Teacher Action Research in Elementary Social Studies: Use of iPads in 6th Grade Geography Instruction

A university instructor and master teacher describe the limited examples of practitioner research in elementary social studies found in traditional publications. They present a social studies practitioner research project that investigated the use of various technologies in 6th grade geography to improve student engagement, collaboration and academic success. The authors suggest that practitioner research provides a structure for elementary teachers to investigate questions related to student learning of key social studies content, the social studies curriculum, and related skills. They suggest that practitioner research, as professional development or alternative to traditional teacher evaluation requirements, creates opportunities for elementary school teachers to focus on the teaching of social studies, raising both the status of social studies in elementary classrooms and the potential for increased teacher efficacy

Assessing societal vulnerability of U.S. Pacific Northwest communities to storm induced coastal change

Progressive increases in storm intensities and extreme wave heights have been documented along the U.S. West Coast. Paired with global sea level rise and the potential for an increase in El Niño occurrences, these trends have substantial implications for the vulnerability of coastal communities to natural coastal hazards. Community vulnerability to hazards is characterized by the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of human-environmental systems that influence potential impacts. To demonstrate how societal vulnerability to coastal hazards varies with both physical and social factors, we compared community exposure and sensitivity to storm-induced coastal change scenarios in Tillamook (Oregon) and Pacific (Washington) Counties. While both are backed by low-lying coastal dunes, communities in these two counties have experienced different shoreline change histories and have chosen to use the adjacent land in different ways. Therefore, community vulnerability varies significantly between the two counties. Identifying the reasons for this variability can help land-use managers make decisions to increase community resilience and reduce vulnerability in spite of a changing climate. (PDF contains 4 pages

Is toothbrushing behaviour habitual? Cues, context, motivators and patient narratives.

ObjectivesToothbrushing is generally considered as a key self-care behaviour necessary for maintaining good oral health. Although twice-daily brushing is widely recommended as beneficial since this provides both biofilm removal and a regular application of fluoride, some people such as those with low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds often brush less regularly. Habit theory identifies that behaviours become habitual when they are undertaken repeatedly in response to a particular cue within a stable context. Once behaviour becomes automatic, long-term maintenance is more likely even if motivation wanes. Establishing toothbrushing as a habitual behaviour is therefore an intervention strategy which may help reduce health inequalities. Therefore, the objective was to more fully understand the nature of toothbrushing behaviour in adults and what prompts its instigation and execution in the morning and evening, in order to inform the design of interventions in this area.MethodsTwenty-nine semi-structured interviews were undertaken in an urgent dental care centre in a deprived area of North West England. Thematic analysis using a framework method was used to code the data into theoretically derived categories.ResultsMorning toothbrushing was found to be strongly integrated into cleansing routines and was identified as a behaviour predominantly initiated in response to visual cues. Some toothbrushing behaviour was prompted by internal cues, expressed as strong feelings or urges. These were more related to night-time toothbrushing habits. Common morning motivators were aesthetics and social acceptability. Evening motivators were relatively idiosyncratic. Cleaning of the mouth following a hard, manual working day emerged as a strong driver for low SES males.ConclusionUnderstanding the nature of habitual morning and evening toothbrushing is important for the design of effective behavioural interventions, especially those aiming to achieve sustainable improvement in the frequency of night-time toothbrushing

Are working memory and glutamate concentrations involved in early-life stress and severity of psychosis?

