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Asthma is a heterogeneous disease, with multiple underlying inflammatory pathways and structural airway abnormalities that impact disease persistence and severity. Recent progress has been made in developing targeted asthma therapeutics, especially for subjects with eosinophilic asthma. However, there is an unmet need for new approaches to treat patients with severe and exacerbation-prone asthma, who contribute disproportionately to disease burden. Extensive deep phenotyping has revealed the heterogeneous nature of severe asthma and identified distinct disease subtypes. Acurrent challenge in the field is to translate new and emerging knowledge about different pathobiologic mechanisms in asthma into patient-specific therapies, with the ultimate goal of modifying the natural history of disease. Here, we describe the Precision Interventions for Severe and/or Exacerbation-Prone Asthma (PrecISE) Network, a groundbreaking collaborative effort of asthma researchers and biostatisticians from around the United States. The PrecISE Network was designed to conduct phase II/proof-of-concept clinical trials of precision interventions in the population with severe asthma, and is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Using an innovative adaptive platform trial design, the PrecISE Network will evaluate up to 6 interventions simultaneously in biomarker-defined subgroups of subjects. We review the development and organizational structure of the PrecISE Network, and choice of interventions being studied. We hope that the PrecISE Network will enhance our understanding of asthma subtypes and accelerate the development of therapeutics for severe asthma.

This Research Work-in-Progress paper presents ongoing work in engineering and physics courses to create online formative assessments. Mechanics courses are full of non-intuitive, conceptually challenging principles that are difficult to understand. In order to help students with conceptual growth, particularly if we want to develop individualized online learning modules, we first must determine student’s prior understanding. To do this, we are using coupled-multiple response (CMR) questions in introductory physics (a mechanics course), engineering statics, and engineering dynamics. CMR tests are assessments that use a nuanced rubric to examine underlying reasoning elements students may have for decisions on a multiple-choice test and, as such, are uniquely situated to pinpoint specific student alternate conceptions. In this paper, we describe our research efforts to create CMR test items for use in an adaptive learning technology for targeted intervention for a student’s unique learning needs. Our analysis was able to pinpoint some reasoning patterns that students employ to solve problems. We observed reasoning patterns that yield incorrect, partially correct, and correct answers. Our burgeoning process would aid instructors in tailoring their instruction or curricular materials for specific student needs.

Academic-community partnerships can have a direct positive impact on community partners and university students. Community Champions, a student-led program, promotes local outreach and engagement with a variety of community initiatives. The purpose of this study was to assess community partners’ perceptions of the Community Champions program to better support the goals of the community and to complement prior research evaluating the impact of the Community Champions program on university students. The study used a 27-item survey, consisting of 20 Likert-scale items and seven open-ended questions. Eighteen community partners were invited via email to complete the online survey. Quantitative responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative responses were reviewed for themes to generate future recommendations. Fourteen of the eighteen community organizations responded to the survey (78% response rate). Assessment of community partners’ perspectives were synthesized across four themes: motivations, benefits, challenges, and general satisfaction. Community partners indicated that sharing labor and resources to enhance community health goals were key factors in creating mutually beneficial partnerships. Building effective academic-community partnerships is essential to increasing student engagement, while also addressing priorities of community organizations. Academic student programs that engage the community can positively impact both the community partners and university students.

CD3γ-deficient patients manifest T-cell phenotypic and functional defects that are especially prominent in Treg cells.The peripheral T-cell repertoire of CD3γ-deficient patients is restricted, with molecular signatures of self-reactivity.

This literature review was conducted to explore what elements contribute to the success and disruption of children with special needs who are adopted into prospective families. Five prevailing themes emerged as important considerations when placing children and youth who are waiting to be adopted. These themes include: the characteristics of the child, the characteristics of the adoptive family, sibling placements, agency practices, and most importantly access to pre- and post-adoption supports and services. A general consensus among the voices of professionals and adoptive families in this area of practice concerns the significance of supporting families before, during, and after the placement of children and youth with special needs to ensure permanency of placements. Identifying service needs and gaps in service delivery are therefore essential to ensuring safe, healthy, and successful adoptive experiences for children and youth with special needs. The findings of this report pose important implications for the adoption sector the Ministry of Children and Family Development in the service provision of special needs adoptions.

Interest in animal assisted interventions (AAI) has grown over the years, but acceptance of AAI by the clinical and research community has been hampered by safety, hygiene, and logistical concerns. Advances in the field of social robotics have provided a promising route to deliver AAI while avoiding these aforementioned obstacles. Although there has been promising initial research on social robotics in older adults, to date there has been no such research conducted with a veteran population. The present pilot study followed 23 veteran residents of a Veterans Affairs (VA) geropsychiatric long-term care facility over the span of approximately a year and a half. It was found that use of Paro, a social robot, resulted in increased observed positive affective and behavioral indicators, with concomitant decreases observed in negative affective and behavioral indicators. The authors concluded that Paro is likely an effective nonpharmacological approach for managing dementia-related mood and behavior problems with veterans in VA long term care facilities. They additionally observed that Paro is best presented to residents who are relatively calm and approachable, as opposed to actively exhibiting behavior or mood problems. Future research directions are discussed in light of both the positive results noted and the inherent limitations of our pilot study. (PsycINFO Database Record

LRCC8A is a ubiquitously expressed cell surface receptor necessary for lymphocyte development. The role of LRRC8A in peripheral T cell function is unknown. We now demonstrate that LRRC8A ligation enhances TCR-driven T cell proliferation and cytokine secretion. LRRC8A co-capped with the TCR/CD3 complex after anti-CD3 stimulation, and its ligation led to the phosphorylation of AKT through a Src kinase-Zap-70-PI3K pathway. A GST-LRRC8A fusion protein containing the extracellular leucine-rich region of LRRC8A bound to fibroblasts and keratinocytes, but not dendritic cells or B cells, indicating that non-professional APCs express a ligand for LRRC8A. The LRRC8A receptor-ligand interaction was essential for T cell proliferation to antigen presented by non-professional APCs, and for tissue inflammation induced by contact hypersensitivity to hapten. LRRC8A functions as a co-stimulatory receptor for T cell activation by non-professional APCs. Blocking LRRC8A signaling may be useful in the treatment of T cell-driven inflammatory diseases.