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Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) are harmful pests that have become a severe threat to crop production worldwide. Diversity of PPN at horizontal and spatial scales influence the effectiveness of control strategies. This study evaluated the vertical distribution of PPN genera at 0 cm to 30 cm and 30 cm to 60 cm in sweet potato fields in Central, Manyatta, and Nembure regions of Embu County, Kenya. A significant region × depth interaction was observed for Tylenchus. For all the other nematode genera, there were no significant variations in the abundance at 0 cm to 30 cm and 30 cm to 60 cm depths. However, Helicotylenchus, Meloidogyne, and Scutellonema occurred in greater numbers at both depths in all regions. Shannon and Simpson diversity indices were higher at 0 cm to 30 cm depth while Pielou’s evenness was similar at both depths in the three regions. Diversity partitioning of genus richness, Shannon, and Simpson diversities across all regions at 0 cm to 30 cm, indicated that β component contributed 61.9%, 35.6%, and 22.6% of γ diversity, respectively. Coinertia analysis indicated a significant covariation between nematode genera and soil properties. The results show that management of PPN in sweet potato fields should be targeted at soil depths that are not less than 60 cm.

Many K-12 brick-and-mortar public schools now grant students the option of taking some of their courses online. Yet, a scant academic literature probes where online course choice exists and why it is utilized. We partnered with a market research firm to solicit 450 responses from a nationally representative group of American parents of public school-educated children to begin to understand the predictors of districts adopting course choice, disparities in access, and why families utilize course choice. Overall, there were no clear intrastate predictors of which districts provide parents the option to avail online course choice. Among several options provided, respondents emphasized the importance of scheduling flexibility or simply believing that their child would learn more in their decision to utilize online course choice.

Abstract Background Certain groups are commonly under-served by health research due to exclusionary models of research design/delivery. Working in partnership with under-served groups is key to improving inclusion. This project aimed to explore the use of a knowledge mobilisation approach to start building partnerships with under-served groups based on trust and mutual understanding. Methods This co-produced public involvement project employed a knowledge mobilisation approach. The project team involved public contributors from four community organisations and staff from two Universities. A series of ‘community conversations’ were co-produced. These involved open discussions with local people in community settings. The conversations provide an informal space to engage in a multi-directional dialogue about health research and incorporated approaches such as prompt questions, live illustrations, and themed boards. The findings were reviewed collectively. Dissemination/feedback activities and lessons learned for future engagement with community organisations and under-served groups were also co-produced. Results Over 100 people attended the community conversations. Attendees varied widely in their sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., socioeconomic status and ethnicity) and brought diverse lived experiences (e.g., experiences of homelessness and disability). A strong appetite for change and desire to mobilise public knowledge were evident. Attendees reported wide-ranging barriers to inclusion in health research and suggested ways to address them. Three inter-related take-home messages were identified: ensure relevance, appreciation, and trust; prioritise language and accessibility needs; and maximise flexibility in all research-related activities. Feedback about the community conversations and dissemination activities was largely positive, with all parties planning to continue the partnership building. The lessons learned provide practical suggestions for promoting inclusion in research and highlight the importance of addressing research teams’ training/support needs. Conclusions Knowledge mobilisation was a valuable approach for facilitating multi-directional dialogues and relationship building between local communities and university teams. This approach enabled co-creation of new knowledge related to inclusion and partnership working in health research. The project has provided a firm foundation to build upon. However, creating sustainable, inclusive public partnerships is likely to require systemic changes, such as weighting of fundings schemes to projects that prioritise inclusion of under-served groups throughout the research cycle.

The move away from transmission-based lecturing toward a more student-centred active learning approach is well evidenced in STEM higher education. However, the examination of active learning has generally remained confined to formal timetabled contexts, with assumptions made that students independently manage the transition between timetabled and non-timetabled learning. This paper introduces research findings from a mixed methods study that used an ecological approach when investigating student transitions between a formal lecture theatre and adjacent informal breakout space in a UK STEM university. Using quantitative occupancy monitoring data to analyse usage patterns of both spaces, in combination with qualitative ethnographic observations and field interviews, permitted a purposeful exploration of student engagement with transitions within and between the two learning spaces. The ecological approach aided the discovery of spatial, pedagogic and agentic transitions and tensions, which subsequently informed strategic modification of space across the institution to facilitate the adoption of active learning pedagogy.

