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Equivalent Age (equivalent + age)
Selected AbstractsCarbon and oxygen isotopes: a tool for Jurassic and early Cretaceous pelagic correlation (southern Spain)GEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2002J. Rey Abstract The isotopic evolution of ,13C and ,18O is reported for the Jurassic and early Cretaceous in two pelagic sections of the External Zones in the Betic Cordilleras (SE Spain). Stable isotope curves from pelagic trough and swell sections display similar patterns. Variations in ,18O and ,13C values from strata at equivalent age probably reflect both early diagenetic cementation and later temperature-related burial diagenesis. Comparison of global isotope curves with those presented in this work allows the differentiation of global from local events. Thus, the anoxic event during the early Toarcian (falciferum Zone) is characterized by elevated ,13C and depressed ,18O values. The isotopic record also allows the detection of the middle Oxfordian transgression. There are other peaks for the late Toarcian, early Bajocian, Callovian and early Berriasian that can also be used as tools for correlation purposes. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Allergy and infectious disease histories and the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemiaPAEDIATRIC & PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 2 2005Paula F. Rosenbaum Summary Infectious disease histories were evaluated in a population-based case-control study of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) as it has been hypothesised that delays in early infections are associated with an increased risk of disease. Allergy histories were also assessed as part of a broader evaluation of the role of immune factors in ALL. Cases (n = 255) were diagnosed between 1980 and 1991 at one of four referral centres in a 31-county area of New York State; controls (n = 760) were a random sample of live births from the same region, frequency matched to cases by sex, race and birth year. Data were collected by mailed questionnaire, completed by case and control parents in 1995. Allergy and infectious histories before the age at leukaemia diagnosis for cases and an equivalent age for controls were evaluated. The adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval [CI] associated with a positive history of any allergy was 0.58 [95% CI 0.38, 0.88] compared with a negative allergy history. The occurrence of several common childhood illnesses before 25 months of age and ALL were assessed, with both weak positive and weak inverse associations observed. Overall, these analyses provide little support for the hypothesis that infection delay in early life is associated with an increased risk of ALL. Children with positive allergy histories reported significantly more infections than those with negative histories; however, effect modification of the infection-ALL associations by child allergy history was not observed. Nonetheless, these observations suggest the importance of assessing both allergy and infectious histories and their possible interactions when evaluating the association between these immune factors and childhood ALL. [source] Brain size and encephalization in early to Mid-Pleistocene HomoAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2004G. Philip Rightmire Abstract Important changes in the brain have occurred during the course of human evolution. Both absolute and relative size increases can be documented for species of Homo, culminating in the appearance of modern humans. One species that is particularly well-represented by fossil crania is Homo erectus. The mean capacity for 30 individuals is 973 cm3. Within this group there is substantial variation, but brain size increases slightly in specimens from later time periods. Other Middle Pleistocene crania differ from those of Homo erectus. Characters of the facial skeleton, vault, and cranial base suggest that fossils from sites such as Arago Cave in France, the Sima de los Huesos in Spain, Bodo in Ethiopia, Broken Hill in Zambia, and perhaps Dali in China belong to the taxon Homo heidelbergensis. Ten of these mid-Quaternary hominins have brains averaging 1,206 cm3 in volume, and many fall beyond the limits of size predicted for Homo erectus of equivalent age. When orbit height is used to construct an index of relative brain size, it is apparent that the (significant) increase in volume documented for the Middle Pleistocene individuals is not simply a consequence of larger body mass. Encephalization quotient values confirm this finding. These changes in absolute and relative brain size can be taken as further corroborative evidence for a speciation event, in which Homo erectus produced a daughter lineage. It is probable that Homo heidelbergensis originated in Africa or western Eurasia and then ranged widely across the Old World. Archaeological traces indicate that these populations differed in their technology and behavior from earlier hominins. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Early prediction of neurological outcome by term neurological examination and cranial ultrasound in very preterm infantsACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 3 2009P Amess Abstract Aim: To assess the value of term neurological examination and cranial ultrasound in the early prediction of neurological outcome at 12 months corrected age in a cohort of very preterm infants. Methods: A cohort of 102 preterm infants born at <32 weeks gestation or with a birth weight of <1500 g were assessed using the Hammersmith Term Neurological Examination. They underwent cranial ultrasound examinations according to local guidelines. The Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination was performed at 12 months corrected age. Scores for the term examinations were compared with scores derived from healthy infants born at term and with scores from low-risk preterm infants at term equivalent age. Term neurological scores and cranial ultrasound findings were compared in the prediction of 12-month neurological outcome. Results: Seventy-eight (76.5%) preterm infants had suboptimal total neurological scores at term when compared to healthy infants born at term. However, most went on to have optimal neurological scores at 12 months corrected age. When our cohort was compared with low-risk preterm infants at term equivalent age only 14 (13.7%) scored outside the normal range. Neither system of scoring predicted neurological outcome at 12 months corrected age as reliably as cranial ultrasound (sensitivity 0.83, specificity 0.87). Conclusion: Neurological examination of preterm babies at term may be unreliable in the prediction of neurological outcome at 12 months corrected age. For early prediction of neurological outcome cranial ultrasound examination was found to be more reliable. [source] Brain abnormalities in extremely low gestational age infants: a Swedish population based MRI studyACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 7 2007Sandra Horsch Abstract Aims: Brain abnormalities are common in preterm infants and can be reliably detected by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at term equivalent age. The aim of the present study was to acquire population based data on brain abnormalities in extremely low gestational age (ELGA) infants from the Stockholm region and to correlate the MR findings to perinatal data, in order to identify risk factors. Methods: All infants with gestational age <27 weeks, born in the Stockholm region between January 2004 and August 2005, were scanned on a 1.5 T MR system at term equivalent age. Images were analysed using a previously established scoring system for grey and white matter abnormalities. Results: No or only mild white matter abnormalities were observed in 82% and moderate to severe white matter abnormalities in 18% of infants. The Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB II) score, use of inotropes, the presence of high-grade intraventricular haemorrhages and posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation were associated with white matter abnormalities. Conclusion: The incidence of moderate to severe white matter abnormalities in a population-based cohort of ELGA infants from the Stockholm region was 18%. To examine the clinical relevance of these promising results, neurodevelopmental follow up at 30 month corrected age, is ongoing. [source] Spinal degenerative disk disease (DDD) in female macaque monkeys: epidemiology and comparison with womenJOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 3 2002Patricia Ann Kramer Spinal degenerative disk disease (DDD) in a radiographic, cross-sectional sample of 192 female macaque monkeys, approximately 5,30 years old, is described. The presence and extent of disk space narrowing (DSN) and anterior osteophytosis were assessed with reference to age, average lifetime body mass, and distribution within the thoracolumbar spine. Age was a strong correlate of disk narrowing and osteophytosis, with early signs appearing at equivalent ages in both species and increasing in prevalence thereafter. Macaques showed a far greater prevalence of DDD, especially in the oldest age group, than has been reported in the human data. Body mass was associated with disk narrowing in the macaque, but not with osteophytosis. The two species differed little in the pattern of distribution of DDD along the spine. Our results suggest that bipedality is not the singular, or even the most important, biomechanical factor in the development of human DDD. Rather, others shared postural regimes, e.g., sitting, may be responsible for the onset and progression of DDD in both species. The macaque model could substantially add to the under-standing and, potentially, treatment of this oftentimes debilitating condition. © 2002 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. [source] | |||||||||||||