School Finance Systems and Their Responsiveness to Performance Pressures: A Case Study of Texas

Details the mechanisms of and influences on the state's school finance system, changes caused by increased performance pressures, local officials' ability to allocate resources as deemed appropriate, and obstacles to linking resources to student learning

School Finance Systems and Their Responsiveness to Performance Pressures: A Case Study of North Carolina

Details the mechanisms of and influences on the state's school finance system, changes caused by increased performance pressures, local officials' views on alternative allocation of resources, and obstacles to linking resources to student learning

Civic Engagement in Education: Insights from California\u27s Local Control Funding Formula

In this policy brief, we use the case of California\u27s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to provide policy makers and educators guidance on how to involve the public in goal setting and resource distribution decisions. We provide clarity around who is and is not participating, why, and what broader lessons we can draw for implementing federal and state education policies mandating public engagement. Our findings indicate tremendous room for improvement. LCFF\u27s target populations (e.g., low-income, English learners) are not more likely to be aware of or participate in decisions than nontargeted groups, which suggests weak accountability for the use of public funds by the policy\u27s target populations. Although LCFF has defined a broad set of stakeholders, only a narrow segment of the public (i.e., individuals with stronger ties to and positive views of schools) is aware of and engaging with the policy. Finally, we find a substantial gap between actual participation in LCFF and interest in participation, which may relate to a lack of self-efficacy, time, trust, perceived appropriateness, and information. As states and districts respond to mandates for engagement, these results suggest the need for greater investments in: (1) communication, (2) targeting a range of stakeholders, and (3) capacity building

Conceptualizing Equity in the Implementation of California Education Finance Reform

We examine how district administrators’ conceptions of equity relate to the implementation of finance reform. We use sensemaking theory and four views of equity—libertarian, liberal, democratic liberal, and transformative—to guide a case study of two districts, finding evidence of two conceptions of equity: (1) greater resources for students with greater needs and (2) equal distribution of resources for all students. One district demonstrated an organization-wide belief in the first conception, whereas the other conveyed individual-level understandings of both conceptions. These beliefs were mirrored in resource allocation decisions and informed by districts’ student demographics, organizational identities, and perceptions of adequacy

Structural signature of the MYPT1-PP1 interaction

Muscle relaxation is triggered by the dephosphorylation of Ser19 in the myosin regulatory light chain. This reaction is catalyzed by the holoenzyme myosin phosphatase (MP), which includes the catalytic subunit protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and the regulatory targeting subunit (MYPT). MYPT1 (myosin phosphatase targeting subunit 1) is responsible for both targeting the holoenzyme to subcellular compartments in the muscle and directing PP1 specificity towards myosin. In order to understand the molecular events leading to the MYPT1:PP1 holoenzyme formation, we used NMR spectroscopy to determine the structural and dynamic characteristics of unbound MYPT1. This allowed the conformations of MYPT1 in the free, unbound state to be directly compared to the PP1-bound state. Our results show that MYPT1(1-98) behaves like a two-domain protein in solution. The first 40 residues of MYPT1(1-98), the disordered region, are intrinsically disordered and highly dynamic, whereas residues 41–98, the folded ankyrin-repeat region, are well-structured and rigid. Furthermore, the integrated use of NMR and biophysical data enabled us to calculate an ensemble model for MYPT1(1-98). The most prominent structural feature of the MYPT1(1-98) ensemble is a 25% populated transient α-helix in the disordered region of MYPT1(1-98). This α-helix becomes fully populated when bound to PP1 and, as we show, likely plays a central role in the formation of the MYPT1:PP1 holoenzyme complex. Finally, this combined analysis shows that the structural and dynamic behaviors exhibited by MYPT1 for PP1 are distinct from those of any other previously analyzed PP1 regulatory protein. Collectively, these data enable us to present a new model of the molecular events that drive MYPT1:PP1 holoenzyme formation and demonstrate that there are structural differences in unbound PP1 regulators that have not been previously observed. Thus this work adds significant insights to the currently limited data for molecular structures and dynamics of PP1 regulators

Acquisition of Growth-Inhibitory Antibodies against Blood-Stage Plasmodium falciparum

