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The Common Problems Project (CP2) is an interdisciplinary, problem-based pedagogy that was launched in 2015 by four partner colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system (Cortland, Oneonta, Oswego, and Plattsburgh). Since its inception, 100 faculty have participated in CP2 and integrated the pedagogy into 134 courses to implement 47 collaborative projects. CP2 is based on a simple but innovative approach in which instructors from different disciplines identify a real-world problem they have in common. They pair their relevant existing classes so that students can work in interdisciplinary teams to propose solutions to the problem. This paper describes CP2 and its theoretical underpinnings, provides the results of a three-pronged approach to assessment, and outlines recommendations for faculty and institutions who may be interested in replicating CP2 on their campuses. CP2 model holds promise for a future of collaborative problem solving as a pedagogical approach, and, as such, this article will be of interest to a wide range of scholars, practitioners, educators, and administrators.

Anthropologists have found evidence of storytelling throughout history, from orators in hunter gatherer tribes to modern writers and actors. To actualize a story--that is, to live it out in any way--plays on two of humanity's greatest desires: learning and having fun. People are biologically wired for survival, which implies that we are biologically wired to learn: We need to gather and process information in ways that increase the odds of our survival and success. When we have fun, the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine kick into high gear. If they are present while we are learning, then the learning experience is surrounded by positive emotions that increase the odds of intrinsic motivation and retention. Teaching that uses play and fun therefore is a surefire way to pass along information and skills in ways that invite learners to participate. Actualizing a story through play is a strategy that serves out-of-school time (OST) programs particularly well, as informal educators are not held to the same standards and structures as schools. In keeping with these precepts, coauthor Leigh Anne Wilson, a youth services librarian at Carol Stream Public Library in Carol Stream, Illinois, discusses how she recreated and implemented a Potions class from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the magical academy Harry Potter and his friends attend.

Dilute PdAu alloys are promising catalysts for selective oxidation with high activity and high selectivity. The promotional effect of Pd for selective alcohol oxidation is strongly dependent on the alkyl chain length. Whereas Pd substantially promotes the selective oxidation of methanol, there is essentially no promotion of oxidation of longer-chain alcohols (C2–C4) for Pd3Au97 RCT-SiO2 compared to pure Au RCT-SiO2. The lack of promotion of selective oxidation of higher alcohols by Pd is attributed to their over-oxidation on the Pd3Au97 RCT-SiO2 catalyst, yielding strongly bound carboxylates that poison the Pd sites. The longer-chain carboxylates are stable on the surface under reaction conditions whereas formate, which would form from over-oxidation of methanol, decomposes. The surface carboxylate was identified for 1-propanol oxidation as propionate using in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Further evidence for poisoning by carboxylates is the production of CO2 in temperature programmed oxidation following catalyst use. The poisoned catalyst can be regenerated in a flowing methanol/oxygen mixture, restoring the promotional effect of Pd for methanol oxidation. The residual activity of the Au and of the poisoned Pd/Au catalysts may be due to the migration of hydroxyl from the silica support to the nanoparticle. A reservoir of hydroxyl groups on the RCT-SiO2 is identified using FTIR. Hydroxyls on Au are known to spontaneously disproportionate to adsorbed oxygen atoms and water. These results demonstrate the sensitivity of dilute alloy catalyst reactivity to molecular structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stagnant Dreamers: Hon' the Inner City Shapes the Integration of Second-Generation Latinos. By Maria G. Rendon. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 2019, 334pp. Notes, references, index. $39.95 (paper); $39.95 (e-book). [...]

The mitochondria are unique cellular organelles that contain their own genome and, in conjunction with the nucleus, are able to transcribe and translate genes encoding components of the electron transport chain (ETC). To do so, the mitochondria must communicate with the nucleus via the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide ([H.sub.2][O.sub.2]), which are produced as a byproduct of aerobic respiration within the mitochondria. Mitochondrial signaling is proposed to be altered in cancer cells, where the mitochondria are frequently found to harbor mutations within their genome and display altered functional characteristics leading to increased glycolysis. As signaling molecules, ROS oxidize and inhibit MAPK phosphatases resulting in enhanced proliferation and survival, an effect particularly advantageous to cancer cells. In terms of transcriptional regulation, ROS affect the phosphorylation, activation, oxidation, and DNA binding of transcription factors such as AP-1, NF-κB, p53, and HIF-1α, leading to changes in target gene expression. Increased ROS production by defective cancer cell mitochondria also results in the upregulation of the transcription factor Ets- 1, a factor that has been increasingly associated with aggressive cancers. Key words: mitochondria, reactive oxygen species, cancer, nuclear crosstalk, transcription factors, hypoxia, mitochondrial signaling, ETS. Les mitochondries sont des organites cellulaires uniques qui contiennent leur propre genome et, conjointement avec le noyau, sont capables de transcrire et de traduire les genes codant pour les constituants de la chaine de transport des electrons (CTE). Pour ce faire, les mitochondries doivent communiquer avec le noyau par la production d'especes reactives de l'oxygene (ROS), comme le peroxyde d'hydrogene ([H.sub.2][O.sub.2]), qui sont generees par un sous-produit de la respiration aerobie a l'interieur des mitochondries. On postule que la signalisation mitochondriale est alteree dans les cellules cancereuses, oil l'on observe frequemment des mutations dans le genome mitochondrial et des modifications dans les caracteristiques fonctionnelles des mitochondries causant une augmentation de la glycolyse. En tant que molecules de signalisation, les ROS oxydent et inhibent les MAPK phosphatases, ce qui provoque une augmentation de la proliferation et de la survie, un effet particulierement avantageux pour les cellules cancereuses. En matiere de regulation transcriptionnelle, les ROS influent sur la phosphorylation, l'activation, l'oxydation, et la liaison de l'ADN de facteurs de transcription tels que AP-1, NF-κB, p53 et HIF-1α, entrainant des modifications dans l'expression de genes cibles. L'augmentation de la production de ROS par les mitochondries defectueuses des cellules cancereuses va aussi causer une activation du facteur de transcription Ets-1, un facteur de plus en plus associe aux cancers agressifs. Mots-cles: mitochondries, especes reactives de l'oxygene, cancer, dialogue (crosstalk) nucleaire, facteurs de transcription, hypoxie, signalisation mitochondriale, ETS. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Several important functional changes to cancer cell mitochondria have been observed that implicate this organelle in tumor formation, including the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), decreased oxidative [...]

The right to health under the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, to which Canada is a signatory, entitles women to available, accessible, and acceptable abortion care. Abortion care in Canada currently fails this standard. Medication abortion (the use of drugs to terminate a pregnancy) could improve abortion care in Canada, but its potential remains unrealized. This is in part attributable to the unavailability of mifepristone, the safest and most effective pharmaceutical for medication abortion. Given that it could improve abortion care, we investigated why mifepristone remains unapproved in Canada, whether its unavailability is attributable to government inaction, and whether Canada is therefore failing to fulfill its obligations under the right to health.