Callous-unemotional traits, low cortisol reactivity and physical aggression in children: findings from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are thought to confer risk for aggression via reduced amygdala responsivity to distress cues in others. Low cortisol reactivity is thought to confer risk for aggression via reduced arousal and this effect may be confined to boys. We tested the hypothesis that the association between childhood CU traits and aggression would be greatest in the absence of the inhibitory effects of cortisol reactivity, and that this effect would be sex dependent. Participants were 283 members of a stratified subsample within an epidemiological longitudinal cohort (WCHADS). Cortisol reactivity to a social stressor was assessed at 5 years. CU traits were reported by mothers at 5 years, and physical aggression by mothers and teachers at age 7. Results showed that CU traits were associated with elevated aggression at 7 years controlling for earlier aggression. There was no main effect of cortisol reactivity on regression. The association between CU traits and aggression was moderated by cortisol reactivity (p = .011) with a strong association between CU traits and aggression in the presence of low reactivity, and a small and non-significant association in the presence of high reactivity. This association was further moderated by child sex (p = .041) with the joint effect of high CU traits and low cortisol reactivity seen only in boys (p = .016). We report first evidence that a combined deficit in inhibitory processes associated with CU traits and low cortisol reactivity increases risk for childhood aggression, in a sex-dependent manner

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Hypochloremic Metabolic Alkalosis from Ingestion of a Chloride-Deficient Infant Formula: Outcome 9 and 10 Years Later

In 1978 and 1979 two infant formulas, Neo-Mull-Soy and Cho-Free, were found to be deficient in chloride. The Centers for Disease Control received reports that hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis (HMA) had developed in 141 children as a result of exposure to these formulas. Thirty-five of these children were examined at 9 and 10 years of age and compared with a group of 32 children who were exposed to the chloride-deficient formulas but were not reported to experience HMA and a group of 61 children who received chloride-sufficient soy formulas in infancy. The control children were matched to the HMA children on sex, race, age, and maternal education. Growth characteristics, performance on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), the Boston Naming Test, the Rey-Osterrieth Test, the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Revised (CELF-R), and subtests from several other speech and language tests were compared across the groups. After adjustment for family income and the level of the father\u27s education, significantly lower scores were observed in the HMA children on the WISC-R Arithmetic subtest (mean = 10.5) compared with the soy control children (mean = 12.0, P\u3c.05) and on the WISC-R Coding subtest (mean= 9.0) compared with the soy control children (mean = 10.8, P\u3c.01). All the WISC-R subtest scores were, however, within the normal range. Although no significant differences occurred on the CELF-between groups, the risk of an HMA child falling below the range expected for a standard population was increased on the CELF-R Composite Total, Receptive, and Expressive Language scores: risk ratios = 2.14, 2.14, and 3.03 respectively. Significant differences were observed between the children exposed, both HMA and non-HMA children, and the soy control children for behavioral problems as determined by the Achenbach Childhood Behavioral Checklist. It is concluded that as a group, children with documented HMA appear to have recovered from their growth failure and have normal cognitive development. They may, however, be at risk for deficits in language skills that require expressive language abilities

Exposure to a Chloride-Deficient Formula During Infancy: Outcome At Ages 9 and 10 Years

A school-based survey of the 1978 to 1979 birth control of two metropolitan Washington, DC, counties was conducted to find children who had been exposed to the chloride-deficient formulas Neo-Mull-Soy and Cho-Free during infancy. Children who had ingested other soy formulas that had an adequate chloride content were also found and matched to the exposed children by sex, race, birth weight, the age of the child, the mixed feeding status of the child, and maternal education. One hundred seventy-one of the exposed children and 261 soy control children were given a battery of psychologic tests in their homes to determine whether there had been any effect on intellectual development as a result of exposure to the chloride-deficient formulas. There were no differences in scores between the groups on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, the Boston Naming Test, the Rey-Osterrieth Test, or the FAS Verbal Fluency Test. There was no correlation between duration of exclusive exposure to the chloride-deficient formulas and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised Full-Scale IQ Score (Pearson product-moment r = -.0825, P = .28). These results cannot be extrapolated to exposed children with documented hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis. It is concluded that in children without documented evidence of hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis, exposure to the chloride-deficient formulas Neo-Mull-Soy or Cho-Free during infancy has not resulted in any long-term adverse effects on cognitive development

Population-Based Study of the Developmental Outcome of Children Exposed to Chloride-Deficient Infant Formula

In 1978 and 1979 a large number of US children were fed chloride-deficient soy-based infant formula. A representative sample of such children was identified in a southern county through a mailing to the homes of 3639 first- and second-grade children in the public schools. Of the 2329 (64%) who responded, 56 reported use of deficient formula and were invited to have developmental testing by one of four study psychologists at their school. Of the 310 users of other soy formulas, 112 were selected for testing as matched controls on the basis of their sex, feeding history, age, birth weight, and socioeconomic status (as indicated by school attended). After exclusions and refusals, 42 children who used deficient formula and 66 control children were tested using the McCarthy Scales of Children\u27s Abilities. Examiners were unaware of the child\u27s history of formula use. The mean General Cognitive Index was 102.8 in those using deficient formula and 105.4 in controls. After adjustment for demographic differences the children who used chloride-deficient formula were found to average 4.9 points less than the controls (P = .04, 1-tailed). The largest difference was in the Quantitative subscale (P = .005). These data show a statistically significant although small effect of chloride-deficient formula on the long-term developmental outcome of exposed children; however, further study of these results is needed for full confirmation