Three Guns

Mya Gordon Three Guns Oil on canvas 10x10in. 202

Good Ol’ Roy

Mya Gordon Good Ol’ Roy Oil on canvas 9x12in. 202

Phage Encoded H-NS: A Potential Achilles Heel in the Bacterial Defence System

The relationship between phage and their microbial hosts is difficult to elucidate in complex natural ecosystems. Engineered systems performing enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR), offer stable, lower complexity communities for studying phage-host interactions. Here, metagenomic data from an EBPR reactor dominated by Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis (CAP), led to the recovery of three complete and six partial phage genomes. Heat-stable nucleoid structuring (H-NS) protein, a global transcriptional repressor in bacteria, was identified in one of the complete phage genomes (EPV1), and was most similar to a homolog in CAP. We infer that EPV1 is a CAP-specific phage and has the potential to repress up to 6% of host genes based on the presence of putative H-NS binding sites in the CAP genome. These genes include CRISPR associated proteins and a Type III restriction-modification system, which are key host defense mechanisms against phage infection. Further, EPV1 was the only member of the phage community found in an EBPR microbial metagenome collected seven months prior. We propose that EPV1 laterally acquired H-NS from CAP providing it with a means to reduce bacterial defenses, a selective advantage over other phage in the EBPR system. Phage encoded H-NS could constitute a previously unrecognized weapon in the phage-host arms race

Untitled

Mya Gordon Untitled Wood, glue 18 x 5 x 12 inches 202

Girls’ and Boys’ Voices on the Gendered Experience of Learning During COVID-19 in Countries Affected by Displacement

This paper presents research on girls’ and boys’ gendered perceptions of their learning during school closures due to COVID-19. The research was conducted in ten countries affected by displacement across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. We applied statistical analysis using multivariate logistic regression models from the results of a survey conducted with parents or caregivers and their children. We complemented the quantitative study with qualitative methodology, which provided a nuanced understanding of girls’ and boys’ perceptions of their learning and their voiced concerns during the COVID-19-related school closures. Our results show that the children in the displaced settings are likely to perceive a decline in learning during the pandemic, and that the factors influencing this perception differ between boys and girls. Girls’ perceptions of learning “nothing” or only “a little bit” were more strongly associated with material barriers, such as limited access to learning materials and household economic circumstances, than was the case for boys. The boys’ experience of learning “a little bit” or “nothing” was more strongly associated with increased negative feelings, including feeling sad or worried, increased violence in the home, and increased responsibility for looking after siblings or other children. This research notes the importance of supporting displaced children by providing adequate resources to enable equitable access to learning, and calls for cross-sectoral programming to support displaced children who are dealing with emotional pressure

Impact of Catch-up Clubs in Conflict-Affected Myanmar: A Community-Led Remedial Learning Model

Myanmar faces a protracted learning crisis where the COVID-19 pandemic was compounded by a coup in February 2021, which furthered school closures. Save the Children created Catch-up Clubs (CuCs) to support children’s remedial learning in a matter of weeks and address barriers to children’s successful return to school in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. An innovative model that offers community-led, play-based literacy instruction to children grouped by ability, not age, CuCs assess children’s foundational literacy and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), while addressing child protection and economic barriers to education. CuCs were piloted with over 3000 children in upper primary to lower secondary grades across 36 communities in the conflict-affected states of Rakhine and Kayin in Myanmar. This quasi-natural experimental impact evaluation investigated the cause-and-effect relationship between CuCs and children's literacy outcomes and SEL competencies. The study was contextually adapted to consider children affected by conflict, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. The results show that children who participated in CuCs had significantly higher literacy level and SEL competency than children who did not participate. Children participating in CuCs also showed greater self-confidence and educational aspirations to remain in education or continue their schooling to a higher level

Densovirus associated with sea-star wasting disease and mass mortality

Populations of at least 20 asteroid species on the Northeast Pacific Coast have recently experienced an extensive outbreak of sea-star (asteroid) wasting disease (SSWD). The disease leads to behavioral changes, lesions, loss of turgor, limb autotomy, and death characterized by rapid degradation (“melting”). Here, we present evidence from experimental challenge studies and field observations that link the mass mortalities to a densovirus (Parvoviridae). Virus-sized material (i.e., <0.2 μm) from symptomatic tissues that was inoculated into asymptomatic asteroids consistently resulted in SSWD signs whereas animals receiving heat-killed (i.e., control) virus-sized inoculum remained asymptomatic. Viral metagenomic investigations revealed the sea star-associated densovirus (SSaDV) as the most likely candidate virus associated with tissues from symptomatic asteroids. Quantification of SSaDV during transmission trials indicated that progression of SSWD paralleled increased SSaDV load. In field surveys, SSaDV loads were more abundant in symptomatic than in asymptomatic asteroids. SSaDV could be detected in plankton, sediments and in nonasteroid echinoderms, providing a possible mechanism for viral spread. SSaDV was detected in museum specimens of asteroids from 1942, suggesting that it has been present on the North American Pacific Coast for at least 72 y. SSaDV is therefore the most promising candidate disease agent responsible for asteroid mass mortality