The aim of this review was to map the literature assessing associations between maternal or infant immune or gut microbiome biomarkers and child neurodevelopmental outcomes within the first 5 years of life. We conducted a PRISMA-ScR compliant review of peer-reviewed, English-language journal articles. Studies reporting gut microbiome or immune system biomarkers and child neurodevelopmental outcomes prior to 5 years were eligible. Sixty-nine of 23,495 retrieved studies were included. Of these, 18 reported on the maternal immune system, 40 on the infant immune system, and 13 on the infant gut microbiome. No studies examined the maternal microbiome, and only one study examined biomarkers from both the immune system and the gut microbiome. Additionally, only one study included both maternal and infant biomarkers. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed from 6 days to 5 years. Associations between biomarkers and neurodevelopmental outcomes were largely nonsignificant and small in effect size. While the immune system and gut microbiome are thought to have interactive impacts on the developing brain, there remains a paucity of published studies that report biomarkers from both systems and associations with child development outcomes. Heterogeneity of research designs and methodologies may also contribute to inconsistent findings. Future studies should integrate data across biological systems to generate novel insights into the biological underpinnings of early development.

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The relationships made by people in their later years are complex and as a result so are the wills the elderly make. Perhaps children have moved away and a bond has grown between the testator and their long term friend and carer. Perhaps a neighbour has become, over the years, more like family than those with whom they share a blood tie. 1 For these reasons and many others, solicitors are asked to make wills for clients in the last years of their life that break the expectation that the wealth of the older generation will benefit the younger. 2 Solicitors are reporting a rise in contentious probate litigation 3 and the Law Commission has turned its attention to this issue and will examine it in its forthcoming Wills Project which has a stated aim of reducing 'the likelihood of wills being challenged after death, and the incidence of litigation'. 4 Whatever the reasons, the distress cause when "family" is disinherited by an elderly testator can have expensive consequences and lead to long-lasting rifts within families. This paper will explore why so many challenges are made to the validity of wills, in particular on the grounds of lack of capacity, and examine whether it is possible to create a simpler, more workable test for capacity that will also provide the protections necessary to preserve the autonomy of often vulnerable testators. The first part of this paper will explore the current definition of testamentary capacity and the means by which the testator's lack of capacity is determined. The second part will examine our obligations to those with impaired capacity under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The third part will examine why there are so many legal challenges to wills, before the final part analyses the difference between capacity and autonomy and considers the inherent difficulties with any simple, singular notion of capacity. Part 1-Outline of the problem, capacity and presumptions * Senior Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. Many thanks to Greg Osborne and Caroline Cox and to the anonymous peer reviewer for their comments on an earlier draft. 1 Examples of such changing relationships can be seen in Cowderoy v Cranfield [2011] EWHC 1616 (Ch D), [2011] WTLR 1699 and Cattermole v Prisk [2006] 1 FLR 693 (Ch D). 2 Whilst only about half of the population describe themselves as "likely" to inherit, of those who thought they were "very likely" or "definite" to inherit, 91% expect to inherit from their parents-see K Rowlington and S McKay, Attitudes to Inheritance in Britain (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2005) Ch 2. 3 Whilst court statistics only reflect those cases with sufficient merit to lead to formal court action, these statistics reflect the rise in instructions received by probate solicitors. See for example http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/where-theres-a-will-family-feuds-lead-to-700-increasein-high-court-disputes-in-five-years-8475962.html. 4 http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/wills/. 2 A will is seen as an ambulatory document that can be revoked at ...