Ponderal indices at birth

At birth, the index weight/height is the highest correlated with weight, height and cephalic perimeter, for the index of Quételet (BMI) the correlations are also significant although lower. In both cases, the variation with age is significant. For the Rohrer index, the situation is different, the changes with age being almost absent. In front of these results, can we decide which index would be adequate to establish the nutritional status at birth? For Cole (1986), for such a ponderal index the correlation with height would have to be absent. Rolland-Cachera (1982) proposed also that the correlations with height would be absent but would be high with weight. In the case of the newborns of our study the only index being not correlated to height is the Rohrer index with low correlation also with the cephalic perimeter and high correlation with weight (although here the correlation is even higher with BMI and W/H). During the utero-placentary disfunction the foetal weight is affected but not height and cephalic perimeter: in this case, the advantage is also to an index correlated with weight but not with height.     

广西玉林地区汉族儿童青少年头面部发育特征

为了了解广西玉林地区汉族儿童青少年头面型,本文采用分层随机抽样方法对广西玉林地区1119名7－16岁城镇汉族儿童青少年的9项头面部指标进行测量,分析和比较儿童青少年容貌特征的发育与年龄增长的关系,按头面部各项指数分型。结果显示：汉族儿童青少年头面部的9项指标除头最大宽外均随年龄的增长而增大,各年龄组的性别间存在显著性差异。头面型以中头型和圆头型、高头型、狭头型及阔面型和中面型为主。     

Smoking and the sudden infant death syndrome: results from 1993-5 case-control study for confidential inquiry into stillbirths and deaths in infancy. Confidential Enquiry into Stillbirths and Deaths Regional Coordinators and Researchers.

OBJECTIVE--To investigate the effects of exposure to tobacco smoke and of parental consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs as risk factors for the sudden infant death syndrome after a national risk reduction campaign which included advice on prenatal and postnatal avoidance of tobacco smoke. DESIGN--Two year population based case-control study. Parental interviews were conducted for each infant who died and four controls matched for age and date of interview. SETTING--Three regions in England with a total population of 17 million people. SUBJECTS--195 babies who died and 780 matched controls. RESULTS--More index than control mothers (62.6% v 25.1%) smoked during pregnancy (multivariate odds ratio = 2.10; 95% confidence interval 1.24 to 3.54). Paternal smoking had an additional independent effect when other factors were controlled for (2.50; 1.48 to 4.22). The risk of death rose with increasing postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke, which had an additive effect among those also exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy (2.93; 1.56 to 5.48). The population attributable risk was over 61%, which implies that the numbers of deaths from the syndrome could be reduced by almost two third if parents did not smoke. Alcohol use was higher among index than control mothers but was strongly correlated with smoking and on multivariate analysis was not found to have any additional independent effect. Illegal drug use was more common among the index parents, and paternal use of illegal drugs remained significant in the multivariate model (4.68; 1.56 to 14.05). CONCLUSIONS--This study confirms the increased risk of the sudden infant death syndrome associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy and shows evidence that household exposure to tobacco smoke has an independent additive effect. Parental drug misuse has an additional small but significant effect.     

External cephalic version of the term breech baboon (Papio sp.) fetus

BACKGROUND: Breech presentation in baboons may be associated with head entrapment and stillbirth during vaginal delivery. For this reason, pregnant dams at our institution typically undergo cesarean delivery for known breech presentation, leading to problems with maternal-infant bonding and increased nursery utilization. METHODS: This paper describes a simple, non-invasive technique called external cephalic version (ECV) that effectively converts the baboon breech fetus into a cephalic presentation. RESULTS: ECV was successful in each of seven attempted cases, with the consistent development of contractions and vaginal bleeding leading to the delivery of a healthy liveborn infant within 72 hours. CONCLUSIONS: ECV may offer a safe and effective alternative to cesarean section for delivery of the breech baboon fetus.     

