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Background: Widespread exposure to organophosphate ester (OPE) flame retardants with potential reproductive toxicity raises concern regarding the impacts of gestational exposure on birth outcomes. Previous studies of prenatal OPE exposure and birth outcomes had limited sample sizes, with inconclusive results. Objectives: We conducted a collaborative analysis of associations between gestational OPE exposures and adverse birth outcomes and tested whether associations were modified by sex. Methods: We included 6,646 pregnant participants from 16 cohorts in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. Nine OPE biomarkers were quantified in maternal urine samples collected primarily during the second and third trimester and modeled as [log.sub.2]-transformed continuous, categorized (high/low/nondetect), or dichotomous (detect/nondetect) variables depending on detection frequency. We used covariate-adjusted linear, logistic, and multinomial regression with generalized estimating equations, accounting for cohort-level clustering, to estimate associations of OPE biomarkers with gestational length and birth weight outcomes. Secondarily, we assessed effect modification by sex. Results: Three OPE biomarkers [diphenyl phosphate (DPHP), a composite of dibutyl phosphate and di-isobutyl phosphate (DBUP/DIBP), and bis (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate] were detected in >85% of participants. In adjusted models, DBUP/DIBP [odds ratio (OR) per doubling=1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.12] and bis(butoxyethyl) phosphate (OR for high vs. nondetect= 1.25; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.46), but not other OPE biomarkers, were associated with higher odds of preterm birth. We observed effect modification by sex for associations of DPHP and high bis(2chloroethyl) phosphate with completed gestational weeks and odds of preterm birth, with adverse associations among females. In addition, newborns of mothers with detectable bis(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate, bis(2-methylphenyl) phosphate, and dipropyl phosphate had higher birth weight-forgestational-age z-scores (b for detect vs. nondetect = 0.04-0.07); other chemicals showed null associations. Discussion: In the largest study to date, we find gestational exposures to several OPEs are associated with earlier timing of birth, especially among female neonates, or with greater fetal growth. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13182, Introduction Organophosphate esters (OPEs) have been increasingly used as flame retardants over the last decade as polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants were phased out in the mid-2000s over concerns [...]

This study explored how preservice teachers engaged in collaborative inquiry with elementary students to facilitate social justice and equity in science education. By inviting elementary students as key stakeholders into collaborative inquiry, we examined how preservice teachers uncovered critical problems of science education in underserved communities and how they (re)imagined science learning environments. We also investigated how collaborative inquiry with students shaped the preservice teachers' identities as science educators. Guided by the critical ethnography and data analysis spiral, we analyzed qualitative data related to 34 preservice teachers from a US teacher preparation program embedded in clinical residencies on elementary school sites. Our findings showed that preservice teachers: (1) leveraged collaborative inquiry to illuminate barriers and affordances to science learning; (2) became co-agents of change alongside elementary students; and (3) positioned themselves as science educators. We discussed the role of collaborative inquiry as a transformational pedagogical tool in teacher preparation programs.

Firms often make marketing missteps that offend minority consumers. Such missteps are attributed to the lack of diversity within the marketing field. This paper presents a corporate engagement program that partners minority students with a national company as an innovative approach to this problem. Leveraging both passive and active learning, students attend classes and work on original marketing plans for the company. Feedback from both students and the company suggests that both parties learned from each other, adding to the pipeline of future minority marketers while leading to a better understanding of minority consumers. The latter holds promise for the creation of effective communications that resonate with minority consumers.

