ExpandED Schools National Demonstration: Lessons for Scale and Sustainability

Can schools and community organizations come together to provide children with critical enrichment activities that enhance knowledge and expand horizons beyond core academics during the school day? This report by Policy Studies Associates, Inc., highlights some ways in which they might.The report investigates schools' use of the ExpandED Schools model, which seeks to use partnerships between public schools, community organizations and intermediary organizations to increase enrichment opportunities for children. In the model, regular school staffers focus largely on core academics, while a community-based organization offers enrichment activities during expanded school hours. A third, intermediary organization often coordinates and supports the effort.Researchers studied the use of this model in 10 schools in three cities—New York City, Baltimore and New Orleans—over four years. In this report, they identify the parts of the model that were easiest for the schools to implement, parts that proved more challenging and strategies schools used to overcome hurdles along the way.It finds that the partnerships were generally most successful in adding new activities to an expanded school day and were able to coordinate efforts between school staff and community organizations. But many schools struggled to find reliable sources of funding and to use data to drive programming and instruction

The Automation of the Taxi Industry – Taxi Drivers’ Expectations and Attitudes Towards the Future of their Work

Advocates of autonomous driving predict that the occupation of taxi driver could be made obsolete by shared autonomous vehicles (SAV) in the long term. Conducting interviews with German taxi drivers, we investigate how they perceive the changes caused by advancing automation for the future of their business. Our study contributes insights into how the work of taxi drivers could change given the advent of autonomous driving: While the task of driving could be taken over by SAVs for standard trips, taxi drivers are certain that other areas of their work such as providing supplementary services and assistance to passengers would constitute a limit to such forms of automation, but probably involving a shifting role for the taxi drivers, one which focuses on the sociality of the work. Our findings illustrate how taxi drivers see the future of their work, suggesting design implications for tools that take various forms of assistance into account, and demonstrating how important it is to consider taxi drivers in the co-design of future taxis and SAV services

Antifungal defense of probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is mediated by blocking adhesion and nutrient depletion

Data Availability: All relevant data are available from the Gene Expression Omnibus at the following accession number: GSE97755. Funding: This work was funded by the German Research Council (DFG) Graduation College 685, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: A systems approach to the therapy of nosocomial infections caused by Candida albicans: a commensal organism switches to a deadly pathogen/ PTJ (FKZ: 0315409BBMBF), the Dr. Manfred Plempel-foundation, the Dr. Siegried Stettendorf-Foundation, the InfectERA Program (FunComPath; BMBF FKZ 031L0001A), the Integrated Research and Treatment Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC) project CanBac (BMBF, FKZ: 01EO1002), and the German Research Council (DFG) GZ:HE7565/1-1. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Supramolecular peptide composite assemblies: Mimicking biological form and function in synthetic systems

Microtubules (MTs) are dynamic, multifunctional biomaterials that facilitate a range of complex biological process in cells ranging from regulation of cell morphology to separation of chromosomes during cell division to directing the intracellular transport of molecular cargo.1 The remarkable precision, versatility, and dynamic nature of these non-equilibrium structures has motivated our desire to mimic their structure and function in synthetic materials. Here, I will identify a number of the key attributes responsible for MT form and function, and describe our efforts to merge computation and experiment to design, synthesize, and study a family of self-assembling peptides intended to mimic MTs. MTs are self-assembled biological filaments assembled from tightly bound heterodimers of α and β tubulin. These dimers assemble head-to-tail into protofilaments that associate laterally into closed sheets forming the characteristic tubular morphology of the MTs. These tubules are approximately 25 nm in diameter and can be many micrometers long, though the length of the MTs is subject to their dynamic assembly and disassembly within a cell (dynamic instability). Ultimately, both the initial assembly and dynamic instability of MTs are governed by complex electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions between tubulin heterodimers and other functional biomolecules within the cell. These interactions allow biology to effectively program MT form and function to meet the dynamic and evolving needs of a cell. From a synthetic materials perspective, we aim to create simplified peptide or composite peptide molecules capable of similar programmable functional assembly that could similarly be used to facilitate dynamic or adaptable organization of nanomaterials. To guide the design and facilitate understanding of these peptide systems, we utilize a combination of density functional theory (DFT) and self-consistent field theory (SCFT) that can reveal simplified or distilled molecular characteristics needed in an artificial MT scheme. These computational studies have provided insight into the necessary molecular geometries, peptide compositions, and even targeted intermolecular interactions built into our MT-mimetic designs. In particular here, I will describe a collection of simulation-inspired peptides in which we demonstrate that molecular shape, electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding, and solvent interactions influence peptide self assembly into sheets, fibers, ribbons, vesicles and tubules (Figure 1).2,3 Moreover, we show that by creating hybrid or composite compositions containing multiple functionalities, it is possible to control molecular self-assembly through interactions with secondary molecules. For example, select bola-peptide compositions are shown to undergo unique self-assembly in collaboration with the surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate, creating a composite structure that is resistant to enzymatic degradation. In another example, molecules comprising self assembling peptides, such as diphenylalanine, and boronic acid form ribbon-structures whose reversible self-assembly is mediated by binding of polysaccharides to the boronic acids. Just as in the natural MT system, the self-assembly (and disassembly) in these hybrid systems is regulated by molecular shape, electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions, and the programmable response of these molecules to chemical stimuli. Continued development of these hybrid, composite peptide systems is aimed at developing a new class of biomimetic molecular materials which mimic not only the form, but also the underlying function of some of Nature’s most compelling supramolecular creations

Traditional Open-bay Versus Single-family Room Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: a Comparison of Selected nutrition Outcomes

