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Purpose: Schoolwide college access programs are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in high schools across the country. Research on their effectiveness in improving college-going rates is inconclusive, prompting scholars to question how programs affect practices in schools. To better understand how schools and college access programs work in partnership to expand college advising resources, we study the practices of high schools partnered with a national college access program. Research Methods/Approach: We conducted case studies of two schools, interviewing 118 teachers, staff, parents, students, and program partners over 2 years of data collection. Using the concept of school social capital--the cognitive, material, and social resources that schools derive from their partnership with other organizations--we examined the different ways that school staff interact and collaborate with college access partner staff. Findings: We find that partnerships can help schools become more extensive brokers of college knowledge and advice by engaging in three practices: referrals, collaborative actions, and norm-setting practices. When engaged in collaboration and norm-setting, staff roles expand to include the provision of college advising services and contribute to increasing student access to advising schoolwide. We further find that school leadership plays a significant role in facilitating the types of practices that emerge from college access partnerships. Implications: Although college access partnerships can give rise to multiple advising agents in a school, such effects must be fostered. The alignment of values and goals between partners appears necessary to facilitate brokering practices between staff, as well as leadership to sanction those practices.

Research shows that Early College high schools have a significant impact on high school and college outcomes for students from low income and racial/ethnic minority backgrounds, but how similar opportunities extend to English learners (ELs) remains unknown. We examine a program that offers Early College opportunities in high schools serving large EL populations in California. Leveraging an exogenous policy change and rich administrative records, we look at the outcomes of pre- and postprogram cohorts of ELs (N = 15,090) in treated and untreated high schools. We find large, significant estimated effects on college credits earned in 12th grade but no effect on immediate college attendance after high school. The probability of attending a 4-year college decreased.

Abstract Background Blood lead has been associated with an elevated risk of miscarriage. The plasmatic fraction of lead represents the toxicologically active fraction of lead. Women with a tendency to have a higher plasma/whole blood Pb ratio could tend towards an elevated risk of miscarriage due to a higher plasma Pb for a given whole blood Pb and would consequently have a history of spontaneous abortion. Methods We studied 207 pregnant Mexico City residents during the 1st trimester of pregnancy, originally recruited for two cohorts between 1997 and 2004. Criteria for inclusion in this study were having had at least one previous pregnancy, and having valid plasma and blood Pb measurements. Pb was measured in whole blood and plasma by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using ultra-clean techniques. History of miscarriage in previous pregnancies was obtained by interview. The incidence rate of spontaneous abortion was defined as the proportion of previous pregnancies that resulted in miscarriage. Data were analyzed by means of Poisson regression models featuring the incidence rate of spontaneous abortion as the outcome and continuous or categorized plasma/blood Pb ratios as predictor variables. All models were adjusted for age and schooling. Additionally, logistic regression models featuring inclusion in the study sample as the outcome were fitted to assess potential selection bias. Results The mean number of miscarriages was 0.42 (range 0 to 4); mean Pb concentrations were 62.4 and 0.14 μg/L in whole blood and plasma respectively. Mean plasma/blood Pb ratio was 0.22%. We estimated that a 0.1% increment in the plasma/blood Pb ratio lead was associated to a 12% greater incidence of spontaneous abortion (p = 0.02). Women in the upper tertile of the plasma/blood Pb ratio had twice the incidence rate of those in the lower tertile (p = 0.02). Conditional on recruitment cohort, inclusion in the study sample was unrelated to observable characteristics such as number of abortions, number of pregnancies, blood Pb levels, age schooling, weight and height. Conclusion Women with a large plasma/whole blood Pb ratio may be at higher risk of miscarriage, which could be due to a greater availability of placental barrier-crossing Pb.

How predictable are life trajectories? We investigated this question with a scientific mass collaboration using the common task method; 160 teams built predictive models for six life outcomes using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a high-quality birth cohort study. Despite using a rich dataset and applying machine-learning methods optimized for prediction, the best predictions were not very accurate and were only slightly better than those from a simple benchmark model. Within each outcome, prediction error was strongly associated with the family being predicted and weakly associated with the technique used to generate the prediction. Overall, these results suggest practical limits to the predictability of life outcomes in some settings and illustrate the value of mass collaborations in the social sciences.

Puberty is a developmentally plastic phase. Variations in pubertal tempo have implications for the risk of later adult diseases. Influences on pubertal tempo have been widely discussed, but the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. Epigenetic modifications are known to regulate development processes; they could play an important role in affecting pubertal outcomes. We conducted a population-based analysis to investigate the association of peripubertal blood DNA methylation at LINE-1 and growth-related candidate genes with pubertal onset and progression in healthy adolescents. The analytic sample included 114 males and 129 females aged 10 to 18 years. DNA methylation at growth-related candidate loci IGF2, H19, HSD11B2, as well as LINE-1 repetitive elements were quantified. Cox survival and ordinal regression models were used to examine sex- and locus-specific associations of epigenetic markers with pubertal development using physician-assessed Tanner stages and self-reported menarche, adjusted for covariates. Among boys, DNA methylation at H19 was associated with later pubarche. HSD11B2 methylation was associated with earlier onset of pubic hair and genitalia development and slower pubertal progression. IGF2 was associated with later onset of genital development. Among girls, LINE-1 methylation was associated with later onset of breast development. For each percent increase of methylation at H19, there was 5% increased odds in the earlier onset of breast development. DNA methylation of IGF2 was associated with earlier onset of pubic hair. DNA methylation at genes known to influence early-life growth may also influence pubertal outcomes.

