Stickiness in shear: stiffness, shape, and sealing in bioinspired suction cups affect shear performance on diverse surfaces.

Aquatic organisms utilizing attachment often contend with unpredictable environments that can dislodge them from substrates. To counter these forces, many organisms (e.g. fish, cephalopods) have evolved suction-based organs for adhesion. Morphology is diverse, with some disc shapes deviating from a circle to more ovate designs. Inspired by the diversity of multiple aquatic species, we investigated how bioinspired cups with different disc shapes performed in shear loading conditions. These experiments highlighted pertinent physical characteristics found in biological discs (regions of stiffness, flattened margins, a sealing rim), as well as ecologically relevant shearing conditions. Disc shapes of fabricated cups included a standard circle, ellipses, and other bioinspired designs. To consider the effects of sealing, these stiff silicone cups were produced with and without a soft rim. Cups were tested using a force-sensing robotic arm, which directionally sheared them across surfaces of varying roughness and compliance in wet conditions while measuring force. In multiple surface and shearing conditions, elliptical and teardrop shapes outperformed the circle, which suggests that disc shape and distribution of stiffness may play an important role in resisting shear. Additionally, incorporating a soft rim increased cup performance on rougher substrates, highlighting interactions between the cup materials and surfaces asperities. To better understand how these cup designs may resist shear, we also utilized a visualization technique (frustrated total internal reflection; FTIR) to quantify how contact area evolves as the cup is sheared.

Educators' experiences and reflections on the implementation of evidence-based practices for autistic students in public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced many schools to close their doors and transition to remote learning, disrupting how autistic students received school-based services and support. While school structure changes were challenging for all students, autistic students were uniquely affected, considering their reliance on predictability and routine; moreover, education settings are where most autistic children receive services. Much has been studied regarding the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for autistic students in traditional school settings, yet little is known about how educators use EBPs in remote learning environments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: In this study, we explore educators' experiences with EBP implementation at the height of the pandemic and educators' reflections of its impact on autistic students and their school systems. Qualitative data were collected from 81 educators (general educators, special educators, and paraeducators) in semi-structured interviews regarding EBP use at the onset of the pandemic. Results: Four themes emerged from interviews: (1) pandemic and remote learning environment challenges to inclusion and EBP use; (2) EBP use adaptations for remote learning environments; (3) pandemic and remote learning environment benefits for EBP use; and (4) considerations for EBP use beyond the pandemic. Conclusion: These findings elucidate educators' experiences using EBPs during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight important areas of consideration for autism-focused EBP implementation as remote instruction continues to be a learning format. More research is needed to understand how to best implement EBPs for autistic students in this emerging instruction context.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many schools to shift to remote or hybrid learning, which impacted how autistic students received school-based services. School settings are where most autistic children receive support and accommodations. Evidence-based practices (EBPs) are strategies shown by high-quality research to support autistic children, and there are strong efforts to increase the use of EBPs in schools. While much is known about how autism-focused EBPs are used in traditional classroom settings, little is known about how these practices are used in remote learning environments. This paper explored educators' experiences using EBPs at the height of the pandemic and educators' reflections of its impact on autistic students and their school systems. Interviews with general educators, special educators, and paraeducators revealed important information. There were pandemic-specific and remote learning environment challenges to inclusion and EBP use. Many educators reported making adaptations to EBPs when instruction was pivoted to remote learning. While there were challenges to remote instruction, there were also pandemic- and remote learning environment-related benefits for EBP use. Educators also reflected on considerations for EBP use beyond the pandemic, including more educator training opportunities to support EBP use in remote settings. Considering the rise in remote and hybrid learning settings, future research should explore how to support educators, autistic students, and their caregivers in remote setting EBP use.

"On an island by myself": implications for the inclusion of autistic students in self-contained classrooms in public elementary schools.

Introduction: Autistic students have limited access to inclusive classes and activities in their schools. Principals and special education teachers who directly teach and administer programs for autistic elementary students can offer critical insight into factors, such as educators' attitudes, that may impact inclusive opportunities in schools. These attitudes may serve as barriers to or facilitators of promoting an inclusive school setting. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with 26 elementary school principals and 26 special education teachers explored their experiences implementing evidence-based practices for autistic students (pivotal response training, discrete trial training, and visual schedules) in 26 self-contained classrooms in the United States. Autism-specific culture and inclusion emerged as a theme, which was analyzed for this paper. Results: An inductive approach to thematic analysis revealed principals' and special education teachers' perspectives regarding the "autism-specific culture" in the school, including attitudes towards and inclusion of autistic students in self-contained classrooms in the broader school environment. Analysis of text related to "autism-specific culture" detailed aspects of inclusion, factors (i.e., barriers and facilitators) affecting inclusion, principals' and special education teachers' attitudes towards autistic students placed in self-contained classrooms, attitudes of other school staff towards teachers in self-contained classrooms, and recommendations to support an inclusive school environment for autistic students. Discussion: Results suggest that valuing "equal" access to classes and activities for autistic students in self-contained classrooms may not be sufficient for promoting an inclusive school environment, Educators may benefit from targeted strategies to facilitate inclusion. Strategies range from supporting educators' attitudes and knowledge of autism to shifting physical aspects of the school environment (e.g., location of classrooms). Additional implications for supporting the true inclusion (i.e., inclusion that goes beyond physical inclusion) involves of autistic students in self-contained classrooms schools are discussed.

Cocktail-party listening and cognitive abilities show strong pleiotropy.

Introduction: The cocktail-party problem refers to the difficulty listeners face when trying to attend to relevant sounds that are mixed with irrelevant ones. Previous studies have shown that solving these problems relies on perceptual as well as cognitive processes. Previously, we showed that speech-reception thresholds (SRTs) on a cocktail-party listening task were influenced by genetic factors. Here, we estimated the degree to which these genetic factors overlapped with those influencing cognitive abilities. Methods: We measured SRTs and hearing thresholds (HTs) in 493 listeners, who ranged in age from 18 to 91 years old. The same individuals completed a cognitive test battery comprising 18 measures of various cognitive domains. Individuals belonged to large extended pedigrees, which allowed us to use variance component models to estimate the narrow-sense heritability of each trait, followed by phenotypic and genetic correlations between pairs of traits. Results: All traits were heritable. The phenotypic and genetic correlations between SRTs and HTs were modest, and only the phenotypic correlation was significant. By contrast, all genetic SRT-cognition correlations were strong and significantly different from 0. For some of these genetic correlations, the hypothesis of complete pleiotropy could not be rejected. Discussion: Overall, the results suggest that there was substantial genetic overlap between SRTs and a wide range of cognitive abilities, including abilities without a major auditory or verbal component. The findings highlight the important, yet sometimes overlooked, contribution of higher-order processes to solving the cocktail-party problem, raising an important caveat for future studies aiming to identify specific genetic factors that influence cocktail-party listening.

Supporting the inclusion and retention of autistic students: Exploring teachers' and paraeducators' use of evidence-based practices in public elementary schools.

Introduction: Educators in public schools are required to serve students in their least restrictive environment. While many evidence-based practices (EBPs), defined as practices and strategies shown by research to have meaningful effectson outcomes for autistic students are documented in the literature, less is known about EBP use among educators in public schools. Methods: Eighty-six general and special education teachers and para educators completed a survey about familiarity, training, and EBP use for included autistic children. Results: Across roles, educators reported familiarity (98.8%), use (97.7%), and training (83.7%) in reinforcement. They reported the least familiarity with behavioral momentum (29.1%), training in both video modeling and peer-mediated instruction and intervention (18.6%), and use of video modeling (14.0%). Follow-up interviews (n = 80) highlighted mixed understanding of EBP definitions and use. Discussion: Implications for inclusive education are discussed including autism-specific EBP training within pre-service teacher preparation programs.

The Genetic contribution to solving the cocktail-party problem.

Communicating in everyday situations requires solving the cocktail-party problem, or segregating the acoustic mixture into its constituent sounds and attending to those of most interest. Humans show dramatic variation in this ability, leading some to experience real-world problems irrespective of whether they meet criteria for clinical hearing loss. Here, we estimated the genetic contribution to cocktail-party listening by measuring speech-reception thresholds (SRTs) in 425 people from large families and ranging in age from 18 to 91 years. Roughly half the variance of SRTs was explained by genes (h 2 = 0.567). The genetic correlation between SRTs and hearing thresholds (HTs) was medium (ρ G = 0.392), suggesting that the genetic factors influencing cocktail-party listening were partially distinct from those influencing sound sensitivity. Aging and socioeconomic status also strongly influenced SRTs. These findings may represent a first step toward identifying genes for "hidden hearing loss," or hearing problems in people with normal HTs.

A push for inclusive data collection in STEM organizations.

Professional societies could better survey, and thus better serve, underrepresented groups.