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Rural regions struggle to retain early intervention (EI), special education (SE), and early childhood education (ECE) supports for children with developmental delay and/or disability, yet there is little guidance to prepare pre-service students for rural practice. This exploratory scoping review of rural EI/SE/ECE practice in the United States and Canada, where EI for children birth to 8 years is part of the education and development continuum (as opposed to health), found four characteristics: a broader scope of practice, the importance of being a whole person, doing more outreach to engage families, and negotiating personal/professional boundaries. Retention is enhanced when educators feel effective and appreciated. Regionalized (not national) funding sources may be limiting disciplinary advances, and cultural/racial inclusivity, equity issues, travel, and distance barriers were under-studied. Cross-national variation in EI/SE/ECE terms impeded the search. Future research should highlight the unique multidisciplinary and multijurisdictional nature of rural EI/SE/ECE practice across the developmental span.

Objective: Via a research–practice partnership centering community partners' needs and goals in the research design, we examined how parent, infant, and social‐contextual characteristics relate to shared book reading frequency and perceptions of Reach Out and Read (ROR), a national physician‐to‐family program. Background: Shared book reading is associated with higher quality parent–child interactions and enhanced cognitive and socioemotional development. However, only a small percentage of families share books with their infants daily. Understanding factors related to engagement in book sharing is necessary to create developmental messaging that reflects families' experiences. Method: Parents (N = 70) in a southeastern U.S. state were recruited from two participating pediatric clinics and responded to an online survey. Regression analyses examined significant infant, parent, and social‐contextual predictors of shared book reading frequency and perceived ROR value. Results: Findings indicated that parents' insurance, mental health symptoms, and perceptions of the parent‐provider relationship significantly predicted shared book reading frequency. Perceived ROR value was best predicted by parents' mental health symptoms. Implications: Strengthening the parent–provider relationship and talking with families about their needs and experiences with their infants may support clinicians in partnering with families around literacy promotion and early relational health. Conclusion: Results suggest the value of considering socioeconomic status, parental mental health symptoms, and the parent–provider relationship when promoting early literacy and relationship‐building experiences during infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural communities are challenged to provide early childhood education and care due to low population density, sometimes lengthy or complex travel, and fluctuations in seasonal activity. Opportunities exist for stable partners, like schools, to anchor early childhood supports. Collaborative planning theory is used to explore a provincial capacity-building initiative (Success by 6) that provided local funding for a two-year rural early childhood outreach project, the WoW Bus project. The analysis shows that while community partners were enthusiastic and there was consistent family engagement, there were also tensions between collaboration and hierarchical responsibilities that ultimately undermined project sustainability. The collaborative planning theory lens, applied here to a social planning initiative, helped elucidate the need for legitimating accountability for outreach and diverse engagement. In sum, while schools provide an under-explored opportunity to anchor rural innovation in early childhood supports, a shift in funder accountabilities is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motility is an essential characteristic for mesophilic Aeromonas strains. We identified a new polar flagellum region (region 6) in the A. hydrophila AH-3 (serotype 034) chromosome that contained two additional polar stator genes, named pom[A.sub.2] and pom[B.sub.2]. A. hydrophila Pom[A.sub.2] and Pom[B.sub.2] are highly homologous to other sodium-conducting polar flagellum stator motors as well as to the previously described A. hydrophila AH-3 PomA and PomB. pomAB and pom[A.sub.2][B.sub.2] were present in all the mesophilic Aeromonas strains tested and were independent of the strains' ability to produce lateral flagella. Unlike MotX, which is a stator protein that is essential for polar flagellum rotation, here we demonstrate that PomAB and Pom[A.sub.2][B.sub.2] are redundant sets of proteins, as neither set on its own is essential for polar flagellum motility in either aqueous or high-viscosity environments. Both PomAB and Pom[A.sub.2][B.sub.2] are sodium.coupled stator complexes, although Pom[A.sub.2][B.sub.2] is more sensitive to low concentrations of sodium than PomAB. Furthermore, the level of transcription in aqueous and high-viscosity environments of pom[A.sub.2][B.sub.2] is reduced compared to that of pomAB. The A. hydrophila AH-3 polar flagellum is the first case described in which two redundant sodium-driven stator motor proteins (PomAB and Pom[A.sub.2][B.sub.2]) are found.

