Poor attention rather than hyperactivity/impulsivity predicts academic achievement in very preterm and full-term adolescents

Background: Very preterm (VP) children are at particular risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) of the inattentive subtype. It is unknown whether the neurodevelopmental pathways to academic underachievement are the same as in the general population. This study investigated whether middle childhood attention or hyperactivity/impulsivity problems are better predictors of VP adolescents' academic achievement. Method: In a geographically defined prospective whole-population sample of VP (<32 weeks gestation) and/or very low birth weight (<1500 g birth weight) (VLBW/VP; n = 281) and full-term control children (n = 286) in South Germany, ADHD subtypes were assessed at 6 years 3 months and 8 years 5 months using multiple data sources. Academic achievement was assessed at 13 years of age. Results: Compared with full-term controls, VLBW/VP children were at higher risk for ADHD inattentive subtype [6 years 3 months: odds ratio (OR) 2.8, p < 0.001; 8 years 5 months: OR 1.7, p = 0.020] but not for ADHD hyperactive-impulsive subtype (6 years 3 months: OR 1.4, p = 0.396; 8 years 5 months: OR 0.9, p = 0.820). Childhood attention measures predicted academic achievement in VLBW/VP and also full-term adolescents, whereas hyperactive/impulsive behaviour did not. Conclusions: Attention is an important prerequisite for learning and predicts long-term academic underachievement. As ADHD inattentive subtype and cognitive impairments are frequent in VLBW/VP children, their study may help to identify the neurofunctional pathways from early brain development and dysfunction to attention problems and academic underachievement

Summary of the COSY-11 Measurements of Hyperon Production

The studies of hyperon production performed at COSY-11 are summarized. The results of the experiments in the reaction channels pp-->pK+Lambda, pp-->pK+Sigma0, and pp-->nK+Sigma+ are shown. Excitation functions fromthreshold up to about 90MeV excess energies have been evaluated with high precision for the Lambda and Sigma0 production. The Lambdap and Sigma0p final state interactions were extracted. The Sigma+ production was measured at 13 and 60 MeV excess energies.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Talk given at Symposium on Meson Physics at COSY-11 and WASA-at-COSY, Cracow, Poland, 17-22 Jun 200

School mobility and prospective pathways to psychotic-like symptoms in early adolescence: a prospective birth cohort study

OBJECTIVE: Social adversity and urban upbringing increase the risk of psychosis. We tested the hypothesis that these risks may be partly attributable to school mobility and examined the potential pathways linking school mobility to psychotic-like symptoms. METHOD: A community sample of 6,448 mothers and their children born between 1991 and 1992 were assessed for psychosocial adversities (i.e., ethnicity, urbanicity, family adversity) from birth to 2 years, school and residential mobility up to 9 years, and peer difficulties (i.e., bullying involvement and friendship difficulties) at 10 years. Psychotic-like symptoms were assessed at age 12 years using the Psychosis-like Symptoms Interview (PLIKSi). RESULTS: In regression analyses, school mobility was significantly associated with definite psychotic-like symptoms (odds ratio [OR] =1.60; 95% CI =1.07-2.38) after controlling for all confounders. Within path analyses, school mobility (probit coefficient [β] = 0.108; p = .039), involvement in bullying (β = 0.241; p < .001), urbanicity (β = 0.342; p = .016), and family adversity (β = 0.034; p < .001) were all independently associated with definite psychotic-like symptoms. School mobility was indirectly associated with definite psychotic-like symptoms via involvement in bullying (β = 0.018; p = .034). CONCLUSIONS: School mobility is associated with increased risk of psychotic-like symptoms, both directly and indirectly. The findings highlight the potential benefit of strategies to help mobile students to establish themselves within new school environments to reduce peer difficulties and to diminish the risk of psychotic-like symptoms. Awareness of mobile students as a possible high-risk population, and routine inquiry regarding school changes and bullying experiences, may be advisable in mental health care settings

Is the Hyporheic Zone Relevant beyond the Scientific Community?

