Early feeding and risk of type 1 diabetes: experiences from the Trial to Reduce Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in the Genetically at Risk (TRIGR)

in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2011), 96(6), 1814-1820

Short-term breastfeeding and early exposure to complex dietary proteins, such as cow milk proteins and cereals, or to fruit, berries, and roots have been implicated as risk factors for β cell autoimmunity ... [more ▼]

Short-term breastfeeding and early exposure to complex dietary proteins, such as cow milk proteins and cereals, or to fruit, berries, and roots have been implicated as risk factors for β cell autoimmunity, clinical type 1 diabetes, or both. The Trial to Reduce Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in the Genetically at Risk (TRIGR) is an international, randomized, double-blind, controlled intervention trial designed to answer the question of whether weaning to an extensively hydrolyzed formula in infancy will decrease the risk of type 1 diabetes later in childhood. In our pilot study, weaning to a highly hydrolyzed formula decreased by ≈ 50% the cumulative incidence of one or more diabetes-associated autoantibodies by a mean age of 4.7 y. This finding was confirmed in a recent follow-up analysis to 10 y of age. Currently, the full-scale TRIGR takes place in 77 centers in 15 countries. The TRIGR initially recruited 5606 newborn infants with a family member affected by type 1 diabetes and enrolled 2159 eligible subjects who carried a risk-conferring HLA genotype. All recruited mothers were encouraged to breastfeed. The intervention lasted for 6-8 mo with a minimum study formula exposure time of 2 mo, and hydrolyzed casein and standard cow milk-based weaning formulas were compared. Eighty percent of the participants were exposed to the study formula. The overall retention rate over the first 5 y was 87%, and protocol compliance was 94%. The randomization code will be opened when the last recruited child turns 10 y of age (ie, in 2017). PMID: 21653795 [Pub [less ▲]

Early Language Education in Luxembourg

in Schwartz, Mila; Prošić-Santovac, Danijela (Eds.) International Handbook of early childhood education (2020)

This chapter examines recent language education laws in Luxembourg as well as the ways in which early years practitioners appropriated the new policies and put them into practice. The chapter begins with ... [more ▼]

This chapter examines recent language education laws in Luxembourg as well as the ways in which early years practitioners appropriated the new policies and put them into practice. The chapter begins with a brief introduction of the linguistic landscape in Luxembourg and a summary of the dynamic development of the country’s early childhood education system. Special emphasis is put on recent changes in language education policies, which call for a more inclusive and multilingual early language education. Monolingual practices now need to open up to flexible language use and offer children opportunities to capitalize on their entire semiotic repertoire for communicating, meaning-making, and learning. The central concerns of this chapter are the ways in which policy changes influence educational practices in formal and non-formal settings and how professional development shapes this process. In order to address these questions, the authors review literature on language education policy, translanguaging and professional development and examine studies on early language education in Luxembourg. Next, they discuss recent initiatives of professional development in formal and non-formal early years settings as well as their outcomes. Finally, they present critical issues such as the practitioners’ reflexivity and responsibility and the sustainability of professional development. Future research directions include family language policies, partnerships between families and early childhood institutions and children’s languaging practices inside and across these institutions. [less ▲]

EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY AND ITS LONG-TERM EFFECTS ON STRESS RESPONSES AND MENTAL HEALTH

Doctoral thesis (2019)

Early life adversity associates with increased depressive symptoms and few active T cells in adulthood

Poster (2016, June)

Early literacy development in a multilingual educational context: a quasi-experimental intervention and longitudinal study

Doctoral thesis (2019)

Based on concerns about literacy difficulties experienced by children learning to read and write in a second language, repeated calls have been made for more research on literacy development in ... [more ▼]

