Change, stability and prediction of gross motor co-ordination in portuguese children

The knowledge about intra- and inter-individual variation can stimulate attempts at description, interpretation and prediction of motor co-ordination (MC). Aim: To analyse change, stability and prediction of motor co-ordination (MC) in children. Subjects and methods: A total of 158 children, 83 boys and 75 girls, aged 6, 7 and 8 years, were evaluated in 2006 and re-evaluated in 2012 at 12, 13 and 14 years of age. MC was assessed through the Kiphard-Schilling’s body co-ordination test and growth, skeletal maturity, physical fitness, fundamental motor skills (FMS), physical activity and socioeconomic status (SES) were measured and/or estimated. Results: Repeated-measures MANOVA indicated that there was a significant effect of group, sex and time on a linear combination of the MC tests. Univariate tests revealed that group 3 (8–14 years) scored significantly better than group 1 (6–12 years) in all MC tests and boys performed better than girls in hopping for height and moving sideways. Scores in MC were also higher at follow-up than at baseline. Inter-age correlations for MC were between 0.15–0.74. Childhood predictors of MC were growth, physical fitness, FMS, physical activity and SES. Biological maturation did not contribute to prediction of MC. Conclusion: MC seemed moderately stable from childhood through adolescence and, additionally, inter-individual predictors at adolescence were growth, FMS, physical fitness, physical activity and SES.

Profiling allergic asthma volatile metabolic patterns using a headspace-solid phase microextraction/gas chromatography based methodology

Allergicasthmarepresentsanimportantpublichealthissuewithsignificantgrowthovertheyears,especially in the paediatric population. Exhaled breath is a non-invasive, easily performed and rapid method forobtainingsamplesfromthelowerrespiratorytract.Inthepresentmanuscript,themetabolicvolatile profiles of allergic asthma and control children were evaluated by headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography–quadrupole mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC–qMS). The lack ofstudiesinbreathofallergicasthmaticchildrenbyHS-SPMEledtothedevelopmentofanexperimental design to optimize SPME parameters. To fulfil this objective, three important HS-SPME experimental parameters that influence the extraction efficiency, namely fibre coating, temperature and time extractions were considered. The selected conditions that promoted higher extraction efficiency corresponding to the higher GC peak areas and number of compounds were: DVB/CAR/PDMS coating fibre, 22◦C and 60min as the extraction temperature and time, respectively. The suitability of two containers, 1L Tedlar® bags and BIOVOC®, for breath collection and intra-individual variability were also investigated. The developed methodology was then applied to the analysis of children exhaled breath with allergicasthma(35),fromwhich13hadalsoallergicrhinitis,andhealthycontrolchildren(15),allowing to identify 44 volatiles distributed over the chemical families of alkanes (linear and ramified) ketones, aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, acids, among others. Multivariate studies were performed by Partial LeastSquares–DiscriminantAnalysis(PLS–DA)usingasetof28selectedmetabolitesanddiscrimination between allergic asthma and control children was attained with a classification rate of 88%. The allergic asthma paediatric population was characterized mainly by the compounds linked to oxidative stress, such as alkanes and aldehydes. Furthermore, more detailed information was achieved combining the volatile metabolic data, suggested by PLS–DA model, and clinical data.