Perpetrators, victims, bystanders and up standers: cyber bullying in a special school context.

This study offers a multi-dimensional analysis of ‘real world’ cyberbullying between members of a special school community. The purpose of this article is to analyse the social and educational contexts within which interactions of this nature are embedded.The interview both illuminated a number of themes pertinent to the current literature and extended those related to the call for further analysis of the contextual determinants of cyberbullying.The influence of the conditions experienced by the children involved (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC)) is discussed and demonstrated. This use of natural observation provides a current and ‘real world’ illustration of teacher perceptions of the complex behaviours and interactions occurring in cyberspace, which hold potential for grave consequences. A hopeful tone is maintained as the potential for selfless upstander behaviour and resolution via the involvement of supportive and knowledgeable pastoral staff is realised in the article’s conclusion.<br/

Adolescents' involvement in cyber bullying and perceptions of school: the importance of perceived peer acceptance for female adolescents

Young people are spending increasing amounts of time using digital technology and, as such, are at great risk of being involved in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim. Despite cyber bullying typically occurring outside the school environment, the impact of being involved in cyber bullying is likely to spill over to school. Fully 285 11- to 15-year-olds (125 male and 160 female, M age = 12.19 years, SD = 1.03) completed measures of cyber bullying involvement, self-esteem, trust, perceived peer acceptance, and perceptions of the value of learning and the importance of school. For young women, involvement in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school, and perceived peer acceptance mediated this relationship. The results indicated that involvement in cyber bullying negatively predicted perceived peer acceptance which, in turn, positively predicted perceptions of learning and school. For young men, fulfilling the bully/victim role negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school. Consequently, for young women in particular, involvement in cyber bullying spills over to impact perceptions of learning. The findings of the current study highlight how stressors external to the school environment can adversely impact young women's perceptions of school and also have implications for the development of interventions designed to ameliorate the effects of cyber bullying

A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity.Peer reviewe

A communal catalogue reveals Earth’s multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world’s importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth’s microbial diversity

Expansion of the Preimmune Antibody Repertoire by Junctional Diversity in Bos taurus

Peer reviewe

Laboratory-scale evaluation of microcystin persistence following treatment of five USEPA-registered algaecides at different temperatures

An increasingly warmer climate and unsustainable land-use practices have exacerbated harmful algal blooms in many water resources. Algaecides are a proven treatment to mitigate blooms, but different species and limnological variables can impact efficacy. Water temperature is a variable that affects algaecide efficacy and toxin persistence. In this experiment, microcystin-producing Planktothrix was collected from Grand Lake St. Mary’s in March 2021. Samples were exposed to five different copper and peroxide-based USEPA-registered algaecides at varying concentrations within label rate and incubated at 10°C, 15°C, and 20°C. Total and extracellular microcystins were measured 96 hours after treatment. At 10°C and lowest dosage, PAK 27® reduced total microcystins by 75% compared to the control, followed by GreenClean®Liquid (66%), Cutrine® (63%), SeClear® (55%), and Aligimycin® (40%). In most trials, the amount of total microcystins reduced decreased as temperature increased. However, GreenClean® resulted in a shift to nearly 100% extracellular microcystin at all temperatures, while PAK 27® resulted in 20% extracellular microcystins at 10° and less at higher temperatures. The other three algaecides also shifted microcystins to extracellular. In general, temperature had a greater impact on total microcystin reduction than dosage. This study provides important baseline data for the development of temperature-specific management decisions