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Introduction: E‐cigarette use has rapidly increased amongst young people in Australia, however the prevalence of use amongst pregnant people is not known. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of e‐cigarette use and dual use of e‐cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes, characteristics associated with use and reasons for use amongst a sample of pregnant Australian people attending public antenatal clinics. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey was conducted with 4024 pregnant people attending antenatal appointments, between July 2021 and December 2022, in one local health district in New South Wales, Australia. Main outcome measures were current use of e‐cigarettes, dual use with tobacco cigarettes, participant characteristics associated with use and reasons for use. Results: 1.24% of pregnant people used e‐cigarettes, 34% of these were dual smokers. Being a current smoker (OR 39.49; 95% CI 9.99–156.21) or ex‐smoker (OR 29.86; 95% CI 8.75–101.95) were associated with e‐cigarette use. Quitting smoking was the most reported reason for use (52%). Discussion and Conclusions: This study is the first to report on the prevalence of e‐cigarette use amongst pregnant people in Australia. We found that a small proportion of pregnant people use e‐cigarettes and that many are dual users or ex‐smokers. E‐cigarette use and rates of dual use in pregnancy in Australia appear lower than internationally, however they are similarly being used as a smoking‐cessation aid by many. As regulatory environments relating to e‐cigarette access change in Australia, large‐scale studies are required to continue to monitor e‐cigarette use and dual use in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we present analyses from a researcher-practitioner partnership in the District of Columbia Public Schools, where we are exploring the impact of educational software on students' academic achievement. We analyze a unique data set that combines student-level information from the district with data of student usage of a mathematics game platform: First in Math (FIM). These data offer a window into long-standing issues in the educational technology literature around implementation, equity, and student achievement. We show that time spent in FIM was correlated with improved future performance on standardized math assessments for students in Grades 4-8. However, student time spent using FIM was highly related to factors such as race, gender, and prior achievement. Such observations from data are helpful for school districts and researchers to inform equitable implementation of new technologies and maximize benefits to learners.

Droplets capture an environment-dictated equilibrium state of a liquid material. Equilibrium, however, often necessitates nanoscale interface organization, especially with formation of a passivating layer. Herein, we demonstrate that this kinetics-driven organization may predispose a material to autonomous thermal-oxidative composition inversion (TOCI) and texture reconfiguration under felicitous choice of trigger. We exploit inherent structural complexity, differential reactivity, and metastability of the ultrathin (∼0.7-3 nm) passivating oxide layer on eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn, 75.5% Ga, 24.5% In w/w) core-shell particles to illustrate this approach to surface engineering. Two tiers of texture can be produced after ca. 15 min of heating, with the first evolution showing crumpling, while the second is a particulate growth above the first uniform texture. The formation of tier 1 texture occurs primarily because of diffusion-driven oxide buildup, which, as expected, increases stiffness of the oxide layer. The surface of this tier is rich in Ga, akin to the ambient formed passivating oxide. Tier 2 occurs at higher temperature because of thermally triggered fracture of the now thick and stiff oxide shell. This process leads to inversion in composition of the surface oxide due to higher In content on the tier 2 features. At higher temperatures (≥800 °C), significant changes in composition lead to solidification of the remaining material. Volume change upon oxidation and solidification leads to a hollow structure with a textured surface and faceted core. Controlled thermal treatment of liquid EGaIn therefore leads to tunable surface roughness, composition inversion, increased stiffness in the oxide shell, or a porous solid structure. We infer that this tunability is due to the structure of the passivating oxide layer that is driven by differences in reactivity of Ga and In and requisite enrichment of the less reactive component at the metal-oxide interface.

To facilitate learning advanced instrumental techniques, essential tools for visualizing biomaterials, a simple and versatile laboratory exercise demonstrating the use of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) in biomedical applications was developed. In this experiment, the morphology of heat-denatured and amyloid-type aggregates formed from a low-cost and well-characterized model protein, hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL), are compared. Structural differences between the amorphous and ordered particles are quantified using ImageJ for the analysis of AFM images as a postlaboratory assignment. The laboratory exercise allows the direct observation of changes in the protein structure and helps students to understand the operation of AFM, as well as protein folding and misfolding related to many physiological and pathological processes. The described protocol stands alone, but also fits well into a larger module on protein structure and function or microscopic techniques as it can be linked easily to existing laboratory exercises on these topics. It can be easily adapted to the upper level undergraduate laboratory courses with limited lab hours as well as graduate level courses to improve students' research skills.