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Gender minority youth experience bullying victimization at concerningly high rates. The current study sought to unmask potentially unique bullying victimization experiences and perceived prevalence of bullying for Transgender, fluid gender, and gender questioning students. Results revealed that all three gender minority groups were significantly more likely to report being bullied in comparison to cis male students. Transgender and fluid gender students also reported significantly higher prevalence rates of teasing and bullying within their schools. No significant differences between gender minority subgroups were found for either perceived prevalence or bullying victimization experiences. However, Transgender students reported consistently higher rates of victimization in comparison to fluid gender and gender questioning students. Limitations, future directions, and practice implications for school-based personnel are discussed.

Scholars have developed culturally responsive frameworks and interventions to support educators as they aim to create inclusive and equitable classroom environments. Despite the number of frameworks on the topic, research on culturally responsive practices (CRPs) is limited by the lack of clear definitions or evidence on the effectiveness of in-classroom culturally responsive interventions. With the aim to understand which characteristics are important for in-classroom CRPs, this qualitative study explored students' perceptions of practices teachers use to respond to students' learning and cultural identities. We conducted 23 focus groups with 103 Black, Latine, and White students in middle and high school from two midwestern schools. After analyzing the data, we identified four overarching themes: (a) inclusive classroom instruction, (b) emotional safety in the classroom, (c) relational quality with the teachers, and (d) racism and other "isms" in the classroom. Students consistently commented on the importance of teacher support for students' emotional and academic well-being while also describing teachers that demeaned them or their peers, in turn, obstructing their learning. The findings hold promise to clarify and strengthen professional development CRP interventions as students offer insight about teacher cultural responsiveness and non-responsiveness.

This study utilized latent profile analysis (LPA) to examine patterns of principal stress and coping and its relations with principal (n = 125), teacher (n = 3671), and student (n = 19,390) outcomes. LPA analysis of school principals based on their reports of stress and coping showed that most principals were classified as having high stress and high coping (74%) whereas 19% of principals were classified as high stress and low coping. Only a small percentage of principals (7%) were characterized by low stress and high coping. We also examined whether stress and coping profiles of school principals predicted concurrent and prospective measures of principal and teacher wellbeing and efficacy, principal and teacher perceptions of school climate, and measures of student behavior and dispositions. The principal latent profiles significantly predicted concurrent and prospective measures of principal and teacher well-being, with large effect sizes for prospective principal health (Cohen's d = 1.93) and satisfaction (d = 0.94), and a medium effect size for prospective teacher health (d = 0.68). Changes in principal health (d = 1.30) and satisfaction (d= 0.49) over time were also significant. However, the latent profiles did not predict prospective measures of principal and teacher efficacy, perceptions of school climate, and student classroom behaviors. The results of this study show that examining patterns of principal stress and coping together is important to understand and improve principal and teacher well-being.

This descriptive study examines the experiences of virtually-trained new members in a hybrid distributed community of practice (CoP) focused on undergraduate genomics education. We utilized a sequential explanatory mixed methods research design consisting of an engagement survey for all community members (n=124), followed by interviews with new members (n=15). Survey analysis identifies several areas in which new members do not differ from members with longer involvement, including in motivations for involvement, levels of engagement, satisfaction, and perceived benefits of community involvement. These findings indicate ways in which virtual training and integration was able to facilitate important community outcomes within a new, online context. Our interviews reveal important elements of training new CoP members, including onboarding, implementation, and community engagement opportunities, that successfully facilitated new members' integration into the community and contributed to their meeting the aforementioned outcomes. The findings of this study provide useful lessons and structures for growing communities through virtual means.

As an example of how historical events may influence the findings and interpretations of a randomized trial, we use a school-based evaluation of a classroom management program that was conducted in a nearby district before and after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri (N = 102 teachers and 1,450 students). The findings suggest that the event differentially affected teacher and student response within and across conditions. Black teachers benefited more from the intervention as evidenced by their independently observed classroom management skills and praise-to-reprimand ratios; however, these effects were minimized or disappeared after the event. Additionally, although the intervention equally benefited the academic achievement of Black and White students before the event, the opportunity gap widened after the event. Implications for the design, analysis, and reporting of findings from randomized controlled trials are discussed.

