Slovenian Children Research Articles

Genetic background of high myopia in children.

High myopia is a significant risk factor for irreversible vision loss and can occur in isolation or as a component of various syndromes. However, the genetic basis of early-onset high myopia remains poorly understood. We aimed to identify the causative genetic variants for high myopia in a cohort of Slovenian children. The study included children referred to a tertiary paediatric ophthalmology centre at the University Eye Clinic in Ljubljana between 2010 and 2022. The participants met the following inclusion criteria: age ≤ 15 years and high myopia ≤-5.0 D before the age of 10 years. Genetic analysis included exome sequencing and/or molecular karyotyping. Participants were categorized based on clinical presentation: high myopia with systemic involvement, high myopia with ocular involvement, and isolated high myopia. Genetic analysis of 36 probands revealed a genetic cause of high myopia in 22 (61.1%) children. Among those with systemic involvement (50.0%), genetic causes were identified in 13 out of 18 children, with Stickler's and Pitt-Hopkins being the most common syndromes. Among cases of high myopia with ocular involvement (38.9%), a genetic cause was found in 8 out of 14 probands, including (likely) pathogenic variants in genes related to retinal dystrophies (CACNA1F, RPGR, RP2, NDP). The non-syndromic ARR3- associated high myopia was identified in the isolated high myopia group. A genetic cause of high myopia was identified in 61.1% of children tested, demonstrating the value of genetic testing in this population for diagnosis and proactive counseling.

Confronting (Post-)War Precariousness and Precarity: Socialist Yugoslav Literature for Children

In this article I examine how literature for children re-established itself in the socially, economically, and institutionally devastated and nascent revolutionary precarious situation of the post-war period. I draw on a larger study of socialist Yugoslav literature for children (1945–91) and with reference to the first post-WWII issues of the Slovenian children's magazines Ciciban (1945–present) and Pionir (1945–90). I also explore how the emergent literature for children, particularly magazines, addressed a generation who had experienced violence, persecution, orphanhood, flight, internment, famine, occupation, and armed resistance, followed by post-war daily life. I draw on the concepts of ‘precariousness’ and ‘precarity’ (Butler) in the sense of an insecure existential state and the conditions for it. Instead of a top-down approach derived from totalitarianism research (usually employed in the examination of immediate post-war socialist production), a bottom-up approach that considers the complex relationships between (cultural)-political, (infra)structural, material, interpersonal, and affective contexts (as well as the historical objectifications that are embodied in the post-war production for children discussed here) allows a consideration of the past in a more complex light. It also highlights the overdue need for discussion on how to approach the topic of war with children in times of ‘more or less permanent war’ (Butler).

Associations between Urinary Phthalate Metabolites with BDNF and Behavioral Function among European Children from Five HBM4EU Aligned Studies.

Based on toxicological evidence, children's exposure to phthalates may contribute to altered neurodevelopment and abnormal regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). We analyzed data from five aligned studies of the Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU) project. Ten phthalate metabolites and protein BDNF levels were measured in the urine samples of 1148 children aged 6-12 years from Italy (NACII-IT cohort), Slovakia (PCB-SK cohort), Hungary (InAirQ-HU cohort) and Norway (NEBII-NO). Serum BDNF was also available in 124 Slovenian children (CRP-SLO cohort). Children's total, externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist at 7 years of age (only available in the NACII-IT cohort). Adjusted linear and negative binomial regression models were fitted, together with weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression models to assess phthalate mixture associations. Results showed that, in boys but not girls of the NACII-IT cohort, each natural-log-unit increase in mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP) and Mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) was cross-sectionally associated with higher externalizing problems [incidence rate ratio (IRR): 1.20; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.42 and 1.26; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.55, respectively]. A suggestive mixture association with externalizing problems was also observed per each tertile mixture increase in the whole population (WQS-IRR = 1.15; 95% CI: 0.97, 1.36) and boys (IRR = 1.20; 95% CI: 0.96, 1.49). In NACII-IT, PCB-SK, InAirQ-HU and NEBII-NO cohorts together, urinary phthalate metabolites were strongly associated with higher urinary BDNF levels, with WQS regression confirming a mixture association in the whole population (percent change (PC) = 25.9%; 95% CI: 17.6, 34.7), in girls (PC = 18.6%; 95% CI: 7.92, 30.5) and mainly among boys (PC = 36.0%; 95% CI: 24.3, 48.9). Among CRP-SLO boys, each natural-log-unit increase in ∑DINCH concentration was associated with lower serum BDNF levels (PC: -8.8%; 95% CI: -16.7, -0.3). In the NACII-IT cohort, each natural-log-unit increase in urinary BDNF levels predicted worse internalizing scores among all children (IRR: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.32). Results suggest that (1) children's exposure to di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) metabolites is associated with more externalizing problems in boys, (2) higher exposure to DINCH may associate with lower systemic BDNF levels in boys, (3) higher phthalate exposure is associated with higher urinary BDNF concentrations (although caution is needed since the possibility of a "urine concentration bias" that could also explain these associations in noncausal terms was identified) and (4) higher urinary BDNF concentrations may predict internalizing problems. Given this is the first study to examine the relationship between phthalate metabolite exposure and BDNF biomarkers, future studies are needed to validate the observed associations.

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among Slovenian children and adolescents: A prospective cohort study.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is primarily acquired in childhood and is notably influenced by socioeconomic variances across different geographical regions. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of H. pylori infection in Slovenian children and to identify potential risk factors that facilitate the infection. Between 2019 and 2022, we conducted a multi-center prospective cross-sectional study among healthy children residing in three different administrative regions in Slovenia. H. pylori infection status was determined using a monoclonal antibody-based stool antigen test (SAT). A standardized questionnaire was designed to evaluate the influence of various H. pylori-associated risk factors, including demographics and socioeconomic, housing and sanitation conditions. During the 3-year period, we recruited a total of 421 children and adolescents (age range 2-18 years, mean age 10.29 ± 4.95 years). Overall, 46 (10.9%) were diagnosed with H. pylori infection. No associations were found between H. pylori prevalence rates and increasing age, sex, parental education level, country of birth of the child or their parents, number of household members, household income, having a dishwasher, owning a pet, duration of breastfeeding, fruit intake frequency, drinking tap water, and handwashing practices. The only parameters associated with an increased risk of infection were the location of the school (p < 0.001) and living in an urban area (p = 0.036). The odds of infection were approximately 4.77 times higher if the child attended school in the Central Slovenian compared to other regions (OR = 4.77; 95% CI 0.87-2.34). This is the first study providing information on the prevalence of H. pylori infection among Slovenian children and adolescents. Using SAT, we have shown that the burden of H. pylori infection in our pediatric population is low; however, it seems to depend on regional rather than socioeconomic factors.

Enterovirus D68 circulation between 2014 and 2022 in Slovenian children

IntroductionEnterovirus D68 (EV-D68) belongs to the Picornaviridae family, genus Enterovirus. It is mostly known as a respiratory virus causing upper and lower respiratory tract infections, but it is also rarely associated with a variety of central nervous system complications, with acute flaccid myelitis being reported most frequently. This study assesses the incidence, seasonality, clinical presentation, and molecular epidemiology of the EV-D68 strain in EV-positive children hospitalized between 2014 and 2022 at the largest pediatric medical center in Slovenia.MethodsEV-D68 was detected using specific qRT-PCR, whereas partial VP1 sequences were obtained with Sanger sequencing, and further analyzed using the software CLC Main Workbench version 7 and MEGA version X.ResultsEV-D68 was detected in 154 out of 1,145 (13.4%) EV-positive children. In the two epidemic years, 2014 and 2016, EV-D68 was most frequently detected in the summer and early autumn, peaking in September. The median age of EV-D68–infected children was 3 years (IQR 1–3 years), with a female: male ratio of 1:1.17. Rhinorrhea was present in 74.0% of children, respiratory distress in 82.5%, and hypoxemia requiring supplemental oxygen in 44.1%. Out of 154 patients, 80.0% were hospitalized, with a median stay of 2 days (IQR 1–3 days). Lower respiratory tract infection was observed in 89.0% of EV-D68–positive patients, with bronchitis and bronchiolitis being most frequently diagnosed. No central nervous system manifestations of EV-D68 infection were observed in the study cohort. Phylogenetic analysis of partial VP1 sequences of EV-D68 revealed close similarity to the EV-D68 variants that were circulating in other European countries in these years.DiscussionSlovenia faced two EV-D68 epidemics in 2014 and 2016; however, after 2016 only nine more cases were detected until the end of the study period. Based on the results of this study, EV-D68 was a frequent cause of lower respiratory tract infection among EV-positive patients. However, none of the patients we studied needed ICU treatment, and none developed acute flaccid paralysis. Our results indicate that EV-D68 is not present constantly, so additional monitoring studies should be conducted in the future to better understand the implications of this EV type in human disease.

