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Objective: To examine the prospective association of television (TV) watching from adolescence to young adulthood with BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and obesity.Design: A community-based longitudinal cohort study.Setting: Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) Cohort, Brisbane, Australia.Subjects: A sub-sample of 2439 children was followed up at ages 14 years and 21 years as part of a population-based birth cohort. Offspring reported the number of TV viewing hours each day at 14 and 21 years. BMI, WC and WHR were measured at 21 years.Results: In the adjusted model, offspring who watched TV for <3 h/d at 14 years but for ≥ 3 h/d at 21 years, or who watched TV for ≥ 3 h/d at 14 and 21 years, had greater BMI, WC and WHR at 21 years. Offspring who watched TV for ≥ 3 h/d at 14 years but for <3 h/d at 21 years had similar mean BMI, WC and WHR at 21 years to those who watched TV for <3 h/d at 14 and 21 years. Those offspring who reduced their TV watching hours to <3 h/d during the transition from adolescence into young adulthood were at less risk of becoming obese and those who continued or increased their TV watching to ≥ 3 h/d were at greater risk of becoming obese. This association remained independent of the potential confounding factors considered.Conclusions: The present findings suggest that our efforts to decrease obesity by reducing TV watching hours among adults should consider interventions to reduce TV time among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE:: To describe different patterns of overweight status between ages 5 and 14?y and examine the role of modifiable family and early life characteristics in explaining different patterns of change between these two ages. DESIGN:: A population-based prospective birth cohort. SUBJECTS:: A total of 2934 children (52%males) who were participants in the Mater-University study of pregnancy, Brisbane, and who were examined at ages 5 and 14?y. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:: Four patterns of change in overweight/obesity status between ages 5 and 14?y: (i) normal at both ages; (ii) normal at 5?y and overweight/obese at 14?y; (iii) overweight/obese at 5?y and normal at 14?y; (iv) overweight/obese at both ages. RESULTS:: Of the 2934 participants, 2018 (68.8%) had a normal body mass index (BMI) at ages 5 and 14?y, 425 (14.5%) changed from a normal BMI at age 5?y to overweight or obese at age 14?y, 175 (6.0%) changed from being overweight or obese at age 5?y to normal weight at age 14?y and 316 (10.8%) were overweight or obese at both ages 5 and 14?y. Girls were more likely to make the transition from overweight or obese at age 5?y to normal at 14?y than their boy counterparts. Children whose parents were overweight or obese were more likely to change from having a normal BMI at age 5?y to being overweight at 14?y (fully adjusted RR: 6.17 (95%CI: 3.97, 9.59)) and were more likely to be overweight at both ages (7.44 (95%CI: 4.60, 12.02)). Birth weight and increase in weight over the first 6 months of life were both positively associated with being overweight at both ages. Other explanatory factors were not associated with the different overweight status transitions. CONCLUSIONS:: Parental overweight status is an important determinant of whether a child is overweight at either stage or changes from being not overweight at 5?y to becoming so at 14?y.International Journal of Obesity (2005) 29, 475-482. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802922 Published online 8 March 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the outcome of preterm infants born to mothers with hypertension during pregnancy, and preterm controls.Methods: 107 infants of 24-32 weeks gestation, born to hypertensive mothers, and 107 controls matched for gestational age, sex, and multiple pregnancy, born to normotensive mothers, were prospectively enrolled over 2 years. Information on maternal complications and medication was obtained and neonatal mortality and morbidities recorded. Survivors were followed up to at least 2 years, corrected for prematurity.Results: One third of the hypertensive mothers were treated with antihypertensive drugs, while 18% received convulsion prophylaxis with phenytoin. Magnesium sulphate was not prescribed. Both groups had a mean gestational age of 29.9 weeks, with the study infants having a significantly lower birthweight than the controls. Four study and three control infants died in the neonatal period. Cerebral palsy was not diagnosed in any infant of a hypertensive mother compared with five of the controls. The mean general quotient for the two groups was very similar and no difference in the incidence of minor neuromotor developmental problems was shown.Conclusions: Maternal hypertension seems to protect against cerebral palsy in preterm infants without increasing the risk of cognitive impairment. This was independent of the use of maternally administered magnesium sulphate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is considerable genetic and pathologic evidence for an association between neuregulin 1 (NRG1) dysregulation and schizophrenia, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms remain unclear. Mutant mice containing disruption of the transmembrane (TM) domain of the NRG1 gene constitute a heuristic model for dysregulation of NRG1-ErbB4 signaling in schizophrenia. The present study focused on hitherto uncharacterized information processing phenotypes in this mutant line. Using a mass spectrometry-based metabolomics approach, we also quantified levels of unique metabolites in brain. Across 2 different sites and protocols, Nrg1 mutants demonstrated deficits in prepulse inhibition, a measure of sensorimotor gating, that is, disrupted in schizophrenia; these deficits were partially reversed by acute treatment with second, but not first-, generation antipsychotic drugs. However, Nrg1 mutants did not show a specific deficit in latent inhibition, a measure of selective attention that is also disrupted in schizophrenia. In contrast, in a "what-where-when" object recognition memory task, Nrg1 mutants displayed sex-specific (males only) disruption of "what-when" performance, indicative of impaired temporal aspects of episodic memory. Differential metabolomic profiling revealed that these behavioral phenotypes were accompanied, most prominently, by alterations in lipid metabolism pathways. This study is the first to associate these novel physiological mechanisms, previously independently identified as being abnormal in schizophrenia, with disruption of NRG1 function. These data suggest novel mechanisms by which compromised neuregulin function from birth might lead to schizophrenia-relevant behavioral changes in adulthood., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.)

