Developmental Competencies Research Articles

Design of a Self-Management Program for Children Aged 6-12 Years with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus at the Community Hospital Herdecke, Germany

Background: Children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) must replace lacking endogenous insulin by daily insulin injections or insulin pumps. Standards of treatment include educational programs enabling self-management. The program ‘Herdecker Kids with Diabetes' (HeKiDi) is based on an anthroposophic understanding of the human being and intends to provide an individualized, patient-oriented approach to developing diabetes-related and comprehensive human competencies. Aim: Analysis of the HeKiDi program for children (6-12 years) with T1DM as the first part of an evaluation of a complex intervention. Methods: Ethnographic approach, following the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ), including field observations and interviews with responsible persons, content analysis of materials for determining the structure and the curriculum, presented according to the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR). Results: The curriculum follows the standard but adds a learning circle between the child and the therapeutic team comprising 3 stages: (1) perception of the abilities and needs of the individual child supported by adult mentors themselves suffering from T1DM, (2) reflection within the therapeutic team, and (3) daily feedback to the child. Curricular Learning Objectives: Children feel recognized and supported in their individual developmental and diabetes-related competencies and develop motoric, artistic, communicative, and social skills to strengthen their self-efficacy and to understand T1DM as a lifelong awareness process. Conclusions: The curriculum including its associated learning goals and methods was presented. The program was explained and shown to be reproducible. Whether this program truly leads to better outcomes in regard to self-efficacy and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin) and how parents and children perceive this will have to be assessed using a comparative interventional study.

Natriuretic peptides improve the developmental competence of in vitro cultured porcine oocytes

BackgroundNatriuretic peptides (NPs), brain and C type NPs (BNP and CNP), were involved in the maintenance of porcine oocyte meiotic arrest. The present study investigated the effects of NPs on developmental competence of immature porcine oocytes with follicles of different sizes.MethodsFollicular fluid NP levels were examined by radioimmunoassay. The developmental competence of porcine oocytes was evaluated by cleavage and blastocyst developmental rates after in vitro fertilization (IVF) or parthenogenetic activation (PA) of cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs), which were recovered from follicle with different sizes. NP levels were examined and classified according to the cleavage potential after IVF with COCs released from these follicles.ResultsThe BNP and CNP concentrations were increased with follicular size in follicular fluid and sustained at the set ranges of 3.0 – 6.0 mm follicles compared to 6.1 – 8.0 mm follicles. The oocytes developed from 3.0 to 6.0 mm follicles demonstrated increased embryo cleavage and blastocyst ratios after IVF, with an increased follicle size (P < 0.05). Moreover, BNP and CNP significantly promoted the blastocyst developmental rates of 3.0 – 6.0 mm follicles, but could not improve the developmental competence of oocytes from 6.1 to 8.0 mm follicles due to low NP levels. The COCs from 3.0 to 4.0 mm follicles were pre-incubated in 100 ng/ml of BNP and CNP media for 20 h before regular in vitro maturation, which demonstrated 2 to 3 folds higher developmental competencies in both PA and IVF groups compared to respective controls (P < 0.01).ConclusionsThe effects of BNP and CNP supplementation in the pre-maturation culture media (PMC) on porcine developmental competence from COCs in follicles of different sizes were different and improved the developmental competence of porcine oocytes from small antral follicle in vitro.

What is Economic Socialization?

Economic socialization is described as such; helping children develop the skills to function effectively in global economic world is a challenge. They must learn the fundamental economic concepts and behaviors to be self-reliant including knowledge, spending and saving, credit and debt, career planning, entrepreneurship and property ownership. In a more condensed definition economic socialization is; Children and adolescents developmental competencies in understanding and participating in economic process.

Neighborhood and school ethnic structuring and cultural adaptations among Mexican-origin adolescents.

