A Matter Of Retention: The Essential Pieces Of Comprehensive Induction As Seen Through The Eyes Of Novice Urban Elementary Schoo

A substantial amount of research exists and was reviewed on why teachers leave the teaching profession and/or why they leave one school to teach at another school. Significantly less research exists on why teachers remain in an urban school and what they view as being the essential pieces of teacher induction. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the body of knowledge by identifying the key pieces of induction that influence teachers, with three or less years of experience in an urban school, to remain teachers in their school. A case study design was utilized in this research in order to gain an in-depth understanding of what these teachers view as being the essential pieces of induction. In response to the larger problem stated here, I have organized my dissertation around three separate, but related manuscripts: 1. The first manuscript is a literature review on the essential pieces of comprehensive induction focusing on urban settings and the role that administrators play in novice urban teacher retention. The essential pieces of induction were identified through the literature as being effective administration, mentoring, formative evaluation, empowerment, and professional development. 2. The second manuscript is an exploration into the need for school-university partnerships through the results of a questionnaire on a one time professional development held at the university. The questionnaire results demonstrated the novice urban teachers\u27 beliefs that professional development positively impacted their instructional practices, yet did not report that professional development would have a positive influence on their students\u27 standardized test scores. 3. The third manuscript is a case study of Brookstay Elementary, an urban school successfully retaining novice urban teachers. This case study gives specific examples of how the essential pieces of comprehensive induction are seen through the eyes of novice urban teachers as well as provides evidence for the importance of building a positive school culture in order to retain novice urban teachers

Data-Driven Superstabilization of Linear Systems under Quantization

This paper focuses on the stabilization and regulation of linear systems affected by quantization in state-transition data and actuated input. The observed data are composed of tuples of current state, input, and the next state's interval ranges based on sensor quantization. Using an established characterization of input-logarithmically-quantized stabilization based on robustness to sector-bounded uncertainty, we formulate a nonconservative infinite-dimensional linear program that enforces superstabilization of all possible consistent systems under assumed priors. We solve this problem by posing a pair of exponentially-scaling linear programs, and demonstrate the success of our method on example quantized systems.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, 3 table

The Conquest of Mexico in the nineteenth-century transamerican novel

Over the course of the nineteenth century, writers raised in the New World produced at least twenty historical novels about the Conquest of Mexico (1519-1521), making it one of the topics and time periods most frequently evoked in the era's literature. The oldest of these novels, Jicoténcal (1826), has interested scholars of transamerican literary relations for its plea for hemispheric unity in the face of Spanish imperialism. However, the other novels, despite their popularity with contemporary readers, have tended to be dismissed by modern critics as distractions for women and children and poor imitations of the historical novels of Walter Scott and James Fenimore Cooper. This dissertation, which includes chapters on literary texts by the Cuban author Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (Guatimozín; 1846), the US American author Lew Wallace (The Fair God; 1873), and the Mexican author Ireneo Paz (Amor y suplicio; 1873), repositions the Conquest novel as a work of socially engaged literature that is meant to be consumed during the reader's leisure hours but is nonetheless interested in shaping the reader's political actions. Drawing on archival materials such as the authors' letters, journalism, and unpublished speeches, as well as the work of scholars like Doris Sommer, Roberto González Echevarría, and Gretchen Murphy, the dissertation reveals that the writers of Conquest novels manipulated the story of Spain's subjugation of the Aztec Empire to intervene in contemporary debates over imperialism, republicanism, and regional/national identity. Together, these texts chronicle Americans' shifting perceptions of the relations between the New and Old Worlds and between the creoles, Indians, and mestizos who share the western hemisphere. When approached as a unique discursive formation, Conquest novels challenge the boundaries between nations, genres, and disciplines that have tended to constrict scholarship on nineteenth-century literature. They expose some of the ways that authors have used stories about the past to reflect on the present and guide the future.Comparative Literatur

The Spin-Orbit Misalignment of TOI-1842b: The First Measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin Effect for a Warm Sub-Saturn around a Massive Star

