Analysis Of Growth Trajectories Research Articles

Analysis of Growth Trajectories and Verification of Related SNPs in Populus deltoides.

As an important timber genus with high economic and ecological values, Populus is a model for dissecting the genetic architecture of growth traits in perennial forest trees. However, the genetic mechanisms of longitudinal growth traits in poplar remain incompletely understood. In this study, we conducted longitudinal genetic analysis of height and diameter at breast height (DBH) in eleven-year poplar clones using ultra-deep sequencing datasets. We compared four S-shaped growth models, including asymptotic, Gompertz, logistic, and Richard, on eleven-year height and DBH records in terms of five metrics. We constructed the best-fitting growth model (Richard) and determined poplar ontogenetic stages by virtue of growth curve fitting and likelihood ratio testing. This study provides some scientific clues for temporal variation of longitudinal growth traits in Populus species.

Application of multilevel linear spline models for analysis of growth trajectories in a cohort with repeat antenatal and postnatal measures of growth: a prospective cohort study

ObjectivesTo model trajectories of antenatal and postnatal growth using linear spline multilevel models.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingMaternity hospital in Dublin, Ireland.Participants720–759 mother–child pairs from the ROLO study (initially a randomised control trial...

Volumetric Growth and Growth Curve Analysis of Residual Intracranial Meningioma.

After meningioma surgery, approximately 1 in 3 patients will have residual tumor that requires ongoing imaging surveillance. The precise volumetric growth rates of these tumors are unknown. To identify the volumetric growth rates of residual meningioma, growth trajectory, and factors associated with progression. Patients with residual meningioma identified at a tertiary neurosurgery center between 2004 and 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Tumor volume was measured using manual segmentation, after surgery and at every follow-up MRI scan. Growth rates were ascertained using a linear mixed-effects model and nonlinear regression analysis of growth trajectories. Progression was defined according to the Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) criteria (40% volume increase). There were 236 patients with residual meningioma. One hundred and thirty-two patients (56.0%) progressed according to the RANO criteria, with 86 patients being conservatively managed (65.2%) after progression. Thirteen patients (5.5%) developed clinical progression. Over a median follow-up of 5.3 years (interquartile range, 3.5-8.6 years), the absolute growth rate was 0.11 cm 3 per year and the relative growth rate 4.3% per year. Factors associated with residual meningioma progression in multivariable Cox regression analysis were skull base location (hazard ratio [HR] 1.60, 95% CI 1.02-2.50) and increasing Ki-67 index (HR 3.43, 95% CI 1.19-9.90). Most meningioma exhibited exponential and logistic growth patterns (median R 2 value 0.84, 95% CI 0.60-0.90). Absolute and relative growth rates of residual meningioma are low, but most meet the RANO criteria for progression. Location and Ki-67 index can be used to stratify adjuvant treatment and surveillance paradigms.

Longitudinal analysis of growth trajectories in young children of Chinese-born immigrant mothers compared with Australian-born mothers living in Victoria, Australia

BackgroundChinese immigrants are the third largest immigrant group in Australia. Little is known about growth trajectories of their offspring when moving to a Western country. The aim was to describe...

Life-span growth dynamics and xylem anatomical patterns of diffuse-porous Afzelia africana Sm. (Fabaceae) in different ecological zones in Burkina Faso

