A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted to determine the effects of prevention of zinc deficiency on cognitive and sensorimotor development during infancy. At 6 mo of age, infants ...were randomly assigned to be administered a daily liquid supplement containing 10 mg/d of zinc (zinc sulfate), 10 mg/d of iron (ferrous sulfate), and 0.5 mg/d of copper (copper oxide), or an identical daily liquid supplement containing only 10 mg/d of iron and 0.5 mg/d of copper. Various controls were implemented to ensure adherence to the supplement protocol. A battery of developmental assessments was administered from 6 to 18 mo of age that included a visual habituation/recognition memory task augmented with heart rate at 6, 9, and 12 mo of age; the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd edition (BSID2) at 6, 12, and 18 mo; the A-not-B error task at 9 and 12 mo; and free-play attention tasks at 12 and 18 mo. Only infants supplemented with zinc had the normative decline in look duration from 6 to 12 mo during habituation and a normative decline in shifting between objects on free-play multiple-object attention tasks from 12 to 18 mo of age. The 2 groups did not differ on any of the psychophysiologic indices, the BSID2, or the A-not-B error task. The findings are consistent with zinc supplementation supporting a profile of normative information processing and active attentional profiles during the first 2 y of life. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00589264.
International graduate students have endured unique obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the experiences of eight international graduate students from various countries and ...academic backgrounds. The following questions guided this study: (1) What were the experiences during the 2020 school year for international students throughout COVID- 19?; (2) What were the day-to-day experiences of international graduate students during COVID- 19?, and (3) How did the international graduate students cope and adjust as they lived through a pandemic? Analysis of the data demonstrated the impact on the international graduate students’ preconceived expectations of the academic and socio-cultural experiences, as well as their overall quality of life. This study also indicated that international graduate students are in fact resilient and are willing to succeed regardless of the challenges they encounter.
Maternal prenatal zinc supplementation improved fetal autonomic regulation in a nutrient-deficient population in Peru. To evaluate whether differences in autonomic regulation existed in early ...childhood, we studied 165 children from a zinc supplementation trial (80% of original sample) as part of a comprehensive evaluation at age 54 mo. Electrocardiogram (ECG) data were collected from the children at rest and while they underwent a cognitive testing battery following a standardized protocol. Of these, 79 were born to mothers receiving 25 mg/d zinc in addition to 60 mg/d iron and 250 μg/d folic acid during pregnancy, and 86 were born to mothers receiving iron and folic acid only. Derived cardiac measures included heart period (HP), range, HP variability (HPV), mean square of successive differences (MSSD), and a measure of vagal tone (V). Children in the zinc supplementation group had greater HP (i.e. slower heart rate), greater range, higher time-independent (HPV) and time-dependent (MSSD) variability in HP, and higher V (P < 0.05) during baseline. Analyses conducted across the cognitive testing period revealed similar effects of prenatal zinc supplementation on cardiac patterns. Concurrent child zinc plasma concentration was also associated with longer HP, greater variability, and marginally higher range and V (P < 0.10). Differences in cardiac patterns due to prenatal zinc supplementation were detectable in children at 54 mo of age during conditions of both rest and challenge, indicating that supplementing zinc-deficient pregnant women has beneficial long-term consequences for neural development associated with autonomic regulation.
This article explores how love informed by thinking and feeling within the context of a unique and cutting edge study abroad professional development program in Concepción Chile for preservice ...teachers might serve as an antidote to the challenges that engaging in culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) present. The article draws upon rich qualitative data, along with some descriptive statistical information, from a longitudinal study of this program to highlight the potential for a love-informed thinking-feeling pedagogy. Through sharing stakeholder participant data, the authors examine how the experience of being othered, particularly in a study abroad context, may provide an opportunity for preservice teachers to better understand students from diverse backgrounds and may offer lessons while doing this work that might be applied to a variety of contexts. The authors also provide a framework drawing upon the ideas that communication matters, challenging is important, intensive 360-degree processing and support facilitates growth, and service-learning teaches to chart out pathways for educators interested in change beyond study abroad programs.
A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted to determine the effects of prevention of zinc deficiency on cognitive and sensorimotor development during infancy. At 6 mo of age, infants ...were randomly assigned to be administered a daily liquid supplement containing 10 mg/d of zinc (zinc sulfate), 10 mg/d of iron (ferrous sulfate), and 0.5 mg/d of copper (copper oxide), or an identical daily liquid supplement containing only 10 mg/d of iron and 0.5 mg/d of copper. Various controls were implemented to ensure adherence to the supplement protocol. A battery of developmental assessments was administered from 6 to 18 mo of age that included a visual habituation/recognition memory task augmented with heart rate at 6, 9, and 12 mo of age; the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd edition (BSID2) at 6, 12, and 18 mo; the A-not-B error task at 9 and 12 mo; and free-play attention tasks at 12 and 18 mo. Only infants supplemented with zinc had the normative decline in look duration from 6 to 12 mo during habituation and a normative decline in shifting between objects on free-play multiple-object attention tasks from 12 to 18 mo of age. The 2 groups did not differ on any of the psychophysiologic indices, the BSID2, or the A-not-B error task. The findings are consistent with zinc supplementation supporting a profile of normative information processing and active attentional profiles during the first 2 y of life. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00589264.