Rivers are important ecosystems under continuous anthropogenic stresses. The hyporheic zone is a ubiquitous, reactive interface between the main channel and its surrounding sediments along the river network. We elaborate on the main physical, biological, and biogeochemical drivers and processes within the hyporheic zone that have been studied by multiple scientific disciplines for almost half a century. These previous efforts have shown that the hyporheic zone is a modulator for most metabolic stream processes and serves as a refuge and habitat for a diverse range of aquatic organisms. It also exerts a major control on river water quality by increasing the contact time with reactive environments, which in turn results in retention and transformation of nutrients, trace organic compounds, fine suspended particles, and microplastics, among others. The paper showcases the critical importance of hyporheic zones, both from a scientific and an applied perspective, and their role in ecosystem services to answer the question of the manuscript title. It identifies major research gaps in our understanding of hyporheic processes. In conclusion, we highlight the potential of hyporheic restoration to efficiently manage and reactivate ecosystem functions and services in river corridors. View Full-Tex

Neonatal predictors of cognitive ability in adults born very preterm : a prospective cohort study

Aim: To identify neonatal predictors to allow a developmental prognosis of the cognitive abilities of survivors born very preterm/very low birthweight (VLBW) into adult life. Method: The Bavarian Longitudinal Study is a prospective whole-population study that followed 260 infants born very preterm/VLBW from birth to adulthood. Regression analyses examined which neonatal factors predicted adult IQ. Results: Neonatal morbidity, neonatal treatment, and early social environment of infants born very preterm/VLBW explained 37.6% of the variance in adult IQ. Seven unique early-life predictors of lower adulthood IQ were found: respiratory distress syndrome, intraventricular haemorrhage, problems with mobility, mechanical ventilation, less parenteral nutrition, low/middle socioeconomic status, and poor early parent–infant relationships. Specifically, modifiable factors such as mechanical ventilation predicted a drop of 0.43 IQ points for each day of treatment, adjusted for initial respiratory problems. Good early parent–infant relationships predicted an approximately 5-point increase in adult IQ, adjusted for other significant predictors such as socioeconomic status. Interpretation: Mechanical ventilation, parenteral feeding, and early parenting were identified as significant modifiable factors that were strongly related to adult IQ. Mechanical ventilation policies have changed but there is scope for early interventions that focus on positive parenting, which may reduce the adverse effects of very preterm/VLBW birth on cognitive abilities

Attention problems in very preterm children from childhood to adulthood : the Bavarian longitudinal study

Background: Very preterm (VP; gestational age <32 weeks) and very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 grams) is related to attention problems in childhood and adulthood. The stability of these problems into adulthood is not known. Methods: The Bavarian Longitudinal Study is a prospective cohort study that followed 260 VP/VLBW and 229 term-born individuals from birth to adulthood. Data on attention were collected at 6, 8, and 26 years of age, using parent reports, expert behavior observations, and clinical ADHD diagnoses. Results: At each assessment, VP/VLBW individuals had significantly more attention problems, shorter attention span, and were more frequently diagnosed with ADHD than term-born comparisons. In both VP/VLBW and term-born individuals, overall, attention span increased and attention problems decreased from childhood to adulthood. Attention problems and attention span were more stable over time for VP/VLBW than term-born individuals. Similarly, ADHD diagnoses showed moderate stability from childhood to adulthood in VP/VLBW, but not in term-born individuals. However, when those with severe disabilities were excluded, differences between VP/VLBW and term-born individuals reduced. Conclusions: Despite improvement in attention regulation from childhood to adulthood, children born very preterm remained at increased risk for attention problems in adulthood. In contrast, term-born children with clinical attention problems outgrew these by adulthood. As inattentive behavior of VP/VLBW children may be overlooked by teachers, it may be necessary to raise awareness for school intervention programs that reduce attention problems in VP/VLBW children

Effect of maternal panic disorder on mother-child interaction and relation to child anxiety and child self-efficacy

To determine whether mothers with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia interacted differently with their children than normal control mothers, 86 mothers and their adolescents (aged between 13 and 23 years) were observed during a structured play situation. Maternal as well as adolescent anxiety status was assessed according to a structured diagnostic interview. Results showed that mothers with panic disorder/agoraphobia showed more verbal control, were more criticizing and less sensitive during mother-child interaction than mothers without current mental disorders. Moreover, more conflicts were observed between mother and child dyadic interactions when the mother suffered from panic disorder. The comparison of parenting behaviors among anxious and non-anxious children did not reveal any significant differences. These findings support an association between parental over-control and rejection and maternal but not child anxiety and suggest that particularly mother anxiety status is an important determinant of parenting behavior. Finally, an association was found between children’s perceived self-efficacy, parental control and child anxiety symptoms

