Relational learning in children with deafness and cochlear implants

This four-experiment series sought to evaluate the potential of children with neurosensory deafness and cochlear implants to exhibit auditory-visual and visual-visual stimulus equivalence relations within a matching-to-sample format. Twelve children who became deaf prior to acquiring language (prelingual) and four who became deaf afterwards (postlingual) were studied. All children learned auditory-visual conditional discriminations and nearly all showed emergent equivalence relations. Naming tests, conducted with a subset of the: children, showed no consistent relationship to the equivalence-test outcomes.. This study makes several contributions: to the literature on stimulus equivalence. First; it demonstrates that both pre- and postlingually deaf children-can: acquire auditory-visual equivalence-relations after cochlear implantation, thus demonstrating symbolic functioning. Second, it directs attention to a population that may be especially interesting for researchers seeking to analyze the relationship. between speaker and listener repertoires. Third, it demonstrates the feasibility of conducting experimental studies of stimulus control processes within the limitations of a hospital, which these children must visit routinely for the maintenance of their cochlear implants.

The determination of iron, lead, copper and zinc in the hair of children between 22 and 85 months old

In this study the levels of Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn, determined in hair of healthy children (25-85 months), living at Araraquara (São Paulo, Brasil) are reported. Analytical determinations were carried out by using atomic absorption spectrometry employing an air acetylene flame. The results obtained are discussed with regard to effect of sex and age, as well compared with others analogous studies.

Efficacy, safety and tolerability of terbinafine for Tinea capitis in children: Brazilian multicentric study with daily oral tablets for 1, 2 and 4 weeks

Background: Tinea capitis is a common skin disease seen predominantly in children. The standard therapies for this disease are griseofulvin and ketoconazole. Nevertheless, these drugs have drawbacks in that they are only fungistatic and require treatment for at least 6 weeks. Previous studies with oral terbinafine for the treatment of Tinea capitis have shown that this agent is effective when given for 4 weeks, comparable to an 8-week regimen with griseofulvin. To date there is no data on the use of oral terbinafine in Brazilian children. Objectives: To assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of oral terbinafine in short-term treatments (1-, 2- and 4-week treatment) of Tinea capitis in children. Patients and methods: One hundred and thirty-two children aged 1-14 years were enrolled in this study, but only 107 were considered for the final efficacy analysis. Diagnosis included clinical assessment and examination by Wood's light. Confirmation was obtained by direct microscopy and culture for fungus. Terbinafine dosage (125 or 250 mg/day) was adjusted according to patient weight. Efficacy was evaluated both by clinical and mycological assessment. Safety and tolerability variables included data on adverse reaction and clinical laboratory evaluations. Results: Mycological evaluation in the follow-up visit at week 12 showed negative direct microscopy and culture results in 48.6, 60.5 and 69.7% patients in groups 1-, 2- and 4-week, respectively (n.s.). At week 12, 84.8% patients in group 4-week achieved clinical cure with a significant difference compared to groups 1- and 2-week, 54.3 and 60.5%, respectively (P < 0.01). Adverse reactions were present in 4.8, 6.8 and 10.9% of patients in groups 1-, 2- and 4-week, respectively. Terbinafine was not associated with clinically relevant increases in liver function tests. Conclusions: Terbinafine is an effective, well tolerated and safe antifungal agent for the treatment of Tinea capitis m children. The shorter duration of treatment resulted in lower cure rates. However, it is important to note that depending on the severity of the disease, a 1-week-only treatment can also be effective in this indication.

Electromyographic muscle EMG activity in mouth and nasal breathing children

Mouth breathing may cause changes in muscle activity, because an upper airway obstruction leads may cause a person to extend his/her head forward, demanding a higher inspiratory effort on the accessory muscles (sternocleidomastoids). This purpose of this study is to compare, using electromyography (EMG), the activity pattern the sternocleidomastoid and upper trapezius muscles in mouth breathing children and nasal breathing children. Forty-six children, ages 8-12 years, 33 male and 13 female were included. The selected children were divided into two groups: Group I consisted of 26 mouth breathing children, and Group II, 20 nasal breathing children. EMG recordings were made using surface electrodes bilaterally in the areas of the sternocleidomastoideus and upper trapezius muscles, while relaxed and during maximal voluntary contraction. The data were analyzed using the Kruskall-Wallis statistical test. The results indicated higher activity during relaxation and lower activity during maximal voluntary contraction in mouth breathers when compared to the nasal breathers. It is suggested that the activity pattern of the sternocleidomastoid and upper trapezius muscles differs between mouth breathing children and nasal breathing children. This may be attributed to changes in body posture which causes muscular imbalance. Because of the limitations of surface EMG, the results need to be confirmed by adding force measurements and repeating the experiments with matched subjects. Copyright © 2004 by CHROMA, Inc.

Urinary fluoride excretion in children exposed to fluoride toothpaste and to different water fluoride levels in a tropical area of Brazil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the urinary fluoride excretion of 2- to 7-year-old children exposed to different water fluoride concentrations in the city of Catolé do Rocha, PB, Brazil. Forty-two children were allocated to 3 groups according to the concentration of fluoride in the water: G1 (n=10; 0.5-1.0 ppm F), G2 (n=17; 1.1-1.5 ppm F) and G3 (n= 15; >1.51 ppm F). The study was carried out in two 1-week phases with 1-month interval between the moments of data collection: in the first phase, the children used a fluoride toothpaste (FT) (1,510 ppm F) for 1 week, whereas in the second phase a non-fluoride toothpaste (NFT) was used. The urine was collected in a 24-h period in each week-phase according to Marthaler's protocol. The urinary fluoride excretion data expressed as mean (SD) in ì g/24 h were: G1-FT= 452.9 (290.2); G1-NFT= 435.1 (187.0); G2-FT= 451.4 (224.0); G2-NFT= 430.3 (352.5); G3-FT=592.3 (390.5); and G3-NFT=623.6 (408.7). There was no statistically significant difference between the water fluoride groups, and regardless of the week phase (ANOVA, p>0.05). The use of fluoride toothpaste (1,510 ppmF) did not promote an increase in urinary fluoride excretion. There was a trend, though not significant, as to the increase of urine fluoride concentration in relation to fluoride concentrations in the water. The excretion values suggest that some children are under risk to develop dental fluorosis and information about the appropriate use of fluoride is necessary in this area.

Prevalence of enamel white spots and risk factors in children up to 36 months old

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of enamel white spots and the quality of oral hygiene in children up to 36 months old, in municipalities with different fluoride levels in the water supply, analyzing the contribution of several variables. After approval of the Ethics Committee, the parents signed an informed consent form and were interviewed about their educational level, economic classification of the family, nursing habits, use of toothpaste, access to dental service and other information. The children were clinically examined using the same codes and criteria established by the WHO (World Health Organization) and ADA (American Dental Association). The data were processed and analyzed with the Epi-info software program, version 3.2, and Microsoft Excel. Fisher's exact test (p<0.05) was applied to assess the association among the variables. The enamel white spot prevalence was 30.8% and the age group, duration of the bedtime milk feeding habit, age of initial practice of oral hygiene and presence of caries lesions with cavitation were considered statistically significant with regard to enamel white spot prevalence (p < 0.05). No association was found between oral hygiene quality and the study variables. © 2009 Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa Odontológica.

Caries experience associated to social and preventive factors in children of a pastoral community from Limeira-SP

Aim: To evaluate caries experience and prevalence associated to social and preventive factors in 3-6-year-old children of a Pastoral Community from Limeira, Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out through an epidemiologic research about the oral conditions of 110 children registered at the Children's Pastoral Community from the city of Limeira, SP, Brazil. Intraoral examination was performed by a trained dentist and the parents/caregivers filled out a questionnaire in order to outline the children's profile with respect to gender, parental education and oral health. Results: Differences related to gender were not detected (p= 0.3404). The most frequent periods of breastfeeding were 0 to 2 months (36.36%) and 2 to 6 months (35.45%), corresponding to 71.81% of the cases. The time bottle feeding pointed to two most frequent categories: 1) more than 12 months (35.45%) and 2) between 2 and 6 months (22.63%). Regarding parental education, the majority of the sample has not completed primary school (38.32%). It was observed a larger number of decayed teeth in male children (63.39%). Caries experience was significantly higher in children who were breastfed for only 2 months of life (41.96%). Children that did not use baby bottle or did not use a baby bottle for more than 1 year presented a smaller dmft, corresponding to 29.17% and 28.33%, respectively. Time of use of bottle and pacifier presented a significant association (p<0.05). Conclusions: The implementation of adequate strategies and actions is needed to reinforce oral health conditions in risk groups.

Dynamic exercise versus tag game warm up: The acute effect on agility and vertical jump in children

Although dynamic and stretching exercises have been widely investigated, there is little information about warm up performed by tag games. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to verify the acute effect of dynamic exercises compared to a tag game warm up on agility and vertical jump in children. 25 boys and 24 girls participated in this study and performed the agility and vertical jump tests after warm up based on dynamic exercises or as a tag game lasting 10 min each in two different days randomly. Dynamic exercises warm up consisted in a run lasting 2.5 min followed by 2 series of 8 dynamic exercises lasting 10 seconds each interspersed with 20s of light run to recovery. Tag game warm up was performed by a tag game with two variations lasting 5 min each. The first variation there was a single cather, which aimed to get the other participants by touching hands. In the second part of the game, the rules were the same except that the participant that was caught had to help the catcher forming a team of catchers. Warm up intensity was monitored by OMNI perceived exertion scale. ANOVA 2x2 for repeated measures (Warm up x Sex) demonstrated no significant differences between dynamic exercises and tag game for agility and vertical jump (P>0.05) for boys and girls. Perceived exertion was significantly higher in tag game compared to dynamic exercises on girls (P<0.05). Both warm up models showed similar acute effects on agility and vertical jump in children. © Faculty of Education. University of Alicante.

Molar incisor hypomineralisation: Possible aetiological factors in children from urban and rural areas

Aim: To analyse factors potentially associated with molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) development. METHODS: A population-based study was carried out with 903 children aged from 6-12 years old, born and residing in rural and urban areas of the town of Botelhos, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Their mothers completed a structured medical history questionnaire, from pregnancy to the child's 3rd year of life. Two examiners evaluated children for MIH according to criteria suggested by the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry. Descriptive analyses of the data and odds ratios (OR) with 95% test-based confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. Chisquare test was used to evaluate the differences between groups. RESULTS: The prevalence of MIH in children from rural area (RA) was significantly higher than those from the urban area (UA) (24.9% versus 17.8%, p= 0.01). In urban children, neither significant associations with MIH nor medical problems were found. In rural children, however, MIH was significantly more common among those whose mothers had experienced medical problems during pregnancy (OR=2.11; 1.01-4.37 CI 95%; p=0.04), who had throat infections (OR=2.93; 1.47-5.87 CI 95%; p=0.01), who had high fever (OR=1.91; 1.07-3.39 CI 95%; p=0.02), and who had used amoxicillin associated with other antibiotics (OR=1.92; 1.02-3.62 CI 95%; p=0.04) during the first 3 years of life. CONCLUSION: This study suggests a link between MIH and health problems during pregnancy, as well as environmental factors.