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University student support services are broad and varied. These services are generally located centrally on campus rather than in a specific academic area. Offering a decentralized, college-specific student support and retention model that partners with academic and student affairs allows for a more holistic, integrated approach to student support resources. UA Little Rock has implemented this innovative model by housing a licensed social worker in each of its main campus colleges. These social work specialists provide case management services to assess student needs and then connect the student to needed resources. This includes a wide range of services, from triage of at-risk students for mental health, academic, and financial stressors to the coordination of on-campus and community referrals. The primary goals of this initiative include increased student use of case management services, improved student retention, and increased student satisfaction. Pilot evaluation data indicates that a diverse population of students across multiple disciplines is utilizing the decentralized services. Retention rates for students receiving case management services differ based on their presenting issue(s). To support the ongoing evaluation of services, there is a need to more clearly standardize data collection without disrupting practice.

Mindfulness strategies can have a large impact on emotional regulation, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal relationships. Parents of children on the autism spectrum may experience greater stress, depression, and strained interpersonal relationships than those with typically developing children or those with children experiencing other developmental delays. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and initial effects of a virtual Mindful Self-Compassion workshop for parents of children on the autism spectrum and the impact on stress, self-compassion, parenting self-efficacy, and mindfulness. This pilot study used a mixed-method approach to test this hypothesis. Participants completed surveys before and after the brief workshop and participated in a 1-hr focus group within 1 week of completing the surveys. The findings indicate that a short, 3-day virtual workshop may be effective toward improving parents' mindfulness and self-compassion. Parents reported feeling more mindful in their day-to-day life, more self-compassionate during difficult times, and more patient with themselves and other people in their family. A brief, virtual workshop may be effective for short-term improvements in outcomes for parents of children on the autism spectrum.

This exploratory study extends the literature on teachers' stress and self-efficacy in relation to behavior management. Sixty-six middle and high school teachers' use of praise and reprimand during a 20-min observation, in the general education setting, were examined. Following the observation, teachers completed stress and self-efficacy scales, related to student misbehavior. Teacher stress and teacher self-efficacy were significantly negatively related. Further, teachers who reported higher levels of stress used more reprimands, and teachers who reported higher levels of self-efficacy used fewer reprimands. Last, as teachers' behavioral difficulty ratings for their class increased, so did their use of reprimands. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common cause of early-onset dementia after Alzheimer disease (AD). Efforts in the field mainly focus on familial forms of disease (fFTDs), while studies of the genetic etiology of sporadic FTD (sFTD) have been less common. In the current work, we analyzed 4,685 sFTD cases and 15,308 controls looking for common genetic determinants for sFTD. We found a cluster of variants at the MAPT (rs199443; p = 2.5 × 10-12, OR = 1.27) and APOE (rs6857; p = 1.31 × 10-12, OR = 1.27) loci and a candidate locus on chromosome 3 (rs1009966; p = 2.41 × 10-8, OR = 1.16) in the intergenic region between RPSA and MOBP, contributing to increased risk for sFTD through effects on expression and/or splicing in brain cortex of functionally relevant in-cis genes at the MAPT and RPSA-MOBP loci. The association with the MAPT (H1c clade) and RPSA-MOBP loci may suggest common genetic pleiotropy across FTD and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) (MAPT and RPSA-MOBP loci) and across FTD, AD, Parkinson disease (PD), and cortico-basal degeneration (CBD) (MAPT locus). Our data also suggest population specificity of the risk signals, with MAPT and APOE loci associations mainly driven by Central/Nordic and Mediterranean Europeans, respectively. This study lays the foundations for future work aimed at further characterizing population-specific features of potential FTD-discriminant APOE haplotype(s) and the functional involvement and contribution of the MAPT H1c haplotype and RPSA-MOBP loci to pathogenesis of sporadic forms of FTD in brain cortex.

Some gene polymorphisms can lead to monogenic diseases, whereas other polymorphisms may confer beneficial traits. A well-characterized example is congenital erythrocytosis-the non-pathogenic hyper-production of red blood cells-that is caused by a truncated erythropoietin receptor. Here we show that Cas9-mediated genome editing in CD34+ human haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) can recreate the truncated form of the erythropoietin receptor, leading to substantial increases in erythropoietic output. We also show that combining the expression of the cDNA of a truncated erythropoietin receptor with a previously reported genome-editing strategy to fully replace the HBA1 gene with an HBB transgene in HSPCs (to restore normal haemoglobin production in cells with a β-thalassaemia phenotype) gives the edited HSPCs and the healthy red blood cell phenotype a proliferative advantage. Combining knowledge of human genetics with precise genome editing to insert natural human variants into therapeutic cells may facilitate safer and more effective genome-editing therapies for patients with genetic diseases.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The role of cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) has been called into question on the basis of clinical trial data from the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) era. Comparative analyses of CN for patients treated with immuno-oncology (IO) versus TKI agents are sparse. Our objective was to compare CN timing and outcomes among patients who received TKI versus IO therapy. METHODS: This was a multicenter retrospective analysis of patients who underwent CN using data from the REMARCC (Registry of Metastatic RCC) database. The cohort was divided into TKI versus IO first-line therapy groups. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality (ACM). Secondary outcomes included cancer-specific mortality (CSM). Multivariable analysis was used to identify factors predictive for ACM and CSM. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze 5-yr overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) with stratification by primary systemic therapy and timing in relation to CN. KEY FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS: We analyzed data for 189 patients (148 TKI + CN, 41 IO +CN; median follow-up 23.2 mo). Multivariable analysis revealed that a greater number of metastases (hazard ratio [HR] 1.06; p = 0.015), greater primary tumor size (HR 1.10; p = 0.043), TKI receipt (HR 2.36; p = 0.015), and initiation of systemic therapy after CN (HR 1.49; p = 0.039) were associated with worse ACM. A greater number of metastases at diagnosis (HR 1.07; p = 0.011), greater primary tumor size (HR 1.12; p = 0.018), TKI receipt (HR 5.43; p = 0.004), and initiation of systemic therapy after CN (HR 2.04; p

Students of color, first-generation, and residents of communities experiencing disinvestment--who aspire to obtain meaningful postsecondary degrees, career success, financial security, and social mobility--face tremendous challenges in navigating science, technology, engineering, math, and health science (STEM-H) education and career sectors. The Rush Education and Career Hub (REACH) utilizes a place-based workforce intermediary model that joins an academic medical center with academic institutions, community-based organizations, and employers to increase and broaden STEM-H participation. REACH provides innovative, hands-on learning for underrepresented youth cradle-to-career to increase postsecondary achievement and diversity in STEM-H professions through: (1) early and sustained access to high quality STEM-H education experiences, (2) paid work-based learning paired with professional development, (3) the ability to earn recognized industry credentials, (4) mentorship to facilitate participant engagement and promote program completion, and (5) OutREACH community engagement that provides information, resources and wraparound supports for students, their families, and the community. Preliminary findings suggest that this model inspires and prepares young people for success. REACH offers institutions an equity-centered community-engaged framework for cultivating education and workforce partnerships to foster opportunities, support, and the relationships necessary to thrive in STEM-H for those who have historically been denied.

This article documents and analyses Black student-led organizing by Community-University Talks, a collective of academics and local community members who organized together between 2012 and 2017 in Montreal. The co-authors of this article founded Community-University Talks in December 2011, as Black women who had just begun doctoral studies in Educational Studies at McGill University. Now, a decade later, they recall and respond to this experience through narrative inquiry involving collaborative remembering, writing, and dialogue. This study is further guided by a critical engagement with the material culture of the Community-University Talks archive, which includes notes and correspondences, minutes from meetings, reports, event posters, memorabilia, photographs, and video footage.

In both health and disease, the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) degrades point mutants that retain partial function but have decreased stability compared with their wild-type counterparts. This class of UPS substrate includes routine translational errors and numerous human disease alleles, such as the most common cause of cystic fibrosis, ΔF508-CFTR. Yet, there is no systematic way to discover novel examples of these minimally misfolded substrates. To address that shortcoming, we designed a genetic screen to isolate functional-but-degraded point mutants, and we used the screen to study soluble, monomeric proteins with known structures. These simple parent proteins yielded diverse substrates, allowing us to investigate the structural features, cytotoxicity, and small-molecule regulation of minimal misfolding. Our screen can support numerous lines of inquiry, and it provides broad access to a class of poorly understood but biomedically critical quality-control substrates.

Abstract We investigate the effects of the twist-2 operator in 2D symmetric orbifold CFTs. The twist operator can join together a twist-M state and a twist-N state, creating a twist-(M + N) state. This process involves three effects: pair creation, propagation, and contraction. We study these effects by using a Bogoliubov ansatz and conformal symmetry. In this multi-wound scenario, pair creation no longer decouples from propagation, in contrast to the previous study where M = N = 1. We derive equations for these effects, which organize themselves into recursion relations and constraints. Using the recursion relations, we can determine the infinite number of coefficients in the effects through a finite number of inputs. Moreover, the number of required inputs can be further reduced by applying constraints.

Abstract Microstate geometries are proposed microstates of black holes which can be described within supergravity. Even though their number may not reproduce the full entropy of black holes with finite-sized horizons, they still offer a glimpse into the microscopic structure of black holes. In this paper we construct a new set of microstate geometries of the supersymmetric D1-D5-P black hole, where the momentum charge is carried by a vector field, as seen from the perspective of six-dimensional supergravity. To aid our construction, we develop an algorithm which solves a complicated partial differential equation using the regularity of the geometries. The new solutions are asymptotically AdS3 × S 3, and have a long, but finite AdS2 throat that caps off without ever developing a horizon. These microstate geometries have a holographic interpretation as coherent superpositions of heavy states in the boundary D1-D5 CFT. We identify the states which are dual to our newly constructed solutions and carry out some basic consistency checks to support our identification.

Abstract Western diets are the underlying cause of metabolic and liver diseases. Recent trend to limit the consumption of protein-rich animal products has become more prominent. This dietary change entails decreased protein consumption; however, it is still unknown how this affects innate immunity. Here, we studied the influence of a low protein diet (LPD) on the liver response to bacterial infection in mice. We found that LPD protects from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium)-induced liver damage. Bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing of murine liver cells showed reduced inflammation and upregulation of autophagy-related genes in myeloid cells in mice fed with LPD after S. Typhimurium infection. Mechanistically, we found reduced activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, whilst increased phagocytosis and activation of autophagy in LPD-programmed macrophages. We confirmed these observations in phagocytosis and mTOR activation in metabolically programmed human peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages. Together, our results support the causal role of dietary components on the fitness of the immune system.

Scientific writing is a rewarding, challenging, and necessary part of research. Building skills in scientific writing is critical in graduate student training and provides the foundation for scientific communication at all professional levels. Despite the importance of writing in research, this skill remains a barrier to success for many students. We have developed a practical approach to minimize scientific writing barriers using student-driven, peer-exchange in combination with concrete project goals and dedicated writing group times for a graduate Scientific Writing course. Course topics were drawn from self-identified student challenge areas and presented using in-class activities and discussion. Students selected their semester-long project on which to work, including research proposals, thesis chapters, and manuscripts. Students exchanged two rounds of peer review that provided overview comments and detailed editorial feedback. At each stage of their project, students built on their previous work in response to peer and instructor feedback. All students made progress on their individual projects and the majority improved their skills in at least one challenge area. This student-directed approach to scientific writing offers an opportunity to empower students to improve their writing skills with an emphasis on establishing consistent writing habits that will benefit students throughout their professional careers.

This research explores school belonging (SB) experiences of young people in the UK who live under the legal status of a special guardianship order (SGO). A high proportion of these young people have had adverse childhood experiences, some are care experienced. This research uses case study to triangulate the perspectives of the young people, their guardians, and designated teachers (DTs) to develop understanding of school belonging, and considers the implications for educational psychologists (EPs), school policy, and staff practice. Seven case studies were undertaken, each including a young person, their guardian/s and their school DT, resulting in 21 semi-structured interviews. A hierarchical structured approach was used in all adult interviews, and personal construct psychology techniques were used in young people's interviews. Individual case data were analysed using thematic analysis. Superordinate themes generated included identity, fitting in, diagnosis, agency, individuality and association, school's community connection, systems as obstacles, relationship and connection to others, protection and autonomy, school processes, support and features, and organisational change. The findings emphasise the broad influences on the school belonging of this group, including individual characteristics, peer and staff relationships, school processes, and the communication and interaction between school, home, and the wider community.

Synchronous peer feedback activity is a potential but less studied strategy to engage students in technology-enhanced learning environments compared to asynchronous peer feedback activity in which students provide feedback to each other at a different time. This study aims to investigate student engagement and perceptions in a Google Forms-facilitated synchronous peer feedback activity during student-led presentations, which are a critical part of students' academic and professional development. This study employed an exploratory case study method. Participants were two class sections of undergraduate students who enrolled in an introductory educational technology course. Data included feedback generated by students, student reflections, and a survey. Results indicated that students were engaged behaviorally, affectively, and cognitively. Students had overall positive perceptions of the integration of Google Forms. This study suggests that technology-enhanced synchronous peer feedback activity is a beneficial instructional strategy to engage students in classes. Implications for practice and future research are provided.