In liver allocation systems based on the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, sex inequities have been identified in countries with high organ donation rates. Whether similar inequities exist in regions with average to low donation rates remained unclear. We assessed the impact of sex on transplantation rates, waiting list mortality and post-transplant survival in 25,943 patients waitlisted for liver transplantation in Germany between 2003 and 2017 using competing risk analysis. Women are currently underrepresented on the waiting list (33.3%) and among transplant recipients (31.1%) compared to their proportion of severe liver disease cases (35.1%). The introduction of MELD-based allocation has worsened this disadvantage [HR before: 0.89 (0.81–0.98), after: 0.77 (0.74–0.81)]. Three key factors contribute to this disparity: Women have lower creatinine levels despite worse renal function, reducing their MELD score (median 1, 0–3). Second, exceptional MELD points are more frequently granted to men [HR 1.61 (1.54–1.69) compared to regular allocation]. Third, the small height of women has the highest impact on the probability of not being transplanted [adjusted HR 0.85 (0.81–0.9)]. Even in countries with lower organ donation rates, MELD-based allocation leads to sex inequity. Measures are needed to ensure sex-neutral liver allocation in MELD-based systems worldwide.

Mechanistically based non-animal methods for assessing skin sensitization hazard have been developed, but are not considered sufficient, individually, to conclusively define the skin sensitization potential or potency of a chemical. This resulted in the development of defined approaches (DAs), as documented in OECD TG 497, for combining information sources in a prescriptive manner to provide a determination of risk or potency. However, there are currently no DAs within OECD TG 497 that can derive a point of departure (POD) for risk assessment. The Skin Allergy Risk Assessment – Integrated Chemical Environment (SARA-ICE) DA for skin sensitization is a Bayesian statistical model that estimates a human-relevant metric of sensitizer potency, the ED01, an estimate of the human predictive patch test dermal dose at which there is 1% chance of inducing sensitization, which can be used in a risk assessment paradigm. The model accounts for variability of input data and explicitly quantifies uncertainty. SARA-ICE derives the ED01 from a variety of in vitro and in vivo test method data and is built upon historical human, murine, and in vitro test data for 434 chemicals. In addition to the ED01 POD SARA-ICE DA also provides a Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) classification probability for GHS subcategories 1A, 1B and not classified (NC). Here we describe the SARA-ICE model and its evaluation, including performance versus benchmark PODs. In addition, via a case study with isothiazolinones (ITs), we demonstrate the utility of SARA-ICE for integrating different data inputs and compare the ED01 for six ITs to existing historical data.

Category: Hindfoot; Ankle Introduction/Purpose: Approximately 6% of individuals will experience Achilles tendon pain during their lifetime, with one-third of these patients having Haglund’s syndrome. The condition represents a triad of posterosuperior calcaneal bony enlargement (Haglund’s deformity), retrocalcaneal bursitis, and Achilles tendinopathy and may be bilateral or unilateral. If a prolonged course of conservative treatment fails, surgical options include utilizing a suture bridge (SB), corkscrew anchors (CS), or suture anchors (SA). The goal of this study is to investigate outcomes comparing various surgical techniques and postoperative weightbearing status. Methods: After institutional approval, retrospective data were collected from 476 patients who received surgical treatment for Haglund’s syndrome across 8 surgeons at an academic institution from January 2015 to July 2022. Demographic data and surgical repair technique data (suture bridge – SB, corkscrew – CS, suture anchors – SA) were collected. Additional data included weightbearing status (weightbearing as tolerated -WBAT, non-weightbearing – NWB, partial weightbearing – PWB, touch down weightbearing – TDWB), complications, revisions, and date of patients’ last follow-up. Post-operative complications included Achilles rupture, wound breakdown/infection, deep venous thrombosis, plantarflexion weakness, or other complications. Descriptive statistics were completed. Results: Across 390 patients, the cohort averaged 55.14 years old and was 66.4% female. The most common racial groups were Caucasian (72.8%), African American (20.8%), and Asian (1.3%). Average BMI was 34.83 (σ =7.00) and 17.4% had diabetes. Smoking status was reported as 267 (68.5%) never, 120 (30%) current or former. ASA III was the most common scoring with n=186 (47.7%). Repair type was divided among SB (58%), SA (20.8%), and CS (21.3%). Time to last follow-up had a median of 5.8 months, range [0 days-7 years]. Postoperative recommendations also varied from NWB (68.7%), TDWB (14.4%), WBAT (13.8%), and PWB (2.3%). Overall, 75 (19.2%) patients experienced a complication, including 40 (10.3%) persistent pain, 32 (8.2%) wound breakdowns, and 1 (10.3%) rupture, with 7 (1.8%) requiring revision. Conclusion: This study offers the largest single-institution series for the operative management of Haglund’s syndrome with long-term follow-up. Certain patient characteristics (increased age, Black or African American race, female sex, and diabetes) were greater in this cohort compared to national averages. The postoperative complication rate was 20% (n=78), with WBAT reporting the highest rate of pain (14.8%) and PWB reporting the lowest (0.0%). Wound breakdown was highest for NWB (9.7%), and one rupture occurred in the WBAT group. Future research should utilize multicenter institutional data with large sample sizes to analyze associations between patient characteristics, surgical technique, and complication rates.

