Search

Summary: We outline a protocol to visualize all mouse lower hindlimb skeletal muscles simultaneously. We describe procedures for orientating the whole lower hindlimb in gum tragacanth prior to freezing, simplifying the proceeding experimental steps, and enhancing the comprehensiveness of characterizations. We then detail steps for quantifying muscle fiber size and fiber type characteristics in a single cryosection using histochemistry and immunofluorescence. This protocol can be applied to histological and (immuno)histochemical evaluations such as muscle regeneration, fibrosis, enzymatic activity, and glycogen content. : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

Uprisings against police violence have placed the institution of policing front and center in conversations about societal change. In our work with activists, we have engaged in collecting and analyzing public records data to inform community organizing for change. In this editorial we discuss how to obtain, interpret, and analyze public records on policing as a way to support educators and youth to investigate policing in their own communities. Specifically, we discuss how to embed this work in Youth Participatory Action Research as a way to respond to youth concerns about their community in a way that leads to action. Briefly, we illustrate how this occurred in one classroom in an urban school where students made meaningful connections between their analyses of local police data and their personal experiences with racially disparate policing, which led some students to become change agents in their communities. This work demonstrates the simultaneous cultivation of youth engagement with mathematics and activism.

Abstract Changes in myonuclear architecture and positioning are associated with exercise adaptations and ageing. However, data on the positioning and number of myonuclei following exercise are inconsistent. Additionally, whether myonuclear domains (MNDs; i.e., the theoretical volume of cytoplasm within which a myonucleus is responsible for transcribing DNA) and myonuclear positioning are altered with age remains unclear. The aim of this investigation was to investigate relationships between age and activity status and myonuclear domains and positioning. Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies from younger endurance‐trained (YT) and older endurance‐trained (OT) individuals were compared with age‐matched untrained counterparts (YU and OU; OU samples were acquired during surgical operation). Serial, optical z‐slices were acquired throughout isolated muscle fibres and analysed to give three‐dimensional coordinates for myonuclei and muscle fibre dimensions. The mean cross‐sectional area (CSA) of muscle fibres from OU individuals was 33%–53% smaller compared with the other groups. The number of nuclei relative to fibre CSA was 90% greater in OU compared with YU muscle fibres. Additionally, scaling of MND volume with fibre size was altered in older untrained individuals. The myonuclear arrangement, in contrast, was similar across groups. Fibre CSA and most myonuclear parameters were significantly associated with age in untrained individuals, but not in trained individuals. These data indicate that regular endurance exercise throughout the lifespan might better preserve the size of muscle fibres in older age and maintain the relationship between fibre size and MND volumes. Inactivity, however, might result in reduced muscle fibre size and altered myonuclear parameters.

Background: Traditional mathematics logics lead to inequities that reproduce narratives such as the myths of racialized and gendered hierarchies of mathematical ability (Hottinger, 2016; Martin, 2009). Black girls sit at the bottom of both racialized and gendered hierarchies; however, research over the past decade has provided evidence that Black teachers challenge these hierarchies for their Black students. Therefore, we show how two teachers work against these logics to create space for their Black girl students to flourish as learners and producers of mathematics. Focus of Study: This research documents the logics that lead to supportive spaces for Black girls in two Black mathematics teachers' classrooms: What are the supportive logics of successful mathematics teachers who support Black girls' achievement in middle school classrooms? Setting: This research was a secondary analysis of videos collected as part of the Gates-funded Understanding Teaching Quality (UTQ) project. Case Study Selection: The study used MANOVA to quantitatively select teachers based on change in mathematics achievement. Two teachers were selected based on number and percentage of Black girls in the top 5% of change in achievement across the dataset. Although not part of the selection criteria, both mathematics teachers identified as Black. Research Design: The study used a case study design to describe the mathematics practices and the logics that they supported for the two successful Black mathematics teachers. Data Collection and Analysis: The dataset included four lessons per teacher with two cameras for each lesson. Open coding was used to identify the practices used by teachers drawing on logics as an orienting concept. Findings: Interestingly, both classrooms were fairly procedural in their mathematics focus; however, the classrooms challenged logics of individualism, racialized and gendered hierarchies of mathematics ability, and carceral pedagogy. Teachers supported Black student autonomy in terms of both behavior and intellectual contribution, and specifically positioned Black girls as experts and highlighted collective responsibility for peers' mathematics learning. Conclusions: Although the classrooms did not display the cultural competence or sociopolitical consciousness foundational to culturally relevant pedagogy, the Black teachers did challenge traditional logics found in mathematics classrooms. Through a focus on collectivity, autonomy, and competence, the relational ways in which teachers positioned Black girls ran counter to logics that too often frame them as incapable mathematically.

