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There is immense pressure on school leaders to show evidence of continual school improvement. To drive these improvement efforts, there are essential considerations when planning for implementation, specifically the development of a system that supports reflective practices to increase teacher autonomy and improved student outcomes. The research presented in this article explores the attitudes and beliefs that teachers and administrators have for reflective practices through the supervisory actions of administrators in a rural Northern state. The findings from this study include, 1) the importance of a formal leadership role and the lens used when considering evaluative and non-evaluative feedback; 2) the use of reflective practices to drive changes to instructional practices; and, 3) the connection of reflective practices to school culture, professional development, and student engagement. These findings are important in that they are practical to schools and inform how the United States (US) education system might shift policies to support more formative practices that target instructional improvement.

BACKGROUND: The veterinary care of cats and dogs is increasingly embracing innovations first applied to human health, including an increased emphasis on preventative care and precision medicine. Large scale human population biobanks have advanced research in these areas; however, few have been established in veterinary medicine. The MARS PETCARE BIOBANK™ (MPB) is a prospective study that aims to build a longitudinal bank of biological samples, with paired medical and lifestyle data, from 20,000 initially healthy cats and dogs (10,000 / species), recruited through veterinary hospitals over a ten-year period. Here, we describe the MPB protocol and discuss its potential as a platform to increase understanding of why and how diseases develop and how to advance personalised veterinary healthcare. METHODS: At regular intervals, extensive diet, health and lifestyle information, electronic medical records, clinicopathology and activity data are collected, genotypes, whole genome sequences and faecal metagenomes analysed, and blood, plasma, serum, and faecal samples stored for future research. DISCUSSION: Proposed areas for research include the early detection and progression of age-related disease, risk factors for common conditions, the influence of the microbiome on health and disease and, through genome wide association studies, the identification of candidate loci for disease associated genetic variants. Genomic data will be open access and research proposals for access to data and samples will be considered. Over the coming years, the MPB will provide the longitudinal data and systematically collected biological samples required to generate important insights into companion animal health, identifying biomarkers of disease, supporting earlier identification of risk, and enabling individually tailored interventions to manage disease.

The assessment of cognitive abilities has been the dominant activity performed by school psychologists since the implementation of the field. As such, the teaching of this skill to future psychologists is arguably the most important function of graduate education. Consequently, understanding graduate programs instruction in this area is extremely important. Given the fact that the last comprehensive survey of what is being taught in the cognitive assessment course in school psychology was approximately 20 years ago and the fact that laws governing the practice of psychology have changed (i.e., elimination of the discrepancy model mandate), there exists a need to understand current assessment teaching practices in the field of school psychology. As such, the purpose of this study was to understand the current state of the mandatory cognitive assessment course in school psychology programs. Results from our analysis of syllabi from APA- and NASP-accredited programs indicated that several aspects of training remain consistent with two-decade-old practices even in the face of changing legal options and practitioners' assessment preferences. More specifically, the most commonly taught instrument was the Wechsler scale with the Sattler and Flanagan texts being the most prolific. This indicates that graduate training practices have remained relatively stable. Implications are discussed in terms of current and future practices in the training and education of psychologists.

Background: Children with persistent speech disorder (PSD) are at higher risk of difficulties with literacy, with some evidence suggesting an association with poorer educational attainment. However, studies to date have either used small clinical samples, which exclude children who have not been referred to clinical services, or relied on parent-teacher report of children's speech development. There is a need for an inclusive study to investigate the impact of PSD on educational outcomes using a population-based sample and robust measures of speech development. Aim: Using a large prospective UK population-based study--the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)--this study investigated: (1) how children identified with PSD at age 8 years perform on educational attainment tests at ages 10-11 and 13-14 years in comparison with children without PSD; and (2) whether children identified with PSD at age 8 years are more likely to receive a label of special educational needs (SEN) in secondary school. Methods & Procedures: We examined the data for 263 children with PSD and 6399 controls who had speech assessed at age 8 years in a research clinic. Educational attainment was measured using data from English school standard attainment tests. Data on SEN categorization were obtained between 11 and 13 years of age. Children with PSD and controls were compared using regression analyses adjusted for biological sex, maternal age, verbal, performance and full-scale IQ. Outcomes & Results: Children with PSD at age 8 years were more likely to achieve lower attainment scores at ages 10-11 years in English and mathematics and across all three subjects of English, mathematics and science at ages 13-14 years after controlling for biological sex and maternal education; score below target levels for English at both time points after controlling for verbal IQ, and at ages 13-14 years after controlling for performance IQ; and receive a label of SEN (typically for the category of cognition and learning needs or communication and interaction needs) in secondary school. Conclusions & Implications: PSD identified at age 8 years is associated with poor educational attainment at ages 10-11 and 13-14 years in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. Children with PSD at age 8 years are more likely to be identified with SEN at ages 11-13 years, particularly cognition and learning needs, and communication and interaction needs. We need to be aware of the potential for the long-term impact of PSD on educational attainment in providing appropriate and effective support throughout school.

AbstractAimMethodResultsInterpretation\nIMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONTo achieve expert consensus on optimal child-led goal setting and evaluation practices for school-aged children (5 ≤ 17 years) who have a disability or delay.A three-round, eDelphi consensus design was used. In Round 1, expert allied health professionals identified factors important during child-led goal setting for: (i) planning, (ii) process steps and tools, and (iii) support strategies. Factors were collated into items for Rounds 2 and 3. Participants rated item agreement on a 7-point Likert scale. Consensus was determined as ≥75% of participants in agreement or disagreement.Sixty professionals from nine countries and six disciplines participated. Of 323 unique items generated, 159 (50%) reached consensus. Strong agreement was reached for goal setting and evaluation “process steps” and “support strategies” to engage children. It was strongly recommended that allied health professionals should tailor their processes to each child’s individual needs, provide ability-specific strategies and resources, and empower children to share their perspectives. Fewer items reached consensus for “planning” and “tools” to guide child-led goal setting.Professional experts agree that children can be actively involved in goal setting and evaluation. Future research should focus on tools and technologies to support child-led goal setting for children with diverse abilities.Professionals agree that children should be involved in goal setting to the greatest extent possible.Children’s readiness to participate relates to their cognition, communication, social-emotional skills, and motivation.The goal setting process should be personalised and accessible for children.Child-specific tools are needed to support children to share their perspectives.Professionals agree that children should be involved in goal setting to the greatest extent possible.Children’s readiness to participate relates to their cognition, communication, social-emotional skills, and motivation.The goal setting process should be personalised and accessible for children.Child-specific tools are needed to support children to share their perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproductive toxicology testing is essential to safeguard public health of current and future generations. Traditional toxicological testing of male reproduction has focused on evaluating substances for acute toxicity to the reproductive system, with fertility assessment as a main endpoint and infertility a main adverse outcome. Newer studies in the last few decades have significantly widened our understanding of what represents an adverse event in reproductive toxicology, and thus changed our perspective of what constitutes a reproductive toxicant, such as endocrine disrupting chemicals that affect fertility and offspring health in an intergenerational manner. Besides infertility or congenital abnormalities, adverse outcomes can present as increased likelihood for various health problems in offspring, including metabolic syndrome, neurodevelopmental problems like autism and increased cancer predisposition, among others. To enable toxicologic studies to accurately represent the population, toxicologic testing designs need to model changing population characteristics and exposure circumstances. Current trends of increasing importance in human reproduction include increased paternal age, with an associated decline of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), and a higher prevalence of obesity, both of which are factors that toxicological testing study design should account for. In this perspective article, we highlighted some limitations of standard testing protocols, the need for expanding the assessed reproductive endpoint by including genetic and epigenetic sperm parameters, and the potential of recent developments, including mixture testing, novel animal models, in vitro systems like organoids, multigenerational testing protocols, as well as in silico modelling, machine learning and artificial intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-POU domain-containing octamer-binding protein (NONO) is a multi-functional nuclear protein which belongs to the Drosophila behavior/human splicing (DBHS) protein family. NONO is known to regulate multiple important biological processes including host antiviral immune response. However, whether NONO can inhibit porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) replication is less well understood. In this study, we demonstrated that swine NONO (sNONO) inhibited PRRSV replication, via increasing expression of IFN-β, whereas NONO knockdown or knockout in PAM-KNU cells was more susceptible to PRRSV infection. As an IRF3 positive regulation factor, NONO promoted IFN-β expression by enhancing activation of IRF3. During PRRSV infection, NONO further up-regulated IRF3-mediated IFN-β expression by interacting with PRRSV N protein. Mechanistically, NONO functioned as a scaffold protein to detect PRRSV N protein and formed N-NONO-IRF3 complex in the nucleus. Interestingly, it was found that the NONO protein reversed the inhibitory effect of PRRSV N protein on type I IFN signaling pathway. Taken together, our study provides a novel mechanism for NONO to increase the IRF3-mediated IFN-β activation by interacting with the viral N protein to inhibit PRRSV infection. Author summary: Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), which is caused by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), is a highly infectious disease and leads to huge economic losses to the global swine industry. Here, we reported that Non-POU domain-containing octamer-binding protein (NONO) significantly inhibited PRRSV replication and increased the expression of IFN-β. We found that NONO positively regulated IFN-β signaling pathway by targeting IRF3 and interacted with PRRSV N protein to promote activation of IFN-β, which reversed the inhibitory effect of PRRSV N protein on type I IFN signaling. We also found that NONO acted as a bridge to recruit PRRSV N and IRF3 to form N-NONO-IRF3 complex and enhanced activation of IFN-β signaling. Our study uncovers a novel mechanism for NONO to exert antiviral response through interacting with PRRSV N protein and IRF3 to inhibit PRRSV replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legionnaires' disease is caused by inhalation of water containing Legionella bacteria and can lead to life-threatening pneumonia. Legionella pneumophila bacteria thrive in water temperatures of 77[degrees]F-113[degrees]F, and exposure commonly occurs [...]