Children In Age Group Research Articles

Physical fitness levels among children in northeast Italy by sex and age group: a comparison with teachers' assessments and children in other European countries.

Physical fitness is associated with health-related quality of life, especially among youth. Although schools play an important role in promoting children's physical activity, in Italy the lack of qualified physical education teachers in primary schools may be compromising children's achievement of recommended levels of physical activity. To test that possibility, we measured the physical fitness of 170 children (i.e., 79 boys and 91 girls) 6-10 years old in two schools in Cadore, Veneto, in northeast Italy, using the Physical Fitness Test, a tool developed in Norway and previously used among children there and in Lithuania. Teachers in Italy also assessed their students' physical fitness, and their rankings were correlated with the children's test results. The test battery included nine elements: a standing broad jump, hopping 7 m on both feet, hopping 7 m on one foot, throwing a tennis ball, pushing a medicine ball, climbing wall bars, a 10 × 5 m shuttle run, a 20 m run, and a 6 min Cooper test. Test scores generally increased with age and more steeply among boys than girls, and boys outperformed girls on most items. Children in Italy performed similarly to children in Norway but outperformed ones in Lithuania on nearly every item across sex and age groups. The correlation between teachers' predictions and the actual test results was rather low for boys (.538, p < .001) and even lower for girls (.360, p < .001). Data revealed similar results in physical fitness between the three countries, albeit with some differences for individual items. However, primary school teachers in Italy assessed physical fitness rather poorly, possibly due to their lack of specific academic training in physical education and thus limited perception of physical fitness compared with academically trained physical education teachers. Last, because the procedure for categorizing children by age may significantly affect the results and subsequent between-group comparisons, researchers comparing children in different age groups should report their procedures for categorizing age.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of ultrafast urease tests in the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis in children

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the main causes of gastritis, peptic ulcer and stomach cancer. Ultrafast urease tests (UUT) make it possible to simplify patient management by notifying the result after 5 minutes and entering it into the protocol of endoscopic conclusion. There is no data on the accuracy of UUT in the pediatric population. Aim of the study: to identify the accuracy of UUT in comparison with histological examination in children. Methods: a single-center retrospective study of children (4-18 years old) who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy with biopsy of the gastric antrum mucosa for H.pylori UUT, followed by histological examination. The reaction time stated by the manufacturers was estimated to be no more than 5 minutes for a positive result. Histology was the “gold” standard. Results: 211 patients were examined (boys n=103, 48.8%; girls n=108, 51.2%) average age 11.7 years (±3.5, 4-18 years). H.pylori infection was detected in 31 out of 211 patients. There was a significantly higher number of positive reactions of both UUT’s in the age group of children from 11 to 18 years old compared with the group of children from 4 to 10 years old. The sensitivity of AMA RUT Pro UUT was 18.7%, specificity 93.8%, negative and positive predictive value 82% and 42%, respectively, accuracy 79%. The sensitivity of the BioHit UFT300 UFUT was 40%, specificity 96.5%, negative and positive predictive value 92% and 60%, respectively, accuracy 90%. Conclusion: our data demonstrate the low sensitivity of ultrafast urease tests in children when using a single fragment of tissue from the gastric antrum in the five-minute reaction time allotted by manufacturers to a negative result. Perhaps sensitivity indicators can be improved by placing several fragments of the mucous membrane of the body and the antrum of the stomach on one test, which is a direction for future research.

Lot quality assurance sampling for coverage evaluation of a new vaccine: A pilot study

