孤独症谱系障碍儿童情绪表达能力干预系统研制

大量研究表明,通过干预孤独症谱系障碍(Autism Spectrum Disorder,ASD)儿童情绪能力,可以提高其移情能力从而改善核心症状--社交交往障碍。随着ASD儿童人数逐年上升,对干预的需求日益增大。目前国内外对于ASD儿童情绪能力的系统干预研究较少,主要研究均集中在表情识别这一层面。本文结合视频分析,自动表情识别算法,Flash技术,设计交互式虚拟场景游戏,研发一个面向ASD儿童的情绪能力干预的系统。该系统可以训练儿童的表情识别能力,还可以训练儿童对表情的模仿和表达,具有实用性,方便推广。     

便携式运动能力检测系统的研制

目的:检测儿童的平衡能力和下肢力量,研究评估儿童运动能力的相关指标。方法:设计了一套便携式运动能力检测系统,检测儿童的平衡能力和下肢力量。本系统由运动能力检测设备和上位机数据分析存储展示部分组成。结果:研制的便携式运动能力检测系统具有可穿戴、功耗低等优点,能够准确地记录儿童的运动数据。结论:便携式运动能力检测系统能够检测使用者在运动过程中的平衡数据和下肢力量数据,及时发现运动能力的缺陷,为儿童的日常生活和锻炼提供参考。     

孤独症的感知特征——首先感知局部细节

正本月正式发表的,由Robertson和Baron-Cohen撰写的《孤独症的感知》(Sensory perception in autism)一文,对孤独症的感觉信息加工和神经机制进行了探讨,强调了孤独症在感觉信息加工方面的特征,同时,也讨论了感知特征作为孤独症的诊断标准~([1]).文章指出,在视觉行为的检测方面,孤独症往往表现出"只见树木,不见森林"的特征.他们注     

音乐训练影响儿童语音意识的认知神经机制

音乐是一种听觉艺术形式，在儿童教育和发展中，尤其是语言能力发展中扮演着重要角色。语音意识是个体感知识别、分析和运用语音的能力，是预测儿童语言读写能力的重要指标。本文梳理了近十年来音乐训练影响儿童语音意识的研究证据，并讨论了音乐训练可能促进语音意识的神经基础和解释模型。大量研究表明，音乐训练可以在行为水平提高儿童在语音意识测量任务上的成绩。此外，音乐训练从两方面影响语音加工的神经基础：一方面通过影响皮层下基本听觉神经通路与大脑听觉皮层，促进儿童前注意水平的语音感知能力；另一方面通过影响语音加工大脑区域间的功能连接，促进语音编码，强化语音加工的听觉-运动整合功能。相关神经机制为音乐训练促进儿童的语音意识提供了生物学基础。基于已有研究，本文提出综合的层级模型对音乐训练影响儿童语音意识的认知神经机制进行系统的解释，该模型认为音乐训练影响语音意识的认知神经机制分为3个层级：第一层级，音乐训练通过影响基本听觉神经通路促进了语音的基本听觉加工，其中节奏训练促进对语音时长信息的感知，音高训练促进对语音频率信息的感知；第二层级，音乐训练通过影响语音加工的神经网络，进一步促进语音编码，其中节奏训练主要促进辅音、韵脚和音节的识别和编码，音高训练促进元音、韵脚和音节的识别和编码；第三层级，音乐训练通过增强听觉与运动脑区之间的信息整合，增强语音运动表征，以及听觉-运动整合能力，进一步提高了语音表征的质量。该领域的研究不但可以揭示人类语言发展的认知神经机制，而且在儿童教育领域具有非常重要的现实意义和应用价值。     

便携式上肢运动协调性检测系统设计与实现

目的:研究人体上肢协调性运动的相关指标,以此来检测儿童先天性发育不良以及预防老年人的协调性相关疾病等问题。方法:本文设计了一种上肢协调性运动检测系统,检测被试的上肢运动状态,研究其协调性运动指标。本系统由运动感知单元、PC机端的控制台以及协调性运动指标数据分析组成。结果:利用该系统检测被试的运动协调性,给出了被试的准确性运动指标0.23以及协同性运动指标0.18。结论:经试验该系统对检测上肢的运动协调性有帮助,且方便携带与操作。     

