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The National Children's Study (NCS), authorized by the Children's Health Act of 2000, was a large-scale study to investigate environmental influences on child health and development. The NCS Vanguard (Pilot) Study, launched in 2009, tested methods for the larger Main Study and enrolled approximately 5,000 children across 40 locations by July 2013. The Main Study followed 100,000 children from before birth to age 21. On December 12, 2014, the NIH Director closed the study per advice from the expert review group.

The NCS Archive, created after the study's closure, offers researchers access to over 250,000 data and samples, including nearly 19,000 biological and 5,500 environmental samples from the Vanguard Study. The archive contains study visit data from preconception to 42 months post-birth, neuro-psychosocial and cognitive assessments, physical examinations, study protocols, operation manuals, data collection instruments, and more.

The NCS Archive includes various arts-related variables that were part of the study questionnaires and interviews conducted with participants and covered a range of activities and exposures. Specifically, the study captured data on children's participation in artistic activities, including music, dance, drama, and visual arts. Information was collected on the frequency and type of arts engagement, such as attending classes, participating in performances, or creating art. Examples include:

• DANCE_DAYS: The average number of days per week someone dances with the child.

• THEATER_DAYS: The average number of days per week someone engages in theater, play-acting, or make-believe with the child.

• MUSIC_DAYS: The average number of days per week someone plays musical instruments, sings, or listens to music with the child.

• DRAWPAINT_DAYS: The average number of days per week someone spends drawing or painting with the child.

• ART_EVENT_DAYS: The average number of days per week someone takes the child to arts-related events outside the home.

• DAYS_READ: The number of days in the past week that family members read stories to the child.

• TOTAL_NUMBER_BOOKS: The total number of children's books in the home, including library books.

• FREQ_BOOKS: The average number of days per week someone reads or looks at books with the child.

• READ_STORIES: The number of days per week stories are read to the child.

• TELL_STORIES: The number of days per week stories are told to the child.

The NCS Archive is available in NICHD's Data and Specimen Hub (DASH) for researchers to request access and conduct their own studies. For more information, researchers can consult the National Children's Study Archive: Study Description and Guide or contact NICHD's Data and Specimen Hub at [email protected].

Although human identification through DNA analysis has reached a level of maturity in the Forensic Science field with regards to the sophistication of the techniques and confidence in the results, the equally important question of body fluid identification has lagged behind, and could still be considered to be in a rudimentary state. Current crime scene and in-laboratory methods utilize detection methods that exploit the properties of each biological fluid (e.g. phenolphthalin or TMB testing for blood, amylase detection for saliva, and urease tests for urine), but validated confirmatory techniques are largely limited to microscopic methods (i.e. identification of spermatozoa) or immunological methods, as seen in the widely used immunochromatographic commercial tests for blood, semen, and other biological fluids.

Thus, while there is widespread confidence in the DNA profile generated, there is often significantly less assurance in the identity of the body fluid that the DNA profile was developed from. It is common during trials for attorneys to categorically accept the STR analysis, but probe the forensic scientist on the source of the DNA that generated the profile. Because of this dichotomy, significant efforts have been made over the past fifteen years in order to develop forensic serological techniques of a more discriminatory nature.

Of late, there has been some work in the forensic science field in regards to exploring microRNAs (miRNAs) for a molecular-based, forensic body fluid identification method. MiRNAs are small structures that are 19-23 nucleotides long and regulate cellular processes through interactions with mRNA by regulating gene expression through translational suppression or cleavage of a targeted mRNA. miRNAs are highly conserved among organisms, indicating their importance in regulating biological processes. As such, some miRNAs can be consistently expressed in all human tissues, and others can be tissue-specific Because of the potential for tissue specificity, their small size and consequent inherent stability, miRNAs have been the subject of recent research interest as a potential forensic body fluid identification technique. They are found in extracellular fluids, and thus the application of unique miRNAs for forensically relevant body fluids is a distinct possibility.