Term-time Employment and Student Attainment in Higher Education

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Lines of School-University Partnership: Perception, Sensation and Meshwork Reshaping Of Pre-Service Teachers’ Experiences

School-university partnerships are complex, entangled and layered. As renewal of initial teacher education is at the forefront, understanding how we approach partnerships is imperative. This paper draws on reflective narratives of a school leader and initial teacher education staff involved in setting up a school-university partnership program. We identify the use of ‘meshworks’, that is complex and layered weaving of ideas or lines (Ingold, 2011; 2015; 2017) – specifically the lines of ‘partnership’, ‘partnership understanding’, ‘involvement’, ‘supporting pre-service teachers’, ‘noticing of pre-service teachers’, and ‘impact’. The analysis of the findings illuminate benefits from co-design and vision, while demonstrating how a call to action from Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) can illuminate how working closely together can support the development of pre-service teachers. We conclude by suggesting that future teacher quality is dependent upon the strength of the intersections of these school-university partnerships

Physical Activity, Mental Health, and Technology Preferences to Support Cancer Survivors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has had significant health-related and behavioral impacts worldwide. Cancer survivors (hereafter referred to as survivors ) are particularly prone to behavioral changes and are encouraged to be more vigilant and observe stricter social distancing measures. OBJECTIVE: We explored (1) changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviors since the onset of COVID-19, along with changes in mental health status, and (2) alternative strategies to support survivors\u27 physical activity and social health during and after COVID-19, along with the role of digital health in such strategies. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed among survivors participating (currently or previously) in the community-based physical activity program LIVESTRONG at the Young Men\u27s Christian Association (YMCA), from 3 sites outside an urban area in Massachusetts. Questions addressed pre-COVID-19 vs current changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the 2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-2) and 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), and scores \u3e /=3 indicated a clinical diagnosis of anxiety or depression, respectively. Digital health preferences were assessed through closed-ended questions. Open-ended responses addressing other preferences for physical activity programs and social support were analyzed, coded, and categorized into themes. RESULTS: Among 61 participants (mean age 62 [SD 10.4] years; females: 51/61 [83.6%]), 67.2% (n=41) reported decreased physical activity and 67.2% (n=41) reported prolonged sitting times since the onset of COVID-19. Further, 24.6% (n=15) and 26.2% (n=16) met the GAD-2 and PHQ-2 criteria for clinical anxiety and depression, respectively. All participants owned a cellphone; 90% (n=54) owned a smartphone. Preferences for physical activity programs (n=28) included three themes: (1) use of digital or remote platforms (Zoom, other online platforms, and video platforms), (2) specific activities and locations (eg, outdoor activities, walking, gardening, biking, and physical activities at the YMCA and at senior centers), and (3) importance of social support regardless of activity type (eg, time spent with family, friends, peers, or coaches). The survey revealed a mean score of 71.8 (SD 21.4; scale 0-100) for the importance of social support during physical activity programs. Social support preferences (n=15) revealed three themes: (1) support through remote platforms (eg, texting, Zoom, phone calls, emails, and Facebook), (2) tangible in-person support (YMCA and senior centers), and (3) social support with no specific platform (eg, small gatherings and family or friend visits). CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity and mental health are critical factors for the quality of life of survivors, and interventions tailored to their activity preferences are necessary. Digital or remote physical activity programs with added social support may help address the ongoing needs of survivors during and after the pandemic. Wang, Sarah L Cutrona, Rajani S Sadasivam. Originally published in JMIR Cancer (http://cancer.jmir.org), 03.02.2021

Comparison of a Collective Intelligence Tailored Messaging System on Smoking Cessation Between African American and White People Who Smoke: Quasi-Experimental Design

