Piloted Simulation Assessment of the Impact of Flexible Structures on Handling Qualities of Generic Supersonic Aircraft

The NASA Langley Research Center Cockpit Motion Facility (CMF) was used to conduct a piloted simulation assessment of the impact of flexible structures on flying qualities. The CMF was used because of its relatively high bandwidth, six degree-of-freedom motion capability. Previous studies assessed and attempted to mitigate the effects of multiple dynamic aeroservoelastic modes (DASE). Those results indicated problems existed, but the specific cause and effect was difficult to ascertain. The goal of this study was to identify specific DASE frequencies, damping ratios, and gains that cause degradation in handling qualities. A generic aircraft simulation was developed and designed to have Cooper-Harper Level 1 handling qualities when flown without DASE models. A test matrix of thirty-six DASE modes was implemented. The modes had frequencies ranging from 1 to 3.5 Hz and were applied to each axis independently. Each mode consisted of a single axis, frequency, damping, and gain, and was evaluated individually by six subject pilots with test pilot backgrounds. Analysis completed to date suggests that a number of the DASE models evaluated degrade the handling qualities of this class of aircraft to an uncontrollable condition

NEPC Review: 2018 State Teacher Policy Best Practices Guide (National Council on Teacher Quality, March 2018)

A report from NCTQ begins with nine goals purportedly based on the &ldquo;best available research evidence&rdquo; about teacher quality. Yet neither this report nor its companion, which describes the original development of the goals, cites any research evidence. The report also uses the terms &ldquo;teacher quality&rdquo; and &ldquo;teacher effectiveness&rdquo; (on raising test scores) interchangeably. The report assumes reader buy-in to its goals, to its focus on test scores, and to its assumption that &ldquo;great teachers&rdquo; have an &ldquo;outsize impact&rdquo; on students&rsquo; learning and lives. Grounded in these assumptions, the report highlights examples of &ldquo;leading state work&rdquo; in 37 policy areas related to teacher quality, aiming to hold up these state policies as exemplars for other state policymakers to replicate. Despite its intentions, the report has multiple flaws that undermine its validity and usefulness. It offers no explanation about how the 37 best practices were selected in the first place and no justification for its selection of &ldquo;leading&rdquo; policy work, some of which has occurred in states that have consistently been low performers on national assessments. In addition, the report offers no evidence to support its approach and makes no references to the nuanced and complex research literature in this area. The report focuses primarily on human capital policies that explicitly target the qualifications and evaluation of the teacher workforce. This ignores the growing consensus that many other factors matter in the production of students&rsquo; learning, including supports that help teachers succeed, school contexts and cultures, state and regional labor markets, teachers&rsquo; relationship-building capacities, and the social organization of teachers&rsquo; work. In the end, the report is of limited use</p

The health of women and girls determines the health and well-being of our modern world: A White Paper From the International Council on Women's Health Issues

The International Council on Women's Health Issues (ICOWHI) is an international nonprofit association dedicated to the goal of promoting health, health care, and well-being of women and girls throughout the world through participation, empowerment, advocacy, education, and research. We are a multidisciplinary network of women's health providers, planners, and advocates from all over the globe. We constitute an international professional and lay network of those committed to improving women and girl's health and quality of life. This document provides a description of our organization mission, vision, and commitment to improving the health and well-being of women and girls globally

Holding Teacher Preparation Accountable: A Review of Claims and Evidence

Teacher preparation has emerged as an acutely politicized and publicized issue in U.S. education policy and practice, and there have been fierce debates about the methods and reasoning behind it. Because of the importance of teachers and teacher education, policy should be driven by the best evidence based on high-quality research. In Holding Teacher Preparation Accountable: A Review of Claims and Evidence, four major national initiatives intended to improve teacher quality by “holding teacher education accountable” for arrangements and outcomes are explored. This policy brief scrutinizes each initiative in light of the research evidence

Genome sequence of an Australian kangaroo, Macropus eugenii, provides insight into the evolution of mammalian reproduction and development.

BACKGROUND: We present the genome sequence of the tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii, which is a member of the kangaroo family and the first representative of the iconic hopping mammals that symbolize Australia to be sequenced. The tammar has many unusual biological characteristics, including the longest period of embryonic diapause of any mammal, extremely synchronized seasonal breeding and prolonged and sophisticated lactation within a well-defined pouch. Like other marsupials, it gives birth to highly altricial young, and has a small number of very large chromosomes, making it a valuable model for genomics, reproduction and development. RESULTS: The genome has been sequenced to 2 × coverage using Sanger sequencing, enhanced with additional next generation sequencing and the integration of extensive physical and linkage maps to build the genome assembly. We also sequenced the tammar transcriptome across many tissues and developmental time points. Our analyses of these data shed light on mammalian reproduction, development and genome evolution: there is innovation in reproductive and lactational genes, rapid evolution of germ cell genes, and incomplete, locus-specific X inactivation. We also observe novel retrotransposons and a highly rearranged major histocompatibility complex, with many class I genes located outside the complex. Novel microRNAs in the tammar HOX clusters uncover new potential mammalian HOX regulatory elements. CONCLUSIONS: Analyses of these resources enhance our understanding of marsupial gene evolution, identify marsupial-specific conserved non-coding elements and critical genes across a range of biological systems, including reproduction, development and immunity, and provide new insight into marsupial and mammalian biology and genome evolution

