Wisdom Gained in the Superintendency: A study of Leadership Lessons Learned from Retired Superintendents

The study examined the experiences of retired superintendents who served in North Carolina public schools and the reflective thoughts they amassed regarding leadership traits which are contributory to success. Additionally, this study sought to explore the potential development of lessons learned through the experiences of the retired superintendents. The researcher used a qualitative approach to conduct this study. Qualitative data were gathered through the use of a questionnaire and in-depth interviews. The open-ended questions explored the experiences of the retired superintendents beginning with their first superintendency and continuing through the culmination of their career. The participants were also asked to share their views on the changing role of the superintendent. The research questions examined (a) What is successful leadership as described by retired superintendents; (b) What knowledge or skill would have helped you to make a positive impact on your superintendency; and (c) What is the impact of successful superintendency on a school system? The analysis highlighted how the demands of serving as a superintendent continue to grow. The ability to clearly communicate goals and expectations, develop relationships, and build trust within his or her organization were attributes identified as critical. The participants expressed concerns about qualified and capable candidates seeking the position of superintendent. Despite the increasingly challenging environment, the retired superintendents believed that their contributions made a difference to the children they served and the communities in which they lived, and this realization brought a real sense of satisfaction and accomplishment

Rule-Based Cell Systems Model of Aging using Feedback Loop Motifs Mediated by Stress Responses

Investigating the complex systems dynamics of the aging process requires integration of a broad range of cellular processes describing damage and functional decline co-existing with adaptive and protective regulatory mechanisms. We evolve an integrated generic cell network to represent the connectivity of key cellular mechanisms structured into positive and negative feedback loop motifs centrally important for aging. The conceptual network is casted into a fuzzy-logic, hybridintelligent framework based on interaction rules assembled from a priori knowledge. Based upon a classical homeostatic representation of cellular energy metabolism, we first demonstrate how positive-feedback loops accelerate damage and decline consistent with a vicious cycle. This model is iteratively extended towards an adaptive response model by incorporating protective negative-feedback loop circuits. Time-lapse simulations of the adaptive response model uncover how transcriptional and translational changes, mediated by stress sensors NF-kB and mTOR, counteract accumulating damage and dysfunction by modulating mitochondrial respiration, metabolic fluxes, biosynthesis, and autophagy, crucial for cellular survival. The model allows consideration of lifespan optimization scenarios with respect to fitness criteria using a sensitivity analysis. Our work establishes a novel extendable and scalable computational approach capable to connect tractable molecular mechanisms with cellular network dynamics underlying the emerging aging phenotype

Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescent Peer Victimization and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: The Moderating Role of Implicit Self-Identification

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent among adolescents and has been shown to predict a number of deleterious outcomes including suicidal ideation and attempts. While few existing predictors are known, interpersonal stress has been shown to longitudinally predict NSSI. Peer victimization may be a particularly relevant stressor for adolescents. While peer victimization leads to a number of outcomes, a certain cognitive bias may influence adolescents to engage in NSSI over other coping mechanisms. The self-injury version of the Implicit Association Test was used to test a moderation effect between peer victimization and NSSI. The current study used two timepoints, 12 months apart, from a larger ongoing study analyzing adolescent health risk behaviors. A sample of 797 (57.7% female) community adolescents from three high schools in a racially representative, lower-middle income area of the United States were included in the analyses. Participants completed self-report questionnaires on demographics, depressive symptoms, NSSI engagement, implicit NSSI identification, and peer-report measures on peer victimization at Time 1 and a self-report measure on NSSI engagement at Time 2. A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted while controlling for gender and depressive symptoms and revealed a significant interaction effect between peer victimization and implicit NSSI identification in predicting NSSI. Results revealed a significant positive slope for moderate and high levels of implicit NSSI identification and a negative slope for low implicit NSSI identification. These findings suggest that implicit NSSI identification may operate as a buffer against NSSI engagement following peer victimization, while typical adolescents are still likely to engage in NSSI following peer victimization. This relationship is made even more sever in the face of high implicit NSSI identification. Future directions and implications are discussed.Bachelor of Art

Evaluating GAM-Like Neural Network Architectures for Interpretable Machine Learning

In many machine learning applications, interpretability is of the utmost importance. Artificial intelligence is proliferating, but before you entrust your finances, your well-being, or even your life to a machine, you’d really like to be sure that it knows what it’s doing. As a human, the best way to evaluate an algorithm is to pick it apart, understand how it works, and figure out how it arrives at the decisions it does. Unfortunately, as machine learning techniques become more powerful and more complicated, reverse-engineering is becoming more difficult. Engineers often choose to implement a model that is accurate rather than one that understandable. In this work, we demonstrate a novel technique that, in certain circumstances, can be both. This work introduces a novel neural network architecture that improves interpretability without sacrificing model accuracy. We test this architecture in a number of real-world classification datasets and demonstrate that it performs almost identically to state-of-the-art methods. We introduce Pandemic, a novel image classification benchmark, to demonstrate that our architecture has further applications in deep-learning models

