BACKGROUND: Seroprevalence studies provide information on the true extent of infection and capture demographic and geographic differences, indicating the level of immunity against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We sought to provide local evidence of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in school-aged children during in-class teaching in Maputo City and Province, Mozambique.
METHODS: Between August and November 2022, we performed a cross-sectional study in school-aged children in four schools in rural, peri-urban, and urban areas of Maputo City and Province. A point-of-care test was used to evaluate SARS-CoV-2 antigens and anti-SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate the prevalence of the antigens and antibodies. Multiple logistic regression models were used to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for the factors associated with anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
RESULTS: A total of 736 school-aged children were analyzed. The prevalence of the SARS-CoV-2 antigen was 0.5% (4/736). The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antigens was 0.0% (0/245), 0.8% (2/240) and 0.8% (2/251), in the rural, peri-urban and urban areas respectively. The overall seroprevalence of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgG or IgM) was 80.7% (594/736). In rural area anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG or IgM antibodies were detected in 76.7% (188/245), while in peri-urban area they were detected in 80.0% (192/240) and in urban area they were detected in 85.3% (214/251). In the adjusted logistic regression model, school-aged children from the urban area were more likely to have anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG or IgM antibodies than were school-aged children from the rural area (adjusted odds ratio: 1.679; 95% CI: 1.060-2.684; p-value = 0.028).
CONCLUSIONS: During the in-class teaching period, active SARS-CoV-2 cases in school-aged children were observed. More than half of the school-aged children were exposed to SARS-CoV-2, and SARS-CoV-2 was significantly more common in the schools at the urban area than in the school in the rural area at Maputo City and Province.

UNASSIGNED: To explore the association between VPA and weight status in adolescents.
UNASSIGNED: The 2017/2018 Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey (HBSC) targeted children and adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15. A systematic multistage stratified cluster randomized sampling method was used in each participating country. The 2017/2018 survey enrolled over 240,951 adolescents across 45 countries and regions. Frequency of VPA, weight status and confounding factors were collected using a self-reported questionnaire.
UNASSIGNED: Compared to daily VPA, less frequent VPA was linked to higher odds of obesity. For example, those who participating in VPA for 4-6 times a week (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.06-1.13), 2-3 times a week (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.17-1.25), or once a week (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.16-1.25) all have higher odds of abnormal weight status. For boys, the frequency of 4-6 times a week (OR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.04-1.13), 2-3 times a week (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.17-1.27), or once a week (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.19-1.32) were associated with higher odds of abnormal weight status. For girls, those who participating in VPA 4-6 times a week (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.06-1.16), 2-3 times a week (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.14-1.25), or once a week (OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.11-1.23) all have higher odds of abnormal weight status (i.e., overweight or obesity).
UNASSIGNED: This population-based study suggests that infrequent VPA participation is associated with unhealthy weight status in adolescents compared to their physically active counterparts. Additionally, this association remains consistent in both boys and girls.

Previous studies have determined that exposure to risk and adversities may impair children\'s cognitive abilities. In particular, children engaged with Child Protective Services (CPS) seem to be at greater risk for enhanced detrimental effects resulting from the cumulative risk factors to which they are exposed. However, little is known about children\'s future thinking when they face adverse circumstances, and it is not clear how the associations among episodic foresight abilities, episodic memory, and executive functions work with children under such circumstances. The current study describes the episodic foresight abilities of CPS-involved school-aged children, its association with other cognitive abilities, and how this association is affected by the exposure to cumulative risk and adversity factors. Episodic foresight, episodic memory, executive functions, and a composite of cumulative risk factors were analyzed in a sample of 95 school-aged children engaged with CPS in Portugal. Results suggest the detrimental effect of cumulative risk on the episodic foresight abilities of CPS-involved children. Episodic memory and cognitive flexibility were significant predictors of episodic foresight abilities, and cumulative risk exposure moderated the relation between episodic memory and episodic foresight. The current study provides a better understanding of the influences of multiple adversities on CPS-involved children\'s episodic foresight abilities and related cognitive outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To understand preoperative experiences and information needs of Chinese school-aged children undergoing elective surgery to design standardized preoperative education programs to alleviate preoperative anxiety.
METHODS: Semi-structured interviews combined with drawing, writing, and telling techniques were conducted in 12 children. The paintings were interpreted alongside children\'s verbal expressions. All data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
RESULTS: Three themes emerged: Origins of Surgical Knowledge: Proximity-based knowledge, media exposure, past personal medical experiences, ward-mate interactions, healthcare staff education; Pre-Surgery Experiences: Anticipation of pain, post-op sensations and impact on life, fantasizing about the operation, being aware of risks, demonstrating psychological resilience, being curious about anesthesia experience, enjoying a break; Preoperative Informational Needs: 55 identified.
CONCLUSIONS: Lack of standardized preoperative education creates a gap between children\'s knowledge and actual surgical experiences. Developing preoperative education tailored to individualized informational needs and developmental level helps fill their gaps, alleviate preoperative anxiety and improve health outcomes.