Background: Rapid weight gain in early life may increase the risk of overweight and obesity in adulthood. We investigated the association between the rate of growth during early childhood and the development of overweight and obesity in young adults., Methods: We used a prospective cohort study of 2077 young adults who were born between 1981 and 1984 in Brisbane, Australia and had anthropometry measurements available at birth, 6 months, 5 years, 14 years and 21 years of age. The associations of rate of early growth with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and their categories at 21 years were studied using multivariate analysis., Results: We found that rapid weight gain [> + 0.67 standard deviation score (SDS)] in the first 5 years of life was associated with young adults' overweight status (BMI: adjusted OR = 2.35, 95% CI, 1.82-3.03; WC: adjusted OR = 2.20, 95% CI, 1.65-2.95). We also observed that slow weight gain in the first 5 years of age (< -0.67 SDS) was inversely associated with overweight (BMI: OR = 0.62, 95% CI, 0.45-0.84). Such associations were not found with WHR. Rapid weight gain in the first 6 months of life increased the risk of overweight as defined by BMI (adjusted OR = 1.13, 95% CI, 0.86-1.49) and WC (adjusted OR = 1.24, 95% CI, 0.92-1.67), but these associations were not statistically significant., Conclusion: Rapid weight gain in the first 5 years of life in children increased their risk of a higher BMI and WC in young adulthood, in contrast slow weight gain was inversely associated with weight status at 21 years.

Background: Very preterm birth (<32 weeks gestation) is associated with motor, cognitive, behavioural and educational problems in children and maternal depression and withdrawal. Early interventions that target parenting have the greatest potential to create sustained effects on child development and parental psychopathology. Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) has shown positive effects on child behaviour and adjustment, parenting practices and family functioning. Baby Triple P for Preterm infants, has been developed to target parents of very preterm infants. This study tests the effectiveness of Baby Triple P for Preterm infants in improving child and parent/couple outcomes at 24 months corrected age (CA)., Methods/design: Families will be randomised to receive either Baby Triple P for Preterm infants or Care as Usual (CAU). Baby Triple P for Preterm infants involves 4 × 2 hr group sessions at the hospital plus 4 × 30 min telephone consultations soon after transfer (42 weeks C.A.). After discharge participants will be linked to community based Triple P and intervention maintenance up to 24 months C.A. Assessments will be: baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks C.A.), at 12 and 24 months C.A. The primary outcome measure is the Infant Toddler Social & Emotional Assessment (ITSEA) at 24 months C.A. Child behavioural and emotional problems will be coded using the mother-toddler version of the Family Observation Schedule at 24 months C.A. Secondary outcome will be the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID III) cognitive development, language and motor abilities. Proximal targets of parenting style, parental self-efficacy, parental mental health, parental adjustment, parent-infant attachment, couple relationship satisfaction and couple communication will also be assessed. Our sample size based on the ITSEA, has 80% power, predicted effect size of 0.33 and an 85% retention rate, requires 165 families are required in each group (total sample of 330 families)., Discussion: This protocol presents the study design, methods and intervention to be analysed in a randomised trial of Baby Triple P for Preterm infants compared to Care as Usual (CAU) for families of very preterm infants. Publications of all outcomes will be published in peer reviewed journals according to CONSORT guidelines., Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12612000194864.

We isolated seven polymorphic microsatellite loci from a ground beetle (Bembidion atrocaeruleum, Coleoptera, Carabidae (Stephens, 1826)) associated with naturally and regularly disturbed floodplain habitat in northwest Europe. Loci were tested on 157 individuals collected from five distinct habitat patches across two adjacent drainage basins in Wales, United Kingdom, to assess their potential for revealing population structure across a relatively short spatial extent. Alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 12. For a central representative population, expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.23 to 0.78 (mean: 0.63), and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.16 to 0.94 (mean: 0.56). Analysis of molecular variance indicated significant structure among populations, even when one locus potentially containing null alleles was removed. These loci have the potential to aid the study of dispersal mechanisms of this important riparian species along and between river corridors, a recurring question in floodplain conservation studies. In addition, given the diversity of the Bembidion genus, they may have utility in the study of sister species., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.)