Here, we summarise the extinction risk of the sharks and rays endemic to coastal, shelf, and slope waters of the southwest Indian Ocean and adjacent waters (SWIO+, Namibia to Kenya, including SWIO islands). This region is a hotspot of endemic and evolutionarily distinct sharks and rays. Nearly one-fifth (n = 13 of 70, 18.6%) of endemic sharks and rays are threatened, of these: one is Critically Endangered, five are Endangered, and seven are Vulnerable. A further seven (10.0%) are Near Threatened, 33 (47.1%) are Least Concern, and 17 (24.3%) are Data Deficient. While the primary threat is overfishing, there are the first signs that climate change is contributing to elevated extinction risk through habitat reduction and inshore distributional shifts. By backcasting their status, few endemic species were threatened in 1980, but this changed soon after the emergence of targeted shark and ray fisheries. South Africa has the highest national conservation responsibility, followed by Mozambique and Madagascar. Yet, while fisheries management and enforcement have improved in South Africa over recent decades, substantial improvements are urgently needed elsewhere. To avoid extinction and ensure robust populations of the region's endemic sharks and rays and maintain ecosystem functionality, there is an urgent need for the strict protection of Critically Endangered and Endangered species and sustainable management of Vulnerable, Near Threatened, and Least Concern species, underpinned by species-level data collection and reduction of incidental catch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This work aimed to parse out the role of changing environments on body composition, total energy expenditure, and physical activity in the Mexican Pima, a population experiencing rapid industrialization. Methods: Using doubly labeled water, we compared energy expenditure and physical activity in a longitudinal cohort of Mexican Pima (n = 26; female: 12) in 1995 and 2010. Body mass and composition were assessed by bioimpedance analysis. To determine the effects of environmental factors on body weight independent of age, we compared the 1995 longitudinal cohort with an age‐ and sex‐matched cross‐sectional cohort (n = 26) in 2010. Results: Body mass, fat mass, and fat‐free mass all significantly increased between 1995 and 2010. Despite a 13% average increase in body weight, weight‐adjusted total daily energy expenditure decreased significantly. Measured physical activity levels also decreased between 1995 and 2010, after we adjusted for weight. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the recent industrialization of the Maycoba region in Sonora, Mexico, has contributed to a decrease in physical activity, in turn contributing to weight gain and metabolic disease among the Mexican Pima. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent and ubiquitous chemicals associated with risk of adverse birth outcomes. Results of previous studies have been inconsistent. Associations between PFAS and birth outcomes may be affected by psychosocial stress. Objectives: We estimated risk of adverse birth outcomes in relation to prenatal PFAS concentrations and evaluate whether maternal stress modifies those relationships. METHODS: We included 3,339 participants from 11 prospective prenatal cohorts in the Environmental influences on the Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program to estimate the associations of five PFAS and birth outcomes. We stratified by perceived stress scale scores to examine effect modification and used Bayesian Weighted Sums to estimate mixtures of PFAS. Results: We observed reduced birth size with increased concentrations of all PFAS. For a 1-unit higher log- normalized exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), we observed lower birthweight-for-gestational-age z-scores of [beta] = -0.15 [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.27, -0.03], [beta] = -0.14 (95% CI: -0.28, -0.002), [beta] = -0.22 (95% CI: -0.23, -0.10), [beta] = -0.06 (95% CI: -0.18, 0.06), and [beta] = -0.25 (95% CI: -0.37, -0.14), respectively. We observed a lower odds ratio (OR) for large-for-gestational-age: ORpfna = 0.56 (95% CI: 0.38, 0.83), [OR.sub.PFDA] = 0.52 (95% CI: 0.35, 0.77). For a 1-unit increase in log-normalized concentration of summed PFAS, we observed a lower birthweight-for-gestational-age z- score [-0.28; 95% highest posterior density (HPD): -0.44, -0.14] and decreased odds of large-for-gestational-age (OR = 0.49; 95% HPD: 0.29, 0.82). Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) explained the highest percentage (40%) of the summed effect in both models. Associations were not modified by maternal perceived stress. Discussion: Our large, multi-cohort study of PFAS and adverse birth outcomes found a negative association between prenatal PFAS and birthweight-for-gestational-age, and the associations were not different in groups with high vs. low perceived stress. This study can help inform policy to reduce exposures in the environment and humans. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10723, Introduction Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals used in nonstick and stain- and water-resistant consumer products, as well as in industrial processes. PFAS are persistent [...]

