Avoiding Accountability: How Charter Operators Evade Ohio's Automatic Closure Law

Ohio's charter-closure law is touted as one of the toughest in the nation because it requires the automatic closure of charter schools that consistently fail to meet academic standards. The law has been showcased by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) in its "One Million Lives" campaign, which calls for tougher state laws to close failing charter schools.The widespread attention and support of the NACSA campaign has pushed Ohio's closure law into the spotlight as a model of accountability for low-performing charter schools. However, The Plain Dealer's editorial board, in a commentary on NACSA's praise of Ohio's charter school accountability standards, pointed out what NACSA did not: Ohio's charter school laws, while they may have stronger mandates for closure than those of other states, are still replete with loopholes. Since the charter-closure law went into effect in 2008, 20 schools across the state have met closure criteria, and all are currently listed as closed by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). But an investigation of the schools by Policy Matters revealed that eight schools -- and the management companies that run them -- have found ways to skirt the closure law and remain open, severely undermining the law's effectiveness and highlighting the lax accountability that prevails in Ohio's charter sector. For-profit managers -- the Leona Group, Mosaica Education and White Hat Management -- operate six of the reopened schools

Modeling of transpiration reduction in van Genuchten-Mualem type soils

We derive an analytic expression for the matric flux potential (M) for van Genuchten-Mualem (VGM) type soils which can also be written in terms of a converging infinite series. Considering the first four terms of this series, the accuracy of the approximation was verified by comparing it to values of M estimated by numerical finite difference integration. Using values of the parameters for three soils from different texture classes, the proposed four-term approximation showed an almost perfect match with the numerical solution, except for effective saturations higher than 0.9. Including more terms reduced the discrepancy but also increased the complexity of the equation. The four-term equation can be used for most applications. Cases with special interest in nearly saturated soils should include more terms from the infinite series. A transpiration reduction function for use with the VGM equations is derived by combining the derived expression for M with a root water extraction model. The shape of the resulting reduction function and its dependency on the derivative of the soil hydraulic diffusivity D with respect to the soil water content theta is discussed. Positive and negative values of dD/d theta yield concave and convex or S-shaped reduction functions, respectively. On the basis of three data sets, the hydraulic properties of virtually all soils yield concave reduction curves. Such curves based solely on soil hydraulic properties do not account for the complex interactions between shoot growth, root growth, and water availabilit

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors: Are membranes really necessary?

Membranes themselves represent a significant cost for the full scale application of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR). The possibility of operating an AnMBR with a self-forming dynamic membrane generated by the substances present in the reactor liquor would translate into an important saving. A self-forming dynamic membrane only requires a support material over which a cake layer is formed, which determines the rejection properties of the system. The present research studies the application of self-forming dynamic membranes in AnMBRs. An AnMBR was operated under thermophilic and mesophilic conditions, using woven and non woven materials as support for the dynamic membranes. Results showed that the formation of a cake layer over the support materials enables the retention of more than 99% of the solids present in the reactor. However, only low levels of flux were achieved, up to 3 L/m2 x h, and reactor operation was unstable, with sudden increases in filtration resistance, due to excessive cake layer formation. Further fine-tuning of the proposed technology involves looking for conditions that can control effectively cake layer formatio

Translating ברך in Job 2:9 - a functionalist approach

Abstract: This study makes use of the Functionalist Translation approach in the translation of ברך in Job 2:9 in line with Christiane Nord’s Model of Literary Communication to demonstrate how early translators’ cognisance of the language and culture of the source text may have influenced the way they translated ברך in Job 2:9. The premise of this paper is that the translators began to render ברך in Job 2:9 conversely when they were no longer familiar with the culture of the Hebrew source text. The study aims to demonstrate that a functionalist approach in literary translation may assist with the translation of enigmatic texts in the Hebrew Scriptures to produce a target text that takes into account the source-culture inventory and appropriately communicates the translated text to the target-culture perspective

Characterization of Ebola Virus VP30 Phosphorylation with a Phosphospecific Antibody

Ebola virus is a nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus of the family Filoviridae. Ebola virus is highly pathogenic and classified as a BSL-4 agent. In humans, the virus causes a severe, often fatal disease. Replication and transcription of the viral genome are achieved by viral proteins of the nucleocapsid complex, which consists of the viral RNA genome and the viral proteins NP, VP24, L, VP35, and VP30. For replication of the viral genome, only NP, VP35, and L are needed, whereas transcription of individual genes also requires a functional VP30. Previous studies indicated that extensive serine phosphorylation of VP30 impairs viral transcription. Here, we demonstrated that phosphorylation of two VP30 serine residues, namely serine 29 and 31, is both necessary and sufficient for downregulation of VP30's transcriptional support activity. Phosphorylation of VP30 also dynamically modulates the interaction with other viral proteins. For primary transcription immediately after infection of new cells, a phosphorylatable VP30 is a prerequisite. We were able to show that VP30 phosphorylation is essential at early time points of infection to ensure transport of VP30 with the incoming nucleocapsids to the site of primary viral transcription. With the help of a phosphospecific peptide VP30 antibody directed against serine 29 phosphorylation, we further demonstrated that the majority of VP30 is dephosphorylated at position 29 during infection with recombinant Ebola virus. By recombinantly expressing different combinations of viral proteins, we could show that other viral proteins, especially the nucleoprotein NP, decisively influence VP30 phosphorylation. We gathered first evidence showing that VP30 is a substrate of phosphatases recruited by NP into spatial proximity of VP30. Furthermore, we demonstrated that VP30 directly interacts with a so far unknown cellular kinase, which recognizes a common R-X-X-S phosphorylation motif for VP30 serine residue 29. On the basis of these interactions, both VP30-specific phosphatases and kinases are recruited to perinuclear viral inclusion bodies, where they modulate viral transcription and replication

Microglial pathology in obesity and hepatic dysfunction

Microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, exhibit constitutive expression of the ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (IBA1). They are long-lived cells that exhibit a senescent morphology (dystrophy) with aging. It has been reported that dystrophy of IBA1-positive microglia is exacerbated in obese humans. Furthermore, we detected another microglial abnormality, which is the loss of IBA1 immunoreactivity that can create large areas in the brain seemingly devoid of all microglial cells. Here, we systematically compared microglial appearance in human hippocampi derived from obese individuals compared to controls by morphological and spatial analysis. In both groups, areas that were negative for IBA1 contained P2YR12 and glutathione-peroxidase 1 (GPX)-positive microglia. The number and extent of IBA1-negative regions was increased in obese cases. Since some cases of non-obese individuals also exhibited loss of IBA-1 immunoreactivity, we searched for possible confounders and found that hepatic dysfunction strongly impacts the distribution of microglial cells: a spatial analysis of scanned IBA1-stained sections increased Mean Empty Space distances (p=0.016) and IBA1-negative areas (p=0.090) which were independent of the cause of liver dysfunction, but also from aging, were detected. Thus, we report on a novel type of microglia pathological change, i.e. localized loss of IBA1 that is linked, at least in part, to obesity and hepatic dysfunction.:1 Introduction . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. 2 1.1 Formation and morphology. .. . . . . . . . . . 2 1.2 Microglia and aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1.3 Microglia and obesity . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . .5 1.4 Hippocampus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 6 1.5 IBA1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7 1.6 Microglial markers . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 9 1.7 Hepatic dysfunction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 1.8 Hepatic encephalopathy . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 1.9 Microglia in hepatic encephalopathy . . . 11 2 Aims and outlines of the dissertation . . . . .13 3 Manuscript of publication . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 15 4 Abstract . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .25 5 Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . 29 6 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 38 6.1 Supplemental Material .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. 38 7 Darstellung des eigenen Beitrags . . . . . . . 41 8 Erklärung über die eigenständige Abfassung der Arbeit . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . 42 10 Publications . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .45 11 Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4

NO MORE ONE AND DONE: THE IMPACT OF A SIX WEEK PROFESSIONAL LEARNING BOOK STUDY ON CULTURALLY RELEVANT PEDAGOGY ON TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES

Culturally relevant pedagogy is a core value and mindset that involves using students’ background knowledge and cultures as tools to propel academic success. CRP entails a curriculum that honors and reflects all students and a variety of perspectives. Students are inspired to become social agents, thus recognizing sociopolitical forces and inequalities within the school system, community, and the world at large. Though researchers have illustrated the positive impact of culturally relevant pedagogy on student outcomes, this practice is not consistently practiced in urban classrooms. The purpose of this study was to explore whether long-term professional development and support influence educators’ use of culturally relevant pedagogical practices, as well as the possible impact on their students. Professional development was in the form of a book study using No More Culturally Irrelevant Teaching by Souto-Manning et al. (2018). A case study design was employed to explore the phenomenon. The research question was: In what ways does engaging in a professional learning book study on culturally relevant pedagogy influence teachers’ attitudes and practices in the classroom and what impact does this have on their students? The study was conducted via Webex over a period of 6 weeks. During this time period, participants were tasked with reading 16 pages per week. At the end of each session, participants debriefed the content of the readings. They were also asked to fill out surveys and questionnaires to determine whether they were using the information and strategies from the book in their classrooms. Results yielded three main themes: (a) lack of time, (b) the challenge of translating theory into practice, and (c) comradery and connections among educators. Results indicate further development is needed in the area of sociopolitical consciousness. Ultimately, the results of the study will be used to design a professional learning series on culturally relevant teaching

Exploration of Commuting Patterns in San Francisco Bay Area

GIST Capstone Project PaperTransportation has been an important aspect in life, both offering convenience and efficiency and potentially bringing inconvenience and delay to people. San Francisco Bay Area has always been famous for its comprehensive transportation networks and various transportation modes; meanwhile the issue of transportation congestion has caused severe consequences in people’s lives such as wasted time and gasoline, polluted air, and traffic accidents. This project aims to explore the commuting patterns in the San Francisco Bay Area and analyze people’s commuting behaviors and some demographic datasets. Correlations between demographic features and people’s commuting choices and behaviors are explored, along with three representative new commuting methods, Bay Area Rapid Transit, Lyft bike sharing Bay Wheel, and Uber. Such thorough studies can potentially offer policy implications for transportation planners and policy makers, for the sake of establishing faster transportation networks and avoiding traffic delay to a larger extent

Understanding Alternative Quality Assurance Program in Innovative Project Delivery Environment

High quality transportation infrastructure carries great value to society and economy in the United States. To attain better quality of the infrastructure, innovative project delivery methods have been applied by many projects, such as design–build (DB) and public–private partnership (P3), thereby requiring a new model for ensuring overall quality management. The innovative quality management model has been adopted by a lot of states to serve as an essential element of a quality assurance program (QAP), where a construction quality acceptance firm (CQAF), also named as an independent quality firm (IQF) is required. Despite the increasing acceptance of the new model, many states’ Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies, which are responsible for maintenance and development, still utilize a traditional project delivery method. A deeper and more comprehensive understanding is desired about how these innovative approaches of conducting quality assurance (QA) have developed in the construction engineering and inspection (CEI) industry. The objective of this research is to identify discrepancies in understanding the new model between CEI understanding and DOT expectations and offer guidance to promote the QA process in the innovative project delivery environment.M.S