Background: Although large-scale research over the last 15 years demonstrates the positive effects of Black teachers for Black students on various student outcomes, these studies focus on average effects. This leaves space to examine classroom practices to detail how the positive effects may be realized through the everyday interactions between Black teachers and their Black students, specifically in mathematics. To conceptualize the mathematics classroom we draw on hooks's (2001) concept of "Homeplace" as a site where one is humanized in resistance to broader contexts of power, as a "haven" free from negative dominant discourses. Focus of Study: This research documents the classroom practices of successful Black mathematics teachers who are affirming students' identities through their classroom practices: How do successful Black mathematics teachers enact affirming mathematics classrooms with their Black students? Setting: This research was a secondary analysis of videos collected as part of the Gates-funded Understanding Teaching Quality (UTQ) project. All of the schools in the UTQ study were located in one metropolitan area. Case Study Selection: The study used MANOVA to quantitatively select teachers based on mathematics achievement and quality of relational interactions. Two teachers were selected and, although not part of the selection criteria, both mathematics teachers identified as Black. Research Design: The study used a case study design to describe the mathematics practices of two Black teachers. Data Collection and Analysis: The dataset included four lessons per teacher with two cameras for each lesson. Open coding was used to identify the practices used by teachers drawing on Homeplace as an orienting concept. Findings: The classrooms enacted Homeplace through affirming students' humanity and communicating a sense of belonging in three ways: building collective responsibility for the mathematics, framing students as mathematically capable, and relating to students' lives. In addition to the themes, undercurrents of care, humor, praise, and the use of Black Language were clearly visible. Conclusions: Although the classrooms did not display the sociopolitical consciousness foundational to culturally relevant pedagogy, the Black teachers did create an environment consistent with Homeplace. Through cultivating a classroom that affirmed Black students' humanity and dignity and communicated to them a sense of belonging, they resisted negative racialized narratives and increased students' mathematics achievement.

During a typical family mathematics night (FMN), families are invited to a school, and parents and guardians work on mathematics activities with their children while teachers facilitate activities and share information on how to better support children in their mathematical development. How might this engagement change when information is not flowing unidirectionally, from teachers to families? What would it look like if families' mathematical practices and multilingualism were centered and valued? How would that work in a virtual setting? The Family Mathematics project, implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, addresses these questions. As the authors discovered, virtual events present their own logistical and pedagogical challenges but can allow for a broader conception of community and accessibility. The project showcases the challenges and possibilities of learning about and drawing from families' mathematical practices and multilingualism. The authors collaborated with parents, recruited through their partner community organization, to ensure that their life experiences were at the core of this project. Through this collaboration, the authors learned from parents how they used mathematics at home and at work, as well as the challenges they encountered with school-based mathematics. The authors then designed activities that bridged the realms of school and family. This article describes design principles to enact an asset-based perspective in FMNs and illustrates the benefits of collaborating with community-based organizations. Whereas in Tobon and Hughes (2020), parents were positioned as mathematicians within existing activities, in this project, parents' input guided the design and structure of activities in an iterative process. Throughout this project, families were seen as partners, and their language and mathematical practices, as assets.

