Breastfeeding and motor development: A longitudinal cohort study

Background: While there is a large body of work supporting the importance of early feeding practices on cognitive, immunity, behavioural and mental outcomes, few longitudinal studies have focused on motor development. The relationship between duration of breast feeding and motor development outcomes at 10, 14, and 17 years were examined. Methods: Data were obtained from the Western Australian Pregnancy (Raine) Study. There were 2868 live births recorded and children were examined for motor proficiency at 10 (M = 10.54, SD = 2.27), 14 (M = 14.02, SD = 2.33) and 17 (M = 16.99, SD = 2.97) years using the McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development (MAND). Using linear mixed models, adjusted for covariates known to affect motor development, the influence of predominant breast feeding for⩾6 months on motor development outcomes was examined. Results: Breast feeding for ⩾6 months was positively associated with improved motor development outcomes at 10, 14 and 17 years of age (p = 0.019, β 1.38) when adjusted for child’s sex, maternal age, alcohol intake, family income, hypertensive status, gestational stress and mode of delivery. Conclusion: Early life feeding practices have an influence on motor development outcomes into late childhood and adolescence independent of sociodemographic factors. Abbreviations: MAND, McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development; NDI, Neuromuscular Development Index; BP, Blood Pressure; APGAR, appearance pulse, grimace, activity, respiration; SRM, spontaneous rupture of membranes; LC-PUFA, long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; AA, arachidonic acid; DA, docosahexaenoic aci

Struggling for food in a time of crisis: Responsibility and paradox

Responsibility is a useful lens through which to examine the current state of food poverty in the UK in the context of the Covid‐19 crisis, noting that this concept contains several paradoxes. Currently, responsibility involves the voluntary sector, the food industry and the state, a situation which the author has been exploring for the last five years in an ethnographic study of food poverty and food aid in the UK. Food aid organizations, especially food banks, have mushroomed during the period of austerity. This reveals the first paradox: namely, that the existence of food banks conveys the message that ‘something is being done’, but in actuality this is very far from being sufficient to meet the needs of either the ‘old’ or ‘new’ food insecure. The second paradox is that at the onset of the crisis, a government which had been responsible for inflicting austerity on the country for 10 years, dramatically reversed some of its policies. However, predictably, this did not change the situation vis‐à‐vis food insecurity. The third paradox is that the frequent rhetoric invoking the two world wars has not resulted in lessons being learned – notably, the creation of a ministry to deal with food and rationing, as in the Second World War. The final paradox relates to Brexit and its likely deleterious effects on food security, particularly if no ‘deal’ is achieved with the European Union, as seems likely. The voluntary food aid sector, try as it may, cannot possibly assume responsibility for the long‐standing and now hugely increased problems of food insecurity. That belongs to the state

The MAGIC of CINEMA: First in-flight science results from a miniaturised anisotropic magnetoresistive magnetometer

We present the first in-flight results from a novel miniaturised anisotropic magnetoresistive space magnetometer, MAGIC (MAGnetometer from Imperial College), aboard the first CINEMA (CubeSat for Ions, Neutrals, Electrons and MAgnetic fields) spacecraft in low Earth orbit. An attitude-independent calibration technique is detailed using the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF), which is temperature dependent in the case of the outboard sensor. We show that the sensors accurately measure the expected absolute field to within 2% in attitude mode and 1% in science mode. Using a simple method we are able to estimate the spacecraft's attitude using the magnetometer only, thus characterising CINEMA's spin, precession and nutation. Finally, we show that the outboard sensor is capable of detecting transient physical signals with amplitudes of ~ 20–60 nT. These include field-aligned currents at the auroral oval, qualitatively similar to previous observations, which agree in location with measurements from the DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) and POES (Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites) spacecraft. Thus, we demonstrate and discuss the potential science capabilities of the MAGIC instrument onboard a CubeSat platform

