Cardiovascular consequences of extreme prematurity: the EPICure study.

Objectives: The long-term consequences of extreme prematurity are becoming increasingly important, given recent improvements in neonatal intensive care. The aim of the current study was to examine the cardiovascular consequences of extreme prematurity in 11-year-olds born at or before 25 completed weeks of gestation.

Methods: Age and sex-matched classmates were recruited as controls.

MicroRNA-21 and PDCD4 expression in colorectal cancer.

Introduction: MiRNAs regulate gene expression by binding to target sites and initiating translational repression and/or mRNA degradation. Studies have shown that miR-21 exerts its oncogenic activity by targeting the PDCD4 tumour suppressor 3'-UTR. However, the mechanism of this regulation is poorly understood.

Catalytic C-H bond amination from high-spin iron imido complexes.

Dipyrromethene ligand scaffolds were synthesized bearing large aryl (2,4,6-Ph(3)C(6)H(2), abbreviated Ar) or alkyl ((t)Bu, adamantyl) flanking groups to afford three new disubstituted ligands ((R)L, 1,9-R(2)-5-mesityldipyrromethene, R=aryl, alkyl). While high-spin (S=2), four-coordinate iron complexes of the type ((R)L)FeCl(solv) were obtained with the alkyl-substituted ligand varieties (for R=(t)Bu, Ad and solv=THF, OEt(2)), use of the sterically encumbered aryl-substituted ligand precluded binding of solvent and cleanly afforded a high-spin (S=2), three-coordinate complex of the type ((Ar)L)FeCl. Reaction of ((Ad)L)FeCl(OEt(2)) with alkyl azides resulted in the catalytic amination of C-H bonds or olefin aziridination at room temperature.

Accuracy of bacterial DNA testing for central venous catheter-associated bloodstream infection in children with cancer.

Background: Central venous catheters (CVCs) are widely used for children with cancer and are a major risk factor for bloodstream infection. Early and specific diagnosis of CVC-associated bloodstream infection allows early targeted treatment, reducing the risk of CVC removal and avoiding the operative risks and trauma of reinsertion, but peripheral vein sampling, as used in adults, improves specificity but is not usually acceptable in children.

Objective: To improve the detection and treatment of CVC-associated bloodstream infection in children (aged 0-18 years) with cancer admitted with fever.

The sodium iodide symporter (NIS) and potential regulators in normal, benign and malignant human breast tissue.

Introduction: The presence, relevance and regulation of the Sodium Iodide Symporter (NIS) in human mammary tissue remains poorly understood. This study aimed to quantify relative expression of NIS and putative regulators in human breast tissue, with relationships observed further investigated in vitro.

Methods: Human breast tissue specimens (malignant n = 75, normal n = 15, fibroadenoma n = 10) were analysed by RQ-PCR targeting NIS, receptors for retinoic acid (RARα, RARβ), oestrogen (ERα), thyroid hormones (THRα, THRβ), and also phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K).

Educational outcomes in extremely preterm children: neuropsychological correlates and predictors of attainment.

This study assessed the impact of extremely preterm birth on academic attainment at 11 years of age, investigated neuropsychological antecedents of attainment in reading and mathematics, and examined early predictors of educational outcomes. Children born extremely preterm had significantly poorer academic attainment and a higher prevalence of learning difficulties than their term peers. General cognitive ability and specific deficits in visuospatial skills or phoneme deletion at 6 years were predictive of mathematics and reading attainment at 11 years in both extremely preterm and term children.

Factors associated with acceptance of peers with mental health problems in childhood and adolescence.

Background: Research suggests that children's reactions to peers with mental health problems are related to the maintenance and outcomes of these problems. However, children's perceptions of such peers, particularly those with internalising problems, are neither well researched nor understood. The present study aimed to test a series of models relating socio-demographic and attributional variables to the acceptance of hypothetical boys and girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression.

Active living for rural children: community perspectives using PhotoVOICE.

Background: Active living integrates physical activity into one's daily routine. Current understanding of active living among children and their families living in rural communities is limited. A community perspective is critical to understand the contextual factors that influence children's physical activity in rural areas.

Screening for autism in preterm children: diagnostic utility of the Social Communication Questionnaire.

Objective: Preterm survivors are at high risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The diagnostic utility of the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) in screening for ASD was assessed in extremely preterm children at 11 years of age.

Design: All babies born at <26 weeks gestation in UK and Ireland from March through December 1995 were recruited to the EPICure Study.

Nature and severity of lung function abnormalities in extremely pre-term children at 11 years of age.

Advances in neonatal care have resulted in increased survival of children born extremely pre-term (EP). Nevertheless the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and long-term respiratory morbidity remains high. We investigated the nature of pathophysiological changes at 11 yrs of age to ascertain whether respiratory morbidity in EP children primarily reflects alterations in the lung periphery or more centralised airway function in this population.

Parent-child interactions and objectively measured child physical activity: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Parents influence their children's behaviors directly through specific parenting practices and indirectly through their parenting style. Some practices such as logistical and emotional support have been shown to be positively associated with child physical activity (PA) levels, while for others (e.g.

Development of the Children's Attributions about Psychological Problems in their Peers Scale.

Background: Research has shown that children's beliefs about the causes of psychological problems are related to their attitudes and reactions towards affected peers. This study describes the development of the Children's Attributions about Psychological Problems in their Peers (CAPPP) Scale, which assesses children's beliefs about the causes of an internalizing and an externalizing condition.

Methods: The 16 items comprising the CAPPP are derived from previous qualitative research findings.

Development and testing of the BONES physical activity survey for young children.

Background: Weight-bearing and high intensity physical activities are particularly beneficial for stimulating bone growth in children given that bone responds favorably to mechanical load. While it is important to assess the contribution and impact of weight-bearing physical activity on health outcomes, measurement tools that quantify and provide information on these activities separately from overall physical activity are limited. This study describes the development and evaluation of a pictorial physical activity survey (PAS) that measures children's participation and knowledge of high-intensity, weight-bearing ("bone smart") physical activity.

Adolescents' beliefs about sources of help for ADHD and depression.

The peer group begins to become a source of support during late childhood and adolescence making it important to understand what type of help young people might suggest to a friend with an emotional or behavioral problem. Three groups of young people participated in the study with average ages of 12 (N = 107), 14 (N = 153) and 16 years (N = 133). All participants were presented with vignettes describing fictional peers, two of whom had symptoms of clinical problems (ADHD and depression) and a third comparison peer without symptoms.

Psychiatric disorders in extremely preterm children: longitudinal finding at age 11 years in the EPICure study.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors for psychiatric disorders in extremely preterm children.

Method: All babies born <26 weeks gestation in the United Kingdom and Ireland from March through December 1995 were recruited to the EPICure Study. Of 307 survivors at 11 years of age, 219 (71%) were assessed alongside 153 term-born classmates.

Identification of microRNAs with a role in glucose stimulated insulin secretion by expression profiling of MIN6 cells.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of endogenous small non-coding RNAs which regulate mRNAs at the post-transcriptional level. MiRNAs have been identified in both normal physiological and pathological conditions. To date, a limited number of miRNAs have been shown to be involved in the regulation of insulin secretion.

Targeting Toll-like receptors: emerging therapeutics?

There is a growing interest in the targeting of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) for the prevention and treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Several new compounds are now undergoing preclinical and clinical evaluation, with a particular focus on TLR7 and TLR9 activators as adjuvants in infection and cancer, and inhibitors of TLR2, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 for the treatment of sepsis and inflammatory diseases. Here, we focus on TLRs that hold the most promise for drug discovery research, highlighting agents that are in the discovery phase and in clinical trials,and on the emerging new aspects of TLR-mediated signalling - such as control by ubiquitination and regulation by microRNAs - that might offer further possibilities of therapeutic manipulation.

Lung function and respiratory symptoms at 11 years in children born extremely preterm: the EPICure study.

Rationale: The long-term respiratory sequelae of infants born extremely preterm (EP) and now graduating from neonatal intensive care remains uncertain.

Objectives: To assess the degree of respiratory morbidity and functional impairment at 11 years in children born EP (i.e.

Potential role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the breast tumour microenvironment: stimulation of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to specifically migrate to and engraft at tumour sites. Understanding interactions between cancer cells and MSCs has become fundamental to determining whether MSC-tumour interactions should be harnessed for delivery of therapeutic agents or considered a target for intervention. Breast Cancer Cell lines (MDA-MB-231, T47D & SK-Br3) were cultured alone or on a monolayer of MSCs, and retrieved using epithelial specific magnetic beads.

Parent behavior and child weight status among a diverse group of underserved rural families.

The purpose of this study was threefold: to investigate the association between three parenting behaviors (parenting style, feeding style, and feeding practices), to evaluate whether these behaviors were associated with child weight, and to determine whether style (parenting and feeding) moderated the relationship between feeding practice and child weight. Ninety-nine parent-child dyads were recruited for a cross-sectional study where parents self-reported their parenting style, feeding style, and feeding practices along with demographic characteristics. Height and weight were measured for each dyad.

Autism spectrum disorders in extremely preterm children.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence, correlates, and antecedents of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in extremely preterm children.

Study Design: We conducted a prospective study of all births <26 weeks gestation in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1995. Of 307 survivors at 11 years, 219 (71%) were assessed and compared with 153 term-born classmates.

Negative regulation of TLR4 via targeting of the proinflammatory tumor suppressor PDCD4 by the microRNA miR-21.

The tumor suppressor PDCD4 is a proinflammatory protein that promotes activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB and suppresses interleukin 10 (IL-10). Here we found that mice deficient in PDCD4 were protected from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced death. The induction of NF-kappaB and IL-6 by LPS required PDCD4, whereas LPS enhanced IL-10 induction in cells lacking PDCD4.

Development of the Rural Active Living Assessment Tools: measuring rural environments.

Objective: Develop rural-specific assessment tools to be used by researchers and practitioners to measure the activity-friendliness of rural communities.

Method: The tools were created through a mixed-methods investigation into the determinants of physical activity among rural populations. This informed the development of a conceptual framework defining activity-friendly rural environments.

Neurodevelopmental disability through 11 years of age in children born before 26 weeks of gestation.

Background: To assess functional disability in children born before 26 weeks of gestation at 11 years of age and the stability of findings in individuals between 6 and 11 years of age.

Methods: Of 307 surviving children born in 1995, 219 (71%) were assessed at 11 years of age alongside 153 classmates. Children were evaluated by using standardized tests of cognitive ability and clinical condition at both ages.

CMIP and ATP2C2 modulate phonological short-term memory in language impairment.

Specific language impairment (SLI) is a common developmental disorder characterized by difficulties in language acquisition despite otherwise normal development and in the absence of any obvious explanatory factors. We performed a high-density screen of SLI1, a region of chromosome 16q that shows highly significant and consistent linkage to nonword repetition, a measure of phonological short-term memory that is commonly impaired in SLI. Using two independent language-impaired samples, one family-based (211 families) and another selected from a population cohort on the basis of extreme language measures (490 cases), we detected association to two genes in the SLI1 region: that encoding c-maf-inducing protein (CMIP, minP = 5.