This essay response critically examines and expands on the arguments put forth by the authors of "Navigating Middle-of-the-Road Reforms through Collaborative Community." Using organizational theory, the paper clarifies questions about the theoretical construct of collaborative community and middle-of-the-road reforms. It concludes by offering two paths for further study that focus on exploring the various levels of democratizing influence enacted by the policy tensions the authors described and by suggesting a closer examination of the resulting organizational responses. [This article is a response to "Navigating Middle of the Road Reforms through Collaborative Community," EJ1162555.]

Background: Gestational lead (Pb) exposure can adversely affect offspring health through multiple mechanisms, including epigenomic alterations via DNA methylation (5mC) and hydroxymethylation (5hmC), an intermediate in oxidative demethylation. Most current methods do not distinguish between 5mC and 5hmC, limiting insights into their individual roles. Objective: Our study sought to identify the association of trimester-specific (T1, T2, T3) prenatal Pb exposure with 5mC and 5hmC levels at multiple cytosine-phosphate-guanine sites within gene regions previously associated with prenatal Pb (HCN2, NINJ2, RAB5A, TPPP) in whole blood leukocytes of children ages 11-18 years of age. Methods: Participants from the Early Life Exposure in Mexico to Environmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) birth cohorts were selected (n = 144) for pyrosequencing analysis following oxidative or standard sodium bisulfite treatment. This workflow directly quantifies total methylation (5mC+5hmC) and 5mC only; 5hmC is estimated by subtraction. Results: Participants were 51% male, and mean maternal blood lead levels (BLL) were 6.43 [+ or -]5.16 [micro]g/dL in Trimester 1 (T1), 5.66[+ or -]5.21 [micro]g/dL in Trimester 2 (T2), and 5.86[+ or -]4.34 lg/dL in Trimester 3 (T3). In addition, 5hmC levels were calculated for HCN2 (mean[+ or -]standard deviation(SD), 2.08 [+ or -]4.18%), NINJ2 (G/C: 2.01 [+ or -]5.95; GG: 0.90[+ or -]3.97), RAB5A (0.66[+ or -]0.80%), and TPPP (1.11 [+ or -]6.67%). Furthermore, 5mC levels were measured in HCN2 (81.3[+ or -]9.63%), NINJ2 (heterozygotes: 38.6[+ or -]7.39%; GG homozygotes: 67.3[+ or -]9.83%), RAB5A (1.41 [+ or -]1.21%), and TPPP (92.5 [+ or -] 8.03%). Several significant associations between BLLs and 5mC/5hmC were identified: T1 BLLs with 5mC in HCN2 (b = -0.37, p = 0.03) and 5hmC in NINJ2 (b = 0.49, p = 0.003); T2 BLLs with 5mC in HCN2 (b = 0.37, p = 0.03) and 5hmC in NINJ2 (b = 0.27, p = 0.008); and T3 BLLs with 5mC in HCN2 (b = 0.50, p = 0.01) and NINJ2 (b = -0.35, p = 0.004) and 5hmC in NINJ2 (b = 0.45, p < 0.001). NINJ2 5mC was negatively correlated with gene expression (Pearson r = -0.5, p-value = 0.005), whereas 5hmC was positively correlated (r = 0.4, p-value = 0.04). Discussion: These findings suggest there is variable 5hmC in human whole blood and that prenatal Pb exposure is associated with gene-specific 5mC and 5hmC levels at adolescence, providing evidence to consider 5hmC as a regulatory mechanism that is responsive to environmental exposures. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP8507, Introduction The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis (Barker 2007) postulates that in utero exposures, including exposure to environmental contaminants such as lead (Pb), can permanently modify an [...]

PurposeThe Early Life Exposure in Mexico to ENvironmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) Project is a mother–child pregnancy and birth cohort originally initiated in the mid-1990s to explore: (1) whether enhanced mobilisation of lead from maternal bone stores during pregnancy poses a risk to fetal and subsequent offspring neurodevelopment; and (2) whether maternal calcium supplementation during pregnancy and lactation can suppress bone lead mobilisation and mitigate the adverse effects of lead exposure on offspring health and development. Through utilisation of carefully archived biospecimens to measure other prenatal exposures, banking of DNA and rigorous measurement of a diverse array of outcomes, ELEMENT has since evolved into a major resource for research on early life exposures and developmental outcomes.Participantsn=1643 mother–child pairs sequentially recruited (between 1994 and 2003) during pregnancy or at delivery from maternity hospitals in Mexico City, Mexico.Findings to dateMaternal bone (eg, patella, tibia) is an endogenous source for fetal lead exposure due to mobilisation of stored lead into circulation during pregnancy and lactation, leading to increased risk of miscarriage, low birth weight and smaller head circumference, and transfer of lead into breastmilk. Daily supplementation with 1200 mg of elemental calcium during pregnancy and lactation reduces lead resorption from maternal bone and thereby, levels of circulating lead. Beyond perinatal outcomes, early life exposure to lead is associated with neurocognitive deficits, behavioural disorders, higher blood pressure and lower weight in offspring during childhood. Some of these relationships were modified by dietary factors; genetic polymorphisms specific for iron, folate and lipid metabolism; and timing of exposure. Research has also expanded to include findings published on other toxicants such as those associated with personal care products and plastics (eg, phthalates, bisphenol A), other metals (eg, mercury, manganese, cadmium), pesticides (organophosphates) and fluoride; other biomarkers (eg, toxicant levels in plasma, hair and teeth); other outcomes (eg, sexual maturation, metabolic syndrome, dental caries); and identification of novel mechanisms via epigenetic and metabolomics profiling.Future plansAs the ELEMENT mothers and children age, we plan to (1) continue studying the long-term consequences of toxicant exposure during the perinatal period on adolescent and young adult outcomes as well as outcomes related to the original ELEMENT mothers, such as their metabolic and bone health during perimenopause; and (2) follow the third generation of participants (children of the children) to study intergenerational effects of in utero exposures.Trial registration numberNCT00558623.