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In this commentary, we briefly describe our methodology in conducting a remote qualitative investigation with essential workers from southwest Kansas, and then describe some key considerations, challenges, and lessons learned in recruiting and conducting interviews remotely. From August 4, 2020 through August 26, 2020, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff conducted five phone interviews with culturally and linguistically diverse employees in southwest Kansas to understand COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and practices and communication preferences. Our experience details the potential challenges of the federal government in recruiting individuals from these communities and highlights the possibilities for more effectively engaging health department and community partners to support investigation efforts. Optimizing recruitment strategies with additional participation from community partners, developing culturally and linguistically appropriate data collection tools, and providing supportive resources and services may augment participation from refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) communities in similar remote investigations.

Humans have deliberately scented their environment for purpose or pleasure for millennia. In the contemporary marketplace most consumers prefer and purchase scented versions of common household products. However, the drivers of this consumer preference have not been elucidated. To explain the attraction to scent in household products we propose a novel three-factor framework, comprising "functional benefits" (malodor mitigation, base odor coverage, freshening), "in-use experience benefits" (cleanliness, efficacy, pleasure), and "emotional benefits" (increasing in confidence, mood and nostalgia). To support this framework, we present new data from a market research survey on US consumer purchasing habits and attitudes towards home cleaning, laundry, and air freshening products. Further substantiating our framework, a focused review of olfactory psychological science illustrating the central role of scent in cognition, wellbeing, motivated behavior, and social behavior, as well as sensory marketing research highlights the benefits and implications of scent in consumer household products. Based on our three-factor framework we go on to discuss the potential for scent to influence health and raise issues to consider (such as potential negative responding to fragranced products). We conclude by showcasing new opportunities for future research in olfactory science and on scented household products that can advance the positive impacts of scent.

Research indicating the educational value of classroom dialogue, in which participants engage critically and constructively with other perspectives, is long established but classroom practice evolves slowly. Outcomes of practitioner professional development in this area are inconsistent and often dependent on costly, external input. Our study aimed to understand whether and how practitioner-led inquiry may offer an alternative, sustainable and scalable way of developing dialogic practices, characterising effective organisational models. The Teacher Scheme for Educational Dialogue Analysis (T-SEDA) resource pack was designed to support iterative cycles of practitioner inquiry based on systematic analysis of classroom dialogue and reflecting critically with peers, using customisable coding tools and templates. This open resource embeds research findings about dialogue forms that are productive for student learning. We report our design-based research comprising nested inquiry cycles involving 74 practitioners from early years to tertiary levels. Data were derived from surveys, inquiry reports and interviews. Participants successfully used and adapted the resources for their own goals, needs and diverse contexts across seven countries. The largely autonomous process was typically supported by local facilitators working with groups of practitioners; data analysis focused on illuminating models of institutional organisation of inquiry, uses of T-SEDA resources, participant perceptions and factors underlying (dis)engagement. The findings offer insights into knowledge mobilisation and educational change processes. They yield design principles for scalability and sustainability based on a non-prescriptive model of local ownership and facilitation of self-directed practitioner inquiry and purpose-driven adaptation in complex educational circumstances.

Abstract Background Pituitary tumor transforming gene-1 (PTTG1) transcription factor is identified as carcinogenic and associated with tumor invasiveness, but its role in bladder cancer (BLCA) remains obscure. This research is intended to analyze the aberrant expression and clinical significance of PTTG1 in BLCA, explore the relationship between PTTG1 and tumor microenvironment characteristics and predict its potential transcriptional activity in BLCA tissue. Methods We compared the expression discrepancy of PTTG1 mRNA in BLCA and normal bladder tissue, using the BLCA transcriptomic datasets from GEO, ArrayExpress, TCGA, and GTEx. In-house immunohistochemical staining was implemented to determine the PTTG1 protein intensity. The prognostic value of PTTG1 was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier Plotter. CRISPR screen data was utilized to estimate the effect PTTG1 interference has on BLCA cell lines. We predicted the abundance of the immune cells in the BLCA tumor microenvironment using the microenvironment cell populations-counter and ESTIMATE algorithms. Single-cell RNA sequencing data was applied to identify the major cell types in BLCA, and the dynamics of BLCA progression were revealed using pseudotime analysis. PTTG1 target genes were predicted by CistromeDB. Results The elevated expression level of PTTG1 was confirmed in 1037 BLCA samples compared with 127 non-BLCA samples, with a standardized mean difference value of 1.04. Higher PTTG1 expression status exhibited a poorer BLCA prognosis. Moreover, the PTTG1 Chronos genetic effect scores were negative, indicating that PTTG1 silence may inhibit the proliferation and survival of BLCA cells. With PTTG1 mRNA expression level increasing, higher natural killer, cytotoxic lymphocyte, and monocyte lineage cell infiltration levels were observed. A total of four candidate targets containing CHEK2, OCIAD2, UBE2L3, and ZNF367 were determined ultimately. Conclusions PTTG1 mRNA over-expression may become a potential biomarker for BLCA prognosis. Additionally, PTTG1 may correlate with the BLCA tumor microenvironment and exert transcriptional activity by targeting CHEK2, OCIAD2, UBE2L3, and ZNF367 in BLCA tissue.

This paper investigates the philosophical tensions between secular-liberalism and Islam, and reviews Islamic conceptualisations of knowledge, personhood and education, in order to conceptualise "shakhsiyah Islamiyah" as an authentic and credible form of personal agency within an Islamic worldview. It begins by examining the liberal critique of Islamic education and explores notions of authority and autonomy in Islamic educational theory. It proposes that these tensions exist to varying degrees in all educational practice. Some theoretical work to develop an Islamic understanding of personal autonomy as selfhood is presented and translated into a concept of "shakhsiyah Islamiyah." Finally, the possibility of understanding "shakhsiyah Islamiyah" as a dialogical Muslim-self is explored.