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Infant Behav Dev 2021 Apr 10;63:101560. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

The A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, United States.

To date, joint attention skill assessments have focused on children's responses to multimodal bids (RJA) and their initiation of bids (IJA) to multimodal spectacles. Here we gain a systematic view of auditory joint attention skills using a novel assessment that measures both auditory and multimodal RJA and IJA. In Study 1, 47 typically developing (TD) children were tested 5 times from 12 to 30 months to document auditory joint attention skill development. Read More

J Med Case Rep 2021 Apr 12;15(1):197. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine Institute, Galilee Medical Center, Nahariya, Israel.

Background: Thalassemia is an inherited autosomal recessive blood disorder causing abnormal formation of hemoglobin, known as a syndrome of anemia with microcytic erythrocytes. It is the most common genetic disorder worldwide, with a high prevalence among individuals of Mediterranean descent. The state of homozygosity of the beta-globin mutated gene is known as beta-thalassemia major, and these patients require regular blood transfusions and iron chelation therapy for survival. Read More

J Am Psychoanal Assoc 2021 Feb;69(1):33-50

Mother-infant observations attune the psychotherapist to the nonverbal interactions that shape the child's experience of the world. The origins of our interest in psychoanalytic mother-infant observations can be traced back to clinical work with adults, child analyses, ethology (the study of animal behavior), and theoretical questions about the development of the symbolic function in infancy. More recently, seminars and direct experience in mother-infant observation have been gaining popularity as components of psychoanalytic training. Read More

Res Dev Disabil 2021 Apr 9;113:103920. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK. Electronic address:

Background: The prevalence of motor impairment is high in ADHD, but we do not know if this stems from infancy.

Aims: 1) to compare the acquisition of motor milestones across three groups: Typically Developing (TD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD); 2) to determine the relationship between current motor ability and ADHD characteristics in children with ADHD.

Methods And Procedures: The parents of children aged 8-16 years (ADHD, N = 100; DCD, N = 66; TD, N = 40) completed three online questionnaires: Motor milestone questionnaire; Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ'07) (concurrent motor ability); Conners 3 Parent Rating Scale Long Form (ADHD characteristics). Read More

Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021 Apr 9;68:116-123. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Humboldt University of Berlin, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, United Kingdom.

While the fundamental relevance of kinship behavior for evolutionary and behavioral biology has long been recognized, the examination of kinship behavior from a neuroscience perspective is still in its infancy. Kinship is highly conserved from single-celled organisms to humans, where kin preferences are prevalent in behavior and vocal communication. Kin recognition mechanisms are varied, with evidence for both genetic and both prenatal as well as postnatal learning-based kin recognition. Read More

Int J Lang Commun Disord 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Discipline of Speech Pathology, School of Allied Health, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Background: Due to COVID-19, many educators and allied health practitioners are facing the challenge of rapidly transitioning to telepractice delivery of instructional reading and spelling procedures without being fully informed of the evidence.

Aims: A rapid review was conducted to provide educators, allied health practitioners and policymakers with a synthesis of valid, relevant and actionable evidence relating to telepractice delivery of instructional reading and spelling procedures. The aim was to investigate the nature and outcomes of studies examining instructional reading and spelling procedures delivered via telepractice to school-aged students. Read More

Cardiol Young 2021 Apr 12:1-7. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Anesthesiology, Centre of Head and Orthopaedics, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Background: Many children born with congenital heart defects are faced with cognitive deficits and psychological challenges later in life. The mechanisms behind are suggested to be multifactorial and are explained as an interplay between innate and modifiable risk factors. The aim was to assess whether there is a relationship between mean arterial pressure during surgery of a septal defect in infancy or early childhood and intelligence quotient scores in adulthood. Read More

FASEB Bioadv 2021 Apr 5;3(4):205-230. Epub 2021 Feb 5.

Department of Pathology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK.

Low birthweight and reduced height gain during infancy (stunting) may arise at least in part from adverse early life environments that trigger epigenetic reprogramming that may favor survival. We examined differential DNA methylation patterns using targeted methyl sequencing of regions regulating gene activity in groups of rural Gambian infants: (a) low and high birthweight (DNA from cord blood ( = 16 and  = 20, respectively), from placental trophoblast tissue ( = 21 and  = 20, respectively), and DNA from peripheral blood collected from infants at 12 months of age ( = 23 and  = 17, respectively)), and, (b) the top 10% showing rapid postnatal length gain (high,  = 20) and the bottom 10% showing slow postnatal length gain (low,  = 20) based on z score change between birth and 12 months of age (LAZ) (DNA from peripheral blood collected from infants at 12 months of age). Using BiSeq analysis to identify significant methylation marks, for birthweight, four differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified in trophoblast DNA, compared to 68 DMRs in cord blood DNA, and 54 DMRs in 12-month peripheral blood DNA. Read More

Environ Pollut 2021 Mar 26;282:116976. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, United States; EVO Conversion Systems, LLC, United States. Electronic address:

The industrial production of insects for waste management or as a protein source is becoming vital to our society. Large volumes of manure are produced by concentrated animal facilities around the globe that must be managed, utilized, and disposed of properly. Flies offer a partial solution with their abilities to reduce these wastes and heavy metal pollutants. Read More

Early Hum Dev 2021 Mar 17;157:105352. Epub 2021 Mar 17.

