The-202 A Allele of Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein-3 (IGFBP3) Promoter Polymorphism Is Associated with Higher IGFBP-3 Serum Levels and Better Growth Response to Growth Hormone Treatment in Patients with Severe Growth Hormone Deficiency

Context: Genetic factors that influence the response to recombinant human GH (rhGH) therapy remain mostly unknown. To date, only the GH receptor gene has been investigated. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the influence of a polymorphism in the IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) promoter region (-202 A/C) on circulating IGFBP-3 levels and growth response to rhGH therapy in children with GH deficiency (GHD). Design and Patients: -202 A/C IGFBP3 genotyping (rs2854744) was correlated with data of 71 children with severe GHD who remained prepubertal during the first year of rhGH treatment. Main Outcome Measures: We measured IGFBP-3 levels and first year growth velocity (GV) during rhGH treatment. Results: Clinical and laboratory data at the start of treatment were indistinguishable among patients with different -202 A/C IGFBP3 genotypes. Despite similar rhGH doses, patients homozygous for the A allele presented higher IGFBP-3 SD score levels and higher mean GV in the first year of rhGH treatment than patients with AC or CC genotypes (first year GV, AA = 13.0 +/- 2.1 cm/yr, AC = 11.4 +/- 2.5 cm/yr, and CC = 10.8 +/- 1.9 cm/yr; P = 0.016). Multiple linear regression analyses demonstrated that the influence of -202 A/C IGFBP3 genotype on IGFBP-3 levels and GV during the first year of rhGH treatment was independent of other variables. Conclusion: The -202 A allele of IGFBP3 promoter region is associated with increased IGFBP-3 levels and GV during rhGH treatment in prepubertal GHD children. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 94: 588-595, 2009)

Health-related quality of life in Australian children with asthma: lessons for the cross-cultural use of quality of life instruments

The development of Australian forms of the Childhood Asthma Questionnaires (CAQs) is reported. Focus group methods and psychometric analyses were used to establish the conceptual, semantic and technical equivalence of these forms with the UK versions. Both versions also provide for data collection from non-asthmatic youngsters. The internal consistency was found to be acceptable (Cronbach's alpha 0.52-0.90) and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores were found to vary with asthma severity (p < 0.05). Comparison with the UK data revealed that the non-asthmatic scores were higher for Australian than British children (p < 0.001) but that the scores for children with asthma did not differ between the two countries. It was only In the Australian sample that the group with asthma reported impaired HRQoL when compared to their healthy peers. These findings were interpreted in the context of cultural expectations of life quality and conclusions are presented regarding the importance of the gap between experience and expectations. The difficulties raised by the developmental and cultural issues inherent in paediatric HRQoL research were discussed. Qual. Life Res. 7:409-419 (C) 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers

Girls like pink: explaining sex-typed occupational aspirations amongst young children

There is a high degree of sex-typing in young children's occupational aspirations and this has consequences for subsequent occupational segregation. Sociologists typically attribute early sex-differences in occupational preferences to gender socialization. Yet we still know surprisingly little about the mechanisms involved in the intergenerational transmission of sex-typical preferences and there is considerable theoretical controversy regarding the role of individual agency in the process of preference formation. This study analyzes the determinants of sex-typed occupational aspirations amongst British children aged between 11 and 15. We specify different mechanisms involved in the transmission of sex-typical preferences and propose an innovative definition of individual agency that is anchored in observable psychological traits linked to self-direction. This allows us to perform a simultaneous test of socialization and agency predictors of occupational sex-typing. We find that parental influences on occupational preferences operate mainly through three distinctive channels: 1) the effect that parental socio-economic resources have on the scope of children's occupational aspirations, 2) children's direct imitation of parental occupations, and 3) children's learning of sex-typed roles via the observation of parental behavior. We also find a strong net effect of children's own psychological predispositions -self-esteem in particular- on the incidence of sex-typical occupational preferences. Yet large differences in the occupational aspirations of girls and boys remain unexplained.

Infant vocabulary development assessed with a British communicative development inventory

Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) were collected from 669 British children aged between 1;0 and 2;1. Comprehension and production scores in each age group are calculated. This provides norming data for the British infant population. The influence of socioeconomic group on vocabulary scores is considered and shown not to have a significant effect. The data from British infants is compared to data from American infants (Fenson, Dale, Reznick, Bates, Thal & Pethick, 1994). It is found that British infants have lower scores on both comprehension and production than American infants of the same age.

