Peer Educators in National Panhellenic Conference Sororities

National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) member organizations have numerous officer positions that might be informally defined as peer educators based on their position responsibilities. Little is known about these officers’ experiences as peer educators, the amount of training they receive, and their effectiveness in providing relevant and purposeful programs for their chapters. The purpose of this study was to better understand peer educators’ experiences within NPC sororities. If the experiences and leadership development of peer educators in NPC sororities are better understood, more can be done to support them in creating meaningful programs and services for their sisters. By supporting small groups of student leaders, there is the potential that thousands of women can experience a more meaningful sorority life experience. The study’s findings helped expand the understanding of the peer educators’ experiences in NPC sororities by revealing the purpose they perceive as integral to their roles within the chapters and by illuminating how they are trained and supported in their roles. Three prominent findings emerged from this study: 1) serving as a resource for sisters; 2) varied training experiences and preparation levels; and 3) the importance of peer support networks. Additionally, these findings reinforced the lack of understanding surrounding these women’s experiences due to the diversity of their roles and experiences and the responses collected during the study. This study also presents recommendations for NPC, inter/national sorority headquarters, and on-campus fraternity and sorority life offices on ways to improve peer mentors’ training experiences, and recommendations for future research

Chancen und Herausforderungen digitaler Bildung für Schüler:innen mit dem Förderschwerpunkt geistige Entwicklung

Digitalisierung ist ein gesamtgesellschaftliches Phänomen, welches mit einem gesamtgesellschaftlichen Bildungsauftrag einhergeht. Die Teilhabe von Menschen mit Lernschwierigkeiten bzw. Schüler:innen mit dem Förderschwerpunkt geistige Entwicklung (FSP GE) an diesen Prozessen ist bislang noch wenig ausgeprägt, was v. a. auch durch fehlende (didaktische) Zugänge zu digitaler Bildung zu begründen ist. Hier setzt das Forschungsprojekt DiGGi_Koeln – Digitalisierung im Förderschwerpunkt Geistige Entwicklung in der Region Köln an, dessen Ergebnisse im Folgenden dargestellt werden und hinsichtlich der Ableitung von Ansatzpunkten zur Gestaltung digitaler Bildung diskutiert werden sollen. (DIPF/Orig.

Abschlussbericht des Forschungsprojekts DiGGi_Koeln - Digitalisierung im Förderschwerpunkt Geistige Entwicklung in der Region Köln.

Digitalisierung ist ein gesamtgesellschaftliches Phänomen, welches mit einem gesamtgesellschaftlichen Bildungsauftrag einhergeht (vgl. Keeley/ Stommel 2022). Die Teilhabe von Menschen mit Lernschwierigkeiten und hier vor allem auch Schüler*innen mit dem Förderschwerpunkt Geistige Entwicklung an diesen Prozessen ist bislang noch wenig ausgeprägt, was vor allem auch durch fehlende (didaktische) Zugänge zu digitaler Bildung zu begründen ist. Hier setzt das Forschungsprojekt „DiGGi_Koeln – Digitalisierung im Förderschwerpunkt Geistige Entwicklung in der Region Köln“ an, welches zwischen 1/2020 bis 10/21 am Lehrstuhl für Pädagogik und Rehabilitation bei Menschen mit geistiger und komplexer Behinderung an der Universität zu Köln durchgeführt wurde. Der vorliegende Bericht beginnt mit der Beschreibung der Ausgangslage und stellt dann umfassend das multimethodische und multiperspektivische Design des Vorhabens dar, bevor die Projektergebnisse der Status Quo-Erhebung abgebildet werden. Aus der abschließenden Diskussion lassen sich konzeptionelle Überlegungen ableiten, die auf Basis der empirischen und theoretischen Auseinandersetzung die Ansatzpunkte zur Erweiterung der digitalen Teilhabe durch die Gestaltung digitaler Bildung von Schüler*innen mit dem Förderschwerpunkt Geistige Entwicklung sichtbar machen

ATM Release at Resected Double-Strand Breaks Provides Heterochromatin Reconstitution to Facilitate Homologous Recombination

Non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR) represent the two main pathways for repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). During the G2 phase of the mammalian cell cycle, both processes can operate and chromatin structure is one important factor which determines DSB repair pathway choice. ATM facilitates the repair of heterochromatic DSBs by phosphorylating and inactivating the heterochromatin building factor KAP-1, leading to local chromatin relaxation. Here, we show that ATM accumulation and activity is strongly diminished at DSBs undergoing end-resection during HR. Such DSBs remain unrepaired in cells devoid of the HR factors BRCA2, XRCC3 or RAD51. Strikingly, depletion of KAP-1 or expression of phospho-mimic KAP-1 allows repair of resected DSBs in the absence of BRCA2, XRCC3 or RAD51 by an erroneous PARP-dependent alt-NHEJ process. We suggest that DSBs in heterochromatin elicit initial local heterochromatin relaxation which is reversed during HR due to the release of ATM from resection break ends. The restored heterochromatic structure facilitates HR and prevents usage of error-prone alternative processes

Dislocation lines as the precursor of the melting of crystalline solids observed in Monte Carlo simulations

