Violence against children perpetrated by peers: A cross-sectional school-based survey in Uganda

Violence against children by peers is a global public health problem. We aimed to assess factors associated with peer violence victimization among primary school children in Uganda. We conducted multilevel multivariable logistic regression analyses of cross-sectional data from 3706 primary students in 42 Ugandan primary schools. Among primary school students, 29% and 34% had ever experienced physical and emotional violence perpetrated by their peers, respectively. Factors strongly associated with both physical and emotional violence were similar and overlapping, and included exposure to interparental violence, having an attitude supportive of violence against children from school staff, not living with biological parents, working for payment, and higher SDQ score. However, we found that younger age, sharing sleeping area with an adult and achieving a higher educational performance score, were specifically associated with physical violence. On the other hand, being female, walking to school, reporting disability and eating one meal on the previous day, were particularly associated with emotional violence. Interventions to reduce peer violence should focus on family contexts, school environments and those with poor socio-economic status may need extra support

How did the Good School Toolkit reduce the risk of past week physical violence from teachers to students? Qualitative findings on pathways of change in schools in Luwero, Uganda.

Violence against children is a serious violation of children's rights with significant impacts on current and future health and well-being. The Good School Toolkit (GST) is designed to prevent violence against children in primary schools through changing schools' operational cultures. Conducted in the Luwero District in Uganda between 2012 and 2014, findings from previous research indicate that the Toolkit reduced the odds of past week physical violence from school staff (OR = 0.40, 95%CI 0.26-0.64, p < 0.001), corresponding to a 42% reduction in risk of past week physical violence. This nested qualitative study involved 133 interviews with students, teachers, school administration, and parents, and two focus group discussion with teachers. Interviews were conducted using semi-structured tools and analysed using thematic analysis complemented by constant comparison and deviant case analysis techniques. Within a context of normative acceptance of corporal punishment this qualitative paper reports suggestive pathways related to teacher-student relationships through which reductions in violence operated. First, improved student-teacher relationships resulted in improved student voice and less fear of teachers. Second, the intervention helped schools to clarify and encourage desired behaviour amongst students through rewards and praise. Third, many teachers valued positive discipline and alternative discipline methods, including peer-to-peer discipline, as important pathways to reduced use of violence. These shifts were reflected in changes in the views, use, and context of beating. Although the GST is effective for reducing physical violence from teachers to students, violence persisted, though at significantly reduced levels, in all schools with reductions varying across schools and individuals. Much of the success of the Toolkit derives from the support it provides for fostering better student-teacher relationships and alternative discipline options. Such innovation could usefully be incorporated in teacher training syllabi to equip teachers with knowledge and skills to maintain discipline without the use of fear or physical punishment

Comparison and Mapping Facilitate Relation Discovery and Predication

Relational concepts play a central role in human perception and cognition, but little is known about how they are acquired. For example, how do we come to understand that physical force is a higher-order multiplicative relation between mass and acceleration, or that two circles are the same-shape in the same way that two squares are? A recent model of relational learning, DORA (Discovery of Relations by Analogy; Doumas, Hummel & Sandhofer, 2008), predicts that comparison and analogical mapping play a central role in the discovery and predication of novel higher-order relations. We report two experiments testing and confirming this prediction

Effect of the good school toolkit on school staff mental health, sense of job satisfaction and perceptions of school climate: Secondary analysis of a cluster randomised trial

The Good School Toolkit, a complex behavioural intervention delivered in Ugandan primary schools, has been shown to reduce school staff-perpetrated physical violence against students. We aimed to assess the effect of this intervention on staff members' mental health, sense of job satisfaction and perception of school climate. We analysed data from a cluster-randomised trial administered in 42 primary schools in Luwero district, Uganda. The trial was comprised of cross-sectional baseline (June/July 2012) and endline (June/July 2014) surveys among staff and students. Twenty-one schools were randomly selected to receive the Toolkit, whilst 21 schools constituted a wait-listed control group. We generated composite measures to assess staff members' perceptions of the school climate and job satisfaction. The trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01678846). No schools dropped out of the study and all 591 staff members who completed the endline survey were included in the analysis. Staff in schools receiving the Toolkit had more positive perspectives of their school climate compared to staff in control schools (difference in mean scores 2.19, 95% Confidence Interval 0.92, 3.39). We did not find any significant differences for job satisfaction and mental health. In conclusion, interventions like the Good School Toolkit that reduce physical violence by school staff against students can improve staff perceptions of the school climate, and could help to build more positive working and learning environments in Ugandan schools

A Mathematical Model of Liver Cell Aggregation In Vitro

The behavior of mammalian cells within three-dimensional structures is an area of intense biological research and underpins the efforts of tissue engineers to regenerate human tissues for clinical applications. In the particular case of hepatocytes (liver cells), the formation of spheroidal multicellular aggregates has been shown to improve cell viability and functionality compared to traditional monolayer culture techniques. We propose a simple mathematical model for the early stages of this aggregation process, when cell clusters form on the surface of the extracellular matrix (ECM) layer on which they are seeded. We focus on interactions between the cells and the viscoelastic ECM substrate. Governing equations for the cells, culture medium, and ECM are derived using the principles of mass and momentum balance. The model is then reduced to a system of four partial differential equations, which are investigated analytically and numerically. The model predicts that provided cells are seeded at a suitable density, aggregates with clearly defined boundaries and a spatially uniform cell density on the interior will form. While the mechanical properties of the ECM do not appear to have a significant effect, strong cell-ECM interactions can inhibit, or possibly prevent, the formation of aggregates. The paper concludes with a discussion of our key findings and suggestions for future work

