Structure of Sesbania mosaic virus at 4.7 A resolution and partial sequence of the coat protein

Serum IgG subclasses and Serum IgA were studied in 43 infants with acute bronchiolitis and 20 healthy infants. IgG subclasses were determined by a capture ELISA and IgA was quantified by turbidimetry. IgG1 concentrations were significantly lower in infants with bronchiolitis than in normal infants. The other IgG subclasses and IgA did not differ between the groups. The subgroups of infants with bronchiolitis who had previously suffered from otitis media or bronchitis, had significantly lower IgG2 than the other infants with bronchiolitis. The same was found for infants with bronchiolitis who had suffered from three or more lower respiratory tract infections. In infants who had suffered from upper or lower respiratory infections before the acute bronchiolitis, IgA was significantly higher than in infants without previous respiratory infections. Ten infants with bronchiolitis (23%) had IgG1 deficiency, that is values below the lower reference limit calculated in a population of healthy Norwegian infants. No healthy infants had any IgG1 deficiency. No infant with bronchiolitis had IgG2 or IgG3 deficiency. The low IgG1 values found in infants with acute bronchiolitis, may be one cause for infants to be more susceptible to RS virus infections.     

Caregiving behaviors and early cognitive development as related to ordinal position in preterm infants

Naturalistic home observations of 54 preterm infants and their caregivers were made when the infants were 1, 3 and 8 months of age. Differences were found in the kinds of everyday transactions which occur with preterm infants raised with and without siblings. At 1 month of age the care of firstborn and later-born infants was similar in most ways. At 3 months and 8 months firstborn infants clearly received more responsive care and more stimulation from their mothers than later-born infants. Furthermore, the firstborn infant received more social transactions from anybody. Firstborn preterm infants obtained higher Gesell developmental scores than later-born infants, replicating results reported with infant test performance of full-term infants.     

Maternal directiveness and infant compliance at one year of age: a comparison between mothers and their developmentally-delayed infants and mothers and their nondelayed infants

Maternal directiveness and infant compliance at one year of age were observed in social interactions between mothers and their handicapped and nonhandicapped infants. Eleven nondelayed, typically developing infants, and nine developmentally delayed infants, matched for chronological age, were observed in a free play situation with their mothers. Mothers of the delayed infants attempted to direct their children's play significantly more than those with nondelayed infants, and they engaged more frequently in social play involving physical contact with their infants. Nondelayed infants complied with their mothers' directives more than the developmentally delayed infants. Further study of infant capabilities and maternal affect and behaviors with this age group is suggested.     

Production of emotional facial expressions in European American, Japanese, and Chinese infants

European American, Japanese, and Chinese 11-month-olds participated in emotion-inducing laboratory procedures. Facial responses were scored with BabyFACS, an anatomically based coding system. Overall, Chinese infants were less expressive than European American and Japanese infants. On measures of smiling and crying, Chinese infants scored lower than European American infants, whereas Japanese infants were similar to the European American infants or fell between the two other groups. Results suggest that differences in expressivity between European American and Chinese infants are more robust than those between European American and Japanese infants and that Chinese and Japanese infants can differ significantly. Cross-cultural differences were also found for some specific brow, cheek, and midface facial actions (e.g., brows lowered). These are discussed in terms of current controversies about infant affective facial expressions.     

Prematurity stereotype: Effects of labeling on adults' perceptions of infants.

Two studies were conducted in which 225 undergraduates and 48 mothers were asked to rate unfamiliar infants shown on videotapes. The infants were described as either full term or premature and as either male or female. In both studies, infants labeled premature were rated more negatively on characteristics such as attentiveness and activity than were infants labeled full term, but infants labeled male and female were rated similarly. This prematurity stereotype may lead parents to perceive premature infants differently from full-term infants even in the absence of actual behavioral differences and to treat premature infants in such a way as to elicit the expected behavior. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of standard rest periods on apnea and weight gain in preterm infants

This study determined the effect of modifying a single aspect of the intermediate care environment on the incidence of apnea and rate of weight gain in convalescent preterm infants. Twenty-two preterm infants were assigned to experimental and control groups using a randomized, matched-pair design. Over a three-week period, infants in the experimental group were provided a 1 1/2-hour nap period four times a day during which their beds were covered and they were left undisturbed. Control infants received standard nursing care. The infants in the experimental group had more apnea at the start of the study than the control infants but showed a significantly more rapid decline in the incidence of apnea. These infants also gained significantly more weight per day than the control infants. Thus, a simple modification of nursing care that involved minimal increases in nursing time had a beneficial effect on preterm infants.     

Effects of subependymal and mild intraventricular lesions on visual attention and memory in premature infants.

