isolated individual mind to two or more individuals coordinating with each other. In this study we uncover a coordination of neural activity between the ongoing electroencephalogram (EEG) of two people—a person speaking and a person listening. The EEG of one set of twelve participants (“speakers”) was recorded while they were narrating short stories. The EEG of another set of twelve participants (“listeners”) was recorded while watching audiovisual recordings of these stories. Specifically, listeners watched the superimposed videos of two speakers simultaneously and were instructed to attend either to one or the other speaker. This allowed us to isolate neural coordination due to processing the communicated content from the effects of sensory input. We find several neural signatures of communication: First, the EEG is more similar among listeners attending to the same speaker than among listeners attending to different speakers, indicating that listeners' EEG reflects content-specific information. Secondly, listeners' EEG activity correlates with the attended speakers' EEG, peaking at a time delay of about 12.5 s. This correlation takes place not only between homologous, but also between non-homologous brain areas in speakers and listeners. A semantic analysis of the stories suggests that listeners coordinate with speakers at the level of complex semantic representations, so-called “situation models”. With this study we link a coordination of neural activity between individuals directly to verbally communicated information

After They Leave: Exploring Post-exit Distress in Former Violent Extremists

This exploratory study provides foundational knowledge on the post-exit process experienced by former members of violent extremist groups. While disengagement from violent extremism and the transition to mainstream society is known to involve change and adaptation, little is known about the post-exit life of former violent extremists. For this study, ten former violent extremists, and six practitioners who work on facilitating exit and reintegration, were interviewed. This led to a comprehensive identification of post-exit stressors and the subsequent creation of an exploratory framework of post-exit distress with four dimensions: 1) Daily Life & Social, 2) Psychological & Physical Well-being, 3) Safety & Consequences, and 4) Transition & Identity. Post-exit stressors may stem from radicalization, involvement in violent extremism, disengagement, or the transition back to non-extremist life. The findings show that internal and external stressors are plentiful, vary in frequency and magnitude, and are most dominant in the first 1-2 years after disengagement. The 97 stressors expressed by former violent extremists and practitioners indicate that post-exit distress is not only wide ranging, but highly disruptive, and sometimes unmanageable. Left unaddressed, such stressors can profoundly hinder efforts to rebuild a life outside of violent extremism. This has implications for evidence-based reintegration efforts and future studies

Obesity and Skill Attainment in Early Childhood

This paper investigates the association between obesity and skill attainment in early childhood (aged 2-4 years). Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study are used to estimate models of developmental functioning in four critical areas (verbal skills, activities of daily living, motor skills, and social skills) as a function of various measures of weight (including body mass index and obesity) controlling for a rich set of child, parent, and family characteristics. The findings indicate that, among boys, obesity is associated with reduced verbal skills, social skills, motor skills, and activities of daily living. Among girls, obesity is associated with reduced verbal skills. Further investigations show that the correlations exist even for those preschool children who spend no time in day care, which implies that it cannot be due solely to discrimination by teachers, classmates, or day care providers.

Molekulare Charakterisierung adulter Burkitt Lymphome zur Identifizierung altersassoziierter genetischer Veränderungen

Das Burkitt Lymphom (BL) ist mit 30-50 % das häufigste Non-Hodgkin Lymphom im Kindesalter. Zu einem deutlich geringeren Anteil sind auch erwachsene Patienten vom BL betroffen. Wohingegen bei der Behandlung von kindlichen BL hohe Heilungsraten erzielt werden, ist das steigende Alter der adulten Patienten in vielen Fällen mit einem geringeren Überleben verbunden. Der Großteil unseres aktuellen Wissens zur Biologie dieses Lymphoms stammt aus Studien zu BL im Kindesalter. Umfassende Studien zum adulten BL sind erstmalig in den letzten zwei Jahren erschienen. In dieser Arbeit wurde eine Kohorte von 92 kindlichen und 70 adulten sporadischen BL auf molekulare und genetische Marker hin untersucht, um altersassoziierte Veränderungen zu detektieren. Neben der Basisdiagnostik wurden an einer Teilkohorte Genexpressionsanalysen durchgeführt. An 91 Patienten wurden zusätzlich Mutationsanalysen durchgeführt. Es zeigte sich, dass die SOX11-Expression sowie Mutationen im ID3-Gen bzw. im gesamten ID3-CCND3-TCF3-Signalweg mit jüngerem Ersterkrankungsalter assoziiert waren. Bei erwachsenen BL Patienten wurde signifikant häufiger ein positiver EBV-Status beobachtet als in der kindlichen Kohorte. Die darauffolgende Analyse eines Zusammenhangs von EBV-Status und Mutationsprofils ergab, dass sporadische EBV-negative BL mit einem gehäuften Auftreten von Mutationen in den Genen ID3 und/oder TCF3 und/oder CCND3 assoziiert sind. Mutationen in den Genen FOXO1 und GNA13 kamen hingegen gehäuft bei EBV-positiven BL vor. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit bestätigen eine altersabhängige molekulare Heterogenität innerhalb des sporadischen BL. Zudem wurden abweichende genomische Muster in Abhängigkeit vom EBV-Status der Patienten identifiziert

Zwischen Geschichtswissenschaft und Narratologie: Jonas Grethlein und Christopher B. Krebs über die Bedeutung und Komplexität von Zeit und Erzählung in antiken historischen Texten

Jonas Grethlein / Christopher B. Krebs (Hg.): Time and Narrative in Ancient Historiography. The ‘Plupast’ from Herodotus to Appian. Cambridge: University Press 2012. EUR 60,00 (USD 99,00). ISBN 978-1-107-00740-6 Der vorliegende Sammelband ist an der Schnittstelle von Geschichtswissenschaft und Narratologie einzuordnen. Die Altertumswissenschaftler Jonas Grethlein und Christopher B. Krebs beleuchten die Bedeutung von Zeit und Erzählung in der antiken Historiographie aus einem neuen Blickwinkel, dem des „Plupast“. Das Anliegen des Sammelbandes ist dabei ein Grundsätzliches: Vor dem Hintergrund der zeitlichen Komplexität antiker historischer Erzählungen geht es ihm darum, neue Erkenntnisse über die antike Geschichtsschreibung zu gewinnen. Zum Aufbau des Bandes: Nach einer allgemeinen Einführung der Herausgeber folgen beispielhafte Interpretationen antiker Autoren im Hinblick auf das Plupast. Das Spektrum der Analysen reicht dabei von Herodot über Thukydides, Xenophon, Sallust, Dionysios von Halikarnassos, Livius, Tacitus und Plutarch bis hin zu Appian