We have investigated the prospective association between excess gestational weight gain (GWG) and development of diabetes by 21 years post-partum using a community-based large prospective cohort study in Brisbane, Australia. There were 3386 mothers for whom complete data were available on GWG, pre-pregnancy BMI and self-reported diabetes 21 years post-partum. We used The Institute of Medicine (IOM) definition to categorize GWG as inadequate, adequate and excessive. We found 839 (25.78%) mothers gained inadequate weight, 1,353 (39.96%) had adequate weight gain and 1,194 (35.26%) had gained excessive weight during pregnancy. At 21 years post-partum, 8.40% of mothers self-reported a diagnosis of diabetes made by their doctor. In the age adjusted model, we found mothers who gained excess weight during pregnancy were 1.47 (1.11,1.94) times more likely to experience diabetes at 21 years post-partum compared to the mothers who gained adequate weight. This association was not explained by the potential confounders including maternal age, parity, education, race, smoking, TV watching and exercise. However, this association was mediated by the current BMI. There was no association for the women who had normal BMI before pregnancy and gained excess weight during pregnancy. The findings of this study suggest that women who gain excess weight during pregnancy are at greater risk of being diagnosed with diabetes in later life. This relationship is likely mediated through the pathway of post-partum weight-retention and obesity. This study adds evidence to the argument that excessive GWG during pregnancy for overweight mothers has long term maternal health implications.

Objective: To examine whether adolescent males and females who were victims of bullying were at greater risk of a higher body mass index (BMI) and obesity by young adulthood., Design: Secondary analysis of data from a community-based cohort study., Subjects: A sub-sample of 1694 offspring (50% males) who were participants in the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP), Brisbane, and who provided bullying information at 14 years and physical assessment at 21 years., Main Outcome Measures: BMI and its categories as normal, overweight or obese at 21 years., Results: One in two adolescent males and one in three adolescent females reported that they had been bullied at school by others. We found that adolescent males and females who were bullied were at a significantly greater risk of a higher BMI and obesity by young adulthood. Fourteen-year-old males who were occasionally/often bullied at school had 0.64 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.02, 1.27) kg m(2) greater mean BMI by 21 years compared with males who were never bullied by 14 years. This mean difference in BMI was 1.52, (95% CI: 0.75, 2.29) kg m(2) for females. Similarly, the odds of being obese were 2.54 (95% CI: 1.58, 4.09) times at 21 years for those males who were bullied occasionally/often compared with adolescent males who were never bullied. For females, this was 2.18 (95% CI: 1.40, 3.39). Overweight adolescents who experienced bullying had the greatest increase in BMI by young adulthood. Adjusting for potential confounding or mediating factors, the associations remain strong for males but are attenuated for females., Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that both male and female adolescents who were bullied often/sometimes by their peer group at 14 years were at greater risk of higher BMI and obesity by young adulthood.

Drugs that induce psychosis, such as D-amphetamine (AMP), and those that alleviate it, such as antipsychotics, are suggested to exert behavioral effects via dopamine receptor D2 (D2). All antipsychotic drugs are D2 antagonists, but D2 antagonism underlies the severe and debilitating side effects of these drugs; it is therefore important to know whether D2 is necessary for their behavioral effects. Using D2-null mice (Drd2-/-), we first investigated whether D2 is required for AMP disruption of latent inhibition (LI). LI is a process of learning to ignore irrelevant stimuli. Disruption of LI by AMP models impaired attention and abnormal salience allocation consequent to dysregulated dopamine relevant to schizophrenia. AMP disruption of LI was seen in both wild-type (WT) and Drd2-/-. This was in contrast to AMP-induced locomotor hyperactivity, which was reduced in Drd2-/-. AMP disruption of LI was attenuated in mice lacking dopamine receptor D1 (Drd1-/-), suggesting that D1 may play a role in AMP disruption of LI. Further supporting this possibility, we found that D1 antagonist SKF83566 attenuated AMP disruption of LI in WT. Remarkably, both haloperidol and clozapine attenuated AMP disruption of LI in Drd2-/-. This demonstrates that antipsychotic drugs can attenuate AMP disruption of learning to ignore irrelevant stimuli in the absence of D2 receptors. Data suggest that D2 is not essential either for AMP to disrupt or for antipsychotic drugs to reverse AMP disruption of learning to ignore irrelevant stimuli and further that D1 merits investigation in the mediation of AMP disruption of these processes.

