The wrong side of the tracks: Starting school in a socially disadvantaged London borough

Substantial evidence exists that social circumstances can affect children’s language development. As a result many children in socially deprived areas start school with delayed language, which may persist and adversely affect their attainment. We assessed the language of children in seven reception classes in a London (UK) borough and followed the progress of children with English as their first language (E1L) and with English as an additional language (EAL) during their first 2 years at school. Significant differences were found between schools. The effect of social factors on performance was reflected in a high correlation between the mean language score for each school and the percentage of children in the school receiving the pupil premium. Many of the children with EAL had very low scores reflecting their limited exposure to English prior to starting school. Most of these children attended schools where children with E1L also had low scores increasing the demands on the schools and their teachers. Children who had low initial scores made modest but significant progress during their reception year but failed to improve further during year 1 despite having non-verbal ability appropriate for their age. These results support previous findings that social deprivation can seriously delay language development, and that many children start school with weak communication skills. They add to previous findings by showing that the level of delay may differ substantially across schools in the same borough, by reporting data on children with EAL and by showing that children struggle to improve their abilities in the first 2 years of school

What predicts children's active transport and independent mobility in disadvantaged neighborhoods?

This study examined two year changes in children's active transport and independent mobility and prospective associations between individual, social and physical environmental predictors of interest and these behaviors two years later. Overall, 43.5% of children (12.0 ± 2.1 years) used active transport on the school journey at T1 and at T2 (p=0.77), and 35.3% engaged in independent mobility on the school journey at T1 and 29.6% at T2 (p=0.07). Enjoyment, parental safety concerns, and proximity to walking tracks were associated with independent mobility on the school journey. Road safety and social norms were associated with active transport and independent mobility to local destinations. These factors provide potential targets for interventions

The hemoglobins of the trematodes Fasciola hepatica and Paramphistomum epiclitum: A molecular biological, physico-chemical, kinetic, and vaccination study

The trematode Fasciola hepatica (Fa.he.) is a common parasite of human and livestock. The hemoglobin (Hb) of Fa.he., a potential immunogen, was chosen for characterization in the search for an effective vaccine. Characterization of trematode Hbs show that they are intracellular single-domain globins with the following remarkable features: (1) Fa.he. expresses two Hb isoforms that differ at two amino acid sites (F1: 119Y/123Q; F2: 119F/123L). Both isoforms are monoacetylated at their N-termini; (2) the genes coding for Fa.he. and Paramphistomum epiclitum (Pa.ep.) Hbs are interrupted by two introns at the conserved positions B12.2 and G7.0.; (3) UV/VIS and resonance Raman spectroscopy identify the recombinant Fa.he. HbF2 as a pentacoordinated high-spin ferrous Hb; (4) electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of cyano-met Fa.he. HbF2 proves that the endogenously bound imidazole has no imidazolate character; (5) the major structural determinants of the globin fold are present, they contain a TyrB10/TyrE7 residue pair on the distal side. Although such distal-site pair is a signature for high oxygen affinity, as shown for Pa.ep. Hb, the oxygen-binding rate parameters for Fa.he. Hb are intermediate between those of myoglobin and those of other trematode Hbs; (6) the three-dimensional structure of recombinant Fa.he. HbF2 from this study closely resembles the three-dimensional structure of Pa.ep. determined earlier. The set of distal-site polar interactions observed in Pa.ep. Hb is matched with small but significant structural adjustments; (7) despite the potential immunogenic character of the fluke Hb, vaccination of calves with recombinant Fa.he. HbF2 failed to promote protection against parasitic infection