BACKGROUND The pluripotency and self renewing properties of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) make them a valuable tool in the fields of developmental biology, pharmacology and regenerative medicine. Therefore, there exists immense interest in devising strategies for hESC propagation and differentiation. Methods involving simulation of the native stem cell microenvironment, both chemical and ph...

Health professionals and parents of preterm infants fear the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and retinopathy of prematurity because these neonatal morbidities are risk factors for development of neurosensory impairment, low psychomotor development index scores on the Bayley scales of infant development II, and neurotic mental development 2. Ultrasonographic signs of brain injury such ...

Children with motor coordination problems are known to have emotional difficulties and poor social skills. The current study investigated whether children with poor motor ability have poor emotion recognition skills, and whether these could be linked to problems in social behaviour. It was hypothesized that difficulties in empathic ability might be related to the poor visuo-spatial processing a...

Breastfeeding plays a pivotal role in the promotion of health and prevention of psychological problems in children. This study aimed to compare the effects of breastfeeding educational programs on the development of infants aged 1-3 months based on the model of Belief, Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Enabling Factors (BASNEF) and application of acupressure on the GB-21 point. Methods: This quasi...

OBJECTIVE To examine how infant overweight and high subcutaneous fat relate to infant motor development. STUDY DESIGN Participants were from the Infant Care, Feeding, and Risk of Obesity Project, a prospective, longitudinal study of low-income African-American mother-infant dyads assessed from 3 to 18 months of age (836 observations on 217 infants). Exposures were overweight (weight-for-lengt...

The current study adopts the PASS theory of information processing to investigate the probable differences in specific motor and cognitive abilities between children with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Participants were 108 5- and 6-year-old preschoolers (54 children with DCD and 54 children without DCD). The Movement Assessment Battery for Children assessed motor functi...

We have demonstrated a novel micro/nano transportation system using the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-driven biomolecular motors. Two kinds of linear biomolecular motor systems, microtubulekinesin [1] and actinmyosin [2], are investigated as driving mechanisms in the system. The rail molecules, microtubules, and actin are patterned on a glass substrate using a regular soft lithography technique ...

BACKGROUND Prenatal exposure to serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressants has been associated with delays in early developmental milestones, but there remains uncertainty. Even among a subset of studies examining the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID), some have reported normal mental and psychomotor development while others have suggested a delay in motor development. Given an...

OBJECTIVE To assess whether the recommendations that infants sleep supine could have adverse consequences on their motor and mental development. DESIGN A prospective study of infants, delivered before, during, and after the Back to Sleep Campaign in the United Kingdom, followed to 18 months of age. SUBJECTS The children were participants of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Child...