Essential and toxic elements in infant foods from Spain, UK, China and USA

Spanish gluten-free rice, cereals with gluten, and pureed baby foods were analysed for essential macro-elements (Ca and Na), essential trace elements (Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Se, Cr, Co and Ni) and non-essential trace elements (As, Pb, Cd and Hg) using ICP-MS and AAS. Baby cereals were an excellent source of most of the essential elements (Ca, Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn). Sodium content was high in pureed foods to improve their flavour; fish products were also rich in Se. USA pure baby rice samples had the highest contents of all studied essential elements, showing a different nutrient pattern compared to those of other countries. Mineral fortification was not always properly stated in the labelling of infant foods. Complementary infant foods may also contain significant amounts of contaminants. The contents of Hg and Cd were low enough to guarantee the safety of these infant foods. However, it will be necessary to identify the source and reduce the levels of Pb, Cr and As in Spanish foods. Pure baby rice samples contained too much: Pb in Spain; As in UK; As, Cr and Ni in USA; and Cr and Cd in China.

Inorganic arsenic contents in rice-based infant foods from Spain, UK, China and USA

Spanish gluten-free rice, cereals with gluten, and pureed baby foods were analysed for total (t-As) and inorganic As (i-As) using ICP-MS and HPLC-ICP-MS, respectively. Besides, pure infant rice from China, USA, UK and Spain were also analysed. The i-As contents were significantly higher in gluten-free rice than in cereals mixtures with gluten, placing infants with celiac disease at high risk. All rice-based products displayed a high i-As content, with values being above 60% of the t-As content and the remainder being dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). Approximately 77% of the pure infant rice samples showed contents below 150 µg kg(-1) (Chinese limit). When daily intake of i-As by infants (4-12 months) was estimated and expressed on a bodyweight basis (µg d(-1) kg(-1)), it was higher in all infants aged 8-12 months than drinking water maximum exposures predicted for adults (assuming 1 L consumption per day for a 10 µg L(-1) standard).

Arsenic limits Trace Mineral Nutrition (Selenium, Zinc, and Nickel) in Bangladesh Rice Grain

A reconnaissance of 23 paddy fields, from three Bangladesh districts, encompassing a total of 230 soil and rice plant samples was conducted to identify the extent to which trace element characteristics in soils and irrigation waters are reflected by the harvested rice crop. Field sites were located on two soil physiographic units with distinctly different As soil baseline and groundwater concentrations. For arsenic (As), both straw and grain trends closely fitted patterns observed for the soils and water. Grain concentration characteristics for selenium (Se), zinc (Zn), and nickel (Ni), however, were markedly different. Regressions of shoot and grain As against grain Se, Zn, and Ni were highly significant (P <0.001), exhibiting a pronounced decline in grain trace-nutrient quality with increasing As content. To validate this further, a pot experiment cultivar screening trial, involving commonly cultivated high yielding variety (HYV) rice grown alongside two U.S. rice varieties characterized as being As tolerant and susceptible, was conducted on an As-amended uniform soil. Findings from the trial confirmed that As perturbed grain metal(loid) balances, resulting in severe yield reductions in addition to constraining the levels of Se, Zn, and Ni in the grain.

Score for neonatal acute physiology-II and neonatal pain predict corticospinal tract development in premature newborns

Premature infants are at risk for adverse motor outcomes, including cerebral palsy and developmental coordination disorder. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of antenatal, perinatal, and postnatal risk factors for abnormal development of the corticospinal tract, the major voluntary motor pathway, during the neonatal period. In a prospective cohort study, 126 premature neonates (24-32 weeks' gestational age) underwent serial brain imaging near birth and at term-equivalent age. With diffusion tensor tractography, mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy of the corticospinal tract were measured to reflect microstructural development. Generalized estimating equation models examined associations of risk factors on corticospinal tract development. The perinatal risk factor of greater early illness severity (as measured by the Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology-II [SNAP-II]) was associated with a slower rise in fractional anisotropy of the corticospinal tract (P = 0.02), even after correcting for gestational age at birth and postnatal risk factors (P = 0.009). Consistent with previous findings, neonatal pain adjusted for morphine and postnatal infection were also associated with a slower rise in fractional anisotropy of the corticospinal tract (P = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). Lessening illness severity in the first hours of life might offer potential to improve motor pathway development in premature newborns.

