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Using a critical ethnographic approach, this research explores the experiences of preservice teachers in a Midwestern educator preparation program as they plan and implement an interdisciplinary community exploration and learning project using culturally responsive teaching practices to center local refugee youth. Data collection includes observing collaborative planning processes, collecting written reflections and photographs, and conducting post-project interviews. Findings suggest that culturally responsive teaching practices can lead to the development of asset-based mindsets of their peers through an emphasis on openness, interdisciplinary collaboration, and centering refugee youth. The implications of reframing service learning as learning and exploration are discussed, highlighting the benefits for both students and preservice teachers in terms of cultural competence and equity. Considerations for future research include the importance of longitudinal studies on the impact of cultural responsiveness in educator preparation programs. The research contributes to the understanding of effective teaching strategies for promoting equity in education and highlights the transformative potential of culturally responsive teaching on preservice teachers in collaboration with each other. Overall, engaging preservice teachers in community exploration and learning projects as culturally responsive teaching has the potential to dismantle racism, challenge biases, promote openness and partnership, and foster equity across middle-level learning spaces.

Abstract The emergence of large gene expression datasets has revealed the need for improved tools to identify enriched gene categories and visualize enrichment patterns. While gene ontogeny (GO) provides a valuable tool for gene set enrichment analysis, it has several limitations. First, it is difficult to graph multiple GO analyses for comparison. Second, genes from some model systems are not well represented. For example, ∼30% of Caenorhabditis elegans genes are missing from the analysis in commonly used databases. To allow categorization and visualization of enriched C. elegans gene sets in different types of genome-scale data, we developed WormCat, a web-based tool that uses a near-complete annotation of the C. elegans genome to identify coexpressed gene sets and scaled heat map for enrichment visualization. We tested the performance of WormCat using a variety of published transcriptomic datasets, and show that it reproduces major categories identified by GO. Importantly, we also found previously unidentified categories that are informative for interpreting phenotypes or predicting biological function. For example, we analyzed published RNA-seq data from C. elegans treated with combinations of lifespan-extending drugs, where one combination paradoxically shortened lifespan. Using WormCat, we identified sterol metabolism as a category that was not enriched in the single or double combinations, but emerged in a triple combination along with the lifespan shortening. Thus, WormCat identified a gene set with potential. phenotypic relevance not found with previous GO analysis. In conclusion, WormCat provides a powerful tool for the analysis and visualization of gene set enrichment in different types of C. elegans datasets.

This article examines 181 autistic adults’ views toward, and experiences of, requesting and receiving workplace adjustments in the UK. Using an online survey, we collected both qualitative and quantitative data relating to individuals’ experiences. While the majority of participants perceived workplace adjustments to be important, many were not receiving them. Analysis of open-ended text responses highlighted specific challenges that autistic people face in requesting and receiving adjustments. Specifically, participants felt the onus fell on them to ( 1 ) identify their need for adjustments; ( 2 ) establish the specific adjustments that would be beneficial and ( 3 ) request adjustments from their employer. Yet, they reported struggling with this process. Participants also highlighted a range of social and organisational barriers to the successful implementation of workplace adjustments. Unsurprisingly, the lack of successfully implemented adjustments had far-reaching impacts on participants’ wellbeing as well as the choices they made about their future employment. These findings highlight the need for employers to take a more active role in the identification and implementation of workplace adjustments, as well as a need for more understanding and inclusive working environments that truly allow autistic employees to thrive in the workplace.

Masking entails hiding or concealing one’s traits during social interactions. Research suggests that masking is particularly common for autistic people, though many non-autistic people also conceal aspects of their identity. Existing research has identified the key motivations and consequences of masking. No research to date, however, has considered how this might be affected by the social context in which masking is employed. This study compared the masking experiences of 285 autistic, 88 non-autistic neurodivergent and 99 neurotypical adults within a context in which masking is expected to be highly prevalent, namely the workplace. We used reflexive thematic analysis to explore the motivations, consequences, and contextual differences of workplace masking compared to other social contexts. Workplace masking was considered by participants in all three groups to be an adaptive response to a range of socially grounded workplace challenges and was usually employed as a strategy to safeguard against the threat of negative social and employment outcomes. Our non-autistic neurodivergent and autistic participants, however, reported experiencing unique pressures to mask, given the limited understanding of neurodiversity in workplaces and society more broadly. These findings have important implications for the wider masking literature and for workplace practice.

S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) is a donor which provides the methyl groups for histone or nucleic acid modification and phosphatidylcholine production. SAM is hypothesized to link metabolism and chromatin modification, however, its role in acute gene regulation is poorly understood. We recently found that Caenorhabditis elegans with reduced SAM had deficiencies in H3K4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) at pathogen-response genes, decreasing their expression and limiting pathogen resistance. We hypothesized that SAM may be generally required for stress-responsive transcription. Here, using genetic assays, we show that transcriptional responses to bacterial or xenotoxic stress fail in C. elegans with low SAM, but that expression of heat shock genes are unaffected. We also found that two H3K4 methyltransferases, set-2/SET1 and set-16/MLL, had differential responses to survival during stress. set-2/SET1 is specifically required in bacterial responses, whereas set-16/MLL is universally required. These results define a role for SAM in the acute stress-responsive gene expression. Finally, we find that modification of metabolic gene expression correlates with enhanced survival during stress.

