裕固族4～13岁儿童身高、体重状况调查分析

了解裕固族4～13岁儿童身高、体重发育现状,分析该儿童4～7岁组及7～13岁组生长发育随年龄的变化关系, 为儿童保健工作提供参考依据和合理化建议。采用随机整群抽样的方法抽取484名儿童, 测量身高和体重。以全国身高体重值为参比值, 计算年龄别身高(HAZ)和年龄别体重(WAZ)值评价4～7岁儿童体格生长迟缓和低体重状况; 身体质量指数(BMI)评价7～13岁儿童超重和消瘦情况。结果显示, 调查对象身高均高于对比值, 4～7岁儿童超重检出率为3.45%, 偏瘦检出率2.30%; 7～13岁裕固族儿童营养不良人数占裕固族儿童总人数的36.90%, 严重消瘦的人数占13.10%, 其中女生的消瘦程度较男生差。所以, 儿童身高、体重生长发育符合一般生长规律。7～13岁裕固族男女生身体偏瘦人数较多的问题值得关注, 建议改善该人群营养膳食, 加强各项体育锻炼。     

The Development of Elementary Forms of Thinking in Preschool Children

Among the new problems that society has posed to the educational system, that of developing preschool children's intellectual ability is of special importance. One of the central questions of intellectual training is developing children's thinking.     

Intrinsic Affective Network Is Impaired in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Deficits in impulsivity and affect dysregulation are key features of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) besides impairing levels of hyperactivity and/or inattention. However, the neural substrates underlying these traits are relatively under-investigated. In this study, we use resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to test the hypothesis of diminished functional integration within the affective/limbic network (which includes the amygdala, hippocampus, subgenual cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens) of children with ADHD, which is associated with their behavioral measures of emotional control deficits. Resting state-fMRI data were obtained from 12 healthy control subjects and 15 children with ADHD, all who had a minimum one-month washout period for medications and supplements. Children with ADHD demonstrated less integrated affective network, evidenced by increased bilateral amygdalar and decreased left orbitofrontal connectivity within the affective network compared to healthy controls. The hyper-connectivity at the left amygdalar within the affective network was associated with increased aggressiveness and conduct problems, as well as decline in functioning in children with ADHD. Similar findings in affective network dysconnectivity were replicated in a subset of children with ADHD three months later. Our findings of divergent changes in amygdala and orbitofrontal intrinsic connectivity support the hypothesis of an impaired functional integration within the affective network in childhood ADHD. Larger prospective studies of the intrinsic affective network in ADHD are required, which may provide further insight on the biological mechanisms of emotional control deficits observed in ADHD.     

Trends in the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Chinese Preschool Children from 2006 to 2014

Objective

To examine the trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among preschool children from 2006 to 2014.

Methods

A total of 145,078 children aged 3–6 years from 46 kindergartens finished the annual health examination in Tianjin, China. Height, weight and other information were obtained using standardized methods. Z-scores for weight, height, and BMI were calculated based on the standards for the World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards.

Results

From 2006 to 2014, mean values of height z-scores significantly increased from 0.34 to 0.54, mean values of weight z-scores kept constant, and mean values of BMI z-scores significantly decreased from 0.40 to 0.23. Mean values of height z-scores, weight z-scores, and BMI z-scores slightly decreased among children from 3 to 4 years old, and then increased among children from 4 to 6 years old. Between 2006 and 2014, there were no significant changes in prevalence of overweight (BMI z-scores >2 SD) and obesity (BMI z-scores >3 SD) among 3–4 years children. However, prevalence of obesity (BMI z-scores >2 SD) increased from 8.8% in 2006 to 10.1% in 2010, and then kept stable until 2014 among 5–6 years children. Boys had higher prevalence of obesity than girls.

Conclusions

Mean values of BMI z-scores decreased from 2006 to 2014 among Chinese children aged 3–6 years old due to the significant increase of height z-scores. Prevalence of obesity increased from 2006 to 2010, and then kept stable until 2014 among children aged 5–6 years. The prevalence of obesity was higher in boys than in girls.     

