The impact of a community-based music program during infancy on the quality of parent-child language interactions.

The early language environment, especially high-quality, contingent parent-child language interactions, is crucial for a child's language development and later academic success. In this secondary analysis study, 89 parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to either the Music Together® (music) or play date (control) classes. Children were 9- to 15-month old at baseline, primarily white (86.7%) and female (52%). Measures of conversational turns (CTs) and parental verbal quality were coded from parent-child free play episodes at baseline, mid-intervention (month 6), and post-intervention (month 12). Results show that participants in the music group had a significantly greater increase in CT measures and quality of parent verbalization post-intervention. Music enrichment programs may be a strategy to enhance parent-child language interactions during early childhood.

The impact of a music enrichment program during infancy and early toddlerhood on effortful control at age 3: A preliminary investigation.

Effortful control (EC), a self-regulation skill, is associated with long-term developmental outcomes. Music has been associated with infant self-regulation and may be an intervention strategy for enhancing EC during toddlerhood. This investigation included 32 parent-child dyads from a previously conducted randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants (9-15-months old at baseline) attended either a music enrichment program or a playdate control once a week for 1 year and monthly for an additional year. At age 3, participants completed snack and gift delay effortful control tasks. Groups were compared using one-way ANOVA. We found that participants in the music group had a significantly higher score during snack delay (music mean = 3.47 ± 0.94; control mean = 2.45 ± 1.51; p = 0.03; Cohen's d = 0.84). We did not find a significant group difference for latency to peek (music mean = 39.10 ± 20.10; control mean = 30.90 ± 19.88; p = 0.25; d = 0.57) or latency to touch (music mean = 105.73 ± 417.69; control mean = 98.35 ± 28.84; p = 0.38; d = 0.29) for the gift task. This study provides initial evidence that early participation in a music enrichment program may benefit later development of EC. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02936284).

The effects of a music enrichment program on parent-infant interactions during mealtime: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Parent-child interactions are linked to childhood obesity. Music enrichment programs enhance parent-child interactions and may be a strategy for early childhood obesity prevention. OBJECTIVE: We implemented a 2-year randomized, controlled trial to assess the effects of a music enrichment program (music, n = 45) vs. active play date control (control, n = 45) on parent-child interactional quality and infant weight status. METHODS: Typically developing infants aged 9-to 15-months were enrolled with a primary caregiver in the Music Together ® or a play date program. Participants attended once per week group meetings for 12 months and once per month group meetings for an additional 12 months. Parent-child interaction was measured using the Parent Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA) at baseline, month 6, 12, and 24. We used a modified intent-to-treat mixed model regression to test group differences in parent-child interactions and Weight for length z-score (zWFL) growth trajectories were modeled. RESULTS: There were significant differential group changes across time for negative affect during feeding (group*month; p = 0.02) in that those parents in the music group significantly decreased their negative affect score compared with the control group from baseline to month 12 (music change = -0.279 ± 0.129; control change = +0.254 ± 0.131.; p = 0.00). Additionally, we also observed significant differential group changes across time for parent intrusiveness during feeding (group*month; p = 0.04) in that those parents in the music group significantly decreased their intrusiveness score compared with the control group from month 6 to month 12 (music change = -0.209 ± 0.121; control change = 0.326 ± 0.141; p = 0.01). We did not find a significant association between any of the changes in parental negative affect and intrusiveness with child zWFL trajectories. CONCLUSION: Participating in a music enrichment program from an early age may promote positive parent-child interactions during feeding, although this improvement in the quality of parent-child interactions during feeding was not associated with weight gain trajectories.

The Effect of Contingent Singing on Infants with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

A significant component of care for infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is providing an optimal environment for supporting neurodevelopment and growth. Interventions that support the behavioral and physiologic stability of this population may play an important role in improving overall outcomes. Contingent singing is a music intervention that allows the caregiver to tailor certain musical elements, such as rhythm and tempo, to match behavioral and physiologic cues and support the infant in achieving optimal stabilization. A randomized crossover design was used to study the effect of contingent singing on the behavioral state and physiologic measures compared to standard care practices in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Data were collected on a sample of 37 infants diagnosed with BPD. There were no significant differences in the physiologic measures or behavioral states of infants in the contingent singing sessions compared to control sessions. Parents and staff reported favorable views of music therapy in the NICU, and there were no adverse responses from infants during contingent singing. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of this intervention on the physiologic stability of infants with BPD.

