Association between foot growth and musculoskeletal loading in children with Prader-Willi syndrome before and during growth hormone treatment

OBJECTIVE: To explore how foot growth relates to musculoskeletal loading in children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). STUDY DESIGN: In 37 children with PWS, foot length (FL) before and after 6 years of growth hormone therapy (GHT) was retrospectively evaluated with parental and sibling's FL, height, and factors reflecting musculoskeletal loading, such as weight for height (WfH), lean body mass (LBM; dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, deuterium labeled water), physical activity (accellerometry), and walk age. Because of the typically biphasic evolution of body mass and the late walk age in PWS, 2 age groups were separated (group 1, >2.5 years; group 2, < or =2.5 years). RESULTS: Children with PWS normalized height, but not FL after 6 years of GHT. Parental FL correlation with PWS's FL was lower than with sibling's FL. In group 1, FL positively correlated with WfH, LBM, and physical activity. In group 2, FL negatively correlated with age at onset of independent ambulation. Foot catch-up growth with GHT was slower in group 2 compared with group 1. CONCLUSION: In PWS, FL is positively associated with musculoskeletal loading. Small feet in children with PWS before and during long-term GHT may be more than just another dysmorphic feature, but may possibly reflect decreased musculoskeletal loading influencing foot growth and genetic and endocrine factors.

Protective effects of maternal nutritional supplementation with lactoferrin on growth and brain metabolism.

Background:Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a major risk factor for both perinatal and long-term morbidity. Bovine lactoferrin (bLf) is a major milk glycoprotein considered as a pleiotropic functional nutrient. The impact of maternal supplementation with bLf on IUGR-induced sequelae, including inadequate growth and altered cerebral development, remains unknown.Methods:IUGR was induced through maternal dexamethasone infusion (100 μg/kg during last gestational week) in rats. Maternal supplementation with bLf (0.85% in food pellet) was provided during both gestation and lactation. Pup growth was monitored, and Pup brain metabolism and gene expression were studied using in vivo (1)H NMR spectroscopy, quantitative PCR, and microarray in the hippocampus at postnatal day (PND)7.Results:Maternal bLf supplementation did not change gestational weight but increased the birth body weight of control pups (4%) with no effect on the IUGR pups. Maternal bLf supplementation allowed IUGR pups to recover a normalized weight at PND21 (weaning) improving catch-up growth. Significantly altered levels of brain metabolites (γ-aminobutyric acid, glutamate, N-acetylaspartate, and N-acetylaspartylglutamate) and transcripts (brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT-1), and glutamate receptors) in IUGR pups were normalized with maternal bLf supplementation.Conclusion:Our data suggest that maternal bLf supplementation is a beneficial nutritional intervention able to revert some of the IUGR-induced sequelae, including brain hippocampal changes.

Caloric restriction induces energy-sparing alterations in skeletal muscle contraction, fiber composition and local thyroid hormone metabolism that persist during catch-up fat upon refeeding.

Weight regain after caloric restriction results in accelerated fat storage in adipose tissue. This catch-up fat phenomenon is postulated to result partly from suppressed skeletal muscle thermogenesis, but the underlying mechanisms are elusive. We investigated whether the reduced rate of skeletal muscle contraction-relaxation cycle that occurs after caloric restriction persists during weight recovery and could contribute to catch-up fat. Using a rat model of semistarvation-refeeding, in which fat recovery is driven by suppressed thermogenesis, we show that contraction and relaxation of leg muscles are slower after both semistarvation and refeeding. These effects are associated with (i) higher expression of muscle deiodinase type 3 (DIO3), which inactivates tri-iodothyronine (T3), and lower expression of T3-activating enzyme, deiodinase type 2 (DIO2), (ii) slower net formation of T3 from its T4 precursor in muscles, and (iii) accumulation of slow fibers at the expense of fast fibers. These semistarvation-induced changes persisted during recovery and correlated with impaired expression of transcription factors involved in slow-twitch muscle development. We conclude that diminished muscle thermogenesis following caloric restriction results from reduced muscle T3 levels, alteration in muscle-specific transcription factors, and fast-to-slow fiber shift causing slower contractility. These energy-sparing effects persist during weight recovery and contribute to catch-up fat.

Research into anxiety of childhood: playing catch-up (to Olympic standard)

This special issue is the culmination of an ESRC seminar series grant awarded to the authors of this editorial. We named the seminar series CATTS (Child Anxiety, Theory and Treatment Seminars) and it took the form of six highly stimulating, one-day seminars on the subject of child anxiety, with participants from clinical and academic backgrounds and from Great Britain, Europe, the USA and Australia. Most of the authors in this publication, and a sister special issue in Cognitions and Emotion (2008), participated in the CATTS series.

