The role of professional development and learning in the early adoption of the New Zealand curriculum by schools.

This paper is set in the context of Phase One of the Ministry of Education Curriculum Implementation Exploratory Studies (CIES) project. The schools selected for this study were considered early adopters of the revised New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) (Ministry of Education, 2007). The paper provides theoretical insights and research evidence related to the role of professional development and learning in the early stages of implementation of the revised curriculum. A key finding common to most schools was the progressive development of a professional learning culture led by the principal that focused on pedagogy and student achievement prior to the introduction of the curriculum. The establishment of this culture involved processes that were task-oriented, reflective, consultative and collaborative. While there are strong parallels between the experiences of primary and secondary schools in the study, some important differences have also been noted

CIVIL PRACTICE Civil Practice Act: Allow for Discretionary Appeal of Class Certification; Adopt Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 Pertaining to Class Actions; Amend Interest Amount on Judgments; Prohibit Third Voluntary Dismissal by Plaintiff; Permit Courts to Use Discretion in Declining Jurisdiction When Another Forum is More Convenient; Change the Pre-Judgment Interest Rate; Provide for Vacation of an Arbitration Award Based Upon an Arbitrator\u27s Manifest Disregard for the Law

The Act replaces the Georgia rule relating to class actions by adopting Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. The Federal Rule allows for a discretionary intermediate appeal which existing state law did not allow. The Act amends the Georgia Code to allow courts to vacate arbitration awards when the arbitrator disregarded background substantive law in making a decision. The Act changes pre-judgment interest amounts on civil awards. Further, the Act prohibits plaintiffs from filing the same claim three times after voluntarily dismissing the claim twice. The Act also gives courts more discretion to deny jurisdiction in civil actions against nonresident defendants when a more convenient forum is available

Immunosuppressive Mechanisms of Regulatory B Cells

Funding Information: This work was financed by the National Agency for Research and Development ANID-Fondecyt Iniciación Grant Number 11170800. Doctoral training of AF was supported by ANID-PFCHA/National Doctoral Scholarship No 21181286. Publisher Copyright: © Copyright © 2021 Catalán, Mansilla, Ferrier, Soto, Oleinika, Aguillón and Aravena.Regulatory B cells (Bregs) is a term that encompasses all B cells that act to suppress immune responses. Bregs contribute to the maintenance of tolerance, limiting ongoing immune responses and reestablishing immune homeostasis. The important role of Bregs in restraining the pathology associated with exacerbated inflammatory responses in autoimmunity and graft rejection has been consistently demonstrated, while more recent studies have suggested a role for this population in other immune-related conditions, such as infections, allergy, cancer, and chronic metabolic diseases. Initial studies identified IL-10 as the hallmark of Breg function; nevertheless, the past decade has seen the discovery of other molecules utilized by human and murine B cells to regulate immune responses. This new arsenal includes other anti-inflammatory cytokines such IL-35 and TGF-β, as well as cell surface proteins like CD1d and PD-L1. In this review, we examine the main suppressive mechanisms employed by these novel Breg populations. We also discuss recent evidence that helps to unravel previously unknown aspects of the phenotype, development, activation, and function of IL-10-producing Bregs, incorporating an overview on those questions that remain obscure.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Curriculum implementation exploratory studies: Final report

Throughout the history of schooling in New Zealand the national curriculum has been revised at fairly regular intervals. Consequently, schools are periodically faced with having to accommodate to new curriculum. In between major changes other specifically-focused changes may arise; for example, the increased recent emphasis upon numeracy and literacy

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

CIVIL PRACTICE Civil Practice Act: Allow for Discretionary Appeal of Class Certification; Adopt Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 Pertaining to Class Actions; Amend Interest Amount on Judgments; Prohibit Third Voluntary Dismissal by Plaintiff; Permit Courts to Use Discretion in Declining Jurisdiction When Another Forum is More Convenient; Change the Pre-Judgment Interest Rate; Provide for Vacation of an Arbitration Award Based Upon an Arbitrator\u27s Manifest Disregard for the Law

The Act replaces the Georgia rule relating to class actions by adopting Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. The Federal Rule allows for a discretionary intermediate appeal which existing state law did not allow. The Act amends the Georgia Code to allow courts to vacate arbitration awards when the arbitrator disregarded background substantive law in making a decision. The Act changes pre-judgment interest amounts on civil awards. Further, the Act prohibits plaintiffs from filing the same claim three times after voluntarily dismissing the claim twice. The Act also gives courts more discretion to deny jurisdiction in civil actions against nonresident defendants when a more convenient forum is available

TIM-1 defines a human regulatory B cell population that is altered in frequency and function in systemic sclerosis patients

Abstract Background Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by excessive production of extracellular matrix by fibroblasts on skin and internal organs. Although Th2 cells have been involved in fibroblast stimulation, hyperactivated B cells may also play an important role. Regulatory B cells (Bregs) are cells capable of inhibiting inflammatory responses and controlling autoimmune diseases. Although many Breg populations have in common the ability to produce high amounts of IL-10, a unique surface marker defining most human Bregs is lacking. It has been described in mice that T cell Ig and mucin domain protein 1 (TIM-1) is an inclusive marker for Bregs, and that TIM-1+ B cells are able to prevent the development of autoimmunity. The aim of this work was to evaluate TIM-1 as a marker for human IL-10 + Bregs, and to determine whether TIM-1+ B cells are defective in SSc patients. Methods SSc patients (n\u2009=\u200939) and 53 healthy subjects were recruited. TIM-1 and IL-10 expression was assessed in resting or activated peripheral blood CD19 + B cells by flow cytometry. The regulatory function of TIM-1 + or activated B cells from SSc patients and healthy subjects was assessed in autologous and allogenic co-cultures with CD4 + T cells, where T cell proliferation and IFN-\u3b3, IL-17, TNF-\u3b1 and IL-4 production by T cells was measured by flow cytometry. Results TIM-1 and IL-10 were preferentially expressed in transitional B cells, but were upregulated in na\uefve and memory B cells upon stimulation. The frequency of transitional TIM-1 + IL-10 + B cells was significantly decreased in SSc patients compared to healthy controls. In addition, activated B cells from SSc patients induced stronger allogenic Th1 and Th2 responses than activated B cells from healthy controls. Finally, TIM-1 + B cells, including transitional and non-transitional cells, exhibited a higher CD4 + T cell suppressive ability than TIM-1 \u2212 B cells in healthy controls, but not in SSc patients. Conclusions TIM-1 is a unique marker for the identification of a human IL-10 + Breg ..