Experimental Test of Momentum Cooling Model Predictions at COSY and Conclusions for WASA and HESR

The High-Energy Storage Ring (HESR) of the future International Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at GSI in Darmstadt is planned as an anti-proton cooler ring in the momentum range from 1.5 to 15 GeV/c. An important and challenging feature of the new facility is the combination of highly dense phase space cooled beams with internal targets. A detailed numerical and analytical approach to the Fokker-Planck equation for longitudinal filter cooling including the beam - target interaction has been carried out to demonstrate the stochastic cooling capability. To gain confidence in the model predictions a series of experimental stochastic cooling studies with the internal target ANKE at COSY have been carried out. A remarkable agreement between model and experiment was achieved. On this basis longitudinal stochastic cooling simulations were performed to predict the possibilities and limits of cooling when the newly installed WASA Pellet-target is operated.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, Talk given at Symposium on Meson Physics at COSY-11 and WASA-at-COSY, Cracow, Poland, 17-22 Jun 200

Investigating whether adverse prenatal and perinatal events are associated with non-clinical psychotic symptoms at age 12 years in the ALSPAC birth cohort

Background. Non-clinical psychosis-like symptoms (PLIKS) occur in about 15% of the population. It is not clear whether adverse events during early development alter the risk of developing PLIKS. We aimed to examine whether maternal infection, diabetes or pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, gestational age, perinatal cardiopulmonary resuscitation or 5-min Apgar score were associated with development of psychotic symptoms during early adolescence. Method. A longitudinal study of 6356 12-year-old adolescents who completed a semi-structured interview for psychotic symptoms in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort. Prenatal and perinatal data were obtained from obstetric records and maternal questionnaires completed during pregnancy. Results. The presence of definite psychotic symptoms was associated with maternal infection during pregnancy [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11–1.86, p=0.006], maternal diabetes (adjusted OR 3.43, 95% CI 1.14–10.36, p=0.029), need for resuscitation (adjusted OR 1.50, 95% CI 0.97–2.31, p=0.065) and 5-min Apgar score (adjusted OR per unit decrease 1.30, 95% CI 1.12–1.50, p<0.001). None of these associations were mediated by childhood IQ score. Most associations persisted, but were less strong, when including suspected symptoms as part of the outcome. There was no association between PLIKS and gestational age or pre-eclampsia. Conclusions. Adverse events during early development may lead to an increased risk of developing PLIKS. Although the status of PLIKS in relation to clinical disorders such as schizophrenia is not clear, the similarity between these results and findings reported for schizophrenia indicates that future studies of PLIKS may help us to understand how psychotic experiences and clinical disorders develop throughout the life-course

Psychopathological outcomes of adolescent borderline personality disorder symptoms

Objective: Despite considerable morbidity and functional losses associated with adolescent Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), little is known about psychopathological outcomes. This study examined associations between adolescent BPD symptoms and subsequent depressive, psychotic, and hypomanic symptoms. Methods: We used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Participants were adolescents living in the community who had data for all longitudinal outcomes (N=1758). We used logistic regression and path analysis to investigate associations between BPD (5 or more probable/definite symptoms) reported at age 11-12 years and depressive and psychotic symptoms reported at age 12 and 18, and lifetime hypomanic symptoms reported at age 22-23 years. Results: Adolescent BPD symptoms were associated with psychotic symptoms (OR: 2.36, CI: 1.82-3.06) and diagnosis of depression at age 18 years (OR: 1.30, CI: 1.03-1.64), and hypomanic symptoms (OR: 2.89, CI: 2.40-3.48) at 22-23 years. Path analysis controlling for associations between all outcomes, indicated that BPD symptoms were independently associated with depressive symptoms (β=0.97, p<.001) at 12 years and hypomanic (β=0.58, p<.01) symptoms at 22-23 years. BPD symptoms were also associated with psychotic symptoms at age 12 years (β=0.58, p<.01), which were linked (β =0.34, p<0.01) to psychotic symptoms at age 18 years. Conclusion: Adolescents with BPD symptoms are at future risk of psychotic and hypomanic symptoms, and a diagnosis of depression. Future risk is independent of associations between psychopathological outcomes, indicating that adolescent BPD symptoms have multifinal outcomes. Increasing awareness of BPD in early adolescence could facilitate timely secondary prevention of these symptoms subsequently helping to prevent future psychopathology