Average Chronological Age Research Articles

A retrospective multicenter cohort study of differences in clinical characteristics of Infantile Hemangiomas in preterm and term infants: Prematurity increases risk of permanent cutaneous sequelae

BackgroundWe observed many preterm infants with unexpectedly thick infantile hemangiomas (IH), a subtype known to be associated with increased risk of scarring. ObjectiveTo compare the clinical features of localized IH in preterm versus term infants. MethodsA retrospective study at three tertiary referral centers was conducted on 830 consecutive patients with localized IH. ResultsPreterm infants had a significantly higher incidence of superficial IH (75% in <33weeks, 57% in 33-<37 weeks, and 50% in term infants, p=0.007). Overall, their IH had thicker superficial components (p<0.001) and more stepped borders (p<0.001). These features correlated with the degree of prematurity. The average chronological age at presentation to the specialist was 5.6 (SD=6.2) months, with no difference between gestational age. LimitationsThe retrospective design and use of non-standardized clinical photographs. There may be biases introduced toward more severe IH types because the study sites were tertiary referral centers. ConclusionPreterm infants have features of IH that have obvious implication for systemic therapies. Most of these infants were seen beyond the typical proliferative phase when irreversible skin changes may have already occurred.

QUALITY OF LIFE OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE IN RELATION TO GENDER

The aim of the research was to determine the quality of life of visually impaired respondents in relation to gender. The research included 99 patients with cataracts, glaucoma, strabismus and eye injuries with a residual vision of 50% (visual acuity ≤0.5). All were in the terminal phase of the disease. For the purpose of the research, a survey questionnaire was used, which, in addition to sociodemographic data, also consists of a vision questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25), version 2000. The vision questionnaire is used by the National Vision Institute. The difference in the quality of life of the respondents was determined in relation to gender and diagnosis. For all 25 questions divided into three areas that refer to the respondents' assessment of the following elements: general health, vision, eye pain, distance and near activities, a discriminant analysis was performed. The results of the research confirmed that vision impairment affects the quality of life of the patient, as well as that there is a difference between the male and female respondents in the applied measuring instrument system. The greatest influence of different degrees of visual impairment was evident in the area of reading and access to information, somewhat less in the area of orientation and movement, and the smallest in the area of the patients' emotional state. The age of the respondents ranged from 5 to 78 years. The majority of respondents were men 50 (50.50%). The average chronological age of male respondents is 47.50±21.56 years, and female respondents 50.12±20.85. In the total sample, 45.5% of respondents have cataracts, 29.3% have glaucoma, 11.1% have strabismus and 14.1% have an eye injury. 47.5% of respondents consider their health to be average, 44.4% consider it to be above average, while 8.1% of respondents consider it to be below average. A higher percentage of male respondents have glaucoma (38%) and injuries/trauma (20%) compared to female respondents. A higher percentage of female respondents (55.1%) state that their quality of life is above average, while the percentage of male respondents is 34%. Quality of life is average for 56% of male respondents and 38.8% of female respondents.

Assessment of the Admission and Follow-up Characteristics of Children Diagnosed with Secondary Osteoporosis.