IntroductionEfforts to improve medication access in low-and middle-income countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, have made progress, especially in the fight against infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. However, challenges exist in establishing effective pharmacovigilance systems. The PhArmacoVIgilance Africa (PAVIA) project was committed to enhancing pharmacovigilance in Tanzania, Eswatini, Nigeria, and Ethiopia, with an emphasis on anti-tuberculosis drugs, utilizing various methods, including training. This study evaluates the PAVIA training program’s effectiveness and its adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA blended e-learning program, incorporating two courses and a platform for educational materials, was developed. This program, designed to train healthcare professionals in pharmacovigilance, was incorporated into a Training of Trainers model. To evaluate the program effectiveness, we used multiple measures such as assessing knowledge gain through pre-and post-test scores, assessing learners’ satisfaction and attitudes via questionnaires, and analyzing Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) in VigiBase to determine the impact on spontaneous reporting systems in the PAVIA countries.Results121 learners enrolled in the pilot trainings, including 36 from Tanzania, 34 from Eswatini, 25 from Nigeria, and 26 from Ethiopia. Notably, post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores in all four countries. Following the pilot trainings, multiple step-down training sessions were held in Tanzania, Eswatini, and Nigeria, with a total of 827 learners registering and 421 successfully completing the program. Learners’ scores on the post-tests were significantly higher than on the pre-tests for both courses in all three countries. Learners’ feedback on the training was overwhelmingly positive. Additionally, a qualitative analysis of ICSRs revealed a substantial increase in reports after the training in Tanzania, Eswatini, and Nigeria.DiscussionAn innovative e-learning program trained healthcare professionals in pharmacovigilance and anti-tuberculosis drug safety over 3 years in four PAVIA countries. The program effectively improved participants’ knowledge, received positive feedback, and likely had an impact on reporting rates in Tanzania, Eswatini, and Nigeria, although a direct causal link could not be definitively established due to data limitations and other factors, such as the heightened reporting rates associated with COVID-19 vaccines, that could have contributed to the notable increase in ICSRs.

Precalculus and calculus are considered gatekeeper courses because of their academic challenge and status as requirements for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and non-STEM majors alike. Despite college mathematics often being seen as a neutral space, the field has identified ways that expectations, interactions, and instruction are racialized and gendered. This article uses the concept of labor to examine responses from 20 students from historically marginalized groups to events identified as discouraging in precalculus and calculus instruction. Findings illustrate how Black students, Latina/o students, and white women engage in emotional and cognitive labor in response to discouraging events. Additionally, to manage this labor, students named coping strategies that involved moderating their participation to avoid or minimize the racialized and gendered impact of undergraduate mathematics instruction.

Although considerable literature illustrates how students' experiences and identities are racialized in mathematics education, little attention has been given to Asian American students. Employing ethnographic methods, this study followed 10 immigrant Chinese-heritage families to explore how the racial narrative of the model minority myth was locally produced in mathematics education. We draw on constructs of racial narratives and cultural production to identify the local production of the narrative "Asians are smart and good at math" during K-12 schooling. Specifically, the Asian American students (re)produced racial narratives related to three cultural resources: (a) Their immigrant parents' narratives about the U.S. elementary school mathematics curriculum; (b) the school mathematics student tracking system; and (c) students' locally generated racial narratives about what being Asian means.

The lack of quality of instruction in urban mathematics classrooms in the United States has received much attention in the scholarly literature. Other classroom mechanisms such as relational interactions, however, have not received much attention of mathematics education researchers. Relational interactions go above and beyond content instruction to pass on messages about who is mathematically able, whose mathematical contributions are valid, and whose cultural practices are legitimised. Examining lessons across seven classrooms, this exploratory study documented five dimensions of relational interactions: addressing behaviour, framing mathematics ability, acknowledging student contributions, attending to language and culture, and setting the emotional tone. The frequency of the interactions differed significantly across the classrooms, as did the quality. Addressing behaviour and acknowledging student contributions were commonly occurring dimensions though the first skewed negative and the latter positive. The article details the varied ways in which the seven teachers interacted with their African American and Latino students during mathematics instruction.

