Is contact with birth parents beneficial to children in non-kinship foster care? A scoping review of the evidence

Many children in non-kinship foster care maintain contact with their birth parents, although debate continues about whether or not, or under what circumstances, it is beneficial to the child. In this scoping review we analyze the findings of studies conducted over the past two decades that have specifically examined face-to-face contact with birth parents for children in non-kinship foster care, our aim being to determine more clearly when it may contribute positively to the child’s well-being. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines and involved a search of nine electronic databases. A total of 21 studies met the criteria for inclu- sion in the review, namely primary studies analyzing one or more aspects of these contact visits, written in English or Spanish, and published during the period 1997–2022. In analyzing these studies we grouped their findings according to four broad areas of interest: characteristics of contact visits, appraisal of visits by families and professionals, relationship between contact and fostering outcomes, and impact of contact on children. The four main conclusions we draw from the review are: a) surprisingly few studies have specifically examined the effects of face-to-face contact with birth parents in non-kinship foster care; b) the findings to date are neither conclusive nor generalizable, although they are not generally encouraging; c) under the right circumstances (e.g., adequate supervision, conducted in a context of emotional security for the child), contact can contribute to the child’s well-being and increase the likelihood of family reunification; and d) more robust research is needed to guide the development of interventions that can improve parent–child relationships and the quality of contact visitsAndalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation (PAIDI) Research Group SEJ-466. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de M ́alaga / CBU

Radionuclides in arctic marine macroalgae from Kongsfjorden (Svalbard)

Seaweeds are known to be useful environmental bioindicators since they bioaccumulate radioisotopes at very low environmental concentrations. Levels of natural radionuclides in six ecologically relevant brown and red seaweed species from Arctic coasts (Kongsfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard Islands) were analysed in the present study, in order to characterise the levels of natural radioactivity in this ecosystem and to compare this with previously published data in coastal areas from other latitudes. Thalli were collected by SCUBA divers at different depths in Hansneset in September 2014 and transported immediately to the laboratory. Young thalli, free from macroscopic epibiota, were dried, powdered and confined in a standard geometry before gamma spectrometry measurements. Then, the radioactivity of 7Be, 40K, 208Tl, 210Pb, 212Pb, 226Ra and 228Ra was measured by high-resolution gamma spectrometry using high-purity germanium detectors for 172800 s. Detectors were calibrated using a traceable multi gamma standard source and results are on a dry weight and fresh weight basis and are decay corrected to the date of sampling. Our results revealed the influence of cosmogenic radionuclides in the intertidal zone, as shown by the unique presence of 7Be in the brown macroalga Fucus distichus, the only analysed species inhabiting the intertidal. High concentrations of 40K were observed in all species, as this is one of the essential elements in biota. Remarkably is the high content of 210Pb in the red seaweeds Phycodrys rubens and Ptilota gunneri, suggesting that these species might possess a higher capacity for heavy metals bioaccumulation than the analysed brown seaweeds

Early distant relapse after optimal local control in locally advanced rectal cancer

We present a case of locally advanced rectal cancer with initial optimal local control after neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery; early liver recurrence then occurred and was treated again with curative intent with neoadjuvant combination chemotherapy followed by liver surgery. We reflect on this difficult problem and discuss relevant topics to this case report

Filarial worm circulation by mosquitoes along an urbanization gradient in southern Spain

Mosquitoes are the main vectors of pathogens affecting wild animals, livestock and humans. Here, we used molecular tools to assess the local circulation of filarial parasites in mosquitoes collected during 2013 from natural, rural and urban habitats from southern Spain. We screened parasites in 22,791 female mosquitoes of the genera Aedes, Culex and Culiseta. Filarial worms were only detected in two mosquito pools. An Ae. caspius pool was positive for Setaria equina and an unidentified worm related to Onchocerca was detected in a Cx. pipiens pool. None of the mosquito pools were positive for Dirofilaria. These results underlay the role of Ae. caspius in the transmission of Setaria parasites among livestock and/or wildlife to humans in southern Spain.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovació

Expansion and update version of the SERIES database

This document joins deliverables D6.2 "Expansion of the SERIES database" and D6.3 "Updated version of SERIES database" of the SERA project. Maintenance and expansion of the SERIES database is one of the two main objectives of SERA work package 6 "Networking experimental seismic engineering databases (SERIES)". The actions taken to achieve this objective are described in the following and include the creation of the graphical user interface (GUI) and its user manual, the development of tools that assist in the creation of experimental data, and the modifications in the Data Access Portal (DAP) website and back-end. The installation manual and the user manual are given in AnnexesJRC.E.4-Safety and Security of Building

Indoor radon measurements in Ny-Ålesund, the northernmost civilian settlement in the world

Ny-Ålesund is situated at 78° 55´ N, 11° 56´ E on the west coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago and is a centre for international Arctic scientific research and environmental monitoring. Since 1916 to 1963 was an old coal mining town. Exposure to indoor radon has been identified as the second leading cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoking. In an indoor environment, there are many factors affecting indoor radon concentrations. Those factors could be different in the Arctic regions. [1] It is well known that the Council Directive 2013/59 / Euratom of 5 December 2013, article 74, says that "Member States shall establish national reference levels for indoor radon concentrations. The reference levels for the annual average activity concentration in air shall not be higher than 300 Bq m -3" so it is important to know the radon concentration in different places. Indoor radon activity measurements were carried out in different locations at Ny-Ålesund: Koldewey base (German base), KingsBay dining room, Marine Laboratory, and Gym facilities with five AlphaE devices from Saphymo GmbH. The AlphaE is an ultra small continuous radon monitor for professional use, based on a silicon diffusion chamber.The calculation of dose is possible due to a user-settable equilibrium factor. Indoor radon measurements were carried out from 3 to 27 September 2014. The values show low average level of indoor radon in the different analyzed buildings, with a geometrical mean of 60 Bq/m3 with a maximun value of 145 Bq/m3 in the Koldewey building. So the radiation exposure levels for workers and scientific personnel represents only a low percentage of the exposure guides for the general population.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Review of current SERIES and EPOS Databases

In a world-wide scale, collaborations in earthquake engineering lack a common interoperability framework, resulting in tedious and complex procedures to integrate data and results. Up to now, the most significant effort in Europe towards the interoperability of earthquake engineering experimental data was the SERIES project (Seismic Engineering Research Infrastructures for European Synergies) in the period 2009 - 2013. Global sharing of seismological data has been a long-lasting tradition tracing back to the beginning of the previous century. Recently, the ESFRI (European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures) initiative and the EPOS project (European Plate Observing System), provided a larger framework for the integration of all solid Earth science data into a single Pan-European e-infrastructure. Up to now, the two adjacent scientific disciplines, i.e. the earthquake engineering and seismology, have not interfaced their data structures, lacking an interoperable data-sharing structure. However, there is need to increase the interaction of the earthquake engineering and seismology communities by integrating the most important databanks and related informatics services in Europe, i.e. SERIES and EPOS. This deliverable presents a review of the current SERIES and EPOS systems: the main features of the two are discussed, focusing on their architecture, content, databases, functionality and access portals. It is noted that aiming to a better knowledge of the EPOS and SERIES projects, the deliverable needed to review also two approaches for data sharing and integration (governance, architecture, collaboration), and not be only limited to a review of current SERIES and EPOS databases. The review presented in the deliverable will serve as the basis for the future roadmap for integration of earthquake engineering and seismological data and informatics services that will support the needs of the two research communities and beyond.JRC.E.4-Safety and Security of Building

Incorporating Breast Asymmetry Studies into CADx Systems

Breast cancer is one of the global leading causes of death among women, and an early detection is of uttermost importance to reduce mortality rates. Screening mammograms, in which radiologists rely only on their eyesight, are one of the most used early detection methods. However, characteristics, such as the asymmetry between breasts, a feature that could be very difficult to visually quantize, is key to breast cancer detection. Due to the highly heterogeneous and deformable structure of the breast itself, incorporating asymmetry measurements into an automated detection system is still a challenge. In this study, we proposed the use of a bilateral registration algorithm as an effective way to automatically measure mirror asymmetry. Furthermore, this information was fed to a machine learning algorithm to improve the accuracy of the model. In this study, 449 subjects (197 with calcifications, 207 with masses, and 45 healthy subjects) from a public database were used to train and evaluate the proposed methodology. Using this procedure, we were able to independently identify subjects with calcifications (accuracy = 0.825, AUC = 0.882) and masses (accuracy = 0.698, AUC = 0.807) from healthy subjects

Multi-factor authentication model based on multipurpose speech watermarking and online speaker recognition

In this paper, a Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) method is developed by a combination of Personal Identification Number (PIN), One Time Password (OTP), and speaker biometric through the speech watermarks. For this reason, a multipurpose digital speech watermarking applied to embed semi-fragile and robust watermarks simultaneously in the speech signal, respectively to provide tamper detection and proof of ownership. Similarly, the blind semi-fragile speech watermarking technique, Discrete Wavelet Packet Transform (DWPT) and Quantization Index Modulation (QIM) are used to embed the watermark in an angle of the wavelet’s sub-bands where more speaker specific information is available. For copyright protection of the speech, a blind and robust speech watermarking are used by applying DWPT and multiplication. Where less speaker specific information is available the robust watermark is embedded through manipulating the amplitude of the wavelet’s sub-bands. Experimental results on TIMIT, MIT, and MOBIO demonstrate that there is a trade-off among recognition performance of speaker recognition systems, robustness, and capacity which are presented by various triangles. Furthermore, threat model and attack analysis are used to evaluate the feasibility of the developed MFA model. Accordingly, the developed MFA model is able to enhance the security of the systems against spoofing and communication attacks while improving the recognition performance via solving problems and overcoming limitations

CSA06 Computing, Software and Analysis challenge at the Spanish Tier-1 and Tier-2 sites

This note describes the participation of the Spanish centres PIC, CIEMAT and IFCA as Tier-1 and Tier-2 sites in the CMS CSA06 Computing, Software and Analysis challenge. A number of the facilities, services and workflows have been demonstrated at the 2008 25% scale. Very valuable experience has been gained running the complex computing system under realistic conditions at a significant scale. The focus of this note is on presenting achieved results, operational experience and lessons learnt during the challenge