Multidimensional Leadership: Masculine and Feminine Leadership Approaches in Public Education

With two-thirds of new leaders being women, it has become increasingly more clear that the face of our educational organizations is changing both symbolically and substantively. The demands placed on public education have also grown exponentially. If society demands that schools become better, then it is necessary to investigate the approaches that school leaders utilize in making decisions. The purpose of this research was to explore the different approaches that educational leaders implement during their decision-making processes. The present study asked 20 school leaders within Miami Dade County Public Schools to report and explain their personal approaches to leadership to determine if these individuals utilize the reporting categories of masculine, feminine, or multidimensional decision making. Following a four-round modified electronic Delphi technique, involving an open-ended questionnaire, a situation specific decision making survey, and two subsequent rounds of reflection, it was determined that the majority of school leaders use a multidimensional approach in making decisions; however, these individuals did not adhere strictly to any one of the specific reporting categories discussed. The study showed that the incorporation of several approaches contributed to the decision-making processes of educational leaders. Although contrary to relevant literature in the field, participants’ leadership approaches were not stringently tied to whether they happened to be male or female. The results of the current study suggest that research in sex-role orientations and gender studies, especially in the fields of organizational and educational leadership, may be evolving. The complex nature surrounding leadership in schools may imply that the infusion of a diverse or multidimensional approach to decision making is a necessary part of steering an organization towards a path that meets contemporary education demands. The environment particular to each school determines the leadership approach that is appropriate. Environmental variables may include the school’s history, the demographics of students and personnel, and details involving the type of organizational culture that has been fostered. Practical implications of the current study include exploring appropriate leadership and the role that multidimensional leadership approaches have in fulfilling the needs of specific schools. These leadership styles not only incorporate masculine and feminine leadership approaches, but also integrate approaches that can be considered androgynous and multidimensional

BRAF Mutations in Advanced Cancers: Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Oncogenic BRAF mutations have been found in diverse malignancies and activate RAF/MEK/ERK signaling, a critical pathway of tumorigenesis. We examined the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with mutant (mut) BRAF advanced cancer referred to phase 1 clinic. METHODS: We reviewed the records of 80 consecutive patients with mutBRAF advanced malignancies and 149 with wild-type (wt) BRAF (matched by tumor type) referred to the Clinical Center for Targeted Therapy and analyzed their outcome. RESULTS: Of 80 patients with mutBRAF advanced cancer, 56 had melanoma, 10 colorectal, 11 papillary thyroid, 2 ovarian and 1 esophageal cancer. Mutations in codon 600 were found in 77 patients (62, V600E; 13, V600K; 1, V600R; 1, unreported). Multivariate analysis showed less soft tissue (Odds ratio (OR) = 0.39, 95%CI: 0.20-0.77, P = 0.007), lung (OR = 0.38, 95%CI: 0.19-0.73, p = 0.004) and retroperitoneal metastases (OR = 0.34, 95%CI: 0.13-0.86, p = 0.024) and more brain metastases (OR = 2.05, 95%CI: 1.02-4.11, P = 0.043) in patients with mutBRAF versus wtBRAF. Comparing to the corresponding wtBRAF, mutBRAF melanoma patients had insignificant trend to longer median survival from diagnosis (131 vs. 78 months, p = 0.14), while mutBRAF colorectal cancer patients had an insignificant trend to shorter median survival from diagnosis (48 vs. 53 months, p = 0.22). In melanoma, V600K mutations in comparison to other BRAF mutations were associated with more frequent brain (75% vs. 36.3%, p = 0.02) and lung metastases (91.6% vs. 47.7%, p = 0.007), and shorter time from diagnosis to metastasis and to death (19 vs. 53 months, p = 0.046 and 78 vs. 322 months, p = 0.024 respectively). Treatment with RAF/MEK targeting agents (Hazard ratio (HR) = 0.16, 95%CI: 0.03-0.89, p = 0.037) and any decrease in tumor size after referral (HR = 0.07, 95%CI: 0.015-0.35, p = 0.001) correlated with longer survival in mutBRAF patients. CONCLUSIONS: BRAF appears to be a druggable mutation that also defines subgroups of patients with phenotypic overlap, albeit with differences that correlate with histology or site of mutation

Receptor Activation and Inositol Lipid Hydrolysis in Neural Tissues

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66228/1/j.1471-4159.1987.tb05618.x.pd

The restorative role of annexin A1 at the blood–brain barrier

Annexin A1 is a potent anti-inflammatory molecule that has been extensively studied in the peripheral immune system, but has not as yet been exploited as a therapeutic target/agent. In the last decade, we have undertaken the study of this molecule in the central nervous system (CNS), focusing particularly on the primary interface between the peripheral body and CNS: the blood–brain barrier. In this review, we provide an overview of the role of this molecule in the brain, with a particular emphasis on its functions in the endothelium of the blood–brain barrier, and the protective actions the molecule may exert in neuroinflammatory, neurovascular and metabolic disease. We focus on the possible new therapeutic avenues opened up by an increased understanding of the role of annexin A1 in the CNS vasculature, and its potential for repairing blood–brain barrier damage in disease and aging

Identification and Validation of Novel Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers for Staging Early Alzheimer's Disease

Ideally, disease modifying therapies for Alzheimer disease (AD) will be applied during the 'preclinical' stage (pathology present with cognition intact) before severe neuronal damage occurs, or upon recognizing very mild cognitive impairment. Developing and judiciously administering such therapies will require biomarker panels to identify early AD pathology, classify disease stage, monitor pathological progression, and predict cognitive decline. To discover such biomarkers, we measured AD-associated changes in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteome.CSF samples from individuals with mild AD (Clinical Dementia Rating [CDR] 1) (n = 24) and cognitively normal controls (CDR 0) (n = 24) were subjected to two-dimensional difference-in-gel electrophoresis. Within 119 differentially-abundant gel features, mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) identified 47 proteins. For validation, eleven proteins were re-evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Six of these assays (NrCAM, YKL-40, chromogranin A, carnosinase I, transthyretin, cystatin C) distinguished CDR 1 and CDR 0 groups and were subsequently applied (with tau, p-tau181 and Aβ42 ELISAs) to a larger independent cohort (n = 292) that included individuals with very mild dementia (CDR 0.5). Receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses using stepwise logistic regression yielded optimal biomarker combinations to distinguish CDR 0 from CDR>0 (tau, YKL-40, NrCAM) and CDR 1 from CDR<1 (tau, chromogranin A, carnosinase I) with areas under the curve of 0.90 (0.85-0.94 95% confidence interval [CI]) and 0.88 (0.81-0.94 CI), respectively.Four novel CSF biomarkers for AD (NrCAM, YKL-40, chromogranin A, carnosinase I) can improve the diagnostic accuracy of Aβ42 and tau. Together, these six markers describe six clinicopathological stages from cognitive normalcy to mild dementia, including stages defined by increased risk of cognitive decline. Such a panel might improve clinical trial efficiency by guiding subject enrollment and monitoring disease progression. Further studies will be required to validate this panel and evaluate its potential for distinguishing AD from other dementing conditions

Optimizing overhead irrigation systems

Centre Pivots and Lateral Moves (CP&LMs) or overhead irrigation systems have been successfully installed in every cotton growing district in Australia. This industry now has the capacity to broaden the uptake of this irrigation technology, and benefit from its simplicity and improved water use efficiency while moving away from farming systems based on saturated fields. The greatest source of information that the Australian cotton industry has in respect of CP&LMs is the small number of people that have experience with these machines. The greatest disadvantage that the Australian cotton industry faces in respect of CP&LMs is the small number of people that have experience with these machines. Growers considering purchasing CP&LMs should do everything in their power to look, listen and learn from these people. Their experience is invaluable in ensuring that the Australian cotton industry implements this irrigation technology successfully. In keeping with the cotton industry's mantra of 'Concentrate on the things you can change and forget about the rest', I will outline the important parameters you can alter during design to optimize the overall performance of CP&LMs. This paper will examine the optimal design, installation and management of Centre Pivot and Lateral Moves or overhead irrigation systems. Topics will include optimizing the design to achieve an adequate system capacity or water supply rate, designs to minimize energy and labour inputs, and design to maximise the irrigation performance of CP&LMs in terms of uniformity and application efficiency. Discussion will follow on a range of recently completed tools that will assist surface irrigation growers and agronomists to more easily understand the practice of irrigation under CP&LMs

Key economic sectors and services

Introduction and Context This chapter discusses the implications of climate change on key economic sectors and services, for example, economic activity. Other chapters discuss impacts from a physical, chemical, biological, or social perspective. Economic impacts cannot be isolated; therefore, there are a large number of cross-references to sections in other chapters of this report. In some cases, particularly agriculture, the discussion of the economic impacts is integrated with the other impacts. Focusing on the potential impact of climate change on economic activity, this chapter addresses questions such as: How does climate change affect the demand for a particular good or service? What is the impact on its supply? How do supply and demand interact in the market? What are the effects on producers and consumers? What is the effect on the overall economy, and on welfare? An inclusive approach was taken, discussing all sectors of the economy. Section SM10.1 found in this chapter’s on-line supplementary material shows the list of sectors according to the International Standard Industrial Classification. This assessment reflects the breadth and depth of the state of knowledge across these sectors; many of which have not been evaluated in the literature. We extensively discuss five sectors: energy (Section 10.2), water (Section 10.3), transport (Section 10.4), tourism (Section 10.6), and insurance (Section 10.7). Other primary and secondary sectors are discussed in Section 10.5, and Section 10.8 is devoted to other service sectors. Food and agriculture is addressed in Chapter 7. Sections 10.2 through 10.8 discuss individual sectors in isolation. Markets are connected, however. Section 10.9 therefore assesses the implications of changes in any one sector on the rest of the economy. It also discusses the effect of the impacts of climate change on economic growth and development. Chapter 19 assesses the impact of climate change on economic welfare-that is, the sum of changes in consumer and producer surplus, including for goods and services not traded within the formal economy