Biofortification was coined as a term to define a plant breeding strategy to increase the micronutrient content of staple food crops to reduce the burden of micronutrient deficiencies in low- and middle-income countries. In 2003, the HarvestPlus program, based in the centers comprising the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, was initiated to implement the biofortification strategy. This article discusses what has been achieved, what has been learned, and the key challenges to embed biofortification in food systems and to expand its impact. Cost-effectiveness is key to the biofortification strategy. Biofortification piggybacks on the agronomically superior varieties being developed at agricultural research centers. Central plant breeding research discoveries can be spread globally. Farmers have every motivation to adopt the latest high-yielding, high profit crops. High productivity leads to lower food prices. As a consequence, consumers can increase their mineral and vitamin intakes at no additional cost by substituting biofortified staple foods 1-for-1 for nonbiofortified staple foods. After 20 years of investment, biofortified staple food crops are being produced by farmers in over 40 countries and are eaten by hundreds of millions of people. Published nutrition trials have shown nutrient-rich crops to be efficacious. The biofortification strategy is now recognized by the international nutrition community as one effective approach among several interventions needed to reduce micronutrient deficiencies. This is a promising beginning. However, biofortification is still a newly emerging technology. A limitation of biofortification as implemented to date is that densities of single nutrients have been increased in given staple food crops. To reach a higher trajectory, the impacts of biofortification can be multiplied several-fold using genetic engineering and other advanced crop development techniques to combine multiple-nutrient densities with climate-smart traits.

Fusion power plants will require detachment to mitigate sputtering and keep divertor heat fluxes at tolerable levels. Controlling detachment on these devices may require the use of real-time scrape-off-layer modeling to complement the limited set of available diagnostics. In this work, we use the configurable Hermes-3 edge modeling framework to perform time-dependent, fixed-fraction-impurity 1D detachment simulations. Although currently far from real-time, these simulations are used to investigate time-dependent effects and the minimum physics set required for control-relevant modeling. We show that these simulations reproduce the expected rollover of the target ion flux — a typical characteristic of detachment onset. We also perform scans of the input heat flux and impurity concentration and show that the steady-state results closely match the scalings predicted by the 0D time-independent Lengyel–Goedheer model. This allows us to indirectly compare to SOLPS simulations, which find a similar scaling but a lower value for the impurity concentration required for detachment for given upstream conditions. We use this result to suggest a series of improvements for the Hermes simulations, and finally show simulations demonstrating the impact of time-dependence.

ABSTRACTFlood models rely on accurate topographic data representing the bare earth ground surface. In many parts of the world, the only topographic data available are the free, satellite-derived global Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). However, these have well-known inaccuracies due to limitations of the sensors used to generate them (such as a failure to fully penetrate vegetation canopies and buildings). We assess five contemporary, 1 arc-second (≈30 m) DEMs -- FABDEM, Copernicus DEM, NASADEM, AW3D30 and SRTM -- using a diverse reference dataset comprised of 65 airborne-LiDAR surveys, selected to represent biophysical variations in flood-prone areas globally. While vertical accuracy is nuanced, contingent on the specific metrics used and the biophysical character of the site being assessed, we found that the recently-released FABDEM consistently ranked first, improving on the second-place Copernicus DEM by reducing large positive errors associated with forests and buildings. Our results suggest that land cover is the main factor explaining vertical errors (especially forests), steep slopes are associated with wider error spreads (although DEMs resampled from higher-resolution products are less sensitive), and variable error dependency on terrain aspect is likely a function of horizontal geolocation errors (especially problematic for AW3D30 and Copernicus DEM).

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education at all levels and required educators and students to pivot quickly to distance and remote learning. This abrupt change challenged all involved. Educators scrambled to adopt new technology that would not only help them reach their students but also keep students moving forward towards achieving important learning goals. Overarching educational goals known as 21st Century Learning Skills have been in place since the early 2000s. This article shares experiences faced by two university faculty members who rooted their approach to teaching during the pandemic in the four C's of 21st Century Learning: communication, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. During their journey they also discovered the importance of three additional C's useful to meeting student needs: compassion, community, and consistency. This article shares tips and strategies for effective teaching during the pandemic along with ideas for future practice and research.