Implications of Extending the ADHD Age-of-Onset Criterion to Age 12: Results from a Prospectively Studied Birth Cohort

Objective: To evaluate whether including children with onset of symptoms between ages 7 and 12 years in the ADHD diagnostic category would: (a) increase the prevalence of the disorder at age 12, and (b) change the clinical and cognitive features, impairment profile, and risk factors for ADHD compared with findings in the literature based on the DSM-IV definition of the disorder. Method: A birth cohort of 2,232 British children was prospectively evaluated at ages 7 and 12 years for ADHD using information from mothers and teachers. The prevalence of diagnosed ADHD at age 12 was evaluated with and without the inclusion of individuals who met DSM-IV age-of-onset criterion through mothers` or teachers` reports of symptoms at age 7. Children with onset of ADHD symptoms before versus after age 7 were compared on their clinical and cognitive features, impairment profile, and risk factors for ADHD. Results: Extending the age-of-onset criterion to age 12 resulted in a negligible increase in ADHD prevalence by age 12 years of 0.1%. Children who first manifested ADHD symptoms between ages 7 and 12 did not present correlates or risk factors that were significantly different from children who manifested symptoms before age 7. Conclusions: Results from this prospective birth cohort might suggest that adults who are able to report symptom onset by age 12 also had symptoms by age 7, even if they are not able to report them. The data suggest that the prevalence estimate, correlates and risk factors of ADHD will not be affected if the new diagnostic scheme extends the age-of-onset criterion to age 12. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2010;49(3):210-216.

Recepció de literatura infantil i juvenil anglosaxona a la Catalunya noucentista: Treasure Island

Translation during the noucentisme was a very important resource for standardising the modern Catalan language and for filling in the historical gaps of Catalan Literature. The literati of the noucentisme looked to Europe to find works that had similar ideals to their own and that could be presented in Catalonia to educate and instruct its new generations. The translation of children and young adults’ literature, therefore, formed a major part of the project. Together with the best writers and illustrators of the period and the support of the publishing industry, the golden era in the history of children and young adults’ literature emerged. In this project our aim is to study the reception of British children and young adults’ literature during the noucentisme. This will be done by using Treasure Island and two of its translations, the first of which is from 1926 by Joan Arús and the second from 2008 by Joan Sellent. Cultural references and the illustrations will be analysed, and we shall ascertain whether the two translators and illustrators used domesticating or foreignising strategies and whether they followed the tendencies of translation of children and young adults’ literature.

Polimorfismos del gen Butirilcolinesterasa responsables de reacciones adversas en pacientes consumidores de “cocaína”

La butirilcolinesterasa humana (BChE; EC 3.1.1.8) es una enzima polimórfica sintetizada en el hígado y en el tejido adiposo, ampliamente distribuida en el organismo y encargada de hidrolizar algunos ésteres de colina como la procaína, ésteres alifáticos como el ácido acetilsalicílico, fármacos como la metilprednisolona, el mivacurium y la succinilcolina y drogas de uso y/o abuso como la heroína y la cocaína. Es codificada por el gen BCHE (OMIM 177400), habiéndose identificado más de 100 variantes, algunas no estudiadas plenamente, además de la forma más frecuente, llamada usual o silvestre. Diferentes polimorfismos del gen BCHE se han relacionado con la síntesis de enzimas con niveles variados de actividad catalítica. Las bases moleculares de algunas de esas variantes genéticas han sido reportadas, entre las que se encuentra las variantes Atípica (A), fluoruro-resistente del tipo 1 y 2 (F-1 y F-2), silente (S), Kalow (K), James (J) y Hammersmith (H). En este estudio, en un grupo de pacientes se aplicó el instrumento validado Lifetime Severity Index for Cocaine Use Disorder (LSI-C) para evaluar la gravedad del consumo de “cocaína” a lo largo de la vida. Además, se determinaron Polimorfismos de Nucleótido Simple (SNPs) en el gen BCHE conocidos como responsables de reacciones adversas en pacientes consumidores de “cocaína” mediante secuenciación del gen y se predijo el efecto delos SNPs sobre la función y la estructura de la proteína, mediante el uso de herramientas bio-informáticas. El instrumento LSI-C ofreció resultados en cuatro dimensiones: consumo a lo largo de la vida, consumo reciente, dependencia psicológica e intento de abandono del consumo. Los estudios de análisis molecular permitieron observar dos SNPs codificantes (cSNPs) no sinónimos en el 27.3% de la muestra, c.293A>G (p.Asp98Gly) y c.1699G>A (p.Ala567Thr), localizados en los exones 2 y 4, que corresponden, desde el punto de vista funcional, a la variante Atípica (A) [dbSNP: rs1799807] y a la variante Kalow (K) [dbSNP: rs1803274] de la enzima BChE, respectivamente. Los estudios de predicción In silico establecieron para el SNP p.Asp98Gly un carácter patogénico, mientras que para el SNP p.Ala567Thr, mostraron un comportamiento neutro. El análisis de los resultados permite proponer la existencia de una relación entre polimorfismos o variantes genéticas responsables de una baja actividad catalítica y/o baja concentración plasmática de la enzima BChE y algunas de las reacciones adversas ocurridas en pacientes consumidores de cocaína.

