A craniofacial growth maturity gradient for males and females between 4 and 16 years of age

Differential growth of the craniofacial complex implies variation in ontogenetic patterns of development. This investigation quantifies the relative maturity—as defined by percent adult status—of nine cephalometric dimensions and stature. Analysis is based on 663 lateral cephalograms from a mixed longitudinal sample of 26 males and 25 females between 4 and 16 years of age. Graphic comparison of maturity status across the age range shows that variation is intergraded between the neural and somatic growth maturity patterns, as described by head height and stature, respectively. The maturity gradient moves from head height through anterior cranial base, posterior cranial base and maxillary length, upper facial height, corpus length, and ramus height to stature. After 9 years of age ramus height is less mature than stature. Anterior maxillary and mandibular heights diminish during transitional dentition and thereafter exhibit maturity patterns that compare to corpus length. Although females are consistently more mature than males, the gradient of variation between dimensions is sex independent.     

Study of somatotype in Italian children aged 6 to 10 years

The aim of the present research was to study the variations of somatotype, calculated by the Heath-Carter anthropometric technique, during growth in a sample of children (416 males and 402 females), aged 6 and 10 years, attending primary and secondary schools of L'Aquila and its province (Abruzzo, Italy). The sample was subdivided into “urban” and “non-urban” groups, on the basis of the residence of the children, to examine possible differences in growth related to the different environments. This study give an account of the somatotype components between urban and non urban childreen between the age 6 and 10 years. A tendency toward an increase of endomorphy (adipose component) with age was noticed in both sexes. In females, ectomorphy (component of physical linearity) tended to increase and mesomorphy (muscular-skeletal component) showed a slight decrease during growth, while males exhibited a discontinuous trend. The differences between urban and non-urban children were not significant, although generally higher values of endomorphy and mesomorphy were found in males and females of the urban sample. The differences between the sexes consisted of higher values of endomorphy and lower values of mesomorphy in females. Ectomorphy was similar in the two sexes.     

Examining associations between civic engagement and depressive symptoms from adolescence to young adulthood in a national U.S. sample

Many scholars posit that engaging in civic actions enhances mental health, yet existing evidence is limited. To address gaps in the literature and advance understanding of benefits of civic engagement from adolescence to young adulthood, we estimated a longitudinal structural model to test bidirectional associations between civic engagement (i.e., voting, community engagement, political behaviors) and depressive symptoms using nationally representative longitudinal U.S. data. Adolescent and early young adulthood (EYA) depressive symptoms predicted decreases in later voting. Adolescent and EYA community engagement predicted decreases in later depressive symptoms. Analyses suggested that findings generalized across gender, age, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and EYA social roles. Despite key limitations in measurement of civic engagement over time, results provide some support the notion that community engagement may have mental health benefits for youth, and that depression may reduce later civic engagement.     

Fatness and skeletal maturity of Belgian boys 12 through 17 years of age

Relationships between fatness and skeletal maturity are considered in a nationwide sample of 14,259 Belgian boys 12 through 17 years of age (The Leuven Growth Study of Belgian Boys). Absolute fatness was estimated from four skinfolds using the Drinkwater and Ross technique and from the sum of four skinfolds, and was related to skeletal maturity assessed by the Tanner-Whitehouse method (I and II). In addition, comparisons were made between the fattest 5% and leanest 5% of the boys at each age level. Correlations between the indices of fatness and skeletal age and relative skeletal age (the difference between skeletal and chronological ages) are positive and generally low, ranging from 0.12 to 0.39. They tend to decrease with age from 12 to 17 years. Comparisons between the extreme groups indicate that the leanest boys are more delayed in skeletal maturity, by about 0.8 years, than the fattest boys are advanced, by about 0.5 years. Stature data for the same boys are consistent with the skeletal maturity data and thus suggest that the size differences between the extreme groups are due in part to maturity differences. Over the age span 12 through 20 years, the leanest boys are reduced in stature by about – 1.2 standard deviations, while the fattest boys are larger in stature by about +0.6 standard deviation units. The size differences, however, persist after skeletal maturity is attained so that there may be a specific role for fatness in influencing statural growth.     

Growth standards for the tibia and radius in children aged one month through eighteen years

Standards for the growth of the tibia and the radius are presented for normal males and females ages one month through 18 years. Using radiographs of subjects from the Fels Research Institute for the Study of Human Development longitudinal program, means and standard deviations for bone length, interval increments and annual increments were determined. Males and females show little difference in growth of the tibia until adolescence while statistically significant differences are found at nearly all ages in the radius. The adolescent growth spurt occurs in the male from 12–15 years and in the female from 9–12 years.     

Muscle strength in male athletes aged 70-81 years and a population sample.

Muscle strength characteristics of different muscle groups were studied in active male strength-trained (ST, n = 14), speed-trained (SP, n = 16), and endurance-trained (EN, n = 67) athletes aged between 70 and 81 years. A population sample of similar age (n = 42) served as a control group. The isometric forces for hand grip, arm flexion, knee extension, trunk extension, and trunk flexion were higher for the athletes than the controls and higher for the ST than EN group. The SP athletes showed higher values in knee extension and trunk flexion than the EN group. When the isometric muscle forces were related to lean body mass, significant differences still existed between the athletes and controls. However, the differences between the ST and EN groups disappeared. The elevation of the body's centre of gravity in the vertical jump was also higher for the athletes than the controls. The SP group performed better in the vertical jump than either the ST or EN group. The results showed that the athletes who trained not only for strength and speed but also for endurance had superior muscle function compared to the average male population of the same age. Although the strength and speed athletes generally showed the highest muscle strength in absolute terms, the endurance athletes also preserved excellent strength characteristics related to body mass.     

The longitudinal development of running economy in males and females aged between 13 and 27 years: The Amsterdam Growth and Health Study

The purpose of this study was to describe the longitudinal development of running economy [defined as the oxygen uptake (V˙O₂) at a submaximal running speed] in males and females from teenage to young adult age using data from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Study. Submaximal V˙O₂ (in ml · kg⁻¹· min⁻¹) was measured in 84 males and 98 females while they ran on a treadmill at a constant speed of 8 km · h⁻¹ for 6 min at three different treadmill slopes (0%, 2.5% and 5%). This test was carried out six times, on the same subjects at the ages of 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, and 27 years. The longitudinal development of running economy in males and females was analysed using a two-way analysis of variance for repeated measurements. At all three slopes, a significant decrease in V˙O₂ with increasing age was found for both males and females, implying a significant increase in running economy for both sexes. Males showed significantly higher V˙O₂ values than females at all ages measured and for all three slopes, suggesting that females have a significantly higher running economy than males. In order to make a better comparison of the V˙O₂ of individuals of different sizes, allometric models were used; power function ratios were constructed in which body mass was expressed to an exponential power. Following this analysis the difference in submaximal V˙O₂ and running economy between males and females appeared even larger. Accepted: 20 February 1997     

Changes in somatotypes of European males between 17 and 24 years

In order to examine the possible changes in somatotype of young males, 14 boys who had been somatotyped annually from 11 to 18 years by the Health-Carter anthropometric rating method were re-somatotyped at 24 years. The analysis focused on years 17, 18 and 24. Discriminant analysis, somatotype dispersion indices and distances, and the I-index were used to analyze the data. The findings showed a significant shift in somatotype from ectomorphmesomorph towards endo-mesomorphy between 17 and 24 years. This shift was greater than that observed by Zuk ('58), and was in the same direction. It is hypothesized that the somatotypes of males become more endo-mesomorphic from 17 years to the mid-twenties.     

Physical activity related to forced vital capacity and strength performance in a sample of young males and females

To identify the extent of physical performance differences between active and sedentary subjects taking into account sexual dimorphism physical activity level was recorded by interview from a sample of 319 young university students of both sexes. Anthropometric variables and physical performance values were obtained. The sex factor was the main variable explaining the differences in physical performance between active and sedentary young. Also contributors to those differences were forced vital capacity (FVC), heart rate after exercise and rest heart rate, together with the explosive component of strength (vertical jump). The effect of physical activity was shown in the increment of FVC and the decrease of resting heart rate. In the overall sample, heart rate after exercise, either in active males or active females, was lowered with respect to the sedentary subjects, showing that active females experienced a greater cardiovascular benefit following adaptation to training than sedentary.     

Assessing the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) in a national sample of Danish youth aged 8-16 years

Early identification of anxiety among youth is required to prevent them from going unrecognised and untreated by mental health professionals. A precise identification of the young person's primary difficulty is also required to guide treatment programs. Availability of a valid and easily administrable assessment tool is crucial for identifying youth suffering from anxiety disorders. The purpose of the present study was therefore to examine the psychometric properties of the Danish version of the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). A total of 667 youth from community schools (4(th) through 9(th) grade) across Denmark participated in the study. The psychometric properties of the RCADS-(DAN) resembled those reported in US and Europe. Within scale reliability was excellent with Chronbach's alpha of.96. All subscales also showed good to excellent internal reliability. The study provides convincing evidence that the RCADS-(DAN) is a valid assessment tool for screening anxiety in Danish youth.     

Research on olfactory perception of biologically relevant substances in a sample of school-children,aged from 6 to 14 years

This study is part of an extensive research program on pheromones aiming to analyze in depth and on a wide scale man's olfaction and its ability to distinguish pheromone-like substances either of male and female origin, as well as the evolution of such ability at different physiological stages during his life. Olfaction tests were conducted on a group of 1318 school children (aged 6 to 14) by mean of “Biologically relevant” substances. Younger males and females showed the same responses to Pirroline Isovalerianate Butyrate and to Androstandiol in an high percentage of cases. Response variability gradually increases with aging and this could be explained assuming that sensitivity to biological smells keeps up with their emission or, even more, with hormone development which originates them. Hormone research is currently being carried on in order to prove such assumption.     

Manipulating the wild: a survey of restoration and management interventions in U.S. wilderness

Landscape scale restoration is a common management intervention used around the world to combat ecological degradation. For wilderness managers in the United States, the decision to intervene is complicated by the Wilderness Act's legal mandate to preserve wilderness character and demonstrate managerial restraint (16 U.S.C. § 1131–1136). We assessed the frequency and type of management interventions, specifically actions to manage ecosystems, that have occurred in the National Wilderness Preservation System between 2011 and 2015, including the specific type of intervention, the methods used, the project proponent, and the factors that influenced the decision to act. We sent an online survey to staff members at 527 wilderness units from four federal agencies that manage wilderness and found that management interventions occurred in 37% of wildernesses sampled (n = 210). The greatest frequency of interventions occurred in the National Park Service (75%), and the three most common interventions were vegetation treatments (46%), wildfire (35%), and wildlife restoration projects (18%). Our findings point to a need for greater transparency about information on management interventions. We recommend creating an interagency database to track information on management interventions in wilderness to better understand which actions are occurring and why; such a database could help inform wilderness stewardship decisions while demonstrating best practices for ecological restorations implemented within the constraints of the Wilderness Act.     

Epiphyseal union of the anterior iliac crest and medial clavicle in a modern multiracial sample of American males and females

Epiphyseal union of the anterior iliac crest and the medial clavicle is examined in 605 males and 254 females in a sample of modern Americans aged 11-40 years. The sample includes American whites, American blacks, Latin-Americans, and Orientals. This is the first skeletal investigation using a large sample of individuals of known age since the McKern and Stewart study of 1957. Epiphyseal union is analyzed in terms of four stages: 1) nonunion with no epiphyses, 2) nonunion with separate epiphyses, 3) partial union, and 4) complete union. The results provide broader age ranges for the stages of union than previous studies. Age ranges for males and females are similar or vary by only 1-2 years. Racially, no major distinguishing patterns are found except for greater variability in age distributions appearing to exist among American black females. The study furnishes valuable data on epiphyseal timing in the teenage years.     

Relative Risk of Involuntary Injuries Among Currently Employed Adults in the U.S.

It can be very informative to compare the risk of injury for different occupations, places where accidents happen, demographic variables, and other characteristics. However, most epidemiologic literature shows that multiple logistic regression or odds ratio were commonly used to compare the relationship between the variables on two or more levels. A multiple logistic regression could be used for multiple comparisons assuming that the model correctly reflects the situation at hand. But it might not be a true assumption. Assuming no model, we defined the relative risk to compare risks of injury for different occupations, and applied this method to the data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). This application showed that the relative risk of injury varied by occupation and by place of accident, sex, race, and age.     

Selenium status and its correlates in a British national diet and nutrition survey: people aged 65 years and over.