BACKGROUND: The Patient Experience Recommender System for Persuasive Communication Tailoring (PERSPeCT) is a machine learning recommender system with a database of messages to motivate smoking cessation. PERSPeCT uses the collective intelligence of users (ie, preferences and feedback) and demographic and smoking profiles to select motivating messages. PERSPeCT may be more beneficial for tailoring content to minority groups influenced by complex, personally relevant factors. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe and evaluate the use of PERSPeCT in African American people who smoke compared with white people who smoke. METHODS: Using a quasi-experimental design, we compared African American people who smoke with a historical cohort of white people who smoke, who both received up to 30 emailed tailored messages over 65 days. People who smoke rated the daily message in terms of perceived influence on quitting smoking for 30 days. Our primary analysis compared daily message ratings between the two groups using a t test. We used a logistic model to compare 30-day cessation between the two groups and adjusted for covariates. RESULTS: The study included 119 people who smoke (African Americans, 55/119; whites, 64/119). At baseline, African American people who smoke were significantly more likely to report allowing smoking in the home (P=.002); all other characteristics were not significantly different between groups. Daily mean ratings were higher for African American than white people who smoke on 26 of the 30 days (P \u3c .001). Odds of quitting as measured by 30-day cessation were significantly higher for African Americans (odds ratio 2.3, 95% CI 1.04-5.53; P=.03) and did not change after adjusting for allowing smoking at home. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlighted the potential of using a recommender system to personalize for African American people who smoke. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02200432; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02200432. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/jmir.6465. Kathleen M Mazor, Thomas K Houston, Rajani S Sadasivam. Originally published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 27.04.2020

Experiences and perceptions of referrals to a community-based physical activity program for cancer survivors: a qualitative exploration

BACKGROUND: Physical activity rates in cancer survivors continue to be low despite the known benefits and availability of evidence-based programs. LIVESTRONG at the Y is a national community-based physical activity program offered cost-free to cancer survivors, though is underutilized. We explored perceptions and experiences of staff and participating survivors to better understand program awareness, referrals and participation. METHODS: LIVESTRONG at the Y program staff [directors (n = 16), instructors (n = 4)] and survivors (n = 8) from 8 United States YMCAs took part in 30-min semi-structured phone interviews between March-May 2019. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and evaluated using a thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: Program staff themes included: 1) Program awareness should be further developed for both the general public and medical providers; 2) Strong relationships with medical providers increased program referrals; 3) Electronic referral systems between providers and LIVESTRONG would help to streamline the referral process; and 4) Bi-directional communication between program staff and medical providers is key to providing patient progress updates. Survivor themes included: 1) Survivors trust their medical team and the information they provide about physical activity; 2) Providers need to incorporate an action plan and referrals for survivors to be active once treatments are completed; and 3) Personal experiences of those who participated in LIVESTRONG resonate with survivors and increase participation. CONCLUSIONS: LIVESTRONG staff reported the need for an integrated electronic referral system and bi-directional communication with providers about participant progress. Survivors want physical activity education, electronic referrals and follow-up from their healthcare team, coupled with peer support from other survivors. Cancer care provider knowledge and electronic referrals during and after treatment may expedite and increase participation in this community-based program

Modulation of hepatitis C virus RNA abundance by a liver-specific MicroRNA

MicroRNAs are small RNA molecules that regulate messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. MicroRNA 122 (miR-122) is specifically expressed and highly abundant in the human liver. We show that the sequestration of miR-122 in liver cells results in marked loss of autonomously replicating hepatitis C viral RNAs. A genetic interaction between miR-122 and the 5′ noncoding region of the viral genome was revealed by mutational analyses of the predicted microRNA binding site and ectopic expression of miR-122 molecules containing compensatory mutations. Studies with replication-defective RNAs suggested that miR-122 did not detectably affect mRNA translation or RNA stability. Therefore, miR-122 is likely to facilitate replication of the viral RNA, suggesting that miR-122 may present a target for antiviral intervention

Co-infection status of novel parvovirus’s (PPV2 to 4) with porcine circovirus 2 in porcine respiratory disease complex and porcine circovirus-associated disease from 1997 to 2012

Publication history: Accepted - 12 September 2020; Published online - 18 October 2020.As global pig health diseases, porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) and porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVAD) generate substantial economic losses despite pigs been vaccinated against the primary causative virus, highlighting the importance of understanding virome interactions and specifically co-factor infections. Established primary endemic pathogens for PRDC include porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv) and swine influenza virus (SIV), and PCV2 aetiology in interaction with other co-infecting viruses can result in PCVAD. Porcine parvovirus (PPV) 1 is a well-characterized virus with an available vaccine preventing reproductive failure in sows. However, whilst novel PPV 2 to 7 viruses have been identified since 2001, their viral pathogenic potential in clinical and subclinical disease remains to be determined. Therefore, this study has sought to develop a better understanding of their potential role as associated co-infections in PRDC and PCVAD by examining archival samples for the presence of PCV2 and the novel parvoviruses PPV2-4 from clinically diseased pigs across production age stages. Epidemiologically, the novel PPV2 was found to be the most prevalent within the fattener age group with PPV2-4 statistically associated with pig respiratory disease and enteric ulcers. Additionally, statistical modelling by latent class analysis (LCA) on veterinary pathology scored pigs found a clustering co-factor association between PPV2 and PCV2, suggesting the novel PPV may be involved in PRDC and PCVAD. Phylogenetic analysis of novel PPVs revealed the PPV2 capsid evolution to be diverged from the original strains with a low nucleotide homology of 88%–96% between two distinct clades. These findings determine that novel PPV 2–4 viruses are statistically associated as co-infectors in a diseased pig population, and significantly detected PPV2 clustering co-infection frequency with PCV2 in PRDC and PCVAD diseased pigs through LCA analysis

Elucidation of the Host Bronchial Lymph Node miRNA Transcriptome Response to Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Publication history: Accepted - 19 March 2021; Published - 22 April 2021.Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) causes substantial morbidity and mortality, affecting cattle of all ages. One of the main causes of BRD is an initial inflammatory response to bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV). MicroRNAs are novel and emerging noncoding small RNAs that regulate many biological processes and are implicated in various inflammatory diseases. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the changes in the bovine bronchial lymph node miRNA transcriptome in response to BRSV following an experimental viral challenge. Holstein-Friesian calves were either administered a challenge dose of BRSV (103:5 TCID50/ml 15 ml) (n = 12) or were mock inoculated with sterile phosphate buffered saline (n = 6). Daily scoring of clinical signs was performed and calves were euthanized at day 7 post-challenge. Bronchial lymph nodes were collected for subsequent RNA extraction and sequencing (75 bp). Read counts for known miRNAs were generated using the miRDeep2 package using the UMD3.1 reference genome and the bovine mature miRNA sequences from the miRBase database (release 22). EdgeR was used for differential expression analysis and Targetscan was used to identify target genes for the differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs. Target genes were examined for enriched pathways and gene ontologies using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (Qiagen). Multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) based on miRNA gene expression changes, revealed a clearly defined separation between the BRSV challenged and control calves, although the clinical manifestation of disease was only mild. One hundred and nineteen DE miRNAs (P 1.5) were detected between the BRSV challenged and control calves. The DE miRNAs were predicted to target 465 genes which were previously found to be DE in bronchial lymph node tissue, between these BRSV challenged and control calves. Of the DE predicted target genes, 455 had fold changes that were inverse to the corresponding DE miRNAs. There were eight enriched pathways among the DE predicted target genes with inverse fold changes to their corresponding DE miRNA including: granulocyte and agranulocyte adhesion and diapedesis, interferon signalling and role of pathogen recognition receptors in recognition of bacteria and viruses. Functions predicted to be increased included: T cell response, apoptosis of leukocytes, immune response of cells and stimulation of cells. Pathogen recognition and proliferation of cytotoxic T cells are vital for the recognition of the virus and its subsequent elimination.This project was funded by the Irish Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland, as part of the United States-Ireland R&D partnership call (RMIS_0033 Project 16/RD/US-ROI/11). JT and JK were supported by grant number 2017-67015-26760 from the United States Department for Agriculture National Institute for Food and Agriculture

