Substance use patterns among individuals who consume alcohol during pregnancy: Results from a US multi-site study.

The soluble antigens of Neospora caninum affect the integrity and vital characteristics of bovine sperm, compromising in vitro fertilization and embryonic development.

Development of a Method for Measuring Active Outdoor Play in Preschool-Aged Children: Integrating Accelerometer, GPS, and Time-Use Diary Data.

Human milk glycan (HMG) metabolism, especially by bifidobacteria, is crucial for infant gut colonization and healthy microbiome development. Bifidobacterial species and even strains are highly variable in their ability and in their enzymatic repertoire for HMG metabolism. The enzymes involved in HMG metabolism often have many non-HMG-related homologues, necessitating fine-grained annotation for accurate assessment of bifidobacterial HMG metabolic capabilities. However, current annotation tools provide only broad glycoside hydrolase (GH) (sub)family classifications. Here, we present bifidoAnnotator, a tool for fine-grained annotation and visualization of bifidobacterial GH genes involved in HMG utilization. bifidoAnnotator leverages MMseqs2 (Many-against-Many sequence searching) to map protein sequences against a manually curated database of over 22,000 bifidobacterial GH proteins, organized into 13 families and 108 functional clusters, each assigned a validation status (i.e. experimentally validated, putative or hypothetical). The tool performs hierarchical annotation at family and cluster levels, identifying consistently annotated protein variants rather than just broad family assignments, and generates publication-ready heatmaps for comparative analysis. Benchmarking on a gold standard dataset demonstrated that bifidoAnnotator has superior performance (95.9% precision, 100% recall) compared with six established tools and is an order of magnitude faster than the most accurate competitor. bifidoAnnotator's superior performance and computational efficiency represent a meaningful advance in high-throughput genomic annotation workflows, enabling detailed characterization of strain-level functional diversity in bifidobacterial HMG metabolism.

Peer norms play a key role in shaping adolescents' sexuality. While research has focused primarily on adolescents' sexual experiences, little is known about how peer norms influence emotional responses to these sexual experiences. This study examined the longitudinal associations between three types of (perceived) sexual peer norms: descriptive norms (sexual peer behavior), injunctive norms (peer sexual approval), and peer pressure (to have sex), and adolescents' positive (happy, proud, loved) and negative (ashamed, guilty, dirty) emotional responses to sexual experiences, across gender and age. Data were drawn from Project STARS, a Dutch longitudinal study on adolescent sexuality, which followed 240 sexually experienced adolescents (12-18 years old, Mage = 14.73, SD = 1.24) over 18 months. Results showed that descriptive norms were associated with less negative emotions over time, while injunctive norms and peer pressure showed no such relationship. None of the three peer norms were significantly related to positive emotions. Although no significant differences emerged between adolescent boys and girls, the relation between sexual peer behavior and positive emotions differed by age: a negative relation was found for younger adolescents (13-15 years at T4), and a positive one for older adolescents (16-19 years at T4). These findings highlight the importance of acknowledging both positive and negative emotional responses to sexual experiences, as well as developmental differences in peer norm influence, to better support adolescents' emotionally healthy sexual development.

In the digital era, adolescents’ online usage time continues to increase. As a core dimension of their physical and mental health and social development, self-confidence is susceptible to the influence of online behaviour. This study focuses on the association between online usage time and adolescent self-confidence. Employing quantitative research methods, the study collected data on online usage and self-confidence assessments from 527 adolescents aged 10 to 18 across different regions via questionnaire surveys. Statistical analytical methods were employed to explore the specific mechanisms through which internet usage duration influences adolescents’ self-confidence. Findings indicate that moderate internet usage positively influences adolescent self-confidence through avenues such as social expansion and skill acquisition. Conversely, excessive usage may induce self-perception distortions and withdrawal from real-world social interactions, thereby undermining self-confidence. Consequently, this study proposes targeted intervention strategies to guide adolescents towards rational internet usage and promoting the healthy development of self-confidence.

