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The higher classification of termites requires substantial revision as the Neoisoptera, the most diverse termite lineage, comprise many paraphyletic and polyphyletic higher taxa. Here, we produce an updated termite classification using genomic-scale analyses. We reconstruct phylogenies under diverse substitution models with ultraconserved elements analyzed as concatenated matrices or within the multi-species coalescence framework. Our classification is further supported by analyses controlling for rogue loci and taxa, and topological tests. We show that the Neoisoptera are composed of seven family-level monophyletic lineages, including the Heterotermitidae Froggatt, Psammotermitidae Holmgren, and Termitogetonidae Holmgren, raised from subfamilial rank. The species-rich Termitidae are composed of 18 subfamily-level monophyletic lineages, including the new subfamilies Crepititermitinae, Cylindrotermitinae, Forficulitermitinae, Neocapritermitinae, Protohamitermitinae, and Promirotermitinae; and the revived Amitermitinae Kemner, Microcerotermitinae Holmgren, and Mirocapritermitinae Kemner. Building an updated taxonomic classification on the foundation of unambiguously supported monophyletic lineages makes it highly resilient to potential destabilization caused by the future availability of novel phylogenetic markers and methods. The taxonomic stability is further guaranteed by the modularity of the new termite classification, designed to accommodate as-yet undescribed species with uncertain affinities to the herein delimited monophyletic lineages in the form of new families or subfamilies.

Hospital quality ratings are widely available to help Medicare beneficiaries make an informed choice about where to receive care. However, how beneficiaries trade-off between different quality domains (clinical outcomes, patient experience, safety, efficiency) and other considerations (out-of-pocket cost, travel distance) is not well understood. We sought to study how beneficiaries make trade-offs when choosing a hypothetical hospital. We administered an online survey that included a discrete choice experiment to a nationally representative sample of 1025 Medicare beneficiaries. On average, beneficiaries were willing to pay $1698 more for a hospital with a 1-star higher rating on clinical outcomes. This was over twice the value of the patient experience ($691) and safety ($615) domains and nearly 8 times the value of the efficiency domain ($218). We also found that the value of a 1-star improvement depends not only on the quality domain but also the baseline level of performance of the hospital. Generally, it is more valuable for low-performing hospitals to achieve average performance than for average hospitals to achieve excellence.

Live birth (viviparity) has arisen repeatedly and independently among animals. We sequenced the genome and transcriptome of the viviparous Pacific beetle-mimic cockroach and performed comparative analyses with two other viviparous insect lineages, tsetse flies and aphids, to unravel the basis underlying the transition to viviparity in insects. We identified pathways undergoing adaptive evolution for insects, involved in urogenital remodeling, tracheal system, heart development, and nutrient metabolism. Transcriptomic analysis of cockroach and tsetse flies revealed that uterine remodeling and nutrient production are increased and the immune response is altered during pregnancy, facilitating structural and physiological changes to accommodate and nourish the progeny. These patterns of convergent evolution of viviparity among insects, together with similar adaptive mechanisms identified among vertebrates, highlight that the transition to viviparity requires changes in urogenital remodeling, enhanced tracheal and heart development (corresponding to angiogenesis in vertebrates), altered nutrient metabolism, and shifted immunity in animal systems.

Instructional quality is associated with better academic outcomes for students. This study aimed to investigate how teachers' job satisfaction was associated with clarity of instruction and cognitive activation as measures of instructional quality. In addition, we investigated whether this association between teachers' job satisfaction and instructional quality was mediated by teacher-student relationships. Drawing on the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), we compared participants from both Eastern (N = 27,106; Japan, Taipei, Korea, Shanghai) and Western sociocultural contexts (N = 20,209; Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom). Multilevel structural equation modelling results indicated that teachers' job satisfaction was positively associated with instructional quality across Eastern and Western settings. The relationship between teachers' job satisfaction and instructional quality was partially mediated by better student-teacher relationships. There were some differences between the cultural settings in how job satisfaction correlated with clarity of instruction and cognitive activation. We suggest that these differences may be accounted for by cultural characteristics leading to different approaches to teaching. Our results suggest that teachers' job satisfaction and the quality of classroom-level relationships may be important indicators of positive instructional outcomes. While schools focus on student outcomes, they should also address teachers' job satisfaction and prioritise the importance of relationships between teachers and students in classrooms.

The international school sector in Hong Kong makes a substantial contribution to educational provision in the city, employing many expatriate teachers. Wellbeing has taken on increasing prominence in international school discourses, but little research has investigated how the wellbeing of international school teachers is influenced by school-level factors. For the purposes of this study, thirteen expatriate teachers from ten different international schools in Hong Kong were interviewed and the data were analysed thematically. The teachers' wellbeing was found to be influenced by relationships with students, colleagues and senior leaders, and a pervasive climate of accountability. Teachers felt a sense of social isolation associated with cultural differences, and often did not feel supported by their schools. Teachers' wellbeing, it is proposed, may be improved by the articulation of a shared vision which focuses on classroom-level interactions, an affiliative climate, and an institutional environment which addresses social isolation and protects teachers against an excessive climate of performativity and accountability.

