Overcoming Barriers of PLCs at the High School Level: A Case Study of the First-Year Implementation of the PLC+ Framework

This study was prompted by a desire to understand the perceptions of teachers on the characteristics of effective professional learning communities (PLCs) at the high school level. Data were collected via survey and focus group interviews to answer questions regarding barriers high school PLCs face as well as what effective PLCs look like at the high school level. The survey population included 122 high school teachers currently involved in PLCs in one school district in the upstate of South Carolina. Survey questions were on a Likert scale that assessed three areas regarding the effectiveness of PLCs: critical elements, human resources, and structural conditions. Follow-up focus group interviews further investigated teacher perceptions on defining effective PLCs, contributions PLCs have on student achievement, and barriers to effective PLCs. The study was grounded in Knowles and Holton’s (2005) and Drago-Severson’s (2021) adult learning theories. Key findings in the study are in line with the current body of research on adult learning theories and the characteristics of effective PLCs (Drago-Severson, 2021; DuFour et al., 2016; Knowles & Holton, 2005). In order for PLCs to be effective, teachers shared the importance of proper structural conditions such as: accountability, time, and an agenda. They shared the desire to work collaboratively using data to drive instructional practices and work toward a common goal. They want to have a voice and a choice in what they do within the PLC. The findings of this study may contribute to empirical research on the effectiveness of PLCs as well as how to overcome specific barriers that exist at the high school level

ABERRANT TESTA SHAPE encodes a KANADI family member, linking polarity determination to separation and growth of Arabidopsis ovule integuments

The Arabidopsis aberrant testa shape (ats) mutant produces a single integument instead of the two integuments seen in wild-type ovules. Cellular anatomy and patterns of marker gene expression indicate that the single integument results from congenital fusion of the two integuments of the wild type. Isolation of the ATS locus showed it to encode a member of the KANADI (KAN) family of putative transcription factors, previously referred to as KAN4. ATS was expressed at the border between the two integuments at the time of their initiation, with expression later confined to the abaxial layer of the inner integument. In an inner no outer (ino) mutant background, where an outer integument does not form, the ats mutation led to amorphous inner integument growth. The kan1 kan2 double mutant exhibits a similar amorphous growth of the outer integument without affecting inner integument growth. We hypothesize that ATS and KAN1/KAN2 play similar roles in the specification of polarity in the inner and outer integuments, respectively, that parallel the known roles of KAN proteins in promoting abaxial identity during leaf development. INO and other members of the YABBY gene family have been hypothesized to have similar parallel roles in outer integument and leaf development. Together, these two hypotheses lead us to propose a model for normal integument growth that also explains the described mutant phenotypes

Mechanisms of Derived Unitegmy among Impatiens Species

Morphological transitions associated with ovule diversification provide unique opportunities for studies of developmental evolution. Here, we investigate the underlying mechanisms of one such transition, reduction in integument number, which has occurred several times among diverse angiosperms. In particular, reduction in integument number occurred early in the history of the asterids, a large clade comprising approximately one-third of all flowering plants. Unlike the vast majority of other eudicots, nearly all asterids have a single integument, with the only exceptions in the Ericales, a sister group to the other asterids. Impatiens, a genus of the Ericales, includes species with one integument, two integuments, or an apparently intermediate bifid integument. A comparison of the development of representative Impatiens species and analysis of the expression patterns of putative orthologs of the Arabidopsis thaliana ovule development gene INNER NO OUTER (INO) has enabled us to propose a mechanism responsible for morphological transitions between integument types in this group. We attribute transitions between each of the three integument morphologies to congenital fusion via a combination of variation in the location of subdermal growth beneath primordia and the merging of primordia. Evidence of multiple transitions in integument morphology among Impatiens species suggests that control of underlying developmental programs is relatively plastic and that changes in a small number of genes may have been responsible for the transitions. Our expression data also indicate that the role of INO in the outgrowth and abaxial-adaxial polarity of the outer integument has been conserved between two divergent angiosperms, the rosid Arabidopsis and the asterid Impatiens

Tolerability of Intermittent Hemodialysis in a Cohort of Patients with Left Ventricular Assist Device

Background: The use of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) has emerged as a popular treatment for patients with advanced heart failure. It is not uncommon for these patients to suffer from renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy. The purpose of this study is to assess hemodynamic parameters and ability to complete the prescribed hemodialysis session in a series of patients who underwent numerous dialysis treatments. Methods: Nine patients with Heart Mate II LVAD received 170 intermittent inpatient hemodialysis treatments between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012. Assessment included vital signs, ultrafiltrate removed, hemodialysis duration, symptoms, early terminations (ET), and adverse events during each hemodialysis session. Results: The mean age was 53 ± 18 with a range of 26-83 years, with a male predominance (7/9). Indication for LVAD was as destination therapy (DT) in the majority of patients (6/9). Nine patients who received a total of 170 hemodialysis sessions with a mean prescribed and achieved: ultrafiltration (liters) 1.98 ± 1.5 and 1.90 ± 1.6; hemodialysis duration (hours) 3.12 ± 0.3 and 2.86 ± 0.9, respectively. Early termination was experienced in 11 sessions (6.5%). Causes of ET were hypotension in 72.7%, other causes were equally distributed between clotted extra-corporeal circuits, nausea & vomiting and LVAD alarm (9.1% in each). Serious arrhythmias were not observed in any of the hemodialysis treatments. Six out of nine patients (66.7%) recovered kidney function and became dialysis independent. Conclusion: In a hospital setting, patients with LVAD can often tolerate and complete the prescribed hemodialysis treatment

Direct interaction of ligand–receptor pairs specifying stomatal patterning

Plant stomata—the epidermis valves used for efficient gas exchange—are patterned by positional cues. In this study, Torii and colleagues describe the long-sought-after nature of ligand–receptor interplay during stomatal development. Employing newly developed receptor biosensor chips, they demonstrate that the EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR ligands EPF1 and EPF2 can directly and robustly bind ERECTA family receptor kinases. Using bioactive peptides that elicit unique developmental responses, they further delineate the in vivo specificity for these ligand–receptor pairs, revealing a new mode of action in plant receptor kinase signaling