IntroductionAlpha-synuclein (α-Syn) aggregation, transmission, and contribution to neurotoxicity represent central mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease. The plant alkaloid “nicotine” was reported to attenuate α-Syn aggregation in different models, but its precise mode of action remains unclear.MethodsIn this study, we investigated the effect of 2-week chronic nicotine treatment on α-Syn aggregation, neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and motor deficits in D-line α-Syn transgenic mice. We also established a novel humanized neuronal model of α-Syn aggregation and toxicity based on treatment of dopaminergic neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) with α-Syn preformed fibrils (PFF) and applied this model to investigate the effects of nicotine and other compounds and their modes of action.Results and discussionOverall, our results showed that nicotine attenuated α-Syn-provoked neuropathology in both models. Moreover, when investigating the role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) signaling in nicotine’s neuroprotective effects in iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons, we observed that while α4-specific antagonists reduced the nicotine-induced calcium response, α4 agonists (e.g., AZD1446 and anatabine) mediated similar neuroprotective responses against α-Syn PFF-provoked neurodegeneration. Our results show that nicotine attenuates α-Syn-provoked neuropathology in vivo and in a humanized neuronal model of synucleinopathy and that activation of α4β2 nicotinic receptors might mediate these neuroprotective effects.

Objectives: Strength training is widely recommended to improve strength, muscle mass and power. However, the feasibility and potential efficacy of strength training using lighter loads near failure on these outcomes in middle and older-aged adults remains unclear. Methods: 23 community-living adults were randomized into two groups: Traditional strength training (ST) (8–12 repetitions) or a lighter load, higher repetitions (LLHR) (20–24 repetitions) group. Participants performed a full-body workout (twice a week) with 8 exercises at a perceived exertion of 7–8 (0–10 scale) for 10 weeks. Post-testing was performed by an assessor blinded to group assignments. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to examine between group differences using baseline values as a covariate. Results: The study involved individuals with a mean age of 59 years, of which 61 % were women. The LLHR group demonstrated a high attendance rate of 92 % (9.5 %) and reported leg press exercise RPE of 7.1 (0.53), along with a session feeling scale of 2.0 (1.7). There was a trivial difference in fat free mass (FFM) favoring LLHR vs ST [0.27 kg 95 % CI (−0.87, 1.42)]. The ST group exhibited superior increases in leg press 1 repetition maximum (1RM) strength [−14 kg (−23, −5)], while the LLHR group showed greater strength endurance increases (65 % 1RM) [8 repetitions (2, 14)]. Leg press power [41 W (−42, 124)] and exercise efficacy [−3.8 (−21.2, 13.5)] demonstrated trivial between-group differences. Conclusion: A pragmatic, full-body strength training program with lighter loads taken close to failure appears to be a viable option for promoting muscular adaptations in middle- and older-aged adults. These results are exploratory and require a larger trial for confirmation.

In 2019, Drew H. Gitomer, Dan Battey, and José Felipe Martínez published a paper detailing apparent violations of fundamental principles and norms in the reporting of technical information about the edTPA, a widely used high-stakes assessment for teacher licensure. In this article, they describe and criticize the lack of appropriate response to these concerns by state and professional institutions. Without such institutions providing guardrails to ensure professionally ethical practices, protections are compromised for those most directly affected by assessments. This is a story about edTPA but has implications for assessment more broadly. [For the 2019 article, "Assessing the Assessment: Evidence of Reliability and Validity in the edTPA," see EJ1284041.]

