Anxious Solitude, Reciprocated Friendships with Peers, and Maternal Overcontrol from Third through Seventh Grade: A Transactional Model

Guided by a Transactional Model of anxious solitude development, we tested friend and maternal influences on continuity and change in youth anxious solitude from 3rd through 7th grade, as well as the influence of youth anxious solitude on decreased friendship participation and increased maternal overcontrol over time. Participants were 230 American youth (57% girls) selected for longitudinal study from a public-school screening sample (n = 688). Peers reported on anxious solitude, both peers and youth reported on reciprocated friendship, and youth reported on their mother’s overcontrol annually. Stability and incremental change in youth, friend, and maternal factors were tested in an autoregressive cross-lagged panel analytic model. Having few mutual friendships predicted incremental increase in youth anxious solitude in mid-elementary school, then youth anxious solitude predicted the loss of friendships after the middle school transition. Additionally, youth anxious solitude in third grade evoked increased maternal overcontrol in fourth grade, but the reverse direction of effect was not supported. Youth’s participation in few friendships also evoked mothers’ overcontrol, which exacerbated their child’s loss of friendships in elementary school. Taken together, having few mutual friends contributed to youth anxious solitude and maternal overcontrol, and subsequently these factors further exacerbated youth’s loss of friendships.

A 1 year Study on Pattern of Neonatal Admissions and Mortality Related to Neonatal and Maternal Influences in A Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of Barishal

Background: Morbid conditions during the neonatal period possess a serious risk to the health and well-being of the baby. The death rate among neonates is very high in Bangladesh and various factors are responsible for this other than neonatal diseases. Objectives: The objective was to compare different aspects of neonatal conditions in a tertiary care teaching hospital and to inspect the effects of neonatal/maternal influences over neonatal morbidity and mortality. Another primary goal was to study if there was any interconnection between neonatal morbid conditions and mortality. Methods: This prospective study was carried out at Special Care Neonatal Unit of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital, Barishal from April 2019 to March 2020. A total of 142 mothers were enquired according to our questionnaire. Data about both mothers and neonates were included in the questionnaire. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 26. Results: A total of 142 mothers and their 150 admitted neonates were included in our cohort. Among 150 neonates, we analyzed 133 and excluded 17. During the hospital stay, 9.8% of 133 neonates died. Mortality and morbidity were dependent on factors like gestational age, birth weight, and twin pregnancy. The causes of admission were PNA with HIE (58.6%), neonatal sepsis (28.6%), neonatal jaundice (9.8%), congenital anomalies (8.3%), RDS (4.5%), IUGR (3.8%), pneumonia (2.3%), and diabetes mellitus (0.8%). Neonates having PNA with HIE showed significant p-value when correlated with the cause of LUCS- oligohydramnios, gestational age, birth weight. Pre-term neonates had substantial cases of RDS (9.8%). Neonatal sepsis was observed more on the initiation of breastfeeding on the first day (39.1%) than later (23%), and oligohydramnios, less fetal movement, prolonged labor were found to be significant causes of it. Conclusion: The study acknowledged LBW, PNA with HIE, sepsis, neonatal jaundice, congenital anomalies, and RDS as the major factors for neonatal admissions, and reasons behind mortality were LBW, prematurity, and twin pregnancy. Awareness among parents and improved infrastructure of the hospital might be helpful to reduce the gravity of the condition in the future. DS (Child) H J 2020; 36(1) : 52-60

Lower Cord Blood IL-17 and IL-25, but Not Other Epithelial Cell-Derived Cytokines Are Associated with Atopic Dermatitis in Infancy

<b><i>Background:</i></b> There is a growing need for early biomarkers that may predict the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). As alterations in skin barrier may be a primary event in disease pathogenesis, epithelial cell (EC) cytokines expression patterns may be a potential biomarker in early life to target allergy preventive strategies towards “at-risk” infants. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> The aim of this longitudinal investigation was to examine from birth over the course of infancy levels of the EC cytokines: thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin (IL)-33, IL-25, and IL-17 in infants at high-risk of AD due to maternal atopy. <b><i>Method:</i></b> We collected (<i>n</i> = 31) cord blood samples from atopic mothers and followed up their infants at 4–6 and 12 months of age for collection of peripheral venous blood samples and diagnosis of AD. TSLP concentration was measured by ELISA after acetone precipitation of the samples. IL-33, IL-25, and IL-17 levels were measured by Luminex. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Seven infants who developed AD had lower levels of IL-25 and IL-17 at birth compared to the 24 infants who did not develop AD by 12 months of age. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Lower cord blood levels of IL-17 and IL-25, but not other EC cytokines, were associated with the onset of AD during infancy. Our results highlight that the in-utero period appears critical, and potential maternal influences on cord blood EC-derived cytokine concentrations requires further exploration.

Childhood dietary patterns and body composition at age 6 years: the Children of Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) study

Dietary patterns describe the combination of foods and beverages in a diet and the frequency of habitual consumption. Better understanding of childhood dietary patterns and antenatal influences could inform intervention strategies to prevent childhood obesity. We derived empirical dietary patterns in 1142 children (average age 6·0 (sd 0·2) years) in New Zealand, whose mothers had participated in the Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) cohort study and explored associations with measures of body composition. Participants (Children of SCOPE) had their diet assessed by FFQ, and dietary patterns were extracted using factor analysis. Three distinct dietary patterns were identified: ‘Healthy’, ‘Traditional’ and ‘Junk’. Associations between dietary patterns and measures of childhood body composition (waist, hip, arm circumferences, BMI, bioelectrical impedance analysis-derived body fat % and sum of skinfold thicknesses (SST)) were assessed by linear regression, with adjustment for maternal influences. Children who had higher ‘Junk’ dietary pattern scores had 0·24 (sd 0·08; 95 % CI 0·04, 0·13) cm greater arm and 0·44 (sd 0·05; 95 % CI 0·01, 0·10) cm greater hip circumferences and 1·13 (sd 0·07; 95 % CI 0·03, 0·12) cm greater SST and were more likely to be obese (OR 1·74; 95 % CI 1·07, 2·82); those with higher ‘Healthy’ pattern scores were less likely to be obese (OR 0·62; 95 % CI 0·39, 1·00). In a large mother–child cohort, a dietary pattern characterised by high-sugar and -fat foods was associated with greater adiposity and obesity risk in children aged 6 years, while a ‘Healthy’ dietary pattern offered some protection against obesity. Targeting unhealthy dietary patterns could inform public health strategies to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity.

The Voice Of The Voiceless: The Cognisance Of Psychosocial Influence On Prenatal Learning In Ian Mcewan’s Nutshell

Abhimanuyu and Prahalada are ancient Indian mythological characters possessing strong dominant roles because of their prenatal learning and character. An individual human character and his practices are formed in his mother’s womb. As parents, they just consider about the physical improvement of the unborn baby in the womb, not the psychic development. The pre-birth learningsarefoundation for one’s behavioural, cognitive and emotional qualities. Unborn babies are very much impacted by their outer environmentsand the other maternal influences, when they are in their womb. Every individualat one point or the other must experience this phase of life, so it is important to analyse the impacts of external environmental influence in one's pre-birth and perinatal period. This research paper explores the necessity of maternal learning and its impacts on an unborn child, and how the infants are obtaining basic developmental knowledge and ideological insights with reference to Ian McEvan’s Nutshell.