Secondary osteoporosis is a condition when the underlying disease or its treatment causes the bone mass to decrease and the bone structure to deteriorate, increasing the risk of fracture. The importance of diagnosis and treatment during childhood and adolescence is due to its long-term negative effects. In this study, our objectives were to determine the diagnostic findings, treatment efficacy, and follow-up characteristics of childhood with secondary osteoporosis. 61 patients diagnosed with secondary osteoporosis between January 2000 and January 2021 were included in the study. The research is a cross-sectional and descriptive study. Study participants had to be under 18 years of age when the primary underlying disease was diagnosed and received treatment for secondary osteoporosis. Patient data were collected from patient files. Patient data were obtained from patient files in hospitals and were interpreted through the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows version 20.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA). 61 patients (28 women/33 men) were evaluated. The most common underlying primary diseases in patients with secondary osteoporosis were inflammatory diseases (57.7%), neuromuscular diseases (26.2%), immunodeficiency (13.1%), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (8.2%), metabolic diseases (8.2%), and solid organ transplantation. (8.2%), bone marrow transplantation (6.6%) and epilepsy (6.6%). The average chronological age when secondary osteoporosis was diagnosed was 11.89±4.88 years. They were evaluated for osteoporosis 6.39±5.13 years after the onset of the underlying primary chronic diseases. 78.7% of the patients had one or more chronic drug use. Systemic steroid use was 59%, chemotherapeutics 23%, immunomodulatory drugs 19.7%, antiepileptic drugs 8.2%, inhaled steroids 4.9%, IVIG 1.6%, and antituberculosis drugs 1.6%. Additionally, 1.6% of the patients were using testosterone as replacement, 3.3% L-Thyroxine, 1.6% estrogen, and 1.6% growth hormone. Bone pain was detected in 49.2% of the patients. All patients had vertebral fractures before treatment. Bisphosphonate treatment was given to 45 patients with secondary osteoporosis. There was a statistically significant increase in mean bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content values six months after treatment, (p<0.001). There was a significant increase in BMD Z-score values for chronological and height age (p<0.001). The patients' BMD values increased on average by 31.15% with treatment. Following bisphosphonate treatment, there was a significant reduction in both fracture number and bone pain in patients (p<0.01). When patients who received and did not receive steroid treatment were compared, both groups received similar benefits from bisphosphonate treatment. Secondary osteoporosis is a condition that is influenced by many factors, such as the primary disease causing osteoporosis, chronic medication use, especially steroids. If left untreated, osteoporosis leads to important diseases such as bone pain, bone fractures, immobilization, and reduced linear growth of bone. When used to treat childhood secondary osteoporosis, Bisphosphonates significantly improve BMD and reduce fracture risk.

QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS AFTER SURGICAL INTERVENTION AT THE CLINIC FOR EYE DISEASES TUZLA

Visual impairment negatively affects the quality of life of people and it is an important parameter of the outcome of treatment of patients diagnosed with cataracts, glaucoma, strabismus or injuries. The goal of the research was to assess the psychological aspects of the quality of life of patients with the above-mentioned diagnoses.The research included 99 patients of both sexes, who, after surgery at the Clinic for Eye Diseases Tuzla, were monitored on an outpatient basis in the Clinic's Specialist Outpatient Clinic. For the purposes of the research, the Vision Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25), version 2000, was used.The age of the respondents ranged from 5 to 78 years. The majority of respondents were men 50 (50.50%). The average chronological age of male respondents is 47.50±21.56 years, and female respondents 50.12±20.85. In the total sample, 45.5% of respondents have cataracts, 29.3% glaucoma, 11.1% strabismus and 14.1% have an eye injury. Of these 99 respondents, 47.5% consider their health to be average, 44.4% consider it to be above average, while 8.1% of respondents consider it to be below average. A higher percentage of male respondents have glaucoma (38%) and injuries/trauma (20%) compared to female respondents. A higher percentage of female respondents (55.1%) state that their quality of life is above average, while the percentage of male respondents is 34%. The quality of life is average for 56% of male respondents and 38.8% of female respondents. The results of the chi-square test showed that there is no statistically significant difference in relation to the gender and quality of life of the respondents (χ2= 4.48; df= 2; p= 0.106). The results of the univariate analysis of variance in relation to the cause of visual impairment, and the vision problems experienced by the subjects showed that there is a statistically significant difference between the subjects in relation to the cause of visual impairment. In relation to the overall results of vision problems, it may be concluded that subjects with cataracts and glaucoma at the statistical significance level of 0.05 state that they have more vision problems compared to subjects with strabismus and injury. Subjects with cataracts at the significance level of 0.05 state that they have more vision problems compared to subjects with glaucoma.Although the self-assessment of the psychological and spiritual components of the quality of life of the subjects gave satisfactory results, it is necessary to provide specific support in order to prevent and eliminate negative reactions to the postoperative condition of operated patients. Keywords: quality of life (QoL), NEI VFQ-25 questionnaire, visual impairment.

