Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is a prevalent yet underrecognized cause of sensorineural hearing loss and neurodevelopmental disorders in children. While CMV infection is typically asymptomatic in healthy individuals, its transmission during pregnancy can result in significant and lasting health consequences for the fetus. Despite its…

Human history is replete with pandemics caused by virulent diseases that have produced overwhelming suffering and death. Our future will require swift, sensible, and near-universal vaccine response as viruses evolve and thrive. When viruses like COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 emerge and mutate, vaccine researchers must be nimble and responsive to quickly…

A physical chemistry lab for undergraduate students described in this report is about applying kinetic models to analyze the spread of COVID-19 in the United States and obtain the reproduction numbers. The susceptible-infectious-recovery (SIR) model and the SIR-vaccinated (SIRV) model are explained to the students and are used to analyze the…

Self-care for school psychologists has received overdue attention in scholarly literature and training. Most work in self-care relates to mental health problems arising from the stressful and emotional nature of work in school psychology. However, there is an additional component of self-care that has yet to receive appropriate levels of…

Soil transmitted (or intestinal) helminths and schistosomes affect millions of children worldwide. There are four species of soil transmitted helminths: "Ascaris lumbricoides" (roundworm), "Necator americanus" and "Ancylostoma duodenale" (hookworms), and "Trichuris trichura" (whipworm). The five species of…

This document provides an annotated list of Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center resources and federal partner resources. The resources are directed toward public health officials and K-12 planning teams on emergency operations plan development and preparing schools for before, during, and after an…

School leaders will face great challenges balancing health considerations of students and school staff with powerful political forces demanding that schools reopen as early as possible. In order to navigate this new educational landscape, school leaders will need to work with medical and public health officials to acquire health literacy. This…

The world is overcoming an unprecedented challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic's worldwide spread. Epidemics and pandemics are part of history. The oldest records are related to the plague of Athens in 430 BC and throughout times numerous other diseases affected humankind, devastating societies. Nowadays, the global world allows rapid communication…

There has never been a more pressing need for students to learn how to evaluate scientific information online than during the COVID-19 outbreak. Information, misinformation, and disinformation spread quickly across online news and social media platforms. This misleading or incorrect scientific information about infectious diseases could lead to…

At every stage since the start of the pandemic, decisions across education and care have been informed by the scientific and medical evidence -- both on the risks of COVID-19 infection, transmission and illness, and on the known risks to children and young people not attending school and college -- balancing public health and education…

Extracurricular inter-professional activities advance pre-service student skills and confidence before joining the workforce. This article describes an extracurricular model, whereby students engaged in experiential learning, and had the opportunity to challenge themselves in interprofessional groups guided by faculty and inspired by professionals…

By highlighting the critical thinking that (1) analyzes and evaluates arguments for claims about vaccinations and autism, and (2) engages in a form of methodological skepticism that systematically and continuously asks Critical Questions, a philosophical approach is introduced to deal directly and systematically with students' (and publicly…

The goal of safely and sustainably reopening K-12 school buildings for in-person learning is widely recognized as critical to minimizing the impact of academic, social, emotional, and mental strains brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order for in-person learning to succeed on an ongoing basis, schools must be able to offer safe…

Interdisciplinary and collaborative projects between industry and academia provide exceptional opportunities for learning. Project Sanitarium is a serious game for Windows PC and Tablet which aims to embed learning about tuberculosis (TB) through the player taking on the role of a doctor and solving cases across the globe. The project developed as…

Microbes (by definition) are tiny living things that are only visible through a microscope and include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protoctists (mainly single-celled life forms such as amoebae and algae). Although people are familiar with the effects of microbes, such as infectious disease and food spoilage, because of their lack of visibility,…