Sample records for early aptian age

  1. New perspective on Aptian carbon isotope stratigraphy: Data from δ13C records of terrestrial organic matter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ando, Atsushi; Kakegawa, Takeshi; Takashima, Reishi; Saito, Tsunemasa

    2002-03-01

    Carbon isotope analyses were performed on detrital woody materials in Aptian (mid- Cretaceous) marine sediments of central Hokkaido, northern Japan. A positive δ13Cwood excursion (from -25.4‰ to -21.8‰) following a remarkable negative isotope shift is recognized in the early Aptian, and a small positive anomaly is also found in the latest Aptian. This δ13Cwood profile is exactly in phase with the δ13Ccarbonate curve from a Pacific guyot when the age of the guyot carbonates is revised using published Sr isotope stratigraphies. The highly conformable δ13C profiles of Pacific and Hokkaido sections suggest that δ13C compositions of Aptian marine and terrestrial carbon reservoirs changed simultaneously by the same amplitude within the ocean-atmosphere-biosphere system. Fluctuation patterns of Tethyan δ13Ccarbonate curves are slightly different from those of Pacific and Hokkaido sections. Such differences in δ13C profiles may be attributed to the local paleoceanographic setting of the Aptian Mediterranean Tethys.

  2. Aptian-Albian boundary in Central Southern Atlas of Tunisia: New tectono-sedimentary facts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghanmi, Mohamed Abdelhamid; Barhoumi, Amine; Ghanmi, Mohamed; Zargouni, Fouad

    2017-08-01

    The Aptian-Albian boundary preserves one of the most important events in Central-Southern Atlas of Tunisia, which belongs to the Southern Tethyan margin. A major sedimentary break was recorded between Early Aptian and Albian series in Bouhedma-Boudouaou Mountains. This major hiatus probably linked to the ''Austrian phase'' and to the Aptian and Albian ''Crisis'' testify a period of major tectonic events. In this paper, field observations on the Mid-Cretaceous stratigraphy combined with seismic profile interpretation were used for the first time to characterize the Aptian-Albian boundary in Central-Southern Atlas of Tunisia. Our new results reveal that Aptian-Albian boundary marks a critical interval not only in Maknassy-Mezzouna orogenic system but also in the Tunisian Atlas. Furthermore, Aptian-Albian series outcrop is marked by the important sedimentary gaps as well as a dramatic thickness change from West to East and predominately from North to South. This is linked to the extensional tectonic features which characterize all the Central-Southern Atlas of Tunisia.

  3. Correlation of aptian-albian carbon isotope excursions in continental strata of the cretaceous Foreland Basin, Eastern Utah, U.S.A.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ludvigson, Greg A.; Joeckel, R.M.; Gonzalez, Luis A.; Gulbranson, E.L.; Rasbury, E.T.; Hunt, G.J.; Kirkland, J.I.; Madsen, S.

    2010-01-01

    Nodular carbonates ("calcretes") in continental foreland-basin strata of the Early Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation (CMF) in eastern Utah yield ??13C and ??O records of changes in the exogenic carbon cycle related to oceanic anoxic events (OAEs), and terrestrial paleoclimate. Chemostratigraphic profiles of both forebulge and foredeep sections show two prominent positive ??13C excursions, each with a peak value of -3% VPDB, and having background ??13C values of about -6% VPDB. These excursions correlate with the global early Aptian (Ap7) and late Aptian-early Albian (Apl2-All) carbon isotope excursions. Aptian-Albian positive ??13C excursions in the CMF also correspond to 3-4 per mil increases in carbonate ??18O. These phenomena record local aridification events. The chemostratigraphic profile on the thinner forebulge section of the CMF is calibrated, for the first time, by a radiogenic U-Pb date of 119.4 ?? 2.6 Ma on a carbonate bed, and by detrital zircon U-Pb dates on two bounding sandstone units (maximum depositional ages of 146 Ma and 112 Ma). P??trographie observations and diagenetic analyses of micritic to microsparitic carbonates from nodules indicate palustrine origins and demonstrate that they crystallized in shallow early meteoric phreatic environments. Meteoric calcite lines derived from CMF carbonates have ??18O values ranging between -8.1 to -7.5%o VPDB, supporting an estimate of zonal mean groundwater ??18O of -6% VSMOW for an Aptian-Albian paleolatitude of 34?? N. Furthermore, our two chemostratigraphic profiles exhibit a generally proportionate thinning of correlative strata from the foredeep on to the forebulge, suggesting that there were consistently lower rates of accumulation on the forebulge during the Aptian-Albian. Identification of the global Aptian-Albian ??13C excursions in purely continental strata, as demonstrated in this paper, opens a new avenue of research by identifying specific stratigraphie intervals that record the terrestrial

  4. Bio- and chemostratigraphy of the Early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a within the mid-latitudes of northwest Europe (Germany, Lower Saxony Basin)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heldt, Matthias; Mutterlose, Joerg; Berner, Uli; Erbacher, Jochen

    2013-04-01

    The Mid-Cretaceous period was characterised by a series of prominent anoxic events, one of these was the late Early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE 1a). The Fischschiefer horizon is the regional sedimentary expression of this event in a small epicontinental sea in northwest Europe (Germany, Lower Saxony Basin). In the present study, two sediment cores of Lower to Upper Aptian age (Hoheneggelsen KB 9 and 40) from the Brunswick area, north Germany, have been investigated in detail with respect to their lithostratigraphy, geochemistry (CaCO3, TOC), biostratigraphy (coccoliths, nannoliths) and high-resolution chemostratigraphy (^13Ccarb and ^13Corg). Together with separately published new planktonic foraminifer data of the cores it was possible to establish a detailed time frame and to recognise the OAE 1a. The ^13C data enabled us to subdivide the deposits into isotope segments (C2-C7), which are commonly used as stratigraphic markers in coeval sediments around the world. The carbon isotope curves are compared to recently published Aptian curves from other parts of the Lower Saxony Basin, all of which record the prominent carbon isotope anomaly of the OAE 1a. A high-resolution correlation of the typical isotope trends of OAE 1a (segments C3-6) across the Lower Saxony Basin appears difficult due to an early diagenetic overprint of the primary isotope signal. These alterations can be explained by the temporary establishment of euxinic conditions the Lower Saxony Basin during OAE 1a as consequence of an interplay of different factors, such as global warming, restricted palaeogeography, increased fluvial input and intensified stable water stratification, which is supported by several lines of regional evidence.

  5. Community replacement instead of drowning: Evolution of proto-North Atlantic carbonate-platform production in the run-up to of the Early Aptian OAE1a

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huck, Stefan; Stein, Melody; Adatte, Thierry; Föllmi, Karl B.; Immenhauser, Adrian; Heimhofer, Ulrich

    2014-05-01

    In the proto-North Atlantic realm (Lusitanian Basin, Portugal), carbonate platform production witnessed a major biotic turnover during the Early Aptian. Here, Urgonian-type rudist-nerinid dominated limestones were replaced by an orbitolinid-rich, oyster and serpulid-bearing marly facies. Integrated biostratigraphic-chemostratigraphic studies (Burla et al., 2008; Huck et al., 2012) provided evidence that this change coincides with the Early Aptian carbonate platform drowning episode in the run-up of oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1a (transition D. forbesi to D. deshayesi ammonite zones), which has been recorded, from many localities in the Tethyan Ocean (Godet, 2013). Unlike Helvetic and Arabian carbonate platforms, which are characterised by a punctuated mass occurrence of orbitolinids marking the onset of the Aptian (Rawil and Hawar members, respectively), orbitolinids are an abundant constituent of the proto-North Atlantic carbonate platform community from the Late Barremian onwards. Orbitolinid-rich packstones and marls showing mass-occurrences of orbitolinids indicate repeated short-term installation of specific environmental conditions (eutrophication and/or deepening). In order to critically assess the influence of regional palaeoenvironmental against global palaeoclimatic and palaeoceanographic changes on the Proto-North Atlantic carbonate platform evolution, several outcrop successions in the Lusitanian Basin covering the critical interval have been investigated in detail with regard to facies and petrographic characteristics and geochemical (C-/O-isotopes, P content, bulk-rock and clay mineralogy,) inventory. The aims of the present study are three-fold: (1) to characterise proto-North Atlantic Lower Aptian shallow-water carbonates with respect to diagenetic history, microfacies, and distribution of fossils useful for the analysis of palaeoenvironments (corals, rudists and orbitolinids); (2) to evaluate the influence of sea-level and humidity changes

  6. Phosphorus cycling in the Early Aptian

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oakes, R.; Dittrich, M.; Wortmann, U. G.

    2012-12-01

    Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for living organisms. It is vital for the formation of ATP, the energy store in cells, and is needed for DNA synthesis. Seawater phosphorus concentration therefore plays a critical role in controlling marine productivity on geological timescales. The majority of research on the P cycle focuses on modern lacustrine and marine settings. This follows the necessity to gain a further understanding on the effects of agricultural fertilisers on nutrient cycling; in particular on the mechanisms which lead to eutrophication. These studies use sequential extraction to determine the speciation of P. The results suggest that bottom sediments can act as both a source and a sink of phosphorus; the role they assume depends on range of factors including bottom water oxygen concentrations, sedimentation rate and the concentration of iron. This study applies a sequential extraction method developed in modern sediments to sediments from the Early Cretaceous, specifically the Early Aptian. During this time, globally synchronous oceanic anoxic events (OAE's) appear in the rock record. It has been suggested that these events represent an increase in marine productivity combined with bottom water anoxia. Our study investigates whether the speciation of sedimentary phosphorus can be used to reconstruct P cycling at this time. Our samples are taken from pre-, syn- and post-OAE1a but are not from the organic matter rich layers. Our results show that the original fractions of phosphorus have been altered during diagenesis with the majority of phosphorus now being preserved as either apatite (Ca-P) or phosphorus in organic matter (Porg). The dominance of Ca-P is expected as it is thought that redox-sensitive forms of P undergo 'sink switching' during diagenesis and are preserved as Ca-P. The high concentration of Porg however, differs from previous studies which generally find that Ca-P or iron (oxyhydr)oxide associated phosphorus (Fe-P) are dominant

  7. Aptian Carbon Isotope Stratigraphy in Sierra del Rosario, Northeastern Mexico

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barragan-Manzo, R.; Moreno-Bedmar, J.; Nuñez, F.; Company, M.

    2013-05-01

    In most recent years Aptian carbon isotope stratigraphy has been widely studied in Europe where isotopic stages have been developed to correlate global events. Two negative excursions have been recorded in the Lower Aptian, the older is OAE 1a in the middle part, and a younger negative excursion labeled "Aparein level", which occurs in the uppermost part of the Lower Aptian. In Mexico previous works reported a carbon isotope negative excursion in the lowermost part of the La Peña Formation that was assigned to the onset of Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (=OAE 1a). In this work we study the isotopic record of the δ13Ccarb of 32 bulk rock samples of limestone from the uppermost part of the Cupido Formation and the lower part of the La Peña Formation at the Francisco Zarco Dam Section (=FZD), Durango State, northeastern Mexico. The isotopic data are calibrated using the latest ammonite biostratigraphic biozonation of the Aptian. This age calibration allows us to make a precise correlation between the carbon isotopic record of Mexico and several European sections (e.g. Spain and France). In the studied Francisco Zarco Dam section we recognize a negative carbon isotopic excursion in the Dufrenoyia justinae ammonite Zone that corresponds to the "Aparein level", which we correlate using the ammonite zonation of others European sections (Figure 1). This correlation allows us to see how the negative excursion that characterizes the "Aparein level" is consistent with the C7 segment. Thus, our recent stratigraphic study allows us to conclude that the ammonite record in the lowermost part of the La Peña Formation is regionally isochronous, and correlates with the Dufrenoyia justinae Zone and Lower Aptian isotope interval C7. In agreement to these biostratigraphic data, the supposed record of the OAE 1a in the lowermost part of the La Peña Formation is not correct, and the carbon isotope negative excursion must be assigned to the younger event "Aparein level". Taking this into

  8. Cool episode and platform demise in the Early Aptian: New insights on the links between climate and carbonate production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bonin, Aurélie; Pucéat, Emmanuelle; Vennin, Emmanuelle; Mattioli, Emanuela; Aurell, Marcos; Joachimski, Michael; Barbarin, Nicolas; Laffont, Rémi

    2016-01-01

    The Early Aptian encountered several crises in neritic and pelagic carbonate production, major perturbations in the carbon cycle, and an oceanic anoxic event (OAE1a). Yet the causal links between these perturbations and climate changes remain poorly understood, partly because temperature records spanning the Early Aptian interval are still scant. We present new δ18O data from well-preserved bivalves from a carbonate platform of the Galve subbasin (Spain) that document a major cooling event postdating most of OAE1a. Our data show that cooling postdates the global platform demise and cannot have triggered this event that occurred during the warmest interval. The warmest temperatures coincide with the time equivalent of OAE1a and with platform biotic assemblages dominated by microbialites at Aliaga as well as on other Tethyan platforms. Coral-dominated assemblages then replace microbialites during the subsequent cooling. Nannoconids are absent during most of the time equivalent of the OAE1a, probably related to the well-known crisis affecting this group. Yet they present a transient recovery in the upper part of this interval with an increase in both size and abundance during the cool interval portion that postdates OAE1a. An evolution toward cooler and drier climatic conditions may have induced the regional change from microbial to coral assemblages as well as nannoconids size and abundance increase by limiting continent-derived input of nutrients.

  9. Dating the Barremian-Aptian shallow platform deposits at the eastern part of the Kopet Dagh sedimentary basin, NE Iran

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chenarani, Atefeh; Hosseini, Seyedabolfazl; Vahidi Nia, Mohammad

    2016-04-01

    The Kopet Dagh sedimentary basin covers the northeastern part of Iran, most parts of Turkmenistan and north of Afghanistan which contains several giant gas fields. The extension of this basin in the Iranian part is around 55km2(Afshar Harb, 1994). The Kopet Dagh basin is marked by having very thick sedimentary rocks and lack of volcanic activity. During the Lower Cretaceous, the Tirgan Formation was deposited in a shallow platform setting and lithologically includes in thick-bedded orbitolinid limestones. This study focuses on the biostratigraphy and age determination of these shallow-water deposits using benthic foraminifera and calcareous green algae. In the studied outcrop, the Tirgan Formation has a thickness of 180 m and includes in limestone beds with some marly intervals. It is overlain by the Sarcheshmeh Formation and rests on the Shurijeh Formation. Both contacts are believed to be transitional and lack of discontinuity. A total of 56 thin-sections were used in this study. This study led to determine 28 genera and 14 species of benthic foraminifera along with 13 genera and 5 species of calcareous green algae. Based on the obtained biostratigraphy data, a late Barremian-early Aptian age is suggested for these deposits. We also defined the precise boundary between the Barremian and Aptian which is reported for the first time from this area. Keywords: Barremian-Aptian, Shallow platform, Kopet Dagh, Iran. Reference: Afshar Harb, A., 1994. Geology of Iran: Geology of the Kopet Dagh. Geological survey of Iran, Report No. 11, 275 pp.

  10. Bridging the Faraoni and Selli oceanic anoxic events: short and repetitive dys- and anaerobic episodes during the late Hauterivian to early Aptian in the central Tethys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Föllmi, K. B.; Bôle, M.; Jammet, N.; Froidevaux, P.; Godet, A.; Bodin, S.; Adatte, T.; Matera, V.; Fleitmann, D.; Spangenberg, J. E.

    2011-06-01

    A detailed stratigraphical and geochemical analysis was performed on the upper part of the Maiolica Formation outcropping in the Breggia (southern Switzerland) and Capriolo sections (northern Italy). In these localities, the Maiolica Formation consists of well-bedded, partly siliceous, pelagic, micritic carbonate, which lodges numerous thin, dark and organic-rich layers. Stable-isotope, phosphorus, organic-carbon and a suite of redox-sensitive trace-metal contents (RSTE: Mo, U, Co, V and As) were measured. Higher densities of organic-rich layers were identified in the uppermost Hauterivian, lower Barremian and the Barremian-Aptian boundary intervals, whereas the upper Barremian interval and the interval immediately following the Barremian-Aptian boundary interval are characterized by lower densities of organic-rich layers. TOC contents, RSTE pattern and Corg:Ptot ratios indicate that most layers were deposited under dysaerobic rather than anaerobic conditions and that latter conditions were likely restricted to short intervals in the latest Hauterivian, the early Barremian and the pre-Selli early Aptian. Correlations are possible with organic-rich intervals in central Italy (the Gorgo a Cerbara section) and the Boreal northwest German Basin, and with the facies and drowning pattern in the evolution of the Helvetic segment of the northern Tethyan carbonate platform. Our data and correlations suggest that the latest Hauterivian witnessed the progressive installation of dysaerobic conditions in the Tethys, which went along with the onset in sediment condensation, phosphogenesis and platform drowning on the northern Tethyan margin, and which culminated in the Faraoni anoxic episode. This brief episode is followed by further episodes of dysaerobic conditions in the Tethys and the northwest German Basin, which became more frequent and progressively stronger in the late early Barremian. Platform drowning persisted and did not halt before the latest early Barremian. The

  11. The rotation of Iberia during the Aptian and the opening of the Bay of Biscay

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gong, Z.; Langereis, C. G.; Mullender, T. A. T.

    2008-08-01

    The Cretaceous rotation of the Iberian plate in a geodynamical active setting between Africa and Europe is contemporaneous with the opening of the northern Atlantic Ocean, and provides fundamental, temporal and kinematical constraints on the evolution of the Bay of Biscay and the Pyrenees. Here, we report new paleomagnetic data from 50 sites (1109 drilled cores) from marine sediments of the Cretaceous Organyà Basin in the southern Pyrenees, to constrain the timing and magnitude of the rotation of Iberia. Berriasian to Barremian directions in exclusively limestone lithology are remagnetised, in agreement with previous Organyà Basin studies. The Aptian to Cenomanian marls and limestones in the Organyà Basin, however, provide primary magnetisations asserted by rock magnetic experiments and positive fold tests. Our results constrain the rotation of Iberia to be finished just before the Albian. Paleomagnetic data cannot well constrain the onset of the rotation, but sea-floor anomaly studies restrict the onset of the rotation to anomaly M0, or the Barremian-Aptian boundary. This implies that the entire rotation of Iberia happened in one single phase, and is confined to the Aptian. This is in contrast to earlier studies that suggested a two-phase rotation of Iberia, but we argue that the large errors in published ages are not in disagreement with our results. In summary, we constrain the ∼ 35° rotation of Iberia to the Aptian period which implies a rotation rate of 2.7-5.1°/Myr, depending on the (controversial) duration of the Aptian.

  12. Palaeogeographic evolution of the central segment of the South Atlantic during Early Cretaceous times: palaeotopographic and geodynamic implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaboureau, A. C.; Guillocheau, F.; Robin, C.; Rohais, S.; Moulin, M.; Aslanian, D.

    2012-04-01

    The tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Early Cretaceous rift of the central segment of the South Atlantic Ocean is debated. Our objective is to better constraint the timing of its evolution by drawing palaeogeographic and deformation maps. Eight palaeogeographic and deformations maps were drawn from the Berriasian to the Middle-Late Aptian, based on a biostratigraphic (ostracodes and pollens) chart recalibrated on absolute ages (chemostratigraphy, interstratified volcanics, Re-Os dating of the organic matter). The central segment of the South Atlantic is composed of two domains that have a different history in terms of deformation and palaeogeography. The southern domain includes Namibe, Santos and Campos Basins. The northern domain extends from Espirito Santo and North Kwanza Basins, in the South, to Sergipe-Alagoas and North Gabon Basins to the North. Extension started in the northern domain during Late Berriasian (Congo-Camamu Basin to Sergipe-Alagoas-North Gabon Basins) and migrated southward. At that time, the southern domain was not a subsiding domain. This is time of emplacement of the Parana-Etendeka Trapp (Late Hauterivian-Early Barremian). Extension started in this southern domain during Early Barremian. The brittle extensional period is shorter in the South (5-6 Ma, Barremian to base Aptian) than in the North (19 to 20 Myr, Upper Berriasian to Base Aptian). From Late Berriasian to base Aptian, the northern domain evolves from a deep lake with lateral highs to a shallower one, organic-rich with no more highs. The lake migrates southward in two steps, until Valanginian at the border between the northern and southern domains, until Early Barremian, North of Walvis Ridge. The Sag phase is of Middle to Late Aptian age. In the southern domain, the transition between the brittle rift and the sag phase is continuous. In the northern domain, this transition corresponds to a hiatus of Early to Middle Aptian age, possible period of mantle exhumation. Marine

  13. Aptian-Albian sea level history from Guyots in the western Pacific

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    RöHl, Ursula; Ogg, James G.

    1996-10-01

    Relative sea level fluctuations are an important control on patterns of sedimentation on continental margins and provide a valuable tool for regional correlations. One of the main objectives of combined Ocean Drilling Program Legs 143 and 144 was drilling the thick carbonate caps of a suite of seamounts, called guyots, scattered over the northwestern Pacific. The array of drowned Cretaceous banks includes four carbonate banks of Aptian-Albian age. These particular carbonate banks display emergent surfaces if regional sea level falls faster than the rate of guyot subsidence, or intervals of condensed parasequences and well-cemented peritidal crypto-algal flats if the rate of sea level fall is slightly less than guyot subsidence. Rapid rises of sea level following these sequence boundaries are recorded as drowning of the emergent horizons or as pronounced deepening of facies. The cored lithologies and downhole geophysical and geochemical logs were used to identify depositional sequences and surfaces of exceptional shallowing or deepening. A combination of biostratigraphic datums, carbon and strontium isotope curves, relative magnitude of surfaces of emergence, relative thicknesses of depositional sequences, sea level events, and counts of upward shallowing cycles or parasequences were used to correlate sequences among the four sites. After compensating for thermal subsidence rates at each guyot, an identical pattern of major Aptian-Albian eustatic sea level events is evident throughout this large portion of the Pacific Ocean. There are approximately 12 Aptian and 12 Albian significant sequence boundaries, of which a third were associated with major episodes of emergence. When these events are compared with Aptian-Albian relative sea level changes observed in European shelf successions, the major sequence boundaries and transgressive surges can be easily correlated, and it appears that both regions also display the same number of minor events. Therefore we can apply

  14. Organic petrology of the Aptian-age section in the downdip Mississippi Interior Salt Basin, Mississippi, USA: Observations and preliminary implications for thermal maturation history

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Valentine, Brett J.; Hackley, Paul C.; Enomoto, Catherine B.; Bove, Alana M.; Dulong, Frank T.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Scott, Krystina R.

    2014-01-01

    This study identifies a thermal maturity anomaly within the downdip Mississippi Interior Salt Basin (MISB) of southern Mississippi, USA, through examination of bitumen reflectance data from Aptian-age strata (Sligo Formation, Pine Island Shale, James Limestone, and Rodessa Formation). U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reconnaissance investigations conducted in 2011–2012 examined Aptian-age thermal maturity trends across the onshore northern Gulf of Mexico region and indicated that the section in the downdip MISB is approaching the wet gas/condensate window (Ro~1.2%). A focused study in 2012–2013 used 6 whole core, one sidewall core, and 49 high-graded cutting samples (depth range of 13,000–16,500 ft [3962.4–5029.2 m] below surface) collected from 15 downdip MISB wells for mineralogy, fluid inclusion, organic geochemistry, and organic petrographic analysis. Based on native solid bitumen reflectance (Ro generally > 0.8%; interpreted to be post-oil indigenous bitumens matured in situ), Ro values increase regionally across the MISB from the southeast to the northwest. Thermal maturity in the eastern half of the basin (Ro range 1.0 to 1.25%) appears to be related to present-day burial depth and shows a gradual increase with respect to depth. To the west, thermal maturity continues to increase even as the Aptian section shallows structurally on the Adams County High (Ro range 1.4 to > 1.8%). After evaluating the possible thermal agents responsible for increasing maturity at shallower depths (i.e., igneous activity, proximity to salt, variations in regional heat flux, and uplift), we tentatively propose that either greater paleoheat flow or deeper burial coupled with uplift in the western part of the MISB could be responsible for the thermal maturity anomaly. Further research and additional data are needed to determine the cause(s) of the thermal anomaly.

  15. The early cretaceous evolution of carbonate platforms from northern Oman

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Masse, J.P.; Borgomano, J.; Maskiry, S.Al.

    1993-09-01

    In northern Oman (Jebel Akhdar and foothills) Hauterivian to early Aptian shallow carbonate platforms are widely extending and pass laterally to slope and basin environments in the Nakhl zone. Progradational geometries are identified in that zone where significant correlation between thickness and sediment types supports a prominent tectonic control. The platform records four main sedimentary breaks (drowning events). Early Barremian (lower Lekhwair Formation), Late Barremian (basal Kharaib Formation), lowermost early Aptian (upper Kharaib Formation) and middle Aptian (Shuaiba-Al Hassanat formations boundary). The late Aptian-early Albian hiatus (pre-Nahr Umr unconformity) is regarded as an early Albian tectonically driven erosion. In themore » Nakhl zone, coral-rudist limestones of late Aptian-early Albian (lower Al Hassanat Formation) document an east-west ribbon platform, the southward extension of which was obscured by the middle Albian erosions and rudist limestones of middle to late Albian (upper Al Hassanat Formation), a lateral equivalent of the Nahr Umr circa littoral shaly sediments, document an east-west-trending linear platform. The foregoing points out a northward progradation coeval with a southward transgressive major trend for the Hauterivian-early Aptian interval, a faulted margin corresponding with the Nakhl zone active during the Aptian-Albian, a late Aptian ribbon platform coeval with the Bab basin initiation southward, a regional uplifting and truncation during the early-Albian (Austrian phase), whereas shallow-water carbonates are still forming at the edge of the former platform, and an active linear platform at the northern edge of the Nahr Umr basin, the corresponding drowning contemporaneous with the onset of the Cenomanian platform eastward.« less

  16. Installation of a Rudist Biostrome after the Late Aptian - Early Albian OAE1B (mural Formation, Southeastern Arizona)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Godet, A.; Helfrich-Dennis, M. M.; Suarez, M. B.

    2015-12-01

    Mesozoic climate change has been extensively studied in the Tethys, while their expression in the proto Gulf of Mexico can still be precised, especially for the time period straddling the Aptian-Albian boundary. During this time period, significant climatic events may correlate between the proto-Atlantic and the Tethys, amongst which the Oceanic Anoxic Event 1b that corresponds to a period of marine anoxia across this stage boundary. We hypothesized that this event may have impacted the shallow-marine carbonate factory that is now preserved near the town of Bisbee (Mule Mountains, southern Arizona). This sedimentary succession has been chosen because it documents a switch from a siliclastic- to carbonate-dominated sedimentation during the targeted time interval. Using carbon isotope chemostratigraphy, we were able to refine the stratigraphic framework of the Mural Formation, which was previously based on benthic organisms such as rudist bivalves and orbitolinids, such as Mesorbitolina texana. The OAE1b has been identified based on its peculiar δ13C signature supported by biostratigraphic data. Concurrently, microfacies analysis helped in reconstructing variations in sea levels. In southern Arizona, the OAE1b equivalent belongs to a third-order transgressive systems tract, and extends into the following highstand systems track. The maximum flooding surface is defined within a thick rudist biostrome with chondrodonts. It thus seems that the OAE1b did not strongly affected the carbonate factory in this region of the proto Gulf of Mexico. As a conclusion, limestone rocks now preserved in southeastern Arizona were deposited during the Late Aptian to Early Albian time period, during which the OAE1b developed. This paleoceanographic perturbation is expressed in the sedimentary record by its unique carbon isotope signature, with no significant impact on benthic ecosystems.

  17. Ontong Java volcanism initiated long-term climate warming that caused substantial changes in terrestrial vegetation several tens of thousand years before the onset of OAE1a (Early Aptian, Cretaceous)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keller, Christina E.; Hochuli, Peter A.; Giorgioni, Martino; Garcia, Therese I.; Bernasconi, Stefano M.; Weissert, Helmut

    2010-05-01

    During Cretaceous times, several intense volcanic episodes are proposed as trigger for episodic climate warming, for changes in marine circulation patterns and for elevated marine productivity, which resulted in the widespread black shale deposits of the Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAE). In the sediments underlying the early Aptian OAE1a black shales, a prominent negative carbon isotope excursion is recorded. Its origin had long been controversial (e.g. Arthur, 2000; Jahren et al., 2001) before recent studies attributed it to the Ontong Java volcanism (Méhay et al., 2009; Tejada et al., 2009). Volcanic outgassing results in an increased pCO2 and should lead to a rise in global temperatures. We therefore investigated if the volcanically-induced increase in pCO2 at the onset of OAE1a in the early Aptian led to a temperature rise that was sufficient to affect terrestrial vegetation assemblages. In order to analyse changes in terrestrial palynomorph assemblages, we examined 15 samples from 12 black shale horizons throughout the early Aptian negative C-isotope spike interval of the Pusiano section (Maiolica Formation; N-Italy). These sediments were deposited at the southern continental margin of the alpine Tethys Ocean and have been bio- and magnetostratigraphically dated by Channell et al. (1995). In order to obtain a continuous palynological record of the negative C-isotope spike interval and the base of OAE1a, we combined this pre-OAE1a interval of Pusiano with the OAE1a interval of the nearby Cismon section (Hochuli et al., 1999). The sporomorph assemblages at the base of this composite succession feature abundant bisaccate pollen, which reflects a warm-temperate climate. Rather arid conditions are inferred from low trilete spore percentages. Several tens of thousand years before the onset of OAE1a, C-isotope values started to decrease. Some thousand years later, bisaccate pollen began to decrease, whereas an increase of Classopollis spp. and Araucariacites spp

  18. A new sediment core from the early Aptian OAE1a: the Cau section (Prebetic Zone, Spain)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alejandro Ruiz-Ortiz, Pedro; Castro, José Manuel; de Gea, Ginés A.; Jarvis, Ian; Loeser, Hannes; Molina, José Miguel; Nieto, Luis Miguel; Pancost, Richard; Quijano, María Luisa; Reolid, Matías; Skelton, Peter; Weissert, Helmut

    2016-04-01

    The occurrence of time intervals of enhanced deposition of organic matter (OM) during the Cretaceous, defined as Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAE), reflect abrupt changes in global carbon cycling. The exemplary Aptian OAE1a (120 Ma), is recorded in all the main ocean basins and associated with massive burial of OM in marine sediments [1]. OAE1a is concomitant with the 'nannoconid crisis', which represents a major biotic turnover [2], and also with widespread demise of carbonate platforms [1]. Much research has been done on the OAE1a from different sections in the world over the last decades, since the definition of the C-isotope stratigraphy of the event [3]. Notwithstanding, high-resolution studies across the entire event will be crucial to elucidate the precise timing and rates of the different environmental and biotic changes involved. In order to perform high-resolution studies, drill-cores can represent the best option. Previous cores with successful scientific results has been performed in two reference sections, the Cismon Apti-core [4], and more recently in La Bédoule [5]. Here we present a new drill-core from southern Spain, the Cau section core, drilled in the last quarter of 2015. The Cau section is located in the easternmost part of the Prebetic Zone (Betic Cordillera), which represents the platform deposits of the Southern Iberian Palaeomargin. The lower Aptian of the Cau section is represented by an hemipelagic unit (Almadich Formation, ca. 200 m thick), deposited in a highly subsiding sector of a tilted block, located in the distal parts of the Prebetic Platform. Previous studies of the early Aptian of the Cau section have focused on the stratigraphy, bioevents, C-isotope stratigraphy, and organic and elemental geochemistry [6], [7], among others. A recent study on the Cau section based on biomarkers has presented a detailed record of the PCO2, [8]. All these studies reveal that the Cau section represents an excellent site to investigate the OAE1a, based

  19. Soft-sediment deformation structures interpreted as seismites in the uppermost Aptian to lowermost Albian transgressive deposits of the Chihuahua basin (Mexico)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Blanc, E.J.-P.; Blanc-Aletru, M. -C.; Mojon, P.-O.

    1997-01-01

    Several levels of soft-sediment deformation structures (s.-s.d.s.) cut by synsedimentary normal faults have been observed in the transition beds between the "Las Vigas" and "La Virgen" formations (Cretaceous) in the northeastern part of the Chihuahua basin in Mexico. These structures consisted of four kinds of motifs (floating breccias, flame-like structures, large pillow structures, and wavy structures). They are restricted to five "stratigraphic" levels (??1-??5) and surrounded by undeformed beds in fluvio-lacustrine and tidal deposits and can be traced over a distance of several hundred meters. This deformation is interpreted to have resulted from the combined effects of liquidization and shear stress in soft-sediments due to local earthquakes in the area which could have been generated during the rifting stage of the Chihuahua basin. New constraints placed on the age of the "Las Vigas" Formation (bracketed by Late Aptian charophytes at the bottom and colomiellids of late Aptian to earliest Albian age at the top) suggest that this synrift tectonism lasted at least until the end of the Aptian.

  20. Soft-sediment deformation structures interpreted as seismites in the uppermost Aptian to lowermost Albian transgressive deposits of the Chihuahua basin (Mexico)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Blanc, E.J.-P.; Blanc-Aletru, M. -C.; Mojon, P.-O.

    1998-01-01

    Several levels of soft-sediment deformation structures (s.-s.d.s.) cut by synsedimentary normal faults have been observed in the transition beds between the "Las Vigas" and "La Virgen" formations (Cretaceous) in the northeastern part of the Chihuahua basin in Mexico. These structures consisted of four kinds of motifs (floating breccias, flame-like structures, large pillow structures, and wavy structures). They are restricted to five "stratigraphie" levels (Z1-Z5) and surrounded by undeformed beds in fluvio-lacustrine and tidal deposits and can be traced over a distance of several hundred meters. This deformation is interpreted to have resulted from the combined effects of liquidization and shear stress in soft-sediments due to local earthquakes in the area which could have been generated during the rifting stage of the Chihuahua basin. New constraints placed on the age of the "Las Vigas" Formation (bracketed by Late Aptian charophytes at the bottom and colomiellids of late Aptian to earliest Albian age at the top) suggest that this synrift tectonism lasted at least until the end of the Aptian. ?? Springer-Verlag 1998.

  1. Bridging the Faraoni and Selli oceanic anoxic events: late Hauterivian to early Aptian dysaerobic to anaerobic phases in the Tethys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Föllmi, K. B.; Bôle, M.; Jammet, N.; Froidevaux, P.; Godet, A.; Bodin, S.; Adatte, T.; Matera, V.; Fleitmann, D.; Spangenberg, J. E.

    2012-01-01

    A detailed geochemical analysis was performed on the upper part of the Maiolica Formation in the Breggia (southern Switzerland) and Capriolo sections (northern Italy). The analysed sediments consist of well-bedded, partly siliceous, pelagic carbonate, which lodges numerous thin, dark and organic-rich layers. Stable-isotope, phosphorus, organic-carbon and a suite of redox-sensitive trace-element contents (RSTE: Mo, U, Co, V and As) were measured. The RSTE pattern and Corg:Ptot ratios indicate that most organic-rich layers were deposited under dysaerobic rather than anaerobic conditions and that latter conditions were likely restricted to short intervals in the latest Hauterivian, the early Barremian and the pre-Selli early Aptian. Correlations are both possible with organic-rich intervals in central Italy (the Gorgo a Cerbara section) and the Boreal Lower Saxony Basin, as well as with the facies and drowning pattern in the Helvetic segment of the northern Tethyan carbonate platform. Our data and correlations suggest that the latest Hauterivian witnessed the progressive installation of dysaerobic conditions in the Tethys, which went along with the onset in sediment condensation, phosphogenesis and platform drowning on the northern Tethyan margin, and which culminated in the Faraoni anoxic episode. This episode is followed by further episodes of dysaerobic conditions in the Tethys and the Lower Saxony Basin, which became more frequent and progressively stronger in the late early Barremian. Platform drowning persisted and did not halt before the latest early Barremian. The late Barremian witnessed diminishing frequencies and intensities in dysaerobic conditions, which went along with the progressive installation of the Urgonian carbonate platform. Near the Barremian-Aptian boundary, the increasing density in dysaerobic episodes in the Tethyan and Lower Saxony Basins is paralleled by a change towards heterozoan carbonate production on the northern Tethyan shelf. The

  2. Pinaceae-like reproductive morphology in Schizolepidopsis canicularis sp. nov. from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) of Mongolia.

    PubMed

    Leslie, Andrew B; Glasspool, Ian; Herendeen, Patrick S; Ichinnorov, Niiden; Knopf, Patrick; Takahashi, Masamichi; Crane, Peter R

    2013-12-01

    Seed cone scales assigned to the genus Schizolepidopsis are widespread in Late Triassic to Cretaceous Eurasian deposits. They have been linked to the conifer family Pinaceae based on associated vegetative remains, but their exact affinities are uncertain. Recently discovered material from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia reveals important new information concerning Schizolepidopsis cone scales and seeds, and provides support for a relationship between the genus and extant Pinaceae. Specimens were collected from Early Cretaceous (probable Aptian-Albian) lignite deposits in central Mongolia. Lignite samples were disaggregated, cleaned in hydrofluoric acid, and washed in water. Specimens were selected for further study using light and electron microscopy. Schizolepidopsis canicularis seed cones consist of loosely arranged, bilobed ovulate scales subtended by a small bract. A single inverted seed with an elongate micropyle is borne on each lobe of the ovulate scale. Each seed has a wing formed by the separation of the adaxial surface of the ovulate scale. Schizolepidopsis canicularis produced winged seeds that formed in a manner that is unique to Pinaceae among extant conifers. We do not definitively place this species in Pinaceae pending more complete information concerning its pollen cones and vegetative remains. Nevertheless, this material suggests that Schizolepidopsis may be important for understanding the early evolution of Pinaceae, and may potentially help reconcile the appearance of the family in the fossil record with results based on phylogenetic analyses of molecular data.

  3. Evolution of volcanically-induced palaeoenvironmental changes leading to the onset of OAE1a (early Aptian, Cretaceous)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keller, Christina E.; Hochuli, Peter A.; Giorgioni, Martino; Garcia, Therese I.; Bernasconi, Stefano M.; Weissert, Helmut

    2010-05-01

    During the Cretaceous, several major volcanic events occurred that initiated climate warming, altered marine circulation and increased marine productivity, which in turn often resulted in the widespread black shale deposits of the Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAE). In the sediments underlying the early Aptian OAE1a black shales, a prominent negative carbon isotope excursion is recorded. Its origin had long been controversial (e.g. Arthur, 2000; Jahren et al., 2001) before recent studies attributed it to the Ontong Java volcanism (Méhay et al., 2009; Tejada et al., 2009). Therefore the negative C-isotope excursion covers the interval between the time, when volcanic activity became important enough to be recorded in the C-isotope composition of the oceans to the onset of widespread anoxic conditions (OAE1a). We chose this interval at the locality of Pusiano (N-Italy) to study the effect of a volcanically-induced increase in pCO2 on the marine palaeoenvironment and to observe the evolving palaeoenvironmental conditions that finally led to OAE1a. The Pusiano section (Maiolica Formation) was deposited at the southern continental margin of the alpine Tethys Ocean and has been bio- and magnetostratigraphically dated by Channell et al. (1995). We selected 18 samples from 12 black shale horizons for palynofacies analyses. Palynofacies assemblages consist of several types of particulate organic matter, providing information on the origin of the organic matter (terrestrial/marine) and conditions during deposition (oxic/anoxic). We then linked the palynofacies results to high-resolution inorganic and organic C-isotope values and total organic carbon content measurements. The pelagic Pusiano section consists of repeated limestone-black shale couplets, which are interpreted to be the result of changes in oxygenation of bottom waters. Towards the end of the negative C-isotope excursion we observe enhanced preservation of the fragile amorphous organic matter resulting in increased

  4. Rapid formation of ontong java plateau by aptian mantle plume volcanism.

    PubMed

    Tarduno, J A; Sliter, W V; Kroenke, L; Leckie, M; Mayer, H; Mahoney, J J; Musgrave, R; Storey, M; Winterer, E L

    1991-10-18

    The timing of flood basalt volcanism associated with formation of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) is estimated from paleomagnetic and paleontologic data. Much of OJP formed rapidly in less than 3 million years during the early Aptian, at the beginning of the Cretaceous Normal Polarity Superchron. Crustal emplacement rates are inferred to have been several times those of the Deccan Traps. These estimates are consistent with an origin of the OJP by impingement at the base of the oceanic lithosphere by the head of a large mantle plume. Formation of the OJP may have led to a rise in sea level that induced global oceanic anoxia. Carbon dioxide emissions likely contributed to the mid-Cretaceous greenhouse climate but did not provoke major biologic extinctions.

  5. Rapid formation of Ontong Java Plateau by Aptian mantle plume volcanism

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tarduno, J.A.; Sliter, W.V.; Kroenke, L.; Leckie, M.; Mayer, H.; Mahoney, J.J.; Musgrave, R.; Storey, M.; Winterer, E.L.

    1991-01-01

    The timing of flood basalt volcanism associated with formation of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) is estimated from paleomagnetic and paleontologic data. Much of OJP formed rapidly in less than 3 million years during the early Aptian, at the beginning of the Cretaceous Normal Polarity Superchron. Crustal emplacement rates are inferred to have been several times those of the Deccan Traps. These estimates are consistent with an origin of the OJP by impingement at the base of the oceanic lithosphere by the head of a large mantle plume. Formation of the OJP may have led to a rise in sea level that induced global oceanic anoxia. Carbon dioxide emissions likely contributed to the mid-Cretaceous greenhouse climate but did not provoke major biologic extinctions.

  6. Aptian (lower Cretaceous) ammonite biostratigraphy of the Francisco Zarco Dam stratigraphic section (Durango State, northeast Mexico)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moreno-Bedmar, Josep Anton; Barragán Manzo, Ricardo; Company Sempere, Miguel; Bulot, Luc Georges

    2013-03-01

    This work deals with the study of the ammonoid record of a classical stratigraphic section of Aptian age, the Francisco Zarco Dam (Durango State, northeast Mexico). A detailed biostratigraphical analysis considered 1281 specimens systematically sampled on a bed-by-bed basis. Taphonomy, taxonomic composition and paleocology of the studied assemblage, were also stressed. We formally propose an ammonite zonation for this section, which consists of two interval zones, Dufrenoyia justinae and Gargasiceras? adkinsi, one taxon range zone Caseyella aguilerae, and one biohorizon Huastecoceras trispinosoides. Among those biostratigraphic units, three are of new definition. Another topic discussed herein concerns to the problematic definition of the Lower-Upper Aptian boundary using the first stratigraphical appearance of the genus Epicheloniceras. From a paleoecological point of view, we recognized the ammonoid assemblage of the Francisco Zarco Dam section, to be representative of a distal platform environment. Finally, we compared the zonation built for this section with that considered the standard zonation for the Tethyan Domain, concluding that the differences are so substantial that an independent zonation for the Central Atlantic is necessary.

  7. The microbial nature of laminated limestones: Lessons from the Upper Aptian, Araripe Basin, Brazil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Catto, Bruno; Jahnert, Ricardo Jorge; Warren, Lucas Verissimo; Varejao, Filipe Giovanini; Assine, Mario Luis

    2016-07-01

    The Araripe Basin, located in northeastern Brazil, originated during the Gondwana continental break-up responsible for the opening of the South Atlantic during the Early Cretaceous. In the Araripe Basin, the post-rift Aptian sequence corresponds to the Santana Group, which is composed, in upward succession, of mostly clastic continental and rare carbonate layers of the Barbalha, Crato, Ipubi and Romualdo Formations. The laminated limestones of the Crato Formation were deposited in a lacustrine environment preceding the deposition of the Ipubi Formation evaporites. They are age-equivalent to the limestones of the pre-salt interval of the east coast of Brazil, which contains large petroleum reserves. The excellent preservation of its macrofossils has made the Crato Formation known worldwide as a Fossil Lagerstätte. The limestones are macroscopically homogeneous, and their deposition has been previously attributed to chemical precipitation. Although the carbonate laminites are macroscopically undifferentiated, mineralogical variations, microscopic texture and distinctive biotic aspects supported the characterization of four microfacies: planar laminated, crustiform, nodular and rhythmic. The microfacies analysis indicated a strong and pervasive biological activity in the Crato limestone morphogenesis. Organominerals precipitated by the metabolic action of cyanobacteria and/or sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic-oxidizing archea are represented by calcite and pyrite. Calcified coccoid and filaments are common, furthermore, the presence of calcified biofilms composed of exopolymeric substances (EPS) is ubiquitous. The presence of amorphous organic matter (AOM) and gypsum, particularly in the rhythmic microfacies, indicates anoxic/dysoxic conditions and stressful environments during periods of drought and low lake levels which favored the development and preservation of microbial biofilms. Phytoclasts and miospores when present in the succession indicate an

  8. Fissumella motolae new genus new species from the late Aptian-early Albian of Southern Italy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cruz, Erzika; Consorti, Lorenzo; Di Lucia, Matteo; Parente, Mariano; Ciria, Alex; Caus, Esmeralda

    2016-04-01

    Benthic foraminifera, together with calcareous algae and rudist bivalves, play a key role in the biostratigraphy of Cretaceous carbonate platforms of the peri-Adriatic area. In the biozonation currently adopted for the carbonate platforms of central and southern Apennines (Italy) there is a stratigraphic interval, roughly corresponding to most of the Albian stage, which is poorly defined and assigned to a single biozone, called "Ostracoda and Miliolidae" biozone (Chiocchini et al., 2008). We describe here a new peneropliform benthic foraminifer, Fissumella motolae n. gen., n. sp. which could be used for a finer biostratigraphic subdivision of this interval. Its porcelaneous test shows a peneropliform shape with rounded margins. In the early stage of growth the chambers are streptospirally arranged, becoming later planispiral involute. The aperture is single, migrating during ontogeny from an interiomarginal position to the center of septa. The chamber lumina are traversed by few and short radial septula. Fissumella motolae is a common constituent of benthic foraminiferal assemblages of the Apennine Carbonate Platform. We have found it in the same stratigraphic interval in several stratigraphic sections distributed along a NW-SE transect from Monte Croce (in the Aurunci Mts.) to Monte Tobenna (in the Picentini Mts.) to Monte Motola (in the Cilento Promontory). It first appears in the levels with Archaeoalveolina reicheli, close to Aptian-Albian boundary, and then continues for some tens of meters, associated with Praechrysalidina infracretacea, Cuneolina parva, Sabaudia minuta, conical imperforate foraminifers, miliolids, textularids, nezzazzatids, dasycladalean green algae and ostracods. Carbon isotope stratigraphy has been used to better constrain the correlation between the studied sections and their chronostratigraphic calibration. Chiocchini, M., Chiocchini, R. A., Didaskalou, P., and Potetti, M., 2008. Microbiostratigrafia del Triassico superiore, Giurassico e

  9. Aptian sedimentation in the Recôncavo-Tucano-Jatobá Rift System and its tectonic and paleogeographic significance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Freitas, Bernardo T.; Almeida, Renato P.; Carrera, Simone C.; Figueiredo, Felipe T.; Turra, Bruno B.; Varejão, Filipe G.; Assine, Mario L.

    2017-12-01

    This study, based on detailed sedimentologic and stratigraphic analysis of the Aptian succession preserved in the Recôncavo-Tucano-Jatobá Rift System (RTJ), present new elements for biostratigraphic correlation and paleogeographic reconstruction in the mid-Cretaceous South Atlantic realm, supporting novel interpretations on the tectonic and sedimentary evolution related to the W-Gondwana breakup. The Aptian sedimentary succession in the RTJ has been referred to as Marizal Formation, and interpreted as post-rift deposits. Detailed sedimentologic and stratigraphic studies of these deposits enabled the recognition and individualization of two distinctive sedimentary units that can be traced in the entire RTJ. These units are here described and named Banzaê and Cícero Dantas members of the Marizal Formation. Their contact is locally marked by the fossiliferous successions of the here proposed Amargosa Bed, lying at the top of the Banzaê Member. Both members of the Marizal Formation record large river systems captured by the Tucano Basin with the local development of eolian dune fields and fault-bounded alluvial fans. The Amargosa Bed represents a regional-scale base level change preserved between the Aptian fluvial successions along the RTJ. Hence, the studied sedimentary record presents important implications for the timing and direction of marine ingressions affecting NE-Brazil interior basins during the Aptian. A remarkable contrast in preserved fluvial architecture between the Banzaê Member, characterized by connected channel bodies, and the Cícero Dantas Member, characterized by isolated channel bodies within overbank fines, is here reported. The main interpreted control for the observed contrast in fluvial stratigraphy is sedimentary yield variation. The interval is also subject to the interpretation of a regional shift in the mechanism responsible for the subsidence of the basins formed during the Cretaceous break-up of the Central South Atlantic. This

  10. Testing the sulfate-phosphorous hypothesis for initiation of the early Aptian OAE1a

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mills, J. V.; Gomes, M. L.; Sageman, B. B.; Hurtgen, M. T.

    2012-12-01

    Oceanic anoxic events (OAEs) were short-lived (<1-myr) episodes of widespread marine organic carbon burial and anoxia that occurred during the Mesozoic. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain these intervals of increased organic carbon production and preservation, yet none have satisfactorily accounted for the short-term character and widespread effects of the events. Some recent work has focused on the role of sulfur in the initiation/termination mechanism of these events, specifically the potential impact of a large increase in marine sulfate levels upon a very low sulfate background. Previous authors have suggested that a large pulse of volcanic-derived sulfur could have initiated widespread anoxia through a positive feedback cycle of enhanced phosphorous recycling and increased primary production. In this model, a sudden pulse of sulfur upon a low sulfate background impacts the biogeochemical cycles of sulfur and iron, leading to an escalation in phosphorous (P) release from sediments during organic matter degradation. The resulting sulfate-P feedback cycle, recognized in modern lake systems, continues until sulfate levels are drawn down by pyrite burial, thus ending the anoxic event. To test this hypothesis, we examine sulfur and carbon isotopes through the early Aptian OAE1a (~120 Ma) from Resolution Guyot in the Mid-Pacific Mountains (ODP Site 866). We present sulfur isotope records of carbonate-associated sulfate (CAS), which provide a higher resolution record than other sulfate records (e.g. marine barites), to infer how sulfate concentrations changed through the event. A decrease of ~5 permil in the CAS sulfur isotope composition through the event suggests either that massive volcanism delivered 34S-depleted sulfate to the oceans and/or that large-scale evaporite (calcium sulfate) deposition forced a reduction in marine sulfate levels and associated rates of pyrite burial. These results will be discussed within the context of evolving δ34

  11. Toward an orbital chronology for the early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE1a, ~ 120 Ma)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yong-Xiang; Bralower, Timothy J.; Montañez, Isabel P.; Osleger, David A.; Arthur, Michael A.; Bice, David M.; Herbert, Timothy D.; Erba, Elisabetta; Premoli Silva, Isabella

    2008-07-01

    The early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE1a, 120 Ma) represents a geologically brief time interval in the mid-Cretaceous greenhouse world that is characterized by increased organic carbon accumulation in marine sediments, sudden biotic changes, and abrupt carbon-isotope excursions indicative of significant perturbations to global carbon cycling. The brevity of these drastic environmental changes (< 10 6 year) and the typically 10 6 year temporal resolution of the available chronologies, however, represent a critical gap in our knowledge of OAE1a. We have conducted a high-resolution investigation of three widely distributed sections, including the Cismon APTICORE in Italy, Santa Rosa Canyon in northeastern Mexico, and Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 398 off the Iberian margin in the North Atlantic Ocean, which represent a range of depositional environments where condensed and moderately expanded OAE1a intervals are recorded. The objectives of this study are to establish orbital chronologies for these sections and to construct a common, high-resolution timescale for OAE1a. Spectral analyses of the closely-spaced (corresponding to ~ 5 to 10 kyr) measurements of calcium carbonate content of the APTICORE, magnetic susceptibility (MS) and anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) of the Santa Rosa samples, and MS, ARM and ARM/IRM, where IRM is isothermal remanent magnetization, of Site 398 samples reveal statistically significant cycles. These cycles exhibit periodicity ratios and modulation patterns similar to those of the mid-Cretaceous orbital cycles, suggesting that orbital variations may have modulated depositional processes. Orbital control allows us to estimate the duration of unique, globally identifiable stages of OAE1a. Although OAE1a had a duration of ~ 1.0 to 1.3 Myr, the initial perturbation represented by the negative carbon-isotope excursion was rapid, lasting for ~ 27-44 kyr. This estimate could serve as a basis for constraining triggering

  12. Ten metre global sea-level change associated with South Atlantic Aptian salt deposition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Burke, Kevin; Sengor, A. M. Celal

    1988-01-01

    Catastrophic filling of the kind of subsea-level depression commonly formed during ocean opening and ocean closing is the only mechanism, other than glacial eustacy, capable of rapidly lowering sea level. Aptian evaporites overlying oceanic crust on both sides of the South Atlantic between the Walvis Ridge and the Niger Delta were deposited in such a basin by repeated spilling of ocean water. The final flooding of the South Atlantic north of the Walvis Ridge extracted about 14 x 10 to the 8th cu km of sea water from the world ocean and effected about 10 m of sea-level lowering. It is speculated that the middle Aptian unconformity, which is one of the more prominent world-wide unconformities, is associated with this sea-level drop of about 10 m. A corollary of this interpretation is that if the catastrophic sea-level lowerings during the Mesozoic era had amplitudes substantially greater than 10 m, then a glacial mechanism to explain them would seem inescapable although the stratigraphic record has not yet yielded any evidence of such glaciation.

  13. An examination on the ostracod genus Cytherelloidea from the Aptian deposits of west and northwest of Kerman, Iran

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khosravi, Zohreh; Vaziri, Mohammad Reza; Arab, Ahmad Lotfabad

    2018-05-01

    This research provides the first detailed taxonomic study of Cytherelloidea species from the Aptian deposits of the Kerman area. One hundred and seventy-five samples from two measured stratigraphic sections, Baghin and Siriz, in west and northwest of Kerman, have been analyzed and 11 species identified among them three new species Cytherelloidea baghinensis, Cytherelloidea mazarensis and Cytherelloidea sirizensis are reported for the first time from the regions. The paleoecological aspects of the studied ostracods are discussed as well. A compatible age determination has been inferred through the analysis of benthic foraminifera, gastropoda, pelecypoda and brachiopoda, which have been recovered in the study areas.

  14. Aptian ‘Shale Gas’ Prospectivity in the Downdip Mississippi Interior Salt Basin, Gulf Coast, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hackley, Paul C.; Valentine, Brett J.; Enomoto, Catherine B.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Scott, Krystina R.; Dulong, Frank T.; Bove, Alana M.

    2016-01-01

    This study evaluates regional ‘shale gas’ prospectivity of the Aptian section (primarily Pine Island Shale) in the downdip Mississippi Salt Basin (MSB). Previous work by the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean undiscovered gas resource of 8.8 trillion cubic feet (TCF) in the chronostratigraphic-equivalent Pearsall Formation in the Maverick Basin of south Texas, where industry has established a moderately successful horizontal gas and liquids play. Wells penetrating the downdip MSB Aptian section at depths of 12,000-15,000 ft were used to correlate formation tops in a 15-well cross-section extending about 200 miles (mi) east-southeastward from Adams Co. to Jackson Co. Legacy cuttings from these wells were analyzed for thermal maturity and source rock quality. Bitumen reflectance (n=53) increases with increasing present-day burial depth in the east-central study area from 1.0% to 1.7%. As the Aptian section shallows in Adams Co. to the west, bitumen Ro values are higher (1.7-2.0%), either from relatively greater heat flux or greater mid-Cenomanian uplift and erosion in this area. Total organic carbon (TOC) content ranges 0.01-1.21 and averages 0.5 wt.% (n=51); pyrolysis output (S2; n=51) averages 0.40 mg HC/g rock, indicating little present-day hydrocarbon-generative potential. Bitumen reflectance is preferred as a thermal maturity parameter as Tmax values are unreliable. Normalized X-ray diffraction (XRD) mineral analyses (n=26) indicate high average clay abundance (53 wt.%) relative to quartz (29%) and carbonate (18%). Mineral content shows a spatial relationship to an Appalachian orogen clastic sediment source, with proximal high clay and quartz and distal high carbonate content. Clastic influx from the Appalachian orogen is confirmed by detrital zircon U-Pb ages with dominant Grenville and Paleozoic components [105 ages from a Rodessa sandstone and 112 ages from a Paluxy (Albian) sandstone]. Preliminary information from fluid inclusion microthermometry

  15. Assessing the Record of Anoxic/Dysoxic Events in Lower Aptian Cupido/La Peña Formations, Northeastern Mexico

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maurrasse, F. J.; Barragan-Manzo, R.; Ponton, C.

    2008-05-01

    Lower Aptian series at the la Huasteca Canyon, Nuevo Leon, NE Mexico, include the uppermost part of the Cupido Formation, a shallow-platform facies (TIC > 60%) succeeded by the La Peña Formation (TIC very variable 17 - 92 %). The change indicated a long-term shift in sedimentation characterized by distinct periodic increase in terrigenous, organic matter and abundant occurrence of ammonites. The interbeds of marls, calcareous shales, marly calcilutites and calcirudites of the La Peña facies contain abundant thin-shelled ammonites, and few planktonic foraminifera. The change occurred in the Dufrenoya justinae ammonite Zone, coeval with the Dufrenoya furcata Zone of the standard ammonite biochronostratigraphy of the Mediterranean province for the uppermost Early Aptian (Barragan-Manzo and Mendez-Franco, 2005; Barragan and Maurrasse, 2008). These zones differentiate the upper part of the Lower Aptian, therefore posterior to OAE1a. Nonetheless, while microfacies of the La Peña Fm show also intermittent belemnites, small pelecypods other than rudists, and sea urchins, benthic foraminifera are mostly absent occurring toward younger levels in the Gargasian coincident with highest taxonomic diversity. Benthic foraminifers are conspicuously absent particularly at the levels closest to the transition zone with the infrajacent Cupido facies. Also, despite increase in TOC (up to 2.6 %) in the La Peña facies, ∂13 Corg curve shows little co-variation with increasing OM, which we interpret to represent a regional phenomenon related to super-productivity in the isolated sub-basin of the Mexican platform (Maurrasse et al., 2006). In contrast, typical Cupido Fm microfacies exhibit abundant miliolids (20-30 %), fragments of rudists, echinoids, ostracods (> 30-40%), very few thin ammonite shell debris, and oolites at intermittent levels. Rich benthic foraminifer assemblages are indicative of well-oxygenated bottom conditions. However, there are three horizons about 60 cm

  16. The OAE1a in Cuchía (Early Aptian, Spain): C and O geochemistry and global correlation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    García-Mondéjar, Joaquín; Fernández-Mendiola, Pedro A.; Owen, Hugh G.

    2015-12-01

    C-isotopes, TOC and O geochemical data from the lower Aptian Cuchía section in the western Basque-Cantabrian basin (BCB) allow an accurate delimitation of the OAE1a-equivalent and its geochemical Menegattís segments, a detailed δ13Ccarb correlation with regional and interregional sections, and a high-resolution construction of TOC and bulk-rock δ18Ocarb curves and their interpretation. The δ13Ccarb values range from -2‰ and +4‰ (VPDB). They agree with previous data from the eastern BCB sections (Aralar) confirming the ammonite age of the OAE1a in the Basque-Cantabrian basin: Deshayesites forbesi, Deshayesites deshayesi, and Deshayesites deshayesi-Dufrenoyia furcata transition Zones. Interregional δ13Ccarb correlation with pelagic (Cismon, Italy, and Mid-Pacific Mountains, DSDP Site 463) and neritic (Roquefort-La Bédoule, France) core sections, reveals a common profile of a wide negative excursion characteristic of the OAE1a. It consists of a double trough separated by a flat relative maximum, with two negative spikes in the upper trough of neritic sections. TOC absolute values range from 0.12% to 1.37%. Segments of the TOC curve with persistent low values closely correspond with descending segments of the δ13Ccarb curve, and are attributed to lesser organic productivity in the BCB. Detailed bulk-rock δ18Ocarb data (-5.71‰ to -1.05 ‰ PDB) and variation curve show two main positive O-isotope shifts and three minor positive inflections, within a general negative trend characteristic of the OAE1a. The two major positive shifts correspond to both shallowing upwards sequences and the lowermost can be related to a eustatic sea level fall. Independent interregional correlation of the O-isotope shifts with C-isotopes supports their interpretation as punctuating colder events within a general warming trend.

  17. A tribosphenic mammal from the Mesozoic of Australia.

    PubMed

    Rich, T H; Vickers-Rich, P; Constantine, A; Flannery, T F; Kool, L; van Klaveren, N

    1997-11-21

    A small, well-preserved dentary of a tribosphenic mammal with the most posterior premolar and all three molars in place has been found in Aptian (Early Cretaceous) rocks of southeastern Australia. In most respects, dental and mandibular anatomy of the specimen is similar to that of primitive placental mammals. With the possible exception of a single tooth reported as Eocene in age, terrestrial placentals are otherwise unknown in Australia until the Pliocene. This possible Australian placental is similar in age to Prokennalestes from the late Aptian/early Albian Khoboor Beds of Mongolia, the oldest currently accepted member of the infraclass Placentalia.

  18. Diagenetic patterns and pore space distribution along a platform to outer-shelf transect (Urgonian limestone, Barremian-Aptian, SE France)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Léonide, Philippe; Fournier, François; Reijmer, John J. G.; Vonhof, Hubert; Borgomano, Jean; Dijk, Jurrien; Rosenthal, Maelle; van Goethem, Manon; Cochard, Jean; Meulenaars, Karlien

    2014-06-01

    The Urgonian limestones of Late Barremian/Early Aptian from Provence (SE, France) are characterized by the occurrence of microporous limestones at regional scale alternating with tight carbonates. This study, based on petrographical (sediment texture, facies) and diagenetical analyses (cement stratigraphy, porosity and isotope geochemistry) of more than 800 limestone samples provides insight into the parameters controlling the genesis, preservation or occlusion of microporosity along an inner platform to outer shelf transect. The tight and microporous Urgonian limestones from Provence can be grouped into 5 rock-types based on textures, associated depositional environments, porosity and pore-type, being: (1) tight inner-platform: TIP; (2) porous inner platform: PIP; (3) tight outer platform: TOP; (4) porous outer platform: POP and (5) tight outer shelf: TOS. In tight (TIP, TOP and TOS types) limestones intergranular and intragranular pore spaces were entirely occluded by early marine and/or early meteoric cementation, whereas in microporous (PIP, POP) limestones a significant fraction of the intergranular macroporosity was preserved during early and shallow burial diagenesis. Micrite neomorphism (hybrid Ostwald ripening process) occurred during meteoric shallow burial diagenesis in PIP and POP limestones during the regional Durancian Uplift event (Albian-Lower Cenomanian). This process resulted in microporosity enhancement and preservation. Circulation of meteoric fluids during exhumation produces intercrystalline microporosity enhancement and moldic porosity development. The present study documents the important role that both early diagenetic and depositional cycles and long-term tectonic processes have on pore space evolution and distribution in Mesozoic platform carbonates.

  19. Alkaline Plume in the Aptian Sand Aquifer in the Context of Low-Level Radioactive Waste Surface Disposal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cochepin, B.; Munier, I.; MADE, B.

    2017-12-01

    The storage vaults for low and intermediate-level short-lived radioactive waste in the East of France are settled on the Aptian sand layer. In the context of the periodic examination by the nuclear regulators, it has been recommended to assess more precisely the chemical conditions for a potential release of radionuclides in the underlying water table. In particular, this study aims at assessing the eventuality of spreading an alkaline plume in the Aptian sand pore water by the chemical degradation of the vault cementitious materials. The numerical approach developed for this purpose is supported by both experimental characterizations of tracers in the water table and results from preliminary numerical studies on the hydrology of the site and the hydraulic evolution of the storage. The results from these specific simulations were simplified in the reactive transport model to focus on the mechanistic description of the chemical processes taking place in the waste and vaults and on their consequences on the underlying water table. During the operating period of the disposal, the reactive transport modelling shows that the low water saturation in the vaults material and in the vadose zone prevents the aquifer from a significant increase of the water pH under the cement-based vaults. These results are in reasonable agreement with the pH regularly measured in the underlying water table. After storage closure, during the few hundred years of the monitoring period and furthermore beyond, the reactive transport modelling shows a noticeable release of hydroxyls and alkali ions under the disposal vaults and their spread downstream the storage site leading to pH values above 10. It is noteworthy that the pH is not buffered in the Aptian sands because of their low amount in clayey minerals. This effect is now considered for pH-sensitive radionuclide solutes in safety assessment calculations by weighting correspondingly their retention parameters.

  20. Palaeomagnetic time and space constraints of the Early Cretaceous Rhenodanubian Flysch zone (Eastern Alps)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dallanave, Edoardo; Kirscher, Uwe; Hauck, Jürgen; Hesse, Reinhard; Bachtadse, Valerian; Wortmann, Ulrich Georg

    2018-06-01

    The Rhenodanubian Flysch zone (RDF) is a Lower Cretaceous-lower Palaeocene turbidite succession extending for ˜500 km from the Danube at Vienna to the Rhine Valley (Eastern Alps). It consists of calcareous and siliciclastic turbidite systems deposited in a trench abyssal plain. The age of deposition has been estimated through micropalaeontologic dating. However, palaeomagnetic studies constraining the age and the palaeolatitude of deposition of the RDF are still missing. Here, we present palaeomagnetic data from the Early Cretaceous Tristel and Rehbreingraben Formations of the RDF from two localities in the Bavarian Alps (Rehbrein Creek and Lainbach Valley, southern Germany), and from the stratigraphic equivalent of the Falknis Nappe (Liechtenstein). The quality of the palaeomagnetic signal has been assessed by either fold test (FT) or reversal test (RT). Sediments from the Falknis Nappe are characterized by a pervasive syntectonic magnetic overprint as tested by negative FT, and are thus excluded from the study. The sediments of the Rehbreingraben Formation at Rehbrein Creek, with positive RT, straddle magnetic polarity Chron M0r and the younger M΄-1r΄ reverse event, with an age of ˜127-123 Ma (late Barremian-early Aptian). At Lainbach Valley, no polarity reversals have been observed, but a positive FT gives confidence on the reliability of the data. The primary palaeomagnetic directions, after correction for inclination shallowing, allow to precisely constrain the depositional palaeolatitude of the Tristel and Rehbreingraben Formations around ˜28°N. In a palaeogeographic reconstruction of the Alpine Tethys at the Barremian/Aptian boundary, the RDF is located on the western margin of the Briançonnais terrain, which was separated from the European continent by the narrow Valais Ocean.

  1. High-resolution C and O stable isotope geochemistry of the early Aptian OAE1a at Cau (Prebetic Zone, Spain): Preliminary results from sediment core.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alejandro Ruiz-Ortiz, Pedro; Aguado, Roque; Castro, José Manuel; Gallego, David; de Gea, Ginés Alfonso; Jarvis, Ian; Molina, José Miguel; Nieto, Luis Miguel; Pancost, Richard; Quijano, María Luisa; Reolid, Matías; Rodriguez, Rafael; Skelton, Peter; Weisser, Helmut

    2017-04-01

    The occurrence of time intervals of enhanced deposition of organic matter (OM) during the Cretaceous, defined as Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAE), reflect abrupt changes in global carbon cycling. The Aptian OAE1a (120 Ma), represents an excellent example, recorded in all the main ocean basins, associated to massive burial of organic matter in marine sediments [1]. Much research has been done on the OAE1a from different sections in the world over the last decades, including the definition of the C-isotope stratigraphy of the event [2]. Notwithstanding, higher-resolution studies across the entire event will be crucial to shed light into the precise timing and rates of the different environmental and biotic changes that occurred. The Cau section is located in the easternmost part of the Prebetic Zone (Betic Cordillera), which represents the platform deposits of the Southern Iberian palaeomargin. The Lower Aptian of the Cau section is represented by a hemipelagic unit (Almadich Formation, ca. 200 m thick), deposited in a highly subsiding sector of a tilted block, located in the distal parts of the Prebetic Platform. Previous studies of the Lower Aptian of the Cau section have focused on the stratigraphy, bioevents, C-isotope stratigraphy, and organic and elemental geochemistry [3], [4], and in the reconstruction of pCO2 from organic geochemistry proxies [5]. All these studies reveal that the Cau section represents an excellent site to investigate the OAE 1a, based on its unusual high thickness and stratigraphic continuity, the quality and preservation of fossils and the geochemical signatures. Here we present the first results of a high-resolution carbonate C-isotope study based on the the analysis of three new research cores drilled at Cau in autumn 2015 [6]. These new data represent an important advance in the knowledge of the C-isotope record of the OAE 1a, presenting a more continuous record at a higher resolution than previous studies. This leads to the refining of the

  2. Isotopic evidence for continental ice sheet in mid-latitude region in the supergreenhouse Early Cretaceous

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Wu-Bin; Niu, He-Cai; Sun, Wei-Dong; Shan, Qiang; Zheng, Yong-Fei; Li, Ning-Bo; Li, Cong-Ying; Arndt, Nicholas T.; Xu, Xing; Jiang, Yu-Hang; Yu, Xue-Yuan

    2013-01-01

    Cretaceous represents one of the hottest greenhouse periods in the Earth's history, but some recent studies suggest that small ice caps might be present in non-polar regions during certain periods in the Early Cretaceous. Here we report extremely negative δ18O values of −18.12‰ to −13.19‰ for early Aptian hydrothermal zircon from an A-type granite at Baerzhe in northeastern China. Given that A-type granite is anhydrous and that magmatic zircon of the Baerzhe granite has δ18O value close to mantle values, the extremely negative δ18O values for hydrothermal zircon are attributed to addition of meteoric water with extremely low δ18O, mostly likely transported by glaciers. Considering the paleoaltitude of the region, continental glaciation is suggested to occur in the early Aptian, indicating much larger temperature fluctuations than previously thought during the supergreenhouse Cretaceous. This may have impact on the evolution of major organism in the Jehol Group during this period. PMID:24061068

  3. Post-early cretaceous landform evolution along the western margin of the banca~nnia trough, western nsw

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gibson, D.L.

    2000-01-01

    Previously undated post-Devonian sediments outcropping north of Fowlers Gap station near the western margin of the Bancannia Trough are shown by plant macro- and microfossil determinations to be of Early Cretaceous (most likely Neocomian and/or Aptian) age, and thus part of the Eromanga Basin. They are assigned to the previously defined Telephone Creek Formation. Study of the structural configuration of this unit and the unconformably underlying Devonian rocks suggests that the gross landscape architecture of the area results from post-Early Cretaceous monoclinal folding along blind faults at the western margin of the trough, combined with the effects of differential erosion. This study shows that, while landscape evolution in the area has been dynamic, the major changes that have occurred are on a geological rather than human timescale.

  4. Altered carbon cycling and coupled changes in Early Cretaceous weathering patterns: Evidence from integrated carbon isotope and sandstone records of the western Tethys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wortmann, Ulrich Georg; Herrle, Jens Olaf; Weissert, Helmut

    2004-03-01

    In this study we investigate if a major perturbation of the Early Cretaceous carbon cycle was accompanied by altered weathering and erosion rates. The large Aptian carbon isotope anomaly records the response of the biosphere to widespread volcanic activity and probably resulting changes in atmospheric pCO2 levels. Elevated pCO2 levels should also result in an accelerated hydrological cycle and increased silicate weathering, creating a negative feedback loop removing CO2 from the atmosphere. We propose to interpret the widespread occurrence of quartz sandstones in the Tethys-Atlantic seaway as a result of altered weathering and erosion rates in the wake of the Aptian carbon cycle excursion. We challenge the traditional notion that these are 'flysch' deposits associated with Early Cretaceous orogenic movements in the western Tethys. We propose that these sandstones were most likely part of a large conveyor belt system, acting along the Iberian and European margin of the Tethys seaway. Using chemostratigraphic correlations, we show that the activity of this system was only short-lived and coeval with changes in coastal ecology and the Aptian carbon cycle perturbations. We tentatively relate the existence of this system to a transient climate regime, characterized by fluctuating pCO2 levels.

  5. Age and correlation of the Calera Limestone in the Permanente terrane of northern California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sliter, William V.; McGann, Mary

    1992-01-01

    Planktonic foraminifers indicate that outcrops of Calera Limestone from the Permanente terrane in the Franciscan Complex of northern California range in age from possibly as old as Barremian to late Turonian. Underlying black limestone, which is devoid of planktonic foraminifers, presumably is Barremian in age or older. The top of the sequence exposed in major quarries is always faulted. Improved biostratigraphic resolution shows two patterns of missing time intervals. The primary pattern, which is found at all localities and involves missing planktonic foraminiferal zones in the late Aptian to early Albian and the late Albian, is linked to paleoceanographic changes in the Cretaceous Pacific Ocean. The secondary pattern, which is found at the scattered outcrops outside the major quarries and involves missing zones in the Albian and Cenomanian, suggests the results of a common tectonic history related to the accretion of a large seamount.

  6. Evolution of Cupido and Coahuila carbonate platforms, early Cretaceous, northeastern Mexico

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lehmann, Christoph; Osleger, David A.; Montañez, Isabel P.; Sliter, William V.; Arnaud Vanneau, Annie; Banner, Jay L.

    1999-01-01

    The Cupido and Coahuila platforms of northeastern Mexico are part of the extensive carbonate platform system that rimmed the ancestral Gulf of Mexico during Barremian to Albian time. Exposures of Cupido and Coahuila lithofacies in several mountain ranges spanning an ∼80000 km2 area reveal information about platform morphology and composition, paleoenvironmental relations, and the chronology of platform evolution. New biostratigraphic data, integrated with carbon and strontium isotope stratigraphy, significantly improve chronostratigraphic relations across the region. These data substantially change previous age assignments of several formations and force a revision of the longstanding stratigraphy in the region. The revised stratigraphy and enhanced time control, combined with regional facies associations, allow the construction of cross sections, isopach maps, and time-slice paleogeographic maps that collectively document platform morphology and evolution.The orientation of the Cupido (Barremian-Aptian) shelf margin was controlled by the emergent Coahuila basement block to the northwest. The south-facing margin is a high-energy grainstone shoal, whereas the margin facing the ancestral Gulf of Mexico to the east is a discontinuous rudist-coral reef. A broad shelf lagoon developed in the lee of the Cupido margin, where as much as 660 m of cyclic peritidal deposits accumulated. During middle to late Aptian time, a major phase of flooding forced a retrograde backstep of the Cupido platform, shifting the locus of shallow-marine sedimentation northwestward toward the Coahuila block. This diachronous flooding event records both the demise of the Cupido shelf and the consequent initiation of the Coahuila ramp.The backstepped Coahuila ramp (Aptian-Albian) consisted of a shallow shoal margin separating an interior evaporitic lagoon from a low-energy, muddy deep ramp. More than 500 m of cyclic carbonates and evaporites accumulated in the evaporitic lagoon during early to

  7. The Early Cretaceous Sulfur Isotope Record: New Data, Revised Ages, and Updated Modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kristall, B.; Hurtgen, M.; Sageman, B. B.; Jacobson, A. D.

    2015-12-01

    The Early Cretaceous is a time of significant transformation with the continued break-up of Pangea, the emplacement of several LIPs, and a climatic shift from a cool greenhouse to a warm greenhouse. The timing of these major events and their relationship to seawater geochemistry (as recorded in isotope records) is critical for understanding changes in global biogeochemical cycles during this time. Within this context, recent revisions to the Cretaceous portion of the geologic timescale necessitate a reevaluation of the Cretaceous S isotope record as recorded in marine barite (Paytan et al., 2004). We present a revised Early Cretaceous S isotope record and present new δ34Sbarite data that extend the record further back in time and provide more detail during two major S isotope shifts of the Early Cretaceous. The new data maintain the major ~5‰ negative shift but raise questions on the timing and structure of this perturbation. Furthermore, recently updated estimates for global rates of marine microbial sulfate reduction (MSR) (Bowles et al., 2014) and sulfate burial during the Phanerozoic (Halevy et al., 2012) require notable revisions in the fluxes and isotopic values used to model the global S cycle. We present a revised global S cycle box model and reconstruct the evolution of the Early Cretaceous S isotope record primarily through perturbations in volcanic and hydrothermal fluxes (e.g., submarine LIPs). Changes to the weathering and pyrite burial fluxes and the global integrated fractionation factor for MSR are also used to modulate, balance, and smooth the LIP-driven perturbation. The massive evaporite burial during the Late Aptian post dates the major -5‰ shift and has little affect on the modeled S isotope composition of seawater sulfate, despite causing a major drop in sulfate concentration. The S cycle box model is coupled to a Sr cycle box model to provide additional constraints on the magnitude and timing of perturbations within the S isotope record.

  8. Do schizophrenia patients age early?

    PubMed

    Shivakumar, Venkataram; Kalmady, Sunil V; Venkatasubramanian, Ganesan; Ravi, Vasanthapuram; Gangadhar, Bangalore N

    2014-08-01

    The etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia is poorly understood. Within the proposed "neurodegeneration paradigm", observations have been put forth for "accelerated aging" in this disorder. This proposition is largely based on the neuroscience research that demonstrates progressive changes in brain as well as other systemic abnormalities supportive of faster aging process in patients with this disorder. In this review, we have summarized the literature related to the concept of early aging in schizophrenia. These studies include P300 abnormalities & visual motion discrimination, neuroimaging findings, telomere dynamics as well as neuropathology of related brain regions. We also propose a role of vitamin D, neuroimmunological changes and elevated oxidative stress as well as mitochondrial dysfunction in addition to the above factors with 'vitamin-D deficiency' as the central paradox. Put together, the evidence supporting early aging in schizophrenia is compelling and this requires further systematic studies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Orbitally Tuned C and N Isotopic Records of Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event1a in Northeastern Mexico and Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 398, North Atlantic Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Montanez, I. P.; Li, Y.; Osleger, D. A.; Bralower, T. J.

    2006-12-01

    High-resolution and expanded records of early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 1a (120 Ma) were recovered from outer shelf and slope deposits from the Sierra Madre Oriental of northeast Mexico and from hemipelagic deposits at Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 398 on Vigo Seamount in the North Atlantic Ocean. OAE1a is recognized in these deposits by minor increases in organic carbon content (up to 2 wt%) and widely-recognized, characteristic δ13Corg and δ13Ccarb variations that record significant changes in global carbon cycling. Here we present continuous dm-scale records of grain size distributions, wt% TOC and carbonate, C/N ratios, and C and N isotopes for these stratigraphically-expanded sections. Our high-resolution rock magnetic study of the same stratigraphic intervals establishes orbital timescales for OAE1a at these sites. The highly expanded records reveal significantly more structure in isotopic and TOC variation throughout OAE1a than contemporaneous condensed deep-sea records. Our data define an initial prominent negative excursion followed by repeated and short-lived (103 to 104 yr) fluctuations and a final interval of near invariant δ13Ccarb and δ13Corg values. Elevated TOC, a significant increase in C/N ratios from background marine values, rapid shifts in C and N isotopic compositions and sustained decoupling of δ13Corg and δ15Norg occur throughout the interval of short- lived isotopic fluctuations. Anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) measurements were used as proxies for terrigenous influx during OAE1a. Spectral analyses of ARM depth series reveal dominant cycles with wavelength ratios resembling those of modern orbital periodicities, implying that orbital variations may have modulated depositional processes. These orbitally tuned geochemical proxy records indicate that the Aptian deposits from northeastern Mexican and Site 398 on Vigo Seamount hold promise for refining phase relationships between geochemical and isotopic proxies

  10. Nannofossil carbonate fluxes during the Early Cretaceous: Phytoplankton response to nutrification episodes, atmospheric CO2, and anoxia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erba, Elisabetta; Tremolada, Fabrizio

    2004-03-01

    Greenhouse episodes during the Valanginian and Aptian correlate with major perturbations in the C cycle and in marine ecosystems, carbonate crises, and widespread deposition of Corg-rich black shales. Quantitative analyses of nannofossil micrite were conducted on continuous pelagic sections from the Southern Alps (northern Italy), where high-resolution integrated stratigraphy allows precise dating of Early Cretaceous geological events. Rock-forming calcareous nannofloras were quantified in smear slides and thin sections to obtain relative and absolute abundances and paleofluxes that are interpreted as the response of calcareous phytoplankton to global changes in the ocean-atmosphere system. Increased rates of volcanism during the formation of Ontong Java and Manihiki Plateaus and the Paranà-Etendeka large igneous province (LIP) are proposed to have caused the geological responses associated with early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1a and the Valanginian event, respectively. Calcareous nannofloras reacted to the new conditions of higher pCO2 and fertility by drastically reducing calcification. The Valanginian event is marked by a 65% reduction in nannofossil paleofluxes that would correspond to a 2-3 times increase in pCO2 during formation of the Paranà-Endenteka LIP. A 90% reduction in nannofossil paleofluxes, which occurred in a 1.5 myr-long interval leading into OAE1a, is interpreted as the result of a 3-6 times increase in pCO2 produced by emplacement of the giant Ontong Java and Manihiki Plateaus. High pCO2 was balanced back by an accelerated biological pump during the Valanginian episode, but not during OAE1a, suggesting persisting high levels of pCO2 in the late Aptian and/or the inability of calcareous phytoplankton to absorb excess pCO2 above threshold values.

  11. Early-Life Intelligence Predicts Midlife Biological Age

    PubMed Central

    Caspi, Avshalom; Belsky, Daniel W.; Harrington, Honalee; Houts, Renate; Israel, Salomon; Levine, Morgan E.; Sugden, Karen; Williams, Benjamin; Poulton, Richie; Moffitt, Terrie E.

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: Early-life intelligence has been shown to predict multiple causes of death in populations around the world. This finding suggests that intelligence might influence mortality through its effects on a general process of physiological deterioration (i.e., individual variation in “biological age”). We examined whether intelligence could predict measures of aging at midlife before the onset of most age-related disease. Methods: We tested whether intelligence assessed in early childhood, middle childhood, and midlife predicted midlife biological age in members of the Dunedin Study, a population-representative birth cohort. Results: Lower intelligence predicted more advanced biological age at midlife as captured by perceived facial age, a 10-biomarker algorithm based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and Framingham heart age (r = 0.1–0.2). Correlations between intelligence and telomere length were less consistent. The associations between intelligence and biological age were not explained by differences in childhood health or parental socioeconomic status, and intelligence remained a significant predictor of biological age even when intelligence was assessed before Study members began their formal schooling. Discussion: These results suggest that accelerated aging may serve as one of the factors linking low early-life intelligence to increased rates of morbidity and mortality. PMID:26014827

  12. Origins of carbonate spherulites: Implications for Brazilian Aptian pre-salt reservoir

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chafetz, Henry; Barth, Jennifer; Cook, Megan; Guo, Xuan; Zhou, Jie

    2018-03-01

    Spherulites, spherical to elliptical allochems composed of crystals radiating from a common core, investigated from a variety of depositional settings, e.g., hot springs, ambient water temperature geyser, tufa, and caliche, are all composed of a fine-grained nucleus made-up of carbonate encrusted bacterial bodies, biofilms, and/or EPS and surrounded by a cortex of radiating crystals of either aragonite or calcite. The microbes and their by-products in the nucleus induced the precipitation of carbonate, overcoming the inhibition to initiate crystal formation. The enveloping radiating crystals comprising aragonitic cortices tended to grow abiotically producing well-formed euhedral crystals with a paucity of included bacterial fossils. Whereas those cortical crystals made-up of calcite commonly contained bacterial fossils, indicating that the bacterial colonies contributed to the calcitic cortical crystal precipitation. Similar spherulites form a thick, widespread accumulation in the Aptian Pre-Salt lacustrine deposits in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil. As with the travertine, tufa, and caliche spherulites, the Pre-Salt spherulites most likely initiated carbonate precipitation around bacterial colonies and/or their bioproducts, probably while afloat in a lacustrine water column before settling to the water-sediment interface. Absence of inter-spherulite sediment and the spherulite-to-spherulite compaction indicate that cortical crystal growth continued while the spherulites were at the sediment-water interface rather than displacively within a sediment.

  13. Early-Life Intelligence Predicts Midlife Biological Age.

    PubMed

    Schaefer, Jonathan D; Caspi, Avshalom; Belsky, Daniel W; Harrington, Honalee; Houts, Renate; Israel, Salomon; Levine, Morgan E; Sugden, Karen; Williams, Benjamin; Poulton, Richie; Moffitt, Terrie E

    2016-11-01

    Early-life intelligence has been shown to predict multiple causes of death in populations around the world. This finding suggests that intelligence might influence mortality through its effects on a general process of physiological deterioration (i.e., individual variation in "biological age"). We examined whether intelligence could predict measures of aging at midlife before the onset of most age-related disease. We tested whether intelligence assessed in early childhood, middle childhood, and midlife predicted midlife biological age in members of the Dunedin Study, a population-representative birth cohort. Lower intelligence predicted more advanced biological age at midlife as captured by perceived facial age, a 10-biomarker algorithm based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and Framingham heart age (r = 0.1-0.2). Correlations between intelligence and telomere length were less consistent. The associations between intelligence and biological age were not explained by differences in childhood health or parental socioeconomic status, and intelligence remained a significant predictor of biological age even when intelligence was assessed before Study members began their formal schooling. These results suggest that accelerated aging may serve as one of the factors linking low early-life intelligence to increased rates of morbidity and mortality. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Composition, Age, and Origin of Cretaceous Granitic Magmatism on the Eastern Chukchi Peninsula

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luchitskaya, M. V.; Sokolov, S. D.; Pease, V.; Miller, E.; Belyatsky, B. V.

    2018-05-01

    New geochronological and isotopic geochemical data are given, which make it possible to recognize two types of granitic rocks on the eastern Chukchi Peninsula. Early Cretaceous Tkachen and Dolina granitic plutons with zircon ages (U-Pb SIMS) of 119-122 and 131-136 Ma are related to the first type. They cut through Devonian-Lower Carboniferous basement rocks and are overlain by the Aptian-Albian Etelkuyum Formation. Basal units of the latter contain fragments of granitic rocks. Late Cretaceous Provideniya and Rumilet granitic plutons, which contain zircons with ages of 94 and 85 Ma (U-Pb SIMS), respectively, belong to the second type. They cut through volcanic-sedimentary rocks of the Etelkuyum and Leurvaam formations pertaining to the Okhotsk-Chukotka Volcanic Belt. In petrographic and geochemical features, the Early Cretaceous granitic rocks of the Tkachen Pluton are commensurable with I-type granites, while Late Cretaceous granite of the Rumilet Pluton is comparable to A2-type granite. The Sr-Nd isotopic data provide evidence that from the Early Cretaceous Tkachen and Dolina plutons to the Late Cretaceous Provideniya and Rumilet plutons, the degree of crustal assimilation of suprasubduction mantle-derived melts increases up to partial melting of heterogeneous continental crust enriched in rubidium. An unconformity and various degrees of secondary alteration of volcanic-sedimentary rocks have been established in the Okhotsk-Chukotka Volcanic Belt, and this was apparently caused by transition of the tectonic setting from suprasubduction to a transform margin with local extension.

  15. Europatitan eastwoodi, a new sauropod from the lower Cretaceous of Iberia in the initial radiation of somphospondylans in Laurasia

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    The sauropod of El Oterillo II is a specimen that was excavated from the Castrillo de la Reina Formation (Burgos, Spain), late Barremian–early Aptian, in the 2000s but initially remained undescribed. A tooth and elements of the axial skeleton, and the scapular and pelvic girdle, represent it. It is one of the most complete titanosauriform sauropods from the Early Cretaceous of Europe and presents an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the radiation of this clade in the Early Cretaceous and study the paleobiogeographical relationships of Iberia with Gondwana and with other parts of Laurasia. The late Barremian–early Aptian is the time interval in the Cretaceous with the greatest diversity of sauropod taxa described in Iberia: two titanosauriforms, Tastavinsaurus and Europatitan; and a rebbachisaurid, Demandasaurus. The new sauropod Europatitan eastwoodi n. gen. n. sp. presents a series of autapomorphic characters in the presacral vertebrae and scapula that distinguish it from the other sauropods of the Early Cretaceous of Iberia. Our phylogenetic study locates Europatitan as the basalmost member of the Somphospondyli, clearly differentiated from other clades such as Brachiosauridae and Titanosauria, and distantly related to the contemporaneous Tastavinsaurus. Europatitan could be a representative of a Eurogondwanan fauna like Demandasaurus, the other sauropod described from the Castrillo de la Reina Formation. The presence of a sauropod fauna with marked Gondwananan affinities in the Aptian of Iberia reinforces the idea of faunal exchanges between this continental masses during the Early Cretaceous. Further specimens and more detailed analysis are needed to elucidate if this Aptian fauna is caused by the presence of previously unnoticed Aptian land bridges, or it represents a relict fauna from an earlier dispersal event. PMID:28674644

  16. Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeogene tectonic development of SE Asia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morley, C. K.

    2012-10-01

    The Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeogene history of the continental core of SE Asia (Sundaland) marks the time prior to collision of India with Asia when SE Asia, from the Tethys in the west to the Palaeo-Pacific in the east, lay in the upper plate of subduction zones. In Myanmar and Sumatra, subduction was interrupted in the Aptian-Albian by a phase of arc accretion (Woyla and Mawgyi arcs) and in Java, eastern Borneo and Western Sulawesi by collision of continental fragments rifted from northern Australia. Subsequent resumption of subduction in the Myanmar-Thailand sector explains: 1) early creation of oceanic crust in the Andaman Sea in a supra-subduction zone setting ~ 95 Ma, 2) the belt of granite plutons of Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeogene age (starting ~ 88 Ma) in western Thailand and central Myanmar, and 3) amphibolite grade metamorphism between 70 and 80 Ma seen in gneissic outcrops in western and central Thailand, and 4) accretionary prism development in the Western Belt of Myanmar, until glancing collision with the NE corner of Greater India promoted ophiolite obduction, deformation and exhumation of marine sediments in the early Palaeogene. The Ranong strike-slip fault and other less well documented faults, were episodically active during the Late Cretaceous-Palaeogene time. N to NW directed subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific ocean below Southern China, Vietnam and Borneo created a major magmatic arc, associated with rift basins, metamorphic core complexes and strike-slip deformation which continued into the Late Cretaceous. The origin and timing of termination of subduction has recently been explained by collision of a large Luconia continental fragment either during the Late Cretaceous or Palaeogene. Evidence for such a collision is absent from the South China Sea well and seismic reflection record and here collision is discounted. Instead relocation of the subducting margin further west, possibly in response of back-arc extension (which created the Proto

  17. Relative sea level changes during the Cretaceous in Israel

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Flexer, A.; Rosenfeld, A.; Lipson-Benitah, S.

    1986-11-01

    Detailed lithologic, microfaunal, and biometric investigations, using relative abundances, diversity indexes, and duration charts of ostracods and foraminifera, allowed the recognition of sea level changes during the Cretaceous of Israel. Three major transgressive-regressive sedimentation cycles occur on the northwest margins of the Arabian craton. These cycles are the Neocomian-Aptian, which is mostly terrigenous sediments; the Albian-Turonian, which is basin marls and platform carbonates; and the Senonian, which is uniform marly chalks. The cycles are separated by two major regional unconformities, the Aptian-Albian and Turonian-Coniacian boundaries. The sedimentary cycles are related to regional tectonic and volcanic events and eustatic changes. Themore » paleodepth curve illustrates the gradual sea level rise, reaching its maximum during the Late Cretaceous, with conspicuous advances during the late Aptian, late Albian-Cenomanian, early Turonian, early Santonian, and early Campanian. Major lowstands occur at the Aptian-Albian, Cenomanian-Turonian, Turonian-Coniacian, and Campanian-Maastrichtian boundaries. This model for Israel agrees well with other regional and global sea level fluctuations. Four anoxic events (black shales) accompanying transgressions correspond to the Cretaceous oceanic record. They hypothesize the presence of mature oil shales in the present-day eastern Mediterranean basin close to allochthonous reef blocks detached from the Cretaceous platform. 11 figures.« less

  18. High-precision 40Ar/39Ar age for the Jehol Biota

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, S.; Zhang, H.; Renne, P. R.; Fang, Y.

    2008-12-01

    Abundant fossils of the terrestrial Jehol Biota, including plants, insects, dinosaurs, birds, mammals and freshwater invertebrates, were discovered from the Yixian Formation and the overlying Jiufotang Formation in Inner Mongolia, Hebei Province and Liaoning Province, northeastern China. Because of the exceptional preservation of fossils, the Jehol Biota is one of the most important Mesozoic fossil outcrops and referred to as a "Mesozoic Pompeii". The Jehol Biota has provided a rare opportunity to address questions about the origin of birds, the evolution of feathers and flight, the early diversification of angiosperms and the timing of the radiation of placental mammals. The Tuchengzi Formation, which lies unconformably just below the Yixian Formation and consists mainly of variegated sandstones, is less fossiliferous than the two overlying formations. However, dinosaur tracks, silicified wood and compressed plants are found in this formation. A systematic 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Yixian and the Jiufotang formations was undertaken to provide a framework for understanding the timing and duration of the Jehol Biota and evolutionary events represented within it. Furthermore, determining the absolute age of the Tuchengzi Formation provides information to interpret abundant dinosaur tracks within and provide better age constrains for the beginning of the Jehol Biota. Here we present robust high-precision 40Ar/39Ar data for six tuff samples and two basalt samples collected from the Tuchengzi, the Yixian and the Jiufotang formations near the classic outcrops in western Liaoning, NE China. We obtain an age of 139.5 ± 1.0 Ma for the uppermost Tuchengzi Formation, an age of 129.7 ± 0.5 Ma for a basaltic lava from the bottom of the Yixian Formation and an age of 122.1 ± 0.3 Ma for a tuff from the base of the overlying Jiufotang Formation. Our data indicate that the Yixian Formation was deposited during the Early Cretaceous, the Barremian to early Aptian, within a time span

  19. Early Executive Function at Age Two Predicts Emergent Mathematics and Literacy at Age Five

    PubMed Central

    Mulder, Hanna; Verhagen, Josje; Van der Ven, Sanne H. G.; Slot, Pauline L.; Leseman, Paul P. M.

    2017-01-01

    Previous work has shown that individual differences in executive function (EF) are predictive of academic skills in preschoolers, kindergartners, and older children. Across studies, EF is a stronger predictor of emergent mathematics than literacy. However, research on EF in children below age three is scarce, and it is currently unknown whether EF, as assessed in toddlerhood, predicts emergent academic skills a few years later. This longitudinal study investigates whether early EF, assessed at two years, predicts (emergent) academic skills, at five years. It examines, furthermore, whether early EF is a significantly stronger predictor of emergent mathematics than of emergent literacy, as has been found in previous work on older children. A sample of 552 children was assessed on various EF and EF-precursor tasks at two years. At age five, these children performed several emergent mathematics and literacy tasks. Structural Equation Modeling was used to investigate the relationships between early EF and academic skills, modeled as latent factors. Results showed that early EF at age two was a significant and relatively strong predictor of both emergent mathematics and literacy at age five, after controlling for receptive vocabulary, parental education, and home language. Predictive relations were significantly stronger for mathematics than literacy, but only when a verbal short-term memory measure was left out as an indicator to the latent early EF construct. These findings show that individual differences in emergent academic skills just prior to entry into the formal education system can be traced back to individual differences in early EF in toddlerhood. In addition, these results highlight the importance of task selection when assessing early EF as a predictor of later outcomes, and call for further studies to elucidate the mechanisms through which individual differences in early EF and precursors to EF come about. PMID:29075209

  20. Early Executive Function at Age Two Predicts Emergent Mathematics and Literacy at Age Five.

    PubMed

    Mulder, Hanna; Verhagen, Josje; Van der Ven, Sanne H G; Slot, Pauline L; Leseman, Paul P M

    2017-01-01

    Previous work has shown that individual differences in executive function (EF) are predictive of academic skills in preschoolers, kindergartners, and older children. Across studies, EF is a stronger predictor of emergent mathematics than literacy. However, research on EF in children below age three is scarce, and it is currently unknown whether EF, as assessed in toddlerhood, predicts emergent academic skills a few years later. This longitudinal study investigates whether early EF, assessed at two years, predicts (emergent) academic skills, at five years. It examines, furthermore, whether early EF is a significantly stronger predictor of emergent mathematics than of emergent literacy, as has been found in previous work on older children. A sample of 552 children was assessed on various EF and EF-precursor tasks at two years. At age five, these children performed several emergent mathematics and literacy tasks. Structural Equation Modeling was used to investigate the relationships between early EF and academic skills, modeled as latent factors. Results showed that early EF at age two was a significant and relatively strong predictor of both emergent mathematics and literacy at age five, after controlling for receptive vocabulary, parental education, and home language. Predictive relations were significantly stronger for mathematics than literacy, but only when a verbal short-term memory measure was left out as an indicator to the latent early EF construct. These findings show that individual differences in emergent academic skills just prior to entry into the formal education system can be traced back to individual differences in early EF in toddlerhood. In addition, these results highlight the importance of task selection when assessing early EF as a predictor of later outcomes, and call for further studies to elucidate the mechanisms through which individual differences in early EF and precursors to EF come about.

  1. Early Children's Literature and Aging

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGuire, Sandra L.

    2016-01-01

    Increased longevity is a worldwide phenomenon placing emphasis on the need for preparation for life's later years. Today's children will be the older adults of tomorrow. A resource that can help to educate them about aging and prepare them for the long life ahead is early children's literature (Preschool-Primary). This literature can provide…

  2. Children of Two to Three Years of Age in France: Early Childhood Settings and Age Divisions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garnier, Pascale; Rayna, Sylvie; Brougère, Gilles; Rupin, Pablo

    2017-01-01

    In a French early childhood care and education system that is strongly divided by age and institution, the current research studies the collective life of children at the pivotal age of two to three years of age in four different early childhood settings: (1) a group of "grands" (nursery) in a "crèche" (daycare centre), (2) a…

  3. Evaluation of clumped isotope paleotemperatures across carbon isotope excursions from lacustrine strata of the Aptian Xiagou Formation, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suarez, M. B.; Gonzalez, L. A.; Ludvigson, G. A.; You, H.

    2014-12-01

    Carbon cycle perturbations associated with Ocean Anoxic Event 1a have been implicated in global climate and environmental changes in the Early Aptian, in particular evidence for high sea surface temperatures (SST) and carbonate platform drowning. Records of environmental changes in the terrestrial realm remain sparse. This study provides additional data on clumped isotope derived temperatures (T(Δ47)) from lacustrine carbonates of the Xiagou Formation, Gansu Province, China. In addition, Vitrinite reflectance and the Rock-Eval parameter Tmax were used to evaluate the potential for 13C-18O bonds in the carbonates to have experienced reordering. Clumped isotope derived temperatures range from 28.8 °C to 45.9°C. Vitrinite reflectance values range from 0.67 to 0.72 and Tmax ranges from 429 °C to 443 °C. The warmest temperature, derived from a very fine-grained calcareous sandstone, is at the upper limit of known modern Earth surface temperatures, and prompts concern that the T(Δ47) may be shifted to warmer temperatures as a result of burial diagenesis. Vitrinite reflectance and Tmax values indicate the samples have reached early maturity for oil generation (oil window from 60 °C to 150°C), so may have reached the lower end of temperatures for bond reordering to have occurred (~100 °C for ~100 million years). Despite this, the T(Δ47) are consistent with summer temperatures in a warm Cretaceous. In addition, temperature variations are similar to TEX86 records, especially from SST of the tropical Pacific. Two temperature increases and decreases occur, with the first peak in temperature occurring at the negative carbon isotope excursion (C3) associated with the initiation of the Selli Event (OAE1a). This study provides evidence that climate variations occurring during the Selli Event were experienced in terrestrial environments, and provides maximum summer temperatures for this part of the Asian continent during the Cretaceous. While it was intended that thermal

  4. Successful Aging: Early Influences and Contemporary Characteristics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pruchno, Rachel A.; Wilson-Genderson, Maureen; Rose, Miriam; Cartwright, Francine

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: Positing that successful aging has independent, yet related, dimensions that are both objective and subjective, we examine how early influences and contemporary characteristics define 4 groups of people. Design and Methods: Data were gathered from 5,688 persons aged 50-74 years living in New Jersey who participated in telephone…

  5. Form, function and environments of the early angiosperms: merging extant phylogeny and ecophysiology with fossils.

    PubMed

    Feild, Taylor S; Arens, Nan Crystal

    2005-05-01

    The flowering plants--angiosperms--appeared during the Early Cretaceous period and within 10-30 Myr dominated the species composition of many floras worldwide. Emerging insights into the phylogenetics of development and discoveries of early angiosperm fossils are shedding increased light on the patterns and processes of early angiosperm evolution. However, we also need to integrate ecology, in particular how early angiosperms established a roothold in pre-existing Mesozoic plant communities. These events were critical in guiding subsequent waves of angiosperm diversification during the Aptian-Albian. Previous pictures of the early flowering plant ecology have been diverse, ranging from large tropical rainforest trees, weedy drought-adapted and colonizing shrubs, disturbance- and sun-loving rhizomatous herbs, and, more recently, aquatic herbs; however, none of these images were tethered to a robust hypothesis of angiosperm phylogeny. Here, we synthesize our current understanding of early angiosperm ecology, focusing on patterns of functional ecology, by merging recent molecular phylogenetic studies and functional studies on extant 'basal angiosperms' with the picture of early angiosperm evolution drawn by the fossil record.

  6. Key goals and indicators for successful aging of adults with early-onset disability.

    PubMed

    LaPlante, Mitchell P

    2014-01-01

    Substantial improvements have occurred in the longevity of several groups of individuals with early-onset disabilities, with many now surviving to advanced ages. This paper estimates the population of adults aging with early-onset disabilities at 12-15 million persons. Key goals for the successful aging of adults with early-onset disabilities are discussed, emphasizing reduction in risks for aging-related chronic disease and secondary conditions, while promoting social participation and independence. However, indicators suggest that elevated risk factors for aging-related chronic diseases, including smoking, obesity, and inactivity, as well as barriers to prevention and the diminished social and economic situation of adults with disabilities are continuing impediments to successful aging that must be addressed. Increased provider awareness that people with early-onset disabilities are aging and can age successfully and the integration of disability and aging services systems are transformative steps that will help adults with early-onset disability to age more successfully. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Early-life inflammation, immune response and ageing.

    PubMed

    Khan, Imroze; Agashe, Deepa; Rolff, Jens

    2017-03-15

    Age-related diseases are often attributed to immunopathology, which results in self-damage caused by an inappropriate inflammatory response. Immunopathology associated with early-life inflammation also appears to cause faster ageing, although we lack direct experimental evidence for this association. To understand the interactions between ageing, inflammation and immunopathology, we used the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor as a study organism. We hypothesized that phenoloxidase, an important immune effector in insect defence, may impose substantial immunopathological costs by causing tissue damage to Malpighian tubules (MTs; functionally equivalent to the human kidney), in turn accelerating ageing. In support of this hypothesis, we found that RNAi knockdown of phenoloxidase (PO) transcripts in young adults possibly reduced inflammation-induced autoreactive tissue damage to MTs, and increased adult lifespan. Our work thus suggests a causative link between immunopathological costs of early-life inflammation and faster ageing. We also reasoned that if natural selection weakens with age, older individuals should display increased immunopathological costs associated with an immune response. Indeed, we found that while old infected individuals cleared infection faster than young individuals, possibly they also displayed exacerbated immunopathological costs (larger decline in MT function) and higher post-infection mortality. RNAi-mediated knockdown of PO response partially rescued MTs function in older beetles and resulted in increased lifespan after infection. Taken together, our data are consistent with a direct role of immunopathological consequences of immune response during ageing in insects. Our work is also the first report that highlights the pervasive role of tissue damage under diverse contexts of ageing and immune response. © 2017 The Author(s).

  8. Early-life inflammation, immune response and ageing

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Age-related diseases are often attributed to immunopathology, which results in self-damage caused by an inappropriate inflammatory response. Immunopathology associated with early-life inflammation also appears to cause faster ageing, although we lack direct experimental evidence for this association. To understand the interactions between ageing, inflammation and immunopathology, we used the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor as a study organism. We hypothesized that phenoloxidase, an important immune effector in insect defence, may impose substantial immunopathological costs by causing tissue damage to Malpighian tubules (MTs; functionally equivalent to the human kidney), in turn accelerating ageing. In support of this hypothesis, we found that RNAi knockdown of phenoloxidase (PO) transcripts in young adults possibly reduced inflammation-induced autoreactive tissue damage to MTs, and increased adult lifespan. Our work thus suggests a causative link between immunopathological costs of early-life inflammation and faster ageing. We also reasoned that if natural selection weakens with age, older individuals should display increased immunopathological costs associated with an immune response. Indeed, we found that while old infected individuals cleared infection faster than young individuals, possibly they also displayed exacerbated immunopathological costs (larger decline in MT function) and higher post-infection mortality. RNAi-mediated knockdown of PO response partially rescued MTs function in older beetles and resulted in increased lifespan after infection. Taken together, our data are consistent with a direct role of immunopathological consequences of immune response during ageing in insects. Our work is also the first report that highlights the pervasive role of tissue damage under diverse contexts of ageing and immune response. PMID:28275145

  9. Mobile Learning and Early Age Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peled, Shir; Schocken, Shimon

    2014-01-01

    The ability to develop engaging simulations and constructive learning experiences using mobile devices is unprecedented, presenting a disruption in educational practices of historical proportions. In this paper we describe some of the unique virtues that mobile learning hold for early age mathematics education. In particular, we describe how…

  10. Small head circumference at birth and early age at adiposity rebound.

    PubMed

    Eriksson, J G; Kajantie, E; Lampl, M; Osmond, C; Barker, D J P

    2014-01-01

    The adiposity rebound is the age in childhood when body mass index is at a minimum before increasing again. The age at rebound is highly variable. An early age is associated with increased obesity in later childhood and adult life. We have reported that an early rebound is predicted by low weight gain between birth and 1 year of age and resulting low body mass index at 1 year. Here, we examine whether age at adiposity rebound is determined by influences during infancy or is a consequence of foetal growth. Our hypothesis was that measurements of body size at birth are related to age at adiposity rebound. Longitudinal study of 2877 children born in Helsinki, Finland, during 1934-1944. Early age at adiposity rebound was associated with small head circumference and biparietal diameter at birth, but not with other measurements of body size at birth. The mean age at adiposity rebound rose from 5.8 years in babies with a head circumference of ≤33 cm to 6.2 in babies with a head circumference of >36 cm (P for trend = 0.007). The association between thinness in infancy and early rebound became apparent at 6 months of age. It was not associated with adverse living conditions. In a simultaneous regression, small head circumference at birth, high mother's body mass index and tall maternal stature each had statistically significant trends with early adiposity rebound (P = 0.002, <0.001, 0.004). We hypothesize that the small head size at birth that preceded an early adiposity rebound was the result of inability to sustain a rapid intra-uterine growth trajectory initiated in association with large maternal body size. This was followed by catch-up growth in infancy, and we hypothesize that this depleted the infant's fat stores. © 2013 Scandinavian Physiological Society. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Lattice Modeling of Early-Age Behavior of Structural Concrete.

    PubMed

    Pan, Yaming; Prado, Armando; Porras, Rocío; Hafez, Omar M; Bolander, John E

    2017-02-25

    The susceptibility of structural concrete to early-age cracking depends on material composition, methods of processing, structural boundary conditions, and a variety of environmental factors. Computational modeling offers a means for identifying primary factors and strategies for reducing cracking potential. Herein, lattice models are shown to be adept at simulating the thermal-hygral-mechanical phenomena that influence early-age cracking. In particular, this paper presents a lattice-based approach that utilizes a model of cementitious materials hydration to control the development of concrete properties, including stiffness, strength, and creep resistance. The approach is validated and used to simulate early-age cracking in concrete bridge decks. Structural configuration plays a key role in determining the magnitude and distribution of stresses caused by volume instabilities of the concrete material. Under restrained conditions, both thermal and hygral effects are found to be primary contributors to cracking potential.

  12. Lattice Modeling of Early-Age Behavior of Structural Concrete

    PubMed Central

    Pan, Yaming; Prado, Armando; Porras, Rocío; Hafez, Omar M.; Bolander, John E.

    2017-01-01

    The susceptibility of structural concrete to early-age cracking depends on material composition, methods of processing, structural boundary conditions, and a variety of environmental factors. Computational modeling offers a means for identifying primary factors and strategies for reducing cracking potential. Herein, lattice models are shown to be adept at simulating the thermal-hygral-mechanical phenomena that influence early-age cracking. In particular, this paper presents a lattice-based approach that utilizes a model of cementitious materials hydration to control the development of concrete properties, including stiffness, strength, and creep resistance. The approach is validated and used to simulate early-age cracking in concrete bridge decks. Structural configuration plays a key role in determining the magnitude and distribution of stresses caused by volume instabilities of the concrete material. Under restrained conditions, both thermal and hygral effects are found to be primary contributors to cracking potential. PMID:28772590

  13. Inversion of the Erlian Basin (NE China) in the early Late Cretaceous: Implications for the collision of the Okhotomorsk Block with East Asia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Zhi-Xin; Shi, Yuan-Peng; Yang, Yong-Tai; Jiang, Shuan-Qi; Li, Lin-Bo; Zhao, Zhi-Gang

    2018-04-01

    A significant transition in tectonic regime from extension to compression occurred throughout East Asia during the mid-Cretaceous and has stimulated much attention. However, the timing and driving mechanisms of the transition remain disputed. The Erlian Basin, a giant late Mesozoic intracontinental petroliferous basin located in the Inner Mongolia, Northeast China, contains important sedimentary and structural records related to the mid-Cretaceous compressional event. The stratigraphical, sedimentological and structural analyses reveal that a NW-SE compressional inversion occurred in the Erlian Basin between the depositions of the Lower Cretaceous Saihan and Upper Cretaceous Erlian formations, causing intense folding of the Saihan Formation and underlying strata, and the northwestward migration of the depocenters of the Erlian Formation. Based on the newly obtained detrital zircon U-Pb data and previously published paleomagnetism- and fossil-based ages, the Saihan and Erlian formations are suggested as latest Aptian-Albian and post-early Cenomanian in age, respectively, implying that the inversion in the Erlian Basin occurred in the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian time). Apatite fission-track thermochronological data record an early Late Cretaceous cooling/exhuming event in the basin, corresponding well with the aforementioned sedimentary, structural and chronological analyses. Combining with the tectono-sedimentary evolutions of the neighboring basins of the Erlian Basin, we suggest that the early Late Cretaceous inversional event in the Erlian Basin and the large scale tectonic transition in East Asia shared the common driving mechanism, probably resulting from the Okhotomorsk Block-East Asia collisional event at about 100-89 Ma.

  14. [Immune system aging rate in patients with early forms of chronic cerebrovascular diseases].

    PubMed

    Kochetkova, N G; Al'tman, D Sh; Teplova, S N

    2009-01-01

    Using the Bioage and Snake software the immune and cardiovascular system aging rate was diagnosed in patients having early forms of chronic cerebrovascular diseases (CCVD). The indicators of biological, cardiopulmonary and immunological age were studied in patients showing early symptoms of cerebrovascular insufficiency and dyscirculatory encephalopathy of the 1st stage. The rate of age-dependent physiological changes was diagnosed compared to general body aging rate. Some specific patterns of immune system aging were found in patients with early forms of CCVDs, the cardinal aging symptoms (heterotropia, heterochronia) were verified.

  15. Gratitude From Early Adulthood to Old Age.

    PubMed

    Allemand, Mathias; Hill, Patrick L

    2016-02-01

    Are there age differences in gratitude from early adulthood to old age? The current studies tested several ways by which an association between age and dispositional gratitude may present, by considering multiple measures on both fronts. We used data from three cross-sectional studies (total N = 1,736; total age range: 19-94). The results indicated that (a) age effects in gratitude are more likely to occur for subjective age in terms of future time perspective (i.e., people's perceptions of their remaining opportunities and time) than chronological age; (b) chronological age effects are more domain specific than general in nature; and (c) they are more likely to occur for the instrumental domain as compared to the interpersonal domain. Finally, the results indicated that (d) perceived future time, particularly with respect to remaining opportunities, mediates the relation between chronological age and general gratitude. Overall, the findings suggest that gratitude is subject to a variety of developmental influences across adulthood. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Age at Menarche Is Associated with Divergent Alcohol Use Patterns in Early Adolescence and Early Adulthood

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richards, Meghan A.; Oinonen, Kirsten A.

    2011-01-01

    A cross-sectional retrospective design was employed to examine the relationship between age at menarche (AAM) and alcohol use patterns from middle childhood (age 7) to early adulthood in 265 University-aged women. Earlier menarche was associated with: (a) earlier ages at first drink and first intoxication, (b) greater use between ages 9 and 14…

  17. Suicide in Elementary School-Aged Children and Early Adolescents.

    PubMed

    Sheftall, Arielle H; Asti, Lindsey; Horowitz, Lisa M; Felts, Adrienne; Fontanella, Cynthia A; Campo, John V; Bridge, Jeffrey A

    2016-10-01

    Suicide in elementary school-aged children is not well studied, despite a recent increase in the suicide rate among US black children. The objectives of this study were to describe characteristics and precipitating circumstances of suicide in elementary school-aged children relative to early adolescent decedents and identify potential within-group racial differences. We analyzed National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) surveillance data capturing suicide deaths from 2003 to 2012 for 17 US states. Participants included all suicide decedents aged 5 to 14 years (N = 693). Age group comparisons (5-11 years and 12-14 years) were conducted by using the χ 2 test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. Compared with early adolescents who died by suicide, children who died by suicide were more commonly male, black, died by hanging/strangulation/suffocation, and died at home. Children who died by suicide more often experienced relationship problems with family members/friends (60.3% vs 46.0%; P = .02) and less often experienced boyfriend/girlfriend problems (0% vs 16.0%; P < .001) or left a suicide note (7.7% vs 30.2%; P < .001). Among suicide decedents with known mental health problems (n = 210), childhood decedents more often experienced attention-deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (59.3% vs 29.0%; P = .002) and less often experienced depression/dysthymia (33.3% vs 65.6%; P = .001) compared with early adolescent decedents. These findings raise questions about impulsive responding to psychosocial adversity in younger suicide decedents, and they suggest a need for both common and developmentally-specific suicide prevention strategies during the elementary school-aged and early adolescent years. Further research should investigate factors associated with the recent increase in suicide rates among black children. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  18. Suicide in Elementary School-Aged Children and Early Adolescents

    PubMed Central

    Sheftall, Arielle H.; Asti, Lindsey; Horowitz, Lisa M.; Felts, Adrienne; Fontanella, Cynthia A.; Campo, John V.

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Suicide in elementary school–aged children is not well studied, despite a recent increase in the suicide rate among US black children. The objectives of this study were to describe characteristics and precipitating circumstances of suicide in elementary school–aged children relative to early adolescent decedents and identify potential within-group racial differences. METHODS: We analyzed National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) surveillance data capturing suicide deaths from 2003 to 2012 for 17 US states. Participants included all suicide decedents aged 5 to 14 years (N = 693). Age group comparisons (5–11 years and 12–14 years) were conducted by using the χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate. RESULTS: Compared with early adolescents who died by suicide, children who died by suicide were more commonly male, black, died by hanging/strangulation/suffocation, and died at home. Children who died by suicide more often experienced relationship problems with family members/friends (60.3% vs 46.0%; P = .02) and less often experienced boyfriend/girlfriend problems (0% vs 16.0%; P < .001) or left a suicide note (7.7% vs 30.2%; P < .001). Among suicide decedents with known mental health problems (n = 210), childhood decedents more often experienced attention-deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (59.3% vs 29.0%; P = .002) and less often experienced depression/dysthymia (33.3% vs 65.6%; P = .001) compared with early adolescent decedents. CONCLUSIONS: These findings raise questions about impulsive responding to psychosocial adversity in younger suicide decedents, and they suggest a need for both common and developmentally-specific suicide prevention strategies during the elementary school–aged and early adolescent years. Further research should investigate factors associated with the recent increase in suicide rates among black children. PMID:27647716

  19. Preterm birth-associated cost of early intervention services: an analysis by gestational age.

    PubMed

    Clements, Karen M; Barfield, Wanda D; Ayadi, M Femi; Wilber, Nancy

    2007-04-01

    Characterizing the cost of preterm birth is important in assessing the impact of increasing prematurity rates and evaluating the cost-effectiveness of therapies to prevent preterm delivery. To assess early intervention costs that are associated with preterm births, we estimated the program cost of early intervention services for children who were born in Massachusetts, by gestational age at birth. Using the Pregnancy to Early Life Longitudinal Data Set, birth certificates for infants who were born in Massachusetts between July 1999 and June 2000 were linked to early intervention claims through 2003. We determined total program costs, in 2003 dollars, of early intervention and mean cost per surviving infant by gestational age. Costs by plurality, eligibility criteria, provider discipline, and annual costs for children's first 3 years also were examined. Overall, 14,033 of 76,901 surviving infants received early intervention services. Program costs totaled almost $66 million, with mean cost per surviving infant of $857. Mean cost per infant was highest for children who were 24 to 31 weeks' gestational age ($5393) and higher for infants who were 32 to 36 weeks' gestational age ($1578) compared with those who were born at term ($725). Cost per surviving infant generally decreased with increasing gestational age. Among children in early intervention, mean cost per child was higher for preterm infants than for term infants. At each gestational age, mean cost per surviving infant was higher for multiples than for singletons, and annual early intervention costs were higher for toddlers than for infants. Compared with their term counterparts, preterm infants incurred higher early intervention costs. This information along with data on birth trends will inform budget forecasting for early intervention programs. Costs that are associated with early childhood developmental services must be included when considering the long-term costs of prematurity.

  20. Age of acquisition in sport: starting early matters.

    PubMed

    Hernandez, Arturo E; Mattarella-Micke, Andrew; Redding, Richard W T; Woods, Elizabeth A; Beilock, Sian

    2011-01-01

    Although the age at which a skill is learned (age of acquisition [AoA]) is one of the most studied predictors of success in domains ranging from language to music, very little work has focused on this factor in sports. In order to uncover how the age at which a skill is learned relates to how athletes cognitively represent that skill, we asked a group of skilled golfers who learned to play golf before (early learners) or after (late learners) the age of 10 to take a series of putts on an indoor putting green. Golfers putted in isolation (single-task condition), while monitoring a stream of words presented over a loudspeaker (dual-task condition), or while being instructed to attend to specific aspects of their golf swing (skill-focused condition). Early and late learners putted equally well in the single-task and dual-task conditions. However, in the skill-focused condition, golfers who learned earlier performed worse than those who learned later. The results are consistent with the notion that AoA influences the manner in which sports, like other domains such as language and music, are represented in memory.

  1. Telomere length and early severe social deprivation: linking early adversity and cellular aging

    PubMed Central

    Drury, SS; Theall, K; Gleason, MM; Smyke, AT; De Vivo, I; Wong, JYY; Fox, NA; Zeanah, CH; Nelson, CA

    2012-01-01

    Accelerated telomere length attrition has been associated with psychological stress and early adversity in adults; however, no studies have examined whether telomere length in childhood is associated with early experiences. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project is a unique randomized controlled trial of foster care placement compared with continued care in institutions. As a result of the study design, participants were exposed to a quantified range of time in institutional care, and represented an ideal population in which to examine the association between a specific early adversity, institutional care and telomere length. We examined the association between average relative telomere length, telomere repeat copy number to single gene copy number (T/S) ratio and exposure to institutional care quantified as the percent of time at baseline (mean age 22 months) and at 54 months of age that each child lived in the institution. A significant negative correlation between T/S ratio and percentage of time was observed. Children with greater exposure to institutional care had significantly shorter relative telomere length in middle childhood. Gender modified this main effect. The percentage of time in institutional care at baseline significantly predicted telomere length in females, whereas the percentage of institutional care at 54 months was strongly predictive of telomere length in males. This is the first study to demonstrate an association between telomere length and institutionalization, the first study to find an association between adversity and telomere length in children, and contributes to the growing literature linking telomere length and early adversity. PMID:21577215

  2. Modeling old-age wealth with endogenous early-life outcomes: The case of Mexico

    PubMed Central

    DeGraff, Deborah S.; Wong, Rebeca

    2014-01-01

    This paper contributes to the literature on the life course and aging by examining the association between early-life outcomes and late-life well being, using data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study. Empirical research in this area has been challenged by the potential endogeneity of the early-life outcomes of interest, an issue which most studies ignore or downplay. Our contribution takes two forms: (1) we examine in detail the potential importance of two key life-cycle outcomes, age at marriage (a measure of family formation) and years of educational attainment (a measure of human capital investment) for old-age wealth, and (2) we illustrate the empirical value of past context variables that could help model the association between early-life outcomes and late-life well being. Our illustrative approach, matching macro-level historical policy and census variables to individual records to use as instruments in modeling the endogeneity of early-life behaviors, yields a statistically identified two-stage model of old-age wealth with minimum bias. We use simulations to show that the results for the model of wealth in old age are meaningfully different when comparing the approach that accounts for endogeneity with an approach that assumes exogeneity of early-life outcomes. Furthermore, our results suggest that in the Mexican case, models which ignore the potential endogeneity of early-life outcomes are likely to under-estimate the effects of such variables on old-age wealth. PMID:25170434

  3. Where Is ELSA? The Early to Late Shift in Aging

    PubMed Central

    Buchler, Norbou; Dobbins, Ian G.; Cabeza, Roberto

    2012-01-01

    Studies of cognitive and neural aging have recently provided evidence of a shift from an early- to late-onset cognitive control strategy, linked with temporally extended activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). It has been uncertain, however, whether this age-related shift is unique to PFC and executive control tasks or whether the functional location might vary depending on the particular cognitive processes that are altered. The present study tested whether an early-to-late shift in aging (ELSA) might emerge in the medial temporal lobes (MTL) during a protracted context memory task comprising both anticipatory cue (retrieval preparation) and retrieval probe (retrieval completion) phases. First, we found reduced MTL activity in older adults during the early retrieval preparation phase coupled with increased MTL activity during the late retrieval completion phase. Second, we found that functional connectivity between MTL and PFC regions was higher during retrieval preparation in young adults but higher during retrieval completion in older adults, suggesting an important interactive relationship between the ELSA pattern in MTL and PFC. Taken together, these results critically suggest that aging results in temporally lagged activity even in regions not typically associated with cognitive control, such as the MTL. PMID:22114083

  4. Analysis, prediction, and case studies of early-age cracking in bridge decks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    ElSafty, Adel; Graeff, Matthew K.; El-Gharib, Georges; Abdel-Mohti, Ahmed; Mike Jackson, N.

    2016-06-01

    Early-age cracking can adversely affect strength, serviceability, and durability of concrete bridge decks. Early age is defined as the period after final setting, during which concrete properties change rapidly. Many factors can cause early-age bridge deck cracking including temperature change, hydration, plastic shrinkage, autogenous shrinkage, and drying shrinkage. The cracking may also increase the effect of freeze and thaw cycles and may lead to corrosion of reinforcement. This research paper presents an analysis of causes and factors affecting early-age cracking. It also provides a tool developed to predict the likelihood and initiation of early-age cracking of concrete bridge decks. Understanding the concrete properties is essential so that the developed tool can accurately model the mechanisms contributing to the cracking of concrete bridge decks. The user interface of the implemented computer Excel program enables the user to input the properties of the concrete being monitored. The research study and the developed spreadsheet were used to comprehensively investigate the issue of concrete deck cracking. The spreadsheet is designed to be a user-friendly calculation tool for concrete mixture proportioning, temperature prediction, thermal analysis, and tensile cracking prediction. The study also provides review and makes recommendations on the deck cracking based mainly on the Florida Department of Transportation specifications and Structures Design Guidelines, and Bridge Design Manuals of other states. The results were also compared with that of other commercially available software programs that predict early-age cracking in concrete slabs, concrete pavement, and reinforced concrete bridge decks. The outcome of this study can identify a set of recommendations to limit the deck cracking problem and maintain a longer service life of bridges.

  5. Recent advances in the cretaceous stratigraphy of Korea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, Ki-Hong; Suzuki, Kazuhiro; Park, Sun-Ok; Ishida, Keisuke; Uno, Koji

    2003-06-01

    A subrounded, accidental, zircon grain from a rhyolite sample of the Oknyobong Formation has shown an U-Pb CHIME isochron age, 187 Ma, implying its derivation from a Jurassic felsic igneous rock. Such a lower limit of the geologic age of the Oknyobong Formation, combined with its pre-Kyongsang upper limit, constrains that the Oknyobong Formation belongs to the Jasong Synthem (Late Jurassic-early Early Cretaceous) typified in North Korea. The Jaeryonggang Movement terminated the deposition of the Jasong Synthem and caused a shift of the depocenter from North Korea to the Kyongsang Basin, Southeast Korea. The Cretaceous-Paleocene Kyongsang Supergroup of the Kyongsang Basin is the stratotype of the Kyongsang Synthem, an unconformity-bounded unit in the Korean Peninsula. The unconformity at the base of the Yuchon Volcanic Group is a local expression of the interregionally recognizable mid-Albian tectonism; it subdivides the Kyongsang Synthem into the Lower Kyongsang Subsynthem (Barremian-Early Albian) and the Upper Kyongsang Subsynthem (Late Albian-Paleocene). The latter is unconformably overlain by Eocene and younger strata. The Late Permian to Early Jurassic radiolarian fossils from the chert pebbles of the Kumidong and the Kisadong conglomerates of the Aptian-Early Albian Hayang Group of the Kyongsang Basin are equivalent with those of the cherts that constitute the Jurassic accretionary prisms in Japan, the provenance of the chert pebbles in the Kyongsang Basin. Bimodal volcanisms throughout the history of the Kyongsang Basin is exemplified by the felsic Kusandong Tuff erupted abruptly and briefly in the Late Aptian when semi-coeval volcanisms were of intermediate and mafic compositions. The mean paleomagnetic direction shown by the Kusandong Tuff is in good agreement with the Early Cretaceous directions known from North China, South China and Siberia Blocks.

  6. Geochemical characterization and Redox signals of the uppermost Barremian - lowest Aptian of the Eastern Prada Quarry section, Organyà Basin, south-central Pyrenees, Catalunya, Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Llaguno, J. R.; Maurrasse, F. J.

    2016-12-01

    Here we present the results of a high-resolution, multiproxy study of a 29 m section of dark nodular limestones and marlstones of the Eastern Prada Mountain Quarry section. The layers yield low bioturbation index (2-3) and TOC up to 1.88 wt. %, with microfacies of dark micrite, and isotropic fabric. Allochems consist of rare ostracods, radiolaria, fragments of echinoderms, ammonites, gastropods, benthic and planktic foraminifera. Globigerinelloides blowi indicates a Barremian-early Aptian age. Porosity consists of vugs filled with apparent bitumen throughout the section. Qualitative EDS analyses indicate CaCO3 predominates in the matrix, in agreement with smear slides showing abundance of calcareous nannofossils, mostly nannoconid fragments. δ13Corg values vary from -26.24 ‰ at 0.7 m, to -23.78 ‰, ( 2.46 ‰ change) at 18.04 m, with higher fluctuations up to 27 m. δ15N values range from 1.82 ‰ to 5.95 ‰ positively correlated with the δ13Corg, especially between 18 m - 27 m. Biomarkers from 16 samples show dominance of short chain n-alkanes (

  7. Early-life stress and reproductive cost: A two-hit developmental model of accelerated aging?

    PubMed

    Shalev, Idan; Belsky, Jay

    2016-05-01

    Two seemingly independent bodies of research suggest a two-hit model of accelerated aging, one highlighting early-life stress and the other reproduction. The first, informed by developmental models of early-life stress, highlights reduced longevity effects of early adversity on telomere erosion, whereas the second, informed by evolutionary theories of aging, highlights such effects with regard to reproductive cost (in females). The fact that both early-life adversity and reproductive effort are associated with shorter telomeres and increased oxidative stress raises the prospect, consistent with life-history theory, that these two theoretical frameworks currently informing much research are tapping into the same evolutionary-developmental process of increased senescence and reduced longevity. Here we propose a mechanistic view of a two-hit model of accelerated aging in human females through (a) early-life adversity and (b) early reproduction, via a process of telomere erosion, while highlighting mediating biological embedding mechanisms that might link these two developmental aging processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Early Parenthood and Coming of Age in the 1990s.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosenheim, Margaret K., Ed.; Testa, Mark F., Ed.

    This book examines how early parenthood differs historically, cross-nationally (in Korea and Sweden), and by class, race, and age in the United States. Contributors discuss how consequential is early parenthood for the future social and economic well-being of parents and children, whether postponing childbearing beyond the teenage years would…

  9. Primary early correction of tetralogy of Fallot irrespective of age.

    PubMed

    Kantorova, Andrea; Zbieranek, Kai; Sauer, Henning; Lilje, Christian; Haun, Christoph; Hraska, Viktor

    2008-04-01

    The policy of early repair of patients with tetralogy of Fallot, irrespective of age, as opposed to initial palliation with a shunt, remains controversial. The aim of our study was to analyze the midterm outcome of primary early correction of tetralogy of Fallot. Between 1996 and 2005, a total of 61 consecutive patients less than 6 months of age underwent primary correction of tetralogy of Fallot in two institutions. The median age at surgery was 3.3 months, and 27 patients (44%) were younger than 3 months of age, including 12 (20%) newborns. We analyzed the patients in 2 groups: those younger than 3 months of age, and those aged between 3 and 6 months. There was one early (1.6%), and one late death. Actuarial survival was 98.4%, 96.7%, 96.7% at 1, 5, and 10 years respectively, with a median follow up of 4.5 years. There was no difference in survival, bypass time, lengths of ventilation, and hospital stay between the groups. A transjunctional patch was placed significantly more often in the patients younger than 3 months (p = 0.039), with no adverse effect on survival and morbidity during the follow-up. Freedom from reoperation was 98.2%, 92.2%, and 83% at 1, 5, and 10 years respectively, with no difference between the groups. Elective primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot in asymptomatic patients is delayed beyond 3 months of age. In symptomatic patients, primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot is performed irrespective of age, weight and preoperative state. This approach is safe, and provides an excellent midterm outcome with acceptable morbidity and rates of reintervention. The long-term benefits of this approach must be established by careful follow-up, with particular emphasis on arrhythmias, right ventricular function, and exercise performance.

  10. Early age damage quantification of actively restrained concrete using inverse analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Albanna, Ali

    Early-age cracking can be a significant problem in concrete pavements, floors, and bridge decks. Cracking occurs when the volumetric changes associated with drying, hydration, and temperature reduction are prevented. Good knowledge about the characteristics of early age concrete is necessary to achieve reliable crack control. Volumetric changes due to shrinkage depend on the type of concrete and its components. It has been found that light weight aggregates can work as internal reservoir to supply the concrete matrix with water that is needed during the early age; this process is called internal curing. Also fibers can give more ductility to the concrete and produce less shrinkage. There is a need to better understand the effects of early age uniaxial restraint on long term concrete mechanical performance. In this study, two types of concrete were studied (high performance fiber reinforced concrete and ordinary concrete) under actively restrained loading conditions to assess the effect on the long term fracture toughness and energy. Single edge notched specimens having dimensions of 250 mm x 150 mm x 75 mm and a notch to depth ratio of 0.33 were caste and used in both direct tension and three point bending. The direct tension tests were carried out on a direct tension loading frame constructed in house that was supplied with two mechanical jacks and load cell.

  11. Collapse of proteostasis represents an early molecular event in Caenorhabditis elegans aging.

    PubMed

    Ben-Zvi, Anat; Miller, Elizabeth A; Morimoto, Richard I

    2009-09-01

    Protein damage contributes prominently to cellular aging. To address whether this occurs at a specific period during aging or accumulates gradually, we monitored the biochemical, cellular, and physiological properties of folding sensors expressed in different tissues of C. elegans. We observed the age-dependent misfolding and loss of function of diverse proteins harboring temperature-sensitive missense mutations in all somatic tissues at the permissive condition. This widespread failure in proteostasis occurs rapidly at an early stage of adulthood, and coincides with a severely reduced activation of the cytoprotective heat shock response and the unfolded protein response. Enhancing stress responsive factors HSF-1 or DAF-16 suppresses misfolding of these metastable folding sensors and restores the ability of the cell to maintain a functional proteome. This suggests that a compromise in the regulation of proteostatic stress responses occurs early in adulthood and tips the balance between the load of damaged proteins and the proteostasis machinery. We propose that the collapse of proteostasis represents an early molecular event of aging that amplifies protein damage in age-associated diseases of protein conformation.

  12. High-resolution carbonate isotopic study of the Mural Formation (Cerro Pimas section), Sonora, México: Implications for early Albian oceanic anoxic events

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Madhavaraju, J.; Lee, Yong Il; Scott, R. W.; González-León, C. M.; Jenkyns, H. C.; Saucedo-Samaniego, J. C.; Ramasamy, S.

    2018-03-01

    The 420-m thick stratigraphic section of the Mural Formation that is exposed in the Cerro Pimas area of northern Sonora, Mexico, is composed of limestone lithofacies ranging from bioclastic wackestone to boundstone, whose biota is characterized by low diversity. Prominent age-diagnostic fossils are benthic foraminifera and long-ranging calcareous algae that indicate the Aptian/Albian boundary is close to the base of the Los Coyotes Member. The carbonates of this formation have negative to positive δ13C values (-4.63 to +2.6‰) and highly depleted δ18O values that range from -12.74 to -8.34‰. The absence of correlation between δ13C and δ18O values supports a primary marine origin for the δ13C values of these limestones. The carbon-isotopic curve of the Cerro Pimas stratigraphic section has well-defined δ13C segments (C8 - C15) that compare with published curves of similar age. In the lower part of the early Albian Los Coyotes Member, the presence of OAE 1b is indicated by an increase followed by a decrease in δ13C values, suggesting correlation with the Kilian Event. The middle part of the Los Coyotes Member has a significant negative carbon-isotope excursion correlated with the globally recognizable early Albian Paquier event. Moreover, another significant negative carbon-isotope shift is observed in the upper part of the Los Coyotes Member, which can be correlated with the Leenhardt Event. The occurrence of the Kilian, Paquier and Leenhardt Events (OAE 1b cluster) in the Cerro Pimas stratigraphy confirms the global nature of these early Albian disturbances of the carbon cycle.

  13. Early-late life trade-offs and the evolution of ageing in the wild.

    PubMed

    Lemaître, Jean-François; Berger, Vérane; Bonenfant, Christophe; Douhard, Mathieu; Gamelon, Marlène; Plard, Floriane; Gaillard, Jean-Michel

    2015-05-07

    Empirical evidence for declines in fitness components (survival and reproductive performance) with age has recently accumulated in wild populations, highlighting that the process of senescence is nearly ubiquitous in the living world. Senescence patterns are highly variable among species and current evolutionary theories of ageing propose that such variation can be accounted for by differences in allocation to growth and reproduction during early life. Here, we compiled 26 studies of free-ranging vertebrate populations that explicitly tested for a trade-off between performance in early and late life. Our review brings overall support for the presence of early-late life trade-offs, suggesting that the limitation of available resources leads individuals to trade somatic maintenance later in life for high allocation to reproduction early in life. We discuss our results in the light of two closely related theories of ageing-the disposable soma and the antagonistic pleiotropy theories-and propose that the principle of energy allocation roots the ageing process in the evolution of life-history strategies. Finally, we outline research topics that should be investigated in future studies, including the importance of natal environmental conditions in the study of trade-offs between early- and late-life performance and the evolution of sex-differences in ageing patterns. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  14. Early life determinants of frailty in old age: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.

    PubMed

    Haapanen, M J; Perälä, M M; Salonen, M K; Kajantie, E; Simonen, M; Pohjolainen, P; Eriksson, J G; von Bonsdorff, M B

    2018-04-12

    there is evidence suggesting that several chronic diseases have their origins in utero and that development taking place during sensitive periods may affect the aging process. We investigated whether early life determinants would be associated with frailty in old age. at a mean age of 71 years, 1,078 participants belonging to the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study were assessed for frailty according to the Fried frailty criteria. Early life measurements (birth weight, length, mother body mass index [BMI] and parity) were obtained from birth, child welfare and school health records. Multinomial regression analysis was used to assess the association between early life determinants and frailty in old age. weight, length and BMI at birth were all inversely associated with frailty in old age. A 1 kg increase in birth weight was associated with a lower relative risk ratio (RRR) of frailty (age and sex-adjusted RRR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.82) compared to non-frailty. Associations persisted after adjusting for several confounding factors. Compared to cohort members in the upper middle class, those who as adults worked as manual workers or belonged to the lower middle class, were at an increased risk of frailty. those who were small at birth were at an increased risk of developing frailty in old age, suggesting that frailty is at least partly programmed in early life. A less privileged socioeconomic status in adulthood was associated with an increased risk of frailty in old age.

  15. Gestational age-dependent risk factors for preterm birth: associations with maternal education and age early in gestation.

    PubMed

    Auger, Nathalie; Abrahamowicz, Michal; Wynant, Willy; Lo, Ernest

    2014-05-01

    Preterm birth (PTB) before 37 weeks can occur over a wide range of gestational ages, but few studies have assessed if associations between risk factors and PTB vary over the duration of gestation. We sought to evaluate if associations between two major risk factors (maternal education and age) and PTB depend on gestational age at delivery. We estimated hazard ratios of PTB for education and age in a time-to-event analysis using a retrospective cohort of 223,756 live singleton births from the province of Québec, Canada for the years 2001-2005. Differences in hazards of maternal education and age with PTB were assessed over gestational age in a Cox proportional hazards model using linear and nonlinear time interaction terms, adjusting for maternal characteristics. Associations of PTB with lower (vs. higher) education and older (vs. younger) age strengthened progressively at earlier gestational ages, such that the risk of PTB for maternal education and age was not constant over the course of gestation. Associations of PTB with risk factors such as maternal low education and older age may be stronger early in gestation. Models that capture the time-dependent nature of PTB may be useful when the goal is to assess associations at low gestational ages, and to avoid masked or biased associations early in gestation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. A synthesis of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous crustal evolution along the southern margin of the Arctic Alaska–Chukotka microplate and implications for defining tectonic boundaries active during opening of Arctic Ocean basins

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Till, Alison B.

    2016-01-01

    A synthesis of Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous collision-related metamorphic events in the Arctic Alaska–Chukotka microplate clarifies its likely movement history during opening of the Amerasian and Canada basins. Comprehensive tectonic reconstructions of basin opening have been problematic, in part, because of the large size of the microplate, uncertainties in the location and kinematics of structures bounding the microplate, and lack of information on its internal deformation history. Many reconstructions have treated Arctic Alaska and Chukotka as a single crustal entity largely on the basis of similarities in their Mesozoic structural trends and similar late Proterozoic and early Paleozoic histories. Others have located Chukotka near Siberia during the Triassic and Jurassic, on the basis of detrital zircon age populations, and suggested that it was Arctic Alaska alone that rotated. The Mesozoic metamorphic histories of Arctic Alaska and Chukotka can be used to test the validity of these two approaches.A synthesis of the distribution, character, and timing of metamorphic events reveals substantial differences in the histories of the southern margin of the microplate in Chukotka in comparison to Arctic Alaska and places specific limitations on tectonic reconstructions. During the Late Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous, the Arctic Alaska margin was subducted to the south, while the Chukotka margin was the upper plate of a north-dipping subduction zone or a zone of transpression. An early Aptian blueschist- and greenschist-facies belt records the most profound crustal thickening event in the evolution of the orogen. It may have resulted in thicknesses of 50–60 km and was likely the cause of flexural subsidence in the foredeep of the Brooks Range. This event involved northern Alaska and northeasternmost Chukotka; it did not involve central and western Chukotka. Arctic Alaska and Chukotka evolved separately until the Aptian thickening event, which was likely a

  17. Boosting Early Development: The Mixed Effects of Kindergarten Enrollment Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Jiahui; Xin, Tao

    2012-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the effects of kindergarten enrollment age on four-year-old Chinese children's early cognition and problem behavior using multilevel models. The sample comprised of 1,391 pre-school children (the mean age is 4.58 years old) from 74 kindergartens in six different provinces. The results demonstrated curvilinear…

  18. Cycles and trends in the δ18O and δ13C records over the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martinez, Mathieu; Dera, Guillaume

    2015-04-01

    The million-year fluctuations of the Mesozoic climate are explored through spectral analyses performed on an exhaustive compilation of δ18O and δ13C data measured on belemnite rostra. The data include more than 3500 data points, all coming from Western Tethys and Euro-boreal domains, and covering a time interval spanning 76 Myr from the Sinemurian (~197 Ma; Early Jurassic) to the Aptian (~123 Ma; Early Cretaceous) with an average sample step of ~0.04 Myr. Spectral analyses are performed using the multi-taper method and the evolutive Fast Fourier Transform in order to get an accurate estimate of significant periods and their evolution during geological times. The age uncertainties of the Geological Time Scale 2012 are taken into account to assess the impact of these uncertainties on the identification of the significant periods. After implementing an error model that simulates the uncertainties of the Geological Time Scale, two periods remains significant: the δ13C displays a high-amplitude period at 9.1 Myr, while the δ18O displays a high-amplitude period at 16.4 Myr. The 16.4-Myr period is only expressed in the Early and Middle Jurassic, with maximum amplitudes reached during the 'Toarcian Plateau' (Dera et al., 2011). It is probably a consequence of the activity of the Karoo-Ferrar Large Igneous Province and is an event in the δ18O rather than a true cycle. The 9.1-Myr period displays a spectacular continuity from the Toarcian to the Aptian, and could be related to this intriguing 9.1-Myr cycle observed in the δ13C from the Cenozoic, related to a Myr-amplitude modulation of the eccentricity cycles (Boulila et al., 2012). The δ13C in the Western Tethys thus appears to have a very rhythmic behaviour, interpreted here as a long-term orbital modulation of moisture and heat transfer from equatorial to higher latitudes, modulating in return continental weathering, nutrient and detrital exports to basins, neritic vs. pelagic productivity and finally preservation

  19. Organizations' Ways of Employing Early Retirees: The Role of Age-Based HR Policies.

    PubMed

    Oude Mulders, Jaap; Henkens, Kène; Schippers, Joop

    2015-06-01

    We examine whether from an organizational perspective it is possible to distinguish different ways of employing early retirees and explore how the employment of early retirees is related to the application of 4 age-based human resource (HR) policies, namely demotion, offering training opportunities to older workers, offering early retirement, and allowing flexible working hours. We perform a latent class analysis on a sample of 998 Dutch organizations in order to categorize them based on 3 dimensions of their employment of early retirees. We then run a multinomial logistic regression to relate the employment of early retirees to the 4 age-based HR policies. We distinguish 4 types of organizations based on their way of employing early retirees: nonusers (52.6%), users for mainly standard work (20.8%), users for mainly nonstandard work (9.8%), and users for standard and nonstandard work (16.7%). We find that organizations that apply demotion, offer early retirement, and allow flexible working hours are more likely to be users for mainly standard work. Also, organizations that do not offer early retirement are less likely to employ early retirees. Age-based HR policies, especially demotion, offering early retirement, and allowing flexible working hours, are conducive to the employment of early retirees for mainly standard work. Broader implementation of these policies may provide opportunities for older workers to make a more gradual transition from work to retirement. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Acoustic Emission Behavior of Early Age Concrete Monitored by Embedded Sensors.

    PubMed

    Qin, Lei; Ren, Hong-Wei; Dong, Bi-Qin; Xing, Feng

    2014-10-02

    Acoustic emission (AE) is capable of monitoring the cracking activities inside materials. In this study, embedded sensors were employed to monitor the AE behavior of early age concrete. Type 1-3 cement-based piezoelectric composites, which had lower mechanical quality factor and acoustic impedance, were fabricated and used to make sensors. Sensors made of the composites illustrated broadband frequency response. In a laboratory, the cracking of early age concrete was monitored to recognize different hydration stages. The sensors were also embedded in a mass concrete foundation to localize the temperature gradient cracks.

  1. The Association of Kindergarten Entry Age with Early Literacy Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Francis L.; Invernizzi, Marcia A.

    2012-01-01

    The authors investigated whether age at kindergarten entry was associated with early literacy achievement gaps and if these gaps persisted over time. Using the kindergarten age eligibility cutoff date, they created 2 groups of students who represented the oldest and youngest children in a cohort of students in high-poverty, low-performing schools.…

  2. Working Memory in Early-School-Age Children with Asperger's Syndrome

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cui, Jifang; Gao, Dingguo; Chen, Yinghe; Zou, Xiaobing; Wang, Ya

    2010-01-01

    Using a battery of working memory span tasks and n-back tasks, this study aimed to explore working memory functions in early-school-age children with Asperger's syndrome (AS). Twelve children with AS and 29 healthy children matched on age and IQ were recruited. Results showed: (a) children with AS performed better in digit and word recall tasks,…

  3. Early growth patterns are associated with intelligence quotient scores in children born small-for-gestational age.

    PubMed

    Varella, Marcia H; Moss, William J

    2015-08-01

    To assess whether patterns of growth trajectory during infancy are associated with intelligence quotient (IQ) scores at 4 years of age in children born small-for-gestational age (SGA). Children in the Collaborative Perinatal Project born SGA were eligible for analysis. The primary outcome was the Stanford-Binet IQ score at 4 years of age. Growth patterns were defined based on changes in weight-for-age z-scores from birth to 4 months and 4 to 12 months of age and consisted of steady, early catch-up, late catch-up, constant catch-up, early catch-down, late catch-down, constant catch-down, early catch-up & late catch-down, and early catch-down & late catch-up. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess associations between patterns of growth and IQ. We evaluated patterns of growth and IQ in 5640 children. Compared with children with steady growth, IQ scores were 2.9 [standard deviation (SD)=0.54], 1.5 (SD=0.63), and 2.2 (SD=0.9) higher in children with early catch-up, early catch-up and later catch-down, and constant catch-up growth patterns, respectively, and 4.4 (SD=1.4) and 3.9 (SD=1.5) lower in children with early catch-down & late catch-up, and early catch-down growth patterns, respectively. Patterns in weight gain before 4 months of age were associated with differences in IQ scores at 4 years of age, with children with early catch-up having slightly higher IQ scores than children with steady growth and children with early catch-down having slightly lower IQ scores. These findings have implications for early infant nutrition in children born SGA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Early Childhood Predictors of School-Age Children's Reports of Sibling Relationships.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Poris, Michelle P.

    This study examined the associations between the early family environment, older siblings' early characteristics, and later sibling relationships. Participating were 37 families with infants and preschool-age older siblings who were observed in the laboratory at 3 time points and followed-up 3 years later. Findings indicated that parents' early…

  5. School Age Outcomes of Children Diagnosed Early and Later with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Megan Louise Erin; Vinen, Zoe; Barbaro, Josephine; Dissanayake, Cheryl

    2018-01-01

    Early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder is considered best practice, increasing access to early intervention. Yet, many children are diagnosed after 3-years. The current study investigated the school age outcomes of children who received an early and later diagnosis of ASD. The cognitive and behavioural outcomes of children diagnosed early (n…

  6. Rewriting the Central European Early Bronze Age Chronology: Evidence from Large-Scale Radiocarbon Dating

    PubMed Central

    Knipper, Corina; Friedrich, Ronny; Kromer, Bernd; Lindauer, Susanne; Radosavljević, Jelena; Wittenborn, Fabian; Krause, Johannes

    2015-01-01

    The transition from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age in Central Europe has often been considered as a supra-regional uniform process, which led to the growing mastery of the new bronze technology. Since the 1920s, archaeologists have divided the Early Bronze Age into two chronological phases (Bronze A1 and A2), which were also seen as stages of technical progress. On the basis of the early radiocarbon dates from the cemetery of Singen, southern Germany, the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in Central Europe was originally dated around 2300/2200 BC and the transition to more complex casting techniques (i.e., Bronze A2) around 2000 BC. On the basis of 140 newly radiocarbon dated human remains from Final Neolithic, Early and Middle Bronze Age cemeteries south of Augsburg (Bavaria) and a re-dating of ten graves from the cemetery of Singen, we propose a significantly different dating range, which forces us to re-think the traditional relative and absolute chronologies as well as the narrative of technical development. We are now able to date the beginning of the Early Bronze Age to around 2150 BC and its end to around 1700 BC. Moreover, there is no transition between Bronze (Bz) A1 and Bronze (Bz) A2, but a complete overlap between the type objects of the two phases from 1900–1700 BC. We thus present a revised chronology of the assumed diagnostic type objects of the Early Bronze Age and recommend a radiocarbon-based view on the development of the material culture. Finally, we propose that the traditional phases Bz A1 and Bz A2 do not represent a chronological sequence, but regionally different social phenomena connected to the willingness of local actors to appropriate the new bronze technology. PMID:26488413

  7. Vitamin D Status and Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Postmenopausal Women

    PubMed Central

    Millen, Amy E.; Voland, Rick; Sondel, Sherie A.; Parekh, Niyati; Horst, Ronald L.; Wallace, Robert B.; Hageman, Gregory S.; Chappell, Rick; Blodi, Barbara A.; Klein, Michael L.; Gehrs, Karen M.; Sarto, Gloria E.; Mares, Julie A.

    2010-01-01

    Objective The relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations (nmol/L) and the prevalence of early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was investigated among participants of the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study. Methods Stereoscopic fundus photographs, taken from 2001–2004, assessed AMD status. Baseline (1994–1998) serum samples were available for 25(OH)D assays in 1,313 women with complete ocular and risk factor data. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for early AMD (n=241), among 1,287 without advanced disease, were estimated with logistic regression and adjusted for age, smoking, iris pigmentation, family history of AMD, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hormone therapy use. Results In multivariate models, no significant relationship was observed between early AMD and 25(OH)D (OR for quintile 5 vs. 1=0.79, 95% CI=0.50–1.24; p for trend=0.47). A significant age interaction (p=0.0025) suggested selective mortality bias in women ≥75 years: serum 25(OH)D was associated with decreased odds of early AMD in women <75 years (n=968) and increased odds in women ≥75 years (n=319) (OR for quintile 5 vs. 1=0.52, 95% CI=0.29–0.91; p for trend=0.02 and 1.76, 95% CI=0.77–4.13; p for trend=0.05, respectively). Further adjustment for body mass index and recreational physical activity, predictors of 25(OH)D, attenuated the observed association in women <75 years. Additionally, among women <75 years, intake of vitamin D from foods and supplements was related to decreased odds of early AMD in multivariate models; no relationship was observed with self-reported time spent in direct sunlight. Conclusions High serum 25(OH)D concentrations may protect against early AMD in women <75 years. PMID:21482873

  8. Model Development and Trial of Early Detection Manual for the Special Needs Children at Early Age Education Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anwar, Zainul; Ingarianti, Tri Muji; Suryaningrum, Cahyaning

    2016-01-01

    This research was aimed to produce the manual for early detection for ABK at the level of early age education (PAUD = "Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini"). Research was "action research" with stages as proposed by Buunk and Van Vugt. Metodology of research these stages were called as PATH ("Problem-Analysis-Test…

  9. EVOLUTION. A four-legged snake from the Early Cretaceous of Gondwana.

    PubMed

    Martill, David M; Tischlinger, Helmut; Longrich, Nicholas R

    2015-07-24

    Snakes are a remarkably diverse and successful group today, but their evolutionary origins are obscure. The discovery of snakes with two legs has shed light on the transition from lizards to snakes, but no snake has been described with four limbs, and the ecology of early snakes is poorly known. We describe a four-limbed snake from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Crato Formation of Brazil. The snake has a serpentiform body plan with an elongate trunk, short tail, and large ventral scales suggesting characteristic serpentine locomotion, yet retains small prehensile limbs. Skull and body proportions as well as reduced neural spines indicate fossorial adaptation, suggesting that snakes evolved from burrowing rather than marine ancestors. Hooked teeth, an intramandibular joint, a flexible spine capable of constricting prey, and the presence of vertebrate remains in the guts indicate that this species preyed on vertebrates and that snakes made the transition to carnivory early in their history. The structure of the limbs suggests that they were adapted for grasping, either to seize prey or as claspers during mating. Together with a diverse fauna of basal snakes from the Cretaceous of South America, Africa, and India, this snake suggests that crown Serpentes originated in Gondwana. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  10. Evaluation of Early-Age Concrete Compressive Strength with Ultrasonic Sensors.

    PubMed

    Yoon, Hyejin; Kim, Young Jin; Kim, Hee Seok; Kang, Jun Won; Koh, Hyun-Moo

    2017-08-07

    Surface wave velocity measurement of concrete using ultrasonic sensors requires testing on only one side of a member. Thus, it is applicable to concrete cast inside a form and is often used to detect flaws and evaluate the compressive strength of hardened concrete. Predicting the in situ concrete strength at a very early stage inside the form helps with determining the appropriate form removal time and reducing construction time and costs. In this paper, the feasibility of using surface wave velocities to predict the strength of in situ concrete inside the form at a very early stage was evaluated. Ultrasonic sensors were used to measure a series of surface waves for concrete inside a form in the first 24 h after placement. A continuous wavelet transform was used to compute the travel time of the propagating surface waves. The cylindrical compressive strength and penetration resistance tests were also performed during the test period. Four mixtures and five curing temperatures were used for the specimens. The surface wave velocity was confirmed to be applicable to estimating the concrete strength at a very early age in wall-like elements. An empirical formula is proposed for evaluating the early-age compressive strength of concrete considering the 95% prediction intervals.

  11. Evaluation of Early-Age Concrete Compressive Strength with Ultrasonic Sensors

    PubMed Central

    Yoon, Hyejin; Kim, Young Jin; Kim, Hee Seok; Kang, Jun Won; Koh, Hyun-Moo

    2017-01-01

    Surface wave velocity measurement of concrete using ultrasonic sensors requires testing on only one side of a member. Thus, it is applicable to concrete cast inside a form and is often used to detect flaws and evaluate the compressive strength of hardened concrete. Predicting the in situ concrete strength at a very early stage inside the form helps with determining the appropriate form removal time and reducing construction time and costs. In this paper, the feasibility of using surface wave velocities to predict the strength of in situ concrete inside the form at a very early stage was evaluated. Ultrasonic sensors were used to measure a series of surface waves for concrete inside a form in the first 24 h after placement. A continuous wavelet transform was used to compute the travel time of the propagating surface waves. The cylindrical compressive strength and penetration resistance tests were also performed during the test period. Four mixtures and five curing temperatures were used for the specimens. The surface wave velocity was confirmed to be applicable to estimating the concrete strength at a very early age in wall-like elements. An empirical formula is proposed for evaluating the early-age compressive strength of concrete considering the 95% prediction intervals. PMID:28783128

  12. Association of early- and adult-life socioeconomic circumstances with muscle strength in older age.

    PubMed

    Cheval, Boris; Boisgontier, Matthieu P; Orsholits, Dan; Sieber, Stefan; Guessous, Idris; Gabriel, Rainer; Stringhini, Silvia; Blane, David; van der Linden, Bernadette W A; Kliegel, Matthias; Burton-Jeangros, Claudine; Courvoisier, Delphine S; Cullati, Stéphane

    2018-05-01

    socioeconomic circumstances (SEC) during a person's lifespan influence a wide range of health outcomes. However, solid evidence of the association of early- and adult-life SEC with health trajectories in ageing is still lacking. This study assessed whether early-life SEC are associated with muscle strength in later life-a biomarker of health-and whether this relationship is caused by adult-life SEC and health behaviours. we used data from the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe, a 12-year population-based cohort study with repeated measurement in six waves (2004-15) and retrospective collection of life-course data. Participants' grip strength was assessed by using a handheld dynamometer. Confounder-adjusted logistic mixed-effect models were used to examine the associations of early- and adult-life SEC with the risk of low muscle strength (LMS) in older age. a total of 24,179 participants (96,375 observations) aged 50-96 living in 14 European countries were included in the analyses. Risk of LMS was increased with disadvantaged relative to advantaged early-life SEC. The association between risk of LMS and disadvantaged early-life SEC gradually decreased when adjusting for adult-life SEC for both sexes and with unhealthy behaviours for women. After adjusting for these factors, all associations between risk of LMS and early-life SEC remained significant for women. early-life SEC are associated with muscle strength after adjusting for adult-life SEC and behavioural lifestyle factors, especially in women, which suggests that early life may represent a sensitive period for future health.

  13. Growth curve analyses of the relationship between early maternal age and children's mathematics and reading performance.

    PubMed

    Torres, D Diego

    2015-03-01

    Regarding the methods used to examine the early maternal age-child academic outcomes relationship, the extant literature has tended to examine change using statistical analyses that fail to appreciate that individuals vary in their rates of growth. Of the one study I have been able to find that employs a true growth model to estimate this relationship, the authors only controlled for characteristics of the maternal household after family formation; confounding background factors of mothers that might select them into early childbearing, a possible source of bias, were ignored. The authors' findings nonetheless suggested an inverse relationship between early maternal age, i.e., a first birth between the ages of 13 and 17, and Canadian adolescents' mean math performance at age 10. Early maternal age was not related to the linear slope of age. To elucidate whether the early maternal age-child academic outcomes association, treated in a growth context, is consistent with this finding, the present study built on it using US data and explored children's mathematics and reading trajectories from age 5 on. Its unique contribution is that it further explicitly controlled for maternal background factors and employed a three-level growth model with repeated measures of children nested within their mothers. Though the strength of the relationship varied between mean initial academic performance and mean academic growth, results confirmed that early maternal age was negatively related to children's mathematics and reading achievement, net of post-teen first birth child-specific and maternal household factors. Once maternal background factors were included, there was no statistically significant relationship between early maternal age and either children's mean initial mathematics and reading scores or their mean mathematics and reading growth. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Problem Behaviour at Early Age--Basis for Prediction of Asocial Behaviour

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krneta, Dragoljub; Ševic, Aleksandra

    2015-01-01

    This paper analyzes the results of the study of prevalence of problem behaviour of students in primary and secondary schools. The starting point is that it is methodologically and logically justified to look for early forms of problem behaviour of students, because it is likely that adult convicted offenders at an early school age manifested forms…

  15. Lack of serotonin1B receptor expression leads to age-related motor dysfunction, early onset of brain molecular aging and reduced longevity.

    PubMed

    Sibille, E; Su, J; Leman, S; Le Guisquet, A M; Ibarguen-Vargas, Y; Joeyen-Waldorf, J; Glorioso, C; Tseng, G C; Pezzone, M; Hen, R; Belzung, C

    2007-11-01

    Normal aging of the brain differs from pathological conditions and is associated with increased risk for psychiatric and neurological disorders. In addition to its role in the etiology and treatment of mood disorders, altered serotonin (5-HT) signaling is considered a contributing factor to aging; however, no causative role has been identified in aging. We hypothesized that a deregulation of the 5-HT system would reveal its contribution to age-related processes and investigated behavioral and molecular changes throughout adult life in mice lacking the regulatory presynaptic 5-HT(1B) receptor (5-HT(1B)R), a candidate gene for 5-HT-mediated age-related functions. We show that the lack of 5-HT(1B)R (Htr1b(KO) mice) induced an early age-related motor decline and resulted in decreased longevity. Analysis of life-long transcriptome changes revealed an early and global shift of the gene expression signature of aging in the brain of Htr1b(KO) mice. Moreover, molecular changes reached an apparent maximum effect at 18-months in Htr1b(KO) mice, corresponding to the onset of early death in that group. A comparative analysis with our previous characterization of aging in the human brain revealed a phylogenetic conservation of age-effect from mice to humans, and confirmed the early onset of molecular aging in Htr1b(KO) mice. Potential mechanisms appear independent of known central mechanisms (Bdnf, inflammation), but may include interactions with previously identified age-related systems (IGF-1, sirtuins). In summary, our findings suggest that the onset of age-related events can be influenced by altered 5-HT function, thus identifying 5-HT as a modulator of brain aging, and suggesting age-related consequences to chronic manipulation of 5-HT.

  16. Early childhood predictors of age of initiation to use of cannabis: a birth prospective study.

    PubMed

    Hayatbakhsh, Reza; Williams, Gail M; Bor, William; Najman, Jake M

    2013-05-01

    Early age of cannabis use predicts subsequent illicit drug abuse and other psychosocial problems. Identification of factors associated with early cannabis use may contribute to the development of preventive interventions. This study aimed to examine the early life predictors of age of initiation to cannabis. Data were from Mater Hospital and University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy, a population-based prospective birth cohort study. Participants were a cohort of 3488 young adults who self-reported frequency and age of onset of cannabis use at the 21 year follow up. Of 3488 young adults, 48.9% (51.8% men and 46.4% women) reported having ever used cannabis. For those who had ever used cannabis, age of onset had mean and median of 15.8 and 16.0 years, respectively. In multivariate analysis child's gender, change in maternal marital status, quality of marital relationship, maternal cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption and maternal depression when the child was 5 years statistically significantly predicted age of initiation to cannabis use. The present study explores the impact of early childhood factors associated with age of onset of cannabis use. It is suggested that the family environment within which children are reared, including factors such as parents' marital circumstances, has a major influence on initiation to cannabis use in adolescence. Research is needed to disentangle the pathways of association between these early life factors and early initiation to use of cannabis. © 2012 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  17. Age effects on preattentive and early attentive auditory processing of redundant stimuli: is sensory gating affected by physiological aging?

    PubMed

    Gmehlin, Dennis; Kreisel, Stefan H; Bachmann, Silke; Weisbrod, Matthias; Thomas, Christine

    2011-10-01

    The frontal hypothesis of aging predicts an age-related decline in cognitive functions requiring inhibitory or attentional regulation. In Alzheimer's disease, preattentive gating out of redundant information is impaired. Our study aimed to examine changes associated with physiological aging in both pre- and early attentive inhibition of recurrent acoustic information. Using a passive double-click paradigm, we recorded mid-latency (P30-P50) and late-latency (N100 and P200) evoked potentials in healthy young (26 ± 5 years) and healthy elderly subjects (72 ± 5 years). Physiological aging did not affect auditory gating in amplitude measures. Both age groups exhibited clear inhibition in preattentive P50 and attention-modulated (N100) components, whereas P30 was not attenuated. Irrespective of age, the magnitude of inhibition differed significantly, being most pronounced for N100 gating. Inhibition of redundant information seems to be preserved with physiological aging. Early attentive N100 gating showed the maximum effect. Further studies are warranted to evaluate sensory gating as a suitable biomarker of underlying neurodegenerative disease.

  18. Risk Factors in Preschool Children for Predicting Asthma During the Preschool Age and the Early School Age: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

    PubMed

    Bao, Yixia; Chen, Zhimin; Liu, Enmei; Xiang, Li; Zhao, Deyu; Hong, Jianguo

    2017-11-18

    The aim of this study was to identify risk factors of asthma among children < 6 years old (preschool age) for predicting asthma during the preschool age and early school age (≤ 10 years of age). MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases were searched until June 30, 2017. Prospective or retrospective cohort and case-control studies were included. Studies had to have evaluated risk factors or a predictive model for developing asthma in children ≤ 6 years of age or persistent asthma in early school age. A total of 17 studies were included in the analysis. Factors associated with developing asthma in children ≤ 10 years of age (both pre-school and early school age) included male gender (pooled OR = 1.70, P < 0.001), atopic dermatitis (pooled OR = 2.02, P < 0.001), a family history of asthma (pooled OR = 2.20, P < 0.001), and serum IgE levels ≥ 60 kU/l or having specific IgE (pooled OR = 2.36, P < 0.001). A history of exposure to smoke or wheezing was also associated with persistent asthma in early school age (pooled OR = 1.51, P = 0.030 and pooled OR = 2.59, P < 0.001, respectively). In general, asthma predictive models (e.g., API, PIAMA, PAPS) had relatively low sensitivity (range, 21% to 71.4%) but high specificity (range, 69% to 98%). The study found that male gender, exposure to smoke, atopic dermatitis, family history of asthma, history of wheezing, and serum IgE level ≥ 60 kU/l or having specific IgE were significantly associated with developing asthma by either preschool or early school age. Asthma predictive models can be developed by those risk factors.

  19. Lower Cretaceous Puez key-section in the Dolomites - towards the mid-Cretaceous super-greenhouse

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lukeneder, A.; Halásová, E.; Rehákova, D.; Józsa, Š.; Soták, J.; Kroh, A.; Jovane, L.; Florindo, F.; Sprovieri, M.; Giorgioni, M.; Lukeneder, S.

    2012-04-01

    Investigations on different fossil groups in addition to isotopic, paleomagnetic and geochemical analysis are combined to extract the Early Cretaceous history of environmental changes, as displayed by the sea level and climate changes. Results on biostratigraphy are integrated with other dating methods as magnetostraigraphy, correlation and cyclostratigraphy. The main investigation topics of the submitted project within the above-described framework are the biostratigraphic (Lukeneder and Aspmair, 2006, 2012), palaeoecological (Lukeneder, 2008, 2012), palaeobiogeographic, lithostratigraphic (Lukeneder, 2010, 2011), cyclostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic development of the Early Cretaceous in the Puez area. The main sections occur in expanded outcrops located on the southern margin of the Puez Plateau, within the area of the Puez-Geisler Natural Park, in the northern part of the Dolomites (South Tyrol, North Italy). The cephalopod, microfossil and nannofossil faunas and floras from the marly limestones to marls here indicates Hauterivian to Albian/Cenomanian age. Oxygen isotope values from the Lower Cretaceous Puez Formation show a decreasing trend throughout the log, from -1.5‰ in the Hauterivian to -4.5‰ in the Albian/Cenomanian. The decreasing values mirror an increasing trend in palaeotemperatures from ~ 15-18°C in the Hauterivian up to ~25-30 °C in the Albian/Cenomanian. The trend probably indicates the positive shift in temperature induced by the well known Mid Cretaceous Ocean warming (e.g., Super-Greenhouse). The cooperative project (FWF project P20018-N10; 22 international scientists): An integrative high resolution project. Macro- and microfossils, isotopes, litho-, cyclo-, magneto-and biostratigraphy as tools for investigating the Lower Cretaceous within the Dolomites (Southern Alps, Northern Italy) -The Puez area as a new key region of the Tethyan Realm), is on the way since 2008 by the Natural History Museum in Vienna and the 'Naturmuseum S

  20. Coercive Family Process and Early-Onset Conduct Problems From Age 2 to School Entry

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Justin D.; Dishion, Thomas J.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Wilson, Melvin N.; Winter, Charlotte C.; Patterson, Gerald R.

