First and second language vocabulary affect early second language reading comprehension development

The aim of this study was to examine variation in early reading comprehension development for second language (L2) readers compared with first language (L1) readers and to investigate the impact of vocabulary knowledge in their first and second language. Participants were 75 Dutch monolingual children (L1 readers) and 71 Turkish–Dutch bilingual children (L2 readers), aged between 6 and 8 years old at the start of the study. In a longitudinal design, three waves of data were collected across second and third grades. The L2 readers had lower reading comprehension scores than the L1 readers on average, but this performance gap narrowed over time. To further investigate variation among the L2 readers, four categorical subgroups of L2 readers were identified with varying levels of L1 (Turkish) and L2 (Dutch) vocabulary knowledge by means of cluster analysis. Group membership was related to reading comprehension and showed an interaction with time, indicating that reading comprehension performance of the two L2 subgroups with high L1 vocabulary increased more over time compared with L1 readers. The L2 subgroup with high vocabulary in both languages even caught up with their monolingual peers in third grade. These findings demonstrate how individual differences in L1 and L2 vocabulary knowledge explain variation in early L2 reading comprehension development and highlight the importance of considering L2 readers' first language in research and education.     

Making a Community Network Sustainable: The Future of the Wired High Rise

Much time and money has been committed by governments, private business, and the third sector over the last 5 years in establishing opportunities for underserved populations to gain access to new forms of information and communication technologies, in an effort to overcome the so-called “digital divide.” This article traces the efforts that have been made to establish a networked community at a single high-rise public housing estate in inner Melbourne, Australia, and considers some of the potential opportunities for and barriers to ensuring the continuity of the network, which is large, complex, costly, and potentially fragile, into the future.     

Making a Community Network Sustainable: The Future of the Wired High Rise

Much time and money has been committed by governments, private business, and the third sector over the last 5 years in establishing opportunities for underserved populations to gain access to new forms of information and communication technologies, in an effort to overcome the so-called “digital divide.” This article traces the efforts that have been made to establish a networked community at a single high-rise public housing estate in inner Melbourne, Australia, and considers some of the potential opportunities for and barriers to ensuring the continuity of the network, which is large, complex, costly, and potentially fragile, into the future.     

Serum Lipid Alterations in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients on Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatoid Therapy

Dyslipidaemia is a major CVD risk factor in the general population. Current evidence suggests that lipid metabolism is altered in RA due to inflammation, and that use of anti-inflammatory therapy may reverse some of these changes. The objective of our study is to compare the effect of treatment with DMARD on lipid fractions after 6 months of therapy. Forty patients who met the American College of Rheumatology, ACR/EULAR criteria for rheumatoid arthritis, with disease duration of less than 1 year and no prior treatment were included in the study. Thirty healthy volunteers were included as controls. The mean DAS-28 at disease onset was 5.15 ± 1.3. Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (ERA) patients exhibited higher serum levels of total cholesterol (TC) and lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and lower serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels compared to controls. As a consequence, the atherogenic index of plasma [log (TG/HDL-C)], the atherogenic indices: TC/HDL-C as well as LDLC/HDL-C was significantly higher in ERA patients compared to controls. After 6 months of treatment, there was significant reduction of the DAS 28, HDL-C and Apo A-I improved and Lp(a) decreased significantly. All lipid ratios improved, a phenomenon primarily due to the increase in serum HDL-C levels. These changes were inversely correlated with CRP and ESR. In conclusion, ERA patients are characterized by an atherogenic lipid profile, which improves with DMARD therapy.