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Using an ecological perspective, this one-year longitudinal study examined the moderating effect of sex in the associations among peer-related contexts (i.e., peer attachment, social preference goals) and cyberbullying involvement among adolescents from China, Cyprus, India, and the United States, along with investigating cross-cultural differences in these associations. Participants were 2,452 seventh and eighth grade adolescents (age range 12-16 years old; 49.1% girls) from China, Cyprus, India, and the USA. Adolescents completed questionnaires on peer attachment, social preference goals, and cyberbullying involvement (i.e., perpetration, victimization) at Time 1. Cyberbullying involvement was administered at Time 2 (one year later). Peer attachment and social preference goals were negative predictors of Time 2 cyberbullying involvement. Peer attachment and Time 2 cyberbullying perpetration were moderated by sex for Chinese adolescents only, as well as social preference goals and Time 2 cyberbullying perpetration for Chinese and the US adolescents. Sex did not moderate the associations among peer attachment, social preference goals, and Time 2 cyberbullying victimization. The findings of this study have implications for interventions focused on improving adolescents' interactions with their peers at school and urges the need to develop bullying prevention programs sensitive to culture and sex. The ecological framework contributes to a more complete understanding of how multiple contexts influence bullying dynamics and provides a clear basis for policy and intervention.

Understanding risk factors for the spread of infectious diseases over time and across the landscape is critical for managing disease risk. While habitat connectivity and characteristics of local and neighboring animal (i.e., host) assemblages are known to influence the spread of diseases, the interactions among these factors remain poorly understood. In this study, we conducted a county-level analysis to test the effects of forest connectivity, together with the suitability of local assemblage (measured by the similarity of local host assemblage with neighboring assemblages) and the infection intensity of neighboring counties on the spatial expansion of Lyme disease in the United States. Our results suggested that both the similarity of local host assemblage and the infection intensity of neighboring counties were positively correlated with the probability of disease spread. Moreover, we found that increasing forest connectivity could facilitate the positive effect of neighbor infection intensity. In contrast, the effect size of the host assemblage similarity decreased with increasing connectivity, suggesting that host assemblage similarity was less effective in well-connected habitats. Our results thus indicate that habitat connectivity can indirectly influence disease spread by mediating the effects of other risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gestational weight gain (GWG) has been understudied among twin pregnancies. This systematic review aimed to review the data on the associations between GWG, based on the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines and pregnancy outcomes among twin gestations., Methods: A systematic review was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines. A search for eligible studies published from January 2010 to August 2020 was conducted in the EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane databases. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data on study characteristics and main findings were extracted independently by two reviewers using a standard form. Outcomes of interest included (spontaneous) preterm birth (PTB), gestational hypertensive disorder (gestational hypertension and eclampsia), and small for gestational age (SGA)., Results: Eighteen observational studies of twin gestations met the inclusion criteria. GWG below the IOM recommendations was reported to be associated with increased PTB and SGA while GWG above the recommendation was associated with increased gestational hypertensive disorder. However, the results were inconsistent. Methodological limitations, such as a retrospective design, the use of weekly GWG, a small sample size and insufficient adjustment, impeded the clarification of the association between GWG and perinatal outcomes. In addition, the optimal GWG for underweight women was not fully studied., Conclusions: The maintenance of weight gain within the 2009 IOM guidelines would decrease the risks of adverse outcomes among twin pregnancies. However, rigorous studies are warranted to provide robust evidence to refine the optimal GWG among twin gestations.