School-Based Restorative Justice: Lessons and Opportunities in a Post-Pandemic World

The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected schools and the people within them. The move to remote schooling forced practitioners of school-based restorative justice to adapt and innovate, as theory and practice had almost exclusively focused on in-person instruction. In this paper, I first review some of the challenges, adaptations, and lessons during the pandemic. I then argue that restorative justice in schools offers new and unique potential to address needs of educational communities and the students, educators, and staff within them as in-person instruction returns. Specifically, I suggest it could contribute to rebuilding social connection and community, bolstering mental health, and addressing inequities. Finally, I end with limitations and future directions for considering these extensions and evaluating their impact. School-based restorative justice alone cannot be a panacea for these issues, but could be integrated into other supports and services to address the stark needs of school communities and of the young people whose lives have been so deeply impacted by COVID-19

Web Derive 01 - an online Art VR work by the Transeuntis Mundi Project

The Transeuntis Mundi(TM) Project explores the complexity of the millennial human journey and the resulting cultural diversity. It investigates how it can be approached through artistic research and be converted into a nomadic creative practice in transmedia arts, using emerging technologies to generate an archive of human legacy. Compositions are based on field recordings in public spaces of multiple cities around the world, using 3D technology for sound and image, following Careri\u27s (2002) methodology of Walkscapes. The power of interactivity and immersion through 360o image and ambisonic sounds are crucial to insert the visitor in a global cultural experience. This transmedia work is designed to happen as a non-fictional VR application. Here we present the two main compositions of the project: Derive 01 and Web Derive 01

Messaging and Action around Race and Inclusion at a Predominantly White Institution: Perceived Dissonance of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Students

As college has increasingly become part of emerging adulthood for United States youth, Predominantly White and Historically White Institutions (PWI/HWIs) have faced pressures to diversify and address problematic racial/ethnic campus climates. Within the rich and evolving literature, there is room for better understanding how Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) emerging adults experience institutional messaging. This report draws on environmental press and meaning making to explore this experience for 21 BIPOC students at an urban, Midwestern PWI/HWI. In focus groups, students highlighted the role of the university’s messaging around race/ethnicity and inclusion as problematic: negative descriptions about the urban context surrounding the university held implicit messages about BIPOC students on campus, while positive messaging about inclusion and diversity efforts was dissonant with the lack of perceived action. The findings speak to the importance of emerging adults’ perception and interpretation of messaging and institutional action to promote diversity

Making Meaning of COVID-19: An Exploratory Analysis of U.S. Adolescent Experiences of the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic will mark the lives and trajectories of adolescents who lived through it. The pandemic upended social contexts, disrupted schools, and, for many, impacted the physical, financial, and psychosocial health of themselves, their families, and their communities. Contextual changes, however, are not solely deterministic of developmental outcomes. As Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and Spencer’s Phenomenological Variant of the Ecological Systems Theory demonstrate, young people interpret, make meaning, and respond to socioecological contexts as part of their developmental processes. The current study explored meaning making qualitatively through how adolescents in the United States were experiencing COVID-19. Participants were asked via an online survey about their emotions, how they felt COVID-19 was impacting them, and challenges in their lives. Participants (N = 816, mean 15.86 years old) came from 18 states and responded between April and June 2020. Thematic analyses identified 3 themes related to experiences of shifting socioecological context: inadequacy of virtual means of communication; interconnection of daily routines, social life, and mental health; and missing out on key experiences and milestones. Limited socializing fed into emotional responses and connected to the disruption of everyday life. Further analysis focused on Latino/a participants per the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on Latinx communities and 2 subgroups by location that had experienced differential extremes of COVID-19 rates during this timeframe. These analyses allowed for examination of different patterns based on socioecological contexts. Translational impacts for those working with young people include considering their processing of the varied and expansive socioecological shifts caused by COVID-19

A Framework for Guiding Transformative Growth After High School Shootings

For the last 20 years, gun violence has severely compromised safety, learning outcomes, social development, and psychological well-being in many high school communities. An emerging body of international research describes strategies developed to support students and staff members in the wake of school shootings. However, these protocols are typically designed to help administrators manage the immediate sequelae of these incidents, leaving survivors to handle the lasting consequences of their experiences on their own. This article presents a broad framework for facilitating long-term psychological growth that can be integrated into high school curricula. It is based on the complementary theories of Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) and Transformative Learning (TL), which explain how positive psychological change can occur after a traumatic event disrupts a person’s assumptive worldview. The three segments of the TL process—questioning, exploring, and experimenting—facilitate PTG by transforming established beliefs into broader meaning perspectives that accommodate present realities. The framework below provides an organized approach to guiding high school students, staff, and communities through the full process of rebuilding global schemas after a shooting occurs. It can be implemented alongside existing crisis-response models, resulting in an expansion of their utility. Its guided-growth strategies can also be leveraged to reshape school culture and encourage collective action in the surrounding community, maximizing the possibility of positive worldview development

Aquatic mammal fossils in Latin America – a review of records, advances and challenges in research in the last 30 years