Risk Factors for Low Receptive Vocabulary Abilities in the Preschool and Early School Years in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

Receptive vocabulary development is a component of the human language system that emerges in the first year of life and is characterised by onward expansion throughout life. Beginning in infancy, children''s receptive vocabulary knowledge builds the foundation for oral language and reading skills. The foundations for success at school are built early, hence the public health policy focus on reducing developmental inequalities before children start formal school. The underlying assumption is that children''s development is stable, and therefore predictable, over time. This study investigated this assumption in relation to children''s receptive vocabulary ability. We investigated the extent to which low receptive vocabulary ability at 4 years was associated with low receptive vocabulary ability at 8 years, and the predictive utility of a multivariate model that included child, maternal and family risk factors measured at 4 years. The study sample comprised 3,847 children from the first nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate risks for low receptive vocabulary ability from 4–8 years and sensitivity-specificity analysis was used to examine the predictive utility of the multivariate model. In the multivariate model, substantial risk factors for receptive vocabulary delay from 4–8 years, in order of descending magnitude, were low receptive vocabulary ability at 4 years, low maternal education, and low school readiness. Moderate risk factors, in order of descending magnitude, were low maternal parenting consistency, socio-economic area disadvantage, low temperamental persistence, and NESB status. The following risk factors were not significant: One or more siblings, low family income, not reading to the child, high maternal work hours, and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ethnicity. The results of the sensitivity-specificity analysis showed that a well-fitted multivariate model featuring risks of substantive magnitude does not do particularly well in predicting low receptive vocabulary ability from 4–8 years.     

Language Lateralization in Children Aged 10 to 11 Years: A Combined fMRI and Dichotic Listening Study

Objective

The aims of this study were to develop and assess a method to map language networks in children with two auditory fMRI protocols in combination with a dichotic listening task (DL). The method is intended for pediatric patients prior to epilepsy surgery. To evaluate the potential clinical usefulness of the method we first wanted to assess data from a group of healthy children.

Methods

In a first step language test materials were developed, intended for subsequent implementation in fMRI protocols. An evaluation of this material was done in 30 children with typical development, 10 from the 1^st, 4^th and the 7^th grade, respectively. The language test material was then adapted and implemented in two fMRI protocols intended to target frontal and posterior language networks. In a second step language lateralization was assessed in 17 typical 10–11 year olds with fMRI and DL. To reach a conclusion about language lateralization, firstly, quantitative analyses of the index data from the two fMRI tasks and the index data from the DL task were done separately. In a second step a set of criteria were applied to these results to reach a conclusion about language lateralization. The steps of these analyses are described in detail.

Results

The behavioral assessment of the language test material showed that it was well suited for typical children. The results of the language lateralization assessments, based on fMRI data and DL data, showed that for 15 of the 17 subjects (88%) a conclusion could be reached about hemispheric language dominance. In 2 cases (12%) DL provided critical data.

Conclusions

The employment of DL combined with language mapping using fMRI for assessing hemispheric language dominance is novel and it was deemed valuable since it provided additional information compared to the results gained from each method individually.     

Adenovirus Types 3 and 5 Isolated from the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Children

Adenoviruses types 3 and 5 were isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of two sick children. These agents were thought to be responsible for the neurological state of the children at the phase of illness when they were isolated. The possibility of mixed infections or of superimposed infections was considered since one was isolated following herpes zoster infection in the one child and the other following varicella. The role of adenoviruses as latent agents of potential pathogenicity is discussed.     

