Establishment of normal values for flash visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in preterm infants: a longitudinal study with special reference to two components of the N1 wave

To establish normal values for flash visual evoked potentials WEN in the preterm period, we analyzed 356 records from 63 neurologically normal infants (26–35 weeks gestation) followed longitudinally. Using both sleep and drowsy state recording within the same session and a mean of 5.7 weekly recording sessions per infant, we hypothesized that the prominent negative wave (N1) consisted of 2 negative components, Nla (early) and N1b (late). This hypothesis could explain the previously reported variability in VEP indices.With a precise definition of the Nla peak, we were able to establish reference ranges for Nla peak latencies at various postmenstrual ages (PMA) which, unlike those previously reported, are narrow enough to be clinically useful. From a cross-sectional analysis we found that the Nla peak latency decreased with maturation at about 4.6 msec/week between 30 and 40 weeks PMA (P > 0.001).We also analyzed the N1 wave form and demonstrated its developmental maturation during this period. There were significant decreases in the amplitudes of both the Nla and N1b peaks with maturation (P > 0.001), but the decrease of the Nla amplitude was steeper than that of N1b The N1 wave form changed from a wave in which the early peak (Nla) was higher than the late peak (Nlb) into the reverse with N1b higher than Nla. This wave change may be related to developmental processes in the visual system. Longitudinal follow-up revealed that extra-uterine life may accelerate the maturation of the N1 wave form but has no effect on the decrease of the absolute values of peak latencies.     

早产儿40Hz听觉相关电位的神经发育特性

临床实验研究发现:1.早产儿40Hz AERP Pa和Pb波潜伏期在三种强度(40,60和80dB-nHL)的短音(500Hz)刺激下明显长于足月新生儿(P<0.05,P<0.01,P<0.001),Pa-Pb波间期未见显著性变化(P>0.05);2.早产儿40Hz AERP Pa和Pb波潜伏期与500Hz短音强度高度相关(r≥0.98),Pb波潜伏期-刺激强度函数斜率K值明显有别于Pa波K值(P<0.01);3.早产儿40Hz AERP Pa和Pb波潜伏期与孕龄高度相关(r>0.7),Pb波潜伏期-孕龄函数斜率K值亦明显区别于Pa波K值(P<0.05)。     

Phenology, population trend and natural enemies ofAleurothrixus floccosus (Hom.: Aleyrodidae) at a newly invaded area in Athens, Greece

Aleurothrixus floccosus (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) first invaded eastern urban areas of Athens, Greece, in May 1991. At Zographou, Athens, in 1992–1994, most overwinteringA. floccosus nymphs were of the 3rd and 4th instars, and pupae; during other periods of the year, all developmental instars were found, at fluctuating rates. In 1993, peaks in the numbers of eggs laid coinciding with sharp increases in percentage of 1st instar nymphs found permitted the distinction of 6 overlapping generations. High densities ofA. floccosus infesting citrus in autumn 1992, in the range of 9.1–10.9 nymphs/cm² leaf surface, were brought under control by autumn 1993, with maximum densities of 1.1–1.7 nymphs/cm². This reduction is attributed mostly to the action of the introduced parasitoidCales noacki (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), released 3 km from Zographou in 1992 and at Zographou itself in 1993. No indigenous parasitoid was ever found parasitizingA. floccosus. The first record ofClitostethus arcuatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Greece is reported. In summer 1992, eggs larvae and adults ofC. arcuatus were noticed on citrus leaves infested withA. floccosus at Zographou. From 1992 to 1994, the adults were often detected in field samplings and on yellow sticky traps. C. arcuatus adults and larvae were successfully reared, under optimal laboratory conditions, on eggs and early-instar nymphs ofA. floccosus and on eggs ofAnagasta kuehniella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), but the adults did not reproduce.     

