Exploring Variations in Teachers' Work, Lives and Their Effects on Pupils: Key Findings and Implications from a Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study

This article outlines the research design of a large‐scale, longitudinal research study in England intended to describe and explore variations in teachers' work, lives and their effects on pupils' educational outcomes. The study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and incorporated into the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) as an ‘Associate Project’, used an innovative mixed‐methods research design to create case studies of 300 teachers in Years 2, 6 and 9. The research was conducted over three consecutive academic years and collected a wide range of data through interviews, questionnaire surveys of teachers' and pupils' views and assessment data on pupils' attainments in English and mathematics. The text summarises the main findings from the research in relation to four interconnected themes of the study: Professional Life Phases; Professional Identity; Relative Effectiveness; and Resilience and Commitment. The influence of school context, in terms of level of social disadvantage of pupil intake, is also investigated. Key findings and their implications for policy and practice are highlighted.

Defining Spatial and Temporal Hydromorphological Sampling Strategies for the Leigh Brook River Site

Detailed surveys of depth and velocity are undertaken to describe hydro-ecological status of rivers. Fieldwork for these surveys is time consuming and expensive. This paper aims to describe the methodology applied in order to determine the most suitable depth sampling strategy for effective field data collection and river representation in time and space at the Leigh Brook river site, Worcester, UK. The accuracy of three different sampling strategies for predicting depth at non-measured points has been compared and the mesohabitats that better characterise depth changes due to variations in discharge have been identified. The results show that depth changes due to discharge change are mainly located at shallow and deep glide mesohabitat types. The analysis for the comparison of sampling strategies indicates that grid sampling strategies give better results than regular transects. Since the results also show that higher errors in predictions are obtained in the deepest areas, higher sampling densities should be applied in these locations.

Food for Pollinators: Quantifying the Nectar and Pollen Resources of Urban Flower Meadows

Planted meadows are increasingly used to improve the biodiversity and aesthetic amenity value of urban areas. Although many ‘pollinator-friendly’ seed mixes are available, the floral resources these provide to flower-visiting insects, and how these change through time, are largely unknown. Such data are necessary to compare the resources provided by alternative meadow seed mixes to each other and to other flowering habitats. We used quantitative surveys of over 2 million flowers to estimate the nectar and pollen resources offered by two exemplar commercial seed mixes (one annual, one perennial) and associated weeds grown as 300m2 meadows across four UK cities, sampled at six time points between May and September 2013. Nectar sugar and pollen rewards per flower varied widely across 65 species surveyed, with native British weed species (including dandelion, Taraxacum agg.) contributing the top five nectar producers and two of the top ten pollen producers. Seed mix species yielding the highest rewards per flower included Leontodon hispidus, Centaurea cyanus and C. nigra for nectar, and Papaver rhoeas, Eschscholzia californica and Malva moschata for pollen. Perennial meadows produced up to 20x more nectar and up to 6x more pollen than annual meadows, which in turn produced far more than amenity grassland controls. Perennial meadows produced resources earlier in the year than annual meadows, but both seed mixes delivered very low resource levels early in the year and these were provided almost entirely by native weeds. Pollen volume per flower is well predicted statistically by floral morphology, and nectar sugar mass and pollen volume per unit area are correlated with flower counts, raising the possibility that resource levels can be estimated for species or habitats where they cannot be measured directly. Our approach does not incorporate resource quality information (for example, pollen protein or essential amino acid content), but can easily do so when suitable data exist. Our approach should inform the design of new seed mixes to ensure continuity in floral resource availability throughout the year, and to identify suitable species to fill resource gaps in established mixes.

Effects of Different Fatty Acids and Dietary Lipids on Adiponectin Gene Expression in 3T3-L1 Cells and C57BL/6J Mice Adipose Tissue

Obesity is positively correlated to dietary lipid intake, and the type of lipid may play a causal role in the development of obesity-related pathologies. A major protein secreted by adipose tissue is adiponectin, which has antiatherogenic and antidiabetic properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of four different high-fat diets (enriched with soybean oil, fish oil, coconut oil, or lard) on adiponectin gene expression and secretion by the white adipose tissue (WAT) of mice fed on a selected diet for either 2 (acute treatment) or 60 days (chronic treatment). Additionally, 3T3-L1 adipocytes were treated for 48 h with six different fatty acids: palmitic, linoleic, eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosahexaenoic (DHA), lauric, or oleic acid. Serum adiponectin concentration was reduced in the soybean-, coconut-, and lard-enriched diets in both groups. Adiponectin gene expression was lower in retroperitoneal WAT after acute treatment with all diets. The same reduction in levels of adiponectin gene expression was observed in epididymal adipose tissue of animals chronically fed soybean and coconut diets and in 3T3-L1 cells treated with palmitic, linoleic, EPA, and DHA acids. These results indicate that the intake of certain fatty acids may affect serum adiponectin levels in mice and adiponectin gene expression in mouse WAT and 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The effects appear to be time dependent and depot specific. It is postulated that the downregulation of adiponectin expression by dietary enrichment with soybean oil or coconut oil may contribute to the development of insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.

