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Introduction: Ensuring high-quality scholarly output by graduate medical trainees can be a challenge. Within many specialties, including emergency medicine (EM), it is unclear what constitutes appropriate resident scholarly activity. We hypothesized that the quantity and quality of scholarly activity would improve with a clearer guideline, including a point system for eligible scholarly activities.Methods: A resident Scholarly Activity Guideline was implemented for EM residents in a university setting. The guideline consists of a point system in which point values, ranging from 1–10, are assigned to various types of scholarly activities. Residents must earn at least 10 points and present their work to meet their scholarly graduation requirement. We tracked scholarly activities for graduates from the classes of 2014–2020, with the guideline being implemented for the class of 2016. In a blind analysis, we compared median total points per resident, mean counts of the Boyer model of scholarship components per resident, and mean counts of significant scholarly output per resident before vs after the guideline was implemented. Significant scholarly output was defined as an implemented protocol,a research project with data collection and analysis, a research abstract presentation, or an oral abstract presentation.Results: Among 64 residents analyzed, 48 residents used the guideline. We found that median points per resident increased after the guideline was implemented (median, interquartile range: before 7 [7], after 11 [10, 13], P = 0.002). Post-guideline scholarly activities were found to represent more of Boyer’s components of scholarship [mean before 0.81 [SD 0.40], mean after 1.52 [SD 0.71], mean difference 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.332 ± 1.09, P < 0.001. There was no difference in the mean significant scholarly output per resident (mean before 1.38 [SD 1.02], mean after 1.02 [SD 1.00], mean difference 0.35, 95% CI 0.93 ± 0.23, P = 0.23).Conclusion: Implement

Elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) have been both culturally and socioeconomically significant in Baja California, Mexico, for over a century. Artisanal shark fisheries in Mexico account for approximately 40% of the national catch, and artisanal fisheries account for up to 80% of elasmobranch fishing activity in Mexican waters, according to data collected in 2011. Yet, there seems to be a behavioral change among artisanal shark fishermen for various reasons, resulting in a shift in shark conservation that needs to be explored. Collaboration between fishermen and local scientists is important when reimagining shark conservation among artisanal fisheries in Baja.See project media here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2201db1ddc06425b9c1f3e5d18af3f23

BackgroundSarbecoviruses are a subgenus of Coronaviridae that mostly infect bats with known potential to infect humans (SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2). Populations in Southeast Asia, where these viruses are most likely to emerge, have been undersurveyed to date.MethodsWe surveyed communities engaged in extractive industries and bat guano harvesting from rural areas in Myanmar. Participants were screened for exposure to sarbecoviruses, and their interactions with wildlife were evaluated to determine the factors associated with exposure to sarbecoviruses.ResultsOf 693 people screened between July 2017 and February 2020, 12.1% were seropositive for sarbecoviruses. Individuals were significantly more likely to have been exposed to sarbecoviruses if their main livelihood involved working in extractive industries (logging, hunting, or harvesting of forest products; odds ratio [OR] = 2.71, P = 0.019) or had been hunting/slaughtering bats (OR = 6.09, P = 0.020). Exposure to a range of bat and pangolin sarbecoviruses was identified.ConclusionExposure to diverse sarbecoviruses among high-risk human communities provides epidemiologic and immunologic evidence that zoonotic spillover is occurring. These findings inform risk mitigation efforts needed to decrease disease transmission at the bat-human interface, as well as future surveillance efforts warranted to monitor isolated populations for viruses with pandemic potential.

Translational science is justified as advancing the public's interests but has no mechanism for determining these interests. Standard social science approaches would produce either unrepresentative descriptions or a cacophony of data not easily condensed into a concrete conclusion about moving forward with a translational-science project. Here, I propose that the simplifying and structuring ethics employed by institutional review boards (IRBs) be used to create social science reports of the four to six most prominent values or principles of the public regarding a biotechnology. A board of bioethicists would weigh and balance these values to conclude whether the public supports a given translational-science innovation.

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, many students demonstrated a need for further social emotional learning (SEL) support. The work of this project focuses on how to help support students’ SEL development through SEL integration into the elementary music classroom. An increased focus on integrating SEL throughout educational settings is relatively new, and thus the research into how to do this effectively is still emerging. Based on the principle of collective teacher efficacy, this project explores how to integrate SEL specifically aligned with the Second Step Elementary Curriculum into the kindergarten through fifth grade general music classroom. Utilizing the existing research, the author develops five key principles connecting the role of general music education with SEL which were then used to guide the design and implementation of six SEL integrated music activities across several sections of students. After implementation, these activities were then revised based on what was learned through student feedback, recording activities, and written educator perceptions. Upon completion of the project the author asserts that while there is no single correct way to integrate SEL in the elementary music classroom, there are a few guiding principles that help create effective activities that are engaging while also addressing both SEL and musical objectives. This work serves as a beginning step for the continued work in SEL integration, while offering concrete examples and guidance for music educators interested in pursuing SEL integration in their own classrooms.

