Impact of Trauma‑Informed Training and Mindfulness‑Based Social–Emotional Learning Program on Teacher Attitudes and Burnout: A Mixed‑Methods Study

A trauma-informed approach can give teachers the strategies they need to help children affected by trauma reach their full potential in the classroom. Mindfulness-based social–emotional learning (SEL) programs equip teachers with essential tools to create a trauma-informed classroom, which in turn helps alleviate stress associated with supporting trauma-impacted children. Because existing research on SEL programs has predominantly focused on student well-being, there is a paucity of research examining teacher outcomes and the integration of a trauma-informed framework. The purpose of the study was to investigate the benefits of trauma-informed training and MindUP delivery on educator attitudes and burnout. Intervention educators received trauma-informed and MindUP training and implemented MindUP in their classrooms. Comparison educators did not participate in training and taught their usual curriculum. We compared trauma-informed attitudes and burnout levels among 112 educators (n = 71 intervention, n = 41 comparison) using the Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care (ARTIC) scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Pre- and post-intervention quantitative data were augmented by qualitative focus group data. Results showed that educators in the intervention group reported significant decreases in emotional exhaustion, and significant improvements in the reactions subscale and overall scores on the ARTIC scale. Greatest improvements in self-efficacy and personal accomplishment were observed among educators who implemented MindUP for two consecutive years. These findings were supported by focus group data. Our results show that infusing trauma-informed training with an existing mindfulness-based SEL intervention may encourage teachers to embrace trauma-sensitive attitudes and reduce burnout

Impact of Trauma-Informed Training and Mindfulness-Based Social–Emotional Learning Program on Teacher Attitudes and Burnout: A Mixed-Methods Study

A trauma-informed approach can give teachers the strategies they need to help children affected by trauma reach their full potential in the classroom. Mindfulness-based social–emotional learning (SEL) programs equip teachers with essential tools to create a trauma-informed classroom, which in turn helps alleviate stress associated with supporting trauma-impacted children. Because existing research on SEL programs has predominantly focused on student well-being, there is a paucity of research examining teacher outcomes and the integration of a trauma-informed framework. The purpose of the study was to investigate the benefits of trauma-informed training and MindUP delivery on educator attitudes and burnout. Intervention educators received trauma-informed and MindUP training and implemented MindUP in their classrooms. Comparison educators did not participate in training and taught their usual curriculum. We compared trauma-informed attitudes and burnout levels among 112 educators (n = 71 intervention, n = 41 comparison) using the Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care (ARTIC) scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Pre- and post-intervention quantitative data were augmented by qualitative focus group data. Results showed that educators in the intervention group reported significant decreases in emotional exhaustion, and significant improvements in the reactions subscale and overall scores on the ARTIC scale. Greatest improvements in self-efficacy and personal accomplishment were observed among educators who implemented MindUP for two consecutive years. These findings were supported by focus group data. Our results show that infusing trauma-informed training with an existing mindfulness-based SEL intervention may encourage teachers to embrace trauma-sensitive attitudes and reduce burnout

Impact of MindUP Among Young Children: Improvements in Behavioral Problems, Adaptive Skills, and Executive Functioning

Objectives We evaluated the impacts of a mindfulness-based social and emotional learning (SEL) program on behavioral problems, adaptive skills, and executive functioning among kindergarten students. Methods A total of 23 classrooms were assigned to the intervention group, in which the teachers implemented MindUP, and 19 classrooms were assigned to the comparison group, in which the teachers delivered their classes as usual. Teachers assessed the behavior of students (N = 584; intervention n = 261; comparison n = 323) both pre- and post-intervention with two measures: the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition, Teacher Rating Scales (BASC-3 TRS) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool and Child Version (BRIEF-P; BRIEF-2). Results Students who received the intervention demonstrated an improvement in adaptive skills and reduction in behavioral symptoms, internalizing composite, and externalizing composite outcomes. Additionally, there was a significant decrease in executive functioning deficits among students who participated in MindUP. There were no gender differences regarding changes in any of the five study outcomes. Conclusions The study suggests that mindfulness-based SEL intervention can improve psychosocial and behavioral outcomes in young children

Impact of MindUP Among Young Children: Improvements in Behavioral Problems, Adaptive Skills, and Executive Functioning

Objectives: We evaluated the impacts of a mindfulness-based social and emotional learning (SEL) program on behavioral problems, adaptive skills, and executive functioning among kindergarten students. Methods: A total of 23 classrooms were assigned to the intervention group, in which the teachers implemented MindUP, and 19 classrooms were assigned to the comparison group, in which the teachers delivered their classes as usual. Teachers assessed the behavior of students (N = 584; intervention n = 261; comparison n = 323) both pre- and post-intervention with two measures: the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition, Teacher Rating Scales (BASC-3 TRS) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool and Child Version (BRIEF-P; BRIEF-2). Results: Students who received the intervention demonstrated an improvement in adaptive skills and reduction in behavioral symptoms, internalizing composite, and externalizing composite outcomes. Additionally, there was a significant decrease in executive functioning deficits among students who participated in MindUP. There were no gender differences regarding changes in any of the five study outcomes. Conclusions: The study suggests that mindfulness-based SEL intervention can improve psychosocial and behavioral outcomes in young children

A live-online mindfulness-based intervention for children living with epilepsy and their families: protocol for a randomized controlled trial of Making Mindfulness Matter©.