Evaluated 10-mo-old infants to determine if subependymal or mild intraventricular hemorrhage (S/IVH) affects visual attention, visual memory, or memory for location. 30 premature infants with normal ultrasound scans, 30 premature infants with S/IVH, and 30 full-term infants were evaluated on a habituation/novelty preference task, the AB? object permanence task, and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Premature infants with S/IVH took longer to habituate than premature infants without S/IVH or full-term infants. Although the Bayley Mental Scales were significantly higher for both full-term and premature infants without S/IVH than those with S/IVH, number of trials to habituation better distinguished infants with S/IVH from those with no hemorrhage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exposure of young infants to environmental tobacco smoke: breast-feeding among smoking mothers

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the degree to which breast-feeding and cigarette smoking by mothers and smoking by other household members contribute to the exposure of infants to the products of tobacco smoke. METHODS: The subjects were 330 mother-infant pairs derived from a cohort of 1000 pairs enrolled in a longitudinal study of the pulmonary effects of prenatal and postnatal smoking. The main outcome measure was corrected urinary cotinine levels. RESULTS: Urinary cotinine levels were 10-fold higher in breast-fed infants of smoking mothers than among bottle-fed infants of smoking mothers. Among infants of nonsmoking mothers, urine cotinine levels were significantly increased in infants living in homes with other smokers; in this group there was no significant difference between bottle-fed and breast-fed infants. Infants whose mothers smoked in the same room as the infant had only nonsignificant increases in cotinine levels compared with infants whose mothers restricted their smoking to other rooms. CONCLUSIONS: Breast-fed infants of smoking mothers have urine cotinine levels 10-fold higher than bottle-fed infants whose mothers smoke, suggesting that breast-feeding, rather than direct inhalation of environmental tobacco smoke, is the primary determinant of cotinine levels in infants whose mothers smoke.     

Cerebrospinal fluid amino acid levels in newborn infants with intracranial hemorrhage

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amino acid levels including excitatory amino acids (i.e. glutamate and aspartate) in 25 preterm and 18 full-term newborn infants with no serious disease except intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) were measured. ICH was detected in 13 preterm and six full-term infants on the basis of the clinical, lumbar puncture (LP) and cranial ultrasonography (CraUSG) findings. Twelve preterm and 12 full-term infants who were neurologically healthy comprised the control group. The mean concentration of CSF amino acids did not differ between preterm and full-term infants. The CSF concentrations of taurine, threonine, glycine, alanine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine and phenylalanine in preterm infants, and threonine, aspartic acid and alanine in full-term infants were significantly elevated in infants with ICH. These abnormalities, especially in preterm infants, are probably related to cerebral hypoxia in CSF amino acid concentrations in newborn infants with ICH.     

Infants of depressed and nondepressed mothers exhibit differences in frontal brain electrical activity during the expression of negative emotions

Studies have shown that infants of depressed mothers express negative emotions more frequently than infants of nondepressed mothers. The present study examined electrical brain activity during expression of negative and positive emotions in infants of depressed and nondepressed mothers. Infants, 11 to 17 months of age, were exposed to conditions designed to elicit positive and negative emotions while electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was measured from left and right, frontal and parietal regions. EEG activity was analyzed when infants were displaying prototypic expressions of emotions. Compared with infants of nondepressed mothers, infants of depressed mothers exhibited increased EEG activation in the frontal but not parietal region when expressing negative emotions (unfelt smiles and anger). The two groups of infants did not show reliable differences is brain activation during the expression of positive emotions (happiness, surprise) or neutral expressions. Compared with infants of nondepressed mothers, infants of depressed mothers exhibit greater frontal EEG activation during the expression of negative emotions.     

Viral carcinogenesis of brain (author''s transl)

To test the hypothesis that intarpartum acidosis has a role in the etiology of hyaline membrane disease (HMD), blood was collected from the umbilical artery (UA) at birth from 110 premature infants and analyzed for hydrogen ion concentration ([H+]), PCO2, standard bicarbonate, and lactic acid. The infants were followed until a definite diagnosis was made of HMD (33 infants), type II respiratory distress syndrome (16 infants) or the absence of respiratory distress (61 infants). In general, infants with HMD were more premature and had lower Apgar scores than nondistressed infants; however, there were no significant differences between the two groups in any acid-base measurement. Only in those patients of 32 to 37 weeks' gestational age was it possible to detect a significant increase in UA [H+] in infants with HMD compared to those without respiratory distress. There was evidence that the reduced Apgar score of infants with HMD may be due to immaturity and abnormal pulmonary function secondary to lung disease. It is concluded that acidosis at birth is not a factor in the development of HMD except possibly in more mature infants.     