Based on concerns about literacy difficulties experienced by children learning to read and write in a second language, repeated calls have been made for more research on literacy development in multilingual educational settings. Enhanced understanding of literacy development in a second language is essential to optimize support structures for children learning to read and write in a language they have yet to fully acquire. The current thesis presents two longitudinal studies contributing towards this aim. Both studies were conducted with young children growing up in Luxembourg, a linguistically and culturally diverse country where the language spoken in preschool is Luxembourgish, but children learn to read and write in German in Grade 1. Study 1 was a quasi-experimental intervention study exploring the efficacy of a classroom-based early literacy intervention. Children from 28 preschool classes (age 5-6) were allocated to either the intervention (n = 89) or a standard curriculum (control) group (n = 100). Classroom teachers delivered four intervention sessions (20 minutes each) per week over 12 weeks (48 sessions in total) to their whole classes. The intervention programme targeted phonological awareness, letter-sound knowledge and print awareness embedded in a language and literacy-rich context. All children were assessed before and immediately after the intervention in preschool, and at a nine months follow-up in Grade 1 (age 6-7) after having started formal literacy instruction in German for five months. The intervention group significantly outperformed the control group on early literacy measures immediately postintervention in preschool and the results generalised to measure of reading comprehension and spelling in Grade 1. The study provides clear evidence for the efficacy of the early literacy intervention, particularly for a subpopulation of children with low oral language skills in Luxembourgish, many of whom were second language learners. Study 2 was a correlational study on a subsample of the children from Study 1 (from untrained control group). The aim was to identify preschool predictors in Luxembourgish of literacy skills in German in Grade 1 for multilingual children learning German as a second language. Ninety-eight children completed measures of potential predictors in preschool (age 5-6), including phonological awareness, letter-sound knowledge, rapid automatized naming, verbal short-term memory and vocabulary knowledge in Luxembourgish, along with measures of word reading, reading comprehension and spelling in German in Grade 1 (age 6-7). While moderate to strong correlations were found between all individual preschool predictors and later literacy measures, only phonological awareness, and letter-sound knowledge emerged as unique predictors of all literacy measures. These findings suggest that, despite individual differences, learning to read in a second language may be in many aspects similar to learning to read in a first language. Taken together, the findings of this thesis represent important steps in extending the theoretical knowledge base on second language literacy acquisition and in strengthening the evidence base for identification and prevention strategies of literacy difficulties in linguistically diverse children in Luxembourg. [less ▲]

Early Modern Spectacles

in Journal for the Study of British Cultures (2018), 25(2), 121-228

Early Pleistocene enamel proteome from Dmanisi resolves Stephanorhinus phylogeny.

in Nature (2019)

The sequencing of ancient DNA has enabled the reconstruction of speciation, migration and admixture events for extinct taxa(1). However, the irreversible post-mortem degradation(2) of ancient DNA has so ... [more ▼]

The sequencing of ancient DNA has enabled the reconstruction of speciation, migration and admixture events for extinct taxa(1). However, the irreversible post-mortem degradation(2) of ancient DNA has so far limited its recovery-outside permafrost areas-to specimens that are not older than approximately 0.5 million years (Myr)(3). By contrast, tandem mass spectrometry has enabled the sequencing of approximately 1.5-Myr-old collagen type I(4), and suggested the presence of protein residues in fossils of the Cretaceous period(5)-although with limited phylogenetic use(6). In the absence of molecular evidence, the speciation of several extinct species of the Early and Middle Pleistocene epoch remains contentious. Here we address the phylogenetic relationships of the Eurasian Rhinocerotidae of the Pleistocene epoch(7-9), using the proteome of dental enamel from a Stephanorhinus tooth that is approximately 1.77-Myr old, recovered from the archaeological site of Dmanisi (South Caucasus, Georgia)(10). Molecular phylogenetic analyses place this Stephanorhinus as a sister group to the clade formed by the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) and Merck's rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis). We show that Coelodonta evolved from an early Stephanorhinus lineage, and that this latter genus includes at least two distinct evolutionary lines. The genus Stephanorhinus is therefore currently paraphyletic, and its systematic revision is needed. We demonstrate that sequencing the proteome of Early Pleistocene dental enamel overcomes the limitations of phylogenetic inference based on ancient collagen or DNA. Our approach also provides additional information about the sex and taxonomic assignment of other specimens from Dmanisi. Our findings reveal that proteomic investigation of ancient dental enamel-which is the hardest tissue in vertebrates(11), and is highly abundant in the fossil record-can push the reconstruction of molecular evolution further back into the Early Pleistocene epoch, beyond the currently known limits of ancient DNA preservation. [less ▲]

Early School Evaluation and Competency Conflicts Between Primary and Secondary Schools in Luxembourg Around 1850

in Tröhler, Daniel; Lenz, Thomas (Eds.) Trajectories in the Development of Modern School Systems. Between the National and the Global (2015)

Early-onset parkinsonism associated with PINK1 mutations: frequency, genotypes, and phenotypes.

in Neurology (2006), 66(7), 1129-301129-30

Early-Stage Assessment for Office Buildings concerning thermal comfort , energy efficiency amd sustainabilty

in 14th International Building Simulation Conference BS 2015 (2015, December)

The building facade greatly influences energy demand, internal comfort and environmental quality of office buildings. This paper shows the influence of relevant design parameters for highly glazed systems ... [more ▼]

The building facade greatly influences energy demand, internal comfort and environmental quality of office buildings. This paper shows the influence of relevant design parameters for highly glazed systems. In detail constructive and technical measures have been evalutated to optimise light weight composite and solid structures in European climate. The structure type and the glazing share indeed have some influence on the energetic and thermal behaviour of the building but the influence of the ventilation strategy is significantly higher. However, in case of an adequate ventilation strategy, the structure type becomes more decisive if a thermal optimisation, especially a reduction of the over-heating risk, shall be achieved. [less ▲]