Numerous studies have consistently demonstrated the presence of the approximate number system (ANS) throughout development. Research has also revealed that visual cues may influence the ANS acuity, which may change with age. However, most studies have drawn conclusions based on performance differences between incongruent and congruent trials, which may be confounded by an individual\'s ability to inhibit interference. Therefore, to examine the developmental changes of the impact of visual cues on ANS acuity, we utilized congruent trials with varying visual cues. Our sample comprised Chinese children from grade one to grade five. We manipulated the salience of numerical cues (numerical ratio) and visual cues (dot size) in a non-symbolic numerosity comparison task. The results revealed a discernible leap in development from first to third grade and first to fifth grade; however, this upward trajectory did not persist into the transition from third to fifth grade, where no appreciable advancement was observed. Moreover, we observed different effects of visual cues on the dot-comparison task depending on the numerical cues and age. Specifically, visual cues (i.e., dot size) only facilitated ANS acuity in older school-aged children when numerical cues were weakened. The results indicate the presence of two distinct magnitude representational systems-one for the numerical dimension and another for the non-numerical dimension-during development.

BACKGROUND: Nocturnal enuresis, or bedwetting, is a prevalent and emotionally challenging condition that has a significant impact on the behavior, psychological well-being, and social lives of school-aged children.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of bladder retraining programme on bedwetting frequency and relapse rate among children with nocturnal enuresis.
METHODS: The study was conducted in two phases. The Phase I included a survey questionnaire to identify the prevalence of nocturnal enuresis among school children studying in Grade I to Grade X of 3 selected schools in Nashik, India. Out of 2150 prevalence questionnaires, 1900 filled in questionnaires were received back. 226 children were found to be positive for monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis. A total of 160 children were selected from which 80 samples were included in experimental group and 80 were in control group. A three-step bladder retraining program was provided for parents and children in the experimental group. The parents and children from experimental group were called on the 15th day to reinforce the interventions. Posttests were conducted at 1st month (Posttest I), 3rd month (Posttest II), and 6th month (Posttest III/Relapse) for both experimental and control group.
RESULTS: The total prevalence of nocturnal enuresis among 1900 school age children aged 6 years-15 years is found to be 11.89%. Out of the 226 enuretic children, majority 101 (44.69%) wet their beds 1-3 times per week while 48 (21.23%) children wet their beds Every night. Comparison of bedwetting frequency in both groups during Pretest, Posttest I, Posttest II and Posttest III using chi-square test showed that: In pretest there was no significant difference between children in experimental and control group as indicated by the non-significant P value 0.43. Whereas in posttest I, II & III, P value 0.001 indicates highly significant difference in bedwetting frequency of children in both the groups. Children in experimental group had a relapse rate of 3.75% and 100% relapse was observed in control group during posttest III (at 6th month).
CONCLUSIONS: The study findings revealed a statistically significant reduction in bedwetting frequency within the experimental group (p = 0.001), contrasting with the control group\'s non-significant change (p = 0.17). Additionally, the relapse rate was markedly lower in the experimental group (3.75%) compared to the control group (100%). This aligns with Garcia-Fernandez and Petros\' (2020) findings, where a squatting-based pelvic floor rehabilitation method demonstrated a significant reduction in bedwetting frequency, curing 86% of children. Van Kampen et al.\'s (2009) study also supported the efficacy of pelvic floor muscle training in reducing relapse rates, providing further validation for the current study\'s findings.
CONCLUSIONS: The 3 step bladder retraining programme was found to be very effective in reducing the bedwetting frequency and relapse rate among children. This study provides evidence supporting effectiveness of such tailored bladder retraining interventions in managing monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis in school-aged children.

