History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, but Often Rhymes: An Analysis and Extension of Models Influencing Special Education

The American special education system is largely hailed as a beacon for inclusion and support of students with disabilities, but was developed on the back of a deep, complicated history of isolation, fear, and ignorance. This historical analysis examines special education in the context of parallel-developing models of how those with disabilities are perceived and treated in the United States. Rather than juxtaposing the widely-discussed models of disability (moral, medical, and social) with the development of special education, I argue that they are consistent with a wave pattern, initially proposed by disability scholar and advocate Wolfensberger (1969), that traces the rise of the persecution of people with disabilities. Further, through this discussion and review of the state of special education after the period of indictment, I propose two additional stages of the wave pattern, where the values have been inverted from the initial stages and continue into the modern day, reserving a stronghold in the education of individuals with disabilities in numerous ways. By placing these models in conversation with one another, the seldom-discussed complexities of what is taken for granted today are illuminated. People with disabilities deserve more than what they are allotted by the current education system, but until the wave cycle is broken, nothing will change

A Global and Targeted Proteomic Investigation of Aspergillus fumigatus

Aspergillus fumigatus is an opportunistic pathogen that can cause invasive disease in immunocompromised individuals and, less frequently, in immunocompetent hosts. Proteomic investigation of A. fumigatus has the potential to enable global analysis of protein expression, identify potential targets for vaccine or diagnostic tool development, and characterise system-wide responses to external stimuli. Implementation of a large-scale proteomic strategy lead to the identification of non-redundant proteins from mycelia (n = 390) and culture supernatants (n = 42) of A. fumigatus. Utilisation of MS-based proteomics facilitated the identification of proteins typically under-represented in 2D-PAGE proteome maps, including proteins with multiple transmembrane regions, hydrophobic proteins and proteins with extremes of molecular mass and pI. Pre-fractionation of complex protein samples, by gel-filtration or gold nanoparticle pre-incubation, demonstrated potential for reduction of sample complexity. Indirect identification of secondary metabolite cluster expression was achieved using a global MS-based proteomic approach, with proteins (n = 20) from LaeA-regulated clusters detected. Targeted immunoproteomics resulted in the identification of antigenic proteins (n = 25) from A. fumigatus, reactive with sera from healthy individuals, and characterisation of these proteins may shed light on the pathobiology of A. fumigatus. Mechanisms involved in the interaction of A. fumigatus with gliotoxin were also examined, using phenotypic analysis, comparative proteomics and metabolomics. Gliotoxin was observed to relieve H2O2-induced stress, in a dose-dependent manner (0 - 10 μg/ml) and this correlated with a significant increase in expression of the gliotoxin oxidoreductase GliT (p < 0.05). This indicates a role for gliotoxin, and potentially GliT, in relief of oxidative stress in A. fumigatus. Correspondingly, proteins associated with response to stress were observed to significantly decrease in expression in the co-addition condition, relative to H2O2 alone (p < 0.05). Comparative proteomic profiling of the gliotoxin-sensitive mutant, A. fumigatus ΔgliK, revealed perturbation of translation, the methyl cycle and the endoplasmic reticulum in response to gliotoxin. This informs on the mechanisms involved in gliotoxin-mediated toxicity and may apply to other gliotoxin-sensitive species. Loss of gliotoxin production in A. fumigatus ΔgliK correlated with significant elevation in intracellular ergothioneine levels (p < 0.001). This study describes the first identification of ergothioneine in A. fumigatus and represents a target for future redox investigations

Friendship features associated with college students\u27 friendship maintenance and dissolution following problems

This study examined the association between friendship features (i.e., support and resources, trust, similarity, common experiences, commitment, intimate communication, balance of costs and rewards, personal characteristics and behaviors, length of friendship, amount of time spent with friend, closeness of the friendship, and expected ease of finding a new friend) and friendship outcomes (maintenance vs. dissolution and overall quality) following college students\u27 problems with their pre-college and college friends. Reported causes of college students\u27 pre-college and college friendship problems and friendship dissolution were examined. In addition, links between experiencing problems with friends and adjustment were explored. Friendship features and problems were assessed through several written questionnaires. Pre-college friendships were more susceptible to problems and dissolution than were college friendships. Expected ease of finding a new friend predicted friendship quality, maintenance, and dissolution for pre-college and college friends. Commitment and length of friendship predicted friendship quality for both types of friends, and the balance of costs and rewards predicted outcomes for college friends. College students did not identify the same causes of friendship problems and endings; a lack of common experiences was most likely to be mentioned as causing actual friendship dissolution but unlikely to be identified as causing friendship problems. When asked to indicate how often various specific events contributed to friendship problems and dissolution, students indicated that many events were more frequent and more important in their pre-college friendships. Students who indicated that they frequently experienced many problems with their friends also reported higher levels of loneliness and homesickness and lower levels of social support. Links between adjustment measures and frequency of specific types of friendship problems were identified. For example, students who frequently had problems associated with similarity reported using alcohol infrequently and had relatively high grade point averages. Results generally suggest that college students\u27 friendship outcomes are similar to outcomes of other types of relationships. Implications for college personnel are discussed

The Master Observational Trial: A New Class of Master Protocol to Advance Precision Medicine.

