Developmental Spectrum Research Articles

THE EFFECT OF CO-OP APPROACH IN IMPROVING VISUAL MOTOR INTEGRATION SKILLS IN CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITY

The importance of visual perception, motor coordination and visual motor integration (VMI) skills for school achievements has been shown in various studies. Cognitive orientation to daily occupational performance or CO-OP is an evidence-based approach that has been effective in children with developmental coordination disorder and autism spectrum. The present study evaluated the effect of CO-OP approach in improving VMI skills in children with learning disability. Sample of 58 children were included in the study. National Centre for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) Checklist was used as a screen tool and pre and post intervention Beery VMI and Canadian Occupational Performance Measures (COPM) was used as outcome measures.Occupational therapy program using CO-OP approach, based on each childs individualized goals. children were thought global strategy of GO-PLAN-DO-CHECK the sessions were conducted for 12 weeks one hour a day three times a week. After 12 weeks post assessment was done using t test. There significant difference in pre and post CO-OP intervention. p-value was found to be less than 0.0001 for VMI, COPM performance and satisfaction whereas, there was significant difference in motor coordination and visual perception component of Beery VMI. The result shows that CO-OP approach is effective in improving visual motor integration skills of children with learning disability.

The neutrotime transcriptional signature defines a single continuum of neutrophils across biological compartments

Neutrophils are implicated in multiple homeostatic and pathological processes, but whether functional diversity requires discrete neutrophil subsets is not known. Here, we apply single-cell RNA sequencing to neutrophils from normal and inflamed mouse tissues. Whereas conventional clustering yields multiple alternative organizational structures, diffusion mapping plus RNA velocity discloses a single developmental spectrum, ordered chronologically. Termed here neutrotime, this spectrum extends from immature pre-neutrophils, largely in bone marrow, to mature neutrophils predominantly in blood and spleen. The sharpest increments in neutrotime occur during the transitions from pre-neutrophils to immature neutrophils and from mature marrow neutrophils to those in blood. Human neutrophils exhibit a similar transcriptomic pattern. Neutrophils migrating into inflamed mouse lung, peritoneum and joint maintain the core mature neutrotime signature together with new transcriptional activity that varies with site and stimulus. Together, these data identify a single developmental spectrum as the dominant organizational theme of neutrophil heterogeneity.

Physical Demands of Women's Soccer Matches: A Perspective Across the Developmental Spectrum.

Female soccer players are exposed to specific physical demands during matches, which vary according to the standard of play. Existing studies have largely focused on quantifying the distances covered for professional and international level players. This approach is limited in scope regarding the broader aspects around physical demands and is detached from development pathway models. An understanding of the demands across all standards will provide valuable insights about appropriate player development and help ensure physical readiness for the demands of the sport. The aim of this perspective paper is to describe the physical demands experienced during women's soccer matches across the developmental spectrum. A combination of evidence from the literature and data from the author's research (JDV) is presented. Specifically highlighted are the trends for locomotor distances, acceleration and deceleration frequency, and metabolic power metrics for youth (≤U17), college (NCAA/U20), professional (domestic) and international standards of women's soccer. In addition, the changes in match demands between levels of play are used to help illustrate gaps that must be overcome in order to successfully achieve physical readiness to compete at higher levels. The evidence demonstrates the importance of training appropriate attributes to prepare female soccer players who are striving to play at progressively higher standards.

Crowdsourced privacy-preserved feature tagging of short home videos for machine learning ASD detection

Standard medical diagnosis of mental health conditions requires licensed experts who are increasingly outnumbered by those at risk, limiting reach. We test the hypothesis that a trustworthy crowd of non-experts can efficiently annotate behavioral features needed for accurate machine learning detection of the common childhood developmental disorder Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for children under 8 years old. We implement a novel process for identifying and certifying a trustworthy distributed workforce for video feature extraction, selecting a workforce of 102 workers from a pool of 1,107. Two previously validated ASD logistic regression classifiers, evaluated against parent-reported diagnoses, were used to assess the accuracy of the trusted crowd’s ratings of unstructured home videos. A representative balanced sample (N = 50 videos) of videos were evaluated with and without face box and pitch shift privacy alterations, with AUROC and AUPRC scores > 0.98. With both privacy-preserving modifications, sensitivity is preserved (96.0%) while maintaining specificity (80.0%) and accuracy (88.0%) at levels comparable to prior classification methods without alterations. We find that machine learning classification from features extracted by a certified nonexpert crowd achieves high performance for ASD detection from natural home videos of the child at risk and maintains high sensitivity when privacy-preserving mechanisms are applied. These results suggest that privacy-safeguarded crowdsourced analysis of short home videos can help enable rapid and mobile machine-learning detection of developmental delays in children.

Anxiety in a Preschool-Aged Sample with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Delay: Rates, Symptom Manifestation, and Parenting Risk Variables

ABSTRACT Introduction: Children with developmental delays (DD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at a high risk for emotional and behavioral concerns. Research examining co-occurring anxiety in those with ASD during early childhood is scarce. The current study examined rates, symptom manifestation, and parenting risk correlates of anxiety among young children with ASD and those with a non-spectrum DD. Method: The study included a sample of preschool-aged children (M = 4.18 years) with ASD (n = 56) and non-spectrum DD (n = 43). Anxiety symptoms were measured using the CBCL, and parenting was measured using parent-report and observational methods. Results: Results indicated that those with ASD were at a greater risk for anxiety symptoms than those with a non-spectrum DD; however, ASD diagnosis did not differentiate the presentation of anxiety. Inconsistent parenting emerged as predictor of anxiety symptoms for children with ASD. Conclusions: Given the high risk for anxiety in individuals with ASD, it is important to identify and treat anxiety in young children with ASD. The current study highlighted inconsistent parenting as a potential target to address in future parenting interventions for anxiety in young children with ASD.

Chemotropism Assays for Plant Symbiosis and Mycoparasitism Related Compound Screening in Trichoderma atroviride.

Trichoderma atroviride is a mycoparasitic fungus used as biological control agent to protect plants against fungal pathogens. Successful biocontrol is based on the perception of signals derived from both the plant symbiont and the fungal prey. Here, we applied three different chemotropic assays to study the chemosensing capacity of T. atroviride toward compounds known or suspected to play a role in the mycoparasite/plant or host/prey fungal interactions and to cover the complete spectrum of T. atroviride developmental stages. Purified compounds, including nutrients, the fungal secondary metabolite 6-amyl-α-pyrone (6-pentyl-α-pyrone, 6-PP) and the plant oxylipin 13-(s)-HODE, as well as culture supernatants derived from fungal preys, including Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium oxysporum, were used to evaluate chemotropic responses of conidial germlings, microcolonies and fully differentiated mycelia. Our results show that germlings respond preferentially to compounds secreted by plant roots and T. atroviride itself than to compounds secreted by prey fungi. With the progression of colony development, host plant cues and self-generated signaling compounds remained the strongest chemoattractants. Nevertheless, mature hyphae responded differentially to certain prey-derived signals. Depending on the fungal prey species, chemotropic responses resulted in either increased or decreased directional colony extension and hyphal density at the colony periphery closest to the test compound source. Together these findings suggest that chemotropic sensing during germling development is focused on plant association and colony network formation, while fungal prey recognition develops later in mature hyphae of fully differentiated mycelium. Furthermore, the morphological alterations of T. atroviride in response to plant host and fungal prey compounds suggest the presence of both positive and negative chemotropism. The presented assays will be useful for screening of candidate compounds, and for evaluating their impact on the developmental spectrum of T. atroviride and other related species alike. Conidial germlings proved particularly useful for simple and rapid compound screening, whereas more elaborate microscopic analysis of microcolonies and fully differentiated mycelia was essential to understand process-specific responses, such as plant symbiosis and biocontrol.

Dynamic Equilibrium: Engaging and Supporting Neurophysiological Intelligence Through Dance/Movement Therapy

In dance/movement therapy, methods are based on the experiential process of embodiment and founded on the understanding that the body deeply informs consciousness. Clinical interventions are effectively and flexibly employed with a wide range of populations across the developmental spectrum. Dance/movement therapy interventions involve shifting attentional states and moving in deeper relationship to self and others; clinical practices include attuned interoceptive sensing, somatic awareness, interactive dance, and authentic movement. This article considers dance/movement therapy approaches in light of affective neurobiology research on vagal and biochemical regulation, interoception, empathy and attunement, memory and affective systems, and brain lateralization. It includes current research, clinical vignettes, and narrative discussion regarding new theoretical insights and treatment applications.

Developmental and epilepsy spectrum of KCNB1 encephalopathy with long-term outcome.