    2013-01-01

    The emergence and persistence of conduct problems during early childhood is a robust predictor of behavior problems in school and future maladaptation. In this study we examined the reciprocal influences between observed coercive interactions between children and caregivers, oppositional and aggressive behavior, and growth in parent report of early childhood (ages 2–5) and school-age conduct problems (age 7.5 and 8.5). Participants were drawn from the Early Steps multisite randomized prevention trial that includes an ethnically diverse sample of male and female children and their families (N = 731). A parallel process growth model combining latent trajectory and cross-lagged approaches revealed the amplifying effect of observed coercive caregiver–child interactions on children's noncompliance, whereas child oppositional and aggressive behaviors did not consistently predict increased coercion. The slope and initial levels of child oppositional and aggressive behaviors and the stability of caregiver–child coercion were predictive of teacher-reported oppositional behavior at school age. Families assigned to the Family Check-Up condition had significantly steeper declines in child oppositional and aggressive behavior and moderate reductions in oppositional behavior in school and in coercion at age 3. Results were not moderated by child gender, race/ethnicity, or assignment to the intervention condition. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to understanding the early development of conduct problems and to designing optimal strategies for reducing problem behavior in early childhood with families most in need. PMID:24690305

  1. Coercive family process and early-onset conduct problems from age 2 to school entry.

    PubMed

    Smith, Justin D; Dishion, Thomas J; Shaw, Daniel S; Wilson, Melvin N; Winter, Charlotte C; Patterson, Gerald R

    2014-11-01

    The emergence and persistence of conduct problems (CPs) during early childhood is a robust predictor of behavior problems in school and of future maladaptation. In this study we examined the reciprocal influences between observed coercive interactions between children and caregivers, oppositional and aggressive behavior, and growth in parent report of early childhood (ages 2-5) and school-age CPs (ages 7.5 and 8.5). Participants were drawn from the Early Steps multisite randomized prevention trial that includes an ethnically diverse sample of male and female children and their families (N = 731). A parallel-process growth model combining latent trajectory and cross-lagged approaches revealed the amplifying effect of observed coercive caregiver-child interactions on children's noncompliance, whereas child oppositional and aggressive behaviors did not consistently predict increased coercion. The slope and initial levels of child oppositional and aggressive behaviors and the stability of caregiver-child coercion were predictive of teacher-reported oppositional behavior at school age. Families assigned to the Family Check-Up condition had significantly steeper declines in child oppositional and aggressive behavior and moderate reductions in oppositional behavior in school and in coercion at age 3. Results were not moderated by child gender, race/ethnicity, or assignment to the intervention condition. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to understanding the early development of CPs and to designing optimal strategies for reducing problem behavior in early childhood with families most in need.

  2. Early Enrollees and Peer Age Effect: First Evidence from INVALSI Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ordine, Patrizia; Rose, Giuseppe; Sposato, Daniela

    2015-01-01

    This paper estimates peer age effect on educational outcomes of Italian pupils attending primary school by exploiting changes in enrollment rules over the last few years. The empirical procedure allows to understand if there is selection in classroom formation, arguing that in the absence of pupils sorting by early age at school entry, it is…

  3. Mixed-Age Grouping in Early Childhood--Creating the Outdoor Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rouse, Elizabeth

    2015-01-01

    Children attending centre-based early childhood care and education programmes across Australia are most likely to be grouped according to age and development. While multi- or mixed-age grouping has been seen to have positive benefits on young children's learning and pro-social behaviours, this approach is not usually adopted in the organisation of…

  4. Correlation of the major late Jurassic —early Tertiary low- and highstand cycles of south-west Egypt and north-west Sudan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wycisk, Peter

    1994-12-01

    The mainly continental deposits of northwest Sudan and south-west Egypt have been correlated with coeval shallow marine and marine deposits in northern Egypt along a north-south running cross-section, based on surface and subsurface data. The palaeodepth curve of northern Egypt illustrates the gradual seal-level rise, reaching its maximum during the Late Cretaceous with conspicuous advances during the Aptian and late Cenomanian. A general highstand is also recorded during the Campanian-Maastrichtian in north-west Sudan. A detailed facies correlation is given for the Aptian and late Cenomanian highstand in western Egypt. The correlation of the Cenomanian Bahariya and Maghrabi formations displays short-term relative sealevel fluctuations. The interpretation illustrates the extensiveness of related erosional processes in the hinterland, partly intensified by temporarily uplift of the Uweinat-Aswan High in the south. Regional uplift and constant erosion took place in south-west Egypt during Coniacian and Santonian times. The regional stratigraphic gaps and uncertain interpretation of the Bahariya Uplift are induced by the influence of the Trans-African Lineament, especially during the Late Cretaceous. Low-stand fluvial sheet sandstones characterized by non-cyclic sequence development and high facies stability occur, especially in the Neocomian and early Turonian. During the Barremian and Albian, fluvial architecture changes to more cyclic fluvial sequences and increasing soil formation, due to increasing subsidence, more humid climatic conditions and the generally rising sea level, culminating in the extensive shallow marine Abu Ballas and Maghrabi formations.

  5. Early Histories of School-Aged Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loe, Irene M.; Balestrino, Maria D.; Phelps, Randall A.; Kurs-Lasky, Marcia; Chaves-Gnecco, Diego; Paradise, Jack L.; Feldman, Heidi M.

    2008-01-01

    In a prospective study of developmental outcomes in relation to early-life otitis media, behavioral, cognitive, and language measures were administered to a large, diverse sample of children at 2, 3, 4, 6, and 9-11 years of age (N = 741). At 9-11 years of age, 9% of the children were categorized as having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder…

  6. Mitigation strategies for early-age shrinkage cracking in bridge decks.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-04-01

    Early-age shrinkage cracking has been observed in many concrete bridge decks in Washington State and elsewhere around the U.S. The cracking increases the effects of freeze-thaw damage, spalling, and corrosion of steel reinforcement, thus resulting in...

  7. The influence of living conditions in early life on life satisfaction in old age.

    PubMed

    Deindl, Christian

    2013-03-01

    This article examines the influence of living conditions in early life on life satisfaction in old age in eleven Western European countries. It combines the influence of individual conditions, for example housing and family background, with country characteristics in the decade of birth. Using pooled data from the second and third wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, multilevel models show that early life living conditions have an influence on life satisfaction in old age. Furthermore, interaction effects between current and past living conditions show that adverse living conditions strengthen the effect of early life on life satisfaction in later life and therefore are an indication of cumulative inequality over the life course. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Reduction in the retinotopic early visual cortex with normal aging and magnitude of perceptual learning.

    PubMed

    Chang, Li-Hung; Yotsumoto, Yuko; Salat, David H; Andersen, George J; Watanabe, Takeo; Sasaki, Yuka

    2015-01-01

    Although normal aging is known to reduce cortical structures globally, the effects of aging on local structures and functions of early visual cortex are less understood. Here, using standard retinotopic mapping and magnetic resonance imaging morphologic analyses, we investigated whether aging affects areal size of the early visual cortex, which were retinotopically localized, and whether those morphologic measures were associated with individual performance on visual perceptual learning. First, significant age-associated reduction was found in the areal size of V1, V2, and V3. Second, individual ability of visual perceptual learning was significantly correlated with areal size of V3 in older adults. These results demonstrate that aging changes local structures of the early visual cortex, and the degree of change may be associated with individual visual plasticity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Early-age monitoring of cement structures using FBG sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Chuan; Zhou, Zhi; Zhang, Zhichun; Ou, Jinping

    2006-03-01

    With more and more broad applications of the cement-based structures such as neat cement paste, cement mortar and concrete in civil engineering, people hope to find out what their performances should like. The in-service performances of cement-based structures are highly affected by their hardening process during the early-age. But it is still a big problem for traditional sensors to be used to monitor the early curing of cement-based structures due to such disadvantages as difficulties to install sensors inside the concrete, limited measuring points, poor durability and interference of electromagnetic wave and so on. In this paper, according to the sensing properties of the Fiber Bragg Grating sensors and self-characters of the cement-based structures, we have successfully finished measuring and monitoring the early-age inner-strain and temperature changes of the neat cement paste, concrete with and without restrictions, mass concrete structures and negative concrete, respectively. Three types of FBG-based sensors have been developed to monitor the cement-based structures. Besides, the installation techniques and the embedding requirements of FBG sensors in cement-based structures are also discussed. Moreover, such kind of technique has been used in practical structure, 3rd Nanjing Yangtze Bridge, and the results show that FBG sensors are well proper for measuring and monitoring the temperature and strain changes including self-shrinkage, dry shrinkage, plastic shrinkage, temperature expansion, frost heaving and so on inside different cement-based structures. This technique provides us a new useful measuring method on early curing monitoring of cement-based structures and greater understanding of details of their hardening process.

  10. Normal aging delays and compromises early multifocal visual attention during object tracking.

    PubMed

    Störmer, Viola S; Li, Shu-Chen; Heekeren, Hauke R; Lindenberger, Ulman

    2013-02-01

    Declines in selective attention are one of the sources contributing to age-related impairments in a broad range of cognitive functions. Most previous research on mechanisms underlying older adults' selection deficits has studied the deployment of visual attention to static objects and features. Here we investigate neural correlates of age-related differences in spatial attention to multiple objects as they move. We used a multiple object tracking task, in which younger and older adults were asked to keep track of moving target objects that moved randomly in the visual field among irrelevant distractor objects. By recording the brain's electrophysiological responses during the tracking period, we were able to delineate neural processing for targets and distractors at early stages of visual processing (~100-300 msec). Older adults showed less selective attentional modulation in the early phase of the visual P1 component (100-125 msec) than younger adults, indicating that early selection is compromised in old age. However, with a 25-msec delay relative to younger adults, older adults showed distinct processing of targets (125-150 msec), that is, a delayed yet intact attentional modulation. The magnitude of this delayed attentional modulation was related to tracking performance in older adults. The amplitude of the N1 component (175-210 msec) was smaller in older adults than in younger adults, and the target amplification effect of this component was also smaller in older relative to younger adults. Overall, these results indicate that normal aging affects the efficiency and timing of early visual processing during multiple object tracking.

  11. Response of proto-North Atlantic carbonate-platform ecosystems to OAE1a-related stressors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huck, Stefan; Stein, Melody; Immenhauser, Adrian; Skelton, Peter W.; Christ, Nicolas; Föllmi, Karl B.; Heimhofer, Ulrich

    2014-11-01

    Integrated biostratigraphic-chemostratigraphic studies provide evidence that the proto-North Atlantic realm witnessed major changes in carbonate platform production in the run-up of the Early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1a. Whereas pervasive growth of Lithocodium microencrusters represents an early harbinger of OAE1a-related environmental perturbation, the subsequent replacement of oligotrophic rudist-coral-nerineid by mesotrophic orbitolinid-oyster communities was clearly associated with the event itself. In order to test the supra-regional relevance of this major community replacement, two shallow-water sections in the southern Lusitanian Basin (Portugal) are investigated by means of geochemistry (carbon and oxygen isotopes), cement petrography and detailed sedimentological analysis. The focus is on a regional, prominent discontinuity surface (S4) at the transition between oligotrophic and mesotrophic carbonate platform production, which might indicate that the major biotic change could have been associated with a phase of non-sedimentation and possibly erosion. The studied sections (São Julião, Crismina) provide evidence that the major Early Aptian biotic turnover was preceded by numerous subordinate but significant changes in platform ecology, which mirrored a series of progressive short-term environmental changes in the course of OAE1. Several transient mass occurrences of orbitolinids indicate repeated phases of ecological stress arguably due to enhanced nutrient input and deepening. Small-scale sea-level changes at parasequence level below the major discontinuity surface are revealed by alternations of rudist assemblages dominated by clinger or recumbent forms as well as intercalated hardground and subaerial exposure stages. Expanded phases of subaerial exposure, however, can be largely ruled out following the geochemical and cement-petrographic data presented here. Enhanced continent-derived siliciclastic input characterising the lower orbitolinid

  12. Tracking development from early speech-language acquisition to reading skills at age 13.

    PubMed

    Bartl-Pokorny, Katrin D; Marschik, Peter B; Sachse, Steffi; Green, Vanessa A; Zhang, Dajie; Van Der Meer, Larah; Wolin, Thomas; Einspieler, Christa

    2013-06-01

    Previous studies have indicated a link between speech-language and literacy development. To add to this body of knowledge, we investigated whether lexical and grammatical skills from toddler to early school age are related to reading competence in adolescence. Twenty-three typically developing children were followed from age 1;6 to 13;6 (years;months). Parental checklists and standardized tests were used to assess the development of mental lexicon, grammatical and reading capacities of the children. Direct assessment of early speech-language functions positively correlated with later reading competence, whereas lexical skills reported by parents were not associated with this capacity. At (pre-) school age, larger vocabulary and better grammatical abilities predicted advanced reading abilities in adolescence. Our study contributes to the understanding of typical speech-language development and its relation to later reading outcome, extending the body of knowledge on these developmental domains for future early identification of children at risk for reading difficulties.

  13. Early language mediates the relations between preschool inattention and school-age reading achievement.

    PubMed

    O'Neill, Sarah; Thornton, Veronica; Marks, David J; Rajendran, Khushmand; Halperin, Jeffrey M

    2016-05-01

    Early inattention is associated with later reading problems in children, but the mechanism by which this occurs is unclear. We investigated whether the negative relation between preschoolers' ADHD symptoms and 8-year-old reading achievement is directly related to the severity of inattention or is mediated by early language skills. Children (n = 150; 76% boys) were evaluated at 3 time points: preschool (T1), mean (SD) age = 4.24 (.49) years; 1 year later (T2), mean (SD) age = 5.28 (.50) years; and during school age (T3), mean (SD) age = 8.61 (.31) years. At T1, parents' Kiddie-SADS responses were dimensionalized to reflect ADHD severity. Children completed the Language domain of the NEPSY (i.e., A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment) at T1 and again at T2. At T3, children completed the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition Word Reading, Pseudoword Decoding, Reading Comprehension, and Spelling subtests, and their teachers completed ratings of Reading and Written Expression performance in school. The mediating effect of T2 Language on the relation between preschool Inattention and age 8 Reading was examined using the nonparametric bootstrapping procedure, while controlling for T1 Language. Language ability at T2 mediated the path from preschool inattention (but not hyperactivity/impulsivity) to 8-year-old reading achievement (both test scores and ratings) after controlling for preschoolers' language ability. Early attentional deficits may negatively impact school-age reading outcomes by compromising the development of language skills, which in turn imperils later reading achievement. Screening children with attentional problems for language impairment, as well as implementing early intervention for both attentional and language problems may be critical to promote reading achievement during school years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. Age 26 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Child-Parent Center Early Education Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reynolds, Arthur J.; Temple, Judy A.; White, Barry A. B.; Ou, Suh-Ruu; Robertson, Dylan L.

    2011-01-01

    Using data collected up to age 26 in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, this cost-benefit analysis of the Child-Parent Centers (CPC) is the first for a sustained publicly funded early intervention. The program provides services for low-income families beginning at age 3 in 20 school sites. Kindergarten and school-age services are provided up to age 9…

  15. Prevalence of Early and Late Age-Related Macular Degeneration in India: The INDEYE Study

    PubMed Central

    Krishnan, Tiruvengada; Ravindran, Ravilla D.; Murthy, Gudlavalleti V. S.; Vashist, Praveen; Fitzpatrick, Kathryn E.; Thulasiraj, R. Duraisami; John, Neena; Maraini, Giovanni; Camparini, Monica; Chakravarthy, Usha

    2010-01-01

    Purpose. To estimate the prevalence of early and late age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in India. Methods. Of 7518 people aged 60 years and older identified from randomly sampled villages in North and South India, 5853 (78%) attended an eye examination including fundus photography. Fundus images were graded according to the Wisconsin Age-Related Maculopathy Grading System. Results. Fundus images were ungradable in 1587 people, mainly because of cataract. People 80 years of age and older were less likely to attend the eye examination and more likely to have ungradable images. For ages 60 to 79 years, the percent prevalence (95% confidence interval [CI]) were late AMD 1.2 (0.8–1.5); and early AMD: grade 1 (soft distinct drusen or pigmentary irregularities), 39.3 (37.2–41.5); grade 2 (soft distinct drusen with pigmentary irregularities or soft indistinct or reticular drusen), 6.7 (5.8–7.6); and grade 3 (soft indistinct or reticular drusen with pigmentary irregularities), 0.2 (0.1–0.4). For ages 80 and older, the respective percent prevalence was: late AMD, 2.5 (0.4–4.7); and early AMD: grade 1, 43.1(35.7–50.6); grade 2, 8.1 (4.3–12.0); and grade 3, 0.5 (0–1.5). Conclusions. The prevalence of early AMD (grades 1 and 2) is similar to that observed in Western populations, but grade 3 appears to be lower. The prevalence of late AMD is comparable to that in Western populations in the age group 60 to 79 years. It is likely that the prevalence in the 80 and older age group is underestimated. PMID:19696177

  16. Donor age is a predictor of early low output after heart transplantation.

    PubMed

    Fujino, Takeo; Kinugawa, Koichiro; Nitta, Daisuke; Imamura, Teruhiko; Maki, Hisataka; Amiya, Eisuke; Hatano, Masaru; Kimura, Mitsutoshi; Kinoshita, Osamu; Nawata, Kan; Komuro, Issei; Ono, Minoru

    2016-05-01

    Using hearts from marginal donors could be related to increased risk of primary graft dysfunction and poor long-term survival. However, factors associated with delayed myocardial recovery after heart transplantation (HTx) remain unknown. We sought to clarify risk factors that predict early low output after HTx, and investigated whether early low output affects mid-term graft dysfunction. We retrospectively analyzed patients who had undergone HTx at The University of Tokyo Hospital. We defined early low output patients as those whose cardiac index (CI) was <2.2 L/min/m(2) despite the use of intravenous inotrope at 1 week after HTx. We included 45 consecutive HTx recipients, and classified 11 patients into early low output group, and the others into early preserved output group. We performed univariable logistic analysis and found that donor age was the only significant factor that predicted early low output (odds ratio 1.107, 95% confidence interval 1.034-1.210, p=0.002). CI of early low output patients gradually increased and it caught up with that of early preserved output patients at 2 weeks after HTx (2.4±0.6 L/min/m(2) in early low output group vs 2.5±0.5 L/min/m(2) in early preserved output group, p=0.684). Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide concentration of early low output patients was higher (1118.5±1250.2 pg/ml vs 526.4±399.5 pg/ml; p=0.033) at 1 week, 703.6±518.4 pg/ml vs 464.6±509.0 pg/ml (p=0.033) at 2 weeks, and 387.7±231.9 pg/ml vs 249.4±209.5 pg/ml (p=0.010) at 4 weeks after HTx, and it came down to that of early preserved output patients at 12 weeks after HTx. Donor age was a predictor of early low output after HTx. We should be careful after HTx from old donors. However, hemodynamic parameters of early low output patients gradually caught up with those of early preserved output patients. Copyright © 2015 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Mid-Cretaceous carbon cycle perturbations and Oceanic Anoxic Events recorded in southern Tibet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xiaolin; Chen, Kefan; Hu, Dongping; Sha, Jingeng

    2016-12-01

    The organic carbon isotope (δ13Corg) curve for ~1.7-km-thick mid-Cretaceous strata of the Chaqiela section in Gamba area, southern Tibet is presented in this study. C-isotopic chemostratigraphic correlation combined with biostratigraphic constraints show that the Chaqiela section spans early Aptian through early Campanian period, and that almost all of the carbon cycle perturbations and Oceanic Anoxic Events during the mid-Cretaceous period are well recorded in the continental margin area of the southeastern Tethys Ocean. Significantly, two levels of methane-derived authigenic carbonates were identified at the onset of OAE1b near the Aptian-Albian boundary. We suggest that an increase in methane release from gas hydrates, potentially driven by sea-level fall and bottom water temperature increase, may have contributed to the large negative δ13Corg excursions and global warming during OAE1b.

  18. School Age Outcomes of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Who Received Community-Based Early Interventions.

    PubMed

    Vinen, Zoe; Clark, Megan; Paynter, Jessica; Dissanayake, Cheryl

    2018-05-01

    This study followed children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from early intervention into their early schooling years, when they were aged between 6 and 9 years, on autism symptom severity and cognitive functioning. The children, matched at pre-intervention, were compared on type of community provided service: 31 were in receipt of community-based group Early Start Denver Model and 28 had received other community provisions for ASD. Irrespective of groups, cognitive functioning was found to have significantly improved by school age compared to pre-intervention. Autism symptom severity increased during the same developmental period, seemingly driven by an increase in restricted and repetitive behaviours over time. In contrast, both groups displayed improved social affect by school age.

  19. Effect of early age woody and herbaceous competition control on wood properties of loblolly pine

    Treesearch

    F. Antony; L. R. Schimleck; L. Jordan; Alexander Clark; R. F. Daniels

    2011-01-01

    Early age competition control has been reported to significantly improve the growth and yield of plantation grown loblolly pine. The objective of this paper is to understand the changes in wood properties: basal area weighted whole disk SG, earlywood SG (EWSG), latewood SG (LWSG) and latewood percent (LWP) of 14 year-old trees which received early age herbaceous and...

  20. INEQUITY ISSUES AND MOTHERS' PREGNANCY, DELIVERY AND EARLY-AGE SURVIVAL EXPERIENCES IN ENDE DISTRICT, INDONESIA.

    PubMed

    Pardosi, Jerico Franciscus; Parr, Nick; Muhidin, Salut

    2015-11-01

    Indonesia's infant mortality rates are among the highest in South-East Asia, and there are substantial variations between its sub-national regions. This qualitative study aims to explore early mortality-related health service provision and gender inequity issues based on mothers' pregnancy, delivery and early-age survival experience in Ende district, Nusa Tenggara Timur province. Thirty-two mothers aged 18-45 years with at least one birth in the previous five years were interviewed in depth in May 2013. The results show most mothers have little knowledge about the danger signs for a child's illness. Mothers with early-age deaths generally did not know the cause of death. Very few mothers had received adequate information on maternal and child health during their antenatal and postnatal visits to the health facility. Some mothers expressed a preference for using a traditional birth attendant, because of their ready availability and the more extensive range of support services they provide, compared with local midwives. Unprofessional attitudes displayed by midwives were reported by several mothers. As elsewhere in Indonesia, the power of health decision-making lies with the husband. Policies aimed at elevating mothers' roles in health care decision-making are discussed as measures that would help to improve early-age survival outcomes. Widening the public health insurance distribution, especially among poorer mothers, and equalizing the geographical distribution of midwives and health facilities are recommended to tackle geographical inequities and to increase early-age survival in Ende district.

  1. Early developmental milestones and age of independent walking in orphans compared with typical home-raised infants.

    PubMed

    Chaibal, Supattra; Bennett, Surussawadi; Rattanathanthong, Korrawan; Siritaratiwat, Wantana

    2016-10-01

    Early gross motor development is a major indicator of global milestones in the first year of life, affecting the walking ability of a child. There has been limited research reporting on early motor development and the age of independent walking of orphaned infants compared to typical home-raised infants. The purpose of this study was to compare the mean scores of early gross motor movement at 4, 6 and 8months of age and at the age of walking attainment of typically raised infants and orphaned infants. In addition, we looked to compare the walking age between these same infants. This cross-sectional study recruited 59 typical home-raised infants and 62 orphans. Their gross motor development was assessed using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). The age of walking attainment was also prospectively monitored and ascertained. The Student's independent t-test was used to analyse the differences of the AIMS scores at 4, 6 and 8months of age and at the age of independent walking between the two groups. The orphans showed significantly lower AIMS scores at 4, 6 and 8months of age and the age of independent walking (P-value<0.05). The orphan group had a 5-month older mean age of walking attainment (15.0±4.2months) compared with typical home-raised infants (9.9±1.4months). Orphans have delays in early gross motor development and walk independently at an older age, compared with home-raised infants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Loss of Nfkb1 leads to early onset aging.

    PubMed

    Bernal, Giovanna M; Wahlstrom, Joshua S; Crawley, Clayton D; Cahill, Kirk E; Pytel, Peter; Liang, Hua; Kang, Shijun; Weichselbaum, Ralph R; Yamini, Bakhtiar

    2014-11-01

    NF-κB is a major regulator of age-dependent gene expression and the p50/NF-κB1 subunit is an integral modulator of NF-κB signaling. Here, we examined Nfkb1-/- mice to investigate the relationship between this subunit and aging. Although Nfkb1-/- mice appear similar to littermates at six months of age, by 12 months they have a higher incidence of several observable age-related phenotypes. In addition, aged Nfkb1-/- animals have increased kyphosis, decreased cortical bone, increased brain GFAP staining and a decrease in overall lifespan compared to Nfkb1+/+. In vitro, serially passaged primary Nfkb1-/- MEFs have more senescent cells than comparable Nfkb1+/+ MEFs. Also, Nfkb1-/- MEFs have greater amounts of phospho-H2AX foci and lower levels of spontaneous apoptosis than Nfkb1+/+, findings that are mirrored in the brains of Nfkb1-/- animals compared to Nfkb1+/+. Finally, in wildtype animals a substantial decrease in p50 DNA binding is seen in aged tissue compared to young. Together, these data show that loss of Nfkb1 leads to early animal aging that is associated with reduced apoptosis and increased cellular senescence. Moreover, loss of p50 DNA binding is a prominent feature of aged mice relative to young. These findings support the strong link between the NF-κB pathway and mammalian aging.

  3. GhNAC12, a neutral candidate gene, leads to early aging in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L).

    PubMed

    Zhao, Fengli; Ma, Jianhui; Li, Libei; Fan, Shuli; Guo, Yaning; Song, Meizhen; Wei, Hengling; Pang, Chaoyou; Yu, Shuxun

    2016-01-15

    NAC (NAM, ATAF, and CUC) is one of the largest transcription factor families in plants, and its members play various roles in plant growth, development, and the response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Currently, 77 NAC genes have been reported in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). And GhNAC12 showed up-regulation during leaf senescence, but its role in this process is poorly understood. In the present study, a preliminary function analysis of GhNAC12 was performed during leaf senescence. qRT-PCR analysis indicated that GhNAC12 expression increased during the early-aging process and the aging of cotyledons. Additionally, we observed that overexpression of GhNAC12 in Arabidopsis led to early senescence (early aging). Our findings suggest that GhNAC12 is a candidate gene for early aging in upland cotton cultivars. Neutrality tests suggested that there was no selection pressure imposed on GhNAC12 during the domestication of upland cotton. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Early and intermediate age-related macular degeneration: update and clinical review.

    PubMed

    García-Layana, Alfredo; Cabrera-López, Francisco; García-Arumí, José; Arias-Barquet, Lluís; Ruiz-Moreno, José M

    2017-01-01

    Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible central vision loss in developed countries. With the aging of population, AMD will become globally an increasingly important and prevalent disease worldwide. It is a complex disease whose etiology is associated with both genetic and environmental risk factors. An extensive decline in the quality of life and progressive need of daily living assistance resulting from AMD among those most severely affected highlights the essential role of preventive strategies, particularly advising patients to quit smoking. In addition, maintaining a healthy diet, controlling other risk factors (such as hypertension, obesity, and atherosclerosis), and the use of nutritional supplements (antioxidants) are recommendable. Genetic testing may be especially important in patients with a family history of AMD. Recently, unifying criteria for the clinical classification of AMD, defining no apparent aging changes; normal aging changes; and early, intermediate, and late AMD stages, are of value in predicting AMD risk of progression and in establishing recommendations for the diagnosis, therapeutic approach, and follow-up of patients. The present review is focused on early and intermediate AMD and presents a description of the clinical characteristics and ophthalmological findings for these stages, together with algorithms for the diagnosis and management of patients, which are easily applicable in daily clinical practice.

  5. Early and intermediate age-related macular degeneration: update and clinical review

    PubMed Central

    García-Layana, Alfredo; Cabrera-López, Francisco; García-Arumí, José; Arias-Barquet, Lluís; Ruiz-Moreno, José M

    2017-01-01

    Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible central vision loss in developed countries. With the aging of population, AMD will become globally an increasingly important and prevalent disease worldwide. It is a complex disease whose etiology is associated with both genetic and environmental risk factors. An extensive decline in the quality of life and progressive need of daily living assistance resulting from AMD among those most severely affected highlights the essential role of preventive strategies, particularly advising patients to quit smoking. In addition, maintaining a healthy diet, controlling other risk factors (such as hypertension, obesity, and atherosclerosis), and the use of nutritional supplements (antioxidants) are recommendable. Genetic testing may be especially important in patients with a family history of AMD. Recently, unifying criteria for the clinical classification of AMD, defining no apparent aging changes; normal aging changes; and early, intermediate, and late AMD stages, are of value in predicting AMD risk of progression and in establishing recommendations for the diagnosis, therapeutic approach, and follow-up of patients. The present review is focused on early and intermediate AMD and presents a description of the clinical characteristics and ophthalmological findings for these stages, together with algorithms for the diagnosis and management of patients, which are easily applicable in daily clinical practice. PMID:29042759

  6. Warm mid-Cretaceous high-latitude sea-surface temperatures from the southern Tethys Ocean and cool high-latitude sea-surface temperatures from the Arctic Ocean: asymmetric worldwide distribution of dinoflagellates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Masure, Edwige; Desmares, Delphine; Vrielynck, Bruno

    2014-05-01

    Dealing with 87 articles and using a Geographical Information System, Masure and Vrielynck (2009) have mapped worldwide biogeography of 38 Late Albian dinoflagellate cysts and have demonstrated Cretaceous oceanic bioclimatic belts. For comparison 30 Aptian species derived from 49 studies (Masure et al., 2013) and 49 Cenomanian species recorded from 33 articles have been encountered. Tropical, Subtropical, Boreal, Austral, bipolar and cosmopolitan species have been identified and Cretaceous dinoflagellate biomes are introduced. Asymmetric distribution of Aptian and Late Albian/Cenomanian subtropical Tethyan species, from 40°N to 70°S, demonstrates asymmetric Aptian and Late Albian/Cenomanian Sea Surface Temperature (SST) gradients with warm water masses in high latitudes of Southern Ocean. The SST gradients were stronger in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere. We note that Aptian and Late Albian/Cenomanian dinoflagellates restricted to subtropical and subpolar latitudes met and mixed at 35-40°N, while they mixed from 30°S to 70°S and from 50°S to 70°S respectively in the Southern Hemisphere. Mixing belts extend on 5° in the Northern Hemisphere and along 40° (Aptian) and 20° (Late Albian/Cenomanian) in the Southern one. The board southern mixing belt of Tethyan and Austral dinoflagellates suggest co-occurrence of warm and cold currents. We record climatic changes such as the Early Aptian cooler period and Late Aptian and Albian warming through the poleward migration of species constrained to cool water masses. These species sensitive to temperature migrated from 35°N to 55°N through the shallow Greenland-Norwergian Seaway connecting the Central Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. While Tethyan species did not migrate staying at 40°N. We suggest that the Greenland-Norwergian Seaway might has been a barrier until Late Albian/Cenomanian for oceanic Tethyan dinoflagellates stopped either by the shallow water column or temperature and salinity

  7. Education and Learning in the Early Middle Ages: New Perspectives and Old Problems.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Contreni, John J.

    1989-01-01

    Discusses various scholarly views of education and learning in the early middle ages and identifies some problems confronting scholars investigating this period. Points out new perspectives relative to the role of education during this time. Asserts that future study of early medieval education will benefit from focusing on the minds of masters…

  8. Viking and Early Middle Ages Northern Scandinavian Textiles Proven to be made with Hemp

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Skoglund, G.; Nockert, M.; Holst, B.

    2013-10-01

    Nowadays most plant textiles used for clothing and household are made of cotton and viscose. Before the 19th century however, plant textiles were mainly made from locally available raw materials, in Scandinavia these were: nettle, hemp and flax. It is generally believed that in Viking and early Middle Ages Scandinavia hemp was used only for coarse textiles (i.e. rope and sailcloth). Here we present an investigation of 10 Scandinavian plant fibre textiles from the Viking and Early Middle Ages, believed to be locally produced. Up till now they were all believed to be made of flax. We show that 4 textiles, including two pieces of the famous Överhogdal Viking wall-hanging are in fact made with hemp (in three cases hemp and flax are mixed). This indicates that hemp was important, not only for coarse but also for fine textile production in Viking and Early Middle Ages in Scandinavia.

  9. Viking and early Middle Ages northern Scandinavian textiles proven to be made with hemp.

    PubMed

    Skoglund, G; Nockert, M; Holst, B

    2013-10-18

    Nowadays most plant textiles used for clothing and household are made of cotton and viscose. Before the 19th century however, plant textiles were mainly made from locally available raw materials, in Scandinavia these were: nettle, hemp and flax. It is generally believed that in Viking and early Middle Ages Scandinavia hemp was used only for coarse textiles (i.e. rope and sailcloth). Here we present an investigation of 10 Scandinavian plant fibre textiles from the Viking and Early Middle Ages, believed to be locally produced. Up till now they were all believed to be made of flax. We show that 4 textiles, including two pieces of the famous Överhogdal Viking wall-hanging are in fact made with hemp (in three cases hemp and flax are mixed). This indicates that hemp was important, not only for coarse but also for fine textile production in Viking and Early Middle Ages in Scandinavia.

  10. Early Onset Ageing and Service Preparation in People with Intellectual Disabilities: Institutional Managers' Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Jin-Ding; Wu, Chia-Ling; Lin, Pei-Ying; Lin, Lan-Ping; Chu, Cordia M.

    2011-01-01

    Although longevity among older adults with intellectual disabilities is increasing, there is limited information on their premature aging related health characteristics and how it may change with increasing age. The present paper provides information of the institutional manager's perception on early onset aging and service preparation for this…

  11. Automatic segmentation of the hippocampus for preterm neonates from early-in-life to term-equivalent age.

    PubMed

    Guo, Ting; Winterburn, Julie L; Pipitone, Jon; Duerden, Emma G; Park, Min Tae M; Chau, Vann; Poskitt, Kenneth J; Grunau, Ruth E; Synnes, Anne; Miller, Steven P; Mallar Chakravarty, M

    2015-01-01

    The hippocampus, a medial temporal lobe structure central to learning and memory, is particularly vulnerable in preterm-born neonates. To date, segmentation of the hippocampus for preterm-born neonates has not yet been performed early-in-life (shortly after birth when clinically stable). The present study focuses on the development and validation of an automatic segmentation protocol that is based on the MAGeT-Brain (Multiple Automatically Generated Templates) algorithm to delineate the hippocampi of preterm neonates on their brain MRIs acquired at not only term-equivalent age but also early-in-life. First, we present a three-step manual segmentation protocol to delineate the hippocampus for preterm neonates and apply this protocol on 22 early-in-life and 22 term images. These manual segmentations are considered the gold standard in assessing the automatic segmentations. MAGeT-Brain, automatic hippocampal segmentation pipeline, requires only a small number of input atlases and reduces the registration and resampling errors by employing an intermediate template library. We assess the segmentation accuracy of MAGeT-Brain in three validation studies, evaluate the hippocampal growth from early-in-life to term-equivalent age, and study the effect of preterm birth on the hippocampal volume. The first experiment thoroughly validates MAGeT-Brain segmentation in three sets of 10-fold Monte Carlo cross-validation (MCCV) analyses with 187 different groups of input atlases and templates. The second experiment segments the neonatal hippocampi on 168 early-in-life and 154 term images and evaluates the hippocampal growth rate of 125 infants from early-in-life to term-equivalent age. The third experiment analyzes the effect of gestational age (GA) at birth on the average hippocampal volume at early-in-life and term-equivalent age using linear regression. The final segmentations demonstrate that MAGeT-Brain consistently provides accurate segmentations in comparison to manually

  12. Automatic segmentation of the hippocampus for preterm neonates from early-in-life to term-equivalent age

    PubMed Central

    Guo, Ting; Winterburn, Julie L.; Pipitone, Jon; Duerden, Emma G.; Park, Min Tae M.; Chau, Vann; Poskitt, Kenneth J.; Grunau, Ruth E.; Synnes, Anne; Miller, Steven P.; Mallar Chakravarty, M.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction The hippocampus, a medial temporal lobe structure central to learning and memory, is particularly vulnerable in preterm-born neonates. To date, segmentation of the hippocampus for preterm-born neonates has not yet been performed early-in-life (shortly after birth when clinically stable). The present study focuses on the development and validation of an automatic segmentation protocol that is based on the MAGeT-Brain (Multiple Automatically Generated Templates) algorithm to delineate the hippocampi of preterm neonates on their brain MRIs acquired at not only term-equivalent age but also early-in-life. Methods First, we present a three-step manual segmentation protocol to delineate the hippocampus for preterm neonates and apply this protocol on 22 early-in-life and 22 term images. These manual segmentations are considered the gold standard in assessing the automatic segmentations. MAGeT-Brain, automatic hippocampal segmentation pipeline, requires only a small number of input atlases and reduces the registration and resampling errors by employing an intermediate template library. We assess the segmentation accuracy of MAGeT-Brain in three validation studies, evaluate the hippocampal growth from early-in-life to term-equivalent age, and study the effect of preterm birth on the hippocampal volume. The first experiment thoroughly validates MAGeT-Brain segmentation in three sets of 10-fold Monte Carlo cross-validation (MCCV) analyses with 187 different groups of input atlases and templates. The second experiment segments the neonatal hippocampi on 168 early-in-life and 154 term images and evaluates the hippocampal growth rate of 125 infants from early-in-life to term-equivalent age. The third experiment analyzes the effect of gestational age (GA) at birth on the average hippocampal volume at early-in-life and term-equivalent age using linear regression. Results The final segmentations demonstrate that MAGeT-Brain consistently provides accurate segmentations

  13. Early Math Trajectories: Low-Income Children's Mathematics Knowledge from Age 4 to 11

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Fyfe, Emily R.; Hofer, Kerry G.; Farran, Dale C.

    2016-01-01

    Early mathematics knowledge is a strong predictor of later academic achievement, but children from low-income families enter school with weak mathematics knowledge. An Early Math Trajectories model is proposed and evaluated within a longitudinal study of 517 low-income American children from age 4 to 11. This model includes a broad range of math…

  14. Executive Function in Very Preterm Children at Early School Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aarnoudse-Moens, Cornelieke S. H.; Smidts, Diana P.; Oosterlaan, Jaap; Duivenvoorden, Hugo J.; Weisglas-Kuperus, Nynke

    2009-01-01

    We examined whether very preterm ([less than or equal to] 30 weeks gestation) children at early school age have impairments in executive function (EF) independent of IQ and processing speed, and whether demographic and neonatal risk factors were associated with EF impairments. A consecutive sample of 50 children (27 boys and 23 girls) born very…

  15. Sedimentary Record of the Back-Arc Basins of South-Central Mexico: an Evolution from Extensional Basin to Carbonate Platform.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sierra-Rojas, M. I.; Molina-Garza, R. S.; Lawton, T. F.

    2015-12-01

    The Lower Cretaceous depositional systems of southwestern Oaxaquia, in south-central Mexico, were controlled by tectonic processes related to the instauration of a continental arc and the accretion of the Guerrero arc to mainland Mexico. The Atzompa Formation refers to a succession of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and limestone that crop out in southwestern Mexico with Early Cretaceous fauna and detrital zircon maximum depositional ages. The sedimentary record shows a transition from early fluvial/alluvial to shallow marine depositional environments. The first stage corresponds to juvenile fluvial/alluvial setting followed by a deep lacustrine depositional environment, suggesting the early stages of an extensional basin. The second stage is characterized by anabranched deposits of axial fluvial systems flowing to the NE-SE, showing deposition during a period of rapid subsidence. The third and final stage is made of tidal deposits followed, in turn, by abrupt marine flooding of the basin and development of a Barremian-Aptian carbonate ramp. We interpret the Tentzo basin as a response to crustal extension in a back-arc setting, with high rates of sedimentation in the early stages of the basin (3-4 mm/m.y), slower rates during the development of starved fluvial to tidal systems and carbonate ramps, and at the top of the Atzompa Formation an abrupt deepening of the basin due to flexural subsidence related to terrane docking and attendant thrusting to the west. These events were recorded in the back-arc region of a continental convergent margin (Zicapa arc) where syn-sedimentary magmatism is indicated by Early Cretaceous detrital and volcanic clasts from alluvial fan facies west of the basin. Finally, and as a response to the accretion of the Guerrero superterrane to Oaxaquia during the Aptian, a carbonate platform facing toward the Gulf of Mexico was established in central to eastern Oaxaquia.

  16. Are glendonites reliable indicators of cold conditions? Evidence from the Lower Cretaceous of Spitsbergen

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vickers, Madeleine; Price, Gregory; Watkinson, Matthew; Jerrett, Rhodri

    2017-04-01

    Glendonites are pseudomorphs after the mineral ikaite, and have been found in marine sediments throughout geological time. Ikaite is a metastable, hydrated form of calcium carbonate, which is only stable under specific conditions: between -2 and +5 °C, and with high alkalinity and phosphate concentrations. Glendonites are often associated with cold climates due to the strong temperature control on ikaite growth, and the coincidence in the geological record with episodes of global cooling. Glendonites are found in the Lower Cretaceous succession in Spitsbergen. During the Early Cretaceous, Spitsbergen was at a palaeolatitude of 60°N, and was part of a shallow epicontinental sea that formed during the Mesozoic as Atlantic rifting propagated northwards. Though the Early Cretaceous was generally characterised by greenhouse climate conditions, episodic cold snaps occurred during the Valanginian (the "Weissert Event") and during Aptian-Albian. Using high resolution carbon-isotope stratigraphy, we show that the first occurrences of glendonites are in the upper Lower Hauterivian and in the very upper Upper Hauterivian, stratigraphically higher than the Valanginian cooling event. Glendonites are also found in horizons in the Upper Aptian, coincident with the Aptian-Albian cold snap. Petrological analysis of the glendonite structure reveals differences between the Hauterivian and Aptian glendonites, with evidence for multiple diagenetic phases of growth in the Hauterivian glendonites, suggesting oscillating chemical conditions. This evidence suggests that local environmental conditions may have a stronger control on glendonite formation and preservation than global climate. We present a new model for ikaite growth and slow transformation to glendonite in marine sediments, which points to a more complex suite of diagenetic transformations than previously modelled. Furthermore, we critically assess whether such pseudomorphs after marine sedimentary ikaite may be indicators

  17. Palynological composition of a Lower Cretaceous South American tropical sequence: climatic implications and diversity comparisons with other latitudes.

    PubMed

    Mejia-Velasquez, Paula J; Dilcher, David L; Jaramillo, Carlos A; Fortini, Lucas B; Manchester, Steven R

    2012-11-01

    Reconstruction of floristic patterns during the early diversification of angiosperms is impeded by the scarce fossil record, especially in tropical latitudes. Here we collected quantitative palynological data from a stratigraphic sequence in tropical South America to provide floristic and climatic insights into such tropical environments during the Early Cretaceous. We reconstructed the floristic composition of an Aptian-Albian tropical sequence from central Colombia using quantitative palynology (rarefied species richness and abundance) and used it to infer its predominant climatic conditions. Additionally, we compared our results with available quantitative data from three other sequences encompassing 70 floristic assemblages to determine latitudinal diversity patterns. Abundance of humidity indicators was higher than that of aridity indicators (61% vs. 10%). Additionally, we found an angiosperm latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) for the Aptian, but not for the Albian, and an inverted LDG of the overall diversity for the Albian. Angiosperm species turnover during the Albian, however, was higher in humid tropics. There were humid climates in northwestern South America during the Aptian-Albian interval contrary to the widespread aridity expected for the tropical belt. The Albian inverted overall LDG is produced by a faster increase in per-sample angiosperm and pteridophyte diversity in temperate latitudes. However, humid tropical sequences had higher rates of floristic turnover suggesting a higher degree of morphological variation than in temperate regions.

  18. Palynological composition of a Lower Cretaceous South American tropical sequence: Climatic implications and diversity comparisons with other latitudes.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mejia-Velasquez, Paula J.; Dilcher, David L.; Jaramillo, Carlos A.; Fortini, Lucas B.; Manchester, Steven R.

    2012-01-01

    Premise of the study: Reconstruction of floristic patterns during the early diversification of angiosperms is impeded by the scarce fossil record, especially in tropical latitudes. Here we collected quantitative palynological data from a stratigraphic sequence in tropical South America to provide floristic and climatic insights into such tropical environments during the Early Cretaceous. Methods: We reconstructed the floristic composition of an Aptian-Albian tropical sequence from central Colombia using quantitative palynology (rarefied species richness and abundance) and used it to infer its predominant climatic conditions. Additionally, we compared our results with available quantitative data from three other sequences encompassing 70 floristic assemblages to determine latitudinal diversity patterns. Key results: Abundance of humidity indicators was higher than that of aridity indicators (61% vs. 10%). Additionally, we found an angiosperm latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) for the Aptian, but not for the Albian, and an inverted LDG of the overall diversity for the Albian. Angiosperm species turnover during the Albian, however, was higher in humid tropics. Conclusions: There were humid climates in northwestern South America during the Aptian-Albian interval contrary to the widespread aridity expected for the tropical belt. The Albian inverted overall LDG is produced by a faster increase in per-sample angiosperm and pteridophyte diversity in temperate latitudes. However, humid tropical sequences had higher rates of floristic turnover suggesting a higher degree of morphological variation than in temperate regions.

  19. Age Validation in the Long Life Family Study Through a Linkage to Early-Life Census Records

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Objectives. Studies of health and longevity require accurate age reporting. Age misreporting among older adults in the United States is common. Methods. Participants in the Long Life Family Study (LLFS) were matched to early-life census records. Age recorded in the census was used to evaluate age reporting in the LLFS. The study population was 99% non-Hispanic white. Results. About 88% of the participants were matched to 1910, 1920, or 1930 U.S. censuses. Match success depended on the participant’s education, place of birth, and the number of censuses available to be searched. Age at the time of the interview based on the reported date of birth and early-life census age were consistent for about 89% of the participants, and age consistency within 1 year was found for about 99% of the participants. Discussion. It is possible to match a high fraction of older study participants to their early-life census records when detailed information is available on participants’ family of origin. Such record linkage can provide an important source of information for evaluating age reporting among the oldest old participants. Our results are consistent with recent studies suggesting that age reporting among older whites in the United States appears to be quite good. PMID:23704206

  20. Early determinants of vagal activity at preschool age - With potential dependence on sex.

    PubMed

    Kühne, Britta; Genser, Bernd; De Bock, Freia

    2016-12-01

    In children, autonomic nervous function is related to various highly prevalent health problems and might therefore represent an early indicator of ill health. We aimed to investigate the role of early-life exposures and physical activity (PA) as potential determinants of autonomic function at preschool age. We used an existing longitudinal data set of repeated vagal tone measurements (assessed via heart rate recovery (HRR)) and retrospectively assessed early-life exposures in 1052 children (mean age: 59.4months, 47.5% girls) from 52 preschools in Germany recruited from 2008 to 2010. HRR 1min after submaximal exercise served as primary outcome. Through multilevel linear regression analysis adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic factors, we assessed the association between repeatedly measured HRR and pregnancy smoking status, breastfeeding and objectively measured PA. Besides significant regression coefficients for previously described correlates of HRR (sex, age), we could show positive associations of HRR with breastfeeding (six versus zero months: +4.2 beats per minute (BPM), p=0.004) and PA (+1.0BPM for 10min increase of moderate-to-vigorous PA/day, p<0.001). Smoking before and during pregnancy showed no significant association with HRR in the total sample. However, we found interactions between sex and smoking before and during pregnancy as well as between sex and breastfeeding, suggesting significant associations with HRR only in girls. Besides PA, early pre- and postnatal exposures seem to have long-lasting effects on children's autonomic function, still recordable at preschool age. Our data suggest that these effects might be sex-dependent. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Artificial Neural Network-Based Early-Age Concrete Strength Monitoring Using Dynamic Response Signals.

    PubMed

    Kim, Junkyeong; Lee, Chaggil; Park, Seunghee

    2017-06-07

    Concrete is one of the most common materials used to construct a variety of civil infrastructures. However, since concrete might be susceptible to brittle fracture, it is essential to confirm the strength of concrete at the early-age stage of the curing process to prevent unexpected collapse. To address this issue, this study proposes a novel method to estimate the early-age strength of concrete, by integrating an artificial neural network algorithm with a dynamic response measurement of the concrete material. The dynamic response signals of the concrete, including both electromechanical impedances and guided ultrasonic waves, are obtained from an embedded piezoelectric sensor module. The cross-correlation coefficient of the electromechanical impedance signals and the amplitude of the guided ultrasonic wave signals are selected to quantify the variation in dynamic responses according to the strength of the concrete. Furthermore, an artificial neural network algorithm is used to verify a relationship between the variation in dynamic response signals and concrete strength. The results of an experimental study confirm that the proposed approach can be effectively applied to estimate the strength of concrete material from the early-age stage of the curing process.

  2. Artificial Neural Network-Based Early-Age Concrete Strength Monitoring Using Dynamic Response Signals

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Junkyeong; Lee, Chaggil; Park, Seunghee

    2017-01-01

    Concrete is one of the most common materials used to construct a variety of civil infrastructures. However, since concrete might be susceptible to brittle fracture, it is essential to confirm the strength of concrete at the early-age stage of the curing process to prevent unexpected collapse. To address this issue, this study proposes a novel method to estimate the early-age strength of concrete, by integrating an artificial neural network algorithm with a dynamic response measurement of the concrete material. The dynamic response signals of the concrete, including both electromechanical impedances and guided ultrasonic waves, are obtained from an embedded piezoelectric sensor module. The cross-correlation coefficient of the electromechanical impedance signals and the amplitude of the guided ultrasonic wave signals are selected to quantify the variation in dynamic responses according to the strength of the concrete. Furthermore, an artificial neural network algorithm is used to verify a relationship between the variation in dynamic response signals and concrete strength. The results of an experimental study confirm that the proposed approach can be effectively applied to estimate the strength of concrete material from the early-age stage of the curing process. PMID:28590456

  3. Aspirin use and early age-related macular degeneration: a meta-analysis.

    PubMed

    Kahawita, Shyalle K; Casson, Robert J

    2014-02-01

    The aim of this review was to evaluate the evidence for an association between Aspirin use and early age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). A literature search was performed in 5 databases with no restrictions on language or date of publication. Four studies involving 10292 individuals examining the association between aspirin and ARMD met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis was carried out by Cochrane Collaboration Review Manager 5.2 software (Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark). The pooled odd ratios showed that Aspirin use was associated with early ARMD (pooled odds ratio 1.43, 95% CI 1.09-1.88). There is a small but statistically significant association between Aspirin use and early ARMD, which may warrant further investigation. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Telomere biology in aging and cancer: early history and perspectives.

    PubMed

    Hayashi, Makoto T

    2018-01-20

    The ends of eukaryotic linear chromosomes are protected from undesired enzymatic activities by a nucleoprotein complex called the telomere. Expanding evidence indicates that telomeres have central functions in human aging and tumorigenesis. While it is undoubtedly important to follow current advances in telomere biology, it is also fruitful to be well informed in seminal historical studies for a comprehensive understanding of telomere biology, and for the anticipation of future directions. With this in mind, I here summarize the early history of telomere biology and current advances in the field, mostly focusing on mammalian studies relevant to aging and cancer.

  5. Early Impacts on the Moon: Crystallization Ages of Apollo 16 Melt Breccias

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Norman, M. D.; Shih, C.-Y.; Nyquist, L. E.; Bogard, D. D.; Taylor, L. A.

    2007-01-01

    A better understanding of the early impact history of the terrestrial planets has been identified one of the highest priority science goals for solar system exploration. Crystallization ages of impact melt breccias from the Apollo 16 site in the central nearside lunar highlands show a pronounced clustering of ages from 3.75-3.95 Ga, with several impact events being recognized by the association of textural groups and distinct ages. Here we present new geochemical and petrologic data for Apollo 16 crystalline breccia 67955 that document a much older impact event with an age of 4.2 Ga.

  6. Isotopic constraints on the age and early differentiation of the Earth.

    PubMed

    McCulloch, M T

    1996-03-01

    The Earth's age and early differentiation history are re-evaluated using updated isotopic constraints. From the most primitive terrestrial Pb isotopic compositions found at Isua Greenland, and the Pilbara of Western Australia, combined with precise geochronology of these localities, an age 4.49 +/- 0.02 Ga is obtained. This is interpreted as the mean age of core formation as U/Pb is fractionated due to sequestering of Pb into the Earth's core. The long-lived Rb-Sr isotopic system provides constraints on the time interval for the accretion of the Earth as Rb underwent significant depletion by volatile loss during accretion of the Earth or its precursor planetesimals. A primitive measured 87Sr/86Sr initial ratio of 0.700502 +/- 10 has been obtained for an early Archean (3.46 Ga) barite from the Pilbara Block of Western Australia. Using conservative models for the evolution of Rb/Sr in the early Archean mantle allows an estimate to be placed on the Earth's initial Sr ratio at approximately 4.50 Ga, of 0.69940 +/- 10. This is significantly higher than that measured for the Moon (0.69900 +/- 2) or in the achondrite, Angra dos Reis (0.69894 +/- 2) and for a Rb/Sr ratio of approximately 1/2 of chondrites corresponds to a mean age for accretion of the Earth of 4.48 + /- 0.04 Ga. The now extinct 146Sm-142Nd (T1/2(146)=103 l0(6)yrs) combined with the long-lived 147Sm-143Nd isotopic systematics can also be used to provide limits on the time of early differentiation of the Earth. High precision analyses of the oldest (3.8-3.9 Ga) Archean gneisses from Greenland (Amitsoq and Akilia gneisses), and Canada (Acasta gneiss) do not show measurable (> +/- l0ppm) variations of 142Nd, in contrast to the 33 ppm 142Nd excess reported for an Archean sample. The general lack of 142Nd variations, combined with the presence of highly positive epsilon 143 values (+4.0) at 3.9 Ga, indicates that the record of large-scale Sm/Nd fractionation events was not preserved in the early-Earth from 4

  7. The curvilinear relationship of early-life adversity and successful aging: the mediating role of mental health.

    PubMed

    Höltge, Jan; Mc Gee, Shauna L; Thoma, Myriam V

    2018-02-15

    The steeling effect suggests that early-life adversity can have a beneficial impact later in life. However, little is known about its underlying mechanisms and long-term outcomes . The study aimed to examine the role of early-life adversity (ELA) on successful aging, and whether this relationship can be explained by mental and physical health. Socio-demographics, early-life adversity (ELA), individual quality of life (iQoL), and mental and physical health of 270 individuals (M age = 66.82 years, 71.5% female) were assessed. Polynomial regressions and mediation analyses were conducted. Significant inverse U-shaped associations were found between ELA and iQoL (β = -.59, p = .005) and between ELA and mental health (β = -.64, p = .002), but not between ELA and physical health. Furthermore, mental health significantly mediated the relationship between ELA and iQoL (b = -.84, BCa CI [-1.66, -.27]). Highest level of individual quality of life (i.e. successful aging) was related to a moderate amount of ELA. Additionally, mental health significantly mediated this relationship. These findings suggest that some amount of ELA could be beneficial for successful aging. Resource-focused interventions are needed to improve health and promote successful aging for an underdetected, at-risk subgroup with low early-life adversity.

  8. Fetal environment and early age at natural menopause in a British birth cohort study

    PubMed Central

    Tom, Sarah E.; Cooper, Rachel; Kuh, Diana; Guralnik, Jack M.; Hardy, Rebecca; Power, Chris

    2010-01-01

    BACKGROUND Early life development may influence the timing of natural menopause through association with size of the initial follicle pool or early follicular loss. This study examines the relationships of birthweight, gestational age and birthweight standardized by gestational age with early menopause in the 1958 British birth cohort study. METHODS Study participants were over 2900 women with data on birthweight, gestational age (obtained at birth), menopausal status at age 44–45 years and potential confounding factors. Logistic regression was used to study relationships of birthweight, gestational age and birthweight standardized by gestational age with post-menopausal status by 44–45 years, with and without adjustments for confounding factors. RESULTS There was a U-shaped association between birthweight and menopausal status at 44–45 years: women at either extremes of birthweight (<2.5 and ≥4.0 kg) had increased odds of post-menopausal status compared with those weighing 3.0–3.49 kg [odds ratio (OR) = 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08, 3.38; 1.81, 95% CI 1.11, 2.97, respectively]. Women with higher birthweight standardized by gestational age (which indicates faster fetal growth rate) also had increased odds of being post-menopausal by 44–45 years (OR for fastest quarter versus second fastest quarter = 1.80; 95% CI 1.16, 2.81). These associations persisted after adjustment for socioeconomic position at birth, adult smoking status and use of oral contraceptives. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that variations in fetal environment may be associated with the timing of menopause. Given that extremes of birthweight and higher birthweight standardized by gestational age were associated with earlier age at menopause, mechanisms related to these characteristics that also regulate ovarian function should be investigated further. PMID:20047935

  9. Premature brain aging in humans exposed to maternal nutrient restriction during early gestation.

    PubMed

    Franke, Katja; Gaser, Christian; Roseboom, Tessa J; Schwab, Matthias; de Rooij, Susanne R

    2018-06-01

    Prenatal exposure to undernutrition is widespread in both developing and industrialized countries, causing irreversible damage to the developing brain, resulting in altered brain structure and decreased cognitive function during adulthood. The Dutch famine in 1944/45 was a humanitarian disaster, now enabling studies of the effects of prenatal undernutrition during gestation on brain aging in late adulthood. We hypothesized that study participants prenatally exposed to maternal nutrient restriction (MNR) would demonstrate altered brain structure resembling premature brain aging in late adulthood, expecting the effect being stronger in men. Utilizing the Dutch famine birth cohort (n = 118; mean age: 67.5 ± 0.9 years), this study implements an innovative biomarker for individual brain aging, using structural neuroimaging. BrainAGE was calculated using state-of-the-art pattern recognition methods, trained on an independent healthy reference sample, then applied to the Dutch famine MRI sample, to evaluate the effects of prenatal undernutrition during early gestation on individual brain aging in late adulthood. Exposure to famine in early gestation was associated with BrainAGE scores indicative of an older-appearing brain in the male sample (mean difference to subjects born before famine: 4.3 years, p < 0.05). Furthermore, in explaining the observed variance in individual BrainAGE scores in the male sample, maternal age at birth, head circumference at birth, medical treatment of hypertension, history of cerebral incidences, actual heart rate, and current alcohol intake emerged to be the most influential variables (adjusted R 2  = 0.63, p < 0.01). The findings of our study on exposure to prenatal undernutrition being associated with a status of premature brain aging during late adulthood, as well as individual brain structure being shaped by birth- and late-life health characteristics, are strongly supporting the critical importance of sufficient nutrient

  10. Age at adoption from institutional care as a window into the lasting effects of early experiences

    PubMed Central

    Julian, Megan M.

    2013-01-01

    One of the major questions of human development is how early experience impacts the course of development years later. Children adopted from institutional care experience varying levels of deprivation in their early life followed by qualitatively better care in an adoptive home, providing a unique opportunity to study the lasting effects of early deprivation and its timing. The effects of age at adoption from institutional care are discussed for multiple domains of social and behavioral development within the context of several prominent developmental hypotheses about the effects of early deprivation (cumulative effects, experience-expectant developmental programming, and experience-adaptive developmental programming). Age at adoption effects are detected in a majority of studies, particularly when children experienced global deprivation and were assessed in adolescence. For most outcomes, institutionalization beyond a certain age is associated with a step-like increase in risk for lasting social and behavioral problems, with the step occurring at an earlier age for children who experienced more severe levels of deprivation. Findings are discussed in terms of their concordance and discordance with our current hypotheses, and speculative explanations for the findings are offered. PMID:23576122

  11. Adverse Childhood Experiences and Alcohol Consumption in Midlife and Early Old-Age

    PubMed Central

    Leung, Jessica Pui Kei; Britton, Annie; Bell, Steven

    2016-01-01

    Aims To examine the individual and cumulative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on alcohol consumption in midlife and early old-age, and the role of ACEs in 10-year drinking trajectories across midlife. Methods Data were from the Whitehall II study, a longitudinal British civil service-based cohort study (N = 7870, 69.5% male). Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the individual and cumulative effects of ACEs on weekly alcohol consumption. Mixed-effect multilevel modelling was used to explore the relationship between ACEs and change in alcohol consumption longitudinally. Results Participants who were exposed to parental arguments/fights in childhood were 1.24 (95% CI 1.06, 1.45) times more likely to drink at hazardous levels in midlife (mean age 56 years) after controlling for covariates and other ACEs. For each additional exposure to an ACE, the risk of hazardous drinking versus moderate drinking was increased by 1.12 (95% CI 1.03, 1.21) after adjusting for sex, age, adult socio-economic status, ethnicity and marital status. No associations between ACEs and increased risk of hazardous drinking in early old-age (mean age 66 years) were found. In longitudinal analyses, ACEs did not significantly influence 10-year drinking trajectories across midlife. Conclusion The effect of exposure to parental arguments on hazardous drinking persists into midlife. PMID:26553290

  12. Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years (aged 0-4 years).

    PubMed

    Tremblay, Mark S; Leblanc, Allana G; Carson, Valerie; Choquette, Louise; Connor Gorber, Sarah; Dillman, Carrie; Duggan, Mary; Gordon, Mary Jane; Hicks, Audrey; Janssen, Ian; Kho, Michelle E; Latimer-Cheung, Amy E; Leblanc, Claire; Murumets, Kelly; Okely, Anthony D; Reilly, John J; Stearns, Jodie A; Timmons, Brian W; Spence, John C

    2012-04-01

    The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), with assistance from multiple partners, stakeholders, and researchers, developed the first Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years (aged 0-4 years). These national guidelines are in response to a call from health and health care professionals, child care providers, and fitness practitioners for guidance on sedentary behaviour in the early years. The guideline development process followed the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research Evaluation (AGREE) II framework. The recommendations are informed by evidence from a systematic review that examined the relationships between sedentary behaviour (predominantly screen time) and health indicators (healthy body weight, bone and skeletal health, motor skill development, psychosocial health, cognitive development, and cardio-metabolic disease risk factors) for three age groups (infants aged <1 year; toddlers aged 1-2 years; preschoolers aged 3-4 years). Evidence from the review was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. The new guidelines include a preamble to provide context, followed by the specific recommendations. The final guidelines benefitted from extensive on-line consultations with input from >900 domestic and international stakeholders, end-users, and key informants. The final guidelines state: for healthy growth and development, caregivers should minimize the time infants (aged <1 year), toddlers (aged 1-2 years), and preschoolers (aged 3-4 years) spend being sedentary during waking hours. This includes prolonged sitting or being restrained (e.g., stroller, high chair) for more than 1 h at a time. For those under 2 years, screen time (e.g., TV, computer, electronic games) is not recommended. For children 2-4 years, screen time should be limited to under 1 h per day; less is better.

  13. Removing obstacles for pavement cost reduction by examining early age opening requirements : material properties.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-08-01

    The risk of cracking in a concrete pavement that is opened to traffic at early ages is related to the maximum tensile stress, , that : develops in the pavement and its relationship to the measured, age dependent, flexural strength of a beam, fr . T...

  14. Effects of early age at natural menopause on coronary heart disease and stroke in Chinese women.

    PubMed

    Shen, Lijun; Song, Lulu; Liu, Bingqing; Li, Hui; Zheng, Xiaoxuan; Zhang, Lina; Yuan, Jing; Liang, Yuan; Wang, Youjie

    2017-08-15

    Menopause is identified as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease because of the change of estrogen. The objective of the study was to explore the associations between early age at natural menopause (menopause at an age≤45years) and the presence of CHD and stroke. The study subjects were from the first follow-up survey of the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort study. A total of 16,515 postmenopausal women were included for the analysis. Logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between age at natural menopause (≤45, 45-52, >52years) and the presence of CHD and stroke adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, reproductive history and metabolic factors. In the fully adjusted model, for each 1-year delay in menopausal age, the prevalence of CHD and stroke was reduced by 3% (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.98) and 5% (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92-0.98), respectively. Women with early menopause (≤45years) had a higher prevalence of CHD (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.13-1.57) compared with those with menopause at ages 45-52years. Similarly, women with early menopause (≤45years) was associated with higher prevalence of stroke (OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.25-2.30) compared with those with menopause at ages 45-52years. Early age at natural menopause is significantly associated with the presence of CHD and stroke among Chinese women. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  15. [Obesity associated metabolic impairment is evident at early ages: Spanish collaborative study].

    PubMed

    Martos-Moreno, Gabriel Á; Gil-Campos, Mercedes; Bueno, Gloria; Bahillo, Pilar; Bernal, Susana; Feliu, Albert; Lechuga-Sancho, Alfonso M; Palomo, Enrique; Ruiz, Rafael; Vela, Amaia

    2014-10-01

    The objectives of this study are to provide a description of the demographic, anthropometric characteristics and metabolic abnormalities in children with early-onset (< 10 years) and of very-early-onset obesity (< 5 years). We also evaluate the diagnostic ability using the definition of metabolic syndrome (MS) according to different criteria. It is a retrospective, case-control, cross-sectional, multicenter study. A total of 10 Pediatric Endocrinology Units in different Spanish hospitals were involved. A group of 469 children with early-onset obesity and another group of 30 children with very early-onset obesity were studied. The control group consisted of 224 healthy children younger than 10 years. Anthropometric and analytical determination of carbohydrates metabolism parameters and the lipid profile were performed. The presence of metabolic alterations associated with obesity in children and adolescents in Spain is remarkable, either on their own, or encompassed within the definition of MS. This prevalence increases substantially when considering the peripheral resistance to insulin action as a diagnostic criterion. It also shows how children who could not be diagnosed with MS according to the definition provided by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) due to age below 10 years, these alterations are already present in a remarkable percentage. In fact, metabolic abnormalities are already present in the very-early-onset obese children ( <5 years). In Spanish children there are metabolic alterations associated with obesity in the infant-juvenile stages alone or encompassed within the definition of MS,and are already present at earlier ages. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  16. Early Selection versus Late Correction: Age-Related Differences in Controlling Working Memory Contents

    PubMed Central

    Schwarzkopp, Tina; Mayr, Ulrich; Jost, Kerstin

    2016-01-01

    We examined whether a reduced ability to ignore irrelevant information is responsible for the age-related decline of working-memory (WM) functions. By means of event-related brain potentials we will show that filtering is not out of service in older adults but shifted to a later processing stage. Participants performed a visual short-term memory task (change-detection task) in which targets were presented along with distractors. To allow early selection, a cue was presented in advance of each display, indicating where the targets were to appear. Despite this relatively easy selection criterion, older adults’ filtering was delayed as indicated by the amplitude pattern of the contralateral delay activity. Importantly, WM-equated younger adults did not show a delay indicating that the delay is specific to older adults and not a general phenomenon that comes with low WM capacity. Moreover, the analysis of early visual potentials revealed qualitatively different perceptual/attentional processing between the age groups. Young adults exhibited stronger distractor sensitivity that in turn facilitated filtering. Older adults, in contrast, seemed to initially store distractors and to suppress them after the fact. These early-selection versus late-correction modes suggest an age-related shift in the strategy to control the contents of WM. PMID:27253867

  17. Early childhood malnutrition predicts depressive symptoms at ages 11-17.

    PubMed

    Galler, J R; Bryce, C P; Waber, D; Hock, R S; Exner, N; Eaglesfield, D; Fitzmaurice, G; Harrison, R

    2010-07-01

    We examined the prevalence of depressive symptoms in Barbadian youth with histories of infantile malnutrition and in a healthy comparison group and the extent to which the effect of malnutrition was mediated/moderated by maternal depression. Depressive symptoms were assessed using a 20-item scale administered to youths (11-17 years of age) who had experienced an episode of protein-energy malnutrition (marasmus or kwashiorkor) during the first year of life and in a comparison group of healthy youths without a history of malnutrition. Their mothers completed the same questionnaire on the same test on three occasions when their children were 5-17 years of age at 2-5-year intervals. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was elevated among previously malnourished youth relative to healthy comparison children (p < .001). When youth depression scores were subjected to a longitudinal multiple regression analysis, adjusting for the effect of maternal depressive symptoms, significant effects due to the history of early childhood malnutrition remained and were not discernibly attenuated from an unadjusted analysis. We also found significant independent effects of maternal depressive symptoms on youth depressive symptoms. Early childhood malnutrition contributed independently to depressive symptoms in youths who experienced a significant episode of malnutrition in the first year of life. This relationship was not mediated or moderated by the effects of maternal depression. Whether the later vulnerability to depression is a direct effect of the episode of malnutrition and related conditions early in life or whether it is mediated by the more proximal neurobehavioral effects of the malnutrition remains to be determined.

  18. Independent Deficits of Visual Word and Motion Processing in Aging and Early Alzheimer's Disease

    PubMed Central

    Velarde, Carla; Perelstein, Elizabeth; Ressmann, Wendy; Duffy, Charles J.

    2013-01-01

    We tested whether visual processing impairments in aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) reflect uniform posterior cortical decline, or independent disorders of visual processing for reading and navigation. Young and older normal controls were compared to early AD patients using psychophysical measures of visual word and motion processing. We find elevated perceptual thresholds for letters and word discrimination from young normal controls, to older normal controls, to early AD patients. Across subject groups, visual motion processing showed a similar pattern of increasing thresholds, with the greatest impact on radial pattern motion perception. Combined analyses show that letter, word, and motion processing impairments are independent of each other. Aging and AD may be accompanied by independent impairments of visual processing for reading and navigation. This suggests separate underlying disorders and highlights the need for comprehensive evaluations to detect early deficits. PMID:22647256

  19. Attitudes of Veterinary Teaching Staff and Exposure of Veterinary Students to Early-Age Desexing, with Review of Current Early-Age Desexing Literature

    PubMed Central

    Jupe, Alannah; Rand, Jacquie; Morton, John; Fleming, Sophie

    2017-01-01

    Simple Summary A substantial proportion of cats and a smaller proportion of dogs entering animal shelters are juveniles. Cats are prolific breeders and can be pregnant by 4 months of age, although the traditional desexing age in veterinary practice is 6 months for dogs and cats. Understanding what veterinary students across Australia and New Zealand are being taught in regards to early age desexing (EAD) is necessary to determine the reasons why EAD is not utilized in client-owned cats and dogs more frequently. There are no current studies documenting the exposure of new veterinary graduates to EAD, nor the opinions to EAD of the academics teaching these students. Of staff teaching veterinary students in Australia and New Zealand in 2015, a majority (64%) did not advocate EAD in their teaching of students. Only three out of eight universities provided a majority of students with exposure to EAD procedures before graduation, and only two of these allowed most students to perform EAD. Abstract Approximately 50% of cats admitted to Australian shelters are kittens, and 26% of dogs are puppies, and, particularly for cats, euthanasia rates are often high. Cats can be pregnant by 4 months of age, yet the traditional desexing age is 5–6 months, and studies in Australasia and Nth America reveal that only a minority of veterinarians routinely perform early age desexing (EAD) of cats or dogs, suggesting they are not graduating with these skills. This study aimed to describe the attitudes of veterinary teaching staff in Australian and New Zealand universities towards EAD, and to determine if these changed from 2008 to 2015. It also aimed to identify students’ practical exposure to EAD. Most (64%) of the 25 participants in 2015 did not advocate EAD in their teaching and, in their personal opinion, only 32% advocated it for cats. Concerns related to EAD cited by staff included anesthetic risk, orthopedic problems, hypoglycemia, and, in female dogs, urinary incontinence

  20. The power of personality in discriminating between healthy aging and early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

    PubMed

    Duchek, Janet M; Balota, David A; Storandt, Martha; Larsen, Randy

    2007-11-01

    This study examined differences in personality in the earliest stages of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) relative to healthy aging, and the power of personality in discriminating healthy aging from early-stage DAT. Four groups of participants (middle-aged controls, older controls, persons with very mild DAT, and persons with mild DAT) and their families were administered Costa and McCrae's NEO Five-Factor Inventory. On the basis of both self-report and informant report, there was an increase in neuroticism and a decrease in conscientiousness in persons with very mild DAT relative to healthy individuals without it, and in persons with mild DAT relative to those with very mild DAT. Moreover, informant reports of neuroticism and conscientiousness capture substantial unique variance in discriminating healthy aging and very mild DAT, above and beyond standard neuropsychological tests. Discussion focuses on the importance of personality traits as a noncognitive indicator of early-stage DAT.

  1. Up, Not Down: The Age Curve in Happiness from Early Adulthood to Midlife in Two Longitudinal Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Galambos, Nancy L.; Fang, Shichen; Krahn, Harvey J.; Johnson, Matthew D.; Lachman, Margie E.

    2015-01-01

    Happiness is an important indicator of well-being, and little is known about how it changes in the early adult years. We examined trajectories of happiness from early adulthood to midlife in 2 Canadian longitudinal samples: high school seniors followed from ages 18-43 and university seniors followed from ages 23-37. Happiness increased into the…

  2. Early vs late age at onset frontotemporal dementia and frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

    PubMed

    Seo, Sang Won; Thibodeau, Marie-Pierre; Perry, David C; Hua, Alice; Sidhu, Manu; Sible, Isabel; Vargas, Jose Norberto S; Gaus, Stephanie E; Rabinovici, Gil D; Rankin, Katherine D; Boxer, Adam L; Kramer, Joel H; Rosen, Howard J; Gorno-Tempini, Maria Luisa; Grinberg, Lea T; Huang, Eric J; DeArmond, Stephen J; Trojanowski, John Q; Miller, Bruce L; Seeley, William W

    2018-03-20

    To examine clinicopathologic correlations in early vs late age at onset frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). All patients were clinically evaluated and prospectively diagnosed at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. Two consecutive series were included: (1) patients with a clinically diagnosed FTD syndrome who underwent autopsy (cohort 1) and (2) patients with a primary pathologic diagnosis of FTLD, regardless of the clinical syndrome (cohort 2). These series were divided by age at symptom onset (cutoff 65 years). In cohort 1, 48 (25.3%) were 65 years or older at symptom onset. Pathologic causes of behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD) were similar in the early age at onset (EO) and late age at onset (LO) bvFTD groups. In corticobasal syndrome (CBS), however, the most common pathologic substrate differed according to age at onset: progressive supranuclear palsy (42.9%) in LO-CBS and Alzheimer disease (AD; 40.7%) in EO-CBS. In cohort 2, 57 (28.4%) were classified as LO-FTLD. Regarding FTLD major molecular classes, FTLD with transactive response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa was most common in EO-FTLD (44.4%), whereas FTLD-tau (58.3%) was most common in LO-FTLD. Antemortem diagnosis of a non-FTD syndrome, usually AD-type dementia, was more frequent in LO-FTLD than EO-FTLD (19.3% vs 7.7%, p = 0.017). LO-FTLD was also associated with more prevalent comorbid pathologic changes. Of these, moderate to severe AD neuropathologic change and argyrophilic grain disease were overrepresented among patients who received an antemortem diagnosis of AD-type dementia. Patients with FTD and FTLD often develop symptoms after age 65, and age at onset represents an important consideration when making antemortem neuropathologic predictions. © 2018 American Academy of Neurology.

  3. Growth in early life and the development of obesity by age 9 years: are there critical periods and a role for an early life stressor?

    PubMed

    Giles, L C; Whitrow, M J; Rumbold, A R; Davies, C E; de Stavola, B; Pitcher, J B; Davies, M J; Moore, V M

    2013-04-01

    Rapid growth, possibly occurring in critical periods in early life, may be important for the development of obesity. It is unknown whether this is influenced by postnatal exposures such as age-relevant sources of stress. Frequent house moves may be one such stressor. We aimed to examine if there is a period of growth in early life critical for the development of child obesity by age 9 years and assess the role of house moves in modifying any relationships between early life growth and obesity at age 9 years. Prospective Australian birth cohort study. In all, 392 children with serial body size measurements from birth to age 9 years. Standardized body mass index (z-BMI) was available for six time points (spanning birth to 3½ years), and the total number of house moves between birth and 3½ years. The outcomes considered were z-BMI and % body fat (%BF) at age 9 years. Linear regression models were used to estimate the effects of serial measurements of z-BMI and number of house moves on the outcomes. Life-course plots showed that z-BMI at 3½ years was a statistically significant predictor of z-BMI at 9 years (β=0.80; standard error (s.e.), 0.04), whereas z-BMI at 9 months (β=-1.13; s.e., 0.40) and 3½ years (β=4.82; s.e., 0.42) were significant predictors of %BF at age 9 years. There were statistically significant interactions between the number of house moves and change in z-BMI between 9 and 12 months, such that ≥ 3 house moves in early life amplified the detrimental effects of earlier rapid growth on both body size and composition at age 9 years. In the absence of evidence for a single critical period, efforts to prevent overweight and obesity are required throughout childhood. In addition, modifiable postnatal stressors may exacerbate effects of early growth on obesity in later childhood.

  4. Exploring Work and Development Options to Reduce Early Labour Force Exit of Mature Aged Australians

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pillay, Hitendra; Kelly, Kathy; Tones, Megan

    2008-01-01

    Early labour force exit is a significant challenge associated with the ageing workforce in Australia and many other developed countries. A reduction and increased flexibility of work hours has been suggested to improve labour force participation of the mature aged cohort. However, little is known about mature aged workers' aspirations for…

  5. Age at onset of DSM-IV pathological gambling in a non-treatment sample: Early- versus later-onset.

    PubMed

    Black, Donald W; Shaw, Martha; Coryell, William; Crowe, Raymond; McCormick, Brett; Allen, Jeff

    2015-07-01

    Pathological gambling (PG) is a prevalent and impairing public health problem. In this study we assessed age at onset in men and women with PG and compared the demographic and clinical picture of early- vs. later-onset individuals. We also compared age at onset in PG subjects and their first-degree relatives with PG. Subjects with DSM-IV PG were recruited during the conduct of two non-treatment clinical studies. Subjects were evaluated with structured interviews and validated questionnaires. Early-onset was defined as PG starting prior to age 33years. Age at onset of PG in the 255 subjects ranged from 8 to 80years with a mean (SD) of 34.0 (15.3) years. Men had an earlier onset than women. 84% of all subjects with PG had developed the disorder by age 50years. Early-onset subjects were more likely to be male, to prefer action games, and to have substance use disorders, antisocial personality disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, trait impulsiveness, and social anxiety disorder. Later-onset was more common in women and was associated with a preference for slots and a history of sexual abuse. Age at onset of PG is bimodal and differs for men and women. Early-onset PG and later-onset PG have important demographic and clinical differences. The implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Emotional and behavioral problems in late preterm and early term births: outcomes at child age 36 months.

    PubMed

    Stene-Larsen, Kim; Lang, Astri M; Landolt, Markus A; Latal, Beatrice; Vollrath, Margarete E

    2016-12-01

    Recent findings has shown that late preterm births (gestational weeks 34-36) and early term births (gestational weeks 37-38) is associated with an increased risk of several psychological and developmental morbidities. In this article we investigate whether late preterm and early term births is associated with an increased risk of emotional and behavioral problems at 36 months of age and whether there are gender differences in risk of these outcomes. Forty-three thousand, two hundred ninety-seven children and their mothers participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). One thousand, eight hundred fifty-three (4.3%) of the children in the sample were born late preterm and 7,835 (18.1%) were born early term. Information on gestational age and on prenatal and postnatal risk factors was retrieved from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Information on emotional and behavioral problems was assessed by standardized questionnaires (CBCL/ITSEA) filled out by the mothers. Gender-stratified logistic regression analyses were used to explore the association between late preterm / early term and emotional and behavioral problems at 36 months of age. We found a gender-specific increased risk of emotional problems in girls born late preterm (OR 1.47 95%CI 1.11-1.95) and in girls born early term (OR 1.21 95%CI 1.04-1.42). We did not find an increased risk of emotional problems in boys born late preterm (OR 1.09 95%CI 0.82-1.45) or early term (OR 0.93 95%CI 0.79-1.10). Behavioral problems were not increased in children born late preterm or early term. Girls born late preterm and early term show an increased risk of emotional problems at 36 months of age. This finding suggests that gender should be taken into account when evaluating children born at these gestational ages.

  7. Deletion of Ku80 causes early aging independent of chronic inflammation and Rag-1-induced DSBs.

    PubMed

    Holcomb, Valerie B; Vogel, Hannes; Hasty, Paul

    2007-01-01

    Animal models of premature aging are often defective for DNA repair. Ku80-mutant mice are disabled for nonhomologous end joining; a pathway that repairs both spontaneous DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and induced DNA DSBs generated by the action of a complex composed of Rag-1 and Rag-2 (Rag). Rag is essential for inducing DSBs important for assembling V(D)J segments of antigen receptor genes that are required for lymphocyte development. Thus, deletion of either Rag-1 or Ku80 causes severe combined immunodeficiency (scid) leading to chronic inflammation. In addition, Rag-1 induces breaks at non-B DNA structures. Previously we reported Ku80-mutant mice undergo premature aging, yet we do not know the root cause of this phenotype. Early aging may be caused by either defective repair of spontaneous DNA damage, defective repair of Rag-1-induced breaks or chronic inflammation caused by scid. To address this issue, we analyzed aging in control and Ku80-mutant mice deleted for Rag-1 such that both cohorts are scid and suffer from chronic inflammation. We make two observations: (1) chronic inflammation does not cause premature aging in these mice and (2) Ku80-mutant mice exhibit early aging independent of Rag-1. Therefore, this study supports defective repair of spontaneous DNA damage as the root cause of early aging in Ku80-mutant mice.

  8. Computational Thermomechanical Modelling of Early-Age Silicate Composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vala, J.; Št'astník, S.; Kozák, V.

    2009-09-01

    Strains and stresses in early-age silicate composites, widely used in civil engineering, especially in fresh concrete mixtures, in addition to those caused by exterior mechanical loads, are results of complicated non-deterministic physical and chemical processes. Their numerical prediction at the macro-scale level requires the non-trivial physical analysis based on the thermodynamic principles, making use of micro-structural information from both theoretical and experimental research. The paper introduces a computational model, based on a nonlinear system of macroscopic equations of evolution, supplied with certain effective material characteristics, coming from the micro-scale analysis, and sketches the algorithm for its numerical analysis.

  9. Early age at start of antiretroviral therapy associated with better virologic control after initial suppression in HIV-infected infants.

    PubMed

    Shiau, Stephanie; Strehlau, Renate; Technau, Karl-Günter; Patel, Faeezah; Arpadi, Stephen M; Coovadia, Ashraf; Abrams, Elaine J; Kuhn, Louise

    2017-01-28

    The report of the 'Mississippi baby' who was initiated on antiretroviral therapy (ART) within 30 h of birth and maintained viral suppression off ART for 27 months has increased interest in the timing of ART initiation early in life. We examined associations between age at ART initiation and virologic outcomes in five cohorts of HIV-infected infants and young children who initiated ART before 2 years of age in Johannesburg, South Africa. We compared those who initiated ART early (<6 months of age) and those who started ART late (6-24 months of age). Two primary outcomes were examined: initial response to ART in three cohorts and later sustained virologic control after achieving suppression on ART in two cohorts. We did not observe consistent differences in initial viral suppression rates by age at ART initiation. Overall, initial viral suppression rates were low. Only 31, 40.1, and 26.5% of early-treated infants (<6 months of age) in the three cohorts, respectively, were suppressed less than 50 copies/ml of HIV RNA 6 months after starting ART. We did observe better sustained virologic control after achieving suppression on ART among infants starting ART early compared with late. Children who started ART early were less likely to experience viral rebound (>50 copies/ml or >1000 copies/ml) than children who started late in both cohorts. These findings provide additional support for early initiation of ART in HIV-infected infants.

  10. Neuromotor outcomes at school age after extremely low birth weight: early detection of subtle signs.

    PubMed

    Gidley Larson, Jennifer C; Baron, Ida Sue; Erickson, Kristine; Ahronovich, Margot D; Baker, Robin; Litman, Fern R

    2011-01-01

    Motor impairments are prevalent in children born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1,000 g). Rarely studied are subtle motor deficits that indicate dysfunction or delay in neural systems critical for optimal cognitive, academic, and behavioral function. We aimed to examine quantifiable signs of subtle neuromotor dysfunction in an early school-aged ELBW cohort that coincidentally had age-appropriate cognition and design copying. We studied 97 participants born between 1998 and 2001; 74 ELBW (6.7 years ± 0.75) compared with 23 term-born (6.6 years ± 0.29). Neuromotor outcomes were assessed using the Physical and Neurological Examination of Subtle Signs-Revised, and measures of dexterity/coordination and visual-motor integration. ELBW participants performed worse than term-born on design-copying and dexterity, were age-appropriate compared to normative data, and had slower timed movements and more subtle overflow movements. Those ELBW born <26 weeks performed most poorly compared with those born 26-34 weeks and term-born. Subtle motor dysfunctions are detectable and quantifiable in ELBW children by school age, even in the presence of average cognition. Early age assessment of incoordination, motor speed, and overflow movements should aid initiation of timely therapies to prepare at-risk ELBW children for subsequent school entry and facilitate design of optimal early treatment strategies. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

  11. Language development of internationally adopted children: Adverse early experiences outweigh the age of acquisition effect.