Abstract Background Selection of optimal computational strategies for analyzing metagenomics data is a decisive step in determining the microbial composition of a sample, and this procedure is complex because of the numerous tools currently available. The aim of this research was to summarize the results of crowdsourced sbv IMPROVER Microbiomics Challenge designed to evaluate the performance of off-the-shelf metagenomics software as well as to investigate the robustness of these results by the extended post-challenge analysis. In total 21 off-the-shelf taxonomic metagenome profiling pipelines were benchmarked for their capacity to identify the microbiome composition at various taxon levels across 104 shotgun metagenomics datasets of bacterial genomes (representative of various microbiome samples) from public databases. Performance was determined by comparing predicted taxonomy profiles with the gold standard. Results Most taxonomic profilers performed homogeneously well at the phylum level but generated intermediate and heterogeneous scores at the genus and species levels, respectively. kmer-based pipelines using Kraken with and without Bracken or using CLARK-S performed best overall, but they exhibited lower precision than the two marker-gene-based methods MetaPhlAn and mOTU. Filtering out the 1% least abundance species—which were not reliably predicted—helped increase the performance of most profilers by increasing precision but at the cost of recall. However, the use of adaptive filtering thresholds determined from the sample’s Shannon index increased the performance of most kmer-based profilers while mitigating the tradeoff between precision and recall. Conclusions kmer-based metagenomic pipelines using Kraken/Bracken or CLARK-S performed most robustly across a large variety of microbiome datasets. Removing non-reliably predicted low-abundance species by using diversity-dependent adaptive filtering thresholds further enhanced the performance of these tools. This work demonstrates the applicability of computational pipelines for accurately determining taxonomic profiles in clinical and environmental contexts and exemplifies the power of crowdsourcing for unbiased evaluation.

In this article, the authors provide a framework for understanding whiteness in mathematics education. While whiteness is receiving more attention in the broader education literature, only a handful of scholars address whiteness in mathematics education in any form. This lack of attention to whiteness leaves it invisible and neutral in documenting mathematics as a racialized space. Naming White institutional spaces, as well as the mechanisms that oppress students, can provide those who work in the field of mathematics education with specific ideas about combat-ting these racist structures. The framework developed and presented here illustrates three dimensions of White institutional space--institutional, labor, and identity--that are intended to support mathematics educators in two ways: (a) systematically documenting how whiteness subjugates historically marginalized students of color and their agency in resisting this oppression, and (b) making visible the ways in which whiteness impacts White students to reproduce racial privilege.

The DIII-D tokamak has elucidated crucial physics and developed projectable solutions for ITER and fusion power plants in the key areas of core performance, boundary heat and particle transport, and integrated scenario operation, with closing the core-edge integration knowledge gap being the overarching mission. New experimental validation of high-fidelity, multi-channel, non-linear gyrokinetic turbulent transport models for ITER provides strong confidence it will achieve Q ⩾ 10 operation. Experiments identify options for easing H-mode access in hydrogen, and give new insight into the isotopic dependence of transport and confinement. Analysis of 2,1 islands in unoptimized low-torque IBS demonstration discharges suggests their onset time occurs randomly in the constant β phase, most often triggered by non-linear 3-wave coupling, thus identifying an NTM seeding mechanism to avoid. Pure deuterium SPI for disruption mitigation is shown to provide favorable slow cooling, but poor core assimilation, suggesting paths for improved SPI on ITER. At the boundary, measured neutral density and ionization source fluxes are strongly poloidally asymmetric, implying a 2D treatment is needed to model pedestal fuelling. Detailed measurements of pedestal and SOL quantities and impurity charge state radiation in detached divertors has validated edge fluid modelling and new self-consistent ‘pedestal-to-divertor’ integrated modeling that can be used to optimize reactors. New feedback adaptive ELM control minimizes confinement reduction, and RMP ELM suppression with sustained high core performance was obtained for the first time with the outer strike point in a W-coated, compact and unpumped small-angle slot divertor. Advances have been made in integrated operational scenarios for ITER and power plants. Wide pedestal intrinsically ELM-free QH-modes are produced with more reactor-relevant conditions, Low torque IBS with W-equivalent radiators can exhibit predator-prey oscillations in T _e and radiation which need control. High- β _P scenarios with q _min > 2, q _95 –7.9, β _N > 4, β _T –3.3% and H _98y2 > 1.5 are sustained with high density ( $\bar n$ = 7E19 m ^−3 , f _G –1) for 6 τ _E , improving confidence in steady-state tokamak reactors. Diverted NT plasmas achieve high core performance with a non-ELMing edge, offering a possible highly attractive core-edge integration solution for reactors.

