Getting rhythm: how do babies do it?

Objectives: To investigate the emergence of biological rhythms in the first months of life in human infants, by measuring age-related changes in core body temperature during night-time sleep, hormones (cortisol and 6-sulfatoxymelatonin) and the expression of a clock-controlled gene H3f3b in oral epithelial cells.

Design: Observational longitudinal study.

Setting: We measured overnight core body temperature, actigraphy, day-night urinary cortisol and 6-sulfatoxymelatonin, as well as circadian gene expression, in infants at home from March 2007 to July 2008 in Leicester.

Fetal growth restriction: relation to growth and obesity at the age of 9 years.

Objective: To assess growth patterns of 9-year-old children, some of whom had intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).

Method: 75 9-year-old children (41 were IUGR infants) were weighed and measured at birth, at 1 year, at 2 years and at 9 years of age. Using general linear models for continuous data, changes in weight z scores were used to quantify growth rate between birth and 9 years of age.

Learning from lives: a model for health and social care education in the wider community context.

Objectives: To develop and evaluate a model for medical education which draws upon the whole frontline workforce in primary care and which enables medical students to develop skills and competencies in patient-centred teamworking across organisational boundaries.

Methods: Over a period of 3 years, 517 undergraduate medical students undertook a 4-week community hospital-based attachment developed in partnership with frontline staff. Pre- and post-course questionnaires and qualitative evaluation were sought from students, patients, tutors and frontline staff.