A 16-week school-based intervention improves physical fitness in Slovenian children: a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 16-week school-based physical activity (PA) intervention on physical fitness (PF) (speed, hand-eye coordination, flexibility) of 8- to 9-year-olds. Methods: A total of seventy-eight boys and girls (boys: n = 45, aged 8.4 ± 4.9years; girls: n = 42, aged 8.6 ± 0.5years) from a school in Slovenia were randomly assigned to either a group with an after-school PA program (EXP) or a control group (CON) that participated exclusively in mandatory physical education (PE). The EXP group engaged in the extracurricular PA program for 60 min twice a week for 16 weeks, concurrent with regular PE classes. The program primarily involved elementary PE games that included elements of athletics (e.g., skipping, push- off running, hopping, crossstepping, and jumping) and gymnastics (e.g., handstand, forward roll, backward roll, hand support jumps, squat jump on a vault box, climbing on horizontal bars, incline benches and ropes, crawling, and jumping rope). Standardized tests appropriate for this age group were used to assess PF, including the sit and reach test (SAR), the 30-meter sprint, and the alternate hand wall toss test at distances of 1.0 and 2.0 m (AHWT 1.0 and 2.0). Results: There was a significant group-time interaction for SAR test (EXP group increase: +1.6 cm, +6.3%; CON group decrease: -0.1cm, -0.4%; p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.361), and the 30m sprint (EXP group improvement: -0.4 s, -6.3%; CON group decrease: +0.1 s, +1.6%; p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.193). Similarly, the EXP group improved by +2.1 points (+25.6%) in the 1.0 m wall throw with the alternating hand, while the CON group showed only minimal changes (-0.2 points, -2.4%; p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.545). No significant interaction was found for the 2.0m toss (EXP and CON group both -0.1 points, -2.6%; p = 0.888, ηp2 = 0.001). Post-hoc analyses with paired t-tests revealed that the EXP group showed significant improvements in SAR test (p < 0.001), 30 m sprint (p < 0.001) and AHWT 1.0 test (p < 0.001), while the CON group showed no significant changes in SAR test (p = 0.533), 30 m sprint (p = 0.150), AHWT 1.0 test (p = 0.186) and AHWT 2.0 test (p = 0.430). Discussion: The results of the study showed that the extracurricular program with only two additional weekly sessions significantly improved the components of PF in 8- to 9-year olds. Significant improvements were observed in the areas of flexibility, speed and coordination, as shown in the SAR test, 30-meter sprint and 1.0-meter handwall toss tests. However, no similar improvements were observed in the 2.0-meter handwall toss, which illustrates the specific areas of impact of the program.

How do the principals perceive the challenges of integration of immigrant students into Slovenian primary school educational space

Education is a fundamental human right and essential to enable people to maximize their abilities to settle in a new country, adapt to a new environment, and become participating community members. As part of the challenges posed by immigration, the society aims to provide at least primary education to the children of immigrants. Statistical data show that in recent years, the number of students from other countries has increased in Slovenia. Slovenian educational institutions are confronted with a larger number of immigrant and refugee children with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds than Slovenian children. In order to explore what the challenges are in integrating immigrant students into Slovenian primary schools, we will try to answer the main research question of what challenges principals face in integrating immigrant children into primary education. This will be researched through an empirical analysis methodologically based on semi-structured interviews with school principals in selected primary schools.