Extended-MHD modeling of planned Runaway Electron Mitigation Coils (REMC) for SPARC and DIII-D is performed with the NIMROD code. A coil has been designed for each machine, with the two differing in shape and location, but both having n = 1 symmetry (with n the toroidal mode number). Compared to previous modeling efforts, three improvements are made to the simulations boundary conditions. First a resistive wall model is used in place of an ideal wall. Second, the ThinCurr code is used to compute the time-dependent 3D fields used as magnetic boundary conditions for the simulations. Third, the simulation boundary is moved from the first-wall location to the Vacuum Vessel (VV), which extends the boundary past the location of the internal REMC. To remove the 3D coil from the simulation domain, an equivalent set of 3D fields is calculated at the VV boundary that produce approximately the same field distribution at the last closed flux surface assuming vacuum between the two. Each of these three boundary condition improvements leads to an improvement in the predicted performance of the REMC for both machines. The resistive wall alone primarily effects the resonance of the coil with the plasma after the TQ, affecting the q-profile evolution in the SPARC modeling, and allowing the applied spectrum to be modified in response to the plasma in the DIII-D modeling. The movement of the simulation boundary has the most significant effect on the RE confinement overall, including in the early stages, particularly for a DIII-D inner wall limited equilibrium, where the RE loss fraction increases from 90% to $\gt$ 99%, with SPARC RE losses also occurring much earlier when the boundary is placed at the VV.

The Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) is a system of standardized portfolio assessments of teaching performance mandated for use by educator preparation programs in 18 states, and approved in 21 others, as part of initial certification for preservice teachers. Because of the high stakes involved for examinees, it is critical that the scores produced and resulting decisions are meaningful and meet robust standards of validity and technical quality for educational measurements. We examined the technical documentation of edTPA and raise serious concerns about scoring design, the reliability of the assessments, and the consequential impact on decisions about edTPA candidates. In light of these findings, we argue that the proposed and actual uses of the edTPA are currently unwarranted on technical grounds.

Undergraduate mathematics education can be experienced in discouraging and marginalizing ways among Black students, Latin* students, and white women. Precalculus and calculus courses, in particular, operate as gatekeepers that contribute to racialized and gendered attrition in persistence with mathematics coursework and pursuits in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). However, student perceptions of instruction in these introductory mathematics courses have yet to be systematically examined as a contributor to such attrition. This paper presents findings from a study of 20 historically marginalized students' perceptions of precalculus and calculus instruction to document features that they found discouraging and marginalizing. Our analysis revealed how students across different race-gender identities reported stereotyping as well as issues of representation in introductory mathematics classrooms and STEM fields as shaping their perceptions of instruction. These perceptions pointed to the operation of three racialized and gendered mechanisms in instruction: (i) creating differential opportunities for participation and support, (ii) limiting support from same-race, same-gender peers to manage negativity in instruction, and (iii) activating exclusionary ideas about who belongs in STEM fields. We draw on our findings to raise implications for research and practice in undergraduate mathematics education.

Recent international studies have found that teachers' attitudes, biased against historically marginalized groups, predict lower student achievement in mathematics (e.g., van den Bergh et al., 2010). It is not clear, however, if or how teachers' racial attitudes affect their evaluation of students' mathematical thinking to produce these effects. Using an experimental design, we conducted an online survey to examine the relationship between preservice teachers' (PSTs) racial attitudes and their perceptions of students' mathematical thinking. The survey used comparable videos, with similar mathematics content and student thinking, one including Black students and the other, White students. Findings show that PSTs evaluated Black students' thinking less favorably compared with White students. Explicit, but not implicit, attitudes, as well as reported time spent in African American communities, were factors in how PSTs rated the quality of students' mathematical thinking by race.

This note presents an alternative to multiple imputation and other approaches to regression analysis in the presence of missing covariate data. Our recommendation, based on factorial and fractional factorial arrangements, is more faithful to ancillarity considerations of regression analysis and involves assessing the sensitivity of inference on each regression parameter to missingness in each of the explanatory variables. The ideas are illustrated on a medical example concerned with the success of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children, and on a sociological example concerned with socio-economic inequalities in educational attainment.