A dose-response investigation of the benefits of napping in healthy young,middle-aged and older adults

Older adults experience more fragmented sleep, greater daytime sleepiness and, nap more often than younger adults. Little research has investigated the effects of napping on waking function in older adults. In the present study, waking cognitive performance was examined in 10 young (mean age = 28 years), 10 middle-aged (mean age = 42 years) and 12 older adults (mean age = 61 years) following 60-min, 20-min and no nap conditions. It was expected that the older adults would need a longer nap to accrue benefits. Napping led to improvements for all age groups in subjective sleepiness, fatigue and accuracy on a serial addition/subtraction task. Waking electroencephalogram (EEG) confirmed that the participants were more physiologically alert following naps. There were no age differences in subjective reports or cognitive tasks; however, older adults had higher beta and gamma in the waking EEG, suggesting that they needed increased effort to maintain performance. Overall, older adults had smaller P2 amplitudes, reflecting their difficulty in inhibiting irrelevant stimuli, and delayed latencies and smaller amplitude P300s to novel stimuli, reflecting deficits in their frontal lobe functioning. Although older adults did garner benefits from napping, there was no evidence that they required longer naps to experience improvement.

     

Human infant saliva peptidome is modified with age and diet transition

In order to describe developmental changes in human salivary peptidome, whole saliva was obtained from 98 infants followed longitudinally at 3 and 6months of age. Data on teeth eruption and diet at the age of 6months were also recorded. Salivary peptide extracts were characterised by label-free MALDI-MS. Peptides differentially expressed between the two ages, and those significantly affected by teeth eruption or introduction of solid foods were identified by MALDI TOF-TOF and LC ESI MS-MS. Out of 81 peaks retained for statistical analysis, 26 were overexpressed at the age of 6months. Exposure to solid foods had a more pronounced effect on profiles (overexpression of nine peaks) than teeth eruption (overexpression of one peak). Differential peaks corresponded to fragments of acidic and basic PRPs, statherin and histatin. Comparison with existing knowledge on adult saliva peptidome revealed that proteolytic processing of salivary proteins is qualitatively quite comparable in infants and in adults. However, age and diet are modulators of salivary peptidome in human infants.     

Relationship of early infant state measures to behavior over the first year of life in the tufted capuchin monkey (Cebus apella)

Data on activity states were collected from 29 group-housed capuchin monkey (Cebus apella) infants for 3 h each week from birth to 11 weeks of age. The amounts of time spent in sleeping/drowsy, alert–quiet, and alert–active states were measured in these subjects. Videotaped observations of these infants were recorded 3 times/week in the home cage over the first year of life and were scored for a number of social and exploratory behaviors. The extent to which early infant activity state scores predicted later behavior in the home cage was examined. Infant state measures correlated significantly with home cage behavior during months 2–6 in that infants that had been more active in early infancy spent more time alone, with other animals, and in exploration and play and less time with mothers than did quieter infants. Early state measures were less successful in predicting home cage scores beyond 8 months of age, whereas differences in behavior attributable to housing variables became more salient in the latter part of the first year. There was also a negative correlation between mother and infant activity in months 2 and 3, in that more sedentary mothers tended to have more active infants. Am. J. Primatol. 44:43–56, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc. This article is a U.S. Government work, and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.     

Population studies ofCavelerius saccharivorus Okajima (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae): Adult dispersal in relation to the density

Summary Two adjacent stations (H and L) were set up to study movement ofC. saccharivorus adults in sugarcane fields. At the beginning of the study the density ofC. saccharivorus including all stages of development was quite different between the two. The density of the first generation adult on Station H was about 5 times that on Station L. The number ofC. saccharivorus on both the stations became almost the same one month after the beginning of the study. At the beginning of the study macropterous adults were more numerous in Station H than in Station L. However percentage of macropterous adults on Station L increased after one month whereas that on Station H declined. About 2,000 marked adults were released on each station during the early period of the emergence of the first generation adult. Marked insects were recaptured on both the stations one month after the release. The adults released on the dense population (H) tended to disperse more actively than those on the scarce population (L). Marked macropterous adults moved more actively than brachypterous ones. The density related dispersal of adults was considered to be an important factor to regulate the population density.     