Background: Riparian habitats are subjected to frequent inundation (flooding) and are characterised by food webs that exhibit variability in aquatic/terrestrial subsidies across the ecotone. The strength of this subsidy in active riparian floodplains is thought to underpin local biodiversity. Terrestrial invertebrates dominate the fauna, exhibiting traits that allow exploitation of variable aquatic subsidies while reducing inundation pressures, leading to inter-species micro-spatial positioning. The effect these strategies have on prey selection is not known. This study hypothesised that plasticity in prey choice from either aquatic or terrestrial sources is an important trait linked to inundation tolerance and avoidance., Method/principal Findings: We used hydrological, isotopic and habitat analyses to investigate the diet of riparian Coleoptera in relation to inundation risk and relative spatial positioning in the floodplain. The study examined patch scale and longitudinal changes in utilisation of the aquatic subsidy according to species traits. Prey sourced from terrestrial or emerging/stranded aquatic invertebrates varied in relation to traits for inundation avoidance or tolerance strategies. Traits that favoured rapid dispersal corresponded with highest proportions of aquatic prey, with behavioural traits further predicting uptake. Less able dispersers showed minimal use of aquatic subsidy and switched to a terrestrial diet under moderate inundation pressures. All trait groups showed a seasonal shift in diet towards terrestrial prey in the early spring. Prey selection became exaggerated towards aquatic prey in downstream samples., Conclusions/significance: Our results suggest that partitioning of resources and habitat creates overlapping niches that increase the processing of external subsidies in riparian habitats. By demonstrating functional complexity, this work advances understanding of floodplain ecosystem processes and highlights the importance of hydrological variability. With an increasing interest in reconnecting rivers to their floodplains, these invertebrates represent a key functional element in ensuring that such reconnections have demonstrable ecological value.

Background: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with offspring obesity. However, little is known about whether maternal smoking in pregnancy predicts other offspring cardiovascular risk factors including waist circumference (WC), waist-hip-ratio (WHR), pulse rate (PR), systolic (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)., Methods: We studied a sub-sample of 2038 (50% males) young adults who were born in Brisbane, Australia to investigate the prospective association of maternal smoking during pregnancy with young adult cardiovascular risk factors. We compared offspring mean BMI, WC, WHR, SBP, DBP and PR and the risk of being overweight and obese at 21 years by three mutually exclusive categories of maternal smoking status defined as never smoked, smoked before and/or after pregnancy but not in pregnancy or smoked during pregnancy and other times., Results: Offspring of mothers who smoked during pregnancy had greater mean BMI, WC, WHR and PR and they were at greater risk of being obese at 21 years compared to offspring of those mothers who never smoked. The mean of these risk factors among those adult offspring whose mothers stopped smoking during pregnancy, but who then smoked at other times in the child's life, were similar to those mothers who never smoked. These results were independent of a range of potential confounding factors., Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest a prospective association of maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring obesity as well as PR in adulthood, and reinforce the need to persuade pregnant women not to smoke.

Background: The role of family food behaviours on weight status of family members is not well understood. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of some aspects of family food behaviours on adolescents overweight., Method: In a cross-sectional mother-child-linked study design, participants were a subsample of 3862 adolescents (51.9% boys) from the Mater hospital-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP), a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 7,223 women and their offspring. Information on aspects of family food behaviours (family meal patterns and influences, frequency of family food consumption, and influences on family food selection) was collected by self reported questionnaires from mothers in a 14 years follow up (in 1994-1997) and other covariates at different stages of follow-ups. Body Mass Index of the adolescents was calculated using measured height and weight., Results: Being overweight at 14 years had significant negative associations with mothers' report on the importance of family meals (OR=1.28), frequency of eating cake/biscuits (OR=1.71), and significant positive association with mothers' report on frequency of consumption of cooked vegetables (OR=1.32), soft drinks (OR=1.60) and importance of fattening of foods (OR=1.27)., Conclusion: The study confirmed the importance of the family and some family food behaviours in shaping risk of being overweight amongst adolescents. Because of the cross-sectional nature of this study, we could not conclude that they had casual correlations. Comparison with the literature suggests that some of these effects may be specific to particular contexts, potentially affected by cultural and socio-economic differences.

Background: It is relatively less known whether pre-pregnancy obesity and excess gestational weight gain (GWG) are associated with caesarean delivery, pregnancy complications, preterm birth, birth and placenta weights and increased length of postnatal hospital stay., Methods: We used a population-based cohort of 6632 women who gave birth in Brisbane, Australia, between 1981 and 1983. The independent associations of pre-pregnancy obesity, GWG and institute of medicine (IOM) categories of combined pre-pregnancy BMI and GWG with outcomes were examined using multivariable regression (for continuous outcomes) and multivariable multinomial regression (for categorical outcomes) models., Results: We found women who were obese prior to pregnancy and women who gained excess weight during pregnancy were at greater risk for a pregnancy complications (OR: 2.10; 1.74, 2.54; age adjusted model), caesarean section (OR 1.29; 1.09, 1.54), higher birth weight difference (206.45 gm; 178.82, 234.08) and greater placental weight difference (41.16 gm; 33.83, 48.49) and longer length of hospital stay. We also found that mothers who gained inadequate weight or were underweight before pregnancy were at greater risk of preterm birth (2.27; 1.71, 3.00), lower risk of pregnancy complications (0.58; 0.44, 0.77) and had lower birth (-190.63;-221.05,-160.20) and placental (-37.16; -45.23,-29.09) weights. Results indicate that all associations remain consistent after adjustment for a range of potential confounding factors with the exception of the association between pre-pregnancy obesity and hospital stay., Conclusions: Pre-pregnancy obesity or excessive GWG are associated with greater risk of pregnancy complications, caesarean delivery and greater birth and placenta weight. Excess GWG is associated with a longer stay in hospital after delivery, independent of pre-pregnancy BMI, pregnancy complications and caesarean delivery. In addition to pre-pregnancy obesity, it is vital that clinical practice considers excess GWG as another indicator of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Objectives: We determined whether exposure to family poverty over a child's early life course predicts adolescent and young adult anxiety and depression., Methods: We used a birth cohort study of a sample of women in Brisbane, Australia, who were recruited in early pregnancy and whose children were followed up on at ages 14 and 21 years. Some 2609 mothers and adolescents provided usable data at the 14- and 21-year follow-ups., Results: After adjustment for poverty at other phases, poverty at the 14-year follow-up was the strongest predictor of adolescent and young adult anxiety and depression. The more frequently the child was exposed to poverty, the greater was the risk of that individual being anxious and depressed at both the 14- and 21-year follow-ups., Conclusions: Family poverty predicts higher rates of adolescent and young adult anxiety and depression. Increased frequency of child exposure to poverty is a consistent predictor of adolescent and young adult anxiety and depression. Repeated experiences of poverty over a child's early life course are associated with increased levels of poor mental health.

