In 2011, Lake Erie experienced the largest harmful algal bloom in its recorded history, with a peak intensity over three times greater than any previously observed bloom. Here we show that long-term ...trends in agricultural practices are consistent with increasing phosphorus loading to the western basin of the lake, and that these trends, coupled with meteorological conditions in spring 2011, produced record-breaking nutrient loads. An extended period of weak lake circulation then led to abnormally long residence times that incubated the bloom, and warm and quiescent conditions after bloom onset allowed algae to remain near the top of the water column and prevented flushing of nutrients from the system. We further find that all of these factors are consistent with expected future conditions. If a scientifically guided management plan to mitigate these impacts is not implemented, we can therefore expect this bloom to be a harbinger of future blooms in Lake Erie.
Accumulating evidence suggests that early adversity is linked to methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene, NR3C1, which is a key regulator of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Yet ...no prior work has considered the contribution of methylation of NR3C1 to emerging behavior problems and psychopathology in childhood. This study examined the links between methylation of NR3C1 and behavior problems in preschoolers. Data were drawn from a sample of preschoolers with early adversity (n = 171). Children ranged in age from 3 to 5 years, were racially and ethnically diverse, and nearly all qualified for public assistance. Seventy-one children had child welfare documentation of moderate to severe maltreatment in the past 6 months. Structured record review and interviews in the home were used to assess early adversity. Parents reported on child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Methylation of NR3C1 at exons 1D, 1F, and 1H were measured via sodium bisulfite pyrosequencing from saliva DNA. Methylation of NR3C1 at exons 1D and 1F was positively associated with internalizing (r = .21, p < .01 and r = .23, p < .01, respectively), but not externalizing, behavior problems. Furthermore, NR3C1 methylation mediated effects of early adversity on internalizing behavior problems. These results suggest that methylation of NR3C1 contributes to psychopathology in young children, and NR3C1 methylation from saliva DNA is salient to behavioral outcomes.
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a CD11b(+)Gr1(+) population in mice that can be separated into granulocytic (g-MDSC) and monocytic (m-MDSC) subtypes based on their expression of Ly6G and ...Ly6C. Both MDSC subtypes are potent suppressors of T cell immunity, and their contribution has been investigated in a plethora of diseases including renal cancer, renal transplant, and chronic kidney disease. Whether MDSCs contribute to the pathogenesis of acute kidney injury (AKI) remains unknown. Herein, using human C-reactive protein (CRP) transgenic (CRPtg) and CRP-deficient mice (CRP(-/-)) subjected to bilateral renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), we confirm our earlier finding that CRP exacerbates renal IRI and show for the first time that this effect is accompanied in CRPtg mice by a shift in the balance of kidney-infiltrating MDSCs toward a suppressive Ly6G(+)Ly6C(low) g-MDSC subtype. In CRPtg mice, direct depletion of g-MDSCs (using an anti-Gr1 monoclonal antibody) reduced the albuminuria caused by renal IRI, confirming they play a deleterious role. Remarkably, treatment of CRPtg mice with an antisense oligonucleotide that specifically blocks the human CRP acute-phase response also led to a reduction in renal g-MDSC numbers and improved albuminuria after renal IRI. Our study in CRPtg mice provides new evidence that MDSCs participate in the pathogenesis of renal IRI and shows that their pharmacological depletion is beneficial. If ongoing investigations confirm that CRP is an endogenous regulator of MDSCs in CRPtg mice, and if this action is recapitulated in humans, then targeting CRP or/and MDSCs might offer a new approach for the treatment of AKI.
Although bioinformatics is becoming increasingly central to research in the life sciences, bioinformatics skills and knowledge are not well integrated into undergraduate biology education. This ...curricular gap prevents biology students from harnessing the full potential of their education, limiting their career opportunities and slowing research innovation. To advance the integration of bioinformatics into life sciences education, a framework of core bioinformatics competencies is needed. To that end, we here report the results of a survey of biology faculty in the United States about teaching bioinformatics to undergraduate life scientists. Responses were received from 1,260 faculty representing institutions in all fifty states with a combined capacity to educate hundreds of thousands of students every year. Results indicate strong, widespread agreement that bioinformatics knowledge and skills are critical for undergraduate life scientists as well as considerable agreement about which skills are necessary. Perceptions of the importance of some skills varied with the respondent's degree of training, time since degree earned, and/or the Carnegie Classification of the respondent's institution. To assess which skills are currently being taught, we analyzed syllabi of courses with bioinformatics content submitted by survey respondents. Finally, we used the survey results, the analysis of the syllabi, and our collective research and teaching expertise to develop a set of bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate biology students. These core competencies are intended to serve as a guide for institutions as they work to integrate bioinformatics into their life sciences curricula.
Academic coaching is an increasingly prevalent form of student support in higher education, although empirical research on the intervention is relatively limited (Robinson,
2015
). Academic coaching ...is intended to advance student learning, well-being, and success in a context external but complementary to the classroom (Richman, Rademacher, & Maitland,
2014
; Robinson,
2015
). This exploratory study used a randomized control trial design to investigate the effects of academic coaching on college students’ metacognition, a primary component of self-regulated learning. We recruited undergraduates who had not previously participated in academic coaching and randomly assigned them to three groups: in-person academic coaching, online academic coaching, and control. All participants completed a pre- and post-test instrument that included the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI; Schraw & Dennison,
1994
). Results showed that students who received academic coaching had increased metacognition as measured by MAI subscales. Increases in metacognitive awareness occurred in both the in-person and online academic coaching conditions. However, repeated measures ANOVAs did not reveal differences between the three conditions. Overall preliminary results suggest that academic coaching may be a promising student support intervention for helping develop college students’ metacognition outside of the classroom environment.