Seasonal and yearly change in adult abundance of a predacious ladybird <Emphasis Type="Italic">Serangium japonicum</Emphasis> (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and the citrus whitefly <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dialeurodes citri</Emphasis> (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in citrus groves

Serangium japonicum Chapin (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) chiefly attacks whiteflies. This study monitored the adult occurrence of the ladybird and the citrus whitefly Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in citrus groves in central Japan using sticky traps, thereby examining temporal relationships in their abundance. Many S. japonicum adults were captured in a pesticide-free grove where D. citri adults were very abundant, with few adults in neighboring (organic, reduced pesticide, and conventional) groves harboring small numbers of D. citri. The whitefly adults exhibited a large peak in numbers in late May to early June. Two peaks of the ladybird adult numbers were detected in late May to early June and late June to mid-July, ?6 to 7 days, and nearly 1 month after the peak in whitefly adult numbers, respectively. The ladybird adults found during the first peak period would be those that visited citrus trees mainly for oviposition, and the adults caught during the second peak period would be those that newly emerged after consuming immature whiteflies at the larval stage. Based on a yearly change in adult numbers in the pesticide-free grove, i.e., a large increase in S. japonicum numbers followed by a rapid decline in D. citri numbers, the ladybird’s role in controlling the whitefly is discussed.     

Secular trends in self reported sexual activity and satisfaction in Swedish 70 year olds: cross sectional survey of four populations, 1971-2001

Objective To study secular trends in self reported sexual behaviour among 70 year olds.Design Cross sectional survey.Settings Four samples representative of the general population in Gothenburg, Sweden.Participants 1506 adults (946 women, 560 men) examined in 1971-2, 1976-7, 1992-3, and 2000-1.Main outcome measures Sexual intercourse, attitudes to sexuality in later life, sexual dysfunctions, and marital satisfaction.Results From 1971 to 2000 the proportion of 70 year olds reporting sexual intercourse increased among all groups: married men from 52% to 68% (P=0.002), married women from 38% to 56% (P=0.001), unmarried men from 30% to 54% (P=0.016), and unmarried women from 0.8% to 12% (P<0.001). Men and women from later birth cohorts reported higher satisfaction with sexuality, fewer sexual dysfunctions, and more positive attitudes to sexuality in later life than those from earlier birth cohorts. A larger proportion of men (57% v 40%, P<0.001) and women (52% v 35%, P<0.001) reported very happy relationships in 2000-1 compared with those in 1971-2. Sexual debut before age 20 increased in both sexes: in men from 52% to 77% (P<0.001) and in women from 19% to 64% (P<0.001).Conclusion Self reported quantity and quality of sexual experiences among Swedish 70 year olds has improved over a 30 year period.     

Evidence of phase transitions in heart period dynamics

Complexity measures of non-linear dynamics are a useful tool for quantifying observed stretching, folding, scaling and mixing processes in the Takens-reconstructed state space of heart period dynamics. Although such measures are not suited to provide evidence of deterministic chaos or to estimate true fractal dimensions and Lyapunov spectra in heart period time series, they allow the classification of RR dynamics and the identification of changes in RR complexity (RRC). The aim of this study was to develop appropriate measures and examine their utility in identifying the physiological effect of changes between the sleeping and waking state. Twenty-four hour electrocardiography (ECG) recordings and diaries noting their waking/sleeping period were obtained from 78 healthy subjects, aged 20 to 55 years. The approximate information dimension (ApD1) and the approximate Kolmogorov entropy (ApEn), introduced by Pincus, Kaplan and others, were modified in order to allow the calculation of strictly local values. That is, the local or pointwise dimensions and entropies were calculated for each reference vector with respect to its symmetric neighbourhood in time. For each subject the values for the local measures were averaged for 10-min periods, resulting in 144 global values over 24 h. Similarly, low- and high-frequency spectral parameters were calculated. All measures were examined and compared for the waking and the sleeping periods. All complexity measures as well as to a lesser degree high-frequency power showed a linear dependency on mean RR interval with a large individual variation. For the RRC measures this linear correlation was separated into two different clusters corresponding to the sleeping and waking periods. In almost all cases the correlation was greater in the waking period. In particular, in many cases no correlation was observed in the sleeping period. However, the values for LF were appreciably lower and indicated solely a weak relationship to the RR interval in the waking period. Analysis of variance combining mean RR interval with RRC or spectral parameters singly and in couples revealed that the best separation with respect to physiological state could be achieved with the complexity measures, in particular with ApEn. The results show evidence of at least two dynamical regimes (phases) of heart period dynamics and a close but different functional relationship within the phases between RR interval and RR complexity. The separation between these regimes and the relatively sudden shift from one regime to the other suggest the existence of a phase transition with respect to waking and sleeping periods in terms of synergetics. Received: 5 July 1996 / Accepted in revised form: 15 September 1997     

沈阳地区婴幼儿RSV感染的病原学调查研究

查明冬春季沈阳地区婴幼儿RSV感染流行情况.采用APAAP法和IFA法对65例临床诊断为急性病毒性下呼吸道感染的婴幼儿进行了检查.在RSV感染的高发季节由RSV引起婴幼儿的急性下呼吸道感染的阳性率为44.60%(29/65),0～6个月婴幼儿感染率最高,为74.07%(20/27),并有明显的喘息倾向.以上结果表明RSV仍是引起婴幼儿急性下呼吸道感染,特别是肺炎和毛细支气管炎的重要病原体,沈阳地区仍有流行.为防止和控制RSV的流行及为RSV的防治提供了依据.     

Child Mortality in Rural Malawi: HIV Closes the Survival Gap between the Socio-Economic Strata

Background

As HIV-related deaths increase in a population the usual association between low socioeconomic status and child mortality may change, particularly as death rates from other causes decline.

Methods/Principal Findings

As part of a demographic surveillance system in northern Malawi in 2002-6, covering a population of 32,000, information was collected on socio-economic status of the households. Deaths were classified as HIV/AIDS-related or not by verbal autopsy. Poisson regression models were used to assess the association of socio-economic indicators with all-cause mortality, AIDS-mortality and non-AIDS mortality among children. There were 195 deaths in infants, 109 in children aged 1–4 years, and 38 in children aged 5–15. All-cause child mortality in infants and 1–4 year olds was similar in households with higher and lower socio-economic status. In infants 13% of deaths were attributed to AIDS, and there were no clear trends with socio-economic status for AIDS or non-AIDS causes. For 1–4 year olds 27% of deaths were attributed to AIDS. AIDS mortality was higher among those with better built houses, and lowest in those with income from farming and fishing, whereas non-AIDS mortality was higher in those with worse built houses, lowest in those with income from employment, and decreased with increasing household assets.

Conclusions/Significance

In this population, since HIV infection among adults was initially more common among the less poor, childhood mortality patterns have changed. The usual gap in survival between the poor and the less poor has been lost, but because the less poor have been disproportionately affected by HIV, rather than because of relative improvement in the survival of the poorest.     

急进高海拔时健康人夜间睡眠、呼吸状态和血氧饱和度的变化

在海拔2300m选择健康成年男性5人,急进抵海拔4660m,用多导监测仪分别在两地连续7h监测夜间睡眠、呼吸状态和血氧饱和度变化,进行自身对比。结果发现:(1)急进高海拔后,总睡眠时间、有效睡眠指数、Ⅲ～Ⅳ期深睡眠均较中度高原减少(p<0.01);总觉醒时间、Ⅰ～Ⅱ期浅睡眠高海拔较中度高原增多(p<0.05):(2)急进高海拔后,有3名健康人出现周期性呼吸,其中1名健康者出现周期性呼吸119次,伴有中枢性睡眠呼吸暂停,最低Sao_2为78％;(3)同海拔高度夜间睡眠时与清醒时Sao_2相比较,中度高原下降4.2％,高海拔下降11.2％(p<0.01);高海拔与中度高原夜间清醒时Sao_2相比较下降7.4％,睡眠时下降14.4％(p<0.001)。结果提示:(1)睡眠加重了高原人原有的低氧血症;(2)低氧血症导致睡眠结构的紊乱和睡眠质量的降低;(3)睡眠中出现的周期性呼吸,应视为机体的一种自我保护机制;(4)频发的周期性呼吸或睡眠呼吸暂停将影响大脑机能。     

