Reparable Harm: Assessing and Addressing Disparities Faced by Boys and Men of Color in California

The California Endowment commissioned this report to highlight the most glaring inequities in socioeconomics, health, safety, and education faced by African-American and Latino men and boys in the state. In addition to presenting the statistics on these indicators, the authors outline a framework for addressing the disparities at the individual, community, and macro levels

The Genesis, Evolution, and Influence of Undergraduate Research Mentoring Relationships

Undergraduate research has been documented as yielding valuable student learning outcomes. While the outcomes have been extensively investigated, the development and characteristics of the relationship with the research mentor has received less attention. To better understand how participating in undergraduate research yields substantial benefits to students, we need to elucidate the relationship between students and their research mentors. Using survey and focus group data from a select group of undergraduate researchers at one research university, we investigated the origins of undergraduate research mentoring relationships, the development of those relationships over time, and how the characteristics of the mentoring relationship yielded a shift in identity among the undergraduates. In this case study we found that the meaningful relationships developed between students and their mentors contributed to student development in the form of increased confidence and perceived competency. This competency led to changed expectations of self in the professional sphere, a deeper sense of belonging, and changed expectations for post-graduation

Driving in Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease: An Integrative Review of the Literature

One of the most difficult decisions for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is when to stop driving. Because driving is a fundamental activity linked to socialization, independent functioning, and wellbeing, making the decision to stop driving is not easy. Cognitive decline in older adults can lead to getting lost while driving, difficulty detecting and avoiding hazards, as well as increased errors while driving due to compromised judgment and difficulty in making decisions. The purpose of the current literature review was to synthesize evidence regarding how individuals with early-stage AD, their families, and providers make determinations about driving safety, interventions to increase driving safety, and methods to assist cessation and coping for individuals with early-stage AD. The evidence shows that changes in driving ability start early and progress throughout the trajectory of AD. Some individuals with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage AD may be safe to drive for a period of time. Support groups aimed at helping with the transition have been shown to be helpful for individuals who stop driving. Research and practice must support interventions to help individuals maintain safety while driving, as well as cope with driving cessation

Using Prior Knowledge and Student Engagement to Understand Student Performance in an Undergraduate Learning-to-Learn Course

This study examined prior knowledge and student engagement in student performance. Log data were used to explore the distribution of final grades (i.e., weak, good, excellent final grades) occurring in an elective under-graduate course. Previous research has established behavioral and agentic engagement factors contribute to academic achievement (Reeve, 2013). Hierarchical logistic regression using both prior knowledge and log data from the course revealed: (a) the weak-grades group demonstrated less behavioral engagement than the good-grades group, (b) the good-grades group demonstrated less agentic engagement than the excellent-grades group, and (c) models composed of both prior knowledge and engagement measures were more accurate than models composed of only engagement measures. Findings demonstrate students performing at different grade-levels may experience different challenges in their course engagement. This study informs our own instructional strategies and interventions to increase student success in the course and provides recommendations for other instructors to support student success

Use of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in a Rural Outreach Program for Military Veterans

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a free, easily accessible screener ideal for rural areas where resources are limited. We examined administration and scoring by Veteran Community Outreach Health Workers (VCOHWs); compared positive screening rates using two cutoff scores; and examined predictors of education-adjusted scores in N = 168 rural military Veterans from the Alabama Veteran Rural Health Initiative. Accuracy of administration (95 percent) and scoring (68 percent) was calculated and recommendations are offered. Higher than expected rates of positive screens were observed (40 percent using 24/30 cutoff) in this relatively young (M = 55 years) community-dwelling sample. Age, education, and race but not subjective health predicted differences in domain and total education-adjusted scores on multivariate and univariate tests. This study advances social science research in rural communities by being the first to: (1) examine MoCA scores in a rural, Deep South U.S. sample; and (2) report fidelity administration data for VCOHWs

Role of Platelet-Activating Factor and Hypoxia in Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn — Studies with Perinatal Pulmonary Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) plays an important physiological role of maintaining a high vasomotor tone in fetal pulmonary circulation. At birth, endogenous vasodilators such as nitric oxide and prostacyclin are released and facilitate pulmonary vasodilation via cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAMP/PKA) and cGMP-dependent protein kinase (cGMP/PKG) pathways. Interaction between the cyclic nucleotides and PAF receptor (PAFR)-mediated responses in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle is not well understood. To further understand the interactions of PAF-PAFR pathway and the cyclic nucleotides in ovine fetal pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (FPASMC), effects of cAMP and cGMP on PAFR-mediated responses in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMC) were studied. Ovine FPASMC were incubated with 10μM cAMP or cGMP in normoxia (5% CO2 in air, pO2~100 Torr) or hypoxia (2% O2, 5% CO2, pO2~30-40 Torr). Proteins were prepared and subjected to Western blotting. Effect of cell permeable cAMP and cGMP on PAFR binding was also studied and effect of cAMP on cell proliferation was also studied by RNAi to PKA-Cα. cAMP and cGMP significantly decreased PAFR binding and protein expression in normoxia and hypoxia, more so in hypoxia, when PAFR expression was usually high. PKA-Cα siRNA demonstrated that inhibition of PAFR-mediated responses by the cyclic nucleotides occurred through PKA. These data suggest that the normally high levels of cyclic nucleotides in the normoxic newborn pulmonary circulation assist in the downregulation of postnatal PAFR-mediated responses and that under hypoxic conditions, increasing the levels of cyclic nucleotides will abrogate PAF-mediated vasoconstriction thereby ameliorating PAF-induced persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn

Listeners and readers generalise their experience with word meanings across modalities

Research has shown that adults’ lexical-semantic representations are surprisingly malleable. For instance, the interpretation of ambiguous words (e.g. bark) is influenced by experience such that recently encountered meanings become more readily available (Rodd et al., 2016, 2013). However the mechanism underlying this word-meaning priming effect remains unclear, and competing accounts make different predictions about the extent to which information about word meanings that is gained within one modality (e.g. speech) is transferred to the other modality (e.g. reading) to aid comprehension. In two web-based experiments, ambiguous target words were primed with either written or spoken sentences that biased their interpretation toward a subordinate meaning, or were unprimed. About 20 minutes after the prime exposure, interpretation of these target words was tested by presenting them in either written or spoken form, using word association (Experiment 1, N=78) and speeded semantic relatedness decisions (Experiment 2, N=181). Both experiments replicated the auditory unimodal priming effect shown previously (Rodd et al., 2016, 2013) and revealed significant cross-modal priming: primed meanings were retrieved more frequently and swiftly across all primed conditions compared to the unprimed baseline. Furthermore, there were no reliable differences in priming levels between unimodal and cross-modal prime-test conditions. These results indicate that recent experience with ambiguous word meanings can bias the reader’s or listener’s later interpretation of these words in a modality-general way. We identify possible loci of this effect within the context of models of long-term priming and ambiguity resolution

The O-antigen flippase Wzk can substitute for MurJ in peptidoglycan synthesis in Helicobacter pylori and Escherichia coli

The peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall is an essential component of the cell envelope of most bacteria. Biogenesis of PG involves a lipid-linked disaccharide-pentapeptide intermediate called lipid II, which must be translocated across the cytoplasmic membrane after it is synthesized in the inner leaflet of this bilayer. Accordingly, it has been demonstrated that MurJ, the proposed lipid II flippase in Escherichia coli, is required for PG biogenesis, and thereby viability. In contrast, MurJ is not essential in Bacillus subtilis because this bacterium produces AmJ, an unrelated protein that is functionally redundant with MurJ. In this study, we investigated why MurJ is not essential in the prominent gastric pathogen, Helicobacter pylori. We found that in this bacterium, Wzk, the ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporter that flips the lipid-linked O- or Lewis- antigen precursors across the inner membrane, is redundant with MurJ for cell viability. Heterologous expression of wzk in E. coli also suppresses the lethality caused by the loss of murJ. Furthermore, we show that this cross-species complementation is abolished when Wzk is inactivated by mutations that target a domain predicted to be required for ATPase activity. Our results suggest that Wzk can flip lipid II, implying that Wzk is the flippase with the most relaxed specificity for lipid-linked saccharides ever identified

Protocol for the RELATE trial:A feasibility and pilot randomised controlled trial of a low-intensity group intervention for young people in care with elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms

Introduction: Young people in out-of-home care have often experienced trauma, such as direct maltreatment or witnessing violence. There is good evidence that rates of mental health difficulties are high in this group, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a trauma-specific mental health outcome. There remains less evidence to guide how to effectively address elevated PTSD symptoms (PTSS) in these young people, particularly in ways that are feasible and scalable for stretched social-care and mental health services. Methods and analysis: This protocol describes a feasibility study comprising a pilot two-arm randomised controlled trial (RCT). Participants (N = 50) will be randomised to either (a) a group-based trauma-focused programme (Teaching Recovery Techniques), delivered by mental health practitioners both online and in-person, or (b) care-as-usual. Primarily, the trial aims to explore the key feasibility and protocol acceptability questions, including rates of recruitment and retention, as well as the acceptability of the intervention (particularly the online delivery format) to participants and services. In addition, outcomes including PTSS (primary clinical outcome), depression and functioning will be assessed at baseline (pre-randomisation), post-intervention and at a 3-month follow-up. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval has been received from the Health Research Authority (Wales REC1 Ref 20/WA/0100) and University, with further approval from the host trust and social care site. The results will inform the design of a definitive RCT. Dissemination will include peer-reviewed journal articles reporting the qualitative and quantitative results, as well as presentations at conferences and lay summaries. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04467320. Registered on 13 July 2020

A Diverse Array of Fluvial Depositional Systems in Arabia Terra: Evidence for mid‐Noachian to Early Hesperian Rivers on Mars

Branching to sinuous ridges systems, 100s of kilometers in length and comprising layered strata, are present across much of Arabia Terra, Mars. These ridges are interpreted as depositional fluvial channels, now preserved as inverted topography. Here we use high resolution image and topographic datasets to investigate the morphology of these depositional systems and show key examples of their relationships to associated fluvial landforms. The inverted channel systems likely comprise indurated conglomerate, sandstone, and mudstone bodies, which form a multi‐storey channel stratigraphy. The channel systems intersect local basins and indurated sedimentary mounds, that we interpret as paleolake deposits. Some inverted channels are located within erosional valley networks, which have regional and local catchments. Inverted channels are typically found in downslope sections of valley networks, sometimes at the margins of basins, and numerous different transition morphologies are observed. These relationships indicate a complex history of erosion and deposition, possibly controlled by changes in water or sediment flux, or base level variation. Other inverted channel systems have no clear preserved catchment; likely lost due to regional resurfacing of upland areas. Sediment may have been transported through Arabia Terra towards the dichotomy and stored in local and regional‐scale basins. Regional stratigraphic relations suggest these systems were active between the mid‐Noachian and early Hesperian. The morphology of these systems is supportive of an early Mars climate which was characterized by prolonged precipitation and runoff