While extensive evidence demonstrates the beneficial effects of physical activity on adult mental health, research examining these relationships in childhood remains limited and inconsistent. This study investigated the prospective associations between objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior at age 7 and emotional and peer difficulties at ages 11 and 14 using the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Accelerometer-measured physical activity data from 6,434 participants at age 7 were analyzed. Emotional and peer problems were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at ages 7, 11, and 14. Multiple linear regression models examined associations between physical activity levels (sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous [MVPA]) and mental health outcomes, adjusting for baseline SDQ scores and demographic and socioeconomic covariates. Greater MVPA at age 7 was significantly associated with fewer emotional problems at ages 11 (β = -0.004, 95% CI [-0.007, -0.002], p = 0.002) and 14 (β = -0.004, 95% CI [-0.007, -0.001], p = 0.007), and fewer peer problems at ages 11 (β = -0.005, 95% CI [-0.007, -0.003], p < 0.001) and 14 (β = -0.005, 95% CI [-0.008, -0.003], p < 0.001). Sedentary time and light physical activity showed no significant associations. Lower socioeconomic status and parental stress were associated with greater emotional and peer difficulties. Early childhood MVPA demonstrates protective effects against emotional and peer difficulties that persist into mid-adolescence. These findings provide evidence for the long-term mental health benefits of promoting MVPA in early childhood and highlight the importance of physical activity interventions for supporting healthy psychosocial development.

This study aimed to examine the longitudinal relationship between smartphone dependency and happiness among Korean children from fourth grade in elementary school through the first year of middle school (approximately ages 9-13), thereby providing an in-depth understanding of children's emotional development in the digital environment. Longitudinal data from four waves (2018-2021) of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), comprising a nationally representative cohort of fourth-grade students (N = 1,889), were analyzed. Descriptive statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and latent growth modeling (LGM) were employed. Descriptive analyses indicated a gradual decline in children's happiness over time, whereas smartphone dependency showed a modest increasing trend. However, latent growth modeling revealed that the slope of smartphone dependency was not statistically significant, and therefore a no-change model was adopted for this construct. Across all waves, smartphone dependency was consistently and negatively correlated with happiness. Furthermore, LGM results demonstrated that higher levels of smartphone dependency were associated with less favorable trajectories of children's happiness over time. These findings underscore the importance of adopting a longitudinal and model-based perspective to clarify the relationship between smartphone use and children's emotional well-being, and they offer empirical implications for educational and policy interventions aimed at supporting healthy development in the digital era.

Cities face interconnected challenges for health equity, including structural racism, inadequate housing, and climate change. Due to past failures to achieve positive development outcomes for low-income and marginalized communities, many U.S. cities now emphasize equitable planning and community engagement. However, practitioners often lack the tools to implement just, equitable, and health-promoting policies effectively. Through semi-structured interviews with 23 professionals in sectors like community development, planning, transportation, and housing—primarily in local government and nonprofits—we observed a shift toward more equitable practices, explicitly naming the role of racism in urban planning and the adoption of new strategies and frameworks for equitable planning that support health. We document approaches used to overcome opposition to healthy, equitable, and sustainable development, including building trust and employing strategic communication framing. Community-led initiatives emerged as powerful drivers of equity and sustainability, though greater public sector support for these potentially transformational efforts is needed. Further progress could benefit from a deeper understanding of cultural mindsets that hinder equitable transformation.

Following the successful hosting of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, China's sports industry has experienced rapid development, accompanied by continuous improvements in sports regulations. After the Winter Games concluded, the newly revised Sports Law introduced a dedicated chapter on sports arbitration, enabling the comprehensive implementation of the sports arbitration system. While the sports arbitration system provides a sound theoretical framework for resolving sports disputes, its practical application faces multiple challenges. These include ambiguities in defining the scope of accepted cases, insufficient independence of arbitration institutions, and poor coordination between sports arbitration and other sports dispute resolution mechanisms. There is an urgent need to clarify the scope of arbitration, enhance the independence of arbitration institutions, and optimize the linkage between sports arbitration and other mechanisms to provide solid legal support for the healthy development of China's sports industry.

With the deepening development of the digital economy, competition among e-commerce platforms has become increasingly fierce, gradually evolving into "involutionary" competition characterized by continuous price suppression and excessive marketing. This competitive model guides merchants to continuously lower prices through algorithms and platform rules, forming a vicious cycle of "low price—low quality—lower price," which not only damages merchants' profits and innovation capabilities but also disrupts market order and affects the healthy development of the industry chain. From the perspective of competition law, this paper systematically analyzes the formation mechanism, legal attributes, and negative impacts of involutionary competition among e-commerce platforms on market competition. Combining this with current Chinese laws and regulations, it explores the dilemmas in regulation and proposes systematic suggestions from the perspectives of legislative improvement, enforcement optimization, and industry self-regulation to promote the standardized and orderly development of the platform economy.

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) of omega-3 family, particularly docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, are essential nutrients that play a critical role in children's growth and health. This review examines the evidence on the effects of omega-3 supplements and omega-3-enhanced foods on children's development, as well as on neurological and metabolic disorders. Research consistently highlights the importance of DHA in brain and visual development, especially during early childhood, when rapid neural growth occurs. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and the Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant articles published up to January 2026. Adequate omega-3 intake has been associated with improvements in cognitive performance, attention, and learning outcomes. In children with neurodevelopmental conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder, omega-3 supplementation shows modest but potential benefits in reducing behavioral symptoms and supporting executive function, although results remain mixed. Additionally, omega-3 fatty acids exhibit anti-inflammatory properties that may positively influence metabolic health, including lipid profiles, insulin sensitivity, and obesity-related risk factors in children. Omega-3-enhanced foods provide an alternative to supplements and may improve adherence and overall dietary quality. However, variability in dosage, study design, and baseline nutritional status limits definitive conclusions. Overall, omega-3 fatty acids appear to support healthy development and may aid in managing certain neurological and metabolic disorders in children.

This study examined the moderating effect of school-based alcohol prevention education on the relationship between parental permissiveness and adolescent alcohol use using data from the 20th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (N = 54,653). Individual-level variables included parental permissiveness, gender, grade, and socioeconomic status. School-based prevention education was treated as a group-level variable. Parental permissiveness was positively associated with adolescent alcohol use, while school-based prevention education was linked to reduced alcohol use. School-based programs explained a meaningful portion of between-school differences, supporting their role as a moderating factor. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening school-based alcohol prevention education to support healthy adolescent development.

In the contemporary society with the rapid development of science and technology, the instrumental value of science and technology has been brought into full play. At the same time, a series of ethical dilemmas of science and technology have also been highlighted, which seriously affect the social development order and the quality of human existence. This paper focuses on the ethical dilemma of science and technology, analyzes its realistic representation and deep roots by philosophical thinking, and puts forward a targeted philosophical construction path combining the dialectical relationship between instrumental rationality and value rationality. Firstly, it expounds the background and significance of scientific and technological ethics research, and clarifies the research ideas and methods; secondly, it combs the realistic manifestations of scientific and technological ethics dilemma, and discusses it from three dimensions: right conflict, responsibility ambiguity and value imbalance; Finally, from three aspects of value rationality regression, ethics subject reconstruction and ethics norm perfection, this paper puts forward the philosophical construction strategy of science and technology ethics system, summarizes the research conclusion and looks forward to the future development. The research aims to provide philosophical theoretical support for solving the ethical dilemma of science and technology, realizing the coordinated development of science and technology and humanities, and promoting the healthy development of science and technology in the direction of human common interests.

The preschool years, spanning from 3 to 6 years of age, represent a pivotal and irreversible critical period for the maturation of human visual function. During this window, the ocular structures and neural pathways underlying vision undergo rapid development and plastic changes, making the visual system highly susceptible to the influence of environmental and physiological factors. Anisometropia, a prevalent refractive disorder characterized by an asymmetric refractive state between the two eyes, has emerged as a major threat to the normal visual development of preschool children. If left undiagnosed and without timely intervention, this condition can trigger a cascade of visual impairments, including amblyopia, binocular vision dysfunction, stereoscopic vision loss, and even long-term reading difficulties and learning disabilities, which can profoundly impact a child’s academic performance, motor skills, and overall quality of life in adulthood. This paper systematically elaborates on the definition, clinical classification, and epidemiological characteristics of anisometropia in preschool children, and further explores the current status and application value of various early screening methods, including population-based screening tools and clinical diagnostic gold standards. It also formulates targeted and hierarchical intervention strategies based on the severity of anisometropia, encompassing optical correction, amblyopia training, and long-term follow-up management. Additionally, this study conducts an in-depth analysis of the far-reaching clinical and social significance of standardized early screening and scientific intervention for this condition. The research findings confirm that universal and standardized early refractive screening can significantly improve the early detection rate of anisometropia in preschool children, and individualized intervention measures, such as timely full optical correction combined with personalized visual training, can effectively improve the visual acuity of the affected eye, restore binocular vision balance, and drastically reduce the incidence of irreversible amblyopia and abnormal visual development. Based on these conclusions, this paper proposes that refractive screening for anisometropia should be incorporated into the routine health examination system for preschool children in China, a standardized multi-disciplinary management system involving families, kindergartens, and medical institutions should be established, and precise and individualized intervention measures should be implemented to build a comprehensive defense line for the visual health of preschool children and lay a solid foundation for their healthy growth and future development.

