Growing the Grassroots: Strategies for Building the Organizational Capacity of Youth-Led Organizations and Initiatives

The long-term viability of youth-led organizations and initiatives necessitates investment in organizational capacity-building work. By building organizational capacity, grassroots youth-led organizations and initiatives will improve their chances of sustainability by increasing their ability to respond to external and internal needs and demands; connecting grassroots youth-led organizations and initiatives with organizational capacity-building opportunities is essential for strengthening the sector. The purpose of this report is to review, examine, and assess current organizational capacity-building frameworks, present relevant case studies, and offer practical suggestions for building the organizational capacity of grassroots youth-led organizations and initiatives. Due to a lack of literature specific to building the capacity of grassroots youth organizations and initiatives, this report expanded the scope to focus on a general non-profit context. The report presents definitions of organizational capacity-building and models for assessing organizational capacity, and identifies strategies for building organizational capacity. The report concludes by synthesizing the findings and offering recommendations for building the organizational capacity of youth-led organizations and initiatives.For Youth Initiativ

A new Approach for Accurate Detection of Chromosome Rearrangements That Affect Fertility in Cattle

Globally, cattle production has more than doubled since the 1960s, with widespread use of artificial insemination (AI) and an emphasis on a small pool of high genetic merit animals. Selecting AI bulls with optimal fertility is, therefore, vital, as impaired fertility reduces genetic gains and production, resulting in heavy financial and environmental losses. Chromosome translocations, particularly the 1;29 Robertsonian translocation, are a common cause of reduced fertility; however, reciprocal translocations are significantly underreported due to the difculties inherent in analysing cattle chromosomes. Based on our porcine work, we have developed an approach for the unambiguous detection of Robertsonian and reciprocal translocations, using a multiple-hybridization probe detection strategy. We applied this method on the chromosomes of 39 bulls, detecting heterozygous and homozygous 1;29 translocations and a 12;23 reciprocal translocation in a total of seven animals. Previously, karyotype analysis was the only method of diagnosing chromosomal rearrangements in cattle, and was time-consuming and error-prone. With calving rates of only 50–60%, it is vital to reduce further fertility loss in order to maximise productivity. The approach developed here identifies abnormalities that DNA sequencing will not, and has the potential to lead to long-term gains, delivering meat and milk products in a more cost-effective and environmentally-responsible manner to a growing population

Making the Executive ‘Function’ for the Foundations of Mathematics: the Need for Explicit Theories of Change for Early Interventions

A vast body of work highlights executive functions (EFs) as robust correlates of mathematics achievement over the primary and preschool years. Yet, despite such correlational evidence, there is limited evidence that EF interventions yield improvements in early years mathematics. As intervention studies are a powerful tool to move beyond correlation to causality, failures of transfer from executive functions interventions are, we argue, highly problematic for both applied and theoretical reasons. We review the existing correlational and intervention literature at complementary neuroscientific, cognitive, developmental and educational levels. We appraise distinct theories of change underpinning the correlations between EF and early mathematics, as well as explicit or implicit theories of change for different types of EF interventions. We find that isolated EF interventions are less likely to transfer to improvements in mathematics than integrated interventions. Via this conceptual piece, we highlight that the field of EF development is in need of (1) a clearer framework for the mechanisms underpinning the relationships between early EF and other developing domains, such as mathematical cognition; (2) clearer putative theories of change for how interventions of different kinds operate in the context of EF and such domains; (3) and greater clarity on the developmental and educational contexts that influence these causal associations. Our synthesis of the evidence emphasises the need to consider the dynamic development of EFs with co-developing cognitive functions, such as early math skills, when designing education environments

Are we all on the same page? A qualitative study of the facilitation challenges associated with the implementation of deliberative priority-setting

Collaborative governance has given rise to decision-making methodologies promoting democracy, inclusivity and transparency. This is exemplified by deliberative priority-setting (DPS) that blends cost-effectiveness analysis with stakeholder deliberation. Little is known however, about the facilitation challenges when ‘technical’ and ‘social’ elements are combined in a methodology. This paper investigates the facilitation challenges of implementing a DPS project within the English National Health Service (NHS). Our study examines the relationship between facilitation and the effectiveness of DPS processes, highlighting the importance of knowledge management as facilitators seek to translate technical information, to enhance the deliberative experience and promote legitimate decisions

Interactive molecular dynamics in virtual reality for accurate flexible protein-ligand docking

Simulating drug binding and unbinding is a challenge, as the rugged energy landscapes that separate bound and unbound states require extensive sampling that consumes significant computational resources. Here, we describe the use of interactive molecular dynamics in virtual reality (iMD-VR) as an accurate low-cost strategy for flexible protein-ligand docking. We outline an experimental protocol which enables expert iMD-VR users to guide ligands into and out of the binding pockets of trypsin, neuraminidase, and HIV-1 protease, and recreate their respective crystallographic protein-ligand binding poses within 5 - 10 minutes. Following a brief training phase, our studies shown that iMD-VR novices were able to generate unbinding and rebinding pathways on similar timescales as iMD-VR experts, with the majority able to recover binding poses within 2.15 Angstrom RMSD of the crystallographic binding pose. These results indicate that iMD-VR affords sufficient control for users to carry out the detailed atomic manipulations required to dock flexible ligands into dynamic enzyme active sites and recover crystallographic poses, offering an interesting new approach for simulating drug docking and generating binding hypotheses.Comment: PLOS ON