Comparison between the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) core structures of Aeromonas salmonicida subsp, salmonicida A450 and Aeromonas hydrophila AH-3 shows great similarity in the inner LPS core and part of the outer LPS core but some differences in the distal part of the outer LPS core (residues LD-Hep, D-Gal, and D-GalNAc). The three genomic regions encoding LPS core biosynthetic genes in A. salmonicida A450, of which regions 2 and 3 have genes identical to those of A. hydrophila AH-3, were fully sequenced. A. salmonicida A450 region 1 showed seven genes: three identical to those of A. hydrophila AH-3, three similar but not identical to those of A. hydrophila AH-3, and one without any homology to any well-characterized gene. A. salmonicida A450 mutants with alterations in the genes that were not identical to those of A. hydrophila AH-3 were constructed, and their LPS core structures were fully elucidated. At the same time, all the A. salmonicida A450 genes identical to those of A. hydrophila AH-3 were used to complement the previously obtained A. hydrophila AH-3 mutants for each of these genes. Combining the gene sequence and complementation test data with the structural data and phenotypic characterization of the mutant LPSs enabled a presumptive assignment of all LPS core biosynthesis gene functions in A. salmonicida A450. Furthermore, hybridization studies with internal probes for the A. salmonicida-specific genes using different A. salmonicida strains (strains of different subspecies or atypical strains) showed a unique or prevalent LPS core type, which is the one fully characterized for A. salmonicida A450.

The agency of lone mothers who rely on government income supports is often erased by the discourse of dependency, especially under welfare-to-work eligibility criteria. Here we apply the concept of small acts of micro-resistance in constrained circumstances, augmented by conceptualization of resistance as conscious oppositionality and intentionality to understand the agency of lone-mothers who receive income-assistance (IA) as they make-do and raise children under state- and market-enforced rules. Using a resistance lens reveals the interconnected importance of everyday acts like "talking back" to income-support staff, surreptitious gleaning of goods for resale, and re-storying the self. We describe these in three modalities: resistance as evasion and subterfuge; resistance through asserting positive identities; and resistance in forging their own path. Using a conceptual framework of resistance reveals the extent to which women's survival and capacity to raise children are contingent on a performance of compliance, demonstrating the impacts of welfare-to-work on female-headed lone parent families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Aeromonas hydrophila [wb.sub.*O34] gene cluster of strain AH-3 (serotype O34) was cloned and sequenced. This cluster contains genes necessary for the production of O34-antigen lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in A. hydrophila. We determined, using either mutation or sequence homology, roles for the majority of genes in the cluster by using the chemical O34-antigen LPS structure obtained for strain AH-3. The O34-antigen LPS export system has been shown to be a Wzy-dependent pathway typical of heteropolysaccharide pathways. Furthermore, the production of A. hydrophila O34-antigen LPS in Escherichia coli K-12 strains is dependent on incorporation of the Gne enzyme (UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine 4-epimerase) necessary for the formation of UDP-galactosamine in these strains. By using rapid amplification of cDNA ends we were able to identify a transcription start site upstream of the terminal wzz gene, which showed differential transcription depending on the growth temperature of the strain. The Wzz protein is able to regulate the O34-antigen LPS chain length. The differential expression of this protein at different temperatures, which was substantially greater at 20[degrees]C than at 37[degrees]C, explains the previously observed differential production of O34-antigen LPS and its correlation with the virulence of A. hydrophila serotype O34 strains.

A mutation in galU that causes the lack of O34-antigen lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in Aeromonas hydrophila strain AH-3 was identified. It was proved that A. hydrophila GalU is a UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase responsible for synthesis of UDP-glucose from glucose 1-phosphate and UTP. The galU mutant from this strain showed two types of LPS structures, represented by two bands on LPS gels. The first one (slow-migrating band in gels) corresponds to a rough strain having the complete core, with two significant differences: it lacks the terminal galactose residue from the LPS-core and 4-amino-4-deoxyarabinose residues from phosphate groups in lipid A. The second one (fast-migrating band in gels) corresponds to a deeply truncated structure with the LPS-core restricted to one 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (Kdo) and three L-glycero-D-manno-heptose residues, galU mutants in several motile mesophilic Aeromonas strains from serotypes O1, O2, O11, O18, O21 and 044 were also devoid of the O-antigen LPS. The galU mutation reduced to less than 1% the survival of these Aeromonas strains in serum, decreased the ability of these strains to adhere and reduced by 1.5 or 2 log units the virulence of Aeromonas serotype O34 strains in a septicaemia model in either fish or mice. All the changes observed in the galU mutants were rescued by the introduction of the corresponding single wild-type gene.

