Using Student Voice to Respond to Middle School Bullying: A Student Leadership Approach

Bullying prevention and intervention are ongoing challenges for all educators, school psychologists included. A lack of research exists regarding the potential role of middle school students as direct actors in bullying prevention and intervention. This article describes a novel student leadership group for seventh graders in which the primary leadership task was the creation of bullying prevention ideas for their school. The details of this group are described, as are the results of postgroup student interviews. Results indicate that the students found the group to be valuable. However, the broader collaborative effort between educators at this school and the university researchers to maintain a comprehensive bullying prevention system did not survive the school’s reorganization. This article addresses the lessons learned and the potential implication of this project for school psychology practice

Anisotropy links cell shapes to tissue flow during convergent extension

Within developing embryos, tissues flow and reorganize dramatically on timescales as short as minutes. This includes epithelial tissues, which often narrow and elongate in convergent extension movements due to anisotropies in external forces or in internal cell-generated forces. However, the mechanisms that allow or prevent tissue reorganization, especially in the presence of strongly anisotropic forces, remain unclear. We study this question in the converging and extending Drosophila germband epithelium, which displays planar polarized myosin II and experiences anisotropic forces from neighboring tissues, and we show that in contrast to isotropic tissues, cell shape alone is not sufficient to predict the onset of rapid cell rearrangement. From theoretical considerations and vertex model simulations, we predict that in anisotropic tissues two experimentally accessible metrics of cell patterns, the cell shape index and a cell alignment index, are required to determine whether an anisotropic tissue is in a solid-like or fluid-like state. We show that changes in cell shape and alignment over time in the Drosophila germband predict the onset of rapid cell rearrangement in both wild-type and snail twist mutant embryos, where our theoretical prediction is further improved when we also account for cell packing disorder. These findings suggest that convergent extension is associated with a transition to more fluid-like tissue behavior, which may help accommodate tissue shape changes during rapid developmental events

BILETA Response to UK Government Consultation: Data a new direction

This Government consultation presents proposals that build on the key elements of the current UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), such as its data processing principles, its data rights for citizens, and its mechanisms for supervision and enforcement. The proposals aim to deliver an even better data protection regime that will: Support vibrant competition and innovation to drive economic growth Maintain high data protection standards without creating unnecessary barriers to responsible data use Keep pace with the rapid innovation of data-intensive technologies Help innovative businesses of all sizes to use data responsibly without undue uncertainty or risk, both in the UK and internationally Ensure the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is equipped to regulate effectively in an increasingly data-driven world This consultation is the first step in the process of reforming the UK’s regime for the protection of personal data and reflects. This report elaborates on the British and Irish Law Education Technology Association (BILETA) perspectives on data protection reform

Myo/Nog cell regulation of bone morphogenetic protein signaling in the blastocyst is essential for normal morphogenesis and striated muscle lineage specification

AbstractCells that express MyoD mRNA, the G8 antigen and the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) inhibitor noggin (Nog) are present in the epiblast before gastrulation. Ablation of “Myo/Nog” cells in the blastocyst results in an expansion of canonical BMP signaling and prevents the expression of noggin and follistatin before and after the onset of gastrulation. Once eliminated in the epiblast, they are neither replaced nor compensated for as development progresses. Older embryos lacking Myo/Nog cells exhibit severe axial malformations. Although Wnts and Sonic hedgehog are expressed in ablated embryos, skeletal muscle progenitors expressing Pax3 are missing in the somites. Pax3+ cells do emerge adjacent to Wnt3a+ cells in vitro; however, few undergo skeletal myogenesis. Ablation of Myo/Nog cells also results in ectopically placed cardiac progenitors and cardiomyocytes in the somites. Reintroduction of Myo/Nog cells into the epiblast of ablated embryos restores normal patterns of BMP signaling, morphogenesis and skeletal myogenesis, and inhibits the expression of cardiac markers in the somites. This study demonstrates that Myo/Nog cells are essential regulators of BMP signaling in the early epiblast and are indispensable for normal morphogenesis and striated muscle lineage specification

An Investigation of Chlorine Ligands in Transition-Metal Complexes via 35Cl Solid-State NMR and Density Functional Theory Calculations

35Cl solid state NMR (SSNMR), in tandem with 35Cl NQR and density functional theory calculations, was used to characterize chlorine ligands in a series of transition-metal complexes exhibiting structural motifs common to organometallic catalysts. The differentiation of the various chlorine environments was possible, and insight into the origins of the 35Cl electric field gradient tensor parameters was provided. The applicability of 35Cl SSNMR to the study of surface supported transition-metal complexes was demonstrated, validating the use of this technique in the characterization of heterogeneous catalysts