Naps Do Not Change Delay Discounting Behavior in Young Adults

When offered a choice of $40 today or$50 later, many would choose the immediate reward over the greater delayed reward. Such behavior is a result of future gains being discounted such that their value is rendered less than that of the immediate gain. Extreme discounting behaviors are associated with impulsivity and addiction. Given recent evidence of sleep’s role in decision making, we tested the hypothesis that sleep would reduce delayed discounting behavior. Twenty young adults (M = 20.19 years, SD = 0.98 years; 6 males) performed a hypothetical delay discounting task, making a series of choices between an immediate reward (from $0 to$50) or a larger reward ($50) available at a delay of 2, 4, 8, 14, or 22 weeks. Participants performed the task before and after a mid-day nap, and before and after an equivalent interval of wake (within subject, order counterbalanced, wake, and sleep conditions separated by 1 week). As expected, indifference points decreased with longer delays both prior to and following the nap/wake interval. However, the impact of a nap interval on discounting did not differ from the impact of a wake interval. Thus, while sleep has been shown to play an active role in some financial decision-making tasks, a nap is not sufficient to change delay discounting behavior

Bird’s-eye view of chromosomic evolution in Class Aves

Birds (Aves) are the most speciose of terrestrial vertebrates, displaying Class-specific characteristics yet incredible external phenotypic diversity. Critical to agriculture and as model organisms, birds have adapted to many habitats. The only extant examples of dinosaurs, birds emerged ~150 mya and >10% are currently threatened with extinction

A bird's-eye view of chromosomic evolution in the Class Aves

Birds (Aves) are the most speciose of terrestrial vertebrates, displaying Class-specific characteristics yet incredible external phenotypic diversity. Critical to agriculture and as model organisms, birds have adapted to many habitats. The only extant examples of dinosaurs, birds emerged ~150 mya and >10% are currently threatened with extinction. This review is a comprehensive overview of avian genome (“chromosomic”) organization research based mostly on chromosome painting and BAC-based studies. We discuss traditional and contemporary tools for reliably generating chromosome-level assemblies and analyzing multiple species at a higher resolution and wider phylogenetic distance than previously possible. These results permit more detailed investigations into inter- and intrachromosomal rearrangements, providing unique insights into evolution and speciation mechanisms. The ‘signature’ avian karyotype likely arose ~250 mya and remained largely unchanged in most groups including extinct dinosaurs. Exceptions include Psittaciformes, Falconiformes, Caprimulgiformes, Cuculiformes, Suliformes, occasional Passeriformes, Ciconiiformes, and Pelecaniformes. The reasons for this remarkable conservation may be the greater diploid chromosome number generating variation (the driver of natural selection) through a greater possible combination of gametes and/or an increase in recombination rate. A deeper understanding of avian genomic structure permits the exploration of fundamental biological questions pertaining to the role of evolutionary breakpoint regions and homologous synteny blocks

Using the RE-AIM framework to evaluate physical activity public health programs in México

Background: Physical activity (PA) public health programming has been widely used in Mexico; however, few studies have documented individual and organizational factors that might be used to evaluate their public health impact. The RE-AIM framework is an evaluation tool that examines individual and organizational factors of public health programs. The purpose of this study was to use the RE-AIM framework to determine the degree to which PA programs in Mexico reported individual and organizational factors and to investigate whether reporting differed by the program's funding source. Methods: Public health programs promoting PA were systematically identified during 2008-2013 and had to have an active program website. Initial searches produced 23 possible programs with 12 meeting inclusion criteria. A coding sheet was developed to capture behavioral, outcome and RE-AIM indicators from program websites. Results: In addition to targeting PA, five (42%) programs also targeted dietary habits and the most commonly reported outcome was change in body composition (58%). Programs reported an average of 11.1 (±3.9) RE-AIM indicator items (out of 27 total). On average, 45% reported reach indicators, 34% reported efficacy/effectiveness indicators, 60% reported adoption indicators, 40% reported implementation indicators, and 35% reported maintenance indicators. The proportion of RE-AIM indicators reported did not differ significantly for programs that were government supported (M∈=∈10, SD∈=∈3.1) and programs that were partially or wholly privately or corporately supported (M∈=∈12.0, SD∈=∈4.4). Conclusion: While reach and adoption of these programs were most commonly reported, there is a need for stronger evaluation of behavioral and health outcomes before the public health impact of these programs can be established. © 2015 Jauregui et al.; licensee BioMed Central

Dinosaurs

According to Britannica, dinosaurs are described as “Triceratops, contemporary birds, their most recent common ancestor and all of their descendants.” However, for biologists, it could be simpler to picture dinosaurs as reptiles with hind limbs held erect beneath the trunk, similar to how mammals’ hind limbs are held