Background: In contrast to the traditional open-bay–type design of the neonatal intensive care unit (tNICU), infants in developmentally appropriate NICU (dNICU) are housed in individual rooms with greater control of light and noise. Previous reports have documented positive influence of the dNICU in cardiorespiratory status, physiologic stability, and weight gain of the infants. The objective of this study was to explore selected nutrition outcomes of infants in the dNICU versus tNICU. Method: A prospective cohort study was conducted on infants with birth weight of 1500 g or less cared for in dNICU (n = 42) or tNICU (n = 31). Differences between days to reach full parenteral nutrition, full enteral nutrition, or full bottling were determined using analysis of covariance controlling for gestational age, birth weight, and clinical risk index for babies (CRIB) acuity score. Results: There were no differences between the two groups in days to reach full parenteral and bottle feeding. The infants in the dNICU took fewer days to reach full enteral nutrition (20.8 days, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 17, 24.6 (dNICU) vs 23.3 days, 95% CI: 17.1, 29.6 (tNICU), P = 0.04) than those in the tNICU. Conclusions: Although the two groups of infants only differed in the days to reach full enteral feeding, it is important to remember that the lack of difference may be clinically significant. Clinically, the infants in the dNICU were younger (gestational age) and sicker (CRIB acuity score) than the infants in the tNICU. Consequently, the results of this study support the change to dNICU, as the private room model provides a supportive environment for growth as evidenced by similar nutritional outcome measures. More research is needed to determine the effect of the dNICU on nutrition outcomes

Weight-based vs. BSA-based Fluid Resuscitation Predictions in Pediatric Burn Patients

Fluid resuscitation for pediatric burns uses formulas that estimate fluid requirements based on weight, and/or body surface area (BSA) along with percent total burn surface area (TBSA). Adult studies have shown that these formulas can cause fluid overload in obese patients and increase risk of complications. These findings have not been validated in pediatric patients. This study provides a retrospective review conducted with 110 children (≤ 18 years old) admitted to an ABA-verified urban pediatric burn center from October 2008 to May 2020. Patients were resuscitated with the weight-based Parkland formula, and had fluids titrated to urine output every two hours. BSA-based Galveston and BSA-incorporated Cincinnati formula resuscitation predictions were also calculated. Complications were collected throughout the hospital stay. Patients were classified into CDC-defined weight groups based on percentile ranges. We found that predicted resuscitation volumes increased as CDC percentile increased for all three formulas (p=0.033, 0.092, 0.038), however there were no significant differences between overweight and obese children. Total fluid administered was higher as CDC percentile increased (p=0.023). However, overweight children received more total fluid than obese children. The difference between total fluids given and Galveston predicted resuscitation volumes were significant across all groups (p=0.042); however, the difference using the Parkland and Cincinnati formulas were not statistically significant. There were more children in the normal weight group who developed complications compared to other groups, but these findings were not significant. Overall, the Parkland formula tended to underpredict fluid needs in the underweight, normal, and overweight children, and it overpredicted fluid needs for the obese. Further research is needed to determine the value of weight-based vs BSA-based or incorporated formulas in terms of their risk of complications

Cohesin promotes the repair of ionizing radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks in replicated chromatin

The cohesin protein complex holds sister chromatids together after synthesis until mitosis. It also contributes to post-replicative DNA repair in yeast and higher eukaryotes and accumulates at sites of laser-induced damage in human cells. Our goal was to determine whether the cohesin subunits SMC1 and Rad21 contribute to DNA double-strand break repair in X-irradiated human cells in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. RNA interference-mediated depletion of SMC1 sensitized HeLa cells to X-rays. Repair of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks, measured by γH2AX/53BP1 foci analysis, was slower in SMC1- or Rad21-depleted cells than in controls in G2 but not in G1. Inhibition of the DNA damage kinase DNA-PK, but not ATM, further inhibited foci loss in cohesin-depleted cells in G2. SMC1 depletion had no effect on DNA single-strand break repair in either G1 or late S/G2. Rad21 and SMC1 were recruited to sites of X-ray-induced DNA damage in G2-phase cells, but not in G1, and only when DNA damage was concentrated in subnuclear stripes, generated by partially shielded ultrasoft X-rays. Our results suggest that the cohesin complex contributes to cell survival by promoting the repair of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks in G2-phase cells in an ATM-dependent pathway

Psychometric Properties of the Hoarding Rating Scale-Interview

The present study tested the psychometric properties of an expanded version of the Hoarding Rating Scale (HRS-I), a semistructured interview for hoarding disorder (HD). Eighty-seven adults with HD and 44 healthy control (HC) participants were assessed using the HRS-I and completed a battery of self-report measures of HD severity, negative affect, and functional impairment. All interviews were audio recorded. From the HD participants, 21 were randomly selected for inter-rater reliability (IRR) analysis and 11 for test-retest reliability (TRR) analysis. The HRS-I showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.87). IRR and TRR in the HD sample were good (intra-class coefficients = 0.81 and 0.85, respectively). HRS-I scores correlated strongly with scores on the self-report Saving Inventory-Revised (SI-R); partial correlations indicated that the HRS-I clutter, difficulty discarding, and acquiring items correlated significantly and at least moderately with corresponding SI-R subscales, when controlling for the other SI-R subscales. The HD group scored significantly higher on all items than did the HC group, with large effect sizes (d = 1.28–6.58). ROC analysis showed excellent sensitivity (1.00) and specificity (1.00) for distinguishing the HD and HC groups with a cutoff score of 11. Results and limitations are discussed in light of prior research