University of Amsterdam

Objectives Colonic manometry catheter placement can be performed by colonoscopy or fluoroscopy. Our objective was to compare outcomes of colonoscopic to fluoroscopic catheter placement in children based on the extent of colon study and the likelihood of catheter displacement. Methods Colonic manometry studies performed between May 2015 and May 2022 were reviewed. All studies with catheter placement per rectum were included. Data on patient demographics, medical and surgical history, and information on catheter placement (type of catheter, placement technique, position, and displacement) were recorded. Results We reviewed 555 studies and included 482 studies performed on 453 children (51% female, median age 10 years, IQR: 7–14 years). The catheter was placed during colonoscopy in 274 studies and using fluoroscopy in 208 studies. Children with colonoscopic placement were significantly older (median age 11 vs. 8 years, p < 0.001), more commonly male (55% vs . 41%, p = 0.003), and more commonly had functional constipation (85% vs. 69%, p < 0.001). Children with fluoroscopic placement more often had pediatric intestinal pseudo‐obstruction (10% vs . 1%, p < 0.001), a diverting ostomy (21% vs. 7%, p < 0.001), and a cecostomy (10% vs. 4%, p = 0.023). A successful catheter placement (reaching ascending colon) was significantly more common using colonoscopy (49% vs . 23%, p < 0.001). There were no differences in frequency or extent of catheter displacement between colonoscopic and fluoroscopic placement. Conclusions Colonoscopic placement was superior to fluoroscopic placement in terms of the extent of the colon studied with no differences in frequency of catheter displacement. Colonoscopic placement should be the preferred method in most children with refractory constipation.

Background Behavioral parent training (BPT) is a well‐established intervention for children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but most programs are long, which may limit their accessibility. This could be improved by making programs shorter. Here, we studied (1) the feasibility of a new brief BPT program and its procedures, and (2) pre–post changes in daily rated problem behaviors (primary outcome), children's disruptive behaviors, ADHD/ODD characteristics, impairment, and parents' sense of parenting competence (secondary outcomes). Methods We conducted a nonrandomized pilot study including parents of 28 children (4–12 years) with impaired ADHD characteristics. We examined treatment dropout, parent and therapist satisfaction, recruitment rates, study drop‐out, measurement response and completion rates, acceptability of measurements according to parents, and treatment fidelity. Pre–post changes in the treatment group were compared to those in a historical control group using mixed model analysis, except for those outcomes that were not assessed in the control group. Within‐group differences were analyzed for all outcomes. Results Feasibility of the program and study procedures were good. Treatment dropout was 14.2%, parents and therapists were satisfied with the new program. We recruited 1.5 participants per month, study dropout was 10.7%, response/completion rates ranged from 82% to 100%, measurements were acceptable for parents, and treatment fidelity was 96%. We found substantial within‐group changes (d's = .68–.77) and medium‐sized between‐group changes (d's = .46–.48) on daily rated problem behaviors. We observed no changes on most of the secondary outcomes, except for disruptive behaviors and impairment. Conclusion Our newly developed brief BPT program was feasible and we observed improvements in children's daily‐rated problem behaviors. These results suggest that brief BPT might be beneficial for clinical practice if the findings are confirmed in large‐scale randomized controlled trials.

Affective polarization is a central characteristic of political competition, but high levels are seen as potentially harmful. In this article, we link the study of affective polarization to that of coalition politics, expecting that by signalling the willingness to cooperate in a coalition, political elites can reduce mutual dislike between political camps. We argue, first, that the impact of coalition formation should depend on the information content (‘surprisingness’) of this signal, and, second, that its effect should spill over to parties outside of the coalition. Combining 20 years of monthly voter-level data from Germany with data on national and regional coalitions, we show that coalitions are most likely to reduce affective distance when participating parties are ideologically distant and when the signals are still recent. Moreover, coalitions have a system-wide impact beyond the specific parties involved. We discuss the implications for the role of political elites in shaping affective polarization.

Mis- and disinformation have been associated with detrimental political consequences, such as increasing ideological and epistemic polarization. Yet, we know little about how people perceive the risks of misinformation across countries and domains of information. As holding high-risk perceptions of encountering misinformation across domains may result in high levels of media cynicism and uncertainty, it is important to explore news users’ relative risk perceptions related to mis- and disinformation. Therefore, this article relies on original survey data collected in seven countries: Argentina ( N = 507), Brazil ( N = 650), Chile ( N = 485), Mexico ( N = 461), the United States ( N = 521), Spain ( N = 576), and the Netherlands ( N = 518) (total N = 3,718). Main findings indicate that news users arrive at high estimates of mis- and disinformation’s proportion across all countries. Although higher-risk information domains (i.e., political advertising) are generally more likely to be associated with misinformation than lower-risk domains (i.e., scientific evidence), our findings foreground important country-level differences that relate to varying levels of resilience across the seven democracies studied. Our findings offer important evidence for the relative assessments of risk related to misinformation across contexts that vary on vulnerability to the threats of misinformation.

In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this contribution to the special issue “Organizing European Security for yet another geopolitical era” argues that European defence should be considered a European public good. First, we develop a definition of European public good embedded in the political economy literature on public goods and state-building; then we discuss how to finance defence as a European public good, and we review public support for EU-level defence instruments.

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a clinical syndrome defined by typical sinonasal symptoms persisting for at least 12 weeks. CRS is divided into two distinct phenotypes, CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and without (CRSsNP). The aim of the review is to provide an update on the current knowledge in CRS endotypes. The prevailing hypothesis regarding the pathogenesis of CRS suggests that dysfunctional interactions between the host and environmental stressors at the mucosal surface drive the diverse inflammatory mechanisms. Genetic and epigenetic variations in the mucosal immune system are believed to play a significant role in the pathomechanisms of CRS. Various environmental agents (such as microbes and irritants) have been implicated in CRS. In a healthy state, the sinonasal mucosa acts as a barrier, modulating environmental stimulation and mounting appropriate immune responses against pathogens with minimal tissue damage. Different endotypes may exist based on the specific mechanistic pathways driving the chronic tissue inflammation of CRS. There is a need to understand endotypes in order to better predict, diagnose, and treat CRS. This literature review provides an update on the role of the endotypes in CRS and the limitations of endotyping CRS in clinical practice. Understanding of the pathogenesis and optimal management of CRS has progressed significantly in the last decades; however, there still are several unmet needs in endotype research.

One consistent source of socialization of gender and sexuality for youth is entertainment screen media. This chapter summarizes recent conclusions from content analyses on the representation of gender and sexuality in entertainment screen media popular among and created for youth. In terms of gender, (1) male characters outnumber female characters, (2) female characters are supposed to care about their appearance and be sexy, whereas male characters are supposed to be large and muscular, (3) male characters are more likely to be physically aggressive, whereas female characters are more likely to be relationally aggressive, (4) male characters are more likely to portray science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers and hobbies, whereas female characters are more likely to portray careers and interests in humanities and the arts, and (5) male characters are more likely to be leaders than female characters. In terms of sexuality, (1) sexual talk and behaviors are frequent, (2) heterosexual relationships are assumed and naturalized, (3) many sexual interactions conform to a “heterosexual script” wherein female characters are supposed to assume responsibility for sexual interactions, whereas male characters are sex-obsessed, and (4) sex is portrayed in mainly recreational ways. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Social interaction with peers is a crucial developmental need in adolescence. Social media have significantly transformed the way many adolescents communicate with one another, lowering barriers for them to connect at any time, from anywhere. Three important modalities of their online communication are direct messaging, video-mediated communication, and social gaming. This chapter discusses how these modalities are used by adolescents, the social mechanisms that underlie their motivation to use them, possible positive and negative implications for their peer relationships, and the critical role online communication can play in the well-being of marginalized youth. Among other things, the chapter shows that, while the ability to disclose information and connect online can support most adolescents’ social needs, digital communication may also enable negative interactions, such as cyberbullying. The chapter concludes that online communication can be an important source of social and emotional support, especially when in-person contact is unavailable. Future research should investigate the ways in which social media can support adolescents’ development of social and emotional competence. Implications for practice include the need for stakeholders to be aware of the opportunities and risks associated with different modalities and to support adolescents’ safe and healthy use.

Social robots are increasingly ubiquitous in children’s lives, prompting questions regarding the promise and implications for children’s development. Social robots can be effective and helpful technological tools. Social robots are effective in supporting children’s learning in some domains, supporting better learning outcomes than with virtual agents and comparable to human tutors when tasks are simple and social. They also support the unique and individual needs of children with a range of special needs (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, hearing impairment) and promote children’s mental well-being and physical health. Yet social robots pose conceptual and ethical challenges in that they often present as if they have psychological and social characteristics. Consequently, children often understand social robots as mental, social, and moral entities, albeit to varying degrees depending upon children’s ages and robots’ features. Moreover, children treat robots in prosocial ways (e.g., helping, sharing) and believe robots deserve moral treatment. Yet, at the same time, some children deliberately abuse robots. Future research is needed to address critical questions and guide recommendations for the promise and limitations of social robots in children’s lives.

Background To combat the high prevalence of physical inactivity among children, there is an urgent need to develop and implement real-world interventions and policies that promote physical activity (PA) and reduce sedentary behaviour (SB). To inform policy makers, the current body of evidence for children’s PA/SB interventions needs to be translated. Objectives The current systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to identify modifiable determinants of device-measured PA and SB targeted in available intervention studies with randomized controlled trial (RCT) and controlled trial (CT) designs in children and early adolescents (5–12 years) and to quantify the effects of the interventions within their respective settings on the determinants of PA/SB and the outcomes PA and SB. Methods A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus and CENTRAL. Studies were considered if they were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled trials (CTs), included children and/or early adolescents (5–12 years; henceforth termed children), measured PA and/or SB using device-based methods and measured PA and/or SB and determinants of PA/SB at least at two timepoints. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomised Trials (RoB2) for RCTs and Risk of Bias in Non-randomised Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) for CTs. The quality of the generated evidence was assessed using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Robust Bayesian meta-analysis was conducted to quantify the effects of the interventions on the determinants of PA/SB, and the outcomes PA and SB, stratifying by study design, duration of PA/SB measurement, intervention setting and duration of follow-up measurement. Study characteristics and interventions were summarized. Results Thirty-eight studies were included with a total sample size of n = 14,258 (67% girls). Settings identified were school, family/home, community and combinations of these. The review identified 38 modifiable determinants, spanning seven categories on individual, interpersonal and physical environmental levels, with 66% of determinants on the individual level. Overall, the results indicated trivial-to-moderate effects of the interventions on the determinants of PA and SB, with mostly trivial level of evidence for the presence of an effect (as indicated by a small Bayes factor; BF10 < 3.00). The exceptions were moderate effects on parental PA modelling in the family/home setting and SB measured during specific parts of the school day. Higher quality of evidence was found in the family/home setting compared with other settings. Discussion Overall, the results indicated that interventions have neither been effective in modifying the determinants of PA/SB, nor changing the PA/SB outcomes in children. In general, the approach in the current review revealed the breadth of methodological variability in children’s PA interventions. Research is needed to address novel approaches to children’s PA research and to identify potential determinants to inform policy and future interventions. Registration International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42021282874.