The ethnic and racial structuring of U.S. neighborhoods may have important implications for developmental competencies during adolescence, including the development of heritage and mainstream cultural orientations. In particular, living in highly concentrated Latino neighborhoods during early adolescence-which channels adolescents into related school environments-may promote retention of the ethnic or heritage culture, but it also may constrain adaptation to the mainstream U.S. culture. We tested these hypotheses longitudinally in a sample of 246 Mexican origin adolescents (50.8% girls) and their parents. Data were collected 4 times over 8 years, with adolescents averaging 12.5 (SD = .58) to 19.6 (SD = .66) years of age across the period of the study. Latino ethnic concentration in early adolescents' neighborhoods promoted the retention of Mexican cultural orientations; Latino ethnic concentration in middle schools undermined the development of mainstream U.S cultural orientations. Findings are discussed in terms of integrating cultural-developmental theory with mainstream neighborhood theory to improve understandings of neighborhood and school ethnic concentration effects on adolescent development. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Attachment Doll Play Assessment: Predictive Validity with Concurrent Mother-Child Interaction and Maternal Caregiving Representations

Attachment is central to the development of children’s regulatory processes. It has been associated with developmental and psychiatric health across the life span, especially emotional and behavioral regulation of negative affect when stressed (Schore, 2001; Schore and Schore, 2008). Assessment of attachment patterns provides a critical frame for understanding emerging developmental competencies and formulating treatment and intervention. Play-based attachment assessments provide access to representational models of attachment, which are regarded in attachment theory as the central organizing mechanisms associated with stability or change (Bowlby, 1969/1982; Bretherton and Munholland, 2008). The Attachment Doll Play Assessment (ADPA, George and Solomon, 1990–2016; Solomon et al., 1995) is a prominent established representational attachment measure for children aged early latency through childhood. This study examines the predictive validity of the ADPA to caregiving accessibility and responsiveness assessed from mother-child interaction and maternal representation. Sixty nine mothers and their 5–7-year-old children participated in this study. Mother-child interaction was observed during a pre-separation dyadic interaction task. Caregiving representations were rated from the Caregiving Interview (George and Solomon, 1988/1993/2005/2007). Child security with mother was associated with positive dyadic interaction and flexibly integrated maternal caregiving representations. Child controlling/disorganized attachments were significantly associated with problematic dyadic interaction and dysregulated-helpless maternal caregiving representations. The clinical implications and the use of the ADPA in clinical and educational settings are discussed.

Role of Youth Organizations in the Rehabilitation of School Drop Outs

Children and youth are the future assets of any society and they should be nurtured, groomed and protected as they grow. They need to be facilitated to master the developmental tasks and competencies required to take on adult role in the society later. The responsibility to facilitate such growth mainly falls on the government. However, the issue is so huge and enormous that it calls for a supportive and proactive role from other major stakeholders such as educational institutions, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), parents, teachers, educationists, social workers and youth workers. Education is by far the most significant means of the avenues available for children and youth to grow and safely navigate childhood and adolescence in to the adult world. Education not only provides children and youth with job related competencies but also plays a major role in their character formation and social skills. When children drop out of education in their early formative years, it becomes a personal loss as well as a national calamity. They become a burden to themselves and society in their later years. This paper attempts to look at the issue of school drop outs, reasons for young people to drop out and the role of one of the stakeholders – the youth organizations in handling the issue.

Sexually Dimorphic Gene Expression in Bovine Conceptuses at the Initiation of Implantation.

In cattle, maternal recognition of pregnancy occurs on Day 16 via secretion of interferon tau (IFNT) by the conceptus. The endometrium can distinguish between embryos with different developmental competencies. In eutherian mammals, X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) is required to ensure an equal transcriptional level of most X-linked genes for both male and female embryos in adult tissues, but this process is markedly different in cattle than mice. We examined how sexual dimorphism affected conceptus transcript abundance and amino acid composition as well as the endometrial transcriptome during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy. Of the 5132 genes that were differentially expressed on Day 19 in male compared to female conceptuses, 2.7% were located on the X chromosome. Concentrations of specific amino acids were higher in the uterine luminal fluid of male compared to female conceptuses, while female conceptuses had higher transcript abundance of specific amino acid transporters (SLC6A19 and SLC1A35). Of note, the endometrial transcriptome was not different in cattle gestating a male or a female conceptus. These data support the hypothesis that, far from being a blastocyst-specific phenomenon, XCI is incomplete before and during implantation in cattle. Despite differences in transcript abundance and amino acid utilization in male versus female conceptuses, the sex of the conceptus itself does not elicit a different transcriptomic response in the endometrium.