Records of aquatic mammal fossils (e.g. cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, mustelids, and desmostylians) from Latin America (Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, including Antartica) span since the mid-1800s. Aquatic mammal fossils received little attention from the scientific community, with most of the first studies conducted by Northern Hemisphere researchers. Over the last 30 years, paleontological research in Latin America has increased considerably, with descriptions of several new species and revisions of published original records. The Latin American fossil record of marine mammals spans from the Eocene to the Pleistocene, with formations and specimens of global significance. All three main groups of cetaceans are represented in the continent (Archaeoceti, Mysticeti, and Odontoceti). Pinnipedia are represented by the families Otariidae and Phocidae, with records starting in the Middle Miocene. Both living families of Sirenia (Trichechidae and Dugongidae) are recorded. While less common, but still relevant, records of desmostylians and mustelids are known from Oligocene and Miocene deposits. This review provides a summary of the aquatic mammals known to date, with a special focus on the advances and developments of the last 30 years, since Cozzuol’s (1996) review of the South American fossil record. An up-to-date complete list of species based on the literature and unpublished data is also provided. The study also provides future directions for paleontological research in Latin America, and discusses the challenges and opportunities in the field, including the emergence of a strong new generation of Latin American researchers, many of whom are women. Keywords: Cetacea, Pinnipedia, Sirenia, Southern Hemispher

Extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD3) regulates oxidative stress at the vitreoretinal interface

Oxidative stress is a pathogenic feature in vitreoretinal disease. However, the ability of the inner retina to manage metabolic waste and oxidative stress is unknown. Proteomic analysis of antioxidants in the human vitreous, the extracellular matrix opposing the inner retina, identified superoxide dismutase-3 (SOD3) that localized to a unique matrix structure in the vitreous base and cortex. To determine the role of SOD3, Sod3-/- mice underwent histological and clinical phenotyping. Although the eyes were structurally normal, at the vitreoretinal interface Sod3-/- mice demonstrated higher levels of 3-nitrotyrosine, a key marker of oxidative stress. Pattern electroretinography also showed physiological signaling abnormalities within the inner retina. Vitreous biopsies and epiretinal membranes collected from patients with diabetic vitreoretinopathy (DVR) and a mouse model of DVR showed significantly higher levels of nitrates and/or 3-nitrotyrosine oxidative stress biomarkers suggestive of SOD3 dysfunction. This study analyzes the molecular pathways that regulate oxidative stress in human vitreous substructures. The absence or dysregulation of the SOD3 antioxidant at the vitreous base and cortex results in increased oxidative stress and tissue damage to the inner retina, which may underlie DVR pathogenesis and other vitreoretinal diseases

Genetic Epidemiology of Tuberculosis Susceptibility: Impact of Study Design

Several candidate gene studies have provided evidence for a role of host genetics in susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB). However, the results of these studies have been very inconsistent, even within a study population. Here, we review the design of these studies from a genetic epidemiological perspective, illustrating important differences in phenotype definition in both cases and controls, consideration of latent M. tuberculosis infection versus active TB disease, population genetic factors such as population substructure and linkage disequilibrium, polymorphism selection, and potential global differences in M. tuberculosis strain. These considerable differences between studies should be accounted for when examining the current literature. Recommendations are made for future studies to further clarify the host genetics of TB

Adherence and Toxicity during the Treatment of Latent Tuberculous Infection in a Referral Center in Spain

Latent tuberculosis infection; Toxicity; Tuberculosis screeningInfecció tuberculosa latent; Toxicitat; Cribratge de tuberculosiInfección tuberculosa latente; Toxicidad; Cribado de tuberculosisThe screening and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in countries with a low incidence of TB is a key strategy for the elimination of tuberculosis (TB). However, treatment can result in adverse events (AEs) and have poor adherence. This study aimed to describe treatment outcomes and AEs for LTBI patients at two departments in Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain. A retrospective study was conducted on all persons treated for LTBI between January 2018 and December 2020. Variables collected included demographics, the reason for LTBI screening and treatment initiation, AEs related to treatment, and treatment outcome. Out of 261 persons who initiated LTBI treatment, 145 (55.6%) were men, with a median age of 42.1 years. The indications for LTBI screening were household contact of a TB case in 96 (36.8%) persons, immunosuppressive treatment in 84 (32.2%), and recently arrived migrants from a country with high TB incidence in 81 (31.0%). Sixty-three (24.1%) persons presented at least one AE during treatment, and seven (2.7%) required definitive discontinuation of treatment. In the multivariate analysis, AE development was more frequent in those who started LTBI treatment due to immunosuppression. Overall, 226 (86.6%) completed treatment successfully. We concluded that LTBI screening and treatment groups had different risks for adverse events and treatment outcomes. Persons receiving immunosuppressive treatment were at higher risk of developing AEs, and recently arrived immigrants from countries with a high incidence of TB had greater LTFU. A person-centered adherence and AE management plan is recommended.A.M.L. was supported by a postdoctoral grant “Juan Rodés” (JE21/00027) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos through the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain

A multi-stage genome-wide association study of bladder cancer identifies multiple susceptibility loci.

We conducted a multi-stage, genome-wide association study of bladder cancer with a primary scan of 591,637 SNPs in 3,532 affected individuals (cases) and 5,120 controls of European descent from five studies followed by a replication strategy, which included 8,382 cases and 48,275 controls from 16 studies. In a combined analysis, we identified three new regions associated with bladder cancer on chromosomes 22q13.1, 19q12 and 2q37.1: rs1014971, (P = 8 × 10⁻¹²) maps to a non-genic region of chromosome 22q13.1, rs8102137 (P = 2 × 10⁻¹¹) on 19q12 maps to CCNE1 and rs11892031 (P = 1 × 10⁻⁷) maps to the UGT1A cluster on 2q37.1. We confirmed four previously identified genome-wide associations on chromosomes 3q28, 4p16.3, 8q24.21 and 8q24.3, validated previous candidate associations for the GSTM1 deletion (P = 4 × 10⁻¹¹) and a tag SNP for NAT2 acetylation status (P = 4 × 10⁻¹¹), and found interactions with smoking in both regions. Our findings on common variants associated with bladder cancer risk should provide new insights into the mechanisms of carcinogenesis