Comparison of two methods in maxillary canine retraction

The aim of this prospective clinical study is to evaluate the effects of laceback and Uprighter techniques on maxillary canine retraction using digital models and panoramic radiographs and to compare the results.Sixteen patients (10 females, 6 males) with an average chronological age of 16.24±2.99 years, requiring fixed orthodontic treatment with upper canines located in a high vestibular position and the need for bilateral first premolar extraction, were included in this study. 0.018-inch Roth brackets were used in the patients. In this split-mouth design study, while laceback was used on one side, Uprighter was used on the other side. Tooth movements were measured on three-dimensional models and panoramic radiographs obtained at the beginning of treatment (T0), 2 months later (T1), and 3.5 months later (T2). Two-way analysis of variance was applied for the comparison of differences between the groups in repeated measurements.The difference between groups was found to be statistically significant in terms of canine distalization, canine rotation, and molar angulation amounts. There was no statistically significant difference in the other parameters.Both uprighter and laceback techniques can be applied in maxillary canine cases located in the high vestibule. When Uprighter is used, the canine is distalized much more. However, it should be noted that while more molar tipping may occur when laceback is used, more canine distopalatal rotation may occur when uprighter is used.

Self-administered questionnaires enhance emotion estimation of individuals with autism spectrum disorders in a robotic interview setting.

Robots offer many unique opportunities for helping individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Determining the optimal motion of robots when interacting with individuals with ASD is important for achieving more natural human-robot interactions and for exploiting the full potential of robotic interventions. Most prior studies have used supervised machine learning (ML) of user behavioral data to enable robot perception of affective states (i.e., arousal and valence) and engagement. It has previously been suggested that including personal demographic information in the identification of individuals with ASD is important for developing an automated system to perceive individual affective states and engagement. In this study, we hypothesized that assessing self-administered questionnaire data would contribute to the development of an automated estimation of the affective state and engagement when individuals with ASD are interviewed by an Android robot, which will be linked to implementing long-term interventions and maintaining the motivation of participants. Participants sat across a table from an android robot that played the role of the interviewer. Each participant underwent a mock job interview. Twenty-five participants with ASD (males 22, females 3, average chronological age = 22.8, average IQ = 94.04) completed the experiment. We collected multimodal data (i.e., audio, motion, gaze, and self-administered questionnaire data) to train a model to correctly classify the state of individuals with ASD when interviewed by an android robot. We demonstrated the technical feasibility of using ML to enable robot perception of affect and engagement of individuals with ASD based on multimodal data. For arousal and engagement, the area under the curve (AUC) values of the model estimates and expert coding were relatively high. Overall, the AUC values of arousal, valence, and engagement were improved by including self-administered questionnaire data in the classification. These findings support the hypothesis that assessing self-administered questionnaire data contributes to the development of an automated estimation of an individual's affective state and engagement. Given the efficacy of including self-administered questionnaire data, future studies should confirm the effectiveness of such long-term intervention with a robot to maintain participants' motivation based on the proposed method of emotion estimation.

Association of biological aging with frailty and post-transplant outcomes among adults with cirrhosis.

