Education Law Priorities and Need: A Comparitive Analysis

This descriptive study ascertained the perceptions of Montana public school principals and superintendents, and Montana education law attorneys, regarding school law education for Montana public school principals. The study surveyed 595 individuals: 239 superintendents, 347 principals, and 9 education law attorneys. The 268 responses obtained represented a 95.6% confidence level. The study addressed the following questions: 1) Which areas of school law are essential for a public school principal to know?; 2) In which school law areas do public school principals have an immediate need for knowledge?; 3) Which school law areas are critical for inclusion in a graduate-level principal certification program\u27s required school law course?; 4) Which settings of school law continuing education opportunities are most convenient and effective for principals?; 5) Which time increments of school law continuing education opportunities are most convenient and effective for principals?; 6) Which sources of school law information and continuing education do principals most frequently use for general and immediate assistance?; 7) Which are a principal\u27s most preferred sources for school law information and continuing education?; and 8) What is the level of need for improved school law curriculum/content area alignment among the university system, state agencies, school board /administration organizations, and public/private school law attorneys? The study found substantial agreement in perceptions among respondents. The domain of Exceptional Children and the areas of student harassment, student suspensions/expulsions, and staff dismissal procedures were considered most essential. A broad base of school law topic coverage was critical for a principal preparation program. School administrators did not see immediate need for school law in-servicing while education law attorneys did see an immediate need. For principal continuing education, almost all respondent groups perceived in-district live training as the most effective and convenient setting, and graduate level coursework as least convenient and effective setting. Principals favored full day in-services during the school year. Most groups perceived an administrative colleague as the most highly preferred and used source of school law information. An overwhelming majority (96%) of the respondents agreed school law curriculum and content alignment among school law providers was needed

Heterologous prime-boost-boost immunisation of Chinese cynomolgus macaques using DNA and recombinant poxvirus vectors expressing HIV-1 virus-like particles

Background: There is renewed interest in the development of poxvirus vector-based HIV vaccines due to the protective effect observed with repeated recombinant canarypox priming with gp120 boosting in the recent Thai placebo-controlled trial. This study sought to investigate whether a heterologous prime-boost-boost vaccine regimen in Chinese cynomolgus macaques with a DNA vaccine and recombinant poxviral vectors expressing HIV virus-like particles bearing envelopes derived from the most prevalent clades circulating in sub-Saharan Africa, focused the antibody response to shared neutralising epitopes. Methods: Three Chinese cynomolgus macaques were immunised via intramuscular injections using a regimen composed of a prime with two DNA vaccines expressing clade A Env/clade B Gag followed by boosting with recombinant fowlpox virus expressing HIV-1 clade D Gag, Env and cholera toxin B subunit followed by the final boost with recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara expressing HIV-1 clade C Env, Gag and human complement protein C3d. We measured the macaque serum antibody responses by ELISA, enumerated T cell responses by IFN-gamma ELISpot and assessed seroneutralisation of HIV-1 using the TZM-bl beta-galactosidase assay with primary isolates of HIV-1. Results: This study shows that large and complex synthetic DNA sequences can be successfully cloned in a single step into two poxvirus vectors: MVA and FPV and the recombinant poxviruses could be grown to high titres. The vaccine candidates showed appropriate expression of recombinant proteins with the formation of authentic HIV virus-like particles seen on transmission electron microscopy. In addition the b12 epitope was shown to be held in common by the vaccine candidates using confocal immunofluorescent microscopy. The vaccine candidates were safely administered to Chinese cynomolgus macaques which elicited modest T cell responses at the end of the study but only one out of the three macaques elicited an HIV-specific antibody response. However, the antibodies did not neutralise primary isolates of HIV-1 or the V3-sensitive isolate SF162 using the TZM-bl b-galactosidase assay. Conclusions: MVA and FP9 are ideal replication-deficient viral vectors for HIV-1 vaccines due to their excellent safety profile for use in humans. This study shows this novel prime-boost-boost regimen was poorly immunogenic in Chinese cynomolgus macaques