We aimed to delineate the phenotypic spectrum and long-term outcome of individuals with KCNB1 encephalopathy. We collected genetic, clinical, electroencephalographic, and imaging data of individuals with KCNB1 pathogenic variants recruited through an international collaboration, with the support of the family association "KCNB1 France." Patients were classified as having developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) or developmental encephalopathy (DE). In addition, we reviewed published cases and provided the long-term outcome in patients older than 12years from our series and from literature. Our series included 36 patients (21 males, median age = 10years, range = 1.6months-34years). Twenty patients (56%) had DEE with infantile onset seizures (seizure onset = 10months, range = 10days-3.5years), whereas 16 (33%) had DE with late onset epilepsy in 10 (seizure onset = 5years, range = 18months-25years) and without epilepsy in six. Cognitive impairment was more severe in individuals with DEE compared to those with DE. Analysis of 73 individuals with KCNB1 pathogenic variants (36 from our series and 37 published individuals in nine reports) showed developmental delay in all with severe to profound intellectual disability in 67% (n=41/61) and autistic features in 56% (n=32/57). Long-term outcome in 22 individuals older than 12years (14 in our series and eight published individuals) showed poor cognitive, psychiatric, and behavioral outcome. Epilepsy course was variable. Missense variants were associated with more frequent and more severe epilepsy compared to truncating variants. Our study describes the phenotypic spectrum of KCNB1 encephalopathy, which varies from severe DEE to DE with or without epilepsy. Although cognitive impairment is worse in patients with DEE, long-term outcome is poor for most and missense variants are associated with more severe epilepsy outcome. Further understanding of disease mechanisms should facilitate the development of targeted therapies, much needed to improve the neurodevelopmental prognosis.

Insights Into the Origin of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma From Mouse Models.

Cholangiocarcinoma is a malignant cancer of the bile ducts that can be anatomically classified as intrahepatic (ICC), perihilar (PCC), or extrahepatic (ECC). ICC is the second most common primary liver cancer (PLC) (1) and is beset by late diagnoses and poor prognoses, with the overall 5-year survival less than 5% (2, 3). Unfortunately, the incidence and mortality of ICC continues to increase in the United States and around the world while treatment strategies are limited (4-6). In Asian countries with the highest incidence of ICC (30-40 per 100,000), particularly Thailand, the major risk factor is the infection of liver fluke (7), while in Western countries with lower incidence (5 per 100,000), risk factors include hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, biliary lithiasis, cirrhosis, alcohol abuse, obesity, and diabetes (7, 8).

Rare partial trisomy and tetrasomy of 15q11-q13 associated with developmental delay and autism spectrum disorder

BackgroundSmall supernumerary marker chromosomes (sSMCs), are additional abnormal chromosomes, which can’t be detected accurately by banding cytogenetic analysis. Abnormal phenotypes were observed in about 30% of SMC carriers. Duplication of chromosome 15 and related disorders, characterized by hypotonia motor delays, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability, and epilepsy including infantile spasms, might be account for 50% of the total sSMCs.Case presentationAn 11-month-old infant with an sSMC found by banding cytogenetics was referred to our clinic because of developmental retardation and autism spectrum disorder. After several months of rehabilitation treatment, the progress of motor development was obvious, but the consciousness was still far from satisfied. High-resolution karyotype analysis, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and copy number variation sequencing (CNV-Seq) were conducted to confirm the identity of the sSMC. A bisatellited dicentric sSMC was observed clearly in high-resolution karyotype analysis and a 10.16-Mb duplication of 15q11.1q13.2 (3.96 copies) together with a 1.84-Mb duplication of 15q13.2q13.3 (3 copies) was showed by CNV-Seq in the proband. It suggested that the molecular cytogenetic karyotype was 47,XY,+dic(15;15)(q13.2;q13.3). Furthermore, the clinical symptoms of the proband mostly fit 15q duplication related disorders which are characterized by hypotonia motor delays, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and intellectual disability.ConclusionWe reported for the first time using CNV-Seq to detect sSMCs and find a partial trisomy and tetrasomy of 15q11-q13 associated with developmental delay and autism spectrum disorder. Our report indicates that CNV-seq is a useful and economical way for diagnosis of dup15q and related disorders.

The developmental spectrum of prenatal Zika virus exposure

The developmental spectrum of prenatal Zika virus exposure

Eating disorder core symptoms and symptom pathways across developmental stages: A network analysis.

Eating disorders (EDs) often develop during adolescence and early adulthood but may persist, arise, or reemerge across the life span. Research and treatment efforts primarily focus on adolescent and young adult populations, leaving large knowledge gaps regarding ED symptoms across the entire developmental spectrum. The current study uses network analysis to compare central symptoms (i.e., symptoms that are highly connected to other symptoms) and symptom pathways (i.e., relations among symptoms) across five developmental stages (early adolescence, late adolescence, young adulthood, early-middle adulthood, middle-late adulthood) in a large sample of individuals with EDs (N = 29,902; N = 32,219) in two network models. Several symptoms related to overeating, food avoidance, feeling full, and overvaluation of weight and shape emerged as central in most or all developmental stages, suggesting that some core symptoms remain central across development. Despite similarities in central symptoms, significant differences in network structure (i.e., how symptom pathways are connected) emerged across age groups. These differences suggest that symptom interconnectivity (but not symptom severity) might increase across development. Future research should continue to investigate developmental symptom differences in order to inform treatment for individuals with EDs of all ages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Developmental Plasticity of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Mediates Resistance to Venetoclax-Based Therapy

Developmental Plasticity of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Mediates Resistance to Venetoclax-Based Therapy

Multi-method assessment of irritability and differential linkages to neurophysiological indicators of attention allocation to emotional faces in young children.

Facilitated attention toward angry stimuli (attention bias) may contribute to anger proneness and temper outbursts exhibited by children with high irritability. However, most studies linking attention bias and irritability rely on behavioral measures with limited precision and no studies have explored these associations in young children. The present study explores irritability-related attention biases toward anger in young children (N=128; ages 4-7years) engaged in a dot-probe task with emotional faces, as assessed with event-related brain potential (ERP) indices of early selective attention and multi-method assessment of irritability. Irritability assessed via semi-structured clinical interview predicted larger anterior N1 amplitudes to all faces. In contrast, irritability assessed via a laboratory observation paradigm predicted reduced P1 amplitudes to angry relative to neutral faces. These findings suggest that altered early attentional processing occurs in young children with high irritability; however, the nature of these patterns may vary with methodological features of the irritability assessments. Future investigations using different assessment tools may provide greater clarity regarding the underlying neurocognitive correlates of irritability. Such studies may also contribute to the ongoing debates about how to best define and measure irritability across the developmental spectrum in a manner that is most informative for linkage to neural processes.

Impacts of Medical Marijuana Laws on Young Americans Across the Developmental Spectrum.

Introduction State legalization of marijuana for medical purposes could increase illicit marijuana use among young people. Medical marijuana laws may boost the availability of marijuana and reduce perceptions of its harmfulness, leading more young people to try it. Prior studies report little evidence that these laws are impacting marijuana consumption by young Americans, and none have systematically compared developmentally distinct age groups. Methods We performed multilevel, serial cross-sectional analyses on ten annual waves of U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, from 2004 to 2013, comparing young people in states with and without medical marijuana laws. Disaggregated analyses compared multiple measures of marijuana use across approximately 450,300 individuals in early adolescence (12-14years), late adolescence (15-17years) and young adulthood (18-25years). Results Dwelling in a state that had legalized medical marijuana was not associated with marijuana consumption in the past month among early adolescents, late adolescents or young adults. However, young adults living in medical marijuana states were significantly more likely to have initiated first use in the past year. Conclusions Medical marijuana laws increase the likelihood that young adults will start using marijuana but do not affect more vulnerable developmental groups in early and late adolescence. Delaying the age of first use into young adulthood can reduce the risk of a drug use disorder later in life. Young adults are in the peak years of engagement with illicit drugs and state medical marijuana laws appear to be leading larger numbers to try the drug.

The ontogeny and the demographic structure of the coenopopulations of the species Oxytropis chakassiensis (Fabacaea) in the steppe communities of Khakhassia (Russian Federation)

The article presents the results of the analysis of the demographic structure of ten coenotic populations of Oxytropis chakassiensis in near-Yenissei steppes (Khakassia and Krasnoyarsk krai). Most part of studied species coenopopulations are not complete and definitive, normal, mature, have a bimodal developmental spectrum with peaks at g1 (v)- and g3-individuals. Changes in the structure of the ontogenetic spectrum (increasing the share of young plants) depend mainly on the environmental conditions and the degree of human disturbance of habitats: rocky slopes and decrease in pasture digression create more favorable conditions for the survival of juveniles. The ontogeny of O. chakassiensis (the rare species of near-Yenissei steppes) was studied and its life- form was described. Four periods and nine ontogenic stages were distinguished. The results of our study showed that O. chakassiensisis was a petrophyte steppe species with strict ecological and cenotic propensity to petrophytic steppe with the prevalence Koeleria cristata, Festuca valesiaca, Arctogeron gramineum, Hedysarum turczaninovii, Alyssum obovatum and Thymus minussinensis. Due to long generative period O. chakassiensis is successfully renewed and is stable during long periods of extreme conditions of petrophytic steppes with high pasture digression.

Ontogenetic changes to muscle architectural properties within the jaw-adductor musculature of Macaca fascicularis.

Changes to soft- and hard-tissue components of the masticatory complex during development can impact functional performance by altering muscle excursion potential, maximum muscle forces, and the efficiency of force transfer to specific bitepoints. Within Macaca fascicularis, older individuals exploit larger, more mechanically resistant food items and more frequently utilize wide-gape jaw postures. We therefore predict that key architectural and biomechanical variables will scale during ontogeny to maximize bite force and gape potential within older, larger-bodied individuals. We analyzed 26 specimens of M. fascicularis, representing a full developmental spectrum. The temporalis, superficial masseter, and deep masseter were dissected to determine muscle mass, fiber length, and physiologic cross-sectional area (PCSA). Lever-arm lengths were also measured for each muscle, alongside the height of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and basicranial length. These variables were scaled against two biomechanical variables (jaw length and condyle-molar length) to determine relative developmental changes within these parameters. During ontogeny, muscle mass, fiber length, and PCSA scaled with positive allometry relative to jaw length and condyle-molar length within all muscles. TMJ height also scaled with positive allometry, while muscle lever arms scaled with isometry relative to jaw length and with positive allometry (temporalis) or isometry (superficial and deep masseter) relative to condyle-molar length. Larger individuals demonstrate adaptations during development towards maximizing gape potential and bite force potential at both an anterior and posterior bitepoint. These data provide anatomical evidence to support field observations of dietary and behavioral differences between juvenile and adult M. fascicularis.

Electroconvulsive Therapy for Catatonia in Children and Adolescents.

Catatonia may be more common in children and adolescents than previously thought. A boost for the recognition of pediatric catatonia comes from changes in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, facilitating the diagnosis in a wide range of pediatric and adult patients with associated developmental and autistic spectrum disorders; and schizophrenic, affective, and medical disorders. The current status, assessment, and treatment of pediatric catatonia are described. Two case vignettes illustrate diagnostic assessment and treatment. Theories modeling the mechanism of catatonia are reviewed, including a vagal theory.

INTRODUCTION POPULATIONS OF USEFUL PLANTS IN THE YAKUT BOTANICAL GARDEN

Aim. The aim is to study the ontogeny and structure of introduced populations of useful plants in Central Yakutia. Methods. Description of the ontogeny of the plants under study was carried out with the determination of ontogenetic states according to generally accepted methods. After planting, current measures were taken to care for plants with elimination of weeds and preservation of the undergrowth. The number of plants at the planting sites was calculated annually. Results. In plants, there is a polyvariety of the rate of development, in which the life cycle is shortened in individuals, the rate of development is accelerated or the ontogenetic states are missed, and there is also transition of plants to a temporarily non-flowering state. All studied introductory populations were left-sided and had different absolute maxima, which depended on the life form and duration of plant stay in culture. Conclusions. Among young monocentric plants we saw the development and attenuation of the population (Delphinium grandiflorum, Linum komarovii, Plantago major, Redowskia sophiifolia). In them, absolute maximums fall on juvenile, immitric, virginile and young generative groups. In populations of monocentric perennial plants, Lilium pensylvanicum and Adonis sibirica, absolute maxima fall on virginile groups. For studied years, the nature of the developmental spectrum in populations of Clausia aprica and Tussilago farfara has not changed with the absolute maximum in the virginal group.

DEVELOPMENTAL PERSISTENT FALCINE SINUS WITH CRANIUM BIFIDUM OCCULTUM, CRANIOSYNOSTOSIS, AND ASSOCIATED ANOMALIES: A UNIQUE CASE

The falcine sinus is an intrauterine anatomic structure located in the falx cerebri that is closed after birth and persistence of thisembryologic falcine sinus is considered as a rare variation of the venous pathway which is associated with defect in the developmentof the straight sinus leading to formation of an alternate venous pathway served by the persistent falcine sinus. Cranium bifidumoccultum is another rare skull ossification disorder referred to as the Catlin mark characterized by ossification defects in theparietal bones. Many other associated anomalies can be seen with persistent falcine sinus apart from cranium bifidum occultumwhich include absent or dysplastic tentorium cerebelli, agenesis of the corpus callosum, apert syndrome, atretic occipital/parietalencephalocele, vein of galen malformation, osteogenesis imperfecta, and chiari malformation Type II. We describe a rare case of a10-year-old girl who presented with short stature, intermittent headache, and abnormal skull shape. On radiological examination,persistent falcine sinus was detected with large midline skull defect at the high parietal area. The straight sinus was absent, and therewas dysplastic tentorium cerebelli. In addition to these, craniosynostosis was also present with many other associated anomalies.Persistent falcine sinus and cranium bifidum occultum are very rare, and when found, they are associated with many anomaliesraising the possibility that they may represent the benign end of the same developmental spectrum. To the best of our knowledge,these constellations of anomalies have been reported in very few children.