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Field experiences provide opportunities for early childhood and early childhood special education (EC/ECSE) educators to implement effective practices in learning settings, and are, therefore, a vital part of EC/ECSE teacher preparation. In this article, we describe field placement models from four universities in the United States: The Bridge Project, Getting Started Early, Peer Coaching to Increase Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions, and University Supervisors Coaching Teacher Candidates: Supporting Young Bi/Multilingual Children with Disabilities. Although there is variety in the settings and effective practices supported through these field placements, performance feedback and collaboration are clear themes across models.

We explored how teachers perceived challenging behavior in contrast to behaviors that exemplify social-emotional competence, and how descriptions of behavior varied based on child demographics such as gender, race/ethnicity, and disability status. Using a DisCrit lens, we conducted this study under the assumption that perceptions of behavior may be informed by teachers' implicit biases. Fourteen preschool teachers shared their perspectives on behaviors they saw in the classroom, as exemplified by descriptions of the two children they considered the most socially-emotionally successful, A/Z, and the two they considered the most challenging, C/E. Children in the A/Z group were 54% female, 46% male, 54% White, 29% Black, and 82% did not receive special education services or need screening. Children in the C/E group were 86% male, 14% female, 46% Black, 36% White, and 75% were either receiving special education services or identified by teachers as needing a referral for screening. Positive A/Z behaviors included being a model, leader, or helper; having good play skills, manners, and verbal skills; and loving to learn. The challenging behaviors for C/E students included being hard to connect with; engaging in physical aggression and defiance; and having communication difficulties and poor self-regulation skills. These findings help us understand the role of implicit bias, systems issues, and the importance of culturally responsive practices in early childhood settings.

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to examine how the perceptions and experiences of teachers relate to the suspension and expulsion of preschoolers in Catholic schools. Results indicated that teachers have a range of experiences with suspension, from children being removed from the classroom temporarily to out-of-school suspensions lasting up to a week. Most participants also had experienced expelling a student because of behavior. Patterns that emerged from the data included a frequency of extreme behavior from some children, the application of various strategies in response to challenging behavior, the use of exclusionary discipline when other strategies did not work, and a resistance to change practices without additional supports. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Language testing is witnessing increasing interest in the potential for AI to support test development and validation. To date, published research involving AI in language testing has typically been conducted in the context of high-stakes proficiency tests and the potential for this technology to support local language testing is under-researched. The current study seeks to address this gap by reporting on the piloting of an AI generated language test in the context of a university in the UK. The focus of the paper was selected to explore two key areas in the work of J.D. Brown, namely pragmatics and connected speech. In the study, international students with English as a second language completed an AI generated test of pragmatics created from a transcript of spontaneous interaction, and a test-taking strategy questionnaire. Results demonstrated that the test did not provide a sufficiently reliable measurement of test takers' pragmatic competence, although reliability estimates did improve with the removal of problematic items. Implications for language test development involving AI are discussed.

Long-read sequencing is driving rapid progress in genome assembly across all major groups of life, including species of the family Drosophilidae, a longtime model system for genetics, genomics, and evolution. We previously developed a cost-effective hybrid Oxford Nanopore (ONT) long-read and Illumina short-read sequencing approach and used it to assemble 101 drosophilid genomes from laboratory cultures, greatly increasing the number of genome assemblies for this taxonomic group. The next major challenge is to address the laboratory culture bias in taxon sampling by sequencing genomes of species that cannot easily be reared in the lab. Here, we build upon our previous methods to perform amplification-free ONT sequencing of single wild flies obtained either directly from the field or from ethanol-preserved specimens in museum collections, greatly improving the representation of lesser studied drosophilid taxa in whole-genome data. Using Illumina Novaseq X Plus and ONT P2 sequencers with R10.4.1 chemistry, we set a new benchmark for inexpensive hybrid genome assembly at US $150 per genome while assembling genomes from as little as 35 ng of genomic DNA from a single fly. We present 183 new genome assemblies for 179 species as a resource for drosophilid systematics, phylogenetics, and comparative genomics. Of these genomes, 62 are from pooled lab strains and 121 from single adult flies. Despite the sample limitations of working with small insects, most single-fly diploid assemblies are comparable in contiguity (>1 Mb contig N50), completeness (>98% complete dipteran BUSCOs), and accuracy (>QV40 genome-wide with ONT R10.4.1) to assemblies from inbred lines. We present a well-resolved multi-locus phylogeny for 360 drosophilid and 4 outgroup species encompassing all publicly available (as of August 2023) genomes for this group. Finally, we present a Progressive Cactus whole-genome, reference-free alignment built from a subset of 298 suitably high-quality drosophilid genomes. The new assemblies and alignment, along with updated laboratory protocols and computational pipelines, are released as an open resource and as a tool for studying evolution at the scale of an entire insect family.

ABSTRACT: One suggested approach to improve the reproductive performance of dairy herds is through the targeted management of subgroups of biologically similar animals, such as those with similar probabilities of becoming pregnant, termed pregnancy risk. We aimed to use readily available farm data to develop predictive models of pregnancy risk in dairy cows. Data from a convenience sample of 108 dairy herds in the UK were collated, and each herd was randomly allocated, at a ratio of 80:20, to either training or testing datasets. Following data cleaning, there were a total of 78 herds in the training dataset and 20 herds in the testing dataset. Data were further split by parity into nulliparous, primiparous, and multiparous subsets. An XGBoost model was trained to predict the insemination outcome in each parity subset, with predictors from farm records of breeding, calving, and milk recording. Training data comprised 74,511 inseminations in 45,909 nulliparous animals, 86,420 inseminations in 39,439 primiparous animals, and 158,294 inseminations in 32,520 multiparous animals. The final models were evaluated by predicting with the testing data, comprising 31,740 inseminations in 19,647 nulliparous animals, 38,588 inseminations in 16,215 primiparous animals, and 65,049 inseminations in 12,439 multiparous animals. Model discrimination was assessed by calculating the area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC); model calibration was assessed by plotting calibration curves and compared across test herds by calculating the expected calibration error (ECE) in each test herd. The models were unable to discriminate between insemination outcomes with high accuracy, with an AUC of 0.63, 0.59, and 0.62 in the nulliparous, primiparous, and multiparous subsets, respectively. The models were generally well calibrated, meaning the model-predicted pregnancy risks were similar to the observed pregnancy risks. The mean (SD) ECE in the test herds was 0.038 (0.023), 0.028 (0.012), and 0.020 (0.008) in the nulliparous, primiparous, and multiparous subsets respectively. The predictive models reported here could theoretically be used to identify subgroups of animals with similar pregnancy risk to facilitate targeted reproductive management; or provide information about cows' relative pregnancy risk compared with the herd average, which may support on-farm decision making. Further research is needed to evaluate the generalizability of these predictive models and understand the source of variation in ECE between herds; however, this study demonstrates that it is possible to accurately predict pregnancy risk in dairy cows using readily available farm data.

Abstract Our group has developed an extra-uterine environment for newborn development (EXTEND) using an ovine model, that aims to mimic the womb to improve short and long-term health outcomes associated with prematurity. This study’s objective was to determine the histologic and transcriptomic consequences of EXTEND on the brain. Histology and RNA-sequencing was conducted on brain tissue from three cohorts of lambs: control pre-term (106–107 days), control late pre-term (127 days), and EXTEND lambs who were born pre-term and supported on EXTEND until late pre-term age (125–128 days). Bioinformatic analysis determined differential gene expression among the three cohorts and across four different brain tissue sections: basal ganglia, cerebellum, hippocampus, and motor cortex. There were no clinically relevant histological differences between the control late pre-term and EXTEND ovine brain tissues. RNA-sequencing demonstrated that there was greater differential gene expression between the control pre-term lambs and EXTEND lambs than between the control late pre-term lambs and EXTEND lambs (Supplemental Figs. 1 and 2). Our study demonstrates that the use of EXTEND to support pre-term lambs until they reach late pre-term gestational age results in brain tissue gene expression that more closely resembles that of the lambs who reached late pre-term gestation within their maternal sheep’s womb than that of the lambs who were born prematurely.

Abstract Background Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a key modifiable risk factor for heart disease and stroke. International guidelines have highlighted ‘poor adherence to treatment’ and ‘physician inertia’ as major barriers to effective blood pressure management. The Maximising Adherence, Minimising Inertia (MIAMI) intervention, a theory-based complex intervention, supports General Practitioners (GPs) and people with hypertension in maximising medication use to manage blood pressure. This pilot cluster randomised control trial (RCT) aimed to collect and analyse feasibility data to refine the MIAMI intervention and assess the feasibility of a definitive RCT. Method A pilot cluster RCT with a MIAMI intervention arm and usual care control arm was conducted. Quantitative data collection consisting of clinical measures and a self-report questionnaire took place at baseline and twelve week follow up. Semi-structured interviews with GP and patient participants were conducted. Fidelity (as measured by a protocol checklist and through qualitative interviews) and health economics costings were assessed. Results Six GP practices (intervention arm n = 3, control arm n = 3) and 52 patients (intervention arm n = 25, control arm n = 27) took part. All six GP practices and 92% of patients were retained. Fidelity, as measured by a checklist and through qualitative interviews, was good but three deviations from protocol were identified. Outcomes and measures used were acceptable. The implementation cost of the MIAMI intervention was estimated at €490 per participant. The qualitative data demonstrated that the intervention was considered acceptable and feasible by both GP and patient participants, except for the urine test component, which GPs found difficult to incorporate into practice due to logistical challenges. Conclusions The MIAMI intervention was considered largely acceptable and feasible. Some changes to both intervention components and trial processes are required but with these in place a definitive RCT could be considered worthwhile. Trial registration ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN85009436, registered 17/1/23.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess impingement-free internal rotation (IR) in a virtual reverse shoulder arthroplasty simulation using a Statistical Shape Model based on scapula size. Methods: A database of over 10,000 scapulae utilized for preoperative planning for shoulder arthroplasty was analyzed with a Statistical Shape Model to obtain 5 scapula sizes including the mean and 2 standard deviations. For each scapula model, one glenosphere size (33-42 mm) was selected as the best fit based on consensus among 3 shoulder surgeons. Virtual implantation variables included 1) lateral offset (0-12 mm in 2-mm increments), 2) inferior eccentricity (0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 mm), and 3) posterior eccentricity (0, 2.5, and 5 mm). The neck shaft angle was fixed at 135° with an inlay design humeral prosthesis. IR at the side (IR0) and in abduction (IRABD) were then simulated. Results: Maximum impingement-free IR0 was reached with increasing inferior offset in combination with increasing lateralization. Lateralization was the most important variable in increasing impingement-free IRABD. Maximum IRABD was reached at 4-6 mm of lateralization with smaller scapula (−2 to 0 standard deviation). Increasing lateralization up to 12 mm continues to increase IRABD for larger-sized scapula (+1 to +2 standard deviation). Optimal inferior offset and lateralization to maximize IR did have a small loss of external rotation in neutral abduction. There was no loss of external rotation in 60° of abduction. Conclusion: In a virtual model, the glenosphere position required to maximize IR varied by scapula size. For smaller scapulae, maximum IR0 was reached with a combination of 2.5-mm inferior offset and 0- 4 mm of lateralization. For larger scapulae, maximum IR0 was reached with a combination of 2.5 mm of inferior offset and 4 mm of lateralization. The amount of lateralization required to maximize IRABD also varies by scapula size. Maximum IRABD was reached in smaller scapula with 4-6 mm of lateralization and at least 12 mm of lateralization in larger scapula. These findings may be applied in the clinical decision-making process knowing that impingement-free IR and IRABD can be maximized with combinations of inferior offset and lateralization based on scapula size with minimal effect on external rotation and external rotation in 60° of abduction.

Abstract Determining the genetic contributions to Parkinson’s disease (PD) across diverse ancestries is a high priority as this work can guide therapeutic development in a global setting. The genetics of PD spans the etiological risk spectrum, from rare, highly deleterious variants linked to monogenic forms with Mendelian patterns of inheritance, to common variation involved in sporadic disease. A major limitation in PD genomics research is lack of racial and ethnic diversity. Enrollment disparities have detrimental consequences on the generalizability of results and exacerbate existing inequities in care. The Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease (BLAAC PD) study is part of the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program, supported by the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s initiative. The goal of the study is to investigate the genetic architecture underlying PD risk and progression in the Black and/or African American populations. This cross-sectional multicenter study in the United States has a recruitment target of up to 2,000 individuals with PD and up to 2,000 controls, all of Black and/or African American ancestry. The study design incorporates several strategies to reduce barriers to research participation. The multifaceted recruitment strategy aims to involve individuals with and without PD in various settings, emphasizing community outreach and engagement. The BLAAC PD study is an important first step toward informing understanding of the genetics of PD in a more diverse population.

Cancer in teenagers and young adults (TYAs) coincides with major life transitions and presents unique psychosocial challenges. Understanding the experiences and needs of TYAs is critical. TYAs want to play an active role in improving cancer for TYAs; however, few opportunities exist for TYAs to do so. Using a tri-partite methodology, an international team collaborated with four TYA co-researchers in this pilot study to explore how performative staging strategies help convey TYA experiences with cancer. Using creative video, TYA co-researchers shared cancer experiences and insights in novel, impactful ways. The process provided intrinsic benefits for co-researchers to connect with other TYAs and creatively share their experiences and perspectives. Furthermore, it provided space for dialogue between TYAs and cancer care allies where TYAs could convey the nuances of their cancer experiences and how cancer care could be improved. This tri-partite methodology can support TYAs to actively engage in a process of connection, reflection, creation, and dissemination to improve cancer experiences for TYAs.

ABSTRACT: The CellCheck dry cow consult (DCC) was developed by the CellCheck Technical Working Group to enable farmers to engage with their nominated veterinarian to develop farm-specific selective dry cow therapy (SDCT) plans, where appropriate. This study evaluated the effect of the DCC on farmer decision-making around dry cow therapy, and the udder health effects of implementing SDCT, in study herds over the 2019 and 2020 dry periods. The DCC was a 3-h consult, delivered and funded as part of the Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health. Herds that completed a DCC were invited to register for a dry cow review the following year. The combined dataset for analysis across both years comprised 439 herds and 25,357 cows. Herd size ranged from 25 to 800. The median SCC of cows dried off with teat sealant only was 47,000 cells/mL before drying off in 2019 and 48,000 cells/mL at first milk recording in 2020, and 43,000 cells/mL before drying off in 2020 and 39,000 cells/mL at first milking recording in 2021. Following both the 2019 and 2020 dry periods, cows tended to converge toward a similar median SCC early in the following lactation, irrespective of prior dry cow treatment strategy. The uptake of SDCT was greater in review herds, with 21% of cows receiving teat sealant only in 2020, compared with 16.3% of cows in herds participating in a consult for the first time in 2020. At an individual cow level, in both years dry period new infection rate (NIR) was approximately 2.7% higher for cows treated with teat sealant only, than for those treated with both dry cow antibiotic tubes and teat sealant, and 1.2% higher than cows treated with antibiotic only. Regardless of treatment, a significant association was detectable between increasing parity and the risk of a dry period new infection. Increasing herd size had a significant effect on the risk of dry period NIR. At a herd level, no significant increase in NIR occurred when SDCT was used compared with herds where blanket dry cow therapy was used. Though not without risk, SDCT can be successfully implemented in Irish herds; however, constant attention to hygiene and management is essential. Despite the challenges, facilitating continued farmer education and engagement with professional guidance will be important.

The 4th edition of the National Association for the Education of Young Children's (NAEYC) guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) had an opportunity to provide the field an inclusive blueprint. While there was an attempt in this edition to respond to decades of critiques (e.g. Bloch [1992]. "Critical Perspectives on the Historical Relationship Between Child Development and Early Childhood Education Research." In "Reconceptualizing the Early Childhood Curriculum: Beginning the Dialogue," edited by S. Kessler, and E. B. Swadener, 3-20. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.; Cannella [1997]. "Deconstructing Early Childhood Education: Social Justice and Revolution." New York, NY: Peter Lang.; Escayg [2019]. "Who's got the Power?": A Critical Examination of the Anti-Bias Curriculum." "International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy" 13 (1): 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40723-019-0062-9.; Langford [2010]. "Critiquing Child-Centered Pedagogy to Bring Children and Early Childhood Educators Into the Center of a Democratic Pedagogy." "Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood" 11 (1): 113-127. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2010.11.1.113.; Pérez and Saavedra [2017]. "A Call for Onto-Epistemological Diversity in Early Childhood Education and Care: Centering Global South Conceptualizations of Childhood/s." "Review of Research in Education" 41 (1): 1-29. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X16688621.; Souto-Manning and Rabadi-Raol [2018]. "(Re)Centering Quality in Early Childhood Education: Toward Intersectional Justice for Minoritized Children." "Review of Research in Education" 42 (1): 203-225. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X187595.), the new edition continues to centre dominant developmental approaches where adults hyperfocus on children's differences or individual characteristics rather than on changing educational structures and practices that promote inequity (Ferri and Bacon [2011]. "Beyond Inclusion: Disability Studies in Early Childhood Teacher Education."). The revised guidelines do not go far enough to address inequity and to give teachers and programmes tools for addressing injustice for all young children. This manuscript builds on previous critiques of DAP by explicitly addressing the exclusion of disabled children from the guidelines.

Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) are often required to place a high priority on the value of respect within their first year as a beginning teacher. The practice of respect is a central issue within the educational discourse (Mills 2020) and mentor teachers of NQTs have a vital role in cultivating and problematising their understanding of respect. This study focuses on how experienced mentor teachers (n = 54) conceive the practice of respect within the complex, assumed, and often subtle dynamics of differential power relations in school settings. Mentor teachers' responses were analysed through a critical Habermasian perspective and further developed within this article as a productive taxonomy. The critical reflexive stance adopted offers teacher educators and mentor teachers an explanatory and sensitised framework to highlight for NQTs the recondite nature of power relations and the centrality of discourses for co-inquiry, care, and critique within the practice of respect.

This qualitative Action Research study explores a group of lower secondary pupils' use of social semiotic resources and traditional and digital tools to develop an understanding of "Romeo and Juliet" at a private trilingual school in Barcelona. Forming part of a wider study undertaken by an English language and literature teacher, it documents how learners engage in visual, linguistic, manual, and digital responses to the play. The results show the increased enjoyment and the agency of learners when a range of modes are introduced to facilitate a Shakespeare study. It demonstrates how integrating multimodality can encourage pupils to draw on their backgrounds and cultural experiences to access classic texts. Furthermore, it reveals how a multimodal approach can be part of a student-centred pedagogy and facilitate assessment methods that are alternative to traditional written assignments. Integrating multimodal composition processes gives learners opportunities to create texts for a specific audience, to think critically about the reading, make personal connections with the classical play, and increase their knowledge of English literature.

The third decade of the 21st century has seen a focus emerge on the agentic practices of writers, focusing on what, how and why people write. While considerable research has been conducted on school-age writing practices, there is still limited insight into the writing practices of children outside of school or formal education settings. This article adopts a collaborative autoethnographic lens to explore a mother's perception of her children's writing practices and their identity formations as developing writers, in discussion with her doctoral supervisors. The article specifically explores the parental, sibling and environmental supports that are made available to four siblings within the home to support early writing, and how their understandings toward writing are developed and practised. Consideration is given to the relationship between informal home writing practices and implications or opportunities for school and early childhood writing practices.

Student democratic participation in schools is often limited to involvement in school councils with associated dangers of tokenism and speaking for others. There is limited space for students to have a voice in what is learned due to mandated state curricula and scepticism about student capacity, even though consultation with students about matters that affect them is a legally binding obligation under Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These challenges have resulted in limited research on operationalising substantive student voice. Student agency remains feasible within the boundaries of the formal curriculum, but with significant limitations on decision-making. This paper conceptualises the relationship between student voice and agency, mediated by forms of curricular engagement. We posit that ideological dimensions of engagement and associated student positionality exert a dominant influence on voice and agency. Furthermore, we examine the potential for more authentic approaches to voice and agency to dynamically alter student engagement. Empirically, we draw on work on curriculum negotiation and integration to consider the operationalisation of student voice as the fundamental driver of curriculum, with authentic engagement and agency as emergent properties. Practical considerations for incorporating such approaches in state curricula are explored.

In the context of the COVID-19 restrictions and the pivot to online teaching and learning, teacher educators were forced to consider new spaces for School Placement and the assessment of these new sites of practice. This paper explores the process of the redesigning of the assessment of school placement components from the perspective of ten teacher educators across five teacher education programmes in one university. Hybridity theory, 'third space', and figurational sociology allowed us to understand who and what influenced the redesigning of assessment practices. The three themes relating to assessment included: (i) A network of interdependent relationships influencing teacher educators' reimagining of assessment processes; (ii) The influence of external interdependent relationships and context(s); and (iii) The role(s) of assessor for the teacher educator. We explicitly argue for the need to continue to advocate and advance these practices to 'build Initial Teacher Education back better'.

Molecular subtyping of breast cancer is based mostly on HR/HER2 and gene expression-based immune, DNA repair deficiency, and luminal signatures. We extend this description via functional protein pathway activation mapping using pre-treatment, quantitative expression data from 139 proteins/phosphoproteins from 736 patients across 8 treatment arms of the I-SPY 2 Trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01042379). We identify predictive fit-for-purpose, mechanism-of-action-based signatures and individual predictive protein biomarker candidates by evaluating associations with pathologic complete response. Elevated levels of cyclin D1, estrogen receptor alpha, and androgen receptor S650 associate with non-response and are biomarkers for global resistance. We uncover protein/phosphoprotein-based signatures that can be utilized both for molecularly rationalized therapeutic selection and for response prediction. We introduce a dichotomous HER2 activation response predictive signature for stratifying triple-negative breast cancer patients to either HER2 or immune checkpoint therapy response as a model for how protein activation signatures provide a different lens to view the molecular landscape of breast cancer and synergize with transcriptomic-defined signatures.