Expanding Economic Opportunity for More Americans: Bipartisan Policies to Increase Work, Wages, and Skills

Many workers today find themselves lacking the skills and training necessary to thrive in the modern economy. Most low- and middle-income workers have not seen meaningful wage increases in many years. Millions of men and women are missing from the workforce altogether. These challenges stem from profound shifts in the American economy and necessitate a dedicated policy response.Over the course of the past year, the Aspen Economic Strategy Group collected policy ideas to address the barriers to broad-based economic opportunity and identified concrete proposals with bipartisan appeal. These proposals are presented here

Standardizing Terminology and Assessment for Orofacial Conditions in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis : International, Multidisciplinary Consensus-based Recommendations

Objective. To propose multidisciplinary, consensus-based, standardization of operational terminology and method of assessment for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) involvement in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Methods. Using a sequential expert group–defined terminology and methods-of-assessment approach by (1) establishment of task force, (2) item generation, (3) working group consensus, (4) external expert content validity testing, and (5) multidisciplinary group of experts final Delphi survey consensus. Results. Seven standardized operational terms were defined: TMJ arthritis, TMJ involvement, TMJ arthritis management, dentofacial deformity, TMJ deformity, TMJ symptoms, and TMJ dysfunction. Conclusion. Definition of 7 operational standardized terms provides an optimal platform for communication across healthcare providers involved in JIA-TMJ arthritis management.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Management of Orofacial Manifestations of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Interdisciplinary Consensus-Based Recommendations

Involvement of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is common in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). TMJ arthritis can lead to orofacial symptoms, orofacial dysfunction, and dentofacial deformity with negative impact on quality of life. Management involves interdisciplinary collaboration. No current recommendations exist to guide clinical management. We undertook this study to develop consensus-based interdisciplinary recommendations for management of orofacial manifestations of JIA, and to create a future research agenda related to management of TMJ arthritis in children with JIA. Recommendations were developed using online surveying of relevant stakeholders, systematic literature review, evidence-informed generation of recommendations during 2 consensus meetings, and Delphi study iterations involving external experts. The process included disciplines involved in the care of orofacial manifestations of JIA: pediatric rheumatology, radiology, orthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orofacial pain specialists, and pediatric dentistry. Recommendations were accepted if agreement was >80% during a final Delphi study. Three overarching management principles and 12 recommendations for interdisciplinary management of orofacial manifestations of JIA were outlined. The 12 recommendations pertained to diagnosis (n = 4), treatment of TMJ arthritis (active TMJ inflammation) (n = 2), treatment of TMJ dysfunction and symptoms (n = 3), treatment of arthritis-related dentofacial deformity (n = 2), and other aspects related to JIA (n = 1). Additionally, a future interdisciplinary research agenda was developed. These are the first interdisciplinary recommendations to guide clinical management of TMJ JIA. The 3 overarching principles and 12 recommendations fill an important gap in current clinical practice. They emphasize the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to diagnosis and management of orofacial manifestations of JIA

Raman analysis of a shocked planetary surface analogue: Implications for habitability on Mars

The scientific aims of the ExoMars Raman laser spectrometer (RLS) include identifying biological signatures and evidence of mineralogical processes associated with life. The RLS instrument was optimised to identify carbonaceous material, including reduced carbon. Previous studies suggest that reduced carbon on the Martian surface (perhaps originating from past meteoric bombardment) could provide a feedstock for microbial life. Therefore, its origin, form, and thermal history could greatly inform our understanding of Mars' past habitability. Here, we report on the Raman analysis of a Nakhla meteorite analogue (containing carbonaceous material) that was subjected to shock through projectile impact to simulate the effect of meteorite impact. The characterisation was performed using the RLS Simulator, in an equivalent manner to that planned for ExoMars operations. The spectra obtained verify that the flight-representative system can detect reduced carbon in the basaltic sample, discerning between materials that have experienced different levels of thermal processing due to impact shock levels. Furthermore, carbon signatures acquired from the cratered material show an increase in molecular disorder (and we note that this effect will be more evident at higher levels of thermal maturity). This is likely to result from intense shearing forces, suggesting that shock forces within basaltic material may produce more reactive carbon. This result has implications for potential (past) Martian habitability because impacted, reduced carbon may become more biologically accessible. The data presented suggest the RLS instrument will be able to characterise the contribution of impact shock within the landing site region, enhancing our ability to assess habitability

Proceedings of the 24th Paediatric Rheumatology European Society Congress: Part three

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications Router.Publication status: PublishedHistory: collection 2017-09, epub 2017-09-0

CD4+ cell tolerance to self and fetal HA

To better understand immune tolerance to class-II restricted antigens, we investigated T cell tolerance to a single peptide antigen when it was expressed both as a self-antigen and as a fetal-antigen. First, we examined the development of self-peptide-specific CD4+ T cells in lineages of transgenic mice that express the influenza virus PR8 hemagglutinin (HA) under the control of several different promoters. By mating these lineages with TS1 transgenic mice that express a T cell receptor that recognizes the major I-Ed -restricted determinant from HA (S1) we demonstrated that neo-self antigen-specific T cells undergo selection to become CD4+ CD25 + regulatory T cells in each of the lineages, although in varying numbers. Interestingly, even though their numbers varied in the different lineages, in all cases S1-specific CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells coexisted with similar numbers of clonally-related CD4 + CD25− T cells which lacked regulatory function. Thus, CD4+ CD25+ T cells directed towards known self-antigens were generated as a part of normal T cell development. While radioresistant stromal cells consistently directed both deletion and CD25 + T cell selection of S1-specific thymocytes, BM-derived cells also contributed to CD25+ T cell development. Second, in order to investigate how mothers maintain fetuses carrying foreign paternal antigens, we explored the ability of pregnant females to mount class-II restricted responses. BALB/c females were mated with HA-expressing males, and S1-specific T cells were adoptively transferred into the mothers. Surprisingly, these cells responded to paternally-derived fetal antigen. However, responses were restricted to the para-aortic lymph nodes (LN), demonstrating both that the para-aortic LN are uniquely exposed to fetal antigen and that the maternal immune system can respond to fetal antigens. Moreover, in the para-aortic LN, T cell proliferation to self-antigens was decreased from that in all other LN, demonstrating that T cell responsiveness may be modulated specifically in those LN exposed to fetal antigen. Interestingly then, we demonstrate that T cell tolerance can be mediated through the generation of CD25+ T cells as well as through other mechanisms that restrict T cell proliferation in vivo