Objective Occurrences of early‐life stress (ELS) are associated with the severity of psychotic symptoms and working memory (WM) deficits in patients with psychosis (PSY). This study investigated potential mediation roles of WM behavioral performance and glutamate concentrations in prefrontal brain regions on the association between ELS and psychotic symptom severity in PSY. Method Forty‐seven patients with PSY (established schizophrenia, n = 30; bipolar disorder, n = 17) completed measures of psychotic symptom severity. In addition, data on ELS and WM performance were collected in both patients with PSY and healthy controls (HC; n = 41). Resting‐state glutamate concentrations in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were also assessed with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy for both PSY and HC groups. t tests, analyses of variance, and regression analyses were utilized. Results Participants with PSY reported significantly more ELS occurrences and showed poorer WM performance than HC. Furthermore, individuals with PSY displayed lower glutamate concentrations in the left DLPFC than HC. Neither ELS nor WM performance were predictive of severity of psychotic symptoms in participants with PSY. However, we found a significant negative correlation between glutamate concentrations in the left DLPFC and ELS occurrence in HC only. Conclusion In individuals with PSY, the current study found no evidence that the association between ELS and psychotic symptoms is mediated by WM performance or prefrontal glutamate concentrations. In HC, the association between ELS experience and glutamate concentrations may indicate a neurometabolite effect of ELS that is independent of an illness effect in psychosis

The Impact of a Community-Based Childhood Obesity Prevention Program on Children’s Physical Activity and Fitness

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of South County Food, Fitness and Fun (SCFFF), a 16-week community-based obesity prevention program, on children’s moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), physical fitness, body mass index (BMI), and BMI z-score. A non-randomized pre-test and post-test study design was used to assess changes in MVPA, physical fitness, BMI and BMI z-score from baseline to program end. MVPA was measured by accelerometer, physical fitness measured by Fitnessgram, and height and weight were measured by stadiometer and scale and used to calculate BMI. The analytic sample for this study included 53 children from nine SCFFF programs conducted between 2011-2016. There was a significant increase in the percentage of time children spent participating in MVPA (1.12%; p=0.022), curl-ups (p\u3c0.001) and trunk lifts (p=0.004). BMI z-score decreased (p\u3c0.001). Results reinforce the importance of offering community-based interventions that include caregivers to prevent excess weight gain in children

Continuous combined microwave and hot air treatment of apples for fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni and B. jarvisi) disinfestation

Apples at 24 ± 2 °C were heated in a pilot scale hot air assisted (40 °C) continuous pentagonal microwave system, to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment on insect mortality (variety Mutsu) and fruit quality (variety Granny Smith). An average temperature of 53.4 ± 1.3 °C at core, bottom and flesh of the apple was recorded at the end of the treatment. One hundred percent mortality of the most tolerant stage of Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni, Froggatt) and Jarvis's fruit fly (Bactrocera jarvisi, Tryon), were observed when the Mortality value (M52, equivalent time of isothermal treatment at 52 °C) at the slowest heating point applicable for each experiment was ≥ 50 min and ≥ 37 min, respectively. Results showed that microwave heat treatment is effective for insect disinfestation without any adverse impact on total soluble solids, flesh or peel firmness of the treated apples. The treated apples recorded a significantly higher pH and lower ion leakage than the untreated apples after 3 or 4 weeks. Therefore, the microwave heat treatment has the potential to be developed as an alternative chemical free quarantine treatment against economically significant insect pests. Industrial relevance Hot air assisted microwave heating of fruits and vegetables, is more cost effective compared to vapour heat treatment and ionising radiation for disinfestation of insects. Microwave treatment is environmentally friendly compared to fumigation and chemical treatments. Hot air assisted microwave disinfestation can be performed at farms or centralised pack houses since the capital cost would be comparatively lower than vapour heat or ionising radiation treatments

MARCH1 protects the lipid raft and tetraspanin web from MHCII proteotoxicity in dendritic cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) produce major histocompatibility complex II (MHCII) in large amounts to function as professional antigen presenting cells. Paradoxically, DCs also ubiquitinate and degrade MHCII in a constitutive manner. Mice deficient in the MHCII-ubiquitinating enzyme membrane-anchored RING-CH1, or the ubiquitin-acceptor lysine of MHCII, exhibit a substantial reduction in the number of regulatory T (Treg) cells, but the underlying mechanism was unclear. Here we report that ubiquitin-dependent MHCII turnover is critical to maintain homeostasis of lipid rafts and the tetraspanin web in DCs. Lack of MHCII ubiquitination results in the accumulation of excessive quantities of MHCII in the plasma membrane, and the resulting disruption to lipid rafts and the tetraspanin web leads to significant impairment in the ability of DCs to engage and activate thymocytes for Treg cell differentiation. Thus, ubiquitin-dependent MHCII turnover represents a novel quality-control mechanism by which DCs maintain homeostasis of membrane domains that support DC's Treg cell-selecting function

Incorporating climate change and morphological uncertainty into coastal change hazard assessments

Documented and forecasted trends in rising sea levels and changes in storminess patterns have the potential to increase the frequency, magnitude, and spatial extent of coastal change hazards. To develop realistic adaptation strategies, coastal planners need information about coastal change hazards that recognizes the dynamic temporal and spatial scales of beach morphology, the climate controls on coastal change hazards, and the uncertainties surrounding the drivers and impacts of climate change. We present a probabilistic approach for quantifying and mapping coastal change hazards that incorporates the uncertainty associated with both climate change and morphological variability. To demonstrate the approach, coastal change hazard zones of arbitrary confidence levels are developed for the Tillamook County (State of Oregon, USA) coastline using a suite of simple models and a range of possible climate futures related to wave climate, sea-level rise projections, and the frequency of major El Niño events. Extreme total water levels are more influenced by wave height variability, whereas the magnitude of erosion is more influenced by sea-level rise scenarios. Morphological variability has a stronger influence on the width of coastal hazard zones than the uncertainty associated with the range of climate change scenarios.Keywords: Climate change, Uncertainty, Exposure, El Niño, Probabilistic coastal hazard zones, Sea-level rise, Increasing stormines

The Impact of Infectious Disease-Related Public Health Emergencies on Suicide, Suicidal Behavior, and Suicidal Thoughts:A Systematic Review

Background: Infectious disease-related public health emergencies (epidemics) may increase suicide risk, and high-quality evidence is needed to guide an international response. Aims: We investigated the potential impacts of epidemics on suicide-related outcomes. Method: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, PsyArXiv, medRxiv, and bioRxiv from inception to May 13–16, 2020. Inclusion criteria: primary studies, reviews, and meta-analyses; reporting the impact of epidemics; with a primary outcome of suicide, suicidal behavior, suicidal ideation, and/or self-harm. Exclusion criteria: not concerned with suicide-related outcomes; not suitable for data extraction. PROSPERO registration: #CRD42020187013. Results: Eight primary papers were included, examining the effects of five epidemics on suicide-related outcomes. There was evidence of increased suicide rates among older adults during SARS and in the year following the epidemic (possibly motivated by social disconnectedness, fears of virus infection, and concern about burdening others) and associations between SARS/Ebola exposure and increased suicide attempts. A preprint study reported associations between COVID-19 distress and past-month suicidal ideation. Limitations: Few studies have investigated the topic; these are of relatively low methodological quality. Conclusion: Findings support an association between previous epidemics and increased risk of suicide-related outcomes. Research is needed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on suicide outcomes

Computational strategies for dissecting the high-dimensional complexity of adaptive immune repertoires

The adaptive immune system recognizes antigens via an immense array of antigen-binding antibodies and T-cell receptors, the immune repertoire. The interrogation of immune repertoires is of high relevance for understanding the adaptive immune response in disease and infection (e.g., autoimmunity, cancer, HIV). Adaptive immune receptor repertoire sequencing (AIRR-seq) has driven the quantitative and molecular-level profiling of immune repertoires thereby revealing the high-dimensional complexity of the immune receptor sequence landscape. Several methods for the computational and statistical analysis of large-scale AIRR-seq data have been developed to resolve immune repertoire complexity in order to understand the dynamics of adaptive immunity. Here, we review the current research on (i) diversity, (ii) clustering and network, (iii) phylogenetic and (iv) machine learning methods applied to dissect, quantify and compare the architecture, evolution, and specificity of immune repertoires. We summarize outstanding questions in computational immunology and propose future directions for systems immunology towards coupling AIRR-seq with the computational discovery of immunotherapeutics, vaccines, and immunodiagnostics.Comment: 27 pages, 2 figure