Frailty is classically associated with advanced age but is also an important predictor of clinical outcomes in comparatively young adults with cirrhosis. We examined the association of biological aging with frailty and post-transplant outcomes in a pilot of adults with cirrhosis undergoing liver transplantation (LT). Frailty was measured via the Liver Frailty Index (LFI). The primary epigenetic clock DNA methylation (DNAm) PhenoAge was calculated from banked peripheral blood mononuclear cells; we secondarily explored two first-generation clocks (Hannum; Horvath) and two additional second-generation clocks (GrimAge; GrimAge2). Twelve adults were included: seven frail (LFI ≥ 4.4, mean age 55years) and five robust (LFI < 3.2, mean age 55years). Mean PhenoAge age acceleration (AgeAccel) was + 2.5years (P = 0.23) for frail versus robust subjects. Mean PhenoAge AgeAccel was + 2.7years (P = 0.19) for subjects who were readmitted or died within 30days of discharge post-LT versus those without this outcome. When compared with first-generation clocks, the second-generation clocks demonstrated greater average AgeAccel for subjects with frailty or poor post-LT outcomes. Measuring biological age using DNAm-derived epigenetic clocks is feasible in adults undergoing LT. While frail and robust subjects had the same average chronological age, average biological age as measured by second-generation epigenetic clocks tended to be accelerated among those who were frail or experienced a poor post-LT outcome. These results suggest that frailty in these relatively young subjects with cirrhosis may involve similar aging mechanisms as frailty classically observed in chronologically older adults and warrant validation in a larger cohort.

Competitive Anxiety and Mood States in High-Performance Cuban Student Athletes

Background. The study of competitive anxiety and its relationship with mood states in high-performance athletes is relevant for predicting performance and enabling timely interventions to ensure successful outcomes in competitions. Due to the complex psychological demands arising from dual careers, the study of competitive anxiety and mood states contributes valuable insights into the emotional well-being of these student athletes. Objective. To examine and describe competitive anxiety and mood states in a sample of high-performance Cuban university athletes across different sports and genders. Design. A descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study was conducted involving 46 Cuban student athletes from national teams across 16 sports and included both male and female athletes, with an average chronological age of 20.70 years and 6.98 years of experience in a high-performance sport. The Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory and Brunel Mood Scale were administered in their Spanish versions. The data were examined using descriptive statistics analysis including the Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman's correlation coefficient. Results. Although no statistically significant differences were found in competitive anxiety and mood states in relation to gender and type of sport, female athletes tend to present higher mean scores in competitive anxiety and negative mood states. Additionally, female athletes in team sports experienced slightly more intense emotions. Anxiety shows positive correlations with tension, depression, and vigour, suggesting its influence on certain mood states. Conclusion. The results indicate that, in general, the intensity of certain moods in Cuban university student athletes is influenced by levels of competitive anxiety. An increase in anxiety during competition can lead to heightened tension, depression, and vigour, with no significant differences observed between female and male athletes or based on the type of sport practiced.

Estimation of Mandibular Third Molar Development Using the Correlation in Dental Developmental Stages

This study aims to confirm the average chronologic age according to the developmental stages of the mandibular canine (L3), first and second premolars (L4, L5), and second and third molars (L7, L8) in children and adolescents, and to confirm the developmental stage of L3, L4, L5, and L7, which can estimate the development of L8. A total of 1,956 digital panoramic radiographs of healthy individuals aged between 6 and 15 years who visited Seoul National University Dental Hospital from January 2019 to December 2020 were selected. The developmental stages of L3, L4, L5, L7, and L8 on both sides were evaluated using the dental maturity scoring system proposed by Demirjian and Goldstein. The average age at which the follicle of L8 was first observed was around 9.34 ± 1.35 years and varied from 6 to 12 years. The possibility of agenesis of L8 was high when no traces of L8 were observed after the following stages: L3, L4, and L5 at the developmental stage F and L7 at the developmental stage E; the age was about 10 years. In estimating the development of L8, when only one tooth was considered, estimation accuracy with L5 was the highest, and there was no significant difference when all four teeth were included. This study showed the age distribution according to the developmental stages of L3, L4, L5, L7, and L8 in children and adolescents and confirmed the developmental stages of L3, L4, L5, and L7, which can be used to estimate the development of L8.

Establishing Normative Values for Healthy Term Infant Feeding Performance: Neonatal Eating Assessment Tool-Mixed, Oral Feeding Scale, and Early Feeding Skills Assessment.

