Objective: to verify the association between infant development and biological and environmental risks. Methods: 30 children between 0-30 months, living in a town in Minas Gerais, Brazil, attending a Health Center, were selected. The inclusion criteria were children who had a history of prematurity and/or, moderate to severe malnutrition and other risk factors. Their development was assessed through the Denver II test and the quality of stimulation in the home environment assessed by the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME). Results: 60% of the environments were considered to be at risk for child development and 43.3% presented inadequate development. The main domain affected was the language. Higher maternal education and bi-parental families showed a relationship with proper child development. Neonatal complications and hospitalization in intensive care units were more common in children who failed the test. The parents' low receptivity and the availability of materials at home were factors associated with the children's worst development performance. Conclusion: the results show that the high-risk children in this study had a developmental delay, especially in the language area. These delays are associated with low maternal education, single-parent home, parents' responsiveness and neonatal complications. RESUMOObjetivo: avaliar a associação entre o desenvolvimento infantil e riscos biológicos e ambientais. Métodos: foram selecionadas 30 crianças (0 a 30 meses), residentes em uma cidade no Vale do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais, Brasil, atendidas pelo Centro Viva Vida de Referência Secundária. Os critérios de inclusão foram: crianças que tinham história clínica de prematuridade e/ou desnutrição moderada à grave e outros fatores neonatais de risco. As crianças foram avaliadas quanto ao desenvolvimento por meio do teste Denver II e a qualidade de estímulo no ambiente domiciliar foi avaliada pelo Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME). Resultados: das 30 crianças avaliadas, 60% dos ambientes foram considerados de risco para o desenvolvimento infantil e 43,3% apresentou desenvolvimento inadequado. O principal domínio afetado foi o da linguagem. Maior escolaridade materna, constituição familiar biparental apresentaram associação com o adequado desenvolvimento infantil. A presença de intercorrências neonatais e necessidade de internação no centro de terapia intensiva foram mais presentes nas crianças que falharam no teste. A menor receptividade dos pais e disponibilidade de materiais para aprendizagem no domicílio foram fatores associados ao pior desempenho das crianças no Denver II. Conclusão: as crianças de alto risco do presente estudo apresentaram atraso no desenvolvimento, especialmente no domínio linguagem. Esses atrasos estão associados à baixa escolaridade materna, à relação monoparental, receptividade dos pais e intercorrências neonatais.

The results showed a high prevalence of stunting and below-average results for cognitive/language development among the participating children. Both environmental and biological factors were related to growth and development. However, biological variables showed a greater association with growth, whereas environmental variables were associated with development.

In regenerative medicine stem cell biology has become one of the most interesting and more often studied subject. The amniotic membrane is the innermost layer of the fetal membranes and is considered a potential tool to treat many pathologies. It is used because it can be collected from discarded fetal material and is a rich source of stem cells with high proliferation and plasticity ratio capable of proliferating and differentiate in vitro. We propose to elucidate the characteristics and potencial clinical application of cells derived of amniotic membrane in veterinary medicine.

O presente estudo apresenta um panorama sobre a primeira infância no Brasil, destacando as políticas públicas voltadaspara a sobrevivência, saúde e desenvolvimento infantil, a partir de uma análise integrada dos setores da saúde, educação edesenvolvimento social. Inicialmente expõe dados relacionados à pobreza no Brasil, tendo como foco a criança de 0 a 6 anos. Emseguida apresenta o índice de desenvolvimento infantil, bem como os avanços nos indicadores de sobrevivência e de saúde dacriança brasileira nos últimos anos. Aborda, também, os programas de governo que beneficiam a saúde e a educação infantil. Ao final,enfatiza os aspectos que necessitam de maior atenção para o avanço nos investimentos voltados para o desenvolvimento infantil noBrasil.Palavras-chave: Saúde da criança, educação infantil, pobreza, Brasil

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Conflito de interesses: Não Abstract Introduction:In recent years, childhood mortality rates have been decreasing in Brazil. However, morbidity remains a challenge, especially among low-income families. These children are vulnerable because they are more exposed to various biological and environmental risk factors. Objectives: Investigate the prevalence of infectious and chronic diseases in children attending public day-care centers and characterize the risk factors involved. Patients and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study involving all children between the ages of 24 and 36 months attending public child day-care centers in two cities in the Jequitinhonha Valley and their caregivers, in 2011. We developed a questionnaire o collect children's sociodemographic and biological characteristics. The environment of the neighborhood was assessed by the existing infrastructure. The home and the public child day-care centers environment were evaluated by indicators extracted from the Home Inventory and Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised, respectively. Results: Of the participants, 47% had some infectious disease, while 44% had a chronic disease. There was a high percentage of female single-parent families; half of the families belong to the economic classes D and E, and about 32% of the mothers had four years or less of schooling. About the environmental context, just a few neighborhoods have acees to basic sanitation; half of the houses and almost every public child day-care centers presented a risk to children's health. Conclusion: Almost half of the children in the study, who were economically disadvantaged, presented infectious and chronic diseases in the last three months preceding the survey. Sociodemographic, biological, and environmental risks were detected. In order to reduce the morbidity among this vulnerable group of children, public interventions are required, as well as policy strategies covering biological and environmental aspects, including greater investment in health education.