Qualitative studies of autistic people's pregnancy experiences have indicated sensory and communication related barriers to accessing adequate prenatal healthcare. However, quantitative work on the topic is scarce. This online survey study explored pregnancy experiences among 417 autistic and 524 non-autistic people. Compared with non-autistic people, autistic people reported heightened sensory and physical experiences during pregnancy and were more likely to experience prenatal depression and anxiety. Autistic people experienced lower satisfaction with prenatal healthcare, including having lower perceptions of their relationships with healthcare professionals and greater difficulties with antenatal classes. This study identifies key adjustments that can be made to prenatal healthcare, including sensory and communication adjustments. The findings highlight the need for greater autism understanding and awareness among professionals.

As ethical issues involving computer technologies and social media become more common, there is increasing interest in what role ethics should play in computer science education. As a result, computer science departments worldwide have ramped up their efforts to examine relevant ethical issues in undergraduate computer science classes to prepare emerging professionals to face relevant issues when they enter the computing workforce. As part of these efforts, a public R-1 Hispanic-Serving Institution located on the United States-Mexico border piloted a leadership course based on the Relational Leadership Model (Komives et al., 2013). This model provides a broad idea of leadership that focuses on leaders developing and exercising their ethical awareness by engaging in discussions of ethical issues. The pilot course was organized around the implementation of a cooperative pedagogical tool known as structured academic controversy (Johnson et al., 1996). We describe in detail the strategy for implementing this approach, discuss key elements of students' final reflections about their participation in the academic controversy, and present the quantitative results to examine students' understanding of leadership and satisfaction with the pilot course.

This study tested the influence of instructional elements within an online Open Educational Resource (OER) focused on information literacy (IL) on outcome measures of IL achievement, learner satisfaction and IL self-efficacy among undergraduate students. An online OER was designed to address the domains of access, evaluation and communication of IL guided by the notion of instructional scaffolding and self-regulated learning. Participants were randomly placed into one of six different OER conditions: (a) full version with all instructional elements, (b) lean version, (c) version without tooltip text, (d) version without embedded practice questions, (e) version without learning objectives and (f) version without summaries. There were no significant differences found across the six conditions on the dependent measures. Participants averaged 58% for IL achievement, performing slightly better in the domain of access versus evaluate and communicate. Limitations include a controlled laboratory setting where participants were not necessarily motivated to complete the study tasks at a high level of achievement. Future research can explore more ecologically valid environments where learners might be more motivated, along with more rigorous intervention and assessment construction. This paper includes implications for educators and researchers to explore the established and innovative instructional elements that are natural affordances of an online OER in IL. This paper presents innovative IL instruction that does not require instructor or learner training and evaluates its effectiveness using a sound, replicable methodological approach to isolate the effects of the individual instructional elements.

Correction to: Nature Sustainability. Published online 29 July 2021. In the version of this article originally published, there was an error in Supplementary Figure 15 where the current x-axis labels for Skipjack percentage of biomass change were also applied for the Yellowfin and Bigeye graphs; x-axis labels are now revised for all graphs in the online version of the article.

Previous studies have evaluated method performance for quantifying and characterizing microplastics in clean water, but little is known about the efficacy of procedures used to extract microplastics from complex matrices. Here we provided 15 laboratories with samples representing four matrices (i.e., drinking water, fish tissue, sediment, and surface water) each spiked with a known number of microplastic particles spanning a variety of polymers, morphologies, colors, and sizes. Percent recovery (i.e., accuracy) in complex matrices was particle size dependent, with ∼60-70% recovery for particles >212 μm, but as little as 2% recovery for particles

Abstract Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome has been implicated in Parkinson’s disease (PD) based on in vitro and in vivo studies. Clinical trials targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome in PD are ongoing. However, the evidence supporting NLRP3’s involvement in PD from human genetics data is limited. We analyzed common and rare variants in NLRP3 inflammasome-related genes in PD cohorts, performed pathway-specific polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses, and studied causal associations using Mendelian randomization (MR) with the NLRP3 components and the cytokines IL-1β and IL-18. Our findings showed no associations of common or rare variants, nor of the pathway PRS with PD. MR suggests that altering the expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome, IL-1β, or IL-18, does not affect PD risk or progression. Therefore, our results do not support a role for the NLRP3 inflammasome in PD pathogenesis or as a target for drug development.