Objective: This study investigated how school counsellors in international schools in Hong Kong supported the wellbeing of students and families during the period of school closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of parents. Method: Sixteen parents with children in eleven different international schools in Hong Kong were interviewed and the data were analysed thematically. Results: Strong pre-existing relationships, role clarity, and open communication between counsellors and parents were associated with the effective adaptation of counselling services to the changing needs of parents during the school closure period, but these characteristics were often weak or absent. Conclusions: Parents' perceptions of counselling during the school closure period provide important feedback that schools can use to build more integrated and responsive support services. Counsellors can support students' wellbeing more effectively during crises by communicating their roles clearly, building strong relationships with parents, and helping students to maintain a diverse experience in their schooling.

ObjectiveNovel and minimally invasive neurotechnologies offer the potential to reduce the burden of epilepsy while avoiding the risks of conventional resective surgery. Few neurotechnologies have been tested in randomized controlled trials with pediatric populations, leaving clinicians to face decisions about whether to recommend these treatments with insufficient evidence about the relevant risks and benefits. This study specifically explores the preferences of clinicians for treating pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) with novel neurotechnologies.MethodsA discrete-choice experiment (DCE) was designed to elicit the preferences of clinicians with experience in treating children with DRE using novel neurotechnological interventions. The preferences for six key attributes used when making treatment decisions (chances of clinically significant improvement in seizures, major and minor risks from intervention, availability of evidence, financial burden for the family, and access to the intervention) were estimated using a conditional logit model. The estimates from this model were then used to predict the adoption of existing novel neurotechnological interventions.ResultsSixty-eight clinicians completed the survey: 33 neurosurgeons, 28 neurologists, and 7 other clinicians. Most clinicians were working in the United States (74%), and the remainder (26%) in Canada. All attributes, apart from the nearest location with access to the intervention, influenced preferences significantly. The chance of clinically significant improvement in seizures was the most positive influence on clinician preferences, but low-quality evidence and a higher risk of major complications could offset these preferences. Of the existing neurotechnological interventions, vagus nerve stimulation was predicted to have the highest likelihood of adoption; deep brain stimulation had the lowest likelihood of adoption.SignificanceThe preferences of clinicians are drive primarily by the likelihood of achieving seizure freedom for their patients, but preferences for an intervention are largely eradicated if only low quality of evidence supporting the intervention is available. Until better evidence supporting the use of potentially effective, novel neurotechnologies becomes available, clinicians are likely to prefer more established treatments.

AbstractIdentifying the genetic determinants of pain is a scientific imperative given the magnitude of the global health burden that pain causes. Here, we report a genetic screen for nociception, performed under the auspices of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium. A biased set of 110 single-gene knockout mouse strains was screened for 1 or more nociception and hypersensitivity assays, including chemical nociception (formalin) and mechanical and thermal nociception (von Frey filaments and Hargreaves tests, respectively), with or without an inflammatory agent (complete Freund's adjuvant). We identified 13 single-gene knockout strains with altered nocifensive behavior in 1 or more assays. All these novel mouse models are openly available to the scientific community to study gene function. Two of the 13 genes (Gria1 and Htr3a) have been previously reported with nociception-related phenotypes in genetically engineered mouse strains and represent useful benchmarking standards. One of the 13 genes (Cnrip1) is known from human studies to play a role in pain modulation and the knockout mouse reported herein can be used to explore this function further. The remaining 10 genes (Abhd13, Alg6, BC048562, Cgnl1, Cp, Mmp16, Oxa1l, Tecpr2, Trim14, and Trim2) reveal novel pathways involved in nociception and may provide new knowledge to better understand genetic mechanisms of inflammatory pain and to serve as models for therapeutic target validation and drug development.

Kings and queens of eusocial termites can live for decades, while queens sustain a nearly maximal fertility. To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying their long lifespan, we carried out transcriptomics, lipidomics and metabolomics in Macrotermes natalensis on sterile short-lived workers, long-lived kings and five stages spanning twenty years of adult queen maturation. Reproductives share gene expression differences from workers in agreement with a reduction of several aging-related processes, involving upregulation of DNA damage repair and mitochondrial functions. Anti-oxidant gene expression is downregulated, while peroxidability of membranes in queens decreases. Against expectations, we observed an upregulated gene expression in fat bodies of reproductives of several components of the IIS pathway, including an insulin-like peptide, Ilp9. This pattern does not lead to deleterious fat storage in physogastric queens, while simple sugars dominate in their hemolymph and large amounts of resources are allocated towards oogenesis. Our findings support the notion that all processes causing aging need to be addressed simultaneously in order to prevent it.