Latex allergy: a life-threatening complication

Bone mineralization of healthy preterm infants fed human milk were compared with that of similar fed preterm formula. Bone mineralization was studied by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in 43 preterm infants divided into two groups; 21 preterm infants were fed with maternal breast milk and 22 preterm infants with a preterm formula containing 70 mg calcium and 35 mg phosphorus per decilitre. CONCLUSION: Preterm infants fed breast milk had lower bone mineral density than the preterm formula-fed group. Fortifying preterm human milk with calcium and phosphorus will improve bone mineralization in preterm infants.     

Fetal hemoglobin levels in sudden infant death syndrome

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine and compare fetal hemoglobin levels from infants dying of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) with aged-matched control infants dying of other causes. Similar previous studies have reported both elevated and normal levels of fetal hemoglobin in whole blood samples from infants dying of SIDS. DESIGN: Triton-acid-urea gel electrophoresis and densitometry were used to determine fetal hemoglobin levels in postmortem whole blood samples from infants dying of SIDS and from appropriately age-matched control infants. Whole blood samples were analyzed blindly and matched for postgestational age. Infant ages at death ranged from birth to less than 1 year. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fetal hemoglobin in whole blood from infants dying of SIDS and control infants. RESULTS: During the period of postnatal development most associated with SIDS cases (2 to 6 months after birth), fetal hemoglobin levels were found to be significantly elevated in postmortem whole blood samples from SIDS infants compared with gestational age-matched control infants dying of causes other than SIDS. CONCLUSION: We conclude that levels of fetal hemoglobin are elevated in postmortem whole blood of SIDS infants compared with controls. Furthermore, the apparent conflict in the literature regarding fetal hemoglobin levels in SIDS infants and controls is most likely due to variability in the control data of some studies.     

Taste-mediated calming in premature, preterm, and full-term human infants.

Calming by sucrose and glucose was evaluated in premature, preterm, and term infants. In Experiment 1, 9 preterm and 9 term infants each received 0.5 ml (0.1 ml/min) sucrose (12% w/v) solution; 9 age-matched preterm and 9 other term infants received water. In Experiment 2, 9 premature and 9 term infants received a 10% glucose solution. Sucrose reduced crying in preterm and term infants by 91% and 93%, respectively. Glucose reduced crying in premature and term infants by 86% and 81%, respectively. Water was ineffective in both preterm and term infants. Thus, reduced crying cannot be attributed to fluid ingestion per se. Calm induced by either sugar persisted longest in term infants after conclusion of sugar delivery. Accordingly, sensory systems that detect sweet taste and central mechanisms that transduce this change to calm crying infants are functional before normal term and may be engaged during the initial suckling bouts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The application of the modified method of determination of aldosterone in plasma

Concentrations of triglycerides, free fatty acids (FFA) and glycerol were measured in umbilical venous blood from 99 infants with a birth weight of between 1100-2700 g and a gestational age of 27-41 weeks. Thirty infants were small for gestational age (SGA), 58 were appropriate (AGA) and 11 were of uncertain gestational age. In AGA infants with a gestational age of less than or equal to 35 weeks. FFA values were lower than in those with a gestational age of less than 35 weeks; otherwise concentrations of triglycerides, FFA and glycerol were independent of birth weight and gestational age in AGA infants. In SGA infants, higher FFA values were found compared with both AGA and term infants of normal birth weight. Triglyceride values were higher in SGA than in AGA infants. In SGA infants, a significant positive correlation was found between gestational age and concentrations of both FFA and triglycerides. No differences in FFA, glycerol and triglyceride concentrations were seen between asphyxiated and non-asphyxiated AGA infants.     

Growth characteristics of breast-fed compared to formula-fed infants

In affluent populations, breast-fed infants generally exhibit a different pattern of growth than formula-fed infants. The average weight gain of the former is lower than that of the latter, even after complementary foods are introduced. In some studies, the length gain is also lower among breast-fed infants, whereas in others there is no significant difference in linear growth between feeding groups. Growth in head circumference does not differ by feeding mode. Because of the difference in weight gain, breast-fed infants are generally leaner than formula-fed infants by 12 months of age. Breast-fed infants appear to self-regulate their energy intake at a lower level than consumed by formula-fed infants and have a lower metabolic rate. Evidence to date suggests that there are no apparent adverse consequences associated with the lower intake and slower weight gain of breast-fed infants: compared to formula-fed infants, they do not differ in activity level, and they experience less illness and appear to have enhanced cognitive development. The reasons for differences in growth patterns by feeding mode require further research.     

On cyclins, oocytes, and eggs

We studied the preventive effect against allergies in infants who and whose mothers consumed hypoallergenic formulas until 6 months after birth. Mother and infant pairs were divided into three groups, and the infants were monitored for the development of allergies for the first 2 years. In the MD group (n = 102; n = number of infants), the mothers were given a hypoallergenic formula for mothers (MOM HA), which contained hydrolyzed whey protein as the only protein source, as a substitution for cow's milk during late pregnancy and lactation. In the CD group (n = 127), the mothers were given cow's milk during the corresponding period. All infants in the MD and CD groups were exclusively breast-fed or mixed-fed with breast milk and hypoallergenic infant formula (NAN HA), which contains the same hydrolyzed protein as MOM HA. In the AF group (n = 54), the mothers consumed MOM HA and their infants were mixed-fed with breast milk and a cow's milk-based adopted infant formula during the corresponding period. In the MD group, no infants were positive to cow's milk-specific immunoglobulin E (RAST) at 4 months of age, in contrast to 6% and 3% of infants in the CD and AF groups, respectively. The infants in the MD group showed low incidence of various allergies, especially of eczema, as compared to the CD and AF groups. These results suggest that consumption of cow's milk by mothers and cow's milk-based formula feeding to infants elevate the risk of allergies in infants, and that consumption of hypoallergenic formula for pregnant and lactating women and for infants could be helpful in preventing allergy development in infants.     

Effect of the cholesterol content of a formula on the lipid compositions of plasma lipoproteins and red blood cell membranes in early infancy

We investigated whether or not a regular formula for full-term infants supplemented with cholesterol (cholesterol-fortified) would increase the plasma cholesterol concentration and alter the red blood cell (RBC) membrane lipid composition in healthy full-term infants compared with their breast-fed counterparts. At 1 mo of age, total plasma cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were significantly higher in the breast-fed infants than in the cholesterol-unfortified, formula-fed infants. At 3 mo of age, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were significantly higher in the breast-fed infants than in the two formula-fed infant groups. These significant differences had disappeared by 6 mo of age. Although the cholesterol-unfortified, formula-fed infants had lower proportions of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) in the RBC membranes compared with the breast-fed group at 6 mo, DHA and EPA concentrations in the cholesterol-fortified, formula-fed infants were not significantly different. The results of the present study suggest that the plasma cholesterol concentration and fatty acid pattern of the RBC membranes in infants fed a cholesterol-fortified formula may be much closer to those in breast-fed infants than in infants fed a cholesterol-unfortified formula.     

Neurodevelopment, growth, and viral load in HIV-infected infants

The relation of HIV-1 infection to infant growth and neurodevelopment was studied prospectively in a cohort of 65 infants born to women at risk for HIV infection. No differences were observed at birth between infected infants (INF) and uninfected infants (SR) of HIV-infected women, and infants of uninfected women (SN) with similar socioeconomic background and exposure to drugs. However, postnatal linear growth and cognitive-motor development of INF infants were impaired when compared to SR and SN infants. Declines in linear growth were observed within the first 6 months of life, whereas delays in neurodevelopment were first appreciated at 12 months. In INF infants, decreased linear growth was positively correlated with developmental delay. Moreover, growth and development were both correlated with HIV viral load. INF infants with high plasma HIV RNA copies (> 5 x 10(5)/ ml) at 6 months of life were more likely to exhibit severe growth and developmental delay than infants with a lower viral burden. The implications of these findings with respect to the mechanism of action of HIV-related growth and neurodevelopmental impairments are discussed.     

Comparison of two outcome measures for infants with cerebral palsy and infants with motor delays

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) and the Peabody Developmental Gross Motor Scale (PDMS-GM) as measures of change in infants with cerebr-al palsy (CP) and infants with motor delays. We hypothesized that mean change scores would be greater for the GMFM than for the PDMS-GM. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Subjects were 42 infants with a mean adjusted age of 13.9 months (SD=6.1, range=4.2-24.2). Twenty-four infants had CP, and 18 infants had motor delays. The GMFM and the PDMS-GM were administered to the infants 3 times over a 6-month period. Raw scores were standardized for data analysis. Data were analyzed using a 3-factor repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: For the 6-month period, mean PDMS-GM age-equivalent scores increased 3.8 months and mean scaled scores increased 35 points for infants with motor delays compared with increased scores of 1.8 months and 13 points for infants with CP. Mean GMFM scores increased by 12.2% for infants with rmotor delays and by 4.2% for infants with CP. The diagnosis X time interaction was significant. Infants with motor delays had a greater change in motor development compared with the infants with CP. The hypothesis that the GMFM is more responsive to change than the PDMS-GM was not supported. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that the GMFM and the PDMS-GM are comparable in measuring change in infants with CP or motor delays. Implications for selection and use of either measure are discussed.