Early Childhood Special Education in a Refugee Resettlement Community: Challenges and Innovative Practices

There has been a significant increase in the number of children who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) who qualify for early childhood special education (ECSE) services (Banerjee & Guiberson, 2012). The current study investigates the challenges and innovative practices in the evaluation and (ECSE) services for preschool aged children who are refugees. Twenty-eight early childhood educators who work in a small refugee resettlement community participated in a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews resulting in themes regarding challenges and innovative practices. Challenges include: lack of validated assessments, wait time for evaluations, different cultural perspectives and family advocacy. Innovative practices include: assessing skills not dependent on language and including caregivers in evaluations. Implications for future research and teacher preparation are discussed

Mass casualty events: what to do as the dust settles?

Care during mass casualty events (MCE) has improved during the last 15 years. Military and civilian collaboration has led to partnerships which augment the response to MCE. Much has been written about strategies to deliver care during an MCE, but there is little about how to transition back to normal operations after an event. A panel discussion entitled The Day(s) After: Lessons Learned from Trauma Team Management in the Aftermath of an Unexpected Mass Casualty Event at the 76th Annual American Association for the Surgery of Trauma meeting on September 13, 2017 brought together a cadre of military and civilian surgeons with experience in MCEs. The events described were the First Battle of Mogadishu (1993), the Second Battle of Fallujah (2004), the Bagram Detention Center Rocket Attack (2014), the Boston Marathon Bombing (2013), the Asiana Flight 214 Plane Crash (2013), the Baltimore Riots (2015), and the Orlando Pulse Night Club Shooting (2016). This article focuses on the lessons learned from military and civilian surgeons in the days after MCEs

Quantifying the impact of climate change on drought regimes using the Standardised Precipitation Index

The study presents a methodology to characterise short- or long-term drought events, designed to aid understanding of how climate change may affect future risk. An indicator of drought magnitude, combining parameters of duration, spatial extent and intensity, is presented based on the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI). The SPI is applied to observed (1955–2003) and projected (2003–2050) precipitation data from the Community Integrated Assessment System (CIAS). Potential consequences of climate change on drought regimes in Australia, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Spain, Portugal and the USA are quantified. Uncertainty is assessed by emulating a range of global circulation models to project climate change. Further uncertainty is addressed through the use of a high-emission scenario and a low stabilisation scenario representing a stringent mitigation policy. Climate change was shown to have a larger effect on the duration and magnitude of long-term droughts, and Australia, Brazil, Spain, Portugal and the USA were highlighted as being particularly vulnerable to multi-year drought events, with the potential for drought magnitude to exceed historical experience. The study highlights the characteristics of drought which may be more sensitive under climate change. For example, on average, short-term droughts in the USA do not become more intense but are projected to increase in duration. Importantly, the stringent mitigation scenario had limited effect on drought regimes in the first half of the twenty-first century, showing that adaptation to drought risk will be vital in these regions

On the Importance of Strengthening Moderate Beliefs in Climate Science to Foster Support for Immediate Action

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from "http://www.mdpi.com".Whereas many studies focus on climate skeptics to explain the lack of support for immediate action on climate change, this research examines the effect of moderate believers in climate science. Using data from a representative survey of 832 Indiana residents, we find that agreement with basic scientific conclusions about climate change is the strongest predictor of support for immediate action, and the strength of that agreement is an important characteristic of this association. Responses indicate widespread acceptance of climate change, moderate levels of risk perception, and limited support for immediate action. Half of the respondents (50%) preferred “more research” over “immediate action” (38%) and “no action” (12%) as a response to climate change. The probability of preferring immediate action is close to zero for those who strongly or somewhat disbelieve in climate change, but as belief in climate change grows from moderate to strong, the probability of preferring immediate action increases substantially; the strongest believers have a predicted probability of preferring immediate action of 71%. These findings suggest that, instead of simply engaging skeptics, increasing public support for immediate action might entail motivating those with moderate beliefs in climate change to hold their views with greater conviction

Novel Influences of Sex and \u3ci\u3eAPOE\u3c/i\u3e Genotype on Spinal Plasticity and Recovery of Function after Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injuries can abolish both motor and sensory function throughout the body. Spontaneous recovery after injury is limited and can vary substantially between individuals. Despite an abundance of therapeutic approaches that have shown promise in preclinical models, there is currently a lack of effective treatment strategies that have been translated to restore function after SCI in the human population. We hypothesized that sex and genetic background of injured individuals could impact how they respond to treatment strategies, presenting a barrier to translating therapies that are not tailored to the individual. One gene of particular interest is APOE, which has been extensively studied in the brain due to its allele-specific influences on synaptic plasticity, metabolism, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. Despite its prominence as a therapeutic target in brain injury and disease, little is known about how it influences neural plasticity and repair processes in the spinal cord. Utilizing humanized mice, we examined how the ε3 and ε4 alleles of APOE influence the efficacy of therapeutic intermittent hypoxia (IH) in inducing spinally-mediated plasticity after cervical SCI. IH is sufficient to enhance plasticity and restore motor function after experimental SCI in genetically similar rodent populations, but its effect in human subjects is more variable (Golder, 2005; Hayes et al., 2014). Our results demonstrate that both sex and APOE genotype determine the extent of respiratory motor plasticity that is elicited by IH, highlighting the importance of considering these clinically relevant variables when translating therapeutic approaches for the SCI community. Significance Statement There is currently a critical need for therapeutics that restore motor and sensory function effectively after cervical spinal cord injury. Although many therapeutic approaches, including intermittent hypoxia, are being investigated for their potential to enhance spinal plasticity and improve motor outcomes after SCI, it is unknown whether the efficacy of these treatment strategies is influenced by individuals’ genetic background. Here we show that APOE genotype and sex both play a role in determining the propensity for motor plasticity in humanized mice after cervical SCI. These results indicate that sex and genetic background dictate how individuals respond to therapeutic approaches, thereby emphasizing the importance of developing personalized medicine for the diverse SCI population

The HIKCUPS trial: a multi-site randomized controlled trial of a combined physical activity skill-development and dietary modification program in overweight and obese children

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity is one of the most pressing health issues of our time. Key health organizations have recommended research be conducted on the effectiveness of well-designed interventions to combat childhood obesity that can be translated into a variety of settings. This paper describes the design and methods used in the Hunter Illawarra Kids Challenge Using Parent Support (HIKCUPS) trial, an ongoing multi-site randomized controlled trial, in overweight/obese children comparing the efficacy of three interventions: 1) a parent-centered dietary modification program; 2) a child-centered physical activity skill-development program; and 3) a program combining both 1 and 2 above. METHODS/DESIGN: Each intervention consists of three components: i) 10-weekly face-to-face group sessions; ii) a weekly homework component, completed between each face-to-face session and iii) three telephone calls at monthly intervals following completion of the 10-week program. Details of the programs' methodological aspects of recruitment, randomization and statistical analyses are described here a priori. DISCUSSION: Importantly this paper describes how HIKCUPS addresses some of the short falls in the current literature pertaining to the efficacy of child obesity interventions. The HIKCUPS trial is funded by the National Medical Research Council, Australia

A Latent Propriospinal Network Can Restore Diaphragm Function After High Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) above cervical level 4 disrupts descending axons from the medulla that innervate phrenic motor neurons, causing permanent paralysis of the diaphragm. Using an ex vivo preparation in neonatal mice, we have identified an excitatory spinal network that can direct phrenic motor bursting in the absence of medullary input. After complete cervical SCI, blockade of fast inhibitory synaptic transmission caused spontaneous, bilaterally coordinated phrenic bursting. Here, spinal cord glutamatergic neurons were both sufficient and necessary for the induction of phrenic bursts. Direct stimulation of phrenic motor neurons was insufficient to evoke burst activity. Transection and pharmacological manipulations showed that this spinal network acts independently of medullary circuits that normally generate inspiration, suggesting a distinct non-respiratory function. We further show that this “latent” network can be harnessed to restore diaphragm function after high cervical SCI in adult mice and rats

Environmentally relevant iron oxide nanoparticles produce limited acute pulmonary effects in rats at realistic exposure levels

Iron is typically the dominant metal in the ultrafine fraction of airborne particulate matter. Various studies have investigated the toxicity of inhaled nano-sized iron oxide particles (FeOxNPs) but their results have been contradictory, with some indicating no or minor effects and others finding effects including oxidative stress and inflammation. Most studies, however, did not use materials reflecting the characteristics of FeOxNPs present in the environment. We, therefore, analysed the potential toxicity of FeOxNPs of different forms (Fe3O4 , α-Fe2O3 and γ-Fe2O3 ) reflecting the characteristics of high iron content nano-sized particles sampled from the environment, both individually and in a mixture (FeOx-mix). A preliminary in vitro study indicated Fe3O4 and FeOx-mix were more cytotoxic than either form of Fe2O3 in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). Follow-up in vitro (0.003, 0.03, 0.3 µg/mL, 24 h) and in vivo (Sprague–Dawley rats, nose-only exposure, 50 µg/m3 and 500 µg/m3 , 3 h/d × 3 d) studies therefore focused on these materials. Experiments in vitro explored responses at the molecular level via multi-omics analyses at concentrations below those at which significant cytotoxicity was evident to avoid detection of responses secondary to toxicity. Inhalation experiments used aerosol concentrations chosen to produce similar levels of particle deposition on the airway surface as were delivered in vitro. These were markedly higher than environmental concentrations. No clinical signs of toxicity were seen nor effects on BALF cell counts or LDH levels. There were also no significant changes in transcriptomic or metabolomic responses in lung or BEAS-2B cells to suggest adverse effects