Rationale Alveolar epithelial cell (AEC) injury and mitochondrial dysfunction are important in the development of lung fibrosis. Our group has shown that in the asbestos exposed lung, the generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) in AEC mediate mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage and apoptosis which are necessary for lung fibrosis. These data suggest that mitochondrial-targeted antioxidants should ameliorate asbestos-induced lung. Objective To determine whether transgenic mice that express mitochondrial-targeted catalase (MCAT) have reduced lung fibrosis following exposure to asbestos or bleomycin and, if so, whether this occurs in association with reduced AEC mtDNA damage and apoptosis. Methods Crocidolite asbestos (100 μg/50 μL), TiO2 (negative control), bleomycin (0.025 units/50 μL), or PBS was instilled intratracheally in 8–10 week-old wild-type (WT - C57Bl/6 J) or MCAT mice. The lungs were harvested at 21 d. Lung fibrosis was quantified by collagen levels (Sircol) and lung fibrosis scores. AEC apoptosis was assessed by cleaved caspase-3 (CC-3)/Surfactant protein C (SFTPC) immunohistochemistry (IHC) and semi-quantitative analysis. AEC (primary AT2 cells from WT and MCAT mice and MLE-12 cells) mtDNA damage was assessed by a quantitative PCR-based assay, apoptosis was assessed by DNA fragmentation, and ROS production was assessed by a Mito-Sox assay. Results Compared to WT, crocidolite-exposed MCAT mice exhibit reduced pulmonary fibrosis as measured by lung collagen levels and lung fibrosis score. The protective effects in MCAT mice were accompanied by reduced AEC mtDNA damage and apoptosis. Similar findings were noted following bleomycin exposure. Euk-134, a mitochondrial SOD/catalase mimetic, attenuated MLE-12 cell DNA damage and apoptosis. Finally, compared to WT, asbestos-induced MCAT AT2 cell ROS production was reduced. Conclusions Our finding that MCAT mice have reduced pulmonary fibrosis, AEC mtDNA damage and apoptosis following exposure to asbestos or bleomycin suggests an important role for AEC mitochondrial H2O2-induced mtDNA damage in promoting lung fibrosis. We reason that strategies aimed at limiting AEC mtDNA damage arising from excess mitochondrial H2O2 production may be a novel therapeutic target for mitigating pulmonary fibrosis.

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The adoption and sustainability of evidence-based Tier 1 literacy practices in secondary content-area classes is important to improve the reading success among students with learning disabilities. We conducted an exploratory multiple-case study investigating teachers’ adoption and sustained use of evidence-based Tier 1 literacy practices that benefit students with learning disabilities. The study was conducted within the context of an adolescent literacy model demonstration project funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (i.e., Promoting Adolescents’ Comprehension of Text [PACT] Plus). Interviews were conducted with two administrators and seven teachers who sustained implementation of the PACT practices beyond 1 year of researcher support. Analyses revealed practice and school-level factors that influenced teachers’ sustained use of the practices. We used findings from this study to propose a model of sustainability of Tier 1 evidence-based literacy practices used to improve outcomes for students with learning disabilities. Limitations and implications for future research are provided.

The Project CALI (Content Area Literacy Instruction) instructional framework is designed to enhance reading comprehension for all students, those with disabilities as well as their typically developing peers, in inclusive co-taught middle school content-area classrooms. For students with and at-risk for disabilities, even well-designed, research-based, and whole-class instruction often leads to inadequate improvement in reading comprehension and thus learning of content material. In CALI, teachers use student data to determine which students need more support and targeted, individualized instruction, and by contrast, which students may benefit from opportunities to extend their learning with more challenging texts and student-managed work. This article provides guidance for designing and implementing customizable lessons using station-teaching to individualize instruction. The Project CALI student support model is the final instructional piece of the CALI instructional framework.

It is essential that middle school content-area and special education co-teachers adopt evidence-based literacy practices that they can integrate into their content-area instruction to address the needs of all of the students in their classes. This article provides co-teachers with four planning tips to improve implementation of the practices they adopt. The planning tips are organized using the acronym FIRST: (a) monitor Fidelity of implementation of the adopted practices, (b) Integrate the practices into daily content-area instruction and across the year, (c) determine the Roles of each co-teacher when planning for and implementing instruction in the adopted practices, and (d) consider specific guidelines to Select Texts for each literacy-focused lesson. The planning tips are illustrated using examples related to the content-area literacy instruction (CALI) instructional framework, which is a set of evidence-based literacy practices and procedures designed to improve the literacy instruction middle school coteachers implement in their content-area classes.

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An important way to address the literacy needs of English learners (ELs) is to ensure that ELs receive evidence-based literacy instruction and intervention. To support teachers’ implementation of this instruction and intervention, it is necessary to provide effective professional development (PD). In this systematic review, we synthesized 19 studies that investigated PD on literacy instruction and intervention for ELs. Findings revealed that although PD often targets teachers’ implementation of literacy instruction, PD is less likely to focus on teachers’ implementation of literacy interventions for ELs experiencing reading difficulties. Nonetheless, PD programs typically resulted in positive changes in teachers’ knowledge and practices. However, only 12 of the studies reported on student outcomes. We conclude with research and practical implications related to PD for teachers of ELs that is responsive to the needs of ELs.

The Two cines con niño  is the first genre study of Spanish-language child-starred cinemas. It illuminates continuities in the political use of the child protagonist in over fifty years of cinema from Spain and how the child-starred genres use the concept of childhood to define the nation’s past, present, and future. From Francoist popular to oppositional auteur films, and including Latin American cinema, this monograph examines dialogism in aesthetics, narratives, and genre functions. It demonstrates the impact of these narratives within Spanish film history and Francoist biopolitics, as well as providing a broader transatlantic perspective on the genre in select productions from Chile and Argentina. In-depth inquiry within its pages examines films by Pedro Almodóvar, Antonio del Amo, Montxo Armendáriz, Benjamín Ávila, Juan Antonio Bayona, José Luis Cuerda, Guillermo del Toro, Víctor Erice, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, Arantxa Lazkano, Luis Lucía, Paula Markovtich, Javier Ruiz Caldera, Carlos Saura, Imanol Uribe, Ladislao Vajda, Agustí Villaronga, and Andrés Wood.