Rates of infertility are rising, and informed decision making is an essential part of reproductive life planning with the knowledge that ART success decreases dramatically while a woman’s age increases and that high costs can often be incurred during fertility treatment. We aimed to determine the current knowledge of infertility and its treatments in the general public through an online survey. We received 360 complete responses. The average age of respondents was 35 years with most respondents being female (90%), heterosexual (88%), white (85%) and university educated (79%). Of the total, 49% had children and 23% had a condition that affects their fertility; 41% had concerns about future fertility and 78% knew someone who had had fertility treatment. Participants’ understanding of basic reproductive biology and causes of infertility varied with correct responses to questions ranging from 44% to 93%. Understanding of IVF outcomes was poorer with only 32% to 55% of responses being correct, and 76% of respondents felt that their education in fertility was inadequate. This survey highlights the inconsistencies in the general public’s understanding of infertility in this relatively educated population. With increasing demands on fertility services and limited public funds, better education is essential to ensure patients are fully informed with regard to their reproductive life planning.

Abstract Background Bacterial genomes often encode structures similar to phage capsids (encapsulins) and phage tails which can be induced spontaneously or using genotoxic compounds such as mitomycin C. These high molecular-weight (HMW) putative antibacterial proteins (ABPs) are used against the competitive strains under natural environment. Previously, it was unknown whether these HMW putative ABPs originating from the insect pathogenic Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium Brevibacillus laterosporus (Bl) isolates (1821L, 1951) are spontaneously induced during the growth and pose a detrimental effect on their own survival. Furthermore, no prior work has been undertaken to determine their biochemical characteristics. Results Using a soft agar overlay method with polyethylene glycol precipitation, a narrow spectrum of bioactivity was found from the precipitated lysate of Bl 1951. Electron micrographs of mitomycin C- induced filtrates showed structures similar to phage capsids and contractile tails. Bioactivity assays of cell free supernatants (CFS) extracted during the growth of Bl 1821L and Bl 1951 suggested spontaneous induction of these HMW putative ABPs with an autocidal activity. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of spontaneously induced putative ABPs showed appearance of ~ 30 kDa and ~ 48 kDa bands of varying intensity across all the time intervals during the bacterial growth except in the initial hours. Statistically, spontaneously induced HMW putative ABPs of Bl 1951 exhibited a significant decrease in the number of viable cells of its producer strain after 18 h of growth in liquid. In addition, a significant change in pH and prominent bioactivity of the CFS of this particular time period was noted. Biochemically, the filtered supernatant derived from either Bl 1821L or Bl 1951 maintained bioactivity over a wide range of pH and temperature. Conclusion This study reports the spontaneous induction of HMW putative ABPs (bacteriocins) of Bl 1821L and Bl 1951 isolates during the course of growth with potential autocidal activity which is critically important during production as a potential biopesticide. A narrow spectrum of putative antibacterial activity of Bl 1951 precipitate was found. The stability of HMW putative ABPs of Bl 1821L and Bl 1951 over a wide range of pH and temperature can be useful in expanding the potential of this useful bacterium beyond the insecticidal value.

The impetus behind the research was the recent industrial action by teachers, in both the United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand (NZ), who were seeking better working conditions and an increase in pay, throwing teaching into the spotlight once again. The high attrition rates within the profession are well documented. We are in a time of crisis in education and the support offered to teachers has never been more crucial. UNESCO (2020). My teaching career spans 24 years, and the way in which teachers are supported to ride the waves of change and challenge has remained the same as when I attended teacher training college. The first two years of a newly qualified teacher journey in the UK and New Zealand are usually filled with mentor support, collegiality and governing body accountability followed by a void that can easily be filled with self-doubt, long hours, stress and pressure. I hope to offer a central location for some of the most influential research on coaching in education. I aspire to offer a springboard for future action research from a firm foundation of there being a clear argument for the benefits of coaching for mid-career high school teachers. The study behind this report focused on interviewing six teachers, two located in Auckland New Zealand and three teaching in the South of England. The sixth participant in the interview stage had been coached within the last two years as part of their professional growth. All teachers are classroom practitioners in the state system whose student age ranges from 10 to 18 years.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of Alzheimer's disease are predominantly carried out in European ancestry individuals despite the known variation in genetic architecture and disease prevalence across global populations. We leveraged published GWAS summary statistics from European, East Asian, and African American populations, and an additional GWAS from a Caribbean Hispanic population using previously reported genotype data to perform the largest multi-ancestry GWAS meta-analysis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias to date. This method allowed us to identify two independent novel disease-associated loci on chromosome 3. We also leveraged diverse haplotype structures to fine-map nine loci with a posterior probability >0.8 and globally assessed the heterogeneity of known risk factors across populations. Additionally, we compared the generalizability of multi-ancestry- and single-ancestry-derived polygenic risk scores in a three-way admixed Colombian population. Our findings highlight the importance of multi-ancestry representation in uncovering and understanding putative factors that contribute to risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.