Abstract Background The City of Hope National Medical Center (COH) is the only stand‐alone comprehensive cancer center in Los Angeles, a county that was deemed a COVID‐19 pandemic epicenter at the height of the 2020 winter surge. The immunocompromised patient population frequently experienced delays in infection control guidelines from local and government bodies due to minimal data available in comparison to the general population. This required COH to make swift, informed decisions for the best interest of the patient population. Aim Here, we review the comprehensive COVID‐19 infection control response conducted at COH within the context of a high‐risk patient population, predominately comprised of patients with hematologic malignancies. Methods and Results This infection control response focused on prevention of COVID‐19 transmission on campus, COVID‐19 testing, and isolation management. These efforts consisted of COVID‐19 screening, limitation of personnel on campus, source control, contact tracing, COVID‐19 vaccination, establishment of in‐house testing and implementation and management of COVID‐19 testing. Between January 2020 and September 2021, COH implemented a robust in‐house testing program, completed well over 1000 contact traces, ensured COVID‐19 vaccinations were distributed to all eligible staff and patients, and established an algorithm for COVID‐19 infection resolution, all without compromising the number of hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HCTs) performed, surgical volume, or healthcare‐associated standardized infection ratios (SIR). Conclusion Institutional collaboration and attention to infection control was pivotal to minimizing the burden of the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Tuberculosis (TB) subunit vaccines have been investigated as boosters for BCG-induced immunity. Here, the authors design a TB subunit vaccine that doesn't share antigens with BCG and show that co-administration of the two vaccines broadens the T cell response to TB and increases protection.

An essential component of teacher preparation is clinical practice that allows teacher candidates (TCs) to observe, reflect upon, test their ideas, and adjust and improve their methods in classrooms. Weaknesses in the structure and organization between coursework and clinical practice in teacher preparation programs often present barriers from fully achieving these goals. University-school partnerships have the potential to overcome these challenges and create spaces for mutually beneficial learning opportunities for all stakeholders. In this article, we identify six levels to illustrate the continua of work with schools in the preparation of TCs that describe how a program might move from current partnership practice to the kinds of partnership practice described by McDonald and colleagues and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). While developing partnerships with schools is work that has inherent challenges, the potential of this work to meaningfully transform the preparation of teachers is crucial.

The paper is concerned with inference for a parameter of interest in models that share a common interpretation for that parameter but that may differ appreciably in other respects. We study the general structure of models under which the maximum likelihood estimator of the parameter of interest is consistent under arbitrary misspecification of the nuisance part of the model. A specialization of the general results to matched-comparison and two-groups problems gives a more explicit and easily checkable condition in terms of a notion of symmetric parameterization, leading to a broadening and unification of existing results in those problems. The role of a generalized definition of parameter orthogonality is highlighted, as well as connections to Neyman orthogonality. The issues involved in obtaining inferential guarantees beyond consistency are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct use of the likelihood function typically produces severely biased estimates when the dimension of the parameter vector is large relative to the effective sample size. With linearly separable data generated from a logistic regression model, the loglikelihood function asymptotes and the maximum likelihood estimator does not exist. We show that an exact analysis for each regression coefficient produces half-infinite confidence sets for some parameters when the data are separable. Such conclusions are not vacuous, but an honest portrayal of the limitations of the data. Finite confidence sets are only achievable when additional, perhaps implicit, assumptions are made. Under a notional double-asymptotic regime in which the dimension of the logistic coefficient vector increases with the sample size, the present paper considers the implications of enforcing a natural constraint on the vector of logistic transformed probabilities. We derive a relationship between the logistic coefficients and a notional parameter obtained as a probability limit of an ordinary least-squares estimator. The latter exists even when the data are separable. Consistency is ascertained under weak conditions on the design matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectivesWe conducted a 6-month randomized clinical study to evaluate the impact of exposure to the aerosol of the Tobacco Heating System (THS), a smoke-free alternative to cigarettes, on changes in periodontal parameters after scaling and root planing (SRP) for periodontitis in subjects who were either continuing to smoke cigarettes or had switched to THS.Material and methodsSmokers with generalized periodontitis were randomized to continue smoking cigarettes or switch to THS use. They underwent SRP for up to 8 weeks, with dental assessments conducted at baseline and at 3 and 6 months after the first treatment.ResultsAfter SRP treatment, all groups showed improvements in the mean full-mouth probing depth (PD), full-mouth clinical attachment level (CAL), gingival inflammation score, plaque control record (PCR), and bleeding on probing (BoP). There were no statistically significant intergroup differences. However, as compared to smokers, THS users showed a trend toward more favorable outcomes in BoP, PCR, and PD improvement at sites with higher initial PD (≥7 mm).ConclusionsOur results indicate that SRP improves the course of periodontitis similarly in cigarette smokers and THS users. The beneficial effects of this treatment might mask the favorable changes that may occur upon modifying one of the several periodontitis risk factors, such as cigarette smoking.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, identifer: NCT03364751.

Halitosis is a health condition which counts cigarette smoking (CS) among its major risk factors. Cigarette smoke can cause an imbalance in the oral bacterial community, leading to several oral diseases and conditions, including intraoral halitosis. Although the best approach to decrease smoking-related health risks is quitting smoking, this is not feasible for many smokers. Switching to potentially reduced-risk products, like electronic vapor products (EVP) or heated tobacco products (HTP), may help improve the conditions associated with CS. To date, there have been few systematic studies on the effects of CS on halitosis and none have assessed the effects of EVP and HTP use. Self-assessment studies have shown large limitations owing to the lack of reliability in the participants' judgment. This has compelled the scientific community to develop a strategy for meaningful assessment of these new products in comparison with cigarettes. Here, we compiled a review of the existing literature on CS and halitosis and propose a 3-layer approach that combines the use of the most advanced breath analysis techniques and multi-omics analysis to define the interactions between oral bacterial species and their role in halitosis both in vitro and in vivo. Such an approach will allow us to compare the effects of different nicotine-delivery products on oral bacteria and quantify their impact on halitosis. Defining the impact of alternative nicotine-delivery products on intraoral halitosis and its associated bacteria will help the scientific community advance a step further toward understanding the safety of these products and their potentiall risks for consumers.

Background: Research has identified enhancement of positive self-concept as an important outcome connected with participation in adventure-based activities in physical education (PE). Purpose: This study compared the effectiveness of Team Building Through Physical Challenges (TBPC) and Adventure Curriculum for Physical Education (ACPE) programs on the self-conceptions of middle school PE students. Both approaches include adventure-type tasks adapted for use in PE. Methodology/Approach: Participants consisted of 397 female (n = 183) and male (n = 214) students who were enrolled in Coeducational Grades 7 and 8 PE classes in three middle schools. Students in the treatment classes were exposed to either the TBPC condition or the ACPE condition during PE classes over 7 months, whereas students in the control group completed the regular PE curriculum that did not include activities from either approach. Findings/Conclusions: Results suggest that both approaches benefit the self-conceptions of children with each being particularly effective at changing those self-conceptions logically related to specific organizing themes. Specifically, ACPE was greater than TBPC, for global self-worth and perceived behavioral conduct. TBPC was greater than ACPE for perceived social approval. Implications: Incorporating either the TBPC or the ACPE program in middle school PE can benefit the self-conceptions of students.

A new three-dimensional electromagnetic modeling tool ( ThinCurr ) has been developed using the existing PSI-Tet finite-element code in support of conducting structure design work for both the SPARC and DIII-D tokamaks. Within this framework a 3D conducting structure model was created for both the SPARC and DIII-D tokamaks in the thin-wall limit. This model includes accurate details of the vacuum vessel and other conducting structural elements with realistic material resistivities. This model was leveraged to support the design of a passive runaway electron mitigation coil (REMC), studying the effect of various design parameters, including coil resistivity, current quench duration, and plasma vertical position, on the effectiveness of the coil. The REMC is a non-axisymmetric coil designed to passively drive large non-axisymmetric fields during the plasma disruption thereby destroying flux surfaces and deconfining RE seed populations. These studies indicate that current designs should apply substantial 3D fields at the plasma surface during future plasma current disruptions as well as highlight the importance of having the REMC conductors away from the machine midplane in order to ensure they are robust to off-normal disruption scenarios.