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.

Objective: Exposure to stress in pregnancy has been shown to affect fetal development with short- and long-term physiological and behavioral consequences for the offspring. Although social support is known to lower perceived stress, no prior study has investigated the buffering role of social support in the context of prenatal stress effects on infant temperament. The aim of this study was to examine interactive effects of prenatal stress and social support on several dimensions of infant temperament at 9 months postpartum. Read More

J Acad Nutr Diet 2021 Mar 30. Epub 2021 Mar 30.

Background: The link between high protein intake during infancy and obesity later in childhood has been much debated, and the association with differing protein sources remains unclear.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the associations between total protein intake and protein from different sources (ie, nondairy animal, dairy, and plant) reported at age 9 months and development in body mass index (BMI) z scores until age 5 years.

Design: This study involved a secondary data analysis of the Melbourne InFANT (Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial) program, an observational prospective cohort study that was conducted from 2008 to 2013. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2021 Mar 20;782:146654. Epub 2021 Mar 20.

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Joint Research Unit, Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, FISABIO-Universitat Jaume I-Universitat de València, Av. Catalunya 21, 46020 Valencia, Spain; Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5. Pabellón 11, 28029 Madrid, Spain.

Effects of mercury on maturing immune system have been reported, however the association with respiratory and allergy problems during infancy remains unclear. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between pre and postnatal mercury exposure and respiratory and allergy problems among preschool children and to examine the role of potential modifying factors. Study subjects were children participant in Spanish Childhood and Environment Project (INMA, 2003-2008). Read More

Brain Behav 2021 Apr 10:e02146. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.

Introduction: Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a widely used solvent to dissolve hydrophobic substances for clinical uses and experimental in vivo purposes. While usually regarded safe, our prior studies suggest changes to behavior following DMSO exposure. We therefore evaluated the effects of a five-day, short-term exposure to DMSO on postnatal infant rats (P6-10). Read More

Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

John Van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K.

Viral vectors can be utilised to deliver therapeutic genes to diseased cells. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a commonly used viral vector that is favoured for its ability to infect a wide range of tissues whilst displaying limited toxicity and immunogenicity. Most humans harbour anti-AAV neutralising antibodies (NAbs) due to subclinical infections by wild-type virus during infancy and these pre-existing NAbs can limit the efficiency of gene transfer depending on the target cell type, route of administration and choice of serotype. Read More

Psychol Sci 2021 Apr 9:956797620975775. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota.

Retrospective self-report assessments of adults' childhood experiences with their parents are widely employed in psychological science, but such assessments are rarely validated against actual parenting experiences measured during childhood. Here, we leveraged prospectively acquired data characterizing mother-child and father-child relationship quality using observations, parent reports, and child reports covering infancy through adolescence. At age 26 years, approximately 800 participants completed a retrospective measure of maternal and paternal emotional availability during childhood. Read More

Child Dev 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

University of Calgary.

Using data from the All Our Families study, a longitudinal study of 1992 mother-child dyads in Canada (47.7% female; 81.9% White), we examined the developmental pathways between infant gestures and symbolic actions and communicative skills at age 5. Read More

AJOB Neurosci 2021 Apr 9:1-7. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Baylor College of Medicine.

Data sharing is essential to further advance the field of neuropsychiatry. However, it raises significant ethical issues in the domains of privacy, consent, and diversity. We begin by considering the sensitive nature of much neuropsychiatric data. Read More

Zhonghua Yi Xue Yi Chuan Xue Za Zhi 2021 Apr;38(4):355-358

Shanghai Chindren's Medical Center Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China.

Objective: To explore the clinical and genetic characteristics of a child with frontometaphyseal dysplasia 1 (FMD1) due to variant of FLNA gene.

Methods: Clinical phenotype of the patient was analyzed. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was carried out to detect pathogenic genetic variants. Read More

APL Bioeng 2021 Jun 1;5(2):021501. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.

Since the first isolation of mesenchymal stem cells from lipoaspirate in the early 2000s, adipose tissue has been a darling of regenerative medicine. It is abundant, easy to access, and contains high concentrations of stem cells (ADSCs) exhibiting multipotency, proregenerative paracrine signaling, and immunomodulation-a winning combination for stem cell-based therapeutics. While basic science, preclinical and clinical findings back up the translational potential of ADSCs, the vast majority of these used cells from a single location-subcutaneous abdominal fat. Read More

Neuromuscul Disord 2021 Mar 6. Epub 2021 Mar 6.

UOC Neurofisiopatologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, Rome 00168, Italy; Dipartimento Universitario di Neuroscienze, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy.

Mutations in the TNNT1 gene cause an infantile, lethal form of myopathy named "Amish" Nemaline Myopathy. Adult patients are very rarely described. We report a 49-year-old patient who presented a slowly progressive phenotype characterized by myalgia, exercise intolerance and dyspnea since infancy. Read More

J Chem Phys 2021 Apr;154(13):134301

Laboratoire de Chimie et Physique Quantiques, UMR5626, Université de Toulouse 3, Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France.

This paper is a theoretical "proof of concept" on how the on-site first-order spin-orbit coupling (SOC) can generate giant Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in binuclear transition metal complexes. This effective interaction plays a key role in strongly correlated materials, skyrmions, multiferroics, and molecular magnets of promising use in quantum information science and computing. Despite this, its determination from both theory and experiment is still in its infancy and existing systems usually exhibit very tiny magnitudes. Read More

Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021 Apr 2;48:100950. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS/Université Claude Bernard Lyon, Bron, Cedex, 69675, France; Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43125, Parma, Italy. Electronic address:

Although positive effects of oxytocin (OT) on social functioning are well-demonstrated, little is known about the mechanisms through which OT may drive early social development, or its therapeutic efficacy in infancy. To address these critical issues, we investigated the effects of exogenous OT on neural (EEG) and behavioral responses during observation of live facial gestures in infant macaques with limited social exposure (i.e. Read More

Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2021 Apr 8;4:CD012866. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Newborn Health Knowledge Centre, WHO Collaborating Centre for Training and Research in Newborn Care, Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India.

Background: There is great global variation in the sleeping arrangements for healthy newborn infants. Bed sharing is a type of sleeping practice in which the sleeping surface (e.g. Read More

Proteomics Clin Appl 2021 Apr 8:e2000038. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Purpose: Little is known about the longitudinal development of different plasma protein levels during early childhood and particularly in relation to lifestyle factors. This study aimed to monitor the plasma proteome early in life and the influence of different lifestyles.

Experimental Design: A multiplex bead-based immunoassay was used to analyze plasma levels of 97 proteins in 280 blood samples longitudinally collected in children at 6, 12, 24 and 60 months of age living in families with an anthroposophic (n = 15), partly anthroposophic (n = 27) or non-anthroposophic (n = 28) lifestyle. Read More

Dan Med J 2021 Mar 18;68(4). Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Introduction: We aimed to estimate the incidence of lethal abusive head trauma (AHT) in infancy in Denmark from 2000 through 2011 and to describe autopsy findings and information from police reports on lethal AHT cases.

Methods: This was a nationwide retrospective study. We identified AHT cases in the National Cause of Death Register (CODR) and in forensic archives and compared data from the two sources. Read More

J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Pediatric Endocrinologist at Pediatric endocrine department,. Obesity, Endocrine, and Metabolism Center, , King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1 (PHA1) is an autosomal-recessive disorder characterized by defective regulation of body sodium levels. The abnormality results from mutations in the gene-encoding subunits of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). Patients with PHA1 present in infancy as being in adrenal crisis. Read More

Magn Reson Med 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Institute of Medical Physics and Radiation Protection, Department of Life Science Engineering, TH Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences, Giessen, Germany.

Purpose: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during infancy poses challenges due to practical, methodological, and analytical considerations. The aim of this study was to implement a hardware-related approach to increase subject compliance for fMRI involving awake infants. To accomplish this, we designed, constructed, and evaluated an adaptive 32-channel array coil. Read More

Curr Oncol Rep 2021 Apr 8;23(5):60. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Middle Eastern Cancer Consortium, Haifa, Israel.

Purpose Of The Review: The integration of cancer-related palliative care is essential to holistic, quality cancer care. While some similarities exist between countries, this manuscript will focus on five differences that impact palliative care for cancer patients including the epidemiology of cancer and related symptoms, cancer-specific integration into care, palliative care education, economic development of the country, and cultural and religious differences.

Recent Findings: The epidemiology of cancer varies around the world resulting in variable symptoms and the need for individualized approaches to palliative care. Read More

Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.

This study aim to examine the hypothesis that repetitive painful stimuli during infancy will alter pain sensitivity and impair learning and memory during adulthood and that saccharin will prevent this through its analgesic effect. Naltrexone is used to examine if saccharin effect is mediated via the endogenous opioid system. Pain in rat pups was induced via needle pricks of the paws on day 1 of their birth (P0). Read More

Am J Clin Nutr 2021 Apr 7. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA.

Background: Excessive abdominal adiposity is associated with health risks in children and adults. Higher consumption of fruit juice and other sources of fructose has been shown to promote weight gain and specifically visceral adiposity in adulthood.

Objectives: We aimed to examine the longitudinal associations of fruit juice intake in infancy with visceral adiposity in mid-childhood and early adolescence. Read More