Individual differences in infant fixation duration relate to attention and behavioral control in childhood

Individual differences in fixation duration are considered a reliable measure of attentional control in adults. However, the degree to which individual differences in fixation duration in infancy (0–12 months) relate to temperament and behavior in childhood is largely unknown. In the present study, data were examined from 120 infants (mean age = 7.69 months, SD = 1.90) who previously participated in an eye-tracking study. At follow-up, parents completed age-appropriate questionnaires about their child’s temperament and behavior (mean age of children = 41.59 months, SD = 9.83). Mean fixation duration in infancy was positively associated with effortful control (β = 0.20, R2 = .02, p = .04) and negatively with surgency (β = −0.37, R2 = .07, p = .003) and hyperactivity-inattention (β = −0.35, R2 = .06, p = .005) in childhood. These findings suggest that individual differences in mean fixation duration in infancy are linked to attentional and behavioral control in childhood

Primary Epstein-Barr virus infection in a 40-day-old infant

Most cases of primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection during infancy and early childhood are mild or subclinical; therefore, the diagnosis of an EBV infection is not performed easily in this age group. Infectious mononucleosis (IM) is rarely reported during infancy. We report a 40-day-old infant with cervical node enlargement, cough, and coryza symptoms who was finally identified as having a case of primary IM based on the patient's clinical features and serological tests. © 2013 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved

Idiopathic Infantile arterial calcification –A Very rare case

A rare case of Idiopathic Arterial Calcification of Infancy (IACI), inherited as an autosomal recessive disease, is reported

Illuminating Luke: the infancy narrative in Italian Renaissance painting

Title: Illuminating Luke: the infancy narrative in Italian Renaissance painting. Author: Hornik, Heidi J Illuminating Luke 164 p. Publisher: Harrisburg : Trinity, 2003

Persistent effects of early infant diet and associated microbiota on the juvenile immune system.

Early infant diet has significant impacts on the gut microbiota and developing immune system. We previously showed that breast-fed and formula-fed rhesus macaques develop significantly different gut microbial communities, which in turn are associated with different immune systems in infancy. Breast-fed animals manifested greater T cell activation and proliferation and harbored robust pools of T helper 17 (TH17) cells. These differences were sustained throughout the first year of life. Here we examine groups of juvenile macaques (approximately 3 to 5 y old), which were breast-fed or formula-fed in infancy. We demonstrate that juveniles breast-fed in infancy maintain immunologic differences into the fifth year of life, principally in CD8(+) memory T cell activation. Additionally, long-term correlation networks show that breast-fed animals maintain persistent relationships between immune subsets that are not seen in formula-fed animals. These findings demonstrate that infant feeding practices have continued influence on immunity for up to 3 to 5 y after birth and also reveal mechanisms for microbial modulation of the immune system

Emerging Linguistic Functions in Early Infancy

This paper presents results from experimental studies on early language acquisition in infants and attempts to interpret the experimental results within the framework of the Ecological Theory of Language Acquisition (ETLA) recently proposed by (Lacerda et al., 2004a). From this perspective, the infant’s first steps in the acquisition of the ambient language are seen as a consequence of the infant’s general capacity to represent sensory input and the infant’s interaction with other actors in its immediate ecological environment. On the basis of available experimental evidence, it will be argued that ETLA offers a productive alternative to traditional descriptive views of the language acquisition process by presenting an operative model of how early linguistic function may emerge through interaction

Equality, Infancy and Efficiency in Allocating Internal Research Funds to Faculty Members

equality, infancy, efficiency, resource allocation, research funds

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

α-1 antitrypsin is synthesised in the liver and protects lung alveolar tissues from destruction by neutrophil elastase. α-1 antitrypsin deficiency is a common autosomal recessive condition (1:1600 to 1:1800) in which liver disease results from retention of abnormal polymerised α-1 antitrypsin in the endoplasmic reticulum of hepatocytes, and emphysema results from alveolar wall damage. The clinical consequences of α-1 antitrypsin deficiency in childhood are haemorrhagic disease in infancy, cholestasis in infancy, or chronic liver disease. Lung disease attributable to α-1 antitrypsin deficiency does not occur in childhood, but is closely linked to smoking in adults. Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, panniculitis, and necrotising vasculitis are associations with α-1 antitrypsin deficiency in adult life

Providing the family-nurse partnership programme through interpreters in England

This study looks at the delivery of the Family-Nurse Partnership (FNP) in England with interpreters. This home-visiting programme for vulnerable, young first-time mothers is known in the USA as the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). FNP is manualised with a number of fidelity targets and stretch objectives. This study covers the first two phases, pregnancy and infancy (up to 12 months). The programme relies on the development of a close nurse-client relationship. Interpreters can be a barrier for therapeutic work with vulnerable groups. The aims are to determine from quantitative and qualitative data whether the FNP programme can be delivered with fidelity in the presence of an interpreter and to explore issues concerned with the impact of interpreters on relationships. Statistical comparisons were made of delivery objectives over 2 years, from April 2007 to February 2009, in the 10 sites in England, spread across all nine Government Office Regions providing FNP. Forty-three clients had an interpreter at some point and 1261 did not. Qualitative interviews were conducted between April and May 2009 with 30 stakeholders (nurses, clients, interpreters). In relation to quantitative indicators, the percentage of planned content covered in visits was lower with interpreters (pregnancy 90% vs. 94%; infancy 88% vs. 93%) and both understanding and involvement of clients, as judged by nurses on 5-point scales, were lower (understanding, pregnancy 4.3 vs. 4.6, infancy 3.8 vs. 4.5; involvement, pregnancy 4.4 vs. 4.7, infancy 3.7 vs. 4.5). The interpreter was not thought by nurses to impede the development of a collaborative client-nurse relationship unless the interpreter and client became too close, but some nurses and clients reported that they would rather manage without an interpreter. Some stress was noted for nurses delivering the programme with an interpreter. More research is needed to determine the extent to which interpreters accurately convey the programme's strength-based approach

Immunization against Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) in a Cohort of Nursing Students Two Decades after Vaccination: Surprising Feedback

Health-care students can be exposed to biological risks during university training. The persistence of long-term immunogenicity against hepatitis B virus (HBV) was analyzed in a cohort of nursing students two decades after primary vaccination. A total of 520 students were enrolled at the University of Palermo and were evaluated for levels of anti-HBsAg antibodies. ThestudentswereexaminedduringthefirstyearoftheirDegreeCourseandwerecheckedtwoyears later. All students with anti-HBsAg <10 mIU/mL during their first or third year were boosted within onemonth. Theproportionofstudentsthatwerevaccinatedduringadolescenceshowinganti-HBsAg ≥10 mIU/mL was higher than that observed in students who were vaccinated during infancy (69% versus31.7%;p-value<0.001). ReceivingHBVvaccinationatadolescencewassignificantlyassociated with a fourfold increased possibility of having anti-HBsAg titers≥10 mIU/mL (adj-OR = 4.21, 95% CI: 2.43–7.30). Among the students who were checked at the third year and boosted after the first year (n = 279), those who were vaccinated during infancy showed a higher percentage of antibody titers <10 mIU/mL (20.3% versus 8.7% among vaccinated during adolescence; p < 0.01). This study confirms that HBV vaccination at adolescence might determine a higher long-term persistence of anti-HBsAg titers≥10 mIU/mL and that anti-HBV booster could increase levels of anti-HBsAg over a relatively short period, especially in subjects who were vaccinated during infancy