Plastic Fruit Stickers in Industrial Composting─Surface and Structural Alterations Revealed by Electron Microscopy and Computed Tomography.

Often large quantities of plastics are found in compost, with price look-up stickers being a major but little-explored component in the contamination path. Stickers glued to fruit or vegetable peels usually remain attached to the organic material despite sorting processes in the composting plant. Here, we investigated the effects of industrial composting on the structural alterations of these stickers. Commercial polypropylene (PP) stickers on banana peels were added to a typical organic material mixture for processing in an industrial composting plant and successfully resampled after a prerotting (11 days) and main rotting step (25 days). Afterward, both composted and original stickers were analyzed for surface and structural changes via scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and micro- and nano-X-ray computed tomography (CT) combined with deep learning approaches. The composting resulted in substantial surface changes and degradation in the form of microbial colonization, deformation, and occurrence of cracks in all stickers. Their pore volumes increased from 16.7% in the original sticker to 26.3% at the end of the compost process. In a similar way, the carbonyl index of the stickers increased. Micro-CT images additionally revealed structural changes in the form of large adhesions that penetrated the surface of the sticker. These changes were accompanied by delamination after 25 days of composting, thus overall hinting at the degradation of the stickers and the subsequent formation of smaller microplastic pieces.

Effects of the Nurturing Parenting Program Nurturing Skills for Families on child safety and permanency.

BACKGROUND: Many child welfare agencies use the Nurturing Parenting Program Nurturing Skills for Families (NPP) program to strengthen parenting skills. NPP includes a flexible sequence of lessons that are tailored to meet each family's needs. OBJECTIVE: This study estimated the effects of NPP on child safety and permanency outcomes using a quasi-experimental design. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: This study included 1102 children in Arizona whose families were referred to NPP between 2018 and 2020 (treatment group) and 6845 children in Arizona whose families were referred to other in-home family preservation services during the same period (comparison group). METHODS: Outcomes were based on child welfare administrative data. The study estimated (1) the effects of being referred to NPP (regardless of a family's level of participation) and (2) the effects of completing NPP. Baseline equivalence was established for each analysis. Impacts were calculated by comparing regression-adjusted differences between the study groups. RESULTS: The study found no evidence of impacts of being referred to NPP. However, children whose families completed NPP were less likely to experience an investigation (ES = -0.28; p = 0.03) or substantiated investigation (ES = -0.66; p = 0.03) 4 months after the service referral, and less likely to experience a removal 16 months later (ES = -0.70; p = 0.00). CONCLUSIONS: NPP had favorable effects on child welfare outcomes when families completed the program. Additional research is necessary to understand the supports that enable families to complete NPP and the specific components that are particularly effective.

Early Exposure to Child Maltreatment and Academic Outcomes.

Early childhood trauma increases the risk of academic difficulties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of early contact with child protection services (CPS) and to determine whether early exposure to maltreatment investigations was associated with important academic outcomes. The authors focused specifically on standardized test scores (math and reading), grade retention, and special education status in third grade. The sample was diverse and included all children born between 2000 and 2006 and enrolled in Michigan's public schools ( N = 732,838). By the time these students reached third grade, approximately 18% were associated with a formal CPS investigation. In some school districts, more than 50% of third graders were associated with an investigation. African American and poor students were more likely to be investigated for maltreatment. Children associated with maltreatment investigations scored significantly lower on standardized math and reading tests, were more likely to be identified as needing special education, and were more likely to be held back at least one grade. These findings indicate that involvement with CPS is not an infrequent event in the lives of young children and that within some school districts, maltreatment investigations are the norm. Child welfare and educational systems must collaborate so that the early academic struggles experienced by victims of maltreatment do not mature into more complicated difficulties later in life.