The Sea Cucumber Body Wall Extract Promoted in Vitro Maturation of NMRI Mice Follicles at Germinal Vesicle Stage

Background: IVM (in vitro maturation) appear to be certified high pregnancy outcome. Therefore, attempt to find an appropriate culture system using natural products for increasing developmental competencies fascinating. Objectives: This experiment is aimed to evaluate the effect of sea cucumber methanol extract on in vitro maturation of immature mouse oocyte. Methods: In this experimental study, Preantral follicles at germinal vesicle stage were collected from 24 - 26 days NMRI female mouse ovaries and transferred to IVM medium supplemented with different concentration of sea cucumber methanol extract (5, 10, 20, 30 µg/mL). Antioxidant capacity of sea cucumber extract was evaluated using DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. Further, oocyte maturation and TNF-α expression were recorded till day 10th. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) through SPSS 16. Results: The percentage of arrested oocyte at germinal vesicle stage in the control group was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than treated group (20 µg/mL). There were significant (P < 0.01) differences in percentage of maturated oocyte to metaphase II (MII) stage between treated and control group. DPPH radical scavenging capacity and reduction of TNF-α expression in treated oocyte demonstrated that sea cucumber increased rate of oocyte maturation. In addition, the treated oocyte (20 µg/mL) achieved the highest percentage of MII stage. Conclusions: It was concluded that the sea cucumber extract with optimum concentration can improve oocyte maturation. Sea cucumber extract treatment can be suggested as a novel therapeutic strategy to be used in infertility modality in the future.

Production of Live Offspring from Vitrified-Warmed Oocytes Collected at Metaphase I Stage.

Vitrification of matured oocytes is widely adopted in human clinics and animal research laboratories. Cryopreservation of immature oocytes, particularly those at metaphase I (MI), remains a challenge. In the present work, mouse MI oocytes denuded of cumulus cells were vitrified and warmed (V/W) either prior to (V/W-BEFORE-IVM, n = 562) or after (V/W-AFTER-IVM, n = 664) in vitro maturation (IVM). Derivative metaphase II (MII) oocytes were then used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). In the control groups, in vivo matured MII oocytes were used freshly (FRESH-MII, n = 517) or after V/W (MII-V/W, n = 617). In vitro and in vivo developmental competencies were compared among groups. Satisfactory blastocyst rates were achieved in V/W-BEFORE-IVM (27.5%) and V/W-AFTER-IVM (32.4%) groups, albeit as expected still lower than those from fresh-MII (56.1%) or MII-V/W (45.6%) oocytes. Similarly, the term development rates from V/W-BEFORE-IVM and V/W-AFTER-IVM were 12.4% and 16.7% respectively, acceptable but lower than those of the fresh-MII (41.2%) and MII-V/W (23.3%) groups. These data demonstrate that oocytes collected at MI stage are amenable to V/W, which can be performed before or after IVM with acceptable development rates including production of healthy pups. These findings provide useful knowledge to researchers and clinical practitioners for preservation and use of the otherwise discarded MI oocytes.

