Patterns of Development of Intellectual Functions in Deaf Children 7-12 Years Old

Study of the developmental characteristics of higher mental functions in congenitally deaf children who otherwise have no primary mental defects should help us improve differential diagnosis of abnormal mental development in children with this sensory defect and further differentiate remedial, medical, and pedagogical measures that take into account the specifics of both the sensory defect and the cerebral anomaly. Much has been achieved in study of the distinctive features of cognitive development in deaf children, thanks to the efforts of Zh.I. Shif, T.V. Rozanova, N.V. Iakovleva, A.P. Gozova, and N.V. Iashkova [8,9]. Nevertheless, some aspects of the development of intellectual functions in the deaf and, in particular, the nature of the interrelations among the different mental functions in the process of individual development, have not been sufficiently studied at the different ontogenetic stages in children with this sensory impairment.     

Corneal Thickness Profile and Associations in Chinese Children Aged 7 to 15 Years Old

Corneal thickness (CT) maps of the central (2-mm diameter), para-central (2 to 5-mm diameter), peripheral (5 to 6-mm diameter), and minimum (5-mm diameter) cornea were measured in normal Chinese school children aged 7 to 15 years old using Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography. Multiple regression analyses were performed to explore the effect of associated factors [age, gender, refraction, axial length and corneal curvature radius (CCR)] on CT and the relationship between central corneal thickness (CCT) and intraocular pressure (IOP). A total of 1228 eyes from 614 children were analyzed. The average CCT was 532.96 ± 28.33 μm for right eyes and 532.70 ±28.45 μm for left eyes. With a 10 μm increase in CCT, the IOP was elevated by 0.37 mm Hg, as measured by noncontact tonometry. The CT increased gradually from the center to the periphery. The superior and superior nasal regions had the thickest CTs, while the thinnest points were primarily located in the inferior temporal cornea. The CCT was associated with CCR (p = 0.008) but not with gender (p = 0.075), age (p = 0.286), axial length (p = 0.405), or refraction (p = 0.985). In the para-central region and the peripheral cornea, increased CT was associated with younger age, male gender, and a flatter cornea.     

湘西地区农村7-15 岁儿童体重指数、血压及其相关性研究

目的:探讨湘西地区农村7-15岁儿童体重指数、血压及其相关性。方法:随机抽取湘西地区怀化市,吉首市,张家界市农村地区,于2011年1月到3月对7-15岁儿童进行调查。我们采用问卷调查法和体格检查法收集资料,采用中国肥胖问题工作组(WGOC)推荐的"中国学龄儿童青少年超重、肥胖筛查体重指数值分类标准"。高血压诊断采用文献中国儿童青少年血压参照标准评价肥胖和高血压。结果:1755名7-15岁儿童中,男性938人、占53.4%,女性817人占46.6%。男性BMI正常组838人、超重组7人和肥胖组30人,SBP分别为101.1±23.5 mmHg、103.9±12.0 mmHg、106.9±8.8 mmHg,DBP分别为66.7±9.0 mmHg、69.8±7.4 mmHg、71.7±9.1 mmHg。女性BMI正常组768人、超重组43人和肥胖组17人;SBP分别为101.3±35.1 mmHg、104.5±18.0 mmHg、109.1±9.8 mmHg,差异显著,有统计学意义(P<0.05),DBP分别为66.2±8.1 mmHg、71.1±8.8 mmHg、72.0±7.9 mmHg,差异显著,有统计学意义(P<0.05)。制年龄和性别后,BMI与收缩压(SBP)和舒张压(DBP)成独立正相关关系(P<0.05);BMI正常组、超重组和肥胖组的高SBP发生率分别是1.3%、7.1%和15.2%,高DBP发生率分别是4.5%、9.2%和17.4%,高SBP发生率分别是5.3%、13.3%和32.6%,差异显著,有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:儿童BMI与SBP和DBP密切相关,儿童超重和肥胖增加高血压的发生风险,且高血压发生率随肥胖程度的增加呈现成倍上升趋势。     

Differences in Perception and in the Operational Level of Thinking of Children Four to Eight Years Old

Today the importance for intellectual development of a child's acquisition of the conservation of quantity is generally recognized. However, the question of the mechanism of the ontogeny of invariant perception has not yet been definitively resolved. Piaget and his disciples thought that the genesis of invariant perception depended basically on internal structural equilibria, as a result of which new structures (inventions) constituting the basis of intellectual development are formed. In recent years, adherents to this theory have begun to admit a limited possibility of intervening in the development of intelligence [7,8,12].     

