A social density model of child/teacher ratio effects in early childhood settings

Following a review of research in child/teacher ratio, group size, crowding, and density in young children's settings, a model was developed to predict the short-term behavioral effects of variations in child/teacher ratio, based on Freedman1s density-intensity hypothesis. In this model, it was proposed that ratio effects on children's behavior are better conceptualized as functions of the two variables, number of children and number of teachers present in a behavior setting. Hypotheses were generated for the relationships between these two independent variables and five a priori dependent variables of children's epistemic behavior. Specifically, it was predicted that as number of children increased: social interaction with peers would drop; interaction with teachers would drop; interaction with the physical environment would not change; solitary behavior would rise; and passive behavior would rise. As number of teachers increased: interaction with peers would not change; interaction with teachers would rise; interaction with the physical environment would not change; solitary behavior would drop; and passive behavior would not change

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

Neoantigen vaccine generates intratumoral T cell responses in phase Ib glioblastoma trial

Neoantigens, which are derived from tumour-specific protein-coding mutations, are exempt from central tolerance, can generate robust immune responses1,2 and can function as bona fide antigens that facilitate tumour rejection3. Here we demonstrate that a strategy that uses multi-epitope, personalized neoantigen vaccination, which has previously been tested in patients with high-risk melanoma4–6, is feasible for tumours such as glioblastoma, which typically have a relatively low mutation load1,7 and an immunologically ‘cold’ tumour microenvironment8. We used personalized neoantigen-targeting vaccines to immunize patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma following surgical resection and conventional radiotherapy in a phase I/Ib study. Patients who did not receive dexamethasone—a highly potent corticosteroid that is frequently prescribed to treat cerebral oedema in patients with glioblastoma—generated circulating polyfunctional neoantigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses that were enriched in a memory phenotype and showed an increase in the number of tumour-infiltrating T cells. Using single-cell T cell receptor analysis, we provide evidence that neoantigen-specific T cells from the peripheral blood can migrate into an intracranial glioblastoma tumour. Neoantigen-targeting vaccines thus have the potential to favourably alter the immune milieu of glioblastoma

COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a major public health threat, especially in countries with low vaccination rates. To better understand the biological underpinnings of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity, we formed the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative1. Here we present a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of up to 125,584 cases and over 2.5 million control individuals across 60 studies from 25 countries, adding 11 genome-wide significant loci compared with those previously identified2. Genes at new loci, including SFTPD, MUC5B and ACE2, reveal compelling insights regarding disease susceptibility and severity.</p