Restorative Justice Implementation: Examining the Effects of White Fragility and Race on Implementation of Restorative Justice Practices in Schools

Current zero-tolerance discipline policies are ineffective and contribute to disproportionality in school discipline. Restorative justice practices (RJP) are an equitable alternative approach to exclusionary practices. RJP has been used in schools prior to adequate research informing implementation, which has led to variability in implementation and outcomes. In particular, teacher willingness to participate in the implementation of RJP has been noted to be variable and limited among research studies. It is necessary to explore teacher attitudes to determine what underlies this lack of participation to inform the next steps for RJP implementation in schools. Specifically, since disparities in discipline are related to race, it is important to explore if people’s experiences with white fragility act as barriers to implementation. For this study, secondary data from a district-wide survey given to school personnel in a large urban school district were analyzed to explore the following research questions: Does white fragility affect the implementation of restorative justice practices in schools? If so, how does white fragility affect the implementation of restorative justice practices in schools? And does race impact the effect of white fragility on restorative justice implementation in schools? An analysis of covariance was completed for each of the two subscales on the racial fragility scale to assess the effect of white fragility on restorative justice implementation. No significant results were reported. However, medium effect sizes were reported across both subscales. A phenomenological analysis was conducted on two open-ended survey questions to explore the lived experiences of school personnel implementing RJP, resulting in the following six themes (three associated with each question): empowerment, disproportionately, colorblindness, and social-emotional health, support, and usefulness. Finally, a moderated multiple regression analysis with ordinary least squares estimation using the PROCESS macro model 4.3 for SPSS was conducted. No significant results were reported. Implications of this research for school psychology are discussed

Teaching Critical Media Literacy in Adult and Higher Education: An Action Research Study

This paper discusses three findings of critical media literacy study: pleasure as a motivator and deterrent to becoming critical; the importance of facilitated discussion; and learning from application to practice

Group I aptazymes as genetic regulatory switches

BACKGROUND: Allosteric ribozymes (aptazymes) that have extraordinary activation parameters have been generated in vitro by design and selection. For example, hammerhead and ligase ribozymes that are activated by small organic effectors and protein effectors have been selected from random sequence pools appended to extant ribozymes. Many ribozymes, especially self-splicing introns, are known control gene regulation or viral replication in vivo. We attempted to generate Group I self-splicing introns that were activated by a small organic effector, theophylline, and to show that such Group I aptazymes could mediate theophylline-dependent splicing in vivo. RESULTS: By appending aptamers to the Group I self-splicing intron, we have generated a Group I aptazyme whose in vivo splicing is controlled by exogenously added small molecules. Substantial differences in gene regulation could be observed with compounds that differed by as little as a single methyl group. The effector-specificity of the Group I aptazyme could be rationally engineered for new effector molecules. CONCLUSION: Group I aptazymes may find applications as genetic regulatory switches for generating conditional knockouts at the level of mRNA or for developing economically viable gene therapies

Live-cell Microscopy and Fluorescence-based Measurement of Luminal pH in Intracellular Organelles

Luminal pH is an important functional feature of intracellular organelles. Acidification of the lumen of organelles such as endosomes, lysosomes, and the Golgi apparatus plays a critical role in fundamental cellular processes. As such, measurement of the luminal pH of these organelles has relevance to both basic research and translational research. At the same time, accurate measurement of intraorganellar pH in living cells can be challenging and may be a limiting hurdle for research in some areas. Here, we describe three powerful methods to measure rigorously the luminal pH of different intracellular organelles, focusing on endosomes, lysosomes, and the Golgi apparatus. The described methods are based on live imaging of pH-sensitive fluorescent probes and include: (1) A protocol based on quantitative, ratiometric measurement of endocytosis of pH-sensitive and pH-insensitive fluorescent conjugates of transferrin; (2) A protocol for the use of proteins tagged with a ratiometric variant of the pH-sensitive intrinsically fluorescent protein pHluorin; and (3) A protocol using the fluorescent dye LysoSensor™. We describe necessary reagents, key procedures, and methods and equipment for data acquisition and analysis. Examples of implementation of the protocols are provided for cultured cells derived from a cancer cell line and for primary cultures of mouse hippocampal neurons. In addition, we present strengths and weaknesses of the different described intraorganellar pH measurement methods. These protocols are likely to be of benefit to many researchers, from basic scientists to those conducting translational research with a focus on diseases in patient-derived cells

The Large GTPase Dynamin Associates with the Spindle Midzone and Is Required for Cytokinesis

AbstractCytokinesis involves the concerted efforts of the microtubule and actin cytoskeletons as well as vesicle trafficking and membrane remodeling to form the cleavage furrow and complete daughter cell separation (for reviews, see [1–6]). The exact mechanisms that support membrane remodeling during cytokinesis remain largely undefined. In this study, we report that the large GTPase dynamin, a protein involved in membrane tubulation and vesiculation [7, 8], is essential for successful cytokinesis. Using biochemical and morphological methods, we demonstrate that dynamin localizes to the spindle midzone and the subsequent intercellular bridge in mammalian cells and is also enriched in spindle midbody extracts. In Caenorhabditis elegans, dynamin localized to newly formed cleavage furrow membranes and accumulated at the midbody of dividing embryos in a manner similar to dynamin localization in mammalian cells. Further, dynamin function appears necessary for cytokinesis, as C. elegans embryos from a dyn-1 ts strain [9], as well as dynamin RNAi-treated embryos, showed a marked defect in the late stages of cytokinesis. These findings indicate that, during mitosis, conventional dynamin is recruited to the spindle midzone and the subsequent intercellular bridge, where it plays an essential role in the final separation of dividing cells

Lens-regulated retinoic acid signalling controls expansion of the developing eye

This research was funded by a Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBSRC) PhD studentship to H.M.W., a University of Aberdeen Institute of Medical Sciences PhD Studentship to J.N.S., and a grant from the University of Aberdeen Development Trust [OL 989 to L.E., J.M.C].Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Response to comment by Moxon et al

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Does habitat stability structure intraspecific genetic diversity? It’s complicated...