SELFEVALUATION OF COMPETENCES OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATORS AND REHABILITATORS IN THE SPECIAL INSTITUTION

Received: 15. 05. 2009 Accepted: 10. 06. 2009 Best practice article Abstract The primary goal of this empirical research was to determinate how much has current education helped special educators and rehabilitators in forming separate competences, and if those competencies correspond to the desired ones, which are necessary for the work of the special educators and rehabilitators. The results have shown that one type of the competences in the program had been neglected up to now. Therefore, it is necessary for this fact to be taken into consideration when designing the new study programs. Key words: competences, selfevaluation, special educators and rehabilitators. Introduction More than one decade, the education in the Republic of Macedonia is going under big changes. At first they started in the regular preelementary and elementary education, and then in the special education. At the same time, together with these changes there have been informal changes in the education of the teaching staff. The Declaration of Bologna presents just one logical consequence of the formalization of these changes. Upon designing the modern university study programs, it is necessary to definite specific competences, which students should acquire during their studies. In the literature, there are a number of definitions for the term competence. According to Perrenoud (1999) competence is ability for effective functioning in numerous situations, which is based on acquired knowledge, yet not limited to that knowledge only. (1) Competences of the educator are his abilities, knowledge, skills and qualifications, which are useful for realization of the goals of the subjects he teaches. The same ones could be ranked in five mutually connected unities (2): 1. Personal competency, which includes decisiveness, self-confidence, intelligence, initiative, responsibility, honesty, trust, communication and diligence of the teacher. 2. Developmental competencies, which enable successful leadership of the educational process, innovation and creativity, utilization of the latest inventions in the professional field upon the teaching and recognizing of the students' needs. 3. Professional competency includes special educators and rehabilitators, pedagogic, psychological and other knowledge, which is necessary for work in classrooms, creative use of the time and realization of the goals of the subject. 4. Social competency includes knowledge for communications, interactions, familiarity with the techniques for problem solving and the ways of motivation of children for teamwork. 5. Action competency includes practical activities both, in the school and out of school. Materials and methods In order to determine how the special educators and rehabilitators (practical people) assess their self-professional capabilities, we have conducted a survey. The questionnaire consisted of 14 questions, for the acquired and desired competences, which are essential for a special educator and rehabilitator. The survey covered 42 special educators and rehabilitators, namely: * 15 special educators and rehabilitators from Special Primary School (SPS) Maca Ovcharova - Veles; * 12 special educators and rehabilitators from SPS Dr. Zlatan Sremac - Skopje; * 9 special educators and rehabilitators from SPS Idnina -Skopje, and * 6 special educators and rehabilitators from the special class of the regular primary school Vancho Prke - Stip. The answers we have received were divided in 2 groups, i.e. one group of what had been learned during the studying (I have learned), and the other of what was needed (it is necessary). Since the questions were of the open type, in the tables we have shown the most frequent answers. To part of the questions, the special educators and rehabilitators did not give their opinion. Further on, we have presented and analyzed the results for only 7 questions from the original paper. …

Long-Term Effects of Parenting-Focused Preventive Interventions to Promote Resilience of Children and Adolescents.

In this article, we address three questions concerning the long-term effects of parenting-focused preventive interventions: 1) Do prevention programs promote effective parenting in families facing normative stressors as well as those facing frequent adversity? 2) Do parenting programs prevent children's long-term problems? 3) Do changes in parenting mediate long-term effects of programs? We address these questions by summarizing evidence from 22 programs with randomized trials and followups of three years or longer. We describe in more detail two interventions for divorced and bereaved families, suggesting that they prevent a range of problems and promote a range of developmental competencies over a prolonged period. Program effects to strengthen parenting mediated many of these long-term outcomes.

Natriuretic peptide precursor C delays meiotic resumption and sustains gap junction-mediated communication in bovine cumulus-enclosed oocytes.

Oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) has become a valuable technological tool for animal breeding and cloning and the treatment of human infertility because it does not require the administration of exogenous gonadotropin to obtain fertilizable oocytes. However, embryo development after IVM is lower compared to in vivo maturation, most likely because oocytes collected for IVM are heterogeneous with respect to their developmental competencies. Attempts to improve IVM outcome have relied upon either prematuration culture (PMC) or two-step maturation strategies in the hope of normalizing variations in developmental competence. Such culture systems invoke the pharmacological arrest of meiosis, in theory providing oocytes sufficient time to complete the acquisition of developmental competence after cumulus-enclosed oocytes isolation from the follicle. The present study was designed to test the efficiency of natriuretic peptide precursor C (NPPC) as a nonpharmacologic meiosis-arresting agent during IVM in a monoovulatory species. NPPC has been shown to maintain meiotic arrest in vivo and in vitro in mice and pigs; however, the use of this molecule for PMC has yet to have been explored. Toward this end, meiotic cell cycle reentry, gap-junction functionality, and chromatin configuration changes were investigated in bovine cumulus-enclosed oocytes cultured in the presence of NPPC. Moreover, oocyte developmental competence was investigated after IVM, in vitro fertilization, and embryo culture and compared to standard IVM-in vitro fertilization protocol without PMC. Our results suggest that NPPC can be used to delay meiotic resumption and increase the developmental competence of bovine oocytes when used in PMC protocols.

The impact of discrimination and support on developmental competencies in Latino adolescents.

Discrimination is considered a contextual risk factor for ethnic minority youth, but social support provided in the same context may function to offset the risk or encourage adaptive responses. Per the integrative model of child development (Garcia Coll et al., 1996), experiences in the school, familial, and community settings can foster the development of cognitive, social, and emotional competencies in the presence of racism and discrimination. The current study evaluated how perceptions of discrimination and support in the school setting influenced school belonging, college-going self-efficacy, and depressive symptoms in a sample of Latino youth (N = 179). We distinguished between peers and nonparental adults as the sources of discrimination and support. Overall, peer support was associated with all three outcomes, suggesting peers as a positive resource. Adult support was only significant in the school belonging model. Findings supported a limited moderating role for peer support on peer discrimination, but only for the depressive symptoms outcome. Implications and suggestions for mental health practitioners are offered.

Qualitative Exploration of Adolescent Discrimination: Experiences and Responses of Mexican-American Parents and Teens

The Integrative Model for the Study of Developmental Competencies in Minority Children argues that while discrimination and prejudice are normative experiences for ethnic minority children, promoting environments, family factors and adaptive culture may help minority youth develop effective coping strategies to deal with discrimination. Although this model emphasizes the critical role of family, there are relatively few studies on discrimination that include data from both parents and youth. In the current study, we qualitatively investigated themes of teen discrimination experiences and youth/parent responses in a sample (N = 40) of Mexican descent parents (n = 20) and middle school aged (11–15 years old) adolescents (n = 20) who participated in separate youth and parent focus groups. Adolescents indicate that stereotypes are pervasive, as evidenced in media, anti-immigrant comments, and insults from peers. Yet, adolescents expressed few specific strategies to deal with discrimination, and often expressed concern that standing up to discrimination may lead to physical altercation. Parents discussed the pervasiveness of prejudice and ethnic slurs, and specifically identified school as a setting where teens experience discrimination. Parents discussed strategies of teaching children not to use derogatory terms against others, telling them not to engage in fighting, encouraging children to report school incidents to teachers, and trying to prevent criminalization of male youth by talking to them about clothing choices. Mixed race families especially talked about inclusivity, ethnic/racial pride, and sharing family history (immigration, language, racial diversity). The Integrative Model for Developmental Competencies guides our discussion of implications for adolescent well-being and future research.