Secular trends in skill-related physical fitness among Slovenian children and adolescents from 1983 to 2014.

It is vital from the public health and educational perspective to be familiar with changes in the fitness levels of individuals and populations since fitness is associated with several health outcomes and cognition. Skill-related physical fitness refers to performance in sports or occupation and is associated with motor skill performance. The aim of the present study was to examine secular trends in skill-related physical fitness of 16 678 participants in four youth generations of Slovenian children and adolescents in years 1983 (n = 3128), 1993/94 (n = 3413), 2003/04 (n = 5497), and 2013/14 (n = 4640). Using repeated cross-sectional design, we observed fitness level of all participants divided into three age groups: 6-10, 11-14, and 15-19 years. Skill-related physical performance was measured with seven fitness tests for speed, coordination, balance, and flexibility. Analysis of covariance was used to compare differences in fitness performance between decades in each age and sex group, adjusted for body height, body weight, and body mass index. Overall, large but inconsistent changes in coordination, a small improvement in speed, and a decline in flexibility were seen. The trends over the whole examined period were not linear throughout decades. Generally, positive trends were noticed in periods 1983-1993 (range 1.4%-17.9%; except flexibility) and 2003/04-2013/14 (range 0.2%-36.4%; except age group 15-19 years) while in the period 1993/94-2003/04 there are some particularities in secular trends according to individual components as well as age groups. In general, the secular trend showed a positive direction for both genders (p < 0.05), except for gross motor coordination, which demonstrated positive trends in 1993 and 2013 compared with a decade earlier (p < 0.05) and from 1983 to 2013/14, except for the youngest boys in 2003 and the youngest girls from 1993 to 2003 (p < 0.05). Our findings call for exercise programs aimed at improving speed and gross motor coordination in both sexes and all age groups, especially in the group of 15-19 years old.

Validation of the Slovenian Version of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire for Children (MIQ-C): A Measurement Tool to Assess the Imagery Ability of Motor Tasks in Children.

The ability to perform motor imagery has been shown to influence individual athletic performance and rehabilitation. Recent evidence supports its potential as a training tool to improve motor skills in children. Although there is a standardized assessment of the imagery abilities in Slovenian-speaking adults, there is currently no validated instrument for use with Slovenian children. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to conduct a linguistic validation study of the movement imagery questionnaire for children (MIQ-C). A total of 100 healthy children (mean age 10.3±1.3 years; 50 female) were assessed with a Slovenian version of the MIQ-C at Day 1 and Day 8. Inter-day agreement was examined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Construct validity and internal consistency were assessed using a Cronbach's alpha coefficient and exploratory - confirmatory factor analysis, respectively. The test-retest ICC were very high for all three scales examined (ICCKI=0.90; ICCIVI=0.92; ICCEVI=0.90). Excellent internal consistency (up to 0.90) was found for kinaesthetic and both visual imageries. Confirmatory analysis confirmed a three-factorial structure of the MIQ-C. The Slovenian version of the MIQ-C proved to be highly reliable and valid in assessing children's motor imagery abilities, and as such for use with Slovene-speaking children. Moreover, this standardized instrument can be a helpful tool in training and rehabilitation practice with children aged 7-12 years.

IMAGE OF THE CHILD IN SLOVENIAN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Period of childhood is supposed to be protected period. Adults are supposed to act for the benefit of the child, but reality shows us this is often not the case. Even the etymology of the word ‘child’ in Slovene (France Bezlaj, Marko Snoj) is showing the disparity in understanding of the word ‘child’ and of the real understanding of the child. On the basis of the etymological analyses of the word ‘child’ in the Bezlaj’s dictionary and in Snoj’s dictionary, we can say that the word appears the most often under the meaning of worker, farmhand, page, servant, slave, serf, and less as a boy, nipper, youngster, man, little boy. The absence of the mentioning of feminine child is self-explanatory.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keywords:&lt;/strong&gt; child, Slovenian children’s literature, sunny childhood, cloudy childhood, idealization, romanticism, image of the child.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