    PubMed

    Rakhlin, Natalia; Hein, Sascha; Doyle, Niamh; Hart, Lesley; Macomber, Donna; Ruchkin, Vladislav; Tan, Mei; Grigorenko, Elena L

    2015-01-01

    We compared English language and cognitive skills between internationally adopted children (IA; mean age at adoption=2.24, SD=1.8) and their non-adopted peers from the US reared in biological families (BF) at two time points. We also examined the relationships between outcome measures and age at initial institutionalization, length of institutionalization, and age at adoption. On measures of general language, early literacy, and non-verbal IQ, the IA group performed significantly below their age-peers reared in biological families at both time points, but the group differences disappeared on receptive vocabulary and kindergarten concept knowledge at the second time point. Furthermore, the majority of children reached normative age expectations between 1 and 2 years post-adoption on all standardized measures. Although the age at adoption, age of institutionalization, length of institutionalization, and time in the adoptive family all demonstrated significant correlations with one or more outcome measures, the negative relationship between length of institutionalization and child outcomes remained most robust after controlling for the other variables. Results point to much flexibility and resilience in children's capacity for language acquisition as well as the potential primacy of length of institutionalization in explaining individual variation in IA children's outcomes. (1) Readers will be able to understand the importance of pre-adoption environment on language and early literacy development in internationally adopted children. (2) Readers will be able to compare the strength of the association between the length of institutionalization and language outcomes with the strength of the association between the latter and the age at adoption. (3) Readers will be able to understand that internationally adopted children are able to reach age expectations on expressive and receptive language measures despite adverse early experiences and a replacement of their first

  12. [Relationship between body weight status in early adulthood and body weight change to middle age and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in middle aged Chinese people].

    PubMed

    Zhao, L C; Zhou, L; Li, Y; Guo, M; Wu, Y F

    2016-08-24

    To explore the relationship between early adulthood weight status and body weight changes from early adulthood to middle age and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level. Data were obtained from China Multicenter Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Epidemiology Study, which was conducted in 1998, 15 participants population samples aged from 35-59 years old from 12 provinces were selected by random cluster sampling. Approximately 1 000 men and women in each sample population were surveyed for cardiovascular disease risk factors, body weight at age 25 from all participants were also obtained. Body mass index (BMI) at the age of 25 years was calculated with the weight at 25 years and the height measured during the survey, participants were divided into underweight (BMI<18.5 kg/m(2), n=1 331), normal-weight (18.5 kg/m(2)≤BMI <24 kg/m(2), n=10 400), overweight (24 kg/m(2)≤BMI<28 kg/m(2), n=2 019) and obesity (BMI≥28 kg/m(2), n=133) groups. Weight change was defined as the difference between the body weight at the age of 25 and at the survey and was grouped into<-7.5 kg (n=903), -7.5--2.6 kg (n=1 883), -2.5-2.5 kg (n=2 573), 2.6-7.5 kg (n=2 786), 7.6-12.5 kg (n=2 674) and>12.5 kg (n=3 064). The association of body weight status in early adulthood and body weight change from early adulthood to middle age with HDL-C level was examined by logistic regression model. The prevalence of low HDL-C in underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity groups at age of 25 years were 10.7%(143/1 331), 15.5%(1 612/10 400), 16.3%(330/2 019) and 24.8%(33/133), respectively(P for trend <0.01). The prevalence of low HDL-C for adult weight change were 8.8%(79/903), 8.0%(151/1 883), 10.5%(269/2 573), 13.4%(373/2 786), 19.1%(511/2 674), and 24.0%(735/3 064)(P for trend <0.01)for weight change of <-7.5 kg, -7.5--2.6 kg, -2.5-2.5 kg, 2.6-7.5 kg, 7.6-12.5 kg and>12.5 kg, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that overweight and obesity at age of 25 years and

  13. Early crop-tree release in even-aged stands of Appalachian hardwoods

    Treesearch

    George R., Jr. Trimble; George R. Trimble

    1971-01-01

    Now that even-aged silviculture is well established as a successful method of growing Appalachian hardwoods, a pressing need exists for guidelines for precommercial operations. We started research several years ago on the Fernow Experimental Forest near Parsons, West Virginia, to learn more about the cost and methodology of early crop-tree release in mountain hardwood...

  14. Caloric restriction preserves memory and reduces anxiety of aging mice with early enhancement of neurovascular functions.

    PubMed

    Parikh, Ishita; Guo, Janet; Chuang, Kai-Hsiang; Zhong, Yu; Rempe, Ralf G; Hoffman, Jared D; Armstrong, Rachel; Bauer, Björn; Hartz, Anika M S; Lin, Ai-Ling

    2016-11-08

    Neurovascular integrity plays an important role in protecting cognitive and mental health in aging. Lifestyle interventions that sustain neurovascular integrity may thus be critical on preserving brain functions in aging and reducing the risk for age-related neurodegenerative disorders. Here we show that caloric restriction (CR) had an early effect on neurovascular enhancements, and played a critical role in preserving vascular, cognitive and mental health in aging. In particular, we found that CR significantly enhanced cerebral blood flow (CBF) and blood-brain barrier function in young mice at 5-6 months of age. The neurovascular enhancements were associated with reduced mammalian target of rapamycin expression, elevated endothelial nitric oxide synthase signaling, and increased ketone bodies utilization. With age, CR decelerated the rate of decline in CBF. The preserved CBF in hippocampus and frontal cortex were highly correlated with preserved memory and learning, and reduced anxiety, of the aging mice treated with CR (18-20 months of age). Our results suggest that dietary intervention started in the early stage (e.g., young adults) may benefit cognitive and mental reserve in aging. Understanding nutritional effects on neurovascular functions may have profound implications in human brain aging and age-related neurodegenerative disorders.

  15. The Little Six Personality Dimensions From Early Childhood to Early Adulthood: Mean-Level Age and Gender Differences in Parents' Reports.

    PubMed

    Soto, Christopher J

    2016-08-01

    The present research pursues three major goals. First, we develop scales to measure the Little Six youth personality dimensions: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, and Activity. Second, we examine mean-level age and gender differences in the Little Six from early childhood into early adulthood. Third, we examine the development of more specific nuance traits. We analyze parent reports, made using the common-language California Child Q-Set (CCQ), for a cross-sectional sample of 16,000 target children ranging from 3 to 20 years old. We construct CCQ-Little Six scales that reliably measure each Little Six dimension. Using these scales, we find (a) curvilinear, U-shaped age trends for Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness, with declines followed by subsequent inclines; (b) monotonic, negative age trends for Extraversion and Activity; (c) higher levels of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness among girls than boys, as well as higher levels of Activity among boys than girls; and (d) gender-specific age trends for Neuroticism, with girls scoring higher than boys by mid-adolescence. Finally, we find that several nuance traits show distinctive developmental trends that differ from their superordinate Little Six dimension. These results highlight childhood and adolescence as key periods of personality development. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VISUAL FUNCTION AND SUBRETINAL DRUSENOID DEPOSITS IN NORMAL AND EARLY AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION EYES.

    PubMed

    Neely, David; Zarubina, Anna V; Clark, Mark E; Huisingh, Carrie E; Jackson, Gregory R; Zhang, Yuhua; McGwin, Gerald; Curcio, Christine A; Owsley, Cynthia

    2017-07-01

    To examine the association between subretinal drusenoid deposits (SDDs) identified by multimodal retinal imaging and visual function in older eyes with normal macular health or in the earliest phases of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Age-related macular degeneration status for each eye was defined according to the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) 9-step classification system (normal = Step 1, early AMD = Steps 2-4) based on color fundus photographs. Visual functions measured were best-corrected photopic visual acuity, contrast and light sensitivity, mesopic visual acuity, low-luminance deficit, and rod-mediated dark adaptation. Subretinal drusenoid deposits were identified through multimodal imaging (color fundus photographs, infrared reflectance and fundus autofluorescence images, and spectral domain optical coherence tomography). The sample included 1,202 eyes (958 eyes with normal health and 244 eyes with early AMD). In normal eyes, SDDs were not associated with any visual function evaluated. In eyes with early AMD, dark adaptation was markedly delayed in eyes with SDDs versus no SDD (a 4-minute delay on average), P = 0.0213. However, this association diminished after age adjustment, P = 0.2645. Other visual functions in early AMD eyes were not associated with SDDs. In a study specifically focused on eyes in normal macular health and in the earliest phases of AMD, early AMD eyes with SDDs have slower dark adaptation, largely attributable to the older ages of eyes with SDD; they did not exhibit deficits in other visual functions. Subretinal drusenoid deposits in older eyes in normal macular health are not associated with any visual functions evaluated.

  17. Early primary repair of tetralogy of fallot in neonates and infants less than four months of age.

    PubMed

    Tamesberger, Melanie I; Lechner, Evelyn; Mair, Rudolf; Hofer, Anna; Sames-Dolzer, Eva; Tulzer, Gerald

    2008-12-01

    The ideal age for correction of tetralogy of Fallot is still under discussion. The aim of this study was to analyze morbidity and mortality in patients who underwent early primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot at the age of less than 4 months and to assess whether neonates, who needed early repair within the first 4 weeks of life, faced an increased risk. From 1995 to 2006, 90 consecutive patients with tetralogy of Fallot and pulmonary stenosis underwent early primary repair. Patient charts were analyzed retrospectively for two groups: group A, 25 neonates younger than 28 days who needed early operation owing to duct-dependent pulmonary circulation or severe hypoxemia; and group B, 65 infants younger than 4 months of age who underwent elective early repair. There was no 30-day mortality; late mortality was 2% after a median follow-up time of 4.7 years. Seven of 88 patients (8%) needed reoperation and twelve of 88 patients (14%) needed reintervention. Groups A and B did not differ significantly in terms of intensive care unit stay, days of mechanical ventilation, overall hospital stay, major or minor complications, or reoperation. Significant differences were found in a more frequent use of a transannular patch (p = 0.045) and more reinterventions (p = 0.046) in group A. Early primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot can be performed safely and effectively in infants younger than 4 months of age and even in neonates younger than 28 days with duct-dependent pulmonary circulation or severe hypoxemia.

  18. My Entirely Plausible Fantasy: Early Mathematics Education in the Age of the Touchscreen Computer

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ginsburg, Herbert P.

    2014-01-01

    This paper offers an account of what early mathematics education could look like in an age of young digital natives. Each "Tubby," as the tablets are called, presents Nicole (our generic little child) with stimulating mathematics microworlds, from which, beginning at age 3, she can learn basic math concepts, as well as methods of…

  19. Sex differences in episodic memory in early midlife: impact of reproductive aging.

    PubMed

    Rentz, Dorene M; Weiss, Blair K; Jacobs, Emily G; Cherkerzian, Sara; Klibanski, Anne; Remington, Anne; Aizley, Harlyn; Goldstein, Jill M

    2017-04-01

    Few have characterized cognitive changes with age as a function of menopausal stage relative to men, or sex differences in components of memory in early midlife. The study aim was to investigate variation in memory function in early midlife as a function of sex, sex steroid hormones, and reproductive status. A total of 212 men and women aged 45 to 55 were selected for this cross-sectional study from a prenatal cohort of pregnancies whose mothers were originally recruited in 1959 to 1966. They underwent clinical and cognitive testing and hormonal assessments of menopause status. Multivariate general linear models for multiple memory outcomes were used to test hypotheses controlling for potential confounders. Episodic memory, executive function, semantic processing, and estimated verbal intelligence were assessed. Associative memory and episodic verbal memory were assessed using Face-Name Associative Memory Exam (FNAME) and Selective Reminding Test (SRT), given increased sensitivity to detecting early cognitive decline. Impacts of sex and reproductive stage on performance were tested. Women outperformed men on all memory measures including FNAME (β = -0.30, P < 0.0001) and SRT (β = -0.29, P < 0.0001). Furthermore, premenopausal and perimenopausal women outperformed postmenopausal women on FNAME (initial learning, β= 0.32, P = 0.01) and SRT (recall, β= 2.39, P = 0.02). Across all women, higher estradiol was associated with better SRT performance (recall, β = 1.96, P = 0.01) and marginally associated with FNAME (initial learning, β = 0.19, P = 0.06). This study demonstrated that, in early midlife, women outperformed age-matched men across all memory measures, but sex differences were attenuated for postmenopausal women. Initial learning and memory retrieval were particularly vulnerable, whereas memory consolidation and storage were preserved. Findings underscore the significance of the decline in ovarian estradiol production in

  20. Mind the gap: the distributional effects of raising the early eligibility age and full retirement age.

    PubMed

    Olsen, Anya

    2012-01-01

    Policymakers have proposed increases to the early eligibility age (EEA) and/or full retirement age (FRA) to address increasing life expectancy and Social Security solvency issues. This analysis uses the Social Security Administration's Modeling Income in the Near Term, version 6 (MINT6) model to compare three retirement-age increases suggested by the Social Security Advisory Board: increase the gap between the EEA and FRA by raising only the FRA, increase both the EEA and FRA to maintain a 4-year gap between them, and increase both the EEA and FRA to maintain a 5-year gap between them. Although all three options would improve system solvency by similar proportions, their effect on individual beneficiaries in the future would vary. Benefit reductions are greater under the proposals with more months between the EEA and FRA, while the option that maintains a 4-year gap results in benefit increases for some beneficiaries compared with current law.

  1. School Age Outcomes of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Who Received Community-Based Early Interventions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vinen, Zoe; Clark, Megan; Paynter, Jessica; Dissanayake, Cheryl

    2018-01-01

    This study followed children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from early intervention into their early schooling years, when they were aged between 6 and 9 years, on autism symptom severity and cognitive functioning. The children, matched at pre-intervention, were compared on type of community provided service: 31 were in receipt of…

  2. Early age exposure to moisture damage and systemic inflammation at the age of 6 years.

    PubMed

    Karvonen, A M; Tischer, C; Kirjavainen, P V; Roponen, M; Hyvärinen, A; Illi, S; Mustonen, K; Pfefferle, P I; Renz, H; Remes, S; Schaub, B; von Mutius, E; Pekkanen, J

    2018-05-01

    Cross-sectional studies have shown that exposure to indoor moisture damage and mold may be associated with subclinical inflammation. Our aim was to determine whether early age exposure to moisture damage or mold is prospectively associated with subclinical systemic inflammation or with immune responsiveness in later childhood. Home inspections were performed in children's homes in the first year of life. At age 6 years, subclinical systemic inflammation was measured by serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and blood leukocytes and immune responsiveness by ex vivo production of interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in whole blood cultures without stimulation or after 24 hours stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and ionomycin (PI), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or peptidoglycan (PPG) in 251-270 children. Moisture damage in child's main living areas in infancy was not significantly associated with elevated levels of CRP or leukocytes at 6 years. In contrast, there was some suggestion for an effect on immune responsiveness, as moisture damage with visible mold was positively associated with LPS-stimulated production of TNF-α and minor moisture damage was inversely associated with PI-stimulated IL-1β. While early life exposure to mold damage may have some influence on later immune responsiveness, it does not seem to increase subclinical systemic inflammation in later life. © 2018 National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland Indoor Air published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Foot pad dermatitis develops at an early age in commercial turkeys.

    PubMed

    Mayne, R K; Hocking, P M; Else, R W

    2006-02-01

    1. A field experiment was conducted to identify the macroscopic and histological changes associated with the development of foot pad dermatitis (FPD) in growing turkeys. Two affected and two unaffected turkeys were sampled weekly from 1 to 8 and at 10 and 21 weeks of age. 2. At one week old, birds with external signs of FPD (surface skin discolouration) showed abnormal cellular changes of the foot pad integument. As the flock aged the reactions intensified, with one sample exhibiting a fully developed macroscopic lesion at 3 weeks. 3. Major pathological changes had occurred by 6 weeks and all turkeys with external signs of lesions had fully developed microscopic inflammatory cellular lesions. From 6 weeks of age onwards lesions were increasingly numerous and became more overtly necrotic. 4. Externally normal foot pads showed microscopic evidence of lesions after the turkeys reached 4 weeks. 5. We conclude that FPD lesions become severe over a short period of time and at a very early age.

  4. Time Outdoors at Specific Ages During Early Childhood and the Risk of Incident Myopia.

    PubMed

    Shah, Rupal L; Huang, Yu; Guggenheim, Jeremy A; Williams, Cathy

    2017-02-01

    Time outdoors during childhood is negatively associated with incident myopia. Consequently, additional time outdoors has been suggested as a public health intervention to reduce the prevalence of myopia. We investigated whether there were specific ages during early childhood when the time outdoors versus incident myopia association was strongest. Children participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were studied from age 2 to 15 years. Parentally reported time outdoors and time spent reading were assessed longitudinally in early childhood (ages 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 years). Noncycloplegic autorefraction was carried out longitudinally in later childhood (ages 10, 11, 12, and 15 years). Information was available for 2833 participants. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to test for association between time outdoors and incident myopia. From 3 years of age onward, greater time outdoors was associated with a reduced risk of incident myopia. The hazard ratio for myopia changed progressively from 0.90 (95% CI 0.83-0.98, P = 0.012) at age 3 years, to 0.86 (95% CI 0.78-0.93, P = 0.001) at age 9 years, for each additional SD of time spent outdoors per day. These associations were independent of two major risk factors for myopia: time reading and number of myopic parents. Additional time spent outdoors across the 3 to 9 years age range was associated with a reduced incidence of myopia between ages 10 and 15 years. There was a trend for the association to increase toward the older end of the 3 to 9 years range.

  5. Early Math Trajectories: Low-Income Children's Mathematics Knowledge from Ages 4 to 11

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Fyfe, Emily R.; Hofer, Kerry G.; Farran, Dale C.

    2017-01-01

    Early mathematics knowledge is a strong predictor of later academic achievement, but children from low-income families enter school with weak mathematics knowledge. An early math trajectories model is proposed and evaluated within a longitudinal study of 517 low-income American children from ages 4 to 11. This model includes a broad range of math…

  6. Caloric restriction preserves memory and reduces anxiety of aging mice with early enhancement of neurovascular functions

    PubMed Central

    Parikh, Ishita; Guo, Janet; Chuang, Kai-Hsiang; Zhong, Yu; Rempe, Ralf G.; Hoffman, Jared D.; Armstrong, Rachel; Bauer, Björn; Hartz, Anika M.S.; Lin, Ai-Ling

    2016-01-01

    Neurovascular integrity plays an important role in protecting cognitive and mental health in aging. Lifestyle interventions that sustain neurovascular integrity may thus be critical on preserving brain functions in aging and reducing the risk for age-related neurodegenerative disorders. Here we show that caloric restriction (CR) had an early effect on neurovascular enhancements, and played a critical role in preserving vascular, cognitive and mental health in aging. In particular, we found that CR significantly enhanced cerebral blood flow (CBF) and blood-brain barrier function in young mice at 5-6 months of age. The neurovascular enhancements were associated with reduced mammalian target of rapamycin expression, elevated endothelial nitric oxide synthase signaling, and increased ketone bodies utilization. With age, CR decelerated the rate of decline in CBF. The preserved CBF in hippocampus and frontal cortex were highly correlated with preserved memory and learning, and reduced anxiety, of the aging mice treated with CR (18-20 months of age). Our results suggest that dietary intervention started in the early stage (e.g., young adults) may benefit cognitive and mental reserve in aging. Understanding nutritional effects on neurovascular functions may have profound implications in human brain aging and age-related neurodegenerative disorders. PMID:27829242

  7. Mental health functioning (SF-36) and intentions to retire early among ageing municipal employees: the Helsinki Health Study.

    PubMed

    Harkonmäki, Karoliina; Lahelma, Eero; Martikainen, Pekka; Rahkonen, Ossi; Silventoinen, Karri

    2006-01-01

    To examine the associations of mental health functioning with intentions to retire early among ageing municipal employees. Cross-sectional survey data (n = 7,765) from the Helsinki Health Study in 2000, 2001, and 2002 were used. Intentions to retire early were sought with a question: "Have you considered retiring before normal retirement age?" The dependent variable was divided into three categories: 1 = no intentions to retire early; 2 = weak intentions; 3 = strong intentions. Mental health functioning was measured by the Short Form 36 (SF-36) mental component summary (MCS). Other variables included age, sex, physical health functioning (SF-36), limiting longstanding illness, socioeconomic status, and spouse's employment status. Multinomial regression analysis was used to examine the association of mental health functioning with intentions to retire early. Employees with the poorest mental health functioning were much more likely to report strong intentions to retire early (OR 6.09, 95% CI 4.97-7.47) than those with the best mental health functioning. Adjustments for physical health, socioeconomic status, and spouse's employment status did not substantially affect this association. The findings highlight the importance of mental health for intentions to retire early. Strategies aimed at keeping people at work for longer should emphasize the importance of mental well-being and the prevention of poor mental health. More evidence is needed on why mental problems among ageing baby-boomer employees are giving rise to increasing social consequences, although the overall prevalence of mental problems has not increased.

  8. Early Family System Types Predict Children's Emotional Attention Biases at School Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindblom, Jallu; Peltola, Mikko J.; Vänskä, Mervi; Hietanen, Jari K.; Laakso, Anu; Tiitinen, Aila; Tulppala, Maija; Punamäki, Raija-Leena

    2017-01-01

    The family environment shapes children's social information processing and emotion regulation. Yet, the long-term effects of early family systems have rarely been studied. This study investigated how family system types predict children's attentional biases toward facial expressions at the age of 10 years. The participants were 79 children from…

  9. Confirmation of a late Oligocene-early Miocene age of the Deseadan Salla Beds of Bolivia.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Naeser, C.W.; McKee, E.H.; Johnson, N.M.; Macfadden, B.J.

    1987-01-01

    Three new fission-track (zircon) and four new K-Ar (biotite) dates corroborate a late Oligocene-early Miocene age (22-28 Ma) for the Salla Beds of Bolivia. These ages contrast markedly with the previously accepted age of about 35 Ma for these strata and their contained faunas, and recasts of order and chronology of interchange between New World and Old World mammals. -Authors

  10. Early childhood growth patterns and school-age respiratory resistance, fractional exhaled nitric oxide and asthma.

    PubMed

    Casas, Maribel; den Dekker, Herman T; Kruithof, Claudia J; Reiss, Irwin K; Vrijheid, Martine; de Jongste, Johan C; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Duijts, Liesbeth

    2016-12-01

    Greater infant weight gain is associated with lower lung function and increased risk of childhood asthma. The role of early childhood peak growth patterns is unclear. We assessed the associations of individually derived early childhood peak growth patterns with respiratory resistance, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, wheezing patterns, and asthma until school-age. We performed a population-based prospective cohort study among 5364 children. Repeated growth measurements between 0 and 3 years of age were used to derive standard deviation scores (s.d.s) of peak height and weight velocities (PHV and PWV, respectively), and body mass index (BMI) and age at adiposity peak. Respiratory resistance and fractional exhaled nitric oxide were measured at 6 years of age. Wheezing patterns and asthma were prospectively assessed by annual questionnaires. We also assessed whether any association was explained by childhood weight status. Greater PHV was associated with lower respiratory resistance [Z-score (95% CI): -0.03 (-0.04, -0.01) per s.d.s increase] (n = 3382). Greater PWV and BMI at adiposity peak were associated with increased risks of early wheezing [relative risk ratio (95% CI): 1.11 (1.06, 1.16), 1.26 (1.11, 1.43), respectively] and persistent wheezing [relative risk ratio (95% CI): 1.09 (1.03, 1.16), 1.37 (1.17, 1.60), respectively] (n = 3189 and n = 3005, respectively). Childhood weight status partly explained these associations. No other associations were observed. PWV and BMI at adiposity peak are critical for lung developmental and risk of school-age wheezing. Follow-up studies at older ages are needed to elucidate whether these effects persist at later ages. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Association of Intrauterine and Early-Life Exposures With Age at Menopause in the Sister Study

    PubMed Central

    Steiner, Anne Z.; D'Aloisio, Aimee A.; DeRoo, Lisa A.; Sandler, Dale P.; Baird, Donna D.

    2010-01-01

    Oocytes are formed in utero; menopause occurs when the oocyte pool is depleted. The authors hypothesized that early-life events could affect the number of a woman's oocytes and determine age at menopause. To test their hypothesis, the authors conducted a secondary analysis of baseline data from 22,165 participants in the Sister Study (2003–2007) who were aged 35–59 years at enrollment. To estimate the association between early-life events and age at natural menopause, the authors used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals, adjusting for current age, race/ethnicity, education, childhood family income, and smoking history. Earlier menopause was associated with in-utero diethylstilbestrol exposure (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.27, 1.65). Suggestive associations included maternal prepregnancy diabetes (HR = 1.33, 95% CI: 0.89, 1.98) and low birth weight (HR = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.20). Having a mother aged 35 years or older at birth appeared to be associated with a later age at menopause (HR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.89, 1.01). Birth order, in-utero smoke exposure, and having been breastfed were not related to age at menopause. In-utero and perinatal events may subsequently influence age at menopause. PMID:20534821

  12. Birdshot Retinochoroidopathy: Differences in Clinical Characteristics between Patients with Early and Late Age of Onset.

    PubMed

    Silpa-Archa, Sukhum; Cao, Jennifer H; Boonsopon, Sutasinee; Lee, Joan; Preble, Janine M; Foster, C Stephen

    2017-10-01

    To describe differences in the clinical characteristics of birdshot retinochoroidopathy (BSRC) patients diagnosed early and later in life. This is a retrospective cohort study. Age was primarily analyzed and 50 years of age at diagnosis was selected as a cut-off point. A total of 144 patients (288 eyes) were included; 68 with early-onset and 76 with late-onset BSRC. The younger group had a statistically significant higher rate of more severe iritis (p = 0.04); an average number of non-steroidal immunosuppressants and biologic agents (NSIB) (p = 0.04); and a prolonged time to initiation of NSIB (p = 0.01). There were only four patients (3%) who had >0.5+ cells in the anterior chamber. Patients with early-onset BSRC carried a higher risk for anterior segment inflammation, had a more prolonged delay to initiation of treatment with NSIB, and required a greater number of NSIBs to achieve remission.

  13. The first horse herders and the impact of early Bronze Age steppe expansions into Asia.

    PubMed

    de Barros Damgaard, Peter; Martiniano, Rui; Kamm, Jack; Moreno-Mayar, J Víctor; Kroonen, Guus; Peyrot, Michaël; Barjamovic, Gojko; Rasmussen, Simon; Zacho, Claus; Baimukhanov, Nurbol; Zaibert, Victor; Merz, Victor; Biddanda, Arjun; Merz, Ilja; Loman, Valeriy; Evdokimov, Valeriy; Usmanova, Emma; Hemphill, Brian; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Yediay, Fulya Eylem; Ullah, Inam; Sjögren, Karl-Göran; Iversen, Katrine Højholt; Choin, Jeremy; de la Fuente, Constanza; Ilardo, Melissa; Schroeder, Hannes; Moiseyev, Vyacheslav; Gromov, Andrey; Polyakov, Andrei; Omura, Sachihiro; Senyurt, Süleyman Yücel; Ahmad, Habib; McKenzie, Catriona; Margaryan, Ashot; Hameed, Abdul; Samad, Abdul; Gul, Nazish; Khokhar, Muhammad Hassan; Goriunova, O I; Bazaliiskii, Vladimir I; Novembre, John; Weber, Andrzej W; Orlando, Ludovic; Allentoft, Morten E; Nielsen, Rasmus; Kristiansen, Kristian; Sikora, Martin; Outram, Alan K; Durbin, Richard; Willerslev, Eske

    2018-05-09

    The Yamnaya expansions from the western steppe into Europe and Asia during the Early Bronze Age (~3000 BCE) are believed to have brought with them Indo-European languages and possibly horse husbandry. We analyze 74 ancient whole-genome sequences from across Inner Asia and Anatolia and show that the Botai people associated with the earliest horse husbandry derived from a hunter-gatherer population deeply diverged from the Yamnaya. Our results also suggest distinct migrations bringing West Eurasian ancestry into South Asia before and after but not at the time of Yamnaya culture. We find no evidence of steppe ancestry in Bronze Age Anatolia from when Indo-European languages are attested there. Thus, in contrast to Europe, Early Bronze Age Yamnaya-related migrations had limited direct genetic impact in Asia. Copyright © 2018, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  14. Early-life conditions and health at older ages: The mediating role of educational attainment, family and employment trajectories.

    PubMed

    Arpino, Bruno; Gumà, Jordi; Julià, Albert

    2018-01-01

    We examine to what extent the effect of early-life conditions (health and socioeconomic status) on health in later life is mediated by educational attainment and life-course trajectories (fertility, partnership, employment). Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N = 12,034), we apply, separately by gender, multichannel sequence analysis and cluster analysis to obtain groups of similar family and employment histories. The KHB method is used to disentangle direct and indirect effects of early-life conditions on health. Early-life-conditions indirectly impact on health in later life as result of their influence on education and family and employment trajectories. For example, between 22% and 42% of the effect of low parental socio-economic status at childhood on the three considered health outcomes at older age is explained by educational attainment for women. Even higher percentages are found for men (35% - 57%). On the contrary, the positive effect of poor health at childhood on poor health at older ages is not significantly mediated by education and life-course trajectories. Education captures most of the mediating effect of parental socio-economic status. More specifically, between 66% and 75% of the indirect effect of low parental socio-economic status at childhood on the three considered health outcomes at older age is explained by educational attainment for women. Again, higher percentages are found for men (86% - 93%). Early-life conditions, especially socioeconomic status, influence family and employment trajectories indirectly through their impact on education. We also find a persistent direct impact of early-life conditions on health at older ages. Our findings demonstrate that early-life experiences influence education and life-course trajectories and health in later life, suggesting that public investments in children are expected to produce long lasting effects on people's lives throughout the different phases of their

  15. Age and Early Revision After Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty for Osteoarthritis.

    PubMed

    Meyer, Zachary; Baca, Geneva; Rames, Richard; Barrack, Robert; Clohisy, John; Nam, Denis

    2017-11-01

    Prior reports have noted an increased risk of early revision among younger patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) but have been confounded by the inclusion of various diagnoses. The purpose of this study was to assess the revision rate and the time to revision for patients undergoing THA for osteoarthritis based on age. Patients with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis who underwent both primary and revision THA at the same institution were identified. The time between primary and revision surgery and the indication for revision were collected. Patients were stratified into 2 groups based on age at the time of primary THA: 64 years or younger (group 1) or 65 years or older (group 2). Between 1996 and 2016, a total of 4662 patients (5543 hips) underwent primary THA for a diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Of these, 100 patients (104 hips) received a revision THA (62 in group 1 and 42 in group 2). Mean age was 52.7±8.4 years in group 1 vs 73.4±6.3 years in group 2 (P<.001). There was no significant difference in mean body mass index (29.7±7.3 kg/m 2 vs 28.4±4.6 kg/m 2 , P=.30). Rate of revision was not significantly different between the groups (1.8% vs 2.0%, P=.7). Average time from primary to revision surgery was 3.0±3.2 years for group 1 and 1.1±2.1 years for group 2 (P=.001). Among patients undergoing primary THA for a diagnosis of osteoarthritis, younger age is not associated with an increased rate of early failure or revision. [Orthopedics. 2017; 40(6):e1069-e1073.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

  16. Time Outdoors at Specific Ages During Early Childhood and the Risk of Incident Myopia

    PubMed Central

    Shah, Rupal L.; Huang, Yu; Guggenheim, Jeremy A.; Williams, Cathy

    2017-01-01

    Purpose Time outdoors during childhood is negatively associated with incident myopia. Consequently, additional time outdoors has been suggested as a public health intervention to reduce the prevalence of myopia. We investigated whether there were specific ages during early childhood when the time outdoors versus incident myopia association was strongest. Methods Children participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were studied from age 2 to 15 years. Parentally reported time outdoors and time spent reading were assessed longitudinally in early childhood (ages 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 years). Noncycloplegic autorefraction was carried out longitudinally in later childhood (ages 10, 11, 12, and 15 years). Information was available for 2833 participants. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to test for association between time outdoors and incident myopia. Results From 3 years of age onward, greater time outdoors was associated with a reduced risk of incident myopia. The hazard ratio for myopia changed progressively from 0.90 (95% CI 0.83–0.98, P = 0.012) at age 3 years, to 0.86 (95% CI 0.78–0.93, P = 0.001) at age 9 years, for each additional SD of time spent outdoors per day. These associations were independent of two major risk factors for myopia: time reading and number of myopic parents. Conclusions Additional time spent outdoors across the 3 to 9 years age range was associated with a reduced incidence of myopia between ages 10 and 15 years. There was a trend for the association to increase toward the older end of the 3 to 9 years range. PMID:28245296

  17. How Persistent is a Diagnosis of Mathematical Disorder at an Early Age? A Longitudinal Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Desoete, Annemmie; De Weerd, Frauke; Vanderswalmen, Ruth; De Bond, Annemie

    2014-01-01

    The study was conducted to look at differences between children who outgrew and did not outgrow an early diagnosis of mathematical learning disorder (MD; n=13), and peers without MD (n=13). Children were tested at 5, 6, 7 and 10 years of age. About 54% of the children with an early diagnosis of MD still experienced mathematical difficulties at the…

  18. Reprint of: Aspirin use and early age-related macular degeneration: a meta-analysis.

    PubMed

    Kahawita, Shyalle K; Casson, Robert J

    2015-06-01

    The aim of this review was to evaluate the evidence for an association between Aspirin use and early age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). A literature search was performed in 5 databases with no restrictions on language or date of publication. Four studies involving 10292 individuals examining the association between aspirin and ARMD met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis was carried out by Cochrane Collaboration Review Manager 5.2 software (Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark). The pooled odd ratios showed that Aspirin use was associated with early ARMD (pooled odds ratio 1.43, 95% CI 1.09-1.88). There is a small but statistically significant association between Aspirin use and early ARMD, which may warrant further investigation. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Macro-level age norms for the timing of sexual initiation and adolescents' early sexual initiation in 17 European countries.

    PubMed

    Madkour, Aubrey Spriggs; de Looze, Margaretha; Ma, Ping; Halpern, Carolyn Tucker; Farhat, Tilda; Ter Bogt, Tom F M; Ehlinger, Virginie; Nic Gabhainn, Saoirse; Currie, Candace; Godeau, Emmanuelle

    2014-07-01

    To examine the relationship between country-level age norms for sexual initiation timing and early sexual initiation (ESI) among adolescent boys and girls. Nationally representative data from 17 countries that participated in the 2006/2007 European Social Survey (ESS-3, n = 33,092) and the 2005/2006 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study (HBSC, n = 27,702) were analyzed. Age norms were measured as the average country-level response to an item asking the age at which ESS respondents believed someone is too young to have sexual intercourse. HBSC respondents (aged 14-16 years) self-reported age at sexual initiation, which we defined as early (<15 years) or not early (≥15 years or no initiation). Control variables included age, family affluence, perceived socioeconomic status, family living arrangement, substance use, school attachment, and country-level legal age of consent. Multivariable three-level logistic models with random intercepts were run separately by sex. In multivariable analyses, higher overall age norms were associated with reduced likelihood of ESI among girls (AOR .60, 95% CI .45-.79); associations with ESI were stronger for parent cohort (ages 31-65 years) norms (AOR .37, 95% CI .23-.58) than for peer cohort (ages 15-20 years) norms (AOR .60, 95% CI .49-.74). For boys, overall norms were also significantly negatively associated with ESI (AOR .68, 95% CI .46-.99), as were parent cohort norms (AOR .66, 95% CI .45-.96). Peer cohort norms were not significantly related to boys' ESI. Macrolevel cultural norms may impact adolescents' sexual initiation timing. Research exploring the sexual health outcomes of early initiators in countries with contrasting age norms is warranted. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.

  20. Litho- and biofacies of Early Cretaceous rudist-bearing carbonate sediments in northeastern Japan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sano, Shin-ichi

    1995-11-01

    Carbonate blocks of late Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) age occur in the Lower Yezo Group of central Hokkaido in northeast Japan. The shallow-water carbonates were emplaced by gravity sliding and rock fall into a deep-water flysch basin. Various lithofacies can be distinguished within the blocks including massive wackestone, bedded packstone and micro-oncoid grainstone, containing corals, rudists, an oyster, gastropods, calcareous algae and an orbitolinid foraminifer. Facies and palaeoecological analyses suggest deposition of low-energy biostromes and sand banks in open lagoonal and restricted environments with local higher-energy shoals and beaches. The presence of calcareous sandstones and abundant insoluble residues in limestones suggest deposition in an attached carbonate platform close to a supply of terrigenous material, rather than deposition upon seamounts within an oceanic setting. A narrow rimmed shelf in tropical-subtropical conditions would have been the depositional environment for these carbonates, which were subsequently deformed into blocks and transported into deep water as a result of the tectonic collapse of the platform.

  1. Evaporite deposits of Bogota area, Cordillera Oriental, Colombia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McLaughlin, Donald H.

    1972-01-01

    Four evaporite-bearing stratigraphic zones are known in Cretaceous strata of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia north and east of Bogota. The easternmost and oldest zone is probably of Berriasian to Valanginian age. The next oldest is probably late Barremian to early Aptian in age. The third appears to be Aptian. The westernmost and best known sequence in the Sabana de Bogota is Turonian to early Coniacian in age. This youngest sequence contains the thickest salt deposits known in Colombia and is probably the most widespread geographically.Most of the rock salt exposed in the three accessible mines (at Zipaquira, Nemocon, and Upin) has a characteristic lamination of alternating slightly argillaceous and highly argillaceous salt layers of varied but moderate thickness. Black, calcareous claystone, commonly very pyritic, is interbedded conformably with the laminated salt in many places throughout the deposits. Fragments of black claystone derived from the thinner interbeds are ubiquitous in all deposits, both as concordant breccia zones and as isolated clasts.Anhydrite is scarce at Zipaquira and apparently even rarer at Nemocon and Upin. Gypsum is produced at three small deposits in the oldest evaporite zone where it probably was concentrated by leaching of salt initially associated with it.The two intervening evaporite zones are not exposed, but their existence and distribution are indicated by brine springs and locally by "rute," a distinctive black, calcareous mud formed by the leaching of salt beds.Fossils show that the youngest salt-claystone zone, in the Sabana de Bogota, is contemporary with associated hematitic sandstone and siltstone, and with carbonaceous and locally coaly claystone. Although evidence is poor, this same facies relation probably exists within the other three evaporite zones.All salt deposits in this study probably are associated with anticlines, a relation best exemplified by the deposits on the Sabana de Bogota. Within these anticlines the

  2. Association of postural balance and isometric muscle strength in early- and middle-school-age boys.

    PubMed

    Ibrahim, Alaa I; Muaidi, Qassim I; Abdelsalam, Mohammed S; Hawamdeh, Ziad M; Alhusaini, Adel A

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the isometric muscle strength (IMS) and dynamic balance in early- and middle-school-age boys and to assess the strength of association between the dynamic balance scores and 6 different IMS indexes. This is a cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of 94 boys who were 6 to 10 years of age and classified into an early school age (6-8 years) group (n = 50) and a middle school age (8-10 years) group (n = 44). Balance was tested using a Biodex Balance System. Anteroposterior Stability Index, Mediolateral Stability Index, and Overall Stability Index were recorded. IMS of 11 muscle groups was measured with a handheld dynamometer and categorized into 6 different muscle strength indices. The mean (SD) values of anteroposterior, mediolateral, and overall stability indexes observed for all study boys were 1.9 ± 1.0, 1.2 ± 0.7, and 2.5 ± 1.2 respectively. In the middle school age group, strong positive relationships were detected between the overall stability index and trunk, lower limb, anti-gravity, pro-gravity, and total strength indexes (r = -0.86/P < .001, r = -0.91/P < .001, r = -0.88/P < .001, r = -0.83/P < .001, and r = -0.84/P < .001 respectively), while no significant relationship was detected with the upper limb strength index (r = 0.159/P = .303). In the early school age group, moderate positive relationships were detected between the overall stability index and anti-gravity, lower limb, and total strength indexes (r = -0.404/P = .004, r = -0.356/P = .011, and r = -0.350/P = .013 respectively). Dynamic balance did not appear to be mature by the age of 10 years. Better balance skills were recorded in the mediolateral direction than in the anteroposterior direction. In the middle school age group, the overall stability index had positive relationships with almost all examined muscle strength indexes excepting the upper limb strength index. © 2013. Published by National University of Health Sciences All rights

  3. Early Childhood Risk Factors for Decreased FEV1 at Age Six to Seven Years in Young Children with Cystic Fibrosis.

    PubMed

    Sanders, Don B; Emerson, Julia; Ren, Clement L; Schechter, Michael S; Gibson, Ronald L; Morgan, Wayne; Rosenfeld, Margaret

    2015-08-01

    There are limited objective measures of the severity of lung disease before children are able to routinely perform spirometry, generally at age 6 years. Identifying risk factors for reduced lung function at age 6 provides opportunities to intervene and slow the progression of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. To evaluate early childhood predictors of lung function at age 6-7 in a large U.S. CF cohort in the current era of widespread early eradication therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). Participants were children with CF enrolled before age 4 in the Early Pseudomonas Infection Control (EPIC) Observational Study, a multicenter, longitudinal study that enrolled P. aeruginosa-negative children not exceeding 12 years of age. Linear regression was used to estimate the association between potential early childhood risk factors and the best FEV1% predicted at age 6-7 years. Four hundred and eighty-four children (of 1,797 enrolled in the EPIC Observational Study) met the eligibility criteria for this analysis. Mean (SD) age at enrollment was 2.0 (1.3) years. In a multivariable model adjusted for age at enrollment, the following risk factors were significantly associated with lower mean (95% confidence interval) FEV1% predicted at age 6-7: weight percentile less than 10% during the year of enrollment (-5.3 [-9.1, -1.5]), P. aeruginosa positive during the year of enrollment (-2.8 [-5.7, 0.0]), crackles or wheeze during the year of enrollment (-5.7 [-9.4, -1.9]), mother's education of high school or less (-4.2 [-7.3, -1.2]), and mother smoked during pregnancy (-4.4 [-8.8, 0.1]). In this large U.S. cohort, we identified several early childhood risk factors for lower FEV1 at age 6-7 years, most of which are modifiable. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00097773).

  4. Identification of morphological markers of sarcopenia at early stage of aging in skeletal muscle of mice.

    PubMed

    Sayed, Ramy K A; de Leonardis, Erika Chacin; Guerrero-Martínez, José A; Rahim, Ibtissem; Mokhtar, Doaa M; Saleh, Abdelmohaimen M; Abdalla, Kamal E H; Pozo, María J; Escames, Germaine; López, Luis C; Acuña-Castroviejo, Darío

    2016-10-01

    The gastrocnemius muscle (GM) of young (3months) and aged (12months) female wild-type C57/BL6 mice was examined by light and electron microscopy, looking for the presence of structural changes at early stage of the aging process. Morphometrical parameters including body and gastrocnemius weights, number and type of muscle fibers, cross section area (CSA), perimeter, and Feret's diameter of single muscle fiber, were measured. Moreover, lengths of the sarcomere, A-band, I-band, H-zone, and number and CSA of intermyofibrillar mitochondria (IFM), were also determined. The results provide evidence that 12month-old mice had significant changes on skeletal muscle structure, beginning with the reduction of gastrocnemius weight to body weight ratio, compatible with an early loss of skeletal muscle function and strength. Moreover, light microscopy revealed increased muscle fibers size, with a significant increase on their CSA, perimeter, and diameter of both type I and type II muscle fibers, and a reduction in the percentage of muscle area occupied by type II fibers. Enhanced connective tissue infiltrations, and the presence of centrally nucleated muscle fibers, were also found in aged mice. These changes may underlie an attempt to compensate the loss of muscle mass and muscle fibers number. Furthermore, electron microscopy discovered a significant age-dependent increase in the length of sarcomeres, I and H bands, and reduction on the overlapped actin/myosin length, supporting contractile force loss with age. Electron microscopy also showed an increased number and CSA of IFM with age, which may reveal more endurance at 12months of age. Together, mice at early stage of aging already show significant changes in gastrocnemius muscle morphology and ultrastructure that are suggestive of the onset of sarcopenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Prospective associations between adolescent mental health problems and positive mental wellbeing in early old age.

    PubMed

    Nishida, Atsushi; Richards, Marcus; Stafford, Mai

    2016-01-01

    Mental health problems in adolescence are predictive of future mental distress and psychopathology; however, few studies investigated adolescent mental health problems in relation to future mental wellbeing and none with follow-up to older age. To test prospective associations between adolescent mental health problems and mental wellbeing and life satisfaction in early old age. A total of 1561 men and women were drawn from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (the British 1946 birth cohort). Teachers had previously completed rating scales to assess emotional adjustment and behaviours, which allowed us to extract factors of mental health problems measuring self-organisation, behavioural problems, and emotional problems during adolescence. Between the ages of 60-64 years, mental wellbeing was assessed using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and life satisfaction was self-reported using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). After controlling for gender, social class of origin, childhood cognitive ability, and educational attainment, adolescent emotional problems were independently inversely associated with mental wellbeing and with life satisfaction. Symptoms of anxiety/depression at 60-64 years explained the association with life satisfaction but not with mental wellbeing. Associations between adolescent self-organisation and conduct problems and mental wellbeing and life satisfaction were of negligible magnitude, but higher childhood cognitive ability significantly predicted poor life satisfaction in early old age. Adolescent self-organisation and conduct problems may not be predictive of future mental wellbeing and life satisfaction. Adolescent emotional problems may be inversely associated with future wellbeing, and may be associated with lower levels of future life satisfaction through symptoms of anxiety/depression in early old age. Initiatives to prevent and treat emotional problems in adolescence may

  6. Early psychomotor development of low-risk preterm infants: Influence of gestational age and gender.

    PubMed

    Romeo, Domenico M; Brogna, Claudia; Sini, Francesca; Romeo, Mario G; Cota, Francesco; Ricci, Daniela

    2016-07-01

    The influence of gestational age and gender in the neurodevelopment of infants during the first year of age is not yet fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to identify the early occurrence of neurodevelopmental differences, between very preterm, late preterm and term born infants and the possible influence of the gender on the neurodevelopment in early infancy. A total of 188 low-risk infants, 69 very preterms, 71 late-preterms, and 48 term infants were assessed at 3, 6, 9, 12 months corrected age using the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE). At two years of age infants performed the Mental Developmental Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. The main results indicate that both very preterms and late-preterms showed significant lower global scores than term born infants at each evaluation (p < 0.001) at HINE and namely, at 3 months for the subsections "cranial nerve" and "posture" and at every age for "tone"; no gender differences has been evidenced in neurological performances. At the MDI, very preterms showed significant lower scores (p < 0.01) than both late-preterm and term born infants; gender differences were observed for preterms only (very and late), with best performances for females. Our results point out the presence of gestational age and gender-dependent differences in the development of infants assessed during the first 2 years of life. Copyright © 2016 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Stress in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, and cortisol levels in older age.

    PubMed

    Harris, Mathew A; Cox, Simon R; Brett, Caroline E; Deary, Ian J; MacLullich, Alasdair M J

    2017-03-01

    The glucocorticoid hypothesis suggests that overexposure to stress may cause permanent upregulation of cortisol. Stress in youth may therefore influence cortisol levels even in older age. Using data from the 6-Day Sample, we investigated the effects of high stress in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood - as well as individual variables contributing to these measures; parental loss, social deprivation, school and home moves, illness, divorce and job instability - upon cortisol levels at age 77 years. Waking, waking +45 min (peak) and evening salivary cortisol samples were collected from 159 participants, and the 150 who were not using steroid medications were included in this study. After correcting for multiple comparisons, the only significant association was between early-adulthood job instability and later-life peak cortisol levels. After excluding participants with dementia or possible mild cognitive impairment, early-adulthood high stress showed significant associations with lower evening and mean cortisol levels, suggesting downregulation by stress, but these results did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Overall, our results do not provide strong evidence of a relationship between stress in youth and later-life cortisol levels, but do suggest that some more long-term stressors, such as job instability, may indeed produce lasting upregulation of cortisol, persisting into the mid-to-late seventies.

  8. Stress in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, and cortisol levels in older age

    PubMed Central

    Harris, Mathew A.; Cox, Simon R.; Brett, Caroline E.; Deary, Ian J.; MacLullich, Alasdair M. J.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract The glucocorticoid hypothesis suggests that overexposure to stress may cause permanent upregulation of cortisol. Stress in youth may therefore influence cortisol levels even in older age. Using data from the 6-Day Sample, we investigated the effects of high stress in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood – as well as individual variables contributing to these measures; parental loss, social deprivation, school and home moves, illness, divorce and job instability – upon cortisol levels at age 77 years. Waking, waking +45 min (peak) and evening salivary cortisol samples were collected from 159 participants, and the 150 who were not using steroid medications were included in this study. After correcting for multiple comparisons, the only significant association was between early-adulthood job instability and later-life peak cortisol levels. After excluding participants with dementia or possible mild cognitive impairment, early-adulthood high stress showed significant associations with lower evening and mean cortisol levels, suggesting downregulation by stress, but these results did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Overall, our results do not provide strong evidence of a relationship between stress in youth and later-life cortisol levels, but do suggest that some more long-term stressors, such as job instability, may indeed produce lasting upregulation of cortisol, persisting into the mid-to-late seventies. PMID:28140738

  9. Xenohormesis in early life: New avenues of research to explore anti-aging strategies through the maternal diet.

    PubMed

    de Medina, Philippe

    2017-11-01

    Aging is a progressive internal physiological deterioration of the organism, leading to the occurrence of age-related lethal diseases. It has become a major societal challenge to understand the processes that drive aging and to develop rational pharmacological agents and dietary approaches to fight against age-related deterioration and diseases. Interestingly, several lines of evidence highlight an influence of the developmental period on the risk of age-related diseases later in life. This field is known as the developmental origins of health and disease. Following this logic, studying the modification of maternal diet during early life may provide innovative new anti-aging approaches. Nutritional and psychological stresses during gestation are associated with poorer offspring health conditions in late life, and must be avoided during pregnancy. Besides these recommendations, very little has been published about the possible use of maternal diet to program offspring for healthy aging and an extended lifespan. Such health benefits may be provided by different foreign molecules, and particularly the phytochemicals produced by stressed plants, or xenohormetins. The xenohormesis hypothesis proposes that xenohormetins are signals of environmental change and trigger a beneficial adaptive response in individuals who consume them. No studies to date have investigated whether the consumption of stressed plants during pregnancy and lactation could provide chemical cues that impact early life programming and thus influence the future health and lifespan of offspring. Investigating the effect of xenohormesis in early life will involve adding edible plants exposed to different stressors (i.e. UV light, heat, ozone, etc.) to maternal diet and the exposure of offspring to this xenohormetin-enriched maternal diet at different periods of their prenatal life. The hypothesis proposed in this article is a potential tool to decipher the possible impact of xenohormesis during early

  10. Community factors shaping early age at first sex among adolescents in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda.

    PubMed

    Stephenson, Rob; Simon, Calleen; Finneran, Catherine

    2014-06-01

    Using data from the National Survey of Adolescents (2004), we examine the community-level factors associated with early age at first sex among adolescents 14-19 years old in four African countries. Regression models are fitted separately by sex for each country for an outcome measuring early age at first sex, with a focus on community-level factors as potential influences of age on sexual debut. The community-level factors associated with adolescents' sexual debut vary widely by both country and gender. Community influences that emerge as risk or protective factors of early sexual debut include community levels of adolescent marriage, wealth, religious group affiliation, sex education, parental monitoring, reproductive health knowledge, media exposure, membership in adolescent social group, and use of alcohol. Results indicate the importance of context-specific understanding of adolescents' sexual behaviour and suggest how elements of place should be harnessed in the development of effective HIV and sexual health interventions.

  11. Effects of comorbidity and early age of onset in young people with Bipolar Disorder on self harming behaviour and suicide attempts.

    PubMed

    Moor, Stephanie; Crowe, Marie; Luty, Sue; Carter, Janet; Joyce, Peter R

    2012-02-01

    The age of the first episode of illness in Bipolar Disorder has been shown to be an important predictor of outcome with early onset, particularly onset before puberty, associated with greater comorbidity, a poorer quality of life and greatest impairment in functioning. Baseline data from a psychotherapy study was used to examine the prevalence of other comorbid psychiatric conditions and the impact of onset at an early age on both self harming behaviour and suicide attempts in young people with Bipolar Disorder. This study of 100 adolescents and young adults (aged 15-36 years) with Bipolar Disorder showed that comorbid conditions were very common, even at the start of their bipolar illness. Comorbidity increased as the age of onset decreased with very early onset (<13 years) patients bearing the greatest burden of disease. Greater comorbidity also significantly increased the risk of having self harmed and attempted suicide with high lethal intent. Self harming behaviour was predicted by having a lifetime diagnoses of Borderline Personality Disorder and Panic Disorder along with an early age of onset of Bipolar Disorder. In contrast, previous suicide attempts were predicted by greater comorbidity and not by very early (<13 years) age of onset. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Early-age hydration and volume change of calcium sulfoaluminate cement-based binders

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaunsali, Piyush

    Shrinkage cracking is a predominant deterioration mechanism in structures with high surface-to-volume ratio. One way to allay shrinkage-induced stresses is to use calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement whose early-age expansion in restrained condition induces compressive stress that can be utilized to counter the tensile stresses due to shrinkage. In addition to enhancing the resistance against shrinkage cracking, CSA cement also has lower carbon footprint than that of Portland cement. This dissertation aims at improving the understanding of early-age volume change of CSA cement-based binders. For the first time, interaction between mineral admixtures (Class F fly ash, Class C fly ash, and silica fume) and OPC-CSA binder was studied. Various physico-chemical factors such as the hydration of ye'elimite (main component in CSA cement), amount of ettringite (the main phase responsible for expansion in CSA cement), supersaturation with respect to ettringite in cement pore solution, total pore volume, and material stiffness were monitored to examine early-age expansion characteristics. This research validated the crystallization stress theory by showing the presence of higher supersaturation level of ettringite, and therefore, higher crystallization stress in CSA cement-based binders. Supersaturation with respect to ettringite was found to increase with CSA dosage and external supply of gypsum. Mineral admixtures (MA) altered the expansion characteristics in OPC-CSA-MA binders with fixed CSA cement. This study reports that fly ash (FA) behaves differently depending on its phase composition. The Class C FA-based binder (OPC-CSA-CFA) ceased expanding beyond two days unlike other OPC-CSA-MA binders. Three factors were found to govern expansion of CSA cement-based binders: 1) volume fraction of ettringite in given pore volume, 2) saturation level of ettringite, and 3) dynamic modulus. Various models were utilized to estimate the macroscopic tensile stress in CSA cement

  13. Detrital zircon geochronology of the Cretaceous succession from the Iberian Atlantic Margin: palaeogeographic implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dinis, Pedro A.; Dinis, Jorge; Tassinari, Colombo; Carter, Andy; Callapez, Pedro; Morais, Manuel

    2016-04-01

    Detrital zircon U-Pb data performed on eight Cretaceous sandstone samples (819 age isotopic results) from the Lusitanian basin (west Portugal) constrain the history of uplift and palaeodrainage of western Iberia following break-up of Pangaea and opening of the North Atlantic Ocean. We examined the links between shifts in provenance and known basinwide unconformities dated to the late Berriasian, Barremian, late Aptian and Cenomanian-Turonian. The detrital zircon record of sedimentary rocks with wider supplying areas is relatively homogenous, being characterized by a clear predominance of late Palaeozoic ages (c. 375-275 Ma) together with variable proportions of ages in the range c. 800-460 Ma. These two groups of ages are diagnostic of sources within the Variscan Iberian Massif. A few samples also reveal significant amounts of middle Palaeozoic (c. 420-385 Ma) and late Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic (c. 1.2-0.9 Ga) zircon, which are almost absent in the basement to the east of the Lusitanian basin, but are common in terranes with a Laurussia affinity found in NW Iberia and the conjugate margin (Newfoundland). The Barremian unconformity marks a sudden rise in the proportion of c. 375-275 Ma zircon ages accompanied by a decrease in the abundance of the c. 420-385 Ma and c. 1.2-0.9 Ga ages. This shift in the zircon signature, which is contemporaneous with the separation of the Galicia Bank from Flemish Cap, reflects increased denudation of Variscan crystalline rocks and a reduction in source material from NW Iberia and adjoining areas. The late Aptian unconformity, which represents the largest hiatus in the sedimentary record, is reflected by a shift in late Palaeozoic peak ages from c. 330-310 Ma (widespread in Iberia) to c. 310-290 Ma (more frequent in N Iberia). It is considered that this shift in the age spectra resulted from a westward migration of catchment areas following major uplift in northern Iberia and some transport southward from the Bay of

  14. Early Parental Abuse and Daily Assistance to Aging Parents With Disability: Associations With the Middle-Aged Adults' Daily Well-being.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yin; Kong, Jooyoung; Bangerter, Lauren R; Zarit, Steven H; Almeida, David M

    2018-01-09

    The current study examined the within-person association between providing daily assistance to aging parents with disability and adult children's daily mood in the context of early relationship with parents. We used data from 782 participants and 5,758 daily interviews from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Refresher, with 248 people self-reported providing daily assistance ranging from 1 to 8 days out of the entire daily-interview period. Multilevel models were fit to examine the moderating effect of physical and emotional abuse from parents in early life on the associations between daily assistance to parents today and yesterday and daily mood. Additional analyses were conducted to examine whether the moderating effect of parental abuse remained when the assistance was provided for other family members and friends. Providing assistance today and yesterday to parents had immediate and lagged associations with higher negative affect when adult children experienced childhood emotional abuse from parents. No significant findings were found for daily positive affect. The moderating effect of parental abuse became nonsignificant when the assistance was provided to other family members or friends. Daily assistance to parents with disability needs to be examined in the context of the relationship history with parents. The impact of childhood abuse can linger long after the actual incident. Frequent early emotional abuse from parents was associated with greater distress when the middle-aged provided daily assistance to their aging parents. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Self-healing of early age cracks in cement-based materials by mineralization of carbonic anhydrase microorganism

    PubMed Central

    Qian, Chunxiang; Chen, Huaicheng; Ren, Lifu; Luo, Mian

    2015-01-01

    This research investigated the self-healing potential of early age cracks in cement-based materials incorporating the bacteria which can produce carbonic anhydrase. Cement-based materials specimens were pre-cracked at the age of 7, 14, 28, 60 days to study the repair ability influenced by cracking time, the width of cracks were between 0.1 and 1.0 mm to study the healing rate influenced by width of cracks. The experimental results indicated that the bacteria showed excellent repairing ability to small cracks formed at early age of 7 days, cracks below 0.4 mm was almost completely closed. The repair effect reduced with the increasing of cracking age. Cracks width influenced self-healing effectiveness significantly. The transportation of CO2and Ca2+ controlled the self-healing process. The computer simulation analyses revealed the self-healing process and mechanism of microbiologically precipitation induced by bacteria and the depth of precipitated CaCO3 could be predicted base on valid Ca2+. PMID:26583014

  16. Evaluation of Standardized Instruments for Use in Universal Screening of Very Early School-Age Children: Suitability, Technical Adequacy, and Usability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miles, Sandra; Fulbrook, Paul; Mainwaring-Mägi, Debra

    2018-01-01

    Universal screening of very early school-age children (age 4-7 years) is important for early identification of learning problems that may require enhanced learning opportunity. In this context, use of standardized instruments is critical to obtain valid, reliable, and comparable assessment outcomes. A wide variety of standardized instruments is…

  17. Phanerozoic geological evolution of the Equatorial Atlantic domain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basile, Christophe; Mascle, Jean; Guiraud, René

    2005-10-01

    The Phanerozoic geological evolution of the Equatorial Atlantic domain has been controlled since the end of Early Cretaceous by the Romanche and Saint Paul transform faults. These faults did not follow the PanAfrican shear zones, but were surimposed on Palæozoic basins. From Neocomian to Barremian, the Central Atlantic rift propagated southward in Cassiporé and Marajó basins, and the South Atlantic rift propagated northward in Potiguar and Benue basins. During Aptian times, the Equatorial Atlantic transform domain appeared as a transfer zone between the northward propagating tip of South Atlantic and the Central Atlantic. Between the transform faults, oceanic accretion started during Late Aptian in small divergent segments, from south to north: Benin-Mundaú, deep Ivorian basin-Barreirinhas, Liberia-Cassiporé. From Late Aptian to Late Albian, the Togo-Ghana-Ceará basins appeared along the Romanche transform fault, and Côte d'Ivoire-Parà-Maranhão basins along Saint Paul transform fault. They were rapidly subsiding in intra-continental settings. During Late Cretaceous, these basins became active transform continental margins, and passive margins since Santonian times. In the same time, the continental edge uplifted leading either to important erosion on the shelf or to marginal ridges parallel to the transform faults in deeper settings.

  18. Age-related differences in event-related potentials for early visual processing of emotional faces.

    PubMed

    Hilimire, Matthew R; Mienaltowski, Andrew; Blanchard-Fields, Fredda; Corballis, Paul M

    2014-07-01

    With advancing age, processing resources are shifted away from negative emotional stimuli and toward positive ones. Here, we explored this 'positivity effect' using event-related potentials (ERPs). Participants identified the presence or absence of a visual probe that appeared over photographs of emotional faces. The ERPs elicited by the onsets of angry, sad, happy and neutral faces were recorded. We examined the frontocentral emotional positivity (FcEP), which is defined as a positive deflection in the waveforms elicited by emotional expressions relative to neutral faces early on in the time course of the ERP. The FcEP is thought to reflect enhanced early processing of emotional expressions. The results show that within the first 130 ms young adults show an FcEP to negative emotional expressions, whereas older adults show an FcEP to positive emotional expressions. These findings provide additional evidence that the age-related positivity effect in emotion processing can be traced to automatic processes that are evident very early in the processing of emotional facial expressions. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. Symptoms to pollen and fruits early in life and allergic disease at 4 years of age.

    PubMed

    Mai, X-M; Neuman, A; Ostblom, E; Pershagen, G; Nordvall, L; Almqvist, C; van Hage, M; Wickman, M

    2008-11-01

    The predictive value of reported early symptoms to pollen or fruits on later allergic disease is unclear. Our aim is to evaluate if symptoms to pollen and/or to fruits early in life are associated with allergic disease and sensitization to pollen at 4 years. The study included 3619 children from the Barn (Children), Allergy, Milieu, Stockholm, Epidemiology project (BAMSE) birth cohort. Reported symptoms of wheeze, sneeze or rash to birch, grass or weed, symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, rash, facial edema, sneeze, or wheeze) to fruits including tree-nuts at 1 or 2 years of age, and definitions of asthma, rhinitis and eczema at 4 years were derived from questionnaire data. Sensitization to pollen allergens was defined as allergen-specific IgE-antibodies to any pollen (birch/timothy/mugwort) > or =0.35 kU(A)/l. At 1 or 2 years of age, 6% of the children were reported to have pollen-related symptoms, 6% had symptoms to fruits, and 1.4% to both pollen and fruits. Children with symptoms to both pollen and fruits at 1 or 2 years of age had an increased risk for sensitization to any pollen allergen at age 4 (OR(adj) = 4.4, 95% CI = 2.1-9.2). This group of children also had a substantially elevated risk for developing any allergic disease (asthma, rhinitis, or eczema) at 4 years irrespective of sensitization to pollen (OR(adj) = 8.6, 95% CI = 4.5-16.4). The prevalence of reported symptoms to pollen and fruits is very low in early childhood. However, children with early symptoms to both pollen and fruits appear to have a markedly elevated risk for allergic disease.

  20. The Risk Factors of Performance-Based Early Frailty in Midlife and Older Age.

    PubMed

    Peterson, Matthew J

    2018-01-01

    Background: Identifying impairments prior to onset of physical frailty may inform targeted interventions. An objective, clinically feasible early frailty measure, termed performance-based early frailty (PBEF) was developed, and antecedent and current risk factors were examined. Method: Data were from N = 104 participants of the Fels Longitudinal Study. PBEF was derived from age-specific cut points for time to complete five chair stands and walk four meters. "Pre-PBEF" and "PBEF" were defined as impairment in one or both measures, respectively. Candidate PBEF risk factors included body composition, health and quality of life, grip strength, and biomarker measures. Results: Pre-PBEF was identified in 26% and 30% of midlife and older adults, and PBEF was identified in 11% and 14% of midlife and older adults, respectively. When predicting midlife PBEF, only current physical activity was significant (odds ratio [OR] = 0.18). In older adults, PBEF status was predicted by previous heavier drinking (OR = 3.09), previous better grip strength (OR = 0.92), current poorer sleep habits (OR = 1.19), and current higher C-reactive protein concentrations (OR = 1.20). Conclusion: Differing age group patterns of predictors emerged, suggesting that PBEF in midlife is likely a state influenced by current health status, whereas older age PBEF is influenced by both current and antecedent factors.

  1. Early-life Infection is a Vulnerability Factor for Aging-Related Glial Alterations and Cognitive Decline

    PubMed Central

    Bilbo, Staci D.

    2010-01-01

    There is significant individual variability in cognitive decline during aging, suggesting the existence of “vulnerability factors” for eventual deficits. Neuroinflammation may be one such factor; increased glial reactivity is a common outcome of aging, which in turn is associated with numerous neurodegenerative conditions. Early-life infection leads to cognitive impairment in conjunction with an inflammatory challenge in young adulthood, which led us to explore whether it might also accelerate the cognitive decline associated with aging. Rats were treated on postnatal day 4 with PBS or E. coli, and then tested for learning & memory at 2 or 16 month of age, using 2 fear conditioning tasks (context pre-exposure and ambiguous cue), and a spatial water maze task. Neonatally-infected rats exhibited memory impairments in both the ambiguous cue fear-conditioning task and in the water maze, but only at 16 month. There were no differences in anxiety between groups. Neonatally-infected rats also exhibited greater aging-induced increases in glial markers (CD11b and MHC II on microglia, and GFAP on astrocytes), as well as selective changes in NMDA receptor subunit expression within the hippocampus, but not in amygdala or parietal cortex compared to controls. Taken together, these data suggest that early-life infection leads to less successful cognitive aging, which may be linked to changes in glial reactivity. PMID:20388544

  2. Early-life infection is a vulnerability factor for aging-related glial alterations and cognitive decline.

    PubMed

    Bilbo, Staci D

    2010-07-01

    There is significant individual variability in cognitive decline during aging, suggesting the existence of "vulnerability factors" for eventual deficits. Neuroinflammation may be one such factor; increased glial reactivity is a common outcome of aging, which in turn is associated with numerous neurodegenerative conditions. Early-life infection leads to cognitive impairment in conjunction with an inflammatory challenge in young adulthood, which led us to explore whether it might also accelerate the cognitive decline associated with aging. Rats were treated on postnatal day 4 with PBS or Escherichia coli, and then tested for learning and memory at 2 or 16months of age, using two fear-conditioning tasks (context pre-exposure and ambiguous cue), and a spatial water maze task. Neonatally-infected rats exhibited memory impairments in both the ambiguous cue fear-conditioning task and in the water maze, but only at 16months. There were no differences in anxiety between groups. Neonatally-infected rats also exhibited greater aging-induced increases in glial markers (CD11b and MHCII on microglia, and GFAP on astrocytes), as well as selective changes in NMDA receptor subunit expression within the hippocampus, but not in amygdala or parietal cortex compared to controls. Taken together, these data suggest that early-life infection leads to less successful cognitive aging, which may be linked to changes in glial reactivity.

  3. Early-life conditions and health at older ages: The mediating role of educational attainment, family and employment trajectories

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    Objectives We examine to what extent the effect of early-life conditions (health and socioeconomic status) on health in later life is mediated by educational attainment and life-course trajectories (fertility, partnership, employment). Methods Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N = 12,034), we apply, separately by gender, multichannel sequence analysis and cluster analysis to obtain groups of similar family and employment histories. The KHB method is used to disentangle direct and indirect effects of early-life conditions on health. Results Early-life-conditions indirectly impact on health in later life as result of their influence on education and family and employment trajectories. For example, between 22% and 42% of the effect of low parental socio-economic status at childhood on the three considered health outcomes at older age is explained by educational attainment for women. Even higher percentages are found for men (35% - 57%). On the contrary, the positive effect of poor health at childhood on poor health at older ages is not significantly mediated by education and life-course trajectories. Education captures most of the mediating effect of parental socio-economic status. More specifically, between 66% and 75% of the indirect effect of low parental socio-economic status at childhood on the three considered health outcomes at older age is explained by educational attainment for women. Again, higher percentages are found for men (86% - 93%). Early-life conditions, especially socioeconomic status, influence family and employment trajectories indirectly through their impact on education. We also find a persistent direct impact of early-life conditions on health at older ages. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that early-life experiences influence education and life-course trajectories and health in later life, suggesting that public investments in children are expected to produce long lasting effects on people’s lives

  4. Social inequality in walking speed in early old age in the Whitehall II study.

    PubMed

    Brunner, Eric; Shipley, Martin; Spencer, Victoria; Kivimaki, Mika; Chandola, Tarani; Gimeno, David; Singh-Manoux, Archana; Guralnik, Jack; Marmot, Michael

    2009-10-01

    We investigated social inequalities in walking speed in early old age. Walking speed was measured by timed 8-ft (2.44 m) test in 6,345 individuals, with mean age of 61.1 (SD 6.0) years. Current or last known civil service employment grade defined socioeconomic position. Mean walking speed was 1.36 (SD 0.29) m/s in men and 1.21 (SD 0.30) in women. Average age- and ethnicity-adjusted walking speed was approximately 13% higher in the highest employment grade compared with the lowest. Based on the relative index of inequality (RII), the difference in walking speed across the social hierarchy was 0.15 m/s (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.12-0.18) in men and 0.17 m/s (0.12-0.22) in women, corresponding to an age-related difference of 18.7 (13.6-23.8) years in men and 14.9 (9.9-19.9) years in women. The RII for slow walking speed (logistic model for lowest sex-specific quartile vs others) adjusted for age, sex, and ethnicity was 3.40 (2.64-4.36). Explanatory factors for the social gradient in walking speed included Short-Form 36 physical functioning, labor market status, financial insecurity, height, and body mass index. Demographic, psychosocial, behavioral, biologic, and health factors in combination accounted for 40% of social inequality in walking speed. Social inequality in walking speed is substantial in early old age and reflects many factors beyond the direct effects of physical health.

  5. Did in-place rotation of South America during the Early Cretaceous create both the early South Atlantic rift/salt basin and the Paraná-Etendeka large igneous province? Peter Szatmari1 and Edison J. Milani1 1Petrobras Research Center (CENPES) Geological Research & Development (PDGEO), Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Szatmari, P.; Milani, E.

    2012-12-01

    Colatina dike swarm and still further southwest the widest, Ponta Grossa dike swarm both trend SE-NW; the latter is associated with the continental flood basalts of the Paraná-Etendeka province that lie on land in the Paraná Basin and offshore in the rift beneath Aptian salt. South of about 28 degrees S offshore from southernmost Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, a seaward dipping reflector sequence (SDRs) composed predominantly of volcanic rocks borders pre-Aptian oceanic crust that is absent to the north. The southwest increasing abundance of the volcanics,together with the E-W and SE-NW trends of the early dike swarms strongly suggest that volcanism was controlled by the same in-place rotation of the continent that controlled rifting.

  6. EARLY CHILDHOOD LENGTH-FOR-AGE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WORK STATUS OF FILIPINO YOUNG ADULTS

    PubMed Central

    Carba, Delia B.; Tan, Vivencia L.; Adair, Linda S.

    2009-01-01

    Most studies on childhood health and human capital in developing countries examine how early childhood linear growth relates to later human productivity as reflected in schooling success. Work status is another important human capital outcome related to early child health. This study examines the relationship of linear growth restriction at two years of age to work status in young adults who have, for the most part completed their schooling and further explores whether this relationship differs by gender. The analysis sample of 1,795 was drawn from participants in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey, which followed individuals from birth to age 20–22 years. Work status in 2005 was represented by three categories: not working, working in an informal job, and working in a formal job. Formal work in the Philippines, as in most countries, is associated with regular hours, higher wages and benefits. Analyses were stratified by gender and current school enrolment, and adjusted for socioeconomic status and attained years of schooling. Among males no longer in school, higher length-for-age Z score (LAZ) at age 2 was associated with a 40% increase in likelihood of formal work compared to not working. In females, each 1 unit increase in LAZ was associated with 0.2 higher likelihood of formal vs. informal work. No significant associations were observed in the small sample of young adults still in school. To improve job prospects of young adults, it is important to provide proper nutrition in early childhood and adequate educational opportunities during schooling years. PMID:19261549

  7. Effects of early auditory experience on the spoken language of deaf children at 3 years of age.

    PubMed

    Nicholas, Johanna Grant; Geers, Ann E

    2006-06-01

    By age 3, typically developing children have achieved extensive vocabulary and syntax skills that facilitate both cognitive and social development. Substantial delays in spoken language acquisition have been documented for children with severe to profound deafness, even those with auditory oral training and early hearing aid use. This study documents the spoken language skills achieved by orally educated 3-yr-olds whose profound hearing loss was identified and hearing aids fitted between 1 and 30 mo of age and who received a cochlear implant between 12 and 38 mo of age. The purpose of the analysis was to examine the effects of age, duration, and type of early auditory experience on spoken language competence at age 3.5 yr. The spoken language skills of 76 children who had used a cochlear implant for at least 7 mo were evaluated via standardized 30-minute language sample analysis, a parent-completed vocabulary checklist, and a teacher language-rating scale. The children were recruited from and enrolled in oral education programs or therapy practices across the United States. Inclusion criteria included presumed deaf since birth, English the primary language of the home, no other known conditions that interfere with speech/language development, enrolled in programs using oral education methods, and no known problems with the cochlear implant lasting more than 30 days. Strong correlations were obtained among all language measures. Therefore, principal components analysis was used to derive a single Language Factor score for each child. A number of possible predictors of language outcome were examined, including age at identification and intervention with a hearing aid, duration of use of a hearing aid, pre-implant pure-tone average (PTA) threshold with a hearing aid, PTA threshold with a cochlear implant, and duration of use of a cochlear implant/age at implantation (the last two variables were practically identical because all children were tested between 40 and 44

  8. Influence of Eco-Friendly Mineral Additives on Early Age Compressive Strength and Temperature Development of High-Performance Concrete

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaszynska, Maria; Skibicki, Szymon

    2017-12-01

    High-performance concrete (HPC) which contains increased amount of both higher grade cement and pozzolanic additives generates more hydration heat than the ordinary concrete. Prolonged periods of elevated temperature influence the rate of hydration process in result affecting the development of early-age strength and subsequent mechanical properties. The purpose of the presented research is to determine the relationship between the kinetics of the heat generation process and the compressive strength of early-age high performance concrete. All mixes were based on the Portland Cement CEM I 52.5 with between 7.5% to 15% of the cement mass replaced by the silica fume or metakaolin. Two characteristic for HPC water/binder ratios of w/b = 0.2 and w/b = 0.3 were chosen. A superplasticizer was used to maintain a 20-50 mm slump. Compressive strength was determined at 8h, 24h, 3, 7 and 28 days on 10x10x10 cm specimens that were cured in a calorimeter in a constant temperature of T = 20°C. The temperature inside the concrete was monitored continuously for 7 days. The study determined that the early-age strength (t<24h) of concrete with reactive mineral additives is lower than concrete without them. This is clearly visible for concretes with metakaolin which had the lowest compressive strength in early stages of hardening. The amount of the superplasticizer significantly influenced the early-age compressive strength of concrete. Concretes with additives reached the maximum temperature later than the concretes without them.

  9. The association of trajectories of protein intake and age-specific protein intakes from 2 to 22 years with BMI in early adulthood.

    PubMed

    Wright, Melecia; Sotres-Alvarez, Daniela; Mendez, Michelle A; Adair, Linda

    2017-03-01

    No study has analysed how protein intake from early childhood to young adulthood relate to adult BMI in a single cohort. To estimate the association of protein intake at 2, 11, 15, 19 and 22 years with age- and sex-standardised BMI at 22 years (early adulthood), we used linear regression models with dietary and anthropometric data from a Filipino birth cohort (1985-2005, n 2586). We used latent growth curve analysis to identify trajectories of protein intake relative to age-specific recommended daily allowance (intake in g/kg body weight) from 2 to 22 years, then related trajectory membership to early adulthood BMI using linear regression models. Lean mass and fat mass were secondary outcomes. Regression models included socioeconomic, dietary and anthropometric confounders from early life and adulthood. Protein intake relative to needs at age 2 years was positively associated with BMI and lean mass at age 22 years, but intakes at ages 11, 15 and 22 years were inversely associated with early adulthood BMI. Individuals were classified into four mutually exclusive trajectories: (i) normal consumers (referent trajectory, 58 % of cohort), (ii) high protein consumers in infancy (20 %), (iii) usually high consumers (18 %) and (iv) always high consumers (5 %). Compared with the normal consumers, 'usually high' consumption was inversely associated with BMI, lean mass and fat mass at age 22 years whereas 'always high' consumption was inversely associated with male lean mass in males. Proximal protein intakes were more important contributors to early adult BMI relative to early-childhood protein intake; protein intake history was differentially associated with adulthood body size.

  10. Early Math Trajectories: Low-Income Children's Mathematics Knowledge From Ages 4 to 11.

    PubMed

    Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Fyfe, Emily R; Hofer, Kerry G; Farran, Dale C

    2017-09-01

    Early mathematics knowledge is a strong predictor of later academic achievement, but children from low-income families enter school with weak mathematics knowledge. An early math trajectories model is proposed and evaluated within a longitudinal study of 517 low-income American children from ages 4 to 11. This model includes a broad range of math topics, as well as potential pathways from preschool to middle grades mathematics achievement. In preschool, nonsymbolic quantity, counting, and patterning knowledge predicted fifth-grade mathematics achievement. By the end of first grade, symbolic mapping, calculation, and patterning knowledge were the important predictors. Furthermore, the first-grade predictors mediated the relation between preschool math knowledge and fifth-grade mathematics achievement. Findings support the early math trajectories model among low-income children. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  11. Effect of various Portland cement paste compositions on early-age strain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guzzetta, Alana G.

    Early-age strain in paste, mortar, and concrete mixtures was investigated using a new method where the specimen shape was a cone frustum. Strain of the specimen from both the horizontal and vertical directions was captured by height change measurement. The volumetric strain was then calculated as a function of the height change and was plotted versus time. A correlation was found between the slopes of the volumetric strain curve resulting from this test method and the initial setting time of the tested material. An initial evaluation of the repeatability of this innovative test method was conducted. The early-age strain effects of aggregate volume, shrinkage reducing admixture, water-cementitious ratio (w/cm), and partial cement replacement with supplementary cementitious materials were tested and individually compared. From these comparisons, it was observed that ambient temperature, bleed water development, and rheological properties had a significant impact on the volumetric strain results. Data showed increased strain as aggregate volume was reduced and as the w/cm was changed from 0.25 up to 0.50. The addition of shrinkage reducing admixture generally caused an increase in the 36-hour volumetric strain value. In most of the mixtures, cement replacement with 20% fly ash or 10% metakaolin reduced the measured volumetric strain when the w/cm was 0.30. Replacement of cement with 10% silica fume caused an insignificant change in volumetric strain results.

  12. Cenomanian-? early Turonian minimum age of the Chubut Group, Argentina: SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suárez, Manuel; Márquez, Marcelo; De La Cruz, Rita; Navarrete, César; Fanning, Mark

    2014-03-01

    Four new SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages older than 93 Ma from samples of the two uppermost formations accumulated in two different depocenters (Golfo de San Jorge and Cañadón Asfalto basins) of the Chubut Group in central Argentinean Patagonia, establish a pre-late Cenomanian-? early Turonian age for the group. It also confirms a coeval and comparable evolution of the two depocenters, where distal pyroclastic material was deposited together with fluvial and lacustrine facies.

  13. Snoring during early childhood and academic performance at ages thirteen to fourteen years.

    PubMed

    Gozal, D; Pope, D W

    2001-06-01

    Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in young children is associated with an adverse effect on learning. However, the long-term impact of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) during early childhood on learning remains unknown. Questionnaires were mailed to seventh and eighth graders attending public schools whose class ranking was either in the top 25% (high performance [HP]) or bottom 25% of their class (low performance [LP]), and who were matched for age, gender, race, school, and street of residence. Snoring frequency and loudness at 2 to 6 years of age, tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T&A) for snoring or recurrent infection, school grades, and parental smoking and snoring were assessed. The questionnaire response rate was 82.8%. Because of ongoing ring, 13 responders were excluded, such that 1588 questionnaires could be analyzed (797 in LP and 791 in HP group). Frequent and loud snoring during early childhood was reported in 103 LP children (12.9%) compared with 40 HP children (5.1%; odds ratio: 2.79; confidence interval: 1.88-4.15). Furthermore, 24 LP and 7 HP children underwent T&A for snoring (odds ratio: 3.40; confidence interval: 1.47-7.84), while 21 LP and 19 HP children required surgery for recurrent tonsillitis. Children with lower academic performance in middle school are more likely to have snored during early childhood and to require T&A for snoring compared with better performing schoolmates. These findings support the concept that SDB-associated neurocognitive morbidity may be only partially reversible or that a "learning debt" may develop with SDB during early childhood and hamper subsequent school performance.

  14. Early metformin therapy (age 8-12 years) in girls with precocious pubarche to reduce hirsutism, androgen excess, and oligomenorrhea in adolescence.

    PubMed

    Ibáñez, Lourdes; López-Bermejo, Abel; Díaz, Marta; Marcos, Maria Victoria; de Zegher, Francis

    2011-08-01

    Girls with a combined history of low(-normal) birth weight (LBW) and precocious pubarche (PP) are at high risk to develop polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The objective of the study was to compare the capacity of early vs. late metformin treatment to prevent adolescent PCOS. This was a randomized, open-label study over 7 yr. The study was conducted at a university hospital. Thirty-eight LBW-PP girls were followed up from the mean age 8 until age 15 yr. Early metformin (study yr 1-4; age 8-12 yr) vs. late metformin (yr 6; age 13-14 yr). Measures included height; weight; hirsutism score; menstrual cycle; endocrine-metabolic screening (fasting; follicular phase); C-reactive protein; body composition (absorptiometry); abdominal fat partitioning (magnetic resonance imaging); ovarian morphology (ultrasound); PCOS (National Institutes of Health and Androgen Excess Society definitions) after yr 7 (all girls thus untreated for at least 1 yr). None of the girls dropped out of the study. At age 15 yr, early-metformin girls were taller (4 cm), were in a less proinflammatory state, and had less central fat due to reductions in visceral and hepatic fat. Hirsutism, androgen excess, oligomenorrhea, and PCOS were between 2- and 8-fold more prevalent in late- than early-treated girls. Abdominal adiposity was the first variable to diverge (at age 8-10 yr) between girls without vs. with PCOS at age 15 yr. In LBW-PP girls, early metformin therapy was found to prevent or delay the development of hirsutism, androgen excess, oligomenorrhea, and PCOS more effectively than late metformin. The time window of late childhood and early puberty may be more critical for the development, and thus for the prevention, of adolescent PCOS than the first years beyond menarche.

  15. [Mental interiority in the early-modern age. The "Cartesian theater"].

    PubMed

    Gillot, Pascale

    2010-01-01

    This paper looks into the notion of mental interiority in the early-modern age and, more specifically, into the Cartesian conception of the mind as an "inner theater". The main claim emphasizes a close connexion at work between the representative theory of the mind, associated with internalism, on the one hand, and a "neuropsychological" view on the other hand. Cartesian mentalism, in so far as it is based upon a disjunction between representation and resemblance, can therefore not be separated from the general project, already at work in the Dioptrique, of an intra-cerebral localization of the mental.