Regional phylogeographic studies have long been conducted in the southeastern United States for a variety of species. With some exceptions, many of these studies focus on single species or single clades of organisms, and those considering multiple species tend to focus on deep historical breaks causing differentiation. However, in many species more recent factors may be influencing genetic diversity. To understand the roles of historic and contemporary processes in structuring genetic diversity, we reanalyzed existing genetic data from Southeast of North America using approaches gleaned from phylogeographic and landscape genetic literature that were implemented across species including AMOVAs, PCoAs, Species Distribution Modelling, and tests of isolation by distance, environment, and habitat instability. Genetic variance was significantly partitioned by ecoregions, watersheds, and across phylogeographic breaks in the majority of species. Similarly, genetic variation was significantly associated with some combination of geographic or environmental distance or habitat instability in most species. Patterns of genetic variation were largely idiosyncratic across species. While habitat instability over time is significantly correlated with genetic diversity in some species, it appears generally less important than isolation by geographic or environmental distance. Our results suggest that many factors, both historical and contemporary, impact genetic diversity within a species, and more so, that these patterns aren’t always similar in closely related species. This supports the importance of species- specific factors and cautions against assumptions that closely related species will respond to historical and contemporary forces in similar ways

The association of caregiver attitudes, information sources, and trust with HPV vaccine initiation among adolescents

This study described caregiver attitudes and the information sources they access about HPV vaccination for adolescents and determined their influence on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiation. An online survey was administered to 1,016 adults in July 2021. Participants were eligible if they were the caregiver of a child aged 9-17 residing in Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and select counties in Southern Illinois. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the association of caregiver attitudes and information sources with HPV vaccination. Information from doctors or healthcare providers (87.4%) and internet sources other than social media (31.0%) were the most used sources for HPV vaccine information. The highest proportion of caregivers trusted their doctor or healthcare providers (92.4%) and family or friends (68.5%) as sources of information. The HPV vaccine series was more likely to be initiated in children whose caregivers agreed that the vaccine is beneficial (AOR = 4.39, 95% CI = 2.05, 9.39), but less likely with caregivers who were concerned about side effects (AOR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.42, 0.88) and who received HPV vaccination information from family or friends (AOR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.35, 0.93). This study found that caregivers\u27 attitudes, information sources, and trust in those sources were associated with their adolescent\u27s HPV vaccination status. These findings highlight the need to address attitudes and information sources and suggest that tailored interventions considering these factors could increase HPV vaccination rates

Bio-GO-SHIP: the time is right to establish global repeat sections of ocean biology

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Clayton, S., Alexander, H., Graff, J. R., Poulton, N. J., Thompson, L. R., Benway, H., Boss, E., & Martiny, A. Bio-GO-SHIP: the time is right to establish global repeat sections of ocean biology. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2022): 767443, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.767443.In this article, we present Bio-GO-SHIP, a new ocean observing program that will incorporate sustained and consistent global biological ocean observations into the Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP). The goal of Bio-GO-SHIP is to produce systematic and consistent biological observations during global ocean repeat hydrographic surveys, with a particular focus on the planktonic ecosystem. Ocean plankton are an essential component of the earth climate system, form the base of the oceanic food web and thereby play an important role in influencing food security and contributing to the Blue Economy. Despite its importance, ocean biology is largely under-sampled in time and space compared to physical and chemical properties. This lack of information hampers our ability to understand the role of plankton in regulating biogeochemical processes and fueling higher trophic levels, now and in future ocean conditions. Traditionally, many of the methods used to quantify biological and ecosystem essential ocean variables (EOVs), measures that provide valuable information on the ecosystem, have been expensive and labor- and time-intensive, limiting their large-scale deployment. In the last two decades, new technologies have been developed and matured, making it possible to greatly expand our biological ocean observing capacity. These technologies, including cell imaging, bio-optical sensors and 'omic tools, can be combined to provide overlapping measurements of key biological and ecosystem EOVs. New developments in data management and open sharing can facilitate meaningful synthesis and integration with concurrent physical and chemical data. Here we outline how Bio-GO-SHIP leverages these technological advances to greatly expand our knowledge and understanding of the constituents and function of the global ocean plankton ecosystem.The Bio-GO-SHIP pilot program was funded under the National Oceanographic Partnership Program as an inter-agency partnership between NOAA and NASA, with the US Integrated Ocean Observing System and NOAA's Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing program (HA, SC, JG, AM, and NP). HA was supported by a WHOI Independent Research and Development award. AM was supported by funding from NSF OCE-1848576 and 1948842 and NASA 80NSSC21K1654. JG was funded by NASA from grants 80NSSC17K0568 and NNX15AAF30G. LT was supported by award NA06OAR4320264 06111039 to the Northern Gulf Institute by NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, U.S. Department of Commerce