FASTR3D: a fast and accurate search tool for similar RNA 3D structures

FASTR3D is a web-based search tool that allows the user to fast and accurately search the PDB database for structurally similar RNAs. Currently, it allows the user to input three types of queries: (i) a PDB code of an RNA tertiary structure (default), optionally with specified residue range, (ii) an RNA secondary structure, optionally with primary sequence, in the dot-bracket notation and (iii) an RNA primary sequence in the FASTA format. In addition, the user can run FASTR3D with specifying additional filtering options: (i) the released date of RNA structures in the PDB database, and (ii) the experimental methods used to determine RNA structures and their least resolutions. In the output page, FASTR3D will show the user-queried RNA molecule, as well as user-specified options, followed by a detailed list of identified structurally similar RNAs. Particularly, when queried with RNA tertiary structures, FASTR3D provides a graphical display to show the structural superposition of the query structure and each of identified structures. FASTR3D is now available online at http://bioalgorithm.life.nctu.edu.tw/FASTR3D/

Statistical Analysis of Readthrough Levels for Nonsense Mutations in Mammalian Cells Reveals a Major Determinant of Response to Gentamicin

The efficiency of translation termination depends on the nature of the stop codon and the surrounding nucleotides. Some molecules, such as aminoglycoside antibiotics (gentamicin), decrease termination efficiency and are currently being evaluated for diseases caused by premature termination codons. However, the readthrough response to treatment is highly variable and little is known about the rules governing readthrough level and response to aminoglycosides. In this study, we carried out in-depth statistical analysis on a very large set of nonsense mutations to decipher the elements of nucleotide context responsible for modulating readthrough levels and gentamicin response. We quantified readthrough for 66 sequences containing a stop codon, in the presence and absence of gentamicin, in cultured mammalian cells. We demonstrated that the efficiency of readthrough after treatment is determined by the complex interplay between the stop codon and a larger sequence context. There was a strong positive correlation between basal and induced readthrough levels, and a weak negative correlation between basal readthrough level and gentamicin response (i.e. the factor of increase from basal to induced readthrough levels). The identity of the stop codon did not affect the response to gentamicin treatment. In agreement with a previous report, we confirm that the presence of a cytosine in +4 position promotes higher basal and gentamicin-induced readthrough than other nucleotides. We highlight for the first time that the presence of a uracil residue immediately upstream from the stop codon is a major determinant of the response to gentamicin. Moreover, this effect was mediated by the nucleotide itself, rather than by the amino-acid or tRNA corresponding to the −1 codon. Finally, we point out that a uracil at this position associated with a cytosine at +4 results in an optimal gentamicin-induced readthrough, which is the therapeutically relevant variable

Violence against children and intimate partner violence against women: overlap and common contributing factors among caregiver-adolescent dyads.

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence against women (IPV) and violence against children (VAC) are both global epidemics with long-term health consequences. The vast majority of research to date focuses on either IPV or VAC, however the intersections between these types of violence are a growing area of global attention. A significant need exists for empirical research on the overlap of IPV and VAC, especially in contexts with particularly high rates of both types of violence. METHODS: This exploratory study includes secondary analysis of data from a cluster randomized controlled trial in Ugandan schools. Using baseline reports from a random sample of early adolescents attending school and their caregivers, this study uses a probability sample across all eligible schools of adolescent-caregiver dyads (n = 535). We categorized adolescent-caregiver dyads into four groups: those reporting VAC 'only', IPV 'only', both VAC and IPV, or 'no violence'. Two separate multinomial logistic regression models for male and female caregivers explored adolescent and caregiver characteristics associated with the VAC 'only', the IPV 'only', or the both VAC and IPV dyads, each compared to the 'no violence' dyad. RESULTS: One third of dyads reported both IPV and VAC and nearly 75% of dyads reported VAC or IPV. Dyads reporting IPV were more likely to also report VAC. Common contributing factors for female caregiver-adolescent dyads with both VAC and IPV include lower SES, less caregiver education, higher caregiver mental distress, more frequent caregiver alcohol use, and caregivers who report less emotional attachment to their intimate partner. Male caregiver-adolescent dyads with both VAC and IPV included caregivers with less emotional attachment to their intimate partner and more attitudes accepting VAC. CONCLUSIONS: Findings reveal a significant overlap of IPV and VAC and the importance for violence prevention and response programming to consider coordinated or integrated programming. Unique results for female and male caregivers highlight the importance of a gendered approach to addressing IPV and VAC intersections. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01678846, on September 5, 2012

Identification of functional, endogenous programmed −1 ribosomal frameshift signals in the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In viruses, programmed −1 ribosomal frameshifting (−1 PRF) signals direct the translation of alternative proteins from a single mRNA. Given that many basic regulatory mechanisms were first discovered in viral systems, the current study endeavored to: (i) identify −1 PRF signals in genomic databases, (ii) apply the protocol to the yeast genome and (iii) test selected candidates at the bench. Computational analyses revealed the presence of 10 340 consensus −1 PRF signals in the yeast genome. Of the 6353 yeast ORFs, 1275 contain at least one strong and statistically significant −1 PRF signal. Eight out of nine selected sequences promoted efficient levels of PRF in vivo. These findings provide a robust platform for high throughput computational and laboratory studies and demonstrate that functional −1 PRF signals are widespread in the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The data generated by this study have been deposited into a publicly available database called the PRFdb. The presence of stable mRNA pseudoknot structures in these −1 PRF signals, and the observation that the predicted outcomes of nearly all of these genomic frameshift signals would direct ribosomes to premature termination codons, suggest two possible mRNA destabilization pathways through which −1 PRF signals could post-transcriptionally regulate mRNA abundance