  16. Is alcohol binge drinking in early and late pregnancy associated with behavioural and emotional development at age 7 years?

    PubMed

    Niclasen, Janni; Andersen, Anne-Marie Nybo; Strandberg-Larsen, Katrine; Teasdale, Thomas William

    2014-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate associations of maternal binge drinking in early and late pregnancy with child behavioural and emotional development at age seven. It was hypothesised that late exposure is associated with more negative outcomes than early exposure. Differences were expected on the continuous outcome measures, but not on above cutoff scale scores. Data were derived from the Danish National Birth Cohort. Three exposure groups were defined according to binge drinking from three interviews regarding binge episodes in early, middle and late pregnancy. A 'no binge' group included women with no binge episodes reported in any of the interviews, the 'early bingers' reported episodes in the first interview only, and the 'late bingers' in the last part of pregnancy only. The outcome measure was the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) used as continuous externalising/internalising scores and above cutoff hyperactivity/inattention, conduct, emotional and peer problems scores. Only women with full information concerning binge drinking from the three interviews, together with full-scale SDQ information on their children at age seven and being term-born, were included in the study (N = 37,315). After adjustment for maternal education, psychiatric diagnoses, age and smoking, children exposed to binge drinking in early and late pregnancy had significantly higher mean externalizing scores at age seven than unexposed children, an effect albeit much less for early binge drinking (relative change in mean 1.02, CI 1.00-1.05) than for late binge drinking (relative change in mean 1.21, CI 1.04-1.42). No associations were observed for any of the above cutoff outcomes. Exposure to binge drinking in early and late pregnancy is associated with elevated externalising scores, particularly so in late pregnancy. No increased risk for any of the above cutoff scale scores was observed.

  17. Trichotomous processes in early memory development, aging, and neurocognitive impairment: a unified theory.

    PubMed

    Brainerd, C J; Reyna, V F; Howe, M L

    2009-10-01

    One of the most extensively investigated topics in the adult memory literature, dual memory processes, has had virtually no impact on the study of early memory development. The authors remove the key obstacles to such research by formulating a trichotomous theory of recall that combines the traditional dual processes of recollection and familiarity with a reconstruction process. The theory is then embedded in a hidden Markov model that measures all 3 processes with low-burden tasks that are appropriate for even young children. These techniques are applied to a large corpus of developmental studies of recall, yielding stable findings about the emergence of dual memory processes between childhood and young adulthood and generating tests of many theoretical predictions. The techniques are extended to the study of healthy aging and to the memory sequelae of common forms of neurocognitive impairment, resulting in a theoretical framework that is unified over 4 major domains of memory research: early development, mainstream adult research, aging, and neurocognitive impairment. The techniques are also extended to recognition, creating a unified dual process framework for recall and recognition.

  18. Texas Medicaid Payment Reform: Fewer Early Elective Deliveries And Increased Gestational Age And Birthweight.

    PubMed

    Dahlen, Heather M; McCullough, J Mac; Fertig, Angela R; Dowd, Bryan E; Riley, William J

    2017-03-01

    Infants born at full term have better health outcomes. However, one in ten babies in the United States are born via a medically unnecessary early elective delivery: induction of labor, a cesarean section, or both before thirty-nine weeks gestation. In 2011 the Texas Medicaid program sought to reduce the rate of early elective deliveries by denying payment to providers for the procedure. We examined the impact of this policy on clinical care practice and perinatal outcomes by comparing the changes in Texas relative to comparison states. We found that early elective delivery rates fell by as much as 14 percent in Texas after this payment policy change, which led to gains of almost five days in gestational age and six ounces in birthweight among births affected by the policy. The impact on early elective delivery was larger in magnitude for minority patients. Other states may look to this Medicaid payment reform as a model for reducing early elective deliveries and disparities in infant health. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  19. Early detection of aging cartilage and osteoarthritis in mice and patient samples using atomic force microscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stolz, Martin; Gottardi, Riccardo; Raiteri, Roberto; Miot, Sylvie; Martin, Ivan; Imer, Raphaël; Staufer, Urs; Raducanu, Aurelia; Düggelin, Marcel; Baschong, Werner; Daniels, A. U.; Friederich, Niklaus F.; Aszodi, Attila; Aebi, Ueli

    2009-03-01

    The pathological changes in osteoarthritis-a degenerative joint disease prevalent among older people-start at the molecular scale and spread to the higher levels of the architecture of articular cartilage to cause progressive and irreversible structural and functional damage. At present, there are no treatments to cure or attenuate the degradation of cartilage. Early detection and the ability to monitor the progression of osteoarthritis are therefore important for developing effective therapies. Here, we show that indentation-type atomic force microscopy can monitor age-related morphological and biomechanical changes in the hips of normal and osteoarthritic mice. Early damage in the cartilage of osteoarthritic patients undergoing hip or knee replacements could similarly be detected using this method. Changes due to aging and osteoarthritis are clearly depicted at the nanometre scale well before morphological changes can be observed using current diagnostic methods. Indentation-type atomic force microscopy may potentially be developed into a minimally invasive arthroscopic tool to diagnose the early onset of osteoarthritis in situ.

  20. COMPARISON OF GESTATIONAL AGE AT DELIVERY BASED ON LAST MENSTRUAL PERIOD AND EARLY ULTRASOUND

    EPA Science Inventory

    Reported date of last menstrual period (LMP) is commonly used to estimate gestational age but may be unreliable if recall is inaccurate or time between menstruation and ovulation differs from the presumed 15-day interval. Early ultrasound is generally a more accurate method than ...

  1. Reanalysis of Wupus agilis (Early Cretaceous) of Chongqing, China as a Large Avian Trace: Differentiating between Large Bird and Small Non-Avian Theropod Tracks

    PubMed Central

    Xing, Lida; Buckley, Lisa G.; McCrea, Richard T.; Lockley, Martin G.; Zhang, Jianping; Piñuela, Laura; Klein, Hendrik; Wang, Fengping

    2015-01-01

    Trace fossils provide the only records of Early Cretaceous birds from many parts of the world. The identification of traces from large avian track-makers is made difficult given their overall similarity in size and tridactyly in comparison with traces of small non-avian theropods. Reanalysis of Wupus agilis from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) Jiaguan Formation, one of a small but growing number of known avian-pterosaur track assemblages, of southeast China determines that these are the traces of a large avian track-maker, analogous to extant herons. Wupus, originally identified as the trace of a small non-avian theropod track-maker, is therefore similar in both footprint and trackway characteristics to the Early Cretaceous (Albian) large avian trace Limiavipes curriei from western Canada, and Wupus is reassigned to the ichnofamily Limiavipedidae. The reanalysis of Wupus reveals that it and Limiavipes are distinct from similar traces of small to medium-sized non-avian theropods (Irenichnites, Columbosauripus, Magnoavipes) based on their relatively large footprint length to pace length ratio and higher mean footprint splay, and that Wupus shares enough characters with Limiavipes to be reassigned to the ichnofamily Limiavipedidae. The ability to discern traces of large avians from those of small non-avian theropods provides more data on the diversity of Early Cretaceous birds. This analysis reveals that, despite the current lack of body fossils, large wading birds were globally distributed in both Laurasia and Gondwana during the Early Cretaceous. PMID:25993285

  2. Potomacapnos apeleutheron gen. et sp. nov., a new Early Cretaceous angiosperm from the Potomac Group and its implications for the evolution of eudicot leaf architecture.

    PubMed

    Jud, Nathan A; Hickey, Leo J

    2013-12-01

    Eudicots diverged early in the evolution of flowering plants and now comprise more than 70% of angiosperm species. In spite of the importance of eudicots, our understanding of the early evolution of this clade is limited by a poor fossil record and uncertainty about the order of early phylogenetic branching. The study of Lower Cretaceous fossils can reveal much about the evolution, morphology, and ecology of the eudicots. Fossils described here were collected from Aptian sediments of the Potomac Group exposed at the Dutch Gap locality in Virginia, USA. Specimens were prepared by degaging, then described and compared with leaves of relevant extant and fossil plants. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis of morphological characters using parsimony while constraining the tree search with the topology found through molecular phylogenetic analyses. The new species is closely related to ranunculalean eudicots and has leaf architecture remarkably similar to some living Fumarioideae (Papaveraceae). These are the oldest eudicot megafossils from North America, and they show complex leaf architecture reflecting developmental pathways unique to extant eudicots. The morphology and small size of the fossils suggest that they were herbaceous plants, as is seen in other putative early eudicots. The absence of co-occurring tricolpate pollen at Dutch Gap either (1) reflects low preservation probability for pollen of entomophilous herbs or (2) indicates that some leaf features of extant eudicots appeared before the origin of tricolpate pollen.

  3. [Aging affects early stage direction selectivity of MT cells in rhesus monkeys].

    PubMed

    Liang, Zhen; Chen, Yue-Ming; Meng, Xue; Wang, Yi; Zhou, Bao-Zhuo; Xie, Ying-Ying; He, Wen-Sheng

    2012-10-01

    The middle temporal area (MT/V5) plays an important role in motion processing. Neurons in this area have a strongly selective response to the moving direction of objects and as such, the selectivity of MT neurons was proposed to be a neural mechanism for the perception of motion. Our previous studies have found degradation in direction selectivity of MT neurons in old monkeys, but this direction selectivity was calculated during the whole response time and the results were not able to uncover the mechanism of motion perception over a time course. Furthermore, experiments have found that direction selectivity was enhanced by attention at a later stage. Therefore, the response should be excluded in experiments with anesthesia. To further characterize the neural mechanism over a time course, we investigated the age-related changes of direction selectivity in the early stage by comparing the proportions of direction selective MT cells in old and young macaque monkeys using in vivo single-cell recording techniques. Our results show that the proportion of early-stage-direction-selective cells is lower in old monkeys than in young monkeys, and that the early stage direction bias (esDB) of old MT cells decreased relative to young MT cells. Furthermore, the proportion of MT cells having strong early stage direction selectivity in old monkeys was decreased. Accordingly, the functional degradation in the early stage of MT cells may mediate perceptual declines of old primates in visual motion tasks.

  4. Cretaceous and Paleogene granitoid suites of the Sikhote-Alin area (Far East Russia): Geochemistry and tectonic implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grebennikov, Andrei V.; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Gonevchuk, Valeriy G.; Kovalenko, Sergey V.

    2016-09-01

    The Mesozoic and Cenozoic geological history of NE Asia comprises alternating episodes of subduction or transform strike-slip movement of the oceanic plate along the continental margin of Eurasia. This sequence resulted in the regular generation of granitoid suites that are characterized by different ages, compositions, and tectonic settings. The Hauterivian-Aptian orogenic stage of the Sikhote-Alin, associated with the strike-slip displacement of the early Paleozoic continental blocks, the successive deformation of the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous terranes, and the injection of the earliest S-type granitoids. During late Albian, the area underwent syn-strike-slip compression caused by collision with the Aptian island arc and resulted in the injection of voluminous magmas of calc-alkaline magnesian (S- and I-type) and alkali-calcic ferroan (A-type) granitoids into syn-faulting compressional and extensional basins, respectively. Northwestward to westward movement of the Izanagi Plate resulted in the initiation of frontal subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate during the Cenomanian-Maastrichtian. In turn, this resulted in the generation of plateau-forming ignimbrites and their intrusive analogs formed from metaluminous I-type felsic magmas. Paleocene-Eocene magmatism in the Sikhote-Alin area commenced after the termination of subduction in a rifting regime related to strike-slip movement of the oceanic plate relative to the continent. The break-off of the subducted plate and the injection of oceanic asthenospheric material into the subcontinental lithosphere resulted in the eruption of lamproites and fayalite rhyolites, and coeval intrusions of gabbro and alkali feldspar granites (A-type). The A-type granitic-rocks and coeval gabbro-monzonites are considered to be reliable indicators of the transform continental margin geodynamic settings.

  5. Age-26 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Child-Parent Center Early Education Program

    PubMed Central

    Reynolds, Arthur J.; Temple, Judy A.; White, Barry A.; Ou, Suh-Ruu; Robertson, Dylan L.

    2013-01-01

    We conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the Child-Parent Center (CPC) early childhood intervention. Using data collected up to age 26 on health and well-being, the study is the first adult economic analysis of a sustained large-scale and publicly-funded intervention. As part of the Chicago Longitudinal Study, a complete cohort of 900 low-income children who enrolled in 20 CPCs beginning at age 3 were compared to 500 well-matched low-income children who participated in the usual educational interventions for the economically disadvantaged in Chicago schools. School-age services were provided up to age 9 (third grade). Findings indicated that the three components of CPC had economic benefits in 2007 dollars that exceeded costs. The preschool program provided a total return to society of $10.83 per dollar invested (net benefits per participant of $83,708). Benefits to the public (other than program participants and families) were $7.20 per dollar invested. The primary sources of benefits were increased earnings and tax revenues, averted criminal justice system and victim costs, and savings for child welfare, special education, and grade retention. The school-age program had a societal return of $3.97 per dollar invested and a $2.11 public return. The extended intervention program (4 to 6 years of participation) had a societal return of $8.24 and public return of $5.21. Estimates were robust across a wide range of discount rates and alternative assumptions, and were consistent with the results of Monte Carlo simulations. Males, 1-year preschool participants, and children from higher risk families had greater economic benefits. Findings provide strong evidence that sustained early childhood programs can contribute to well-being for individuals and society. PMID:21291448

  6. Daytime Sleepiness Increases With Age in Early Adolescence: A Sleep Restriction Dose-Response Study.

    PubMed

    Campbell, Ian G; Burright, Christopher S; Kraus, Amanda M; Grimm, Kevin J; Feinberg, Irwin

    2017-05-01

    Daytime sleepiness increases across adolescence. This increase is commonly attributed to insufficient sleep durations resulting from increasingly limited time in bed. We tested the effects of 3 sleep schedules on daytime sleepiness and whether these effects changed with age in early adolescence. In 77 children ranging in age from 9.9 to 14 years, objective (multiple sleep latency test [MSLT]) and subjective (Karolinska sleepiness scale [KSS]) sleepiness was measured following 4 consecutive nights of either 7, 8.5, or 10 hours in bed. All participants completed all 3 sleep schedules. The order in which they completed the schedules was not randomized but was accounted for in all statistical analyses. Time in bed restriction decreased sleep duration and increased objective and subjective daytime sleepiness. Although the sleep durations did not change with age, the likelihood of falling asleep during the MSLT increased with age. Nevertheless, sleep restriction produced a greater increase in MSLT-measured sleepiness in younger participants. Subjective sleepiness measured with the KSS increased with shorter sleep duration, but this effect did not change with age. Increasing objective daytime sleepiness in early adolescence cannot simply be attributed to reduced sleep due to restricted sleep schedules. We propose that some of the increased daytime sleepiness of adolescents is a consequence of adolescent brain reorganization driven by synaptic pruning which decreases the intensity of waking brain activity. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Television viewing through ages 2-5 years and bullying involvement in early elementary school.

    PubMed

    Verlinden, Marina; Tiemeier, Henning; Veenstra, René; Mieloo, Cathelijne L; Jansen, Wilma; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Raat, Hein; Hofman, Albert; Verhulst, Frank C; Jansen, Pauline W

    2014-02-12

    High television exposure time at young age has been described as a potential risk factor for developing behavioral problems. However, less is known about the effects of preschool television on subsequent bullying involvement. We examined the association between television viewing time through ages 2-5 and bullying involvement in the first grades of elementary school. We hypothesized that high television exposure increases the risk of bullying involvement. TV viewing time was assessed repeatedly in early childhood using parental report. To combine these repeated assessments we used latent class analysis. Four exposure classes were identified and labeled "low", "mid-low", "mid-high" and "high". Bullying involvement was assessed by teacher questionnaire (n=3423, mean age 6.8 years). Additionally, peer/self-report of bullying involvement was obtained using a peer nomination procedure (n=1176, mean age 7.6 years). We examined child risk of being a bully, victim or a bully-victim (compared to being uninvolved in bullying). High television exposure class was associated with elevated risks of bullying and victimization. Also, in both teacher- and child-reported data, children in the high television exposure class were more likely to be a bully-victim (OR=2.11, 95% CI: 1.42-3.13 and OR=3.68, 95% CI: 1.75-7.74 respectively). However, all univariate effect estimates attenuated and were no longer statistically significant once adjusted for maternal and child covariates. The association between television viewing time through ages 2-5 and bullying involvement in early elementary school is confounded by maternal and child socio-demographic characteristics.

  8. Holes in teeth - Dental caries in Neolithic and Early Bronze Age populations in Central Germany.

    PubMed

    Nicklisch, Nicole; Ganslmeier, Robert; Siebert, Angelina; Friederich, Susanne; Meller, Harald; Alt, Kurt W

    2016-01-01

    This study provides diachronic insight into the epidemiology of carious defects in teeth of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age populations in Central Germany over a period of 4000 years. The data were retrieved from skeletal remains uncovered at 21 sites throughout the Middle Elbe-Saale region (MES), comprising a total of 494 individuals with preserved teeth. The data generated were examined for age- and sex-related differences in order to gain information about the dietary habits and socio-economic structures of the period with the goal of identifying potential diachronic changes. The results indicated that dietary habits changed over the course of the Neolithic period: the prevalence of caries significantly decreased between the Early and Late Neolithic. The adults from the Early Neolithic sample, particularly those from the LBK bore the highest rate of caries. This highlights the essential importance of cereals in the diet of the early farmers in the Middle Elbe-Saale region. As time went on, meat and dairy products became more and more important, which had a positive impact on dental health. The data also show sex-specific differences: women were more often affected by caries than men and female jaws also generally exhibited greater numbers of carious teeth than their male counterparts. Dental health is a reflection of both biological factors and of economic and sociocultural structures. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  9. Attitudes of Veterinary Teaching Staff and Exposure of Veterinary Students to Early-Age Desexing, with Review of Current Early-Age Desexing Literature.

    PubMed

    Jupe, Alannah; Rand, Jacquie; Morton, John; Fleming, Sophie

    2017-12-25

    Approximately 50% of cats admitted to Australian shelters are kittens, and 26% of dogs are puppies, and, particularly for cats, euthanasia rates are often high. Cats can be pregnant by 4 months of age, yet the traditional desexing age is 5-6 months, and studies in Australasia and Nth America reveal that only a minority of veterinarians routinely perform early age desexing (EAD) of cats or dogs, suggesting they are not graduating with these skills. This study aimed to describe the attitudes of veterinary teaching staff in Australian and New Zealand universities towards EAD, and to determine if these changed from 2008 to 2015. It also aimed to identify students' practical exposure to EAD. Most (64%) of the 25 participants in 2015 did not advocate EAD in their teaching and, in their personal opinion, only 32% advocated it for cats. Concerns related to EAD cited by staff included anesthetic risk, orthopedic problems, hypoglycemia, and, in female dogs, urinary incontinence. Those who advocated EAD cited benefits of population control, ease of surgery and behavioral benefits. Only three of the eight universities provided a majority of students with an opportunity to gain exposure to EAD procedures before graduation, and in two of these, most students had an opportunity to perform EAD. In conclusion, most veterinary students in Australia and New Zealand are not graduating with the knowledge or skills to perform EAD, and have little opportunity while at university to gain practical exposure. Welfare agencies could partner with universities to enable students to experience EAD.

  10. Relationship between macular pigment and visual function in subjects with early age-related macular degeneration.

    PubMed

    Akuffo, Kwadwo Owusu; Nolan, John M; Peto, Tunde; Stack, Jim; Leung, Irene; Corcoran, Laura; Beatty, Stephen

    2017-02-01

    To investigate the relationship between macular pigment (MP) and visual function in subjects with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 121 subjects with early AMD enrolled as part of the Central Retinal Enrichment Supplementation Trial (CREST; ISRCTN13894787) were assessed using a range of psychophysical measures of visual function, including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), letter contrast sensitivity (CS), mesopic and photopic CS, mesopic and photopic glare disability (GD), photostress recovery time (PRT), reading performance and subjective visual function, using the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25). MP was measured using customised heterochromatic flicker photometry. Letter CS, mesopic and photopic CS, photopic GD and mean reading speed were each significantly (p<0.05) associated with MP across a range of retinal eccentricities, and these statistically significant relationships persisted after controlling for age, sex and cataract grade. BCVA, NEI VFQ-25 score, PRT and mesopic GD were unrelated to MP after controlling for age, sex and cataract grade (p>0.05, for all). MP relates positively to many measures of visual function in unsupplemented subjects with early AMD. The CREST trial will investigate whether enrichment of MP influences visual function among those afflicted with this condition. ISRCTN13894787. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  11. Does Raising the Early Retirement Age Increase Employment of Older Workers?

    PubMed

    Staubli, Stefan; Zweimüller, Josef

    2013-12-01

    Two pension reforms in Austria increased the early retirement age (ERA) from 60 to 62 for men and from 55 to 58.25 for women. We find that raising the ERA increased employment by 9.75 percentage points among affected men and by 11 percentage points among affected women. The reforms had large spillover effects on the unemployment insurance program but negligible effects on disability insurance claims. Specifically, unemployment increased by 12.5 percentage points among men and by 11.8 percentage points among women. The employment response was largest among high-wage and healthy workers, while low-wage and less healthy workers either continued to retire early via disability benefits or bridged the gap to the ERA via unemployment benefits. Taking spillover effects and additional tax revenues into account, we find that for a typical birth-year cohort a one year increase in the ERA resulted in a reduction of net government expenditures of 107 million euros for men and of 122 million euros for women.

  12. Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines for Ages Birth to 3: Nurturing the Development and Learning of Infants and Toddlers through Responsive Caregiving

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nebraska Department of Education, 2006

    2006-01-01

    This resource provides information to assist parents, family members, early childhood teachers, caregivers, and other adults in promoting the learning and development of young children ages birth to three. It is a companion to the Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines for Ages 3 to 5, and uses the same format and domains of development. This…

  13. Personality and performance are affected by age and early life parameters in a small primate.

    PubMed

    Zablocki-Thomas, Pauline B; Herrel, Anthony; Hardy, Isabelle; Rabardel, Lucile; Perret, Martine; Aujard, Fabienne; Pouydebat, Emmanuelle

    2018-05-01

    A whole suite of parameters is likely to influence the behavior and performance of individuals as adults, including correlations between phenotypic traits or an individual's developmental context. Here, we ask the question whether behavior and physical performance traits are correlated and how early life parameters such as birth weight, litter size, and growth can influence these traits as measured during adulthood. We studied 486 captive gray mouse lemurs ( Microcebus murinus ) and measured two behavioral traits and two performance traits potentially involved in two functions: exploration behavior with pull strength and agitation score with bite force. We checked for the existence of behavioral consistency in behaviors and explored correlations between behavior, performance, morphology. We analyzed the effect of birth weight, growth, and litter size, while controlling for age, sex, and body weight. Behavior and performance were not correlated with one another, but were both influenced by age. Growth rate had a positive effect on adult morphology, and birth weight significantly affected emergence latency and bite force. Grip strength was not directly affected by early life traits, but bite performance and exploration behavior were impacted by birth weight. This study shows how early life parameters impact personality and performance.

  14. Macro-level Age Norms for the Timing of Sexual Initiation and Adolescents’ Early Sexual Initiation in 17 European Countries

    PubMed Central

    Madkour, Aubrey Spriggs; de Looze, Margaretha; Ma, Ping; Halpern, Carolyn Tucker; Farhat, Tilda; ter Bogt, Tom F. M.; Ehlinger, Virginie; Nic Gabhainn, Saoirse; Currie, Candace; Godeau, Emmanuelle

    2014-01-01

    Purpose To examine the relationship between country-level age norms for sexual initiation timing and early sexual initiation (ESI) among adolescent boys and girls. Methods Nationally-representative data from 17 countries that participated in the 2006/07 European Social Survey (ESS-3, n=33,092) and the 2005/06 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study (HBSC, n=27,702) were analyzed. Age norms were measured as the average country-level response to an item asking the age at which ESS respondents believed someone is too young to have sexual intercourse. HBSC respondents (aged 14-16) self-reported age at sexual initiation which we defined as early (<15 years) or not (≥15 years or no initiation). Control variables included age, family affluence, perceived socioeconomic status, family living arrangement, substance use, school attachment, and country-level legal age of consent. Multivariable three-level logistic models with random intercepts were run separately by sex. Results In multivariable analyses, higher overall age norms were associated with reduced likelihood of ESI among girls (AOR 0.60, 95% CI 0.45-0.79); associations with ESI were stronger for parent cohort (ages 31-65) norms (AOR 0.37, 95% CI 0.23-0.58) than for peer cohort (ages 15-20) norms (AOR 0.60, 95% CI 0.49-0.74). For boys, overall norms were also significantly negatively associated with ESI (AOR 0.68, 95% CI 0.46-0.99), as were parent cohort norms (AOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.45-0.96). Peer cohort norms were not significantly related to boys’ ESI. Conclusion Macro-level cultural norms may impact adolescents’ sexual initiation timing. Research exploring the sexual health outcomes of early initiators in countries with contrasting age norms is warranted. PMID:24508092

  15. Cretaceous planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Calera Limestone, Northern California, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sliter, W.V.

    1999-01-01

    The Calera Limestone is the largest, most stratigraphically extensive limestone unit of oceanic character included in the Franciscan Complex of northern California. The aim of this paper is to place the Calera Limestone at its type locality (Rockaway Beach, Pacifica) in a high-resolution biostratigraphy utilizing planktic foraminifers studied in thin section. A section, about 110 m-thick, was measured from the middle thrust slice exposed by quarrying on the southwest side of Calera Hill at Pacifica Quarry. Lithologically, the section is divided in two units; a lower unit with 73 m of black to dark-grey limestone, black chert and tuff, and an upper unit with 36.8 m of light-grey limestone and medium-grey chert. Two prominent black-shale layers rich in organic carbon occur 11 m below the top of the lower black unit and at the boundary with overlying light-grey unit, yielding a total organic content (TOC) of 4.7% and 1.8% t.w., respectively. The fossiliferous Calera Limestone section measured at Pacifica Quarry, from the lower black shale, contains eleven zones and three subzones that span approximately 26 m.y. from the early Aptian to the late Cenomanian. The zones indentified range from the Globigerinelloides blowi Zone to the Dicarinella algeriana Subzone of the Rotalipora cushmani Zone. Within this biostratigraphic interval, the Ticinella bejaouaensis and Hedbergella planispira Zones at the Aptian/Albian boundary are missing as are the Rotalipora subticinensis Subzone of the Biticinella breggiensis Zone and the overlying Rotalipora ticinensis Zone in the late Albian owing both to low-angle thrust faulting and to unconformities. The abundance and preservation of planktic foraminifers are poor in the lower part and improve only within the upper G. algerianus Zone. The faunal relationship indicate that the lower black shale occurs in the upper part of the G. blowi Zone and correlates with the Selli Event recognized at global scale in the early Aptian. The upper black

  16. [Correction of early cognitive disorders in school-age children operated under total intravenous anaesthesia].

    PubMed

    Ovezov, A M; Lobov, M A; Panteleeva, M V; Lugovoĭ, A V; Miatchin, P S; Gus'kov, I E

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the study was to assess the possibility and effectiveness of hopaten acid use for early postoperative cognitive dysfunction correction in children of school age. In compliance with inclusion and exclusion criteria, totally 40 children of school age (7-16 years old, ASA status I-II) with surgical pathology: (varicocele, cryptorchidism, inguinal hernia) were included A comperative assessment of neuropsychic status during pre - and postoperative are period in children, operated under propofol-fentanyl total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) was conducted All patients were randomized to the control (without cepebroprotection 1st group, 20 children) and experimental (using cepebroprotection with hopaten acid within 1 month after the operation, 2nd group, 20 children) groups. Dimension of the study: Harvard standard monitoring, respiratory gas composition, neuropsychic tests (Bourdon test, "10 words test", etc.). For full compatibility groups (age, ASA status and anthropometric data, equal operation duration and the equipotential drug dosage adjustment is revealed, that in group of propofol-fentanyl TIVA in the early postoperative period in school age children postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is developing, which in case of absence of the corresponding correction is maintained after 1 month after operation (at least) in 80% of cases. In the application of hopaten acid cerebroprotection (40 mg/kg per day) severity of POCD reliably is reduced or compensated by the time of discharge from the hospital (3-7-th day when non-traumatic interventions), and 1 month after the operation in 30% of patients experienced improvement of cognitive functions, which proves the effectiveness of hopaten acid for POCD treatment. In case of propofol-fentanyl TIVA anesthesia in children of school age is indicated preventive prescription of multimodal cerebroprotectors without age limitations (for example hopaten acid (40 mg/kg per day) for POCD treatment.

  17. Early outcome for the primary arterial switch operation beyond the age of 3 weeks.

    PubMed

    Ismail, Sameh R; Kabbani, Mohamed S; Najm, Hani K; Abusuliman, Riyadh M; Elbarbary, Mahmoud

    2010-07-01

    The arterial switch operation (ASO) for neonates is the standard management for transposition of the great arteries (TGA) with an intact ventricular septum (IVS). Patients presenting for late ASO are at risk due to the possibility of left ventricle (LV) involution. This study aimed to assess the early postoperative course and outcome for children with TGA/IVS and still conditioned LV presenting for late primary ASO. A retrospective study of all TGA/IVS patients who underwent a primary ASO between March 2002 and March 2008 was conducted. The cases were divided into two groups. Group A included all the cases of early ASO repaired before the age of 3 weeks, whereas group B included all the preslected cases of late ASO repaired after the age of 3 weeks. The demographics, intensive care unit (ICU) parameters, complications, and short-term outcomes of the two groups were compared. The study enrolled of 91 patients: 64 patients (70%) in group A and 27 patients (30%) in group B. The mean age was 11 +/- 4 days in group A and 37 +/- 17 days in group B (P < 0.001). The two groups showed no significant statistical differences in ICU parameters, complications, or mortality. For patients with TGA/IVS, ASO still can be tolerated beyond the first month of life in selected cases. Provided the LV still is conditioned, age should not be a limitation for ASO.

  18. EHLS at School: school-age follow-up of the Early Home Learning Study cluster randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Westrupp, Elizabeth M; Bennett, Clair; Cullinane, Meabh; Hackworth, Naomi J; Berthelsen, Donna; Reilly, Sheena; Mensah, Fiona K; Gold, Lisa; Bennetts, Shannon K; Levickis, Penny; Nicholson, Jan M

    2018-05-02

    Targeted interventions during early childhood can assist families in providing strong foundations that promote children's health and wellbeing across the life course. There is growing recognition that longer follow-up times are necessary to assess intervention outcomes, as effects may change as children develop. The Early Home Learning Study, or 'EHLS', comprised two cluster randomized controlled superiority trials of a brief parenting intervention, smalltalk, aimed at supporting parents to strengthen the early childhood home learning environment of infants (6-12 months) or toddlers (12-36 months). Results showed sustained improvements in parent-child interactions and the home environment at the 32 week follow-up for the toddler but not the infant trial. The current study will therefore follow up the EHLS toddler cohort to primary school age, with the aim of addressing a gap in literature concerning long-term effects of early childhood interventions focused on improving school readiness and later developmental outcomes. 'EHLS at School' is a school-aged follow-up study of the toddler cluster randomized controlled trial (n = 1226). Data will be collected by parent-, child- and teacher-report questionnaires, recorded observations of parent-child interactions, and direct child assessment when children are aged 7.5 years old. Data linkage will provide additional data on child health and academic functioning at ages 5, 8 and 10 years. Child outcomes will be compared for families allocated to standard/usual care (control) versus those allocated to the smalltalk program (group program only or group program with additional home coaching). Findings from The Early Home Learning Study provided evidence of the benefits of the smalltalk intervention delivered via facilitated playgroups for parents of toddlers. The EHLS at School Study aims to examine the long-term outcomes of this initiative to determine whether improvements in the quality of the parent

  19. Early vascular ageing in translation: from laboratory investigations to clinical applications in cardiovascular prevention.

    PubMed

    Nilsson, Peter M; Boutouyrie, Pierre; Cunha, Pedro; Kotsis, Vasilios; Narkiewicz, Krzysztof; Parati, Gianfranco; Rietzschel, Ernst; Scuteri, Angelo; Laurent, Stephane

    2013-08-01

    The ageing of the vascular tree is a fundamental reflection of biological ageing in general and a determinant of organ function. In the arterial wall this is characterized by a reduction in the elastin content, as well as by an increased content of collagen and its cross-linkages, leading to increased arterial stiffness and elevated central as well as brachial blood pressure, accompanied by increased SBP variability. In recent years a better understanding of these processes have led to the proposal of a condition named early vascular ageing (EVA) in patients with increased arterial stiffness for their age and sex. This is a condition that could increase cardiovascular risk and is associated with various degrees of cognitive dysfunction, as well as other features of biological ageing. This brief review aims to give an update on EVA and how the concept can be used in clinical practice.

  20. Defining Smallness for Gestational Age in the Early Years of the Danish Medical Birth Registry

    PubMed Central

    Rogvi, Rasmus á.; Mathiasen, Rene; Greisen, Gorm

    2011-01-01

    Background Being born small for gestational age (SGA) is associated with decreased insulin sensitivity and increased blood pressure in childhood, but the association with clinical disease in early adulthood is less certain. The Danish Medical Birth Registry has registered all births in Denmark since 1973, but due to variable data quality, data is most often used only from 1981 onwards, and birth registers in other countries may have similar problems for the early years. We wanted to examine whether the data can be used for identification of children born SGA and used in future research. Methodology/Principal Findings All persons born between 1974 and 1996 were identified in the Danish Medical Birth Registry (n = 1.704.890). Immigrants and children without data on gestational age and birth weight were excluded, and a total of 1.348.106 children were included in the analysis. The difference between the different variables used in the history of the registry were examined, and the quality of data in the birth registry from 1974-1981 was examined and compared to subsequent years. Data on birth weight and gestational age in the early years of the registry is inconsistent, and the identification of children born SGA is inaccurate, with 49% false-positives. The biggest source of error is due to the rough and inaccurate intervals used for gestational age. By using –3 standard deviations as a cut-off for the identification of children born SGA, the number of false-positives was reduced to 9%, while the amount of false-negatives were increased. Conclusion Choosing –3 standard deviations for identifying children born SGA is a viable, though not optimal solution for identifying children born SGA. Overall the data in the registry is of sufficient quality to be used in further medical research. PMID:21304958

  1. Early age alcohol use and later alcohol problems in adolescents: individual and peer mediators in a bi-national study.

    PubMed

    Mason, W Alex; Toumbourou, John W; Herrenkohl, Todd I; Hemphill, Sheryl A; Catalano, Richard F; Patton, George C

    2011-12-01

    This paper examines whether there is cross-national similarity in the longitudinal relationship between early age alcohol use and adolescent alcohol problems. Potential mechanisms underlying this relationship also are examined, testing adolescent alcohol use, low self-regulation, and peer deviance as possible mediators. Students (N = 1,945) participating in the International Youth Development Study, a longitudinal panel survey study, responded to questions on alcohol use and influencing factors, and were followed annually over a 3-year period from 2002 to 2004 (98% retention rate). State-representative, community student samples were recruited in grade 7 in Washington State, United States (US, n = 961, 78% of those eligible; Mage = 13.09, SD = .44) and Victoria, Australia (n = 984, 76% of those eligible; Mage = 12.93, SD = .41). Analyses were conducted using multiple-group structural equation modeling. In both states, early age alcohol use (age 13) had a small but statistically significant association with subsequent alcohol problems (age 15). Overall, there was little evidence for mediation of early alcohol effects. Low self-regulation prospectively predicted peer deviance, alcohol use, and alcohol problems in both states. Peer deviance was more positively related to alcohol use and low self-regulation among students in Victoria compared to students in Washington State. The small but persistent association of early age alcohol use with alcohol problems across both samples is consistent with efforts to delay alcohol initiation to help prevent problematic alcohol use. Self-regulation was an important influence, supporting the need to further investigate the developmental contribution of neurobehavioral disinhibition.

  2. [Fat emulsion tolerance in preterm infants of different gestational ages in the early stage after birth].

    PubMed

    Tang, Hui; Yang, Chuan-Zhong; Li, Huan; Wen, Wei; Huang, Fang-Fang; Huang, Zhi-Feng; Shi, Yu-Ping; Yu, Yan-Liang; Chen, Li-Lian; Yuan, Rui-Qin; Zhu, Xiao-Yu

    2017-06-01

    To investigate the fat emulsion tolerance in preterm infants of different gestational ages in the early stage after birth. A total of 98 preterm infants were enrolled and divided into extremely preterm infant group (n=17), early preterm infant group (n=48), and moderate-to-late preterm infant group (n=33). According to the dose of fat emulsion, they were further divided into low- and high-dose subgroups. The umbilical cord blood and dried blood filter papers within 3 days after birth were collected. Tandem mass spectrometry was used to measure the content of short-, medium-, and long-chain acylcarnitines. The extremely preterm infant and early preterm infant groups had a significantly lower content of long-chain acylcarnitines in the umbilical cord blood and dried blood filter papers within 3 days after birth than the moderate-to-late preterm infant group (P<0.05), and the content was positively correlated with gestational age (P<0.01). On the second day after birth, the low-dose fat emulsion subgroup had a significantly higher content of short-, medium-, and long-chain acylcarnitines than the high-dose fat emulsion subgroup among the extremely preterm infants (P<0.05). In the early preterm infant and moderate-to-late preterm infant groups, there were no significant differences in the content of short-, medium-, and long-chain acylcarnitines between the low- and high-dose fat emulsion subgroups within 3 days after birth. Compared with moderate-to-late preterm infants, extremely preterm infants and early preterm infants have a lower capacity to metabolize long-chain fatty acids within 3 days after birth. Early preterm infants and moderate-to-late preterm infants may tolerate high-dose fat emulsion in the early stage after birth, but extremely preterm infants may have an insufficient capacity to metabolize high-dose fat emulsion.

  3. Early Vascular Ageing - A Concept in Development.

    PubMed

    M Nilsson, Peter

    2015-04-01

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a prevalent condition in the elderly, often associated with metabolic disturbance and type 2 diabetes. For a number of years, research dedicated to understand atherosclerosis dominated, and for many good reasons, this pathophysiological process being proximal to the CVD events. In recent years, research has been devoted to an earlier stage of vascular pathology named arteriosclerosis (arterial stiffness) and the new concept of early vascular ageing (EVA), developed by a group of mostly European researchers. This overview describes recent developments in research dedicated to EVA and new emerging aspects found in studies of families at high cardiovascular risk. There are new aspects related to genetics, telomere biology and the role of gut microbiota. However, there is still no unifying definition available of EVA and no direct treatment, but rather only recommendations for conventional cardiovascular risk factor control. New interventions are being developed - not only new antihypertensive drugs, but also new drugs for vascular protection - the selective angiotensin-II (AT2) agonist Compound 21 (C21). Human studies are eagerly awaited. Even new functional food products could have the potential to positively influence cardiometabolic regulation, to be confirmed.

  4. The conchostracan subgenus Orthestheria (Migransia) from the Tacuarembó Formation (Late Jurassic-?Early Cretaceous, Uruguay) with notes on its geological age

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yanbin, Shen; Gallego, Oscar F.; Martínez, Sergio

    2004-04-01

    Conchostracans from the Tacuarembó Formation s.s. of Uruguay are reassigned to the subgenus Orthestheria (Migransia) Chen and Shen. They show more similarities to genera of Late Jurassic age in the Congo Basin and China than to those of Early Cretaceous age. On the basis of the character of the conchostracans, we suggest that the Tacuarembó Formation is unlikely to be older than Late Jurassic. It is probably Kimmeridgian, but an Early Cretaceous age cannot be excluded. This finding is consistent with isotopic dating of the overlying basalts, as well as the age range of recently described fossil freshwater sharks.

  5. Warm Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous high-latitude sea-surface temperatures from the Southern Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jenkyns, H. C.; Schouten-Huibers, L.; Schouten, S.; Sinninghe Damsté, J. S.

    2012-02-01

    Although a division of the Phanerozoic climatic modes of the Earth into "greenhouse" and "icehouse" phases is widely accepted, whether or not polar ice developed during the relatively warm Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods is still under debate. In particular, there is a range of isotopic and biotic evidence that favours the concept of discrete "cold snaps", marked particularly by migration of certain biota towards lower latitudes. Extension of the use of the palaeotemperature proxy TEX86 back to the Middle Jurassic indicates that relatively warm sea-surface conditions (26-30 °C) existed from this interval (∼160 Ma) to the Early Cretaceous (∼115 Ma) in the Southern Ocean, with a general warming trend through the Late Jurassic followed by a general cooling trend through the Early Cretaceous. The lowest sea-surface temperatures are recorded from around the Callovian-Oxfordian boundary, an interval identified in Europe as relatively cool, but do not fall below 25 °C. The early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event, identified on the basis of published biostratigraphy, total organic carbon and carbon-isotope stratigraphy, records an interval with the lowest, albeit fluctuating Early Cretaceous palaeotemperatures (∼26 °C), recalling similar phenomena recorded from Europe and the tropical Pacific Ocean. Extant belemnite δ18O data, assuming an isotopic composition of waters inhabited by these fossils of -1‰ SMOW, give palaeotemperatures throughout the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous interval that are consistently lower by ∼14 °C than does TEX86 and the molluscs likely record conditions below the thermocline. The long-term, warm climatic conditions indicated by the TEX86 data would only be compatible with the existence of continental ice if appreciable areas of high altitude existed on Antarctica, and/or in other polar regions, during the Mesozoic Era.

  6. Television viewing through ages 2-5 years and bullying involvement in early elementary school

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background High television exposure time at young age has been described as a potential risk factor for developing behavioral problems. However, less is known about the effects of preschool television on subsequent bullying involvement. We examined the association between television viewing time through ages 2-5 and bullying involvement in the first grades of elementary school. We hypothesized that high television exposure increases the risk of bullying involvement. Method TV viewing time was assessed repeatedly in early childhood using parental report. To combine these repeated assessments we used latent class analysis. Four exposure classes were identified and labeled “low”, “mid-low”, “mid-high” and “high”. Bullying involvement was assessed by teacher questionnaire (n = 3423, mean age 6.8 years). Additionally, peer/self-report of bullying involvement was obtained using a peer nomination procedure (n = 1176, mean age 7.6 years). We examined child risk of being a bully, victim or a bully-victim (compared to being uninvolved in bullying). Results High television exposure class was associated with elevated risks of bullying and victimization. Also, in both teacher- and child-reported data, children in the high television exposure class were more likely to be a bully-victim (OR = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.42-3.13 and OR = 3.68, 95% CI: 1.75-7.74 respectively). However, all univariate effect estimates attenuated and were no longer statistically significant once adjusted for maternal and child covariates. Conclusions The association between television viewing time through ages 2-5 and bullying involvement in early elementary school is confounded by maternal and child socio-demographic characteristics. PMID:24520886

  7. Differential effects of early palliative care based on the age and sex of patients with advanced cancer from a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Nipp, Ryan D; El-Jawahri, Areej; Traeger, Lara; Jacobs, Jamie M; Gallagher, Emily R; Park, Elyse R; Jackson, Vicki A; Pirl, William F; Temel, Jennifer S; Greer, Joseph A

    2018-04-01

    Early palliative care interventions enhance patient outcomes, including quality of life, mood, and coping, but it remains unclear whether certain subgroups of patients are more likely to benefit from early palliative care. We explored whether age and sex moderate the improved outcomes seen with early palliative care. We performed a secondary analysis of data from a randomized trial of 350 patients with advanced lung and non-colorectal gastrointestinal cancer. Patients received an early palliative care intervention integrated with oncology care or usual oncology care alone. We used linear regression to determine if age (older or younger than 65) and sex moderated the effects of the intervention on quality of life (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G)), depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9)), and coping (Brief COPE) within lung and gastrointestinal subgroups. At 24 weeks, younger patients with lung cancer receiving early palliative care reported increased use of active coping ( B = 1.74; p = 0.02) and decreased use of avoidant coping ( B = -0.97; p = 0.02), but the effects of early palliative care on these outcomes were not significant for older patients. Male patients with lung cancer assigned to early palliative care reported better quality of life (FACT-G: B = 9.31; p = 0.01) and lower depression scores (PHQ-9: B = -2.82; p = 0.02), but the effects of early palliative care on these outcomes were not significant for female patients. At 24 weeks, we found no age or sex moderation effects within the gastrointestinal cancer subgroup. Age and sex moderate the effects of early palliative care for patients with advanced lung cancer. Early palliative care may need to be tailored to individuals' unique sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

  8. Age Group Differences in Perceived Age Discrimination: Associations With Self-Perceptions of Aging.

    PubMed

    Giasson, Hannah L; Queen, Tara L; Larkina, Marina; Smith, Jacqui

    2017-08-01

    From midlife onwards, age stereotypes increasingly underlie social judgments and contribute to age-based discrimination. Whereas many studies compare differences between young and older adults in reports of age discrimination or sensitivity to age stereotypes, few consider age group differences among adults over 50. We form subgroups corresponding to social age group membership (early midlife, late midlife, young old, oldest old) and examine differences in reported experiences of everyday age discrimination and associations with self-perceptions of aging. Using cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS: N = 15,071; M Age = 68, range 50-101), multivariate logistic regression was used to examine experiences of everyday discrimination attributed to age, and associations between age discrimination and self-perceptions of aging, in four age groups: early midlife, late midlife, young old, oldest old. People in the early midlife group (aged 50-59) reported more experiences of unfair treatment than the older age groups but were less likely to attribute their experiences to age discrimination. After controlling for covariates, individuals in all age groups who perceived their own aging positively were less likely to report experiences of age discrimination. The magnitude of this effect, however, was greatest in the early midlife group. Findings support proposals that midlife is a pivotal life period when individuals adjust to life events and social role transitions. Future longitudinal studies will provide further insight into whether positive self-perceptions of aging are especially important in this phase of the life course. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Depression at an Early Age.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alper, Joseph

    1986-01-01

    Addresses the crisis associated with adolescent affective disorders and probes potential genetics, environmental, and physiological factors. Reviews case examples of depression, eating disorders, and suicide among youths. States clinical implications and advocates early diagnosis and treatment. (ML)

  10. Chukchi Borderland | Crustal Complex of the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ilhan, I.; Coakley, B.; Houseknecht, D. W.

    2017-12-01

    In the Arctic Ocean, Chukchi Borderland separates the North Chukchi shelf and Toll deep basins to the west and Canada deep basin to the east. Existing plate reconstructions have attempted to restore this north-striking, fragments of the continental crust to all margins of the Amerasia Basin based on sparse geologic and geophysical measurements. Regional multi-channel seismic reflection and potential field geophysics, and geologic data indicate it is a high standing continental block, requiring special accommodation to create a restorable model of the formation of the Amerasia Basin. The Borderland is composed of the Chukchi Plateau, Northwind Basin, and Northwind Ridge divided by mostly north striking normal faults. These offset the basement and bound a sequence of syn-tectonic sediments. Equivalent strata are, locally, uplifted, deformed and eroded. Seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) are observed in the juncture between the North Chukchi, Toll basins, and southern Chukchi Plateau underlying a regional angular unconformity. This reveals that this rifted margin was associated with volcanism. An inferred condensed section, which is believed to be Hauterivian-Aptian in age, synchronous with the composite pebble shale and gamma-ray zone of the Alaska North Slope forms the basal sediments in the North Chukchi Basin. Approximately 15 km of post-rift strata onlap the condensed section, SDRs and, in part, the wedge sequence on the Chukchi Plateau from west to east, thinning to the north. These post-Aptian sediments imply that the rifted margin subsided no later than the earliest Cretaceous, providing a plausible time constraint for the inferred pre-Cretaceous rifting in this region. The recognition of SDRs and Hauterivian—Aptian condensed section, and continuity of the Early—Late Cretaceous post-rift strata along the margins of the Borderland, strike variations of the normal faults, absence of observable deformation along the Northwind Escarpment substantially constrain

  11. IQ at age 12 following a history of institutional care: Findings from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project

    PubMed Central

    Almas, Alisa N.; Degnan, Kathryn A.; Nelson, Charles A.; Zeanah, Charles H.; Fox, Nathan A.

    2016-01-01

    Young children removed from institutions and placed into foster care or adoptive homes have been shown to experience significant gains in IQ relative to children who remain in institutions. Less is known about the long-term impact of severe early deprivation on development in late childhood. Data are presented from a follow-up of children at 12 years of age in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a randomized clinical trial of foster care for institutionally reared children. One hundred and seven of the original 136 children in the study were tested with the WISC IV. Results revealed continued benefit from the intervention through age 12, with 12-year-old children placed in foster care scoring significantly higher on full scale IQ compared to their peers who received prolonged institutional care. Longitudinal IQ data revealed two IQ profiles from early to late childhood. Attachment security emerged as a significant predictor of a profile of stable, typical IQ scores over time. We demonstrate the continued importance of foster care intervention and the negative effects of severe, early psychosocial deprivation on IQ into late childhood. PMID:27709994

  12. IQ at age 12 following a history of institutional care: Findings from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project.

    PubMed

    Almas, Alisa N; Degnan, Kathryn A; Nelson, Charles A; Zeanah, Charles H; Fox, Nathan A

    2016-11-01

    Young children removed from institutions and placed into foster care or adoptive homes have been shown to experience significant gains in IQ relative to children who remain in institutions. Less is known about the long-term impact of severe early deprivation on development in late childhood. Data are presented from a follow-up of children at 12 years of age in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a randomized clinical trial of foster care for institutionally reared children. Of the original 136 children in the study, 107 were tested with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV. Results revealed continued benefit from the intervention through age 12, with 12-year-old children placed in foster care scoring significantly higher on full-scale IQ compared to their peers who received prolonged institutional care. Longitudinal IQ data revealed 2 IQ profiles from early to late childhood. Attachment security emerged as a significant predictor of a profile of stable, typical IQ scores over time. We demonstrate the continued importance of foster care intervention and the negative effects of severe, early psychosocial deprivation on IQ into late childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Factors associated with early detection of choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration in the clinic setting.

    PubMed

    Lichtinger, Alejandro; Caraza, Mauricio; Galbinur, Tural; Chowers, Itay

    2012-06-01

    Delayed diagnosis of choroidal neovas cularization (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) adversely affects visual outcome. To identify factors associated with early detection of CNV in the clinic setting. Demographic and clinical data and lesion characteristics were retrospectively collected from 76 consecutive AMD patients who had a history of CNV in one eye and presented with CNV in the second eye. These data were evaluated for association with visual acuity (VA) at the time of presentation. Better VA was associated with a history of CNV in the fellow eye (P < 0.0001), adherence to follow-up every 4 months (P = 0.015), younger age (P = 0.03), smaller lesion (P < 0.0001), and non-subfoveal location (P = 0.048). VA of the fellow eye did not correlate with VA at presentation with CNV. These data suggest that patients' experience of CNV, regardless of VA, facilitates early diagnosis in the fellow eye. Adherence to follow-up in the routine clinic setting also facilitates early detection of CNV.

  14. Visual Function Metrics in Early and Intermediate Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration for Use as Clinical Trial Endpoints.

    PubMed

    Cocce, Kimberly J; Stinnett, Sandra S; Luhmann, Ulrich F O; Vajzovic, Lejla; Horne, Anupama; Schuman, Stefanie G; Toth, Cynthia A; Cousins, Scott W; Lad, Eleonora M

    2018-05-01

    To evaluate and quantify visual function metrics to be used as endpoints of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) stages and visual acuity (VA) loss in patients with early and intermediate AMD. Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a prospective study. One hundred and one patients were enrolled at Duke Eye Center: 80 patients with early AMD (Age-Related Eye Disease Study [AREDS] stage 2 [n = 33] and intermediate stage 3 [n = 47]) and 21 age-matched, normal controls. A dilated retinal examination, macular pigment optical density measurements, and several functional assessments (best-corrected visual acuity, macular integrity assessment mesopic microperimety, dark adaptometry, low-luminance visual acuity [LLVA] [standard using a log 2.0 neutral density filter and computerized method], and cone contrast test [CCT]) were performed. Low-luminance deficit (LLD) was defined as the difference in numbers of letters read at standard vs low luminance. Group comparisons were performed to evaluate differences between the control and the early and intermediate AMD groups using 2-sided significance tests. Functional measures that significantly distinguished between normal and intermediate AMD were standard and computerized (0.5 cd/m 2 ) LLVA, percent reduced threshold and average threshold on microperimetry, CCTs, and rod intercept on dark adaptation (P < .05). The intermediate group demonstrated deficits in microperimetry reduced threshhold, computerized LLD2, and dark adaptation (P < .05) relative to early AMD. Our study suggests that LLVA, microperimetry, CCT, and dark adaptation may serve as functional measures differentiating early-to-intermediate stages of dry AMD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Impact of Early Intervention on Psychopathology, Crime, and Weil-Being at Age 25

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Objective This randomized controlled trial tested the efficacy of early intervention to prevent adult psychopathology and improve well-being in early-starting conduct-problem children. Method Kindergarteners (N=9,594) in three cohorts (1991–1993) at 55 schools in four communities were screened for conduct problems, yielding 979 early starters. A total of 891 (91%) consented (51% African American, 47% European American; 69% boys). Children were randomly assigned by school cluster to a 10-year intervention or control. The intervention goal was to develop social competencies in children that would carry them throughout life, through social skills training, parent behavior-management training with home visiting, peer coaching, reading tutoring, and classroom social-emotional curricula. Manualization and supervision ensured program fidelity. Ninety-eight percent participated during grade 1, and 80% continued through grade 10. At age 25, arrest records were reviewed (N=817,92%), and condition-blinded adults psychiatrically interviewed participants (N=702; 81% of living participants) and a peer (N=535) knowledgeable about the participant. Results Intent-to-treat logistic regression analyses indicated that 69% of participants in the control arm displayed at least one externalizing, internalizing, or substance abuse psychiatric problem (based on self- or peer interview) at age 25, in contrast with 59% of those assigned to intervention (odds ratio=0.59, CI=0.43–0.81; number needed to treat=8). This pattern also held for self-interviews, peer interviews, scores using an “and” rule for self- and peer reports, and separate tests for externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and substance abuse problems, as well as for each of three cohorts, four sites, male participants, female participants, African Americans, European Americans, moderate-risk, and high-risk subgroups. Intervention participants also received lower severity-weighted violent (standardized estimate

  16. Randomised trial of early neonatal hydrocortisone demonstrates potential undesired effects on neurodevelopment at preschool age.

    PubMed

    Peltoniemi, Outi M; Lano, Aulikki; Yliherva, Anneli; Kari, M Anneli; Hallman, Mikko

    2016-02-01

    We evaluated the neurodevelopment and growth of five- to seven-year-old children who had participated in a randomised trial of early low-dose hydrocortisone treatment to prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The 51 infants in the original study had birthweights of 501-1250 g and gestational ages of 23-30 weeks, required mechanical ventilation during the first 24 hours and received hydrocortisone or a placebo for 10 days. The majority (80%) of the 90% who survived to five- to seven years of age participated in this follow-up study and their growth, neuromotor, cognitive and speech development were evaluated. Some neurodevelopment impairment was observed in 61% of the hydrocortisone group and 39% of the placebo group, ranging from minor neurological dysfunction to severe neurological conditions (p = 0.182). The mean full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) was 87.8 (15.3) in the hydrocortisone group and 95.7 (15.0) in the placebo group (p = 0.135), and the mean performance IQ was 88.3 (14.5) and 99.1 (14.0) (p = 0.034), respectively. A fifth (22%) of the hydrocortisone group required physiotherapy, but none of the placebo group did (p = 0.034). The age-standardised growth was comparable between both groups. Early hydrocortisone treatment may have undesired effects on neurodevelopment at preschool age, and further safety studies are required. ©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Distinguishing early and late brain aging from the Alzheimer's disease spectrum: consistent morphological patterns across independent samples.

    PubMed

    Doan, Nhat Trung; Engvig, Andreas; Zaske, Krystal; Persson, Karin; Lund, Martina Jonette; Kaufmann, Tobias; Cordova-Palomera, Aldo; Alnæs, Dag; Moberget, Torgeir; Brækhus, Anne; Barca, Maria Lage; Nordvik, Jan Egil; Engedal, Knut; Agartz, Ingrid; Selbæk, Geir; Andreassen, Ole A; Westlye, Lars T

    2017-09-01

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a debilitating age-related neurodegenerative disorder. Accurate identification of individuals at risk is complicated as AD shares cognitive and brain features with aging. We applied linked independent component analysis (LICA) on three complementary measures of gray matter structure: cortical thickness, area and gray matter density of 137 AD, 78 mild (MCI) and 38 subjective cognitive impairment patients, and 355 healthy adults aged 18-78 years to identify dissociable multivariate morphological patterns sensitive to age and diagnosis. Using the lasso classifier, we performed group classification and prediction of cognition and age at different age ranges to assess the sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of the LICA patterns in relation to AD, as well as early and late healthy aging. Three components showed high sensitivity to the diagnosis and cognitive status of AD, with different relationships with age: one reflected an anterior-posterior gradient in thickness and gray matter density and was uniquely related to diagnosis, whereas the other two, reflecting widespread cortical thickness and medial temporal lobe volume, respectively, also correlated significantly with age. Repeating the LICA decomposition and between-subject analysis on ADNI data, including 186 AD, 395 MCI and 220 age-matched healthy controls, revealed largely consistent brain patterns and clinical associations across samples. Classification results showed that multivariate LICA-derived brain characteristics could be used to predict AD and age with high accuracy (area under ROC curve up to 0.93 for classification of AD from controls). Comparison between classifiers based on feature ranking and feature selection suggests both common and unique feature sets implicated in AD and aging, and provides evidence of distinct age-related differences in early compared to late aging. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Maternal verbally aggressive behavior in early infancy is associated with blood pressure at age 5-6.

    PubMed

    Smarius, L J C A; Strieder, T G A; Doreleijers, T A H; Vrijkotte, T G M; de Rooij, S R

    2018-06-01

    Early life stress has been shown to contribute to alterations in biobehavioral regulation. Whereas many different forms of childhood adversities have been studied in relation to cardiovascular outcomes, very little is known about potential associations between caregivers' verbally aggressive behavior and heart rate and blood pressure in the child. This prospective study examined whether maternal verbally aggressive behavior in early infancy is associated with heart rate or blood pressure at age 5-6. In the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development study, a large prospective, population-based birth cohort, maternal verbally aggressive behavior was assessed by questionnaire in the 13th week after birth. The child's blood pressure and heart rate were measured during rest at age 5-6 (n=2553 included). Maternal verbally aggressive behavior in infancy was associated with a higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) both in supine and sitting position after adjustment for sex, height and age (SBP supine B=1.01 mmHg; 95% CI [0.06; 1.95] and SPB sitting B=1.29 mmHg; 95% CI [0.12; 2.46]). Adjustment for potential confounding variables, such as other mother-infant dyad aspects, family hypertension and child's BMI, only slightly attenuated the associations (SBP supine B=0.99 mmHg; 95% CI [0.06; 1.93] and SPB sitting B=1.11 mmHg; 95% CI [-0.06; 2.27]). Maternal verbally aggressive behavior was not associated with diastolic blood pressure or heart rate at age 5-6. Maternal verbally aggressive behavior might be an important early life stressor with negative impact on blood pressure later in life, which should be further investigated. Possible underlying mechanisms are discussed.

  19. Early biometric lag in the prediction of small for gestational age neonates and preeclampsia.

    PubMed

    Schwartz, Nadav; Pessel, Cara; Coletta, Jaclyn; Krieger, Abba M; Timor-Tritsch, Ilan E

    2011-01-01

    An early fetal growth lag may be a marker of future complications. We sought to determine the utility of early biometric variables in predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes. In this retrospective cohort study, the crown-rump length at 11 to 14 weeks and the head circumference, biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, femur length, humerus length, transverse cerebellar diameter, and estimated fetal weight at 18 to 24 weeks were converted to an estimated gestational age using published regression formulas. Sonographic fetal growth (difference between each biometric gestational age and the crown-rump length gestational age) minus expected fetal growth (number of days elapsed between the two scans) yielded the biometric growth lag. These lags were tested as predictors of small for gestational age (SGA) neonates (≤10th percentile) and preeclampsia. A total of 245 patients were included. Thirty-two (13.1%) delivered an SGA neonate, and 43 (17.6%) had the composite outcome. The head circumference, biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, and estimated fetal weight lags were identified as significant predictors of SGA neonates after adjusted analyses (P < .05). The addition of either the estimated fetal weight or abdominal circumference lag to maternal characteristics alone significantly improved the performance of the predictive model, achieving areas under the curve of 0.72 and 0.74, respectively. No significant association was found between the biometric lag variables and the development of preeclampsia. Routinely available biometric data can be used to improve the prediction of adverse outcomes such as SGA. These biometric lags should be considered in efforts to develop screening algorithms for adverse outcomes.

  20. TEX 86 and stable δ 18O paleothermometry of early Cretaceous sediments: Implications for belemnite ecology and paleotemperature proxy application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mutterlose, Jörg; Malkoc, Matthias; Schouten, Stefan; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.; Forster, Astrid

    2010-10-01

    Recent studies have cast doubt on the unadjusted usage of Jurassic and Cretaceous δ 18O paleotemperature data derived from belemnites, since the latter data often reflect cooler paleotemperature estimates than would be expected. In this study we address this problem by analysing rocks of Barremian to early Aptian age from two outcrops in northern Germany using TEX 86 paleothermometry, along with 142 belemnite guards studied for their stable isotope (δ 13C, δ 18O) and trace element composition (magnesium, strontium, iron, and manganese). Both TEX 86 and δ 18O Bel indicate very warm water temperatures for a distinctive black shale sequence of late early Barremian age ("Hauptblätterton") with temperatures of up to 29 °C and 23 °C, respectively. We observe a constant offset of TEX 86 temperatures versus the 4 to 5 °C cooler δ 18O belemnite signal for this interval. The late Barremian sequence shows an increase of the δ 18O Bel values from - 1‰ to 0‰ reflecting temperatures around 16 to 12 °C, while the contemporaneous TEX 86 temperatures vary between 26 and 32 °C. The common occurrence of belemnites in the anoxic sediments of the early Barremian implies, however, clearly a nektonic way of life similar to that of recent teuthids, rather than a nektobenthic one like Sepia. This in turn suggests that the belemnites investigated here (genera Praeoxyteuthis, Aulacoteuthis, Oxyteuthis, and Neohibolites) were active swimmers, which inhabited a deeper habitat below the thermocline in an epicontinental sea of perhaps 100 to 250 m water depth. The offset of the TEX 86 and δ 18O Bel data is therefore interpreted to reflect temperature signals from two different depth habitats, i.e. the TEX 86 is selectively derived from warm sea-surface waters, and the belemnites likely occupied deeper and cooler waters with relative increasing salinities in the late Barremian. This study stresses the importance that the taxonomy, paleobiology and ecology of the belemnite taxa

  1. Does Raising the Early Retirement Age Increase Employment of Older Workers?*

    PubMed Central

    Staubli, Stefan; Zweimüller, Josef

    2013-01-01

    Two pension reforms in Austria increased the early retirement age (ERA) from 60 to 62 for men and from 55 to 58.25 for women. We find that raising the ERA increased employment by 9.75 percentage points among affected men and by 11 percentage points among affected women. The reforms had large spillover effects on the unemployment insurance program but negligible effects on disability insurance claims. Specifically, unemployment increased by 12.5 percentage points among men and by 11.8 percentage points among women. The employment response was largest among high-wage and healthy workers, while low-wage and less healthy workers either continued to retire early via disability benefits or bridged the gap to the ERA via unemployment benefits. Taking spillover effects and additional tax revenues into account, we find that for a typical birth-year cohort a one year increase in the ERA resulted in a reduction of net government expenditures of 107 million euros for men and of 122 million euros for women. PMID:24319299

  2. Donor age and early graft failure after lung transplantation: a cohort study.

    PubMed

    Baldwin, M R; Peterson, E R; Easthausen, I; Quintanilla, I; Colago, E; Sonett, J R; D'Ovidio, F; Costa, J; Diamond, J M; Christie, J D; Arcasoy, S M; Lederer, D J

    2013-10-01

    Lungs from older adult organ donors are often unused because of concerns for increased mortality. We examined associations between donor age and transplant outcomes among 8860 adult lung transplant recipients using Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and Lung Transplant Outcomes Group data. We used stratified Cox proportional hazard models and generalized linear mixed models to examine associations between donor age and both 1-year graft failure and primary graft dysfunction (PGD). The rate of 1-year graft failure was similar among recipients of lungs from donors age 18-64 years, but severely ill recipients (Lung Allocation Score [LAS] >47.7 or use of mechanical ventilation) of lungs from donors age 56-64 years had increased rates of 1-year graft failure (p-values for interaction = 0.04 and 0.02, respectively). Recipients of lungs from donors <18 and ≥65 years had increased rates of 1-year graft failure (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.23, 95% CI 1.01-1.50 and adjusted HR 2.15, 95% CI 1.47-3.15, respectively). Donor age was not associated with the risk of PGD. In summary, the use of lungs from donors age 56 to 64 years may be safe for adult candidates without a high LAS and the use of lungs from pediatric donors is associated with a small increase in early graft failure. © Copyright 2013 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

  3. Early cumulative risk predicts externalizing behavior at age 10: The mediating role of adverse parenting.

    PubMed

    Gach, Emily J; Ip, Ka I; Sameroff, Arnold J; Olson, Sheryl L

    2018-02-01

    Multiple environmental risk factors in early childhood predict a broad range of adverse developmental outcomes. However, most prior longitudinal research has not illuminated explanatory mechanisms. Our main goals were to examine predictive associations between cumulative ecological risk factors in early childhood and children's later externalizing problems and to determine whether these associations were explained by variations in parenting quality. Participants were 241 children (118 girls) at risk for school-age conduct problems and their parents and teachers. Children were approximately 3 years old at Time 1 (T1) and 10 years old at Time 2 (T2). Reports of contextual risk at T1 were used to develop a cumulative risk index consisting of 6 singular risk variables from 3 ecological levels: social resources (low income; social isolation), family resources (marital aggression; poor total family functioning), and maternal resources (single parent status; poor maternal mental health). At T1, parenting variables were measured (corporal punishment, warm responsiveness, maternal efficacy, and negative perceptions of child behavior). At T2, mothers, fathers, and teachers reported child externalizing problems. Johnson's relative weight analysis revealed that the cumulative risk index was a more powerful predictor of age 10 years externalizing behavior than any of the singular contextual risk variables. Adverse parenting mediated the effects of cumulative risk on later child externalizing problems. Our findings have significant implications for understanding long-term effects of multiple contextual risk factors present in early childhood and for the implementation of positive parenting interventions early on. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Early life predictors of brain development at term-equivalent age in infants born across the gestational age spectrum.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Deanne K; Kelly, Claire E; Chen, Jian; Beare, Richard; Alexander, Bonnie; Seal, Marc L; Lee, Katherine; Matthews, Lillian G; Anderson, Peter J; Doyle, Lex W; Spittle, Alicia J; Cheong, Jeanie L Y

    2018-04-13

    It is well established that preterm infants have altered brain development compared with full-term (FT; ≥37 weeks' gestational age [GA]) infants, however the perinatal factors associated with brain development in preterm infants have not been fully elucidated. In particular, perinatal predictors of brain development may differ between very preterm infants (VP; <32 weeks' GA) and infants born moderate (MP; 32-33 weeks' GA) and late (LP; 34-36 weeks' GA) preterm, but this has not been studied. This study aimed to investigate the effects of early life predictors on brain volume and microstructure at term-equivalent age (TEA; 38-44 weeks), and whether these effects differ for GA groups (VP, MP, LP or FT). Structural images from 328 infants (91 VP, 63 MP, 104 LP and 70 FT) were segmented into white matter, cortical grey matter, cerebrospinal fluid, subcortical grey matter, brainstem and cerebellum. Cortical grey matter and white matter images were analysed using voxel-based morphometry. Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD) images from 361 infants (92 VP, 69 MP, 120 LP and 80 FT) were analysed using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics. Relationships between early life predictors (birthweight standard deviation score [BWSDS], multiple birth, sex, postnatal growth and social risk) and global brain volumes were analysed using linear regressions. Relationships between early life predictors and regional brain volumes and diffusion measures were analysed using voxelwise non-parametric permutation testing. Male sex was associated with higher global volumes of all tissues and higher regional volumes throughout much of the cortical grey matter and white matter, particularly in the FT group. Male sex was also associated with lower FA and higher AD, RD and MD in the optic radiation, external and internal capsules and corona radiata, and these associations were generally similar between GA groups. Higher BWSDS was

  5. Spiroplasma infection causes either early or late male killing in Drosophila, depending on maternal host age

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kageyama, Daisuke; Anbutsu, Hisashi; Shimada, Masakazu; Fukatsu, Takema

    2007-04-01

    Symbiont-induced male-killing phenotypes have been found in a variety of insects. Conventionally, these phenotypes have been divided into two categories according to the timing of action: early male killing at embryonic stages and late male killing at late larval stages. In Drosophila species, endosymbiotic bacteria of the genus Spiroplasma have been known to cause early male killing. Here, we report that a spiroplasma strain normally causing early male killing also induces late male killing depending on the maternal host age: male-specific mortality of larvae and pupae was more frequently observed in the offspring of young females. As the lowest spiroplasma density and occasional male production were also associated with newly emerged females, we proposed the density-dependent hypothesis for the expression of early and late male-killing phenotypes. Our finding suggested that (1) early and late male-killing phenotypes can be caused by the same symbiont and probably by the same mechanism; (2) late male killing may occur as an attenuated expression of early male killing; (3) expression of early and late male-killing phenotypes may be dependent on the symbiont density, and thus, could potentially be affected by the host immunity and regulation; and (4) early male killing and late male killing could be alternative strategies adopted by microbial reproductive manipulators.

  6. Early age thermal conditioning immediately reduces body temperature of broiler chicks in a tropical environment.

    PubMed

    De Basilio, V; Requena, F; León, A; Vilariño, M; Picard, M

    2003-08-01

    Early age thermal conditioning (TC) durably improves resistance of broilers to heat stress and reduces body temperature (Tb). Three experiments on broiler chicks were conducted to evaluate the effects of TC at 5 d of age on Tb variation measured by thermometer between 4 and 7 d of age, under a tropical environment. Because manipulation of chickens to measure Tb with a thermometer may increase Tb, a preliminary experiment on 13 3-to-4-wk-old male broilers compared Tb measured by telemetry to Tb measured in the terminal colon during three successive periods at 22, 33, and 22 degrees C. During heat exposure, Tb rapidly increased by 0.9 degrees C and plateaued over 24 h. During the last period, seven of the broilers rapidly reduced Tb to a plateau lower than the initial Tb, although six broilers exhibited more variable Tb. Measurement by thermometer underestimated on average core Tb by 0.28 degrees C at 22 degrees C and by 0.57 degrees C at 33 degrees C, whereas Tb recorded by telemetry was not affected by manipulation of the chickens. TC reduced Tb 24 h later in the three experiments. Compared to unexposed control chicks (N), 12 h of TC at 40 degrees C did not significantly reduce Tb at 7 d of age, although 24 h did. TC at 38 and 40 degrees C over 24 h significantly reduced Tb variation from 4 to 7 d of age compared to N chicks, whereas 36 degrees C did not. Withdrawing feed from the chicks for 2 h prior to measurement did not significantly reduce Tb at 4 and 7 d of age, but Tb reduction due to TC was greater in fed chicks (0.28 degrees C) than in chicks without feed (0.05 degrees C). Early age thermal conditioning at 38 to 40 degrees C at 5 d of age for 24 h reduced body temperature of 7-d-old male broilers.

  7. Associations between toddler-age communication and kindergarten-age self-regulatory skills.

    PubMed

    Aro, Tuija; Laakso, Marja-Leena; Määttä, Sira; Tolvanen, Asko; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija

    2014-08-01

    In this study, the authors aimed at gaining understanding on the associations of different types of early language and communication profiles with later self-regulation skills by using longitudinal data from toddler age to kindergarten age. Children with early language profiles representing expressive delay, broad delay (i.e., expressive, social, and/or symbolic), and typical language development were compared in domains of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills (attentional/executive functions, regulation of emotions and behavioral activity, and social skills) assessed with parental questionnaires. Children with delay in toddler-age language development demonstrated poorer kindergarten-age self-regulation skills than children with typical early language development. Broad early language delays were associated with compromised social skills and attentional/executive functions, and early expressive delays were associated with a generally lower level of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills. Regression analyses showed that both earlier and concurrent language had an effect especially on the attentional/executive functions. The findings suggest that different aspects of toddler-age language have differential associations with later self-regulation. Possible mechanisms linking early language development to later self-regulative development are discussed.

  8. Treatment Moderators and Predictors of Outcome in the Treatment of Early Age Mania (TEAM) Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vitiello, Benedetto; Riddle, Mark A.; Yenokyan, Gayane; Axelson, David A.; Wagner, Karen D.; Joshi, Paramjit; Walkup, John T.; Luby, Joan; Birmaher, Boris; Ryan, Neal D.; Emslie, Graham; Robb, Adelaide; Tillman, Rebecca

    2012-01-01

    Objective: Both the diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder in youth remain the subject of debate. In the Treatment of Early Age Mania (TEAM) study, risperidone was more effective than lithium or divalproex in children diagnosed with bipolar mania and highly comorbid with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We searched for…

  9. Sample entropy and regularity dimension in complexity analysis of cortical surface structure in early Alzheimer's disease and aging.

    PubMed

    Chen, Ying; Pham, Tuan D

    2013-05-15

    We apply for the first time the sample entropy (SampEn) and regularity dimension model for measuring signal complexity to quantify the structural complexity of the brain on MRI. The concept of the regularity dimension is based on the theory of chaos for studying nonlinear dynamical systems, where power laws and entropy measure are adopted to develop the regularity dimension for modeling a mathematical relationship between the frequencies with which information about signal regularity changes in various scales. The sample entropy and regularity dimension of MRI-based brain structural complexity are computed for early Alzheimer's disease (AD) elder adults and age and gender-matched non-demented controls, as well as for a wide range of ages from young people to elder adults. A significantly higher global cortical structure complexity is detected in AD individuals (p<0.001). The increase of SampEn and the regularity dimension are also found to be accompanied with aging which might indicate an age-related exacerbation of cortical structural irregularity. The provided model can be potentially used as an imaging bio-marker for early prediction of AD and age-related cognitive decline. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Taphonomic and paleoenvironmental considerations for the concentrations of macroinvertibrate fossils in the Romualdo Member, Santana Formation, Late Aptian - Early Albian, Araripe Basin, Araripina, NE, Brazil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prado, Ludmila Alves Cadeira Do; Pereira, Priscilla Albuquerque; Sales, Alexandre Magno Feitosa; Barreto, Alcina Magnólia Franca

    2015-10-01

    Benthic macroinvertebrate fossils can be seen towards to the top of the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation, in the Araripe Basin, Northeast Brazil, and can provide paleoenvironmental and paleobiogeographical information regarding the Cretaceous marine transgression which reached the interior basins in Northeast Brazil. We analyse taphonomic characteristics of macroinvertebrate concentrations of two outcrops (Torrinha and Torre Grande) within the municipality Araripina, Pernambuco, in order to enhance our understanding of the Cretaceous paleoenvironment in the western portion of the Araripe Basin. At the outcrop Torrinha, proximal tempestitic taphofacies were identified. These predominantly consist of ceritid, cassiopid, and later, naticid gastropods as well as undetermined bivalves. Given this lack of variability it can be deduced that there were no significant paleoenvironmental changes during the successive stages tempestitic sedimentation. In the Torre Grande outcrop distal to proximal tempestitic taphofacies were identified from the base to the top respectively pointing to a decrease in paleodepth. Asides from the macroinvertebrates present in Torrinha, there are also echinoids - unequivocal evidence for marine conditions. These occurrences appear to be restricted to Romualdo Member outcrops in the Araripina municipality (the Southeast portion of the Araripe Basin) confirming a previously published hypothesis suggesting that the Cretaceous marine transgression originated from the neighbouring Parnaíba Basin to the west. This study identified marine molluscs of a similar age to those in the Romualdo Member's equivalent rock units in the Parnaíba and Sergipe-Alagoas (SE-AL) basins suggesting a marine connection between these basins and the Araripe Basin during the Early Cretaceous.

  11. Early-life determinants of asthma from birth to age 20 years: a German birth cohort study.

    PubMed

    Grabenhenrich, Linus B; Gough, Hannah; Reich, Andreas; Eckers, Nora; Zepp, Fred; Nitsche, Oliver; Forster, Johannes; Schuster, Antje; Schramm, Dirk; Bauer, Carl-Peter; Hoffmann, Ute; Beschorner, John; Wagner, Petra; Bergmann, Renate; Bergmann, Karl; Matricardi, Paolo Maria; Wahn, Ulrich; Lau, Susanne; Keil, Thomas

    2014-04-01

    The lack of longitudinal data analyses from birth to adulthood is hampering long-term asthma prevention strategies. We aimed to determine early-life predictors of asthma incidence up to age 20 years in a birth cohort study by applying time-to-event analysis. In 1990, the Multicenter Allergy Study included 1314 newborns in 5 German cities. Children were evaluated from birth to age 20 years at 19 time points. Using a Cox regression model, we examined the associations between 36 early-life factors and onset of asthma based on a doctor's diagnosis or asthma medication (primary outcome), typical asthma symptoms, or allergic asthma (including positive IgE measurements). Response at 20 years was 71.6%. Two hundred eighteen subjects met the primary outcome criteria within 16,257 person years observed. Asthma incidence was lower in participants who were vaccinated (measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine/tick-borne encephalitis vaccine/BCG vaccine: adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.66 [95% CI, 0.47-0.93]). Up to age 20 years, asthma incidence was higher in subjects who had parents with allergic rhinitis (adjusted HR, 2.24 [95% CI, 1.67-3.02]), started day care early or late (before 18 months: adjusted HR, 1.79 [95% CI, 1.03-3.10]; after 3 years: adjusted HR, 1.64 [95% CI, 0.96-2.79]), had mothers who smoked during pregnancy (adjusted HR, 1.79 [95% CI, 1.20-2.67]), had poor parents (adjusted HR, 1.55 [95% CI, 1.09-2.22]), and had parents with asthma (adjusted HR, 1.65 [95% CI, 1.17-2.31]). Not associated with asthma were aspects of diet and breast-feeding, pet ownership, presence of older siblings, and passive smoking. Parental asthma and nasal allergy increase asthma incidence in offspring up to adulthood. Avoiding tobacco smoke exposure during pregnancy, receiving vaccinations in early childhood, and starting day care between 1.5 and 3 years of age might prevent or delay the development of asthma. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by

  12. Early childhood environment related to microbial exposure and the occurrence of atopic disease at school age.

    PubMed

    de Meer, G; Janssen, N A H; Brunekreef, B

    2005-05-01

    There is a growing body of evidence that the early childhood environment with respect to day care attendance, older siblings, pet ownership, and early life airway infections may protect from developing atopic disease. Few studies have distinguished between atopic sensitization and symptoms, and none have evaluated independent contributions for all of these different environmental conditions. Examine independent effects on atopic sensitization and symptoms of day care attendance, older siblings, pet ownership, and early infancy's airway disease. A cross-sectional survey among 8-13-year-old school children with complete data for 1555 children. After adjustment for confounders, atopic sensitization occurred less frequently in children that had attended a day care centre (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.55-0.98) or had a cat or dog before 2 years of age (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.61-0.99). Having older siblings yielded a nonsignificant trend towards protection (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.70-1.11). For symptoms, there was no relation with having older sibs, day care attendance and pet ownership, although there was a trend towards protection for the combination of atopy and symptoms. In contrast, children with doctors' treated airway disease before age 2, more frequently reported recent symptoms of wheeze, asthma, rhinitis, or dermatitis (all P < 0.05). Early life environmental exposure to day care, or pets may protect against atopic sensitization. Protection against symptoms only occurred if atopic sensitization was present as well.

  13. Frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets starts at early age.

    PubMed

    Laitala, Marja-Liisa; Vehkalahti, Miira M; Virtanen, Jorma I

    2018-03-01

    We aimed to investigate the habitual consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and sweets in relation to mothers' behaviours and practices with their infants. We targeted mothers with children 1-24 months (N = 200) visiting Public Child Health clinics in Finland. During routine visits mothers (N = 179) volunteered to complete a self-administered anonymous questionnaire about their child's health-related behaviours (consumption of sweets and SSBs, tooth brushing frequency). The questionnaires also included questions about the mothers' background (age, education) and health-related behaviours (consumption of sweets, tooth brushing frequency and smoking habits). The children were categorised by age, and Chi-squared tests, Fischer's exact test, ANOVA and correlation coefficient served for the statistical analyses. Of those under 6 months, almost half (44%) received SSBs, and 45% of them more than once a week. Their use gradually increased by age such that by 19-24 months, all received SSBs at least sometimes, and 56%, frequently. Fewer than half of the mothers (33-43%) gave sweets to their children between the ages of 10-15 months, but 92% by the age of 2 years. Children's twice-a-day tooth brushing increased from 14% to 33%. The child's age and tooth brushing frequency correlated with the consumption of sugar-sweetened products (r = 0.458). Infants frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened products begins early in childhood. Thus, tackling these common risk factors in the first years of life is essential and calls for health-promoting actions in multiple areas that target primarily the parents of infants.

  14. [Efficiency of mexidol during perinatal encephalopathy in early age children].

    PubMed

    Natriashvili, G D; Kapanadze, N B; Natriashvili, S G

    2005-06-01

    We have investigated 200 patients 0-4 months of age (boys 110 and girls - 90), 120 of them under 1 month of age and 80 children from 1 to 4 months. The evaluation of the neurologic status of patients was performed 40-60 minutes after feeding in a relaxed condition. From the additional methods of the investigation of the nervous system, the most informative was the neurosonoscopy. We have divided patients into two groups according to the clinical syndromes: I gr. neuro-reflexion irritation syndrome (118 patients), II gr.--depression syndrome (82 patients). According to the treatment regimen patients also have been divided into two groups: the basic group (104 patients) with treatment only by mexydol (mexydol in a dose of 5 mg/kg and 0,3 ml in the form of injections twice a day. Injections were initiated at the acute stage of the disease) and the control group (96 patients) with no treatment. Efficiency of mexidol was estimated comparison of the findings in the basic and control groups based both on a clinical status and on the neurosonoscopic findings. Positive dynamics was observed in patients of the basic group. Verification of mexydol efficiency was performed by neurosonoscopic investigations. In a small portion of patients positive dynamics was not observed. These patients were from the age group from 3 to 4 months, which confirms that earlier and optimal treatment contribute to the prevention of severe neurological outcomes. It may be concluded that: 1. Mexydol acting on the pathogenetic mechanisms of perinatal encephalopathy, reduces reflexion irritation and depression syndromes both in neonatal and early age children. 2. Mexydol induces normalization of pathological neurosonoscopic patterns. 3. Mexydol with its wide pharmacological spectrum of action is an effective medicine in treatment of perinatal encephalopathy.

  15. Familial Risk of Early Suicide: Variations by Age and Sex of Children and Parents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garssen, Joop; Deerenberg, Ingeborg; Mackenbach, Johan P.; Kerkhof, Ad; Kunst, Anton E.

    2011-01-01

    To determine familial risk of early suicide, data on cause of death of all Dutch residents aged 20-55 years who died between 1995 and 2001 were linked to data of their parents. Men whose father died by suicide had a higher odds of suicide themselves, relative to men whose father died of other causes (Odds Ratio (OR): 2.5; 95% confidence interval:…

  16. Fundamental investigations related to the mitigation of volume changes in cement-based materials at early ages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sant, Gaurav Niteen

    The increased use of high-performance, low water-to-cement (w/c) ratio concretes has led to increased occurrences of early-age shrinkage cracking in civil engineering structures. To reduce the magnitude of early-age shrinkage and the potential for cracking, mitigation strategies using shrinkage reducing admixtures (SRAs), saturated lightweight aggregates, expansive cements and extended moist curing durations in construction have been recommended. However, to appropriately utilize these strategies, it is important to have a complete understanding of the driving forces of early-age volume change and how these methods work from a materials perspective to reduce shrinkage. This dissertation uses a first-principles approach to understand the mechanism of shrinkage reducing admixtures (SRAs) to generate an expansion and mitigate shrinkage at early-ages, quantify the influence of a CaO-based expansive additive in reducing unrestrained shrinkage, residual stress development and the cracking potential at early-ages and quantify the influence of shrinkage reducing admixtures (SRAs) and cement hydration (pore structure refinement) on the reduction induced in the fluid transport properties of the material. The effects of shrinkage reducing admixtures (SRAs) are described in terms of inducing autogenous expansions in cement pastes at early ages. An evaluation comprising measurements of autogenous deformation, x-ray diffraction (Rietveld analysis), pore solution and thermogravimetric analysis and electron microscopy is performed to understand the chemical nature and physical effects of the expansion. Thermodynamic calculations performed on the measured liquid-phase compositions indicate the SRA produces elevated Portlandite super-saturations in the pore solution which results in crystallization stress driven expansions. The thermodynamic calculations are supported by deformation measurements performed on cement pastes mixed in solutions saturated with Portlandite or containing

  17. [Association between body weight change during early and middle adulthood and the risk of type 2 diabetes in middle aged and elderly population].

    PubMed

    Hu, Q; Jiang, C Q; Zhang, W S; Cheng, J J; Xu, L; Jin, Y L; Shen, Z M; Zhu, F; Lam, D Q

    2017-12-10

    Objective: To examine the association between weight changes during early and middle adulthood and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in middle aged and elderly population. Methods: Based on the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study (GBCS), 28 736 residents aged ≥50 years were included in Guangzhou. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association between body weight changes during early or middle adulthood and age when the heaviest weight reaching the threshold on the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in middle age or elderly population. Adjustments on age, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, education level, occupation, district of residence and body mass index etc ., were made. Results: The mean age was 64.3 (standard deviation=6.7) years in men and 61.0 (standard deviation=7.0) years in women, with the prevalence rates of diabetes as 13.1% and 13.7% in men and women, respectively. Compared to those with stable body weight, the risk of diabetes increased with weight gain during early and middle adulthood in both men and women (both P values for trend<0.01). Participants who gained more than 20 kg during early and middle adulthood were associated with the highest risk of diabetes in men ( OR =2.83, 95% CI :1.99-4.02) and women ( OR =3.13, 95% CI : 2.47-3.96). Compared to those who reached the highest weight at age 20, those who reaching the highest weight at 40 to 49 years were associated with the highest risk of diabetes, with OR being 5.32 (95% CI : 1.92-14.8) in men and 3.41 (95% CI : 2.49-4.67) in women, respectively. Weight loss in adulthood was associated with self-reported but not newly diagnosed diabetic cases in both middle and older aged men and women. Conclusion: Weight gain during early and middle adulthood may increase the risk of diabetes in middle and older aged population. The detrimental effect of obesity on diabetes might become significantly visible in the next decades.

  18. Loss of Function of P2X7 Receptor Scavenger Activity in Aging Mice: A Novel Model for Investigating the Early Pathogenesis of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

    PubMed

    Vessey, Kirstan A; Gu, Ben J; Jobling, Andrew I; Phipps, Joanna A; Greferath, Ursula; Tran, Mai X; Dixon, Michael A; Baird, Paul N; Guymer, Robyn H; Wiley, James S; Fletcher, Erica L

    2017-08-01

    Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible, severe vision loss in Western countries. Recently, we identified a novel pathway involving P2X7 receptor scavenger function expressed on ocular immune cells as a risk factor for advanced AMD. In this study, we investigate the effect of loss of P2X7 receptor function on retinal structure and function during aging. P2X7-null and wild-type C57bl6J mice were investigated at 4, 12, and 18 months of age for macrophage phagocytosis activity, ocular histological changes, and retinal function. Phagocytosis activity of blood-borne macrophages decreased with age at 18 months in the wild-type mouse. Lack of P2X7 receptor function reduced phagocytosis at all ages compared to wild-type mice. At 12 months of age, P2X7-null mice had thickening of Bruchs membrane and retinal pigment epithelium dysfunction. By 18 months of age, P2X7-null mice displayed phenotypic characteristics consistent with early AMD, including Bruchs membrane thickening, retinal pigment epithelium cell loss, retinal functional deficits, and signs of subretinal inflammation. Our present study shows that loss of function of the P2X7 receptor in mice induces retinal changes representing characteristics of early AMD, providing a valuable model for investigating the role of scavenger receptor function and the immune system in the development of this age-related disease. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Metabolic Profile in Early Pregnancy Is Associated with Offspring Adiposity at 4 Years of Age: The Rhea Pregnancy Cohort Crete, Greece

    PubMed Central

    Daraki, Vasiliki; Georgiou, Vaggelis; Papavasiliou, Stathis; Chalkiadaki, Georgia; Karahaliou, Marianna; Koinaki, Stella; Sarri, Katerina; Vassilaki, Maria; Kogevinas, Manolis; Chatzi, Leda

    2015-01-01

    Context Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity may increase the risk of childhood obesity but it is unknown whether other metabolic factors in early pregnancy such as lipid profile and hypertension are associated with offspring cardiometabolic traits. Objective Our objective was to investigate whether fasting lipid, glucose, and insulin levels during early pregnancy and maternal pre-pregnancy weight status, are associated with offspring adiposity measures, lipid levels and blood pressure at preschool age. Design and Methods The study included 618 mother-child pairs of the pregnancy cohort “Rhea” study in Crete, Greece. Pregnant women were recruited at the first prenatal visit (mean: 12weeks, SD: 0.7). A subset of 348 women provided fasting serum samples for glucose and lipid measurements. Outcomes measures were body mass index, abdominal circumference, sum of skinfold thickness, and blood pressure measurements at 4 years of age. A subsample of 525 children provided non-fasting blood samples for lipid measurements. Results Pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity was associated with greater risk of offspring overweight/obesity (RR: 1.83, 95%CI: 1.19, 2.81), central adiposity (RR: 1.97, 95%CI: 1.11, 3.49), and greater fat mass by 5.10mm (95%CI: 2.49, 7.71) at 4 years of age. These associations were more pronounced in girls. An increase of 40mg/dl in fasting serum cholesterol levels in early pregnancy was associated with greater skinfold thickness by 3.30mm (95%CI: 1.41, 5.20) at 4 years of age after adjusting for pre-pregnancy BMI and several other confounders. An increase of 10mmHg in diastolic blood pressure in early pregnancy was associated with increased risk of offspring overweight/obesity (RR: 1.22, 95%CI: 1.03, 1.45), and greater skinfold thickness by 1.71mm (95% CI: 0.57, 2.86) at 4 years of age. Conclusions Metabolic dysregulation in early pregnancy may increase the risk of obesity at preschool age. PMID:25970502

  20. Up, not down: The age curve in happiness from early adulthood to midlife in two longitudinal studies.

    PubMed

    Galambos, Nancy L; Fang, Shichen; Krahn, Harvey J; Johnson, Matthew D; Lachman, Margie E

    2015-11-01

    Happiness is an important indicator of well-being, and little is known about how it changes in the early adult years. We examined trajectories of happiness from early adulthood to midlife in 2 Canadian longitudinal samples: high school seniors followed from ages 18-43 and university seniors followed from ages 23-37. Happiness increased into the 30s in both samples, with a slight downturn by age 43 in the high school sample. The rise in happiness after high school and university remained after controlling for important baseline covariates (gender, parents' education, grades, self-esteem), time-varying covariates known to be associated with happiness (marital status, unemployment, self-rated physical health), and number of waves of participation. The upward trend in happiness runs counter to some previous cross-sectional research claiming a high point in happiness in the late teens, decreasing into midlife. As cross-sectional designs do not assess within-person change, longitudinal studies are necessary for drawing accurate conclusions about patterns of change in happiness across the life span. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Cognitive functioning in healthy aging: the role of reserve and lifestyle factors early in life.

    PubMed

    Fritsch, Thomas; McClendon, McKee J; Smyth, Kathleen A; Lerner, Alan J; Friedland, Robert P; Larsen, Janet D

    2007-06-01

    According to the reserve perspective on cognitive aging, individuals are born with or can develop resources that help them resist normal and disease-related cognitive changes that occur in aging. The reserve perspective is becoming more sophisticated, but gaps in knowledge persist. In the present research, we considered three understudied questions about reserve: Is reserve primarily static (unchangeable) throughout the life course or dynamic (changeable, in terms of increases or decreases)? Can reserve be increased at any point in life, or are there optimal time periods--such as early life, midlife, or late life--to increase it? Does participation in different types of leisure and occupational activities in early life and midlife have different effects depending on specific domains of late-life cognitive functioning? Here we link early cognitive and activity data--gathered from archival sources--with cognitive data from older adults to examine these issues. 349 participants, all mid-1940s graduates of the same high school, underwent telephone cognitive screening. All participants provided access to adolescent IQ scores; we determined activity levels from yearbooks. We used path analysis to evaluate the complex relationships between early life, midlife, and late-life variables. Adolescent IQ had strong direct effects on global cognitive functioning, episodic memory, verbal fluency, and processing speed. Participants' high school mental activities had direct effects on verbal fluency, but physical and social activities did not predict any cognitive measure. Education had direct effects on global cognitive functioning, episodic memory, and, most strongly, processing speed, but other midlife factors (notably, occupational demands) were not significant predictors of late-life cognition. There were weak indirect effects of adolescent IQ on global cognitive functioning, episodic memory, and processing speed, working through high school mental activities and education

  2. Early numeracy skills in preschool-aged children: a review of neurocognitive findings and implications for assessment and intervention.

    PubMed

    Raghubar, Kimberly P; Barnes, Marcia A

    2017-02-01

    The goals are to (1) provide a review of the typical and atypical development of early numeracy; (2) present what is known about the neurocognitive underpinnings of early numeracy; and (3) discuss the implications for early assessment and intervention. Studies on the development of typical and atypical early numeracy are reviewed with a particular focus on longitudinal findings including those from our work on spina bifida myelomeningocele. Implications of this research for assessment are presented. The paper ends with a discussion of early math interventions. Learning to count, identify numbers, and compare and manipulate quantities are key early numeracy skills. These are powerful predictors of school-age mathematical learning and performance. General neurocognitive abilities such as working memory and language, are also important for the development of early numeracy. It is recommended that early assessment for risk of mathematical learning difficulties include tests of both early number knowledge and key neurocognitive abilities. Math-specific interventions are most effective for improving early numeracy. There is currently little evidence that training of general cognitive functions transfers to mathematical learning. Understanding the development of early numeracy skills and their neurocognitive predictors offer important insights into early assessment and intervention for children at risk for or with mathematical learning difficulties.

  3. Pathways from Mothers' Early Social Support to Children's Language Development at Age 3

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Young Eun

    2017-01-01

    The relationships between early maternal social support, maternal psychological well-being, the home learning environment, and children's language skills at age 3 in Korean families were examined. We hypothesized that maternal social support would predict children's language development through its effect on maternal psychological well-being and…

  4. Early Characteristics of Children with ASD Who Demonstrate Optimal Progress between Age Two and Four

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moulton, Emily; Barton, Marianne; Robins, Diana L.; Abrams, Danielle N.; Fein, Deborah

    2016-01-01

    Although for many children, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong disability, a subset of children with ASD lose their diagnosis and show typical cognitive and adaptive abilities. The ages at which this transition can occur is not known, but it sometimes occurs quite early. Participants in the current study were 207 children with an ASD at…

  5. Age-related changes in learning across early childhood: a new imitation task.

    PubMed

    Dickerson, Kelly; Gerhardstein, Peter; Zack, Elizabeth; Barr, Rachel

    2013-11-01

    Imitation plays a critical role in social and cognitive development, but the social learning mechanisms contributing to the development of imitation are not well understood. We developed a new imitation task designed to examine social learning mechanisms across the early childhood period. The new task involves assembly of abstract-shaped puzzle pieces in an arbitrary sequence on a magnet board. Additionally, we introduce a new scoring system that extends traditional goal-directed imitation scoring to include measures of both children's success at copying gestures (sliding the puzzle pieces) and goals (connecting the puzzle pieces). In Experiment 1, we demonstrated an age-invariant baseline from 1.5 to 3.5 years of age, accompanied by age-related changes in success at copying goals and gestures from a live demonstrator. In Experiment 2, we applied our new task to learning following a video demonstration. Imitation performance in the video demonstration group lagged behind that of the live demonstration group, showing a protracted video deficit effect. Across both experiments, children were more likely to copy gestures at earlier ages, suggesting mimicry, and only later copy both goals and gestures, suggesting imitation. Taken together, the findings suggest that different social learning strategies may predominate in imitation learning dependent upon the degree of object affordance, task novelty, and task complexity. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Effect of an Early Dose of Measles Vaccine on Morbidity Between 18 Weeks and 9 Months of Age: A Randomized, Controlled Trial in Guinea-Bissau

    PubMed Central

    Do, Vu An; Biering-Sørensen, Sofie; Fisker, Ane Bærent; Balé, Carlito; Rasmussen, Stine Møller; Christensen, Lone Damkjær; Martins, Cesário; Aaby, Peter; Benn, Christine Stabell

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background Children in Guinea-Bissau receive measles vaccine (MV) at 9 months of age, but studies have shown that an additional dose before 9 months of age might have beneficial nonspecific effects. Within a randomized trial designed to examine nonspecific effects of early MV receipt on mortality, we conducted a substudy to investigate the effect of early MV receipt on morbidity. Methods Children were randomly assigned at a ratio of 2:1 to receive 2 doses of MV at 18 weeks and age 9 months (intervention group) or 1 dose of MV at age 9 months, in accordance with current practice (control group). Children were visited weekly from enrollment to age 9 months; the mother reported morbidity, and the field assistants examined the children. Using Cox and binomial regression models, we compared the 2 randomization groups. Results Among the 1592 children, early measles vaccination was not associated with a higher risk of the well-known adverse events of fever, rash, and convulsions within the first 14 days. From 15 days after randomization to age 9 months, early measles vaccination was associated with reductions in maternally reported diarrhea (hazard ratio [HR], 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], .82–.97), vomiting (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, .75–.98), and fever (HR, 0.93; 95% CI, .87–1.00). Conclusion Early MV receipt was associated with reduced general morbidity in the following months, supporting that early MV receipt may improve the general health of children. PMID:28077730

  7. Jurassic cooling ages in Paleozoic to early Mesozoic granitoids of northeastern Patagonia: 40Ar/39Ar, 40K-40Ar mica and U-Pb zircon evidence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martínez Dopico, Carmen I.; Tohver, Eric; López de Luchi, Mónica G.; Wemmer, Klaus; Rapalini, Augusto E.; Cawood, Peter A.

    2017-10-01

    U-Pb SHRIMP zircon crystallization ages and Ar-Ar and K-Ar mica cooling ages for basement rocks of the Yaminué and Nahuel Niyeu areas in northeastern Patagonia are presented. Granitoids that cover the time span from Ordovician to Early Triassic constitute the main outcrops of the western sector of the Yaminué block. The southern Yaminué Metaigneous Complex comprises highly deformed Ordovician and Permian granitoids crosscut by undeformed leucogranite dikes (U-Pb SHRIMP zircon age of 254 ± 2 Ma). Mica separates from highly deformed granitoids from the southern sector yielded an Ar-Ar muscovite age of 182 ± 3 Ma and a K-Ar biotite age of 186 ± 2 Ma. Moderately to highly deformed Permian to Early Triassic granitoids made up the northern Yaminué Complex. The Late Permian to Early Triassic (U-Pb SHRIMP zircon age of 252 ± 6 Ma) Cabeza de Vaca Granite of the Yaminué block yielded Jurassic mica K-Ar cooling ages (198 ± 2, 191 ± 1, and 190 ± 2 Ma). At the boundary between the Yaminué and Nahuel Niyeu blocks, K-Ar muscovite ages of 188 ± 3 and 193 ± 5 Ma were calculated for the Flores Granite, whereas the Early Permian Navarrete granodiorite, located in the Nahuel Niyeu block, yielded a K-Ar biotite age of 274 ± 4 Ma. The Jurassic thermal history is not regionally uniform. In the supracrustal exposures of the Nahuel Niyeu block, the Early Permian granitoids of its western sector as well as other Permian plutons and Ordovician leucogranites located further east show no evidence of cooling age reset since mica ages suggest cooling in the wake of crystallization of these intrusive rocks. In contrast, deeper crustal levels are inferred for Permian-Early Triassic granitoids in the Yaminué block since cooling ages for these rocks are of Jurassic age (198-182 Ma). Jurassic resetting is contemporaneous with the massive Lower Jurassic Flores Granite, and the Marifil and Chon Aike volcanic provinces. This intraplate deformational pulse that affected northeastern

  8. The maternal genetic make-up of the Iberian Peninsula between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age.

    PubMed

    Szécsényi-Nagy, Anna; Roth, Christina; Brandt, Guido; Rihuete-Herrada, Cristina; Tejedor-Rodríguez, Cristina; Held, Petra; García-Martínez-de-Lagrán, Íñigo; Arcusa Magallón, Héctor; Zesch, Stephanie; Knipper, Corina; Bánffy, Eszter; Friederich, Susanne; Meller, Harald; Bueno Ramírez, Primitiva; Barroso Bermejo, Rosa; de Balbín Behrmann, Rodrigo; Herrero-Corral, Ana M; Flores Fernández, Raúl; Alonso Fernández, Carmen; Jiménez Echevarria, Javier; Rindlisbacher, Laura; Oliart, Camila; Fregeiro, María-Inés; Soriano, Ignacio; Vicente, Oriol; Micó, Rafael; Lull, Vicente; Soler Díaz, Jorge; López Padilla, Juan Antonio; Roca de Togores Muñoz, Consuelo; Hernández Pérez, Mauro S; Jover Maestre, Francisco Javier; Lomba Maurandi, Joaquín; Avilés Fernández, Azucena; Lillios, Katina T; Silva, Ana Maria; Magalhães Ramalho, Miguel; Oosterbeek, Luiz Miguel; Cunha, Claudia; Waterman, Anna J; Roig Buxó, Jordi; Martínez, Andrés; Ponce Martínez, Juana; Hunt Ortiz, Mark; Mejías-García, Juan Carlos; Pecero Espín, Juan Carlos; Cruz-Auñón Briones, Rosario; Tomé, Tiago; Carmona Ballestero, Eduardo; Cardoso, João Luís; Araújo, Ana Cristina; Liesau von Lettow-Vorbeck, Corina; Blasco Bosqued, Concepción; Ríos Mendoza, Patricia; Pujante, Ana; Royo-Guillén, José I; Esquembre Beviá, Marco Aurelio; Dos Santos Goncalves, Victor Manuel; Parreira, Rui; Morán Hernández, Elena; Méndez Izquierdo, Elena; Vega Y Miguel, Jorge; Menduiña García, Roberto; Martínez Calvo, Victoria; López Jiménez, Oscar; Krause, Johannes; Pichler, Sandra L; Garrido-Pena, Rafael; Kunst, Michael; Risch, Roberto; Rojo-Guerra, Manuel A; Haak, Wolfgang; Alt, Kurt W

    2017-11-15

    Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focus on the maternal genetic makeup of the Neolithic (~ 5500-3000 BCE), Chalcolithic (~ 3000-2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age (~ 2200-1500 BCE). We report ancient mitochondrial DNA results of 213 individuals (151 HVS-I sequences) from the northeast, central, southeast and southwest regions and thus on the largest archaeogenetic dataset from the Peninsula to date. Similar to other parts of Europe, we observe a discontinuity between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers of the Neolithic. During the subsequent periods, we detect regional continuity of Early Neolithic lineages across Iberia, however the genetic contribution of hunter-gatherers is generally higher than in other parts of Europe and varies regionally. In contrast to ancient DNA findings from Central Europe, we do not observe a major turnover in the mtDNA record of the Iberian Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, suggesting that the population history of the Iberian Peninsula is distinct in character.

  9. Extremely preterm infants who are small for gestational age have a high risk of early hypophosphatemia and hypokalemia.

    PubMed

    Boubred, F; Herlenius, E; Bartocci, M; Jonsson, B; Vanpée, M

    2015-11-01

    Electrolyte balances have not been sufficiently evaluated in extremely preterm infants after early parenteral nutrition. We investigated the risk of early hypophosphatemia and hypokalemia in extremely preterm infants born small for gestational age (SGA) who received nutrition as currently recommended. This prospective, observational cohort study included all consecutive extremely preterm infants born at 24-27 weeks who received high amino acids and lipid perfusion from birth. We evaluated the electrolyte levels of SGA infants and infants born appropriate for gestational age (AGA) during the first five days of life. The 12 SGA infants had lower plasma potassium levels from Day One compared to the 36 AGA infants and were more likely to have hypokalemia (58% vs 17%, p = 0.001) and hypophosphatemia (40% vs 9%, p < 0.01) during the five-day observation period. After adjusting for perinatal factors, SGA remained significantly associated with hypophosphatemia (odds ratio 1.39, confidence intervals 1.07-1.81, p = 0.01). Extremely preterm infants born SGA who were managed with currently recommended early parenteral nutrition had a high risk of early hypokalemia and hypophosphatemia. Potassium and phosphorus intakes should be set at sufficient levels from birth onwards, especially in SGA infants. ©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Otitis Media in Early Childhood and Cognitive, Academic, and Behavior Outcomes at 12 Years of Age.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Joanne E.; And Others

    1995-01-01

    Examined the association between otitis media with effusion (OME) during the first 3 years of life and cognitive, academic performance, and behavior outcomes at 12 years of age. Results indicated that OME during early childhood was not related to intellectual performance, academic achievement, behavior, and attention. Suggests that generalizations…

  11. Early Childhood Household Smoke Exposure Predicts Less Task-Oriented Classroom Behavior at Age 10.

    PubMed

    Pagani, Linda S; Fitzpatrick, Caroline

    2016-10-01

    Secondhand tobacco smoke is considered a developmental neurotoxicant especially given underdeveloped vital systems in young children. An ecological test of its negative influence on brain development can be made by examining the prospective association between early childhood household smoke exposure and later classroom behavior. Using a longitudinal birth cohort, we examined the unique contribution of household tobacco smoke exposure to children's subsequent classroom engagement at age 10. From child ages 1.5 to 7 years, parents of 2,055 participants from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development reported on household smoking by themselves and other home occupants. At age 10, fourth-grade teachers reported on the child's classroom engagement. In terms of prevalence, 58% of parents reported that their children were never exposed to smoke in the home, while 34% and 8% of children were exposed to transient and continuous household smoke, respectively. Compared with never exposed children, those who were exposed to transient and continuous household smoke scored 13% and 9% of a standard deviation lower on classroom engagement in fourth grade, standardized B = -.128 (95% confidence interval = -.186, -.069) and standardized B = -.093 (95% confidence interval = -.144, -.043), respectively. Compared with their never exposed peers, children exposed to transient and continuous early childhood household smoke showed proportionately less classroom engagement, which reflects task-orientation, following directions, and working well autonomously and with others. This predisposition poses risks for high school dropout, which from a population health perspective is closely linked with at-risk lifestyle habits and unhealthy outcomes. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  12. Early atmospheric metal pollution provides evidence for Chalcolithic/Bronze Age mining and metallurgy in Southwestern Europe.

    PubMed

    Martínez Cortizas, Antonio; López-Merino, Lourdes; Bindler, Richard; Mighall, Tim; Kylander, Malin E

    2016-03-01

    Although archaeological research suggests that mining/metallurgy already started in the Chalcolithic (3rd millennium BC), the earliest atmospheric metal pollution in SW Europe has thus far been dated to ~3500-3200 cal.yr. BP in paleo-environmental archives. A low intensity, non-extensive mining/metallurgy and the lack of appropriately located archives may be responsible for this mismatch. We have analysed the older section (>2100 cal.yr. BP) of a peat record from La Molina (Asturias, Spain), a mire located in the proximity (35-100 km) of mines which were exploited in the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age, with the aim of assessing evidence of this early mining/metallurgy. Analyses included the determination of C as a proxy for organic matter content, lithogenic elements (Si, Al, Ti) as markers of mineral matter, and trace metals (Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb) and stable Pb isotopes as tracers of atmospheric metal pollution. From ~8000 to ~4980 cal.yr. BP the Pb composition is similar to that of the underlying sediments (Pb 15 ± 4 μg g(-1); (206)Pb/(207)Pb 1.204 ± 0.002). A sustained period of low (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratios occurred from ~4980 to ~2470 cal.yr. BP, which can be divided into four phases: Chalcolithic (~4980-3700 cal.yr. BP), (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratios decline to 1.175 and Pb/Al ratios increase; Early Bronze Age (~3700-3500 cal.yr. BP), (206)Pb/(207)Pb increase to 1.192 and metal/Al ratios remain stable; Late Bronze Age (~3500-2800 cal.yr. BP), (206)Pb/(207)Pb decline to their lowest values (1.167) while Pb/Al and Zn/Al increase; and Early Iron Age (~2800-2470 cal.yr. BP), (206)Pb/(207)Pb increase to 1.186, most metal/Al ratios decrease but Zn/Al shows a peak. At the beginning of the Late Iron Age, (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratios and metal enrichments show a rapid return to pre-anthropogenic values. These results provide evidence of regional/local atmospheric metal pollution triggered by the earliest phases of mining/metallurgy in the area, and reconcile paleo-environmental and

  13. Systemic, Integrated, and Sustainable Family Engagement across the Early Age Spectrum in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Issue Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fehrer, Kendra

    2014-01-01

    A growing body of evidence indicates the critical importance of appropriate supports for children and their families at early ages, as well as the potential for targeted interventions to make meaningful contributions to children's development. Family involvement in the early years of a child's learning and development can serve as a protective…

  14. Economic geology of the Zipaquira quadrangle and adjoining area, Department of Cundinamarca, Colombia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McLaughlin, Donald H.; Arce Herrera, Marino

    1970-01-01

    At least four evaporite sequences are interbedded with Cretaceous strata in the Bogotga area of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia. The easternmost and oldest evaporite interval is of probable Berriasian-Valanglnian age; the next oldest is of probable late Barremian-early Aptian age, and is followed by a possible late Aptian sequence. The westernmost and best known sequence is Turonian-early Coniacian in age, in the Sabana de Bogota. This youngest sequence contains the thickest known salt deposits and is probably the most widespread geographically. Three gypsum deposits of probable Barremian-Valanginian age are in the eastern part of the area under investigation. These deposits may have been leached from former salt accumulations. No other evaporites are exposed, but numerous brine springs are known, That the sources of these brines are neither deep not distant is suggested by the generally high concentrations, of the brines, the local presence of rute (leached salt residue), and the commonly significant amounts of H2S gas emitted at these springs. The rock salt exposed in three accessible mines commonly has a characteristic lamination caused by alternating layers of relatively pure halite and very argillaceous halite. Ubiquitously scattered throughout all salt deposits are small clasts of black, commonly pyritic, marly claystone. This lithology is also present as large claystone bodies conformably interbedded in the salt strata. Anhydrite is rare and is apparently more abundant at the Zipaquira mine that at the Nemocon and Upin mine. Paleontologic evidence in the Sabana de Bogota demonstrates that the salt-claystone series, hematite impregnated strata, and carbonaceous to locally coaly claystone are coeval. The salt-claystone facies may have been deposited in shallow evaporite pans that were separated within the overall evaporite interval by barriers on which the locally hematitic strata were deposited. The carbonaceous facies may also have formed in barrier

  15. Early intervention and recovery among children with failure to thrive: follow-up at age 8.

    PubMed

    Black, Maureen M; Dubowitz, Howard; Krishnakumar, Ambika; Starr, Raymond H

    2007-07-01

    We sought to examine the impact of a randomized, controlled trial of home visiting among infants with failure to thrive on growth, academic/cognitive performance, and home/classroom behavior at age 8. Infants with failure to thrive (N = 130) or adequate growth (N = 119) were recruited from pediatric primary care clinics serving low-income, urban communities. Eligibility criteria included age <25 months, gestational age >36 weeks, birth weight >2500 g, and no significant medical conditions. Evaluation included anthropometries, Bayley scales, maternal anthropometries, demographics, negative affect, IQ, and the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment scale. Infants with failure to thrive were treated in an interdisciplinary growth and nutrition clinic and randomized into clinical-intervention-plus-home-intervention or clinical-care-only groups. The home-visiting curriculum promoted maternal sensitivity, parent-infant relationships, and child development. Follow-up visits were conducted by evaluators who were unaware of the children's growth or intervention history. At age 8, the evaluation included anthropometries, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III, and the Wide Range Achievement Test, Revised. Mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist and teachers completed the Teacher Report Form. Multivariate analyses of variance were used to examine differences in growth, cognitive/academic performance, and home/school behavior, adjusted by maternal education, public assistance, and, when appropriate, infant Bayley score, maternal BMI, height, negative affect, IQ, and Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment scores. Retention was 74% to 78%. Children in the adequate-growth group were significantly taller, heavier, and had better arithmetic scores than the clinical-intervention-only group, with the clinical-intervention-plus-home-intervention group intermediate. There were no group differences in IQ, reading, or mother-reported behavior

  16. The quality of preterm infants' spontaneous movements: an early indicator of intelligence and behaviour at school age.

    PubMed

    Butcher, Phillipa R; van Braeckel, Koen; Bouma, Anke; Einspieler, Christa; Stremmelaar, Elisabeth F; Bos, Arend F

    2009-08-01

    The quality of very preterm infants' spontaneous movements at 11 to 16 weeks post-term age is a powerful predictor of their later neurological status. This study investigated whether early spontaneous movements also have predictive value for the intellectual and behavioural problems that children born very preterm often experience. Spontaneous movement quality was assessed, using Prechtl's method, at 11 to 16 weeks post-term in 65 infants born at age. Neurological status was assessed with Touwen's test. Multiple regression was used to determine the predictive value of movement quality for intelligence and behavioural problems. The Sobel test was used to determine if neurological status mediated associations found between early movement quality and outcome. Spontaneous movement quality at 11 to 16 weeks post-term was significantly, positively associated with later intelligence. The number of normal postural patterns displayed contributed most strongly to the association, which was not mediated by neurological status. Fidgety movements, strong predictors of later neurological dysfunction, were not associated with intelligence. Spontaneous movement quality was not associated with internalising or externalising problems but showed a trend to an association with attention problems. These findings suggest that, in children born preterm, early spontaneous movement quality has clear prognostic value for neurological and intellectual outcome, and to a lesser extent, for attentional outcome. However, cognitive outcome was associated with the presence of specific, age-appropriate postural patterns, while neurological outcome has been associated with the presence of global movement abnormalities. The presence of specific, age-appropriate postural patterns may reflect the integrity of areas of the brain involved in cognitive processing and the

  17. Sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence and the risk of early pregnancy among women ages 18-22.

    PubMed

    Young, Maria-Elena D; Deardorff, Julianna; Ozer, Emily; Lahiff, Maureen

    2011-09-01

    This clinic- and community-based study of young women investigated the relationship between previous sexual abuse and early pregnancy, examining the effect of the developmental period in which sexual abuse occurred and type of sexual abuse, while also providing methodological advances in the assessment of distinctive sexual abuse and its sequelae. Secondary data analysis using Cox proportional hazards models was conducted to determine the association between sexual abuse in childhood, in adolescence, or both, and risk of early pregnancy among 1,790 young women. In addition, this study examined the type of sexual abuse that occurred during each period. As compared with women with no history of sexual abuse, women who experienced sexual abuse only in childhood had a 20% greater hazard of pregnancy; women who experienced sexual abuse only in adolescence had a 30% greater hazard of pregnancy; and women who experienced sexual abuse in both childhood and adolescence had an 80% greater hazard of pregnancy. Across these periods, attempted rape and rape were associated with an increased hazard of pregnancy. The association between sexual abuse and pregnancy was mediated by age at first intercourse and moderated by a woman's education level. This study provides evidence that both the developmental timing and the type of sexual abuse contributes to an increased risk for early pregnancy. The study findings indicate that sexual abuse leads to an earlier age of first sexual intercourse, which in turn increases the likelihood of an early pregnancy. Women with higher educational attainment are less likely to experience early pregnancy as a result of abuse. Copyright © 2011 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. The hippocampal physiology of approaching middle-age: early indicators of change.

    PubMed

    Huxter, John R; Miranda, Jason A; Dias, Rebecca

    2012-09-01

    Age-related cognitive decline presents serious lifestyle challenges, and anatomical changes to the hippocampus are often implicated in clinical conditions later in life. However, relatively little is known about how hippocampal physiology is altered in the transition to middle-age, when early detection may offer the best opportunity for successful treatment. High-yield extracellular recording is a powerful tool for understanding brain function in freely moving animals at single-cell resolution and with millisecond precision. We used this technique to characterize changes to hippocampal physiology associated with maturation in 35-week-old rats. Combining a series of behavioral tasks with recordings of large numbers of neurons, local field potentials (LFP), and network patterns of activation, we were able to generate a comprehensive picture based on more than 25 different assays for each subject. Notable changes associated with aging included increased firing rates in interneurons, reduced LFP power but increased frequency in the 4-12 Hz theta band, and impairment in hippocampal pattern-separation for different environments. General properties of pyramidal cell firing and spatial map integrity were preserved. There was no impairment in theta phase-precession, experience-dependent place field expansion, or sleep reactivation of waking network patterns. There were however changes in foraging strategy and behavioral responses to the introduction of a novel environment. Taken together the results reveal a diverse pattern of changes which are of increasing relevance in an aging population. They also highlight areas where high-yield electrophysiological assays can be used to provide the sensitivity and throughput required for pre-clinical drug-discovery programs. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. New insights on the age of the post-Urgonian marly cover of the Apt region (Vaucluse, SE France) and its implications on the demise of the North Provence carbonate platform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frau, Camille; Pictet, Antoine; Spangenberg, Jorge E.; Masse, Jean-Pierre; Tendil, Anthony J.-B.; Lanteaume, Cyprien

    2017-08-01

    Our contribution presents an integrated litho-, bio- and chemostratigraphic study of the best-preserved outcrops of the post-Urgonian marly cover (A1 unit) of the North Provence carbonate platform. The study of the rich ammonite fauna from the Apt-Gargas area (SE Vaucluse) confirms that the A1 unit is older than previously assumed and dated to the upper (but non-uppermost) part of the lower Aptian Deshayesites forbesi Zone of the Mediterranean standard zonation. This interval is assigned to the lower part of the Roloboceras hambrovi Subzone as defined in the present contribution which is time equivalent to the spreading of the OAE 1a. Microfossil occurrences previously documented in the A1 unit are consistent with our ammonite-age calibration. Unfortunately, the curves of the carbon and oxygen stable isotopes exhibit a correlative signal probably caused by an early diagenetic overprint which questions the previous use of the C-isotope signal for precise chronostratigraphic correlation with respect to the OAE 1a excursion. The top of the A1 unit is marked by a burrowed firmground locally infilled and capped by glauconite-rich sandy marls which grade into the blue-grey muddy marls of the overlying A2 unit. The hiatus associated to this discontinuity is equivalent to the culmination of the OAE 1a, including the uppermost D. forbesi Zone (= upper R. hambrovi Subzone as herein defined) and the lower D. deshayesi Zone. The revised calibration of the post-Urgonian marl implies that the ammonite-age calibration of the North Provence carbonate platform should be revised and questions the timing and driving mechanisms of its stepwise demise.

  20. 42 CFR 435.138 - Disabled widows and widowers aged 60 through 64 who would be eligible for SSI except for early...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Disabled widows and widowers aged 60 through 64 who... ISLANDS, AND AMERICAN SAMOA Mandatory Coverage Mandatory Coverage of the Aged, Blind, and Disabled § 435.138 Disabled widows and widowers aged 60 through 64 who would be eligible for SSI except for early...

  1. 42 CFR 435.138 - Disabled widows and widowers aged 60 through 64 who would be eligible for SSI except for early...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Disabled widows and widowers aged 60 through 64 who... ISLANDS, AND AMERICAN SAMOA Mandatory Coverage Mandatory Coverage of the Aged, Blind, and Disabled § 435.138 Disabled widows and widowers aged 60 through 64 who would be eligible for SSI except for early...

  2. Perceived reciprocity in social exchange and health functioning in early old age: prospective findings from the GAZEL study.

    PubMed

    Wahrendorf, Morten; Ribet, Celine; Zins, Marie; Goldberg, Marcel; Siegrist, Johannes

    2010-05-01

    To assess prospectively the effects of perceived non-reciprocity of exchange in three different types of social engagement on health functioning in early old age. In the frame of the prospective French GAZEL cohort study, data on reciprocity in three types of role-related social engagement (principal regular activity in everyday life, marital role relationship, trusting relationships in civic life) were collected from 8679 men and 2742 women (mean age: 60.4 years) in 2005. Two years later, health functioning was assessed using the SF-36 mental and physical component scores, as well as self-perceived health. Multivariate regressions were calculated, controlling for important confounders including baseline self-perceived health. Consistent effects of perceived non-reciprocity in all three types of social exchange on mental and physical health functioning were observed. After adjustment for relevant confounders including baseline self-perceived, health effects were attenuated, but largely remained significant. Findings underline the importance of the quality of social exchange (reciprocity vs. non-reciprocity) for health functioning in early old age.

  3. Patterns of Early and Delayed Visual Response to Ranibizumab Treatment for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

    PubMed

    Stoller, Glenn L; Kokame, Gregg T; Dreyer, Richard F; Shapiro, Howard; Tuomi, Lisa L

    2016-05-12

    Understanding the range of temporal responses to ranibizumab is critical for the assessment of individualized treatment regimens for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. To examine patterns of visual and anatomical response to ranibizumab treatment. This study is a retrospective subanalysis of HARBOR (a phase 3, double-masked, multicenter, randomized, active treatment-controlled study of the efficacy and safety of 0.5 mg and 2.0 mg ranibizumab administered monthly or on an as-needed basis (PRN) in patients with subfoveal neovascular age-related macular degeneration). A total of 1097 patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration were randomized to intravitreal ranibizumab, 0.5 or 2.0 mg, administered monthly or as needed (PRN) with monthly monitoring. Of the 1097 patients, 1057 were included in the analysis for early responders (best-corrected visual acuity [BCVA] obtained at baseline and month 3), and 988 patients were included in the analysis for delayed responders (BCVA obtained at baseline, month 3, and month 12). The HARBOR study began July 7, 2009, with the primary 12-month end point completed on August 5, 2011, ongoing to 24 months. Data analysis for the subgroup was performed from January 4, 2013, through December 17, 2015. Patients were categorized based on BCVA outcomes as early 15-letter responders (gained ≥15 letters from baseline at month 3) or delayed 15-letter responders (did not gain ≥15 letters from baseline at month 3 but did so at month 12). Changes from baseline in BCVA and central foveal thickness (CFT). In total, 266 early and 135 delayed 15-letter responders were identified. In the 0.5-mg monthly, 0.5-mg PRN, 2.0-mg monthly, and 2.0-mg PRN treatment groups, 63 (24.0%) of 263, 65 (24.6%) of 264, 68 (25.7%) of 265, and 70 (26.4%) of 265 patients were early responders, respectively, and 40 (16.3%) of 246, 31 (12.6%) of 247, 35 (14.1%) of 248, and 29 (11.7%) of 247 patients were delayed responders, respectively. By month

  4. Ages and Ages: The Multiplication of Children's "Ages" in Early Twentieth-Century Child Psychology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beauvais, Clementine

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores the trend, between 1905 and the late 1920s in UK and US child psychology, of "discovering," labelling and calculating different "ages" in children. Those new "ages"--from mental to emotional, social, anatomical ages, and more--were understood as either replacing, or meaningfully related to,…

  5. Age Dating Merger Events in Early Type Galaxies via the Detection of AGB Light

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bothun, G.

    2005-01-01

    A thorough statistical analysis of the J-H vs. H-K color plane of all detected early type galaxies in the 2MASS catalog with velocities less than 5000 km/s has been performed. This all sky survey is not sensitive to one particular galactic environment and therefore a representative range of early type galaxy environments have been sampled. Virtually all N-body simulation so major mergers produces a central starburst due to rapid collection of gas. This central starburst is of sufficient amplitude to change the stellar population in the central regions of the galaxy. Intermediate age populations are given away by the presence of AGB stars which will drive the central colors redder in H-K relative to the J- H baseline. This color anomaly has a lifetime of 2-5 billion years depending on the amplitude of the initial starburst Employing this technique on the entire 2MASS sample (several hundred galaxies) reveals that the AGB signature occurs less than 1% of the time. This is a straightforward indication that virtually all nearby early type galaxies have not had a major merger occur within the last few billion years.

  6. Migration at early age from a high to a lower coronary heart disease risk country lowers the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in middle-aged men.

    PubMed

    Jartti, L; Rönnemaa, T; Raitakari, O T; Hedlund, E; Hammar, N; Lassila, R; Marniemi, J; Koskenvuo, M; Kaprio, J

    2009-03-01

    Study of migrants offers a natural model to assess environmental risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in countries differing in CHD occurrence. In Sweden, CHD risk has been markedly lower than in Finland from where a large migration occurred in the 1970s. To study the structural and functional markers of subclinical atherosclerosis in twin pairs discordant for migration with the main focus on age at migration, length of residence and integration into Swedish society after migration from a high to a lower CHD risk country. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and brachial artery endothelial function (EF) were assessed with high-resolution ultrasound and a set of cardiovascular, socio-economic and psychosocial risk factors were estimated in 76 middle-aged male twin pairs discordant for migration from Finland to Sweden. Men who had migrated in adolescence had lower IMT values compared with their co-twins living in Finland (0.665 +/- 0.114 vs. 0.802 +/- 0.167 mm, P = 0.009). Also men who integrated well to Swedish society had lower (0.720 +/- 0.154 vs. 0.799 +/- 0.207 mm, P = 0.013) IMT values than their twin brothers living in Finland. Associations between IMT and migration age and between IMT and integration remained significant in multivariate analyses of several CHD risk factors. The intrapair difference in IMT was significantly associated with immigration age and integration (ANOVA, P = 0.0082), the difference being greatest among pairs where the brother living in Sweden had migrated at early age and integrated well to Swedish society. EF was better in men who had migrated to Sweden before the age of 21 years, but not later, compared with their co-twins in Finland (6.4 +/- 4.6% vs. 3.8 +/- 3.6%, P = 0.025). Migration at an early age and good integration are beneficial to vascular health associated with moving from a high to a lower CHD risk country, suggesting that an environment-sensitive period influences atherogenesis before adulthood.

  7. Early-Life Phthalate Exposure and Adiposity at 8 Years of Age.

    PubMed

    Shoaff, Jessica; Papandonatos, George D; Calafat, Antonia M; Ye, Xiaoyun; Chen, Aimin; Lanphear, Bruce P; Yolton, Kimberly; Braun, Joseph M

    2017-09-11

    Early-life phthalate exposure may influence child adiposity, but prior studies have not determined if there are periods of enhanced vulnerability to phthalates. To examine the relationship between child adiposity at 8 y of age and repeated urinary biomarkers of phthalate exposure from gestation through childhood to determine if there are distinct periods of vulnerability. In 219 mother-child pairs from Cincinnati, Ohio, we quantified nine urinary phthalate metabolites up to two times prenatally and six times from 1-8 y of age. We measured child body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and percent body fat at 8 y of age. To identify periods of vulnerability, we used two statistical methods to estimate phthalate-adiposity associations at each visit, test differences in phthalate-adiposity associations across visits, and model trajectories of phthalate concentrations for children at different levels of adiposity. Prenatal phthalate concentrations were not associated with excess child adiposity. Monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP) concentrations during pregnancy and childhood were inversely associated with adiposity. The associations of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (∑DEHP) metabolites and monoethyl phthalate (MEP) with child adiposity depended on the timing of exposure. A 10-fold increase in ∑DEHP at 1 and 5 y was associated with a 2.7% decrease [95% confidence interval (CI): -4.8, -0.5] and 2.9% increase (95% CI: 0.3, 5.5) in body fat, respectively. MEP concentrations at 5 and 8 y of age were associated with higher child adiposity, but earlier childhood concentrations were not. In this cohort, we did not find evidence of an obesogenic effect of prenatal phthalate exposure. Positive associations between postnatal MEP and ∑DEHP concentrations depended on the timing of exposure. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1022.

  8. Early-Life Phthalate Exposure and Adiposity at 8 Years of Age

    PubMed Central

    Papandonatos, George D.; Calafat, Antonia M.; Ye, Xiaoyun; Chen, Aimin; Lanphear, Bruce P.; Yolton, Kimberly; Braun, Joseph M.

    2017-01-01

    Background: Early-life phthalate exposure may influence child adiposity, but prior studies have not determined if there are periods of enhanced vulnerability to phthalates. Objective: To examine the relationship between child adiposity at 8 y of age and repeated urinary biomarkers of phthalate exposure from gestation through childhood to determine if there are distinct periods of vulnerability. Methods: In 219 mother–child pairs from Cincinnati, Ohio, we quantified nine urinary phthalate metabolites up to two times prenatally and six times from 1–8 y of age. We measured child body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and percent body fat at 8 y of age. To identify periods of vulnerability, we used two statistical methods to estimate phthalate–adiposity associations at each visit, test differences in phthalate–adiposity associations across visits, and model trajectories of phthalate concentrations for children at different levels of adiposity. Results: Prenatal phthalate concentrations were not associated with excess child adiposity. Monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP) concentrations during pregnancy and childhood were inversely associated with adiposity. The associations of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (∑DEHP) metabolites and monoethyl phthalate (MEP) with child adiposity depended on the timing of exposure. A 10-fold increase in ∑DEHP at 1 and 5 y was associated with a 2.7% decrease [95% confidence interval (CI): −4.8, −0.5] and 2.9% increase (95% CI: 0.3, 5.5) in body fat, respectively. MEP concentrations at 5 and 8 y of age were associated with higher child adiposity, but earlier childhood concentrations were not. Conclusion: In this cohort, we did not find evidence of an obesogenic effect of prenatal phthalate exposure. Positive associations between postnatal MEP and ∑DEHP concentrations depended on the timing of exposure. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1022 PMID:28935615

  9. Postmortem aging and freezing and thawing storage enhance ability of early deboned chicken pectoralis major muscle to hold added salt water

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The effects of postdeboning aging and frozen storage on water-holding capacity (WHC) of chicken breast pectoralis major muscle were investigated. Broiler breast muscle was removed from carcasses either early postmortem (2 h) or later postmortem (24 h). Treatments included: no postdeboning aging; 1-...

  10. Subjective Age in Early Adolescence: Relationships with Chronological Age, Pubertal Timing, Desired Age, and Problem Behaviors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hubley, Anita M.; Arim, Rubab G.

    2012-01-01

    Subjective age generally refers to the age that one feels. In a cross-sectional questionnaire study of 245 adolescents ages 10-14 years, we examined (a) whether, and when, a cross-over in subjective age occurs, (b) differences in subjective age among pubertal timing groups, (c) correlations between subjective age and each of desired age and five…

  11. Early onset ageing and service preparation in people with intellectual disabilities: institutional managers' perspective.

    PubMed

    Lin, Jin-Ding; Wu, Chia-Ling; Lin, Pei-Ying; Lin, Lan-Ping; Chu, Cordia M

    2011-01-01

    Although longevity among older adults with intellectual disabilities is increasing, there is limited information on their premature aging related health characteristics and how it may change with increasing age. The present paper provides information of the institutional manager's perception on early onset aging and service preparation for this population. We used purposive sampling to recruit 54 institutional managers who care for people with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan. The present study employed a cross-sectional design using a self-administrative structured questionnaire that was completed by the respondents in November 2009. The results showed that more than 90% of the respondents agreed with earlier onset aging characteristics of people with ID. However, nearly all of the respondents expressed that the government policies were inadequate and the institution is not capable of caring for aging people with ID, and more than half of them did not satisfy to their provisional care for this group of people. With regard to the service priority of government aging policy for people with ID, the respondent expressed that medical care, financial support, daily living care were the main areas in the future policy development for them. The factors of institutional type, expressed adequacy of government's service, respondent's job position, age, and working years in disability service were variables that can significantly predict the positive perceptions toward future governmental aging services for people with ID (adjusted R(2) = 0.563). We suggest that the future study strategy should underpin the aging characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities and its differences with general population to provide the useful information for the institutional caregivers. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Early Adverse Environments and Genetic Influences on Age at First Sex: Evidence for Gene × Environment Interaction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carlson, Marie D.; Mendle, Jane; Harden, K. Paige

    2014-01-01

    Youth who experience adverse environments in early life initiate sexual activity at a younger age, on average, than those from more advantaged circumstances. Evolutionary theorists have posited that ecological stress precipitates earlier reproductive and sexual onset, but it is unclear how stressful environments interact with genetic influences on…

  13. Evolution of the early Antarctic ice ages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liebrand, Diederik; de Bakker, Anouk T. M.; Beddow, Helen M.; Wilson, Paul A.; Bohaty, Steven M.; Ruessink, Gerben; Pälike, Heiko; Batenburg, Sietske J.; Hilgen, Frederik J.; Hodell, David A.; Huck, Claire E.; Kroon, Dick; Raffi, Isabella; Saes, Mischa J. M.; van Dijk, Arnold E.; Lourens, Lucas J.

    2017-04-01

    Understanding the stability of the early Antarctic ice cap in the geological past is of societal interest because present-day atmospheric CO2 concentrations have reached values comparable to those estimated for the Oligocene and the Early Miocene epochs. Here we analyze a new high-resolution deep-sea oxygen isotope (δ18O) record from the South Atlantic Ocean spanning an interval between 30.1 My and 17.1 My ago. The record displays major oscillations in deep-sea temperature and Antarctic ice volume in response to the ˜110-ky eccentricity modulation of precession. Conservative minimum ice volume estimates show that waxing and waning of at least ˜85 to 110% of the volume of the present East Antarctic Ice Sheet is required to explain many of the ˜110-ky cycles. Antarctic ice sheets were typically largest during repeated glacial cycles of the mid-Oligocene (˜28.0 My to ˜26.3 My ago) and across the Oligocene-Miocene Transition (˜23.0 My ago). However, the high-amplitude glacial-interglacial cycles of the mid-Oligocene are highly symmetrical, indicating a more direct response to eccentricity modulation of precession than their Early Miocene counterparts, which are distinctly asymmetrical—indicative of prolonged ice buildup and delayed, but rapid, glacial terminations. We hypothesize that the long-term transition to a warmer climate state with sawtooth-shaped glacial cycles in the Early Miocene was brought about by subsidence and glacial erosion in West Antarctica during the Late Oligocene and/or a change in the variability of atmospheric CO2 levels on astronomical time scales that is not yet captured in existing proxy reconstructions.

  14. Evolution of the early Antarctic ice ages

    PubMed Central

    de Bakker, Anouk T. M.; Beddow, Helen M.; Wilson, Paul A.; Bohaty, Steven M.; Pälike, Heiko; Batenburg, Sietske J.; Hilgen, Frederik J.; Hodell, David A.; Huck, Claire E.; Kroon, Dick; Raffi, Isabella; Saes, Mischa J. M.; van Dijk, Arnold E.; Lourens, Lucas J.

    2017-01-01

    Understanding the stability of the early Antarctic ice cap in the geological past is of societal interest because present-day atmospheric CO2 concentrations have reached values comparable to those estimated for the Oligocene and the Early Miocene epochs. Here we analyze a new high-resolution deep-sea oxygen isotope (δ18O) record from the South Atlantic Ocean spanning an interval between 30.1 My and 17.1 My ago. The record displays major oscillations in deep-sea temperature and Antarctic ice volume in response to the ∼110-ky eccentricity modulation of precession. Conservative minimum ice volume estimates show that waxing and waning of at least ∼85 to 110% of the volume of the present East Antarctic Ice Sheet is required to explain many of the ∼110-ky cycles. Antarctic ice sheets were typically largest during repeated glacial cycles of the mid-Oligocene (∼28.0 My to ∼26.3 My ago) and across the Oligocene−Miocene Transition (∼23.0 My ago). However, the high-amplitude glacial−interglacial cycles of the mid-Oligocene are highly symmetrical, indicating a more direct response to eccentricity modulation of precession than their Early Miocene counterparts, which are distinctly asymmetrical—indicative of prolonged ice buildup and delayed, but rapid, glacial terminations. We hypothesize that the long-term transition to a warmer climate state with sawtooth-shaped glacial cycles in the Early Miocene was brought about by subsidence and glacial erosion in West Antarctica during the Late Oligocene and/or a change in the variability of atmospheric CO2 levels on astronomical time scales that is not yet captured in existing proxy reconstructions. PMID:28348211

  15. Do economic recessions during early and mid-adulthood influence cognitive function in older age?

    PubMed

    Leist, Anja K; Hessel, Philipp; Avendano, Mauricio

    2014-02-01

    Fluctuations in the national economy shape labour market opportunities and outcomes, which in turn may influence the accumulation of cognitive reserve. This study examines whether economic recessions experienced in early and mid-adulthood are associated with later-life cognitive function. Data came from 12,020 respondents in 11 countries participating in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Cognitive assessments in 2004/2005 and 2006/2007 were linked to complete work histories retrospectively collected in 2008/2009 and to historical annual data on fluctuations in Gross Domestic Product per capita for each country. Controlling for confounders, we assessed whether recessions experienced at ages 25-34, 35-44 and 45-49 were associated with cognitive function at ages 50-74. Among men, each additional recession at ages 45-49 was associated with worse cognitive function at ages 50-74 (b=-0.06, CI -0.11 to -0.01). Among women, each additional recession at ages 25-44 was associated with worse cognitive function at ages 50-74 (b25-34=-0.03, CI -0.04 to -0.01; b35-44=-0.02, CI -0.04 to -0.00). Among men, recessions at ages 45-49 influenced risk of being laid-off, whereas among women, recessions at ages 25-44 led to working part-time and higher likelihood of downward occupational mobility, which were all predictors of worse later-life cognitive function. Recessions at ages 45-49 among men and 25-44 among women are associated with later-life cognitive function, possibly through more unfavourable labour market trajectories. If replicated in future studies, findings indicate that policies that ameliorate the impact of recessions on labour market outcomes may promote later-life cognitive function.

  16. Do Economic Recessions During Early and Mid-Adulthood Influence Cognitive Function in Older Age?

    PubMed Central

    Leist, Anja K.; Hessel, Philipp; Avendano, Mauricio

    2014-01-01

    Background Fluctuations in the national economy shape labour market opportunities and outcomes, which in turn may influence the accumulation of cognitive reserve. This study examines whether economic recessions experienced in early and mid-adulthood are associated with later-life cognitive function. Method Data came from 12,020 respondents in 11 countries participating in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Cognitive assessments in 2004/5 and 2006/7 were linked to complete work histories retrospectively collected in 2008/9, and to historical annual data on fluctuations in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita for each country. Controlling for confounders, we assessed whether recessions experienced at ages 25-34, 35-44 and 45-49 were associated with cognitive function at ages 50-74. Results Among men, each additional recession at ages 45-49 was associated with worse cognitive function at ages 50-74 (b = -0.06, Confidence Interval [CI] -0.11, -0.01). Among women, each additional recession at ages 25-44 was associated with worse cognitive function at ages 50-74 (b25-34 = -0.03, CI -0.04, -0.01; b35-44= -0.02, CI -0.04, -0.00). Among men, recessions at ages 45-49 influenced risk of being laid-off, whereas among women, recessions at ages 25-44 led to working part-time and higher likelihood of downward occupational mobility, which were all predictors of worse later-life cognitive function. Conclusions Recessions at ages 45-49 among men and 25-44 among women are associated with later-life cognitive function, possibly via more unfavourable labour market trajectories. If replicated in future studies, findings may indicate that policies that ameliorate the impact of recessions on labour market outcomes may promote later-life cognitive function. PMID:24258197

  17. Dental enamel defects in German medieval and early-modern-age populations.

    PubMed

    Lang, J; Birkenbeil, S; Bock, S; Heinrich-Weltzien, R; Kromeyer-Hauschild, K

    2016-11-01

    Aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and type of developmental defects of enamel (DDE) in a medieval and an early-modern-age population from Thuringia, Germany. Sixty-six skeletons subdivided into 31 single burials (12 th /13 th c.) and 35 individuals buried in groups (15 th /16 th c.) were examined. DDE were classified on 1,246 teeth according to the DDE index. Molar-incisor-hypomineralisation (MIH), a special type of DDE, was recorded according to the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) criteria. DDE was found in 89.4% of the individuals (single burials 90.3% and group burials 88.6%). Hypoplastic pits were the most frequent defect in primary teeth and linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) in permanent teeth. 13 individuals (24.1%) showed at least one hypomineralised permanent tooth, 12.2% had MIH on at least one first permanent molar and 10.0% in permanent incisors. Second primary molars were affected in 8.0% of the children and juveniles. No individual suffered from affected molars and incisors in combination. Endogenous factors like nutritional deficiencies and health problems in early childhood could have been aetiological reasons of DDE and MIH. The frequency of DDE and MIH might have been masked by extended carious lesions, dental wear and ante-mortem tooth loss.

  18. Association between behavioural factors and BMI-for-age among early adolescents in Hulu Langat district, Selangor, Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Woon, Fui Chee; Chin, Yit Siew; Mohd Nasir, Mohd Taib

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates the association between behavioural factors and BMI-for-age among early adolescents (10-11 years old) in Hulu Langat district, Selangor. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 333 primary school students. Body weight and height of the students were measured and their BMI-for-age was calculated. Eating behaviours, energy intake, energy expenditure, physical activity, and screen time were assessed using the Eating Behaviours Questionnaire and a 2-day dietary and physical activity recall, respectively. Data were analysed using multiple linear regression analysis. The prevalence of overweight and obesity (28.2%) was about twice the prevalence of thinness (11.1%). The mean energy intake and energy expenditure of the students was 1772±441kcal/day and 1705±331kcal/day, respectively. Three in five of the students (60.1%) skipped at least one meal and 98.2% snacked between meals daily. A majority of them (55.3%) were sedentary. Low energy intake (p<0.05) and low energy expenditure (p<0.05) were associated with high BMI-for-age. Energy expenditure (β=-0.033) and energy intake (β=-0.090) significantly explained 65.1% of the variances in BMI-for-age (F=119.170, p<0.05). These findings suggested that promoting healthy eating and active lifestyle should be targeted in the prevention and management of obesity among early adolescents. Copyright © 2014 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Water consumption in Iron Age, Roman, and Early Medieval Croatia.

    PubMed

    Lightfoot, E; Slaus, M; O'Connell, T C

    2014-08-01

    Patterns of water consumption by past human populations are rarely considered, yet drinking behavior is socially mediated and access to water sources is often socially controlled. Oxygen isotope analysis of archeological human remains is commonly used to identify migrants in the archeological record, but it can also be used to consider water itself, as this technique documents water consumption rather than migration directly. Here, we report an oxygen isotope study of humans and animals from coastal regions of Croatia in the Iron Age, Roman, and Early Medieval periods. The results show that while faunal values have little diachronic variation, the human data vary through time, and there are wide ranges of values within each period. Our interpretation is that this is not solely a result of mobility, but that human behavior can and did lead to human oxygen isotope ratios that are different from that expected from consumption of local precipitation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. The Quality of Preterm Infants' Spontaneous Movements: An Early Indicator of Intelligence and Behaviour at School Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Butcher, Phillipa R.; van Braeckel, Koen; Bouma, Anke; Einspieler, Christa; Stremmelaar, Elisabeth F.; Bos, Arend F.

    2009-01-01

    Background: The quality of very preterm infants' spontaneous movements at 11 to 16 weeks post-term age is a powerful predictor of their later neurological status. This study investigated whether early spontaneous movements also have predictive value for the intellectual and behavioural problems that children born very preterm often experience.…

  1. Epilutein for Early-Stage Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Randomized and Prospective Study.

    PubMed

    Forte, Raimondo; Panzella, Lucia; Cesarano, Ida; Cennamo, Gilda; Eidenberger, Thomas; Napolitano, Alessandra

    2017-01-01

    The hypothesis that oral supplementation of the epilutein/lutein combination could augment the macular pigment optical density (MPOD) in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was tested. In a prospective randomized interventional study, 40 consecutive patients with early-stage AMD were recruited. After a 2-week run-in period, patients were randomly treated with a daily oral administration of 8 mg epilutein and 2 mg lutein (group 1) or 10 mg lutein (group 2) for 2 months. At baseline (BL) and 1-month (M1) and 2-month visits (M2), all patients underwent a complete ophthalmological examination, including measurement of MPOD in a 7° area (Visucam 200; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Milan, Italy). Xanthophylls were quantified in plasma, as well as the HDL, non-HDL, and erythrocyte fractions at each study visit. Twenty-one patients (mean age 69.4 ± 6.7 years, 35 eyes) were included in group 1. Mean MPOD was 0.203 ± 0.02 optical density units (ODU) at BL, and increased to 0.214 ± 0.04 ODU at M1 (p = 0.008) and 0.206 ± 0.03 ODU at M2 (p = 0.04). Sixteen patients (mean age 72.0 ± 6.3 years, 29 eyes) were included in group 2. Mean MPOD was 0.215 ± 0.03 at BL, which reduced to 0.202 ± 0.03 ODU at M1 (p = 0.003) and 0.207 ± 0.02 ODU at M2 (p < 0.001). A rise in the systemic level of total xanthophylls was observed at M1 for both groups. At M2, total xanthophylls were significantly increased only in group 1 and decreased in group 2. In patients with early-stage AMD, the administration of lutein in combination with epilutein was associated with an increased MPOD compared to the administration of lutein alone. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  2. Early Cretaceous Shallow-Water Platform Carbonates of the Bolkar Mountains, Central Taurides - South Turkey: Facies Analysis and Depositional Environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Solak, Cemile; Taslı, Kemal; Koç, Hayati

    2016-10-01

    The study area comprises southern non-metamorphic part of the Bolkar Mountains which are situated in southern Turkey, eastern part of the Central Taurides. The studied five outcrops form geologically parts of the tectonostratigraphic units called as allochthonous Aladag Unit and autochthonous Geyikdagi Unit. The aim of this study is to describe microfacies and depositional environments of the Bolkar Mountains Early Cretaceous shallow- water platform carbonates. The Lower Cretaceous is represented by continuous thick- bedded to massive dolomite sequence ranging from 100 to 150 meters thick, which only contains locally laminated limestone intercalations in the Yüğlük section and thick to very thick-bedded uniform limestones ranging from approximately 50 to 120 meters, consist of mainly laminated- fenestral mudstone, peloidal-intraclastic grainstone-packstone, bioclastic packstone- wackestone, benthic foraminiferal-intraclastic grainstone-packstone, ostracod-fenestral wackestone-mudstone, dasycladacean algal packstone-wackestone and ooidal grainstone microfacies. Based on a combination sedimantological data, facies/microfacies and micropaleontological (predominantly dasycladacean algae and diverse benthic foraminifera) analysis, it is concluded that Early Cretaceous platform carbonates of the Bolkar Mountains reflect a tidally affected tidal-flat and restricted lagoon settings. During the Berriasian- Valanginian unfavourable facies for benthic foraminifera and dolomitization were predominate. In the Hauterivian-early Aptian, the effect of dolomitization largely disappeared and inner platform conditions still prevailed showing alternations of peritidal and lagoon facies, going from peritidal plains (representing various sub-environments including supratidal, intertidal area, tidal-intertidal ponds and ooid bars) dominated by ostracod and miliolids, to dasycladacean algae-rich restricted lagoons-subtidal. These environments show a transition in the vertical and

  3. Early Childhood Precursors and School age Correlates of Different Internalising Problem Trajectories Among Young Children.

    PubMed

    Parkes, Alison; Sweeting, Helen; Wight, Daniel

    2016-10-01

    It is unclear why trajectories of internalising problems vary between groups of young children. This is the first attempt in the United Kingdom to identify and explain different trajectories of internalising problems from 46 to 94 months. Using both mother- and child-reported data from the large Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) birth cohort (N = 2901; male N = 1497, female N = 1404), we applied growth mixture modelling and multivariable multinomial regression models. Three trajectories were identified: low-stable, high-decreasing and medium-increasing. There were no gender differences in trajectory shape, membership, or importance of covariates. Children from both elevated trajectories shared several early risk factors (low income, poor maternal mental health, poor partner relationship, pre-school behaviour problems) and school-age covariates (low mother-child warmth and initial school maladjustment) and reported fewer supportive friendships at 94 months. However, there were also differences in covariates between the two elevated trajectories. Minority ethnic status and pre-school conduct problems were more strongly associated with the high-decreasing trajectory; and covariates measured after school entry (behaviour problems, mother-child conflict and school maladjustment) with the medium-increasing trajectory. This suggests a greater burden of early risk for the high-decreasing trajectory, and that children with moderate early problem levels were more vulnerable to influences after school transition. Our findings largely support the sparse existing international evidence and are strengthened by the use of child-reported data. They highlight the need to identify protective factors for children with moderate, as well as high, levels of internalising problems at pre-school age, but suggest different approaches may be required.

  4. The Association between Early Conduct Problems and Early Marijuana Use in College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Falls, Benjamin J.; Wish, Eric D.; Garnier, Laura M.; Caldeira, Kimberly M.; O'Grady, Kevin E.; Vincent, Kathryn B.; Arria, Amelia M.

    2011-01-01

    Early conduct problems have been linked to early marijuana use in adolescence. The present study examines this association in a sample of 1,076 college students that was divided into three groups: (1) early marijuana users (began marijuana use prior to age 15; N = 126), (2) late marijuana users (began marijuana use at or after age 15; N = 607),…

  5. Motor development in 3-month-old healthy term-born infants is associated with cognitive and behavioural outcomes at early school age.

    PubMed

    Hitzert, Marrit M; Roze, Elise; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N J A; Bos, Arend F

    2014-09-01

    To determine whether motor development at 3 months of age is associated with cognitive, motor, and behavioural outcomes in healthy children at early school age. In this cohort study, we included 74 term-born, healthy children (44 males, 30 females; median gestational age 40.1 wks, range 38.0-42.6 wks). From video recordings (median 12.9 wks, range 9.3-18.6 wks), we assessed the quality of fidgety movements, and calculated a motor optimality score. At school age (median 5 y 11 mo, range 5 y 8 mo-7 y 6 mo), we performed detailed cognitive, motor, and behavioural assessments. We examined whether aspects of motor development were associated with functional outcomes. An age-adequate motor repertoire, in particular the presence of antigravity, midline leg, and manipulation movements, was related to poorer cognition, whereas variable finger postures was related to better cognition. Children with a monotonous concurrent motor repertoire had better ball skills but experienced more behavioural problems. The presence of antigravity movements tended to be associated with abnormal recognition (odds ratio [OR] 4.4, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9-21; R(2) =0.17; p=0.070), where the absence of variable finger postures was associated with borderline and abnormal visual-spatial perception (OR 20, 95% CI, 1.7-238; R(2) =0.39; p=0.018). Detailed aspects of motor development at 3 months of age are associated with cognition and behaviour, but not with motor outcome, in healthy children at early school age. Our findings suggest that early motor development may be the basis for later cognitive and behavioural performance. Since the associations were only moderate, possible environmental influences should be acknowledged. © 2014 Mac Keith Press.

  6. Supernovae in Early-Type Galaxies: Directly Connecting Age and Metallicity with Type Ia Luminosity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gallagher, Joseph S.; Garnavich, Peter M.; Caldwell, Nelson; Kirshner, Robert P.; Jha, Saurabh W.; Li, Weidong; Ganeshalingam, Mohan; Filippenko, Alexei V.

    2008-10-01

    We have obtained optical spectra of 29 early-type (E/S0) galaxies that hosted Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). We have measured absorption-line strengths and compared them to a grid of models to extract the relations between the supernova properties and the luminosity-weighted age/composition of the host galaxies. Such a direct measurement is a marked improvement over existing analyses that tend to rely on general correlations between the properties of stellar populations and morphology. We find a strong correlation suggesting that SNe Ia in galaxies whose populations have a characteristic age greater than 5 Gyr are ~1 mag fainter at Vmax than those found in galaxies with younger populations. We find that SN Ia distance residuals in the Hubble diagram are correlated with host-galaxy metal abundance with higher iron abundance galaxies hosting less-luminous supernovae. We thus conclude that the time since progenitor formation primarily determines the radioactive Ni production while progenitor metal abundance has a weaker influence on peak luminosity, but one not fully corrected by light-curve shape and color fitters. This result, particularly the secondary dependence on metallicity, has significant implications for the determination of the equation-of-state parameter, w = P/(ρ c2) , and could impact planning for future dark-energy missions such as JDEM. Assuming no selection effects in discovering SNe Ia in local early-type galaxies, we find a higher specific SN Ia rate in E/S0 galaxies with ages below 3 Gyr than in older hosts. The higher rate and brighter luminosities seen in the youngest E/S0 hosts may be a result of recent star formation and represents a tail of the "prompt" SN Ia progenitors.

  7. Local expression of global forcing factors in Lower Cretaceous, Aptian carbon isotope segment C5: El Pujal Section, Organya Basin, Catalunya, Spain.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Socorro, J.; Maurrasse, F. J.

    2017-12-01

    During the Aptian, the semi-restricted Organya Basin accumulated sediments under quasi-continuous dysoxic conditions [1]. High resolution stable carbon isotope (δ13Corg) values for 71.27 m of interbedded limestones, argillaceous limestones and marlstones of the El Pujal sequence show relatively small variability (1.65‰) fluctuating between -25.09‰ and -23.44‰ with an average of -24.02‰. This pattern is consistent with values reported for other Tethyan sections for carbon isotope segment C5 [2]. The geochemical and petrographic results of the sequence, reveal periodic enrichment of redox sensitive trace elements (V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Mo, U), biolimiting (P, Fe) and major elements (Al, Si, Ti) at certain levels concurrent with episodes of enhanced organic carbon preservation (TOC). Inorganic carbonate (TIC) dilution due to significant clay fluxes is also evident along these intervals as illustrated by the strong negative correlation with Al (r = -0.91). Microfacies characterized by higher pyrite concentration, impoverished benthic fauna and lower degree of bioturbation index (3) are in accord with geochemical proxies. When combined, these results suggest recurrent intermittent dysoxic conditions associated with episodic increases of terrigenous supplies by riverine fluxes, which are in agreement with results reported for the basal segment of the section (0-13.77m) [3]. Concurrently, δ13Corg values show a positive correlation with TIC (r = 0.50) and a negative correlation with TOC (r = -0.46), thus showing more negative values corresponding with intervals of highest terrestrial influences, which were previously correlated with higher inputs of higher chain (>nC25) n-alkanes [3]. Hence, the results highlight the local expression of the δ13Corg signal related to higher inputs of terrestrial vegetation linked with lower δ13Corg values modulating the global signature of segment C5. References: [1] Sanchez-Hernandez & Maurrasse, 2016. Palaeo3 441; [2] Menegatti

  8. Predictors of outcome at 2 years of age after early intrauterine growth restriction.

    PubMed

    Torrance, H L; Bloemen, M C T; Mulder, E J H; Nikkels, P G J; Derks, J B; de Vries, L S; Visser, G H A

    2010-08-01

    To examine the relative importance of antenatal and perinatal variables on short- and long-term outcome of preterm growth restricted fetuses with umbilical artery (UA) Doppler abnormalities. This was a cohort study of 180 neonates with birth weight < 10(th) percentile, gestational age at delivery < 34 weeks and abnormal Doppler ultrasound examination of the UA. Various antenatal and perinatal variables were studied in relation to short- and long-term outcome. Neonatal and overall mortality (up to 2 years of age) were predicted by low gestational age at delivery. Neonatal mortality was additionally predicted by absent or reversed UA end-diastolic flow, while the presence of severe neonatal complications and placental villitis were additional predictors of both infant (between 28 days and 1 year of postnatal life) and overall mortality. Placental villitis was found to be the only predictor of necrotizing enterocolitis. Low gestational age at delivery, male sex, abnormal cardiotocography, absent or reversed UA end-diastolic flow and the HELLP syndrome predicted respiratory distress syndrome. Abnormal neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years was predicted by low birth weight (< 2.3(rd) percentile), fetal acidosis (UA pH < 7.00), and placental villitis. Less advanced gestation at delivery remains an important predictor of short-term outcome in growth-restricted fetuses. In addition, the presence of placental villitis may aid neonatologists in the early identification of infants at increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis, death and abnormal neurodevelopment at 2 years of age. Abnormal neurodevelopment was related to low weight and acidosis at birth, indicating that the severity of malnutrition and fetal acidosis affect long-term outcome.

  9. Sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy from outcrops of the Kribi-Campo sub-basin: Lower Mundeck Formation (Lower Cretaceous, southern Cameroon)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ntamak-Nida, Marie Joseph; Bourquin, Sylvie; Makong, Jean-Claude; Baudin, François; Mpesse, Jean Engelbert; Ngouem, Christophe Itjoko; Komguem, Paul Bertrand; Abolo, Guy Martin

    2010-08-01

    The Kribi-Campo sub-basin is composed of an Early to Mid Cretaceous series from West Africa's Atlantic coast and is located in southern Cameroon in the Central African equatorial rain forest. It is the smallest coastal basin in Cameroon and forms the southern part of the Douala/Kribi-Campo basin known as Douala basin ( s.l.). Until now, no detailed sedimentological studies have been carried out on the outcrops of this basin located in the Campo area. The aim of this study was to characterise the depositional environments, vertical evolution and tectonic context of these Lower Cretaceous series in order to make a comparison with adjacent basins and replace them in the geodynamic context. Facies analysis of the Lower Mundeck Formation (Lower Cretaceous) indicates the presence of four major, interfigered facies associations, that are inferred to represent elements of an alluvial to lacustrine-fan delta system. The clast lithologies suggest proximity of relief supplying coarse-grained sediment during the deposition of the Lower Mundeck Formation at Campo. The general dip and direction of the bedding is approximately 10°-12°NW, which also corresponds to the orientation of the foliations in the underlying metamorphic basement. The main sedimentary succession is characterised by a major retrogradational/progradational cycle of Late Aptian age, evaluated at about 3 Ma, with a well-developed progradational trend characterised by fluctuations of the recognised depositional environments. Fluctuations in lake level and sediment supply were possibly controlled by active faults at the basin margin, although climatic changes may have also played a role. The consistently W-WNW palaeoflow of sediments suggests that the palaeorelief was located to the east and could be oriented in a NNE-SSW direction, downthrown to the west. Local outcrops dated as Albian, both north and south of the main outcrop, display some marine influence. These deposits are cut by 040-060 faults parallel to

  10. Characterization of Early Age Curing and Shrinkage of Metakaolin-Based Inorganic Binders with Different Rheological Behavior by Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors.

    PubMed

    Palumbo, Giovanna; Iadicicco, Agostino; Messina, Francesco; Ferone, Claudio; Campopiano, Stefania; Cioffi, Raffaele; Colangelo, Francesco

    2017-12-22

    This paper reports results related to early age temperature and shrinkage measurements by means fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), which were embedded in geopolymer matrices. The sensors were properly packaged in order to discriminate between different shrinkage behavior and temperature development. Geopolymer systems based on metakaolin were investigated, which dealt with different commercial aluminosilicate precursors and siliceous filler contents. The proposed measuring system will allow us to control, in a very accurate way, the early age phases of the binding systems made by metakaolin geopolymer. A series of experiments were conducted on different compositions; moreover, rheological issues related to the proposed experimental method were also assessed.

  11. Characterization of Early Age Curing and Shrinkage of Metakaolin-Based Inorganic Binders with Different Rheological Behavior by Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

    PubMed Central

    Palumbo, Giovanna; Iadicicco, Agostino; Messina, Francesco; Campopiano, Stefania; Cioffi, Raffaele; Colangelo, Francesco

    2017-01-01

    This paper reports results related to early age temperature and shrinkage measurements by means fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), which were embedded in geopolymer matrices. The sensors were properly packaged in order to discriminate between different shrinkage behavior and temperature development. Geopolymer systems based on metakaolin were investigated, which dealt with different commercial aluminosilicate precursors and siliceous filler contents. The proposed measuring system will allow us to control, in a very accurate way, the early age phases of the binding systems made by metakaolin geopolymer. A series of experiments were conducted on different compositions; moreover, rheological issues related to the proposed experimental method were also assessed. PMID:29271912

  12. The Enduring Predictive Significance of Early Maternal Sensitivity: Social and Academic Competence through Age 32 Years

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raby, K. Lee; Roisman, Glenn I.; Fraley, R. Chris; Simpson, Jeffry A.

    2015-01-01

    This study leveraged data from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (N = 243) to investigate the predictive significance of maternal sensitivity during the first 3 years of life for social and academic competence through age 32 years. Structural model comparisons replicated previous findings that early maternal sensitivity…

  13. Early-mid-Cretaceous evolution in Tethyan reef communities and sea level

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Scott, R.W.

    1988-01-01

    The replacement of corals by rudists in Early Cretaceous reefal communities spanned a 30-m.y. period when sea level rose and drowned continental shelves. During this time corals formed communities in the deeper parts of reefs and rudists occupied the shallow, high-energy habitats. By Aptian time rudists dominated reefs that fringed interior shelf basins and corals formed reefs with rudists on the outer shelf margins. By late Albian coral communities had virtually disappeared, presumably because of complex environmental changes and cycles of organic productivity. Two important events of eustatic sea level rise are represented by unconformities separating carbonate depositional sequences onmore » the Arabian platform that correlate with sequence boundaries on the Gulf Coast platform. Graphic correlation techniques test the synchroneity of these events. A composite standard time scale dates these sea level rises at 115.8 Ma and 94.6 Ma; a third, intra-Albian event at 104.3 Ma is present in many places and may also be eustatic. Associated with these sea level rises were apparent changes in ocean water chemistry as evidenced by changes in isotopes and trace elements, where diagenetic effects can be discounted. During this time the climate became more humid and atmospheric CO/sub 2/ increased. The concomitant environmental changes in the oceanic conditions presumably stressed the deeper coral communities on reefs. The emergence of rudists as reef contributors had a profound effect on Late Cretaceous depositional conditions and the development of hydrocarbon reservoirs.« less

  14. Early-mid-Cretaceous evolution in Tethyan reef communities and sea level

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Scott, R.W.

    1988-02-01

    The replacement of corals by rudists in Early Cretaceous reefal communities spanned a 30-m.y. period when sea level rose and drowned continental shelves. During this time corals formed communities in the deeper parts of reefs and rudists occupied the shallow, high-energy habitats. By Aptian time rudists dominated reefs that fringed interior shelf basins and corals formed reefs with rudists on the outer shelf margins. By late Albian coral communities had virtually disappeared, presumably because of complex environmental changes and cycles of organic productivity. Two important events of eustatic sea level rise are represented by unconformities separating carbonate depositional sequences onmore » the Arabian platform that correlate with sequence boundaries on the Gulf Coast platform. Graphic correlation techniques test the synchroneity of these events. A composite standard time scale dates these sea level rises at 115.8 Ma and 94.6 Ma; a third, intra-Albian event at 104.3 Ma is present in many places and may also be eustatic. Associated with these sea level rises were apparent changes in ocean water chemistry as evidenced by changes in isotopes and trace elements, where diagenetic effects can be discounted. During this time the climate became more humid and atmospheric CO/sub 2/ increased. The concomitant environmental changes in the oceanic conditions presumably stressed the deeper coral communities on reefs. The emergence of rudists as reef contributors had a profound effect on Late Cretaceous depositional conditions and the development of hydrocarbon reservoirs.« less

  15. Childhood growth predicts higher bone mass and greater bone area in early old age: findings among a subgroup of women from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.

    PubMed

    Mikkola, T M; von Bonsdorff, M B; Osmond, C; Salonen, M K; Kajantie, E; Cooper, C; Välimäki, M J; Eriksson, J G

    2017-09-01

    We examined the associations between childhood growth and bone properties among women at early old age. Early growth in height predicted greater bone area and higher bone mineral mass. However, information on growth did not improve prediction of bone properties beyond that predicted by body size at early old age. We examined the associations between body size at birth and childhood growth with bone area, bone mineral content (BMC), and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) in early old age. A subgroup of women (n = 178, mean 60.4 years) from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, born 1934-1944, participated in dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements of the lumbar spine and hip. Height and weight at 0, 2, 7, and 11 years, obtained from health care records, were reconstructed into conditional variables representing growth velocity independent of earlier growth. Weight was adjusted for corresponding height. Linear regression models were adjusted for multiple confounders. Birth length and growth in height before 7 years of age were positively associated with femoral neck area (p < 0.05) and growth in height at all age periods studied with spine bone area (p < 0.01). Growth in height before the age of 7 years was associated with BMC in the femoral neck (p < 0.01) and birth length and growth in height before the age of 7 years were associated with BMC in the spine (p < 0.05). After entering adult height into the models, nearly all associations disappeared. Weight gain during childhood was not associated with bone area or BMC, and aBMD was not associated with early growth. Optimal growth in height in girls is important for obtaining larger skeleton and consequently higher bone mass. However, when predicting bone mineral mass among elderly women, information on early growth does not improve prediction beyond that predicted by current height and weight.

  16. Knowledge of influenza vaccination recommendation and early vaccination uptake during the 2015-16 season among adults aged ≥18years - United States.

    PubMed

    Lu, Peng-Jun; Srivastav, Anup; Santibanez, Tammy A; Christopher Stringer, M; Bostwick, Michael; Dever, Jill A; Stanley Kurtz, Marshica; Williams, Walter W

    2017-08-03

    Since 2010, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended that all persons aged ≥6months receive annual influenza vaccination. We analyzed data from the 2015 National Internet Flu Survey (NIFS), to assess knowledge and awareness of the influenza vaccination recommendation and early influenza vaccination coverage during the 2015-16 season among adults. Predictive marginals from a multivariable logistic regression model were used to identify factors independently associated with adults' knowledge and awareness of the vaccination recommendation and early vaccine uptake during the 2015-16 influenza season. Among the 3301 respondents aged ≥18years, 19.6% indicated knowing that influenza vaccination is recommended for all persons aged ≥6months. Of respondents, 62.3% indicated awareness that there was a recommendation for influenza vaccination, but did not indicate correct knowledge of the recommended age group. Overall, 39.9% of adults aged ≥18years reported having an influenza vaccination. Age 65years and older, being female, having a college or higher education, not being in work force, having annual household income ≥$75,000, reporting having received an influenza vaccination early in the 2015-16 season, having children aged ≤17years in the household, and having high-risk conditions were independently associated with a higher correct knowledge of the influenza vaccination recommendation. Approximately 1 in 5 had correct knowledge of the recommendation that all persons aged ≥6months should receive an influenza vaccination annually, with some socio-economic groups being even less aware. Clinic based education in combination with strategies known to increase uptake of recommended vaccines, such as patient reminder/recall systems and other healthcare system-based interventions are needed to improve vaccination, which could also improve awareness. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. Evidence for rapid climate change in the Mesozoic-Palaeogene greenhouse world.