Relationship between Plasma Adiponectin Levels and Metabolic Risk Profiles in Taiwanese Children

Objective: Adiponectin, a novel adipokine with antiinflammatory and insulin‐sensitizing properties, has an important role in glucose metabolism and is negatively correlated with body fat amount in adults. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of plasma adiponectin level with metabolic risk profiles and insulin resistance status among Taiwanese children. Research Methods and Procedures: We enrolled 1248 children (608 boys and 640 girls) to ascertain their demographic, anthropometric, and cardiovascular risk factors distribution in Taipei. We measured plasma insulin, adiponectin, and leptin levels by radioimmunoassay (Linco Research Inc, St. Charles, MO). We calculated an insulin resistance index (IRI) using the Homeostasis Model Assessment model and also calculated an insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) summary score for each individual by adding the quartile ranks from the distribution of systolic blood pressure, serum triglyceride, high‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (HDL‐C) (inverse), and insulin levels. Results: In general, the boys had larger BMI, higher systolic blood pressure, serum total cholesterol, and triglyceride, and lower plasma leptin and adiponectin levels than girls. Plasma adiponectin levels were correlated negatively with BMI, leptin, insulin, IRI, and IRS summary score but positively correlated with HDL‐C in both boys and girls. In multivariate regression analyses, adiponectin was negatively associated with insulin (girls only), IRI (girls only), and IRS score, and positively associated with HDL‐C in both genders even after adjusting for age, BMI, plasma leptin level, and other potential confounders. Discussion: These data suggest that plasma adiponectin levels were negatively associated with metabolic risk profiles that may have played a protective role in the development of insulin resistance among Taiwanese school children.     

Associations between Serum Apelin-12 Levels and Obesity-Related Markers in Chinese Children

Objective

To investigate possible correlations between apelin-12 levels and obesity in children in China and associations between apelin-12 and obesity-related markers, including lipids, insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR).

Methods

Forty-eight obese and forty non-obese age- and gender-matched Chinese children were enrolled between June 2008 and June 2009. Mean age was 10.42±2.03 and 10.86±2.23 years in obesity and control groups, respectively. Main outcome measures were apelin-12, BMI, lipids, glucose and insulin. HOMA-IR was calculated for all subjects.

Results

All obesity group subjects had significantly higher total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), insulin levels and HOMA-IR (all P<0.05). In separate analyses, obese girls had significantly higher LDL-C, insulin and HOMA-IR than controls, and obese boys had significantly higher TC, TG, insulin and HOMA-IR than controls (all P<0.05). Apelin-12 levels were significantly higher in obese girls compared to controls (P = 0.024), and correlated positively with TG in all obese subjects. Among obese girls, apelin-12 levels correlated positively with TG, insulin and HOMA-IR after adjusting for age and BMI. In all boys (obese and controls) apelin-12 was positively associated with fasting plasma glucose (FPG). No significant correlations were found in either group between apelin-12 levels and other characteristics after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI.

Conclusions

Apelin-12 levels are significantly higher in obese vs. non-obese girls in China and correlate significantly with obesity-related markers insulin, HOMA-IR, and TG. Increased apelin-12 levels may be involved in the pathological mechanism of childhood obesity.     

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.     

Helicobacter pylori Infection Increases Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Syndrome in Residents Younger than 50 Years Old: A Community-Based Study

This study aimed to analyze the influence of H. pylori infection on insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome (MS) by multivariate analysis of a community-based cohort study. From January 2013 to February 2014,811 subjects were enrolled in a community-based cohort study from the northeastern region of Taiwan. All subjects received a demographic survey and blood tests, including an H. pylori antibody test, liver biochemistry tests, lipid profiles, sugar/insulin levels for Homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR index), and measurements of adipokines and inflammatory cytokines. A total of 264 men and 547 women were included in this study. The mean age was 59.2 ± 12.7 years. Subjects seropositive for H. pylori antibodies exhibited higher rates of hypertension, an increased incidence of a HOMA-IR index > 2.5 and a higher level of tumor necrosis factor-α than those without H. pylori antibodies. We found a significant difference in the presence of H. pylori antibodies between subjects with MS and those without MS (76.7% vs. 53.7%, p = 0.007) among subjects < 50 y/o. A HOMA-IR index >2.5, H. pylori antibody presence and leptin were predictors for MS in subjects < 50 y/o. The estimated odds ratio of MS for a subject with H. pylori antibodies was 3.717 (95% CI = 1.086–12.719) times that of a subject without H. pylori antibodies. In addition, no difference in H. pylori antibody status was detected for MS prediction in subjects that were ≧ 50 y/o (p = 0.861). In conclusion, subjects with H. pylori antibodies had a higher incidence of a HOMA-IR >2.5 than those without H pylori antibodies. For subjects aged < 50 y/o, the H. pylori antibody was a predictor for MS.     