An Aeromonas hydrophila AH-3 miniTn5 mutant unable to produce polar and lateral flagella was isolated, in which the transposon was inserted into a gene whose encoded protein was an orthologue of the Campylobacter jejuni motility accessory factor (Mar) protein. In addition to this gene, several other related genes were found in this cluster that was adjacent to the region 2 genes of the polar flagellum. Mutation of the A. hydrophila AH-3 mar-2, neuB-like, flmD or neuA-like genes resulted in non-motile cells that were unable to swim or swarm due to the absence of both polar and lateral flagella. However, both polar and lateral flagellins were present but were unglycosylated. Although the A. hydrophila AH-3 or Aeromonas caviae Sch3N genes did not hybridize with each other at the nucleotide level, the gene products were able to fully complement the mutations in either bacterium. Furthermore, well-characterized C. jejuni genes involved in flagella glycosylation (Cj1293, -1294 and -1317) were fully able to complement A. hydrophila mutants in the corresponding genes (flmA, flmB and neuB-like). It was concluded that the maf-2, neuB-like, flmD and neuA-like genes are involved in the glycosylation of both the polar and the lateral flagella in Aeromonas strains.

The mesophilic Aeromonas hydrophila AH-3 (serotype 034) strain shows two different UDP-hexose epimerases in its genome: GalE (EC 3.1.5.2) and Gne (EC 3.1.5.7). Similar homologues were detected in the different mesophilic Aeromonas strains tested. GalE shows only UDP-galactose 4-epimerase activity, while Gne is able to perform a dual activity (mainly UDP-N-acetyl galactosamine 4-epimerase and also UDP-galactose 4-epimerase). We studied the activities in vitro of both epimerases and also in vivo through the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) structure of A. hydrophila gne mutants, A. hydrophila gale mutants, A. hydrophila galE-gne double mutants, and independently complemented mutants with both genes. Furthermore, the enzymatic activity in vivo, which renders different LPS structures on the mentioned A. hydrophila mutant strains or the complemented mutants, allowed us to confirm a clear relationship between the virulence of these strains and the presence/absence of the O34 antigen LPS.

Mesophilic Aeromonas strains express a polar flagellum in all culture conditions, and certain strains produce lateral flagella on semisolid media or on surfaces. Although Aeromonas lateral flagella have been described as a colonization factor, little is known about their organization and expression. Here we characterized the complete lateral flagellar gene cluster of Aeromonas hydrophila AH-3 containing 38 genes, 9 of which (lafA-U) have been reported previously. Among the flg[L.sub.L] and lafA structural genes we found a modification accessory factor gene (maf-5) that is involved in formation of lateral flagella; this is the first time that such a gene has been described for lateral flagellar gene systems. All Aeromonas lateral flagellar genes were located in a unique chromosomal region, in contrast to Vibrio parahaemolyticus, in which the analogous genes are distributed in two different chromosomal regions. In A. hydrophila mutations in flh[A.sub.L], lafK, fli[J.sub.L], flg[N.sub.L], flg[E.sub.L], and maf-5 resulted in a loss of lateral flagella and reductions in adherence and biofilm formation, but they did not affect polar flagellum synthesis. Furthermore, we also cloned and sequenced the A. hydrophila AH-3 alternative sigma factor [[sigma].sup.54] (rpoN); mutation of this factor suggested that it is involved in expression of both types of flagella.

Mesophilic Aeromonas spp. constitutively express a single polar flagellum that helps the bacteria move to more favorable environments and is an important virulence and colonization factor. Certain strains can also produce multiple lateral flagella in semisolid media or over surfaces. We have previously reported 16 genes (flgN to flgL) that constitute region 1 of the Aeromonas hydrophila AH-3 polar flagellum biogenesis gene clusters. We identified 39 new polar flagellum genes distributed in four noncontiguous chromosome regions (regions 2 to 5). Region 2 contained six genes (flaA to maf-1), including a modification accessory factor gene (maf-1) that has not been previously reported and is thought to be involved in glycosylation of polar flagellum filament. Region 3 contained 29 genes (filE to orf29), most of which are involved in flagellum basal body formation and chemotaxis. Region 4 contained a single gene involved in the motor stator formation (motX), and region 5 contained the three master regulatory genes for the A. hydrophila polar flagella (flrA to flrC). Mutations in the flaH, maf-1, fliM, flhA, fliA, and flrC genes, as well as the double mutant flaA flaB, all caused loss of polar flagella and reduction in adherence and biofilm formation. A defined mutation in the pomB stator gene did not affect polar flagellum motility, in contrast to the motX mutant, which was unable to swim even though it expressed a polar flagellum. Mutations in all of these genes did not affect lateral flagellum synthesis or swarming motility, showing that both A. hydrophila flagellum systems are entirely distinct.

The existence and genetic organization of a functional type III secretion system (TTSS) in a mesophilic Aeromonas strain by initially using the aeromonas hydrophila strain AH-3 is discussed. Results suggest that it seems logical to conclude that the mesophilic aeromonas strains that possess TTSS genes have a complete TTSS.

Research reveals that Aeromonas salmonicida strains hybridize with lateral flagellum gene DNA probe but cannot produce lateral flagella. Data indicate that the lateral flagellin gene A is inactivated in this specialized pathogen.