Validation of the TracmorD Triaxial Accelerometer to Assess Physical Activity in Preschool Children

Objectives: To assess validity evidence of Tracmor_D to determine energy used for physical activity in 3‐4‐year‐old children. Design and Methods: Participants were randomly selected from GECKO Drenthe cohort (n = 30, age 3.4 ± 0.3 years). Total energy expenditure (TEE) was measured using the doubly labeled water method. Sleeping metabolic rate (SMR) was measured by indirect calorimetry (Deltatrac). TEE and SMR were used to calculate physical activity level (PAL) and activity energy expenditure (AEE). Physical activity was monitored using a DirectLife triaxial accelerometer, Tracmor_D with activity counts per minute (ACM) and activity counts per day (ACD) as outcome measures. Results: The best predictor for PAL was ACM with gender and weight, the best predictor for AEE was ACM alone (backward regression, R² = 0.50, P = 0.010 and R² = 0.31, P = 0.011, respectively). With ACD, the prediction model for PAL included ACD, height, gender, and sleep duration (R² = 0.48, P = 0.033), the prediction model for AEE included ACD, gender and sleep duration (R² = 0.39, P = 0.042). The accelerometer was worn for 5 days, but 3 days did not give a different estimated PAL. Conclusion: Tracmor_D provides moderate‐to‐strong validity evidence that supports its use to evaluate energy used for physical activity in 3‐4‐year‐old children.     

The Development of Analysis of Words into Their Sounds by Preschool Children

Sensation and perception undergo intensive development during the first years of an infant's life. One of the sensory processes that is earliest to take shape is phonemic hearing.     

Development of Emotion Word Comprehension in Chinese Children from 2 to 13 Years Old: Relationships with Valence and Empathy

Children’s emotion word comprehension (EWC) has constantly received a great deal of attention in developmental science. However, since previous reports focused on only English emotion vocabulary, researchers thus far remained unclear as to the developmental trajectories of EWC (to Chinese emotion words) in Chinese children, let alone the cross-cultural difference of EWC in different languages (i.e., English V.S. Chinese). Furthermore, the influence of valence on EWC, as well as the interaction mechanism between EWC and empathy, has not been fully investigated. Finding answers to these research gaps has become the main motivation of the current study. For this purpose, a Chinese emotion vocabulary was first constructed to estimate EWC of Chinese children (ages 2–13 years old). Then, the valence of each emotion word was evaluated using the standard 9-point scale approach. After that, the Chinese children’s EWC and empathy were measured in terms of parental ratings. Finally, all data collected were statistically analyzed to reveal the influence of the valence of EWC, the relation between EWC and empathy, and the cross-cultural difference of children’s EWC between China and UK from the viewpoint of developmental science. The main results of the current study included the following: (i) EWC in general increased with age for Chinese children ages 2–13 years old, however, there was a dramatic increase during ages 6–8 years old; (ii) EWC of positive emotion words in general developed better than that of negative and neutral ones for Chinese children (ages 2–13 years old); and the disadvantage of EWC to negative emotion words over neutral ones was gradually observed with the increase of age, even though there were no significant differences between them from the beginning; (iii) EWC completely mediated the effect of age on empathy; and (iv) EWC of children in UK developed better than Chinese counterparts during the early childhood period (ages 4–6 years old), then Chinese counterparts developed better during the middle childhood period (ages 7–10 years old), however, there was no significant difference of EWC between both groups during the late childhood period (ages 11–12 years old).     

On the Development of Proper Pronunciation in Children From one and a Half to Three Years Old

The problem of early development of proper pronunciation of sounds by children continues to be of pressing concern. The need to teach reading, writing, and a foreign language at an early age (five or six) demands that by this age the process of development of correct pronunciation of words be completed. However, according to data of V.I. Telenchi, (21) who studied 2,378 kindergarten children, a substantial number (21-40%) continue to have pronunciation defects even at six and seven. Pronunciation defects complicate not only education but the child's social contacts, and have a negative effect upon the behavior of children being raised in a group.     

Adiponectin and Leptin Trajectories in Mexican-American Children from Birth to 9 Years of Age

Objectives

To address molecular mechanisms underlying obesity development, we examined patterns of critical metabolism-related hormones, adiponectin and leptin (adipokines), over childhood.

Subjects and Design

Plasma adiponectin and leptin were measured in 80 Mexican-American children at birth and again at 2, 5, and 9 years from the ongoing prospective cohort followed by the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS). We used a mixture modeling approach to identify patterns in adipokine trajectories from birth to 9 years.