The mechanisms responsible for generating spin-orbit misalignments in exoplanetary systems are still not fully understood. It is unclear whether these misalignments are related to the migration of hot Jupiters or are a consequence of general star and planet formation processes. One promising method to address this question is to constrain the distribution of spin-orbit angle measurements for a broader range of planets beyond hot Jupiters. In this work, we present the sky-projected obliquity (\lambda=-68.1_{-14.7}^{+21.2} \,^{\circ}) for the warm sub-Saturn TOI-1842b, obtained through a measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect using WIYN/NEID. Using the projected obliquity, the stellar rotation period obtained from the TESS light curve, and the projected rotation velocity from spectral analysis, we infer the 3D spin-orbit angle ($\psi$) to be \psi=73.3^{+16.3}_{-12.9} \,^{\circ}. As the first spin-orbit angle determination made for a sub-Saturn-mass planet around a massive ($M_{\rm *}=1.45 \,{\rm M_\odot}$) star, our result presents an opportunity to examine the orbital geometries for new regimes of planetary systems. When combined with archival measurements, our observations of TOI-1842b support the hypothesis that the previously established prevalence of misaligned systems around hot, massive stars may be driven by planet-planet dynamical interactions. In massive stellar systems, multiple gas giants are more likely to form and can then dynamically interact with each other to excite spin-orbit misalignments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 tables, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

SOLES VII: The Spin-Orbit Alignment of WASP-106 b, a Warm Jupiter Along the Kraft Break

Although close-orbiting, massive exoplanets -- known as hot and warm Jupiters -- are among the most observationally accessible known planets, their formation pathways are still not universally agreed upon. One method to constrain the possible dynamical histories of such planets is to measure the systems' sky-projected spin-orbit angles using the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. By demonstrating whether planets orbit around the stellar equator or on offset orbits, Rossiter-McLaughlin observations offer clues as to whether the planet had a quiescent or violent formation history. Such measurements are, however, only a reliable window into the history of the system if the planet in question orbits sufficiently far from its host star; otherwise, tidal interactions with the host star can erase evidence of past dynamical upheavals. We present a WIYN/NEID Rossiter-McLaughlin measurement of the tidally detached warm Jupiter WASP-106 b, which orbits a star along the Kraft break ($T_{\mathrm{eff}}=6002\pm164$ K). We find that WASP-106 b is consistent with a low spin-orbit angle (\lambda=6^{+17}_{-16}\,^{\circ} and \psi = 26^{+12}_{-17}\,^{\circ}), suggesting a relatively quiescent formation history for the system. We conclude by comparing the stellar obliquities of hot and warm Jupiter systems, with the WASP-106 system included, to gain insight into the possible formation routes of these populations of exoplanets.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to AAS journals 8/7/2

Expressions 2015

https://openspace.dmacc.edu/expressions/1025/thumbnail.jp

Signaling via β2 Integrins Triggers Neutrophil-Dependent Alteration in Endothelial Barrier Function

Activation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) and adhesion to the endothelial lining is a major cause of edema formation. Although known to be dependent on the function of β2 integrins (CD11/CD18), the precise mechanisms by which adherent PMNs may impair endothelial barrier capacity remain unclear. Here, the role of transmembrane signaling by β2 integrins in PMN-induced alterations in tight junctional permeability of cultured endothelial cell (EC) monolayers was investigated. PMN activation, in the absence of proinflammatory stimuli, was accomplished through antibody cross-linking of CD11b/CD18, mimicking adhesion-dependent receptor engagement. CD18 cross-linking in PMNs added to the EC monolayer provoked a prompt increase in EC permeability that coincided with a rise in EC cytosolic free Ca2+ and rearrangement of actin filaments, events similar to those evoked by chemoattractant PMN activation. Cell-free supernatant obtained after CD18 cross-linking in suspended PMNs triggered an EC response indistinguishable from that induced by direct PMN activation, and caused clear-cut venular plasma leakage when added to the hamster cheek pouch in vivo preparation. The PMN-evoked EC response was specific to β2 integrin engagement inasmuch as antibody cross-linking of l-selectin or CD44 was without effect on EC function. Our data demonstrate a causal link between outside-in signaling by β2 integrins and the capacity of PMNs to induce alterations in vascular permeability, and suggest a paracrine mechanism that involves PMN-derived cationic protein(s) in the cellular crosstalk between PMNs and ECs