Experimental challenge with bovine respiratory syncytial virus in dairy calves: bronchial lymph node transcriptome response

Publication history: Accepted - 19 September 2019; Published online - 14 October 2019.Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is the leading cause of mortality in calves. The objective of this study was to examine the response of the host’s bronchial lymph node transcriptome to Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) in a controlled viral challenge. Holstein-Friesian calves were either inoculated with virus (103.5 TCI D50/ml × 15 ml) (n = 12) or mock challenged with phosphate buffered saline (n = 6). Clinical signs were scored daily and blood was collected for haematology counts, until euthanasia at day 7 post-challenge. RNA was extracted and sequenced (75 bp paired-end) from bronchial lymph nodes. Sequence reads were aligned to the UMD3.1 bovine reference genome and differential gene expression analysis was performed using EdgeR. There was a clear separation between BRSV challenged and control calves based on gene expression changes, despite an observed mild clinical manifestation of the disease. Therefore, measuring host gene expression levels may be beneficial for the diagnosis of subclinical BRD. There were 934 differentially expressed genes (DEG) (p < 0.05, FDR <0.1, fold change >2) between the BRSV challenged and control calves. Over-represented gene ontology terms, pathways and molecular functions, among the DEG, were associated with immune responses. The top enriched pathways included interferon signaling, granzyme B signaling and pathogen pattern recognition receptors, which are responsible for the cytotoxic responses necessary to eliminate the virus.This project was funded by the Irish Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland, as part of the US-Ireland R&D partnership call (RMIS_0033 Project 16/ RD/US-ROI/11). JFT and JWK were supported by Grant Number 2017-67015-26760 from the United States Department for Agriculture National Institute for Food and Agriculture

Crop Updates - 2009 Katanning

This session covers seventeen papers from different authors GM canola – How will it affect the way I farm? Murray Scholz, 2008 Nuffield scholar, Southern NSW Eight years of IWM smashes tyegrass seed banks by 98% over 31 focus paddocks, Peter Newman, Glenn Adam & Trevor Bell, Department of Agriculture and Food The global economic climate and impacts on agriculture, profile on Michael Whitehead Rabobank New York Lessons from five years of cropping systems research, W.K. Anderson, Department of Agriculture and Food Case study of a 17year old agricultural lime trial, C. Gazey, Department of Agriculture and Food, J. Andrew, Precision SoilTech and R. Pearce, ConsultAg Fertilising in a changing price environment, Bill Bowden, Wayne Pluske and Jeremy Lemon, Department of Agriculture and Food Fact or Fiction: Who is telling the truth and how to tell the difference? D.C. Edmeades, agKnowledge Ltd, Hamilton Forecast disease resistance profile for the Western Australian barley crop over the next three years, JJ Russell, Department of Agriculture and Food Malting barley varieties differ in their flowering date and their response to change in sowing date, BH Paynter and JJ Russell, Department of Agriculture and Food Decimating weed seed banks within non-crop phases for the benefit of subsequent crops, Dr Davis Ferris, Department of Agriculture and Food Autumn cleaning yellow serradella pastures with broad spectrum herbicides – a novel weed control strategy that exploits delayed germination, Dr Davis Ferris, Department of Agriculture and Food Emerging weeds in changing farming systems, Dr Abul Hashen, Department of Agriculture and Food More glyphosate-resistant annual ryegrass populations within Western Australia, Dr Abul Hashem and Dr Catherine Borger, Department of Agriculture and Food Reasons to use only the full label herbicide rate, Stephen B. Powels, Qin Yu, Mechelle Owen, Roberto Busi, Sudheesh Manalil, University of Western Australia Flaxleaf fleabane – coming to a property near you! Sally Peltzer, Department of Agriculture and Food Glyphosate – the consequences of cutting rates! Sally Peltzer and David Minkey, Department of Agriculture and Food Benefits of crop rotations/break crops in managing soil moisture, soil health, weeds and disease – an overview, Raj Malik, Department of Agriculture and Foo