Evaluating the response of children with autism to a robot

Since 1998, the Aurora project has been investigating the use of a robotic platform as a tool for therapy use with children with autism. A key issue in this project is the evaluation of the interactions, which are not constricted and involve the child moving freely. Additionally, the response of the children is an important factor which must emerge from the robot trial sessions and the evaluation methodology, in order to guide further development work.

History of eating disorder in mothers of children with early onset eating disorder or disturbance

The literature suggests that there is significant familial aggregation of eating disorders. A specific association has also been reported between childhood feeding problems and maternal eating disorder. This study investigates whether subgroups of children with early onset eating disturbance are distinguished by maternal eating disorder history. The mothers of 66 children with either anorexia nervosa (AN), food avoidance emotional disorder (FAED) or selective eating (SE) were interviewed to ascertain eating disorder history. Seventeen per cent of mothers reported a history of eating disorder, compared with 3%–5% reported for community samples. A history of eating disorder was reported by 5.9% of mothers of children with SE, 12.9% of mothers of children with AN and 33.3% of mothers of children with FAED. The findings, based on this small sample, suggest that children with FAED are especially likely to have grown up in a dysfunctional food environment.

Interpretation and expectations among mothers of children with anxiety disorders: associations with maternal anxiety disorder

Background Models of the development and maintenance of childhood anxiety suggest an important role for parent cognitions: that is, negative expectations of children's coping abilities lead to parenting behaviors that maintain child anxiety. The primary aims of the current study were to (1) compare expectations of child vulnerability and coping among mothers of children with anxiety disorders on the basis of whether or not mothers also had a current anxiety disorder, and (2) examine the degree to which the association between maternal anxiety disorder status and child coping expectations was mediated by how mothers interpreted ambiguous material that referred to their own experience. Methods The association between interpretations of threat, negative emotion, and control was assessed using hypothetical ambiguous scenarios in a sample of 271 anxious and nonanxious mothers of 7- to 12-year-old children with an anxiety disorder. Mothers also rated their expectations when presented with real life challenge tasks. Results There was a significant association between maternal anxiety disorder status and negative expectations of child coping behaviors. Mothers’ self-referent interpretations were found to mediate this relationship. Responses to ambiguous hypothetical scenarios correlated significantly with responses to real life challenge tasks. Conclusions Treatments for childhood anxiety disorders in the context of parental anxiety disorders may benefit from the inclusion of a component to directly address parental cognitions. Some inconsistencies were found when comparing maternal expectations in response to hypothetical scenarios with real life challenges. This should be addressed in future research.

Disambiguating with Bourdieu: unravelling policy from practice in the teaching of children with English as an additional language

This article explores the use of Bourdieusian analysis for examining how policy and practice interact in the teaching of English and therefore in the development of children’s language and literacy; in particular how Bourdieusian analysis uncovers the ways in which teachers’ practice has been influenced unconsciously by centralised shaping of the curriculum for English in England while the pupil demographic in schools has become more linguistically diverse. Data were collected from interviews with both newly qualified and very experienced primary school (pupil ages 5 – 11) teachers, whose pedagogical norms for the teaching of English were challenged by the arrival of non-English speakers in their classrooms. The discussion highlights how the use of Bourdieusian constructs of field, habitus and capital can disambiguate teachers’ practical classroom decisions from the influences of policy expectations.

Experience With Lacosamide in a Series of Children With Drug-Resistant Focal Epilepsy

We report our pediatric experience with lacosarnide, a new antiepileptic drug, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as adjunctive therapy in focal epilepsy in patients more than 17 years old. We retrospectively reviewed charts for lacosamide use and seizure frequency outcome in patients with focal epilepsy (Wilcoxon signed rank test). Sixteen patients (7 boys) were identified (median dose 275 mg daily, 4.7 mg/kg daily; mean age 14.9 years, range 8-21 years). Patients were receiving a median of 2 antiepileptic drugs (interquartile range [IQR] 1.7-3) in addition to having undergone previous epilepsy surgery (n = 3), vagus nerve stimulation (n = 9), and ketogenic diet (n = 3). Causes included structural (encephalomalacia and diffuse encephalitis, 1 each; stroke in 2) and genetic abnormalities (Aarskog and Rett syndromes, 1 each) or cause not known (n = 10). Median seizure frequency at baseline was 57 per month (IQR 7-75), and after a median follow-up of 4 months (range 1-13 months) of receiving lacosamide, it was 12.5 per month (IQR 3-75), (P < 0.01). Six patients (37.5%; 3 seizure free) were classified as having disease that responded to therapy (>= 50% reduction seizure frequency) and 10 as having disease that did not respond to therapy (<50% in 3; increase in 1; unchanged in 6). Adverse events (tics, behavioral disturbance, seizure worsening, and depression with suicidal ideation in 1 patient each) prompted lacosamide discontinuation in 4/16 (25%). This retrospective study of 16 children with drug-resistant focal epilepsy demonstrated good response to adjunctive lacosamide therapy (median seizure reduction of 39.6%; 37.5% with >= 50% seizure reduction) without severe adverse events. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal Study of Growth of Children With Unilateral Cleft-Lip Palate From Birth to Two Years of Age