Filamin-A Regulates Neutrophil Uropod Retraction through RhoA during Chemotaxis

Filamin-A (FLNa) has been shown to be a key cross-linker of actin filaments in the leading edge of a motile melanoma cell line, however its role in neutrophils undergoing chemotaxis is unknown. Using a murine transgenic model in which FLNa is selectively deleted in granulocytes, we report that, while neutrophils lacking FLNa show normal polarization and pseudopod extension, they exhibit obvious defects in uropod retraction. This uropod retraction defect was found to be a direct result of reduced FLNa mediated activation of the small GTPase RhoA and myosin mediated actin contraction in the FLNa null cells. This results in a neutrophil recruitment defect in FLNa null mice. The compensatory increase in FLNb levels that was observed in the FLNa null neutrophils may be sufficient to compensate for the lack of FLNa at the leading edge allowing for normal polarization, however this compensation is unable to regulate RhoA activated tail retraction at the rear of the cell

Development of a complex intervention to test the effectiveness of peer support in type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is a chronic illness which requires the individual to assume responsibility for their own care with the aim of maintaining glucose and blood pressure levels as close to normal as possible. Traditionally self management training for diabetes has been delivered in a didactic setting. In recent times alternatives to the traditional delivery of diabetes care have been investigated, for example, the concept of peer support which emphasises patient rather than professional domination. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of a complex intervention of peer support in type 2 diabetes for a randomised control trial in a primary care setting. METHODS: The Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions for randomised control trials (RCT) was used as a theoretical guide to designing the intervention. The first three phases (Preclinical Phase, Phase 1, Phase 2) of this framework were examined in depth. The Preclinical Phase included a review of the literature relating to type 2 diabetes and peer support. In Phase 1 the theoretical background and qualitative data from 4 focus groups were combined to define the main components of the intervention. The preliminary intervention was conducted in Phase 2. This was a pilot study conducted in two general practices and amongst 24 patients and 4 peer supporters. Focus groups and semi structured interviews were conducted to collect additional qualitative data to inform the development of the intervention. RESULTS: The four components of the intervention were identified from the Preclinical Phase and Phase 1. They are: 1. Peer supporters; 2. Peer supporter training; 3. Retention and support for peer supporters; 4. Peer support meetings. The preliminary intervention was implemented in the Phase 2. Findings from this phase allowed further modeling of the intervention, to produce the definitive intervention. CONCLUSION: The MRC framework was instrumental in the development of a robust intervention of peer support of type 2 diabetes in primary care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN42541690

Increases in intracellular calcium perturb blood–brain barrier via protein kinase C-alpha and apoptosis

An increase in intracellular calcium represents one of the early events during an ischaemic stroke. It triggers many downstream processes which promote the formation of brain oedema, the leading cause of death after an ischaemic stroke. As impairment of blood–brain barrier (BBB) accounts for much of oedema formation, the current study explored the impact of intracellular calcium on barrier integrity in relation to protein kinase C, caspase-3/7, plasminogen activators and the pro-oxidant enzyme NADPH oxidase. Human brain microvascular endothelial cells alone or in co-culture with human astrocytes were subjected to 4 h of oxygen–glucose deprivation alone or followed by 20 h of reperfusion (OGD ± R) in the absence or presence of inhibitors for urokinase plasminogen activator (amiloride), NADPH oxidase (apocynin), intracellular calcium (BAPTA-AM) and protein kinase C-α (RO-32-0432). Endothelial cells with protein kinase C-α knockdown, achieved by siRNA, were also exposed to the above conditions. BBB permeability was measured by transendothelial electrical resistance and Evan's blue-albumin and sodium fluorescein flux. Intracellular calcium and total superoxide anion levels, caspase-3/7, NADPH oxidase, plasminogen activator and protein kinase C activities, stress fibre formation, the rate of apoptosis and BBB permeability were increased by OGD ± R. Treatment with the specific inhibitors or knockdown of protein kinase C-α attenuated them. This study reveals successive increases in intracellular calcium levels and protein kinase C-α activity are key mechanisms in OGD ± R-mediated impairment of BBB. Furthermore inhibition of protein kinase C-α may be therapeutic in restoring BBB function by reducing the rate of cytoskeletal reorganisation, oxidative stress and apoptosis