Innovation in Giving

The third report in our Future of Philanthropy series explores how individual donors and charitable organisations are facing the challenge of innovating to find different and better solutions to complex social challenges

Noncleft Velopharyngeal Insufficiency: Etiology and Need For Surgical Treatment

Objective. Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) occurs frequently in cleft palate patients. VPI also occurs in patients without cleft palate, but little is known about this patient population and this presents a diagnostic dilemma. Our goal is to review the etiology of noncleft VPI and the surgical treatment involved. Design/Patients. A retrospective review of VPI patients from 1990 to 2005. Demographic, genetic, speech, and surgical data were collected. We compared the need for surgery and outcomes data between noncleft and cleft VPI patients using a Student's t-test. Results. We identified 43 patients with noncleft VPI, of which 24 were females and 19 were males. The average age at presentation of noncleft VPI was 9.6 years (range 4.5–21). The average patient age at the time of study was 13.4 years. The etiology of VPI in these noncleft patients was neurologic dysfunction 44%, syndrome-associated 35%, postadenotonsillectomy 7%, and multiple causes 14%. The need for surgical intervention in the noncleft VPI group was 37% (15/43) compared to the cleft palate controls, which was 27% (12/43). There was not a statistical difference between these two groups (P > 0.5). Conclusion. Noncleft VPI often occurs in patients who have underlying neurologic disorders or have syndromes. The rate of speech surgery to address VPI is similar to that of cleft palate patients. We propose that newly diagnosed noncleft VPI patients should undergo a thorough neurologic and genetic evaluation prior to surgery

Seasonal changes in patterns of gene expression in avian song control brain regions.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Photoperiod and hormonal cues drive dramatic seasonal changes in structure and function of the avian song control system. Little is known, however, about the patterns of gene expression associated with seasonal changes. Here we address this issue by altering the hormonal and photoperiodic conditions in seasonally-breeding Gambel's white-crowned sparrows and extracting RNA from the telencephalic song control nuclei HVC and RA across multiple time points that capture different stages of growth and regression. We chose HVC and RA because while both nuclei change in volume across seasons, the cellular mechanisms underlying these changes differ. We thus hypothesized that different genes would be expressed between HVC and RA. We tested this by using the extracted RNA to perform a cDNA microarray hybridization developed by the SoNG initiative. We then validated these results using qRT-PCR. We found that 363 genes varied by more than 1.5 fold (>log(2) 0.585) in expression in HVC and/or RA. Supporting our hypothesis, only 59 of these 363 genes were found to vary in both nuclei, while 132 gene expression changes were HVC specific and 172 were RA specific. We then assigned many of these genes to functional categories relevant to the different mechanisms underlying seasonal change in HVC and RA, including neurogenesis, apoptosis, cell growth, dendrite arborization and axonal growth, angiogenesis, endocrinology, growth factors, and electrophysiology. This revealed categorical differences in the kinds of genes regulated in HVC and RA. These results show that different molecular programs underlie seasonal changes in HVC and RA, and that gene expression is time specific across different reproductive conditions. Our results provide insights into the complex molecular pathways that underlie adult neural plasticity

Hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention in boys with cleft lip and palate: relationship to ventromedial prefrontal cortex morphology

The purpose of this study is to evaluate quantitative structural measures of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in boys with isolated clefts of the lip and/or palate (ICLP) relative to a comparison group and to associate measures of brain structure with quantitative measures of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattentiveness. A total of 50 boys with ICLP were compared to 60 healthy boys without clefts. Magnetic resonance imaging brain scans were used to evaluate vmPFC structure. Parents and teachers provided quantitative measures of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattentiveness using the Pediatric Behavior Scale. Boys with ICLP had significantly higher ratings of hyperactivity/impulsivity/inattention (HII) and significantly increased volume of the right vmPFC relative to the comparison group. There was a direct relationship between HII score and vmPFC volume in both the ICLP group and control group, but the relationship was in the opposite direction: in ICLP, the higher the vmPFC volume, the higher the HII score; for the comparison group, the lower the vmPFC volume, the greater the HII score. The vmPFC is a region of the brain that governs behaviors of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention (HII). In boys with ICLP, there are higher levels of HII compared to the controls and this is directly related to a significantly enlarged volume of the right vmPFC. Enlargement of this region of the brain is therefore considered to be pathological in the ICLP group and supports the notion that abnormal brain structure (from abnormal brain development) is the underlying etiology for the abnormal behaviors seen in this population

Paraprofessionals: An approach to education

Introduction; Definition of paraprofessional; Philosophy behind the approach; A development approach; Development for whom; Selected organizations using a paraprofessional concept; Paraprofessional training; Selection; Types of training; Site and training personnel; Application of paraprofessionals to selected development possibilities; Role of paraprofessionals in apple production; Role of paraprofessionals in range improvement; Pay-off from paraprofessionals used in range improvement; Paraprofessional potential; Alternatives to the paraprofessional approach; Recommendations; Literature citedEvaluates a proposal for using paraprofessionals to assist in the development of agriculture and forestry in the Four Corners Economic Development Region

A study of the relationship between role multiplicity, role conflict, and alienation among public school principals

Purpose: It has been suggested by Frank Johnson and others that feelings of alienation might be the result of role multiplicity and role conflict. The principalship is often described as a collection of roles that may be in conflict. This study investigated relationships between: 1. the principal's perception of role multiplicity, 2. the principal's perception of role conflict, 3. the principal's feeling of alienation, and 4. the principal's feelings of powerlessness, normlessness, and social isolation (three of the variants of alienation as defined by Seeman), with controls for race, social class identification, social participation, age, religion, sex, and job satisfaction (variables found in previous studies to be associated with alienation or one of its variants). Hypotheses: On the basis of Johnson's description of the alienated man and others descriptions of the principalship the following hypotheses were formulated: H(l) There is a positive quadratic relationship between the degree of the public school principal's perception of role multiplicity and the intensity of his feelings of alienation. H(2) There is a cubic relationship between the degree of the public school principal's perception of role multiplicity and his perception of role conflict. H(3) The interaction of a public school principal's perception of role multiplicity with his perception of role conflict has a positive quadratic relationship to his feeling of alienation. Instruments: The following instruments were selected to measure: Alienation: Middleton Alienation Scale, 2. Powerlessness, Normlessness, Social Isolation: subscales of the Dean Alienation Scale, 3. Role Conflict: Rizzo, House, Lirtzman Role Conflict Scale, 4. Race, Social Class Identification, Religion, Sex, Age: information checklist, 5. Social Participation: Chapin Social Participation Scale, 6. Job Satisfaction: Karpik Job Satisfaction Scale, 7. Role Multiplicity: Original instrument developed as a part of this study. Methods and Procedures: Multiple regression equations were generated to test the hypotheses with proper controls. A random sample of 100 public school principals from the Houston Area was selected. Seventy-six percent of the sample responded. The data were analyzed with the aid of a computer. Findings: For this sample, powerlessness was found to be strongly related to normlessness and moderately related to social isolation. No significant relationship was found between normlessness and social isolation. H(l) and H(2) were not supported by statistically significant findings. H(3) received some support by a finding of significance at .05 for the quadratic relationship between the interaction of role multiplicity and role conflict and powerlessness. This finding could be an indication that feelings of powerlessness for principals who perceive different levels of role multiplicity rise at different rates, peak at different points, and decline at different rates. Relationships between control variables and the variants of alienation were analyzed for suggestions of further research. Significant relationships were found between race and alienation, powerlessness, or normlessness. It was found that Black principals had higher mean alienation, powerlessness, and normlessness scores than Caucasian or Chicano principals. Significant inverse relationships were also found between job satisfaction and alienation, powerlessness, or role conflict. Again, further research was recommended. The contributions of this study to the literature on educational administration may be summarized as follows: 1. It was found that principals perceiving different levels of role multiplicity are likely to experience role conflict and powerlessness differently. 2. It is suggested that Black principals are likely to have more intense feelings of alienation than Caucasian or Chicano principals. 3. It is suggested that a principal's job satisfaction is inversely related to his feelings of alienation, powerlessness, and role conflict. 4. It was concluded that alienation can be defined as an umbrella concept including at least powerlessness, normlessness, and social isolation as subconcepts. Further investigations may begin with a more clearly defined concept.Education, College o

Locke's law of nature

It is suggested that a theorist's interpretation of Locke's law of nature leads him to many conclusions regarding Locke's political theory. In the past, many interpreters have agreed that the law of nature is a central concept in Locke's theory, but they have concentrated their attention on the state of nature, the state of war, and the state of civil society to interpret Locke's work. Often, it appears that their view of the law of nature, which they have not thoroughly considered, has led, perhaps inadvertently, to an incorrect view of the state of nature and the rest of Locke's theory. The faulty view has produced for these theorists apparent inconsistencies in Locke's thought that are not present in fact. It is hoped that the consideration given to the law of nature, here, and the emphasis given to the essential role it plays in Locke's theory will eliminate much of the confusion. In pursuing this objective, it has been found necessary to review work done by several theorists, including Leo Strauss, Robert A. Goldwin, Sterling P. Lamprecht, John Gough, John Dunn, Richard Ashcraft, and Peter Laslett. Following this consideration is a brief analysis of Locke's law of nature and a suggested interpretation of Locke's state of nature based on this analysis.Political Science, Department o