Child maltreatment in the "children of the nineties" : a cohort study of risk factors

Aim: To analyze the multiple factors affecting the risk of maltreatment in young children within a comprehensive theoretical framework. Methods: The research is based on a large UK cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Out of 14,256 children participating in the study, 293 were investigated by social services for suspected maltreatment and 115 were placed on local child protection registers prior to their 6th birthday. Data on the children have been obtained from obstetric data and from a series of parental questionnaires administered during pregnancy and the first 3 years of life. Risk factors have been analyzed using an hierarchical approach to logistic regression analysis. Results: In the stepwise hierarchical analysis, young parents, those with low educational achievement, and those with a past psychiatric history or a history of childhood abuse were all more likely to be investigated for maltreatment, or to have a child placed on the child protection register, with odds ratios between 1.86 and 4.96 for registration. Examining strength of effect, the highest risks were found with indicators of deprivation (3.24 for investigation and 11.02 for registration, after adjusting for parental background factors). Poor social networks increased the risk of both investigation (adjusted OR 1.93) and registration (adjusted OR 1.90). Maternal employment seemed to reduce the risk of both outcomes but adjusted odds ratios were no longer significant for registration. After adjusting for higher order confounders, single parents and reordered families were both at higher risk of registration. Reported domestic violence increased the risk of investigation and registration but this was no longer significant after adjusting for higher order variables. Low birthweight children were at higher risk of registration as were those whose parents reported few positive attributes of their babies. Conclusions: This study supports previous research in the field demonstrating that a wide range of factors in the parental background, socio-economic and family environments affect the risk of child maltreatment. By combining factors within a comprehensive ecological framework, we have demonstrated that the strongest risks are from socio-economic deprivation and from factors in the parents' own background and that parental background factors are largely, but not entirely, mediated through their impact on socio-economic factors

Ambient assisted living and disability: how can claims and reality be reconciled?

Büscher A, Rumm P. Wie finden Anspruch und Realität zueinander? Pflegezeitschrift. 2010;63(5):272-275

Florix, an index to assess plant species in floodplains for nature conservation : developed and tested along the river Danube

Natural floodplains are ecosystems with a diverse mosaic of habitats and site conditions, but also highly threatened due to anthropogenic pressures. Plant species occur in all habitat types and can indicate their value for nature conservation. To improve sustainable management of rivers and floodplains, several indices such as the River Ecosystem Service Index (RESI) have been developed. However, there are so far no assessment schemes for the entire range of floodplain plants. The common assessment approaches like biological integrity, achievement rates or threatened species (Red list), applying to other species groups or other ecosystems, are not appropriate in floodplains. Legal obligations and the need to restore floodplains clearly call for an index assessing the ecological value in a reference area which can be combined with a 5-scale assessment in accordance to established assessments like RESI or the Water Framework Directive. Five typical characteristics describing vascular plants’ adaptation to floodplain habitats were identified. These can be derived from published data sets available for all species in Germany. We checked these indicators for multicollinearity and selected three of them: species number, hydrodynamic indicators, nature conservation indicators. Species number highly correlate with habitat indicators and geographic occurrence. For the selected three indicators we determined thresholds to group habitats and their indicator rate to five classes (very low to very high value for nature conservation). These thresholds are valid for the river Danube and for the habitat types scrutinized in this study. The Florix approach was sensitive in data sets testing active against former floodplains and protected against unprotected areas: For the entire reference region ‘Danube floodplain’, Florix values were higher in the active floodplain and in the protected areas. Only the habitat type ‘water bodies’ showed better scores for habitats in the former floodplain, for ‘softwood forests’ the status of being part of a protected area had no effect. Florix results were validated in two case studies differing in land use intensity. The region with dominant agricultural use showed significantly lower values than that with a higher portion of forests and grasslands. Florix can be used for a floristic conservation status assessment at single habitat level or for the entity of a study region in comparison to a reference region. It allows to identify main pressures and to complement a habitat-type based evaluation. To achieve higher comparability, we should strive for a generalized monitoring in Europe like it is common in aquatic ecosystem monitoring

Ambient Assisted Living - Ein Markt der Zukunft : Potenziale, Szenarien, Geschäftsmodelle

Der Begriff "Ambient Assisted Living" (AAL) steht für einen grundlegenden Paradigmenwechsel in der Interaktion zwischen Mensch und Lebensumgebung. AAL-Technologien bilden Assistenzsysteme, die in das direkte Lebensumfeld von Menschen integriert sind. Durch die Anpassung der Systeme an die speziellen Anforderungen ihrer Nutzer erhöhen sie im jeweiligen Nutzungskontext in jedem Lebensalter deren Lebensqualität. Die Industriezweige stehen vor der Herausforderung für AAL-Systeme Märkte zu entwickeln und zur Wirtschaftlichkeit zu führen. Diese Publikation greift diese Thematik auf. Sie behandelt unterschiedliche Geschäftsmodellansätze in sich entwickelnden AAL-Märkten. Im Vordergrund steht zunächst die modellhafte Beschreibung des Geschäftes als eine vereinfachte und 5 aggregierte Darstellung von betrieblichen Produktions- und Leistungssystemen einer Unternehmung. Verwendet wird ein Ansatz, der es erlaubt die besonderen Rahmenbedingungen zu berücksichtigen, die in bestimmten Industriezweigen die Schlüsselfunktionen unternehmerischen Handelns darstellen und den angestrebten wirtschaftlichen Erfolg einer Unternehmung bedingen. Das Modell macht die komplexen Zusammenhänge dem notwendigen Diskurs zugänglich

Ambient Assisted Living - ein Markt der Zukunft: Potenziale, Szenarien, Geschäftsmodelle

Der Begriff "Ambient Assisted Living" (AAL) steht für einen grundlegenden Paradigmenwechsel in der Interaktion zwischen Mensch und Lebensumgebung. AAL-Technologien bilden Assistenzsysteme, die in das direkte Lebensumfeld von Menschen integriert sind. Durch die Anpassung der Systeme an die speziellen Anforderungen ihrer Nutzer erhöhen sie im jeweiligen Nutzungskontext in jedem Lebensalter deren Lebensqualität. Die Industriezweige stehen vor der Herausforderung für AAL-Systeme Märkte zu entwickeln und zur Wirtschaftlichkeit zu führen. Diese Publikation greift diese Thematik auf. Sie behandelt unterschiedliche Geschäftsmodellansätze in sich entwickelnden AAL-Märkten. Im Vordergrund steht zunächst die modellhafte Beschreibung des Geschäftes als eine vereinfachte und 5 aggregierte Darstellung von betrieblichen Produktions- und Leistungssystemen einer Unternehmung. Verwendet wird ein Ansatz, der es erlaubt die besonderen Rahmenbedingungen zu berücksichtigen, die in bestimmten Industriezweigen die Schlüsselfunktionen unternehmerischen Handelns darstellen und den angestrebten wirtschaftlichen Erfolg einer Unternehmung bedingen. Das Modell macht die komplexen Zusammenhänge dem notwendigen Diskurs zugänglich

A Common Language for Gulf War Illness (GWI) Research Studies: GWI Common Data Elements

AIMS: The Gulf War Illness programs (GWI) of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program collaborated with experts to develop Common Data Elements (CDEs) to standardize and systematically collect, analyze, and share data across the (GWI) research community. MAIN METHODS: A collective working group of GWI advocates, Veterans, clinicians, and researchers convened to provide consensus on instruments, case report forms, and guidelines for GWI research. A similar initiative, supported by the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) was completed for a comparative illness, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), and provided the foundation for this undertaking. The GWI working group divided into two sub-groups (symptoms and systems assessment). Both groups reviewed the applicability of instruments and forms recommended by the NINDS ME/CFS CDE to GWI research within specific domains and selected assessments of deployment exposures. The GWI CDE recommendations were finalized in March 2018 after soliciting public comments. KEY FINDINGS: GWI CDE recommendations are organized in 12 domains that include instruments, case report forms, and guidelines. Recommendations were categorized as core (essential), supplemental-highly recommended (essential for specified conditions, study types, or designs), supplemental (commonly collected, but not required), and exploratory (reasonable to use, but require further validation). Recommendations will continually be updated as GWI research progresses. SIGNIFICANCE: The GWI CDEs reflect the consensus recommendations of GWI research community stakeholders and will allow studies to standardize data collection, enhance data quality, and facilitate data sharing