States vary widely in their approaches to charter school regulation. We administered online surveys to charter school leaders in four of the most stringently regulated states and three of the least stringently regulated states to examine how their approach might influence perceived school goals and levels of goal agreement. Generally, survey responses reveal that leaders in both settings perceive similar priorities from school stakeholders. However, charter leaders in low regulation states ascribe greater relative importance to satisfying enrolled families, report that charter authorizers are comparatively less concerned about test scores, and report less clarity regarding school goals. Implications are discussed.

Abstract Background There is a growing interest in products featuring hemp extracts and a demand for more data regarding their safety. To date, there is a paucity of published data on the safety of these products. Methods A retrospective analysis of postmarketing surveillance data collected in the United States on full spectrum hemp extract (FSHE) products manufactured by Charlotte’s Web (CW) was conducted over an 18-month period (January 2019 to July 2020). The frequency of adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs) was assessed by analyzing AE reports against the estimated number of consumers who purchased products and the total number of products sold. Results During the 18-month period, approximately 646,391 consumers purchased 1,939,172 products and 431 AEs were reported by 304 individuals. The estimated percentage of consumers who reported at least one adverse event was 0.05%. The percentage of AEs per products sold was 0.02%. Most AEs (98.14%) reported were Grade 1 (i.e., asymptomatic or causing mild symptoms), as classified by the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. Seven AEs were classified as serious, and the percentage of SAEs per products sold was 0.0004%. None of the reported SAEs were classified as a Grade 4 or Grade 5 (i.e., life threatening or fatal). Conclusions Approximately 0.05% of consumers who purchased the CW FSHE products from January 2019 to July 2020 reported an adverse event. The percentage of AEs and SAEs per products sold was 0.02% and 0.0004%, respectively. These data demonstrate that CW FSHE products appear to be well tolerated at recommended doses.

Abstract University learning and teaching involves contrasting and interacting emotional experiences. Even in disciplines considered as objective as Science and Engineering, emotion plays a significant role in catalysing and sustaining learning. Although emotions are individually felt, they are socially constructed between people. This is especially relevant in group-based learning evident in much contemporary higher education. This paper applies the concept of emotion socialization to illustrate how groups of students and teachers cope and succeed in cognitively and emotionally challenging learning settings. The study is based on qualitative data collected across six STEMM university departments, from 280 students via in-situ questionnaires and from 20 teachers via group and follow-up interviews. Two key findings offer insight into processes of reciprocal influence on cognition and emotion. The first relates to ways in which students’ and teachers’ differing knowledge-related goals and relationships with knowledge influenced cognition and emotion, uncovering previously unacknowledged connections. The second relates to how students’ comparisons of progress towards academic goals with peers contributed considerably to their emotional experiences in cognitively and emotionally helpful and unhelpful ways. Practical implications are presented, including possibilities for capitalising on existing emotion socialization processes and enhancing how they influence cognition and emotional well-being.

Colleen A Burke,1,2,&ast; Kenneth A Taylor,1,3,&ast; Rebecca Fillipo,2 Steven Z George,1– 3 Flavia P Kapos,1,3 Stephanie T Danyluk,1 Carla A Kingsbury,4 Kelley Seebeck,1 Christopher E Lewis,4 Emily Ford,4 Cecilia Plez,4 Andrzej S Kosinski,5 Michael C Brown,6,7 Adam P Goode1– 3 1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA; 2Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA; 3Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; 4Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA; 5Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA; 6Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA; 7Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Adam P Goode, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, 311 Trent Drive, Durham, NC, 27710, USA, Tel +1 919 681 6157, Fax +1 919 684 1846, Email adam.goode@duke.eduIntroduction: Acute low back pain (LBP) is a common experience; however, the associated pain severity, pain frequency, and characteristics of individuals with acute LBP in community settings have yet to be well understood. In this manuscript, two acute-LBP severity categorization definitions were developed: 1) pain impact frequency (impact-based) and 2) pain intensity (intensity-based) severity categories. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe and then compare these acute-LBP severity groups in the following characteristics: 1) sociodemographic, 2) general and physical health, and 3) psychological using a feasibility cohort study.Methods: This cross-sectional study used baseline data from 131 community-based participants with acute LBP (< 4 weeks duration before screening and ≥ 30 pain-free days before acute LBP onset). Descriptive associations were calculated as prevalence ratios of categorical variables and Hedges’ g for continuous variables.Results: Our analyses identified several large associations for impact-based and intensity-based categories with global mental health, global physical health, STarT Back Screening Tool risk category, and general health. Larger associations were found with social constructs (racially and ethnically minoritized, performance of social roles, and isolation) when using the intensity-based versus impact-based categorization.Discussion: This study adds to the literature by providing standard ways to characterize community-based individuals experiencing acute-LBP. The robust differences observed between these categorization approaches suggest that how we define acute-LBP severity is consequential; these different approaches may be used to improve the early identification of factors potentially contributing to the development of chronic-LBP.Keywords: low back pain, acute pain, cohort study, community

Abstract Whole genome sequencing (WGS) provides comprehensive, individualised cancer genomic information. However, routine tumour biopsies are formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE), damaging DNA, historically limiting their use in WGS. Here we analyse FFPE cancer WGS datasets from England’s 100,000 Genomes Project, comparing 578 FFPE samples with 11,014 fresh frozen (FF) samples across multiple tumour types. We use an approach that characterises rather than discards artefacts. We identify three artefactual signatures, including one known (SBS57) and two previously uncharacterised (SBS FFPE, ID FFPE), and develop an “FFPEImpact” score that quantifies sample artefacts. Despite inferior sequencing quality, FFPE-derived data identifies clinically-actionable variants, mutational signatures and permits algorithmic stratification. Matched FF/FFPE validation cohorts shows good concordance while acknowledging SBS, ID and copy-number artefacts. While FF-derived WGS data remains the gold standard, FFPE-samples can be used for WGS if required, using analytical advancements developed here, potentially democratising whole cancer genomics to many.

In response to concerns regarding school quality, state policy-makers reformed their charter school authorization processes to impose greater regulatory barriers to chartering. These barriers to market entry could impose substantial burdens for Black and Latino would-be charter operators, as well as independent operators, who may lack access to social and financial capital. We test these hypotheses by comparing application outcomes from states with high and low levels of charter regulation, as measured by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Empirical analyses indicate that independent and Black and Latino applicants are disproportionately and negatively impacted by increasing regulation.

Standardized test performance among students in full-time virtual schools generally lags behind that of students in traditional, face-to-face schools. One largely unexplored potential cause is the requirement to complete tests at unfamiliar facilities rather than from home, the normal learning environment for these students. The COVID-19 pandemic enabled some full-time virtual school students to test from home, providing a unique opportunity to assess how testing environment might influence outcomes. Using data from an educational management organization (EMO) running virtual schools in 21 U.S. states, we test whether full-time virtual school students perform better on standardized exams administered at home (n = 524) relative to those testing at an unfamiliar testing site (n = 1,443) in 2020–21. Home testing is associated with nearly one fifth of a standard deviation improvement in math and ELA performance even after controlling for prior test performance. Moreover, tests taken from home more strongly correlate with other measures of academic performance than do tests taken at designated facilities, indicating they better capture academic progress. Analyses investigating whether home testing enables cheating are inconclusive.

Abstract Background Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) comprises a heterogeneous group of conditions that can cause marked disability and diminished quality of life. Data on predictors of clinical response are insufficient to guide selection of the appropriate biologic agent for individual patients. This study aimed to investigate the propensity of S100A8/9 and S100A12 as predictive biomarkers of abatacept response in polyarticular-course juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA). Methods Data from a phase 3 trial (NCT01844518) of subcutaneous abatacept in patients with active pJIA (n = 219) were used in this exploratory analysis. Association between biomarker levels at baseline and improvements in JIA-American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria responses or baseline disease activity (measured by Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score in 27 joints using C-reactive protein [JADAS27-CRP]) were assessed. Biomarker level changes from baseline to month 4 were assessed for disease outcome prediction up to 21 months. Results At baseline, 158 patients had available biomarker samples. Lower baseline S100A8/9 levels (≤ 3295 ng/mL) were associated with greater odds of achieving JIA-ACR90 (odds ratio [OR]: 2.54 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25–5.18]), JIA-ACR100 (OR: 3.72 [95% CI: 1.48–9.37]), JIA-ACR inactive disease (ID; OR: 4.25 [95% CI: 2.03–8.92]), JADAS27-CRP ID (OR: 2.34 [95% CI: 1.02–5.39]) at month 4, and JIA-ACR ID (OR: 3.01 [95% CI: 1.57–5.78]) at month 16. Lower baseline S100A12 levels (≤ 176 ng/mL) were associated with greater odds of achieving JIA-ACR90 (OR: 2.52 [95% CI: 1.23–5.13]), JIA-ACR100 (OR: 3.68 [95% CI: 1.46–9.28]), JIA-ACR ID (OR: 3.66 [95% CI: 1.76–7.61]), JIA-ACR90 (OR: 2.03 [95% CI: 1.07–3.87]), JIA-ACR100 (OR: 2.14 [95% CI: 1.10–4.17]), and JIA-ACR ID (OR: 4.22 [95% CI: 2.15–8.29]) at month 16. From baseline to month 4, decreases in S100A8/9 and S100A12 generally exceeded 50% among JIA-ACR90/100/ID responders. Conclusion Lower baseline levels of S100A8/9 and S100A12 proteins predicted better response to abatacept treatment than higher levels and may serve as early predictive biomarkers in pJIA. Decreases in these biomarker levels may also predict longer-term response to abatacept in pJIA.

