OBJECTIVE To develop a new bioinformatic method in the noninvasive prenatal identification of common fetal aneuploidies using massively parallel sequencing on maternal plasma. METHODS Massively parallel sequencing was performed on plasma DNA samples from 108 pregnant women (median gestation: 12(+5) week) immediately before chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis. Data were analysed u...

OBJECTIVE To explore the relationship between several physical activity (PA) and dietary behaviours and BMI Z-score and to investigate the relationship between changes in these variables and in the BMI Z-score over a 4-year period from childhood to adolescence. DESIGN Longitudinal study in which children were included in the fifth grade and measured for four consecutive years. Dietary and PA ...

OBJECTIVE. Bone health is a major concern in patients with Turner syndrome (TS). There are few studies assessing bone mineral status in TS adolescents and none have reported a clear relationship with the risk of fracture. We assessed bone mineral status at three different skeletal sites by two different densitometric techniques in a group of TS adolescents. DESIGN. In 24 TS adolescents (17.1±3....

BACKGROUND Childhood obesity has grown very fast over recent decades and now it represents a serious public health problem. The number of adipocytes is set in childhood and adolescence and then, an effective understanding of the development of adipose tissue during these periods will help in the prevention of this pathology. OBJECTIVES The current study aimed to determine which adipose tissue...

The Z-score of a protein is defined as the energy separation between the native fold and the average of an ensemble of misfolds in the units of the standard deviation of the ensemble. The Z-score is often used as a way of testing the knowledge-based potentials for their ability to recognize the native fold from other alternatives. However, it is not known what range of values the Z-scores shoul...

High-throughput cDNA microarray technology allows for the simultaneous analysis of gene expression levels for thousands of genes and as such, rapid, relatively simple methods are needed to store, analyze, and cross-compare basic microarray data. The application of a classical method of data normalization, Z score transformation, provides a way of standardizing data across a wide range of experi...

BACKGROUND A blunted heart rate recovery (HRR) from peak exercise is associated with adverse outcome in adults with ischemic heart disease. We assessed HRR after pediatric heart transplantation (HTx) and its prognostic use. METHODS AND RESULTS Between 2004 and 2010 we performed 360 maximal exercise tests (median, 2 tests/patient; range, 1-7) in 128 children (66 men; age at test, 14 ± 3 years)...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate bone mass accrual and determine the influence of clinical, anthropometric, dietary and biochemical parameters on bone mass. METHODS A cohort study including 35 prepubertal HIV-infected children, between 7 and 12 years, attended at a referral center. At time 1 (T1) and time 2 (T2), patients were assessed according to clinical, anthropometric, dietary, biochemical paramete...

OBJECTIVE To assess relationships between dietary intake at age 12, 18 and 36 months and BMI Z-scores at age 36 months in a bi-ethnic group. DESIGN A prospective cohort study comparing cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Exposures included dietary intake at 12, 18 and 36 months (FFQ) with an outcome of BMI Z-score at age 36 months. SETTING Born in Bradford 1000 study, Bradford, UK. SUB...

better understanding and recognizing the amount of cultural development in iranian provinces and comparing them, causes a particular attention and helps to recognize their weaknesses, strengths, potentialities and deficiencies. the purpose of this paper is to analyze cultural development indicators in iran. the writers of this article present an applied research and use a comparative method. us...