体能训练对宜昌市西陵区儿童体质发育的影响

目的:评价体能训练对儿童体质发育的影响,探索能促进儿童体质发育的训练模式。方法:整群随机抽取宜昌市西陵区4所幼儿园,将儿童随机分成试验组和对照组,最终纳入试验组312人,对照组301人。试验组儿童进行为期1年的各项体质训练干预,对照组儿童给予常规教学。比较训练前后儿童各项体质指标、出勤率及近视率。结果:经过1年干预训练后,两组各年龄组儿童在身高、体重形态指标上无显著性差异(P0.05);素质指标中,与对照组相比,试验组各年龄组儿童在10 m折返跑、立定跳远、网球掷远、双脚连续跳、坐位前体屈5个项目上组间差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05);而在走平衡木项目上,只有7岁年龄段组间差异有统计学意义(P0.05);试验组出勤优秀率显著高于对照组(P0.05);两组近视率在干预前后差异均无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:开展儿童体质训练能够促进儿童体质发育,应在各幼儿园广泛推广。     

听力障碍青少年治疗过程心理干预对患儿语言能力恢复和心境状态的影响

摘要 目的：探讨听力障碍青少年治疗过程心理干预对患儿语言能力恢复和心境状态的影响。方法：选取我院2019年6月到2020年6月共收治的80例7~18岁听力障碍青少年作为研究对象,将患儿随机分为观察组与对照组,每组40例。对所有患儿应用人工耳蜗植入术进行治疗,给予对照组常规言语训练以及健康教育等干预。观察组患儿在常规干预基础上增加全治疗过程的心理干预。对比两组患儿的治疗效果,语言能力恢复,心境状态,ABC评分。结果：观察组患儿治疗的总有效率为92.50%,对照组患儿治疗的总有效率为75.00%,观察组高于对照组（P＜0.05）;两组患儿干预前的言语形成、听觉能力以及听觉感知对比无明显差异（P＞0.05）,两组患儿通过治疗与干预之后,言语形成、听觉能力以及听觉感知明显提升,且观察组评分高于对照组（P＜0.05）;两组患儿干预前的精神、控制、能力、忍受消极情感以及接受变化对比无明显差异（P＞0.05）,两组患儿通过治疗与干预之后,精神、控制、能力、忍受消极情感以及接受变化明显降低,且观察组评分低于对照组（P＜0.05）;两组干预前的兴奋、易激怒、刻板行为以及不恰当语言等评分比较无统计学意义（P＞0.05）,两组患儿干预后,各评分均下降,其中观察组小于对照组,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。结论：对听力障碍青少年在常规治疗与干预基础上增加心理干预,能够提升患儿的治疗效果,提升语言能力恢复情况,减少负面情绪,提升患儿的心境状态,值得临床应用推广。     

粪微生态制品移植治疗孤独症病例报道

目的孤独症(autism spectrum disorders,ASD)发病机制不明,患病率逐渐增多,缺乏客观诊断指标,常规治疗主要依靠教育和行为训练,但效果十分有限。本研究通过胃肠镜粪微生态制品移植(fecal microbiota transplantation,FMT)治疗儿童孤独症1例,探索其疗效和可行性。方法参照本课题组报道的方法,收集通过严格筛选的供体粪便,体外制备粪微生态制品。孤独症患儿,男性,8岁,确诊孤独症5年余,合并功能性消化不良症状。静脉麻醉下,分别经胃镜、肠镜行粪微生态制品大肠和小肠注入。以临床评价、患儿的生活行为观察(来自患儿主要照顾者),孤独症行为评定检查表(autism behaviorchecklist,ABC),儿童期孤独症评定量表(childhood autism rating scale,CARS)进行治疗前后评估和对比。结果治疗前患儿ABC量表评分为112分,CARS量表积分为38分;治疗后8周,ABC量表评分降低至76分,CARS量表积分降低至32分,积分改善非常显著。语言、沟通、感觉、运动、自我照顾的各项能力整体提高,同时患儿在睡眠障碍、胃肠道症状、情绪方面有明显改善,尤其是胃肠道症状(呃逆)显著缓解。结论粪微生态制品移植对该例孤独症患儿的治疗,疗效明显,未见明显副反应,提示粪微生态制品移植对孤独症患儿可能是一种潜在的新疗法,但其长期疗效、不良反应有待多样本的深入研究。     

