A Program Evaluation of the Welcome Baby Project: A Primary Prevention Program for Teenage Mothers and Their Infants

The central purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Welcome Baby Project (WBP), a primary prevention program with the mission of promoting child development and a positive relationship between at-risk adolescent mothers and their infants and to prevent disorders of attachment, child abuse and neglect, and unwanted, repeat pregnancy. Intervention involved weekly home visits by trained parent volunteers for children from birth to two years. The WBP mothers and a control group of adolescent mothers were compared on assessments collected during a home visit. Participants were asked to complete the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI), and the High Scope Knowledge Scale (HSKS). Videotaped observations of mother-infant interactions in a teaching session were rated using the National Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS). The quality of the home environment was assessed using the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME). The Battelle Developmental Inventory - Screening Test (BDI) was used to assess infant development. WBP mothers and Home Visitors were asked to evaluate the program. The groups differed on important variables associated with high risk status; the greater risk status of WBP mothers increases the likelihood of underestimating the program\u27s impact. Low statistical power (n = 30) made detecting program effectiveness difficult. WBP mothers were significantly more accurate in their knowledge of developmental milestones and had fewer late expectations than control mothers on the HSKS. The NCATS, HOME, AAPI, and HSKS approached significance when the variability due to birth weight, prematurity, and household income were controlled. Comparison of the means reflected a strong trend favoring the WBP mothers. Comparisons with normative and other study samples on the NCATS, HOME and AAPI lends support for program effectiveness. Evaluations of the program by WBP mothers and Home Visitors were positive. The results are encouraging but point to the need for continued evaluation over the next several years

A Graphene Surface Force Balance

We report a method for transferring graphene, grown by chemical vapor deposition, which produces ultraflat graphene surfaces (root-mean-square roughness of 0.19 nm) free from polymer residues over macroscopic areas (>1 cm2). The critical step in preparing such surfaces involves the use of an intermediate mica template, which itself is atomically smooth. We demonstrate the compatibility of these model surfaces with the surface force balance, opening up the possibility of measuring normal and lateral forces, including friction and adhesion, between two graphene sheets either in contact or across a liquid medium. The conductivity of the graphene surfaces allows forces to be measured while controlling the surface potential. This new apparatus, the graphene surface force balance, is expected to be of importance to the future understanding of graphene in applications from lubrication to electrochemical energy storage systems

The Orphan G Protein-coupled Receptors GPR41 and GPR43 Are Activated by Propionate and Other Short Chain Carboxylic Acids

n/

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms