Surving COVID with the Breakfast Club: Tools for Telework Task Management and Communication in a Multi-Generational Workplace

As librarians around the world scrambled earlier this year to set up physical spaces to work from home, at UGA Law Library we were fortunate to have a few apps already in place. In this session we put our recent and personal experiences to use, as well as adding a newer tool into the mix, and successfully pivoted employees, teams, departments and services all online within a week. Individuals and small teams had been using various platforms for years to collaborate more effectively and track progress on long-term objectives, all while maintaining business as usual. Our library is also made up of a range of age groups including Boomers, Gen-X\u27ers and Millenials. Each presenter will share one of the tools they had a hand in implementing and are driving for our library\u27s teleworking space in addition to giving their personal generational perspective. We will present the why and how of three primary applications used over the past 2 months and which will guide us as we transition to reopen. We have used these tools to assign and monitor critical workflows leading up to and during our institution closure, including schedules for essential staff, and enabling access to key electronic resources. We will discuss how we are also using the tools to interact and collaborate while teleworking, and how they\u27re helping us make up for our collective lack of socializing in these time of extreme social distancing. The three tools, including specific examples of each, are: Trello Slack Zoo

Risk and Resilient Functioning of Families of Children with Cancer during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Previous literature highlights the impact of COVID-19 on family functioning. Less is known about the impact of the pandemic on families of pediatric cancer patients. In order to determine universal and unique risk and resilience factors of these families during the pandemic, a qualitative analysis was conducted on families currently receiving cancer treatment at a Midwestern hospital. Results of the data analysis depict ways in which these families have been impacted by and have adapted to COVID-19. These findings suggest that families of pediatric cancer patients have unique experiences in the context of COVID-19, in addition to universal experiences outlined in previous literature

Reversible Optogenetic Control of Subcellular Protein Localization in a Live Vertebrate Embryo.

We demonstrate the utility of the phytochrome system to rapidly and reversibly recruit proteins to specific subcellular regions within specific cells in a living vertebrate embryo. Light-induced heterodimerization using the phytochrome system has previously been used as a powerful tool to dissect signaling pathways for single cells in culture but has not previously been used to reversibly manipulate the precise subcellular location of proteins in multicellular organisms. Here we report the experimental conditions necessary to use this system to manipulate proteins in vivo. As proof of principle, we demonstrate that we can manipulate the localization of the apical polarity protein Pard3 with high temporal and spatial precision in both the neural tube and the embryo's enveloping layer epithelium. Our optimizations of optogenetic component expression and chromophore purification and delivery should significantly lower the barrier for establishing this powerful optogenetic system in other multicellular organisms

Aerosol trace metal leaching and impacts on marine microorganisms

Metal dissolution from atmospheric aerosol deposition to the oceans is important in enhancing and inhibiting phytoplankton growth rates and modifying plankton community structure, thus impacting marine biogeochemistry. Here we review the current state of knowledge on the causes and effects of the leaching of multiple trace metals from natural and anthropogenic aerosols. Aerosol deposition is considered both on short timescales over which phytoplankton respond directly to aerosol metal inputs, as well as longer timescales over which biogeochemical cycles are affected by aerosols

Structural school characteristics and neighborhood risk factors: Associations with student-reported school climate in a large, urban public school district in the United States

IntroductionSchool climate consistently predicts youth academic success, social–emotional well-being, and substance use, and positive school climate can buffer the negative effects of community violence exposure on youth development. Various structural school and neighborhood factors have been associated with school climate, but prior research has not examined these relations comprehensively.MethodsWe examined the relation between 18 school building and school neighborhood factors with student-reported school climate among 15,833 students in 124 public schools in a large, urban district in the United States.ResultsIn this sample, attendance rate was most consistently associated with school climate (β = 0.015; p < 0.001). Teacher years of experience, mobility rate, number of students in special education, adult arrests in the school neighborhood, and service calls for shootings and dirty streets and alleys in the school neighborhood were also significantly associated with various domains of school climate.ConclusionsThese findings highlight the need for future longitudinal research on the influence of both school building and school neighborhood factors on school climate for public schools. Schools in our sample had a wide range of school climate scores despite consistently high crime rates and other structural risk factors such as low socioeconomic status throughout the city, so there are implications for researchers and education leaders to work together to identify opportunities for schools to foster positive school climate despite systemic school and/or neighborhood risk factors

Human-zebrafish non-coding conserved elements act in vivo to regulate transcription

