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Differential host responses in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) remain poorly characterized. Here, we use next-generation sequencing to longitudinally analyze blood samples from pediatric patients with COVID-19 or MIS-C across three hospitals. Profiling of plasma cell-free nucleic acids uncovers distinct signatures of cell injury and death between COVID-19 and MIS-C, with increased multiorgan involvement in MIS-C encompassing diverse cell types, including endothelial and neuronal cells, and an enrichment of pyroptosis-related genes. Whole-blood RNA profiling reveals upregulation of similar pro-inflammatory pathways in COVID-19 and MIS-C but also MIS-C-specific downregulation of T cell-associated pathways. Profiling of plasma cell-free RNA and whole-blood RNA in paired samples yields different but complementary signatures for each disease state. Our work provides a systems-level view of immune responses and tissue damage in COVID-19 and MIS-C and informs future development of new disease biomarkers.

As the climate evolves over the next century, the interaction of accelerating sea level rise (SLR) and storms, combined with confining development and infrastructure, will place greater stresses on physical, ecological, and human systems along the ocean-land margin. Many of these valued coastal systems could reach tipping points, at which hazard exposure substantially increases and threatens the present-day form, function, and viability of communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Determining the timing and nature of these tipping points is essential for effective climate adaptation planning. Here we present a multidisciplinary case study from Santa Barbara, California (USA), to identify potential climate change-related tipping points for various coastal systems. This study integrates numerical and statistical models of the climate, ocean water levels, beach and cliff evolution, and two soft sediment ecosystems, sandy beaches and tidal wetlands. We find that tipping points for beaches and wetlands could be reached with just 0.25 m or less of SLR (~ 2050), with > 50% subsequent habitat loss that would degrade overall biodiversity and ecosystem function. In contrast, the largest projected changes in socioeconomic exposure to flooding for five communities in this region are not anticipated until SLR exceeds 0.75 m for daily flooding and 1.5 m for storm-driven flooding (~ 2100 or later). These changes are less acute relative to community totals and do not qualify as tipping points given the adaptive capacity of communities. Nonetheless, the natural and human built systems are interconnected such that the loss of natural system function could negatively impact the quality of life of residents and disrupt the local economy, resulting in indirect socioeconomic impacts long before built infrastructure is directly impacted by flooding.

Early engagement research focused on the traditional face-to-face classroom experience but has expanded over the past decade to encompass blended e-learning systems (BELS), which include asynchronous and synchronous online courses. However, limited research is available regarding student engagement in HyFlex, a BELS environment where students attend class synchronously, with some participating in person and others via videoconference. Student engagement in HyFlex settings may differ from that depicted in the BELS literature as students and instructors must manage a dual learning space (in-person "and" videoconference) synchronously compared to the singular learning space in other BELS designs. In March 2020, multiple US educational institutions adapted courses traditionally taught in face-to-face settings to HyFlex environments to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission. This transition continued into fall 2020, leaving instructors to adapt courses despite often having no experience with HyFlex. A web-based, cross-sectional survey was administered to 1,243 undergraduate students in fall 2020 at a mid-size, land-grant institution located in the US Midwest. In addition to demographic information, participants were asked to describe their primary attendance modality within their HyFlex courses. HyFlex learning environments offer flexibility for students to attend class, and when deliberately planned in the course pedagogy, can engage students simultaneously across platforms. When studied under pandemic conditions, subtle nuances exist between HyFlex and BELS contexts. Although findings may be unique to COVID-19, the specific constructs of student engagement in HyFlex may also be attributed to a dual-instruction space.

Bioprinting using algae cells has many potential applications including tissue engineering, environmental engineering, contaminant removal from water, and establishing space habitats. In extrusion-based bioprinting, bioink needs to be crosslinked after being extruded from the nozzle for printed constructs to first achieve and then maintain adequate shape fidelity. Crosslinking methods used in reported studies on algae-contained bioinks include both photo-crosslinking and ionic crosslinking. This paper reports a preliminary study where the coaxial nozzle-based in situ ionic crosslinking method was used in bioprinting of algae cells without additional crosslinking of printed samples for the first time. In comparison with photo-crosslinking, in situ ionic crosslinking can minimize bioink preparation time and complexity, eliminate cells' exposure to ultraviolet radiation, and reduce the number of post-printing steps. In this preliminary study, the bioink was an alginate solution containing algae (Chlorella vulgaris) cells, and the crosslinking solution was a calcium chloride solution. The coaxial nozzle had two nozzles: inner and outer nozzles. In printing, the bioink was delivered through the outer nozzle while the crosslinking solution was delivered through the inner nozzle. The shape of the printed samples was a square block with dimensions of 30 × 30 × 10 mm. It was observed that, 9 days after printing, the algae cells grew within the printed samples, and the samples could keep their shapes relatively well. Many knowledge gaps exist regarding the effects of input variables in bioprinting of algae cells using this method. This paper discusses future research directions to fill these knowledge gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summer outreach programs provide pre-college participants an introduction to college life and exposure to engineering in an effort to raise the level of interest and bring more students into engineering fields. The Junior Engineering, Mathematics, and Science (JEMS) program is a project-based summer workshop in which teams of high school students complete a design project on a topic such as robotics, rockets, or alternative fuel vehicles. The summer workshop includes courses that integrate learning about science, mathematics, engineering, technology, leadership, and teamwork within the context of the design project. Students also participate in engineering laboratory tours in order to expose them to a variety of engineering disciplines and possible careers. In this article we describe the program structure and fi ndings from ten years of student questionnaires.

Slope units are terrain partitions bounded by drainage and divide lines. In landslide modeling, including susceptibility modeling and event-specific modeling of landslide occurrence, slope units provide several advantages over gridded units, such as better capturing terrain geometry, improved incorporation of geospatial landslide-occurrence data in different formats (e.g., point and polygon), and better accommodating the varying data accuracy and precision in landslide inventories. However, the use of slope units in regional (> 100 km 2) landslide studies remains limited due, in part, to the large computational costs and/or poor reproducibility with current delineation methods. We introduce a computationally efficient algorithm for the parameter-free delineation of slope units that leverages tools from within TauDEM and GRASS, using an R interface. The algorithm uses geomorphic laws to define the appropriate scaling of the slope units representative of hillslope processes, avoiding the often ambiguous determination of slope unit size. We then demonstrate how slope units enable more robust regional-scale landslide susceptibility and event-specific landslide occurrence maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the role of ethical responsiveness on relationship satisfaction from a partner's perspective after experiencing a distressing life event (DLE). We used data from the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam), which is a multidisciplinary, longitudinal study in Germany. Our study used anchor data, the original respondents who were randomly selected and gave permission to interview their partners. This study included two waves of anchor responses, which were 2016 and 2018, respectively. We utilized longitudinal structural equation modeling to evaluate whether the partner's ethical responsiveness buffers the negative impact of DLEs on relationship satisfaction per anchor's perspective. The results of our study indicated that partner's ethical responsiveness can buffer the negative impact of DLEs on anchor's perception of relationship satisfaction. Additionally, according to the perception of the anchors, we found that the partners who showed high levels of ethical responsiveness not only maintained their relationship satisfaction but even improved upon it 2 years beyond the DLE. Conversely, relationship satisfaction decreased over time for anchors who reported their partner with an average or lower level of ethical responsiveness. Clinical implications and limitations are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]