Psychometric Proprieties of the Slovenian Version of the Test of Gross Motor Development–3

Motor competence as an indicator of gross motor development is characterized by changes in movement patterns and outcomes. The Test of Gross Motor Development-3 consists of six locomotor and seven ball tasks used to assess the quality of fundamental motor skills in children. The purpose of this study is twofold—to produce a Slovenian translation of Test of Gross Motor Development-3 and to evaluate it on a sample of Slovenian children. First, a back translation was carried out with the help of relevant field professionals, thus producing a Slovenian version of Test of Gross Motor Development-3 with excellent content validity. Second, trained assessors rated the video-recorded test tasks of 452 Slovenian children with smaller groups of measured participants repeating the procedure within 2- and 4-week interval to assess reliability. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using several statistical methods. The data showed good to excellent reliability for intrarater, interrater, test–retest reliability, structural validity, and internal consistency for the majority of motor skills, as well as good measurement invariance across genders.

Parents helping a child with disability learn at home during COVID‐19: Experiences from Slovenia and Canada

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic caused much disruption in many global sectors, including education where schools were closed in most countries and children had to learn remotely from home. This was particularly challenging for children with special learning needs and disabilities, often already somewhat marginalized, as they were more likely to be left behind and less able to adapt easily to remote online learning. This study inquired into the experiences of 67 parents from Slovenia and 15 parents from Canada who helped their children with special learning needs or disabilities learn remotely. Parents in both countries identified several specific advantages and disadvantages to learning remotely from home. The Slovenian children spent more hours per day at their lessons and attended more lessons than the Canadian children. Both samples of parents received some support from their schools, although the Slovenia parents perceived these as more satisfactory. This study provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of remote learning during a prolonged crisis situation, and it provides valuable lessons for how both families and school personnel can work to improve the potential educational experiences of students who are required to learn remotely. A 12‐point framework for planning for future emergencies is provided.

Slovenian children’s perceptions of and attitudes towards foreign languages

ABSTRACT The main aim of the article is to identify Slovenian children’s attitudes towards foreign languages (FL), their motivation for learning languages, the influence of different significant others (teachers, parents, peers) on their language attitudes, and the ways they perceive languages which they are exposed to. The focus is on FLs in general rather than on a particular FL. The study is linked to the project ‘Languages Matter’ whose principal goal is to determine which factors support the creation of a supportive learning environment for the development of plurilingualism in the Slovenian school context. The article presents the results of a survey conducted in different primary schools in Slovenia on a population of 472 pupils aged 8/9 (n = 472). The survey questionnaire consists of two parts. The first part uses the LANGattMini scale (Bratož et al., 2021) to investigate the following factors: FL learning motivation, FL attitudes, and importance of significant others. The second part uses a qualitative paradigm and aims to gain an insight into the respondents’ perceptions of FLs. The results of the study indicate that children‘s attitudes towards FLs are generally positive but at the same time build a complex picture of interdependence between attitudes, motivation, and significant others.

Estimating exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields near high-voltage power lines and assessment of possible increased cancer risk among Slovenian children and adolescents.

Some previous research showed that average daily exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MF) of more than 0.3 or 0.4 μT could potentially increase risk of childhood leukaemia. To allow calculations of ELF MF around high voltage (HV) power lines (PL) for the whole Slovenia, a new three-dimensional method including precision terrain elevation data was developed to calculate the long-term average ELF MF. Data on population of Slovenian children and adolescents and on cancer patients with leukaemia's aged 0-19 years, brain tumours at age 0-29, and cancer in general at age 0-14 for a 12-year period 2005-2016 was obtained from the Slovenian Cancer Registry. According to the large-scale calculation for the whole country, only 0.5% of children and adolescents under the age of 19 in Slovenia lived in an area near HV PL with ELF MF density greater than 0.1 μT. The risk of cancer for children and adolescents living in areas with higher ELF MF was not significantly different from the risk of their peers. The new method enables relatively fast calculation of the value of low-frequency magnetic fields for arbitrary loads of the power distribution network, as the value of each source for arbitrary load is calculated by scaling the value for nominal load, which also enables significantly faster adjustment of calculated estimates in the power distribution network.