Plasma Markers of Cholesterol Homeostasis and Apolipoprotein B‐100 Kinetics in the Metabolic Syndrome

Objective: The metabolic syndrome is characterized by defective hepatic apolipoprotein B‐100 (apoB) metabolism. Hepato‐intestinal cholesterol metabolism may contribute to this abnormality. Research Methods and Procedures: We examined the association of cholesterol absorption and synthesis with the kinetics of apoB in 35 obese subjects with the metabolic syndrome. Plasma ratios of campesterol and lathosterol to cholesterol were used to estimate cholesterol absorption and synthesis, respectively. Very‐low‐density lipoprotein (VLDL), intermediate‐density lipoprotein (IDL), and low‐density lipoprotein apoB kinetics were studied using stable isotopy and mass spectrometry. Kinetic parameters were derived using multicompartmental modeling. Results: Compared with controls, the obese subjects had significantly lower plasma ratios of campesterol, but higher plasma ratios of lathosterol (p < 0.05 in both). This was associated with elevated VLDL‐apoB secretion rate (p < 0.05) and delayed fractional catabolism of IDL and low‐density lipoprotein‐apoB (p < 0.01). In the obese group, plasma ratios of campesterol correlated inversely with VLDL‐apoB secretion (r = ?0.359, p < 0.05), VLDL‐apoB (r = ?0.513, p < 0.01) and IDL‐apoB (r = ?0.511, p < 0.01) pool size, and plasma lathosterol ratio (r = ?0.366, p < 0.05). Subjects with low cholesterol absorption had significantly higher VLDL‐apoB secretion, VLDL‐apoB and IDL‐apoB pool size, and plasma lathosterol ratio (p < 0.05 in both) than those with high cholesterol absorption. Discussion: Subjects with the metabolic syndrome have oversecretion of VLDL‐apoB and decreased catabolism of apoB‐containing particles and low absorption and high synthesis rates of cholesterol. These changes in cholesterol homeostasis may contribute to the kinetic defects in apoB metabolism in the metabolic syndrome.     

Pre-Pubertal Children Born Post-Term Have Reduced Insulin Sensitivity and Other Markers of the Metabolic Syndrome

Background

There are no data on the metabolic consequences of post-term birth (≥42 weeks gestation). We hypothesized that post-term birth would adversely affect insulin sensitivity, as well as other metabolic parameters and body composition in childhood.

Methods

77 healthy pre-pubertal children, born appropriate-for-gestational-age were studied in Auckland, New Zealand: 36 born post-term (18 boys) and 41 (27 boys) born at term (38–40 weeks gestation). Primary outcome was insulin sensitivity measured using intravenous glucose tolerance tests and Bergman’s minimal model. Other assessments included fasting hormone concentrations and lipid profiles, body composition from whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and inflammatory markers.

Results

Insulin sensitivity was 34% lower in post-term than in term children (7.7 vs. 11.6 x10^-4·min^-1·(mU/l); p<0.0001). There was a compensatory increase in acute insulin response among post-term children (418 vs 304 mU/l; p=0.037), who also displayed lower glucose effectiveness than those born at term (2.25 vs 3.11 x10^-2·min^-1; p=0.047). Post-term children not only had more body fat (p=0.014) and less fat-free mass (p=0.014), but also had increased central adiposity with more truncal fat (p=0.017) and greater android to gynoid fat ratio (p=0.007) compared to term controls. Further, post-term children displayed other markers of the metabolic syndrome: lower normal nocturnal systolic blood pressure dipping (p=0.027), lower adiponectin concentrations (p=0.005), as well as higher leptin (p=0.008) and uric acid (p=0.033) concentrations. Post-term boys (but not girls) also displayed a less favourable lipid profile, with higher total cholesterol (p=0.018) and LDL-C (p=0.006) concentrations, and total cholesterol to HDL-C ratio (p=0.048).

Conclusions

Post-term children have reduced insulin sensitivity and display a number of early markers of the metabolic syndrome. These findings could have important implications for the management of prolonged pregnancies. Future studies need to examine potential impacts later in life, as well as possible underlying mechanisms.     

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).     

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.     

Birth Weight and Its Relationship to Size Attained and Relative Fat Distribution at 7 to 12 Years of Age

The relationship between birth weight and relative subcutaneous fat distribution at school age was considered in 131 boys and 106 girls 7 to 12 years of age. Relative fat distribution at school age was estimated with the ratio of the subscapular to triceps skinfolds (S/T) for the total sample, and with the ratio of the sum of two trunk (subscapular, midaxillary) to the sum of two extremity (triceps, medial calf) skinfolds (T/E) for subsamples of 102 boys and 63 girls. There were no sex differences in the S/T ratio (mm/mm), boys 0.62 ± 0.15, girls 0.63 ± 0.18; T/E ratio (mm/mm), boys 0.58 ± 0.13, girls 0.59 ± 0.16; and BMI (kg/m²), boys 17.1 ± 2.4, girls 16.9 ± 2.2. Second order partial correlations, controlling for age and the BMI or age and sum of skinfolds, between birth weight and the skinfold ratios are, respectively, ?0.22 and ?0.20 (p<0.01) for S/T and ?0.29 and ?032 (p<0.01) for T/E in girls, and ?0.18 and ?0.17 (p<0.05) for S/T and ?0.06 and ?0.6 for T/E in boys. Though low, the correlations suggest that as birth weight decreases proportionally more subcutaneous fat is accumulated on the trunk than on the extremities, more so in females than in males. Results of stepwise multiple regression analyses indicate that birth weight accounts for from 2% to 8% of the variance in relative subcutaneous fat distribution at school age.