[Formula: see text] Perinatal and social risk of poor language, memory, and learning outcomes in a cohort of extremely and very preterm children.

Children born extremely preterm (EPT) or very preterm (VPT) are at risk of neurodevelopmental impairment. How the interaction between biological and social risk factors affects cognitive development has not yet been completely understood. The objectives of this study are to analyze and compare the language, memory, and learning outcomes of five-year-old children born EPT (<28 weeks' gestational age) and VPT (28-31+6 weeks' gestational age) and to determine the risk of having poor outcomes attending to perinatal and maternal characteristics. The analysis included 377 children born VPT (n = 284) and EPT (n = 93) in 2011-2012. Maternal, neonatal, and clinical information was obtained at birth, and maternal education was obtained at five years using a parental questionnaire. At five years, the language, memory, and learning outcomes were assessed with the developmental NEuroPSYchological assessment second edition (NEPSY-II®). Logistic regression models were applied to assess the association of biological and social risk factors with performance below the expected level for the child's age in language, memory, and learning subtests. Lower maternal age and education increased the odds of having language performance below the expected level for the child's age, while lower maternal educational level and gestational age increased the likelihood of having memory performance below the expected level. Children living in the most social disadvantage contexts are at a higher risk of suboptimal cognitive development. Implementing intervention programs in disadvantaged contexts and targeting specific cognitive domains may enable EPT and VPT children to reach and fulfill their potential in society.

Anxiety and depression symptoms among pregnant women with different smoking habits.

Smoking during pregnancy is a major public health issue. The aim of this study isto describe the smoking habits of women during pregnancy and its association with clinically significant depressive and anxiety symptoms. 382 women answered to a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 33 weeks of gestation. Among pregnant woman, 284 are non-smokers, 38 are smokers and 60 quitted smoking during pregnancy. There was a significant association between maternal smoking status and marital status, education level and family income per month. Among smokers, the rate of quitters was quite similar among partnered and unpartnered women and higher in women with university degree and with higher family monthly income.  There was a significant association between maternal smoking status and clinically significant anxious symptoms [χ2(2)=8.535, p=0.014].  Among mothers with non-university education, smokers are more likely to have clinically significant anxiety symptoms than quitters (53.6% vs 24.3%) while among mothers in higher income families, smokers are more likely to have clinically significant depressive symptoms than quitters (100% vs 11.1%). This study provides important data to inform effective public health strategies directed to pregnant women.

Primeiras interações: um estudo comparativo entre mães e pais / Early interactions: A comparative study between mothers and fathers / Las primeras interacciones: un estudio comparativo entre madres y padres

ENQUADRAMENTO: A qualidade da interação mãe/pai-bebé é um factor determinante do desenvolvimento da criança. OBJECTIVO: descrever e comparar os padrões de interação mãe-bebé e pai-bebé. MÉTODOS: Para o efeito ao 2º e 6º mês após o parto realizaram-se gravações das interações face a face entre mãe e bebé e entre pai e bebé. RESULTADOS: a qualidade do comportamento das mães na interação é significativamente mais adequada do que a dos pais na interação aos 6 meses. CONCLUSÃO: Estar atento à qualidade da interação mãe-bebé e pai-bebé é crucial para potenciar desenvolvimento normativo da criança

BACKGROUND: the quality of mother/father-infant interaction is a key determinant of child development. AIM: to describe and compare the patterns of mother-infant interaction and father-infant interaction. METHODS: at 2 and 6 months after childbirth face to face interactions records between mother and infant and between father and infant were conducted. RESULTS: the quality of the mother´s behavior is significantly more adequate than the father´s behavior in the interaction at 6 months after birth. CONCLUSION: to be attentive not only to the quality of mother-infant interaction but also to the quality of father-infant is crucial to enhance child developmental outcomes

ANTECEDENTES: la calidad de la interacción madre/padre-hijo es un determinante clave del desarrollo del niño. OBJETIVO: describir y comparar los patrones de interacción madre-hijo y padre-hijo. MÉTODOS: a los 2 y 6 meses de edad se produjo grabaciones de interacciones cara a cara entre la madre y el bebé y entre el padre y el bebé. RESULTADOS: la calidad de los comportamientos maternos es significativamente mejor que los comportamientos del padre en la interacción. CONCLUSIÓN: Esté atento no sólo a la calidad de la interacción madre-hijo como también a la calidad de la interacción y padre-hijo es crucial para mejorar el desarrollo del niño

Depressive symptoms and mental adjustment in women with breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Depression is the most common psychological disorder observed in breast cancer patients. The purposes of this study were: to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms among women with breast cancer; and examine the association of depressive symptoms and demographic and clinical variables as well as the association between mental adjustment to cancer and level of depressive symptoms. METHODS: A total of 150 breast-cancer-diagnosed women were recruited in an Oncology Hospital. The Beck Depression Inventory and The Mini Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale were administered. RESULTS: Most of the patients had clinically significant symptoms of depression (56.5%), and there were few women without clinically significant depressive symptoms (18.4%). Both educational level (p < .001) and marital status (p = .041) are associated with depression symptoms. More depression was associated with more helplessness/hopelessness and anxious preoccupation and less fighting spirit and cognitive avoidance. CONCLUSIONS: Specific interventions for women with breast cancer should be carried out in order to enhance the mental health and resilience behaviors.

The importance of biological factors affecting trace metal concentration as revealed from accumulation patterns in co-occurring terrestrial invertebrates.

As physicochemical properties of the soil highly influence the bioavailable fraction of a particular trace metal, measured metal body burdens in a particular species are often assumed to be more reliable estimators of the contamination of the biota. To test this we compared the Cd, Cu and Zn content of three spiders (generalist predators) and two amphipods (detritivores), co-occurring in seven tidal marshes along the river Schelde, between each other and with the total metal concentrations and the concentrations of four sequential extractions of the soils. Correlations were significant in only one case and significant site x species interactions for all metals demonstrate that factors affecting metal concentration were species and site specific and not solely determined by site specific characteristics. These results emphasize that site and species specific biological factors might be of the utmost importance in determining the contamination of the biota, at least for higher trophic levels. A hypothetical example clarifies these findings.

Heavy metal concentrations in the spiders Pirata piraticus (Clerck, 1757) and Clubiona phragmitis (C.L. Koch, 1843) along the Scheldt Estuary (Belgium).

Wetland ecosystems may be affected by deposition and accumulation of heavy metals. Metal concentrations in the spiders Pirata piraticus and Clubiona phragmitis living in marshes along the river Scheldt (Flanders, Belgium) were analyzed. The organisms were sampled on seven sites along a gradient from freshwater to brackish marshes. Except for lead, P. piraticus contained higher metal concentrations than C. phragmitis. This is related to physiological and ecological differences between species. No correlation was found between metal concentration in the organisms and soil total concentration.