Globally-distributed microbial eukaryotes exhibit endemism at deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

Single-celled microbial eukaryotes inhabit deep-sea hydrothermal vent environments and play critical ecological roles in the vent-associated microbial food web. 18S rRNA amplicon sequencing of diffuse venting fluids from four geographically- and geochemically-distinct hydrothermal vent fields was applied to investigate community diversity patterns among protistan assemblages. The four vent fields include Axial Seamount at the Juan de Fuca Ridge, Sea Cliff and Apollo at the Gorda Ridge, all in the NE Pacific Ocean, and Piccard and Von Damm at the Mid-Cayman Rise in the Caribbean Sea. We describe species diversity patterns with respect to hydrothermal vent field and sample type, identify putative vent endemic microbial eukaryotes, and test how vent fluid geochemistry may influence microbial community diversity. At a semi-global scale, microbial eukaryotic communities at deep-sea vents were composed of similar proportions of dinoflagellates, ciliates, Rhizaria, and stramenopiles. Individual vent fields supported distinct and highly diverse assemblages of protists that included potentially endemic or novel vent-associated strains. These findings represent a census of deep-sea hydrothermal vent protistan communities. Protistan diversity, which is shaped by the hydrothermal vent environment at a local scale, ultimately influences the vent-associated microbial food web and the broader deep-sea carbon cycle.

Ancient Metabolisms of a Thermophilic Subseafloor Bacterium.

The ancient origins of metabolism may be rooted deep in oceanic crust, and these early metabolisms may have persisted in the habitable thermal anoxic aquifer where conditions remain similar to those when they first appeared. The Wood-Ljungdahl pathway for acetogenesis is a key early biosynthetic pathway with the potential to influence ocean chemistry and productivity, but its contemporary role in oceanic crust is not well established. Here, we describe the genome of a novel acetogen from a thermal suboceanic aquifer olivine biofilm in the basaltic crust of the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR) whose genome suggests it may utilize an ancient chemosynthetic lifestyle. This organism encodes the genes for the complete canonical Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, but is potentially unable to use sulfate and certain organic carbon sources such as lipids and carbohydrates to supplement its energy requirements, unlike other known acetogens. Instead, this organism may use peptides and amino acids for energy or as organic carbon sources. Additionally, genes involved in surface adhesion, the import of metallic cations found in Fe-bearing minerals, and use of molecular hydrogen, a product of serpentinization reactions between water and olivine, are prevalent within the genome. These adaptations are likely a reflection of local environmental micro-niches, where cells are adapted to life in biofilms using ancient chemosynthetic metabolisms dependent on H2 and iron minerals. Since this organism is phylogenetically distinct from a related acetogenic group of Clostridiales, we propose it as a new species, Candidatus Acetocimmeria pyornia.

A Survey of Neonatal Nurses Perspectives on Voice Use and Auditory Needs with Premature Infants in the NICU.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to the voice and language during the critical period of auditory development associated with the third trimester is thought to be an essential building block for language. Differences in the auditory experience associated with early life in the NICU may increase the risk of language delays for premature infants. NICU nurses are fundamental in the care of premature infants; how they use their voices may be important in understanding auditory experiences in the NICU. This study examined voice use behaviors of NICU nurses in the United States and their current knowledge of early auditory development. METHOD: An opt-in, online questionnaire. RESULTS: Nurses reported using their voice more as the age of infants approached term gestation and speaking to infants was the most common type of voice use. Both infant and nurse factors influenced reported voice use decisions in the NICU. Nurses did not believe the NICU auditory environment to be sufficient to meet early auditory needs of premature infants but did believe that premature infants are exposed to adequate voice sounds. CONCLUSIONS: A gap in knowledge regarding the importance of early exposure to voice sounds may be a barrier to nurses using their voices to support early auditory development.

