An Investigation of Spirituality in Person-Centered Planning for Adults With Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities

While research identifies spirituality and inclusion in a community of faith as key factors contributing to quality of life for many individuals in our society, people with disabilities are often not able to access this aspect of everyday life if they wish. To change this, four groups must come together: (1) individuals with disabilities; (2) faith communities; (3) families of people with disabilities; and (4) support service providers. Current research describes the efforts of faith communities and people with disabilities and their families relative to spiritual inclusion; however, little is known about how support service systems are addressing this topic. This study surveyed direct support professionals to examine their beliefs, perceptions, and practices regarding spirituality and its role in the person-centered planning process for people with disabilities. Results indicate professionals have a high level of support for including spirituality in person-centered planning; however, this attitude does not consistently transfer to their practices. Overcoming identified barriers and meeting the needs of professionals are discussed in the context of better inclusion of this quality of life aspect for people with disabilities

A communal catalogue reveals Earth’s multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world’s importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth’s microbial diversity

A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity.Peer reviewe