Objective: To study the growth of children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) from birth to 2 years of age and to construct specific UCLP growth curves. Design: Physical growth was a secondary outcome measure of a National Institutes of Health-sponsored longitudinal, prospective clinical trial involving the University of Florida (United States) and the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil). Patients: Six hundred twenty-seven children with UCLP, nonsyndromic, both genders. Methods: Length, weight, and head circumference were prospectively measured for a group of children enrolled in a clinical trial. Median growth curves for the three parameters (length, weight, head circumference) were performed and compared with the median for the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) curves. The median values for length, weight, and head circumference at birth and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of age were plotted against NCHS median values and statistically compared at birth and 24 months. Setting: Hospital de Reabilitacao de Anomalias Craniofaciais, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Bauru, Brazil (HRAC-USP). Results: At birth, children of both genders with UCLP presented with smaller body dimensions in relation to NCHS median values, but the results suggest a catch-up growth for length, weight, and head circumference for girls and for weight (to some degree) and head circumference for boys. Conclusions: Weight was the most compromised parameter for both genders, followed by length and then head circumference. There was no evidence of short stature. This study established growth curves for children with UCLP.

Some factors associated with dental caries in the primary dentition of children with Down syndrome

Aim It is well reported in the scientific literature that there is a high level of periodontal disease and lower caries prevalence in Down Syndrome (DS) individuals, when compared with age-matched non DS individuals. This study was conducted to investigate the process of dental caries in DS children. Materials and methods In this study the following parameters were considered: oral hygiene habits, levels of Streptococcus mutans (SM) and Lactobacillus spp. (LB), Modified Gingival Index (MGI), and Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S). A case group with DS children (n=69) and a control group of non DS children (n=69) were formed to perform this study Dental caries severity was determined using the DMFT index. Samples of non-stimulated saliva were collected to determine the Lactobacillus spp levels. For SM levels, MSB agar plates were used. Results The findings revealed that the case group attended, dental check-ups more frequently brushed their teeth more times per day, flossed less, and also more frequently had SM levels classified as ""high count"". The MGI was higher and the OHI-S was lower than the control group (p<0.001). Conclusion No significant differences were found between the DMFT indexes of children from the two groups (p=0.345). The logistic regression analysis showed that in the case group, age, MGI, and SM count were positively related to dental caries (p<0.05).

DNA damage in lymphocytes and buccal mucosa cells of children with malignant tumours undergoing chemotherapy

The aim of the present study was to evaluate DNA damage (micronucleus) in cytokinesis-blocked lymphocytes and exfoliated buccal mucosa cells from children with malignant tumours and under chemotherapy. Micronucleated cells (MNCs) were assessed from children before and during chemotherapy. A total of 21 healthy children (controls), matched for gender and age, were used as control. The results pointed out higher frequencies of micronucleated lymphocytes in children with malignant tumour before any therapy when compared to healthy probands. Furthermore an increase of micronucleated lymphocytes during chemotherapy was detected when compared to the data obtained before chemotherapy. No statistically significant increases of MNCs were noticed in buccal mucosa cells at any of the timepoints evaluated. Taken together, these data indicate that the presence of malignant tumours may increase the frequency of DNA damage in circulating lymphocytes, these cells being more sensitive for detecting chromosome aberrations caused by anti-cancer drugs.

Comparison between procalcitonin and C-reactive protein for early diagnosis of children with sepsis or septic shock

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Art in the inclusion of children with special needs in dentistry

A proposta deste estudo é relatar a utilização da arte e seus segmentos, como recurso para inclusão da criança portadora de necessidades especiais ao ambiente odontológico. Foi utilizado como método a aplicação da arte em atividades de socioterapia e oficinas, divididas em módulos: sessão de socialização, oficinas de arte e atividades complementares, visando à elaboração de uma anamnese cultural por meio de questionários e a obtenção das preferências artísticas dos 313 participantes, previamente às suas assistências odontológicas no CAOE (Centro de Assistência Odontológica a Portadores de Necessidades Especiais) FOA/Unesp. de acordo com os questionários respondidos, a música e a pintura, segundo a preferência dos participantes, são os segmentos artísticos que mais auxiliam nas atividades de inclusão e adaptação. Concluímos que a utilização da arte na adaptação e inclusão ambiental do paciente, previamente à assistência odontológica, é favorável e eficaz.

Production of bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances (BLIS) by Streptococcus salivarius strains isolated from the tongue and throat of children with and without sore throat

Cepas de Streptococcus salivarius, isoladas de crianças com e sem dor de garganta, foram testadas quanto à produção de bacteriocina contra Streptococcus pyogenes. Os resultados mostraram que as crianças que não tinham dor de garganta possuiam, na boca, cepas de bactérias produtoras de substâncias inibidoras semelhantes à bacteriocina contra S. pyogenes.

Safety in road crossing of children with cerebral palsy

Aim: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) are regularly confronted with physical constraints during locomotion. Because abnormalities in motor control are often related to perceptual deficits, the aim of this study was to find out whether children with CP were able to walk across a road as safely as their non-handicapped peers. Method: Ten children with CP and 10 non-handicapped children aged 4-14 y were asked to cross a simulated road if they felt the situation was safe. Results: With respect to safety and accuracy of crossings, the behaviour of children with CP was comparable with that of non-handicapped children. However, a closer examination of children's individual crossing behaviour showed considerable differences within the CP group. In contrast to children with damage to the left hemisphere, children with damage to the right hemisphere made unsafe decisions and did not compensate for them by increasing walking speed.Conclusion: the differences in unsafe behaviour and in the ability to compensate for it within the group of children with CP might be related to damage to specific regions of the brain that are involved in the processing of spatial or temporal information.