ABSTRACT The real state markets have been faced different challenges in China. Drawing on the dual attributes of real estate as consumption and investment goods, this study constructs a theoretical framework and indicator system and scientifically measures the spatiotemporal patterns for evaluating urban real estate market healthiness from the dimensions of product market competitiveness and factor sufficiency. This study findings unfold that the China’s urban real estate market health level generally improved in different geographical pattern. This study further highlights that health levels exhibited heterogeneous spatial distribution with notable global spatial autocorrelation. Additionally, regional disparities in real estate market health showed a trend of initial expansion followed by contraction. The Northeast region exhibited the largest and continuously growing intra-regional differences, while Central China maintained the smallest disparities. Furthermore, this sector has healthy development on economic growth with direct and mediated effect of land finance.

Optimal nutrition during the first 1000 days of a child's life is crucial for healthy growth and development. Caregiver feeding practices can significantly affect what foods are offered, which foods are preferred and how healthy eating patterns are established, highlighting the need for clear guidance and recommendations. Currently, there are no national guidelines focused on the transition from being fed at birth to independent eating by 2 years old. This study aimed to develop concise, evidence-based recommendations to support healthy eating behaviours in children aged 0-2 years. A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and Excerpta Medica Database to identify relevant articles. The GRADE-ADOLOPMENT methodology was employed to adopt, adapt or develop evidence-based recommendations for feeding and eating practices in infants and young children. This includes using the Evidence-to-Decision framework to ensure recommendations considered the balance of benefits and harms, feasibility and cultural appropriateness. A multidisciplinary panel of domain experts reviewed and refined the recommendations, with consensus defined as ≥70% agreement. A total of 64 articles were reviewed, comprising eight observational cohort studies, 25 randomised controlled trials and 31 systematic reviews (including four meta-analyses). The included studies examined key aspects of complementary feeding: 20 focused on timing, 30 on types of food, 13 on self-regulation and one on the feeding environment. Seven consensus statements were developed based on the evidence and organised into four main domains: Variety, Autonomy, Setting and Timing. All statements achieved unanimous agreement among domain experts. These guidelines provide clear, evidence-based recommendations for practical nutrition strategies during early childhood.

Sleep is critical for physical growth and healthy child development. Traditionally, interventions targeting sleep improvement in children have focused on the parents. This scoping review aimed to identify and summarize the available evidence on child-focused interventions designed to promote healthy sleep habits among children aged 3-12 in healthcare settings. The review was conducted in accordance with JBI guidelines. A comprehensive search strategy was employed, encompassing databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection, Education Source, Scopus, Web of Science, the Public Health Database, and Portugal's Open Access Scientific Repository. Following identification and screening, 15 articles were included. Three types of interventions were identified: isolated, combined, and structured programs. Overall, the studies suggest that, while sleep-related knowledge tends to improve, achieving sustained, long-term behavioral change remains challenging in this age group. Active child participation appears essential for promoting lasting results and developing more tailored, child-friendly interventions.

A strong mother-infant bond supports healthy development and leads to better long-term outcomes for both mothers and infants. Tools like the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) enable objective assessment of this bond. This study examined key psychometric properties of the Dutch MIBS in a Flemish population. This study comprised two subsequent parts. First, face and content validity were assessed by an expert panel of healthcare providers (n = 17) and mothers (n = 6). Second, convergent and concurrent validity were assessed based on cross-sectional data collection. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed. Evidence based on relationships with demographic and clinical variables was examined to support the validity of the Dutch MIBS. Data were collected from 128 mothers who completed the MIBS and Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) on day 2 postpartum. Experts reached consensus on the face validity of the Dutch version of the MIBS in a Flemish context. Items showed adequate Item Content Validity Index (I-CVI) (≥0.79), except for the "resentful" and "aggressive" items. The scale achieved a Scale Content Validity Index/Average (SCVI/Ave) of 0.89, although internal consistency was moderate (α = 0.66). MIBS and PBQ scores correlated moderately (Kendall's Tau T = 0.27, P < 0.001). Fisher's exact test showed a significant difference in the proportion of mothers classified with disrupted bonding depending on the tool (P = 0.015). Combined feeding was associated with a higher rate of disrupted bonding (P = 0.007). This study found that the Flemish MIBS tool had acceptable content validity, except for "resentful" and "aggressive." Reliability was moderate and convergent validity with PBQ was limited, with substantial discordant classification of disrupted bonding. The superiority to the PBQ-tool could not be demonstrated.

Physical literacy - being able to move in different ways in a variety of places - is central to healthy development. Supporting this is crucial for helping the less physically confident, says Helen Battelley and Karen Rhys Jones of NEYASP