Plasma selenium (Se) concentrations were measured in 1134 British people aged 65 years and over, living in mainland Britain during 1994-1995. Eight hundred and eighty-three lived in the community ("free-living"), while the remainder lived in institutions (residential and nursing homes). The overall mean plasma Se concentrations was 0.90 micromol/l (inner 95% range 0.50-1.36 micromol/l). Free-living people had significantly higher values than counterparts living in institutions, and there was an overall inverse correlation with age. Plasma Se varied with season (lower from October to December than at other times of the year), while values were higher in southern Britain than in the North. Socio-economic associations also existed (lower plasma Se in people receiving state benefits or with poorer educational attainment), while smokers had lower values than non-smokers. Several indices of poor health status or of medicine use were correlated with lower plasma Se, which was also predicted by several biochemical or haematological indices of infection or inflammation. Plasma Se was strongly and directly correlated with plasma albumin, zinc, cholesterol, vitamin C, several carotenoids, alpha-tocopherol, pyridoxal phosphate, and with blood haemoglobin and several anthropometric indices. All relationships were independent of age and gender, and are consistent with the view that plasma Se levels are higher in fit and well-nourished elderly people and lower in those who are frail, poorly-nourished and unwell. Whole-blood glutathione peroxidase generally did not share these relationships, was only very weakly correlated with plasma Se, and appeared to be less useful as a status indicator in this population group.     

The relationships between serum copper levels and overweight/total obesity and central obesity in children and adolescents aged 6-18 years

ObjectiveTo explore the relationships between serum copper levels and overweight/total obesity and central obesity in children and adolescents.MethodsWe included 2,000 children and adolescents from the 2011-2016 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. The multivariable linear model, logistic model and restricted cubic splines were adopted to assess the relationships. Models were adjusted for data release cycle, age, sex, race/ethnicity, ratio of family income to poverty, and dietary intakes of protein, total sugars, total fat, fiber, energy, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C, and hours watch television or videos.ResultsThe prevalences of overweight/total obesity and central obesity were 37.38% and 33.40%, respectively. For per-quintile increment in serum copper levels, body mass index increased by 1.06 (0.79-1.33) (kg/m²) and waist circumference increased by 2.43 (1.58-3.27) (cm). The odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for overweight/total obesity and central obesity among participants with the highest quintile compared with those with the lowest quintile of serum copper levels were 5.46 (3.31-8.98) and 5.64 (3.31-9.58), respectively. The above-mentioned associations were not modified by age (children: 6-12 years, adolescents: 13-18 years) and sex. Dose-response analysis showed that the odds of overweight/total obesity and central obesity increased with increasing serum copper levels to a level of approximate 140 ug/dL where the association seemed to reach a plateau, respectively.ConclusionsSerum copper levels were positively associated with body mass index and waist circumference, and elevated serum copper levels were associated with higher odds of overweight/total obesity and central obesity in children and adolescents.     

The psychosis spectrum in a young U.S. community sample: findings from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort

Little is known about the occurrence and predictors of the psychosis spectrum in large non‐clinical community samples of U.S. youths. We aimed to bridge this gap through assessment of psychosis spectrum symptoms in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, a collaborative investigation of clinical and neurobehavioral phenotypes in a prospectively accrued cohort of youths, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Youths (age 11‐21; N=7,054) and collateral informants (caregiver/legal guardian) were recruited through the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and administered structured screens of psychosis spectrum symptoms, other major psychopathology domains, and substance use. Youths were also administered a computerized neurocognitive battery assessing five neurobehavioral domains. Predictors of psychosis spectrum status in physically healthy participants (N=4,848) were examined using logistic regression. Among medically healthy youths, 3.7% reported threshold psychotic symptoms (delusions and/or hallucinations). An additional 12.3% reported significant sub‐psychotic positive symptoms, with odd/unusual thoughts and auditory perceptions, followed by reality confusion, being the most discriminating and widely endorsed attenuated symptoms. A minority of youths (2.3%) endorsed subclinical negative/disorganized symptoms in the absence of positive symptoms. Caregivers reported lower symptom levels than their children. Male gender, younger age, and non‐European American ethnicity were significant predictors of spectrum status. Youths with spectrum symptoms had reduced accuracy across neurocognitive domains, reduced global functioning, and increased odds of depression, anxiety, behavioral disorders, substance use and suicidal ideation. These findings have public health relevance for prevention and early intervention.