Fructose Alters Adiponectin, Haptoglobin and Angiotensinogen Gene Expression in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

Fructose- or sucrose-rich diets can cause insulin resistance and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Adipokines are correlated with the development of these diseases in obesity. We hypothesize that fructose and sucrose induce insulin resistance via effects on adipokine gene expression in adipocytes. This study analyzed the effect of fructose or glucose on adiponectin, haptoglobin, and angiotensinogen gene expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Ten days after differentiation, the cells were pretreated with serum- and glucose-free medium. Twenty-four hours later, fructose or glucose (0, 5, 10, or 20 mmol) was added into the medium, and the cells were collected after a further 24 hours. Adiponectin, haptoglobin, and angiotensinogen gene expression were determined. Adiponectin gene expression increased when 10 or 20 mmol glucose was added compared with that observed for the non–hexose-treated cells. A similar effect occurred when 5 mmol fructose was added. Glucose (10 mmol) and fructose (20 mmol) stimulated haptoglobin gene expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes compared with 0 mmol, with glucose producing a more pronounced effect. Although 20 mmol fructose caused an increase in angiotensinogen gene expression, glucose did not. In conclusion, in this study of 2 hexoses revealed an increase in adiponectin gene expression, suggesting that the effect of a glucose-rich diet on the development of insulin resistance is not related to the effect of these hexoses on adipocyte adiponectin gene expression. However, insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease promoted by fructose-rich diets could be partially related to the effect of fructose on adiponectin and angiotensinogen gene expression.

Hydrogenated Fat Diet Intake during Pregnancy and Lactation Modifies the PAI-1 Gene Expression in White Adipose Tissue of Offspring in Adult Life

We examine whether feeding pregnant and lactating rats hydrogenated fats rich in trans fatty acids modifies the plasma lipid profiles and the expression of adipokines involved with insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease in their 90-day-old offspring. Pregnant and lactating Wistar rats were fed with either a control diet (C group) or one enriched with hydrogenated vegetable fat (T group). Upon weaning, the male pups were sorted into four groups: CC, mothers were receiving C and pups were kept on C; CT, mothers were receiving C and pups were fed with T; TT, mothers were receiving T and pups were kept on T; TC, mothers were receiving T and pups were fed with C. Pups' food intake and body weight were quantified weekly and the pups were killed at day 90 of life by decapitation. Blood and carcass as well as retroperitoneal, epididymal, and subcutaneous white adipose tissues were collected. Food intake and body weight were lower in TC and TT, and metabolic efficiency was reduced in TT. Offspring of TT and TC rats had increased white adipose tissue PAI-1 gene expression. Insulin receptor was higher in TT than other groups. Ingestion of hydrogenated vegetable fat by the mother during gestation and lactation could promote deleterious consequences, even after the withdrawal of the causal factor.

Hydrogenated Fat Intake during Pregnancy and Lactation Modifies Serum Lipid Profile and Adipokine mRNA in 21-day-old Rats

Objective We examined whether feeding pregnant and lactating rats hydrogenated fats rich in trans-fatty acids modifies the plasma lipid profiles and the expression of adipokines involved with insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease in their 21-d-old offspring. Methods Pregnant and lactating Wistar rats were fed with a control diet (C group) or one enriched with hydrogenated vegetable fat (T group). After delivery, male offspring were weighed weekly and killed at day 21 of life by decapitation. Blood and retroperitoneal, epididymal, and subcutaneous white adipose tissues were collected. Results Offspring of T-group rats had increased serum triacylglycerols and cholesterol, white adipose tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and tumor necrosis factor-α gene expression, and carcass lipid content and decreased blood leptin and adiponectin and adiponectin gene expression. Conclusion Ingestion of hydrogenated vegetable fat by the mother during gestation and lactation alters the blood lipid profiles and the expression of proinflammatory adipokynes by the adipose tissue of offspring aged 21 d.

Outcome of the Public Consultation on the Draft Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition, and Allergies (NDA) on Dietary Reference Values for Fats, Including Saturated Fatty Acids, Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated Fatty Acids, Trans Fatty Acids, and Cholesterol

On 2 July 2009, the EFSA Panel on Dietetic products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) endorsed a draft Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for fats to be released for public consultation. This Scientific Report summarises the comments received through the public consultation and outlines how these were taken into account in the final opinion. EFSA had received contributions from 40 interested parties (individuals, non-governmental organisations, industry organisations, academia and national assessment bodies). The main comments which were received during the public consultation related to: the availability of more recent data, the nomenclature used, the use of a non-European food composition data base, the impact of genetic factors in modulating the absorption, metabolism and health effects of different fatty acids, the definition of “nutritionally adequate diet”, the use of Dietary Reference Values in the labelling of foods, the translation of advice into food-based dietary guidelines, nutrient goals and recommendations, certain risk management issues, and to Dietary Reference Values of fats, individual fatty acids, and cholesterol. All the public comments received that related to the remit of EFSA were assessed and the Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for fats has been revised taking relevant comments into consideration.