Enhancing Social Behavior of Children with Autism in an Inclusive Classroom

Though laws relating to including children on the autism spectrum and general education in public school settings are in place, inclusion of students is still not a widespread practice in all elementary classrooms. This study examines the social needs of children with autism and in an inclusive classroom. Children with autism are often placed in separate classrooms in the elementary school. This study examines the positive social behaviors that come from having children with autism in an inclusive elementary classroom. Questions for this research are as follows: What are useful methods to enhance social behavior of autistic students in an inclusive classroom? How does the emphasis on all positive social behavior affect all students in an inclusive classroom? A review of the literature reveals specific approaches to enhance social behavior of autistic students in an inclusive classroom are effective. The research also supports that all students benefit in the area of social development in an inclusive classroom with a focus on positive social behavior. This study follows a qualitative approach by selecting and interviewing teachers on their experiences in instructing students in positive social behavior in an inclusive classroom. These teachers were purposely selected to participate in individual 30-minute interviews because they have experience with teaching autistic students. Results indicated that there are many useful methods that teachers can use to enhance the social behaviors of autistic students in an inclusion classroom. Additionally, having autistic students in an inclusive classroom is beneficial for the autistic student and the general education students

Life cycle cost analysis of tomato production in innovative urban agriculture systems

Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICUnidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MThe construction of innovative urban agriculture systems in cities has increased due to food and environmental concerns. While the environmental performance of urban agriculture has been extensively studied, research on the life cycle costs of urban agriculture systems is still limited, which constraints sustainability-oriented decision-making processes. This paper analyses the economic viability of tomato production cycle in an innovative building with an integrated urban agriculture system in rooftop by applying the life cycle cost methodology. The data was collected from direct measurements and internal and external sources. To calculate labour costs, a customised data collection sheet was created. The results are presented by life cycle stage, cost category and type of cost (fixed & variable). Results indicate that the main cost drivers for tomato production are labour (24.7%), the rooftop greenhouse structure (15%), external pest control (12.6%), and rainwater consumption (9.5%), accounting altogether for 61.8% of the total costs. Accordingly, cost reduction solutions are evaluated through the development of sensitivity scenarios (rooftop greenhouse structure design, tap water use and rainwater tank size), including the consideration of another relevant aspect, such as the role of the production level output, as it can greatly influence the economic viability and profitability. Finally, the main environmental and social aspects of these urban production systems are also included

Computational design-of-experiment unveils the conformational reaction coordinate of GH125 α-mannosidases

Conformational analysis of enzyme-catalyzed mannoside hydrolysis has revealed two predominant conformational itineraries through B 2,5 or 3H 4 transitionstate (TS) conformations. A prominent unassigned catalytic itinerary is that of exo-1,6-α-mannosidases belonging to CAZy family 125. A published complex of Clostridium perfringens GH125 enzyme with a nonhydrolyzable 1,6-α-thiomannoside substrate mimic bound across the active site revealed an undistorted 4 C 1 conformation and provided no insight into the catalytic pathway of this enzyme. We show through a purely computational approach (QM/MM metadynamics) that sulfur-for-oxygen substitution in the glycosidic linkage fundamentally alters the energetically accessible conformational space of a thiomannoside when bound within the GH12S active site. Modeling of the conformational free energy landscape (FEL) of a thioglycoside strongly favors a mechanistically uninformative 4 C 1 conformation within the GH125 enzyme active site, but the FEL of corresponding O-glycoside substrate reveals a preference for a Michaelis complex in an oS 2 conformation (consistent with catalysis through a B 2,5 TS). This prediction was tested experimentally by determination of the 3D X-ray structure of the pseudo-Michaelis complex of an inactive (D220N) variant of C. perfringens GH125 enzyme in complex with 1,6-α-mannobiose. This complex revealed unambiguous distortion of the -1 subsite mannoside to an oS 2 conformation, matching that predicted by theory and supporting an oS 2 → B 2,5 → 1S 5 conformational itinerary for GH125 α-mannosidases. This work highlights the power of the QM/MM approach and identified shortcomings in the use of nonhydrolyzable substrate analogues for conformational analysis of enzymebound species

Embedding Information Literacy Skills in Undergraduate Research Studies

In any academic context, when one mentions the term research, students immediately panic and assume this research is something they cannot do under any circumstances. This response seems fairly common among students new to undergraduate and graduate level research. The tendency on the part of the students is to make this a daunting project, impossible to complete. The faculty leaders know how to conduct research. The goal is to describe the research steps, have students practice each step, and then have them build their research work in stages. Collaboration between and among faculty in exploring and teaching research tools helped us develop a road map for students. To implement this approach to teaching research, we developed a collaborative partnership, exploring research skills that worked, refining our teaching approaches, and establishing a guided student practice component. After several years of an informal relationship, linking academic librarianship to education programs, our collaboration moved to a more formalized relationship with the permanent assignment of faculty librarian, as liaison to the School of Education graduate students. Community interest in having university students research locally based projects helped strengthen this connection. Now in our sixth year, the collaborative relationship has produced a level of improved scholarship in student research, with increased student understanding of academic research explorations linked to their own research focus. Additionally, students have improved in scholarly writing and citation skills application in their written work. Student improvement in research and writing skills is reflected in the increased number of students whose work is accepted by Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and by professional conferences for inclusion in presentations. Systematic data collection on the effect of this collaboration needs further documentation. Persuading students of the importance of producing scholarly work has not been easily achieved. Yet, in a time where documentation is essential, we had to move students in this direction to increase their understanding and appreciation of professional research and writing. The effort continues each semester. The purpose of this article is to describe in brief the steps taken over the last six years while moving toward developing student understanding and application of the research process on their individual master’s theses. The particular focus is on assisting students in locating scholarly material in building their review of the literature as part of the graduate thesis

Mannosidase mechanism : at the intersection of conformation and catalysis

Mannosidases are a diverse group of enzymes that are important in the biological processing of mannose-containing polysaccharides and complex glycoconjugates. They are found in 12 of the >160 sequence-based glycosidase families. We discuss evidence that nature has evolved a small set of common mechanisms that unite almost all of these mannosidase families. Broadly, mannosidases (and the closely related rhamnosidases) perform catalysis through just two conformations of the oxocarbenium ion-like transition state: a B2,5 (or enantiomeric 2,5B) boat and a 3H4 half-chair. This extends to a new family (GT108) of GDPMan-dependent β-1,2-mannosyltransferases/phosphorylases that perform mannosyl transfer through a boat conformation as well as some mannosidases that are metalloenzymes and require divalent cations for catalysis. Yet, among this commonality lies diversity. New evidence shows that one unique family (GH99) of mannosidases use an unusual mechanism involving anchimeric assistance via a 1,2-anhydro sugar (epoxide) intermediate

Superordinate identities and self-transcendent emotions: Longitudinal study in Spain and Chile

Recent studies suggest that identification with all humanity (IWAH), apart from being related to universalistic values, could also be related to self-transcendent emotions (STE). In this scenario, the general objective of this cross-cultural longitudinal study is to examine the relationship between identification with proximate categories (i.e., community and country) and superordinate one (all humanity), and their association with positive self-oriented and STEs during a traumatic global phenomenon such as COVID-19 pandemics. Additionally, we explore variations regarding the patterns of those associations in different cultural contexts (Chile and Spain) and examine whether they change among two different time points (T1-T2). The total sample was composed of 403 participants, of whom 224 were residents in Chile (M = 39.25, SD = 12.56; range 18-71 years; 49.6% women) and 179 were residents in Spain (M = 36.35, SD = 12.12; range 18-68 years; 59.8% women). Data collection was carried out in September (T1) and November (T2) 2020, through online surveys administered via Survey Monkey(R) platform. Overall, results show, as expected, greater identification with proximate categories rather than superordinate ones, and an association between STEs and IWAH, but also with national and community identification. IWAH, but not STEs decreased significantly (T1-T2) in both countries. Thereafter, these emotional and behavioral responses decline as a symptom of growing fatigue with the pandemic situation, and also reflect a shift from broader to more local concerns. Analysis regarding comparisons between countries indicated higher levels of identification with community and with all humanity in Spain and with country in Chile. The results are discussed in the context of new developments in studies on IWAH.This work was supported by FONDECYT Iniciación N°11190980 granted to AW; by Project INNES of MINEDUC ref. UCN19101, PEI UCN, granted to AW, DD, FB, and AL; and by Postdoctoral Research Grant (MARSA22/43) from the University of the Basque Country, funded by The Spanish Ministry of Universities and European Union-Next GenerationEU granted to LM. As well as by funds granted to the Research Group: Culture, Cognition and Emotion (CCE), by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Ref. PID2020-115738GB-I00), and by the Basque Government (Ref. IT1598-22)

Human O-GlcNAcase Uses a Preactivated Boat-skew Substrate Conformation for Catalysis. Evidence from X-ray Crystallography and QM/MM Metadynamics

Human O-linked β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (hOGA) is one of the two enzymes involved in nuclear and cytoplasmic protein O-GlcNAcylation, an essential post-translational modification. The enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of the GlcNAc-O-(Ser/Thr) glycosidic bonds via anchimeric assistance through the 2-acetamido group of the GlcNAc sugar. However, the conformational itinerary of the GlcNAc ring during catalysis remains unclear. Here we report the crystal structure of wild type hOGA in complex with a nonhydrolyzable glycopeptide substrate and elucidate the full enzyme catalytic mechanism using QM/MM metadynamics. We show that the enzyme can bind the substrate in either a chair- or a boat-like conformation, but only the latter is catalytically competent, leading to the reaction products via 1,4B/1S3 → [4E]‡ → 4C1 and 4C1 → [4E]‡ → 1,4B/1S3 conformational itineraries for the first and second catalytic reaction steps, respectively. Our results reconcile previous experimental observations for human and bacterial OGA and will aid the development of more effective OGA inhibitors for diseases associated with impaired O-GlcNAcylation

Blocking GM-CSF receptor α with mavrilimumab reduces infiltrating cells, pro-inflammatory markers and neoangiogenesis in ex vivo cultured arteries from patients with giant cell arteritis

Effective and safe therapies are needed for the treatment of patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Emerging as a key cytokine in inflammation, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) may play a role in promoting inflammation in GCA.To investigate expression of GM-CSF and its receptor in arterial lesions from patients with GCA. To analyse activation of GM-CSF receptor-associated signalling pathways and expression of target genes. To evaluate the effects of blocking GM-CSF receptor α with mavrilimumab in ex vivo cultured arteries from patients with GCA.Quantitative real time PCR, in situ RNA hybridisation, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy, immunoassay, western blot and ex vivo temporal artery culture.GM-CSF and GM-CSF receptor α mRNA and protein were increased in GCA lesions; enhanced JAK2/STAT5A expression/phosphorylation as well as increased expression of target genes CD83 and Spi1/PU.1 were observed. Treatment of ex vivo cultured GCA arteries with mavrilimumab resulted in decreased transcripts of CD3ε, CD20, CD14 and CD16 cell markers, and reduction of infiltrating CD16 and CD3ε cells was observed by immunofluorescence. Mavrilimumab reduced expression of molecules relevant to T cell activation (human leukocyte antigen-DR [HLA-DR]) and Th1 differentiation (interferon-γ), the pro-inflammatory cytokines: interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) and IL-1β, as well as molecules related to vascular injury (matrix metalloprotease 9, lipid peroxidation products and inducible nitric oxide synthase [iNOS]). Mavrilimumab reduced CD34 + cells and neoangiogenesis in GCA lesions.The inhibitory effects of mavrilimumab on multiple steps in the GCA pathogenesis cascade in vitro are consistent with the clinical observation of reduced GCA flares in a phase 2 trial and support its development as a therapeutic option for patients with GCA.© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