    PubMed

    Jenkyns, Hugh C

    2003-09-15

    The best-documented example of rapid climate change that characterized the so-called 'greenhouse world' took place at the time of the Palaeocene-Eocene boundary: introduction of isotopically light carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system, accompanied by global warming of 5-8 degrees C across a range of latitudes, took place over a few thousand years. Dissociation, release and oxidation of gas hydrates from continental-margin sites and the consequent rapid global warming from the input of greenhouses gases are generally credited with causing the abrupt negative excursions in carbon- and oxygen-isotope ratios. The isotopic anomalies, as recorded in foraminifera, propagated downwards from the shallowest levels of the ocean, implying that considerable quantities of methane survived upward transit through the water column to oxidize in the atmosphere. In the Mesozoic Era, a number of similar events have been recognized, of which those at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, in the early Toarcian (Jurassic) and in the early Aptian (Cretaceous) currently carry the best documentation for dramatic rises in temperature. In these three examples, and in other less well-documented cases, the lack of a definitive time-scale for the intervals in question hinders calculation of the rate of environmental change. However, comparison with the Palaeocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) suggests that these older examples could have been similarly rapid. In both the early Toarcian and early Aptian cases, the negative carbon-isotope excursion precedes global excess carbon burial across a range of marine environments, a phenomenon that defines these intervals as oceanic anoxic events (OAEs). Osmium-isotope ratios ((187)Os/(188)Os) for both the early Toarcian OAE and the PETM show an excursion to more radiogenic values, demonstrating an increase in weathering and erosion of continental crust consonant with elevated temperatures. The more highly buffered strontium-isotope system ((87)Sr/(86)Sr

  18. Effect of prenatal and postnatal malnutrition on intellectual functioning in early school-aged children in rural western China

    PubMed Central

    Li, Chao; Zhu, Ni; Zeng, Lingxia; Dang, Shaonong; Zhou, Jing; Yan, Hong

    2016-01-01

    Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of prenatal and postnatal malnutrition on the intellectual functioning of early school-aged children. We followed the offspring of women who had participated in a trial of prenatal supplementation with different combinations of micronutrients and who remained resident in the study field. We measured their intellectual functioning using the Wechsler intelligence scale for children (WISC-IV). Height-for-age, weight-for-age, and body mass index (BMI)-for-age were used as anthropometric nutritional status indices. Four of the 5 composite scores derived from the WISC-IV, except for working memory index (WMI), were significantly lower in low birth weight children after adjusting for confounds. All 5 composite scores, including full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ), verbal comprehension index (VCI), WMI, perceptual reasoning index (PRI), and processing speed index (PSI) were significant lower in stunted and underweight children. The differences in the means of WISC-IV test scores were greatest between stunted and nonstunted children. The means for FSIQ, VCI, WMI, PRI, and PSI were as follows: 5.88 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.84–8.92), 5.08 (95% CI: 1.12–8.41), 4.71 (95% CI: 1.78–7.66), 6.13 (95% CI: 2.83–9.44), and 5.81 (95% CI: 2.61–9.00). These means were lower in stunted children after adjusting for confounds. Our results suggest the important influences of low birth weight and postnatal malnutrition (stunting, low body weight) on intellectual functioning in early school-aged children. PMID:27495020

  19. Effect of prenatal and postnatal malnutrition on intellectual functioning in early school-aged children in rural western China.

    PubMed

    Li, Chao; Zhu, Ni; Zeng, Lingxia; Dang, Shaonong; Zhou, Jing; Yan, Hong

    2016-08-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of prenatal and postnatal malnutrition on the intellectual functioning of early school-aged children. We followed the offspring of women who had participated in a trial of prenatal supplementation with different combinations of micronutrients and who remained resident in the study field. We measured their intellectual functioning using the Wechsler intelligence scale for children (WISC-IV). Height-for-age, weight-for-age, and body mass index (BMI)-for-age were used as anthropometric nutritional status indices. Four of the 5 composite scores derived from the WISC-IV, except for working memory index (WMI), were significantly lower in low birth weight children after adjusting for confounds. All 5 composite scores, including full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ), verbal comprehension index (VCI), WMI, perceptual reasoning index (PRI), and processing speed index (PSI) were significant lower in stunted and underweight children. The differences in the means of WISC-IV test scores were greatest between stunted and nonstunted children. The means for FSIQ, VCI, WMI, PRI, and PSI were as follows: 5.88 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.84-8.92), 5.08 (95% CI: 1.12-8.41), 4.71 (95% CI: 1.78-7.66), 6.13 (95% CI: 2.83-9.44), and 5.81 (95% CI: 2.61-9.00). These means were lower in stunted children after adjusting for confounds. Our results suggest the important influences of low birth weight and postnatal malnutrition (stunting, low body weight) on intellectual functioning in early school-aged children.

  20. Homeostatic regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in aging rats: long-term effects of early exercise

    PubMed Central

    Merkley, Christina M.; Jian, Charles; Mosa, Adam; Tan, Yao-Fang; Wojtowicz, J. Martin

    2014-01-01

    Adult neurogenesis is highly responsive to environmental and physiological factors. The majority of studies to date have examined short-term consequences of enhancing or blocking neurogenesis but long-term changes remain less well understood. Current evidence for age-related declines in neurogenesis warrant further investigation into these long-term changes. In this report we address the hypothesis that early life experience, such as a period of voluntary running in juvenile rats, can alter properties of adult neurogenesis for the remainder of the animal's life. The results indicate that the number of proliferating and differentiating neuronal precursors is not altered in runners beyond the initial weeks post-running, suggesting homeostatic regulation of these processes. However, the rate of neuronal maturation and survival during a 4 week period after cell division was enhanced up to 11 months of age (the end of the study period). This study is the first to show that a transient period of physical activity at a young age promotes changes in neurogenesis that persist over the long-term, which is important for our understanding of the modulation of neurogenesis by exercise with age. Functional integration of adult-born neurons within the hippocampus that resist homeostatic regulation with aging, rather than the absolute number of adult-born neurons, may be an essential feature of adult neurogenesis that promotes the maintenance of neural plasticity in old age. PMID:25071426

  1. Age-related changes in spatiotemporal characteristics of gait accompany ongoing lower limb linear growth in late childhood and early adolescence.

    PubMed

    Froehle, Andrew W; Nahhas, Ramzi W; Sherwood, Richard J; Duren, Dana L

    2013-05-01

    Walking gait is generally held to reach maturity, including walking at adult-like velocities, by 7-8 years of age. Lower limb length, however, is a major determinant of gait, and continues to increase until 13-15 years of age. This study used a sample from the Fels Longitudinal Study (ages 8-30 years) to test the hypothesis that walking with adult-like velocity on immature lower limbs results in the retention of immature gait characteristics during late childhood and early adolescence. There was no relationship between walking velocity and age in this sample, whereas the lower limb continued to grow, reaching maturity at 13.2 years in females and 15.6 years in males. Piecewise linear mixed models regression analysis revealed significant age-related trends in normalized cadence, initial double support time, single support time, base of support, and normalized step length in both sexes. Each trend reached its own, variable-specific age at maturity, after which the gait variables' relationships with age reached plateaus and did not differ significantly from zero. Offsets in ages at maturity occurred among the gait variables, and between the gait variables and lower limb length. The sexes also differed in their patterns of maturation. Generally, however, immature walkers of both sexes took more frequent and relatively longer steps than did mature walkers. These results support the hypothesis that maturational changes in gait accompany ongoing lower limb growth, with implications for diagnosing, preventing, and treating movement-related disorders and injuries during late childhood and early adolescence. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Impact of early personal-history characteristics on the Pace of Aging: implications for clinical trials of therapies to slow aging and extend healthspan.

    PubMed

    Belsky, Daniel W; Caspi, Avshalom; Cohen, Harvey J; Kraus, William E; Ramrakha, Sandhya; Poulton, Richie; Moffitt, Terrie E

    2017-08-01

    Therapies to extend healthspan are poised to move from laboratory animal models to human clinical trials. Translation from mouse to human will entail challenges, among them the multifactorial heterogeneity of human aging. To inform clinical trials about this heterogeneity, we report how humans' pace of biological aging relates to personal-history characteristics. Because geroprotective therapies must be delivered by midlife to prevent age-related disease onset, we studied young-adult members of the Dunedin Study 1972-73 birth cohort (n = 954). Cohort members' Pace of Aging was measured as coordinated decline in the integrity of multiple organ systems, by quantifying rate of decline across repeated measurements of 18 biomarkers assayed when cohort members were ages 26, 32, and 38 years. The childhood personal-history characteristics studied were known predictors of age-related disease and mortality, and were measured prospectively during childhood. Personal-history characteristics of familial longevity, childhood social class, adverse childhood experiences, and childhood health, intelligence, and self-control all predicted differences in cohort members' adulthood Pace of Aging. Accumulation of more personal-history risks predicted faster Pace of Aging. Because trials of anti-aging therapies will need to ascertain personal histories retrospectively, we replicated results using cohort members' retrospective personal-history reports made in adulthood. Because many trials recruit participants from clinical settings, we replicated results in the cohort subset who had recent health system contact according to electronic medical records. Quick, inexpensive measures of trial participants' early personal histories can enable clinical trials to study who volunteers for trials, who adheres to treatment, and who responds to anti-aging therapies. © 2017 The Authors. Aging Cell published by the Anatomical Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Glendonites as a paleoenvironmental tool: Implications for early Cretaceous high latitudinal climates in Australia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Lurio, Jennifer L.; Frakes, L. A.

    1999-04-01

    Glendonites, calcite pseudomorphs after the metastable mineral ikaite (CaCO 3 · 6H 2O), occur in the Late Aptian interval of the Bulldog Shale in the Eromanga Basin, Australia and in other Early Cretaceous basins at high paleolatitudes. Ikaite precipitation in the marine environment requires near-freezing temperatures (not higher than 4°C), high alkalinity, increased levels of orthophosphate, and high P CO2. The rapid and complete transformation of ikaite to calcite at temperatures between 5 and 8°C provides an upper limit on the oxygen isotopic composition of the pore waters: -2.6 <δ w <-3.4‰SMOW. If it is assumed that these pore waters are representative of the shallow Eromanga Basin, the calculated δ w can be used to reassess belemnite fossil oxygen isotopic paleotemperatures - temperature recorded by fauna living in the basin at the time of ikaite precipitation. Data previously reported as 11 to 16°C (assuming δ w = 0.0‰SMOW) yield paleotemperatures ranging from -1 to 5°C, squarely in the range of ikaite stability. The low δ w indicates hyposaline conditions, most likely caused by mixing high latitude meteoric waters with seawater. The 18O depleted, low temperature waters suggest that the region was at least seasonally colder than previously accepted.

  4. Trajectories of child externalizing problems between ages 3 and 10 years: Contributions of children's early effortful control, theory of mind, and parenting experiences.

    PubMed

    Olson, Sheryl L; Choe, Daniel Ewon; Sameroff, Arnold J

    2017-10-01

    Preventing problem behavior requires an understanding of earlier factors that are amenable to intervention. The main goals of our prospective longitudinal study were to trace trajectories of child externalizing behavior between ages 3 and 10 years, and to identify patterns of developmentally significant child and parenting risk factors that differentiated pathways of problem behavior. Participants were 218 3-year-old boys and girls who were reassessed following the transition to kindergarten (age 5-6 years) and during the late school-age years (age 10). Mothers contributed ratings of children's externalizing behavior at all three time points. Children's self-regulation abilities and theory of mind were assessed during a laboratory visit, and parenting risk (frequent corporal punishment and low maternal warmth) was assessed using interview-based and questionnaire measures. Four developmental trajectories of externalizing behavior yielded the best balance of parsimony and fit with our longitudinal data and latent class growth analysis. Most young children followed a pathway marked by relatively low levels of symptoms that continued to decrease across the school-age years. Atypical trajectories marked chronically high, increasing, and decreasing levels of externalizing problems across early and middle childhood. Three-year-old children with low levels of effortful control were far more likely to show the chronic pattern of elevated externalizing problems than changing or low patterns. Early parental corporal punishment and maternal warmth, respectively, differentiated preschoolers who showed increasing and decreasing patterns of problem behavior compared to the majority of children. The fact that children's poor effortful regulation skills predicted chronic early onset problems reinforces the need for early childhood screening and intervention services.

  5. Relationship of Basal laminar deposit and membranous debris to the clinical presentation of early age-related macular degeneration.

    PubMed

    Sarks, Shirley; Cherepanoff, Svetlana; Killingsworth, Murray; Sarks, John

    2007-03-01

    To correlate basal laminar deposit (BLamD) and membranous debris, including basal linear deposit (BLinD), with the evolution of early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). A clinicopathologic collection of 132 eyes with a continuous layer of BLamD was reviewed. The thickness and type of BLamD and the sites of membranous debris deposition were correlated with the clinical progression of the disease. Two types of BLamD, termed early and late, were identified based on light microscopic appearance by using the picro-Mallory stain. The progressive accumulation of late type BLamD correlated well with increasing BLamD thickness, advancing RPE degeneration, poorer vision, increasing age, and clinically evident pigment changes. Membranous debris initially accumulated diffusely as BLinD, most eyes with BLinD and early BLamD remaining funduscopically normal. However, membranous debris also formed focal collections as basal mounds internal to the RPE basement membrane and as soft drusen external to the basement membrane. Eyes in which membranous debris remained confined to basal mounds belonged to older patients with poorer vision, whereas patients with soft drusen were younger and had better vision. The presence of BLinD and early BLamD define threshold AMD, which manifests clinically as a normal fundus. Although late BLamD correlates most closely with clinical pigment abnormalities, it is the quantity and sites of membranous debris accumulation that appear to determine whether the disease develops pigment changes only or follows the alternative pathway of soft drusen formation with its attendant greater risk of choroidal neovascularization (CNV).

  6. Sources of variability in language development of children with cochlear implants: age at implantation, parental language, and early features of children's language construction.

    PubMed

    Szagun, Gisela; Schramm, Satyam A

    2016-05-01

    The aim of the present study was to analyze the relative influence of age at implantation, parental expansions, and child language internal factors on grammatical progress in children with cochlear implants (CI). Data analyses used two longitudinal corpora of spontaneous speech samples, one with twenty-two and one with twenty-six children, implanted between 0;6 and 3;10. Analyses were performed on the combined and separate samples. Regression analyses indicate that early child MLU is the strongest predictor of child MLU two and two-and-a-half years later, followed by parental expansions and age at implantation. Associations between earliest MLU gains and MLU two years later point to stability of individual differences. Early type and token frequencies of determiners predict MLU two years later more strongly than early frequency of lexical words. We conclude that features of CI children's very early language have considerable predictive value for later language outcomes.

  7. Immune system development during early childhood in tropical Latin America: evidence for the age-dependent down regulation of the innate immune response.

    PubMed

    Teran, Rommy; Mitre, Edward; Vaca, Maritza; Erazo, Silvia; Oviedo, Gisela; Hübner, Marc P; Chico, Martha E; Mattapallil, Joseph J; Bickle, Quentin; Rodrigues, Laura C; Cooper, Philip J

    2011-03-01

    The immune response that develops in early childhood underlies the development of inflammatory diseases such as asthma and there are few data from tropical Latin America (LA). This study investigated the effects of age on the development of immunity during the first 5 years of life by comparing innate and adaptive immune responses in Ecuadorian children aged 6-9 months, 22-26 months, and 48-60 months. Percentages of naïve CD4+ T cells declined with age while those of memory CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells increased indicating active development of the immune system throughout the first five years. Young infants had greater innate immune responses to TLR agonists compared to older children while regulatory responses including SEB-induced IL-10 and percentages of FoxP3(+) T-regulatory cells decreased with age. Enhanced innate immunity in early life may be important for host defense against pathogens but may increase the risk of immunopathology. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Associations between Toddler-Age Communication and Kindergarten-Age Self-Regulatory Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aro, Tuija; Laakso, Marja-Leena; Määttä, Sira; Tolvanen, Asko; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: In this study, the authors aimed at gaining understanding on the associations of different types of early language and communication profiles with later self-regulation skills by using longitudinal data from toddler age to kindergarten age. Method: Children with early language profiles representing expressive delay, broad delay (i.e.,…

  9. Collagen VI Null Mice as a Model for Early Onset Muscle Decline in Aging.

    PubMed

    Capitanio, Daniele; Moriggi, Manuela; De Palma, Sara; Bizzotto, Dario; Molon, Sibilla; Torretta, Enrica; Fania, Chiara; Bonaldo, Paolo; Gelfi, Cecilia; Braghetta, Paola

    2017-01-01

    -associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3B) lipidation are hallmarks of the aging process. Altogether these data indicate that the diaphragm of Col6a1 -/- animal model can be considered as a model of early skeletal muscle aging.

  10. Birth weight and postnatal growth in preterm born children are associated with cortisol in early infancy, but not at age 8 years.

    PubMed

    Ruys, Charlotte A; van der Voorn, Bibian; Lafeber, Harrie N; van de Lagemaat, Monique; Rotteveel, Joost; Finken, Martijn J J

    2017-08-01

    Preterm birth has been associated with altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA-) axis activity as well as cardiometabolic diseases and neurodevelopmental impairments later in life. We assessed cortisol from term age to age 8 y in children born preterm, to explore the development of HPA-axis activity in association with intrauterine and early-postnatal growth until 6 mo. corrected age. In 152 children born at a gestational age ≤32 wks. and/or with a birth weight ≤1,500g, random serum cortisol was assessed at term age (n=150), 3 mo. (n=145) and 6 mo. corrected age (n=144), and age 8 y (n=59). Salivary cortisol was assessed at age 8 y (n=75): prior to bedtime, at awakening, 15min after awakening, and before lunch. Cortisol was analyzed in association with birth weight-standard deviation score (SDS), being born small for gestational age (SGA), and combinations of intrauterine and postnatal growth: appropriate for gestational age (AGA) with or without growth restriction (AGA GR+ or AGA GR-) at 6 mo. corrected age, and SGA with or without catch-up growth (SGA CUG+ or SGA CUG-) at 6 mo. corrected age. Cross-sectional associations at all time points were analyzed using linear regression, and longitudinal associations were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. Longitudinally, birth weight-SDS was associated with cortisol (β [95%CI]): lower cortisol over time was seen in infants with a birth weight ≤-2 SDS (-50.69 [-94.27; -7.11], p=0.02), infants born SGA (-29.70 [-60.58; 1.19], p=0.06), AGA GR+ infants (-55.10 [-106.02; -4.17], p=0.03) and SGA CUG- infants (-61.91 [-104.73; -19.10], p=0.01). In cross-sectional analyses at age 8 y, no associations were found between either serum or salivary cortisol and birth weight-SDS, SGA-status, or growth from birth to 6 mo. corrected age. In children born preterm, poor intrauterine and postnatal growth were associated with lower cortisol in early infancy, but not at age 8 y. Even though HPA-axis activity no longer

  11. Onset age of L2 acquisition influences language network in early and late Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xiaojin; Tu, Liu; Wang, Junjing; Jiang, Bo; Gao, Wei; Pan, Ximin; Li, Meng; Zhong, Miao; Zhu, Zhenzhen; Niu, Meiqi; Li, Yanyan; Zhao, Ling; Chen, Xiaoxi; Liu, Chang; Lu, Zhi; Huang, Ruiwang

    2017-11-01

    Early second language (L2) experience influences the neural organization of L2 in neuro-plastic terms. Previous studies tried to reveal these plastic effects of age of second language acquisition (AoA-L2) and proficiency-level in L2 (PL-L2) on the neural basis of language processing in bilinguals. Although different activation patterns have been observed during language processing in early and late bilinguals by task-fMRI, few studies reported the effect of AoA-L2 and high PL-L2 on language network at resting state. In this study, we acquired resting-state fMRI (R-fMRI) data from 10 Cantonese (L1)-Mandarin (L2) early bilinguals (acquired L2: 3years old) and 11 late bilinguals (acquired L2: 6years old), and analyzed their topological properties of language networks after controlling the language daily exposure and usage as well as PL in L1 and L2. We found that early bilinguals had significantly a higher clustering coefficient, global and local efficiency, but significantly lower characteristic path length compared to late bilinguals. Modular analysis indicated that compared to late bilinguals, early bilinguals showed significantly stronger intra-modular functional connectivity in the semantic and phonetic modules, stronger inter-modular functional connectivity between the semantic and phonetic modules as well as between the phonetic and syntactic modules. Differences in global and local parameters may reflect different patterns of neuro-plasticity respectively for early and late bilinguals. These results suggested that different L2 experience influences topological properties of language network, even if late bilinguals achieve high PL-L2. Our findings may provide a new perspective of neural mechanisms related to early and late bilinguals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Course of Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder From Early Childhood to Early Adolescence.

    PubMed

    Guyon-Harris, Katherine L; Humphreys, Kathryn L; Fox, Nathan A; Nelson, Charles A; Zeanah, Charles H

    2018-05-01

    Disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED) is poorly understood beyond early childhood. The course of DSED signs in a sample of children who experienced severe, early deprivation from early childhood to early adolescence was examined using variable-centered (linear mixed modeling) and person-centered (growth mixture modeling) approaches. The study included 124 children with a history of institutional care from a randomized controlled trial of foster care as an alternative to institutional care and 69 community comparison children matched by age and sex. DSED signs were assessed at baseline (mean age 22 months), 30, 42, and 54 months of age, and 8 and 12 years of age using a validated caregiver report of disturbed attachment behavior. Variable-centered analyses based on intent-to-treat groups indicated that signs of DSED decreased sharply for children randomized to foster care and decreased slightly but remained high for children randomized to care as usual. Person-centered analyses showed 4 profiles (i.e., elevated, persistent modest, early decreasing, and minimal). Elevated and persistent modest courses were associated with greater placement disruptions (F 3,99  = 4.29, p = .007, partial eta-squared [η 2 ] = 0.12), older age at placement into foster care (F 3,56  = 3.41, p < .05, partial η 2  = 0.16), and more time in institutional care (F 3,115  = 11.91, p < .001, partial η 2  = 0.24) compared with decreasing and minimal courses. Early and sustained placement into families after deprivation is associated with minimal or decreasing signs of DSED across development. Shortening the amount of time children spend in institutions and preserving placements could help decrease signs of DSED into early adolescence in previously institutionalized children. Copyright © 2018 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Early menarche, nulliparity and the risk for premature and early natural menopause.

    PubMed

    Mishra, Gita D; Pandeya, Nirmala; Dobson, Annette J; Chung, Hsin-Fang; Anderson, Debra; Kuh, Diana; Sandin, Sven; Giles, Graham G; Bruinsma, Fiona; Hayashi, Kunihiko; Lee, Jung Su; Mizunuma, Hideki; Cade, Janet E; Burley, Victoria; Greenwood, Darren C; Goodman, Alissa; Simonsen, Mette Kildevæld; Adami, Hans-Olov; Demakakos, Panayotes; Weiderpass, Elisabete

    2017-03-01

    Are parity and the timing of menarche associated with premature and early natural menopause? Early menarche (≤11 years) is a risk factor for both premature menopause (final menstrual period, FMP <40 years) and early menopause (FMP 40-44 years), a risk that is amplified for nulliparous women. Women with either premature or early menopause face an increased risk of chronic conditions in later life and of early death. Findings from some studies suggest that early menarche and nulliparity are associated with early menopause, however overall the evidence is mixed. Much of the evidence for a direct relationship is hampered by a lack of comparability across studies, failure to adjust for confounding factors and inadequate statistical power. This pooled study comprises 51 450 postmenopausal women from nine observational studies in the UK, Scandinavia, Australia and Japan that contribute to the International collaboration for a Life course Approach to reproductive health and Chronic disease Events (InterLACE). Age at menarche (categorized as ≤11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 or more years) and parity (categorized as no children, one child and two or more children) were exposures of interest. Age at FMP was confirmed by at least 12 months of cessation of menses where this was not the result of an intervention (such as surgical menopause due to bilateral oophorectomy or hysterectomy) and categorized as premature menopause (FMP before age 40), early menopause (FMP 40-44 years), 45-49 years, 50-51 years, 52-53 years and 54 or more years. We used multivariate multinomial logistic regression models to estimate relative risk ratio (RRR) and 95% CI for associations between menarche, parity and age at FMP adjusting for within-study correlation. The median age at FMP was 50 years (interquartile range 48-53 years), with 2% of the women experiencing premature menopause and 7.6% early menopause. Women with early menarche (≤11 years, compared with 12-13 years) were at higher risk of premature

  14. Early term and late preterm birth are associated with poorer school performance at age 5 years: a cohort study.

    PubMed

    Quigley, Maria A; Poulsen, Gry; Boyle, Elaine; Wolke, Dieter; Field, David; Alfirevic, Zarko; Kurinczuk, Jennifer J

    2012-05-01

    To compare school performance at age 5 years in children born at full term (39-41 weeks gestation) with those born at early term (37-38 weeks gestation), late preterm (34-36 weeks gestation), moderately preterm (32-33 weeks gestation) and very preterm (<32 weeks gestation). Population-based cohort (UK Millennium Cohort Study). Seven thousand six hundred and fifty children born in 2000-2001 and attending school in England in 2006. School performance was measured using the foundation stage profile (FSP), a statutory assessment by teachers at the end of the child's first school year. The FSP comprises 13 assessment scales (scored from 1 to 9). Children who achieve an average of 6 points per scale and at least 6 in certain scales are classified as 'reaching a good level of overall achievement'. Fifty-one per cent of full term children had not reached a good level of overall achievement; this proportion increased with prematurity (55% in early term, 59% in late preterm, 63% in moderately preterm and 66% in very preterm children). Compared with full term children, an elevated risk remained after adjustment, even in early term (adjusted RR 1.05, 95% 1.00 to 1.11) and late preterm children (adjusted RR 1.12, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.22). Similar effects were noted for 'not working securely' in mathematical development, physical development and creative development. The effects of late preterm and early term birth were small in comparison with other risk factors. Late preterm and early term birth are associated with an increased risk of poorer educational achievement at age 5 years.

  15. Postmortem aging and freezing and thawing storage enhance ability of early deboned chicken pectoralis major muscle to hold added salt water.

    PubMed

    Zhuang, H; Savage, E M

    2012-05-01

    The effects of postdeboning aging and frozen storage on water-holding capacity (WHC) of chicken breast pectoralis major muscle were investigated. Broiler breast muscle was removed from carcasses either early postmortem (2 h) or later postmortem (24 h). Treatments included: no postdeboning aging; 1-d postdeboning aging at 2°C, 7-d postdeboning aging (2-h deboned meat only), and 6-d storage at -20°C plus 1-d thawing at 2°C (freezing and thawing treatment, 2-h deboned meat only). The WHC was determined by cooking loss, drip loss, a filter paper press method (results were presented as expressible fluid), and a salt-induced swelling and centrifugation method (results were presented as percentage of salt-induced water gain). There were no differences for WHC estimated by cooking loss and expressible fluid between the treatments. Only the freezing and thawing treatment resulted in a significant increase in drip loss. The average percentage of salt-induced water gains by the 24-h deboned samples, postdeboning aged 2 h samples, and frozen 2 h sample, which did not differ from each other, were significantly higher than that by the 2-h deboned sample. These results indicate that regardless of method (carcass aging vs. postdeboning aging) and time (aging for 1 d vs. for 7 d), postmortem aging more than 1 d does not affect WHC of the early deboned samples measured by dripping, cooking, and pressing. However, postmortem carcass aging, postdeboning aging, and freezing and thawing storage can significantly enhance the ability of chicken breast meat to hold added salt water or WHC measured by the salt-induced swelling and centrifuge method.

  16. Effectiveness of a School-Based Early Intervention CBT Group Programme for Children with Anxiety Aged 5-7 Years

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ruocco, Sylvia; Gordon, Jocelynne; McLean, Louise A.

    2016-01-01

    Early manifestations of anxiety in childhood confer significant distress and life interference. This study reports on the first controlled trial of the "Get Lost Mr. Scary" programme, a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy group intervention for children with anxiety aged 5-7 years. Participants were 134 children (65 males and 69 females) drawn…

  17. The Subtlety of Age, Gender, and Race Barriers: A Case Study of Early Career African American Female Principals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jean-Marie, Gaetane

    2013-01-01

    While all educational leaders face challenges in achieving success, African American female principals often face a unique set of challenges associated with the complexity of their gender, race, and, as examined in this study, age. This case study investigates the experiences of two highly visible, early career African American female principals…

  18. Academic Outcomes for School-Aged Children with Severe-Profound Hearing Loss and Early Unilateral and Bilateral Cochlear Implants

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sarant, Julia Z.; Harris, David C.; Bennet, Lisa A.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This study sought to (a) determine whether academic outcomes for children who received early cochlear implants (CIs) are age appropriate, (b) determine whether bilateral CI use significantly improves academic outcomes, and (c) identify other factors that are predictive of these outcomes. Method: Forty-four 8-year-old children with…

  19. General Similarities but Consistent Differences Between Early- and Late-Onset Depression Among Korean Adults Aged 40 and Older.

    PubMed

    Park, Jee Eun; Sohn, Ji Hoon; Seong, Su Jeong; Suk, Hye Won; Cho, Maeng Je

    2015-08-01

    Differences in clinical characteristics, symptomatology, and psychiatric comorbidity between early-onset depression (EOD) and late-onset depression (LOD) were examined in a nationwide representative sample. The Korean Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to investigate psychiatric diagnoses and age of onset. A total of 319 subjects aged 40 years and older with a current major depressive disorder (MDD) were included, and both a continuous and a dichotomous (40 years) age-of-onset indicator were used in the analyses. Despite general similarities between groups, EOD was related to chronic (recurrent and longer episode) and severe (higher lifetime suicidality) clinical features. Hypersomnia and suicidal plans/attempts were associated with EOD, whereas anhedonia was related to LOD. Lifetime generalized anxiety disorder was associated with EOD, whereas dysthymic disorder was related with higher age of MDD onset. This study provides additional evidence of consistent differences between EOD and LOD among middle-aged and older Asians.

  20. Is an Early Age at Illness Onset in Schizophrenia Associated With Increased Genetic Susceptibility? Analysis of Data From the Nationwide Danish Twin Register.

    PubMed

    Hilker, Rikke; Helenius, Dorte; Fagerlund, Birgitte; Skytthe, Axel; Christensen, Kaare; Werge, Thomas M; Nordentoft, Merete; Glenthøj, Birte

    2017-04-01

    Early age at illness onset has been viewed as an important liability marker for schizophrenia, which may be associated with an increased genetic vulnerability. A twin approach can be valuable, because it allows for the investigation of specific illness markers in individuals with a shared genetic background. We linked nationwide registers to identify a cohort of twin pairs born in Denmark from 1951 to 2000 (N=31,524 pairs), where one or both twins had a diagnosis in the schizophrenia spectrum. We defined two groups consisting of; N=788 twin pairs (affected with schizophrenia spectrum) and a subsample of N=448 (affected with schizophrenia). Survival analysis was applied to investigate the effect of age at illness onset. We found that early age at illness onset compared to later onset in the first diagnosed twin can be considered a major risk factor for developing schizophrenia in the second twin. Additionally, we found that the stronger genetic component in MZ twins compared to DZ twins is manifested in the proximity of assigned diagnosis within pairs. Early onset schizophrenia could be linked to a more severe genetic predisposition, indicating that age might be perceived as a clinical marker for genetic vulnerability for the illness. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Estimated Participation and Hours in Early Care and Education by Type of Arrangement and Income at Ages 2 to 4 in 2010

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barnett, Steve; Nores, Milagros

    2012-01-01

    This working paper estimates participation in early childhood education (ECE) programs by child's age, program setting, family income level, and child's household language. To produce the best possible estimates of participation, the authors combined information from multiple data sets. In 2010, approximately 6.6 million between the ages of 2 and…

  2. Perturbations in growth trajectory due to early diet affect age-related deterioration in performance.

    PubMed

    Lee, Who-Seung; Monaghan, Pat; Metcalfe, Neil B

    2016-04-01

    Fluctuations in early developmental conditions can cause changes in growth trajectories that subsequently affect the adult phenotype. Here, we investigated whether compensatory growth has long-term consequences for patterns of senescence.Using three-spined sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus aculeatus ), we show that a brief period of dietary manipulation in early life affected skeletal growth rate not only during the manipulation itself, but also during a subsequent compensatory phase when fish caught up in size with controls.However, this growth acceleration influenced swimming endurance and its decline over the course of the breeding season, with a faster decline in fish that had undergone faster growth compensation.Similarly, accelerated growth led to a more pronounced reduction in the breeding period (as indicated by the duration of sexual ornamentation) over the following two breeding seasons, suggesting faster reproductive senescence. Parallel experiments showed a heightened effect of accelerated growth on these age-related declines in performance if the fish were under greater time stress to complete their compensation prior to the breeding season.Compensatory growth led to a reduction in median life span of 12% compared to steadily growing controls. While life span was independent of the eventual adult size attained, it was negatively correlated with the age-related decline in swimming endurance and sexual ornamentation.These results, complementary to those found when growth trajectories were altered by temperature rather than dietary manipulations, show that the costs of accelerated growth can last well beyond the time over which growth rates differ and are affected by the time available until an approaching life-history event such as reproduction.

  3. Knowledge and beliefs concerning early childhood caries from mothers of children ages zero to 12 months.

    PubMed

    Azevedo, Marina Sousa; Romano, Ana Regina; Dos Santos, Iná da Silva; Cenci, Maximiliano Sergio

    2014-01-01

    This study's purpose was to assess mothers' knowledge and beliefs about early childhood caries (ECC) etiology and prevention. This cross-sectional study targeted mothers (N=277) of zero- to 12-month-olds visiting 12 public health care centers in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Information on causes of and recommendations to prevent ECC, as well as socioeconomic and demographic variables, was collected. Chi-square, univariate, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed (P<.05). Sugar intake and lack of oral hygiene were the most frequently mentioned causes of caries. Ninety percent of the mothers were aware of the need to begin tooth-brushing during their children's first year. Mothers who had more children and were in lower socioeconomic positions were more likely to not know the correct age for the first dental visit. Our findings showed that mothers do not know all the factors that can influence caries in their children. None reported the role of micro-organisms and lack of fluoride in the caries etiology. These findings highlight the importance of providing preventive orientation to the mothers regarding early childhood caries. Information on age of first dental visit should be emphasized, especially among mothers with more than one child and low-income families.

  4. Mother and child characteristics at birth and early age leukemia: a case-cohort population-based study.

    PubMed

    Reis, Rejane de Souza; Silva, Neimar de Paula; Santos, Marceli de Oliveira; Oliveira, Julio Fernando Pinto; Thuler, Luiz Claudio Santos; de Camargo, Beatriz; Pombo-de-Oliveira, Maria S

    The population-based cancer registries (PBCR) and the Information System on Live Births in Brazil (Sistema de Informações sobre Nascidos Vivos [SINASC]) have information that enables the test for risk factors associated with leukemia at an early age. The aim of this study was to identify maternal and birth characteristics associated with early-age acute leukemia (EAL) in Brazil. A case-cohort study was performed using secondary dataset information of PBCR and SINASC. The risk association variables were grouped into (i) characteristics of the child at birth and (ii) characteristics of maternal exposure during pregnancy. The case-control ratio was 1:4. Linkage was performed using R software; odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated by logistic regression models. EAL was associated with maternal occupational exposure to chemicals (agricultural, chemical, and petrochemical industry; adjOR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.16-4.10) and with birth defects (adjOR: 3.62, 95% CI: 1.19-11.00). The results of this study, with the identification of EAL risk factors in population-based case-cohort study, strengthen the knowledge and improve databases, contributing to investigations on risk factors associated with childhood leukemia worldwide. Copyright © 2017 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  5. Reduced telomere length is not associated with early signs of vascular aging in young men born after intrauterine growth restriction: a paradox?

    PubMed

    Laganović, Mario; Bendix, Laila; Rubelj, Ivica; Kirhmajer, Majda Vrkić; Slade, Neda; Lela, Ivana Vuković; Premužić, Vedran; Nilsson, Peter M; Jelaković, Bojan

    2014-08-01

    The mechanisms that increase cardiovascular risk in individuals born small for gestational age (SGA) are not well understood. Telomere shortening has been suggested to be a predictor of disease onset. Our aim was to determine whether impaired intrauterine growth is associated with early signs of vascular aging and whether telomere length could be a biomarker of this pathway. One hundred and fourteen healthy young men born SGA or after normal pregnancy [appropriate for gestational age (AGA)] were enrolled. Patient data were gathered from questionnaires and clinical exams, including blood pressure (BP) measurement routine laboratory analyses, and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) was assessed by quantitative PCR. Birth data were obtained from medical records. The SGA group had significantly higher pulse pressure and cIMT, and a trend to increased SBP and heart rate in comparison to the AGA group. Interestingly, SGA men exhibited a 42% longer LTL than the AGA group. LTL was inversely associated with age, BMI, BP and birth parameters. In multiple regression analysis, BMI was the key determinant of SBP and cIMT. Young men born SGA show early signs of vascular aging. Unexpectedly, in our cohort, the SGA group had longer telomeres than the normal controls. Although longer telomeres are predictive of better health in the future, our findings could indicate a faster telomere attrition rate and probable early onset of cardiovascular risk in SGA participants. Follow-up of this cohort will clarify hypothesis and validate telomere dynamics as indicators of future health risks.

  6. Detection and differentiation of early acute and following age stages of myocardial infarction with quantitative post-mortem cardiac 1.5T MR.

    PubMed

    Schwendener, Nicole; Jackowski, Christian; Persson, Anders; Warntjes, Marcel J; Schuster, Frederick; Riva, Fabiano; Zech, Wolf-Dieter

    2017-01-01

    Recently, quantitative MR sequences have started being used in post-mortem imaging. The goal of the present study was to evaluate if early acute and following age stages of myocardial infarction can be detected and discerned by quantitative 1.5T post-mortem cardiac magnetic resonance (PMCMR) based on quantitative T1, T2 and PD values. In 80 deceased individuals (25 female, 55 male), a cardiac MR quantification sequence was performed prior to cardiac dissection at autopsy in a prospective study. Focal myocardial signal alterations detected in synthetically generated MR images were MR quantified for their T1, T2 and PD values. The locations of signal alteration measurements in PMCMR were targeted at autopsy heart dissection and cardiac tissue specimens were taken for histologic examinations. Quantified signal alterations in PMCMR were correlated to their according histologic age stage of myocardial infarction. In PMCMR seventy-three focal myocardial signal alterations were detected in 49 of 80 investigated hearts. These signal alterations were diagnosed histologically as early acute (n=39), acute (n=14), subacute (n=10) and chronic (n=10) age stages of myocardial infarction. Statistical analysis revealed that based on their quantitative T1, T2 and PD values, a significant difference between all defined age groups of myocardial infarction can be determined. It can be concluded that quantitative 1.5T PMCMR quantification based on quantitative T1, T2 and PD values is feasible for characterization and differentiation of early acute and following age stages of myocardial infarction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. The Effect of Early Marriages and Early Childbearing on Women's Nutritional Status in India.

    PubMed

    Goli, Srinivas; Rammohan, Anu; Singh, Deepti

    2015-08-01

    The consequences of early childbearing on the growth and nutritional status of women in India has not been quantified in previous studies. Our study aimed to fill this gap by analysing the association between early marriage and early childbearing on nutritional status of Indian women, with a focus on Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, the two states accounting for the highest proportion of women marrying and giving first birth before 18 years of age. Our findings revealed that a substantial number of women were married before 18 years and thereby exposed to early pregnancy. Furthermore, a significantly higher proportion of women in the 'thin' category were married before 18 years, both in the Indian sample (33 %, p < 0.001) and in the selected states, Andhra Pradesh (31 %, p < 0.001) and Bihar (43 %, p < 0.001), compared to those women married at higher ages. Similarly, across all our samples women whose first birth was before age 18 years also had a significantly higher probability of being in the 'thin' category across all our samples. This pattern was also observed for associations between early childbirth and anemia levels. We conclude that the net effect of the early age at marriage and age at first birth on nutritional status is significant. Our results underline the need for preventing early marriages and the consequent high adolescent pregnancies in India, particularly in high prevalence states. This will help to improve nutritional status and health care utilisation among women, thereby, prevent maternal and child mortality and thus, achieve the MDGs 4-5.

  8. Intrauterine and early postnatal exposure to outdoor air pollution and lung function at preschool age.

    PubMed

    Morales, Eva; Garcia-Esteban, Raquel; de la Cruz, Oscar Asensio; Basterrechea, Mikel; Lertxundi, Aitana; de Dicastillo, Maria D Martinez López; Zabaleta, Carlos; Sunyer, Jordi

    2015-01-01

    Effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to air pollution on lung function at preschool age remain unexplored. We examined the association of exposure to air pollution during specific trimesters of pregnancy and postnatal life with lung function in preschoolers. Lung function was assessed with spirometry in preschoolers aged 4.5 years (n=620) participating in the INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA) cohort. Temporally adjusted land use regression (LUR) models were applied to estimate individual residential exposures to benzene and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) during specific trimesters of pregnancy and early postnatal life (the first year of life). Recent and current (1 year and 1 week before lung function testing, respectively) exposures to NO₂ and nitrogen oxides (NOx) were also assessed. Exposure to higher levels of benzene and NO₂ during pregnancy was associated with reduced lung function. FEV1 estimates for an IQR increase in exposures during the second trimester of pregnancy were -18.4 mL, 95% CI -34.8 to -2.1 for benzene and -28.0 mL, 95% CI -52.9 to -3.2 for NO₂. Relative risk (RR) of low lung function (<80% of predicted FEV1) for an IQR increase in benzene and NO₂ during the second trimester of pregnancy were 1.22, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.46 and 1.30, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.76, respectively. Associations for early postnatal, recent and current exposures were not statistically significant. Stronger associations appeared among allergic children and those of lower social class. Prenatal exposure to residential traffic-related air pollution may result in long-term lung function deficits at preschool age. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  9. National cohort study of absolute risk and age-specific incidence of multiple adverse outcomes between adolescence and early middle age.

    PubMed

    Mok, Pearl L H; Antonsen, Sussie; Pedersen, Carsten Bøcker; Appleby, Louis; Shaw, Jenny; Webb, Roger T

    2015-09-19

    Psychiatric illness, substance misuse, suicidality, criminality and premature death represent major public health challenges that afflict a sizeable proportion of young people. However, studies of multiple adverse outcomes in the same cohort at risk are rare. In a national Danish cohort we estimated sex- and age-specific incidence rates and absolute risks of these outcomes between adolescence and early middle age. Using interlinked registers, persons born in Denmark 1966-1996 were followed from their 15(th) until 40(th) birthday or December 2011 (N = 2,070,904). We estimated sex- and age-specific incidence rates of nine adverse outcomes, in three main categories: Premature mortality (all-causes, suicide, accident); Psychiatric morbidity (any mental illness diagnosis, suicide attempt, alcohol or drug misuse disorder); Criminality (violent offending, receiving custodial sentence, driving under influence of alcohol or drugs). Cumulative incidences were also calculated using competing risk survival analyses. For cohort members alive on their 15(th) birthday, the absolute risks of dying by age 40 were 1.99 % for males [95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.95-2.03 %] and 0.85 % for females (95 % CI 0.83-0.88 %). The risks of substance misuse and criminality were also much higher for males, especially younger males, than for females. Specifically, the risk of a first conviction for a violent offence was highest amongst males aged below 20. Females, however, were more likely than males to have a hospital-treated psychiatric disorder. By age 40, 13.25 % of females (95 % CI 13.16-13.33 %) and 9.98 % of males (95 % CI 9.91-10.06 %) had been treated. Women aged below 25 were also more likely than men to first attempt suicide, but this pattern was reversed beyond this age. The greatest gender differentials in incidence rates were in criminality outcomes. This is the first comprehensive assessment of the incidence rates and absolute risks of these multiple adverse outcomes

  10. The Not-so-Dark Ages: ecology for human growth in medieval and early twentieth century Portugal as inferred from skeletal growth profiles.

    PubMed

    Cardoso, Hugo F V; Garcia, Susana

    2009-02-01

    This study attempts to address the issue of relative living standards in Portuguese medieval and early 20th century periods. Since the growth of children provides a good measure of environmental quality for the overall population, the skeletal growth profiles of medieval Leiria and early 20th century Lisbon were compared. Results show that growth in femur length of medieval children did not differ significantly from that of early 20th century children, but after puberty medieval adolescents seem to have recovered, as they have significantly longer femora as adults. This is suggestive of greater potential for catch-up growth in medieval adolescents. We suggest that this results from distinct child labor practices, which impact differentially on the growth of Leiria and Lisbon adolescents. Work for medieval children and adolescents were related to family activities, and care and attention were provided by family members. Conversely, in early 20th century Lisbon children were more often sent to factories at around 12 years of age as an extra source of family income, where they were exploited for their labor. Since medieval and early 20th century children were stunted at an early age, greater potential for catch-up growth in medieval adolescents results from exhausting work being added to modern adolescent's burdens of disease and poor diet, when they entered the labor market. Although early 20th century Lisbon did not differ in overall unfavorable living conditions from medieval Leiria, after puberty different child labor practices may have placed modern adolescents at greater risk of undernutrition and poor growth. 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  11. Interdependence of linguistic and indexical speech perception skills in school-age children with early cochlear implantation.

    PubMed

    Geers, Ann E; Davidson, Lisa S; Uchanski, Rosalie M; Nicholas, Johanna G

    2013-09-01

    This study documented the ability of experienced pediatric cochlear implant (CI) users to perceive linguistic properties (what is said) and indexical attributes (emotional intent and talker identity) of speech, and examined the extent to which linguistic (LSP) and indexical (ISP) perception skills are related. Preimplant-aided hearing, age at implantation, speech processor technology, CI-aided thresholds, sequential bilateral cochlear implantation, and academic integration with hearing age-mates were examined for their possible relationships to both LSP and ISP skills. Sixty 9- to 12-year olds, first implanted at an early age (12 to 38 months), participated in a comprehensive test battery that included the following LSP skills: (1) recognition of monosyllabic words at loud and soft levels, (2) repetition of phonemes and suprasegmental features from nonwords, and (3) recognition of key words from sentences presented within a noise background, and the following ISP skills: (1) discrimination of across-gender and within-gender (female) talkers and (2) identification and discrimination of emotional content from spoken sentences. A group of 30 age-matched children without hearing loss completed the nonword repetition, and talker- and emotion-perception tasks for comparison. Word-recognition scores decreased with signal level from a mean of 77% correct at 70 dB SPL to 52% at 50 dB SPL. On average, CI users recognized 50% of key words presented in sentences that were 9.8 dB above background noise. Phonetic properties were repeated from nonword stimuli at about the same level of accuracy as suprasegmental attributes (70 and 75%, respectively). The majority of CI users identified emotional content and differentiated talkers significantly above chance levels. Scores on LSP and ISP measures were combined into separate principal component scores and these components were highly correlated (r = 0.76). Both LSP and ISP component scores were higher for children who received a CI

  12. Interdependence of Linguistic and Indexical Speech Perception Skills in School-Aged Children with Early Cochlear Implantation

    PubMed Central

    Geers, Ann; Davidson, Lisa; Uchanski, Rosalie; Nicholas, Johanna

    2013-01-01

    Objectives This study documented the ability of experienced pediatric cochlear implant (CI) users to perceive linguistic properties (what is said) and indexical attributes (emotional intent and talker identity) of speech, and examined the extent to which linguistic (LSP) and indexical (ISP) perception skills are related. Pre-implant aided hearing, age at implantation, speech processor technology, CI-aided thresholds, sequential bilateral cochlear implantation, and academic integration with hearing age-mates were examined for their possible relationships to both LSP and ISP skills. Design Sixty 9–12 year olds, first implanted at an early age (12–38 months), participated in a comprehensive test battery that included the following LSP skills: 1) recognition of monosyllabic words at loud and soft levels, 2) repetition of phonemes and suprasegmental features from non-words, and 3) recognition of keywords from sentences presented within a noise background, and the following ISP skills: 1) discrimination of male from female and female from female talkers and 2) identification and discrimination of emotional content from spoken sentences. A group of 30 age-matched children without hearing loss completed the non-word repetition, and talker- and emotion-perception tasks for comparison. Results Word recognition scores decreased with signal level from a mean of 77% correct at 70 dB SPL to 52% at 50 dB SPL. On average, CI users recognized 50% of keywords presented in sentences that were 9.8 dB above background noise. Phonetic properties were repeated from non-word stimuli at about the same level of accuracy as suprasegmental attributes (70% and 75%, respectively). The majority of CI users identified emotional content and differentiated talkers significantly above chance levels. Scores on LSP and ISP measures were combined into separate principal component scores and these components were highly correlated (r = .76). Both LSP and ISP component scores were higher for children

  13. Blood-Based Oxidative Stress Markers and Cognitive Performance in Early Old Age: The HAPIEE Study

    PubMed Central

    Horvat, Pia; Kubinova, Ruzena; Pajak, Andrzej; Tamosiunas, Abdonas; Schöttker, Ben; Pikhart, Hynek; Peasey, Anne; Kozela, Magdalena; Jansen, Eugene; Singh-Manoux, Archana; Bobak, Martin

    2016-01-01

    Background/Aims Oxidative stress is involved in Alzheimer disease pathology, but its impact on cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults remains unknown. We estimated associations between serum oxidative stress markers and cognitive function in early old age. Methods Subjects aged 45-69 years recruited in urban centers in Central and Eastern Europe had memory, verbal fluency, and processing speed assessed at baseline (2002-2005) and 3 years later. Derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs), biological antioxidant potential (BAP), and total thiol levels (TTLs) were measured at baseline in a subsample. Linear regression was used to estimate associations of biomarkers with cognitive test scores cross-sectionally (n = 4,304) and prospectively (n = 2,882). Results Increased d-ROM levels were inversely associated with global cognition and verbal fluency cross-sectionally and in prospective analysis; observed effects corresponded to 3-4 years' higher age. TTL was inconsistently associated with memory. BAP was not related to cognitive function. Conclusion This study found modest evidence for a relationship between serum d-ROMs and cognitive function in a population sample of older adults. PMID:27802435

  14. Influence of current input-output and age of first exposure on phonological acquisition in early bilingual Spanish-English-speaking kindergarteners.

    PubMed

    Ruiz-Felter, Roxanna; Cooperson, Solaman J; Bedore, Lisa M; Peña, Elizabeth D

    2016-07-01

    Although some investigations of phonological development have found that segmental accuracy is comparable in monolingual children and their bilingual peers, there is evidence that language use affects segmental accuracy in both languages. To investigate the influence of age of first exposure to English and the amount of current input-output on phonological accuracy in English and Spanish in early bilingual Spanish-English kindergarteners. Also whether parent and teacher ratings of the children's intelligibility are correlated with phonological accuracy and the amount of experience with each language. Data for 91 kindergarteners (mean age = 5;6 years) were selected from a larger dataset focusing on Spanish-English bilingual language development. All children were from Central Texas, spoke a Mexican Spanish dialect and were learning American English. Children completed a single-word phonological assessment with separate forms for English and Spanish. The assessment was analyzed for segmental accuracy: percentage of consonants and vowels correct and percentage of early-, middle- and late-developing (EML) sounds correct were calculated. Children were more accurate on vowel production than consonant production and showed a decrease in accuracy from early to middle to late sounds. The amount of current input-output explained more of the variance in phonological accuracy than age of first English exposure. Although greater current input-output of a language was associated with greater accuracy in that language, English-dominant children were only significantly more accurate in English than Spanish on late sounds, whereas Spanish-dominant children were only significantly more accurate in Spanish than English on early sounds. Higher parent and teacher ratings of intelligibility in Spanish were correlated with greater consonant accuracy in Spanish, but the same did not hold for English. Higher intelligibility ratings in English were correlated with greater current English

  15. Non-invasive tool for foetal sex determination in early gestational age.

    PubMed

    Mortarino, M; Garagiola, I; Lotta, L A; Siboni, S M; Semprini, A E; Peyvandi, F

    2011-11-01

    Free foetal DNA in maternal blood during early pregnancy is an ideal source of foetal genetic material for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of free foetal DNA analysis at early gestational age as pretest for the detection of specific Y-chromosome sequences in maternal plasma of women who are carriers of X-linked disorders, such as haemophilia. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis of maternal plasma was performed for the detection of the SRY or DYS14 sequence. A group of 208 pregnant women, at different gestational periods from 4 to 12 weeks, were tested to identify the optimal period to obtain an adequate amount of foetal DNA for prenatal diagnosis. Foetal gender was determined in 181 pregnant women sampled throughout pregnancy. Pregnancy outcome and foetal gender were confirmed using karyotyping, ultrasonography or after birth. The sensitivity, which was low between 4th and 7th week (mean 73%), increased significantly after 7+1th weeks of gestation (mean 94%). The latter sensitivity after 7+1th week of gestation is associated to a high specificity (100%), with an overall accuracy of 96% for foetal gender determination. This analysis demonstrates that foetal gender determination in maternal plasma is reliable after the 9th week of gestation and it can be used, in association with ultrasonography, for screening to determine the need for chorionic villus sampling for prenatal diagnosis of X-linked disorders, such as haemophilia. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  16. [Relationship between body weight status in early adulthood and body weight change at middle age in adults and type 2 diabetes mellitus].

    PubMed

    Zhou, Long; Zhao, Liancheng; Li, Ying; Guo, Min; Wu, Yangfeng

    2016-03-01

    To explore the relationship between weight status in early adulthood and body weight change at middle age in adults and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The data of 14 population samples from China Multicenter Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Epidemiology conducted in 1998 were used. Approximately 1 000 men and women in each sample were surveyed for cardiovascular disease risk factors, including body weight at age 25 years. The body mass index (BMI) at the age 25 years was calculated. The association between body weight in early adulthood and body weight change at middle age and T2DM was examined by using logistic regression model. The incidence of T2DM in low weight group (BMI<18.5 kg/m(2)), normal weight group (BMI: 18.5-23.9 kg/m(2)), overweight group (BMI: 24.0-27.9 kg/m(2)) and obese group (BMI:≥28.0 kg/m(2)) at 25 years old were 2.4%(30/1263), 2.8%(266/9562), 4.0%(70/1739) and 6.4% (7/110), respectively (P value for trend<0.01). The incidence of T2DM for adults with weight change <-7.5 kg, -7.5--2.6 kg, -2.5-2.5 kg, 2.6-7.5 kg, 7.6-12.5 kg and >12.5 kg at middle age were 2.5% (18/712), 1.3%(21/1629), 2.1%(48/2330), 2.3%(59/2585), 3.7%(94/2518), and 4.6% (133/2900) respectively. (P value for trend <0.01), Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that overweight and obesity at age 25 years and subsequent weight gain were positively correlated with T2DM after adjusted other risk factors (all P values for trend <0.01). Overweight and obesity in early adulthood and weight gain at middle age were both independently associated with the increased risk of T2DM in middle-aged men and women.

  17. Early dolomitization in the Lower Cretaceous shallow-water carbonates of Southern Apennines (Italy): Clues about palaeoclimatic fluctuations in western Tethys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vinci, Francesco; Iannace, Alessandro; Parente, Mariano; Pirmez, Carlos; Torrieri, Stefano; Giorgioni, Maurizio

    2017-12-01

    A multidisciplinary study of the dolomitized bodies present in the Lower Cretaceous platform carbonates of Mt. Faito (Southern Apennines - Italy) was carried out in order to explore the connection between early dolomite formation and fluctuating climate conditions. The Berriasian-Aptian investigated succession is 466 m thick and mainly consists of shallow-water lagoonal limestones with frequent dolomite caps. The dolomitization intensity varies along the succession and reaches its peak in the upper Hauterivian-lower Barremian interval, where it is present a completely dolomitized interval about 100-m-thick. Field relations, petrography, mineralogy, and geochemistry of the analyzed dolomite bodies allowed identifying two populations of early dolomites, a fine-medium crystalline (FMdol) and a coarse crystalline dolomite (Cdol), both interpreted as the product of mesohaline water reflux. According to our interpretation, FMdol precipitated from concentrated brines in the very early stage of the reflux process, producing typical sedimentary features as dolomite caps. In the successive step of the process, the basin-ward 'latent' reflux precipitated Cdol from less concentrated brines. A peculiar feature of the studied succession is the great consistency between stratigraphic distribution of dolomite bodies and their geochemical signature. The completely dolomitized Hauterivian-Barremian interval, in fact, is characterized by geochemical values suggesting an origin from distinctly saltier brines. Considering that the observed near-surface dolomitization process is controlled by physical and chemical parameters reflecting the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions during dolomite formation, we propose that the stratigraphically controlled dolomitization intensity reflects periodic fluctuations in the salinity of dolomitizing fluid, in turn controlled by long-term climate oscillations. The present work highlights that the stratigraphic distribution of early

  18. Early Pleistocene 40Ar/39Ar ages for Bapang Formation hominins, Central Jawa, Indonesia

    PubMed Central

    Larick, Roy; Ciochon, Russell L.; Zaim, Yahdi; Sudijono; Suminto; Rizal, Yan; Aziz, Fachroel; Reagan, Mark; Heizler, Matthew

    2001-01-01

    The Sangiran dome is the primary stratigraphic window for the Plio-Pleistocene deposits of the Solo basin of Central Jawa. The dome has yielded nearly 80 Homo erectus fossils, around 50 of which have known findspots. With a hornblende 40Ar/39Ar plateau age of 1.66 ± 0.04 mega-annum (Ma) reportedly associated with two fossils [Swisher, C.C., III, Curtis, G. H., Jacob, T., Getty, A. G., Suprijo, A. & Widiasmoro (1994) Science 263, 1118–1121), the dome offers evidence that early Homo dispersed to East Asia during the earliest Pleistocene. Unfortunately, the hornblende pumice was sampled at Jokotingkir Hill, a central locality with complex lithostratigraphic deformation and dubious specimen provenance. To address the antiquity of Sangiran H. erectus more systematically, we investigate the sedimentary framework and hornblende 40Ar/39Ar age for volcanic deposits in the southeast quadrant of the dome. In this sector, Bapang (Kabuh) sediments have their largest exposure, least deformation, and most complete tephrostratigraphy. At five locations, we identify a sequence of sedimentary cycles in which H. erectus fossils are associated with epiclastic pumice. From sampled pumice, eight hornblende separates produced 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages ranging from 1.51 ± 0.08 Ma at the Bapang/Sangiran Formation contact, to 1.02 ± 0.06 Ma, at a point above the hominin-bearing sequence. The chronological sequence of 40Ar/39Ar ages follows stratigraphic order across the southeast quadrant. An intermediate level yielding four nearly complete crania has an age of about 1.25 Ma. PMID:11309488

  19. Early Pleistocene 40Ar/39Ar ages for Bapang Formation hominins, Central Jawa, Indonesia.

    PubMed

    Larick, R; Ciochon, R L; Zaim, Y; Sudijono; Suminto; Rizal, Y; Aziz, F; Reagan, M; Heizler, M

    2001-04-24

    The Sangiran dome is the primary stratigraphic window for the Plio-Pleistocene deposits of the Solo basin of Central Jawa. The dome has yielded nearly 80 Homo erectus fossils, around 50 of which have known findspots. With a hornblende (40)Ar/(39)Ar plateau age of 1.66 +/- 0.04 mega-annum (Ma) reportedly associated with two fossils [Swisher, C.C., III, Curtis, G. H., Jacob, T., Getty, A. G., Suprijo, A. & Widiasmoro (1994) Science 263, 1118-1121), the dome offers evidence that early Homo dispersed to East Asia during the earliest Pleistocene. Unfortunately, the hornblende pumice was sampled at Jokotingkir Hill, a central locality with complex lithostratigraphic deformation and dubious specimen provenance. To address the antiquity of Sangiran H. erectus more systematically, we investigate the sedimentary framework and hornblende (40)Ar/(39)Ar age for volcanic deposits in the southeast quadrant of the dome. In this sector, Bapang (Kabuh) sediments have their largest exposure, least deformation, and most complete tephrostratigraphy. At five locations, we identify a sequence of sedimentary cycles in which H. erectus fossils are associated with epiclastic pumice. From sampled pumice, eight hornblende separates produced (40)Ar/(39)Ar plateau ages ranging from 1.51 +/- 0.08 Ma at the Bapang/Sangiran Formation contact, to 1.02 +/- 0.06 Ma, at a point above the hominin-bearing sequence. The chronological sequence of (40)Ar/(39)Ar ages follows stratigraphic order across the southeast quadrant. An intermediate level yielding four nearly complete crania has an age of about 1.25 Ma.

  20. Childhood Risk Factors for Early-Onset Drinking*

    PubMed Central

    Donovan, John E.; Molina, Brooke S. G.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: There is relatively little research on the childhood antecedent predictors of early-onset alcohol use. This study examined an array of psychosocial variables assessed at age 10 and reflecting Problem Behavior Theory as potential antecedent risk factors for the initiation of alcohol use at age 14 or younger. Method: A sample of 452 children (238 girls) ages 8 or 10 and their families was drawn from Allegheny County, PA, using targeted-age directory sampling and random-digit dialing procedures. Children and parents were interviewed using computer-assisted interviews. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the age-10 univariate and multivariate predictors of the initiation of alcohol use by age 14 or younger. Results: Twenty-five percent of the sample reported having more than a sip or a taste of alcohol in their life by age 14. Sex, race, and age cohort did not relate to early drinking status. Children with two parents were less likely to initiate drinking early. Early initiation of drinking related significantly to an array of antecedent risk factors (personality, social environment, and behavioral) assessed at age 10 that reflect psychosocial proneness for problem behavior. In the multivariate model, the variables most predictive of early-onset drinking were having a single parent, sipping or tasting alcohol by age 10, having parents who also started drinking at an early age, and parental drinking frequency. Conclusions: Initiation of alcohol use by age 14 reflects childhood psychosocial proneness to engage in problem behavior as measured by Problem Behavior Theory and having a family environment conducive to alcohol use. PMID:21906502

  1. Agricultural production and stability of settlement systems in Upper Mesopotamia during the Early Bronze Age (third millennium BCE)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kalayci, Tuna

    This study investigates the relationship between rainfall variation and rain-fed agricultural production in Upper Mesopotamia with a specific focus on Early Bronze Age urban settlements. In return, the variation in production is used to explore stability of urban settlement systems. The organization of the flow of agricultural goods is the key to sustaining the total settlement system. The vulnerability of a settlement system increases due to the increased demand for more output from agricultural lands. This demand is the key for the success of urbanization project. However, without estimating how many foodstuffs were available at the end of a production cycle, further discussions on the forces that shaped and sustained urban settlement systems will be lacking. While large scale fluctuations in the flow of agricultural products between settlements are not the only determinants of hierarchical structures, the total available agricultural yield for each urban settlement in a hierarchy must have influenced settlement relations. As for the methodology, first, Early Bronze Age precipitation levels are estimated by using modern day associations between the eastern Mediterranean coastal areas and the inner regions of Upper Mesopotamia. Next, these levels are integrated into a remote-sensing based biological growth model. Also, a CORONA satellite imagery based archaeological survey is conducted in order to map the Early Bronze Age settlement system in its entirety as well as the ancient markers of agricultural intensification. Finally, ancient agricultural production landscapes are modeled in a GIS. The study takes a critical position towards the traditionally held assumption that large urban settlements (cities) in Upper Mesopotamia were in a state of constant demand for food. The results from this study also suggest that when variations in ancient precipitation levels are translated into the variations in production levels, the impact of climatic aridification on ancient

  2. A fingerprint marker from early gestation associated with diabetes in middle age: The Dutch Hunger Winter Families Study

    PubMed Central

    Kahn, Henry S; Graff, Mariaelisa; Stein, Aryeh D; Lumey, L H

    2009-01-01

    Background Fetal programming of diabetes might originate in early pregnancy when fingerprints are permanently established. The mean dermatoglyphic ridge count difference between fingertips 1 and 5 (‘Md15’) varies with the early prenatal environment. We hypothesized that Md15 would be associated with adult-onset diabetes. Methods We obtained Md15 from 577 Dutch adults (aged 58.9 years, SD 1.1) whose births in 1943–47 were documented in maternity records and from 260 of their same-sex siblings for whom birth weights were not available. Of these 837 participants, complete anthropometry and diabetes status (from history or glucose tolerance test) were obtained for 819. Results After adjustment for age, sex, parental diabetes and adult anthropometry, fingerprint Md15 was associated with prevalent diabetes [odds ratio (OR) = 1.37 per 1 SD (95% confidence interval 1.02–1.84)]. This relationship held [OR = 1.40 (1.03–1.92)] for diabetic cases restricted to those recently diagnosed (within 7 years). In the birth series restricted to recently diagnosed cases, the mutually adjusted ORs were 1.34 (1.00–1.79) per SD of Md15 and 0.83 (0.62–1.10) per SD of birth weight. Further adjustments for maternal smoking, conception season or prenatal famine exposure in 1944–45 did not alter these estimates. Among 42 sibling pairs discordant for diabetes, the diabetic sibling had higher Md15 by 3.5 (0.6–6.3) after multivariable adjustment. Conclusions Diabetes diagnosed at age 50+ years was associated with a fingerprint marker established in early gestation, irrespective of birth weight. Fingerprints may provide a useful tool to investigate prenatal developmental plasticity. PMID:18684786

  3. Digital Natives Come of Age: The Reality of Today's Early Career Teachers Using Mobile Devices to Teach Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Orlando, Joanne; Attard, Catherine

    2016-01-01

    Digital natives are now of age and comprise the new generation of early career teachers (ECTs). This is an important change in teacher demographics given that new technologies have been introduced into classrooms with expectations that teachers embed them effectively into the teaching of mathematics. This paper draws on the data of three separate…

  4. Experiential Aging Activities and the Early Adolescent.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glover, Elbert D.; And Others

    1981-01-01

    Negative views about the elderly held by adolescents can result in a negative outlook on aging. Physical, mental, and social aging experiential activities are given which can be done at home or at school. (JN)

  5. Development of early age shrinkage stresses in reinforced concrete bridge decks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    William, Gergis W.; Shoukry, Samir N.; Riad, Mourad Y.

    2008-12-01

    This paper describes the instrumentation and data analysis of a reinforced concrete bridge deck constructed on 3-span continuous steel girders in Evansville, West Virginia. An instrumentation system consisting of 232 sensors is developed and implemented specifically to measure strains and temperature in concrete deck, strains in longitudinal and transverse rebars, the overall contraction and expansion of concrete deck, and crack openings. Data from all sensors are automatically collected every 30 minutes starting at the time of placing the concrete deck. Measured strain and temperature time-histories were used to calculate the stresses, which were processed to attenuate the thermal effects due to daily temperature changes and isolate the drying shrinkage component. The results indicated that most of concrete shrinkage occurs during the first three days. Under the constraining effects from stay-in-place forms and reinforcement, early age shrinkage leads to elevated longitudinal stress, which is the main factor responsible for crack initiation.

  6. Age trends of genetic parameters, early selection and family by site interactions for growth traits in Larix kaempferi open-pollinated families.

    PubMed

    Diao, Shu; Hou, Yimei; Xie, Yunhui; Sun, Xiaomei

    2016-07-07

    Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) as a successful exotic species has become one of the most important economic and ecological conifers in China. In order to broaden the genetic resource of Larix kaempferi, an effort was made in 1996 to introduce 128 families from seven seed orchards in Japan, with which to establish two progeny trials in climatically different environments. The experiment was aimed to determine the strategy of early selection, particularly important for long-rotated Japanese larch, and the optimal breeding program for specific environments. Growth trajectories revealed different growth performances of stem height (HGT) and diameter at breast height (DBH) in two different environments, Hubei and Liaoning. In both sites, there were marked variabilities in HGT, DBH and volume (VOL) among families at each year. The trends of individual and family heritability and age-age correlations were found to follow a certain dynamic pattern. Based on these trends, the optimum selection age was determined at four years for HGT and five years for DBH in Hubei and Liaoning. Genetic gains for VOL were 34.4 and 6.04 % in Hubei and Liaoning respectively when selection ratio was 10 % at age 16. Type-B correlations were less than 0.67 and rank correlations of breeding value were less than 0.4 for HGT, DBH and VOL between the two sites, revealing that there exist pronounced family-by-site interactions for the growth traits of Larix kaempferi. Early selection for Larix kaempferi is an effective strategy to overcome its long rotation age. In early selection, dual growth trait selection is more effective than single one. Regionalization deployment should be considered in Larix. kaempferi breeding program based on different environmental factors.

  7. Pregnancy at early age is associated with a reduction of progesterone-responsive cells and epithelial Wnt signaling in human breast tissue.

    PubMed

    Muenst, Simone; Mechera, Robert; Däster, Silvio; Piscuoglio, Salvatore; Ng, Charlotte K Y; Meier-Abt, Fabienne; Weber, Walter P; Soysal, Savas D

    2017-04-04

    Pregnancy at early age is the most significant modifiable factor which consistently decreases lifetime breast cancer risk. However, the underlying mechanisms haven't been conclusively identified. Studies in mice suggest a reduction in progesterone-receptor (PR) sensitive epithelial cells as well as a downregulation of the Wnt signaling pathway as being one of the main mechanisms for the protective effect of early pregnancy. The aim of our study was to validate these findings in humans. We collected benign breast tissue of 125 women who had been stratified according to age at first pregnancy and the occurrence of subsequent breast cancer, and performed immunohistochemistry for PR, Wnt4 and the Wnt-target Versican. The number of PR positive epithelial cells was significantly lower in the group of women with early pregnancy and no subsequent breast cancer compared to the group of nulliparous women with subsequent invasive breast cancer (p = 0.0135). In women with early pregnancy, expression of Versican and Wnt4 was significantly lower compared to nulliparous women (p = 0.0036 and p = 0.0241 respectively), and Versican expression was also significant lower compared to women with late pregnancy (p < 0.0001). Our results confirm prior observations in mice and suggest a role of downregulation of epithelial Wnt signaling in the protective effect of early pregnancy in humans. This results in a decreased proliferation of stem/progenitor cells; therefore, the Wnt signaling pathway may represent a potential target for breast cancer prevention in humans.

  8. Collagen VI Null Mice as a Model for Early Onset Muscle Decline in Aging

    PubMed Central

    Capitanio, Daniele; Moriggi, Manuela; De Palma, Sara; Bizzotto, Dario; Molon, Sibilla; Torretta, Enrica; Fania, Chiara; Bonaldo, Paolo; Gelfi, Cecilia; Braghetta, Paola

    2017-01-01

    microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3B) lipidation are hallmarks of the aging process. Altogether these data indicate that the diaphragm of Col6a1−/− animal model can be considered as a model of early skeletal muscle aging. PMID:29114203

  9. Comparison of macular choroidal thickness among patients older than age 65 with early atrophic age-related macular degeneration and normals.

    PubMed

    Sigler, Eric J; Randolph, John C

    2013-09-19

    To compare macular choroidal thickness between patients older than 65 years with early atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and normals. This was a consecutive, cross-sectional observational study. Enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography using horizontal raster scanning at 12 locations throughout the macula was performed in one eye of consecutive patients presenting with large soft drusen alone, drusen with additional features of early AMD, or a normal fundus. Choroidal thickness was measured at 7 points for each raster scan in the central 3 mm of the macula (total 84 points per eye). In addition, a single subfoveolar measurement was obtained for each eye. One hundred fifty eyes of 150 patients were included. There was no significant difference between mean refractive error for each diagnosis category via one-way ANOVA (P = 0.451). Mean macular choroidal thickness (CT) was 235 ± 49 μm (range, 125-334 μm; median 222 μm) for normals, 161 ± 39 μm (range, 89-260 μm; median = 158 μm) for the drusen group, and 115 ± 40 μm (range, 22-256 μm; median = 112 μm) for patients with AMD. Mean macular CT was significantly different via one-way ANOVA among all diagnosis categories (P < 0.001). The presence of features of early AMD without geographic atrophy and/or soft drusen alone is associated with decreased mean macular CT in vivo compared to that in patients with no chorioretinal pathology. Using enhanced depth imaging, measurement of a single subfoveolar choroidal thickness is highly correlated to mean central macular CT.

  10. Developmental Patterns of Social Trust between Early and Late Adolescence: Age and School Climate Effects

    PubMed Central

    Flanagan, Constance A.; Stout, Michael

    2010-01-01

    Social trust (i.e., beliefs that people are generally fair and trustworthy) is important to the functioning of democracies and trend studies show it has declined. We test hypotheses concerning the development of these beliefs in adolescence. Based on surveys of 1535 adolescents collected over two years, we find that middle and late adolescents had significantly lower levels of trust than early adolescents and that these beliefs became more stable and less related to interpersonal trust between early and late adolescence. Results of multiple group SEMs revealed that, regardless of age, adolescents’ reports that a strong sense of student solidarity characterized their school significantly increased ST at T2, controlling for levels at T1, and opportunities to exchange perspectives with fellow students increased ST at T2 indirectly, through feelings of student solidarity. The study points to the role of schools in nurturing the democratic dispositions of younger generations. PMID:20936077

  11. Infant pain-related negative affect at 12 months of age: early infant and caregiver predictors.

    PubMed

    Din Osmun, Laila; Pillai Riddell, Rebecca; Flora, David B

    2014-01-01

    To examine the predictive relationships of early infant and caregiver variables on expressed pain-related negative affect duration at the 12-month immunization. Infants and their caregivers (N = 255) were followed during immunization appointments over the first year of life. Latent growth curve modeling in a structural equation modeling context was used. Higher levels of initial infant pain reactivity at 2 months and caregiver emotional availability averaged across 2, 4, and 6 months of age were related to larger decreases in the duration of infant negative affect over the first 6 months of life. Longer duration of infant negative affect at 2 months and poorer regulation of infant negative affect over the first 6 months of life predicted longer durations of infant negative affect by 12 months. Infant negative affect at 12 months was a function of both infant factors and the quality of caregiver interactive behaviors (emotional availability) in early infancy.

  12. Survival After Early and Normal Retirement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haynes, Suzanne G.; And Others

    1978-01-01

    Describes an epidemiological study of the patterns and correlates of survival after early (age 62 to 64) and normal retirement (age 65). Death rates were significantly elevated during the first, fourth, and fifth years after early retirement. Pre-retirement health status was the only significant predictor of survival after early retirement.…

  13. Association Between Early Low-Dose Hydrocortisone Therapy in Extremely Preterm Neonates and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 2 Years of Age.

    PubMed

    Baud, Olivier; Trousson, Clémence; Biran, Valérie; Leroy, Emilie; Mohamed, Damir; Alberti, Corinne

    2017-04-04

    Dexamethasone to prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very preterm neonates was associated with adverse neurodevelopmental events. Early low-dose hydrocortisone treatment has been reported to improve survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia but its safety with regard to neurodevelopment remains to be assessed. To assess whether early hydrocortisone therapy in extremely preterm infants is associated with neurodevelopmental impairment at 2 years of age. An exploratory secondary analysis of the PREMILOC (Early Low-Dose Hydrocortisone to Improve Survival without Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Extremely Preterm Infants) randomized clinical trial conducted between 2008 and 2014 in 21 French neonatal intensive care units. Randomization was stratified by gestational age groups. Neurodevelopmental assessments were completed from 2010 to 2016. After birth, patients were randomly assigned to receive placebo or hydrocortisone (0.5 mg/kg twice per day for 7 days, followed by 0.5 mg/kg per day for 3 days). The prespecified exploratory secondary outcome of neurodevelopmental impairment was based on a standardized neurological examination and the revised Brunet-Lézine scale (global developmental quotient score and subscores; mean norm, 100 [SD, 15]). The minimal clinically important difference on the global developmental quotient was 5 points. Of 1072 neonates screened, 523 were assigned to hydrocortisone (n = 256) or placebo (n = 267) and 406 survived to 2 years of age. A total of 379 patients (93%; 46% female) were evaluated (194 in the hydrocortisone group and 185 in the placebo group) at a median corrected age of 22 months (interquartile range, 21-23 months). The distribution of patients without neurodevelopmental impairment (73% in the hydrocortisone group vs 70% in the placebo group), with mild neurodevelopmental impairment (20% in the hydrocortisone group vs 18% in the placebo group), or with moderate to severe neurodevelopmental impairment (7% in the

  14. Sports engagement and age at first myocardial infarction in men under 55 years of age.

    PubMed

    Janggen, Christoph; Gräni, Christoph; Brunner, Jonas; Trachsel, Lukas D; Windecker, Stephan; Eser, Prisca; Räber, Lorenz; Wilhelm, Matthias

    2017-01-01

    Low levels of physical activity in childhood are associated with clustering of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) as predisposition for atherosclerosis. We assessed the association between sports engagement and age at first myocardial infarction (MI) in a cohort of men under 55 years of age. The Bern percutaneous coronary intervention Registry (NCT 02241291) was analyzed from March 2009 until January 2012. Male patients with first MI, age 18 to 54 years and body mass index ≤25kg/m2 were included. Patients were stratified into two groups based on their starting age with organized sports ≥1 h/week outside school (EARLY: <18, CONTROL: ≥18 years or never). We assessed age at time of first MI, CVRF, and volume of sports training. Of 4,394 consecutive patients, 123 fulfilled the inclusion criteria (EARLY n = 81, CONTROL n = 42). Age at the time of first MI was 3 years younger in the EARLY compared to the CONTROL group (46.8±6.0 vs. 49.8±4.6 years, p = 0.006). Total lifetime training hours, and average yearly training hours, both, before and after age 18, were significantly greater in the EARLY group. Years of training <18 years were weakly inversely correlated with age at first MI (r2 = 0.075, p = 0.002). The proportion of sports-related MI was not different between EARLY and CONTROL (13.6% vs. 11.9%). Patients in the EARLY group had fewer CVRF (2 vs. 3; p = 0.001). Prevalence of smoking was equally high in both groups (63.0% and 64.3%). In our patients aged 54 and younger, the first MI occurred 3 years earlier in those who started regular sports activity before age 18, despite a more active lifestyle and favorable CVRF profile.

  15. Life expectancy and the value of early detection.

    PubMed

    Howard, David H

    2005-09-01

    This paper presents a model of the benefits and costs of early detection of asymptomatic disease as they vary by age. The benefits of early detection tend toward zero as the risk of death from competing causes increases. Costs per detected case also decline with age, assuming that disease incidence rises with age, but are always strictly positive. On balance, there is always an age limit beyond which the costs associated with early detection outweigh the benefits. Application of the model to prostate cancer screening suggests that early detection above age 70 or so is not cost-effective.

  16. Atrophy of the cholinergic basal forebrain over the adult age range and in early stages of Alzheimer´s disease

    PubMed Central

    Grothe, Michel; Heinsen, Helmut; Teipel, Stefan J.

    2013-01-01

    Background The basal forebrain cholinergic system (BFCS) is known to undergo moderate neurodegenerative changes during normal aging as well as severe atrophy in Alzheimer´s disease (AD). However, there is a controversy on how the cholinergic lesion in AD relates to early and incipient stages of the disease. In-vivo imaging studies on the structural integrity of the BFCS in normal and pathological aging are still rare. Methods We applied automated morphometry techniques in combination with high-dimensional image warping and a cytoarchitectonic map of BF cholinergic nuclei to a large cross-sectional dataset of high-resolution MRI scans, covering the whole adult age-range (20–94 years; N=211) as well as patients with very mild AD (vmAD; CDR=0.5; N=69) and clinically manifest AD (AD; CDR=1; N=28). For comparison, we investigated hippocampus volume using automated volumetry. Results Volume of the BFCS declined from early adulthood on and atrophy aggravated in advanced age. Volume reductions in vmAD were most pronounced in posterior parts of the nucleus basalis Meynert, while in AD atrophy was more extensive and included the whole BFCS. In clinically manifest AD, the diagnostic accuracy of BFCS volume reached the diagnostic accuracy of hippocampus volume. Conclusions Our findings indicate that cholinergic degeneration in AD occurs against a background of age-related atrophy and that exacerbated atrophy in AD can be detected at earliest stages of cognitive impairment. Automated in-vivo morphometry of the BFCS may become a useful tool to assess BF cholinergic degeneration in normal and pathological aging. PMID:21816388

  17. Early-seral stand age and forest structural changes in public and private forestlands in Western Oregon and Washington

    Treesearch

    Robert L Deal; Sharon Stanton; Matthew Betts; Zhiqiang. Yang

    2015-01-01

    Federal forests in the Pacific Northwest region have undergone exceptional changes in management over the past 20 years, and these changes have led to a reduction in regional timber production and significant changes in the management and current age structure of forests. Public lands include large areas of older forests with relatively little younger early-seral...

  18. Plasma Homocysteine and Asymmetrical Dimethyl-l-Arginine (ADMA) and Whole Blood DNA Methylation in Early and Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Pilot Study.

    PubMed

    Pinna, Antonio; Zinellu, Angelo; Tendas, Donatella; Blasetti, Francesco; Carru, Ciriaco; Castiglia, Paolo

    2016-01-01

    To compare the plasma levels of homocysteine and asymmetrical dimethyl-l-arginine (ADMA) and the degree of whole blood DNA methylation in patients with early and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and in controls without maculopathy of any sort. This observational case-control pilot study included 39 early AMD patients, 27 neovascular AMD patients and 132 sex- and age-matched controls without maculopathy. Plasma homocysteine and ADMA concentrations and the degree of whole blood DNA methylation were measured. Quantitative variables were compared by Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney test. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the significance of the association between early or wet AMD and some variables. There were no significant differences in mean plasma homocysteine and ADMA concentrations and in the degree of whole blood DNA methylation between patients with early or neovascular AMD and their controls. Similarly, logistic regression analysis disclosed that plasma homocysteine and ADMA levels were not associated with an increased risk for early or neovascular AMD. We failed to demonstrate an association between early or neovascular AMD and increased plasma homocysteine and/or ADMA. Results also suggest that the degree of whole blood DNA methylation is not a marker of AMD.

  19. Perceived Age Discrimination across Age in Europe: From an Ageing Society to a Society for All Ages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bratt, Christopher; Abrams, Dominic; Swift, Hannah J.; Vauclair, Christin-Melanie; Marques, Sibila

    2018-01-01

    Ageism is recognized as a significant obstacle to older people's well-being, but age discrimination against younger people has attracted less attention. We investigate levels of perceived age discrimination across early to late adulthood, using data from the European Social Survey (ESS), collected in 29 countries (N = 56,272). We test for…

  20. Early adulthood: an overlooked age group in national sodium reduction initiatives in South Korea.

    PubMed

    Park, Sohyun; Lee, Jounghee; Kwon, Kwang-Il; Kim, Jong-Wook; Byun, Jae-Eon; Kang, Baeg-Won; Choi, Bo Youl; Park, Hye-Kyung

    2014-12-01

    South Korean's sodium consumption level is more than twice the upper limit level suggested by the WHO. Steep increases in the prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in Korea necessitate more effective sodium reduction programs. This study was conducted in order to compare sodium intake-related eating behaviors and key psychosocial factors according to age group and gender. Using an online survey, a total of 1,564 adults (20-59 years old) considered to be geographically representative of South Korea were recruited and surveyed. The major outcomes were perceived behaviors, knowledge, intentions, and self-efficacy related to sodium intake. The results show that perceived behavior and level of self-efficacy related to low sodium consumption differed by age and gender. Female participants showed better behavior and intention towards low sodium intake than male counterparts. Young participants in their 20s showed the lowest intention to change their current sodium intake as well as lowest self-efficacy measures. Future sodium reduction interventions should be developed with tailored messages targeting different age and gender groups. Specifically, interventions can be planned and implemented at the college level or for workers in their early career to increase their intention and self-efficacy as a means of preventing future health complications associated with high sodium intake.

  1. Associations Between Early Family Meal Environment Quality and Later Well-Being in School-Age Children.

    PubMed

    Harbec, Marie-Josée; Pagani, Linda S

    Past research suggests a positive link between family meals and child and adolescent health. Although researchers have often relied on how often families eat together, this may not capture the complexity of the experience. Using a birth cohort, this study examines the prospective associations between the environmental quality of the family meal experience at age 6 years and child well-being at age 10. Participants are 1492 children of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. When children were age 6, parents reported on their typical family meal environment quality. At age 10, parents, teachers, and children themselves provided information on lifestyle habits, academic achievement, and social adjustment, respectively. The relationship between early family meal environment quality and later child outcomes was analyzed using a series of multivariate linear regression. Family meal environment quality at age 6 predicted higher levels of general fitness and lower levels of soft drink consumption, physical aggression, oppositional behavior, nonaggressive delinquency, and reactive aggression at age 10. These relationships were adjusted for child characteristics (sex, temperament problems and cognitive abilities, and baseline body mass index [BMI]) and family characteristics (family configuration and functioning, maternal education, depression, and BMI). From a population-health perspective, our findings suggest that family meals have long-term influences on children's biopsychosocial well-being. At a time when family meal frequency is on a natural decline in the population, this environmental characteristic can become a target of home-based interventions and could be featured in information campaigns that aim to optimize child development.

