Children’s emotional experience two years after an earthquake: An exploration of knowledge of earthquakes and associated emotions

A major earthquake has a potentially highly traumatic impact on children’s psychological functioning. However, while many studies on children describe negative consequences in terms of mental health and psychiatric disorders, little is known regarding how the developmental processes of emotions can be affected following exposure to disasters. Objectives We explored whether and how the exposure to a natural disaster such as the 2012 Emilia Romagna earthquake affected the development of children’s emotional competence in terms of understanding, regulating, and expressing emotions, after two years, when compared with a control group not exposed to the earthquake. We also examined the role of class level and gender. Method The sample included two groups of children (n = 127) attending primary school: The experimental group (n = 65) experienced the 2012 Emilia Romagna earthquake, while the control group (n = 62) did not. The data collection took place two years after the earthquake, when children were seven or ten-year-olds. Beyond assessing the children’s understanding of emotions and regulating abilities with standardized instruments, we employed semi-structured interviews to explore their knowledge of earthquakes and associated emotions, and a structured task on the intensity of some target emotions. Results We applied Generalized Linear Mixed Models. Exposure to the earthquake did not influence the understanding and regulation of emotions. The understanding of emotions varied according to class level and gender. Knowledge of earthquakes, emotional language, and emotions associated with earthquakes were, respectively, more complex, frequent, and intense for children who had experienced the earthquake, and at increasing ages. Conclusions Our data extend the generalizability of theoretical models on children’s psychological functioning following disasters, such as the dose-response model and the organizational-developmental model for child resilience, and provide further knowledge on children’s emotional resources related to natural disasters, as a basis for planning educational prevention programs

The epiphytic bryophyte community of Atlantic oak woodlands shows clear signs of recovery following the removal of invasive Rhododendron ponticum

Peer reviewedPostprin

Analyzing evolution of variability in a software product line: from contexts and requirements to features

In the long run, features of a software product line (SPL) evolve with respect to changes in stakeholder requirements and system contexts. Neither domain engineering nor requirements engineering handles such co-evolution of requirements and contexts explicitly, making it especially hard to reason about the impact of co-changes in complex scenarios. In this paper, we propose a problem-oriented and value-based analysis method for variability evolution analysis. The method takes into account both kinds of changes (requirements and contexts) during the life of an evolving software product line. The proposed method extends the core requirements engineering ontology with the notions to represent variability-intensive problem decomposition and evolution. On the basis of problem-orientation, the analysis method identifies candidate changes, detects influenced features, and evaluates their contributions to the value of the SPL. The process of applying the analysis method is illustrated using a concrete case study of an evolving enterprise software system, which has confirmed that tracing back to requirements and contextual changes is an effective way to understand the evolution of variability in the software product line

Presuming the influence of the media: teenagers’ constructions of gender identity through sexual/romantic relationships and alcohol consumption

Using empirical data from group discussions and in-depth interviews with 13 to 15-year olds in Scotland, this study explores how teenagers’ alcohol drinking and sexual/romantic relationships were shaped by their quest for appropriate gendered identities. In this, they acknowledged the influence of the media, but primarily in relation to others, not to themselves, thereby supporting Milkie's ‘presumed media influence’ theory. Media portrayals of romantic/sexual relationships appeared to influence teenagers’ constructions of gender-appropriate sexual behaviour more than did media portrayals of drinking behaviour, perhaps because the teenagers had more firsthand experience of observing drinking than of observing sexual relationships. Presumed media influence may be less influential if one has experience of the behaviour portrayed. Drinking and sexual behaviour were highly interrelated: sexual negotiation and activities were reportedly often accompanied by drinking. For teenagers, being drunk or, importantly, pretending to be drunk, may be a useful way to try out what they perceived to be gender-appropriate identities. In sum, teenagers’ drinking and sexual/romantic relationships are primary ways in which they do gender and the media's influence on their perceptions of appropriate gendered behaviour is mediated through peer relationships

Race and sex: teachers' views on who gets ahead in schools?

The research reported here was part of a large study of the impact of age, disability, race and sex on the teaching profession in England. The basic question asked in this research was how do these factors interact with career aspirations and achievements of classteachers, promoted teachers and headteachers? There were three different data sources: a large postal survey drawn from diverse geographic regions across England with over 2000 respondents; face‐to‐face individual interviews with over 100 teachers in 18 case study schools from across all of the main regions of England; discussions with special interest groups of teachers. Not surprisingly, the answer to the above question was complex. Nonetheless, the paper's conclusion highlights some of the noteworthy themes across this broad sample of teachers from primary, secondary and special schools

The ecology and evolution of pangenomes

Since the first genome-scale comparisons, it has been evident that the genomes of many species are unbound by strict vertical descent: Large differences in gene content can occur among genomes belonging to the same prokaryotic species, with only a fraction of genes being universal to all genomes. These insights gave rise to the pangenome concept. The pangenome is defined as the set of all the genes present in a given species and can be subdivided into the accessory genome, present in only some of the genomes, and the core genome, present in all the genomes. Pangenomes arise due to gene gain by genomes from other species through horizontal gene transfer and differential gene loss among genomes, and have been described in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Our current view of pangenome variation is phenomenological and incomplete. In this review, we outline the mechanistic, ecological and evolutionary drivers of and barriers to horizontal gene transfer that are likely to structure pangenomes. We highlight the key role of conflict between the host chromosome(s) and the mobile genetic elements that mediate gene exchange. We identify shortcomings in our current models of pangenome evolution and suggest directions for future research to allow a more complete understanding of how and why pangenomes evolve

Reconstruction and validation of arterial geometries for computational fluid dynamics using multiple temporal frames of 4D flow-MRI magnitude Images

Purpose Segmentation and reconstruction of arterial blood vessels is a fundamental step in the translation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to the clinical practice. Four-dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging (4D Flow-MRI) can provide detailed information of blood flow but processing this information to elucidate the underlying anatomical structures is challenging. In this study, we present a novel approach to create high-contrast anatomical images from retrospective 4D Flow-MRI data. Methods For healthy and clinical cases, the 3D instantaneous velocities at multiple cardiac time steps were superimposed directly onto the 4D Flow-MRI magnitude images and combined into a single composite frame. This new Composite Phase-Contrast Magnetic Resonance Angiogram (CPC-MRA) resulted in enhanced and uniform contrast within the lumen. These images were subsequently segmented and reconstructed to generate 3D arterial models for CFD. Using the time-dependent, 3D incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, the transient aortic haemodynamics was computed within a rigid wall model of patient geometries. Results Validation of these models against the gold standard CT-based approach showed no statistically significant inter-modality difference regarding vessel radius or curvature (p > 0.05), and a similar Dice Similarity Coefficient and Hausdorff Distance. CFD-derived near-wall hemodynamics indicated a significant inter-modality difference (p > 0.05), though these absolute errors were small. When compared to the in vivo data, CFD-derived velocities were qualitatively similar. Conclusion This proof-of-concept study demonstrated that functional 4D Flow-MRI information can be utilized to retrospectively generate anatomical information for CFD models in the absence of standard imaging datasets and intravenous contrast

Dynamic Changes in High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin I in Response to Anthracycline-Based Chemotherapy

Aims: Treatment advances have improved cancer-related outcomes and shifted interest towards minimising long-term iatrogenic complications, particularly chemotherapy-related cardiotoxicity. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) assays accurately quantify very low concentrations of plasma troponin and enable early detection of cardiomyocyte injury prior to the development of myocardial dysfunction. The profile of hs-cTnI in response to anthracycline-based treatment has not previously been described. Materials and methods: This was a multicentre prospective observational cohort study. Female patients with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer scheduled to receive anthracycline-based (epirubicin) chemotherapy were recruited. Blood sampling was carried out before and 24 h after each cycle. Hs-cTnI concentrations were measured using the Abbott ARCHITECTSTAT assay. Results: We recruited 78 women with a median (interquartile range) age of 52 (49–61) years. The median baseline troponin concentration was 1 (1–4) ng/l and the median cumulative epirubicin dose was 394 (300–405) mg/m2. Following an initial 33% fall 24 h after anthracycline dosing (P < 0.001), hs-cTnI concentrations increased by a median of 50% (P < 0.001) with each successive treatment cycle. In total, 45 patients had troponin measured immediately before the sixth treatment cycle, 21 (46.6%) of whom had hs-cTnI concentrations ≥16 ng/l, indicating myocardial injury. Plasma hs-cTnI concentrations before the second treatment cycle were a strong predictor of subsequent myocardial injury. Conclusions: Cardiotoxicity arising from anthracycline therapy is detectable in the earliest stages of breast cancer treatment and is cumulative with each treatment cycle. This injury is most reliably determined from blood sampling carried out before rather than after each treatment cycle