Go Figure: Exploring Equity in Students’ Postsecondary Math Pathway Choices

This exploratory study examines the early implementation of policies within California community colleges and the California State University that allow students to play a primary role in placing themselves into math courses. The findings suggest that students often triangulate information to decide which courses to take and with which instructors. Counseling is more effective if a student has selected a major or area of interest given that math pathways are aligned with students’ fields of study. The elimination of placement testing removes the specific risks associated with tests, but first-generation students or students with lower math confidence may not make optimal choices using self-placement mechanisms, suggesting a need for better communication about options. Colleges’ efforts to expand structured, proactive supports as well as instructional strategies such as corequisites and support courses to ensure students’ math success are recognized and appreciated by students. Not surprisingly, students tend to prefer faculty who are known as supportive, and a safe and empowering classroom environment that builds students’ math confidence and mastery is critical

Multiple Paths Forward: Diversifying Mathematics as a Strategy for College Success (Executive Summary)

This executive summary outlines key findings from a report on how colleges are creating math pathways that are aligned with students' programs of study

The phylogenetically-related pattern recognition receptors EFR and XA21 recruit similar immune signaling components in monocots and dicots

During plant immunity, surface-localized pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). The transfer of PRRs between plant species is a promising strategy for engineering broad-spectrum disease resistance. Thus, there is a great interest in understanding the mechanisms of PRR-mediated resistance across different plant species. Two well-characterized plant PRRs are the leucine-rich repeat receptor kinases (LRR-RKs) EFR and XA21 from Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and rice, respectively. Interestingly, despite being evolutionary distant, EFR and XA21 are phylogenetically closely related and are both members of the sub-family XII of LRR-RKs that contains numerous potential PRRs. Here, we compared the ability of these related PRRs to engage immune signaling across the monocots-dicots taxonomic divide. Using chimera between Arabidopsis EFR and rice XA21, we show that the kinase domain of the rice XA21 is functional in triggering elf18-induced signaling and quantitative immunity to the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pto) DC3000 and Agrobacterium tumefaciens in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, the EFR:XA21 chimera associates dynamically in a ligand-dependent manner with known components of the EFR complex. Conversely, EFR associates with Arabidopsis orthologues of rice XA21-interacting proteins, which appear to be involved in EFR-mediated signaling and immunity in Arabidopsis. Our work indicates the overall functional conservation of immune components acting downstream of distinct LRR-RK-type PRRs between monocots and dicots

Does student loan debt deter higher education participation? New evidence from England

Research among prospective UK undergraduates in 2002 found that some students, especially from low social classes, were deterred from applying to university because of fear of debt. This paper investigates whether this is still the case today in England despite the changing higher education landscape since 2002. The paper describes findings from a 2015 survey of prospective undergraduates and compares them with those from the 2002 study. We find that students’ attitudes to taking on student loan debt are more favorable in 2015 than in 2002. Debt averse attitudes remain much stronger among lower-class students than among upper-class students, and more so than in 2002. However, lower-class students did not have stronger debt averse attitudes than middle-class students. Debt averse attitudes seem more likely to deter planned higher education participation among lower-class students in 2015 than in 2002

The Student Debt Dilemma: Debt Aversion as a Barrier to College Access

Though the rise in college student debt often has been blamed on rising tuition, a radical shift in student financial aid--from a system relying primarily on need-based grants to one dominated by loans--has been equally important. Numerous reports have highlighted the burdens faced by students who borrow large sums, but less is known about students who are averse to borrowing. For these students, the increasing prominence of loans could actually narrow their options and decrease their chances of attending and completing college. Given the increasingly important role of student loans in financial aid packages, perceptions about debt influence the ability of loan programs to achieve their goal of equalizing opportunity for students at all income levels. Based on interviews with students, counselors, outreach professionals, and financial aid directors, as well as a review of relevant research, this discussion paper offers an initial gauge of the debt dilemma and recommends four broad strategies: (1) making more grant money available for low-income and first-generation students, (2) making loan programs more attractive and efficient through income-based repayment strategies, (3) better integrating financial aid awareness into high school counseling, and (4) providing more pathways for students who prefer to attend part-time. Loans are likely to remain a mainstay of federal financial aid programs, so as interest rates begin to rise for the first time in years, foreshadowing higher future payments, the problems faced by students who borrow as well as the barriers confronted by those who are averse to borrowing are only liable to increase

Purification of soluble and active RaxH, a transmembrane histidine protein kinase from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae required for AvrXa21 activity.

SUMMARY The RaxHR two-component regulatory system (TCS) of the rice pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is required for AvrXa21 activity. RaxH is a typical transmembrane histidine protein kinase (HK), whereas RaxR is its concomitant response regulator (RR). Here, we report the isolation of soluble, active amounts of recombinant His-tagged full-length RaxH and RaxR following growth of Escherichia coli over-expressing strains in the presence of sorbitol and glycine betaine. Full-length His-RaxH showed similar autophosphorylation activities to that of a truncated version of the protein (His-t-RaxH), lacking the N-terminal transmembrane region. Transphosphorylation assays revealed that only full-length RaxH was able to induce phosphorylation of His-RaxR, indicating that the N-terminal region of RaxH may be required for transphosphorylation of RaxR. Using site-directed mutagenesis we also demonstrated that residues histidine 222 in RaxH and aspartate 51 in RaxR are essential for phosphorylation activities of these proteins. Utilization of compatible solutes may be widely applied for purification of soluble, active recombinant transmembrane proteins, and in particular for purification of transmembrane HKs

Purification of soluble and active RaxH, a transmembrane histidine protein kinase from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae required for AvrXa21 activity.

SUMMARY The RaxHR two-component regulatory system (TCS) of the rice pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is required for AvrXa21 activity. RaxH is a typical transmembrane histidine protein kinase (HK), whereas RaxR is its concomitant response regulator (RR). Here, we report the isolation of soluble, active amounts of recombinant His-tagged full-length RaxH and RaxR following growth of Escherichia coli over-expressing strains in the presence of sorbitol and glycine betaine. Full-length His-RaxH showed similar autophosphorylation activities to that of a truncated version of the protein (His-t-RaxH), lacking the N-terminal transmembrane region. Transphosphorylation assays revealed that only full-length RaxH was able to induce phosphorylation of His-RaxR, indicating that the N-terminal region of RaxH may be required for transphosphorylation of RaxR. Using site-directed mutagenesis we also demonstrated that residues histidine 222 in RaxH and aspartate 51 in RaxR are essential for phosphorylation activities of these proteins. Utilization of compatible solutes may be widely applied for purification of soluble, active recombinant transmembrane proteins, and in particular for purification of transmembrane HKs