Ancient Antimicrobial Peptides Kill Antibiotic-Resistant Pathogens: Australian Mammals Provide New Options

Background: To overcome the increasing resistance of pathogens to existing antibiotics the 10× 20 Initiative declared the urgent need for a global commitment to develop 10 new antimicrobial drugs by the year 2020. Naturally occurring animal antibiotics are an obvious place to start. The recently sequenced genomes of mammals that are divergent from human and mouse, including the tammar wallaby and the platypus, provide an opportunity to discover novel antimicrobials. Marsupials and monotremes are ideal potential sources of new antimicrobials because they give birth to underdeveloped immunologically naïve young that develop outside the sterile confines of a uterus in harsh pathogen-laden environments. While their adaptive immune system develops innate immune factors produced either by the mother or by the young must play a key role in protecting the immune-compromised young. In this study we focus on the cathelicidins, a key family of antimicrobial peptide genes. Principal Finding: We identified 14 cathelicidin genes in the tammar wallaby genome and 8 in the platypus genome. The tammar genes were expressed in the mammary gland during early lactation before the adaptive immune system of the young develops, as well as in the skin of the pouch young. Both platypus and tammar peptides were effective in killing a broad range of bacterial pathogens. One potent peptide, expressed in the early stages of tammar lactation, effectively killed multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii. Conclusions and Significance: Marsupial and monotreme young are protected by antimicrobial peptides that are potent, broad spectrum and salt resistant. The genomes of our distant relatives may hold the key for the development of novel drugs to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Personal costs associated with high-risk prenatal care attendance

Strategies to control or decrease health care costs have been made by providers and third party payers that have resulted in cost shifting from the provider and third party payer to the consumer of health care. In an era of increased consumer choice, the ensuing personal costs may be one factor consumers use in selecting or attending health care and ultimately affect their health outcomes. This study examined the personal costs associated with prenatal care for women with a high risk pregnancy and the relationship of these costs to care attendance. Personal costs included direct out-of-pocket costs (transportation to and from the health care site, child care while attending the health care site, and meals while attending care) and opportunity time costs (lost time from school/work while attending care, and total visit time). Subjects (N = 112) experiencing pregnancies complicated by diabetes, chronic hypertension, and diagnosed or at risk for preterm labor were followed from their first visit when diagnosed as having a high risk pregnancy until delivery. Subjects were primarily medicaid recipients, urban, African American women. Means of the individual personal costs associated with prenatal care attendance were tabulated. Correlational analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between child care costs and care attendance (n = 13, r = $-$.6, p =.02). Negative correlations were noted between transportation costs (N = 112, r = $-$.03), meal costs (n = 78, r = $-$.10), loss of wages (n = 18, r = $-$.06), time spent awaiting care (N = 112, r $-$.01), and care attendance. Of the subjects total time spent attending care, only 2.5% of the time was in receipt of physician direct care. Subjects spent a mean of 3.22 hours to receive 5 minutes of direct care. Subjects attended an average of 80% of their visits with 67% of the subjects enrolling in care before 12 weeks of gestation. The results suggest these women were motivated to attend care. Increased child care costs were significantly associated with decreased care attendance. Negative trends were associated with other personal costs. Policy makers and providers need to continue supporting and evaluating programs that minimize personal costs such as public supported transportation services and child care services. Additionally, personal costs associated with care attendance should be considered by policy makers and providers when making decisions that may increase consumers\u27 personal costs

Selected imprinting of <it>INS</it> in the marsupial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In marsupials, growth and development of the young occur postnatally, regulated by milk that changes in composition throughout the long lactation. To initiate lactation in mammals, there is an absolute requirement for insulin (<it>INS</it>), a gene known to be imprinted in the placenta. We therefore examined whether <it>INS</it> is imprinted in the mammary gland of the marsupial tammar wallaby (<it>Macropus eugenii</it>) and compared its expression with that of insulin-like growth factor 2 (<it>IGF2</it>).</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>INS</it> was expressed in the mammary gland and significantly increased, while <it>IGF2</it> decreased, during established milk production. Insulin and IGF2 were both detected in the mammary gland macrophage cells during early lactation and in the alveolar cells later in lactation. Surprisingly, <it>INS</it>, which was thought only to be imprinted in the therian yolk sac, was imprinted and paternally expressed in the liver of the developing young, monoallelically expressed in the tammar mammary gland and biallelic in the stomach and intestine. The <it>INS</it> transcription start site used in the liver and mammary gland was differentially methylated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first study to identify tissue-specific <it>INS</it> imprinting outside the yolk sac. These data suggest that there may be an advantage of selective monoallelic expression in the mammary gland and that this may influence the growth of the postnatal young. These results are not consistent with the parental conflict hypothesis, but instead provide support for the maternal–infant co-adaptation hypothesis. Thus, imprinting in the mammary gland maybe as critical for postnatal growth and development in mammals as genomic imprinting in the placenta is prenatally.</p