Background: The contribution of gestational weight gain (GWG) to the development of obesity may have important implications for mothers in their later lives. However, whether GWG is a strong predictor of body mass index (BMI) 2 decades after the index pregnancy is unknown., Objective: We examined the long-term effect of GWG by using a community-based birth cohort study., Design: We followed a subsample of 2055 women from an original cohort of 7223 women who gave birth in Brisbane, Australia, between 1981 and 1983. Multivariable regression and multinomial regression were used to examine the independent associations of GWG per gestational week and Institute of Medicine (IOM) categories of combined prepregnancy BMI and GWG with BMI and its categories 21 y after the index pregnancy., Results: In analyses using GWG per week as a continuous exposure variable, maternal BMI (in kg/m(2)) increased, on average, by 0.52 (95% CI: 0.31, 0.73) for a 0.1-kg/wk greater GWG. This association became stronger when adjusted for maternal prepregnancy BMI. Analyses with IOM categories showed a greater postnatal increase in BMI for women defined as having excessive GWG (3.72, on average; 95% CI: 3.12, 4.31) than for women with adequate GWG. The women who gained excess weight during pregnancy had increased odds of being overweight [odds ratio (OR): 2.15; 95% CI: 1.64, 2.82] or obese (OR: 4.49; 95% CI; 3.42, 5.89) 21 y after the index pregnancy. These associations were independent of other potential factors., Conclusion: Weight gain during pregnancy independently predicts the long-term weight gain and obesity of women.

We examined the prospective association of childhood BMI z-score and BMI categories (normal or overweight) with young adult diabetes, controlling for early life, childhood, and adolescence factors. A subsample of 2,639 young adults from the Mater-University study of pregnancy (MUSP) and its outcomes, a prospective birth cohort who were born in Brisbane, Australia and for whom we had measured height and weight at 5 years and self-reported diabetes at age 21 years. The risk of developing diabetes by age 21 years was greater among young adults who had greater BMI z-score or were overweight at age 5 years than those who had normal BMI at age 5 years. Young adults who were overweight at age 5 years had an increased odds ratio of 2.60 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.29, 5.22, in age- and sex-adjusted model) of experiencing diabetes by age 21 years. Adjustment for potential confounders and mediators including intrauterine environmental factors, childhood dietary patterns, television watching, participation in sports and exercise, and current weight, did not substantively alter these associations. Overweight and increasing BMI z-score at childhood is an independent predictor of young adult's type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Findings of this study suggest that childhood BMI may be central to the development and rising incidence of all diabetes.

We examined whether behavioral problems in childhood and adolescence are associated with young adults' BMI and obesity, and tested whether childhood behavioral problems have a greater impact on young adults' obesity than adolescent behavioral problems. The data were from the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) and Its Outcomes, a population-based birth cohort study commenced in Brisbane, Australia, in 1981. A subsample of 2,278 children for whom we had prospective information on their behavioral problems at ages 5 and 14 and measured BMI, and its categories (normal, overweight, and obese) at age 21 was chosen. Young adults who experienced behavioral problems at ages 5 or 14 had a greater average BMI and were more likely to be obese compared to young adults without behavioral problems at both ages. The childhood onset group was at greater risk of becoming obese by age 21 compared to the adolescent onset group (P = 0.04). These associations remained consistent after adjusting for a variety of potential covariates including maternal characteristics (i.e., demographics and life style), child dietary patterns, family meals, television (TV) watching, and participation in sports and exercise at 14 years. Childhood as well as persistent behavioral problems during childhood and adolescence predicts young adults' BMI and obesity. Although further studies are needed to confirm this association, there is a need for close monitoring of children presenting with behavioral problems.