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy extends far beyond seizures; up to 80% of children with epilepsy (CWE) may have comorbid cognitive or mental health problems, and up to 50% of parents of CWE are at risk for major depression. Past research has also shown that family environment has a greater influence on children\u27s and parents\u27 health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and mental health than epilepsy-related factors. There is a pressing need for low-cost, innovative interventions to improve HRQOL and mental health for CWE and their parents. The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to evaluate whether an interactive online mindfulness-based intervention program, Making Mindfulness Matter (M3), can be feasibly implemented and whether it positively affects CWE\u27s and parents\u27 HRQOL and mental health (specifically, stress, behavioral, depressive, and anxiety symptoms). METHODS: This parallel RCT was planned to recruit 100 child-parent dyads to be randomized 1:1 to the 8-week intervention or waitlist control and followed over 20 weeks. The intervention, M3, will be delivered online and separately to parents and children (ages 4-10 years) in groups of 4-8 by non-clinician staff of a local community epilepsy agency. The intervention incorporates mindful awareness, social-emotional learning skills, and positive psychology. It is modeled after the validated school-based MindUP program and adapted for provision online and to include a parent component. DISCUSSION: This RCT will determine whether this online mindfulness-based intervention is feasible and effective for CWE and their parents. The proposed intervention may be an ideal vector to significantly improve HRQOL and mental health for CWE and their parents given its low cost and implementation by community epilepsy agencies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04020484 . Registered on July 16, 2019

Thiophene antibacterials that allosterically stabilize DNA-cleavage complexes with DNA gyrase

A paucity of novel acting antibacterials is in development to treat the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance, particularly in Gram-negative hospital pathogens, which has led to renewed efforts in antibiotic drug discovery. Fluoroquinolones are broad-spectrum antibacterials that target DNA gyrase by stabilizing DNA-cleavage complexes, but their clinical utility has been compromised by resistance. We have identified a class of antibacterial thiophenes that target DNA gyrase with a unique mechanism of action and have activity against a range of bacterial pathogens, including strains resistant to fluoroquinolones. Although fluoroquinolones stabilize double-stranded DNA breaks, the antibacterial thiophenes stabilize gyrase-mediated DNA-cleavage complexes in either one DNA strand or both DNA strands. X-ray crystallography of DNA gyrase–DNA complexes shows the compounds binding to a protein pocket between the winged helix domain and topoisomerase-primase domain, remote from the DNA. Mutations of conserved residues around this pocket affect activity of the thiophene inhibitors, consistent with allosteric inhibition of DNA gyrase. This druggable pocket provides potentially complementary opportunities for targeting bacterial topoisomerases for antibiotic development

Structural basis of DNA gyrase inhibition by antibacterial QPT-1, anticancer drug etoposide and moxifloxacin

New antibacterials are needed to tackle antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Type IIA topoisomerases (topo2As), the targets of fluoroquinolones, regulate DNA topology by creating transient double-strand DNA breaks. Here we report the first co-crystal structures of the antibacterial QPT-1 and the anticancer drug etoposide with Staphylococcus aureus DNA gyrase, showing binding at the same sites in the cleaved DNA as the fluoroquinolone moxifloxacin. Unlike moxifloxacin, QPT-1 and etoposide interact with conserved GyrB TOPRIM residues rationalizing why QPT-1 can overcome fluoroquinolone resistance. Our data show etoposide’s antibacterial activity is due to DNA gyrase inhibition and suggests other anticancer agents act similarly. Analysis of multiple DNA gyrase co-crystal structures, including asymmetric cleavage complexes, led to a ‘pair of swing-doors’ hypothesis in which the movement of one DNA segment regulates cleavage and religation of the second DNA duplex. This mechanism can explain QPT-1’s bacterial specificity. Structure-based strategies for developing topo2A antibacterials are suggested

Tyrosine 121 moves revealing a ligandable pocket that couples catalysis to ATP-binding in serine racemase

Human serine racemase (hSR) catalyses racemisation of L-serine to D-serine, the latter of which is a co-agonist of the NMDA subtype of glutamate receptors that are important in synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. In a ‘closed’ hSR structure containing the allosteric activator ATP, the inhibitor malonate is enclosed between the large and small domains while ATP is distal to the active site, residing at the dimer interface with the Tyr121 hydroxyl group contacting the α-phosphate of ATP. In contrast, in ‘open’ hSR structures, Tyr121 sits in the core of the small domain with its hydroxyl contacting the key catalytic residue Ser84. The ability to regulate SR activity by flipping Tyr121 from the core of the small domain to the dimer interface appears to have evolved in animals with a CNS. Multiple X-ray crystallographic enzyme-fragment structures show Tyr121 flipped out of its pocket in the core of the small domain. Data suggest that this ligandable pocket could be targeted by molecules that inhibit enzyme activity

Clinical practice: Swallowing problems in cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability in early childhood. The worldwide prevalence of CP is approximately 2–2.5 per 1,000 live births. It has been clinically defined as a group of motor, cognitive, and perceptive impairments secondary to a non-progressive defect or lesion of the developing brain. Children with CP can have swallowing problems with severe drooling as one of the consequences. Malnutrition and recurrent aspiration pneumonia can increase the risk of morbidity and mortality. Early attention should be given to dysphagia and excessive drooling and their substantial contribution to the burden of a child with CP and his/her family. This review displays the important functional and anatomical issues related to swallowing problems in children with CP based on relevant literature and expert opinion. Furthermore, based on our experience, we describe a plan for approach of investigation and treatment of swallowing problems in cerebral palsy

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio