Stephanie J. Mitchell

Fgfr4 Is Required for Effective Muscle Regeneration in Vivo DELINEATION OF A MyoD-Tead2-Fgfr4 TRANSCRIPTIONAL PATHWAY

Fgfr4 has been shown to be important for appropriate muscle development in chick limb buds; however, Fgfr4 null mice show no phenotype. Here, we show that staged induction of muscle regeneration in Fgfr4 null mice becomes highly abnormal at the time point when Fgfr4 is normally expressed. By 7 days of regeneration, differentiation of myotubes became poorly coordinated and delayed by both histology and embryonic myosin heavy chain staining. By 14 days much of the muscle was replaced by fat and calcifications. To begin to dissect the molecular pathways involving Fgfr4, we queried the promoter sequences for transcriptional factor binding sites and tested candidate regulators in a 27-time point regeneration series. The Fgfr4 promoter region contained a Tead protein binding site (M-CAT 5′-CATTCCT-3′), and Tead2 showed induction during regeneration commensurate with Fgfr4 regulation. Co-transfection of Tead2 and Fgfr4 promoter reporter constructs into C2C12 myotubes showed Tead2 to activate Fgfr4, and mutation of the M-CAT motif in the Fgfr4 promoter abolished these effects. Immunostaining for Tead2 showed timed expression in myotube nuclei consistent with the mRNA data. Query of the expression timing and genomic sequences of Tead2 suggested direct regulation by MyoD, and consistent with this, MyoD directly bound to two strong E-boxes in the first intron of Tead2 by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. Moreover, co-transfection of MyoD and Tead2 intron reporter constructs into 10T1/2 cells activated reporter activity in a dose-dependent manner. This activation was greatly reduced when the two E-boxes were mutated. Our data suggest a novel MyoD-Tead2-Fgfr4 pathway important for effective muscle regeneration.

Internet and mobile technology use among urban African American parents: survey study of a clinical population.

Background There is considerable potential for mobile technologies to empower pediatric patients and families by improving their communication with health professionals. National surveys suggest minority parents frequently communicate via mobile technology, but it is uncertain how amenable they are to receiving health care information in this format. Although the low cost and far reach characteristics of mobile health (mHealth) technology makes it advantageous for communication with minority parents, data on acceptance are needed. Objective The objective of the study was to determine utilization of mobile and Internet technology by African American parents in an urban, underserved population, and to assess their interest in receiving health information via text messaging or other technologies (eg, social media and the Internet). Methods A survey was administered to parents of children aged 1-12 years covered by public insurance receiving care at 3 pediatric primary care centers in Washington, DC. Results The African American sample (N=302) was composed of primarily single (75.8%, 229/302) mothers. Almost half had more than a high school education (47.7%, 144/302) and incomes above US

Prevalence of Obesity among Young Asian-American Children

25,000 per year (43.0%, 130/302). Most (97.0%, 293/302) reported owning a cell phone, of which 91.1% (275/302) used it to text and 78.5% (237/302) used it to access the Internet. Most had service plans with unlimited text and data, but 26.5% (80/302) experienced service interruptions in the previous year. Home Internet access was more prevalent among those with higher income (86.2%, 112/130), but it was still relatively pervasive among lower income families (66.9%, 83/124). In adjusted logistic regression models, African American mothers with income greater than US

Developmental Differences in Parenting Behavior: Comparing Adolescent, Emerging Adult, and Adult Mothers

25,000 annually were 4 times as likely to own a tablet computer than their lower income counterparts. Of the participants, 80.8% (244/302) used social networking, primarily Facebook, and 74.2% (224/302) were interested in joining a social networking group about a health topic concerning their child. Although relatively few African American mothers (17.9%, 54/302) shared health information via texting, there was strong interest in receiving health information via mobile phones (87.4%, 264/302). There was no significant difference in Internet/mobile device use or interest in using these outlets to send/receive information about their children’s health between parents of healthy children and parents of children with chronic health conditions. Conclusions Urban African American parents are active users of the Internet and mobile technology for social interactions, but they are less likely to use it for accessing or communicating health information. However, most parents expressed an interest in receiving health information or utilizing social networking to learn more about health topics. Mobile technology and social networks may be an underutilized method of providing health information to underserved minority populations.

Do Human and Social Capital Protect Young African American Mothers From Depression Associated With Ethnic Discrimination and Violence Exposure

BACKGROUND Asian-American children are considered to be at low risk of obesity, but previous estimates have not distinguished between children from different Asian countries. We estimate the prevalence of obesity among Asian-American children by mothers country of origin, generational status, and family socioeconomic factors using a secondary analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) wave III (children ∼4 years old) dataset. METHODS The ECLS-B is a nationally representative study of children born in 2001 that oversampled births to Asian mothers. Asian ethnic categories included Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Asian Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, and Other Asian/Pacific Islander. The primary outcome variable was weight status; overweight = BMI ≥85(th) and obese = BMI ≥95(th) percentile for age and gender. RESULTS Twenty-six percent [95% confidence interval (CI) 23.6-29.1] of Asian-American 4 year olds were overweight or obese, and 13% (95% CI 10.2-15.2) were obese. Chinese-American children were at lower risk of overweight or obesity (23.5%, 95% CI 18.4-29.5 ) compared to whites (36%, 95% CI 34.3-37.7); Asian-Indian 4 year olds had the lowest rates of overweight or obesity (15.6%, 95% CI 8.0-28.2) and were most likely to be underweight (10%, 95% CI 4.9-19.4). Among Asians,Vietnamese-American children had the highest rate of overweight or obesity (34.7%, 95% CI 0.6-52.3). CONCLUSIONS Vietnamese-American children are at elevated risk of obesity and overweight, whereas Chinese and Asian-Indian children are at low risk. After controlling for Asian ethnicity, maternal education, and household poverty status, Asian-American children whose mothers were born outside the United States were less likely to be obese [odds ratio = 0.55 (0.32-0.95), p = 0.03].

Maternal Distress Explains the Relationship of Young African American Mothers’ Violence Exposure With Their Preschoolers’ Behavior

The nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth cohort data set was used to compare parenting behaviors of adolescent mothers (<19 years old), emerging adult mothers (19-25 years old), and adult mothers (>25 years old) when their children were 2 years old. Regression models controlling for socioeconomic differences indicate that adolescent mothers exhibited less supportiveness, sensitivity, and positive regard than emerging adult mothers, who exhibited less than adults. Adolescent and emerging adult mothers reported comparable frequencies of spanking and use of time out but significantly more than adults. Age differences in coparenting were largely accounted for by different rates of father coresidence. These finding suggest that age differences in parenting behaviors are not solely explained by sociodemographic factors, and that mothers who gave birth during the emerging adult period are a developmentally distinct group; overall, they are not as prepared for optimal parenting as older mothers but are better equipped than adolescent mothers.

Patterns and Predictors of Involvement Among Fathers of Children Born to Adolescent Mothers

Young minority mothers are particularly vulnerable to depression associated with community-level or contextual stressors such as violence exposure and ethnic discrimination. This study explores whether human and social capital act as buffers of the associations between such stressors and maternal depression. Among a sample of 230 urban, African American mothers, who were teenagers when their preschool-age children were born, both being a victim of violence and experiencing ethnic discrimination predicted increased depressive symptoms, and higher educational attainment predicted fewer symptoms. Ethnic identity moderated the association between witnessed violence and maternal depression, and community cohesion moderated the association between ethnic discrimination and depression. Social support protected against depressive symptoms associated with witnessed violence but seemingly exacerbated depression associated with victimization. The specific roles that forms of human and social capital play in moderating the effects of contextual stressors suggest the need for nuanced programmatic efforts to reduce maternal depression among young African American mothers living in violence-prone, urban neighborhoods.

Coparenting in Teen Mothers and Their Children's Fathers: Evidence From the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort

Adolescent mothers and their children are particularly susceptible to witnessing or directly experiencing violence. Such violence exposure predicts maternal distress, parenting, and child behavior problems. The current study examined how mothers’ depressive symptoms, aggression, harsh disciplinary practices, and home environment independently explain the association between mothers’ violence exposure and children’s externalizing and internalizing behavior, controlling for their children’s violence exposure. Data were collected from 230 African American mothers living in Washington, DC who gave birth as adolescents and whose children were 3 to 5 years old. Path analysis revealed that the effect of mothers’ experienced violence on children’s externalizing and internalizing behavior was mediated by mothers’ depressive symptoms and aggression. However, neither harsh discipline nor stimulation in the home environment acted as significant mediators, and there were no direct or indirect effects of mothers’ witnessed violence on child behavior. This study builds on previous work by identifying an association between maternal violence exposure and children’s behavior, independent of children’s own violence exposure that is explained by mothers’ increased distress but not their parenting. These findings suggest that a potential means of preventing behavior problems in minority children born to adolescent mothers is to identify mothers who have been directly exposed to violence and treat their depressive symptoms and aggressive behaviors.

The Structure of Witnessed Community Violence amongst Urban African American Mothers: Latent Class Analysis of a Community Sample

Father involvement may be an important support for children born to adolescent mothers. This study examines patterns and predictors of father involvement, as reported by adolescent mothers, from their childs infancy through toddlerhood. Data were collected from urban, primarily African American, adolescent mothers (N = 138) in four interviews, over a 24-month period. The percentage of fathers categorized as “highly involved” decreased significantly from baseline to 12-month follow-up and was stable through 24 months. The romantic status of the mother–father relationship was the strongest predictor of whether father involvement was consistently high, consistently low, or decreased over time.

Parental Nurturance and the Mental Health and Parenting of Urban African American Adolescent Mothers

OBJECTIVE (1) To describe coparenting among adolescent mothers and the biological fathers of their children. (2) To examine the effects of coparenting on young childrens social-emotional development and whether these effects vary by fathers residence status, parental education, and child characteristics. METHODS Secondary analysis was conducted with the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, which is a nationally representative sample of U.S. children born in 2001. The subsample used in this study includes 400 children whose biological mothers, aged 15-19, participated when their children were 2 years and 4 years old and whose biological fathers (residential and nonresidential) participated at 4 years. Cooperative coparenting and coparenting conflict were measured at child age 2 years. Childrens social skills and problem behavior were measured at child age 4 years. RESULTS Mother- and father-reported coparenting conflict were associated with child behavior problems, more strongly among boys (b = 1.31, P < .01) than girls (b = -0.13, P > .05). Mother-reported coparenting conflict also predicted lower child social skills (b = -1.28, P < .05); the association of father-reported coparenting conflict with social skills was moderated by child race and father education. CONCLUSIONS Coparenting conflict between adolescent parents influences child adjustment. Practitioners working with teen mothers should encourage father participation at medical visits and other clinical contacts and should address the relationship between the parents, whether or not they are living together, as part of routine care.