Are patterns of growth adaptive?

Models which define fitness in terms of per capita rate of increase of phenotypes are used to analyse patterns of individual growth. It is shown that sigmoid growth curves are an optimal strategy (i.e. maximize fitness) if (Assumption 1a) mortality decreases with body size; (2a) mortality is a convex function of specific growth rate, viewed from above; (3) there is a constraint on growth rate, which is attained in the first phase of growth. If the constraint is not attained then size should increase at a progressively reducing rate. These predictions are biologically plausible. Catch-up growth, for retarded individuals, is generally not an optimal strategy though in special cases (e.g. seasonal breeding) it might be. Growth may be advantageous after first breeding if birth rate is a convex function of G (the fraction of production devoted to growth) viewed from above (Assumption 5a), or if mortality rate is a convex function of G, viewed from above (Assumption 6c). If assumptions 5a and 6c are both false, growth should cease at the age of first reproduction. These predictions could be used to evaluate the incidence of indeterminate versus determinate growth in the animal kingdom though the data currently available do not allow quantitative tests. In animals with invariant adult size a method is given which allows one to calculate whether an increase in body size is favoured given that fecundity and developmental time are thereby increased.

Catch-up strategies in the Indian auto components industry: domestic firms’ responses to market liberalization

Market liberalization in emerging-market economies and the entry of multinational firms spur significant changes to the industry/institutional environment faced by domestic firms. Prior studies have described how such changes tend to be disruptive to the relatively backward domestic firms, and negatively affect their performance and survival prospects. In this paper, we study how domestic supplier firms may adapt and continue to perform, as market liberalization progresses, through catch-up strategies aimed at integrating with the industry's global value chain. Drawing on internalization theory and the literatures on upgrading and catch-up processes, learning and relational networks, we hypothesize that, for continued performance, domestic supplier firms need to adapt their strategies from catching up initially through technology licensing/collaborations and joint ventures with multinational enterprises (MNEs) to also developing strong customer relationships with downstream firms (especially MNEs). Further, we propose that successful catch-up through these two strategies lays the foundation for a strategy of knowledge creation during the integration of domestic industry with the global value chain. Our analysis of data from the auto components industry in India during the period 1992–2002, that is, the decade since liberalization began in 1991, offers support for our hypotheses.

Clusters, connectivity and catch-up: Bollywood and Bangalore in the Global Economy

In this article, we make two important contributions to the literature on clusters. First, we provide a broader theory of cluster connectivity that has hitherto focused on organization-based pipelines and MNE subsidiaries, by including linkages in the form of personal relationships. Second, we use the lens of social network theory to derive a number of testable propositions. We propose that global linkages with decentralized network structures have the highest potential for local spillovers. In the emerging economy context, our theory implies that clusters linked to the global economy by decentralized pipelines have potential for in-depth catch-up, focused in industry and technology scope. In contrast, clusters linked through decentralized personal relationships have potential for in-breadth catch-up over a range of related industries and technologies. We illustrate our theoretical propositions by contrasting two emerging economy case studies: Bollywood, the Indian filmed entertainment cluster in Mumbai and the Indian software cluster in Bangalore.

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.

Processo alternativo de catch-up em indústrias intensivas em recursos naturais: uma análise empírica da trajetória tecnológica da indústria de bioetanol de cana-de-açúcar no Brasil