This study examined the presence of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning [SoTL] scholarship published in four refereed, disciplinary family science journals: "Family Science Review," "Journal of Marriage & Family," "Family Relations," and "Journal of Family Theory & Review" from 2009-2018. Results revealed that just two percent of all articles published in these journals during the period could be classified as SoTL, though clear differences between the journals and a recent upward trend were evident. Over 80% of the articles classified as SoTL appeared in "Family Science Review." Two-thirds of SoTL article authors were women and nearly 75% were from Carnegie Doctoral institutions. SoTL articles generally were unfunded and not widely cited. Findings are contextualized within the broader interdisciplinary SoTL literature. Implications for family science scholars and the future of family science SoTL scholarship are discussed.

Context: The implementation of successful measures to support immigrants' integration in cultural, social, and economic life can be considered as one of today's greatest challenges for many societies. This is especially true for adolescent immigrants who have not yet been able to finish education or gain qualifications relevant to joining the labour market. That is why many receiving countries have developed and implemented special programmes that aim at supporting immigrants' integration by facilitating their employability. Unfortunately, not much is known about the process of implementing these programmes or about how education systems, schools, and teachers are dealing with the new situation and target group. In this contribution, the implementation, development, and challenges of German Vocational Integration Classes (VIC), as an example of comparable programmes in the EU, are investigated to address this research gap. The paper considers the following exploratory research questions: (a) What challenges have been experienced by teachers and social workers in the implementation of VIC as well as in the integration of immigrants into the labour market in recent years? (b) How can these challenges be met in the long run and how should VIC be developed to better achieve its aims? Methods: To answer these questions, a sequential qualitative study containing questionnaire and interview elements was conducted. First, teachers and social workers involved in VIC filled in a questionnaire about their experiences and experienced challenges in implementing VIC (N = 46). Then, supplementing interviews were conducted with participants from the first sample in order to generate further insights and to contextualise the findings from the first study part (N = 14). Findings: From the respondents' answers, it appears that the VIC programme is well implemented. The results show, however, that central challenges continue to exist. This concerns, for example, legal regulations or the development of adequate curricula, but also the scope and quality of language education. In addition, problems have also been identified with regard to students' culture-specific education and their individual attitudes. These prevailing problems seem to affect schooling and educational processes. In addition, respondents report feeling left alone to deal with problems and that their experiences from their daily work in VIC and with immigrants are not sufficiently taken into account in policy and school-related decisions. Conclusions: Although VIC seems well implemented, key challenges remain in the view of the participants. It was found that teachers cannot solve many of the identified problems themselves, as they require action at the level of policy or school organisation. For staff, this can be accompanied by increased stress and demotivation. For the young immigrants, the existing challenges can have a long-term impact on school success and transition to vocational education and training. The study thus highlights the importance of targeted and holistic strategies to support immigrant integration through education.

The Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) engages students in a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). To better understand the student attributes that support success in this CURE, we asked students about their attitudes using previously published scales that measure epistemic beliefs about work and science, interest in science, and grit. We found, in general, that the attitudes students bring with them into the classroom contribute to two outcome measures, namely, learning as assessed by a pre- and postquiz and perceived self-reported benefits. While the GEP CURE produces positive outcomes overall, the students with more positive attitudes toward science, particularly with respect to epistemic beliefs, showed greater gains. The findings indicate the importance of a student's epistemic beliefs to achieving positive learning outcomes.

Purpose: For culturally responsive practices (CRPs) in schools to be successful, educational leaders must look outside of the school and consider school, district, and system-level policies and practices that influence the sustainability of culturally responsive classrooms. The purpose of our study was to conduct a comparative case study and explore how four district leaders promoted CRPs throughout each of their districts. Research Design: Situated in the Midwest, we used a comparative case study to explore the approaches of four Black women school district leaders. Data included a focus group interview with the leaders; four individual, follow-up interviews; and artifacts or documents provided by the leaders. The data collected was analyzed using the Culturally Responsive School Leadership analytical framework. Results and Discussion: Findings discuss school district leadership's responsibility to promote CRPs; district leaders' ability to foster trusting relationships with educators; and district-wide efforts to engage in purposeful teacher retention practices. A discussion and conclusion include implications considering how district leadership can influence the implementation of CRPs in schools and classrooms.

Much recent literature has highlighted the stressful nature of teaching and its relations with teacher and student well-being. The present study extended this literature to focus on special education teachers. We first conducted a latent class analysis to characterize patterns of stress and coping among special education teachers (N = 404). Consistent with several prior studies with general education teachers and principals, we found three profiles: normative (high stress/high coping), maladaptive (high stress/low coping), and adaptive (low stress/high coping). Next, we examined school contextual predictors of these profiles including leadership characteristics (collegial, instructional), density of special education teachers (an indicator of professional isolation), and climate factors (teacher affiliation, school structure and support, safety, expectations). The maladaptive class was distinguished by a lower proportion of special education teachers, worse perceptions of school disciplinary structure and school safety, and higher academic expectations. The findings have implications for improving the burnout model presented in the special series overview and for creating school contexts that improve special education teacher well-being, persistence, and implementation fidelity.

In response to recent trends in the field of mathematics education, real-world contexts are frequently found in curricula and classrooms across the world. Numerous scholars contend that, in addition to making instruction more engaging and relevant, rich, imaginable contexts can provide a semantic grounding that helps students deeply understand abstract mathematical ideas. To achieve this form of understanding, A. Thompson et al. (1994) describe the need for conceptually oriented teaching, aimed at supporting students in maintaining connection between numerical values and operations and the quantities and relationships to which they refer. We elaborate the construct of conceptually oriented teaching through an empirical analysis of two teachers' instruction around a context-based ratio instructional sequence. More specifically, we differentiate between two types of explicit contextualization present within conceptually oriented explanations: contextualized quantities and contextualized operating. We identify the importance of a particular teacher move, "pressing for contextualized operating," that aims to explicitly ground students' use of representations to their common sense understanding of the problem context. We describe two ways that the teachers work to make the contextualization explicit in the classroom discourse and argue that this explicit contextualization is essential in order for all students to have the opportunity to experience the contexts as supportive of conceptual development.

Microneedle (MN) patches are composed of micron-sized needles organised in arrays and attached to the backing of a patch. The most common type is the transdermal patch, designed to uniformly penetrate the stratum corneum to reach the dermis of the skin. Recent advances in 3D printing technology have allowed the development of reproducible, efficient methods to create microneedles on a large scale, which had previously been a factor in the limited clinical uptake. In comparison to conventional drug delivery methods, MN patches have been shown to significantly reduce pain and scar generation while maintaining effective and reliable delivery of vaccines, immunotherapies, and slow-release drug therapies. The MN design has also been investigated as an alternative to conventional tissue biopsy, with positive results. Synchronous delivery of medications while monitoring biomarkers in dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) is also a promising clinical development with wide-reaching benefits. MNs are diverse in design and material composition, and with developments in fabrication technology, transdermal drug delivery has been applied to many clinical fields, including chronic illnesses such as arthritis or diabetes, cancer, immunotherapies, epidemic disease prevention and ocular treatments. While the majority of MN patch applications are still in the pre-clinical testing phase in animal models, further translation of this technology to the clinic could aid in medication and vaccine compliance, improve treatment access in rural and remote communities, improve targeted therapy applications and provide financial cost savings to the public health sector. This review evaluates the designs and applications of current transdermal MN patches for drug delivery, biomarker monitoring and diagnostic biopsies compared to conventional needle-based methods.

Background In adults with serious respiratory illness, breathlessness is prevalent and associated with reduced health-related quality of life. The aim of this review was to assess the impact of breathing techniques on breathlessness in adults with serious respiratory illness. Methods Electronic databases were searched to identify randomised controlled trials testing breathing techniques (techniques that aim to alter the respiratory pattern, excluding respiratory muscle training) in people with serious respiratory illness. The primary outcome was breathlessness and secondary outcomes were health-related quality of life and adverse events. Two authors independently screened for inclusion, evaluated risk of bias and extracted data. Results 73 randomised controlled trials were included with 5479 participants, most with COPD or asthma. Breathing exercises (pursed lip and/or diaphragmatic breathing) reduced breathlessness measured by the modified Medical Research Council scale compared to usual care (mean difference (MD) −0.40 points, 95% CI −0.70– −0.11, eight studies, n=323), although the effect did not exceed the minimal important difference. Yoga breathing also improved modified Medical Research Council score compared to usual care (MD −1.05 points, 95% CI −2.45–0.35, three studies, n=175). Breathing techniques consistently improved health-related quality of life in people with COPD and asthma on multiple health-related quality of life measures in comparison to usual care, with effects that generally exceeded the minimal important difference. No adverse events related to breathing techniques were reported. Conclusion Breathing techniques may improve breathlessness, and consistently improve health-related quality of life, in people with serious respiratory illness. These findings support the use of breathing exercises in the care of people with serious respiratory illness.