Physiological correlates of memory recall in infancy:vagal tone, cortisol, and imitation in preterm and full-term infants at 6 months

We examined the role of physiological regulation (heart rate, vagal tone, and salivary cortisol) in short-term memory in preterm and full-term 6-month-old infants. Using a deferred imitation task to evaluate social learning and memory recall, an experimenter modeled three novel behaviors (removing, shaking, and replacing a glove) on a puppet. Infants were tested immediately after being shown the behaviors as well as following a 10-min delay. We found that greater suppression of vagal tone was related to better memory recall in full-term infants tested immediately after the demonstration as well as in preterm infants tested later after a 10-min delay. We also found that preterm infants showed greater coordination of physiology (i.e., tighter coupling of vagal tone, heart rate, and cortisol) at rest and during retrieval than full-term infants. These findings provide new evidence of the important links between changes in autonomic activity and memory recall in infancy. They also raise the intriguing possibility that social learning, imitation behavior, and the formation of new memories are modulated by autonomic activity that is coordinated differently in preterm and full-term infants.

Is it painful or not?:Discriminant validity of the Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP) scale

To evaluate the ability of the Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP) scale to discriminate between skin-breaking and nonskin breaking procedures, and to identify sensitized pain responses in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Initial validation of the Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP)

Accurate pain assessment in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is complex. Infants who are born at early gestational ages (GA), and who have had greater early pain exposure, have dampened facial responses which may lead to under-treatment. Since behavioral and physiological responses to pain in infants are often dissociated, using multidimensional scales which combine these indicators into a single score may limit our ability to determine the effects of interventions on each system. Our aim was to design a unidimensional scale which would combine the relatively most specific, individual, behavioral indicators for assessing acute pain in this population. The Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP) combines sleep/wake states, 5 facial actions and 2 hand actions. Ninety-two infants born between 23 and 32 weeks GA were assessed during 3, 1 min Phases of blood collection. Outcome measures included changes in BIIP and in Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) scores coded in real time from continuous bedside video recordings; changes in heart rate (HR) were obtained using custom physiological processing software. Scores on the BIIP changed significantly across Phases of blood collection (p

Neonatal procedural pain and preterm infant cortisol response to novelty at 8 months

Stress systems may be altered in the long term in preterm infants for multiple reasons, including early exposure to procedural pain in neonatal intensive care. This question has received little attention beyond hospital discharge. Stress responses (cortisol) to visual novelty in preterm infants who were born at extremely low gestational age (ELGA; <or =28 weeks), very low gestational age (VLGA; 29-32 weeks), and term were compared at 8 months of age corrected for prematurity (corrected chronological age [CCA]). In addition, among the preterm infants, we evaluated whether cortisol levels at 8 months were related to neonatal exposure to procedural pain and morphine in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Prenatal exposure to maternal depression, neonatal methylation of human glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) and infant cortisol stress responses

In animal models, variations in early maternal care are associated with differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal(HPA) stress response in the offspring, mediated via changes in the epigenetic regulation of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene (Nr3c1) expression.

Session 4: Getting balanced nutrition messages across Nutrition communication: consumer perceptions and predicting intentions

Health claims on food products, which aim at informing the public about the health benefits of the product, represent one type of nutrition communication; the use of these is regulated by the European Union. This paper provides an overview of the research on health claims, including consumers' perceptions of such claims and their intention to buy products that carry health-related claims. This is followed by a discussion on the results from some recent studies investigating public perceptions and willingness to use products with health claims. In these studies, claims are presented in the form of messages of different lengths, types, framing, with and without qualifying words and symbols. They also investigate how perceptions and intentions are affected by individual needs and product characteristics. Results show that adding health claims to products does increase their perceived healthiness. Claim structure was found to make a difference to perceptions, but its influence depended on the level of relevance, familiarity and individuals' need for information. Further, the type of health benefit proposed and the base product used also affected perceptions of healthiness. The paper concludes that while healthiness perceptions relating to products with health claims may vary between men and women, old and young and between countries, the main factor influencing perceived healthiness and intention to buy a product with health claim is personal relevance.

Consequences of infant maltreatment on child wellbeing

Child maltreatment is a major public health and social welfare problem. Evidence consistently shows that infants under one are more at risk of fatal injury, physical abuse and neglect than any other age group, mainly because they are almost completely dependent on others for their overall wellbeing and development. This article discusses the impact of infant maltreatment on children's health and wellbeing. It highlights the sizeable body of literature on the relationship between types of infant maltreatment and a variety of negative developmental, health and mental health consequences