Measurement bias in caregiver-report of early childhood behavior problems across demographic factors in an ECHO-wide diverse sample.

Background: Research and clinical practice rely heavily on caregiver-report measures, such as the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 (CBCL/1.5-5), to gather information about early childhood behavior problems and to screen for child psychopathology.

Placental transcriptional signatures associated with cerebral white matter damage in the neonate.

Cerebral white matter is the most common anatomic location of neonatal brain injury in preterm newborns. Factors that predispose preterm newborns to white matter damage are understudied. In relation to studies of the placenta-brain-axis, dysregulated placental gene expression may play a role in preterm brain damage given its implication in programming early life origins of disease, including neurological disorders.

Integrated Omic Analyses Identify Pathways and Transcriptomic Regulators Associated With Chemical Alterations of In Vitro Neural Network Formation.

Development of in vitro new approach methodologies has been driven by the need for developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) hazard data on thousands of chemicals. The network formation assay characterizes DNT hazard based on changes in network formation but provides no mechanistic information. This study investigated nervous system signaling pathways and upstream physiological regulators underlying chemically induced neural network dysfunction.

Relationships among Inorganic Arsenic, Nutritional Status CpG Methylation and microRNAs: A Review of the Literature.

Inorganic arsenic is a naturally occurring toxicant that poses a significant and persistent challenge to public health. The World Health Organization has identified many geographical regions where inorganic arsenic levels exceed safe limits in drinking water. Numerous epidemiological studies have associated exposure to inorganic arsenic with increased risk of adverse health outcomes.

Placental Expression of Imprinted Genes, Overall and in Sex-Specific Patterns, Associated with Placental Cadmium Concentrations and Birth Size.

Background: Prenatal cadmium (Cd) exposure has been recognized to restrict growth, and male and female fetuses may have differential susceptibility to the developmental toxicity of Cd. Imprinted genes, which exhibit monoallelic expression based on parent of origin, are highly expressed in placental tissues. The function of these genes is particularly critical to fetal growth and development, and some are expressed in sex-specific patterns.

Workflow for defining reference chemicals for assessing performance of in vitro assays.

Instilling confidence in use of in vitro assays for predictive toxicology requires evaluation of assay performance. Performance is typically assessed using reference chemicals--compounds with defined activity against the test system target. However, developing reference chemical lists has historically been very resource-intensive.