The association between dietary patterns and mental health in early adolescence

Objective: To investigate the associations between dietary patterns and mental health in early adolescence. Method: The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study is a prospective study of 2900 pregnancies recruited from 1989-1992. At 14 years of age (2003-2006; n = 1324), the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) was used to assess behaviour (characterising mental health status), with higher scores representing poorer behaviour. Two dietary patterns (Western and Healthy) were identified using factor analysis and food group intakes estimated by a 212-item food frequency questionnaire. Relationships between dietary patterns, food group intakes and behaviour were examined using general linear modelling following adjustment for potential confounding factors at age 14: total energy intake, body mass index, physical activity, screen use, family structure, income and functioning, gender and maternal education at pregnancy. Results: Higher total (b = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.06, 3.35), internalizing (withdrawn/depressed) (b = 1.25, 95% CI = 0.15, 2.35) and externalizing (delinquent/aggressive) (b = 2.60, 95% CI = 1.51, 3.68) CBCL scores were significantly associated with the Western dietary pattern, with increased intakes of takeaway foods, confectionary and red meat. Improved behavioural scores were significantly associated with higher intakes of leafy green vegetables and fresh fruit (components of the Healthy pattern). Conclusion: These findings implicate a Western dietary pattern in poorer behavioural outcomes for adolescents. Better behavioural outcomes were associated with a higher intake of fresh fruit and leafy green vegetables

Cluster magnetic field observations in the magnetosheath: four-point measurements of mirror structures

International audienceThe Cluster spacecraft have returned the first simultaneous four-point measurements of the magnetosheath. We present an analysis of data recorded on 10 November 2000, when the four spacecrafts observed an interval of strong mirrorlike activity. Correlation analysis between spacecraft pairs is used to examine the scale size of the mirror structures in three dimensions. Two examples are presented which suggest that the scale size of mirror structures is ~ 1500?3000 km along the flow direction, and shortest along the magnetopause normal (< 600 km), which, in this case, is approximately perpendicular to both the mean magnetic field and the magnetosheath flow vector. Variations on scales of ~ 750?1000 km are found along the maximum variance direction. The level of correlation in this direction, however, and the time lag observed, are found to be variable. These first results suggest that variations occur on scales of the order of the spacecraft separation ( ~ 1000 km) in at least two directions, but analysis of further examples and a statistical survey of structures observed with different magnetic field orientations and tetrahedral configurations will enable us to describe more fully the size and orientation of mirror structures

The relationship between abdominal pain and emotional wellbeing in children and adolescents in the Raine Study

Abdominal pain is a common reason for medical visits. We examined the prevalence, gastrointestinal, and emotional significance of abdominal pain in a population-based cohort serially followed up from birth to 17 years. Children and adolescents from Generation 2 of the Raine Study participated in comprehensive cross-sectional assessments at ages 2, 5, 8, 10, 14 and 17 years. At 17 years, medical history, general health, gastrointestinal symptoms, medications, health practitioner attendance, and self-rated unhappiness were recorded. Longitudinal data regarding abdominal pain or unhappiness, from serial questionnaires, were analysed to identify factors associated with abdominal pain and adverse emotional health at age 17 years. Females experienced more abdominal pain than males at all ages (p \u3c 0.05). Seventeen-year-old adolescents with abdominal pain reported a higher prevalence of depression, anxiety, being bullied at school, and poorer health status than those without abdominal pain (p \u3c 0.05 for all). Abdominal pain and unhappiness during childhood and mid-adolescence were prospectively associated with recurrent abdominal pain, anxiety, depression and unhappiness during late adolescence (p \u3c 0.05 for all). In conclusion, abdominal pain in children and adolescents associates with depression, anxiety, being bullied, unhappiness and reduced overall health-rating during adolescence. Awareness of these factors may guide management decisions

The relationship between abdominal pain and emotional wellbeing in children and adolescents in the Raine Study

Abdominal pain is a common reason for medical visits. We examined the prevalence, gastrointestinal, and emotional significance of abdominal pain in a population-based cohort serially followed up from birth to 17 years. Children and adolescents from Generation 2 of the Raine Study participated in comprehensive cross-sectional assessments at ages 2, 5, 8, 10, 14 and 17 years. At 17 years, medical history, general health, gastrointestinal symptoms, medications, health practitioner attendance, and self-rated unhappiness were recorded. Longitudinal data regarding abdominal pain or unhappiness, from serial questionnaires, were analysed to identify factors associated with abdominal pain and adverse emotional health at age 17 years. Females experienced more abdominal pain than males at all ages (p \u3c 0.05). Seventeen-year-old adolescents with abdominal pain reported a higher prevalence of depression, anxiety, being bullied at school, and poorer health status than those without abdominal pain (p \u3c 0.05 for all). Abdominal pain and unhappiness during childhood and mid-adolescence were prospectively associated with recurrent abdominal pain, anxiety, depression and unhappiness during late adolescence (p \u3c 0.05 for all). In conclusion, abdominal pain in children and adolescents associates with depression, anxiety, being bullied, unhappiness and reduced overall health-rating during adolescence. Awareness of these factors may guide management decisions