The microscopic mechanism of the melting of a crystal is analyzed by the constant pressure Monte Carlo simulation of a Lennard-Jones fcc system. Beyond a temperature of the order of 0.8 of the melting temperature, we found that the relevant excitations are lines of defects. Each of these lines has the structure of a random walk of various lengths on an fcc defect lattice. We identify these lines with the dislocation ones proposed in recent phenomenological theories of melting. Near melting we find the appearance of long lines that cross the whole system. We suggest that these long lines are the precursor of the melting process.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted in Physical Review Letter

Proper Layering Is Important for Precisely Timed Activation of Hippocampal Mossy Cells

The mammalian cortex exhibits a laminated structure that may underlie optimal synaptic connectivity and support temporally precise activation of neurons. In ‘reeler' mice, the lack of the extracellular matrix protein Reelin leads to abnormal positioning of cortical neurons and disrupted layering. To address how these structural changes impact neuronal function, we combined electrophysiological and neuroanatomical techniques to investigate the synaptic activation of hippocampal mossy cells (MCs), the cell type that integrates the output of dentate gyrus granule cells (GCs). While somatodendritic domains of wild-type (WT) MCs were confined to the hilus, the somata and dendrites of reeler MCs were often found in the molecular layer, where the perforant path (PP) terminates. Most reeler MCs received aberrant monosynaptic excitatory input from the PP, whereas the disynaptic input to MCs via GCs was decreased and inhibition was increased. In contrast to the uniform disynaptic discharge of WT MCs, many reeler cells discharged with short, monosynaptic latencies, while others fired with long latencies over a broad temporal window in response to PP activation. Thus, disturbed lamination results in aberrant synaptic connectivity and altered timing of action potential generation. These results highlight the importance of a layered cortical structure for information processin

The nuclear oncogene SET controls DNA repair by KAP1 and HP1 retention to chromatin

Cells experience damage from exogenous and endogenous sources that endanger genome stability. Several cellular pathways have evolved to detect DNA damage and mediate its repair. Although many proteins have been implicated in these processes, only recent studies have revealed how they operate in the context of high-ordered chromatin structure. Here, we identify the nuclear oncogene SET (I2PP2A) as a modulator of DNA damage response (DDR) and repair in chromatin surrounding double-strand breaks (DSBs). We demonstrate that depletion of SET increases DDR and survival in the presence of radiomimetic drugs, while overexpression of SET impairs DDR and homologous recombination (HR)-mediated DNA repair. SET interacts with the Kruppel-associated box (KRAB)-associated co-repressor KAP1, and its overexpression results in the sustained retention of KAP1 and Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) on chromatin. Our results are consistent with a model in which SET-mediated chromatin compaction triggers an inhibition of DNA end resection and HR

The RecQ-like helicase HRQ1 is involved in DNA crosslink repair in Arabidopsis in a common pathway with the Fanconi anemia-associated nuclease FAN1 and the postreplicative repair ATPase RAD5A

RecQ helicases are important caretakers of genome stability and occur in varying copy numbers in different eukaryotes. Subsets of RecQ paralogs are involved in DNA crosslink (CL) repair. The orthologs of AtRECQ2, AtRECQ3 and AtHRQ1, HsWRN, DmRECQ5 and ScHRQ1 participate in CL repair in their respective organisms, and we aimed to define the function of these helicases for plants. We obtained Arabidopsis mutants of the three RecQ helicases and determined their sensitivity against CL agents in single‐ and double‐mutant analyses. Only Athrq1 , but not Atrecq2 and Atrecq3 , mutants proved to be sensitive to intra‐ and interstrand crosslinking agents. AtHRQ1 is specifically involved in the repair of replicative damage induced by CL agents. It shares pathways with the Fanconi anemia‐related endonuclease FAN1 but not with the endonuclease MUS81. Most surprisingly, AtHRQ1 is epistatic to the ATPase RAD5A for intra‐ as well as interstrand CL repair. We conclude that, as in fungi, AtHRQ1 has a conserved function in DNA excision repair. Additionally, HRQ1 not only shares pathways with the Fanconi anemia repair factors, but in contrast to fungi also seems to act in a common pathway with postreplicative DNA repair

A SRS2 homolog from Arabidopsis thaliana disrupts recombinogenic DNA intermediates and facilitates single strand annealing

Genetic and biochemical analyses of SRS2 homologs in fungi indicate a function in the processing of homologous recombination (HR) intermediates. To date, no SRS2 homologs have been described and analyzed in higher eukaryotes. Here, we report the first biochemical characterization of an SRS2 homolog from a multicellular eukaryote, the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We studied the basic properties of AtSRS2 and were able to show that it is a functional 3′- to 5′-helicase. Furthermore, we characterized its biochemical function on recombinogenic intermediates and were able to show the unwinding of nicked Holliday junctions (HJs) and partial HJs (PX junctions). For the first time, we demonstrated strand annealing activity for an SRS2 homolog and characterized its strand pairing activity in detail. Our results indicate that AtSRS2 has properties that enable it to be involved in different steps during the processing of recombination intermediates. On the one hand, it could be involved in the unwinding of an elongating invading strand from a donor strand, while on the other hand, it could be involved in the annealing of the elongated strand at a later step