Background and Purpose: Thromboxane A2 (TXA2) is a prostanoid produced during platelet activaton, important in enhancing platelet reactivity by activation of TP receptors. However, due to the short half‐life, studying TXA2 signalling is challenging. To enhance our understanding of TP receptor‐mediated platelet biology, we therefore synthesised mono and difluorinated TXA2 analogues and explored their pharmacology on heterologous and endogenously expressed TP receptor function. Experimental Approach: Platelet functional and signalling responses were studied using aggregometry, Ca2+ mobilisation experiments and immunoblotting and compared with an analogue of the TXA2 precursor prostaglandin H2, U46619. Gαq/Gαs receptor signalling was determined using a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) assay in a cell line overexpression system. Key Results: BRET studies revealed that F‐TXA2 and F2‐TXA2 promoted receptor‐stimulated TP receptor G‐protein activation similarly to U46619. Unexpectedly, F2‐TXA2 caused reversible aggregation in platelets, whereas F‐TXA2 and U46619 induced sustained aggregation. Blocking the IP receptor switched F2‐TXA2‐mediated reversible aggregation into sustained aggregation. Further BRET studies confirmed F2‐TXA2‐mediated IP receptor activation. F2‐TXA2 rapidly and potently stimulated platelet TP receptor‐mediated protein kinase C/P‐pleckstrin, whereas IP‐mediated protein kinase A/P‐vasodilator‐stimulated phosphoprotein was more delayed. Conclusion and Implications: F‐TXA2 is a close analogue to TXA2 used as a selective tool for TP receptor platelet activation. In contrast, F2‐TXA2 acts on both TP and IP receptors differently over time, resulting in an initial wave of TP receptor‐mediated platelet aggregation followed by IP receptor‐induced reversibility of aggregation. This study reveals the potential difference in the temporal aspects of stimulatory and inhibitory pathways involved in platelet activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rebranding is a widely utilized practice to change the image of a brand in the minds of the consumer through major or minor changes in both its positioning and aesthetics. Yet, evidence suggests it is not meaningfully covered in many marketing classes. This project provides an innovative, engaging, experiential learning opportunity that can be easily adapted for a wide array of marketing classes. Findings indicate the students' knowledge of, familiarity with, and ability to apply rebranding increase as a result of the experience.

While current Spanish dual-language immersion (DLI) programme models frequently promote strict adherence to structured Spanish and English times, we present an alternative approach, which frames children as language acquirers rather than as language learners. The approach, situated within a Spanish, DLI preschool, framed with a Reggio-inspired, developmentally appropriate framework for early childhood, counters deficit notions of emergent bilinguals, validates and affirms linguistic and cultural diversity, and provides spaces for young children to translanguage as they acquire first and second languages. In this study, we document the ways in which language is used in the space and how a first-year teacher's reflective practice evolves as she navigates pedagogical and identity shifts throughout her first year of implementation.

Connectivity--movements of animals between and among numerous habitats--and the factors (rhythmic cycles and environmental variables) influencing connectivity of juvenile Lichia amia (Teleostei: Carangidae) were assessed in complementary acoustic telemetry studies in two geographically separated estuaries (620 km apart) in South Africa. The studies were conducted within a nationwide array of acoustic receivers moored in estuaries and coastal waters. Tagged fish in both the Kowie (n = 21) and Goukou (n = 17) estuaries displayed high levels of multiple habitat connectivity, with 81% and 76% visiting nearby marine and estuarine environments, respectively. The presence of tagged L. amia within the tagging estuaries was significantly influenced by river and sea temperature (Kowie) and river inflow and moon phase (Goukou). Tidal phase, time of day, and season were found to significantly influence marine excursions undertaken by Kowie- and Goukou-tagged fish. Our study provides an assessment of connectivity among multiple estuarine, port, and marine habitats, relating those movements to rhythmic cycles and environmental variables, and highlights the benefits of tracking animals using an extensive acoustic receiver array that spans multiple habitats. La connectivity, soit les deplacements d'animaux entre differents habitats et au sein de ceux-ci, et les facteurs (cycles rythmiques et variables environnementales) qui influencent la connectivity des Lichia amia (teleosteens : carangides) juveniles ont ete evalues dans le cadre d'etudes de telemetrie acoustique complementaires dans deux estuaires separes dans l'espace (distants de 620 km) en Afrique du Sud. Les etudes ont ete menees au sein d'un reseau pannational de recepteurs acoustiques installes dans des estuaires et des eaux littorales. Des poissons etiquetes dans les estuaires des rivieres Kowie (n = 21) et Goukou (n = 17) presentaient des degres eleves de connectivite a des habitats multiples, 81% et 76 % d'entre eux visitant des milieux marins et estuariens a proximite, respectivement. La presence de L. amia etiquetes dans les estuaires ou a eu lieu l'etiquetage etait significativement influencee par la temperature de la riviere et de la mer (Kowie) et par l'apport de la riviere et la phase de la lune (Goukou). La phase de la maree, l'heure du jour et la saison s'averent influencer significativement les excursions en mer effectuees par les poissons etiquetes dans les estuaires des rivieres Kowie et Goukou. L'etude fournit une evaluation de la connectivite entre habitats estuariens, portuaires et marins, reliant les deplacements a des cycles rythmiques et des variables environnementales, et elle souligne les avantages de suivre des animaux a l'aide d'un vaste reseau de recepteurs acoustiques couvrant differents habitats. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Differences in distribution, dispersal, growth, abundance, and survival of a species generally depends on, among other factors, the quantity, quality, distribution, and composition of habitats and resources (Bekkby et [...]