Tropical West African savannas are exposed to high climatic variability with potential impacts on tree growth, forest dynamics and ecosystem productivity. In such context, understanding the long-term ecological responses of savanna trees to changing environmental conditions is of great relevance for taking appropriate conservation actions. We conducted the first study on tree-ring analysis and quantitative wood anatomy on Afzelia africana Sm. in Burkina Faso, to investigate the life-span growth trajectories and wood anatomical adjustment to site and to climate variations. A total of 24 stem discs was collected in four protected forests along the Sudano-sahelian and the Sudanian climatic zones. Wood samples were analyzed using standard dendrochronological methods and quantitative wood anatomy. The mean annual growth rates varied from 1.002 (± 0.249) mm. year−1 in the Sudanian zone to 1.128 (± 0.436) mm. year−1 in the Sudano-sahelian zone. Analysis of growth trajectories showed high variations within sites and between climatic zones. Wood anatomical traits significantly varied between sites. Principal Component Analysis revealed strong relationships between ring width, wood density and vessel traits, with 82.81 % of the total variance explained. Vessel size significantly increased from the pith to the bark, highlighting the ontogenetic effects on xylem anatomical variations. Inverse relationships were found between vessel size and vessel density across the driest site and the wettest site, suggesting that the higher the rainfall, the taller the tree, the larger vessel size, but the lower vessel density. By contrast, more arid conditions and high evapotranspiration lead to smaller vessel sizes and higher vessel density. Such anatomical adjustments highlight the trade-offs between water conductance efficiency and hydraulic safety, and emphasize physiological responses to climate variability. These variations on the long-term dynamics and xylem anatomical patterns underline complex interactions between ontogenetic effects and contrasting environmental factors that affect the eco-physiological functioning of A. africana throughout the Sudanian region.

Cardiovascular Disease in American Indian and Alaska Native Youth: Unique Risk Factors and Areas of Scholarly Need.

In August 2016, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened a scientific forum with 18 investigators active in the field of population health disparities. The purpose was to discuss heart, lung, and sleep disorders in children and adolescents of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN)

Differential Effects of Adiposity and Childhood Growth Trajectories on Retinal Microvascular Architecture

We hypothesized that trajectories of adiposity across childhood would be associated with retinal microcirculatory diameters at age 12 years, independent of BP. The ALSPAC followed a cohort of children born in 1991-1992. The current study includes all children with retinal images acquired at the 12 years clinic and individual trajectories of PI from 0 to 2 years and BMI from 2 to 10 years. Retinal microvascular measures included retinal arteriolar and venular diameters. Children in this analysis had a birth weight of 3.5 ± 0.4 kg, a PI of 26.2 ± 2.4 kg/m(3) and a gestational age of 39.7 ± 1.4 weeks (mean ± SD). Analysis of growth trajectories showed that lower PI at birth was associated with narrower retinal arterioles. Higher PI at birth was associated with wider venular diameter, and a stronger positive association was evident between BMI change at 5-5.5 and 8.5-10 years with wider venular diameters. Current fat mass was also associated with wider venular diameters. Retinal arterioles and venules are differentially associated with growth in early life and childhood adiposity. Early adiposity may adversely affect the microcirculation, with important implications for cardiovascular risk in adulthood.

Early Predictors of Obesity and Cardiovascular Risk Among American Indian Children

American Indian (AI) children have the highest rates of obesity among ethnic groups in the United States, and rates continue to increase. This study was designed to examine the effects of prenatal and early postnatal factors on AI children's body mass index (BMI) trajectories, adiposity, and cardiovascular risk markers during early childhood. We screened 471 AI children (ages 5-8) from three Wisconsin tribes. Screenings included anthropometric and body fat measures and non-fasting lipid and glucose via fingerstick blood samples. Tribal records from Women Infants and Children (WIC) programs and clinic charts provided data on children's BMI trajectories, maternal prenatal factors, and the early postnatal feeding environment. Forty-seven percent of children were overweight or obese. Analysis of growth trajectories showed that children's BMI category was largely determined within the 1 year of life. Significant predictors of children's BMI category at age 1 included macrosomia (OR 4.38), excess gestational weight gain (OR 1.64) and early termination of breastfeeding (OR 1.66). Children who were overweight/obese at age 1 had greater odds of being overweight (OR 3.42) or obese (OR 3.36), and having unhealthy levels of body fat (OR 2.95) and LDL cholesterol (OR 1.64) at ages 5-8. Children's BMI category is determined in the early post-natal environment, within the 1 year of life, by factors including excess gestational weight gain and early termination of breastfeeding. In turn, children's BMI category at age 1 predicts the emergence of cardiovascular risk markers in early childhood.

