3D head growth and aging trajectories in Chinese and Caucasian for headwear customization: From modeling to comparison.

It has been suggested that children with larger brains tend to perform better on IQ tests or cognitive function tests. Prenatal head growth and head growth in infancy are two crucial periods for subsequent intelligence. Studies have shown that environmental exposure to air pollutants during pregnancy is associated with fetal growth reduction, developmental delay, and reduced IQ. Meanwhile, genetic polymorphisms may modify the effect of environment on head growth. However, studies on gene-environment or gene-gene interactions on growth trajectories have been quite limited partly due to the difficulty to quantitatively measure interactions on growth trajectories. Moreover, it is known that assessing the significance of gene-environment or gene-gene interactions on cross-sectional outcomes empirically using the permutation procedures may bring substantial errors in the tests. We proposed a score that quantitatively measures interactions on growth trajectories and developed an algorithm with a parametric bootstrap procedure to empirically assess the significance of the interactions on growth trajectories under the likelihood framework. We also derived a Wald statistic to test for interactions on growth trajectories and compared it to the proposed parametric bootstrap procedure. Through extensive simulation studies, we demonstrated the feasibility and power of the proposed testing procedures. We applied our method to a real dataset with head circumference measures from birth to age 7 on a cohort currently being conducted by the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) in Krakow, Poland, and identified several significant gene-environment interactions on head circumference growth trajectories.

Background:Non-demented cognitive aging trajectories are characterized by vast level and slope differences and a spectrum of outcomes, including dementia.Objective:The goal of AD risk management (and its corollary, promoting healthy brain aging) is aided by two converging objectives: 1) classifying dynamic distributions of non-demented cognitive trajectories, and 2) identifying modifiable risk-elevating and risk-reducing factors that discriminate stable or normal trajectory patterns from declining or pre-impairment patterns.Method:Using latent class growth analysis we classified three episodic memory aging trajectories for n = 882 older adults (baseline Mage=71.6, SD=8.9, range = 53-95, female=66%): Stable (SMA; above average level, sustained slope), Normal (NMA; average level, moderately declining slope), and Declining (DMA; below average level, substantially declining slope). Using random forest analyses, we simultaneously assessed 17 risk/protective factors from non-modifiable demographic, functional, psychological, and lifestyle domains. Within two age strata (Young-Old, Old-Old), three pairwise prediction analyses identified important discriminating factors.Results:Prediction analyses revealed that different modifiable risk predictors, both shared and unique across age strata, discriminated SMA (i.e., education, depressive symptoms, living status, body mass index, heart rate, social activity) and DMA (i.e., lifestyle activities [cognitive, self-maintenance, social], grip strength, heart rate, gait) groups.Conclusion:Memory trajectory analyses produced empirical classes varying in level and slope. Prediction analyses revealed different predictors of SMA and DMA that also varied by age strata. Precision approaches for promoting healthier memory aging—and delaying memory impairment—may identify modifiable factors that constitute specific targets for intervention in the differential context of age and non-demented trajectory patterns.

Rejoinder‐response to: Human linear growth trajectory defined

Summary 1 Classical evolutionary theory states that senescence should arise as a consequence of the declining force of selection late in life. Although the quantitative genetic predictions of hypotheses derived from this theory have been extensively tested in laboratory studies of invertebrate systems, relatively little is known about the genetics of ageing in the wild. 2 Data from long-term ecological studies is increasingly allowing quantitative genetic approaches to be used in studies of senescence in free-living populations of vertebrates. We review work to date and argue that the patterns are broadly consistent with theoretical predictions, although there is also a clear need for more empirical work. 3 We argue that further advances in this field of research might be facilitated by increased use of reaction norm models, and a decreased emphasis on attempting to discriminate between mutation accumulation and antagonistic pleiotropy models of senescence. We also suggest a framework for the better integration of environmental and genetic effects on ageing. 4 Finally, we discuss some of the difficulties in applying quantitative genetic models to studies of senescence outside the laboratory. In particular we highlight the problems that viability selection can cause for an accurate estimation of parameters used in the prediction of age-trajectory evolution.

Sex-specific aging: Sex differences in survival and health in a wild primate population

Real-time spectro-ellipsometric approach to distinguish between two-dimensional Ge layer growth and Ge dot formation on SiO2 substrates

Altered trajectories of brain growth are often reported in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), particularly during the first year of life. However, less is known about prenatal head growth trajectories, and no study has examined the relation with postnatal autistic symptom severity. The current study prospectively examined the association between fetal head growth and the spectrum of autistic symptom severity in two large population‐based cohorts, including a sample of individuals with clinically diagnosed ASD. This study included 3,820 children from two longitudinal prenatal cohorts in The Netherlands and Australia, comprising 60 individuals with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD. Latent growth curve models were used to examine the relationship between fetal head circumference measured at three different time points and autistic traits measured in postnatal life using either the Social Responsiveness Scale or the Autism‐Spectrum Quotient. While lower initial prenatal HC was weakly associated with increasing autistic traits in the Dutch cohort, this relationship was not observed in the Australian cohort, nor when the two cohorts were analysed together. No differences in prenatal head growth were found between individuals with ASD and controls. This large population‐based study identified no consistent association across two cohorts between prenatal head growth and postnatal autistic traits. Our mixed findings suggest that further research in this area is needed. Autism Res 2018, 11: 602–612. © 2018 The Authors Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Lay SummaryIt is not known whether different patterns of postnatal brain growth in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) also occurs prenatally. We examined fetal head growth and autistic symptoms in two large groups from The Netherlands and Australia. Lower initial prenatal head circumference was associated with autistic traits in the Dutch, but not the Australian, group. No differences in head growth were found in individuals with ASD and controls when the data was combined. Our mixed findings suggest that more research in this area is needed.

Older adults' health trajectory is often pictured as loss and decline. Recent literature has questioned this assumption. Conceptualizing health as a multidimensional construct, encompassing physical disabilities, functional limitations, chronic diseases, depressive symptoms, memory problems, and self-rated health, we investigated patterns of health trajectories among middle-aged and older adults in the United States. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between self-perceptions of aging (SPAs) and health trajectory patterns. We used latent class growth modeling to examine health trajectory patterns, based on longitudinal data with 4 measurement points over a 7-year period from a national sample of 10,212 middle-aged and older adults (aged 51 and older). Multinomial logit models were used to examine how health trajectory patterns were associated with baseline SPA. We identified 4 health trajectory patterns: accelerated aging, usual aging, depressed aging, and healthy aging. The full model shows that with each one-unit increase in negative SPA, the odds of belonging to an accelerated aging group, depressed aging group, and usual aging group (vs healthy aging group) increased by 26%, 17%, and 9%, respectively. The combination of health changes across different domains results in health trajectories that cannot be understood as simply a declining process. SPAs are associated with individuals' trajectories of health.

Chapter 7 discusses the notion of attention over the period of development from infancy through adolescence and emphasizes the importance of teasing apart attention subcomponents and tracing their pathways through this entire period. A rich literature exists on age-related changes in the preschool and childhood years that include developmentally sensitive periods characterized by spurts of growth followed by periods of stability. However, different attention subcomponents produce very different developmental trajectories. The relative paucity of research in the adolescent period prevents firm conclusions from being drawn about age trajectories from late childhood to early adulthood, a critical time period that needs more substantive research. As well, future longitudinal designs need to include developmentally sensitive paradigms that can identify subtle changes in performance. It will also need to adopt more sophisticated methods of identifying and evaluating specific attentional functions across a wide age range. [

Despite abundant evidence for the benefits of physical activity on aging trajectories, older Americans remain largely inactive. The present study was designed to examine age differences in responsiveness to financial incentives to increase walking. Grounded in socioemotional selectivity theory, we examined the effectiveness of financial incentives that varied in prosociality. Three types of incentives were presented to community-residing adults 18-92 years of age (N = 450). Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 conditions: personal, loved one, charity, choice, or a no-incentive control group. Average daily step counts were measured using pedometers during a baseline week, during the incentivized period, and after the incentivized period ended. Overall, financial incentives significantly increased walking compared to a control group. Whereas personal incentives were effective regardless of age, incentives to earn for charities were starkly more effective in older adults than younger adults. Moreover, 1 week after the incentivized period ended, older participants were more likely to maintain increased step counts, whereas younger people reverted to baseline step counts. Findings suggest that financial incentives can increase walking in a wide age range and that charitable incentives may be especially effective in health interventions targeting older adults. The importance of aligning incentives with age-related goals is discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: This study aims to provide a comprehensive review of the literature on template model registration technologies and their applications in ergonomic product design. Background: The original 3D scan data of the human body has limitations in terms of its applicability due to lacking quality of mesh (e.g., missed scan areas and noise) and inconsistent postures between participants. Template model registration technologies are used to complement the lacking quality of raw 3D scan data in anthropometric research and ergonomic product design. Method: A literature review was conducted on 66 papers, which were selected by screening titles and abstracts of papers searched by keywords including template model, template matching, and template registration within ergonomics and computer graphics domains in Scopus. Results: A human template model generally consists of five elements: (1) point-cloud and mesh, (2) reference points, (3) skeletal structure of the body, (4) body segment, and (5) skin deformation characteristics. The template model is matched to a target image with a particular size, shape, and posture using a template model registration technology. Conclusion: The template model registration technology has a great potential in its applicability to ergonomic design and evaluation of products for a comfortable fit to the human body. Application: The template model registration technology can be effectively applied to the establishment of parameterized 3D human body database, automatic measurement of body sizes, analysis of the variation of body shapes, predictive analysis of the body posture, and customized design of a product.

Age-related variation in reproductive performance is central for the understanding of population dynamics and evolutionary processes. Our understanding of age trajectories in vital rates has long been limited by the lack of distinction between patterns occurring within- and among-individuals, and by the lack of comparative studies of age trajectories among traits. Thus, it is poorly understood how sets of demographic traits change within individuals according to their age. Based on 40 years of monitoring, we investigated age-related variation in five reproductive traits in female pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) including laying date, clutch size, brood size, nest success (probability that a nest produces at least one chick) and egg success of successful nests (proportion of eggs resulting in a chick). We disentangled within- from among-individual processes and assessed the relative contribution of within-individual age-specific changes and selective appearance and disappearance. Finally, we compared the aging pattern among these five reproductive traits. We found strong evidence for age-specific performance including both early-life improvement and late-life decline in all reproductive traits but the egg success. Furthermore, the aging patterns varied substantially among reproductive traits both for the age of peak performance and for the rates of early-life improvement and late-life decline. The results show that age trajectories observed at the population level (cross-sectional analysis) may substantially differ from those occurring at the individual level and illustrate the complexity of variation in aging patterns across traits.

A person-oriented approach, cluster analysis, was used to define patterns of aging in 335 subjects from the Gothenburg study of 70-year-olds (H-70). Five distinct patterns, based on the domains of well-being, physical health, functional capacity, cognitive abilities, and social contacts, were found, and members of the five groups were followed longitudinally over 9 years. Overall, the majority of the subjects were in relatively high performing groups at age 70. Two of the groups had very low levels on all of the domains. Group membership at age 70 was predictive of later performance, suggesting that there is utility in typologies of aging individuals and/or trajectories of aging. This study supports a multidimensional approach to the study of variability in aging. Refining the description of agers, and of aging, can contribute both to basic understanding of aging processes and to practical matters of meeting the long-term needs of elderly people.

For term infants, human milk provides adequate nutrition to facilitate growth, as well as potential beneficial effects on immunity and the maternal-infant emotional state. However, the role of human milk in preterm infants is less well defined as it contains insufficient quantities of some nutrients to meet the estimated needs of the infant. Preterm infants require higher protein intakes than term infants to attain adequate growth rates, and have relatively higher protein turnover rates. Inadequate protein intakes may be partly responsible for low serum albumin and blood urea concentrations in preterm infants. The main objective was to determine if addition of protein to human milk leads to improved growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes without significant adverse effects in preterm infants. The standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group was used. This includes searches of the Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials, MEDLINE, previous reviews including cross references, abstracts, conferences and symposia proceedings, expert informants, and journal handsearching mainly in the English language. All trials utilizing random or quasi-random allocation to supplementation of human milk with protein or no supplementation in preterm infants who remained in hospital were eligible. Data were extracting using the standard methods of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group, with separate evaluation of trial quality and data extraction by each author and synthesis of data using relative risk and weighted mean difference. Protein supplementation of human milk results in increases in short term weight gain (WMD 3.6 g/kg/day, 95% CI 2.4 to 4.8 g/kg/day), linear growth (WMD 0.28 cm/week, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.38 cm/week) and head growth (WMD 0.15 cm/week, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.23 cm/week). There are insufficient data to evaluate long term neurodevelopmental and growth outcomes. There are too few infants studied to be certain that adverse effects of protein supplementation are not increased. Blood urea levels are increased (WMD 1.0 mmol/l, 95% CI 0.8 to 1.2 mmol/l). Protein supplementation of human milk in relatively well preterm infants results in increases in short term weight gain, linear and head growth. Urea levels are increased, which may reflect adequate rather than excessive dietary protein intake. Further research should be directed towards the evaluation of specific levels of protein intake in preterm infants and the clinical effects of supplementation with protein, including long term growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes. This may best be done in the context of refinement of available multicomponent fortifier preparations.

Previous research has demonstrated accelerated head and body growth during infancy in children with autism spectrum disorders. No study has yet examined head growth in children who lose their autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. Head circumference, length, and weight growth during infancy for 24 children who maintained their diagnoses were compared with 15 children who lost their diagnoses, and to 37 typically developing controls. Results showed that head circumference and weight growth were significantly greater in both autism spectrum disorder groups compared with controls, with no significant differences between autism spectrum disorder groups. However, when length and weight were controlled for, accelerated head growth remained significant in the children who lost their diagnoses. Findings suggest that children who lose their autism spectrum disorder diagnoses and children who maintain their diagnoses show similar head circumference, length, and weight growth trajectories during infancy, although subtle differences in body growth between groups may exist.