Abstract Context While a growing body of research has been demonstrating how exposure to social and built environments relate to various health outcomes, specific pathways generally remain poorly understood. But recent technological advancements have enabled new study designs through continuous monitoring using mobile sensors and repeated questionnaires. Such geographically explicit momentary assessments (GEMA) make it possible to link momentary subjective states, behaviors, and physiological parameters to momentary environmental conditions, and can help uncover the pathways linking place to health. Despite its potential, there is currently no review of GEMA studies detailing how location data is used to measure environmental exposure, and how this in turn is linked to momentary outcomes of interest. Moreover, a lack of standard reporting of such studies hampers comparability and reproducibility. Aims The objectives of this research were twofold: 1) conduct a systematic review of GEMA studies that link momentary measurement with environmental data obtained from geolocation data, and 2) develop a STROBE extension guideline for GEMA studies. Method The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Inclusion criteria consisted of a combination of repeated momentary measurements of a health state or behavior with GPS coordinate collection, and use of these location data to derive momentary environmental exposures. To develop the guideline, the variables extracted for the systematic review were compared to elements of the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) and CREMAS (CRedibility of Evidence from Multiple Analyses of the Same data) checklists, to provide a new guideline for GEMA studies. An international panel of experts participated in a consultation procedure to collectively develop the proposed checklist items. Results and developed tools A total of 20 original GEMA studies were included in the review. Overall, several key pieces of information regarding the GEMA methods were either missing or reported heterogeneously. Our guideline provides a total of 27 categories (plus 4 subcategories), combining a total of 70 items. The 22 categories and 32 items from the original STROBE guideline have been integrated in our GEMA guideline. Eight categories and 6 items from the CREMAS guideline have been included to our guideline. We created one new category (namely “Consent”) and added 32 new items specific to GEMA studies. Conclusions and recommendations This study offers a systematic review and a STROBE extension guideline for the reporting of GEMA studies. The latter will serve to standardize the reporting of GEMA studies, as well as facilitate the interpretation of results and their generalizability. In short, this work will help researchers and public health professionals to make the most of this method to advance our understanding of how environments influence health.

Abstract Background Plastic pollution is a severe threat to marine ecosystems. While some microbial enzymes can degrade certain plastics, the ability of the global ocean microbiome to break down diverse environmental plastics remains limited. We employed metatranscriptomic data from an international ocean survey to explore global and regional patterns in microbial plastic degradation potential. Results On a global oceanic scale, we found no significant correlation between levels of plastic pollution and the expression of genes encoding enzymes putatively identified as capable of plastic degradation. Even when looking at different regional scales, ocean depth layers, or plastic types, we found no strong or even moderate correlation between plastic pollution and relative abundances of transcripts for enzymes with presumed plastic biodegradation potential. Our data, however, indicate that microorganisms in the Southern Ocean show a higher potential for plastic degradation, making them more appealing candidates for bioprospecting novel plastic-degrading enzymes. Conclusion Our research contributes to understanding the complex global relationship between plastic pollution and microbial plastic degradation potential. We reveal that the transcription of putative plastic-degrading genes in the global ocean microbiome does not correlate to marine plastic pollution, highlighting the ongoing danger that plastic poses to marine environments threatened by plastic pollution.

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed unprecedented disruptions on American education and contributed to profound learning loss. The stakes attached to learning loss are especially high for charter schools, whose survival and potential expansion or replication is heavily tied to test score performance. Using nationwide school-level proficiency data, this study examines achievement patterns in the charter sector between 2018–19 and 2020–21. Overall, it emerges that school proficiency rates in 2018–19 remained strongly predictive of proficiency rates in 2020–21. Still, certain notable patterns emerge from the data. Charters that serve more Black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged students lost more ground. Moreover, charters affiliated with education management organizations experienced less learning loss than other types of charter schools.

We analyse an institutional curriculum change initiative from the perspective of academics in a physics department to identify the barriers faced when curriculum change is used as a process to increase equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). We explore what curriculum means in physics, how power relationships within the university affect the response to top-down change, and ultimately who has control over the curriculum. We find that the different conceptualisations of curriculum in physics compared to educational research mean that a directed top-down approach stalls when concepts that fall outside of the physics curriculum, such as EDI, are introduced. Nevertheless, initiatives that are in response to EDI concerns that would be considered to be curriculum change from an educational research perspective are enacted within the department on a localised scale. Understanding the different conceptualisations of curriculum and how they interact to support or hinder change should help guide future institutional change efforts.

Recent research has provided evidence that performance change during a student's test event can indicate the presence of test-taking disengagement. Meaningful performance change implies that some portions of the test event reflect assumed maximum performance better than others and, because disengagement tends to diminish performance, lower-performing portions are less likely to reflect maximum performance than higher-performing portions. This empirical study explored the use of differential weighting of item responses during scoring, with weighting schemes representing either declining or increasing performance. Results indicated that weighted scoring could substantially decrease the score distortion due to disengagement factors and thereby improve test score validity. The study findings support the use of scoring procedures that manage disengagement by adapting to student test-taking behavior.

Charter schools were originally intended to improve the American public education system by introducing innovative practices that could be replicated elsewhere. Charter critics and proponents alike, however, question the degree to which charter schools are truly innovative. While alarm has been raised about apparent conformity among charter schools, scant literature explores how this conformity came to pass. We test the hypothesis that innovation might be particularly hampered in states with stringent charter school authorizing regulation, which may induce charter authorizers and leaders to prefer schooling models that are pleasing to authorizers and focus narrowly on student achievement. To test this hypothesis, we develop a typology for charter schools that scores how innovative they are based on their curriculum, pedagogy, learning modality, themes, and population served. We evaluate how these innovation scores correlate with charter authorizing regulations. Overall, there is a strong and negative association between regulation and innovation.

Through an evaluation of an institution-wide curriculum change process, this paper analyses how strategic policy is variously enacted in departmental communities. Linguistic ethnography of public, institutional and internal policy documents illuminates departments' engagement with the change process. With curriculum change positioned as a disorienting dilemma, transformational learning theory provides a lens to analyse the departments' alignment with the intention of the curriculum change policy. The paper explores the extent to which departments transformed from a disciplinary content-based and high-stakes examination approach to the curriculum to incorporating broader institutional aims and active learning theories into disciplinary language, pedagogy and practices. Three stages of engagement are identified through an evaluation rubric, offering a framework to assess curriculum change initiatives. Implications for educational leaders include the need to integrate institutional strategy with disciplinary experts and expertise and the importance of language adoption as a precursor to implementation.

A survey tasks young adults who graduated from virtual charters managed by a large education management organization to assess the degree to which virtual schools prepared them for postsecondary and career success. The same survey questions were also administered to a nationally representative group of American adults ages 18-29. Overall, comparison of survey responses reveals that virtual charter graduates report statistically significant advantages when it comes to career readiness and mixed responses with regard to college readiness. Implications are discussed.

Objective: The present study investigated the epidemic of tinnitus in college-aged young adults. Our first objective was to identify health conditions associated with tinnitus in young adults. The second objective was to evaluate the predictive utility of some known risk factors. Study design: A cross-sectional design was used to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for tinnitus. Setting: A questionnaire was distributed, reaching out to a large college-aged population. A total of 2258 young adults aged 18–30 years were recruited from April 2021 to February 2022. Interventions: A questionnaire was administered to investigate the epidemiology of tinnitus in a population of college-aged young adults. Results: About 17.7% of young adults reported bothersome tinnitus perception lasting for ≥5 min in the last 12 months. The prevalence of chronic tinnitus (bothersome tinnitus for ≥1 year) and acute tinnitus (bothersome tinnitus for