S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), produced by SAM synthases, is critical for various cellular regulatory pathways and the synthesis of diverse metabolites. Humans and many other organisms express multiple SAM synthases. However, loss of different synthase activity can have distinct phenotypic effects. For instance, in Caenorhabditis elegans loss of sams-1 leads to enhanced heat shock survival and increased life span, but loss of sams-4 reduces heat stress survival. This provides a biological context to test the hypothesis that the enzymatic source of SAM impacts its function and to identify mechanistic connections. Here, we show that SAMS-1 contributes SAM to a variety of intermediary metabolic pathways, whereas SAMS-4 has a more limited role to support SAM-dependent protein transmethylation reactions. Mitochondria seem to be particularly impacted specifically by loss of sams-1; many mitochondrial metabolites are perturbed and there is an age-dependent decline of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial gene expression in these animals. We further demonstrate that reduced production of phosphatidylcholine in sams-1-deficient animals leads to mitochondrial fragmentation and subsequent loss of mitochondrial components. We propose that alterations in mitochondria are mechanistically linked to the increased survival in heat stress specific to sams-1-deficient animals.

The elimination of synapses during circuit remodeling is critical for brain maturation; however, the molecular mechanisms directing synapse elimination and its timing remain elusive. We show that the transcriptional regulator DVE-1, which shares homology with special AT-rich sequence-binding (SATB) family members previously implicated in human neurodevelopmental disorders, directs the elimination of juvenile synaptic inputs onto remodeling C. elegans GABAergic neurons. Juvenile acetylcholine receptor clusters and apposing presynaptic sites are eliminated during the maturation of wild-type GABAergic neurons but persist into adulthood in dve-1 mutants, producing heightened motor connectivity. DVE-1 localization to GABAergic nuclei is required for synapse elimination, consistent with DVE-1 regulation of transcription. Pathway analysis of putative DVE-1 target genes, proteasome inhibitor, and genetic experiments implicate the ubiquitin-proteasome system in synapse elimination. Together, our findings define a previously unappreciated role for a SATB family member in directing synapse elimination during circuit remodeling, likely through transcriptional regulation of protein degradation processes. Synapse elimination is a critical process in the maturation of brain circuitry. Here the authors identify a key transcriptional program in Caenorhabditis elegans that directs the elimination of juvenile synapses during developmental circuit rewiring.

The prevailing philosophy in biological testing has been to focus on simple tests with easy to interpret information such as ELISA or lateral flow assays. At the same time, there has been a decades long understanding in device physics and nanotechnology that electrical approaches have the potential to drastically improve the quality, speed, and cost of biological testing provided that computational resources are available to analyze the resulting complex data. This concept can be conceived of as “the internet of biology” in the same way miniaturized electronic sensors have enabled “the internet of things.” It is well established in the nanotechnology literature that techniques such as field effect biosensing are capable of rapid and flexible biological testing. Until now, access to this new technology has been limited to academic researchers focused on bioelectronic devices and their collaborators. Here we show that this capability is retained in an industrially manufactured device, opening access to this technology generally. Access to this type of production opens the door for rapid deployment of nanoelectronic sensors outside the research space. The low power and resource usage of these biosensors enables biotech engineers to gain immediate control over precise biological and environmental data.

The electron-induced decomposition of Fe(CO)4MA (MA = methyl acrylate), which is a potential new precursor for focused electron beam-induced deposition (FEBID), was investigated by surface science experiments under UHV conditions. Auger electron spectroscopy was used to monitor deposit formation. The comparison between Fe(CO)4MA and Fe(CO)5 revealed the effect of the modified ligand architecture on the deposit formation in electron irradiation experiments that mimic FEBID and cryo-FEBID processes. Electron-stimulated desorption and post-irradiation thermal desorption spectrometry were used to obtain insight into the fate of the ligands upon electron irradiation. As a key finding, the deposits obtained from Fe(CO)4MA and Fe(CO)5 were surprisingly similar, and the relative amount of carbon in deposits prepared from Fe(CO)4MA was considerably less than the amount of carbon in the MA ligand. This demonstrates that electron irradiation efficiently cleaves the neutral MA ligand from the precursor. In addition to deposit formation by electron irradiation, the thermal decomposition of Fe(CO)4MA and Fe(CO)5 on an Fe seed layer prepared by EBID was compared. While Fe(CO)5 sustains autocatalytic growth of the deposit, the MA ligand hinders the thermal decomposition in the case of Fe(CO)4MA. The heteroleptic precursor Fe(CO)4MA, thus, offers the possibility to suppress contributions of thermal reactions, which can compromise control over the deposit shape and size in FEBID processes.The electron-induced decomposition of Fe(CO)4MA (MA = methyl acrylate), which is a potential new precursor for focused electron beam-induced deposition (FEBID), was investigated by surface science experiments under UHV conditions. Auger electron spectroscopy was used to monitor deposit formation. The comparison between Fe(CO)4MA and Fe(CO)5 revealed the effect of the modified ligand architecture on the deposit formation in electron irradiation experiments that mimic FEBID and cryo-FEBID processes. Electron-stimulated desorption and post-irradiation thermal desorption spectrometry were used to obtain insight into the fate of the ligands upon electron irradiation. As a key finding, the deposits obtained from Fe(CO)4MA and Fe(CO)5 were surprisingly similar, and the relative amount of carbon in deposits prepared from Fe(CO)4MA was considerably less than the amount of carbon in the MA ligand. This demonstrates that electron irradiation efficiently cleaves the neutral MA ligand from the precursor. In addition to deposit formation by electron irradiation, the thermal decomposition of Fe(CO)4MA and Fe(CO)5 on an Fe seed layer prepared by EBID was compared. While Fe(CO)5 sustains autocatalytic growth of the deposit, the MA ligand hinders the thermal decomposition in the case of Fe(CO)4MA. The heteroleptic precursor Fe(CO)4MA, thus, offers the possibility to suppress contributions of thermal reactions, which can compromise control over the deposit shape and size in FEBID processes.