The 2023–2024 Professional Affairs Committee was charged to (1) Create an action plan in response to the clear urgent need for transformation of community pharmacy practice; and (2) Develop ...“readiness for change” instrument that addresses multiple pharmacy stakeholder groups that are based on the ACT “community pharmacy enhanced services” definition. Due to the continuous and rapid-paced changes occurring in community pharmacy practice, the committee developed a document that provides the baseline elements that should be considered for community pharmacy practice currently and into the future. This document, Envisioning the Near Future of Community Pharmacy Patient Care Practice: Key Elements of Practice Redesign in Community Pharmacies, contains 8 sections and is recommended to be socialized within the pharmacy profession to ensure that it resonates with current and future community pharmacy practice.
Bioinformatics, a discipline that combines aspects of biology, statistics, mathematics, and computer science, is becoming increasingly important for biological research. However, bioinformatics ...instruction is not yet generally integrated into undergraduate life sciences curricula. To understand why we studied how bioinformatics is being included in biology education in the US by conducting a nationwide survey of faculty at two- and four-year institutions. The survey asked several open-ended questions that probed barriers to integration, the answers to which were analyzed using a mixed-methods approach. The barrier most frequently reported by the 1,260 respondents was lack of faculty expertise/training, but other deterrents-lack of student interest, overly-full curricula, and lack of student preparation-were also common. Interestingly, the barriers faculty face depended strongly on whether they are members of an underrepresented group and on the Carnegie Classification of their home institution. We were surprised to discover that the cohort of faculty who were awarded their terminal degree most recently reported the most preparation in bioinformatics but teach it at the lowest rate.
Using an embedded mixed methods design, a randomized control trial assessed the effects of in-person and online academic coaching professional development training on university faculty and staff ...behaviors and attitudes with undergraduate students. Results suggest there was widespread implementation of academic coaching behaviors including collaboration, asking open-ended questions, and creating an action plan. While both in-person and online training formats produced positive changes for participants, the in-person training resulted in greater behavior adoption.
► Examined whether the specificity-matching principle extends to implicit self-concept. ► Participants completed measures of self-esteem and domain-specific self-concept. ► Used these measures to ...predict a global outcome and domain-specific outcomes. ► Implicit self-concept predicted specific outcomes, but not global outcomes. ► Implicit self-concept accounted for unique variance in the specific outcomes.
According to the specificity-matching principle (Swann, Chang-Schneider, & McClarty, 2007), specific aspects of self-concept should predict domain specific outcomes, rather than broader outcomes. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether this principle, which has thus far been examined using explicit measures of the self, extends to the implicit self-concept. We tested this idea in the domain of math achievement. We observed that explicit math self-concept was correlated with specific outcomes (measures of math achievement), whereas explicit self-esteem was correlated with a broad outcome (satisfaction with life). Thus, we replicated the specificity-matching principle using explicit measures of self-esteem and self-concept. Moreover, we found that implicit self-concept was correlated with domain-specific outcomes, but not a global outcome, as the specificity-matching principle would predict. Furthermore, regression analyses indicated that implicit self-concept accounted for unique variance in the domain-specific outcomes, for which the other measures of the self could not account. Taken together, we conclude that the specificity-matching principle does indeed extend to the implicit self-concept.
Approximately 20% of children in the United States are affected by mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems that interfere with their daily functioning and educational attainment (Bitsko et ...al., 2016; CDC, 2013; Robinson et al., 2017; Shepard & Dickstein, 2009). Without timely and appropriate treatment, the disadvantages related to these issues can compound over time and result in poor outcomes, such as peer relationship difficulties, academic underachievement, substance use, juvenile delinquency, and health problems (e.g., Baker, Grant, & Morlock, 2008; Chacko et al., 2016; McGilloway et al., 2012; Surgeon General, 2014). Therefore, helping families access and engage in high-quality services, such as parent training programs, becomes a paramount concern. Unfortunately, many risk factors associated with childhood mental, emotional, and behavioral health (e.g., poor parenting practices) also affect parents’ ability to engage in treatment, which can impede treatment effectiveness. The present study investigates the effects of a text message supplement in enhancing parents’ engagement in the Incredible Years® (IY) BASIC Preschool parent training program. Specifically, the Texting to Increase the Impact of Parenting (TIIIP) Program was developed to reflect the IY curriculum and was administered in a randomized controlled trial to two community-based IY programs in North Carolina. Parents and group leaders provided ratings of parents’ engagement in the IY program throughout its 16-week curriculum. Additionally, parents provided ratings of their stress and their perceived barriers to treatment in order to empirically examine common theories of parent engagement. Correlational analyses support theories of parent engagement that suggest higher levels of stress and barriers to treatment are negatively related to parents’ engagement in treatment. Results from multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests revealed that the TIIP Program significantly increased parents’ behavioral engagement but did not impact parents’ attitudinal engagement. Qualitative data also provided information about parents’ subjective experience with the TIIP Program, including that the text messages were helpful, encouraging, and fun. The results of this study are discussed regarding the importance of incorporating technological supplements targeting parent engagement into parent training programs. Limitations and proposed future directions for research are discussed.
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