鸽子在动物机器人领域的研究进展

鸽子具有集群和归巢习性,善于远途负重与持续飞行,导航和空间认知能力卓越,近年来被广泛应用于动物机器人研究。鸽子机器人通过对鸽子脑内特定的神经靶点施加神经信息干预以实现运动行为控制。本文根据鸽脑内的分层多级神经调控靶点分布,分别对基于感觉系统、动机和情绪系统或皮层以及中脑运动区的鸽子机器人研究进展进行分类综述,以期为进一步利用鸽子机器人开展空间感知、侦察勘测和反恐搜救等应用研究提供参考和指导。     

社交沟通问卷在孤独症谱系障碍一级筛查中的应用

孤独症谱系障碍是一类以社会交往障碍为核心表现的儿童脑发育疾病.近年来,孤独症谱系障碍的早期筛查已得到广泛的研究.本研究旨在探讨社交沟通问卷在孤独症谱系障碍一级筛查中的应用情况.选取上海市4家幼儿园的学龄前期儿童作为筛查对象,运用社交沟通问卷对其进行孤独症谱系障碍的筛查.结果发现,2名儿童为孤独症谱系障碍疑似患儿,疑似患病率为2.3/1000.选择孤独症谱系障碍患儿为病例组,所有参与问卷一级筛查的非孤独症儿童为对照组,计算问卷的灵敏度和特异度.结果显示,问卷灵敏度和特异度分别为0.74和0.93.对问卷得分在普通人群中的分布及问卷项目的回答模式进行分析,结果发现,普通人群中社会沟通能力问卷(SCQ)总分为0~20,x为8.74±3.9,呈近似正态分布.超过70%的对照组儿童在SCQ量表一些问题的评定上呈孤独症阳性并且项目回答阳性率高于病例组.综上所述,SCQ手册所推荐的问卷截断值可能并不适合于一级筛查,适当降低问卷的截断值可能会提高问卷的有效性.问卷中的一些项目并不能很好地区分孤独症谱系障碍儿童和其他儿童.     

Care Giver Perception of Children's Obesity‐Related Health Risk: A Study of African American Families

Objective: To examine care giver perception of children's weight‐related health risk in African American families. Research Methods and Procedures: One‐hundred and eleven families (representing 48 boys and 63 girls) screened for participation in a diabetes prevention study participated. Care givers completed a health awareness questionnaire that assessed their perception of the child's weight, eating habits, appearance, exercise habits, and health risk. The care givers also reported each subject's family history of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. After a physical examination, height and weight were used to compute an age‐ and sex‐adjusted body mass index for each child. Results: Despite the fact that a substantial number of children were obese (57%) and super‐obese (12%), only 44% of the care givers perceived the child's weight to be a potential health problem. Regression analysis showed that 21% of the variance in parental perception of obesity‐related health risk could be predicted by child age, body mass index, perception of frame size, and perception of exercise habits. Discussion: A number of reasons for the apparent minimization of child health risk are discussed, including cultural differences in the acceptance of a large body habitus, lack of knowledge about the connection between childhood obesity and future health risk, and an optimistic bias in the perception of personal health risk.     