Language, motor and cognitive development of extremely preterm children: Modeling individual growth trajectories over the first three years of life

Survival rate of extremely low gestational age (ELGA) newborns has increased over 80% in the last 15 years, but its consequences on the short- and longer-term developmental competencies may be severe. The aim of this study was to describe growth trajectories of linguistic, motor and cognitive skills among ELGA children, compared to full-term (FT) peers, from the first to the third year of life, a crucial period for development. Growth curve analysis was used to examine individual and group differences in terms of initial status at 12 months and rate of growth through the second and the third year of life with five points of assessment. Twenty-eight monolingual Italian children, of whom 17 were ELGA (mean GA 25.7 weeks) and 11 were FT children, were assessed through the BSID-III at 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months for language skills and at 12, 24 and 30 months for motor and cognitive skills. ELGA children presented significantly lower scores than FT peers in language, motor and cognitive skills and they did not overcome their disadvantage by 3 years, even if their corrected age was taken into account. Concerning growth curves, in motor development a significant increasing divergence was found showing a Matthew effect with the preterm sample falling further behind the FT sample. In linguistic and cognitive development, instead, a stable gap between the two samples was found. In addition, great inter-individual differences in rate of change were observed for language development in both samples. Our findings highlight the theoretical and clinical relevance of analyzing, through growth curve analyses, the developmental trajectories of ELGA children in language skills taking into account their inter-individual variability also across motor and cognitive domains.Learning outcomes: After reading this article, the reader will interpret: (a) characteristics and growth trajectories of ELGA children from the first to the third year of life with respect to FT children in language, motor and cognitive development; (b) the method of growth curve analyses to describe group as well as inter-individual trajectories; (c) the rate of inter-individual variability in language as well as motor and cognitive skills, which gives useful indications for early interventions.

In Vitro Development of Porcine Nuclear-Transferred Embryos Derived from Fibroblast Cells Analysed Cytometrically for Apoptosis Incidence and Accuracy of Cell Cycle Synchronization at the G0/G1 Stages / Rozwój In Vitro Klonalnych Zarodków Świni Zrekonstruowanych Z Jąder Komórkowych Fibroblastów Cytometrycznie Analizowanych Pod Kątem Częstotliwości Występowania Śmierci Apoptotycznej I Efektywności Synchronizacji Cyklu Mitotycznego W Fazach G0/G1

Abstract The study was undertaken to examine whether various strategies, including contact inhibition and serum starvation, that were used for artificial synchronization of mitotic cycle of porcine fibroblast cell lines affect differently the distribution of cell cycle stage frequencies and the occurrence of apoptotic cell death in the analysed cell samples. In vitro cultured (contact-inhibited or serumstarved) somatic cells were subjected to flow cytometric diagnostics of mitotic cycle together with the detection of late-apoptotic cell fractions with hypodiploid number of nuclear DNA molecules. Moreover, impact of the methods applied to synchronize the cell division cycle of different types of nuclear donor fibroblast cells (adult cutaneous and foetal fibroblasts) on the preimplantation developmental outcomes of cloned pig embryos was investigated. The developmental capabilities of nuclear-transferred (NT) embryos that were reconstituted with contact-inhibited or serum-depleted adult cutaneous fibroblast cells to reach the morula and blastocyst stages remained at the levels of 169/278 (60.8%) and 76/278 (27.3%) or 121/265 (45.7%) and 46/265 (17.4%), respectively. The proportions of NT embryos originating from contact-inhibited or serum-deprived foetal fibroblast cells that completed their development to the morula and blastocyst stages were 223/296 (75.3%) and 108/296 (36.5%) or 165/261 (63.2%) and 67/261 (25.7%), respectively. In conclusion, the flow cytometric analysis of cultured porcine adult cutaneous and foetal fibroblast cells revealed the high efficiency of the artificial synchronization of mitotic cycle at the G0/G1 stages as a consequence of applying the methods of either contact inhibition or serum deprivation. For both types of fibroblast cells used to reconstruct the enucleated oocytes, the strategies that were utilized to synchronize the cell division cycle of nuclear donor cells considerably influenced the in vitro developmental abilities of NT pig embryos. Developmental competencies to reach the morula/blastocyst stages for cloned embryos that had been reconstructed with contact-inhibited or serum-starved foetal fibroblast cell nuclei were significantly higher than those for embryos that had been reconstructed with contact-inhibited or serum-starved adult cutaneous fibroblast cell nuclei.

