Predictors Of School Administrator Responses In Bullying Situations: Implications For Bullying Prevention Programs

The purpose of this study was to investigate school administrators\u27 responses to bullying situations and explore variables that predict their responses. Elementary, middle and high school administrators (n = 126) from school districts throughout Michigan participated in the study. Data were collected during the 2013-2014 school year. Differences between beliefs about the causes of victimization were found in that school administrators were less likely to endorse normative beliefs about the causes of victimization than assertive or avoidant beliefs. School administrators were more likely to endorse assertive beliefs for girls than for boys. Empathy towards victims, perceived seriousness of the bullying situation, likelihood of intervention and type of response across three types of hypothetical bullying situations were measured. School administrators perceived physical bullying situations as more serious, reported more empathy for victims and were more likely to intervene and involve parents when compared to verbal or social exclusion situations. They were more likely to provide responses that involved expressing disapproval in verbal or social exclusion bullying situations than in physical bullying situations. Factors that predicted a school administrator\u27s likelihood of intervention and type of response in bullying situations were examined. Perceived seriousness was a significant predictor of a school administrator\u27s likelihood of intervention in bullying vignettes. School administrators more open to diversity were more likely to intervene in bullying situations, more likely to discipline the perpetrator and involve parents when intervening. School administrators with previous bullying prevention training reported a higher likelihood of intervention in bullying situations but were less likely to involve parents. Previous training did not have an effect on expressing disapproval or disciplining the perpetrator in bullying situations. The study provides support for further research on school administrators and their role in bullying prevention initiatives

NaNog: A pluripotency homeobox (master) molecule.

One of the most intriguing aspects of cell biology is the state of pluripotency, where the cell is capable of self-renewal for as many times as deemed necessary , then at a specified time can differentiate into any type of cell. This fundamental process is required during organogenesis in foetal life and importantly during tissue repair in health and disease. Pluripotency is very tightly regulated, as any dysregulation can result in congenital defects, inability to repair damage, or cancer. Fuelled by the relatively recent interest in stem cell biology and tissue regeneration, the molecules implicated in regulating pluripotency have been the subject of extensive research. One of the important molecules involved in pluripotency, is NaNog, the subject of this article

Numerical simulation and experimental analysis of magneto-mechanical behavior of anti-seismic active sandwich structure

This work focuses on the quasi-static behavior study for simply supported sandwich beams with aluminum faces and magnetorheological elastomer core subjected to three points bending subjected to a magneto-mechanical loading by numerical and experimental investigations. The mechanical properties of the magnetorheological elastomer core are measured experimentally and the mechanical behavior of the MRE was identified by the generalized Maxwell rheological model. Depending upon the adjustable properties of the beam, energy dissipation is by core shear. A systematic series of experiments and finite elements simulations have been performed in order to assess the static behavior of the beam. The results obtained show a significant influence of the magnetic field intensity on the flexural displacement of the beam

Active control of the nonlinear bending behavior of magnetorheological elastomer sandwich beam with magnetic field

The purpose of this work is to analyze the nonlinear mechanical behavior of sandwich structures with a magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) core subjected to a permanent magnetic field. A detailed study is first carried out to characterize the mechanical behavior of these structures. The tests were carried out in three-point bending on beams of these complex materials for several distances between supports. An experimental study, of the mechanical behavior response realized using a Zwick 2.5 kN machine, allows to measure displacements as a function of force. The results deduced from the numerical simulation by the Abaqus software are compared with those obtained from the theoretical analysis. This study allows to show that these structures exhibit a non-linear behavior even at small deformations due to the rheological parameters which are more sensitive by the application of a magnetic field

Vibration control of a hydrostatic bearing using magnetorheological elastomer shell bearing

In rotating machines, random movements or sliding movements of the rotor in its housing can produce undesirable phenomena for some parts. To solve this problem, a new hydrostatic bearing with an intelligent magnetorheological elastomer sell bearing has been designed to control the undesirable vibrations of rigid rotors. The different effects of the influence parameters on the vibratory behavior of the sell bearing are calculated numerically using Abaqus software, and the results found are encouraging

Biocompatibility and application of carbon fibres in heart valve tissue engineering

The success of tissue engineered heart valves relies on a balance between polymer degradation, appropriate cell repopulation and ECM deposition, in order for the valves to continue their vital function. However, the process of remodelling is highly dynamic and species dependent. Carbon fibres have been well used in the construction industry for their high tensile strength and flexibility, and therefore might be relevant to support tissue engineered hearts valve during this transition in the mechanically demanding environment of the circulation. The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of carbon fibres to be incorporated into tissue engineered heart valves, with respect to optimising their cellular interaction and mechanical flexibility during valve opening and closure. The morphology and surface oxidation of the carbon fibres was characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Their ability to interact with human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs) was assessed with respect to cell attachment and phenotypic changes. hADSCs attached and maintained their expression of stem cell markers with negligible differentiation to other lineages. Incorporation of carbon fibres into a stand-alone tissue engineered aortic root, comprised of jet-sprayed poly-caprolactone aligned fibres had no negative effects on the opening and closure characteristics of the valve when simulated in a pulsatile bioreactor. In conclusion, carbon fibres were found to be conducive to hADSC attachment and maintaining their phenotype. Carbon fibres were sufficiently flexible for full motion of valvular opening and closure. This study provides a proof of concept for the incorporation of carbon fibres into tissue engineered heart valves to continue their vital function during scaffold degradation

Ethnicity, consanguinity, and genetic architecture of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

AIMS: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by phenotypic heterogeneity that is partly explained by the diversity of genetic variants contributing to disease. Accurate interpretation of these variants constitutes a major challenge for diagnosis and implementing precision medicine, especially in understudied populations. The aim is to define the genetic architecture of HCM in North African cohorts with high consanguinity using ancestry-matched cases and controls. METHODS AND RESULTS: Prospective Egyptian patients (n = 514) and controls (n = 400) underwent clinical phenotyping and genetic testing. Rare variants in 13 validated HCM genes were classified according to standard clinical guidelines and compared with a prospective HCM cohort of majority European ancestry (n = 684). A higher prevalence of homozygous variants was observed in Egyptian patients (4.1% vs. 0.1%, P = 2 × 10-7), with variants in the minor HCM genes MYL2, MYL3, and CSRP3 more likely to present in homozygosity than the major genes, suggesting these variants are less penetrant in heterozygosity. Biallelic variants in the recessive HCM gene TRIM63 were detected in 2.1% of patients (five-fold greater than European patients), highlighting the importance of recessive inheritance in consanguineous populations. Finally, rare variants in Egyptian HCM patients were less likely to be classified as (likely) pathogenic compared with Europeans (40.8% vs. 61.6%, P = 1.6 × 10-5) due to the underrepresentation of Middle Eastern populations in current reference resources. This proportion increased to 53.3% after incorporating methods that leverage new ancestry-matched controls presented here. CONCLUSION: Studying consanguineous populations reveals novel insights with relevance to genetic testing and our understanding of the genetic architecture of HCM

Generation of cardiomyocytes from human-induced pluripotent stem cells resembling atrial cells with ability to respond to adrenoceptor agonists

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common chronic arrhythmia presenting a heavy disease burden. We report a new approach for generating cardiomyocytes (CMs) resembling atrial cells from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) using a combination of Gremlin 2 and retinoic acid treatment. More than 40% of myocytes showed rod-shaped morphology, expression of CM proteins (including ryanodine receptor 2, α-actinin-2 and F-actin) and striated appearance, all of which were broadly similar to the characteristics of adult atrial myocytes (AMs). Isolated myocytes were electrically quiescent until stimulated to fire action potentials with an AM profile and an amplitude of approximately 100 mV, arising from a resting potential of approximately −70 mV. Single-cell RNA sequence analysis showed a high level of expression of several atrial-specific transcripts including NPPA, MYL7, HOXA3, SLN, KCNJ4, KCNJ5 and KCNA5. Amplitudes of calcium transients recorded from spontaneously beating cultures were increased by the stimulation of α-adrenoceptors (activated by phenylephrine and blocked by prazosin) or β-adrenoceptors (activated by isoproterenol and blocked by CGP20712A). Our new approach provides human AMs with mature characteristics from hiPSCs which will facilitate drug discovery by enabling the study of human atrial cell signalling pathways and AF. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The heartbeat: its molecular basis and physiological mechanisms’