Creating Options: Forming a Marshallese Community in Orange County, California

Founded by individuals pursuing higher education in the United States, the Marshallese community in Orange County today also represents family and national interests in access to business opportunities, employment, education, medical services, and other goals. This community has become an “official” Marshallese overseas community, site of the first Marshallese consulate in the mainland United States, and a link between overseas Marshallese and the home islands. Individuals and family units traverse networks of inter-linked households, highlighting processes of Islanders’ investments, including at least a short-term reversal of theoretically expected remittance flows. We explore the process of community formation, and compare rural and urban sites in the Marshall Islands to call attention to the community’s place in a system of geographically dispersed locations within the global political economy

Democratic Spaces: How Teachers Establish and Sustain Democracy and Education in Their Classrooms

Democratic education focuses on developing students using democratic principles and processes in the classroom. In this study, we aim to understand how self-identified democratic educators practice democratic education in public-school classrooms. Nine participants, teachers in K12 schools, were interviewed for this qualitative study. In investigating how public-school teachers implemented and sustained democratic education in their classrooms, six themes emerged—fostering relationships, empowering students, and teaching and using democratic skills, democratic educative structure, democratic teacher praxis, and obstacles

Gaming in the Social Studies Classroom: Student Perceptions of Learning History with Mobile Media

Mobile media is the over-arching term for handheld devices with internet capabilities such as smartphones and tablets. This multifaceted, handheld technology is common amongst teens and young adults. Specifically, individuals between ages 18 and 29 are primarily wireless internet users and owners of cell phones, 81%, and 93% respectively. This study addresses the question: what are public high school students\u27 perceptions of mobile media in a social studies classroom? Of particular interest in this work is a better understanding of how mobile devices affect student interest and enjoyment during a World War II lesson. Traditionally, social studies instruction is heavily textual, relying on reading and comprehension skills. Previous research revealed social studies as one of the least favorite subjects among students, ranking below language arts and mathematics. This study investigated the perceptions of 87 tenth-graders from a rural public school in south-central Ohio. The participants completed surveys before and after playing D-Day, an educator-developed, the historical game available through the platform ARIS. The findings include the following themes: connected to the past, connected to present, connected to self. In addition, the results indicate an increase in student enjoyment and interest in social studies, as well as advocate for additional lessons with tablets or smartphones

Twenty Years in the Trenches: A Fight for Equitable and Adequate School Funding in Ohio

Abstract This single case study examined the perceptions of William L. “Bill” Phillis, the Executive Director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, concerning an unconstitutional funding model, subsequent sociopolitical barriers, and their impact on students and school districts from underprivileged socioeconomic background within the context of the DeRolph v. State of Ohio legal battle. This research adds to the extant literature on the educational implications of the property tax and foundation model of school funding. As well, we discuss William’s insights regarding the politics, nature, and development of the current state of public school financing in Ohio. There were four emergent themes: sociopolitical sentiment and rhetoric, the plight of poorer districts, seeing a shared vision, and constitutional language and responsibility. Key findings from the study provide awareness to foster civic responsibility to effect change for inequitable and inadequate funding formulae, to encourage politicians to abandon political agendas over constitutional will, and for educators and students alike to continually advocate for a reformed system of school funding. These findings are especially relevant among under-resourced districts such as those in Appalachian Ohio. Key words: advocacy, educational leadership, equity, foundation model, school funding, single-case stud

The steady-state repertoire of human SCF Ubiquitin ligase complexes does not require ongoing Nedd8 conjugation

The human genome encodes 69 different F-box proteins (FBPs), each of which can potentially assemble with Skp1-Cul1-RING to serve as the substrate specificity subunit of an SCF ubiquitin ligase complex. SCF activity is switched on by conjugation of the ubiquitin- like protein Nedd8 to Cul1. Cycles of Nedd8 conjugation and deconjugation acting in conjunction with the Cul1-sequestering factor Cand1 are thought to control dynamic cycles of SCF assembly and disassembly, which would enable a dynamic equilibrium between the Cul1- RING catalytic core of SCF and the cellular repertoire of FBPs. To test this hypothesis, we determined the cellular composition of SCF complexes and evaluated the impact of Nedd8 conjugation on this steady-state. At least 42 FBPs assembled with Cul1 in HEK 293 cells, and the levels of Cul1-bound FBPs varied by over two orders of magnitude. Unexpectedly, quantitative mass spectrometry revealed that blockade of Nedd8 conjugation led to a modest increase, rather than a decrease, in the overall level of most SCF complexes. We suggest that multiple mechanisms including FBP dissociation and turnover cooperate to maintain the cellular pool of SCF ubiquitin ligases

Democratic Teacher Preparation and Praxis: Creating Active, Reflective Educators (CARE)

This qualitative study investigates the ability of teachers that have completed their clinical experience—i.e., teacher preparation—in a school grounded in Deweyan theory to maintain a democratic practice. As such, the study focused on educators that were graduates of a school-university partnership program, known as CARE—Creating Active, Reflective Educators. Data were collected to address the following research question: “To what extent can former CARE students practice democratic education in their current public-school teaching environment?” Interviews conducted with current school teachers and leaders that were former CARE program students. Responses were audio-recorded and transcribed, then coded and organized into thematic units to report findings

Rural Superintendents as Political Agents: Grassroots Advocacy in Appalachian Districts of Southeast Ohio

This qualitative inquiry explores the narratives of rural superintendents regarding their roles as moral agents in the politics of public school settings and how they view their moral and political advocacy as grassroots activism for student and community rights. Insights from superintendent narratives provided themes about the history, practice, and expectations of school leaders as political agents within their respective communities. These themes focused on activism and advocacy for equitable funding and policymaking that specifically related to transportation, testing, and technology. Findings describe and define how superintendents make meaning of their political and public obligations and provide data that can help leadership preparation programs better prepare candidates for meaningful political practice

