“We Acted Because it\u27s What Needs to be Done: An Interview with West Virginia Teachers

In 2018, West Virginia teachers staged a statewide strike which lasted almost two weeks and included schools across all 55 countywide districts. The main reported strike issues for West Virginia teachers included cuts to their healthcare coverage by the state and relatively low salaries. Prior to the strike, West Virginia teachers ranked 48th in the nation in terms of pay. The West Virginia strike sparked a year-long wave of teacher labor protests across the country, in both predominately rural states and large urban centers. In 2019, West Virginia teachers went on strike again, bringing the movement full circle. In November, 2020, I interviewed Jay O’Neal and Sam Nelson, two teachers involved in the 2018 statewide teachers strike in West Virginia for the National Rural Education Association’s Annual Conference and Research Symposium. Jay O’Neal originated the Facebook page in 2017 that served as the hub for organizing activity prior to and during the 2018 strike. O’Neal is a middle school English and social studies teacher; Nelson is a high school English teacher

Going it Alone: The Social and Emotional Life of Disconnected Youth

This study presents patterns across multiple dimensions of social isolation among a sample of military youth, and describes how these patterns are related to preceding risk factors and distal outcomes. The presentation will be of interest to professionals interested in strategies for fostering positive outcomes by developing and enhancing family and community support for at-risk youth populations

Tick Extracellular Vesicles Enable Arthropod Feeding and Promote Distinct Outcomes of Bacterial Infection

Extracellular vesicles are thought to facilitate pathogen transmission from arthropods to humans and other animals. Here, we reveal that pathogen spreading from arthropods to the mammalian host is multifaceted. Extracellular vesicles from Ixodes scapularis enable tick feeding and promote infection of the mildly virulent rickettsial agent Anaplasma phagocytophilum through the SNARE proteins Vamp33 and Synaptobrevin 2 and dendritic epidermal T cells. However, extracellular vesicles from the tick Dermacentor andersoni mitigate microbial spreading caused by the lethal pathogen Francisella tularensis. Collectively, we establish that tick extracellular vesicles foster distinct outcomes of bacterial infection and assist in vector feeding by acting on skin immunity. Thus, the biology of arthropods should be taken into consideration when developing strategies to control vector-borne diseases

55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers\u27 Strike

This panel presentation will feature readings and discussion from the book 55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike. This session will use the power of stories to walk participants through the events leading up to the West Virginia teachers’ strike of 2018 and provide first-hand accounts and experiences from teachers and allies who realized that only through the power of the collective voice and collective action would public employees’ concerns over healthcare and diminished wages be heard by legislators. Participants in this session will hear what moved teachers to leave their classrooms, how they organized, and what they expect moving forward. Panelists will include West Virginia folklorist, author, and co-editor of 55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike, Emily Hilliard, and book contributors and teacher leaders who participated in the 2018 West Virginia public employee work stoppage: Jay O’Neal, Emily Comer, Jacob Staggars, Erin Marks, Mark Salfia, and Karla Hilliard. The book and panel will be introduced by co-editor of the book, West Virginia teacher and writer, Jessica Salfia. Teacher panelists will introduce their selections, read, and discuss their experiences before, during, and after the West Virginia public employee work stoppage. Emily Hilliard will discuss her work during the work stoppage documenting the stories and interviews from rallies and picket lines. This session will conclude with an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and discuss with these educators the events of movement that inspired the nation and the world

Passive Immunity Trial for Our Nation (PassITON): Study Protocol for a Randomized Placebo-Control Clinical Trial Evaluating COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma in Hospitalized Adults

Background: Convalescent plasma is being used widely as a treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the clinical efficacy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma is unclear. Methods: The Pass ive I mmunity T rial for O ur N ation (PassITON), is a multicenter, placebo-controlled, blinded, randomized clinical trial being conducted in the United States to provide high-quality evidence on the efficacy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma as a treatment for adults hospitalized with symptomatic disease. Adults hospitalized with COVID-19 with respiratory symptoms for less than 14 days are eligible. Enrolled patients are randomized in a 1:1 ratio to 1 unit (200-399 mL) of COVID-19 convalescent plasma that has demonstrated neutralizing function using a SARS-CoV-2 chimeric virus neutralization assay. Study treatments are administered in a blinded fashion and patients are followed for 28 days. The primary outcome is clinical status 14 days after study treatment as measured on a 7-category ordinal scale assessing mortality, respiratory support, and return to normal activities of daily living. Key secondary outcomes include mortality and oxygen-free days. The trial is projected to enroll 1000 patients and is designed to detect an odds ratio ≤ 0.73 for the primary outcome. Discussion: This trial will provide the most robust data available to date on the efficacy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma for the treatment of adults hospitalized with acute moderate to severe COVID-19. These data will be useful to guide the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the current pandemic and for informing decisions about whether developing a standardized infrastructure for collecting and disseminating convalescent plasma to prepare for future viral pandemics is indicated. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04362176. Date of trial registration: April 24, 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04362176