Predictors of accurate maternal perception of their preschool child's weight status among Hispanic WIC participants

Childhood obesity is a growing problem in the United States. Parental perception of their children's weight status is a key factor that needs to be considered when developing prevention programs for preschool children. Using a randomly selected sample of participants of Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Los Angeles County, we assessed accuracy of maternal perceptions of their children's weight status by comparing children's weight classification to the mothers' response to the question “Do you consider your child to be overweight, underweight or about right weight for (his) (her) height?” Additionally, we identified possible predictors of accurate maternal perception of their children's weight status by conducting a logistic regression model with child's gender, child's birth weight, maternal age, maternal BMI, maternal education, maternal acculturation level, and maternal language preference as potential predictors. Almost all mothers in the study classified their overweight or obese child as being about the right weight (93.6% and 77.5% of mothers, respectively). Maternal BMI and child's birth weight were the only predictors of maternal perception of their child's weight. Both were negatively associated with accuracy, with higher maternal BMI and higher infant birthweight associated with less accurate maternal perception of child weight. Parents need to be educated on the importance of childhood obesity and how to identify if their children are overweight or obese. If parents fail to recognize that their overweight child is overweight, then it is unlikely that they will recognize that interventions targeting obesity are relevant to their families.     

Randomised comparison of the effectiveness and costs of community and hospital based mental health services for children with behavioural disorders

ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that a community based intervention by secondary child and adolescent mental health services would be significantly more effective and less costly than a hospital based intervention.DesignOpen study with two randomised parallel groups.SettingTwo health districts in the north of England.ParticipantsParents of 3 to 10 year old children with behavioural disorder who had been referred to child and adolescent mental health services.InterventionParental education groups.Results141 subjects were randomised to community (n=72) or hospital (n=69) treatment. Primary outcome data were obtained on 115 (82%) cases a year later. Intention to treat analyses showed no significant differences between the community and hospital based groups on any of the outcome measures, or on costs. Parental depression was common and predicted the child''s outcome.ConclusionsLocation of child mental health services may be less important than the range of services that they provide, which should include effective treatment for parents'' mental health problems.     

A Method to Quantify Visual Information Processing in Children Using Eye Tracking

Visual problems that occur early in life can have major impact on a child''s development. Without verbal communication and only based on observational methods, it is difficult to make a quantitative assessment of a child''s visual problems. This limits accurate diagnostics in children under the age of 4 years and in children with intellectual disabilities. Here we describe a quantitative method that overcomes these problems. The method uses a remote eye tracker and a four choice preferential looking paradigm to measure eye movement responses to different visual stimuli. The child sits without head support in front of a monitor with integrated infrared cameras. In one of four monitor quadrants a visual stimulus is presented. Each stimulus has a specific visual modality with respect to the background, e.g., form, motion, contrast or color. From the reflexive eye movement responses to these specific visual modalities, output parameters such as reaction times, fixation accuracy and fixation duration are calculated to quantify a child''s viewing behavior. With this approach, the quality of visual information processing can be assessed without the use of communication. By comparing results with reference values obtained in typically developing children from 0-12 years, the method provides a characterization of visual information processing in visually impaired children. The quantitative information provided by this method can be advantageous for the field of clinical visual assessment and rehabilitation in multiple ways. The parameter values provide a good basis to: (i) characterize early visual capacities and consequently to enable early interventions; (ii) compare risk groups and follow visual development over time; and (iii), construct an individual visual profile for each child.     

Childhood Obesity: Do Parents Recognize This Health Risk?

Objective: This study examined parents’ understanding of excess weight as a health risk, knowledge of healthy eating habits, and recognition of obesity in their children. Research Methods and Procedures: An anonymous questionnaire was distributed during well‐care visits involving children 4 to 8 years of age at a pediatric faculty practice. Parents indicated their level of concern about excess weight and other familiar health risks using a four‐point Likert scale, answered multiple‐choice questions concerning healthy eating patterns, and communicated their perceptions about their child's weight using a visual analog scale. A parent's perception was considered “accurate” if it deviated from the child's growth chart percentile by <30 points. Results: Of the 83 parents surveyed, 23% (19/83) had overweight children (≥95th percentile of age‐ and gender‐specific BMI growth charts). These parents did not differ from other parents in their level of concern about excess weight as a health risk or in their knowledge of healthy eating patterns, but the two groups of parents did differ in the accuracy of their perceptions about their children's weight. Only 10.5% of parents of overweight children (2/19) perceived their child's weight accurately compared with 59.4% of other parents (38/64; p < 0.001). Parents of overweight children invariably underestimated their children's weight. The median difference between their perception and the growth chart percentile was ?45 points. Discussion: Given that most parents of overweight children fail to recognize that their child has a weight problem, pediatricians should develop strategies to help these parents correct their misperceptions.     