I argue alongside some other scholars that there is a plausible reading of Spinoza’s philosophy of suicide which holds both of the following tenets: first, that suicides occur because of external conditions, and second, that there are at least some suicides which are rational. These two tenets require special attention because they seem to be the source of significant tension. For Spinoza, if one’s cognitions are to be the most adequate, they must be “disposed internally” (E2p29s/G II 114), or determined more from one’s own mental nature than from “fortuitous encounters” with other things (E2p29s/G II 114). It may seem there is a conflict, then, in saying both that there are rational suicides in the Spinozist framework, and that suicides must always be a result of external conditions: it seems a suicide simply cannot be rational if it is the result of external conditions. But this tension, it will be shown, can be dissolved. Once this tension is dealt with, I offer some brief closing arguments. I explain how this reading of Spinoza’s philosophy of suicide can satisfy a call for new suicide research which avoids forms of over-individualism and epistemic injustice, and which encourages us to abolish oppressive conditions that lead to rational suicides.

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) abundance has declined across the species’ range due to habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation. To address this decline, information is needed to guide habitat conservation priorities and population management efforts. This includes information about patterns of habitat selection at multiple spatial scales, habitat and land use variables that affect demographic rates, and population trend estimates. We collected ten years of data (2011-2020) on sage-grouse demographic rates and habitat selection, as well as on vegetation and livestock grazing patterns, to address these topics. We were specifically interested in the effects of a rotational grazing system implemented through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI). In Chapter 1, we investigated whether sage-grouse hens select seasonal home ranges based on topographic, grazing, and vegetation variables. We found that hens select for shrub cover across all seasons, with seasonal differences in other variables. We also found that sage-grouse located within livestock pastures select for areas with higher used animal unit months (“used AUMs,” or a measure of the amount of forage grazed) in addition to shrub cover. In Chapter 2, we evaluated the effects of the SGI rotational grazing system on sage-grouse nest success. We found that neither SGI rotational grazing systems nor other indices of livestock use had measurable effects on nest success, but we saw a very minor positive effect of senesced grass height. The majority of interand intra-annual variation in nest success was unexplained by grazing-related variables. Taken together, these results suggest that the patterns of land use and livestock management observed during the study are not affecting sage-grouse in this study area, as there is no evidence for a negative effect of livestock grazing on estimated demographic rates or habit

The development of catalysts for faster, more selective, and more sustainable chemical reactions remains an outstanding goal in chemistry. While advancements in statistical models have greatly improved our predictive ability, physical models remain our most valuable tools for mechanistic understanding. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations provide structural models of reaction intermediates and transition states and can accurately predict thermodynamic quantities. For larger systems, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using classical force fields model time-dependent movements of protein-ligand complexes. This Thesis combines both approaches to model several designed and engineered catalysts.In Chapter 2, we investigate dirhodium catalysts that were designed to catalyze an enantioselective Si–H insertion. Our experimental collaborators observed that the enantioselectivity of the reaction correlated strongly with the Hammet constant of the carbene’s aryl substituents but lacked a clear understanding as to why. DFT calculations using an Rh2(OAc)4 catalyst showed that the aryl rings of the carbene rotate in the transition state, resulting in one aryl conjugating with the vacant carbene p-orbital. For asymmetrically substituted carbenes, the transition state with the electron-rich aryl conjugated to the vacant carbene p-orbital was always lower in energy, and this energy difference increased with greater electronic differences between the rings. We then showed that because of this geometric constraint, the chiral environment of the designed catalysts favored one enantiomeric transition state over the other. Again, the energy difference between transition states correlated with the differences in Hammet substituent constants between the rings. In Chapter 3, we investigate a laboratory-evolved family of flavin-dependent halogenases with orthogonal selectivity for the chlorination of tryptamine. Few mutations separate the wild type from the most distant mutant, and

131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (131I-mIBG) is a targeted radiation therapy developed for the treatment of advanced neuroblastoma. We have previously shown that this patient cohort can be used to predict absorbed dose associated with early 131I exposure, 72 h after treatment. We now expand these studies to identify gene expression differences associated with 131I-mIBG exposure 15 days after treatment. Total RNA from peripheral blood lymphocytes was isolated from 288 whole blood samples representing 59 relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma patients before and after 131I-mIBG treatment. We found that several transcripts predictive of early exposure returned to baseline levels by day 15, however, selected transcripts did not return to baseline. At 72 h, all 17 selected pathway-specific transcripts were differentially expressed. Transcripts CDKN1A (P < 0.000001), FDXR (P < 0.000001), DDB2 (P < 0.000001), and BBC3 (P < 0.000001) showed the highest up-regulation at 72 h after 131I-mIBG exposure, with mean log2 fold changes of 2.55, 2.93, 1.86 and 1.85, respectively. At day 15 after 131I-mIBG, 11 of the 17 selected transcripts were differentially expressed, with XPC, STAT5B, PRKDC, MDM2, POLH, IGF1R, and SGK1 displaying significant up-regulation at 72 h and significant down-regulation at day 15. Interestingly, transcripts FDXR (P = 0.01), DDB2 (P = 0.03), BCL2 (P = 0.003), and SESN1 (P < 0.0003) maintained differential expression 15 days after 131I-mIBG treatment. These results suggest that transcript levels for DNA repair, apoptosis, and ionizing radiation-induced cellular stress are still changing by 15 days after 131I-mIBG treatment. Our studies showcase the use of biodosimetry gene expression panels as predictive biomarkers following early (72 h) and late (15 days) internal 131I exposure. Our findings also demonstrate the utility of our transcript panel to differentiate exposed from non-exposed individuals up to 15 days after exposure from internal 131I.

PurposeFunctional outcomes have been proposed for assessing quality of pediatric trauma care. Outcomes assessments often rely on Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) severity scores to adjust for injury characteristics, but the relationship between AIS severity and functional impairment is unknown. This study's primary aim was to quantify functional impairment associated with increasing AIS severity scores within body regions. The secondary aim was to assess differences in impairment between body regions based on AIS severity.MethodsChildren with serious (AIS≥ 3) isolated body region injuries enrolled in a multicenter prospective study were analyzed. The primary outcome was functional status at discharge measured using the Functional Status Scale (FSS). Discharge FSS was compared (1) within each body region across increasing AIS severity scores, and (2) between body regions for injuries with matching AIS scores.ResultsThe study included 266 children, with 16% having abnormal FSS at discharge. Worse FSS was associated with increasing AIS severity only for spine injuries. Abnormal FSS was observed in a greater proportion of head injury patients with a severely impaired initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) (GCS< 9) compared to those with a higher GCS score (43% versus 9%; p < 0.01). Patients with AIS 3 extremity and severe head injuries had a higher proportion of abnormal FSS at discharge than AIS 3 abdomen or non-severe head injuries.ConclusionsAIS severity does not account for variability in discharge functional impairment within or between body regions. Benchmarking based on functional status assessment requires clinical factors in addition to AIS severity for appropriate risk adjustment.Level of evidence1 (Prognostic and Epidemiological).

Nonhuman primates living in proximity to humans increase risks for sylvatic arbovirus transmission. We collected serum samples from nonhuman primates in Hlawga National Park near Yangon, Myanmar, and detected antibodies against chikungunya (33%) and Japanese encephalitis (4%) viruses. Buffer zones between primate and human communities might reduce cross-species arbovirus transmission.

Curcumin, a natural polyphenol derived from the spice turmeric (Curcuma longa), contains antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties. However, curcumin bioavailability is inherently low due to poor water solubility and rapid metabolism. Here, we further refined for use curcumin incorporated into "biomimetic" nanolipoprotein particles (cNLPs) consisting of a phospholipid bilayer surrounded by apolipoprotein A1 and amphipathic polymer scaffolding moieties. Our cNLP formulation improves the water solubility of curcumin over 30-fold and produces nanoparticles with ~350 µg/mL total loading capacity for downstream in vitro and in vivo applications. We found that cNLPs were well tolerated in AG05965/MRC-5 human primary lung fibroblasts compared to cultures treated with curcumin solubilized in DMSO (curDMSO). Pre-treatment with cNLPs of quiescent G0/G1-phase MRC-5 cultures improved cell survival following 137Cs gamma ray irradiations, although this finding was reversed in asynchronously cycling log-phase cell cultures. These findings may be useful for establishing cNLPs as a method to improve curcumin bioavailability for administration as a radioprotective and/or radiomitigative agent against ionizing radiation (IR) exposures in non-cycling cells or as a radiosensitizing agent for actively dividing cell populations, such as tumors.

L’Épidémie a fait ses ravages. Il ne reste que les survivants, les bouffeurs et les purificateurs, qui se partagent des miettes d'humanité. La vieille dame qui s’introduit dans le territoire de Karen et Alicia ne fait partie d’aucun de ces groupes. Elle est condamnée, mais leur livre une triste prophétie tout de même. Peut-on faire pire que l’apocalypse elle-même ? Alex Evans a commencé à publier en 2013 des nouvelles, des novellas et des romans d'imaginaire, chez des éditeurs classiques, d'autres numériques mais aussi en autoédition. En 2017, elle a rejoint la collection de fantasy Bad Wolf avec Sorcières associées qui lui a valu un bon accueil, tout comme l'année suivante L'Échiquier de jade dans lequel on retrouvait ses deux héroïnes dans de nouvelles aventures.

The published work forming this submission for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by published work consists of the critical review and analysis of two linked, adjacent, and complementary modes of delivery of employment protection – the transfer of undertakings legislation, TUPE, and the joint employment model. TUPE is addressed in a detailed monograph, full journal article, and a number of case notes, whilst the joint employment model is addressed in a full journal article. These substantive strands of labour market regulation address the social problems presented by the fissuring of the workplace in the modern labour market and the vulnerability of workers consequent upon outsourcing and other forms of modern commercial contracting. They both seek to allocate and preserve employer responsibilities appropriately and effectively in the face of these modern labour market challenges. Within its comprehensive assessment of TUPE, the published work reviews various crucial issues of such as transfer related contract changes, the personal scope of the legislation, and the proper approach to its interpretation. In relation to the joint employment model, the published work adopts a novel comparative assessment by reference to the approaches adopted to the issue in the USA by the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. In so doing, it sought thereby to develop the debate concerning, and deepen the analysis of, the potential utility and design of a joint employment model for the allocation of employment protection responsibilities under domestic employment law. In its detailed doctrinal and policy analysis, the published work forming this submission addresses crucial aspects of the protective function of labour law, particularly in the context of the fissured workplace, and thereby makes a significant contribution to the debate about and proposals for reform of the substantive content of the law of the labour market.

Here we review the highlights of cardiovascular basic science in published in 2021 and early 2022 on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology Council for Basic Cardiovascular Science. We begin with non-coding RNAs which have emerged as central regulators cardiovascular biology, and then discuss how technological developments in single-cell 'omics are providing new insights in cardiovascular development, inflammation and disease. We also review recent discoveries on the biology of extracellular vesicles in driving either protective or pathogenic responses. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2021 recognised the importance of the molecular basis of mechanosensing and here we review breakthroughs in cardiovascular sensing of mechanical force. We also summarise discoveries in the field of atherosclerosis including the role of clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, and new mechanisms of cross-talk between hyperglycemia, lipid mediators and inflammation. The past 12 months also witnessed major advances in the field of cardiac arrhythmia including new mechanisms of fibrillation. We also focus on inducible pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology which has demonstrated disease causality for several genetic polymorphisms in long QT syndrome and aortic valve disease, paving the way for personalized medicine approaches. Finally, the cardiovascular community has continued to better understand COVID-19 with significant advancement in our knowledge of cardiovascular tropism, molecular markers, the mechanism of vaccine-induced thrombotic complications and new anti-viral therapies that protect the cardiovascular system.

The Collins House in the Township of Bloomfield, New Jersey, is in the process of being rehabilitated with the intent for the building to become one of the visitor centers along the state-wide Morris Canal Greenway. Despite the building’s National Register Nomination form and a cultural resources survey carried out in 1982, there is a lack of detailed documentation of the Collins House to guide future interpretation of the site and ensure that character defining features are preserved and retained. Therefore, an investigation was conducted as part of this report to document the current condition of the Collins House, examine the evolution of interior spaces and layouts over time, and identify character defining features. This analysis concludes by offering recommendations that will guide the township in future rehabilitation efforts and will ensure the retention of the building’s integrity so that visitors will experience a historically accurate interpretation of the Collins House.

Although several interventions have been in place to address the writing difficulties of students, research reveals that student writing is still one of the major challenges experienced by English Second Language (ESL) students worldwide; specifically, in the context of higher education institutions. As such, writing centres have been deemed as facilitators that are paramount for the transition of first-year students’ high school literacies to the academic writing conventions of higher learning. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the efficiency of the Reading and Writing Centre (RWC) as a supporting structure of the University of Limpopo (UL) through a case study of services rendered to first entering dietetics students. The study was guided by Vygostsky’ zone of proximal development and scaffolding theories to determine how the knowledgeable other can support the less knowledgeable students in developing their academic writing skills. An analysis of students’ assignments for the first semester and the second semester was conducted. The study also used semi-structured interviews to allow the current researcher to gain a detailed description on the challenges confronted by the dietetics students, and whether RWC is efficient in improving the academic writing skills of the dietetics students. The research established that academic writing appeared to be difficult for first-year entering dietetics students in the first semester prior to the assistance from RWC, and relied on the centre for the transition of the academic writing demands of higher learning. The study further discovered that although the students still committed slight grammatical mistakes, they showed improvement from the assistance they obtained from the feedback received from the RWC, ultimately signifying that the centre played a pivotal in scaffolding first-year students who came to higher learning underprepared for the academic writing conventions.

The US Department of Energy Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration initiated the Exascale Computing Project (ECP) in 2016 to prepare mission-relevant applications and scientific software for the delivery of the exascale computers starting in 2023. The ECP currently supports 24 efforts directed at specific applications and six supporting co-design projects. These 24 application projects contain 62 application codes that are implemented in three high-level languages—C, C++, and Fortran—and use 22 combinations of graphical processing unit programming models. The most common implementation language is C++, which is used in 53 different application codes. The most common programming models across ECP applications are CUDA and Kokkos, which are employed in 15 and 14 applications, respectively. This article provides a survey of the programming languages and models used in the ECP applications codebase that will be used to achieve performance on the future exascale hardware platforms.

In an increasingly globalized world, the ability to engage with science meaningfully to make decisions on small and large scales is essential to be an informed citizen and to create a more equitable world. To engage with science, people need to develop a science identity. In this study, science identity, or feeling like a science person, includes the development of science knowledge (competence), ways of talking about and doing science (performance), an interest or other motivation to engage with science (investment), and recognition of oneself and/or by others as being a science person (recognition). Informal science education institutions, like science museums, are places where learners can follow their curiosities and access science learning in distinctly different ways than they may have experienced in a classroom setting. Informal educators in such spaces play instrumental roles in facilitating these learning experiences and may impact the development of learners’ science identities. While informal educators may influence the way learners develop a science identity (or sense of being a “science person”), informal educators themselves are not frequently the subject of science identity research, researchers choosing instead to focus on young learners in the space, such as students on a field trip visit. However, science identity development of the informal educators is equally important to understand because how an informal educator’s sense of being a science person develops will have a direct impact on how they interact with and facilitate the identity development of museum visitors. Thus, the changes that institutions wish to see in the visitor experience must begin with changes in the informal educators themselves. I was interested to explore how informal educators developed a science identity while participating in a professional development program. I asked two major questions in this study: (1.) How did informal educators’ identities as science people chang

The traditional claim in the literature on religion and science is that exposure to science leads to secularity because the claims about the natural world in the two systems are incompatible. More recently, research has narrowed this claim and shown that conflict over knowledge in the USA is primarily limited to one religion-conservative Protestantism- A nd only to a few fact claims. In this paper, I test this claim using longitudinal data from matched surveys taken in students' first and fourth year of university. I find no evidence that the science is more secularizing than nonscience. I then turn to a distinction in university majors long used by sociologists of education-between majors focused on inquiry versus those focused on applying knowledge- A nd find that majors focused on inquiry are more likely to secularize than those focused on application. I interpret this to mean that learning to inquire secularizes.

One incident startled a young dancer in class and causes her to wonder: Why can’t the ballet world move forward? What can we do to incite change?

This dissertation examines dance practices by choreographers and visual artists from the late 20th century whose work incorporates a range of (often marginalized) communities in order to address the social issues of their time. I argue that these participatory and collective dances by Anna Halprin, Adrian Piper, and Bill T. Jones are overlooked in the nascent genealogy of social practice that has yet to consider dance as either a medium or conceptual frame. Conversely, I contend that the frame of social practice addresses a gap in dance studies that has yet to contend with the ethics, power dynamics, and history of community-based and community-sourced dance practices. Through the conscious deployment of bodies in space, social practice often appears as staged encounters, and performance studies scholars, such as Shannon Jackson, have analyzed it as such. Yet, I argue social practice is also inherently choreographic. By bringing a dance framework to social practice—and an art historical framework to dance studies—I demonstrate the synergy between social practice and the ethos of Black social dance: improvisation, community, and collectivity. Such connections and influences prompt the need to elaborate new frames and categories around what I call “social practice dance.”

The claim that labor market flexibility—the lack of regulations and collective bargaining constraints on employers—is essential to maximizing employment, minimizing unemployment, and obtaining growth does not have empirical support. That the claim lacks evidence can be seen by tracing how the market fundamentalist assertions made in the initial OECD Jobs Strategy in 1994 have been reversed by the OECD and by other international financial institutions. The OECD now notes that new evidence “shows that countries with policies and institutions that promote job quality, job quantity, and greater inclusiveness perform better than countries where the focus of policy is predominantly on enhancing market flexibility.” It has also rejected the argument that collective bargaining defends the interest of “insiders” against “outsiders” in the labor market. While OECD reports previously made almost indiscriminate calls for lowering labor standards to increase labor market flexibility, they now caution that irregular work can be a danger.

Ruth Evans, Executive Director of the New Chaucer Society from 2012 to 2018, describes the challenges and successes during the long process of digitizing Studies in the Age of Chaucer. Using Studies in the Age of Chaucer as a case study, this article considers more widely the future of print publications of journals and analyzes the overall impact of digitization on scholarly societies.

Soil moisture is a major driver of microbial activity and thus, of the release of carbon (C) into the Earth's atmosphere. Yet, there is no consensus on the relationship between soil moisture and microbial respiration, and as a result, moisture response functions are a poorly constrained aspect of C models. In addition, models assume that the response of microbial respiration to moisture is the same for all ecosystems, regardless of climate history, an assumption that many empirical studies have challenged. These gaps in understanding of the microbial respiration response to moisture contribute to uncertainty in model predictions. We review our understanding of what drives microbial moisture response, highlighting evidence that historical precipitation can influence both responses to moisture and sensitivity to drought. We present two hypotheses, the ‘climate history hypothesis’, where we predict that baseline moisture response functions change as a function of precipitation history, and the ‘drought legacy hypothesis’, in which we suggest that the intensity and frequency of historical drought have shaped microbial communities in ways that will control moisture responses to contemporary drought. Underlying mechanisms include biological selection and filtering of the microbial community by rainfall regimes, which result in microbial traits and trade-offs that shape function. We present an integrated modelling and empirical approach for understanding microbial moisture responses and improving models. Standardized measures of moisture response (respiration rate across a range of moistures) and accompanying microbial properties are needed across sites. These data can be incorporated into trait-based models to produce generalized moisture response functions, which can then be validated and incorporated into conventional and microbially explicit ecosystem models of soil C cycling. Future studies should strive to analyse realistic moisture conditions and consider the role o

In this chapter Evans defines a “critical disability studies bioethics.” Evans defines the possibility space of such a position by giving a critical history of bioethics in general, focusing on biases that make difficult being both a disability studies scholar and a bioethicist. He argues that concerns of critical disability studies may be hard to integrate with mainstream bioethics.

The Nuclear Envelope is a hallmark of eukaryotic cells. Despite its emerging role as a key structural and signaling platform, the plant NE remains one of the least understood membrane systems. This Frontiers Research Topic aims to highlight recent advances made to examine the role of the nuclear envelope (NE) as the “key border” in plants. Exploring this border is now proving hugely rewarding, with implications for many aspects of cell function and plant responses to the environment. Better understanding of this membrane system involves understanding its physical connections and its signaling and transport functions. Together they underpin its many functions- as an anchor and shaper; as a transport hub; and as a signaling center. The papers in this Topic provide current knowledge on all these aspects and a valuable basis for further advances.

Virtual Exchange (VE), a pedagogy that uses technology to facilitate online, collaborative work among students and their peers in other countries, is viewed as a high-impact practice contributing to engaged learning and student success in higher education. This study investigates the impact of various types of VE on the intercultural effectiveness skills of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses across disciplines. The relationship between VE and intercultural skills for minority and non-minority students was also investigated, along with the relationship between dosage (length and duration) of VE and intercultural skills. Results indicate VE positively impacts the development of intercultural skills of students and that there were no differences when the data are disaggregated by individual classes or disciplinary areas. There were no significant differences for minority and non-minority students and for the impact of dosage, but further research is recommended for these two important topics. Findings of this study underline the generalizability of VE across disciplines and its suitability for providing wider access to international experiences for all students.

There has been a range of research exploring on non-modifiable risk factors, such as patient comorbidities, for mortality in patients with a bloodstream infection (BSI). Factors of patient care which can be modified have been found to be associated with survival in other disease areas, but have not been explored in patients with a BSI to date. In this thesis, I explore the impact of modifiable factors on mortality in patients with a BSI using data from the BSI-FOO research programme (RP-PG-0707-10043). I begin by looking at healthcare setting related factors, before exploring the effect of duration of therapy. I then use trial emulation methods to emulate the MERINO trial, a recent randomised controlled trial comparing piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem for the treatment of E coli or Klebsiella species BSI. Finally, I explore the association between the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and mortality. Healthcare setting related risk factors associated with 28-day mortality were ward speciality, ward activity, ward movements, and time to receipt of appropriate antimicrobial therapy in the first seven days. In terms of duration of therapy, the hazard of all-cause mortality for short therapy vs long therapy was 1.74 (95% CI 1.36, 2.24) and for intermediate vs long therapy was 1.09 (95 % CI 0.98, 1.22). In the emulated trial, the odds for mortality was 1.31 times higher (95% CI 0.40 to 4.26) in patients in receipt of piperacillin-tazobactam compared to meropenem, after adjustment for propensity score. This was lower than the odds ratio observed in the MERINO trial, 3.7 (95% CI 1.5 to 10.4). Finally, there was no evidence to suggest a relationship between MIC/EUCAST breakpoint ratio and 28-day mortality in patients with a Gram-negative BSI. This thesis underlines the importance of appropriate antimicrobials within the first seven days, and the potential for ward activity, ward movements and duration of therapy to impact on survival in patients wit

The Nuclear Envelope is a hallmark of eukaryotic cells. Despite its emerging role as a key structural and signaling platform, the plant NE remains one of the least understood membrane systems. This Frontiers Research Topic aims to highlight recent advances made to examine the role of the nuclear envelope (NE) as the “key border” in plants. Exploring this border is now proving hugely rewarding, with implications for many aspects of cell function and plant responses to the environment. Better understanding of this membrane system involves understanding its physical connections and its signaling and transport functions. Together they underpin its many functions- as an anchor and shaper; as a transport hub; and as a signaling center. The papers in this Topic provide current knowledge on all these aspects and a valuable basis for further advances.

There has been a range of research exploring on non-modifiable risk factors, such as patient comorbidities, for mortality in patients with a bloodstream infection (BSI). Factors of patient care which can be modified have been found to be associated with survival in other disease areas, but have not been explored in patients with a BSI to date. In this thesis, I explore the impact of modifiable factors on mortality in patients with a BSI using data from the BSI-FOO research programme (RP-PG-0707-10043). I begin by looking at healthcare setting related factors, before exploring the effect of duration of therapy. I then use trial emulation methods to emulate the MERINO trial, a recent randomised controlled trial comparing piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem for the treatment of E coli or Klebsiella species BSI. Finally, I explore the association between the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and mortality. Healthcare setting related risk factors associated with 28-day mortality were ward speciality, ward activity, ward movements, and time to receipt of appropriate antimicrobial therapy in the first seven days. In terms of duration of therapy, the hazard of all-cause mortality for short therapy vs long therapy was 1.74 (95% CI 1.36, 2.24) and for intermediate vs long therapy was 1.09 (95 % CI 0.98, 1.22). In the emulated trial, the odds for mortality was 1.31 times higher (95% CI 0.40 to 4.26) in patients in receipt of piperacillin-tazobactam compared to meropenem, after adjustment for propensity score. This was lower than the odds ratio observed in the MERINO trial, 3.7 (95% CI 1.5 to 10.4). Finally, there was no evidence to suggest a relationship between MIC/EUCAST breakpoint ratio and 28-day mortality in patients with a Gram-negative BSI. This thesis underlines the importance of appropriate antimicrobials within the first seven days, and the potential for ward activity, ward movements and duration of therapy to impact on survival in patients wit

In an increasingly globalized world, the ability to engage with science meaningfully to make decisions on small and large scales is essential to be an informed citizen and to create a more equitable world. To engage with science, people need to develop a science identity. In this study, science identity, or feeling like a science person, includes the development of science knowledge (competence), ways of talking about and doing science (performance), an interest or other motivation to engage with science (investment), and recognition of oneself and/or by others as being a science person (recognition). Informal science education institutions, like science museums, are places where learners can follow their curiosities and access science learning in distinctly different ways than they may have experienced in a classroom setting. Informal educators in such spaces play instrumental roles in facilitating these learning experiences and may impact the development of learners’ science identities. While informal educators may influence the way learners develop a science identity (or sense of being a “science person”), informal educators themselves are not frequently the subject of science identity research, researchers choosing instead to focus on young learners in the space, such as students on a field trip visit. However, science identity development of the informal educators is equally important to understand because how an informal educator’s sense of being a science person develops will have a direct impact on how they interact with and facilitate the identity development of museum visitors. Thus, the changes that institutions wish to see in the visitor experience must begin with changes in the informal educators themselves. I was interested to explore how informal educators developed a science identity while participating in a professional development program. I asked two major questions in this study: (1.) How did informal educators’ identities as science people chang

Soil moisture is a major driver of microbial activity and thus, of the release of carbon (C) into the Earth's atmosphere. Yet, there is no consensus on the relationship between soil moisture and microbial respiration, and as a result, moisture response functions are a poorly constrained aspect of C models. In addition, models assume that the response of microbial respiration to moisture is the same for all ecosystems, regardless of climate history, an assumption that many empirical studies have challenged. These gaps in understanding of the microbial respiration response to moisture contribute to uncertainty in model predictions. We review our understanding of what drives microbial moisture response, highlighting evidence that historical precipitation can influence both responses to moisture and sensitivity to drought. We present two hypotheses, the ‘climate history hypothesis’, where we predict that baseline moisture response functions change as a function of precipitation history, and the ‘drought legacy hypothesis’, in which we suggest that the intensity and frequency of historical drought have shaped microbial communities in ways that will control moisture responses to contemporary drought. Underlying mechanisms include biological selection and filtering of the microbial community by rainfall regimes, which result in microbial traits and trade-offs that shape function. We present an integrated modelling and empirical approach for understanding microbial moisture responses and improving models. Standardized measures of moisture response (respiration rate across a range of moistures) and accompanying microbial properties are needed across sites. These data can be incorporated into trait-based models to produce generalized moisture response functions, which can then be validated and incorporated into conventional and microbially explicit ecosystem models of soil C cycling. Future studies should strive to analyse realistic moisture conditions and consider the role o

Many people go throughout life struggling to find their purpose within the world around them. What ultimate goal should we be working towards? Is there a way that we should be living life and treating those around us? How do we know that we are fully maximizing the amazing phenomenon of life that we are given? One of the three main branches of philosophy helps give us an idea of how to answer these questions. The study of ethics can help guide humans into understanding their place and purpose in the world. The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University describes ethics as the following, “Ethics is based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues." As one can tell, there is a lot that goes into this. However, ethics is not necessarily a universal rule book. Not every piece of ethics written is exactly correct. Each ethical standpoint was decided by one person or a group of people and written down in hopes that the standard they set would be beneficial to society. It takes a lot of thought and trial when it comes to building ethics and deciding what is morally right or wrong. For me, it seems almost impossible and overwhelming to decide what sort of ethics to follow and why.

Virtual Exchange (VE), a pedagogy that uses technology to facilitate online, collaborative work among students and their peers in other countries, is viewed as a high-impact practice contributing to engaged learning and student success in higher education. This study investigates the impact of various types of VE on the intercultural effectiveness skills of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses across disciplines. The relationship between VE and intercultural skills for minority and non-minority students was also investigated, along with the relationship between dosage (length and duration) of VE and intercultural skills. Results indicate VE positively impacts the development of intercultural skills of students and that there were no differences when the data are disaggregated by individual classes or disciplinary areas. There were no significant differences for minority and non-minority students and for the impact of dosage, but further research is recommended for these two important topics. Findings of this study underline the generalizability of VE across disciplines and its suitability for providing wider access to international experiences for all students.

As the features of microprocessors are miniaturized, low-dielectric-constant (low-k) materials are necessary to limit electronic crosstalk, charge build-up, and signal propagation delay. However, all known low-k dielectrics exhibit low thermal conductivities, which complicate heat dissipation in high-power-density chips. Two-dimensional (2D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) combine immense permanent porosities, which lead to low dielectric permittivities, and periodic layered structures, which grant relatively high thermal conductivities. However, conventional synthetic routes produce 2D COFs that are unsuitable for the evaluation of these properties and integration into devices. Here, we report the fabrication of high-quality COF thin films, which enable thermoreflectance and impedance spectroscopy measurements. These measurements reveal that 2D COFs have high thermal conductivities (1 W m-1 K-1) with ultra-low dielectric permittivities (k = 1.6). These results show that oriented, layered 2D polymers are promising next-generation dielectric layers and that these molecularly precise materials offer tunable combinations of useful properties.

Female entertainment and sex workers (FESW) have high rates of alcohol and amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) use, increasing risk for HIV/sexually transmitted infections (STI), and other negative outcomes. A prospective cohort of 1,198 FESW in a HIV/ATS use prevention intervention in Cambodia was assessed for alcohol and stimulant use disorders (AUD and SUD) using the Alcohol and Substance Use Involvement (ASSIST) scale. STI history was measured by self-report at baseline and at quarterly follow-up visits. Participants were asked if they had been diagnosed with an STI by a medical provider in the past 3 months. Marginal structural models were used to estimate joint effects of AUD and SUD on recent STI. At baseline, one-in-four screened AUD positive and 7% screened positive for SUD. At 18-months, 26% reported ≥1 recent STI. Accounting for time-varying and other known confounders, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for recent STI associated with AUD alone and SUD alone were 2.8 (95% CI:1.5-5.1) and 3.5 (95% CI:1.1-11.3), respectively. The AOR for joint effects of AUD and SUD was 5.7 (95% CI:2.2-15.2). AUD and SUD are independently and jointly associated with greater odds of STI among Cambodian FESW. Further research is critical for understanding how AUD and SUD potentiate biological and behavioural pathways that influence STI acquisition and to inform HIV risk-reduction interventions in FESW.

BackgroundSeveral scales have been developed in the past two decades to evaluate Niemann-Pick disease Type C (NPC) severity in clinical practice and trials. However, a lack of clarity concerning which scale to use in each setting is preventing the use of standardised assessments across the world, resulting in incomparable data sets and clinical trial outcome measures. This study aimed to establish agreed approaches for the use of NPC severity scales in clinical practice and research.MethodsA Delphi method of consensus development was used, comprising three survey rounds. In Round 1, participants were asked nine multiple-choice and open-ended questions to gather opinions on the six severity scales and domains. In Rounds 2 and 3, questions aimed to gain consensus on the opinions revealed in Round 1 using a typical Likert scale.ResultsNineteen experts, active in NPC paediatric and adult research and treatment, participated in this study. Of these, 16/19 completed Rounds 1 and 2 and 19/19 completed Round 3. Consensus (defined as ≥ 70% agreement or neutrality, given the study aim to identify the severity scales that the clinical community would accept for international consistency) was achieved for 66.7% of the multiple-choice questions in Round 2 and 83% of the multiple-choice questions in Round 3. Consensus was almost reached (68%) on the use of the 5-domain NPCCSS scale as the first choice in clinical practice. Consensus was reached (74%) for the 17-domain NPCCSS scale as the first choice in clinical trial settings, but the domains measured in the 5-domain scale should be prioritised as the primary endpoints. Experts called for educational and training materials on how to apply the NPCCSS (17- and 5-domains) for clinicians working in NPC.ConclusionsIn achieving a consensus on the use of the 17-domain NPCCSS scale as the first choice for assessing clinical severity of NPC in clinical trial settings but prioritising the domains in the 5-domain NPCCSS scale for routine c