We demonstrate fast, efficient beam steering using a single 1x32 analog ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) spatial light modulator. A high-tilt FLC material with 82 degrees optic-axis switching provides, in a reflective-mode device with a passive quarter-wave retarder between a half-wave FLC layer and a mirror, 91% of full 0-2pi phase modulation. Electronic drive based on applied charge gives 200 micros response-time analog modulation.

Background: Very little is known about the factors influencing parental misclassifications of a child's weight status. The aim of this study is to examine the predictors of maternal misclassifications of their adolescent offspring's weight status., Methods: A mother-child linked analysis was carried out using 14-year follow-up data from a population-based prospective birth cohort of 2650 children (52% males) who were participants in the Mater-University Study of Pregnancy in Brisbane (Australia) in 1981. Offspring's observed height and weight and maternal perception of offspring weight were reported when they were 14 years old and predictors were prospectively recorded either at first clinical visit of mothers or at 5 or 14 years follow-up. Maternal misclassifications were defined combining observed body mass index (BMI) categories and maternal perceptions of their offspring's weight status., Results: We found that maternal misclassification of child's weight status was common and included misclassifications both to higher and lower weight categories. Forty percent of mothers of overweight children misclassified their child as normal or underweight, more so in males than females. Fifteen percent of mothers of normal weight children misclassified their child as underweight, again more so in males than females. The main independent predictors of maternal misclassifications of child weight status were gender, child dissatisfaction with appearance, shape, size and weight, dieting to lose weight, general health status, maternal BMI and family meals. Gender, child dissatisfaction, dieting and maternal overweight were especially associated with misclassifications of overweight children., Conclusions: This study identified a number of maternal, child and family factors associated with maternal misclassifications of child weight status. Although relevant for clinical practice, further study is needed, however, to evaluate the benefits and harms of promoting increasing parental and child awareness of the child's weight status at a population level.

Objective: The objective was to identify the extent to which childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with BMI and overweight status in young adulthood and to examine whether any associations differ by gender., Research Methods and Procedures: The Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy is a prospective birth cohort from a population-based sample involving 7223 singletons whose mothers were enrolled in the 1980s at the first antenatal visit. The present cohort consisted of a subgroup of 2461 young adults who had both self-reported CSA data and measured BMI at 21 years., Results: Of 1273 men, 10.5% reported non-penetrative and 7.5% reported penetrative CSA before age 16 years. Of 1305 women, 20.6% reported non-penetrative and 7.9% reported penetrative CSA by age 16 years. We found young women's BMI and the prevalence of overweight at age 21 were greater in those who experienced penetrative CSA. This association was robust to adjustment for a variety of potential confounders. However, there was no association between non-penetrative CSA and BMI in women and no association between either category of CSA and BMI in men. There was statistical evidence for a gender difference in the association of CSA with mean BMI at age 21 (p value for statistical interaction <0.01 in all models)., Discussion: These findings suggest that among women, penetrative CSA is associated with greater BMI and increased odds of being overweight in later life, whereas in men, this association does not hold. This gender difference may reflect differences between women and men in the relationship between psychological trauma and body image or may be a chance subgroup finding.

Background: Obesity and asthma are common disorders, and the prevalence of both has increased in recent decades. It has been suggested that increases in the prevalence of obesity might in part explain the increase in asthma prevalence. This study aims to examine the prospective association between change in body mass index (BMI) z-score between ages 5 and 14 years and asthma symptoms at 14 years., Methods: Data was taken from the Mater University Study of Pregnancy and its outcomes (MUSP), a birth cohort of 7223 mothers and children started in Brisbane (Australia) in 1981. BMI was measured at age 5 and 14 years. Asthma was assessed from maternal reports of symptoms at age 5 and 14 years. In this study analyses were conducted on 2911 participants who had information on BMI and asthma at both ages., Results: BMI z-score at age 14 and the change in BMI z-score from age 5 to 14-years were positively associated with asthma symptoms at age 14 years, whereas BMI z-score at age 5 was not associated with asthma at age 14. Adjustment for a range of early-life exposures did not substantially alter these findings. The association between change in BMI z-score with asthma symptoms at 14 years appeared stronger for male subjects compared with female subjects but there was no statistical evidence for a sex difference (P=0.36)., Conclusions: Increase in BMI z-score between age 5 and 14 years is associated with increased risk of asthma symptoms in adolescence.

The authors used a population-based birth cohort of 3,253 children (52% males) born in Brisbane, Australia, between 1981 and 1984 to prospectively examine whether maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with offspring overweight and obesity. The authors compared mean body mass indexes (weight (kg)/height (m)2) and levels of overweight and obesity at age 14 years among offspring by patterns of maternal smoking (never smoked, smoked before and/or after pregnancy but not during pregnancy, or smoked during pregnancy). Adolescent body mass index and prevalences of overweight and obesity were greater in offspring whose mothers had smoked during pregnancy than in those whose mothers had never smoked. Body mass index and levels of overweight and obesity among adolescent offspring whose mothers stopped smoking during pregnancy but smoked at other times in the child's life were similar to those among offspring whose mothers had never smoked. These results were independent of a range of potentially confounding factors and suggest a direct effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on adolescent overweight and obesity. They provide yet another incentive for pregnant women to be persuaded not to smoke and for young women to be encouraged to never take up smoking.

Objectives: To determine whether maternal attitude towards the family regularly eating together and maternal report of how often the family eat together are associated with adolescent offspring overweight., Research Methods and Procedures: A cross-sectional mother-child-linked analysis was carried out using 14-year follow-up data from a population-based prospective birth cohort of 3795 children (52% males) who were participants in the Mater-University study of pregnancy, Brisbane, Australia. Maternal reports on family eating pattern reported at age 14 were used., Results: The prevalence of overweight at age 14 was 24.1% (95% confidence interval (CI), 22.3, 26.1) for males and 27.1% (CI, 25.1, 29.2) for females. The majority of mothers (78%) reported that the family ate together at least once a day, but only 43% reported that they felt that family eating together was important. The offspring of women who felt that the family eating together was not important had increased odds of being overweight at age 14 (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.05, 1.53) in age- and sex-adjusted models. Adjustment for potential confounding factors had no substantive effect on the association. There was no association between maternal reports of how often the family actually did eat together and overweight at age 14 in the offspring., Discussion: These findings suggest that maternal attitude towards family eating patterns, but not maternal report of how often the family do eat together, are associated with childhood overweight status. Maternal attitude towards family eating (as opposed to a report of actual frequency at one time-point) may reflect broader maternal influences (beyond family eating pattern) on their child's diet and eating patterns over a long time course.

Aims: To examine the associations between being overweight and behavioural problems at ages 5 and 14., Methods: Birth cohort study of 2875 individuals who were born in Brisbane between 1981 and 1984 and who were followed up at ages 5 and 14 years. Behavioural problems were defined as scoring above the 90th centile on Achenbach's child behavioural checklist., Results: In cross-sectional analyses there was no association between being overweight and behavioural problems in either females at age 5. At age 14 females who were overweight were more likely than those who were normal weight to experience behavioural problems. However, there was no association between being overweight and behavioural problems at age 14 among males. The prevalence of behavioural problems increased linearly across the distribution of body mass index in females at age 14. In prospective analyses, among participants who had no behavioural problems at age 5, there was no association between being overweight at age 5 and behavioural problems at age 14 in either sex. Females who were overweight at age 5 and normal weight at age 14 had reduced odds of behavioural problems at age 14., Conclusions: Among adolescent females there is a positive linear association between body size and behavioural problems. However, no such association was found in adolescent males, or in either sex at age 5 years, and in prospective analyses being overweight at age 5 was not associated with behavioural problems in either sex at age 14.

Weight reduction in clinical populations of severely obese children has been shown to have beneficial effects on blood pressure, but little is known about the effect of weight gain among children in the general population. This study compares the mean blood pressure at 14 years of age with the change in overweight status between ages 5 and 14. Information from 2794 children born in Brisbane, Australia, and who were followed up since birth and had body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure measurements at ages 5 and 14 were used. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure at age 14 was the main outcomes and different patterns of change in BMI from age 5 to 14 were the main exposure. Those who changed from being overweight at age 5 to having normal BMI at age 14 had similar mean blood pressures to those who had a normal BMI at both time points: age- and sex-adjusted mean difference in systolic blood pressure 1.54 (-0.38, 3.45) mm Hg and in diastolic blood pressure 0.43 (-0.95, 1.81) mm Hg. In contrast, those who were overweight at both ages or who had a normal BMI at age 5 and were overweight at age 14 had higher blood pressure at age 14 than those who had a normal BMI at both times. These effects were independent of a range of potential confounding factors. Our findings suggest that programs that successfully result in children changing from overweight to normal-BMI status for their age may have important beneficial effects on subsequent blood pressure.

Objective: To examine the association between intrauterine growth and intelligence., Design: Population based birth cohort study of sibling pairs born within a maximum of three years of each other., Setting: Mater-University women and children's hospital, Brisbane, Australia., Participants: 235 (470 children) sibling pairs., Results: Among one randomly selected sibling from each pair verbal comprehension at age 5, general intelligence at age 14, and reading ability at age 14 increased linearly with increasing gestational age and sex standardised birth weight z scores. With adjustment for maternal age, race, and smoking during pregnancy, birth order, family income, and parental education the associations with verbal comprehension at age 5 and general intelligence at age 14 remained, whereas the association with reading ability at age 14 was attenuated to the null. Within sibling pairs, differences in intrauterine growth were positively associated with differences in verbal comprehension at age 5 (test score difference per one unit difference in birth weight z score = 1.52 (0.11 to 3.26)) and general intelligence at age 14 (1.09 (0.01 to 2.18)), but not with reading ability at age 14., Conclusions: Socioeconomic position or other fixed maternal characteristics do not seem to explain the positive association between intrauterine growth and childhood intelligence.