  2. Hydrocarbons related to early Cretaceous source rocks, reservoirs and seals, trapped in northeastern Neuqun basin, Argentina

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gulisano, C.; Minniti, S.; Rossi, G.

    1996-08-01

    The Jurassic-Cretaceous backarc Neuqun Basin, located in the west central part of Argentina, is currently the most prolific oil basin of the country. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate an Early Cretaceous to Tertiary petroleum system in the northeastern portion of the basin, where oil and gas occurrences (e.g., Puesto Hernandez, Chihuido de la Sierra Negra, El Trapial and Filo Morado oil fields, among others) provide 82 MMBO/yr comprising 67% of the basin oil production and 31% of Argentina. The source rocks are represented by two thick sections of basinal kerogen type I and II organic-rich shales,more » deposited during transgressive peaks (Agrio Formation), with TOC content up to 5.1%. Lowstand sandstones bodies, 10 to 100 m thick, are composed of eolian and fluvial facies with good reservoir conditions (Avil and Troncoso Sandstones). The seals are provided by the organic-rich shales resting sharply upon the Avil Sandstone and a widespread Aptian-Albian evaporitic event (Huitrin Formation) on top of the Troncoso reservoir. Tertiary structural traps (duplex anticlines) are developed in the outer foothills, whereas structural, combined and stratigraphic traps are present in the adjacent stable structural platform. Oil-to-source rock and oil-to-oil correlation by chromatographic and biomarker fingerprints, carbon isotopic composition and the geological evidences support the proposed oil system.« less

  3. Colorado Early Childhood Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colorado State Dept. of Education, Denver. Planning and Evaluation Unit.

    The Colorado State Board of Education allocated Title IV-V funds in 1975 for a study of the status of early childhood education in Colorado. The purposes of the study were to: (1) gather data relevant to early childhood education on the status of all children from birth through age 5; (2) identify needs of children of this age within the state;…

  4. Early effects of ageing on the mechanical performance of isolated locomotory (EDL) and respiratory (diaphragm) skeletal muscle using the work-loop technique.

    PubMed

    Tallis, Jason; James, Rob S; Little, Alexander G; Cox, Val M; Duncan, Michael J; Seebacher, Frank

    2014-09-15

    Previous isolated muscle studies examining the effects of ageing on contractility have used isometric protocols, which have been shown to have poor relevance to dynamic muscle performance in vivo. The present study uniquely uses the work-loop technique for a more realistic estimation of in vivo muscle function to examine changes in mammalian skeletal muscle mechanical properties with age. Measurements of maximal isometric stress, activation and relaxation time, maximal power output, and sustained power output during repetitive activation and recovery are compared in locomotory extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and core diaphragm muscle isolated from 3-, 10-, 30-, and 50-wk-old female mice to examine the early onset of ageing. A progressive age-related reduction in maximal isometric stress that was of greater magnitude than the decrease in maximal power output occurred in both muscles. Maximal force and power developed earlier in diaphragm than EDL muscle but demonstrated a greater age-related decline. The present study indicates that ability to sustain skeletal muscle power output through repetitive contraction is age- and muscle-dependent, which may help rationalize previously reported equivocal results from examination of the effect of age on muscular endurance. The age-related decline in EDL muscle performance is prevalent without a significant reduction in muscle mass, and biochemical analysis of key marker enzymes suggests that although there is some evidence of a more oxidative fiber type, this is not the primary contributor to the early age-related reduction in muscle contractility. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

  5. Early primary cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy: maternal hyperimmunoglobulin therapy improves outcomes among infants at 1 year of age.

    PubMed

    Visentin, Silvia; Manara, Renzo; Milanese, Laura; Da Roit, Anna; Forner, Gabriella; Salviato, Eleonora; Citton, Valentina; Magno, Fioretta Marciani; Orzan, Eva; Morando, Carla; Cusinato, Riccardo; Mengoli, Carlo; Palu, Giorgio; Ermani, Mario; Rinaldi, Roberto; Cosmi, Erich; Gussetti, Nadia

    2012-08-01

    Primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy is the leading infectious cause of congenital neurological disabilities. Early CMV infection carries a higher risk of adverse neonatal outcome (sensorineural hearing loss or neurological deficits). Intravenous hyperimmunoglobulin (HIG) therapy seems to be promising, but its efficacy needs further investigation. Since 2002, we have enrolled consecutively all pregnant women with early (ie, before gestational week 17) CMV infection. Beginning in 2007, all women were offered treatment with HIG (200 UI per kilogram of maternal weight, in a single intravenous administration). Outcome of infants was evaluated at the age of 1 year. Of the 592 women with early primary CMV infection, amniocentesis for CMV DNA detection was performed for 446. Of the 92 CMV-positive fetuses, pregnancy was terminated for 24, HIG was administered to mothers of 31, and no treatment was received by mothers of 37. Fetuses of treated mothers did not differ from fetuses of nontreated mothers according to mother's age, gestational week of infection, CMV load, or detection of abnormal ultrasonography findings. At the 1-year evaluation, 4 of 31 infants with treated mothers (13%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1%-25%) and 16 of 37 infants with nontreated mothers (43%; 95% CI, 27%-59%) presented with poor outcomes (P < .01, by the 2-tailed Fisher exact test). HIG treatment improved the outcome of fetuses from women who had primary CMV infection before gestational week 17.

  6. Palynological and sedimentary analysis of the Igarapé Ipiranga and Querru 1 outcrops of the Itapecuru Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Parnaíba Basin), Brazil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferreira, Neila N.; Ferreira, Elizabete P.; Ramos, Renato R. C.; Carvalho, Ismar S.

    2016-03-01

    The siliciclastic sediments of the Itapecuru Formation occur in a large area of the Parnaíba Basin and its deposits crop out along the Itapecuru River, in Maranhão State, northern Brazil. The palynological analysis of the Igarapé Ipiranga and Querru 1 outcrops strata yields a rich and diversified data. The presence of index-palynofloras in assemblages allows the identification of the Complicatisaccus cearensis Zone, of Late Aptian-Early Albian age. Terrestrial palynomorphs are abundant in the assemblages, being represented by bryophytes and pteridophytes, especially perisporate trilete spores (Crybelosporites and Perotrilites), and gymnosperms and angiosperms (Afropollis and Elaterosporites). The composition of palynological assemblages suggests the presence of moist soils for both outcrops. Acritarchs were recovered in the Querru 1 outcrop, which suggest a marine setting supporting a tidal flat environment indicated by facies associations. Furthermore, reworked Paleozoic palynomorphs were observed in the Querru 1 outcrop. The microflora from Igarapé Ipiranga outcrop suggests terrestrial environment corroborating with floodplain environment indicated by facies association.

  7. Early aging in Chernobyl clean-up workers: long-term study.

    PubMed

    Krasnov, V; Kryukov, V; Samedova, E; Emelianova, I; Ryzhova, I

    2015-01-01

    This paper represents data of long-term open prospective study. 312 male clean-up workers, who participated in elimination of the Chernobyl disaster consequences in 1986-87, were observed and examined in Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry. The average age of patients was 57,0 ± 6,8 years. All patients were diagnosed with psychoorganic syndrome, caused by combination of different factors, which led to early cerebrovascular pathology, which was confirmed by clinical, neuropsychological, and instrumental examination. Anamnesis and the level of social adaptation were also assayed. Clinical estimation was done with the use of specially developed Clinical Psychopathological Chart. All the symptoms were divided into 4 groups (asthenic, psychovegetative, dysthymic, and cognitive symptom-complexes). No pronounced signs of dementia were observed. The control group included 44 clean-up workers without mental disorders. Predomination of various exogenous factors before and after accident was noted. Therapy included different vasotropic remedies, as well as family therapy, art therapy, and cognitive training. The possibilities of the reverse development of symptoms were statistically proved. The results allow making a conclusion that these disorders could not be explained either by radiation effects or by PTSD but connected with cerebrovascular pathology.

  8. Early Educational Intervention, Early Cumulative Risk, and the Early Home Environment as Predictors of Young Adult Outcomes within a High-Risk Sample

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pungello, Elizabeth P.; Kainz, Kirsten; Burchinal, Margaret; Wasik, Barbara H.; Sparling, Joseph J.; Ramey, Craig T.; Campbell, Frances A.

    2010-01-01

    The extent to which early educational intervention, early cumulative risk, and the early home environment were associated with young adult outcomes was investigated in a sample of 139 young adults (age 21) from high-risk families enrolled in randomized trials of early intervention. Positive effects of treatment were found for education attainment,…

  9. Cone photopigment in older subjects: decreased optical density in early age-related macular degeneration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elsner, Ann E.; Burns, Stephen A.; Weiter, John J.

    2002-01-01

    We measured changes to cone photoreceptors in patients with early age-related macular degeneration. The data of 53 patients were compared with normative data for color matching measurements of long- and middle-wavelength-sensitive cones in the central macula. A four-parameter model quantified cone photopigment optical density and kinetics. Cone photopigment optical density was on average less for the patients than for normal subjects and was uncorrelated with visual acuity. More light was needed to reduce the photopigment density by 50% in the steady state for patients. These results imply that cone photopigment optical density is reduced by factors other than slowed kinetics.

  10. A review of early influences on physical activity and sedentary behaviors of preschool-age children in high-income countries.

    PubMed

    Lindsay, Ana Cristina; Greaney, Mary L; Wallington, Sherrie F; Mesa, Tatiana; Salas, Carlos F

    2017-07-01

    Promoting physical activity (PA) is a key component of preventing and controlling childhood obesity. Despite well-documented benefits of PA, globally, rates of PA among young children have declined over the past decades, and most children are not accruing sufficient PA daily. Helping children develop the foundation for PA habits early in life is critical for the promotion of health in childhood and prevention of chronic diseases later in life, and will ultimately promote longer and healthier lives for individuals and the general population. The purpose of this review is to provide a synthesis of current evidence on influences on PA and sedentary behaviors of preschool-age children in high-income countries. A systematic review of three databases was performed. Studies conducted in high-income countries and published from 2000 onward that addressed influences on PA and sedentary behaviors of preschool-age children were identified and reviewed. Additionally, reference lists of identified articles and relevant published reviews were reviewed. Studies that met the following inclusion criteria were considered: (a) sample included preschoolers (age ≤5 years); (b) PA and/or sedentary behaviors or factors associated with PA and/or sedentary behaviors was assessed; (c) published in English; (d) used either quantitative or qualitative methods; and (e) conducted in a high-income country. Data were extracted from selected studies to identify influences on PA and sedentary behaviors of preschool-age children and organized using the social-ecological model according to multiple levels of influence. Results from included studies identify multiple factors that influence PA and sedentary behaviors of young children in high-income countries at the various levels of the social-ecological model including intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental, organizational, and policy. Given pediatric nurses' role as primary care providers, and their frequent and continued contact with parents

  11. How do children acquire early grammar and build multiword utterances? A corpus study of French children aged 2 to 4.

    PubMed

    Le Normand, M T; Moreno-Torres, I; Parisse, C; Dellatolas, G

    2013-01-01

    In the last 50 years, researchers have debated over the lexical or grammatical nature of children's early multiword utterances. Due to methodological limitations, the issue remains controversial. This corpus study explores the effect of grammatical, lexical, and pragmatic categories on mean length of utterances (MLU). A total of 312 speech samples from high-low socioeconomic status (SES) French-speaking children aged 2-4 years were annotated with a part-of-speech-tagger. Multiple regression analyses show that grammatical categories, particularly the most frequent subcategories, were the best predictors of MLU both across age and SES groups. These findings support the view that early language learning is guided by grammatical rather than by lexical words. This corpus research design can be used for future cross-linguistic and cross-pathology studies. © 2012 The Authors. Child Development © 2012 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  12. Characterizing and quantifying the shrinkage resistance of alkali-activated (cement-free) concrete and evaluating potential methods for reducing early-age cracking in pavements and bridges.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-12-01

    This report summarizes the findings of an experimental investigation into shrinkage, and the mitigation thereof, in alkali-activated : fly ash and slag binders and concrete. The early-age (chemical and autogenous) and later-age (drying and : carbonat...

  13. Markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction and the 20-year cumulative incidence of early age-related macular degeneration: the Beaver Dam Eye Study.

    PubMed

    Klein, Ronald; Myers, Chelsea E; Cruickshanks, Karen J; Gangnon, Ronald E; Danforth, Lorraine G; Sivakumaran, Theru A; Iyengar, Sudha K; Tsai, Michael Y; Klein, Barbara E K

    2014-04-01

    IMPORTANCE Modifying levels of factors associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may decrease the risk for visual impairment in older persons. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationships of markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction to the 20-year cumulative incidence of early AMD. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This longitudinal population-based cohort study involved a random sample of 975 persons in the Beaver Dam Eye Study without signs of AMD who participated in the baseline examination in 1988-1990 and up to 4 follow-up examinations in 1993-1995, 1998-2000, 2003-2005, and 2008-2010. EXPOSURES Serum markers of inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-α receptor 2, interleukin-6, and white blood cell count), oxidative stress (8-isoprostane and total carbonyl content), and endothelial dysfunction (soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1) were measured. Interactions with complement factor H (rs1061170), age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (rs10490924), complement component 3 (rs2230199), and complement component 2/complement factor B (rs4151667) were examined using multiplicative models. Age-related macular degeneration was assessed from fundus photographs. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Early AMD defined by the presence of any size drusen and the presence of pigmentary abnormalities or by the presence of large-sized drusen (≥125-μm diameter) in the absence of late AMD. RESULTS The 20-year cumulative incidence of early AMD was 23.0%. Adjusting for age, sex, and other risk factors, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (odds ratio comparing fourth with first quartile, 2.18; P = .005), tumor necrosis factor-α receptor 2 (odds ratio, 1.78; P = .04), and interleukin-6 (odds ratio, 1.78; P = .03) were associated with the incidence of early AMD. Increased incidence of early AMD was associated with soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule

  14. Two-year neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants treated with early hydrocortisone: treatment effect according to gestational age at birth.

    PubMed

    Baud, Olivier; Trousson, Clémence; Biran, Valérie; Leroy, Emilie; Mohamed, Damir; Alberti, Corinne

    2018-01-10

    To determine whether early hydrocortisone treatment in extremely preterm infants affects neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years of age according to gestational age at birth. This is an exploratory analysis of neurodevelopmental outcomes by gestational age strata from the PREMILOC trial, in which patients were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or low-dose hydrocortisone and randomisation was stratified by gestational age groups (24-25 and 26-27 weeks of gestation). Neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) was assessed using a standardised neurological examination and the revised Brunet-Lézine scale at 22 months of corrected age. A total of 379 of 406 survivors were evaluated, 96/98 in the gestational age group of 24-25 weeks and 283/308 in the gestational age group of 26-27 weeks. Among surviving infants born at 24-25 weeks, significant improvement in global neurological assessment was observed in the hydrocortisone group compared with the placebo group (P=0.02) with a risk of moderate-to-severe NDI of 2% and 18%, respectively (risk difference 16 (95% CI -28% to -5%)). In contrast, no statistically significant difference between treatment groups was observed in infants born at 26-27 weeks (P=0.95) with a similar risk of moderate-to-severe NDI of 9% in both groups. The incidence of cerebral palsy or other major neurological impairments were found similar between treatment groups in each gestational group. In an exploratory analysis of neurodevelopmental outcomes from the PREMILOC trial, early low-dose hydrocortisone was associated with a statistically significant improvement in neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants born at 24 and 25 weeks of gestation. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  15. Acute myeloid leukaemia at an early age: Reviewing the interaction between pesticide exposure and KMT2A-rearrangement

    PubMed Central

    Pombo-de-Oliveira, Maria S; Andrade, Francianne Gomes; Brisson, Gisele Dallapicola; dos Santos Bueno, Filipe Vicente; Cezar, Ingrid Sardou; Noronha, Elda Pereira

    2017-01-01

    Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in early childhood is characterised by a high frequency of recurrent genomic aberrations associated with distinct myeloid subtypes, clinical outcomes and pathogenesis. Genomic instability is the first step of pathogenic mechanism in early childhood AML. A sum of adverse events is necessary to the development of infant AML (i-AML), which includes latency of biochemical-molecular and cellular effects. Inherited genetic susceptibility associated with exposures to biotransformation substances can modulate the risk of DNA damage and it is a very important piece in the pathogenic puzzle. In this review, we have aimed to explore the chain of events in the time-points of the natural history of i-AML, which includes maternal exposures during pregnancy, the speculations about the formation of somatic mutations during foetal life and the secondary genomic aberrations associated with i-AML. The modulation of risk conferred by xenobiotic metabolism´s genes variants is the bottom line of the pathogenic process. Since we have conducted observational and molecular investigations in early childhood leukaemia, the data focused here is based on Brazilian findings with summarised results of our experience with epidemiological and molecular studies in early-age leukaemia. PMID:29225689

  16. LOSS OF SESTRIN 2 POTENTIATES THE EARLY ONSET OF AGE-RELATED SENSORY CELL DEGENERATION IN THE COCHLEA

    PubMed Central

    ZHANG, CELIA; SUN, WEI; LI, JI; XIONG, BINBIN; FRYE, MITCHELL D.; DING, DALIAN; SALVI, RICHARD; KIM, MI-JUNG; SOMEYA, SHINICHI; HU, BO HUA

    2017-01-01

    Sestrin 2 (SESN2) is a stress-inducible protein that protects tissues from oxidative stress and delays the aging process. However, its role in maintaining the functional and structural integrity of the cochlea is largely unknown. Here, we report the expression of SESN2 protein in the sensory epithelium, particularly in hair cells. Using C57BL/6J mice, a mouse model of age-related cochlear degeneration, we observed a significant age-related reduction in SESN2 expression in cochlear tissues that was associated with early onset hearing loss and accelerated age-related sensory cell degeneration that progressed from the base toward the apex of the cochlea. Hair cell death occurred by caspase-8 mediated apoptosis. Compared to C57BL/6J control mice, Sesn2 KO mice displayed enhanced expression of proinflammatory genes and activation of basilar membrane macrophages, suggesting that loss of SESN2 function provokes the immune response. Together, these results suggest that Sesn2 plays an important role in cochlear homeostasis and immune responses to stress. PMID:28818524

  17. Maternal Thyroid Function in Early Pregnancy and Neuropsychological Performance of the Child at 5 Years of Age.

    PubMed

    Andersen, Stine Linding; Andersen, Stig; Liew, Zeyan; Vestergaard, Peter; Olsen, Jørn

    2018-02-01

    Abnormal maternal thyroid function in pregnancy may impair fetal brain development, but more evidence is needed to refine and corroborate the hypothesis. To estimate the association between maternal thyroid function in early pregnancy and neuropsychological performance of the child at 5 years of age. Follow-up study. A cohort of 1153 women and their children sampled from the Danish National Birth Cohort. Maternal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (fT4) were measured in stored biobank sera from early pregnancy. Child neuropsychological test results (Wechsler Intelligence Scale/Test of Everyday Attention), test of motor function (Movement Assessment Battery), and results of parent and teacher reports (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function/Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). Altogether 145 children (12.6%) were born to mothers with abnormal thyroid function in the early pregnancy. High maternal TSH and low fT4 were associated with lower child verbal intelligence quotient (adjusted mean difference TSH ≥ 10 mIU/L vs 0.1 to 2.49 mIU/L, -8.9 [95% confidence interval (CI), -15 to -2.4]; fT4 < 10 pmol/l vs 12.0 to 18.99 pmol/l, -13 [95% CI, -19 to -7.3]). Abnormal maternal thyroid function was also associated with adverse motor function and teacher-reported problems of executive function and behavior, and these associations were dominated by exposure to maternal hypothyroxinemia. Maternal thyroid hormone abnormalities were associated with adverse neuropsychological function of the child at 5 years of age. For intelligence, marked hypothyroidism was important, whereas for motor function and executive and behavior problems, maternal hypothyroxinemia was predominant. Copyright © 2017 Endocrine Society

  18. Composition and depositional environment of concretionary strata of early Cenomanian (early Late Cretaceous) age, Johnson County, Wyoming

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Merewether, E.A.; Gautier, Donald L.

    2000-01-01

    Unusual, concretion-bearing mudrocks of early Late Cretaceous age, which were deposited in an early Cenomanian epeiric sea, have been recognized at outcrops in eastern Wyoming and in adjoining areas of Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado. In Johnson County, Wyo., on the western flank of the Powder River Basin, these strata are in the lower part of the Belle Fourche Member of the Frontier Formation. At a core hole in south-central Johnson County, they are informally named Unit 2. These strata are about 34 m (110 ft) thick and consist mainly of medium- to dark-gray, noncalcareous, silty shale and clayey or sandy siltstone; and light-gray to grayish-red bentonite. The shale and siltstone are either bioturbated or interlaminated; the laminae are discontinuous, parallel, and even or wavy. Several ichnogenera of deposit feeders are common in the unit but filter feeders are sparse. The unit also contains marine and continental palynomorphs and, near the top, a few arenaceous foraminifers. No invertebrate macrofossils have been found in these rocks. Unit 2 conformably overlies lower Cenomanian shale in the lowermost Belle Fourche Member, informally named Unit 3, and is conformably overlain by lower and middle Cenomanian shale, siltstone, and sandstone within the member, which are informally named Unit 1. The mineral and chemical composition of the three Cenomanian units is comparable and similar to that of shale and siltstone in the Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale, except that these units contain more SiO2 and less CaO, carbonate carbon, and manganese. Silica is generally more abundant and CaO is generally less abundant in river water than in seawater. The composition of Unit 2 contrasts significantly with that of the underlying and overlying units. Unit 2 contains no pyrite and dolomite and much less sulfur than Units 1 and 3. Sulfate is generally less abundant in river water than in seawater. Unit 2 also includes sideritic and calcitic concretions, whereas Units

  19. Early Mother-Child Separation, Parenting, and Child Well-Being in Early Head Start Families

    PubMed Central

    Howard, Kimberly; Martin, Anne; Berlin, Lisa J.; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

    2011-01-01

    Drawing on theories of attachment and family instability, this study examined associations between early mother-child separation and subsequent maternal parenting behaviors and children’s outcomes in a sample of 2080 families who participated in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, the vast majority of whom were poor. Multiple regression models revealed that, controlling for baseline family and maternal characteristics and indicators of family instability, the occurrence of a mother-child separation of a week or longer within the first two years of life was related to higher levels of child negativity (at age 3) and aggression (at ages 3 and 5). The effect of separation on child aggression at age 5 was mediated by aggression at age 3, suggesting that the effects of separation on children’s aggressive behavior are early and persistent. PMID:21240692

  20. [Production of glass in early middle ages].

    PubMed

    Zimmermann, Martin

    2011-01-01

    For the production of glass three ingredients are necessary: sand, a flux to reduce the melting-temperature and calcium to reduce the danger of glass corrosion. The first objects of glass were made with calcium-rich ashes of halophytic plants, until, in the first millennium BC, the glassmakers began to use natron as a flux adding calcium deliberately or choosing a calcium-rich sand. Natron, a mineral applied to fertilize or to preserve, as a spice, a detergent or part of medical and cosmetic articles, was exploited in the regions south and east of the Mediterranean, so the Central European glassmakers had to import natron or the prefabricated raw glass for their work. Beginning in the 8th century AD in Central Europe the flux changed again: The glassmakers increasingly used ashes from wood growing in their native regions so becoming independent of the necessity to import the raw materials. There are various reasons for this change: First, the Mediterranean was no longer the trade area it had been at the time of the antique Roman Empire due to the activities of the Byzantine navy. Then, the climatic change in the 8th century and political upheavals during the 9th century in Egypt--being the main supplier of natron--caused a decrease in exploitation and trade with this good. Finally, the Egyptian state established a monopoly on the natron production, causing a permanent price increase. Nevertheless, during the Early Middle Ages natron was imported into Europe, although not necessarily for glass production. The article shows that glassmakers of Central Europe were able to produce glass since the end of the Western Roman Empire on the basis of the transfer of raw materials and know-how from the East. From the 8th century onwards they emancipated themselves from the dependency on imports by discovering and using native materials for glass production.

  1. BioAge: Toward A Multi-Determined, Mechanistic Account of Cognitive Aging

    PubMed Central

    DeCarlo, Correne A.; Tuokko, Holly A.; Williams, Dorothy; Dixon, Roger A.; MacDonald, Stuart W.S.

    2014-01-01

    The search for reliable early indicators of age-related cognitive decline represents a critical avenue for progress in aging research. Chronological age is a commonly used developmental index; however, it offers little insight into the mechanisms underlying cognitive decline. In contrast, biological age (BioAge), reflecting the vitality of essential biological systems, represents a promising operationalization of developmental time. Current BioAge models have successfully predicted age-related cognitive deficits. Research on aging-related cognitive function indicates that the interaction of multiple risk and protective factors across the human lifespan confers individual risk for late-life cognitive decline, implicating a multi-causal explanation. In this review, we explore current BioAge models, describe three broad yet pathologically relevant biological processes linked to cognitive decline, and propose a novel operationalization of BioAge accounting for both moderating and causal mechanisms of cognitive decline and dementia. We argue that a multivariate and mechanistic BioAge approach will lead to a greater understanding of disease pathology as well as more accurate prediction and early identification of late-life cognitive decline. PMID:25278166

  2. Contemporary, age-based trends in the incidence and management of patients with early-stage kidney cancer.

    PubMed

    Tan, Hung-Jui; Filson, Christopher P; Litwin, Mark S

    2015-01-01

    Although kidney cancer incidence and nephrectomy rates have risen in tandem, clinical advances have generated new uncertainty regarding the optimal management of patients with small renal tumors, especially the elderly. To clarify existing practice patterns, we assessed contemporary trends in the incidence and management of patients with early-stage kidney cancer. Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data, we identified adult patients diagnosed with T1aN0M0 kidney cancer from 2000 to 2010. We determined age-adjusted and age-specific incidence and management rates (i.e., nonoperative, ablation, partial nephrectomy [PN], and radical nephrectomy) per 100,000 adults and determined the average annual percent change (AAPC). Finally, we compared management groups using multinomial logistic regression accounting for patient characteristics, cancer information, and county-level measures for health. From 2000 to 2010, we identified 41,645 adults diagnosed with T1aN0M0 kidney cancer. Overall incidence increased from 3.7 to 7.0 per 100,000 adults (AAPC = 7.0%, P<0.001). Over the study interval, rates of PN (AAPC = 13.1%, P<0.001) increased substantially, becoming the most used treatment by 2010. Among the elderly, rates of nonoperative management and ablation approached nephrectomy rates for those aged 75 to 84 years and became the predominant strategy for patients older than 84 years. Adjusting for clinical, oncological, and environmental factors, older patients less frequently underwent PN and more often received ablative or nonoperative management (P<0.001). As the incidence of early-stage kidney cancer rises, patients are increasingly treated with nonoperative and nephron-sparing strategies, especially among the most elderly. The broader array of treatment options suggests opportunities to better personalize kidney cancer care for seniors. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. Berriasian (Early Cretaceous) radiometric ages from the Grindstone Creek Section, Sacramento Valley, California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bralower, T.J.; Ludwig, K. R.; Obradovich, J.D.

    1990-01-01

    The Grindstone Creek Section, Glenn County, Northern California is a sequence of hemipelagic mudstone, siltstone and sandstone interbedded with concretionary limestone and a few thin tuffs and bentonites. Two tuffs have been collected from a narrow interval of this sequence and subjected to mineralogical and isotopic analyses. UPb isotopic analyses of zircon fractions from these volcanic horizons indicate an age of 137.1 + 1.6/-0.6 Ma. A detailed investigation has been conducted on the calcareous nannofossil stratigraphy of this section based on numerous samples with moderately preserved assemblages. The nannoflora is largely of Tethyan affinity, and allows direct correlation with the Berriasian stratotype section, with sections with published magnetostratigraphies and with a DSDP site drilled between known magnetic anomalies. The dated tuffs lie in the lower part of the upper Berriasian Cretarhabdus angustiforatus Zone (Assipetra infracretacea Subzone) and within the narrow range of Rhagodiscus nebulosus. At three different sections, this subzone can be correlated with M-sequence Polarity Zones M16 and M16n. An independent magnetostratigraphic correlation is provided at DSDP Site 387, drilled between anomalies M15 and M16, where basal sediments contain R. nebulosus. Buchia collected within a meter of the lower tuff lie within the B. uncitoides Zone which is Berriasian in age. The upper tuff level, which occurs 65 m above the lower tuff, is situated within the overlying B. pacifica Zone. This zone had previously been correlated with the early Valanginian, but is clearly also partly of Berriasian age based on nannofossil stratigraphy. Our results allow an estimate of the age of the Berriasian-Valanginian and Jurassic-Cretaceous boundaries of 135.1 Ma and 141.1 Ma, respectively, and these fall within the range of, but differ significantiy from, several published time-scales. ?? 1990.

  4. Positive and Negative Emotionality at Age 3 Predicts Change in Frontal EEG Asymmetry across Early Childhood.

    PubMed

    Goldstein, Brandon L; Shankman, Stewart A; Kujawa, Autumn; Torpey-Newman, Dana C; Dyson, Margaret W; Olino, Thomas M; Klein, Daniel N

    2018-04-24

    Depression is characterized by low positive emotionality (PE) and high negative emotionality (NE), as well as asymmetries in resting electroencephalography (EEG) alpha power. Moreover, frontal asymmetry has itself been linked to PE, NE, and related constructs. However, little is known about associations of temperamental PE and NE with resting EEG asymmetries in young children and whether this association changes as a function of development. In a longitudinal study of 254 three-year old children, we assessed PE and NE at age 3 using a standard laboratory observation procedure. Frontal EEG asymmetries were assessed at age 3 and three years later at age 6. We observed a significant three-way interaction of preschool PE and NE and age at assessment for asymmetry at F3-F4 electrode sites, such that children with both low PE and high NE developed a pattern of increasingly lower relative left-frontal cortical activity over time. In addition, F7-F8 asymmetry was predicted by a PE by time interaction, such that the frontal asymmetry in children with high PE virtually disappeared by age 6. Overall, these findings suggest that early temperament is associated with developmental changes in frontal asymmetry, and that the combination of low PE and high NE predicts the development of the pattern of frontal symmetry that is associated with depression.

  5. High Early-Age Strength Concrete for Rapid Repair

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maler, Matthew O.

    The aim of this research was to identify High Early-Age Strength (HES) concrete batch designs, and evaluate their suitability for use in the rapid repair of highways and bridge decks. To this end, two criteria needed to be met; a minimum compressive strength of 20.68 MPa (3000 psi) in no later than 12 hours, and a drying shrinkage of less than 0.06 % at 28 days after curing. The evaluations included both air-entrained, and non-air-entrained concretes. The cement types chosen for this study included Type III and Type V Portland cement and "Rapid Set"--a Calcium Sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement. In addition, two blended concretes containing different ratios of Type V Portland cement and CSA cement were investigated. The evaluation of the studied concretes included mechanical properties and transport properties. Additionally, dimensional stability and durability were investigated. Evaluations were conducted based on cement type and common cement factor. Fresh property tests showed that in order to provide a comparable workability, and still remain within manufactures guideline for plasticizer, the water-to-cement ratio was adjusted for each type of cement utilized. This resulted in the need to increase the water-to-cement ratio as the Blaine Fineness of the cement type increased (0.275 for Type V Portland cement, 0.35 for Type III Portland cement, and 0.4 for Rapid Set cement). It was also observed that negligible changes in setting time occurred with increasing cement content, whereas changes in cement type produced notable differences. The addition of air-entrainment had beneficial effect on workability for the lower cement factors. Increasing trends for peak hydration heat were seen with increases in cement factor, cement Blaine Fineness, and accelerator dosage. Evaluation of hardened properties revealed opening times as low as 5 hours for Type V Portland cement with 2.0 % accelerator per cement weight and further reduction in opening time by an hour when accelerator

  6. Home-based Early Intervention on Auditory and Speech Development in Mandarin-speaking Deaf Infants and Toddlers with Chronological Aged 7-24 Months.

    PubMed

    Yang, Ying; Liu, Yue-Hui; Fu, Ming-Fu; Li, Chun-Lin; Wang, Li-Yan; Wang, Qi; Sun, Xi-Bin

    2015-08-20

    Early auditory and speech development in home-based early intervention of infants and toddlers with hearing loss younger than 2 years are still spare in China. This study aimed to observe the development of auditory and speech in deaf infants and toddlers who were fitted with hearing aids and/or received cochlear implantation between the chronological ages of 7-24 months, and analyze the effect of chronological age and recovery time on auditory and speech development in the course of home-based early intervention. This longitudinal study included 55 hearing impaired children with severe and profound binaural deafness, who were divided into Group A (7-12 months), Group B (13-18 months) and Group C (19-24 months) based on the chronological age. Categories auditory performance (CAP) and speech intelligibility rating scale (SIR) were used to evaluate auditory and speech development at baseline and 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of habilitation. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographic features and were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance. With 24 months of hearing intervention, 78% of the patients were able to understand common phrases and conversation without lip-reading, 96% of the patients were intelligible to a listener. In three groups, children showed the rapid growth of trend features in each period of habilitation. CAP and SIR scores have developed rapidly within 24 months after fitted auxiliary device in Group A, which performed much better auditory and speech abilities than Group B (P < 0.05) and Group C (P < 0.05). Group B achieved better results than Group C, whereas no significant differences were observed between Group B and Group C (P > 0.05). The data suggested the early hearing intervention and home-based habilitation benefit auditory and speech development. Chronological age and recovery time may be major factors for aural verbal outcomes in hearing impaired children. The development of auditory and speech in hearing

  7. The Blake Nose Cretaceous-Paleogene (Florida Atlantic margin, ODP Leg 171B): an exemplar record of the Maastrichtian-Danian transition

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bellier, J.-P.; Marca, S.; Norris, R.D.; Kroon, D.; Klaus, A.; Alexander, I.T.; Bardot, L.P.; Barker, C.E.; Blome, C.D.; Clarke, L.J.; Erbacher, J.; Faul, K.L.; Holmes, M.A.; Huber, B.T.; Katz, M.E.; MacLeod, K.G.; Martinez-Ruiz, F. C.; Mita, I.; Nakai, M.; Ogg, James G.; Pak, D.K.; Pletsch, T.K.; ,; Shackleton, N.J.; Smit, J.; Ussler, W.; Watkins, D.K.; Widmark, J.; Wilson, P.A.

    1997-01-01

    During ODP Leg 171B, devoted to the analysis of the Blake Plateau margin in front of Florida, 16 holes have been drilled in 5 distinct sites. The sites have documented a sedimentary succession ranging in age from Aptian to Eocene. Emphasis has been put on critical periods, comprising the Paleocene-Eocene transition, the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary which has been cored in excellent conditions, the middle Maastrichtian extinctions and the Albian anoxic episodes.

  8. The End of the Reading Age: Grade and Age Effects in Early Schooling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, James R.M.; Martin, Frances

    2004-01-01

    During the school years, psychological test norms may be indexed by age or by grade. A number of studies have shown that using age-based norms appears to produce biases associated with grade assignment. Cahan and Cohen [Child Dev. 60 (1989) 1239-1249] showed that the effect of one grade was over twice the effect of 1 year of age for most verbal…

  9. Comparison of early and late clinical outcomes in patients >= 80 versus <80 years of age after successful primary angioplasty for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.

    PubMed

    Oduncu, Vecih; Erkol, Ayhan; Tanalp, Ali Cevat; Kırma, Cevat; Bulut, Mustafa; Bitigen, Atila; Pala, Selçuk; Tigen, Kürşat; Esen, Ali M

    2013-06-01

    We aimed to compare the efficacy of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI) in patients >=80 versus <80 years of age with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We retrospectively enrolled 2213 patients with acute STEMI. The patients were prospectively followed up for a median of 42 months. Early and late clinical outcomes were compared according to age. One-hundred and seventy-nine (8.1%) of the 2213 patients were aged >=80 years. Post-procedural TIMI grade 3 flow was significantly less frequent in the age >=80 years patients (82.1% vs. 91.1%, p<0.001). Rates of mortality (14.5% vs. 3.4%, p<0.001), heart failure (20.7% vs. 10.5%, p<0.001), major hemorrhage (9.5% vs. 3.3%, p<0.001), secondary VT/VF (10.1% vs. 4.2%, p=0.002) and atrial fibrillation (12.8% vs. 4.3%, p<0.001) during the early hospitalization period were significantly higher in the age >=80 years patient group. Overall rates of mortality (40% vs. 9.7%, p<0.001) and total stroke (5.6% vs. 1.1%, p=0.005) at long-term follow-up were also higher in the age >=80 years patient group. However, there was no difference between the two groups with respect to the reinfarction/revascularization rates. Analysis, using the Cox proportional hazards model, revealed that age >=80 to was an independent predictor of long-term mortality (hazard ratio 2.17, 95% CI 1.23-4.17, p=0.02). Age is an independent predictor of mortality after p-PCI for STEMI. Although it seems to improve early outcomes, the efficacy of p-PCI at long-term follow-up is limited in elderly patients.

  10. Kinematics and age of Early Tertiary trench parallel volcano-tectonic lineaments in southern Mexico: Tectonic implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martini, M.; Ferrari, L.; Lopez Martinez, M.; Cerca Martinez, M.; Serrano Duran, L.

    2007-05-01

    We present new geological, structural, and geochronological data that constrain the timing and geometry of Early Tertiary strike slip deformation in southwestern Mexico and its relation with the concurrent magmatic activity. Geologic mapping in Guerrero and Michoacan States documented two regional WNW trending volcano-tectonic lineaments sub parallel to the present trench. The southernmost lineament runs for ~140 km from San Miguel Totolapan area (NW Guerrero) to Sanchiqueo (SE Michoacan), and passes through Ciudad Altamirano. Its southeastern part is marked by the alignment of at least eleven silicic to intermediate major domes as well as by the course of the Balsas River. The northwestern part of the lineament is characterized by ductile left lateral shear zones in Early Tertiary plutonic rocks observed in the Rio Chiquito valley. Domes near Ciudad Altamirano are unaffected by ductile shearing and yielded a ~42 Ma 40Ar/39Ar age, setting a minimum age for this deformation. The northern volcano-tectonic lineament runs for ~190 km between the areas of Huitzuco in northern Guerrero and the southern part of the Tzitzio fold in eastern Michoacan. The Huautla, Tilzapotla, Taxco, La Goleta and Nanchititla silicic centers (all in the range 37-34 Ma) are emplaced along this lineament, which continues to the WNW trough a mafic dike swarm exposed north of Tiquicheo (37-35 Ma) and the Purungueo subvolcanic body (~42 Ma). These rocks, unaffected by ductile shearing, give a minimum age of deformation similar to the southern Totolapan-Sanquicheo lineament. Post ~42 Ma deformation is essentially brittle and is characterized by several left lateral and right lateral transcurrent faults with typical Riedel patterns. Other trench-parallel left lateral shear zones active in pre-Oligocene times were recently reported in western Oaxaca. The recognizing of Early Tertiary trench-parallel and left-lateral ductile shearing in internal areas of southern Mexico suggest a field of widely

  11. Early anthropometric indices predict short stature and overweight status in a cohort of Peruvians in early adolescence

    PubMed Central

    Sterling, Robie; Miranda, J Jaime; Gilman, Robert H; Cabrera, Lilia; Sterling, Charles R; Bern, Caryn; Checkley, William

    2014-01-01

    While childhood malnutrition is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, less well understood is how early childhood growth influences height and body composition later in life. We revisited 152 Peruvian children who participated in a birth cohort study between 1995 and 1998, and obtained anthropometric and bioimpedance measurements 11 to 14 years later. We used multivariable regression models to study the effects of childhood anthropometric indices on height and body composition in early adolescence. Each standard deviation decrease in length-for-age at birth was associated with a decrease in adolescent height-for-age of 0.7 SD in both boys and girls (all p<0.001) and 9.7 greater odds of stunting (95% CI 3.3 to 28.6). Each SD decrease in length-for-age in the first 30 months of life was associated with a decrease in adolescent height-for-age of 0.4 in boys and 0.6 standard deviation in girls (all p<0.001) and with 5.8 greater odds of stunting (95% CI 2.6 to 13.5). The effect of weight gain during early childhood on weight in early adolescence was more complex to understand. Weight-for-length at birth and rate of change in weight-for-length in early childhood were positively associated with age- and sex-adjusted body mass index and a greater risk of being overweight in early adolescence. Linear growth retardation in early childhood is a strong determinant of adolescent stature, indicating that, in developing countries, growth failure in height during early childhood persists through early adolescence. Interventions addressing linear growth retardation in childhood are likely to improve adolescent stature and related-health outcomes in adulthood. PMID:22552904

  12. Early anthropometric indices predict short stature and overweight status in a cohort of Peruvians in early adolescence.

    PubMed

    Sterling, Robie; Miranda, J Jaime; Gilman, Robert H; Cabrera, Lilia; Sterling, Charles R; Bern, Caryn; Checkley, William

    2012-07-01

    While childhood malnutrition is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, less well understood is how early childhood growth influences height and body composition later in life. We revisited 152 Peruvian children who participated in a birth cohort study between 1995 and 1998, and obtained anthropometric and bioimpedance measurements 11-14 years later. We used multivariable regression models to study the effects of childhood anthropometric indices on height and body composition in early adolescence. Each standard deviation decrease in length-for-age at birth was associated with a decrease in adolescent height-for-age of 0.7 SD in both boys and girls (all P < 0.001) and 9.7 greater odds of stunting (95% CI 3.3-28.6). Each SD decrease in length-for-age in the first 30 months of life was associated with a decrease in adolescent height-for-age of 0.4 in boys and 0.6 standard deviation in girls (all P < 0.001) and with 5.8 greater odds of stunting (95% CI 2.6-13.5). The effect of weight gain during early childhood on weight in early adolescence was more complex to understand. Weight-for-length at birth and rate of change in weight-for-length in early childhood were positively associated with age- and sex-adjusted body mass index and a greater risk of being overweight in early adolescence. Linear growth retardation in early childhood is a strong determinant of adolescent stature, indicating that, in developing countries, growth failure in height during early childhood persists through early adolescence. Interventions addressing linear growth retardation in childhood are likely to improve adolescent stature and related-health outcomes in adulthood. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Age-dependent systemic DNA damage in early Type 2 Diabetes mellitus.

    PubMed

    Rogulj, Dinko; El Aklouk, Ismail; Konjevoda, Paško; Ljubić, Spomenka; Pibernik Okanović, Mirjana; Barbir, Ante; Luburić, Marijana; Radman, Maja; Budinski, Ninoslav; Vučić Lovrenčić, Marijana

    2017-01-01

    Oxidative stress, capable of eliciting damage to various biomolecules including DNA, is a recognized component of diabetes mellitus and its complications. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), as well as other unfavorable outcomes. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of oxidative stress in the development of T2DM, by investigating association of oxidative DNA damage with metabolic parameters in subjects with MetS and early T2DM. Selected anthropometric and biochemical parameters of MetS, inflammation and oxidative DNA damage: body mass index (BMI), fatty liver index (FLI), waist circumference (WC), total cholesterol, HDL and LDL-cholesterol, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), uric acid, C-reactive protein (CRP), total leukocyte/neutrophil count, and urinary 8-hidroxy-deoxyguanosine (u-8-OHdG) were assessed in male subjects with MetS and both younger (≤55 years) and older (>55 years) subjects with T2DM of short duration without complications. BMI, FLI, WC, total and LDL-cholesterol and uric acid were higher, while the u-8-OHdG was lower in MetS group, when compared to older T2DM subjects. None of these parameters were different neither between MetS and younger T2DM, nor between two sub-groups of subjects with T2DM. Values of CRP, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, GGT, leukocytes and neutrophils were not different between all examined groups of subjects. Higher 8-OHdG in older subjects with T2DM suggests that both aging process and diabetes could contribute to the development of DNA damage. Oxidative DNA damage cannot serve as an universal early marker of T2DM.

  14. Altered gene expression in dry age-related macular degeneration suggests early loss of choroidal endothelial cells.

    PubMed

    Whitmore, S Scott; Braun, Terry A; Skeie, Jessica M; Haas, Christine M; Sohn, Elliott H; Stone, Edwin M; Scheetz, Todd E; Mullins, Robert F

    2013-01-01

    Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of blindness in developed countries. The molecular pathogenesis of early events in AMD is poorly understood. We investigated differential gene expression in samples of human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and choroid from early AMD and control maculas with exon-based arrays. Gene expression levels in nine human donor eyes with early AMD and nine control human donor eyes were assessed using Affymetrix Human Exon ST 1.0 arrays. Two controls did not pass quality control and were removed. Differentially expressed genes were annotated using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed on RPE-specific and endothelium-associated gene sets. The complement factor H (CFH) genotype was also assessed, and differential expression was analyzed regarding high AMD risk (YH/HH) and low AMD risk (YY) genotypes. Seventy-five genes were identified as differentially expressed (raw p value <0.01; ≥50% fold change, mean log2 expression level in AMD or control ≥ median of all average gene expression values); however, no genes were significant (adj. p value <0.01) after correction for multiple hypothesis testing. Of 52 genes with decreased expression in AMD (fold change <0.5; raw p value <0.01), 18 genes were identified by DAVID analysis as associated with vision or neurologic processes. The GSEA of the RPE-associated and endothelium-associated genes revealed a significant decrease in genes typically expressed by endothelial cells in the early AMD group compared to controls, consistent with previous histologic and proteomic studies. Analysis of the CFH genotype indicated decreased expression of ADAMTS9 in eyes with high-risk genotypes (fold change = -2.61; raw p value=0.0008). GSEA results suggest that RPE transcripts are preserved or elevated in early AMD, concomitant with loss of endothelial cell marker expression. These results are

  15. Early Childhood Stress and Child Age Predict Longitudinal Increases in Obesogenic Eating Among Low-Income Children.

    PubMed

    Miller, Alison L; Gearhardt, Ashley N; Retzloff, Lauren; Sturza, Julie; Kaciroti, Niko; Lumeng, Julie C

    2018-01-31

    To identify whether psychosocial stress exposure during early childhood predicts subsequent increased eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), emotional overeating, food responsiveness, and enjoyment of food. This was an observational longitudinal study. Among 207 low-income children (54.6% non-Hispanic white, 46.9% girls), early childhood stress exposure was measured by parent report and a stress exposure index calculated, with higher scores indicating more stress exposure. Eating behaviors were measured in early (mean, 4.3; standard deviation, 0.5 years) and middle (mean, 7.9; standard deviation, 0.7 years) childhood. Observed EAH was assessed by measuring kilocalories of palatable food the child consumed after a meal. Parents reported on child eating behaviors on the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Child weight and height were measured and body mass index z score (BMIz) calculated. Multivariable linear regression, adjusting for child sex, race/ethnicity, and BMIz, was used to examine the association of stress exposure with rate of change per year in each child eating behavior. Early childhood stress exposure predicted yearly increases in EAH (β = 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.002, 0.27) and Emotional Overeating (β = 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.008, 0.27). Stress exposure was not associated with Food Responsiveness (trend for decreased Enjoyment of Food; β = -0.13; 95% confidence interval, 0.002, -0.26). All child obesogenic eating behaviors increased with age (P < .05). Early stress exposure predicted increases in child eating behaviors known to associate with overweight/obesity. Psychosocial stress may confer overweight/obesity risk through eating behavior pathways. Targeting eating behaviors may be an important prevention strategy for children exposed to stress. Copyright © 2018 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Dietary Intake of Protein in Early Childhood Is Associated with Growth Trajectories between 1 and 9 Years of Age.

    PubMed

    Braun, Kim Ve; Erler, Nicole S; Kiefte-de Jong, Jessica C; Jaddoe, Vincent Wv; van den Hooven, Edith H; Franco, Oscar H; Voortman, Trudy

    2016-11-01

    High protein intake in infancy might lead to a higher body mass index (BMI) in childhood. However, whether these associations differ between different sources of protein is unclear. We investigated associations between the intake of total protein, protein from different sources, and individual amino acids in early childhood and repeatedly measured height, weight, and BMI up to the age of 9 y. This study was performed in 3564 children participating in the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Intakes of total protein, animal protein, vegetable protein, and individual amino acids (including methionine, arginine, lysine, threonine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, histidine, cysteine, tyrosine, alanine, asparagine, glutamine, glycine, proline, and serine) at 1 y were assessed by using a food-frequency questionnaire. Height and weight were measured at the approximate ages of 14, 18, 24, 30, 36, and 45 mo and at 6 and 9 y, and BMI was calculated. After adjustment for confounders, linear mixed models showed that a 10-g higher total protein intake/d at 1 y was significantly associated with a 0.03-SD greater height (95% CI: 0.00, 0.06), a 0.06-SD higher weight (95% CI: 0.03, 0.09), and a 0.05-SD higher BMI (95% CI: 0.03, 0.08) up to the age of 9 y. Associations were stronger for animal than for vegetable protein intake but did not differ between dairy and nondairy animal protein or between specific amino acids. A higher intake of protein, especially animal protein, at 1 y of age was associated with a greater height, weight, and BMI in childhood up to 9 y of age. Future studies should explore the role of growth hormones and investigate whether protein intake in early childhood affects health later in life. © 2016 American Society for Nutrition.

  17. Relationships between the antibacterial activity of sodium hypochlorite and treatment time and biofilm age in early Enterococcus faecalis biofilms.

    PubMed

    Chau, N P T; Chung, N H; Jeon, J G

    2015-08-01

    To determine the relationships between the antibacterial activity of NaOCl and treatment time and biofilm age in early Enterococcus faecalis biofilms using a linear fitting procedure. Enterococcus faecalis biofilms were formed on hydroxyapatite discs. To investigate the relationship between the antibacterial activity of NaOCl and biofilm age, 22-, 46-, 70- and 94-h-old biofilms were exposed to NaOCl (0-3%) for 5 min. To investigate the relationship between the antibacterial activity of NaOCl and treatment time, 70-h-old biofilms were exposed to NaOCl (0-3%) for 1, 3, 5 and 7 min. After treatment, colony-forming units (CFUs) were counted. To determine the relationships between these variables, linear fitting was performed. The change in the minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) of NaOCl followed a linear pattern of biofilm age (R = 0.941, R(2)  = 0.886) or treatment time dependence (R = -0.948, R(2)  = 0.898). Below the MBEC, the fitting lines for bacterial CFU count versus NaOCl concentration (R ≤ -0.973, R(2)  ≥ 0.948) in the 22-, 46-, 70- and 94-h-old biofilms implied that the antibacterial activity of NaOCl decreased as the biofilm age increased. The fitting lines for bacterial CFU count versus NaOCl concentration (R ≤ -0.970, R(2)  ≥ 0.942) in the 1-, 3-, 5- and 7-min treatments implied that the antibacterial activity of NaOCl increased with treatment time. These results suggest that the antibacterial activity of NaOCl against early E. faecalis biofilms in root canals may follow a linear pattern depending on biofilm age or treatment time. © 2014 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. A simple scoring system for predicting early major complications in spine surgery: the cumulative effect of age and size of surgery.

    PubMed

    Brasil, Albert Vincent Berthier; Teles, Alisson R; Roxo, Marcelo Ricardo; Schuster, Marcelo Neutzling; Zauk, Eduardo Ballverdu; Barcellos, Gabriel da Costa; Costa, Pablo Ramon Fruett da; Ferreira, Nelson Pires; Kraemer, Jorge Luiz; Ferreira, Marcelo Paglioli; Gobbato, Pedro Luis; Worm, Paulo Valdeci

    2016-10-01

    To analyze the cumulative effect of risk factors associated with early major complications in postoperative spine surgery. Retrospective analysis of 583 surgically-treated patients. Early "major" complications were defined as those that may lead to permanent detrimental effects or require further significant intervention. A balanced risk score was built using multiple logistic regression. Ninety-two early major complications occurred in 76 patients (13%). Age > 60 years and surgery of three or more levels proved to be significant independent risk factors in the multivariate analysis. The balanced scoring system was defined as: 0 points (no risk factor), 2 points (1 factor) or 4 points (2 factors). The incidence of early major complications in each category was 7% (0 points), 15% (2 points) and 29% (4 points) respectively. This balanced scoring system, based on two risk factors, represents an important tool for both surgical indication and for patient counseling before surgery.

  19. Age is a significant predictor of early and late improvement in semen parameters after microsurgical varicocele repair.

    PubMed

    Kimura, M; Nagao, K; Tai, T; Kobayashi, H; Nakajima, K

    2017-04-01

    Accumulating evidence indicates that varicocele repair improves sperm quality. However, longitudinal changes in sperm parameters and predictors of improved semen characteristics after surgery have not been fully investigated. We retrospectively reviewed data from 100 men who underwent microsurgical subinguinal varicocele repair at a single centre. Follow-up semen examinations were carried out at 3, 6 and 12 months post-operatively. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of early (3 months) and late (≥6 months) improvement in semen parameters after varicocele repair. At 3 months post-operatively, 76.1% of the patients had improved total motile sperm counts, which continued to improve significantly up to 12 months post-operatively (p = .016). When comparing changes in semen parameters between younger (<37 years) and older (≥37 years) men, post-operative improvements in sperm concentration and motility were greater among younger men. Multivariate analysis showed that younger age was associated with early (p = .043) and late (p = .010) post-operative improvement in total motile sperm count. Our findings indicate that early varicocele repair improved semen parameters after surgery. © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  20. Assessing the duration of drowning episodes during the Early Cretaceous

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Godet, A.; Föllmi, K. B.

    2013-12-01

    level rise and fall cycles, and may be linked to strengthened upwelling currents. Moreover during the late Hauterivian - early Barremian time period, the correlation of platform carbonates with basinal sediments, by means of bio-, chemo- and sequence stratigraphy, allows to estimate the duration of a drowning episode. With the return to more oligotrophic conditions during the late Barremian, photozoan, Urgonian-type communities took up again. Their development has been abruptly stopped at the end of the early Aptian by a major emersion phase. The subsequent drowning is documented in various peritethyan areas. This initial crisis is followed by three other drowning phases that ultimately led to the replacement of shallow ecosystems by a deeper marine sedimentation in the Cenomanian. This long-term trend in the evolution of the Helvetic carbonate platform and of other peritethyan ecosystems may have been driven by more global phenomena.

  1. Early Substance Use Initiation and Suicide Ideation and Attempts among School-Aged Adolescents in Four Pacific Island Countries in Oceania.

    PubMed

    Peltzer, Karl; Pengpid, Supa

    2015-09-30

    This study aimed to investigate the correlations between early initiation (<12 years) of smoking cigarettes, alcohol use, and drug use (cannabis) with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in school-aged adolescents in four Pacific Island countries in Oceania. The sample included 6540 adolescents (≤13 to ≥16 years old) from Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to assess the association between pre-adolescent substance use initiation and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Results indicate a prevalence of 25.8% suicidal ideation in the past 12 months (ranging from 17.2% in Vanuatu to 34.7% in Kiribati) and 34.9% suicide attempts in the past 12 months (ranging from 23.5% in Vanuatu to 62.0% in Samoa). The prevalence of early cigarette smoking initiation was 15.7%, early alcohol initiation 13.8%, and early drug use initiation was 12.9%. Students who reported pre-adolescent substance use initiation, compared with non-substance users, were more likely reporting suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The concurrent initiation of cigarette smoking, alcohol, and drug use should be targeted in early prevention programmes in order to prevent possible subsequent suicidal behaviours.

  2. BioAge: toward a multi-determined, mechanistic account of cognitive aging.

    PubMed

    DeCarlo, Correne A; Tuokko, Holly A; Williams, Dorothy; Dixon, Roger A; MacDonald, Stuart W S

    2014-11-01

    The search for reliable early indicators of age-related cognitive decline represents a critical avenue for progress in aging research. Chronological age is a commonly used developmental index; however, it offers little insight into the mechanisms underlying cognitive decline. In contrast, biological age (BioAge), reflecting the vitality of essential biological systems, represents a promising operationalization of developmental time. Current BioAge models have successfully predicted age-related cognitive deficits. Research on aging-related cognitive function indicates that the interaction of multiple risk and protective factors across the human lifespan confers individual risk for late-life cognitive decline, implicating a multi-causal explanation. In this review, we explore current BioAge models, describe three broad yet pathologically relevant biological processes linked to cognitive decline, and propose a novel operationalization of BioAge accounting for both moderating and causal mechanisms of cognitive decline and dementia. We argue that a multivariate and mechanistic BioAge approach will lead to a greater understanding of disease pathology as well as more accurate prediction and early identification of late-life cognitive decline. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Early age of e-cigarette use onset mediates the association between impulsivity and e-cigarette use frequency in youth.

    PubMed

    Bold, Krysten W; Morean, Meghan E; Kong, Grace; Simon, Patricia; Camenga, Deepa R; Cavallo, Dana A; Krishnan-Sarin, Suchitra

    2017-12-01

    Identifying risk factors for youth e-cigarette use is critical, given high rates of e-cigarette use and unknown health effects of long-term use. The current study examined whether an early age of onset of e-cigarette use mediates the association between impulsivity and e-cigarette frequency. Cross-sectional survey data of e-cigarette users (n=927) were collected from 8 high schools in southeastern Connecticut. The sample was 44.7% female (mean age 16.2 [SD=1.2], mean age of e-cigarette onset 14.7 [SD=1.6]). Two domains of self-reported, trait impulsivity were assessed using the abbreviated Barratt Impulsiveness Scale: impaired self-regulation (e.g., problems with concentration or self-control) and behavioral impulsivity (e.g., doing things without thinking). Mediation was tested with Mplus, and the model included school as a cluster variable and controlled for covariates related to e-cigarette use (i.e., sex, age, race, peer use, and other tobacco products ever tried). The hypothesized mediation was supported for both domains of impulsivity (impaired self-regulation a 1 b=0.09, SE=0.02, 95%CI [0.03-0.14], p=.002; behavioral impulsivity a 2 b=0.07, SE=0.03, 95%CI [.01-.14], p=0.03). Specifically, impaired self-regulation (B=-0.33, SE=0.06, p<0.001) and behavioral impulsivity (B=-0.26, SE=0.11, p=0.02) predicted trying e-cigarettes at an earlier age, and earlier initiation was associated with more days of e-cigarette use in the past month (B=-0.28, SE=0.08, p<0.001). Adolescents who endorse aspects of impulsivity, such as acting without thinking, are at greater risk for more frequent e-cigarette use through an early age of e-cigarette initiation. Further research is needed to evaluate these relationships longitudinally and to develop targeted e-cigarette interventions for impulsive youth. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Coronary Artery Disease and Reticular Macular Disease, a Subphenotype of Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

    PubMed

    Cymerman, Rachel M; Skolnick, Adam H; Cole, William J; Nabati, Camellia; Curcio, Christine A; Smith, R Theodore

    2016-11-01

    Reticular macular disease (RMD) is the highest risk form of early age-related macular degeneration and also specifically confers decreased longevity. However, because RMD requires advanced retinal imaging for adequate detection of its characteristic subretinal drusenoid deposits (SDD), it has not yet been completely studied with respect to coronary artery disease (CAD), the leading cause of death in the developed world. Because CAD appears in middle age, our purpose was to screen patients aged 45-80 years, documented either with or without CAD, to determine if CAD is associated with RMD. A prospective cohort study of patients with documented CAD status and no known retinal disease in a clinical practice setting at one institution. Subjects and Controls: A number of 76 eyes from 38 consecutive patients (23 with documented CAD, 15 controls documented without CAD; 47.4% female; mean age 66.7 years). Patients were imaged with near-infrared reflectance/spectral domain optical coherence tomography and assessed in masked fashion by two graders for the presence of SDD lesions of RMD and soft drusen. Presence or absence of RMD/SDD and soft drusen. RMD was more frequent in patients with CAD versus those without (Relative Risk [RR] = 2.1, CI = 1.08-3.95, P = 0.03). There was no association of CAD with soft drusen. A specific relationship between CAD and RMD suggests common systemic causes for both and warrants further study.

  5. Reducing maladaptive behaviors in preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder using the early start denver model.

    PubMed

    Fulton, Elizabeth; Eapen, Valsamma; Crnčec, Rudi; Walter, Amelia; Rogers, Sally

    2014-01-01

    The presence of maladaptive behaviors in young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can significantly limit engagement in treatment programs, as well as compromise future educational and vocational opportunities. This study aimed to explore whether the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) treatment approach reduced maladaptive behaviors in preschool-aged children with ASD in a community-based long day care setting. The level of maladaptive behavior of 38 children with ASD was rated using an observation-based measure on three occasions during the intervention: on entry, 12 weeks post-entry, and on exit (post-intervention) over an average treatment duration of 11.8 months. Significant reductions were found in children's maladaptive behaviors over the course of the intervention, with 68% of children showing a treatment response by 12 weeks and 79% on exit. This change was accompanied by improvement in children's overall developmental level as assessed by the Mullen scales of early learning, but not by significant changes on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-II or Social Communication Questionnaire. Replication with a larger sample, control conditions, and additional measures of maladaptive behavior is necessary in order to determine the specific factors underlying these improvements; however, the findings of the present study suggest that the ESDM program may be effective in improving not only core developmental domains, but also decreasing maladaptive behaviors in preschool-aged children with ASD.

  6. The family environment in early childhood has a long-term effect on self-esteem: A longitudinal study from birth to age 27 years.

    PubMed

    Orth, Ulrich

    2018-04-01

    A better understanding is needed of the factors that shape the development of individual differences in self-esteem. Using a prospective longitudinal design, this research tested whether the family environment in early childhood predicts self-esteem in later developmental periods. Data came from a nationally representative U.S. sample of 8,711 participants, who reported on their self-esteem biannually from age 8 to 27 years. Moreover, during the participants' first 6 years of life, biannual assessments of their mothers provided information on the quality of the home environment (covering quality of parenting, cognitive stimulation, and physical home environment), quality of parental relationship, presence of father, maternal depression, and poverty status of the family. The analyses were conducted using nonlinear regression analyses of age-dependent correlation coefficients, which were controlled for the effects of child gender and ethnicity. The results suggested that the family environment in early childhood significantly predicted self-esteem as the children grew up. Although the effects became smaller with age, the effects were still present during young adulthood. The largest effects emerged for quality of home environment. Moreover, the results suggested that the effects of home environment, presence of father, and poverty are enduring, as indicated by a nonzero asymptote in the time course of effects from age 8 to 27 years. Finally, quality of home environment partially accounted for the effects of the other predictors. The findings suggest that the home environment is a key factor in early childhood that influences the long-term development of self-esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. The Articular Morphology of the First Carpometacarpal Joint Does Not Differ between Men and Women, but Changes with Aging and Early Stage Osteoarthritis

    PubMed Central

    Halilaj, Eni; Moore, Douglas C.; Laidlaw, David H.; Got, Christopher J.; Weiss, Arnold-Peter C.; Ladd, Amy L.; Crisco, Joseph J.

    2014-01-01

    The increased prevalence of thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint osteoarthritis (OA) in women has been previously linked to the articular morphology of the trapezium. However, studies report conflicting results on how the articular shapes of male and female trapezia compare to one another, mainly because their findings are based on data from older cadaver specimens. The purpose of this in vivo study was to dissociate the effect of sex from that of aging and early OA by using cohorts of healthy young and healthy older subjects, as well as patients with early stage OA. Computed tomography scans from 68 healthy subjects and 87 arthritic subjects were used to obtain 3-D bone models. The trapezial and metacarpal articular surfaces were manually delineated on scaled bone models, to remove the effect of size, and then were compared between sex, age, and health groups by using polar histograms of curvature and average curvature values. We found no sex differences, but significant age-group and health-group differences, in the articular surfaces of both bones. The older healthy subjects had higher curvature in the concave and lower curvature in the convex directions of both the trapezial and metacarpal saddles than the healthy young subjects. Subjects with early OA had significantly different metacarpal and trapezial articular shapes from healthy subjects. These findings suggest that aging and OA affect the articular shape of the CMC joint, but that, in contrast to previously held beliefs, inherent sex differences are not responsible for the higher incidence of CMC OA in women. PMID:24909332

  8. Age and date for early arrival of the Acheulian in Europe (Barranc de la Boella, la Canonja, Spain).

    PubMed

    Vallverdú, Josep; Saladié, Palmira; Rosas, Antonio; Huguet, Rosa; Cáceres, Isabel; Mosquera, Marina; Garcia-Tabernero, Antonio; Estalrrich, Almudena; Lozano-Fernández, Iván; Pineda-Alcalá, Antonio; Carrancho, Ángel; Villalaín, Juan José; Bourlès, Didier; Braucher, Régis; Lebatard, Anne; Vilalta, Jaume; Esteban-Nadal, Montserrat; Bennàsar, Maria Lluc; Bastir, Marcus; López-Polín, Lucía; Ollé, Andreu; Vergés, Josep Maria; Ros-Montoya, Sergio; Martínez-Navarro, Bienvenido; García, Ana; Martinell, Jordi; Expósito, Isabel; Burjachs, Francesc; Agustí, Jordi; Carbonell, Eudald

    2014-01-01

    The first arrivals of hominin populations into Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene are currently considered to have occurred as short and poorly dated biological dispersions. Questions as to the tempo and mode of these early prehistoric settlements have given rise to debates concerning the taxonomic significance of the lithic assemblages, as trace fossils, and the geographical distribution of the technological traditions found in the Lower Palaeolithic record. Here, we report on the Barranc de la Boella site which has yielded a lithic assemblage dating to ∼1 million years ago that includes large cutting tools (LCT). We argue that distinct technological traditions coexisted in the Iberian archaeological repertoires of the late Early Pleistocene age in a similar way to the earliest sub-Saharan African artefact assemblages. These differences between stone tool assemblages may be attributed to the different chronologies of hominin dispersal events. The archaeological record of Barranc de la Boella completes the geographical distribution of LCT assemblages across southern Eurasia during the EMPT (Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, circa 942 to 641 kyr). Up to now, chronology of the earliest European LCT assemblages is based on the abundant Palaeolithic record found in terrace river sequences which have been dated to the end of the EMPT and later. However, the findings at Barranc de la Boella suggest that early LCT lithic assemblages appeared in the SW of Europe during earlier hominin dispersal episodes before the definitive colonization of temperate Eurasia took place.

  9. Age and Date for Early Arrival of the Acheulian in Europe (Barranc de la Boella, la Canonja, Spain)

    PubMed Central

    Vallverdú, Josep; Saladié, Palmira; Rosas, Antonio; Huguet, Rosa; Cáceres, Isabel; Mosquera, Marina; Garcia-Tabernero, Antonio; Estalrrich, Almudena; Lozano-Fernández, Iván; Pineda-Alcalá, Antonio; Carrancho, Ángel; Villalaín, Juan José; Bourlès, Didier; Braucher, Régis; Lebatard, Anne; Vilalta, Jaume; Esteban-Nadal, Montserrat; Bennàsar, Maria Lluc; Bastir, Marcus; López-Polín, Lucía; Ollé, Andreu; Vergés, Josep Maria; Ros-Montoya, Sergio; Martínez-Navarro, Bienvenido; García, Ana; Martinell, Jordi; Expósito, Isabel; Burjachs, Francesc; Agustí, Jordi; Carbonell, Eudald

    2014-01-01

    The first arrivals of hominin populations into Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene are currently considered to have occurred as short and poorly dated biological dispersions. Questions as to the tempo and mode of these early prehistoric settlements have given rise to debates concerning the taxonomic significance of the lithic assemblages, as trace fossils, and the geographical distribution of the technological traditions found in the Lower Palaeolithic record. Here, we report on the Barranc de la Boella site which has yielded a lithic assemblage dating to ∼1 million years ago that includes large cutting tools (LCT). We argue that distinct technological traditions coexisted in the Iberian archaeological repertoires of the late Early Pleistocene age in a similar way to the earliest sub-Saharan African artefact assemblages. These differences between stone tool assemblages may be attributed to the different chronologies of hominin dispersal events. The archaeological record of Barranc de la Boella completes the geographical distribution of LCT assemblages across southern Eurasia during the EMPT (Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, circa 942 to 641 kyr). Up to now, chronology of the earliest European LCT assemblages is based on the abundant Palaeolithic record found in terrace river sequences which have been dated to the end of the EMPT and later. However, the findings at Barranc de la Boella suggest that early LCT lithic assemblages appeared in the SW of Europe during earlier hominin dispersal episodes before the definitive colonization of temperate Eurasia took place. PMID:25076416

  10. Paleomagnetic data support Early Permian age for the Abor Volcanics in the lower Siang Valley, NE India: Significance for Gondwana-related break-up models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ali, Jason R.; Aitchison, Jonathan C.; Chik, Sam Y. S.; Baxter, Alan T.; Bryan, Scott E.

    2012-05-01

    Confusion exists as to the age of the Abor Volcanics of NE India. Some consider the unit to have been emplaced in the Early Permian, others the Early Eocene, a difference of ˜230 million years. The divergence in opinion is significant because fundamentally different models explaining the geotectonic evolution of India depend on the age designation of the unit. Paleomagnetic data reported here from several exposures in the type locality of the formation in the lower Siang Valley indicate that steep dipping primary magnetizations (mean = 72.7 ± 6.2°, equating to a paleo-latitude of 58.1°) are recorded in the formation. These are only consistent with the unit being of Permian age, possibly Artinskian based on a magnetostratigraphic argument. Plate tectonic models for this time consistently show the NE corner of the sub-continent >50°S; in the Early Eocene it was just north of the equator, which would have resulted in the unit recording shallow directions. The mean declination is counter-clockwise rotated by ˜94°, around half of which can be related to the motion of the Indian block; the remainder is likely due local Himalayan-age thrusting in the Eastern Syntaxis. Several workers have correlated the Abor Volcanics with broadly coeval mafic volcanic suites in Oman, NE Pakistan-NW India and southern Tibet-Nepal, which developed in response to the Cimmerian block peeling-off eastern Gondwana in the Early-Middle Permian, but we believe there are problems with this model. Instead, we suggest that the Abor basalts relate to India-Antarctica/India-Australia extension that was happening at about the same time. Such an explanation best accommodates the relevant stratigraphical and structural data (present-day position within the Himalayan thrust stack), as well as the plate tectonic model for Permian eastern Gondwana.

  11. Early life factors, childhood cognition and postal questionnaire response rate in middle age: the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s study.

    PubMed

    Nishiwaki, Yuji; Clark, Heather; Morton, Susan M; Leon, David A

    2005-05-05

    Little is known about the relationship between early life factors and survey response in epidemiological studies of adults. The Children of the 1950s cohort is composed of 12,150 children (boys 51.7%) born in Aberdeen 1950-56 and in primary schools in the city in 1962. Information on birth weight, gestational age, growth, behaviour and socio-economic position at birth and in childhood were obtained from contemporaneous records. Cognitive test scores at ages 7,9 and 11 years were also available from school records. The outcome was response to a postal questionnaire sent (2001-2003) to surviving cohort members in middle age. Of 11,282 potentially mailed subjects, 7,183 (63.7%) returned questionnaires. Response rates were highest among females, and those whose parents were married at birth, were in a non-manual social class at birth or in childhood, had fewer siblings, were taller and heavier in childhood for their age and had lower Rutter B behavioural scores. Childhood cognitive test scores at every age were strongly and positively related to the response rate to a postal questionnaire independently of other early life factors monotonically across the entire range of test scores. Those in the bottom fifth at age 11 had a response rate of 49% while those in the top fifth 75%. The strength and consistency of the association of childhood cognition with questionnaire response rate in middle age is surprisingly large. It suggests that childhood cognition across the entire normal range is a powerful influence on the complex set of later behaviours that comprise questionnaire response. The extent of possible response bias in epidemiological studies of the associations between childhood characteristics (particularly those related to cognition) and later health is probably larger than is generally realised, at least in situations where the survey instrument is a postal questionnaire.

  12. Where Are the Early Years of School in Contemporary Early Childhood Education Reforms? An Historical Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krieg, Susan; Whitehead, Kay

    2015-01-01

    Although international definitions of early childhood repeatedly refer to a birth-8 age span, there are complex, institutional divides within this age range. This paper explores the divide between pre-compulsory and compulsory early childhood institutions. In countries such as Finland this divide is not such an issue because children do not begin…

  13. An alternative early opening scenario for the Central Atlantic Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Labails, Cinthia; Olivet, Jean-Louis; Aslanian, Daniel; Roest, Walter R.

    2010-09-01

    plate motion direction (from NNW-SSE to NW-SE) and in the spreading rate (an increase to ˜ 1.7 cm/y). After a small increase between Chron M25 (˜ 154 Ma, Kimmeridgian) and Chron M22 (˜ 150 Ma, Tithonian), the spreading rate slowed down to about 1.3 cm/y and remained fairly constant until Chron M0 (125 Ma, Barremian-Aptian boundary). In addition, kinematic reconstructions illustrate a significant spreading asymmetry during the early history of the Central Atlantic Ocean; the accretion rates were higher on the American side and led to the formation of more oceanic crust on this plate. We infer that this asymmetry could be related to the fact that the thermal anomaly responsible for the significant magmatism of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) was preferentially located below the African plate.

  14. The Differential Impacts of Early Physical and Sexual Abuse and Internalizing Problems on Daytime Cortisol Rhythm in School-Aged Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cicchetti, Dante; Rogosch, Fred A.; Gunnar, Megan R.; Toth, Sheree L.

    2010-01-01

    The impact of early physical and sexual abuse (EPA/SA) occurring in the first 5 years of life was investigated in relation to depressive and internalizing symptomatology and diurnal cortisol regulation. In a summer camp context, school-aged maltreated (n = 265) and nonmaltreated (n = 288) children provided morning and late afternoon saliva samples…

  15. Interest of active posturography to detect age-related and early Parkinson's disease-related impairments in mediolateral postural control.

    PubMed

    Bonnet, Cédrick T; Delval, Arnaud; Defebvre, Luc

    2014-11-15

    Patients with Parkinson's disease display impairments of postural control most particularly in active, challenging conditions. The objective of the present study was to analyze early signs of disease-related and also age-related impairments in mediolateral body extension and postural control. Fifty-five participants (18 Hoehn and Yahr stage 2 patients in the off-drug condition, 18 healthy elderly control subjects, and 19 young adults) were included in the study. The participants performed a quiet stance task and two active tasks that analyzed the performance in mediolateral body motion: a limit of stability and a rhythmic weight shift task. As expected, the patients displayed significantly lower and slower body displacement (head, neck, lower back, center of pressure) than elderly control subjects when performing the two body excursion tasks. However, the behavioral variability in both tasks was similar between the groups. Under these active conditions, the patients showed significantly lower contribution of the hip postural control mechanisms compared with the elderly control subjects. Overall, the patients seemed to lower their performance in order to prevent a mediolateral postural instability. However, these patients, at an early stage of their disease, were not unstable in quiet stance. Complementarily, elderly control subjects displayed slower body performance than young adults, which therefore showed an additional age-related impairment in mediolateral postural control. Overall, the study illustrated markers of age-related and Parkinson's disease impairments in mediolateral postural control that may constrain everyday activities in elderly adults and even more in patients with Parkinson's disease. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

  16. Early two-stage double opposing Z-plasty or one-stage push-back palatoplasty?: comparisons in maxillary development and speech outcome at 4 years of age.

    PubMed

    Yamanishi, Tadashi; Nishio, Juntaro; Sako, Michiyo; Kohara, Hiroshi; Hirano, Yoshiko; Yamanishi, Yukiko; Adachi, Tadafumi; Miya, Shigenori; Mukai, Takao

    2011-02-01

    Determining the optimal timing and procedure of palatal surgery for children with cleft lip and palate has long raised a major controversy. An early two-stage palatoplasty protocol has been a recent trend in an attempt to obtain preferable maxillary growth without compromising adequate speech development. In this study, we aim to address whether the resulting maxillofacial growth and speech development obtained by an early 2-stage palatoplasty protocol are better than those obtained by conventional 1-stage push-back palatoplasty. Seventy-two nonsyndromic children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate were enrolled in this study. They were divided into 2 groups: 30 children, who were treated with early 2-stage palatoplasty, in which soft palate closure was performed using a modified Furlow's procedure at 12 months of age and hard palate closure was performed at 18 months of age (Early Tow Stage [ETS] group: 22 boys, 8 girls), and 42 children, who underwent 1-stage Wardill-Kilner push-back palatoplasty at 12 months of age (Push Back [PB] group: 31 boys, 11 girls). Cephalometric analysis for maxillofacial growth and assessments of speech development were performed for each child at 4 years of age. The ETS group showed a lager maxillary length than the PB group [anterior nasal spine (ANS)-ptm': ETS, 46.7 ± 2.0 mm; PB, 43.6 ± 2.3 mm]. The ANS in the ETS group was positioned more anteriorly than that in the PB group (N'-ANS: ETS, 2.5 ± 1.8 mm; PB, 0.26 ± 2.5 mm), whereas the posterior edge of the maxilla positioned anteroposteiorly was comparable between the 2 groups. The anterior facial height was significantly greater in the ETS group than in the PB group (N-N': ETS, 43.3 ± 2.9 mm; PB, 40.1 ± 2.3 mm, S-S': ETS, 29.7 ± 3.2 mm; PB, 31.0 ± 3.2 mm). No statistically significant differences were observed in the incidence of either velopharyngeal incompetence or articulation errors between the 2 groups at 4 years of age. Our results show that the early 2

  17. Carbon-isotope stratigraphy of Early Cretaceous (Urgonian) shoal-water deposits: Diachronous changes in carbonate-platform production in the north-western Tethys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huck, S.; Heimhofer, U.; Immenhauser, A.; Weissert, H.

    2013-05-01

    Carbonate platforms are highly sensitive ecological systems that typically show rapid and characteristic response modes to environmental and climatic changes acting both on a regional scale and global scale. A widely accepted hypothesis proposes that the Late Barremian stepwise establishment of the Urgonian carbonate platform on the Northern Tethyan shelf was related to a gradual change from predominantly humid towards more arid greenhouse conditions. This climate change resulted in the reorganisation of the carbonate platform ecosystem from heterozoan towards photozoan-dominated assemblages and a decrease of organic-matter burial in Tethyan and Boreal basins. In order to decipher the palaeoenvironmental and climatic boundary conditions of these major changes in neritic and pelagic settings, a precise chronostratigraphy of Urgonian carbonate platform evolution is needed. Here, we provide an integrated stratigraphic framework of Lower Barremian to Lower Aptian Urgonian carbonate platform sections (Cluses, Forclaz) located at the northern rim of the Tethys (Subalpine Chains, ESE France), with special focus on sedimentological analyses and high-resolution carbon-isotope stratigraphy. A characteristic Barremian-Aptian carbon-isotope pattern permits precise platform-to-basin correlation with cyclostratigraphic and ammonite-dated pelagic and hemipelagic Tethyan sections in the Vocontian Trough (Angles/Combe-Lambert/Glaise) and Umbria Marche Basin (Gorgo a Cerbara). Similar to Helvetic shoal-water settings, the carbonate platform in the Subalpine Chains experienced a gradual transition from heterozoan- to photozoan-dominated ecosystems. This biogenic pattern points to a gradual change of the carbonate platform after the so-called "Early Barremian crisis" towards an oligotrophic rimmed platform system (Urgonian Limestone Formation). According to the chronostratigraphy of Urgonian carbonate platform evolution in the Subalpine Chains established here, the installation of a

  18. Physical and cognitive fitness in young adulthood and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at an early age.

    PubMed

    Longinetti, E; Mariosa, D; Larsson, H; Almqvist, C; Lichtenstein, P; Ye, W; Fang, F

    2017-01-01

    There is a clinical impression that patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have a higher level of physical fitness and lower body mass index (BMI) than average. However, there is a lack of literature examining the relationship between cognitive fitness and ALS risk. In this study we explored the associations of both physical and cognitive fitness with future risk of ALS. Data on physical fitness, BMI, intelligence quotient (IQ) and stress resilience were collected from 1 838 376 Swedish men aged 17-20 years at conscription during 1968-2010. Their subsequent ALS diagnoses were identified through the Swedish Patient Register. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs from flexible parametric models were used to assess age-specific associations of physical fitness, BMI, IQ and stress resilience with ALS. We identified 439 incident ALS cases during follow-up (mean age at diagnosis: 48 years). Individuals with physical fitness above the highest tertile tended to have a higher risk of ALS before the age of 45 years (range of HRs: 1.42-1.75; statistically significant associations at age 41-43 years) compared with others. Individuals with BMI ≥ 25 tended to have a lower risk of ALS at all ages (range of HRs: 0.42-0.80; statistically significant associations at age 42-48 years) compared with those with BMI < 25. Individuals with IQ above the highest tertile had a statistically significantly increased risk of ALS at an age of 56 years and above (range of HRs: 1.33-1.81), whereas individuals with stress resilience above the highest tertile had a lower risk of ALS at an age of 55 years and below (range of HRs: 0.47-0.73). Physical fitness, BMI, IQ and stress resilience in young adulthood might be associated with the development of ALS at an early age. © 2016 EAN.

  19. Presentation to delivery interval in women with early preterm delivery presenting with preterm labor: the effect of gestational age.

    PubMed

    Ashwal, Eran; Shinar, Shiri; Wertheimer, Avital; Reina, Luciena; Miremberg, Hadas; Aviram, Amir; Yogev, Yariv; Hiersch, Liran

    2017-10-01

    To evaluate the association between gestational age at presentation and interval to delivery in women with early spontaneous preterm delivery (PTD). A retrospective cohort study of women who presented with threatened preterm labor (tPTL) and intact membranes and had a spontaneous PTD <34 weeks in a university-affiliated hospital (2009-2015). The interval from presentation to delivery was compared between different gestational age subgroups. Of 67 550 deliveries during the study period, 252 met inclusion criteria. This cohort was divided to three gestational age subgroups at presentation: 24-28 6/7 weeks (n = 83), 29-31 6/7 weeks (n = 61) and 32-33 6/7 weeks (n = 108). Median time from presentation to delivery was 24.5 h. An inverse relation was observed between gestational age at presentation and admission-delivery interval (group A: 74.7 h, group B: 21.0 h, group C: 14.0 h, p < 0.001). Gestational age at presentation is inversely related to admission-delivery interval in women with tPTL and intact membranes.

  20. Do Cherished Children Age Successfully? Longitudinal Findings from the VA Normative Aging Study

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Lewina O.; Aldwin, Carolyn M.; Kubzansky, Laura D.; Chen, Edith; Mroczek, Daniel K.; Wang, Joyce M.; Spiro, Avron

    2015-01-01

    Although early adversity has been linked to worse mental and physical health in adulthood, few studies have investigated the pathways through which positive and negative dimensions of early experiences can jointly influence psychological well-being in later life. This study examined: (1) profiles of early experiences across multiple domains; (2) the relations of these profiles to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in later life; and (3) whether midlife social support mediated these relations. We first conducted latent class analysis of early experiences using data from 1,076 men in the VA Normative Aging Study who completed the Childhood Experiences Scale (age: M=69, SD=7). Analyses yielded three profiles of early experiences, labeled as cherished (strong support and some losses), harshly disciplined (harsh parental discipline, low positive reinforcement, and non-normative stressors), and ordinary (few stressors and low parental attention). Next, we applied structural equation modeling to data on a subset of this sample assessed seven years later on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being (n=496; age: M=76, SD=7). In general, the cherished group reported stronger qualitative social support in midlife than the harshly disciplined and ordinary groups, which in turn was related to greater hedonic (life satisfaction, positive affect) and eudaimonic (competence, positive relations with others) well-being in later life. The cherished group also reported higher autonomy than the ordinary group, but this association was independent of midlife social support. Our findings suggest that experiencing adversity in the context of a nurturing early environment can promote successful aging through the maintenance of supportive relationships in midlife. PMID:26436456