Build Back Better: The Reemergence of American Manufacturing - Is Easier Said Than Done Learning from Building the Defense Industrial Base

Excerpt from the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Acquisition Research SymposiumThe reemergence of American manufacturing is easier said than done. On March 11, 2021, the three-part Build Back Better (BBB) agenda to rescue, recover, and rebuild the country became law. The agenda included the injection of billions of dollars in funding to small businesses that would have a domino effect by strengthening the American manufacturing supply chains, sparking innovation, and creating economic stability. On November 19, 2021, the House of Representatives (H.R.5376, 2021) voted 220–213 for the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), which remains stalled in the Senate (Build Back Better Act, 2021-2022). On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was signed into law, and it benefits Small Businesses and Manufacturing (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act). These acts are transformational change measures for guiding and streamlining to achieve economic growth and sustainment of domestic sources in America. At the onset, the “delivery of performance [will be] at the speed of relevance” (Mattis, 2018, p. 10). This paper analyzes past and current whole-of-government measures to determine the state of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) for the reemergence of American manufacturing.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

AN EXAMINATION OF TEACHERS’ RATIONALES FOR CHANGING A PHYSICAL EDUCATION INTERVENTION

New school-based curricular interventions are fundamental in meeting the diverse needs of today’s students and improving student outcomes. In terms of curricular interventions, teachers are the primary implementation agents; therefore, the fidelity of such interventions depends on teacher adoption and delivery. To understand and meet such fidelity challenges, this qualitative research study examined the contextual components and implementation mechanisms contributing to the variation in teachers’ perspectives and methods of implementing the Science of Healthful Living curriculum; a research-based intervention designed to increase middle school students’ fitness-based knowledge through physically active lessons. The results of this study suggested a multitude of preexisting contextual factors, such as lack of instructional time, space, and equipment, influence teachers’ fidelity to the intended curriculum. These factors, however, may or may not negatively influence the intended scope of the curriculum and should be considered when making judgments about teacher fidelity. In conclusion, intervention researchers should consider the nature of the contextual factors and whether they negatively impact the intervention when designing and revising school-based interventions.  Article visualizations

Excess Body Weight and Physical Education: Opportunities are at Hand

Childhood overweight and obesity concerns continue to frame much of the discussion about physical activity in schools and school-based physical education. There are multiple factors impacting childhood obesity rates. Genetics, ethnicity, guardian education level, health-care access, food costs, cultural beliefs, policy, and energy-balance inequalities have all played a role in the current state of childhood overweight and obesity. Since schools are an ideal place to interact with children and adolescents of all body compositions, multiple researchers have attempted to design, implement, and evaluate school-based physical activity interventions. Many of the interventions have produced significant results. Overweight and obesity is not physical education’s problem, but it does present an opportunity for physical education to grow as an academic discipline as new interventions and curricula are developed and disseminated. This article focused on the large-scale, school-based, physical activity interventions that needs to be designed, implemented, and evaluated using rigorous standards and policymaker and educational community support

The evolution of preservice teachers' orientations during early field experiences and initial teacher education courses

The purpose of the study was to investigate the orientations of six preservice middle school teachers as they participated in early field experiences and initial teacher education courses. The study analyzed the orientations of the subjects using Strahan's (1990) Model for Analyzing Reflections on Instruction. Through case study methodology, information was synthesized from the following sources: (a) two inventories, (b) structured and unstructured interviews; (c) archival data from subjects' portfolios; (d) the Reflective Response scoring Guide; (e) the Teachers in Training Profile; and (f) the investigator's field notes as participant/observer during classes attended by the subjects. cases were analyzed by individual case and across cases

Possible roles of protein kinase A in cell motility and excystation of the early diverging eukaryote Giardia lamblia

Since little is known of how the primitive protozoan parasite, Giardia lamblia, senses and responds to its changing environment, we characterized a giardial protein kinase A (gPKA) catalytic subunit with unusual subcellular localization. Sequence analysis of the 1080-base pair open reading frame shows 48% amino acid identity with the cyclic AMP-dependent kinase from Euglena gracilis, Northern analysis indicated a 1.28-kilobase pair transcript at relatively constant concentrations during growth and encystation, gPKA is autophosphorylated, although amino acid residues corresponding to Thr-197 and Ser-338 of human protein kinase A (PKA) that are important for autophosphorylation are absent, Kinetic analysis of the recombinant PKA showed that ATP and magnesium are preferred over GTP and manganese, Kinase activity of the native PKA has also been detected in crude extracts using kemptide as a substrate. A myristoylated PKA inhibitor, amide 14-22, inhibited excystation with an IC50 of 3 muM, suggesting an important role of gPKA during differentiation from the dormant cyst form into the active trophozoite, gPKA localizes independently of cell density to the eight flagellar basal bodies between the two nuclei together with centrin, a basal body/centrosome-specific protein. However, localization of gPKA to marginal plates along the intracellular portions of the anterior and caudal pairs of flagella was evident only at low cell density and higher endogenous cAMP concentrations or after refeeding with fresh medium. These data suggest an important role of PKA in trophozoite motility during vegetative growth and the cellular activation of excystation

A method for purification, identification and validation of DNMT1 mRNA binding proteins

DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) is the enzyme responsible for the maintenance of DNA methylation patterns during cell division. DNMT1 expression is tightly regulated within the cell cycle. Our previous study showed that the binding of a protein with an apparent size of ~40 kDa on DNMT1 3’-UTR triggered the destabilization of DNMT1 mRNA transcript during Go/G1 phase. Using RNA affinity capture with the 3’-UTR of DNMT1 mRNA and matrix-assisted laser desorption-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS-MS) analysis, we isolated and identified AUF 1 (AU-rich element ARE:poly-(U)-binding/degradation factor) as the binding protein. We then validated the role of this protein in the destabilization of DNMT1 mRNA. In this report, we detail the different approaches used for the isolation, the identification of a RNA binding protein and the validation of its role

β-Catenin stabilizes Cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA by interacting with AU-rich elements of 3′-UTR

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA is induced in the majority of human colorectal carcinomas. Transcriptional regulation plays a key role in COX-2 expression in human colon carcinoma cells, but post-transcriptional regulation of its mRNA is also critical for tumorigenesis. Expression of COX-2 mRNA is regulated by various cytokines, growth factors and other signals. β-Catenin, a key transcription factor in the Wnt signal pathway, activates transcription of COX-2. Here we found that COX-2 mRNA was also substantially stabilized by activating β-catenin in NIH3T3 and 293T cells. We identified the β-catenin-responsive element in the proximal region of the COX-2 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) and showed that β-catenin interacted with AU-rich elements (ARE) of 3′-UTR in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, β-catenin induced the cytoplasmic localization of the RNA stabilizing factor, HuR, which may bind to β-catenin in an RNA-mediated complex and facilitate β-catenin-dependent stabilization of COX-2 mRNA. Taken together, we provided evidences for β-catenin as an RNA-binding factor and a regulator of stabilization of COX-2 mRNA