Classification and inheritance study of transverse cephalic curvature index

In the present paper an arbitrary classification of the transverse cephalic curvature index has been proposed as low (up to 36.9), medium (37.0–39.9) and high (40.0 and upwards) on the basis of the study of 163 Punjabi families. The inheritance study of this index has been attempted by estimating the coefficient of correlation of the different familial combinations of 49 Punjabi families (all adults). The correlation coefficients observed for the different combinations suggest the hereditary nature of this index, but presently it could not be decided whether or not there exists any sex-influence or sex-limitation of the character, though population studies suggest significant sex difference.     

Interaction between bedding and sleeping position in the sudden infant death syndrome: a population based case-control study.

OBJECTIVE--To determine the relation between sleeping position and quantity of bedding and the risk of sudden unexpected infant death. DESIGN--A study of all infants dying suddenly and unexpectedly and of two controls matched for age and date with each index case. The parents of control infants were interviewed within 72 hours of the index infant''s death. Information was collected on bedding, sleeping position, heating, and recent signs of illness for index and control infants. SETTING--A defined geographical area comprising most of the county of Avon and part of Somerset. SUBJECTS--72 Infants who had died suddenly and unexpectedly (of whom 67 had died from the sudden infant death syndrome) and 144 control infants. RESULTS--Compared with the control infants the infants who had died from the sudden infant death syndrome were more likely to have been sleeping prone (relative risk 8.8; 95% confidence interval 7.0 to 11.0; p less than 0.001), to have been more heavily wrapped (relative risk 1.14 per tog above 8 tog; 1.03 to 1.28; p less than 0.05), and to have had the heating on all night (relative risk 2.7; 1.4 to 5.2; p less than 0.01). These differences were less pronounced in the younger infants (less than 70 days) than the older ones. The risk of sudden unexpected death among infants older than 70 days, nursed prone, and with clothing and bedding of total thermal resistance greater than 10 tog was increased by factors of 15.1 (2.6 to 89.6) and 25.2 (3.7 to 169.0) respectively compared with the risk in infants of the same age nursed supine or on their side and under less than 6 tog of bedding. CONCLUSIONS--Overheating and the prone position are independently associated with an increased risk of sudden unexpected infant death, particularly in infants aged more than 70 days. Educating parents about appropriate thermal care and sleeping position of infants may help to reduce the incidence of the sudden infant death syndrome.     

Playback experiment to test maternal responses of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) to their own infant's call when the infants were four to six months old

Calls emitted by infants when the infant loses sight of its parents are useful to estimate the infant's requirement for parental care. When an Old World monkey infant loses sight of its mother it emits whistles. Therefore, it would be interesting to determine whether mothers could distinguish their own infant's whistles from the whistles of other infants. The response of each of seven Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) mothers to her own infant's whistle was compared with their responses to another infant's whistle. Matched control playback experiments were performed when the infants were four to six months old. The results showed that each mother could distinguish her own infant's whistle from that of another infant when the infants were four to six months old. Although a stricter experimental plan is required to further examine the issue, we found that the dominance rank of the infant's mother was another important factor in the female response to the infant's call. The finding suggests that females can associate a call emitted by an infant with its mother's rank, even before the infant begins to wander far from its mother.     

Trivers-Willard at birth and one year: evidence from US natality data 1983-2001

Trivers & Willard (TW) hypothesized that evolution would favour deviations from the population sex ratio in response to parental condition: parents in good condition would have more sons and parents in poor condition would have more daughters. We analyse the universe of US linked births and infant deaths to white mothers 1983-2001, covering 48 million births and 310,000 deaths. We find that (i) married, better educated and younger mothers bore more sons and (ii) infant deaths were more male if the mother was unmarried and young. Our findings highlight the potential role of offspring sex ratio as an indicator of maternal status, and the role of infant mortality in shaping a TW pattern in the breeding population.     