Polyploidy breaks speciation barriers in Australian burrowing frogs Neobatrachus

Polyploidy has played an important role in evolution across the tree of life but it is still unclear how polyploid lineages may persist after their initial formation. While both common and well-studied in plants, polyploidy is rare in animals and generally less understood. The Australian burrowing frog genus Neobatrachus is comprised of six diploid and three polyploid species and offers a powerful animal polyploid model system. We generated exome-capture sequence data from 87 individuals representing all nine species of Neobatrachus to investigate species-level relationships, the origin and inheritance mode of polyploid species, and the population genomic effects of polyploidy on genus-wide demography. We describe rapid speciation of diploid Neobatrachus species and show that the three independently originated polyploid species have tetrasomic or mixed inheritance. We document higher genetic diversity in tetraploids, resulting from widespread gene flow between the tetraploids, asymmetric inter-ploidy gene flow directed from sympatric diploids to tetraploids, and isolation of diploid species from each other. We also constructed models of ecologically suitable areas for each species to investigate the impact of climate on differing ploidy levels. These models suggest substantial change in suitable areas compared to past climate, which correspond to population genomic estimates of demographic histories. We propose that Neobatrachus diploids may be suffering the early genomic impacts of climate-induced habitat loss, while tetraploids appear to be avoiding this fate, possibly due to widespread gene flow. Finally, we demonstrate that Neobatrachus is an attractive model to study the effects of ploidy on the evolution of adaptation in animals

HOPS 383: An Outbursting Class 0 Protostar in Orion

We report the dramatic mid-infrared brightening between 2004 and 2006 of HOPS 383, a deeply embedded protostar adjacent to NGC 1977 in Orion. By 2008, the source became a factor of 35 brighter at 24 microns with a brightness increase also apparent at 4.5 microns. The outburst is also detected in the submillimeter by comparing APEX/SABOCA to SCUBA data, and a scattered-light nebula appeared in NEWFIRM K_s imaging. The post-outburst spectral energy distribution indicates a Class 0 source with a dense envelope and a luminosity between 6 and 14 L_sun. Post-outburst time-series mid- and far-infrared photometry shows no long-term fading and variability at the 18% level between 2009 and 2012. HOPS 383 is the first outbursting Class 0 object discovered, pointing to the importance of episodic accretion at early stages in the star formation process. Its dramatic rise and lack of fading over a six-year period hint that it may be similar to FU Ori outbursts, although the luminosity appears to be significantly smaller than the canonical luminosities of such objects.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters, 6 pages, 4 figures; v2 has an updated email address for the lead autho

Twenty-four-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitor Heart Rate: A Potential Marker for Gestational Hypertension in at-Risk Women

We prospectively correlated the 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurements (ABPM) to conventional sphygmomanometer blood pressure measurements (CSM) in women at risk for gestational hypertensive disorders (GHTNDs) and identified predictive factors from ABPM for GHTND. We analyzed 73 women with ≥1 risk factor for developing a GHTND. Using both the CSM and ABPM, the systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR) were measured for 24 hours during three periods (14 to 24 weeks; 24 to 32 weeks; and 33 weeks to delivery). Correlation between the CSM and ABPM lessened as pregnancy progressed. Seventeen (25%) of women developed a GHTND. MAP variability increased in the GHTND group versus those without a GHTND. The odds of developing a GHTND increased 1.5 times for every 1 beat per minute increase in the ABPM 24-hour HR at visit 1 and reversed by visit 3. In women at risk for a GHTND, CSM and ABPM correlate less well as pregnancy advances. HR changes in at-risk women may be a marker for the development of a GHTND and may reflect increased sympathetic activity and/or decreased baroreceptor sensitivity

A Comparative Study of the ReCell® Device and Autologous Spit-Thickness Meshed Skin Graft in the Treatment of Acute Burn Injuries.

Early excision and autografting are standard care for deeper burns. However, donor sites are a source of significant morbidity. To address this, the ReCell® Autologous Cell Harvesting Device (ReCell) was designed for use at the point-of-care to prepare a noncultured, autologous skin cell suspension (ASCS) capable of epidermal regeneration using minimal donor skin. A prospective study was conducted to evaluate the clinical performance of ReCell vs meshed split-thickness skin grafts (STSG, Control) for the treatment of deep partial-thickness burns. Effectiveness measures were assessed to 1 year for both ASCS and Control treatment sites and donor sites, including the incidence of healing, scarring, and pain. At 4 weeks, 98% of the ASCS-treated sites were healed compared with 100% of the Controls. Pain and assessments of scarring at the treatment sites were reported to be similar between groups. Significant differences were observed between ReCell and Control donor sites. The mean ReCell donor area was approximately 40 times smaller than that of the Control (P < .0001), and after 1 week, significantly more ReCell donor sites were healed than Controls (P = .04). Over the first 16 weeks, patients reported significantly less pain at the ReCell donor sites compared with Controls (P ≤ .05 at each time point). Long-term patients reported higher satisfaction with ReCell donor site outcomes compared with the Controls. This study provides evidence that the treatment of deep partial-thickness burns with ASCS results in comparable healing, with significantly reduced donor site size and pain and improved appearance relative to STSG