In Silico Derivation of HLA-Specific Alloreactivity Potential from Whole Exome Sequencing of Stem Cell Transplant Donors and Recipients: Understanding the Quantitative Immuno-biology of Allogeneic Transplantation

Donor T cell mediated graft vs. host effects may result from the aggregate alloreactivity to minor histocompatibility antigens (mHA) presented by the HLA in each donor-recipient pair (DRP) undergoing stem cell transplantation (SCT). Whole exome sequencing has demonstrated extensive nucleotide sequence variation in HLA-matched DRP. Non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) in the GVH direction (polymorphisms present in recipient and absent in donor) were identified in 4 HLA-matched related and 5 unrelated DRP. The nucleotide sequence flanking each SNP was obtained utilizing the ANNOVAR software package. All possible nonameric-peptides encoded by the non-synonymous SNP were then interrogated in-silico for their likelihood to be presented by the HLA class I molecules in individual DRP, using the Immune-Epitope Database (IEDB) SMM algorithm. The IEDB-SMM algorithm predicted a median 18,396 peptides/DRP which bound HLA with an IC50 of <500nM, and 2254 peptides/DRP with an IC50 of <50nM. Unrelated donors generally had higher numbers of peptides presented by the HLA. A similarly large library of presented peptides was identified when the data was interrogated using the Net MHCPan algorithm. These peptides were uniformly distributed in the various organ systems. The bioinformatic algorithm presented here demonstrates that there may be a high level of minor histocompatibility antigen variation in HLA-matched individuals, constituting an HLA-specific alloreactivity potential. These data provide a possible explanation for how relatively minor adjustments in GVHD prophylaxis yield relatively similar outcomes in HLA matched and mismatched SCT recipients.Comment: Abstract: 235, Words: 6422, Figures: 7, Tables: 3, Supplementary figures: 2, Supplementary tables:

Designer Reagents for Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics: Clickable Cross-Linkers for Elucidation of Protein Structures and Interactions

We present novel homobifunctional amine-reactive clickable cross-linkers (CXLs) for investigation of three-dimensional protein structures and protein–protein interactions (PPIs). CXLs afford consolidated advantages not previously available in a simple cross-linker, including (1) their small size and cationic nature at physiological pH, resulting in good water solubility and cell-permeability, (2) an alkyne group for bio-orthogonal conjugation to affinity tags via the click reaction for enrichment of cross-linked peptides, (3) a nucleophilic displacement reaction involving the 1,2,3-triazole ring formed in the click reaction, yielding a lock-mass reporter ion for only clicked peptides, and (4) higher charge states of cross-linked peptides in the gas-phase for augmented electron transfer dissociation (ETD) yields. Ubiquitin, a lysine-abundant protein, is used as a model system to demonstrate structural studies using CXLs. To validate the sensitivity of our approach, biotin-azide labeling and subsequent enrichment of cross-linked peptides are performed for cross-linked ubiquitin digests mixed with yeast cell lysates. Cross-linked peptides are detected and identified by collision induced dissociation (CID) and ETD with linear quadrupole ion trap (LTQ)-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) and LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometers. The application of CXLs to more complex systems (e.g., in vivo cross-linking) is illustrated by Western blot detection of Cul1 complexes including known binders, Cand1 and Skp2, in HEK 293 cells, confirming good water solubility and cell-permeability

Phosphorylation of synaptic GTPase-activating protein (synGAP) by polo-like kinase (Plk2) alters the ratio of its GAP activity toward HRas, Rap1 and Rap2 GTPases

SynGAP is a Ras and Rap GTPase-activating protein (GAP) found in high concentration in the postsynaptic density (PSD) fraction from mammalian forebrain where it binds to PDZ domains of PSD-95. Phosphorylation of pure recombinant synGAP by Ca^(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) shifts the balance of synGAP's GAP activity toward inactivation of Rap1; whereas phosphorylation by cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) has the opposite effect, shifting the balance toward inactivation of HRas. These shifts in balance contribute to regulation of the numbers of surface AMPA receptors, which rise during synaptic potentiation (CaMKII) and fall during synaptic scaling (CDK5). Polo-like kinase 2 (Plk2/SNK), like CDK5, contributes to synaptic scaling. These two kinases act in concert to reduce the number of surface AMPA receptors following elevated neuronal activity by tagging spine-associated RapGAP protein (SPAR) for degradation, thus raising the level of activated Rap. Here we show that Plk2 also phosphorylates and regulates synGAP. Phosphorylation of synGAP by Plk2 stimulates its GAP activity toward HRas by 65%, and toward Rap1 by 16%. Simultaneous phosphorylation of synGAP by Plk2 and CDK5 at distinct sites produces an additive increase in GAP activity toward HRas (∼230%) and a smaller, non-additive increase in activity toward Rap1 (∼15%). Dual phosphorylation also produces an increase in GAP activity toward Rap2 (∼40–50%), an effect not produced by either kinase alone. As we previously observed for CDK5, addition of Ca^(2+)/CaM causes a substrate-directed doubling of the rate and stoichiometry of phosphorylation of synGAP by Plk2, targeting residues also phosphorylated by CaMKII. In summary, phosphorylation by Plk2, like CDK5, shifts the ratio of GAP activity of synGAP to produce a greater decrease in active Ras than in active Rap, which would produce a shift toward a decrease in the number of surface AMPA receptors in neuronal dendrites