Orbital teratoma associated with trigonocephaly

A rare case of congenital orbital teratoma that developed concurrently with the clinical findings of metopic sutural synostosis in an infant is presented. A cause-and-effect and/or embryologic relationship between these two cephalic malformations is possible, although coincidental occurrence is equally probable. The proximity of these congenital anomalies permitted complete resolution in a one-stage craniofacial procedure without alteration in the surgical technique.     

Head form and climatic stress

Empiric evidence indicates that the general distribution of the cephalic index is explicable in terms of climatic adaptation. Based on a sample of 339 populations, the magnitude of the index is statistically different between zones of predominantly dry heat, wet heat, wet cold and dry cold. There is an inverse relationship between the mean cephalic index and temperature. It is argued that the occupation of cold climates is one of the circumstances increasing the frequency of brachycephaly through time.     

Where Will the Baby Sleep? Attitudes and Practices of New and Experienced Parents Regarding Cosleeping with Their Newborn Infants

An evolutionary perspective on human infant sleep physiology suggests that parent-infant cosleeping, practiced under safe conditions, might be beneficial to both mothers and infants. However, cosleeping is not part of mainstream parenting ideology in the United States or the United Kingdom, and little evidence is available to indicate whether, and under what circumstances, parents sleep with their newborn infants. We present data from an anthropological investigation into the practices and attitudes of new and experienced parents of newborn infants regarding parent-infant sleeping arrangements in a community in the northeast of England. Despite not having contemplated cosleeping prior to the birth, new parents in our sample found it to be a convenient nighttime caregiving strategy, and one which was practiced regularly. Infants slept with both their parents, some being habitual all-night cosleepers, but commonly beginning the night in a cnb and sleeping with their parents for several hours following the early morning feed, [infant sleep, newborn, cosleeping, new parents]     

Physiological reactivity to infant crying: a behavioral genetic study

In this study, we examined adults' cardiac reactivity to repeated infant cry sounds in a genetically informative design. Three episodes of cry stimuli were presented to a sample of 184 adult twin pairs. Cardiac reactivity increased with each cry episode, indicating that subjects were increasingly sensitized to repeated infant distress signals. Non‐parents showed more cardiac reactivity than parents, and males displayed a larger increase in heart rate (HR) in response to repeated cry sounds than females. Multivariate genetic modeling showed that the genetic component of adults' HR while listening to infant crying was substantial. Genetic factors explained 37–51% of the variance in HR and similar genes influenced HR at baseline and HR reactivity to infant crying. The remaining variance in HR across the cry paradigm was accounted for by unique environmental influences (including measurement error). These results point to genetic and experiential effects on HR reactivity to infant crying that may contribute to the explanation of variance in sensitive and harsh parenting.     

Living conditions and growth of maya indian and non-maya boys from yucatan in 1993 in comparison with other studies

The purpose of this study was to characterize the biological status and living conditions of boys inhabiting the northern part of Merida. Studies were conduoted in summer 1993, in several secondary schools in the northern part of the Merida, capitol of Yucatan, Mexico. The material consisted of biological measurements of 497 boys aged from 12 to 17 years. Also parents of these children were interviewed. Mothers (497) aged from 28 to 60 years (40 on the average) and fathers (495) aged from 30 to 62 years. Values of biological characteristics were calculated for the whole material, and also separately for the families in which both parents were Maya Indians, Non-Mayas and mixed. The differences between Mixed and Non-Mayas were distinct in stature, trunk length, upper extremity length, head length, head circumference, hips breadth index, cephalic and frontal indices, thus, mainly in body size and the head and face form. Differences between Mayas and Non-Mayas were distinct in the most measures: direct measurements ofbody weight and height, trunk and both extremities length, shoulder breadth, head length, face and nose breadth, head, waist and hips circumferences (which did not show differences between two other groups as a direct measure) and triceps skinfold thickness. The differences were also found in some indices (cephalic, frontal and face) and this probably has a non-adaptive character. The difFerences in other body proportions, which could be rather easy adjustable in the meaning on ontogenetic development were not found. The constitutional differences were observed in stature, arm fatfold and hip breadth. Body proportions were under the strong influence of living conditions and this probably caused the lack of difFerences between 3 ethnic groups. The contemporary Maya boys in comparison with the Steggerda data (1941) were on average 10 cm taller, more plumb by 10 units of BMI, and had more rounded heads. Head, which is under a strong genetic control and has more conservative character showed differences between Maya and Mixed groups versus Non-Mayas.     

Changes in cephalic and peripheral use of glucose and glutamine under the influence of hyperammonemia in rats]

Arterio-venous differences of glucose and glutamine were determined across the brain and across the hind limb in normal and ammonium salt infused rats, before and during an insulin tolerance test, in an attempt to study the effect of hyperammonemia on cephalic and muscular metabolism. The results demonstrate that 1) hyperammonemia reduces the hind limb uptake of glucose without affect the cephalic uptake of glucose which is lowered during hypoglycemia, 2) the reduction of the cephalic and muscular glutamine output induced by the hypoglycemia is masked in presence of an hyperammonemia. In conclusion, it may be assume that, at the concentration obtained in this study, hyperammonemia does not act directly in the pathogenesis of hepatic coma in which a decrease in cerebral glucose uptake described; on the other hand, ammonium plays an important role in the muscle metabolism.     

A PEX6-defective peroxisomal biogenesis disorder with severe phenotype in an infant, versus mild phenotype resembling Usher syndrome in the affected parents

Sensorineural deafness and retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are the hallmarks of Usher syndrome (USH) but are also prominent features in peroxisomal biogenesis defects (PBDs); both are autosomal recessively inherited. The firstborn son of unrelated parents, who both had sensorineural deafness and RP diagnosed as USH, presented with sensorineural deafness, RP, dysmorphism, developmental delay, hepatomegaly, and hypsarrhythmia and died at age 17 mo. The infant was shown to have a PBD, on the basis of elevated plasma levels of very-long- and branched-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs and BCFAs), deficiency of multiple peroxisomal functions in fibroblasts, and complete absence of peroxisomes in fibroblasts and liver. Surprisingly, both parents had elevated plasma levels of VLCFAs and BCFAs. Fibroblast studies confirmed that both parents had a PBD. The parents' milder phenotypes correlated with relatively mild peroxisomal biochemical dysfunction and with catalase immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrating mosaicism and temperature sensitivity in fibroblasts. The infant and both of his parents belonged to complementation group C. PEX6 gene sequencing revealed mutations on both alleles, in the infant and in his parents. This unique family is the first report of a PBD with which the parents are themselves affected individuals rather than asymptomatic carriers. Because of considerable overlap between USH and milder PBD phenotypes, individuals suspected to have USH should be screened for peroxisomal dysfunction.     

The reversal exchange technique of total calvarial reconstruction for sagittal synostosis

The role of total calvarial reconstruction in the treatment of sagittal synostosis remains controversial, especially in patients younger than 1 year of age. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the efficacy of a single surgical technique for total calvarial reconstruction (the reversal exchange technique) in patients younger than 1 year of age who had a radiographically confirmed diagnosis of sagittal synostosis. Twenty-three consecutive patients underwent the reversal exchange technique of total calvarial reconstruction at a median age of 3 months (age range, 6 weeks to 10 months). Quantitative assessments were performed on the basis of preoperative and postoperative (minimum, 6 months) measurements of the cephalic index (cranial width/cranial length x 100) taken from three-dimensional computed tomography scans, which were obtained in 18 of 23 patients. Aesthetic assessments were performed on the basis of the grading of preoperative and postoperative photographs, obtained in 17 of 23 patients, by three independent raters who were blinded as to the surgical technique. The mean preoperative cephalic index was 65.0, and the mean postoperative index was 76.4, yielding a mean improvement of 11.4 (17.5 percent). By photographic evaluation, 12 of 17 patients (70.6 percent) were classified as having a normal head shape (grade 4) and five of 17 (29.4 percent) as having minor residual deformities (grade 3). No patients were identified as having significant residual deformities (grades 1 or 2). There were two intraoperative complications and one postoperative complication, none of which resulted in permanent morbidity. It was concluded that the reversal exchange technique of total calvarial reconstruction provided significant improvement in head shape on the basis of quantitative measurements (cephalic index) and independent evaluations of aesthetic improvement.     

