Older siblings as supervisors: Does this influence young children's risk of unintentional injury?

Unintentional injury is a leading cause of death and hospitalization of young children. Many of these injuries occur in the home when children presumably are being supervised. This study focused on the under-explored issue of sibling supervision in the home, drawing on data collected from a sample of Canadian mothers. Mothers in this sample completed a structured telephone interview and mailed back questionnaires to provide information about the nature and extent of sibling supervision that occurs in the home, as well as the younger child's injury history. Results indicated that older siblings supervise younger ones about 11% of their mutual wake time, with children typically playing and parents usually doing other chores during this time. Time spent with siblings as supervisors was positively related to the supervisee's history of injuries suggesting that sibling supervision may elevate younger children's risk of injury. However, the behavior of the supervisee contributed to risk more so than that of the supervisor. Specifically, sibling supervisors were reported to utilize the same types of strategies as their mother and father in their efforts to supervise and persuade younger children to stop things that could lead to injury. However, poor compliance by the younger child when the older sibling was supervising predicted injury. Implications for childhood injury and directions for future research are discussed.Canada Children Unintentional injury Supervision Siblings

Tackling Invasive Alien Species in Europe: the Top 20 Issues

Globally, Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are considered to be one of the major threats to native biodiversity, with the World Conservation Union (IUCN) citing their impacts as ‘immense, insidious, and usually irreversible’. It is estimated that 11% of the c. 12,000 alien species in Europe are invasive, causing environmental, economic and social damage; and it is reasonable to expect that the rate of biological invasions into Europe will increase in the coming years. In order to assess the current position regarding IAS in Europe and to determine the issues that were deemed to be most important or critical regarding these damaging species, the international Freshwater Invasives - Networking for Strategy (FINS) conference was convened in Ireland in April 2013. Delegates from throughout Europe and invited speakers from around the world were brought together for the conference. These comprised academics, applied scientists, policy makers, politicians, practitioners and representative stakeholder groups. A horizon scanning and issue prioritization approach was used by in excess of 100 expert delegates in a workshop setting to elucidate the Top 20 IAS issues in Europe. These issues do not focus solely on freshwater habitats and taxa but relate also to marine and terrestrial situations. The Top 20 issues that resulted represent a tool for IAS management and should also be used to support policy makers as they prepare European IAS legislation

Analysis of Outcomes in Ischemic vs Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation A Report From the GARFIELD-AF Registry

IMPORTANCE Congestive heart failure (CHF) is commonly associated with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), and their combination may affect treatment strategies and outcomes