Exposure to flame retardants in European children - Results from the HBM4EU aligned studies.

Many legacy and emerging flame retardants (FRs) have adverse human and environmental health effects. This study reports legacy and emerging FRs in children from nine European countries from the HBM4EU aligned studies. Studies from Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Norway conducted between 2014 and 2021 provided data on FRs in blood and urine from 2136 children. All samples were collected and analyzed in alignment with the HBM4EU protocols. Ten halogenated FRs were quantified in blood, and four organophosphate flame retardants (OPFR) metabolites quantified in urine. Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were infrequently detected (<16% of samples). BDE-47 was quantified in blood from Greece, France, and Norway, with France (0.36ng/g lipid) having the highest concentrations. BDE-153 and -209 were detected in <40% of samples. Dechlorane Plus (DP) was quantified in blood from four countries, with notably high median concentrations of 16ng/g lipid in Slovenian children. OPFR metabolites had a higher detection frequency than other halogenated FRs. Diphenyl phosphate (DPHP) was quantified in 99% of samples across 8 countries at levels ∼5 times higher than other OPFR metabolites (highest median in Slovenia of 2.43ng/g lipid). FR concentrations were associated with lifestyle factors such as cleaning frequency, employment status of the father of the household, and renovation status of the house, among others. The concentrations of BDE-47 in children from this study were similar to or lower than FRs found in adult matrices in previous studies, suggesting lower recent exposure and effectiveness of PBDE restrictions.

Cognitive Efficiency of Slovenian, Indian and Gambian Gifted Students in Performing Mental Tasks

In this paper, we present a comparative analysis between registered gifted Slovenian, Gambian, and Indian students in which we sought to find out how they perform in solving selected mental tasks, where we were focused on logical-mathematical and spatial intelligence as a function of the social environment from which the students came. We found that the results for the test groups differed. Out of ten task sets, Slovenian students performed better than their Indian and Gambian peers in as many as seven task sets; in four tasks we found a statistically significant difference between Slovenian and Indian children, and a comparison between Slovenian and Gambian students shows that Slovenian children scored better on mental task sets in all groups.

SLOVENIAN CHILDREN’S AND YOUTH LITERATURE IN GERMAN TRANSLATION FROM 1921 TO 2020

The article examines translation flows from Slovenian into German in the last hundred years (1921–2020), focusing on children’s and youth literature, especially prose as the most frequently translated literary genre. There are several reasons for choosing this research topic. First, although translated children’s and youth literature in general accounts for a large share of world publishing (Prodanović Stankić and Begonja 2021, 332), a detailed analysis of translated Slovenian children’s and youth literature has not yet been conducted. Second, German was chosen as the target language because Slovenian-speaking territory is most closely connected to German-speaking territory due to its active cultural, historical, political, and economic contacts. Third, over the centuries of translation into Slovenian, German language and literature had a great influence on the development of standard Slovenian, specialized terminology, and the emergence of new literary forms and genres (Kocijančič Pokorn 2008; Žigon, Almasy, and Lovšin 2017; Maček 2018; Žigon 2020). German as a foreign language continues to play an important role in Slovenia today. It is taught in schools as a second foreign language, right after English, and it is the second most common source or target language for the translation of literary works into or from Slovenian (Zlatnar Moe, Strsoglavec, and Žigon 2017, 172; JAK 2019, 24). Given Slovenia’s upcoming appearances as Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2023 and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2024, the number of translations from Slovenian into German has increased significantly in recent years. Among them, translations of children’s and youth literature account for a considerable part of the translated works. In the last decade (2011–2020), translation production has greatly increased in view of the two major book fairs in Frankfurt and Bologna. This focus on the German-language book market is also clearly expressed in the national strategy as part of Slovenia’s cultural policy since 2014 (Republika Slovenija 2013). Contemporary authors are being translated, including a rising star who was first discovered abroad through translations into Chinese: Manica Musil with her creative children’s books.