Infants with perceived feeding problems are frequently referred for assessment of their feeding abilities. However, little is known regarding how healthy nondysphagic infants perform on commonly used assessments, making determination of impairment difficult. The aim of this investigation was to elucidate the characteristics of healthy term infant feeding performance using three commonly employed clinical assessments: Neonatal Eating Assessment Tool-Mixed (NeoEat-Mixed), Oral Feeding Scale, and Early Feeding Skills (EFS). In this prospective case-control study, we recruited 30 infants without feeding impairments to undergo video-monitored bottle feeds under their normal feeding conditions. Caregiver perception of infant feeding was evaluated using the NeoEat-Mixed. Milk ingestion was monitored real time using the Oral Feeding Scale for rate of milk transfer and modified proficiency as characterized by the total volume consumed out of the total volume the caregiver provided. Videos were analyzed by two speech pathologists using the EFS assessment. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize performance. Participants underwent feeding monitoring at an average chronological age of 4 ± 2 months. Caregivers primarily reported normal, nonconcerning feeding patterns across all of the NeoEAT-Mixed outcomes. Infants consumed milk at an average rate of transfer of 7 ± 3 ml/min, a modified proficiency of 50 ± 21%, and achieved the highest OFS score of 4 (93%, n = 28). The majority of infants scored the best EFS score (mature-3) as it related to the absence of color changes during the feed (97%, n = 29), although commonly scored in the worst EFS score (immature-1) in their presentation of one or more compelling stress cues (63%, n = 19). Establishing healthy term infant normative values for commonly used feeding assessments is critical in accurately distinguishing infants with feeding impairments from those with normal developmental variants.

Poster 318: CHANGE IN POSTERIOR TIBIAL SLOPE FOLLOWING DISPLACED PEDIATRIC TIBIAL TUBERCLE FRACTURES: A POTENTIAL MODEL FOR GROWTH MODULATION IN THE ACL DEFICIENT KNEE

Objectives: Increased posterior tibial slope angle (PTSA) increases the risk for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear and ACL graft failure. Proximal tibial slope changing osteotomies are employed in the adult population; growth modulation procedures may present a treatment opportunity in the skeletally immature. This procedure has not been described in the context of ACL injuries, and the rate at which posterior tibial slope could be corrected is unknown. Our purpose was to quantify the rate of change in PTSA following operatively treated displaced tibial tubercle fractures in skeletally immature patients, and to determine how this rate is affected by skeletal age. We hypothesized that there would be a progressive loss of posterior tibial slope after injury, and that rate of change in PTSA would be highest during peak growth velocity Methods: We retrospectively reviewed skeletally immature patients with tibial tubercle fractures treated with ORIF. We measured posterior tibial slope angle (PTSA) at ˜3-, 6-, 12-months, and further postoperative time points if available. All subjects had a minimum of 6-months follow up. Bone age at the time of injury was determined. Negative PTSA was indicative of posteriorly directed slope, positive PTSA indicated anterior slope. Linear regression analysis was used to evaluate rate of change in PTSA (ΔPTSA) for individual patients and total cohort trend. Patient regression coefficients were averaged into bone age cohorts. The unit of analysis was the knee. Results: Twenty-two patients with 23 knees were included. 86% of patients were male. Average chronologic and bone age was 14 years at time of injury. Average follow-up was 17 months (range 6 to 52 months). Patients had a mean PTSA of -12˚ ± 2.4˚ at the time of injury. The overall mean ΔPTSA for the cohort was 0.30˚ ± 0.31˚ per month (range -0.27˚ to 0.97˚ per month). Linear regression revealed a significant relationship between months post-fixation and PTSA, demonstrating a ΔPTSA of +0.31˚ per month (CI 95% (0.24, 0.38); p&lt;.001) (Figure 1). The highest average ΔPTSA was seen at 14-years (0.58˚ ± 0.44˚ per month). The average overall absolute change in PTSA from injury to final follow-up was +4.1˚ (range -3.4˚ to 21˚) (Figure 2). Conclusions: Our data suggest progressively more anterior slope following ORIF. The greatest rate of change in PTSA corresponded with peak growth velocity. These findings may serve as a model for predicting the effect of anterior proximal tibia epiphysiodesis on tibial slope in ACL surgery.

