From early relationships to preacademic knowledge : a socio-cognitive developmental cascade to school readiness

This study aimed to test a four-wave sequential mediation model linking mother–child attachment to children’s school readiness through child executive functioning (EF) and prosociality in toddlerhood and the preschool years. Mother–child attachment security was assessed when children (N = 255) were aged 15 months and 2 years, child EF at age 2, prosocial behavior at age 4, and finally cognitive school readiness in kindergarten (age 6). The results revealed three indirect pathways linking attachment to school readiness: one through EF only, one through prosocial behavior only, and a last pathway involving both EF and prosocial behavior serially. These findings suggest that secure attachment may equip children with both cognitive and social skills that are instrumental to their preparedness for school

Associations longitudinales entre le soutien maternel à l’autonomie et la performance en mathématiques chez les enfants au primaire : analyses par courbes de croissance

Un nombre grandissant d’études suggère que le soutien maternel à l’autonomie pourrait favoriser une meilleure performance scolaire chez les enfants. Or, peu d’études longitudinales ont examiné l’apport du soutien à l’autonomie précoce dans la prédiction des trajectoires développementales du rendement en mathématiques durant les premières années d’école, bien que l’évolution des habiletés en mathématiques au cours du primaire soit bien documentée. De plus, l’interaction entre le soutien maternel à l’autonomie et les capacités cognitives de base de l’enfant n’a jamais été examinée dans la prédiction de trajectoires de rendement scolaire, bien que de telles interactions soient attendues théoriquement. La présente étude avait pour objectif d’examiner l’interaction entre le soutien maternel à l’autonomie et les capacités cognitives de l’enfant, mesurés durant la petite enfance, dans la prédiction des trajectoires de rendement en mathématiques de la première année à la troisième année du primaire. L’échantillon était constitué de 113 dyades mère-enfant. Le soutien maternel à l’autonomie a été mesuré par observation d’interactions mère-enfant, tandis que les capacités cognitives de base et le rendement en mathématiques de l’enfant ont été mesurés à l’aide d’outils standardisés. Les résultats suggèrent que le soutien maternel à l’autonomie précoce est associé à la performance en mathématiques au cours du primaire, mais que cette relation se présente différemment selon les capacités cognitives de base de l’enfant. Cette étude suggère que le soutien maternel à l’autonomie durant les premières années de vie de l’enfant pourrait potentiellement favoriser le développement de compétences en mathématiques à long terme.Increasing evidence suggests that maternal autonomy support fosters academic achievement in children. However, despite evidence that mathematical achievement evolves markedly during elementary school years, no study has examined early autonomy support in relation to mathematical achievement trajectories. Moreover, few studies have considered the role of child general cognitive abilities in these associations. With a sample of 113 mother–child dyads, the current study investigated whether patterns of growth in mathematical achievement during the first three years of elementary school were predicted by the interaction between maternal autonomy support and child general cognitive abilities, both assessed in infancy. Maternal autonomy support was assessed based on videotaped mother–child interactions, whereas child general cognitive abilities and mathematical achievement were assessed using standardised tests. Results suggest that early maternal autonomy support predicts later mathematical development in children, although this relation unfolds differently based on children’s baseline cognitive abilities. These findings suggest that maternal autonomy support in the first years of life may confer long-lasting benefits for children’s acquisition of mathematical knowledge

Parent–child relationships and child executive functioning at school entry: the importance of fathers

This study aimed to examine the unique and interactive contributions of the quality of mothers’ and fathers’ relationships with their toddlers to the prediction of children’s subsequent executive functioning (EF). The sample included 46 low-risk middle-class families. The quality of motherchild and father-child interactions was assessed independently during separate interactive sequences at 18 months. Child EF problems were reported by teachers in kindergarten. The results indicated that only father-child interactions made a unique contribution to the prediction of children’s EF, and no interaction effect was observed. Kindergarteners who benefited from higher-quality interactions with their fathers in toddlerhood were considered by their teachers to present fewer EF problems in everyday school situations. These results appeared to be somewhat more pronounced in father-son than father-daughter dyads. Overall, the results suggest that fathering and father-child relationships may deserve more empirical attention than they have received thus far in the EF literature

