Zooming on dynamics of marine microbial communities in the phycosphere of Akashiwo sanguinea (Dinophyta) blooms.

Characterizing ecological relationships between viruses, bacteria and phytoplankton in the ocean is critical to understanding the ecosystem; however, these relationships are infrequently investigated together. To understand the dynamics of microbial communities and environmental factors in harmful algal blooms (HABs), we examined the environmental factors and microbial communities during Akashiwo sanguinea HABs in the Jangmok coastal waters of South Korea by metagenomics. Specific bacterial species showed complex synergistic and antagonistic relationships with the A. sanguinea bloom. The endoparasitic dinoflagellate Amoebophrya sp. 1 controlled the bloom dynamics and correlated with HAB decline. Among nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs), two Pandoraviruses and six Phycodnaviruses were strongly and positively correlated with the HABs. Operational taxonomic units of microbial communities and environmental factors associated with A. sanguinea were visualized by network analysis: A. sanguinea-Amoebophrya sp. 1 (r = .59, time lag: 2 days) and A. sanguinea-Ectocarpus siliculosus virus 1 in Phycodnaviridae (0.50, 4 days) relationships showed close associations. The relationship between A. sanguinea and dissolved inorganic phosphorus relationship also showed a very close correlation (0.74, 0 day). Microbial communities and the environment changed dynamically during the A. sanguinea bloom, and the rapid turnover of microorganisms responded to ecological interactions. A. sanguinea bloom dramatically changes the environments by exuding dissolved carbohydrates via autotrophic processes, followed by changes in microbial communities involving host-specific viruses, bacteria and parasitoids. Thus, the microbial communities in HAB are composed of various organisms that interact in a complex manner.

High-quality chromosome-level genome assembly of Nicotiana benthamiana.

Nicotiana benthamiana is a fundamental model organism in plant research. Recent advancements in genomic sequencing have revealed significant intraspecific genetic variations. This study addresses the pressing need for a precise genome sequence specific to its geographic origin by presenting a comprehensive genome assembly of the N. benthamiana LAB strain from the Republic of Korea (NbKLAB). We compare this assembly with the widely used NbLAB360 strain, shedding light on essential genomic differences between them. The outcome is a high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly comprising 19 chromosomes, spanning 2,762 Mb, with an N50 of 142.6 Mb. Comparative analyses revealed notable variations, including 46,215 protein-coding genes, with an impressive 99.5% BUSCO completeness score. Furthermore, the NbKLAB assembly substantially improved the QV from 33% for NbLAB360 to 49%. This refined chromosomal genome assembly for N. benthamiana, in conjunction with comparative insights, provides a valuable resource for genomics research and molecular biology. This accomplishment forms a strong foundation for in-depth exploration into the intricacies of plant genetics and genomics, improved precision, and a comparative framework.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of a Family Quality of Life Scale for Taiwanese Families of Children With Intellectual Disability/Developmental Delay.

The Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale is an internationally validated instrument for measuring family outcomes. To revise the scale for better alignment with the Family Quality of Life theory, the authors excluded non-outcome items in this revision. In this study, we examined reliability and validity of the revised scale (i.e., the FQoL Scale-21) and its scores for Taiwanese families of children and youth with intellectual disability and developmental delay (age 0-18). Results from 400 Taiwanese respondents suggested that the FQoL Scale-21 has the potential to be used as an indicator of positive outcomes in intervention evaluation, policy making, and service delivery.

The Impact of Medical/Behavioral Support Needs on the Supports Needed by Adolescents With Intellectual Disability to Participate in Community Life.

As adolescents with intellectual disability (ID) transition to adulthood, there is a need to plan for effective community-based supports that address the post-school life. There is also a need to plan for the impact of factors (e.g., medical/behavioral support needs) on supports needed for community participation. Data from the Supports Intensity Scale-Adult Version (SIS-A) was used to examine relations between medical/behavior support needs and support needs assessed in the standardized portion of the SIS-A. Results suggested that the presence of medical/behavioral needs had a strong impact on supports needed to participate in the community activities, and that more intensive medical support needs were related to higher support needs in the Home Living, Community Living, and Health and Safety domains.

Centers for independent living and secondary transition collaboration: characteristics for enhanced service delivery for adolescents in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: Research involving secondary transition practices indicates a growing implementation of interagency collaboration to maximize service delivery to support students transitioning from school to adult life. Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are often excluded from collaborative partnerships and denied the opportunity to contribute as a valued stakeholder in the transition process. METHOD: A total of 189 CIL professionals representing represented 38 states completed the online survey to (a) identify to what degree does the factor structure of Thompson's Collaboration Survey holds for CIL professionals and (b) explore what specific CIL professional and agency characteristics predict greater collaboration between CILs and local education agencies (LEAs). Additionally (c) researchers sought to determine the degrees to which greater self-reported collaboration predicts more frequent transition services provided to transition-age youth by CIL professionals. RESULTS: Results indicated that the factor structure proposed by Thompson was confirmed in a sample of CIL professionals. None of the agency or individual characteristics (i.e., number of high schools partnered with, number of students served, amount of training in transition services, and importance of collaboration between high schools and agencies for transition) predicted greater collaboration with LEAS. When analyzing the effects of degree of collaboration on the services provided, high ratings on three of the five collaborative dimensions predicted a higher likelihood of providing services to transition-age youth. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that more training and experience of CIL professionals does not necessarily lead to greater collaboration. Additionally, the findings suggest that collaborative team structure is more important than social capital collaborative dimensions in leading to frequent services from CILs to transition-age youth. Implications for rehabilitation Extant literature suggests that secondary transition collaborative partnerships are critical to ensure students with disabilities have smooth transitions to adult life environments; The literature base calls for greater involvement from Centers for Independent Living (CILs) with local education agencies to maximize the benefit of youth with disabilities; This study suggests that more training and experience of CIL professionals does not necessarily lead to greater collaboration; and Collaborative team structure (i.e., Governance and Administration) is more important than social capital collaborative dimensions (i.e., Trust & Mutuality) in leading to frequent services from CILs to transition-age youth.

