Supporting Parent Engagement in Linguistically Diverse Families to Promote Young Children’s Life Success

This paper examines research that can inform policies aimed at building the capacity of early care and education programs to promote parent engagement in linguistically diverse families. The key questions addressed include:1 )What factors affect linguistically diverse families’ access to early care and education programs?; 2)What do we know about linguistically diverse families and how parents in these families support their young children’s learning and development?; 3) What features of early care and education programs appear to contribute to high levels of parent engagement in linguistically diverse families?; and 4) What policies can help increase the capacity of early care and education programs to support parent engagement in linguistically diverse families

Effects of Elevated H\u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e And P\u3csub\u3ei\u3c/sub\u3e on The Contractile Mechanics of Skeletal Muscle Fibres From Young and Old Men: Implications for Muscle Fatigue in Humans

The present study aimed to identify the mechanisms responsible for the loss in muscle power and increased fatigability with ageing by integrating measures of whole‐muscle function with single fibre contractile mechanics. After adjusting for the 22% smaller muscle mass in old (73–89 years, n = 6) compared to young men (20–29 years, n = 6), isometric torque and power output of the knee extensors were, respectively, 38% and 53% lower with age. Fatigability was ∼2.7‐fold greater with age and strongly associated with reductions in the electrically‐evoked contractile properties. To test whether cross‐bridge mechanisms could explain age‐related decrements in knee extensor function, we exposed myofibres (n = 254) from the vastus lateralis to conditions mimicking quiescent muscle and fatiguing levels of acidosis (H+) (pH 6.2) and inorganic phosphate (Pi) (30 mm). The fatigue‐mimicking condition caused marked reductions in force, shortening velocity and power and inhibited the low‐ to high‐force state of the cross‐bridge cycle, confirming findings from non‐human studies that these ions act synergistically to impair cross‐bridge function. Other than severe age‐related atrophy of fast fibres (−55%), contractile function and the depressive effects of the fatigue‐mimicking condition did not differ in fibres from young and old men. The selective loss of fast myosin heavy chain II muscle was strongly associated with the age‐related decrease in isometric torque (r = 0.785) and power (r = 0.861). These data suggest that the age‐related loss in muscle strength and power are primarily determined by the atrophy of fast fibres, but the age‐related increased fatigability cannot be explained by an increased sensitivity of the cross‐bridge to H+ and Pi

Impacts of Climate Change on Narragansett Bay

The objective of this paper is to examine the impacts of global climate change on Rhode Island\u27s coastal ecosystems. Average annual air temperature in Rhode Island has increased by 1.7 °C since 1880, water temperatures of Narragansett Bay have increased by 1.2 °C since 1950, precipitation increased 27% between 1895 and 1999, and sea level rose 0.13 m between 1931 and 2007. We can already see the effects of these climatic changes on the Narragansett Bay ecosystem, including ecological changes in the Bay\u27s food web from phytoplankton and Zooplankton to fish, e.g., changes in phenology of seasonal phytoplankton blooms and dominant fish species (e.g., Pseudopleuronectes americanus [Winter Flounder]). These climatic changes have increased freshwater inputs and the concomitant pollutant loads into the Bay. Rising sea level has contributed to ongoing erosion of the coast and has put waterfront homes at increased risk. It is imperative to continue monitoring these effects

Supporting parent engagement in linguistically diverse families to promote young children's learning: Implications for early care and education policy

There is wide agreement that early care and education programs should support parent engagement linked to early learning for all families, including families from diverse language and cultural backgrounds. This brief highlights research that can inform policies to expand the capacity of early care and education programs to promote parent engagement in linguistically diverse families with young children. Policy initiatives that could strengthen the capacity of early care and education programs to support parent engagement in these families include: establishing program requirements and quality standards that specifically address the needs and interests of families whose home language is not English; providing educational opportunities to individuals who can increase the linguistic diversity and cultural competency of the early care and education workforce; providing resources to support programs' use of parent engagement practices and activities that are most promising for linguistically diverse families; and using data to understand the participation of linguistically diverse families in parent engagement activities and inform efforts to strengthen programs' capacity to engage diverse families

A quick reproducible radiometric assay method for free and total carnitine in plasma and urine

The determination of carnitine in body matrices has proved a difficult task over the years because of the errors inherent in the various radiometric methods that have been used. In this research the potential sources of error in the routinely used radio-isotopic assays for carnitine have been recognised and eliminated by the carefuI as"f'SSlN'llt of each step in the process. The assay described in this paper allows for quick. reproducible and reliable determinations of free and esterified carnitine in two body matrices, viz. sermn and urine

Logan City CurbsideRecycling Program Phase III Results

This report summarizes the results of a series of survey research projects examining the attitudes and behaviors of Cache County residents regarding recycling programs in 2005. USU researchers were contacted by the Cache County Service District #1, through the Logan Environmental Department, to update information about household recycling attitudes and behaviors, and to present results to various audiences as part of the long-range county solid waste master planning process

Teen Sexuality and Pregnancy in Nevada

The proliferation of sexually explicit materials has been the hallmark of North American culture for decades. The arrival of the Internet made access to such materials all the easier, and not only for adults but also for teenagers who learn at ever-early age that romantic relations are exciting and sexual encounters are a welcome part of life. When such exposure to sensual images is not accompanied by appropriate sex education, the consequences could be dire for teenagers and society alike

Salt Links Dominate Affinity of Antibody HyHEL-5 for Lysozyme through Enthalpic Contributions*

The binding of murine monoclonal antibody HyHEL-5 to lysozyme has been the subject of extensive crystallographic, computational, and experimental investigations. The complex of HyHEL-5 with hen egg lysozyme (HEL) features salt bridges between Fab heavy chain residue Glu50, and Arg45 and Arg68 of HEL. This interaction has been predicted to play a dominant role in the association on the basis of molecular electrostatics calculations. The association of aspartic acid and glutamine mutants at position 50H of the cloned HyHEL-5 Fab with HEL and bobwhite quail lysozyme (BQL), an avian variant bearing an Arg68 ? Lys substitution in the epitope, was characterized by isothermal titration calorimetry and sedimentation equilibrium. Affinities for HEL were reduced by 400-fold (E50HD) and 40,000-fold (E50HQ) (??G� estimated at 4.0 and 6.4 kcal mol?1, respectively). The same mutations reduce affinity for BQL by only 7- and 55-fold, respectively, indicating a reduced specificity for HEL. The loss of affinity upon mutation is in each case primarily due to an unfavorable change in the enthalpy of the interaction; the entropic contribution is virtually unchanged. An enthalpy-entropy compensation exists for each interaction; ?H� decreases, while ?S� increases with temperature. The ?Cp for each mutant interaction is less negative than the wild-type. Mutant-cycle analysis suggests the mutations present in the HyHEL-5 Fab mutants are linked to those present in the BQL with coupling energies between 3 and 4 kcal mol?1