Field validation of listings of food stores and commercial physical activity establishments from secondary data

Background: Food- and activity-related establishments are increasingly viewed as neighbourhood resources that potentially condition health-related behaviour. The primary objective of the current study was to establish, using ground truthing (on-site verification), the validity of measures of availability of food stores and physical activity establishments that were obtained from commercial database and Internet searches. A secondary objective was to examine differences in validity results according to neighbourhood characteristics and commercial establishment categories. Methods: Lists of food stores and physical activity-related establishments in 12 census tracts within the Montreal metropolitan region were compiled using a commercial database (n = 171 establishments) and Internet search engines (n = 123 establishments). Ground truthing through field observations was performed to assess the presence of listed establishments and identify those absent. Percentage agreement, sensitivity (proportion of establishments found in the field that were listed), and positive predictive value (proportion of listed establishments found in the field) were calculated and contrasted according to data sources, census tracts characteristics, and establishment categories. Results: Agreement with field observations was good (0.73) for the commercial list, and moderate (0.60) for the Internet-based list. The commercial list was superior to the Internet-based list for correctly listing establishments present in the field (sensitivity), but slightly inferior in terms of the likelihood that a listed establishment was present in the field (positive predictive value). Agreement was higher for food stores than for activity-related establishments. Conclusion: Commercial data sources may provide a valid alternative to field observations and could prove a valuable tool in the evaluation of commercial environments relevant to eating behaviour. In contrast, this study did not find strong evidence in support of commercial and Internet data sources to represent neighbourhood opportunities for active lifestyle.</p

Mapping the DeFi Crime Landscape: An Evidence-based Picture

Over the past years, decentralized finance (DeFi) has been the target of numerous profit-driven crimes. However, until now, the full prevalence and cumulative impact of these crimes have not been assessed. This study provides a first comprehensive assessment of profit-driven crimes targeting the DeFi sector. To achieve this, we collected data on 1155 crime events from 2017 to 2022. Of these, 1050 were related to the DeFi industry and 105 to the centralized finance (CeFi) industry. Focusing on the former, a taxonomy was developed to clarify the similarities and differences among these crimes. All events were mapped onto the DeFi stack to assess the impacted technical layers, and the financial damages were quantified to gauge their scale. The findings show that the entire cryptoasset industry has suffered a minimum loss of US$30B, with two thirds related to centralized finance (CeFi) and one third to DeFi. Focusing solely on the latter, the results highlight that during an attack, a DeFi actor (an entity developing a DeFi technology) can serve as a direct target, as a perpetrator, or as an intermediary. The findings show that DeFi actors are the first victims of crimes targeting the DeFi industry: 52% of crime events targeted them, primarily due to technical vulnerabilities at the protocol layer, and these events accounted for 83% of all recorded financial damages. On the other hand, in 40% of crime events, DeFi actors were themselves malicious perpetrators, predominantly misusing contracts at the cryptoasset layer (e.g., rug pull scams). However, these events accounted for only 17% of all financial damages. The study's findings offer a preliminary assessment of the size and scope of crime events within the DeFi sector and highlight the vulnerable position of DeFi actors in the ecosystem

Comprehensive analysis of the renal transcriptional response to acute uranyl nitrate exposure

BACKGROUND: Chemical and radiological toxicities related to uranium acute exposure have been widely studied in nuclear fuel workers and military personnel. It is well known that uranyl nitrate induces acute renal failure (ARF). However, the mechanisms of this metal-induced injury are not well defined at the molecular level. RESULTS: Renal function and histology were assessed in mice receiving uranyl nitrate (UN(+)) and controls (UN(-)). To identify the genomic response to uranium exposure, serial analysis gene expression (SAGE) of the kidney was performed in both groups. Over 43,000 mRNA SAGE tags were sequenced. A selection of the differentially expressed transcripts was confirmed by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting. UN(+) animals developed renal failure and displayed the characteristic histological lesions of UN nephropathy. Of the >14,500 unique tags identified in both libraries, 224 had a modified expression level; they are known to participate in inflammation, ion transport, signal transduction, oxidative stress, apoptosis, metabolism, and catabolism. Several genes that were identified had not previously been evaluated within the context of toxic ARF such as translationally controlled tumor protein, insulin like growth factor binding protein 7 and ribosomal protein S29, all apoptosis related genes. CONCLUSION: We report a comprehensive description of the UN induced modifications in gene expression levels, including the identification of genes previously unrelated to ARF. The study of these genes and the metabolisms they control should improve our understanding of toxic ARF and enlighten on the molecular targets for potential therapeutic interventions

Residential proximity to urban centres, local-area walkability and change in waist circumference among Australian adults

Consistent associations have been observed between macro-level urban sprawl and overweight/obesity, but whether residential proximity to urban centres predicts adiposity change over time has not been established. Further, studies of local-area walkability and overweight/obesity have generated mixed results. This study examined 4-year change in adults’ waist circumference in relation to proximity to city centre, proximity to closest suburban centre, and local-area walkability. Data were from adult participants (n=2080) of a cohort study on chronic conditions and health risk factors in Adelaide, Australia. Baseline data were collected in 2000-03 with a follow-up in 2005-06. Multilevel regression models examined in 2015 the independent and joint associations of the three environmental measures with change in waist circumference, accounting for socio-demographic covariates. On average, waist circumference rose by 1.8 cm over approximately 4 years. Greater distance to city centre was associated with a greater increase in waist circumference. Participants living in distal areas (20 km or further from city centre) had a greater increase in waist circumference (mean increase: 2.4 cm) compared to those in proximal areas (9 km or less, mean increase: 1.2 cm). Counterintuitively, living in the vicinity of a suburban centre was associated with a greater increase in adiposity. Local-area walkability was not significantly associated with the outcome. Residential proximity to city centre appears to be protective against excessive increases in waist circumference. Controlled development and targeted interventions in the urban fringe may be needed to tackle obesity. Additional research needs to assess behaviours that mediate relationships between sprawl and obesity

Past, present, and future : trends in sleep duration and implications for public health

Sleep is important for the physical, social and mental well-being of both children and adults. Over the years, there has been a general presumption that sleep will inevitably decline with the increase in technology and a busy 24-hour modern lifestyle. This narrative review discusses the empirical evidence for secular trends in sleep duration and the implications of these trends. (c) 2017 National Sleep Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Correlates of Discordance between Perceived and Objective Distances to Local Fruit and Vegetable Retailers

Background: Perceptions of neighbourhood attributes such as proximity of food retailers that are discordant with objective measures of the same are associated with poor health behaviours and weight gain. Factors associated with discordant perceptions are likely relevant to planning more effective interventions to improve health. Purpose: Analysis of cross-sectional relationships between individual and neighbourhood factors and overestimations of walking distances to local fruit/vegetable retailers (FVR). Methods: Perceived walking times, converted to distances, between participant residences and FVR were compared with objectively-assessed road network distances calculated with a Geographic Information System for n = 1305 adults residing in Adelaide, South Australia. Differences between perceived and objective distances were expressed as &#8216;overestimated&#8217; distances and were analysed relative to perceptions consistent with objective distances. Cross-sectional associations were evaluated between individual socio-demographic, health, and area-level characteristics and overestimated distances to FVR using multilevel logistic regression. Results: Agreement between objective and perceived distances between participants&#8217; residence and the nearest FVR was only fair (weighted kappa = 0.22). Overestimated distances to FVR were positively associated with mental well-being, and were negatively associated with household income, physical functioning, sense of community, and objective distances to greengrocers. Conclusions: Individual characteristics and features of neighbourhoods were related to overestimated distances to FVR. Sense of connectivity and shared identity may shape more accurate understandings of local resource access, and offer a focal point for tailored public health initiatives that bring people together to achieve improved health behaviour

Consommation d’alcool à l’adolescence : les parents doivent mettre des règles… et pas seulement discuter

editorial reviewe