Optical correlators such as the 4f and VanderLugt optical systems have been an active area of research for many years; we refer to these types of optical system collectively as serial transform correlators (STCs). Despite being well known, misconceptions regarding the design of STCs are not uncommon. We show, for example, that one correlator configuration reported to suffer from a phase curvature problem in fact works correctly. We present and prove a simple set of rules to follow in the selection of a STC design that does not contain unnecessary constraints and that makes it easier to identify permissible optical systems. As examples, we discuss three representative types of correlator configuration, one of which is discussed in detail to highlight its practical advantages. A novel proof of the design rules is presented that does not depend on details such as what lenses or combination of lenses are used, what their focal lengths are, or what their locations are within the optical system. We also present a conventional Fourier optics proof.

The neurodevelopmental outcome of 78 infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) was compared with that of 78 control infants matched for birthweight. To determine the effect of the severity of BPD, 62 infants requiring oxygen at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (sBPD) were compared with their matched controls. Infants were followed up to 2 years of age, corrected for prematurity, and were classified for neurological impairment, developmental delay, and neurodevelopmental disability. Seventy six (98%) BPD infants and 71 (91%) controls had follow up data available to two years. Neurological impairment, developmental delay, and neurodevelopmental disability occurred more frequently in infants with BPD than in controls but this was not significant. For infants with sBPD, the increased incidence of neurological impairment and definite developmental delay was not significant when compared with the controls, though neurodevelopmental disability occurred more frequently (odds ratio (OR) 3.6: 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.1-11.8). Predictors of disability in infants with sBPD included periventricular haemorrhage (OR 19.4: 95% CI 4.3-86.6), ventricular dilatation (OR 12.8: 95% CI 2.9-57.3), and sepsis (OR 5.0: 95% CI 1.3-19.4). Adjusting for the presence of these factors, the association between BPD and disability was no longer apparent (OR 0.9: 95% CI 0.2-3.6). The findings suggest that BPD is not independently associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcome.

This study investigates the origins of hand preference at 4 years in a cohort of 115 high risk and premature infants; the relationship between patterns of hand preference and intellectual, motor, temperament and behavioural status at 4 and 6 years; and evidence for brain injury in mediating the relationship between hand preference and development disorder. Increased left hand preference was independently associated with extreme prematurity, high neonatal risk, increased numbers of minor physical anomalies, lowered intellectual and motor abilities, and more difficult temperament. These findings supported the presence of intrauterine and neonatal pathological mechanisms leading to left hand preference in a small number of children. Neither poor function of the non dominant hand nor absence of a family history of left handedness could further define this pathological subgroup. Support for pathological mechanisms producing left handedness was found predominatly in the infants of high birth weight, whereas prevalence of left handedness was increased mainly among the extremely low birth weight infants. In this latter group the prevalence of left handedness was also increased among children of normal intelligence, suggesting that mechanisms other than brain damage lead to left hand preference in very premature infants.

Hand preference was measured in a total group of 71 ELBW children to determine patterns of hand preference at 4 and 6 years, possible aetiological factors leading to handedness, and whether left or non right hand preference were markers for intellectual, motor, temperament or behavioural differences. At both 4 and 6 years the prevalence of left handedness was increased, though this prevalence changed over the period of the study. Results supported brain injury as one mechanism leading to increased left hand preference, though this process did not adequately explain this increase. Possible reasons for this and the apparent change in prevalence with time are examined. Mixed handedness at 4 years was associated with lower intellectual abilities though otherwise children were similar in motor skills, temperament and behaviour independent of hand preference category.

In a study of 23 children admitted to hospital with a febrile convulsion, mild hyponatraemia was found on 8 occasions. In 6 of these cases there was evidence of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone. The hyponatraemia is unlikely to be the cause of the convulsion, but probably predisposes the child to a subsequent convulsion during the same febrile illness.

The study group comprised 40 unselected Caucasian children admitted to hospital whose ages were between 3 months and 3 years and whose weights were less than 3rd centile. A comparison group comprised 34 children from a similar background whose weights were between the 25th and 75th contiles. The mothers of all 74 children were interviewed and information was obtained on physical health of the child, social and family factors, bonding, feeding difficulties, and maternal childhood experience. In 23 of the 40 underweight children the organic disease was considered to be insufficient to explain the child being underweight and to be probably insufficient in a further 9 children. Three factors occurred more frequently in these 32 underweight children. The mother often perceived herself as having a disturbed mood and used the word "depression" to describe these feelings. She also tended to come from a lower social class than the mother in the comparison group, and her infant frequently had a low birthweight. Identification of these children is not difficult; clinical investigations need to be minimal, and therapy should be directed towards supporting the mother emotionally, improving her relationship with her child, and increasing her mothering skills.

Four children with vincristine toxicity unrelated to dose are described. Fever, haematological toxicity, and abdominal distension occurred 2-7 days after vincristine was given. Convulsions occurred 6-8 days after vincristine in all 4. Inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone was thought to have occurred in 3 patients. 2 patients died during the acute toxicity phase. Necropsy findings did not show neuronal changes which could be directly ascribed to vincristine.