Infant care in the spectral tarsier (Tarsius spectrum) Sulawesi,Indonesia

I present quantitative and qualitative data on infant caretaking behaviors collected during a preliminary field study of spectral tarsiers (Tarsius spectrum),in a northern Sulawesi rain forest. The primary goal of the study is to identify the basic pattern of infant care in this species. I studied tarsiers at Tangkoko-Dua Saudara Nature Reserve in Sulawesi, Indonesia, from May to July 1992. I observed two infants, from two groups for a total of 96 hr using focal follows. During individual focal follows, ranging from 20 min to 6 hr, I recorded behaviors at 5-min intervals. I also recorded distances of group members relative to the infant at 5-min intervals. I subsampled the data at 35-min intervals to control for statistical autocorrelation between data points. Infants were alone between 40 and 50% of the time. The two subadults were more frequently in proximity to the infant than the adult males, the nonmatemal adult female, or the mothers were. This pattern of the subadults maintaining proximity to the infant continued when the mothers were absent. These results suggest that subadults may be guarding or babysitting infants. It is also possible that subadults are not traveling as far from the sleeping site as adults do and are therefore more likely to be found in association with the infant.     

诱发性耳声发射向40-Hz听觉相关电位及行为反应间的相关分析

以500-Hz短纯音作为刺激声,分别测定了20位受试者(9例正常者,11例耳病患者,共40耳)的诱发性耳声发射(EOAE),40-Hz听觉相关电位(40-Hz AERP)和行为反应三项指标的阈值。结果如下:EOAE阈值的主要分布范围在〔20,60〕dB nHL,该范围耳数是其阈值总范围〔15,70)dB nHL耳数的93％;40-Hz AERP阈值主要在〔20,60〕dB nHL,耳数是其阈值范围〔20,90〕dB nHL耳数的95％;行为阈主要在〔20,40〕dB nHL,耳数是其阈值范围〔15,80〕dB nHL耳数的91％,全部受试者有13耳EOAE未引出(正常者3耳,耳病患者10耳),占总测试耳数的33％。三项指标的相关分析表明:EOAE—40Hz AERP,EOAE—行为反应,40Hz AERP一行为反应的r值分别为0.609(0.002相似文献   

Early behavioral development in capuchins (Cebus)

Capuchin infants (genus Cebus) are born in a behaviorally more altricial state than is known for infants of other primate taxa except apes. Development in the first 2 months after birth is characterized by the major reorganization of sleeping and waking, assumption of postural control and the appearance of prehension. Capuchins develop postural control, prehension and locomotion later than do squirrel monkeys, baboons or macaques, presenting a pattern of motor development intermediate between these relatively more precocial genera and apes. Capuchins provide a useful model primate system in which to study development and its links with behavioral variability and life history.     

Yawning: Relation to Sleeping and Stretching in Humans

The temporal relations among yawning, sleeping, and stretching were investigated by having undergraduate college students record the occurrences of these behaviors during a one-week period. Yawning was most frequent during the hour before sleeping and after waking. In contrast, stretching was common only during the hour after waking. Concurrent yawning and stretching were common but stretching was accompanied more often by yawning than vice-versa. The temporal proximity of yawning to sleep and waking times is probably the basis for yawning as a paralinguistic signal for drowsiness. The role of contagious yawning in synchronizing the behavior and physiological state of a group is considered.     

