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Introduction: Early childhood educators continue to need support to build their capacity to promote positive social and emotional development and address challenging behavior when it occurs, without resorting to exclusion. One approach to improve the experiences and outcomes of young children through better support to educators is Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC). ECMHC is an evidence-based intervention that pairs a mental health professional (i.e., "consultant") with early childhood educators to build the capacity of providers to promote inclusion by supporting young children's social and emotional development. Methods: In this paper, we describe a model of ECMHC that combines data-driven action planning and an individualized approach to build educators' capacity to implement social and emotional teaching practices with fidelity. The model begins with in-context classroom observations of child engagement and teaching practices, as well as a teacher-report of child behavior. Based on this observational baseline data, a standardized formula selects a personalized set of social and emotional teaching strategies recommended for the focus of consultation, based on the strengths and challenges of the teacher and child. Strategies included foundational strategies (e.g., fostering strong teacher-child relationships), flexible strategies (e.g., using cues and visuals), and targeted strategies (e.g., supporting problem-solving skills). Consultants and teachers then collaboratively work together to select strategies to focus on in consultation, allowing for flexibility and individualization based on individual teacher and child strengths and challenges. Results: We address the following two aims: (1) examine teaching practices and children's behavior at the beginning of consultation and how these data resulted in different recommended teaching strategies, based on our standardized formula, (2) present three case examples to further illustrate how these data guided consultation to improve social and emotional teaching practices during the 2023 to 2024 school year. We found that this baseline data collection and the subsequent data-driven process for selecting strategies was feasible in that all consultants and teachers served by ECMHC were able to use it. We also found variability in baseline data and the associated ECMHC teaching strategies recommended, suggesting that the measures were sensitive to unique classroom needs and individualized recommended strategies accordingly. Discussion: We discuss how this approach allowed consultants to tailor ECMHC services to the unique strengths and challenges of each child and teacher dyad, while being firmly grounded in empirical research and previously validated assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SS18-SSX fusion protein is an oncogenic driver in synovial sarcoma. At the molecular level, SS18-SSX functions as both an activator and a repressor to coordinate transcription of different genes responsible for tumorigenesis. Here, we identify the proto-oncogene FYN as a new SS18-SSX target gene and examine its relation to synovial sarcoma therapy. FYN is a tyrosine kinase that promotes cancer growth, metastasis and therapeutic resistance, but SS18-SSX appears to negatively regulate FYN expression in synovial sarcoma cells. Using both genetic and histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi)-based pharmacologic approaches, we show that suppression of SS18-SSX leads to FYN reactivation. In support of this notion, we find that blockade of FYN activity synergistically enhances HDACi action to reduce synovial sarcoma cell proliferation and migration. Our results support a role for FYN in attenuation of anti-cancer activity upon inhibition of SS18-SSX function and demonstrate the feasibility of targeting FYN to improve the effectiveness of HDACi treatment against synovial sarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving a blended timbre for particular combinations of instruments, pitches, and articulations is a common aim of orchestration. This involves a set of factors that this study jointly assesses by correlating the perceptual degree of blend with the underlying acoustical characteristics. Perceptual blend ratings from two experiments were considered, with the stimuli consisting of: 1) dyads of wind instruments at unison and minor-third intervals and at two pitch levels, and 2) triads of wind and string instruments, including bowed and plucked string excitation. The correlational analysis relied on partial least-squares regression, as this technique is not restricted by the number and collinearity of regressors. The regressors encompassed acoustical descriptors of timbre (spectral, temporal, and spectrotemporal), as well as acoustical descriptors accounting for pitch and articulation. From regressor loadings in principal-components space, the major regressors leading to substantial and orthogonal contributions were identified. The regression models explained around 90% of the variance in the datasets, which was achievable with less than a third of all regressors considered initially. Blend seemed to be influenced by differences across intervals, pitch, and articulation. Unison intervals yielded more blend than did non-unison intervals, and the presence of plucked strings resulted in clearly lower blend ratings than for sustained instrument combinations. Furthermore, prominent spectral features of instrument combinations influenced perceived blend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]