Цифровые устройства в играх детей младшего возраста: цифровые технологии в первые два года жизни словенских малышей

This article offers a first insight into the digital environment of Slovenian toddlers. We report on the use of digital technology and toys allowed by parents in their children’s home environment. The study is based on the results of an online questionnaire completed by parents of 26 Slovenian children up to 2 years of age (M = 17.8 months; SD = 5.6). On average, 9% of all children’s toys are digital toys and they spend 10% of their play time playing with digital toys. Among the most commonly, but still only occasionally, used digital toys or technology are smartphones and tablets. Compared to other types of digital technology, parents believed that screen-based digital toys in particular supported their child’s skills development. Ultimately, parents do not strongly associate digital technologies with positive developmental and educational effects, but rather they believe that digital technology provides entertainment, enables information-seeking and keeps children busy. Nevertheless they allow, or will allow, the child to use digital technology mainly because they believe it enables learning. Further research, if needed, will be carried out to look closely at the children’s use of digital technology and its effects on young children’s development.

Suspect and non-targeted screening-based human biomonitoring identified 74 biomarkers of exposure in urine of Slovenian children

Human exposure to organic contaminants is widespread. Many of these contaminants show adverse health effects on human population. Human biomonitoring (HBM) follows the levels and the distribution of biomarkers of exposure (BoE), but it is usually done in a targeted manner. Suspect and non-targeted screening (SS/NTS) tend to find BoE in an agnostic way, without preselection of compounds, and include finding evidence of exposure to predicted, unpredicted known and unknown chemicals.This study describes the application of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS)-based SS/NTS workflow for revealing organic contaminants in urine of a cohort of 200 children from Slovenia, aged 6–9 years. The children originated from two regions, urban and rural, and the latter were sampled in two time periods, summer and winter. We tentatively identified 74 BoE at the confidence levels of 2 and 3. These BoE belong to several classes of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, plasticizers and plastic related products, volatile organic compounds, nicotine, caffeine and pesticides. The risk of three pesticides, atrazine, amitraz and diazinon is of particular concern since their use was limited in the EU. Among BoE we tentatively identified compounds that have not yet been monitored in HBM schemes and demonstrate limited exposure data, such as bisphenol G, polyethylene glycols and their ethers. Furthermore, 7 compounds with unknown use and sources of exposure were tentatively identified, either indicating the entry of new chemicals into the market, or their metabolites and transformation products. Interestingly, several BoE showed location and time dependency.Globally, this study presents high-throughput approach to SS/NTS for HBM. The results shed a light on the exposure of Slovenian children and raise questions on potential adverse health effects of such mixtures on this vulnerable population.

Centile Reference Curves of the SLOfit Physical Fitness Tests for School-Aged Children and Adolescents.

Blagus, R, Jurak, G, Starc, G, and Leskošek, B. Centile reference curves of the SLOfit physical fitness tests for school-aged children and adolescents. J Strength Cond Res 37(2): 328-336, 2023-The study provides sex- and age-specific centile norms of Slovenian children and youth. Physical fitness was assessed using the SLOfit test battery on population data, including 185,222 children, aged 6-19 years, measured in April and May 2018. Centile curves for both sexes and 12 test items were constructed using the generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS). Boys generally achieved higher scores in most of the physical fitness tests, except in stand and reach, but this was not consistent throughout childhood and adolescence, nor did it pertain to the entire range of performance. Girls outperformed boys in the arm-plate tapping test throughout childhood; the poorest performing girls outperformed the poorest performing boys in the 600-m run, 60-m dash, backward obstacle course, and standing broad jump. The shapes and trends of physical fitness curves adequately reflect the effects of growth and development on boys' and girls' physical performance. Comparing the existing reference fitness curves showed that Slovenian children and adolescents display higher fitness levels than their peers from other countries. This study provides the most up-to-date sex- and age-specific reference fitness centile curves of Slovenian children, which can be used as benchmark values for health and fitness monitoring and surveillance systems.