Analyzing growth trajectories

Growth trajectories play a central role in life course epidemiology, often providing fundamental indicators of prenatal or childhood development, as well as an array of potential determinants of adult health outcomes. Statistical methods for the analysis of growth trajectories have been widely studied, but many challenging problems remain. Repeated measurements of length, weight and head circumference, for example, may be available on most subjects in a study, but usually only sparse temporal sampling of such variables is feasible. It can thus be challenging to gain a detailed understanding of growth patterns, and smoothing techniques are inevitably needed. Moreover, the problem is exacerbated by the presence of large fluctuations in growth velocity during early infancy, and high variability between subjects. Existing approaches, however, can be inflexible because of a reliance on parametric models, require computationally intensive methods that are unsuitable for exploratory analyses, or are only capable of examining each variable separately. This article proposes some new nonparametric approaches to analyzing sparse data on growth trajectories, with flexibility and ease of implementation being key features. The methods are illustrated using data on participants in the Collaborative Perinatal Project.

Ontogeny of craniofacial sexual dimorphism in the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). I: Face and palate

The orangutan is widely recognized as a highly dimorphic species. An ontogenetic approach to the study of sexual dimorphism can assist researchers in understanding both where and when these differences develop. In this study, 357 orangutans from Borneo were divided into five developmental stages representing infancy to mature adulthood. Three-dimensional (3D) coordinate data from 16 landmarks representing the face and palate were analyzed by means of a Euclidean distance matrix analysis (EDMA), a quantitative method for the comparison of forms. Three separate analyses (an age-specific static comparison of forms, a sex-specific analysis of growth trajectories, and an intersex comparison of patterns of relative growth) were carried out with the intent to describe the rate, timing, magnitude, and pattern of growth in the orangutan face and palate. The results indicate that generally males and females share a similar, but not identical, pattern of growth or local form change, but differ in growth rate, timing, and magnitude of difference. Dimorphism in the face and palate can be localized in infancy and traced throughout all age intervals. Orangutan females grow slightly faster than males from infancy to adolescence, at which time male growth exceeds female growth. Female growth ceases with the advent of adulthood, while male growth continues (i.e., both the number and magnitude of the dimorphic dimensions increase). Males and females are similar in facial dimensions and growth related to the orbits, upper face, and palate width. They maintain these similarities throughout development. However, they differ in facial and nasal height, palate length, snout projection, depth of the nasopharynx, and hafting of the face onto the skull. The face broadens and the zygomatic bone flares dramatically in adult males, corresponding to the development of cheek pads. While growth patterns are similar between the two sexes, they differ in the lateral orbit, snout projection, and hafting of the face onto the cranium. Adult dimorphism is the result of growth patterns experienced throughout life, and it is not equally expressed across the cranium. An understanding of patterns of dimorphism, along with the magnitude of difference, may be helpful for interpreting dimorphism in the fossil record.

Size and diet in the evolution of African ape craniodental form.

Interspecific differences in craniodental morphology among Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, and Gorilla gorilla are analyzed. These apes differ in both diet and body size, and thus present an excellent example in which to apply an allometric criterion of subtraction in order to determine morphological differences which might be related to divergent dietary specialization. The use of ontogenetic allometry in particular as a criterion of subtraction is discussed. Bivariate and multivariate results indicate that most of the variation in skull form among the species relates to the extension of a common growth trend to different sizes. Comparative analysis of growth trajectories reveals a number of differences, but none that appear to relate to a reorganization of skull proportions which might correspond to a dietary shift towards increased folivory. The dentition clearly exhibits non-allometric shape changes corresponding to the dietary differences, however. The meaning of these differences between cranial and dental patterns is discussed.