Arizona Twin Project: A Focus on Early Resilience

The Arizona Twin Project is an ongoing longitudinal study designed to elucidate the genetic and environmental influences underlying the development of early competence and resilience to common mental and physical health problems during infancy and childhood. Participants are a sample of 600 twins (25% Hispanic) recruited from birth records in the state of Arizona, United States. Primary caregivers were interviewed on twins' development and early social environments when twins were 12 and 30 months of age. Measures include indices of prenatal and obstetrical risk coded from hospital medical records, as well as primary caregiver-report questionnaires assessing multiple indicators of environmental risk and resilience (e.g., parental warmth and control, family and social support), twins' developmental maturity, temperament, health, behavior problems, and competencies. Preliminary findings highlight the importance of the early environment for infant and toddler health and well-being, both directly and as a moderator of genetic influences. Future directions include a third longitudinal assessment in middle childhood examining daily bidirectional relations between sleep, health behaviors, stress, and mood.

Effects of Downregulating Oct-4 Transcript by RNA Interference on Early Development of Porcine Embryos

The objective of this study was to investigate the role of the POU family transcription factor, Oct-4, in the early development of porcine embryos. We attempted Oct-4 downregulation of porcine early embryos by RNA interference, and evaluated Oct-4 suppression of developmental competencies and gene transcripts in porcine embryos. Injection of specific siRNA resulted in a distinct decrease in Oct-4 mRNA and protein expression in porcine embryos until at least the morula stage. Although the porcine embryos injected with Oct-4 siRNA were able to develop to the morula stage, these embryos failed to form blastocysts. Gene transcripts of caudal-like transcription factor (Cdx2) and fibroblast growth factor 4 (Fgf4), which were involved in segregation of the trophectderm and functionalization of the inner cell mass, were unchanged by Oct-4 siRNA injection. Our results indicated that Oct-4 is an important factor for porcine embryos and, in particular, for the regulation of porcine blastocyst formation.

Developmental Supports for Newborns and Young Infants with Special Health and Developmental Needs and Their Families: The BABIES Model

Fragile newborns and young infants who are born with a likelihood of lingering developmental concerns require specialized assessment and intervention based on their unique developmental needs. Often these infants are identified as categorically eligible for early intervention and nursing services, based on their medical condition at birth. The medical involvement of many of these infants adds complexity to the evaluation and/or provision of services, let alone how to best provide supports for their families. Increasing data regarding the regulatory disorganization of young infants which leads to later cognitive and mental health challenges provide a rationale for appropriate assessment and intervention strategies for this population. A recent survey of educational needs of Colorado professionals working with this population revealed that many early intervention providers felt only “slightly” prepared to evaluate newborns and young infants and that most providers felt they could benefit from more training on assessment and intervention with this population. Best practice for this increasing population includes specialized and evidence-based training and capacity building necessary to prepare professionals to evaluate, intervene, and support their unique fragility and emerging developmental competencies. The current study describes the development and components of the BABIES approach to supporting early intervention professionals and nurses to best integrate relationship based developmental supports for fragile newborns and young infants.

EXPLORING DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS IN UGANDAN YOUTH

Ugandan youth face a number of threats to their healthy development including poverty, high rates of disease, civil conflict, and environmental degradation. Cultivating developmental competencies is critical, not only for youth, but also for the future of Ugandan communities and civil society. In this article, we highlight contextual challenges facing Ugandan youth, report exploratory results on “standard” measures of developmental assets, and discuss the utility of a positive youth development (PYD) framework in Uganda. Despite difficult circumstances, our results indicated high levels of internal and external assets as assessed with the Developmental Assets Profile (DAP). The DAP demonstrated acceptable internal consistencies and was correlated with two other measures of youth assets, self-efficacy, and civic action. Although researchers should proceed with caution when using psychometric measures in new cultural contexts, our results provide preliminary support for the use of the DAP and a PYD framework for advancing adolescent research and programming in Uganda.