BackgroundWorldwide, vaccine-preventable diseases have been a significant cause of mortality in the under-5 age group. To pre-empt the disease burden, new vaccines are being introduced in every country’s immunization programmes. For this to happen, high vaccination coverage is necessary. However, rapidly identifying the areas that fail to reach the expected coverage becomes cumbersome. During recent years, lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) has been widely used in evaluating immunization coverage across the globe. The present study aims to pilot this approach for field monitoring of a new vaccine against routine concurrent field monitoring in one of the North-Eastern states of India. MethodologyFor LQAS, a community-based cross-sectional study was undertaken among 55 children aged 0–23 months in all 5 Primary health centres (lots) in Medziphema block, Dimapur, Nagaland. The total sample size for LQAS was made based on α = 5, β = 90 using Lemeshow and Taber-LQAS table with a target level of immunization defined as 90 % and the lower limit set to 55 %. For the concurrent field monitoring, a sample of 30 children in the same age group was selected through random sampling. Pre-designed, pre-tested questionnaire for the caregivers, scripted on a digital tool was employed with verification of immunization card and caregiver’s recall. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 25.0. ResultsThe study found a slight difference in the percentage of children age-appropriately vaccinated for PCV (as per the schedule) in concurrent field monitoring (93.3 %) and LQAS (90.9 %). However, no significant difference was found in statistically comparing the immunization coverage using both methodologies (p > 0.05). ConclusionThe study findings encourage that LQAS can be considered for monitoring the immunization coverage of a newly introduced vaccine. It offers the added advantage of identifying poor/low-performing pockets that require focused attention.

Correlation of anterior CSF space in the cervical spine with Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale score in adult females.

Craniocervical junction morphology has been associated with Chiari malformation type I (CMI) symptom severity; however, little is known about its deterministic effect on surgical outcomes in patients across age and sex differences. The goal of the present study was to assess the effects of age and sex on surgical outcomes in CMI. In the present study, the authors examined MRI-based morphometric data from 115 individuals diagnosed with CMI (54 adults including 39 women and 15 men, and 61 children including 24 girls and 37 boys) and correlated them with Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale (CCOS) scores obtained 1 year after posterior fossa decompression. The authors assessed 7 craniocervical junction morphology-related measures that have been associated with CMI symptom severity: McRae line length, clivus length, Wackenheim angle, anterior and posterior CSF spaces, clivo-supraoccipital angle, and tonsillar position. In the pediatric cohort, none of the morphometric measures correlated with CCOS score, but both anterior and posterior CSF spaces did in adults. To further study sex and age effects, the authors used age group (children vs adults) and sex (female vs male) as independent variables and ran 3 separate ANOVA tests using CCOS score, anterior CSF space, and posterior CSF space as dependent variables, respectively. Both CCOS and anterior CSF space analyses resulted in significant interactions. Specifically, women showed lower CCOS scores and smaller anterior CSF spaces than girls, boys, or men. These results provide evidence that joint age and sex differences moderate the surgical outcome of CMI patients. In females, smaller anterior CSF space was associated with lower CCOS score.

Multidimensional child poverty and its determinants: Empirical Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Poverty has been a subject of global discourse most especially in sub-Saharan Africa where little progress has been achieved. Most literature sources regard poverty mainly as a household threat rather than one to affectsthe children living within the household. Thus, through a multidimensional approach, this study analyses poverty, specifically in the context of its effect on children. In carrying out this study, the General Household Survey dataset for Nigeria (the mostpopulous country in sub-Saharan Africa) for 2018/2019 obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was used. Descriptive statistics, the Multidimensional Poverty Measure, and the Tobit Regression Model were usedin this study. The results showed that there are more male children (52.17%) than females (47.83%), with most of the children falling within the middle-age group of households (45.51%). Less than half of the household heads were found to be literate, while the mean size of the household amounted to nine. This study found that the poverty dimension,mainly affecting the research sample of Nigerian children,was their deprivation in terms of sanitation, while the least significant dimension was their lack of food. Child poverty is prevalent among the three respective age groups of children, among rural dwellers (57.16%), and among residents in the northern divide of the country. The rural sector, the residents in the north-eastern region of the country, and the gender of the household head were found to be significant variablesinfluencing child poverty in Nigeria. As such, poverty reduction strategies directed towards the rural sector, the northern region, and the identified age groups of children should be of primary focus in tackling child poverty in Nigeria to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG1) -“End poverty in all its forms everywhere”.

Investigating parental perceptions of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and attitudes to RSV vaccine in Jiangsu, China: Insights from a cross-section study

IntroductionOur study aimed to assess parents' perceptions of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and their attitudes towards the RSV vaccine in China. MethodThe cross-section study was performed between August 21 and November 15, 2023, in Jiangsu province, eastern China. We collected socio-demographics, awareness, knowledge, perceptions of susceptibility and severity of RSV, and attitudes towards RSV vaccine using online survey questionnaire from parents of child aged ≤14 years old. The chi-square test and logistic regression model to explore the associated factors. ResultsA total of 2135 participants were included. About 26.0 % indicated that they had never heard of RSV (556/2135) and were unaware that infants and young children are at a high risk of contracting RSV (557/2135). The proportion of parents with a child under 1 year of age who were unaware of RSV was notably higher than that of parents with children in other age groups. 42.9 % of parents (916/2135) showed low level of perceived susceptibility of contacting RSV infection for their child. 70.6 % of parents (1508/2135) expressed their willingness to vaccinate their child against RSV. The most common reason for refusing the RSV vaccine was “Concern about vaccine's safety or side effects.” 60.8 % of participants (1299/2135) considered a price of the RSV vaccine below 200 CNY (28 USD) as acceptable. ConclusionThe parents, particularly those with younger children, exhibited limited awareness and knowledge regarding RSV infection. Our study also showed the potential role of vaccine price as a barrier to the future use of RSV vaccine in China.

Parental rules and child age as moderators in the relationship between screen time and perceived sleep problems in children aged 6–18

ABSTRACT Objective Child sleep problems are commonly reported by parents of children aged 6–18 years, with a growing body of evidence describing the link between children’s screen time and parental perceived child sleep problems. Using cross-sectional data, representative of the Victorian population, this study explored whether the relationship between screen time and parental perceived sleep problems differed across child age groups. It also examined whether parental rules moderated this relationship differentially between primary school-aged children and adolescents. Method Participants were 1699 parents living in Victoria with children aged 6 to 18 years who were recruited to complete a computer assisted personal communication through random dialling of mobile and landline numbers. Results Results indicated that more screen time was associated with more parental perceived sleep problems, with parental rules moderating this relationship for primary school-aged children but not for adolescents. Contrary to expectations, the relationship between screen time and parental perceived sleep problems did not differ across child age groups. Conclusions Results suggest that parental rules on media device use may be an instrumental factor in the development of successful intervention programmes for primary school-aged children. Further implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Children Remember Foods Disliked by Others Better Than Foods Liked by Others

ABSTRACT Young children socially learn “what to eat” and “what not to eat” by observing others’ preferences for, and aversions to, specific food items. However, it is not clear which learning children prioritize more – learning “what to eat” or “what not to eat.” To answer this question, we compared young Japanese children’s memory of novel foods that were preferred and disliked by others. In Experiment 1, 4–5-year-olds (N = 24) preferentially remembered novel foods disliked by others more than those preferred by others. In Experiment 2, children in the same age group (N = 29) better remembered specific evaluations of foods disliked by others than those preferred by others. Thus, these findings reveal that young Japanese children show heightened memories of foods disliked by others over those liked by others. In addition, food neophobia was higher in children with a poorer memory for specific evaluations of foods preferred by others. Our results suggest that learning “what not to eat” is a priority task for young children.

Структурные особенности нарративов двуязычных детей в республике Кыргызстан

The article deals with Russian-language narratives produced by bilingual children aged 4–6 year, living in Kyrgyzstan and speaking both Russian and Kyrgyz languages. Children are developing in the situation of «mixed bilingualism», with Russian as a dominant language. Narratives were collected using the MAIN experimental tool, which includes several sets of pictures for telling/retelling stories, standard texts for retellings, and tables for evaluating speaking skills. In the article we consider the features of macro- and microstructure of narratives. The macrostructural characteristics of the text are i.e. the completeness of the story itself, coherence, story logic, verbal expression of the internal states of the characters. All our informants were able to create a complete outline of the story, mentioning all the main episodes and involving all the main characters. The children, however, mainly paid attention to the actually performed, really visible actions of the characters (story elements “attempt” and “result of the action”) and less often expressed verbally internal motives, goals, and intentions. As for the internal states, the children mainly described specific actions that they were able to understand unambiguously (ex., they used the verbs of visual perception, mental actions and speech). They described emotions and physical states more rarely. Characteristics of the microstructure include the length of the text and the utterance, lexical and grammatical correctness of speech, syntactic complexity, and lexical diversity. In the microstructure, no significant differences were revealed between children of different age groups: children aged 5 years old, in general, coped with generating narratives more successfully than children aged 4 and 6 years old. The errors mostly belong to the lexical and grammatical levels of the language system: the most common errors are caused by the use of strategies that facilitate language acquisition and are typical either for both bilingual and monolingual children (strategies of simplification and overgeneralization) or those who acquire a second language (grammatical transfer from the first language).

Hydrogenogenic and methanogenic variants of small intestine bacterial overgrowth in children with gastrointestinal and allergic pathology

BACKGROUND: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is defined as an overgrowth of microorganisms more than 103 microbial bodies in 1 ml and non-specific symptoms (abdominal pain, flatulence, unstable stool, diarrhea or constipation). AIM: The aim of the study is to based on the study of the prevalence and age characteristics of various variants of the course of the syndrome of excessive bacterial growth of the small intestine in children with gastroenterological and allergic pathology, to increase the quality of diagnosis and therapeutic approaches to this pathological syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 102 patients (55 female and 47 male), median age: 10.0 [7.2–12.0], with functional dyspepsia (n = 32), functional constipation (n = 20), chronic diseases of the upper digestive tract (n = 13), atopic dermatitis (n = 21) and allergic diseases of the respiratory system (n = 16). All patients underwent gastroenterological and allergological examination including hydrogen breath test on the Lactophan apparatus and hydrogen-methane test on the GastroCheck Gastrolyzer apparatus to diagnose of hydrogenogenic (H2-SIBO) and methanogenic SIBO (CH4-SIBO). RESULTS: Inclusion of methane level in exhaled air into the diagnostic algorithm increased the frequency of SIBO diagnosis depending on pathology by 10–30%. In older age groups, there was a tendency to decrease the frequency of H2-SIBO, with a significant difference between preschool and high school age (18/75% and 12/42.9 %, p = 0.018), and a tendency to increase CH4-SIBO from 4.2 % to 17.9%. The frequency of H2-SIBO was significantly higher in children with functional versus chronic diseases of the upper digestive tract (22/71% и 4/30,8 %, p = 0,02). The highest frequency of SIBO was found in children with functional dyspepsia (89.8 %), functional constipation (87.9%) and atopic dermatitis (94.5%). CH4-SIBO was predominant in children with functional constipation (33%). CONCLUSIONS: Parallel identification of hydrogen and methane in exhaled air increased the frequency of SIBO diagnosis in children of different age groups with gastroenterological and allergic pathology, which is relevant for further examination and therapy. CH4-SIBO flow was more typical for older children and H2-SIBO for younger age groups.

FAMILY EDUCATION STYLES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE FORMATION OF A CHILD’S PERSONALITY

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that it is now becoming important to consider the availability of the necessary factors for the successful development of the child. These include the psycho-emotional characteristics of the student, which are inextricably linked with the family system. The period of childhood is, on the one hand, the period of formation of individual abilities, and on the other, the time when the child is not emotionally separated from his family. The family system has the maximum impact on the psycho-emotional state, as well as on the disclosure of creative abilities. According with the opinion of L.S. Vygotsky that primary school age is a special period in a person’s life, we investigated children of this particular age group. Purpose of the study is to investigate the infl uence of parenting style on child development, as well as the relationship between parenting styles in families and the level of creativity in primary school children. The study sample included primary school students aged  to  years and their parents. Research methods included the technique for identifying the styles of family education by S. Stepanov, techniques for identifying the educational position (measures of care) of parents to a child by I.M. Markovskaya, Kettell’s multifactorial personality questionnaire for children from  to  years old (boys, girls), methods for identifying creative thinking - Torrens’ diagnosis of creativity. Study results. Relationships between parenting styles in families and the level of creativity in primary school children, as well as features of parenting styles, were identifi ed and described. A meaningful analysis of theoretical and empirical material was carried out, during which ideas about the relationship between the styles of upbringing in families and the level of creativity in primary school children were expanded. During primary school age, the upbringing style is an important factor that determines the psycho-emotional state of the child and the disclosure of the potential of creative abilities, as well as the development of such signs of giftedness as social courage and verbal intelligence. The results obtained can be used in the practice of family and child counseling, in the curriculum of training courses on family psychology and child-parent relations, school education programmes, etc.

Phenotypic and Genetic Spectrum in 309 Consecutive Pediatric Patients with Inherited Retinal Disease.

Inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs) are a common cause of blindness or severe visual impairment in children and may occur with or without systemic associations. The aim of the present study is to describe the phenotypic and genotypic spectrum of IRDs in a pediatric patient cohort in Retrospective single-center cross-sectional analysis. Presenting symptoms, clinical phenotype, and molecular genetic diagnosis were assessed in 309 pediatric patients with suspected IRD. Patients were grouped by age at genetic diagnosis (preschool: 0-6 years, n = 127; schoolchildren: 7-17 years, n = 182). Preschool children most frequently presented with nystagmus (34.5% isolated, 16.4% syndromic), no visual interest (20.9%; 14.5%), or nyctalopia (22.4%; 3.6%; p < 0.05); schoolchildren most frequently presented with declining visual acuity (31% isolated, 21.1% syndromic), nyctalopia (10.6%; 13.5%), or high myopia (5.3%; 13.2%). Pathogenic variants were identified in 96 different genes (n = 69 preschool, n = 73 schoolchildren). In the preschool group, 57.4% had isolated and 42.6% had syndromic IRDs, compared to 70.9% and 29.1% in schoolchildren. In the preschool group, 32.4% of the isolated IRDs were related to forms of Leber's congenital amaurosis (most frequent were RPE65 (11%) and CEP290 (8.2%)), 31.5% were related to stationary IRDs, 15.1% were related to macular dystrophies (ABCA4, BEST1, PRPH2, PROM1), and 8.2% to rod-cone dystrophies (RPGR, RPB3, RP2, PDE6A). All rod-cone dystrophies (RCDs) were subjectively asymptomatic at the time of genetic diagnosis. At schoolage, 41% were attributed to cone-dominated disease (34% ABCA4), 10.3% to BEST1, and 10.3% to RCDs (RP2, PRPF3, RPGR; IMPG2, PDE6B, CNGA1, MFRP, RP1). Ciliopathies were the most common syndromic IRDs (preschool 37%; schoolchildren 45.1%), with variants in USH2A, CEP290 (5.6% each), CDH23, BBS1, and BBS10 (3.7% each) being the most frequent in preschoolers, and USH2A (11.7%), BBS10 (7.8%), CEP290, CDHR23, CLRN1, and ICQB1 (3.9% each) being the most frequent in syndromic schoolkids. Vitreoretinal syndromic IRDs accounted for 29.6% (preschool: COL2A1, COL11A1, NDP (5.6% each)) and 23.5% (schoolage: COL2A1, KIF11 (9.8% each)), metabolic IRDs for 9.4% (OAT, HADHA, MMACHD, PMM2) and 3.9% (OAT, HADHA), mitochondriopathies for 3.7% and 7.8%, and syndromic albinism accounted for 5.6% and 3.9%, respectively. In conclusion we show here that the genotypic spectrum of IRDs and its quantitative distribution not only differs between children and adults but also between children of different age groups, with an almost equal proportion of syndromic and non-syndromic IRDs in early childhood. Ophthalmic screening visits at the preschool and school ages may aid even presymptomatic diagnosis and treatment of potential sight and life-threatening systemic sequelae.

Poverty induced inequality in nutrition among children born during 2010-2021 in India.

Almost two-fifth of the children in India is stunted and among various factors, poverty differential in child undernutrition is the largest. Using the latest population-based survey of National Family Health Survey, 2015-16 and 2019-21 this paper examined the poverty induced inequality in child stunting across the sub-populations of India. A sample of 213,136 children aged between 0-5 years from NFHS fourth round and 98,222 children in the same age group from the NFHS fifth round constitute the study sample. The wealth index is used as the proxy of household's economic wellbeing and height-for-age (HAZ) z-score of a child is used to identify the stunting status of the child. Box plots are drawn to understand the distributional characteristics of the HAZ score for both the study sample. We calculate the Erreygers corrected concentration index and decomposed the concentration indices using Gonzalo-Almorox and Urbanos-Garrido method. During 2015-16, more than half of the children from the poorest wealth quintile were stunted (52%), compared to 22% among the children from richest wealth quintile. In 2015-16, stunting was as high as 65% among the children of mothers with low stature (height less than 145 cm) and from the poorest wealth quintile whereas, the prevalence was observed 56% from the same sub-population during 2019-21. Among various factors, the concentration index of stunting was observed highest among the children of 36-47 months (-0.28) followed by children of age 48-59 months (-0.27) and among the fully immunized children (-0.25). Similar to NFHS-4, NFHS-5 also shows a predominantly higher socio-economic inequality among 24+ months children and among the fully immunised children. Factors like child age, birth order and sanitation showed positive elasticity. Decomposition analysis of NFHS-4 data shows that due to uneven distribution of wealth, mother's education as a determinant of child stunting solely explained 33% of the overall inequality followed by improved access to sanitation (24%), mother's height (8%) and place of residence (5%). Similar to NFHS-4, NFHS-5 data also shows that mother's education, sanitation, mother's height and place of residence predominantly contributes to the overall wealth inequality in child stunting. In India, poverty differential in child undernutrition is acute among the different sub-population of children. And the concentration of stunted children is higher among the different sub-population with higher wealth poverty. Mother's education, improved sanitation and mother's height explained larger variation in the overall inequalities in child nutrition across India.

Clinical analysis of 124 cases of mycoplasma pneumoniae infection with conjunctivitis in children

Objective: To explore the distribution characteristics of symptoms and signs of respiratory mycoplasma pneumoniae infection complicated with conjunctivitis in children of different age groups. Methods: A retrospective case series study was conducted. Data of children who were treated in Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from September 20, 2023 to November 30, 2023, had definite mycoplasma pneumoniae infection as confirmed by mycoplasma pneumoniae nucleic acid or mycoplasma pneumoniae IgM antibody test, and had conjunctivitis as the first diagnosis in ophthalmology department were continuously collected. The included children were divided into infant group (age<4 years), preschool group (age 4 to 6 years), and school-age group (age>6 years) for analysis. Information such as the time of ocular symptoms onset, the time of systemic symptoms onset, conjunctival sac secretion, subconjunctival hemorrhage, conjunctival congestion, corneal epithelial damage, co-infection with other pathogens, and treatment of all children was collected and compared among children of different age groups. Results: During this period, there were a total of 31 133 children with positive laboratory test results for mycoplasma pneumoniae. Among them, 835 children visited the ophthalmology department during the same period, and 124 cases (229 eyes) had conjunctivitis as the first diagnosis. The age was (5.43±2.83) years, including 72 males and 52 females. There were 37 cases (69 eyes) in the infant group, 48 cases (92 eyes) in the preschool group, and 39 cases (68 eyes) in the school-age group. Among the 229 eyes, 179 eyes (78.16%) had conjunctival secretion, all manifested as mucopurulent secretion; 12 eyes (5.24%) had corneal epithelial defect; and 26 eyes (11.35%) had subconjunctival hemorrhage. There was 1 eye (1.45%) with subconjunctival hemorrhage in the infant group, 16 eyes (17.39%) in the preschool group, and 9 eyes (13.24%) in the school-age group. The proportion of subconjunctival hemorrhage in the preschool group and school-age group was higher than that in the infant group (both P<0.05). Thirty-nine cases (31.45%) were found to have co-infection with viruses in laboratory tests, including influenza A virus, adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and coxsackievirus. The proportion of children in all age groups with ocular symptoms first was higher than that with systemic symptoms first. There was no statistically significant difference among children in the three age groups in terms of whether there was conjunctival secretion, whether there was corneal epithelial damage, whether there was co-infection with viruses, and the interval between ocular symptoms and systemic symptoms onset (all P>0.05). Conclusions: The characteristic ocular manifestations of children with mycoplasma pneumoniae infection complicated with conjunctivitis are conjunctival congestion and subconjunctival hemorrhage, and the signs are more obvious in preschool children. The conjunctival sac secretion of such children with conjunctivitis is mostly manifested as mucopurulent. Ocular symptoms may be the first manifestation of mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

Effect of Life Kinetic exercises on fundamental motor skills with the MOBAK-3 test battery

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of regular Life Kinetic (LK) exercises on the development of basic motor skills in 3rd grade primary school children (age group 8-9 years). . Randomly selected participants were divided into two groups as experimental group (n= 112) and control group (n= 106). In the pre-test day, object movements (throwing, throwing and catching, bouncing, dribbling) and self-movements (balancing, rolling, rope skipping, moving variably) of all participants were measured with MOBAK-3 test battery. Experimental group performed LK exercises for 12 weeks, while the control group did not participate in these exercises. At the end of 12-weeks programme, on the post-test day, the MOBAK-3 test battery was re-applied to all participants to measure changes in fundamental movements skills and the results were compared with the results of the pre-test day. Significant differences were found between the bouncing scores of the control and experimental group before and after the LK exercises (p&lt;0.05). Additionally statistically significant differences were found between the self-movement scores of the control and experimental groups after the LK exercises (p&lt;0.05). However, there were not statistically significant difference in object and self movement between the control and experimental group according to gender (p&gt;0.05). It was concluded that LK exercises had a positive effect on the total change scores of subject and object movements. This shows that LK exercises may improve children's motor competence and skill tendencies.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus infections in children in Jiangsu Province, 2014-2023

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in children in Jiangsu Province from 2014 to 2023. Methods: The acute respiratory infection cases in children aged 0-14 years were selected from outpatient/emergency or inpatient departments in 2 surveillance sentinel hospitals, respectively, in Nanjing, Suzhou and Taizhou of Jiangsu from 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2023, and RSV nucleic acid test was conducted and the intensity of the RSV infection was accessed by WHO influenza epidemiological threshold method, and case information and clinical data were collected. χ2 test was used to compare the differences between groups, and the Bonferroni method was used for pairwise comparisons between groups. Results: In 4 946 cases of acute respiratory infections, the RSV positive rate was 8.21% (406/4 946), and the age M(Q1,Q3) of the cases was 1 (0, 3) years. The RSV positive rate was 10.92% (258/2 362) during 2014-2019 and 6.06% (118/1 948) during 2019-2023, the difference was significant (χ2=31.74, P<0.001). RSV infection mainly occurred from October to March during 2014-2019, with the incidence peak in December and moderate or higher intensity. The seasonality of RSV infection was not obvious during 2019-2023, with low intensity. The RSV positive rate was highest in children in age group 0- years (17.85%, 151/846), and the positive rate declined gradually with age (χ2=184.51, P<0.001). The RSV positive rate was higher in inpatient cases (9.84%, 244/2 480) than in outpatient/emergency cases (6.57%, 162/2 466) (χ2=17.54, P<0.001). In the 155 RSV infection cases with complete clinical data, the clinical symptoms mainly included cough (99.35%, 154/155), fever (55.48%, 86/155), and shortness of breath (45.16%, 70/155). In the cases aged <6 months, the proportion of those with fever was low, but the proportion of those with shortness of breath, transferred to intensive care units, and receiving oxygen therapy were higher (all P<0.05). Children aged <6 months and those with underlying diseases were more likely to have severe RSV infection (all P<0.05). Conclusions: RSV infection in children in Jiangsu Province showed seasonal prevalence in winter from 2014 to 2019. Since 2020, the seasonal characteristics of the epidemic have changed, the epidemic period has been dispersed and the epidemic intensity has decreased. Infants <1 year old were at high risk for RSV infection, and those <6 months old and with underlying diseases might have severe infection.

Margin of safety for needle puncture of a radial artery in children: Recommendation for ultrasound-guided cannulation.

The radial artery is commonly selected for arterial puncture and cannulation, but radial nerve palsy may occur. To minimize possible damage to the nerve, needle puncture should be made within the margin of safety (between the wrist to the distal end of the radial artery and the radial nerve running in parallel). In adults, the margin of safety for radial artery puncture is approximately 6.8cm from the wrist in men and approximately 5.4cm in women, but the margin of safety is not known in children of different age groups. Using an ultrasound device, we measured the margin of safety in 100 anesthetized patients aged 0months to 15yr. Polynomial quadratic regression models were made, and the lower limit of the prediction interval was regarded as the margin of safety. These results were then compared with the results obtained in adults. The margin of safety became wider as a child grows older, and the height, weight, and age were all suitable explanatory variables to predict the margin of safety, providing fairly a constant predicted margin of safety from a few millimeters in neonates to approximately 4cm in adolescents (much narrower than in adults). In children and adolescents, the margin of safety for radial artery puncture is much narrower than in adults, and these findings support the recommendation to use ultrasound guidance during radial artery puncture in children and adolescents, to minimize the risk of associated complications. jRCT1032230243.

Oral Health of Children and Adolescents with Diabetes Mellitus.

Aim: To examine the oral health of children and adolescents with and without diabetes mellitus. Background: Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic disease in childhood and demonstrates an increasing incidence. Many children live with gingivitis as a precursor to periodontitis. If left untreated, it can cause the development of periodontitis. The links between periodontitis and diabetes mellitus are known but have been little studied in the age group of children and adolescents. Materials and Methods: Clinical examination and collection of sulcus fluid from participants aged 5 to 21 years was performed. The following data were collected: demographic variables, caries prevalence, DMF-T, VPI, PUFA, salivary flow rate, HbA1c, PSI, and the concentration of IL-1β, IL-6, MMP-8, and TNF-α. Results: Patients with diabetes mellitus showed a significantly lower salivary flow rate with higher concentrations of MMP-8 and IL-1β. The data indicate that at this age, regular visits to the dentist are of great importance for the promotion of oral health in children and adolescents regardless of diabetes and that patients with diabetes mellitus in particular benefit from prevention, as they belong to the periodontitis risk group. Conclusions: Patients with low salivary flow rates and increased inflammatory mediators are high-risk patients for whom dental preventive measures play a major role.

Incidence of infectious diseases in infants under one year in the Astrakhan region in 2017-2021

The purpose of the study. To analyze the epidemiological situation of “childhood infections” among children under 1 year old for 2017–2021 in the Astrakhan region. Materials and methods. There were analyzed, epidemiological maps of infants with “children’s” infections as well as maps of inpatient sick infants who were treated in an infectious hospital. The results of the study. The main complaints of the majority of patients were fever — 87.8% and exanthema syndrome — 84.6%. In rare cases, patients showed catarrhal phenomena of the upper respiratory tract — 13.2%. Dyspeptic phenomena were observed in 15.9% of children. In rare cases, patients had angina — 0.5% and lymphadenopathy — 8.9%. Conjunctivitis and scleritis were observed in 9.6% of infants, including twelve cases with whooping cough, four with chickenpox and 58 with measles. The phenomena of meningitis were observed in one child — 0.1% with chickenpox. Lesions of the lower respiratory tract in the form of bronchitis — in 18.5% of infants, including two infants with chickenpox, 117 infants with whooping cough and 24 infants with measles. Research limitations. Epidemiological maps of infants with “childhood” infections identified in them were studied, during which data on the structure of the incidence of measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough and chickenpox were analyzed. Conclusions. The leading place in the incidence in infants falls on chickenpox, group outbreaks of which were repeatedly recorded over 2017 and 2018. There is a decrease in the incidence of infections such as scarlet fever and whooping cough among infants under the age of 1 year. During 2020–2021, against the background of general well-being, there is an increase in the number of cases of measles among children of different age groups, including among infants under the age of 1 year. The main complaints were fever and exanthema syndrome.

Encoding colors and tones into working memory concurrently: A developmental investigation.

Working memory serves as a means to accumulate information and reorganize it. Researchers have long assumed that the natural organization of information is one stream at a time. This logic leads to the expectation that, when two different series of stimuli are to be remembered, performance should be superior if the series are presented one before the other in succession, rather than concurrently. Moreover, different accounts of attentional limits lead to different expectations for the change in the ability to encode two sets across age groups in childhood. Testing children from first grade (6-7years) to adulthood, we presented sequences of colored objects and tones in succession or concurrently (with one color accompanying an unrelated tone) and found that performance was equally good no matter which presentation method was used. The results for both presentation methods closely matched the intricate pattern of development observed by Cowan etal. (2018), who used successive presentation only. We found marked developmental improvement in the ability to retain materials in each modality without an increasing cost of attention-sharing between modalities. Humans at least from the elementary school years through young adulthood thus display an ability to accommodate and organize two concurrent streams of information. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Memory for stimuli from multiple modalities is relevant to school performance and learning; here we investigate how attention is shared between remembering colors and tones. Participants received four colors and/or four tones for subsequent recognition on a trial, with dual modalities presented successively (0.5s per stimulus) or concurrently (0.5s per pair). Successive versus concurrent presentation had little effect on recognition, and the marked increase in memory performance with age did not come from dividing attention during encoding or maintenance. Children as young as first grade thus can encode and organize for later recognition colors and concurrently-presented, but unrelated, tones.