Whole genome comparisons of distantly related species effectively predict biologically important sequences—core genes and cis-acting regulatory elements (REs)—but require experimentation to verify biological activity. To examine the efficacy of comparative genomics in identification of active REs from anonymous, non-coding (NC) sequences, we generated a novel alignment of the human and draft zebrafish genomes, and contrasted this set to existing human and fugu datasets. We tested the transcriptional regulatory potential of candidate sequences using two in vivo assays. Strict selection of non-genic elements which are deeply conserved in vertebrate evolution identifies 1744 core vertebrate REs in human and two fish genomes. We tested 16 elements in vivo for cis-acting gene regulatory properties using zebrafish transient transgenesis and found that 10 (63%) strongly modulate tissue-specific expression of a green fluorescent protein reporter vector. We also report a novel quantitative enhancer assay with potential for increased throughput based on normalized luciferase activity in vivo. This complementary system identified 11 (69%; including 9 of 10 GFP-confirmed elements) with cis-acting function. Together, these data support the utility of comparative genomics of distantly related vertebrate species to identify REs and provide a scaleable, in vivo quantitative assay to define functional activity of candidate REs

Genome sequencing data for wild and cultivated bananas, plantains and abacá

We performed shotgun genome sequencing on a total of 19 different Musa genotypes including representatives of wild banana species Musa acuminata and M. balibisiana, allopolyploid bananas and plantains, Fe'i banana, pink banana (also known as hairy banana) and abacá (also known as hemp banana). We aligned sequence reads against a previously sequenced reference genome and assessed ploidy and, in the case of allopolyploids, the contributions of the A and B genomes; this provides important quality-assurance data about the taxonomic identities of the sequenced plant material. These data will be useful for phylogenetics, crop improvement, studies of the complex story of intergenomic recombination in AAB and ABB allotriploid bananas and plantains and can be integrated into resources such as the Banana Genome Hub

Swainson\u27s Thrushes Do Not Show Strong Wing Selectivity Prior to Crossing the Gulf of Mexico

During long-distance fall migrations, nocturnally migrating Swainson’s Thrushes often stop on the northern Gulf of Mexico coast before flying across the Gulf. To minimize energetic costs, trans-Gulf migrants should stop over when they encounter crosswinds or headwinds, and depart with supportive tailwinds. However, time constrained migrants should be less selective, balancing costs of headwinds with benefits of continuing their migrations. To test the hypotheses that birds select supportive winds and that selectivity is mediated by seasonal time constraints, we examined whether local winds affected Swainson’s Thrushes’ arrival and departure at Ft. Morgan, Alabama, USA at annual, seasonal, and nightly time scales. Additionally, migrants could benefit from forecasting future wind conditions, crossing on nights when winds are consistently supportive across the Gulf, thereby avoiding the potentially lethal consequences of depleting their energetic reserves over water. To test whether birds forecast, we developed a movement model, calculated to what extent departure winds were predictive of future Gulf winds, and tested whether birds responded to predictability. Swainson’s Thrushes were only slightly selective and did not appear to forecast. By following the simple rule of avoiding only the strongest headwinds at departure, Swainson’s Thrushes could survive the 1500 km flight between Alabama and Veracruz, Mexico

Targeting Survivin with YM155 (Sepantronium Bromide): A novel therapeutic strategy for paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia

Despite aggressive chemotherapy, approximately one-third of children with acute myeloid leukaemia(AML) relapse. More effective treatments are urgently needed. Survivin is an inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein with key roles in regulating cell division, proliferation and apoptosis. Furthermore, high expression of Survivin has been associated with poor clinical outcome in AML. The Survivin suppressant YM155 (Sepantronium Bromide) has pre-clinical activity against a range of solid cancers and leukemias, although data in AML is limited. Therefore, we undertook a comprehensive pre-clinical evaluation of YM155 in paediatric AML. YM155 potently inhibited cell viability in a diverse panel of AML cell lines. All paediatric cell lines were particularly sensitive, with a median IC50 of 0.038 mu M. Cell cycle analyses demonstrated concentration-dependent increases in a sub-G1 population with YM155 treatment, suggestive of apoptosis that was subsequently confirmed by an increase in annexin-V positivity. YM155-mediated apoptosis was confirmed across a panel of 8 diagnostic bone marrow samples from children with AML. Consistent with the proposed mechanism of action, YM155 treatment was associated with down-regulation of Survivin mRNA and protein expression and induction of DNA damage