Although many studies have found that children with learning disabilities (LD) are less liked by peers than children without LD, the results are not unequivocal. In the present study, we investigated the social status (in terms of likeability and popularity) of children with LD by considering peer academic reputation and peer reputation of teacher liking. These variables are potentially important alternative factors for differences in social status between children with and without LD. Fifth-grade students ( n = 1,453; M = 10.60) in 58 classes in the Netherlands completed peer nominations for academic reputation, teacher liking, and social status. The data were analyzed with Bayesian structural equation modeling. The associations between LD and social status were completely mediated by the lower peer academic reputation of children with LD. As expected, peer reputation of teacher liking served as a protective factor against low social status for children with low peer academic reputation in general but not specifically for children with LD. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic human pathogen that has become a global threat to healthcare institutions. This Gram-negative bacterium is one of the most successful human pathogens worldwide and responsible for hospital-acquired infections. This is due to its outstanding potential to adapt to very different environments, to persist in the human host and most important, its ability to develop multidrug resistance. Our combined approach of genomic and phenotypic analyses led to the identification of the envelope spanning Tol-Pal system in A. baumannii. We found that the deletion of the tolQ, tolR, tolA, tolB, and pal genes affects cell morphology and increases antibiotic sensitivity, such as the ∆tol-pal mutant exhibits a significantly increased gentamicin and bacitracin sensitivity. Furthermore, Galleria mellonella caterpillar killing assays revealed that the ∆tol-pal mutant exhibits a decreased killing phenotype. Taken together, our findings suggest that the Tol-Pal system is important for cell morphology, antibiotic resistance, and virulence of A. baumannii.

Many students have low reading motivation. Based on (reading) motivation theories, several mechanisms are distinguished that can foster reading motivation. Our goal in this meta-analysis was to examine the effects of theory-driven reading motivation interventions in school on students’ reading motivation and reading comprehension as well as to test which mechanisms are particularly effective in fostering motivation and comprehension. We conducted a literature search in ten online databases and identified 39 relevant effect studies. Positive effects on affirming motivations (d = 0.38), extrinsic motivations (d = 0.42), combined motivations (d = 0.17), and reading comprehension (d = 0.27) were found. The effect on undermining motivations (d = −0.01) was not significant. In particular, interventions that aimed to trigger interest had positive effects on affirming motivations and reading comprehension. Furthermore, effects on affirming motivations were larger if the total duration of the intervention was longer and if the share of boys in the sample was higher. Interventions delivered by researchers had larger effects on reading comprehension than interventions delivered by teachers. Finally, effects on reading comprehension were larger for primary schoolers than for secondary schoolers and larger for typical readers than for struggling readers. Implications for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers are discussed.

Many students infrequently read during leisure time. Due to fast, unconscious decisions, they may overlook the possibility of reading. We tested the impact of nudging on reading frequency, reading attitude, and reading skills. Two studies targeting Grades 4 to 6 ( N = 105) and Grades 7 and 8 ( N = 146) compared: (1) a nudging condition—participants twice a week receiving reminders to read, (2) an information condition—participants once receiving information about the importance of reading, and (3) a control condition—participants receiving neither information nor reminders. In primary education, nudges positively affected parents’ knowledge of children’s books and students’ reading attitudes. In secondary education, nudges positively impacted students’ book knowledge. All effects only occurred for those students and parents most prone to reading. For the majority of the students, nudges did not improve reading outcomes. Therefore, we speculate about more effective ways of nudging reading.

Summary The human opportunistic pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii is a global threat to healthcare institutions worldwide, since it developed very efficient strategies to evade host defence and to adapt to the different environmental conditions of the host. This work focused on the importance of Na+ homeostasis in A. baumannii with regards to pathobiological aspects. In silico studies revealed a homologue of a multicomponent Na+/H+ antiporter system. Inactivation of the Mrp antiporter through deletion of the first gene (mrpA′) resulted in a mutant that was sensitive to increasing pH values. Furthermore, the strain was highly sensitive to increasing Na+ and Li+ concentrations. Increasing Na+ sensitivity is thought to be responsible for growth impairment in human fluids. Furthermore, deletion of mrpA′ is associated with energetic defects, inhibition of motility and survival under anoxic and dry conditions.