The Measurement of Self-Regulation from Ages 2 to 8

The development of the capacity for self-regulation represents a major achievement of childhood that is associated with social, behavioural and academic competence. Most research has focused on self-regulated academic learning in school-aged children and adolescents, neglecting developmental aspects of self-regulation. This paper reports a longitudinal study of 44 children from early to middle childhood. At age 2, the Goodman Lock Box provided information about the extent to which children’s approaches were systematic and planful, as opposed to random, impulsive and disorganised. The same measure was used in a modified form at age 8, and two additional measures of planning and self-control were added: the Porteus Maze Test and the Grocery Shopping Task. At both ages, Lock Box competence was related to planfulness, and there was a significant correlation of Lock Box competence across the two ages. However, the various measures of self-regulation were unrelated. Several measurement issues are highlighted, in particular the difficulties associated with making assumptions about the intent and meaning of children’s task behaviours

Fathers as informants of children's fears and worries

The recognition of excessive fears and worries in children is important for early intervention. Despite current knowledge about the important contribution fathers make to their children’s emotional, social and cognitive development, more emphasis is often given to the views of mothers in both research and practice. This paper reports on a community study of 220 families. Fathers, mothers and children reported on children’s fears and worries using three different methods. While father and mother ratings were moderately correlated on two of the measures, there was relatively poor parent-child agreement. Implications for the role of fathers in the assessment of childhood fears and worries are discussed

Is There a Problem or is He Just Bone Lazy? A Study of Children with Low Academic Motivation

Children who are poorly motivated at school are at risk of academic underachievement and a range of other adverse social, economic and health outcomes. Attributions of laziness, reflected in comments about children needing to "try harder" and "make more effort" may mask specific cognitive and learning characteristics that explain low motivation in many children. This paper reports preliminary findings from an ongoing study of "lazy" children in the early years of primary school. In order to investigate possible explanations for low academic motivation such as learning difficulties, anxiety disorders, intellectual impairment, attentional problems and giftedness, children were assessed using appropriate psycho-educational instruments, tasks and questionnaires. The discussion focuses on developing a deeper understanding of academic motivation in the early school years through illustrative profiles of poorly motivated children

Changing Student Teachers' Attitudes Towards Disability and Inclusion

A total of 274 preservice teacher education students were surveyed at the beginning and end of a one-semester unit on Human Development and Education which combined formal instruction with structured fieldwork experiences. The latter included interviewing community members regarding their knowledge of Down syndrome and opinions on inclusive education, and writing an associated report. At the end of semester, not only had student teachers acquired more accurate knowledge of Down syndrome, together with more positive attitudes towards the inclusive education of children with Down syndrome, but their attitudes towards disability in general had also changed, and they reported greater ease when interacting with people with disabilities. The study illustrated the value of combining information-based instruction with structured fieldwork experiences in changing attitudes towards disability and inclusion. It also demonstrated that raising awareness of one disability may lead to changes in attitudes towards disability in general

Short term impact of smoke-free legislation in England: retrospective analysis of hospital admissions for myocardial infarction

Objective To measure the short term impact on hospital admissions for myocardial infarction of the introduction of smoke-free legislation in England on 1 July 2007

High-Oleic Ground Beef, Exercise, and Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Men and Postmenopausal Women

Sixty-six percent of the ground beef consumed in the U.S. contains 16-30 percent fat by weight, and at the retail level, ground beef fat varies widely with regards to saturated, monounsaturated and trans-fatty acid content. Through two independent studies the effect of fatty acid composition of ground beef on selected cardiovascular disease risk indicators was evaluated. In the first study, 27 free-living normocholesterolemic men completed a three-way crossover dietary intervention. Subjects consumed five, 114-g ground beef patties per week for 5 wk with intervening 4-wk washout periods. Patties contained 24 percent total fat with monounsaturated fatty acid:saturated fatty acid (MUFA:SFA) of either 0.71 (low-MUFA, pasture-fed), 0.83 (mid-MUFA, short-term corn-fed), or 1.10 (high-MUFA, long-term corn-fed). Blood was collected from each subject before and at the end of each diet period. Overall, the ground beef interventions decreased plasma insulin, HDL2, and HDL3 particle diameter and α-linolenic acid (18:2 (n-3)), and increased plasma arachidonic (20:4(n-6)). The greatest increase in HDL cholesterol from baseline (0.07 mmol/L) was after the high-MUFA ground beef intervention. An increase from baseline in LDL particle diameter (0.5 nm) occurred after the mid- and high-MUFA interventions.We concluded that low-MUFA ground beef from pasture/hay-fed cattle was no more “heart healthy” than high-MUFA ground beef from corn-fed cattle as judged by common clinical criteria. In the second study, 19 of 29 post menopausal women completed a two-way crossover design. Subjects consumed five, 114-g ground beef patties per week for 6 wk periods separated by a 4 wk washout period. The low-MUFA patties contained 19.4 percent fat with MUFA:SFA of 0.9. The high-MUFA patties contained 22.5 percent fat with a MUFA:SFA ratio of 1.3. In addition to patty consumption, the subjects completed a bout of exercise during the last week of each phase. Blood was taken before, each diet phase (24 hr before exercise) and 24 hr post exercise. Total cholesterol was increased by the high-MUFA patties with the most significant increase seen in HDL cholesterol, mainly HDL2b subfraction. Lipid-rich lipoprotein fractions were increased with the low-MUFA diet, but not by the high-MUFA diet. Very long chain fatty acids were depressed by low MUFA patty consumption. When unadjusted for plasma volume shifts (raw), exercise decreased triglycerides in all three phases. Raw VLDL cholesterol was reduced after exercise during the intervention phases. Raw RLP and IDL cholesterol were reduced after exercise during the high-MUFA intervention. HDL2b was reduced after exercise during the high-MUFA phase. LDL mean size increased and LDL mean density decreased after exercise during the low-MUFA intervention. HDL mean density increased after exercise during both ground beef interventions. The data indicate that high-oleic ground beef can reduce some cardiovascular disease risk factors and can be a part of a healthful diet. Exercise can have a beneficial impact on cardiovascular disease risk factors independent and in conjunction with ground beef consumption

Structures of pyruvate kinases display evolutionarily divergent allosteric strategies

The transition between the inactive T-state (apoenzyme) and active R-state (effector bound enzyme) of Trypanosoma cruzi pyruvate kinase (PYK) is accompanied by a symmetrical 8° rigid body rocking motion of the A- and C-domain cores in each of the four subunits, coupled with the formation of additional salt bridges across two of the four subunit interfaces. These salt bridges provide increased tetramer stability correlated with an enhanced specificity constant (k(cat)/S(0.5)). A detailed kinetic and structural comparison between the potential drug target PYKs from the pathogenic protists T. cruzi, T. brucei and Leishmania mexicana shows that their allosteric mechanism is conserved. By contrast, a structural comparison of trypanosomatid PYKs with the evolutionarily divergent PYKs of humans and of bacteria shows that they have adopted different allosteric strategies. The underlying principle in each case is to maximize (k(cat)/S(0.5)) by stabilizing and rigidifying the tetramer in an active R-state conformation. However, bacterial and mammalian PYKs have evolved alternative ways of locking the tetramers together. In contrast to the divergent allosteric mechanisms, the PYK active sites are highly conserved across species. Selective disruption of the varied allosteric mechanisms may therefore provide a useful approach for the design of species-specific inhibitors