Gender and preferences at a young age: evidence from Armenia

We look at gender differences in competitiveness, risk preferences and altruism in a large sample of children and adolescents aged 7 to 16 in Armenia. Post-Soviet Armenia has few formal barriers to gender equality but is also characterized by a patrilineal kinship system and traditional gender roles. In contrast to research conducted in Western countries, we find that girls increase their performance more than boys in response to competition in a running task. We find no gender differences in the other three tasks we explore: skipping rope, a mathematical task, and a verbal task. We also find no difference in the willingness to compete in either the mathematical or the verbal task. In line with previous research, we find that boys are less altruistic and more risk taking than girls, and that the latter gap appears around the age of puberty

Suboptimal culture conditions induce more deviations in gene expression in male than female bovine blastocysts

BACKGROUND: Since the development of in vitro embryo production in cattle, different supplements have been added to culture media to support embryo development, with serum being the most popular. However, the addition of serum during embryo culture can induce high birthweights and low viability in calves (Large Offspring Syndrome). Analysis of global gene expression in bovine embryos produced under different conditions can provide valuable information to optimize culture media for in vitro embryo production. RESULTS: We used RNA sequencing to examine the effect of in vitro embryo production, in either serum-containing or serum-free media, on the global gene expression pattern of individual bovine blastocysts. Compared to in vivo derived embryos, embryos produced in serum-containing medium had five times more differentially expressed genes than embryos produced in serum-free conditions (1109 vs. 207). Importantly, in vitro production in the presence of serum appeared to have a different impact on the embryos according to their sex, with male embryos having three times more genes differentially expressed than their female counterparts (1283 vs. 456). On the contrary, male and female embryos produced in serum-free conditions showed the same number (191 vs. 192) of genes expressed differentially; however, only 44 of those genes were common in both comparisons. The pathways affected by in vitro production differed depending on the type of supplementation. For example, embryos produced in serum-containing conditions had a lower expression of genes related to metabolism while embryos produced in serum-free conditions showed aberrations in genes involved in lipid metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: Serum supplementation had a major impact on the gene expression pattern of embryos, with male embryos being the most affected. The transcriptome of embryos produced in serum-free conditions showed a greater resemblance to that of in vivo derived embryos, although genes involved in lipid metabolism were altered. Male embryos appeared to be most affected by suboptimal in vitro culture, i.e. in the presence of serum

The Influence of Concentration and Dynamical State on Scatter in the Galaxy Cluster Mass-Temperature Relation

Using a hydrodynamics plus N-body simulation of galaxy cluster formation within a large volume and mock Chandra X-ray observations, we study the form and evolution of the intrinsic scatter about the best-fit X-ray temperature-mass relation for clusters. We investigate the physical origin of the scatter by correlating it with quantities that are closely related to clusters' formation and merging histories. We also examine the distribution of the scatter for merging and nonmerging populations, identified using halo merger trees derived from the simulation as well as X-ray substructure measures. We find a strong correlation between the scatter in the M-T_X relation and the halo concentration, in the sense that more concentrated clusters tend to be cooler than clusters with similar masses. No bias is found between the merging and relaxed clusters, but merging clusters generally have greater scatter, which is related to the properties of the distribution of halo concentrations. We also detect a signature of non-lognormality in the distribution of scatter for our simulated clusters both at z=0 and at z=1. A detailed comparison of merging clusters identified by substructure measures and by halo merger trees is given in the discussion. We conclude that, when cooling-related effects are neglected, the variation in halo concentrations is a more important factor for driving the intrinsic scatter in the M-T_X relation, while departures from hydrostatic equilibrium due to cluster mergers have a minor effect.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (17 pages, 13 figures, double column), updated to match version to appear in Ap

Theoretical Uncertainties due to AGN Subgrid Models in Predictions of Galaxy Cluster Observable Properties

Cosmological constraints derived from galaxy clusters rely on accurate predictions of cluster observable properties, in which feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) is a critical component. In order to model the physical effects due to supermassive black holes (SMBH) on cosmological scales, subgrid modeling is required, and a variety of implementations have been developed in the literature. However, theoretical uncertainties due to model and parameter variations are not yet well understood, limiting the predictive power of simulations including AGN feedback. By performing a detailed parameter sensitivity study in a single cluster using several commonly-adopted AGN accretion and feedback models with FLASH, we quantify the model uncertainties in predictions of cluster integrated properties. We find that quantities that are more sensitive to gas density have larger uncertainties (~20% for Mgas and a factor of ~2 for Lx at R500), whereas Tx, Ysz, and Yx are more robust (~10-20% at R500). To make predictions beyond this level of accuracy would require more constraints on the most relevant parameters: the accretion model, mechanical heating efficiency, and size of feedback region. By studying the impact of AGN feedback on the scaling relations, we find that an anti-correlation exists between Mgas and Tx, which is another reason why Ysz and Yx are excellent mass proxies. This anti-correlation also implies that AGN feedback is likely to be an important source of intrinsic scatter in the Mgas-Tx and Lx-Tx relations.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA