Maximizing Return: An Evaluation of the Walton Family Foundation’s Approach to Investing in New Charter Schools

The Walton Family Foundation’s social-impact goals include reform of the American K-12 education system by increasing the number of highquality schools available to low-income students. One of the foundation’s signature strategies toward this end is to support charter schools. This article presents the findings of a study that suggests the foundation’s investment approaches to charter school startups have been successful in supporting the creation of high-quality seats for low-income students. Specifically, the foundation has invested in charter schools where test-score performance has shown greater improvements than at local district schools and charter schools that have not received foundation funding. These approaches could be incorporated by other foundations interested in investing in the creation of new schools but unsure how best to maximize the likelihood that those schools will be successful

Coming to America: Cohort Students, Community Engagement, Linked Courses in Geography, Gerontology, and English Composition, and a New Sense of Place

Our cohort was made up of sixteen University of Nebraska Omaha students that received the Honors Learning Community scholarship. We met together four days a week and studied Gerontology, Geography, and English Composition II in a linked class system. This allowed us to study the differences in elder care around the world due to cultural differences while writing proficient academic papers for all three classes. The skills and perspectives gained in these classes culminated in our Coming to America Project, wherein were corded the story of a refugee elder who migrated to the United States

RNA microarray analysis in prenatal mouse cochlea reveals novel IGF-I target genes: implication of MEF2 and FOXM1 transcription factors

Background: Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) provides pivotal cell survival and differentiation signals during inner ear development throughout evolution. Homozygous mutations of human IGF1 cause syndromic sensorineural deafness, decreased intrauterine and postnatal growth rates, and mental retardation. In the mouse, deficits in IGF-I result in profound hearing loss associated with reduced survival, differentiation and maturation of auditory neurons. Nevertheless, little is known about the molecular basis of IGF-I activity in hearing and deafness. Methodology/Principal Findings: A combination of quantitative RT-PCR, subcellular fractionation and Western blotting, along with in situ hybridization studies show IGF-I and its high affinity receptor to be strongly expressed in the embryonic and postnatal mouse cochlea. The expression of both proteins decreases after birth and in the cochlea of E18.5 embryonic Igf1(-/-) null mice, the balance of the main IGF related signalling pathways is altered, with lower activation of Akt and ERK1/2 and stronger activation of p38 kinase. By comparing the Igf1(-/-) and Igf1(+/+) transcriptomes in E18.5 mouse cochleae using RNA microchips and validating their results, we demonstrate the up-regulation of the FoxM1 transcription factor and the misexpression of the neural progenitor transcription factors Six6 and Mash1 associated with the loss of IGF-I. Parallel, in silico promoter analysis of the genes modulated in conjunction with the loss of IGF-I revealed the possible involvement of MEF2 in cochlear development. E18.5 Igf1(+/+) mouse auditory ganglion neurons showed intense MEF2A and MEF2D nuclear staining and MEF2A was also evident in the organ of Corti. At P15, MEF2A and MEF2D expression were shown in neurons and sensory cells. In the absence of IGF-I, nuclear levels of MEF2 were diminished, indicating less transcriptional MEF2 activity. By contrast, there was an increase in the nuclear accumulation of FoxM1 and a corresponding decrease in the nuclear cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(Kip1). Conclusions/Significance: We have defined the spatiotemporal expression of elements involved in IGF signalling during inner ear development and reveal novel regulatory mechanisms that are modulated by IGF-I in promoting sensory cell and neural survival and differentiation. These data will help us to understand the molecular bases of human sensorineural deafness associated to deficits in IGF-I

The contribution of halo white dwarf binaries to the laser interferometer space antenna signal

Galactic double white dwarfs were postulated as a source of confusion limited noise for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), the future space-based gravitational wave observatory. Until very recently, the Galactic population consisted of a relatively well-studied disk population, a somewhat studied smaller bulge population and a mostly unknown, but potentially large halo population. It has been argued that the halo population may produce a signal that is much stronger (factor of ∼5 in spectral amplitude) than the disk population. However, this surprising result was not based on an actual calculation of a halo white dwarf population, but was derived on (1) the assumption that one can extrapolate the halo population properties from those of the disk population and (2) the postulated (unrealistically) high number of white dwarfs in the halo. We perform the first calculation of a halo white dwarf population using population synthesis models. Our comparison with the signal arising from double white dwarfs in the Galactic disk+bulge clearly shows that it is impossible for the double white dwarf halo signal to exceed that of the rest of the Galaxy. Using microlensing results to give an upper limit on the content of white dwarfs in the halo (∼30% baryonic mass in white dwarfs), our predicted halo signal is a factor of 10 lower than the disk+bulge signal. Even in the implausible case, where all of the baryonic halo mass is found in white dwarfs, the halo signal does not become comparable to that of the disk+bulge, and thus would still have a negligible effect on the detection of other LISA sources. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved

Diverse Communities, Separate Lives

Building and sustaining a sense of community and authentic connections in a diverse, mixed-income neighborhood requires intentional efforts to create social capital. Too often, people's habits form community around racial and economic similarities. These learned behaviors can be unlearned, and diversity can been seen as a source of strength. This presentation will describe innovative survey and mapping techniques that identify clusters of residents and illustrate their differing attitudes and experiences. Civic leaders then can use the principles of equitable and inclusive civic engagement to share the survey results as one tool to foster understanding and acceptance. The Weinland Park neighborhood of Columbus has evolved from an area with the city's highest violent crime rate and highest concentration of project-based Section 8 housing into a true mixed-income, mixed-race neighborhood. Since 2010, the Weinland Park Collaborative (WPC) has cultivated that evolution and empowered the residents through a place-based and people-centered approach to investment and support. The WPC is a partnership involving a number of units from Ohio State, the Weinland Park Community Civic Association, The Columbus Foundation, and more than a dozen other public, nonprofit and private entities. A baseline survey of residents in 2010 provided a valuable "snapshot" of neighborhood conditions that guided WPC's investments. Ohio State's Kirwan Institute conducted a follow-up survey in 2016 that not only documented the changes in Weinland Park, but the survey gave voices to multiple clusters of residents who make up this diverse neighborhood. In addition, applying innovative mapping techniques, the survey literally illustrated how African American and white residents perceive "safe" and "unsafe" areas of the neighborhood differently. While Weinland Park is one neighborhood geographically, it is not necessarily one community. The 2016 survey has helped neighborhood leaders and WPC members understand the challenge of creating a diverse community where people connect across barriers of income, education, race and gender. They are using the innovative survey and principles of equitable and inclusive civic engagement to transform Weinland Park into, as one observer suggested, "a safe place where people can come together and leave their status behind." As social capital is continuously built, new connections between people will unlock their capacities for growth, well-being, and benevolence. In turn, these connections will generate strong attachments to communities and sustain them as better places to live for everyone.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Stephen Sterrett, consultant, Weinland Park Collaborative; Matthew Martin, community research and grants management officer, The Columbus Foundation; Kip Holley, research associate, Ohio State Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and EthnicityBuilding and sustaining a sense of community and authentic connections in a diverse, mixed-income neighbor-hood requires intentional efforts to create social capital. We will draw on the experience of Ohio State and multiple community partners in the Weinland Park neighborhood of Columbus. Ohio State's Kirwan Institute conducted a neighborhood survey in 2016 that included innovative mapping techniques to identify clusters of residents and to illustrate their differing attitudes and experiences. The maps showed how African-American and white residents perceive "safe" and "unsafe" areas of the neighborhood differently. Civic leaders are using the principles of equitable and inclusive civic engagement to share the survey results as one tool to foster understanding and acceptance among neighbors

Astro2020 Science White Paper: The Local Relics of of Supermassive Black Hole Seeds

We have compelling evidence for stellar-mass black holes (BHs) of ~5-80 M_sun that form through the death of massive stars. We also have compelling evidence for so-called supermassive BHs (10^5-10^10 M_sun) that are predominantly found in the centers of galaxies. We have very good reason to believe there must be BHs with masses in the gap between these ranges: the first ~10^9 M_sun BHs are observed only hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang, and all theoretically viable paths to making supermassive BHs require a stage of "intermediate" mass. However, no BHs have yet been reliably detected in the 100-10}^5 M_sun mass range. Uncovering these intermediate-mass BHs of 10^3-10^5 M_sun is within reach in the coming decade. In this white paper we highlight the crucial role that 30-m class telescopes will play in dynamically detecting intermediate-mass black holes, should they exist.Comment: Science White Paper Submitted for the Astro2020 Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysic

The intervening role of urgency on the association between childhood maltreatment, PTSD, and substance-related problems

A range of risk factors lead to opioid use and substance-related problems (SRP) including childhood maltreatment, elevated impulsivity, and psychopathology. These constructs are highly interrelated such that childhood maltreatment is associated with elevated impulsivity and trauma-related psychopathology such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and impulsivity-particularly urgency-and PTSD are related. Prior work has examined the association between these constructs and substance-related problems independently and it is unclear how these multi-faceted constructs (i.e., maltreatment types and positive and negative urgency) are associated with one another and SRP. The current study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relations among childhood maltreatment, trait urgency, PTSD symptoms, and SRP in a sample of individuals with a history of opioid use. An initial model that included paths from each type of childhood maltreatment, positive and negative urgency, PTSD and SRP did not fit the data well. A pruned model with excellent fit was identified that suggested emotional abuse, positive urgency, and negative urgency were directly related to PTSD symptoms and only PTSD symptoms were directly related to SRP. Furthermore, significant indirect effects suggested that emotional abuse and negative urgency were related to SRP via PTSD symptom severity. These results suggest that PTSD plays an important role in the severity of SRP

Development and Function of the Voltage-Gated Sodium Current in Immature Mammalian Cochlear Inner Hair Cells

Inner hair cells (IHCs), the primary sensory receptors of the mammalian cochlea, fire spontaneous Ca2+ action potentials before the onset of hearing. Although this firing activity is mainly sustained by a depolarizing L-type (CaV1.3) Ca2+ current (ICa), IHCs also transiently express a large Na+ current (INa). We aimed to investigate the specific contribution of INa to the action potentials, the nature of the channels carrying the current and whether the biophysical properties of INa differ between low- and high-frequency IHCs. We show that INa is highly temperature-dependent and activates at around −60 mV, close to the action potential threshold. Its size was larger in apical than in basal IHCs and between 5% and 20% should be available at around the resting membrane potential (−55 mV/−60 mV). However, in vivo the availability of INa could potentially increase to >60% during inhibitory postsynaptic potential activity, which transiently hyperpolarize IHCs down to as far as −70 mV. When IHCs were held at −60 mV and INa elicited using a simulated action potential as a voltage command, we found that INa contributed to the subthreshold depolarization and upstroke of an action potential. We also found that INa is likely to be carried by the TTX-sensitive channel subunits NaV1.1 and NaV1.6 in both apical and basal IHCs. The results provide insight into how the biophysical properties of INa in mammalian cochlear IHCs could contribute to the spontaneous physiological activity during cochlear maturation in vivo