METABOLISM OF BRAIN DURING SLEEP AND WAKEFULNESS

Abstract— The levels in brain of lactate, pyruvate, creatine phosphate, ATP, ADP and AMP were examined in sleeping and waking adult rats. The animals were monitored electrophysiologically and the biochemical measurements were made after approx. 25 min of sleep or wakefulness. The previous treatment of the animals had a marked effect on the levels of brain metabolites during sleep. In animals not acclimatized to the observation chamber, brain levels of lactate and pyruvate rose during sleep above those in the waking state: creatine phosphate and ATP were depressed somewhat. When the animals were acclimatized by being placed in the observation chamber for at least 2 h on four or more consecutive days prior to the experiment, sleep was accompanied by a depression of brain levels of lactate and pyruvate and slight elevations of brain levels of creatine phosphate and ATP. No significant differences in the EEG recordings were noted between the sleeping rats of the acclimatized and non-acclimatized groups. These observations on the effect of acclimatization on brain metabolism during sleep may have clinical relevance in man.     

Longitudinal assessment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-specific gamma interferon responses during the first year of life in HIV-1-infected infants

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection results in different patterns of viral replication in pediatric compared to adult populations. The role of early HIV-1-specific responses in viral control has not been well defined, because most studies of HIV-1-infected infants have been retrospective or cross-sectional. We evaluated the association between HIV-1-specific gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) release from the cells of infants of 1 to 3 months of age and peak viral loads and mortality in the first year of life among 61 Kenyan HIV-1-infected infants. At 1 month, responses were detected in 7/12 (58%) and 6/21 (29%) of infants infected in utero and peripartum, respectively (P = 0.09), and in approximately 50% of infants thereafter. Peaks of HIV-specific spot-forming units (SFU) increased significantly with age in all infants, from 251/10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) at 1 month of age to 501/10(6) PBMC at 12 months of age (P = 0.03), although when limited to infants who survived to 1 year, the increase in peak HIV-specific SFU was no longer significant (P = 0.18). Over the first year of life, infants with IFN-gamma responses at 1 month had peak plasma viral loads, rates of decline of viral load, and mortality risk similar to those of infants who lacked responses at 1 month. The strength and breadth of IFN-gamma responses at 1 month were not significantly associated with viral containment or mortality. These results suggest that, in contrast to HIV-1-infected adults, in whom strong cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses in primary infection are associated with reductions in viremia, HIV-1-infected neonates generate HIV-1-specific CD8+-T-cell responses early in life that are not clearly associated with improved clinical outcomes.     

Elicited pontogeniculooccipital waves and phasic suppression of diaphragm activity in sleep and wakefulness

Fractionations are 20- to 100-ms pauses indiaphragm activity that occur spontaneously during rapid-eye-movement(REM) sleep, sometimes in association with pontogeniculooccipital (PGO)waves. Auditory stimuli can elicit fractionations or PGOwaves during REM sleep, non-REM (NREM) sleep, and waking; however,their interrelationship has not been investigated. To determine whetherthe two phenomena are produced by a common phasic-event generator inREM sleep, we examined PGO waves and fractionations that were elicitedby auditory stimuli (tones) presented to freely behaving cats across states. Tones elicited PGO waves and two types of fractionations: short-latency fractionation responses (SFRs; 10- to 60-ms latencies) and long-latency fractionation responses (LFRs; 60- to 120-ms latencies). Both a PGO wave and a SFR were elicited in60-70% of trials across states, but each could be elicited alone.The latencies and durations of elicited SFRs were similar acrossstates, but the latencies of elicited PGO waves in REM sleep (mean 62.5 ms) were significantly longer than in waking or NREM sleep. Elicited SFRs consistently occur with shorter latencies than do PGO waves, incontrast to spontaneous fractionations, which have a variable relationship to PGO waves and usually occur 10-40 ms after the onset of the PGO wave. The LFR then, elicited mostfrequently during REM sleep, resembles a spontaneous fractionation inits temporal relationship to the PGO wave and may reflect the bias toward motoneuronal inhibition characterizing REM sleep but not NREMsleep or waking. We conclude that, although PGO waves and SFRs sharesome features, like LFRs they probably are generated by differentneuronal populations. In three cats there was no correlation betweenPGO waves and fractionations, whereas in one cat they were associatedin REM sleep (LFRs and SFRs) and waking (SFRs only). Thus the majorityof evidence argues against the existence of a common phasic-eventgenerator in REM sleep.