Background: Antibodies that inhibit the growth of blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum may play an important role in acquired and vaccine-induced immunity in humans. However, the acquisition and activity of these antibodies is not well understood. Methods: We tested dialysed serum and purified immunoglobulins from Kenyan children and adults for inhibition of P. falciparum blood-stage growth in vitro using different parasite lines. Serum antibodies were measured by ELISA to bloodstage parasite antigens, extracted from P. falciparum schizonts, and to recombinant merozoite surface protein 1 (42 kDa Cterminal fragment, MSP1-42). Results: Antibodies to blood-stage antigens present in schizont protein extract and to recombinant MSP1-42 significantly increased with age and were highly correlated. In contrast, growth-inhibitory activity was not strongly associated with age and tended to decline marginally with increasing age and exposure, with young children demonstrating the highest inhibitory activity. Comparison of growth-inhibitory activity among samples collected from the same population at different time points suggested that malaria transmission intensity influenced the level of growth-inhibitory antibodies. Antibodies to recombinant MSP1-42 were not associated with growth inhibition and high immunoglobulin G levels were poorly predictive of inhibitory activity. The level of inhibitory activity against different isolates varied. Conclusions: Children can acquire growth-inhibitory antibodies at a young age, but once they are acquired they do not appear to be boosted by on-going exposure. Inhibitory antibodies may play a role in protection from early childhood malaria

The NICE-GUT trial protocol:A randomised, placebo controlled trial of oral nitazoxanide for the empiric treatment of acute gastroenteritis among Australian Aboriginal children

Diarrhoeal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under 5 years globally, killing 525 000 annually. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter Aboriginal) children suffer a high burden of disease. Randomised trials in other populations suggest nitazoxanide accelerates recovery for children with Giardia, amoebiasis, Cryptosporidium, Rotavirus and Norovirus gastroenteritis, as well as in cases where no enteropathogens are found. This double blind, 1:1 randomised, placebo controlled trial is investigating the impact of oral nitazoxanide on acute gastroenteritis in hospitalised Australian Aboriginal children aged 3 months to <5 years. Dosing is based on age-based dosing. The primary endpoint is the time to resolution of 'significant illness' defined as the time from randomisation to the time of clinical assessment as medically ready for discharge, or to the time of actual discharge from hospital, whichever occurs first. Secondary endpoints include duration of hospitalisation, symptom severity during the period of significant illness and following treatment, duration of rehydration and drug safety. Patients will be followed for medically significant events for 60 days. Analysis is based on Bayesian inference. Subgroup analysis will occur by pathogen type (bacteria, virus or parasite), rotavirus vaccination status, age and illness severity. Ethics approval has been granted by the Central Australian Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC-14-221) and the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Northern Territory Department of Health and Menzies School of Health Research (HREC2014-2172). Study investigators will ensure that the trial is conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Individual participant consent will be obtained. Results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publication. ACTRN12614000381684

Menstruation: science and society

© 2020 The Authors Women's health concerns are generally underrepresented in basic and translational research, but reproductive health in particular has been hampered by a lack of understanding of basic uterine and menstrual physiology. Menstrual health is an integral part of overall health because between menarche and menopause, most women menstruate. Yet for tens of millions of women around the world, menstruation regularly and often catastrophically disrupts their physical, mental, and social well-being. Enhancing our understanding of the underlying phenomena involved in menstruation, abnormal uterine bleeding, and other menstruation-related disorders will move us closer to the goal of personalized care. Furthermore, a deeper mechanistic understanding of menstruation—a fast, scarless healing process in healthy individuals—will likely yield insights into a myriad of other diseases involving regulation of vascular function locally and systemically. We also recognize that many women now delay pregnancy and that there is an increasing desire for fertility and uterine preservation. In September 2018, the Gynecologic Health and Disease Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development convened a 2-day meeting, “Menstruation: Science and Society” with an aim to “identify gaps and opportunities in menstruation science and to raise awareness of the need for more research in this field.” Experts in fields ranging from the evolutionary role of menstruation to basic endometrial biology (including omic analysis of the endometrium, stem cells and tissue engineering of the endometrium, endometrial microbiome, and abnormal uterine bleeding and fibroids) and translational medicine (imaging and sampling modalities, patient-focused analysis of menstrual disorders including abnormal uterine bleeding, smart technologies or applications and mobile health platforms) to societal challenges in health literacy and dissemination frameworks across different economic and cultural landscapes shared current state-of-the-art and future vision, incorporating the patient voice at the launch of the meeting. Here, we provide an enhanced meeting report with extensive up-to-date (as of submission) context, capturing the spectrum from how the basic processes of menstruation commence in response to progesterone withdrawal, through the role of tissue-resident and circulating stem and progenitor cells in monthly regeneration—and current gaps in knowledge on how dysregulation leads to abnormal uterine bleeding and other menstruation-related disorders such as adenomyosis, endometriosis, and fibroids—to the clinical challenges in diagnostics, treatment, and patient and societal education. We conclude with an overview of how the global agenda concerning menstruation, and specifically menstrual health and hygiene, are gaining momentum, ranging from increasing investment in addressing menstruation-related barriers facing girls in schools in low- to middle-income countries to the more recent “menstrual equity” and “period poverty” movements spreading across high-income countries