Percentiles de circunferencia de cintura en escolares de Bogotá, Colombia Estudio FUPRECOL

Objetivo: Determinar la distribución por percentiles de la circunferencia de cintura en una población escolar de Bogotá, Colombia, pertenecientes al estudio FUPRECOL. Métodos: Estudio transversal, realizado en 3.005 niños y 2.916 adolescentes de entre 9 y 17,9 años de edad, de Bogotá, Colombia. Se tomaron medidas de peso, talla, circunferencia de cintura, circunferencia de cadera y estado de maduración sexual por auto-reporte. Se calcularon los percentiles (P3, P10, P25, P50, P75, P90 y P97) y curvas centiles según sexo y edad. Se realizó una comparación entre los valores de la circunferencia de cintura observados con estándares internacionales. Resultados: De la población general (n=5.921), el 57,0% eran chicas (promedio de edad 12,7±2,3 años). En la mayoría de los grupos etáreos la circunferencia de cintura de las chicas fue inferior a la de los chicos. El aumento entre el P50-P97 de la circunferencia de cintura , por edad, fue mínimo de 15,7 cm en chicos de 9-9.9 años y de 16,0 cm en las chicas de 11-11.9 años. Al comparar los resultados de este estudio, por grupos de edad y sexo, con trabajos internacionales de niños y adolescentes, el P50 fue inferior al reportado en Perú e Inglaterra a excepción de los trabajos de la India, Venezuela (Mérida), Estados Unidos y España. Conclusiones: Se presentan percentiles de la circunferencia de cintura según edad y sexo que podrán ser usados de referencia en la evaluación del estado nutricional y en la predicción del riesgo cardiovascular desde edades tempranas.

Child anxiety and parenting in England and Italy: the moderating role of maternal warmth

BACKGROUND: Parenting factors have been implicated in the aetiology and maintenance of child anxiety. Most research has been correlational with little experimental or longitudinal work. Cross-cultural comparison could be illuminating. A comparison of Italian and British children and their mothers was conducted. METHODS: A sample of 8- to 10-year old children, 60 Italian and 49 English, completed the Spence Child Anxiety Scale. Mothers also completed two questionnaires of parenting: the Skills of Daily Living Checklist (assessing maternal autonomy granting) and the Parent-Child Interaction Questionnaire (assessing maternal intrusiveness). Parenting was assessed in two video-recorded blindly rated mother-child interaction tasks, the 'belt-buckling tasks and the 'etch-a-sketch', providing objective indices of overcontrol, warmth, lack of autonomy granting, and overprotection. RESULTS: There were no differences between the children in overall anxiety and specific forms of anxiety. Parenting, however, was markedly different for the two countries. Compared to English mothers, on the two questionnaires, Italian mothers were significantly less autonomy granting and more intrusive; and in terms of the observed indices, a significantly greater proportion of the Italian mothers displayed a high level of both overprotection and overcontrol, and a low level of autonomy granting. Notably, Italian mothers evidenced significantly more warmth than English mothers; and maternal warmth was found to moderate the impact of self-reported maternal intrusiveness on the level of both overall child anxiety and the level of child separation anxiety; and it also moderated the relationship between both observed maternal intrusiveness and overall child anxiety and observed maternal overprotectiveness and child separation anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Although, compared to the British mothers, the Italian mothers were more likely to evidence high levels of parenting behaviours previously found to be anxiogenic, the high levels of warmth displayed by these mothers to their children appears to have neutralised the adverse impact of these behaviours.

Does the PMSP connectionist model of single word reading learn to read in the same way as a child?