Examining Measurement Invariance and Differences in Age Cohorts on the Supports Intensity Scale-Children's Version-Catalan Translation.

Data from 949 children and adolescents with intellectual disability ages 5 to 16 for whom the Supports Intensity Scale-Children's Version-Catalan Translation was completed was used, in combination with data from the U.S. standardization sample, to examine measurement invariance and latent differences in the Catalonian sample. Results suggest that the same set of items can be used to measure support needs across U.S. and Catalonia samples and that there are age-related differences in support needs in the Catalonia sample, particularly between children ages 5 to 10 and 11 to 16 years of age. This differs from findings with the U.S. sample, where differences were found in a greater number of age cohorts. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Creating a SIS-A Annual Review Protocol to Determine the Need for Reassessment.

The Supports Intensity Scale - Adult Version (SIS-A) has been widely adopted throughout North America and the world since its publication a little over a decade ago. Many organizations and jurisdictions operate under regulations that require an annual assessment of people who receive services and supports that are financed through public funds. The time and energy devoted to an annual SIS-A reassessment has become a concern in cases where the resulting information is largely redundant with information from a prior assessment. This article presents findings from an investigation of two approaches to creating a protocol to assist SIS-A users in distinguishing situations where there is a high likelihood that support needs have not changed in meaningful ways from situations where there is a reasonable possibility that support needs have changed. The SIS-A Annual Review Protocol was created based on these analyses as well as consideration of conceptual issues associated with support needs assessment. Ways in which this protocol might be used, as well as data that need to be collected to evaluate its usefulness, are discussed.

Impact of the Protection and Advocacy Subscale on the Factorial Validity of the Supports Intensity Scale-Adult Version.

The Supports Intensity Scale-Adult Version is a standardized assessment of support needs. This study examined the factorial validity of the standardized portion of the scale, finding that the six-factor model (Home Living, Community Living, Lifelong Learning, Employment, Health and Safety, Social Activities) demonstrated good fit, and that the inclusion of the Protection and Advocacy Scale did not affect fit and contributed unique information. Age and gender impacted intensity of support needs, with those of transition age and in late adulthood having the highest intensities. Gender also impacted support needs, but in fewer instances. Implications for future research are discussed.

Construct Validation of the Supports Intensity Scale - Children and Adult Versions: An Application of a Pseudo Multitrait-Multimethod Approach.

This study examined the convergent validity of the Supports Intensity Scale - Adult Version (SIS-A; Thompson et al., 2015a ) and Supports Intensity Scale - Children's Version (SIS-C; Thompson et al., 2016a ). Data from SISOnline (n = 129,864) for the SIS-A and from the SIS-C standardization sample (n = 4,015) were used for analyses. Using a pseudo multitrait-multimethod model, we estimated observed support needs scores as shared trait (support needs concept) and method (type, frequency, and daily support time) variances. Overall, trait variances more strongly influenced support needs scores than method variances, supporting the convergent validity of both versions of SIS. Findings also suggested that each of three methods of measuring support needs uniquely contributed to observed support needs ratings although different patterns existed between the SIS-A and SIS-C.

Examining age-related differences in support needs on the Supports Intensity Scale-Children's Version-Spanish translation.

Background: Interest in the support needs of people with intellectual disability has directed attention to developing assessments to measure of the pattern and intensity of supports which people need to participate in valued life activities. Assessments of the support needs of children must account for the influence of age. Method: Four hundred fifty (450) Spanish children with intellectual disability (ages 5-16) were assessed with the SIS-C Spanish. To test for measurement invariance and latent differences, the SIS-C Spanish standardization sample was linked to the SIS-C English normative sample. Models developed during the norming process were used to investigate measurement equivalence across age groups, differences in latent means, and differences in latent variances and standard deviations. Results: Findings suggested that all items on the SIS-C Spanish could reliably be used to measure support needs of children ages 5-16. When exploring age-related differences at the latent level, however, data showed latent mean differences in support need domain scores across age cohorts. Conclusions: The same set of items can be used to measure support needs in children ages 5-16, but age-related influences must be considered in developing norms for the SIS-C Spanish as well as in planning supports for children.

Antecedentes: El interés en las necesidades de apoyo de las personas con discapacidad intelectual debe centrarse en la evaluación del patrón e intensidad de los apoyos requeridos para realizar las actividades diarias. Cuando se evalúan estas necesidades en niños, se debe considerar además la influencia de la edad. Método: Se evaluaron 450 personas con discapacidad intelectual (5-16 años) mediante la versión española de la SIS-C. La invarianza de medida y las diferencias latentes fueron analizadas relacionando la muestra española con la muestra normativa de la versión en inglés. Los modelos desarrollados para la creación de baremos se utilizaron para estudiar las equivalencias de medida en los distintos grupos de edad y las diferencias latentes de sus medias, varianzas y desviaciones típicas. Resultados: Los ítems de la versión española de la SIS-C son fiables para medir las necesidades de apoyo en personas de entre 5 y 16 años. A nivel latente, los datos mostraron diferencias en las medias de las puntuaciones de diferentes grupos de edad. Conclusiones: Pueden utilizarse los mismos ítems para medir las necesidades de apoyo de niños y adolescentes, pero debe considerarse la influencia de la edad tanto en la creación de baremos como en la planificación de apoyos.