Covid-19 is an unfolding health and financial crisis for US local governments

With disputes between the US federal and state governments as to how best to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic ongoing, many local governments have had to respond to the crisis on their own. Bruce D. McDonald, III and Sarah E. Larson write that for many of these local governments, Covid-19 is a double crisis. Not only is it a public health emergency, it is also a financial crisis as sales tax revenues plummet because of stay at home policies at the same time as health expenditures are on the rise

Exploring the Opportunity and Archievement Gap: The Capacity of Inclusive Outdoor Adventure Programming in Alleviating Youth Educational Inequity

The United States education system is purported to be an equalizer for students in terms of providing education, socialization, skills, and opportunities. It is, however, rife with inequality as youth socioeconomic status is largely a predictor for future economic success. Socioeconomic status further constrains their participation in enriching supplemental activities that foster meaningful development. Through a content analysis of published research, this paper specifically examines the value of outdoor adventure programming as a supplemental educational device to that of the classroom experience, particularly for low-income youth. Findings suggest that outdoor adventure programs are associated with positive social outcomes and successful programs develop and implement policies and practices attuned to diversity, inclusion, cultural competence, and equity

Electron microscopic analysis of rotavirus assembly-replication intermediates

AbstractRotaviruses (RVs) replicate their segmented, double-stranded RNA genomes in tandem with early virion assembly. In this study, we sought to gain insight into the ultrastructure of RV assembly-replication intermediates (RIs) using transmission electron microscopy (EM). Specifically, we examined a replicase-competent, subcellular fraction that contains all known RV RIs. Three never-before-seen complexes were visualized in this fraction. Using in vitro reconstitution, we showed that ~15-nm doughnut-shaped proteins in strings were nonstructural protein 2 (NSP2) bound to viral RNA transcripts. Moreover, using immunoaffinity-capture EM, we revealed that ~20-nm pebble-shaped complexes contain the viral RNA polymerase (VP1) and RNA capping enzyme (VP3). Finally, using a gel purification method, we demonstrated that ~30–70-nm electron-dense, particle-shaped complexes represent replicase-competent core RIs, containing VP1, VP3, and NSP2 as well as capsid proteins VP2 and VP6. The results of this study raise new questions about the interactions among viral proteins and RNA during the concerted assembly–replicase process

Graduate Colleague Mentorship: Meaningful Connections for Emerging Women in Student Affairs

The Vermont Connection, at its core, is about people who invest in people. As aspiring and practicing student affairs educators, we invest in ourselves, in our students, in our colleagues, and in our research—research that frequently centers on the relationships among these groups of people. We invest because we grew from relationships with those who cared enough to do the same for us. We are the product of myriad connections across time and landscapes, knit together in our common experience in the University of Vermont’s Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program. Intentional connection building is the purpose of HESA’s Graduate Colleague (GC) program, where incoming first-year students are matched with second-year students to assist in the transition to Vermont, the University, and HESA. In the following article, five generations of GCs discuss, through the lens of feminist theory, how our special connection informed and shaped each of our academic experiences, professional development, and voice-finding processes

Extreme Longitudinal Variability of Plasma Structuring in the Equatorial Ionosphere on a Magnetically Quiet Equinoctial Day

We investigate the extreme longitudinal variability of equatorial scintillation under quiet magnetic conditions during 22–23 March 2002. Scintillation Network Decision Aid (SCINDA) observations show intense activity in the South American–Atlantic sector during local evening hours, whereas an absence of scintillation is seen in the far east Asian sector. Ground- and space-based measurements from SCINDA, the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI), TOPEX, and a chain of GPS receivers are used in combination with the Utah State University Global Assimilation of Ionospheric Measurements (USU-GAIM) model to explore the relationship between the large-scale ionization distribution and small-scale irregularities at low latitudes in both the scintillating and nonscintillating longitude sectors. Our analysis shows that there are significant differences in the evolution of the ionization distributions during the evening hours, which are likely the result of differences in the daytime and postsunset vertical plasma drift in the two sectors. This study demonstrates the importance of USU-GAIM as a new tool for investigating longitudinal as well as day-to-day variability that is observed in the large-scale distribution of the ionosphere and how this relates to the occurrence of scintillation

The effects of estimating a photoionization parameter within a physics-based model using data assimilation

Data assimilation (DA) is the process of merging information from prediction models with noisy observations to produce an estimate of the state of a physical system. In ionospheric physics-based models, the solar ionizing irradiance is commonly estimated from a solar index like F10.7. The goal of this work is to provide the fundamental understanding necessary to appreciate how a DA algorithm responds to estimating an external parameter driving the model’s interpretation of this solar ionizing irradiance. Therefore, in this work we allow the DA system to find the F10.7 value that delivers the degree of photoionization that leads to a predicted electron density field that best matches the observations. To this end, we develop a heuristic model of the ionosphere along the magnetic equator that contains physics from solar forcing and recombination/plasma diffusion, which allows us to explore the impacts of strongly forced system dynamics on DA. This framework was carefully crafted to be both linear and Gaussian, which allows us to use a Kalman filter to clearly see how: (1) while recombination acts as a sink on the information in the initial condition for ionospheric field variables, recombination does not impact the information in parameter estimates in the same way, (2) when solar forcing dominates the electron density field, the prior covariance matrix becomes dominated by its leading eigenvector whose structure is directly related to that of the solar forcing, (3) estimation of parameters for forcing terms leads to a time-lag in the state estimate relative to the truth, (4) the performance of a DA system in this regime is determined by the relative dominance of solar forcing and recombination to that of the smaller-scale processes and (5) the most impactful observations on the electron density field and on the solar forcing parameter are those observations on the sunlit side of the ionosphere. These findings are then illustrated in a full physics-based ionospheric model using an ensemble Kalman filter DA scheme

Effect of glycine and glycine receptor antagonists on NMDA-induced brain injury

In postnatal day 7 rats, a unilateral intrastriatal injection of 12.5 nmol of (NMDA) reproducibly injures the ipsilateral striatum, adjacent hippocampus and overlying cortex. The severity of injury can be quantified by comparing cerebral hemisphere weights in animals sacrificed 5 days after the injection. Co-injection of NMDA and the glycine receptor antagonists kynurenic acid (KYN) or 7-chlorokynurenic acid (7-CKA) reduced the severity of NMDA-induced damage in a dose-dependent fashion. One hundred nmol of KYN with 12.5 nmol of NMDA reduced average % damage from 19.3+/-0.9% (n=9) to 2.3+/-0.5% (n=6), Pn=6) reduced average % damage from 17.1+/-1.6% (n=15) to 3.0+/-0.6%, P<0.001, ANOVA. Concurrent injection of 1000 nmol glycine with 5 nmol NMDA did not increase the extent of NMDA-induced damage. Our results demonstrate that glycine receptor antagonists attenuate NMDA-induced brain injury in vivo.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27636/1/0000012.pd

Multimodal perioperative pain protocol for Gynecologic Oncology laparotomy reduces length of hospital stay

Our primary objective was to evaluate the impact of a multimodal perioperative pain regimen on length of hospital stay for patients undergoing laparotomy with a gynecologic oncologist

Increasing the availability and utilization of reliable data on population micronutrient (MN) status globally: the MN Data Generation Initiative.

Micronutrient (MN) deficiencies can produce a broad array of adverse health and functional outcomes. Young, preschool children and women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries are most affected by these deficiencies, but the true magnitude of the problems and their related disease burdens remain uncertain because of the dearth of reliable biomarker information on population MN status. The reasons for this lack of information include a limited understanding by policy makers of the importance of MNs for human health and the usefulness of information on MN status for program planning and management; insufficient professional capacity to advocate for this information and design and implement related MN status surveys; high costs and logistical constraints involved in specimen collection, transport, storage, and laboratory analyses; poor access to adequately equipped and staffed laboratories to complete the analyses reliably; and inadequate capacity to interpret and apply this information for public health program design and evaluation. This report describes the current situation with regard to data availability, the reasons for the lack of relevant information, and the steps needed to correct this situation, including implementation of a multi-component MN Data Generation Initiative to advocate for critical data collection and provide related technical assistance, laboratory services, professional training, and financial support