Genome-wide expression changes induced by bisphenol A, F and S in human stem cell derived hepatocyte-like cells

Acknowledgments BLV and DCH were funded by an award from the Chief Scientist Office (TCS 16/37). This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 681002 (EU-ToxRisk) and from TransQST (no. 116030).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Opportunities and challenges in the use of coal fly ash for soil improvements – a review

Coal fly ash (CFA), a by-product of coal combustion has been regarded as a problematic solid waste, mainly due to its potentially toxic trace elements, PTEs (e.g. Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb) and organic compounds (e.g. PCBs, PAHs) content. However, CFA is a useful source of essential plant nutrients (e.g. Ca, Mg, K, P, S, B, Fe, Cu and Zn). Uncontrolled land disposal of CFA is likely to cause undesirable changes in soil conditions, including contamination with PTEs, PAHs and PCBs. Prudent CFA land application offers considerable opportunities, particularly for nutrient supplementation, pH correction and ameliorating soil physical conditions (soil compaction, water retention and drainage). Since CFA contains little or no N and organic carbon, and CFA-borne P is not readily plant available, a mixture of CFA and manure or sewage sludge (SS) is better suited than CFA alone. Additionally, land application of such a mixture can mitigate the mobility of SS-borne PTEs, which is known to increase following cessation of SS application. Research analysis further shows that application of alkaline CFA with or without other amendments can help remediate at least marginally metal contaminated soils by immobilisation of mobile metal forms. CFA land application with SS or other source of organic carbon, N and P can help effectively reclaim/restore mining-affected lands. Given the variability in the nature and composition of CFA (pH, macro- and micro-nutrients) and that of soil (pH, texture and fertility), the choice of CFA (acidic or alkaline and its application rate) needs to consider the properties and problems of the soil. CFA can also be used as a low cost sorbent for the removal of organic and inorganic contaminants from wastewater streams; the disposal of spent CFA however can pose further challenges. Problems in CFA use as a soil amendment occur when it results in undesirable change in soil pH, imbalance in nutrient supply, boron toxicity in plants, excess supply of sulphate and PTEs. These problems, however, are usually associated with excess or inappropriate CFA applications. The levels of PAHs and PCBs in CFA are generally low; their effects on soil biota, uptake by plants and soil persistence, however, need to be assessed. In spite of this, co-application of CFA with manure or SS to land enhances its effectiveness in soil improvements

Establishing Positive Discipline Policies in an Urban Elementary School

Researchers and school practitioners alike are finding positive outcomes in the proactive practices of schoolwide positive behavior supports (SWPBS). However, reform through such systemic efforts as SWPBS is a challenging endeavor. For SWPBS to reach the widest number of schools, it is necessary to provide school faculty and staff with the knowledge and tools necessary to design and implement effective behavioral supports. Foundations is a staff development tool designed to guide school teams through the process of developing positive disciplinary practices consistent to the principles of SWPBS that prevent problem behavior and encourage safety and civility. This paper includes a description of SWPBS and Foundations followed by outcomes from a diverse, urban elementary school. Following one year of implementation, data indicated positive changes in schoolwide behavior and discipline practices. (Contains 4 figures.

How Do Staff Perceive Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports? Implications for Teams in Planning and Implementing Schools

Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) offers an alternative to reactive and exclusionary school discipline practices. However, the shift to SWPBS requires substantial change in the practices of staff, and many leadership teams struggle to rally staff support for implementation. With a more thorough understanding of staff perceptions, level of understanding, and support for SWPBS, teams may be better positioned to assist staff in the change process. To achieve an understanding of staff perceptions and how they may differ in schools on the basis of level of implementation, the authors directly assessed staff perceptions in seven planning schools and seven implementing schools. Significant differences were found between planning and implementing schools in knowledge of SWPBS, as well as perceptions of behavior and discipline

A Qualitative Analysis of Middle and High School Teacher Perceptions of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports

Full stakeholder support for any innovation can be difficult to achieve, particularly in complex systems such as middle and high schools. Increasingly, obtaining middle and high school teacher support for Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) is identified as a challenging yet crucial element of implementation. The reasons behind these challenges are not well understood; thus, the purpose of this study was to attain a better understanding of the SWPBS-related needs and concerns of middle and high school teachers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze open-ended concerns statements and statements of need from teachers working in 19 middle and high schools. Regardless of SWPBS implementation level, the most prevalent concerns pertained to staff support and consensus, and the most prevalent needs were related to collaboration. There were high levels of consistency in concerns and needs, with a few differences found in the concerns and needs statements of teachers in implementing and low-implementing schools. Full results, limitations, and implications for future research and practice are discussed. © 2016, © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2016

Classified Staff Perceptions of Behavior and Discipline: Implications for Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports

Classified staff are important stakeholders in schools and commonly interact with students across grade levels, subject matter areas, and physical locations—making their involvement in the implementation of schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) essential. However, their voice, including the intentional and systematic consideration of their perspectives and concerns, is virtually absent in this field of research. Hence, the purpose of this mixed-methods study was to develop a general understanding of classified staff perspectives of behavior and discipline. We used quantitative analysis to compare survey data from teachers and classified staff (n = 1,833) and then applied qualitative thematic analysis to classified staff responses (n = 243) to an item derived from the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM). As compared with teachers, classified staff reported lower levels of knowledge or understanding of SWPBIS, less SWPBIS-related training, poorer quality communication, and more philosophical beliefs that were inconsistent with SWPBIS. Qualitative analysis of classified staffs’ SWPBIS-related concerns yielded the following 10 themes listed in order of prevalence: consistency, communication, effectiveness, amount of discipline, specific procedures and behaviors, climate and stress, student and parent involvement, acknowledgment systems, leadership, and resources. Limitations and implications for research are provided herein

Response to Intervention in Secondary Schools

The writers observe that many schools are today turning to response to intervention (RTI) models to meet their students\u27 needs. However, while the benefits of RTI are manifold for schools and students, little literature is available on how to implement RTI at the secondary level. School administrators need to spend substantive quality time in creating a thoughtful and strategic plan for professional development, which includes content specific to RTI and anticipates potential barriers to staff member readiness. An overview of what administrators need to consider while transitioning to an RTI model is provided

The effect of structural variation on crossover positioning in Arabiopsis thaliana

One of the advantages of sexual reproduction is the possibility of forming new combinations of alleles through crossovers (COs) that swap portions of the maternal and paternal homologous chromosomes during meiosis, making new trait combinations available for natural selection. The rate of CO formation and the locations of CO events can therefore affect the co-inheritance of traits. Although several factors that influence CO rates and distributions have been identified, detailed knowledge of how the CO landscape is established remains superficial. This is largely because characterizing the CO landscape has traditionally been laborious and imprecise. In this study, we engineered cost-effective methods for performing high-throughput sequencing on large populations of recombinant individuals to generate precise CO maps. Using this approach, we examined the influence of large- and small-scale genomic structural variations on CO frequency and positioning by generating a CO map from over 2000 individuals of an F2 population derived from two Arabidopsis thaliana accessions with high-quality reference genomes: Col and Ler. With these data, we were able to characterize a landscape of over 15,000 CO events within a single F2 cross, representing the densest CO map available for a higher eukaryote. We examined the frequency of COs within and around inversions, insertions, deletions, translocations, and tandem copy number variations. COs occurred rarely within these structural variants, but CO rates were often slightly elevated in the flanking regions. Other hypervariable regions of the genome, such as disease resistance gene clusters, exhibited both high and low CO rates. COs were strongly associated with regions of open chromatin. We conclude that COs are generally suppressed within regions containing structural variation, but that this effect does not depend on the size of the variant region and is only marginally affected by the variant type