UNASSIGNED: Oral health is closely related to general health and quality of life. School-aged children are at a critical stage for developing their self-care ability in oral health. Digital interventions can encourage and facilitate oral self-care in children.
UNASSIGNED: This study aims to present the development of an educational chatbot for school-aged children to address their oral self-care and evaluate its usability.
UNASSIGNED: The development and evaluation of the chatbot for oral self-care consisted of four stages: target behavior analysis, intervention design, system development, and the chatbot evaluation. The target behavior analysis identified barriers to children\'s engagement in oral self-care based on dentists\' clinical observations; hence, the requirements for achieving the desired behavior were categorized according to the capability-opportunity-motivation behavior model. Interventional functions were created following the behavior change wheel. A menu-driven chatbot was created and evaluated for usability as well as likeability.
UNASSIGNED: The barriers and requirements for achieving good behavior in school-aged children\'s oral self-care were identified by the dental professionals. Intervention strategy incorporated specific functions enriched with gamification features to support school-aged children in developing their abilities for engaging in oral self-care. The intervention functions consist of capability establishment, motivation enhancement, and opportunity creation, which were designed to support children in their oral self-care practices. The designed chatbot was piloted with a convenient sample of 30 school-aged children and their accompanying parents at the pediatric dental clinic. The results indicated good usability, with a mean usability score of 79.91, and high likeability with a mean score of 4.32 out of 5 for the designed chatbot.
UNASSIGNED: The educational chatbot incorporated a combination of clinical dentistry practice and guidelines, aiming to promote oral self-care behavior in school-aged children. The designed chatbot achieved high scores for its usability and user likability.

The present study aims to validate the 40-item and the brief 17-item Washoe County School District Social-Emotional Competency Assessment (WCSD-SECA), a self-report measure of social-emotional competencies, among Chinese school-aged children residing in Hong Kong. A total of 349 children (M = 9.86 years, SD = 1.22; 45.82% girls) and their parents (77.84% mothers) completed a set of questionnaires independently. The factor structure of both versions of the WCSD-SECA was assessed via confirmatory factor analyses. Structural equation models were then conducted to examine the predictive validity of the WCSD-SECA. The findings indicated that both the 40-item and the 17-item versions of the WCSD-SECA fit the data adequately. Both versions were also associated with self-reported positive and negative affect and parent-reported internalizing problems and externalizing problems. Additionally, social-emotional competencies as measured by the 40-item version were significantly associated with parent-reported prosocial behavior, whereas those as measured by the 17-item version were associated with prosocial behavior with a marginal significance. The findings demonstrated an adequate factor structure and predictive validity of the full version and the brief version of the WCSD-SECA in assessing social-emotional competencies. Hence, they serve as a useful tool for researchers, educators, and mental health practitioners to evaluate school-aged children\'s social-emotional competencies in the Chinese context.

The Magic Cape is a story born out of the initiative of the author, a primary school teacher, and other volunteers from the non-profit Compagnia del Mantello organization. The book tells the story of a wizard who discovers he has the power to transform the world into a better place. As such, together with his friends, he founds Chocolate Town. The book has become part of a two-pronged project involving mainstream students and children who are hospitalized, consisting of a series of interactive and communication activities, as follows: Mainstream children read the book using the materials provided, then the teacher invites the children to create their own stories. Finally, the stories are presented by volunteers to children in hospitals.

This study investigated the relationship between parental reports of children\'s behavioral problems and their cheating behaviors on simulated academic tests, addressing a significant gap in understanding early childhood academic cheating and its potential links to broader behavioral issues. We hypothesized that children\'s early problem behaviors would be predictive of their academic cheating. To test these hypotheses, children aged 4 to 12 years took part in six unmonitored academic tests that measured their cheating behaviors while their parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire elsewhere. Separate hierarchical linear regressions revealed that children\'s problem behaviors, as reported by parents, overall significantly predict children\'s cheating behaviors even after accounting for demographic variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, and parental religiosity. Specifically, the Conduct Problems subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire showed a significant and unique association with children\'s cheating behaviors above and beyond the common contributions of all predictors. However, the Child Behavior Checklist scores and the scores on the other Strengths and Difficulties subscales were not significantly or uniquely related to cheating. These findings offer new insight into simulated childhood academic cheating and its relation to problem behaviors observed by parents.