Media Use of Mothers, Media Use of Children, and Parent–Child Interaction Are Related to Behavioral Difficulties and Strengths of Children

The present study investigated the associations of media use of children, media use of mothers, and parent-child interactions with behavioral strengths and difficulties in children. Screen time of 553 2- to 9-year-old children and their mothers were indicated by the daily durations of their TV/games console/computer/mobile phone use. The amount of parent–child interaction was indicated by the frequencies of shared activities at home. Behavioral strengths and difficulties of children were investigated using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Children whose mothers reported high screen times (>/= 5 h/day) were significantly more likely to show high screen times (>/= 2 h/day). High screen time of children was associated with more conduct problems, more symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention and less prosocial behavior. High screen time of mothers was associated with emotional problems, conduct problems, and symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention. In contrast, a higher frequency of parent–child interactions was associated with fewer conduct problems, fewer peer-relationship problems, and more prosocial behavior of children. Children might use the media behavior of their mothers as a role model for their own media use. Furthermore, the findings suggest that media use of children and mothers and parent–child interaction contribute independently to behavioral strengths and difficulties of children

Neural Correlates of Recognition Memory in Children with Febrile Seizures: Evidence from Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Febrile seizures (FS) are assumed to not have adverse long-term effects on cognitive development. Nevertheless, FS are often associated with hippocampal sclerosis which can imply episodic memory deficits. This interrelation has hardly been studied so far. In the current study 13 children who had suffered from FS during infancy and 14 control children (7 to 9-years-old) were examined for episodic and semantic memory with standardized neuropsychological tests. Furthermore, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we studied neuronal activation while the children performed a continuous recognition memory task. The analysis of the behavioral data of the neuropsychological tests and the recognition memory experiment did not reveal any between-group differences in memory performance. Consistent with other studies fMRI revealed repetition enhancement effects for both groups in a variety of brain regions (e.g., right middle frontal gyrus, left parahippocampal gyrus) and a repetition suppression effect in the right superior temporal gyrus. Different neural activation patterns between both groups were obtained selectively within the right supramarginal gyrus (BA 40). In the control group correct rejections of new items were associated with stronger activation than correctly identified old items (HITs) whereas in the FS group no difference occurred. On the background that the right supramarginal gyrus is assumed to mediate a top-down process to internally direct attention toward recollected information, the results could indicate that control children used strategic recollection in order to reject new items (recall-to-reject). In contrast, the missing effect in the FS group could reflect a lack of strategy use, possibly due to impaired recollective processing. This study demonstrates that FS, even with mainly benign courses, can be accompanied by selective modifications in the neural structures underlying recognition memory

Associations of Green Spaces and Streets in the Living Environment with Outdoor Activity, Media Use, Overweight/Obesity and Emotional Wellbeing in Children and Adolescents

Aspects of the living environment can affect health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. Whereas most previous studies assessed the more distant residential urban environment, less is known on possible effects of the close environment. The present study investigated associations of the proportion of streets and green spaces in the immediate urban living environment (50, 100 and 400 m around the home) with media use, outdoor activity, overweight/obesity and emotional problems in two samples of younger (age 3–10, n = 395) and older children (age 10–19, n = 405). Independently of socioeconomic parameters, a higher proportion of streets was associated with overweight/obesity (in younger and older children), higher media use (in younger children), less outdoor activity and more emotional problems (in older children). Older children’s outdoor activity in winter increased with increasing proportions of green spaces. The observations suggest that the immediate urban living environment is a factor that can affect leisure behavior and health in children

Differences in Shedding of the Interleukin-11 Receptor by the Proteases ADAM9, ADAM10, ADAM17, Meprin α, Meprin β and MT1-MMP

Interleukin-11 (IL-11) has been associated with inflammatory conditions, bone homeostasis, hematopoiesis, and fertility. So far, these functions have been linked to classical IL-11 signaling via the membrane bound receptor (IL-11R). However, a signaling cascade via the soluble IL-11R (sIL-11R), generated by proteolytic cleavage, can also be induced. This process is called IL-11 trans-signaling. A disintegrin and metalloprotease 10 (ADAM10) and neutrophil elastase were described as ectodomain sheddases of the IL-11R, thereby inducing trans-signaling. Furthermore, previous studies employing approaches for the stimulation and inhibition of endogenous ADAM-proteases indicated that ADAM10, but not ADAM17, can cleave the IL-11R. Herein, we show that several metalloproteases, namely ADAM9, ADAM10, ADAM17, meprin β, and membrane-type 1 matrix metalloprotease/matrix metalloprotease-14 (MT1-MMP/MMP-14) when overexpressed are able to shed the IL-11R. All sIL-11R ectodomains were biologically active and capable of inducing signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation in target cells. The difference observed for ADAM10/17 specificity compared to previous studies can be explained by the different approaches used, such as stimulation of protease activity or making use of cells with genetically deleted enzymes

Diversidade funcional de bactérias isoladas de solos rizosférico e não rizosférico em cultura de milho

This study evaluated the hydrolytic and phosphate-solubilizing potentials of soil bacteria isolated from a red latosol (oxisol) under maize cultivation. Rhizosphere soil (SR) and non-rhizosphere soil (NR) were collected and, subsequently, distinct bacterial colonies were isolated in pure cultures. Solid culture media were employed to evaluate production of hydrolases and phosphate solubilization by the isolates. From SR and NR, 30 and 19 distinct colonial types were isolated, respectively. From 29 SR isolates, 68.9%, 65.5%, 20.7% and 24.1% displayed proteolytic, cellulolytic, amylolytic, and phosphate-solubilizing activities, respectively. From the NR isolates, 57.9% produced cellulase, 42.1% protease, 57.9% amylase and 21.0% solubilized phosphate; however, 31.6% of these isolates did not display any activity. Diverse bacteria presented combined activities, representing about 58% of the SR and NR isolates. In addition to environmental and agricultural relevance, the microbial ability to secrete enzymes related to carbon and nitrogen cycles and phosphate solubilization might be important from a biotechnological perspective.Este estudo avaliou os potenciais hidrolítico e de solubilização de fosfato de bactérias isoladas de Latossolo Vermelho cultivado com milho. A coleta de solo rizosférico (SR) e solo não rizosférico (NR) foi realizada, sendo procedido o isolamento de colônias bacterianas em culturas puras. Meios de cultura sólidos foram utilizados na avaliação da produção de hidrolases e solubilização de fosfato pelos isolados. A partir de SR e NR foram isolados 30 e 19 tipos coloniais distintos, respectivamente. De 29 isolados de SR, 68,9%, 65,5%, 20,7% e 24,1% apresentaram atividade proteolítica, celulolítica, amilolítica e solubilização de fosfato, respectivamente. Dos isolados de NR, 57,9% produziram celulase, 42,1% protease, 57,9% amilase e 21,0% solubilizaram fosfato; contudo, 31,6% destes isolados não demonstraram qualquer atividade. Diversas bactérias apresentaram atividades combinadas, representado aproximadamente 58% dos isolados de SR e NR. Além da relevância ambiental e agrícola, a habilidade microbiana em secretar enzimas relacionadas ao ciclo do carbono e nitrogênio e a solubilização de fosfato podem ser importantes na perspectiva biotecnológica

Uso de fungicida via tratamento de sementes no controle de Colletotrichum truncatum e na qualidade fisiológica de sementes de soja Glycine Max

The fungus are the main microorganisms present in seeds,is the main cause of deterioration and loss in production.The anthracnose caused by Colletotrichumtruncatumassociated with soybean seeds as hasmain vehicle for introduction into the planting areas can be detected inall stages of crop development, from the cotyledons to theend of the cycle, being presentin the stems, veins, leaflets and pods.Thus aimed to evaluate the influence of using different productsfungicides as seed treatment, where the seeds were inoculated withthe pathogenic fungus and treated with the chemicals they take Carbedazim +Fludioxonil + metalaxyl-M and carboxin + thiram.For each fungicide product wastwo treatments done using the doses recommended by the manufacturer and 75% ofdose.We evaluated health, germination and promote plant(Plant growth, fresh weight and dry weight of root and shoot).This work concludes that the use of fungicide controls significantlyseeds infected with Colletotrichumtruncatum and presents a significant improvement asthe development of structures seedlingThe fungus are the main microorganisms present in seeds, is the main cause of deterioration and loss in production. The anthracnose caused by C. truncatum associated with soybean seeds as has main vehicle for introduction into the planting areas can be detected in all stages of crop development, from the cotyledons to the end of the cycle, being present in the stems, veins, leaflets and pods. Thus aimed to evaluate the influence of using different products fungicides as seed treatment, where the seeds were inoculated with the pathogenic fungus and treated with the chemicals They take Carbedazim + Fludioxonil + metalaxyl-M and carboxin + thiram. For each fungicide product was two tramentos done using the doses recommended by the manufacturer and 75% of dose. We evaluated health, germination and promote plant (Plant growth, fresh weight and dry weight of root and shoot). This work concludes that the use of fungicide controls significantly seeds infected with C. truncatum and presents a significant improvement as the development of structures seedling

Conceptual Aspects of Large Meta-Analyses with Publicly Available Microarray Data: A Case Study in Oncology

Large public repositories of microarray experiments offer an abundance of biological data. It is of interest to use and to combine the available material to create new biological information and to develop a broader view on biological phenomena