Protistan grazing impacts microbial communities and carbon cycling at deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

Microbial eukaryotes (or protists) in marine ecosystems are a link between primary producers and all higher trophic levels, and the rate at which heterotrophic protistan grazers consume microbial prey is a key mechanism for carbon transport and recycling in microbial food webs. At deep-sea hydrothermal vents, chemosynthetic bacteria and archaea form the base of a food web that functions in the absence of sunlight, but the role of protistan grazers in these highly productive ecosystems is largely unexplored. Here, we pair grazing experiments with a molecular survey to quantify protistan grazing and to characterize the composition of vent-associated protists in low-temperature diffuse venting fluids from Gorda Ridge in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Results reveal protists exert higher predation pressure at vents compared to the surrounding deep seawater environment and may account for consuming 28 to 62% of the daily stock of prokaryotic biomass within discharging hydrothermal vent fluids. The vent-associated protistan community was more species rich relative to the background deep sea, and patterns in the distribution and co-occurrence of vent microbes provide additional insights into potential predator-prey interactions. Ciliates, followed by dinoflagellates, Syndiniales, rhizaria, and stramenopiles, dominated the vent protistan community and included bacterivorous species, species known to host symbionts, and parasites. Our findings provide an estimate of protistan grazing pressure within hydrothermal vent food webs, highlighting the important role that diverse protistan communities play in deep-sea carbon cycling.

Carbon fixation and energy metabolisms of a subseafloor olivine biofilm.

Earth's largest aquifer ecosystem resides in igneous oceanic crust, where chemosynthesis and water-rock reactions provide the carbon and energy that support an active deep biosphere. The Calvin Cycle is the predominant carbon fixation pathway in cool, oxic, crust; however, the energy and carbon metabolisms in the deep thermal basaltic aquifer are poorly understood. Anaerobic carbon fixation pathways such as the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, which uses hydrogen (H2) and CO2, may be common in thermal aquifers since water-rock reactions can produce H2 in hydrothermal environments and bicarbonate is abundant in seawater. To test this, we reconstructed the metabolisms of eleven bacterial and archaeal metagenome-assembled genomes from an olivine biofilm obtained from a Juan de Fuca Ridge basaltic aquifer. We found that the dominant carbon fixation pathway was the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, which was present in seven of the eight bacterial genomes. Anaerobic respiration appears to be driven by sulfate reduction, and one bacterial genome contained a complete nitrogen fixation pathway. This study reveals the potential pathways for carbon and energy flux in the deep anoxic thermal aquifer ecosystem, and suggests that ancient H2-based chemolithoautotrophy, which once dominated Earth's early biosphere, may thus remain one of the dominant metabolisms in the suboceanic aquifer today.

Olivine-respiring bacteria isolated from the rock-ice interface in a lava-tube cave, a Mars analog environment.

The boundary between ice and basalt on Earth is an analogue for some near-surface environments of Mars. We investigated neutrophilic iron-oxidizing microorganisms from the basalt-ice interface in a lava tube from the Oregon Cascades with perennial ice. One of the isolates (Pseudomonas sp. HerB) can use ferrous iron Fe(II) from the igneous mineral olivine as an electron donor and O(2) as an electron acceptor. The optimum growth temperature is ∼12-14°C, but growth also occurs at 5°C. Bicarbonate is a facultative source of carbon. Growth of Pseudomonas sp. HerB as a chemolithotrophic iron oxidizer with olivine as the source of energy is favored in low O(2) conditions (e.g., 1.6% O(2)). Most likely, microbial oxidation of olivine near pH 7 requires low O(2) to offset the abiotic oxidation of iron. The metabolic capabilities of this bacterium would allow it to live in near-surface, icy, volcanic environments of Mars in the present or recent geological past and make this type of physiology a prime candidate in the search for life on Mars.

Molecular mechanisms of hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance in the AGPAT2-deficient mouse model of congenital generalized lipodystrophy.

Mutations in 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate-O-acyltransferase 2 (AGPAT2) cause congenital generalized lipodystrophy. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the metabolic complications associated with AGPAT2 deficiency, Agpat2 null mice were generated. Agpat2(-/-) mice develop severe lipodystrophy affecting both white and brown adipose tissue, extreme insulin resistance, diabetes, and hepatic steatosis. The expression of lipogenic genes and rates of de novo fatty acid biosynthesis were increased approximately 4-fold in Agpat2(-/-) mouse livers. The mRNA and protein levels of monoacylglycerol acyltransferase isoform 1 were markedly increased in the livers of Agpat2(-/-) mice, suggesting that the alternative monoacylglycerol pathway for triglyceride biosynthesis is activated in the absence of AGPAT2. Feeding a fat-free diet reduced liver triglycerides by approximately 50% in Agpat2(-/-) mice. These observations suggest that both dietary fat and hepatic triglyceride biosynthesis via a monoacylglycerol pathway may contribute to hepatic steatosis in Agpat2(-/-) mice.