Results

Leptin was positively related to child body size within all ages, however adiponectin had inverse and weaker associations with BMI at 2, 5, and 9 years. Correlations between adipokine levels over the 0–2, 2–5, and 5–9-year periods increased for both leptin (r = 0.06, 0.31 and 0.62) and adiponectin (r = 0.25, 0.41 and 0.46). Our mixture modeling approach identified three trajectory clusters for both leptin (1L [slowly-rising], 2L [rapidly-rising], and 3L [stable]) and adiponectin (1A [steep-dropping and rebounding], 2A [moderately-dropping], and 3A [stable]). While leptin groups were most separated over the 2–9-year period, adiponectin trajectories displayed greatest heterogeneity from birth to 2 years. Children in the rapidly-rising 2L group had highest BMI and waist circumference at 9 years. Further, children with greater birth weight had increased odds of belonging to this high risk group (OR = 1.21 95% CI 1.03, 1.43, compared to stable group 3L). Children whose mothers consumed more sugar-sweetened beverages during pregnancy were at risk of being in the steep-dropping 1A group (OR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.01, 1.17, compared to stable group 3A).

Conclusion

Our results highlight developmental differences in leptin and adiponectin over the childhood period. Leptin closely reflects child body size however factors affecting adiponectin and long-term consequences of its changes over infancy need to be further explored.     

5 岁以下儿童ORMDL3基因表达与哮喘预测指数相关性分析

目的:为了探究ORMDL3(orosomucoid 1-like 3)基因表达量与哮喘预测指数(Asthma predictive index,API)、性别、年龄、遗传和环境等因素之间的相关性。方法:从2013年4月-2014年8月,我们收集了115位数据有效的5岁以下儿童的资料,并依据API严格标准对其进行分类:API+(过去一年内喘息次数≥4)、API-(过去一年内喘息次数1-3次)和API0(无喘息)组,统计三组之间的基本资料,并检测ORMDL3基因表达量与API、性别、年龄、家族史、喘息次数、和鼻炎之间的相关性。结果:API+组内男女性别比例显著高于其他组,ORMDL3基因表达量在API0内的表达量显著高于API+和API-组内表达量(P=0.044),并且ORMDL3基因表达量与API指数之间存在一定的相关性(相关系数:-0.232,P=0.020),但是ORMDL3基因表达量与性别、年龄、家族史、喘息次数、和鼻炎之间无统计学相关性(P0.05)。结论:ORMDL3基因表达量与API指数之间存在微弱的负相关性,API阳性鉴定标准需要进一步的改进。     

Psychological Characteristics of the Development of Written Language in Mentally Retarded School Children

The problem of the development of language in the mentally retarded child is one of the most important in special psychology and is of major theoretical and practical significance. How far we go in studying this problem will in large measure determine not only the structure of lessons in a native language in a remedial school but also how the process of instruction and education of backward children in general is organized.     

Age-Related Features of Morphological and Functional Development of Myocardium in Children of Five to Nine Years

Age-related features of the morphological and functional development of the myocardium were studied by echo- (EchoCG) and electrocardiography (ECG) in 200 children five to nine years of age. The most intensive anatomical development of myocardium was observed at the age of five to seven years, and a significant increase in cardiac output was observed at the age of eight to nine years both in boys and girls. The ECG amplitude and time parameters significantly changed from of five to nine years of age and were most pronounced at the age of seven to eight years. Different changes in cardiac rhythm and excitation conduction as well as repolarization and metabolic disturbances in the myocardium were often observed at this age. Static physical exercise caused marked changes in bioelectric activity of the myocardium. Two types of central circulatory responses to static exercise were found: an increase and a decrease in cardiac output. The mechanisms of cardiac rhythm regulation, which caused an increase in the stroke volume as a response to exercise, were different in children from five to nine years old. At the age of five to six years the homeometric mechanism was a crucial factor in the increase in stroke volume as a response to exercise, and at the age of seven to nine years both homeo- and heterometric mechanisms of cardiac rhythm regulation were very important.