Esta tese diz respeito ao desenvolvimento tecnológico e inovação em indústrias intensivas em recursos naturais no contexto de economias emergentes. A tese explora como a acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas e os mecanismos de aprendizagem influenciaram a trajetória tecnológica na indústria de bioetanol de cana-de-açúcar no Brasil, durante o período de meados da década de 1970 a 2014. Muito se avançou na compreensão do processo de catch-up tecnológico de empresas e indústrias de economias emergentes. Contudo, essas pesquisas geralmente exploram o processo de catch-up tecnológico relacionado às trajetórias tecnológicas já mapeadas pelos líderes mundiais em indústrias de manufatura e transformação. Parte desses estudos ignora que o desenvolvimento de atividades industriais poderia ocorrer em indústrias intensivas em recursos naturais. Além disso, indústrias intensivas em recursos naturais são geralmente encapsuladas como commodities e low-tech, caracterizadas por uma limitada oportunidade de aprendizagem tecnológica e acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas. Entretanto, o processo de industrialização em indústrias intensivas em recursos naturais em regiões como a América Latina ainda é pouco compreendido e são escassas as pesquisas que investigam o processo de catch-up tecnológico em nível de indústria, com raras exceções. Baseando-se em evidências da indústria de bioetanol do Brasil, esta pesquisa explora um processo de catch-up tecnológico que tem recebido pouca atenção na literatura. Esta pesquisa adotou um desenho qualitativo com base em uma estratégia de estudo de caso em nível de indústria, com extensivo trabalho de campo e coleta de evidências empíricas de primeira mão com cobertura de longo prazo em 20 organizações. Esta pesquisa encontrou que: (1) a evolução da trajetória tecnológica da indústria de bioetanol no Brasil caracterizou-se pela abertura de uma direção distinta daquela mapeada por líderes tecnológicos existentes. Esse processo de desvio qualitativo da trajetória tecnológica dominante iniciou durante os primeiros estágios de desenvolvimento tecnológico. Assim, a indústria percorreu uma trajetória de entrada precoce em path-creating; (2) a evolução dessa trajetória tecnológica não se deu de maneira homogenia. Foram encontrados três padrões relativamente distintos de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas para funções (ou áreas) tecnológicas específicas: feedstock, processos agrícolas e processos industriais. Nas funções de feedstock e processos industriais, houve acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas de liderança mundial, enquanto na função processos agrícolas a acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas não evoluiu além do nível intermediário; (3) essas capacidades foram acumuladas de forma dispersa entre os atores da indústria (empresas produtoras, institutos de pesquisa, universidades, fornecedores, empresas de biotecnologia etc.) e possibilitaram a abertura de oportunidades de exploração de novos negócios, ainda que modestamente aproveitadas; e (4) a sutil heterogeneidade encontrada nos padrões de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas foi influenciada pela combinação de mecanismos de aprendizagem tecnológica utilizados pela indústria ao longo do tempo. Por fim, constatou-se também que essa trajetória tecnológica contribuiu para gerar implicações significativas e foi também influenciada por fatores outros. Não obstante, esses resultados merecem esforço de investigação mais sistemático, uma vez que foram examinados aqui de forma superficial. Concluiu-se, portanto, que posições tecnológicas relevantes, especialmente por indústrias de economias emergentes, podem ser alcançadas por meio de trajetórias tecnológicas que não se baseiam, necessariamente, em tecnologias dominantes, já exploradas por líderes mundiais, de economias avançadas. Assim, os processos alternativos de catch-up podem ser altamente relevantes para a obtenção de progresso industrial. Ademais, a pesquisa concluiu que as indústrias intensivas em recursos naturais oferecem oportunidades para inovações significativas, e podem ser protagonistas nesse processo de catch-up alternativo, particularmente no contexto de países abundantes em recursos naturais. Assim sendo, esta pesquisa contribui para gerar novas evidências e explicações que nos ajudem a ampliar a noção de alternativas para o desenvolvimento industrial e econômico no contexto de economias emergentes. No debate sobre desenvolvimento industrial e econômico, as trajetórias tecnológicas alternativas, bem como as indústrias intensivas em recursos naturais, deveriam receber uma atenção especial por parte de decisores de políticas públicas e de ações empresariais.

Windows of opportunities and knowledge networks: implications for the catch-up in developing countries

This document represents a doctoral thesis held under the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration of Getulio Vargas Foundation (EBAPE/FGV), developed through the elaboration of three articles. The research that resulted in the articles is within the scope of the project entitled “Windows of opportunities and knowledge networks: implications for catch-up in developing countries”, funded by Support Programme for Research and Academic Production of Faculty (ProPesquisa) of Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (EBAPE) of Getulio Vargas Foundation.

Growth and developmental outcomes of the extremely preterm infant

Objetive: To provide information for pediatricians and neonatologists to create realistic outcome expectations and thus help plan their actions. Sources of data: Searches were made of the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and Lilacs databases. Summary of the findings: The assessment of growth and development over the first 2-3 years must adjust chronological age with respect of the degree of prematurity. There is special concern regarding the prognoses of small for gestational age preterm infants, and for those with bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Attention must be directed towards improving the nutrition of extremely low birth weight infants during their first years of life; these infants have high prevalence levels of failure to catch-up on growth, diseases and rehospitalizations during their first 2 years. They are frequently underweight and shorter than expected during early childhood, but delayed catch-up growth may occur between 8 and 14 years. Extremely low birth weight infants are at increased risk of neurological abnormalities and developmental delays during their first years of life. Educational, psychological, and behavioral problems are frequent during school years. Teenage and adult outcomes show that although some performance differences persist, social integration is not impaired. Conclusions: The growth and neurodevelopment of all ELBW infants must be carefully monitored after discharge, to ensure that children and their families receive adequate support and intervention to optimize prognoses. Copyright © 2005 by Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria.