Implementing the Team Approach in Higher Education: Important Questions and Advice for Administrators

Many companies have implemented the team approach as a way to empower their employees in an effort to enhance productivity, quality and overall profitability. While application of the concept to higher education administration has been limited, colleges and universities could benefit from the team approach if implemented appropriately and conscientiously. The authors discuss some of the issues and concerns that are relevant to implementing the team approach in an academic environment. Suggestions for implementing teams in higher education are provided, including the difference between the team approach and traditional administration, the importance of a preliminary needs assessment, the development of an implementation plan, the critical role of leadership, dealing with issues of assessment and accountability, and the concept of team efficacy

The Chief Student Affairs Officer: What Constitutes Effective Leadership?

The leadership characteristics of a 21 chief student affairs officers (CSAOs) within four-year, postsecondary institutions in the Southeast were examined using The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) developed by Kouzes and Posner. The LPI measures five fundamental leadership factors: challenge the process, inspire a shared vision, enable others to act, model the way, and encourage the heart. Each of these factors was investigated in relation to length of time in the current position, length in the student affairs profession, gender, and geographic location. Statistical analyses of performance on the LPI suggest that CSAOs tend to be most effective in leadership practices of challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. CSAOs seem to be effective in the leadership practices of model the way and inspire a shared vision. Gender and geographic location were not found to be statistically significant to any of the leadership factors

Establishing and Maintaining Organizational Trust in the 21st Century

Recent corporate and academic scandals have led to decreasing levels of trust and confidence in many organizations. Whether the organization is a college or university, a government agency, a private company or a public corporation, the establishment and maintenance of trust is essential to both short-term success and long-term efficacy. This article deals with how managers and leaders can work to establish trust in their organizations via such strategies as fostering behavioural consistency, behavioural integrity, sharing of control, effective communication and demonstration of concern for employees. Also included are strategies of maintaining and enhancing trust, how the level of trust in an organization affects the individual as well as the entire enterprise, and the consequences of losing organizational trust

Recurrent radio outbursts at the center of the NGC1407 galaxy group

We present deep Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) radio observations at 240, 330 and 610 MHz of the complex radio source at the center of the NGC1407 galaxy group. Previous GMRT observations at 240 MHz revealed faint, diffuse emission enclosing the central twin-jet radio galaxy. This has been interpreted as an indication of two possible radio outbursts occurring at different times. Both the inner double and diffuse component are detected in the new GMRT images at high levels of significance. Combining the GMRT observations with archival Very Large Array data at 1.4 and 4.9 GHz, we derive the total spectrum of both components. The inner double has a spectral index \alpha=0.7, typical for active, extended radio galaxies, whereas the spectrum of the large-scale emission is very steep, with \alpha=1.8 between 240 MHz and 1.4 GHz. The radiative age of the large-scale component is very long, ~300 Myr, compared to ~30 Myr estimated for the central double, confirming that the diffuse component was generated during a former cycle of activity of the central galaxy. The current activity have so far released an energy which is nearly one order of magnitude lower than that associated with the former outburst. The group X-ray emission in the Chandra and XMM-Newton images and extended radio emission show a similar swept-back morphology. We speculate that the two structures are both affected by the motion of the group core, perhaps due to the core sloshing in response to a recent encounter with the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC1400.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures and 5 tables. Accepted for publication in Ap

Dissolution of Metals from Biosolid-Treated Soils by Organic Acid Mixtures

Results for the solubilization of metals from biosolid- (BSL-) treated soils by simulated organic acid-based synthetic root exudates (OA mixtures) of differing composition and concentrations are presented. This study used two BSL-treated Romona soils and a BSL-free Romona soil control that were collected from experimental plots of a long-term BSL land application experiment. Results indicate that the solubility of metals in a BSL-treated soil with 0.01 and 0.1 M OA mixtures was significantly higher than that of 0.001 M concentrations. Differences in composition of OAs caused by BSL treatment and the length of growing periods did not affect the solubility of metals. There were no significant differences in organic composition and metals extracted for plants grown at 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks. The amount of metals extracted tended to decrease with the increase of the pH. Results of metal dissolution kinetics indicate two-stage metal dissolution. A rapid dissolution of metals occurred in the first 15 minutes. For Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn, approximately 60–70% of the metals were released in the first 15 minutes while the initial releases for Cr and Pb were approximately 30% of the total. It was then followed by a slow but steady release of additional metals over 48 hours

A combined low-radio frequency/X-ray study of galaxy groups I. Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations at 235 MHz and 610 MHz

We present new Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations at 235 MHz and 610 MHz of 18 X-ray bright galaxy groups. These observations are part of an extended project, presented here and in future papers, which combines low-frequency radio and X-ray data to investigate the interaction between central active galactic nuclei (AGN) and the intra-group medium (IGM). The radio images show a very diverse population of group-central radio sources, varying widely in size, power, morphology and spectral index. Comparison of the radio images with Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray images shows that groups with significant substructure in the X-ray band and marginal radio emission at >= 1 GHz host low-frequency radio structures that correlate with substructures in IGM. Radio-filled X-ray cavities, the most evident form of AGN/IGM interaction in our sample, are found in half of the systems, and are typically associated with small, low- or mid-power double radio sources. Two systems, NGC5044 and NGC4636, possess multiple cavities, which are isotropically distributed around the group center, possibly due to group weather. In other systems the radio/X-ray correlations are less evident. However, the AGN/IGM interaction can manifest itself through the effects of the high-pressure medium on the morphology, spectral properties and evolution of the radio-emitting plasma. In particular, the IGM can confine fading radio lobes in old/dying radio galaxies and prevent them from dissipating quickly. Evidence for radio emission produced by former outbursts that coexist with current activity is found in six groups of the sample.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 26 pages, 18 figures. A version with high-quality figures is http://www.astro.umd.edu/~simona/giacintucci_hr.pd

Immunochip analysis identifies multiple susceptibility loci for systemic sclerosis

In this study, 1,833 systemic sclerosis (SSc) cases and 3,466 controls were genotyped with the Immunochip array. Classical alleles, amino acid residues, and SNPs across the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region were imputed and tested. These analyses resulted in a model composed of six polymorphic amino acid positions and seven SNPs that explained the observed significant associations in the region. In addition, a replication step comprising 4,017 SSc cases and 5,935 controls was carried out for several selected non-HLA variants, reaching a total of 5,850 cases and 9,401 controls of European ancestry. Following this strategy, we identified and validated three SSc risk loci, including DNASE1L3 at 3p14, the SCHIP1-IL12A locus at 3q25, and ATG5 at 6q21, as well as a suggested association of the TREH-DDX6 locus at 11q23. The associations of several previously reported SSc risk loci were validated and further refined, and the observed peak of association in PXK was related to DNASE1L3. Our study has increased the number of known genetic associations with SSc, provided further insight into the pleiotropic effects of shared autoimmune risk factors, and highlighted the power of dense mapping for detecting previously overlooked susceptibility loci

Investigation of NRXN1 deletions: Clinical and molecular characterization

Deletions at 2p16.3 involving exons of NRXN1 are associated with susceptibility for autism and schizophrenia, and similar deletions have been identified in individuals with developmental delay and dysmorphic features. We have identified 34 probands with exonic NRXN1 deletions following referral for clinical microarray‐based comparative genomic hybridization. To more firmly establish the full phenotypic spectrum associated with exonic NRXN1 deletions, we report the clinical features of 27 individuals with NRXN1 deletions, who represent 23 of these 34 families. The frequency of exonic NRXN1 deletions among our postnatally diagnosed patients (0.11%) is significantly higher than the frequency among reported controls (0.02%; P  = 6.08 × 10 −7 ), supporting a role for these deletions in the development of abnormal phenotypes. Generally, most individuals with NRXN1 exonic deletions have developmental delay (particularly speech), abnormal behaviors, and mild dysmorphic features. In our cohort, autism spectrum disorders were diagnosed in 43% (10/23), and 16% (4/25) had epilepsy. The presence of NRXN1 deletions in normal parents and siblings suggests reduced penetrance and/or variable expressivity, which may be influenced by genetic, environmental, and/or stochastic factors. The pathogenicity of these deletions may also be affected by the location of the deletion within the gene. Counseling should appropriately represent this spectrum of possibilities when discussing recurrence risks or expectations for a child found to have a deletion in NRXN1 . © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97220/1/35780_ftp.pd

A family of dual-activity glycosyltransferasesphosphorylases mediates mannogen turnover and virulence in Leishmania parasites

Parasitic protists belonging to the genus Leishmania synthesize the non-canonical carbohydrate reserve, mannogen, which is composed of β-1,2-mannan oligosaccharides. Here, we identify a class of dual-activity mannosyltransferase/phosphorylases (MTPs) that catalyze both the sugar nucleotide-dependent biosynthesis and phosphorolytic turnover of mannogen. Structural and phylogenic analysis shows that while the MTPs are structurally related to bacterial mannan phosphorylases, they constitute a distinct family of glycosyltransferases (GT108) that have likely been acquired by horizontal gene transfer from gram-positive bacteria. The seven MTPs catalyze the constitutive synthesis and turnover of mannogen. This metabolic rheostat protects obligate intracellular parasite stages from nutrient excess, and is essential for thermotolerance and parasite infectivity in the mammalian host. Our results suggest that the acquisition and expansion of the MTP family in Leishmania increased the metabolic flexibility of these protists and contributed to their capacity to colonize new host niches

Development and validation of a targeted gene sequencing panel for application to disparate cancers

Next generation sequencing has revolutionised genomic studies of cancer, having facilitated the development of precision oncology treatments based on a tumour’s molecular profile. We aimed to develop a targeted gene sequencing panel for application to disparate cancer types with particular focus on tumours of the head and neck, plus test for utility in liquid biopsy. The final panel designed through Roche/Nimblegen combined 451 cancer-associated genes (2.01 Mb target region). 136 patient DNA samples were collected for performance and application testing. Panel sensitivity and precision were measured using well-characterised DNA controls (n = 47), and specificity by Sanger sequencing of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Interacting Protein (AIP) gene in 89 patients. Assessment of liquid biopsy application employed a pool of synthetic circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA). Library preparation and sequencing were conducted on Illumina-based platforms prior to analysis with our accredited (ISO15189) bioinformatics pipeline. We achieved a mean coverage of 395x, with sensitivity and specificity of >99% and precision of >97%. Liquid biopsy revealed detection to 1.25% variant allele frequency. Application to head and neck tumours/cancers resulted in detection of mutations aligned to published databases. In conclusion, we have developed an analytically-validated panel for application to cancers of disparate types with utility in liquid biopsy