The Plaut, McClelland, Seidenberg and Patterson (1996) connectionist model of reading was evaluated at two points early in its training against reading data collected from British children on two occasions during their first year of literacy instruction. First, the network’s non-word reading was poor relative to word reading when compared with the children. Second, the network made more non-lexical than lexical errors, the opposite pattern to the children. Three adaptations were made to the training of the network to bring it closer to the learning environment of a child: an incremental training regime was adopted; the network was trained on grapheme– phoneme correspondences; and a training corpus based on words found in children’s early reading materials was used. The modifications caused a sharp improvement in non-word reading, relative to word reading, resulting in a near perfect match to the children’s data on this measure. The modified network, however, continued to make predominantly non-lexical errors, although evidence from a small-scale implementation of the full triangle framework suggests that this limitation stems from the lack of a semantic pathway. Taken together, these results suggest that, when properly trained, connectionist models of word reading can offer insights into key aspects of reading development in children.

Dying young: a palaeopathological analysis of child health in Roman Britain

Children represent the most vulnerable members of society, and as such provide valuable insight into past lifeways. Adverse environmental conditions translate more readily into the osteological record of children, making them primary evidence for the investigation of ill-health in the past. To date, most information on growing up in Roman Britain has been based on the Classical literature, or discussed in palaeopathological studies with a regional focus, e.g. Dorset or Durnovaria. Thus, the lifestyles and everyday realities of children throughout Britannia remained largely unknown. This study sets out to fill this gap by providing the first large scale analysis of Romano-British children from town and country. The palaeopathological analysis of 1643 non-adult (0-17 years) skeletons, compiled from the literature (N=690) and primary osteological analysis (N=953), from 27 urban and rural settlements has highlighted diverse patterns in non-adult mortality and morbidity. The distribution of ages-at-death suggest that older children and adolescents migrated from country to town, possibly for commencing their working lives. True prevalence rates suggest that caries (1.8%) and enamel hypoplasia (11.4%) were more common in children from major urban towns, whereas children in the countryside displayed higher frequencies of scurvy (6.9%), cribra orbitalia (27.7%), porotic hyperostosis (6.2%) and endocranial lesions (10.9%). Social inequality in late Roman Britain may have been the driving force behind these urban-rural dichotomies. The results may point to exploitation of the peasantry on the one hand, and higher status of the urban population as a more ‘Romanised’ group on the other. Comparison with Iron Age and post-medieval non-adults also demonstrated a decline in health in the Roman period, with some levels of ill-health, particularly in the rural children, similar to those from post-medieval London. This research provides the most comprehensive study of non-adult morbidity and mortality in Roman Britain to date. It has provided new insights into Romano-British lifeways and presents suggestions for further work.

Niveles de actividad física en los periodos de recreo de niños y adolescentes en un colegio distrital de Bogotá

Objetivo: determinar los niveles de actividad física (AF) de niños y adolescentes entre 10 y 17 años durante los periodos de recreo escolar en un colegio distrital de Bogotá. Método: estudio de corte transversal en un colegio distrital de la localidad de Puente Aranda en Bogotá. Fueron observados a través del sistema de observación de juego y de actividad en el tiempo libre en jóvenes (SOPLAY) los niveles y tipos de AF de niños y adolescentes en los periodos de recreo durante tres semanas, utilizando una condición de observación diferente para cada semana. Adicionalmente, las condiciones del contexto de las áreas recreo deportivas fueron evaluadas. Resultados: las prevalencias de escolares sedentarios fueron de 52,4 %, 77,3 % y 64,9 % durante la 1ª, 2ª y 3ª semana respectivamente. El sexo femenino fue más sedentario con el masculino (57 %, 82 % y 73 % vs 45 %, 70 % y 54 %) para cada semana observada. Se obtuvieron diferencias significativas (p<0,05) en los niveles de AF de los escolares. Conclusión: niños y adolescentes presentan elevadas prevalencias de sedentarismo siendo las actividades más frecuentes estar sentado, de pie o acostado durante los periodos de recreo. El sexo masculino mostró porcentajes superiores de participación en AF moderadas vigorosas. Las áreas recreo deportivas no contaban con condiciones del contexto relacionadas con disponibilidad de equipamiento para realizar AF ni existencia de actividades organizadas. Son necesarios programas e intervenciones eficaces que promuevan la AF en niños y adolescentes durante el recreo de la jornada escolar.