This commentary introduces a new clinical trial construct, the Master Observational Trial (MOT), which hybridizes the power of molecularly based master interventional protocols with the breadth of real-world data. The MOT provides a clinical venue to allow molecular medicine to rapidly advance, answers questions that traditional interventional trials generally do not address, and seamlessly integrates with interventional trials in both diagnostic and therapeutic arenas. The result is a more comprehensive data collection ecosystem in precision medicine

Snapshot: Trial Types in Precision Medicine.

Integrating precision diagnostics into personalized treatments requires understanding how biomarkers relate to clinical outcomes. Various clinical data collection methods exist, each with strengths and weaknesses. Interventional data are high quality but narrowly focused. Real-world data (RWD) provide broader information but with variable quality. Master protocols allow better efficiency in data collection. The master observational trial bridges the gap between interventional and retrospective RWD collection methods. To view this SnapShot, open or download the PDF

Overrepresentation of African Americans in the child welfare system: Differential treatment in risk assessment by public child welfare workers

The purpose of this study was to identify salient factors contributing to the overrepresentation of African Americans in the child welfare system. This study seeks to examine whether or not public child welfare workers are biased in their assessments of African Americans, and if years of experience influence their judgment. By understanding some of the salient factors that contribute to these disproportionate numbers, Child Welfare Services can begin to revamp their programs and services to ensure that they are more culturally sensitive and equitable

Know Your Bugs: A Collaborative Evaluation of a Community Health Education Module That Aims to be Accessible to Adults with Learning Disabilities

The right to health should be a fundamental right of everyone. However, despite initiatives to improve the health of adults with learning disabilities, concerns about poorer health and health inequalities remain, and have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Accessible health promotion can help to overcome barriers to healthy behaviour but the effectiveness of health education in infection prevention and self-care is unknown. This research aimed to understand the health education experiences of adults with learning disabilities regarding a module designed to improve knowledge about self-care, infection prevention and antibiotic use. Beginning with a scoping review of ‘what works’, this research involved observation of the learning context in two locations and semi-structured interviews with 18 course participants to explore health knowledge and behaviour change in the short, medium and longer term. Data were analysed iteratively, addressing the realist concept of context/mechanism/outcome configurations. Participants had a positive learning experience and gained knowledge about microbes, hand hygiene, self-care, and antibiotic use. Some participants reported behaviour change regarding handwashing and self-care. The contexts that influenced learning were personal, social, physical, active, and external. Mechanisms that interacted with these contexts to trigger learning included: accessible teaching methods, interactive resources, relaxed and effective participant interactions, facilitation of independent thinking and planning, appropriate involvement of supporters, and an inclusive and engaging educator style. Knowledge gain and changed behaviour intentions were achieved through an engaging, interactive, and focused learning environment, underpinned by a complex and changing combination of interactions. However, further research is needed to understand effective ways of communicating health information in an education context, to understand the impact of education on behaviour change, and to identify ways in which the longer-term retention of learning can be achieved. The research proposes a draft model that can guide effective community health education provision

Orientation for BSN-to-DNP Clinical Preceptors

To support preceptor retention and recruitment efforts, a college of nursing in North Carolina desired to implement a formal orientation for clinical preceptors within a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) to Doctor of Practice in Nursing (DNP) program. An online orientation training module was constructed as a DNP project. The training module was distributed via email to the program’s clinical preceptors (N = 137). During the project’s implementation 12-week implementation period (February 23, 2021 through May 18, 2021), an application was submitted to associate module completion with continuing education credit. The self-paced module addressed: program and course-specific information; expectations of students, preceptors, and faculty; and strategies for providing structured student feedback (via the “One Minute Preceptor� and “Feedback Sandwich� methods). Interactive components of the module included: a pre-module demographics survey/training methods preference assessment, a post-module feedback survey, and a post-module knowledge check. Approximately 90% of respondents indicated satisfaction with the training module and 75% of respondents indicated a strong preference for online training. The module received approval for one hour of continuing education credit after the implementation closed. Future participants will be eligible to receive one hour of continuing education credit from August 2021 through August of 2023. Project limitations included a low response rate overall (14.5%) and restrictions resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic. Continuing education credit was not offered during the study’s implementation which may have increased participation. This project highlights the ongoing need to support clinical preceptors to support growth of nurse practitioners in the healthcare workforce.D.N.P