Physical fitness of primary school children differs depending on their timing of school enrollment

Previous research has shown that children who were enrolled to school according to the legal key date (i.e., keyage children, between eight and nine years in third grade) exhibited a linear physical fitness development in the ninth year of life. In contrast, children who were enrolled with a delay (i.e., older-than-keyage children [OTK], between nine and ten years in third grade) exhibited a lower physical fitness compared to what would be expected for their age. In these studies, cross-sectional age differences within third grade and timing of school enrollment were confounded. The present study investigated the longitudinal development of keyage and OTK children from third to fifth grade. This design also afforded a comparison of the two groups at the same average chronological age, that is a dissociation of the effects of timing of school enrollment and age. We tested six physical fitness components: cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, speed, power of lower and upper limbs, and static balance. 1502 children (i.e., 1206 keyage and 296 OTK children) from 35 schools were tested in third, fourth, and fifth grade. Except for cardiorespiratory endurance, both groups developed from third to fourth and from fourth to fifth grade and keyage children outperformed OTK children at the average ages of 9.5 or 10.5 years. For cardiorespiratory endurance, there was no significant gain from fourth to fifth grade and keyage and OTK children did not differ significantly at 10.5 years of age. One reason for a delayed school enrollment could be that a child is (or is perceived as) biologically younger than their chronological age at the school entry examination, implying a negative correlation between chronological and biological age for OTK children. Indeed, a simple reflection of chronological age brought the developmental rate of the chronologically youngest OTK children in line with the developmental rate observed for keyage children, but did not eliminate all differences. The mapping of chronological and biological age of OTK children and other possible reasons for lower physical fitness of OTK children remain a task for future research.

Body composition is related to motor abilities of female volleyball players

Success in volleyball certainly depends on the morphological characteristics of the volleyball player, while no technical element can be properly performed without adequate motor abilities. Most of the previous researches only studied the body composition of volleyball players or the researches were conducted on volleyball players in the elite level of the competition. In this regard, the aim of this research was to determine the relationship between body composition and motor abilities in female volleyball players of lower level competition. The sample of respondents consisted of female volleyball players of the women’s voleyball club “Student” from Niš who play in the second league “Istok” with an average chronological age of 21.4 ± 2.95 years, who trained volleyball for an average of 10 ± 2.73 years. First, the subjects’ body composition parameters were measured (body height, body mass, BMI, fat percentage, muscle percentage), followed by agility tests (Agility T-test, Illinois, Change of direction and acceleration Test (CODAT)), speed ( sprint at 10m, 20m and 30m), and explosive strength (Counter Movement Jump (CMJ), Counter Movement Jump With Arm Swing (CMJwas), Squat Jump (SJ)). Based on the obtained results, it could be concluded that there was a statistically significant correlation between body composition parameters and motor abilities of volleyball players in the area of explosive strength and agility. Female volleyball players who had lower body mass and body height achieved better results on explosive strength tests, while volleyball players who had lower body fat and muscle mass % achieved better results on agility tests.

Potential reversal of biological age in women following an 8-week methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle program: a case series.

Here we report on a case series of six women who completed a methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle program designed to impact DNA methylation and measures of biological aging. The intervention consisted of an 8-week program that included diet, sleep, exercise and relaxation guidance, supplemental probiotics and phytonutrients and nutritional coaching. DNA methylation and biological age analysis (Horvath DNAmAge clock (2013), normalized using the SeSAMe pipeline [a]) was conducted on blood samples at baseline and at the end of the 8-week period. Five of the six participants exhibited a biological age reduction of between 1.22 and 11.01 years from their baseline biological age. There was a statistically significant (p=.039) difference in the participants' mean biological age before (55.83 years) and after (51.23 years) the 8-week diet and lifestyle intervention, with an average decrease of 4.60 years. The average chronological age at the start of the program was 57.9 years and all but one participant had a biological age younger than their chronological age at the start of the program, suggesting that biological age changes were unrelated to disease improvement and instead might be attributed to underlying aging mechanisms.

Psychological analysis of injuries in a first category softball national championship in Cuba

Introductionthe systematic analysis of the relationships between relevant psychological variables for sports performance and injuries is essential to contribute to their prevention in specific sports. Material and methodsa descriptive-correlational and cross-sectional study was carried out in the first category women's national softball championship in Cuba. 88 athletes participated with an average chronological age of 22.91 (SD=6.13) and a sports experience of 10.83 years (SD=4.92). A specific questionnaire, the Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory and the Psychological Inventory of Sport Execution was applied. Descriptive statistics and Kendall's Tau_b nonparametric correlation coefficient was used for data analysis. ResultsA high injury load was verified with a low perception of the role of psychological factors in its etiology, as well as a notable occurrence of new injuries with negative emotional repercussions. Negative correlations of self-confidence, negative coping control, visual-imaginative control, positive coping control, and attitude control with history of injuries were obtained. The high anxiety showed significant relationships with previous injuries and new injuries during the analyzed competition. Conclusionsthe findings are especially congruent with previous results in elite softball players, although new and greater relationships between variables were determined. All this means that stimulating psychological skills to control anxiety in competition could contribute to the prevention of injuries. However, longitudinal analyzes are required to confirm the predictive role of these variables before proposing psychological interventions in this regard.

Physical fitness and somatic structure in adolescent taekwondo athletes and untrained peers

Abstract Study aim: The purpose of the study was to assess the level of physical fitness (PF) and somatic structure in children training a Korean martial art (ITF taekwondo) and untrained peers and to determine the associations of children’s BMI with that of their parents. Material and methods: The research material consisted of data from 135 individuals, representing 45 child-mother-father triplets, including 22 triplets with children practicing taekwondo and 23 triplets with untrained children. The children had an average chronological age of 10.08 ± 1.35 years, whereas the age of mothers and fathers was 38.09 ± 4.56 years and 40.57 ± 4.70 years, respectively. Traits analyzed included those evaluated by selected physical fitness tests from the Eurofit Physical Fitness Test battery, body mass index (BMI), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in children, and BMI in parents. Statistical analyses included the chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman’s correlations, with a significance level set at α = 0.05. Results: The results showed no significant differences in the somatic structure, physical fitness, BMI, and WHtR in the children studied. However, a tendency was observed for children attending ITF taekwondo classes to be characterized by higher levels of physical fitness. Higher BMI was found in the parents of the trained children and positive correlations were found between the BMI of the trained children and their parents. Conclusions: Identifying and studying the effect size of PA determinants in adolescents, with a particular focus on the influence of parents, may be the key to improving the health of future generations.

Immunohistochemical study of CD1a positive dendritic cells in normal, benign and malignant lesions of the human uterus and cervix

Introduction and Aim: Dendritic cells (DCs) perform the function of antigen-presenting cells of the immune system of mammals. After demonstration of DCs in the human cervix, more focus fell on the role of DCs distributed in various benign and cancerous lesions of endometrium. In our study, we have studied the role of CD1a positive DCs in non-malignant and cancerous tissues of the uterus and human cervix. Materials and Methods: A prospective analysis was conducted on patients who had undergone hysterectomy and cervical biopsy. After a detailed menstrual cycle history, the processed specimens were subjected for hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemical staining. The CD1a positive cells were counted per 20 high power fields and the mean cells per high power field (HPF) was calculated. Results: Eighty specimens were studied. Forty-six uterine and 34 cervix specimens were studied. The average chronological age of our study patients was 45.7 years. Bleeding per vaginum was the most common presentation. Fibroid uterus was the most common indication for hysterectomy. The minimum and maximum DCs amongst the 80 specimens were 1 and 246 per 20 HPF and the overall mean was 72.7. The mean cervical and uterine DCs per HPF were 7.7 and 0.7 respectively (P=0.0116). The average DCs per HPF in benign group were more than that in malignant specimens (9.23 and 1.76, respectively). Conclusion: A higher concentration of DCs in the cervical tissue was observed. Malignant tissues showed a lesser number of DCs than the benign specimens.

ASSESSMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL MOTOR SKILLS IN BOYS AND GIRLS

The aim of the study was to assess gross motor skills between boys and girls of preschool and primary school age. The study included a total sample of 83 respondents (49.3% boys) with an average chronological age of 6.14 ± 2.25 years. The Test of Gross Motor Development–3rd Edition (TGMD-3) was used to verify the set research goal. Research data were analyzed by the method of parametrical statistics. To determine the differences in gross motor skills between boys and girls, t-test was used for an independent sample of respondents. Based on the obtained research results, it can be concluded that there are no statistically significant differences between boys and girls on the locomotor and “Ball skills” subtest. Although no statistically significant differences were recorded, generally, boys achieve better results on the subtest “Ball skills” compared to girls. It is suggested that intervention programs be designed to improve girls' performance in ball skills. Key words: Children, TGMD-3, Locomotor, Ball skills, Gender.

Deep learning of birth-related infant clavicle fractures: a potential virtual consultant for fracture dating.

In infant abuse investigations, dating of skeletal injuries from radiographs is desirable to reach a clear timeline of traumatic events. Prior studies have used infant birth-related clavicle fractures as a surrogate to develop a framework for dating of abuse-related fractures. To develop and train a deep learning algorithm that can accurately date infant birth-related clavicle fractures. We modified a deep learning model initially designed for face-age estimation to date infant clavicle fractures. We conducted a computerized search of imaging reports and other medical records at a tertiary children's hospital to identify radiographs of birth-related clavicle fracture in infants ≤ 3 months old (July 2003 to March 2021). We used the resultant database for model training, validation and testing. We evaluated the performance of the deep learning model via a four-fold cross-validation procedure, and calculated accuracy metrics: mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and cumulative score. The curated database consisted of 416 clavicle radiographs from 213 infants. Average chronological age (equivalent to fracture age) at time of imaging was 24 days. This model estimated the ages of the clavicle fractures with MAE of 4.2 days, RMSE of 6.3 days and ICC of 0.919. On average, 83.7% of the fracture age estimates were accurate to within 7 days of the ground truth. Our deep learning study provides encouraging results for radiographic dating of infant clavicle fractures. With further development and validation, this model might serve as a virtual consultant to radiologists estimating fracture ages in cases of suspected infant abuse.

Accuracy of Tooth Development as an Indicator of Dental Age Estimation for Children in Indonesia

Abstract: Dental age estimation methods have been developed in such a way as to fulfill various requirements of medico-legal, law enforcement, and victim identification in mass disasters. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the Willems dental age estimation method for children in Indonesia. The estimated dental age (EDA) was assessed using the Willems method by two examiners. The statistical analysis was carried out using IBM® SPSS® Statistics version 23.0 (IBM, Armonk, New York, USA). The results obtained 92 panoramic radiographs ranging in age from 8 to 14 years from the Departments of Forensic Odontology and Radiology, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia. The average chronological age (CA) of the subjects in this study was 11.30+1.43 years for boys and 11.65+1.55 years for girls. The overall mean differences between the CA and the EDA for boys and girls were -0.08+0.76 and -0.31+0.97. In this study, the mean age difference was more significant in girls than in boys. The difference in growth spurt timing between boys and girls may explain the difference in dental maturation, as girls begin their pubertal growth spurt about two years earlier than boys. In general, girls' dental development begins and ends earlier than boys'. In conclusion, the dental age estimation method proposed by Willems can be applied to boys, as there is no significant statistical difference. However, when applying this method to girls, a thorough analysis may be required.Keywords: chronological age; dental age; forensic odontology; human rights; justice