A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted to determine the effects of prevention of zinc deficiency on cognitive and sensorimotor development during infancy. At 6 mo of age, infants ...were randomly assigned to be administered a daily liquid supplement containing 10 mg/d of zinc (zinc sulfate), 10 mg/d of iron (ferrous sulfate), and 0.5 mg/d of copper (copper oxide), or an identical daily liquid supplement containing only 10 mg/d of iron and 0.5 mg/d of copper. Various controls were implemented to ensure adherence to the supplement protocol. A battery of developmental assessments was administered from 6 to 18 mo of age that included a visual habituation/recognition memory task augmented with heart rate at 6, 9, and 12 mo of age; the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd edition (BSID2) at 6, 12, and 18 mo; the A-not-B error task at 9 and 12 mo; and free-play attention tasks at 12 and 18 mo. Only infants supplemented with zinc had the normative decline in look duration from 6 to 12 mo during habituation and a normative decline in shifting between objects on free-play multiple-object attention tasks from 12 to 18 mo of age. The 2 groups did not differ on any of the psychophysiologic indices, the BSID2, or the A-not-B error task. The findings are consistent with zinc supplementation supporting a profile of normative information processing and active attentional profiles during the first 2 y of life. This trial was registered at
clinicaltrials.gov
as NCT00589264.
BACKGROUND: Zinc is necessary for central nervous system development, and maternal zinc status has been associated with developmental differences in offspring. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to ...evaluate differences in cognitive, social, and behavioral function in Peruvian children at 54 mo of age whose mothers participated during pregnancy in a zinc supplementation trial. DESIGN: We attempted to follow up 205 children from a prenatal zinc supplementation trial and present data on 184 (90%) children--86 whose mothers took 25 mg zinc/d in addition to 60 mg iron and 250 μg folic acid and 98 whose mothers took iron and folic acid only. Following a standardized protocol, we assessed children's intelligence, language and number skills, representational ability, interpersonal understanding, and adaptive behavior and behavioral adjustment. We also assessed aspects of the mother (eg, age, education, verbal intelligence, stresses, and social support in parenting) and the home environment HOME (Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment) inventory. RESULTS: No differences were observed between any of the tests used to characterize cognitive, social, or behavioral development (P > 0.05). Child sex, parity, or treatment compliance did not modify the effects of supplementation on any outcomes. CONCLUSION: The addition of zinc to prenatal supplements did not influence developmental outcomes in Peruvian children when assessed at 4.5 y of age.
To evaluate the effect of Zn status on cognitive development, we conducted a randomized controlled trial of Zn supplementation in Peruvian infants from 6 to 18 months of age. Healthy infants born at ...term were randomly assigned at 6 mo to consume a syrup containing 10 mg Fe + 0.5 mg Cu, with or without 10 mg Zn, daily for 12 mo. Various aspects of development were assessed over the one year period; here we focus on measures of visual attention, assessed at 6, 9 and 12 mo. Infants were administered a visual habituation task with simultaneous heart rate (HR) recording. Outcome measures included look duration and changes in HR‐defined phases of attention. Infants in the zinc group showed the typical, normative decline in look duration from 6 to 12 mo, but the control group did not; with differences significant at 12 mo (P < 0.01). Similar treatment differences were observed for mean look duration (P< 0.006) and peak (longest) look duration (P< 0.008). Infant HR declined over age, but no differences in HR or HR‐defined phases of attention were observed by supplement type. Overall, these preliminary results suggest that zinc supplementation affected behavioral measures of visual attention. Further analyses of cognitive outcomes at older ages may further our understanding of the effect of these alterations on infant cognitive development. Supported by HD045430.
Maternal prenatal zinc supplementation improved fetal autonomic regulation in a nutrient-deficient population in Peru. To evaluate whether differences in autonomic regulation existed in early ...childhood, we studied 165 children from a zinc supplementation trial (80% of original sample) as part of a comprehensive evaluation at age 54 mo. Electrocardiogram (ECG) data were collected from the children at rest and while they underwent a cognitive testing battery following a standardized protocol. Of these, 79 were born to mothers receiving 25 mg/d zinc in addition to 60 mg/d iron and 250
μ
g/d folic acid during pregnancy, and 86 were born to mothers receiving iron and folic acid only. Derived cardiac measures included heart period (HP), range, HP variability (HPV), mean square of successive differences (MSSD), and a measure of vagal tone (
V
)
.
Children in the zinc supplementation group had greater HP (i.e. slower heart rate), greater range, higher time-independent (HPV) and time-dependent (MSSD) variability in HP, and higher
V
(
P
< 0.05) during baseline. Analyses conducted across the cognitive testing period revealed similar effects of prenatal zinc supplementation on cardiac patterns. Concurrent child zinc plasma concentration was also associated with longer HP, greater variability, and marginally higher range and
V
(
P
< 0.10). Differences in cardiac patterns due to prenatal zinc supplementation were detectable in children at 54 mo of age during conditions of both rest and challenge, indicating that supplementing zinc-deficient pregnant women has beneficial long-term consequences for neural development associated with autonomic regulation.
Background: Zinc is necessary for central nervous system development, and maternal zinc status has been associated with developmental differences in offspring.
Objective: The objective was to ...evaluate differences in cognitive, social, and behavioral function in Peruvian children at 54 mo of age whose mothers participated during pregnancy in a zinc supplementation trial.
Design: We attempted to follow up 205 children from a prenatal zinc supplementation trial and present data on 184 (90%) children—86 whose mothers took 25 mg zinc/d in addition to 60 mg iron and 250 μg folic acid and 98 whose mothers took iron and folic acid only. Following a standardized protocol, we assessed children’s intelligence, language and number skills, representational ability, interpersonal understanding, and adaptive behavior and behavioral adjustment. We also assessed aspects of the mother (eg, age, education, verbal intelligence, stresses, and social support in parenting) and the home environment HOME (Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment) inventory.
Results: No differences were observed between any of the tests used to characterize cognitive, social, or behavioral development (P > 0.05). Child sex, parity, or treatment compliance did not modify the effects of supplementation on any outcomes.
Conclusion: The addition of zinc to prenatal supplements did not influence developmental outcomes in Peruvian children when assessed at 4.5 y of age. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;92:130–6.
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