Children at the Crossroads of Opportunities and Constraints: The relationship between school and family from the children’s viewpoint: their perspectives, their positions. Bertelsmann Stiftung Summary Research Report 2 August 2020.

What do primary-school students have to say about formal meetings between parents and teachers? How do they feel about more informal exchanges? What do children think of these interactions and which role do they themselves adopt? Those are the questions addressed by the second research report Children at the Crossroads of Opportunities and Constraints,1 authored by Tanja Betz of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and her team as part of a project jointly carried out with the Bertelsmann Stiftung. The report focuses on children – actors previously neglected in the academic and policy debates – by investigating their feelings about what makes a “good” educational partnership between families and schools. During group discussions and individual interviews, the researchers spoke with students in the third and fourth grades at five mainstream primary schools in the states of Hesse and Rhineland–Palatinate. Their goal was to learn more about how the family-school relationship is shaped. As the findings clearly show: Children have more than just one perspective and are not a homogenous group – the same way parents and educational professionals are not. Some want to be informed and involved when their parents interact with teachers or others at school. As they see it, they benefit from a close connection between their family and school. They are pleased when their mother or father comes to school and they themselves can have a say – for example, during parent-teacher-student conferences. The findings suggest, however, that this applies more to children from socially advantaged families. Other children, in contrast, attempt to keep the worlds of family and school as separate as possible. One child explained that in his free time he is “a different person than at school” and that this “free-time me” or “at-home me” should remain unknown at school as much as possible. Some children, however, do not succeed in controlling the flow of information between their parents and school on topics they consider “private.” Parents divulge “secrets” instead, or parents and teachers exchange photographs against the child’s will. As a result, these children try to avoid situations where their parents and teachers meet, which they perceive as unpleasant and threatening. In some cases, such meetings are even a source of fear. Other children, however, unquestioningly accept parent-teacher meetings and the role they themselves are assigned. Yet in these situations they sometimes feel incapacitated and powerless. From the perspective of many children, an educational partnership is therefore not seen as ideal, when all participants – teachers, parents, students – come together as equals, work closely together and discuss all manner of topics. The findings point to a range of ambivalent feelings instead. Children, moreover, are not the only ones who feel ambivalent, as other studies and publications have shown, including those released as part of this research project. Teachers, too, struggle to fulfill their role as school representatives – i.e. to teach, evaluate and, especially in the German context, recommend the best type of secondary school – while also interacting with parents and children as trusting, equal partners. Like children, parents exhibit considerable diversity in terms of how much they want to – or an – get involved in educational institutions. Against this background, we feel it is crucial to take a second look at the idealized concept of educational partnerships – an ideal very present in the educational and policy fields in many countries – and to consider it from a much broader viewpoint. We want to use this study to stimulate discussion about alternative forms, possibilities and goals when it comes to cooperation between parents, teachers and children. All levels – schools, educational administrators and policymakers – should develop and test a variety of cooperative methods. Moreover, they should do more to involve children in shaping the family-school relationship. To that end, student representatives should be systematically queried and included right from the start. Another key aspect is that the ambivalent feelings outlined above need to be acknowledged and considered. So, too, should the power structures and inequalities among adults and children, parents and educational professionals, and families from different social backgrounds. Ultimately, that is the only way to pinpoint and address the limits and risks of cooperation in its various forms, especially as it pertains to the educational opportunities and constraints certain children face. This is an important, challenging task which everyone involved must address. It can only be successfully undertaken if the necessary framework conditions are discussed – i.e. the time, personnel, training and settings required for effectively shaping the family-school relationship – and if adequate resources are made available

The HIrisPlex-S system for eye, hair and skin colour prediction from DNA: Introduction and forensic developmental validation

Forensic DNA Phenotyping (FDP), i.e. the prediction of human externally visible traits from DNA, has become a fast growing subfield within forensic genetics due to the intelligence information it can provide from DNA traces. FDP outcomes can help focus police investigations in search of unknown perpetrators, who are generally unidentifiable with standard DNA profiling. Therefore, we previously developed and forensically validated the IrisPlex DNA test system for eye colour prediction and the HIrisPlex system for combined eye and hair colour prediction from DNA traces. Here we introduce and forensically validate the HIrisPlex-S DNA test system (S for skin) for the simultaneous prediction of eye, hair, and skin colour from trace DNA. This FDP system consists of two SNaPshot-based multiplex assays targeting a total of 41 SNPs via a novel multiplex assay for 17 skin colour predictive SNPs and the previous HIrisPlex assay for 24 eye and hair colour predictive SNPs, 19 of which also contribute to skin colour prediction. The HIrisPlex-S system further comprises three statistical prediction models, the previously developed IrisPlex model for eye colour prediction based on 6 SNPs, the previous HIrisPlex model for hair colour prediction based on 22 SNPs, and the recently introduced HIrisPlex-S model for skin colour prediction based on 36 SNPs. In the forensic developmental validation testing, the novel 17-plex assay performed in full agreement with the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) guidelines, as previously shown for the 24-plex assay. Sensitivity testing of the 17-plex assay revealed complete SNP profiles from as little as 63 pg of input DNA, equalling the previously demonstrated sensitivity threshold of the 24-plex HIrisPlex assay. Testing of simulated forensic casework samples such as blood, semen, saliva stains, of inhibited DNA samples, of low quantity touch (trace) DNA samples, and of artificially degraded DNA samples as well as concordance testing, demonstrated the robustness, efficiency, and forensic suitability of the new 17-plex assay, as previously shown for the 24-plex assay. Finally, we provide an update of the publically available HIrisPlex website https://hirisplex.erasmusmc.nl/, now allowing the estimation of individual probabilities for 3 eye, 4 hair, and 5 skin colour categories from HIrisPlex-S input genotypes. The HIrisPlex-S DNA test represents the first forensically validated tool for skin colour prediction, and reflects the first forensically validated tool for simultaneous eye, hair and skin colour prediction from DNA

Group B Streptococcus detection in pregnant women : comparison of qPCR assay, culture, and the Xpert GBS rapid test

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is one of the most important causative agents of neonatal sepsis. As administration of prophylactic antibiotics during labor can prevent GBS infection, routine screening for this bacterium in prenatal care before the onset of labor is recommended. However, many women present in labor without having undergone such testing during antenatal care, and the turnaround time of detection methods is insufficient for results to be obtained before delivery. Methods: Vaginal and anorectal specimens were collected from 270 pregnant women. Each sample was tested by Xpert GBS, qPCR, and culture for GBS detection. Results: The overall prevalence of maternal GBS colonization was 30.7% according to Xpert GBS, 51.1% according to qPCR, and 14.3% according to cultures. Considering the qPCR method as the reference, the Xpert GBS had a sensitivity of 53% and specificity of 93%. Positive Xpert GBS results were correlated to marital status (married or cohabitating) and with prematurity as a cause of neonatal hospitalization. Positive cultures were related with ischemic–hypoxic encephalopathy requiring therapeutic hypothermia. Conclusions: Combined enrichment/qPCR and the Xpert GBS rapid test found a high prevalence of GBS colonization. The Xpert GBS technique gives faster results and could be useful for evaluating mothers who present without antenatal GBS screening results and are at risk of preterm labor, thus allowing institution of prophylactic antibiotic therapy

Intercalation of Lithium Ions from Gaseous Precursors into beta-MnO2 Thin Films Deposited by Atomic Layer Deposition

LiMn2O4 is a promising candidate for a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries because of its ability to intercalate lithium ions reversibly through its three-dimensional manganese oxide network. One of the promising techniques for depositing LiMn2O4 thin-film cathodes is atomic layer deposition (ALD). Because of its unparalleled film thickness control and film conformality, ALD helps to fulfill the industry demands for smaller devices, nanostructured electrodes, and all-solid-state batteries. In this work, the intercalation mechanism of Li+ ions into an ALD-grown beta-MnO2 thin film was studied. Samples were prepared by pulsing (LiOBu)-Bu-t and H2O for different cycle numbers onto about 100 nm thick MnO2 films at 225 degrees C and characterized with X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectivity, time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis, and residual stress measurements. It is proposed that forPeer reviewe

Demonstrating test‐retest reliability of electrophysiological measures for healthy adults in a multisite study of biomarkers of antidepressant treatment response

Growing evidence suggests that loudness dependency of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) and resting EEG alpha and theta may be biological markers for predicting response to antidepressants. In spite of this promise, little is known about the joint reliability of these markers, and thus their clinical applicability. New standardized procedures were developed to improve the compatibility of data acquired with different EEG platforms, and used to examine test‐retest reliability for the three electrophysiological measures selected for a multisite project—Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response for Clinical Care (EMBARC). Thirty‐nine healthy controls across four clinical research sites were tested in two sessions separated by about 1 week. Resting EEG (eyes‐open and eyes‐closed conditions) was recorded and LDAEP measured using binaural tones (1000 Hz, 40 ms) at five intensities (60–100 dB SPL). Principal components analysis of current source density waveforms reduced volume conduction and provided reference‐free measures of resting EEG alpha and N1 dipole activity to tones from auditory cortex. Low‐resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) extracted resting theta current density measures corresponding to rostral anterior cingulate (rACC), which has been implicated in treatment response. There were no significant differences in posterior alpha, N1 dipole, or rACC theta across sessions. Test‐retest reliability was .84 for alpha, .87 for N1 dipole, and .70 for theta rACC current density. The demonstration of good‐to‐excellent reliability for these measures provides a template for future EEG/ERP studies from multiple testing sites, and an important step for evaluating them as biomarkers for predicting treatment response.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135271/1/psyp12758_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135271/2/psyp12758.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135271/3/psyp12758-sup-0001-suppinfo1.pd

Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height

Most common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits, but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait. The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P < 0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways.

Highly active and stable OER electrocatalysts derived from Sr2MIrO6 for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers

Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis is a promising technology to produce green hydrogen from renewables, as it can efficiently achieve high current densities. Lowering iridium amount in oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts is critical for achieving cost-effective production of green hydrogen. In this work, we develop catalysts from Ir double perovskites. Sr2CaIrO6 achieves 10 mA cm−2 at only 1.48 V. The surface of the perovskite reconstructs when immersed in an acidic electrolyte and during the first catalytic cycles, resulting in a stable surface conformed by short-range order edge-sharing IrO6 octahedra arranged in an open structure responsible for the high performance. A proton exchange membrane water electrolysis cell is developed with Sr2CaIrO6 as anode and low Ir loading (0.4 mgIr cm−2). The cell achieves 2.40 V at 6 A cm−2 (overload) and no loss in performance at a constant 2 A cm−2 (nominal load). Thus, reducing Ir use without compromising efficiency and lifetim

MICROSCOPE mission: first results of a space test of the equivalence principle

According to the weak equivalence principle, all bodies should fall at the same rate in a gravitational field. The MICROSCOPE satellite, launched in April 2016, aims to test its validity at the 10−15 precision level, by measuring the force required to maintain two test masses (of titanium and platinum alloys) exactly in the same orbit. A nonvanishing result would correspond to a violation of the equivalence principle, or to the discovery of a new long-range force. Analysis of the first data gives δ(Ti,Pt)=[−1±9(stat)±9(syst)]×10−15 (1σ statistical uncertainty) for the titanium-platinum Eötvös parameter characterizing the relative difference in their free-fall accelerations