The child's best interest in gamete donation

Procreation with donor gametes is widespread and commonly accepted, but it involves ethical questions about the child's best interest. Understanding the historical structures of the moral discussion of gamete donation may contribute to reflecting on the child's best interest. This is why I have analysed the debate on gamete donation in the Netherlands, and this analysis has uncovered some striking discontinuities. Notions of the child's best interest have undergone a radical swing. In the past, it was considered acceptable to conceal the truth about the child's biological origin, but in the past two decades the general opinion has changed to the common belief that this information should be shared with the child. This changed notion of the child's best interest will be analysed using a framework encompassing three views of the child, which derive from the debate on children's rights. These three views each provide a different interpretation of the child's moral and political status. I conclude that the changed notion of the child's best interest results from a view of the child that focuses on autonomy and citizenship, and which frames the child's interests according to its legal status. I comment on this view and I champion an alternative one, namely ‘the embedded child’. This is a relational view based on care ethics that goes beyond what can be articulated in law, and that will help to establish a more balanced interpretation of the child's best interest at the practice and policy levels of gamete donation.     

Autism Spectrum Disorder Initiation by Inflammation-Facilitated Neurotoxin Transport

Autism spectrum disorders have been linked to genetics, gut microbiota dysbiosis (gut dysbiosis), neurotoxin exposures, maternal allergies or autoimmune diseases. Two barriers to ingested neurotoxin transport into the central nervous system of a fetus or child are the gastrointestinal wall of the mother or child and the blood–brain barrier of the fetus or child. Inflammation from gut dysbiosis or inflammation from a disease or other agent can increase the gastrointestinal wall and the blood–brain barrier permeabilities to enable neurotoxins to reach the brain of a fetus or child. Postnatal gut dysbiosis is a particular inflammation risk for autism spectrum disorders caused by neurotoxin transport into a child's brain. An extensive gut dysbiosis or another source of inflammation such as a disease or other agent in combination with neurotoxins, including aluminum, mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, arsenic, organophosphates, and neurotoxic bacterial toxins and fungal toxins resulting from the gut dysbiosis, can elevate neurotoxin levels in a fetal or child brain to cause neurodevelopmental damage and initiate an autism spectrum disorder. The neurotoxins aluminum and mercury are especially synergistic in causing neurodevelopmental damage. There are three plausible causational pathways for autism spectrum disorders. They include inflammation and neurotoxin loading into the fetal brain during the prenatal neurodevelopment period, inflammation and neurotoxin loading into the brain during the postnatal neurodevelopment period or a two-stage loading of neurotoxins into the brain during both the prenatal and postnatal neurodevelopment periods.

     

Cultural Identity and Internationally Adopted Children: Qualitative Approach to Parental Representations

Approximately 30 000 children are adopted across national borders each year. A review of the literature on the cultural belonging of these internationally adopted children shows substantial differences between the literature from English-speaking countries and that from France and Europe in general. The objective of this study is to start from the discourse of French adoptive parents to explore their representations of their child''s cultural belonging and their positions (their thoughts and representations) concerning connections with the child''s country of birth and its culture. The study includes 51 French parents who adopted one or more children internationally. Each parent participated in a semi-structured interview, focused on the adoption procedure and their current associations with the child''s birth country. The interviews were analyzed according to a qualitative phenomenological method, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The principal themes that emerged from our analysis of the interviews made it possible to classify the parents into three different groups. The first group maintained no association with the child''s country of birth and refused any multiplicity of cultural identities. The second group actively maintained regular associations with the child''s country of birth and culture and affirmed that their family was multicultural. Finally, the third group adapted their associations with the child''s birth country and its culture according to the child''s questions and interests. Exploring parental representations of the adopted child enables professionals involved in adoption to provide better support to these families and to do preventive work at the level of family interactions.