广西三江侗族儿童青少年头面部发育指标分析

本文对广西三江侗族自治县的 7— 16岁乡村侗族男女中、小学生 2 0 87名 (男 10 5 5 ,女 10 32 )的头面部9项指标进行测量 ,并计算有关指数 ,分析和比较了儿童青少年容貌特征发育与年龄增长的关系。根据头面部指数分型 ,确定了广西三江侗族自治县侗族儿童青少年的头面部形态。依各项指数 ,侗族儿童青少年多属圆头型 ,高头型 ,阔头型及阔面型。     

The phenomenon of debrachycephalization in Jena school children

Head measurements are performed within the anthropological investigations of school children from Jena (Germany) since more than 5 decades (1944-1995). Here we report on secular changes of the head length, the head breadth and the cephalic index. The head circumference, measured in 1985 and in 1995, is included in the analysis. Head length and head breadth show a contrary development over the whole period: the average length of the head increases between the consecutive investigations, whereas the breadth of the head decreases continuously between the separate investigations. As a consequence the cephalic index decreases in boys and girls for about 8 units since 1944. In this way a secular change of the shape of the head in the sense of debrachycephalisation can be proved in Jena school children. The head circumference, however, remains nearly constant between 1985 and 1995. Possible causes of this process of debrachycephalisation are focussed in this article.     

Social relationships and individual contribution to cooperative behaviour in captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

The social relationships between the members of a family consisting of eight captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) are here examined, as well as the participation of individual family members in infant carrying and defensive behaviour against non-related intruders (adolescent males). Within the social relationships, a clear division of the family into three subgroups (parents, adult offspring, non-adult offspring) could be determined, whereby the adult offspring, especially with respect to the parents, occupy a peripheral position. In the types of cooperative behaviour examined here, substantial participation in infant carrying could be observed in only four family members (parents, adult son, one subadult daughter), and in defence against intruders in only two family members (adult son, one subadult daughter). Participation in infant carrying remained stable throughout the study period. Conversely, individual changes in participation in defence against intruders could be determined, dependent upon the presence of infants carried. The advantages and disadvantages of social substructuring observed are discussed here, in particular the peripheral position of adult offspring, possible connections in individually varied participation in cooperative behaviour, and possible regulative mechanisms. In view of past studies on cooperative behaviour among marmosets, it is here presumed that pronounced individual differences result from a division of labour within the family with respect to various aspects of cooperative behaviour.     

Parental failure in captive cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus Oedipus).

Several New World monkey species experience high rates of infant mortality in captivity, and parental failure in the form of infant neglect and abuse is often regarded as one of the leading causes of this problem. We explored a large archival database to assess environmental, familial, and biological variables identified as significant for parental success in previous studies of captive tamarins, through several generations and across several dozen pedigrees. Using a stepwise multiple regression analysis we developed a model including the fewest variables able to identify statistically significant predictors of infant outcome. We found that seven independent variables could predict infant outcome in the colony. The most important appeared to be the presence of helpers with whom parents could share infant carrying. Mother's experience and litter size were two other variables that contributed to a significant extent to explaining parental failure. Moreover, the model showed that there is a measurable contribution to infant outcome due to the health status of both parents. Finally, we found a distinct role for mothers and fathers, and that parental failure follows different patterns for abuse and rejection.