Insights into the transfer of silicon isotopes into the sediment record

The first δ30Sidiatom data from lacustrine sediment traps are presented from Lake Baikal, Siberia. Data are compared with March surface water (upper 180 m) δ30SiDSi compositions for which a mean value of +2.28‰ ±  0.09 (95 % confidence) is derived. This value acts as the pre-diatom bloom baseline silicic acid isotopic composition of waters (δ30SiDSi initial). Open traps were deployed along the depth of the Lake Baikal south basin water column between 2012 and 2013. Diatom assemblages display a dominance ( > 85 %) of the spring/summer bloom species Synedra acus var radians, so that δ30Sidiatom compositions reflect predominantly spring/summer bloom utilisation. Diatoms were isolated from open traps and, in addition, from 3-monthly (sequencing) traps (May, July and August 2012) for δ30Sidiatom analyses. Mean δ30Sidiatom values for open traps are +1.23‰ ±  0.06 (at 95 % confidence and MSWD of 2.9, n = 10). Total dry mass sediment fluxes are highest in June 2012, which we attribute to the initial export of the dominant spring diatom bloom. We therefore argue that May δ30Sidiatom signatures (+0.67‰ ±  0.06, 2σ) when compared with mean upper water δ30SiDSi initial (e.g. pre-bloom) signatures can be used to provide a snapshot estimation of diatom uptake fractionation factors (ϵuptake) in Lake Baikal. A ϵuptake estimation of −1.61 ‰ is therefore derived, although we emphasise that synchronous monthly δ30SiDSi and δ30Sidiatom data would be needed to provide more robust estimations and therefore more rigorously test this, particularly when taking into consideration any progressive enrichment of the DSi pool as blooms persist. The near-constant δ30Sidiatom composition in open traps demonstrates the full preservation of the signal through the water column and thereby justifies the use and application of the technique in biogeochemical and palaeoenvironmental research. Data are finally compared with lake sediment core samples, collected from the south basin. Values of +1.30‰ ±  0.08 (2σ) and +1.43‰ ±  0.13 (2σ) were derived for cores BAIK13-1C (0.6–0.8 cm core depth) and at BAIK13-4F (0.2–0.4 cm core depth) respectively. Trap data highlight the absence of a fractionation factor associated with diatom dissolution (ϵdissolution) (particularly as Synedra acus var radians, the dominant taxa in the traps, is very susceptible to dissolution) down the water column and in the lake surface sediments, thus validating the application of δ30Sidiatom analyses in Lake Baikal and other freshwater systems, in palaeoreconstructions

On the Origin of Near-Infrared Extragalactic Background Light Anisotropy

Extragalactic background light (EBL) anisotropy traces variations in the total production of photons over cosmic history, and may contain faint, extended components missed in galaxy point source surveys. Infrared EBL fluctuations have been attributed to primordial galaxies and black holes at the epoch of reionization (EOR), or alternately, intra-halo light (IHL) from stars tidally stripped from their parent galaxies at low redshift. We report new EBL anisotropy measurements from a specialized sounding rocket experiment at 1.1 and 1.6 micrometers. The observed fluctuations exceed the amplitude from known galaxy populations, are inconsistent with EOR galaxies and black holes, and are largely explained by IHL emission. The measured fluctuations are associated with an EBL intensity that is comparable to the background from known galaxies measured through number counts, and therefore a substantial contribution to the energy contained in photons in the cosmos.Comment: 65 pages, 29 figures, Published in Science Nov 7 2014 (includes supplementary material

Characterization of a Dipartite Iron Uptake System from Uropathogenic \u3ci\u3eEscherichia coli\u3c/i\u3e Strain

In the uropathogenic Escherichia coli strain F11, in silico genome analysis revealed the dicistronic iron uptake operon fetMP, which is under iron-regulated control mediated by the Fur regulator. The expression of fetMP in a mutant strain lacking known iron uptake systems improved growth under iron depletion and increased cellular iron accumulation. FetM is a member of the iron/lead transporter superfamily and is essential for iron uptake by the Fet system. FetP is a periplasmic protein that enhanced iron uptake by FetM. Recombinant FetP bound Cu(II) and the iron analog Mn(II) at distinct sites. The crystal structure of the FetP dimer reveals a copper site in each FetP subunit that adopts two conformations: CuA with a tetrahedral geometry composed of His44, Met90, His97, and His127, and CuB, a second degenerate octahedral geometry with the addition of Glu46. The copper ions of each site occupy distinct positions and are separated by 1.3A . Nearby, a putative additional Cu(I) binding site is proposed as an electron source that may function with CuA/CuB displacement to reduce Fe(III) for transport by FetM. Together, these data indicate that FetMP is an additional iron uptake system composed of a putative iron permease and an iron-scavenging and potentially iron-reducing periplasmic protein

Investigating the Campylobacter jejuni Transcriptional Response to Host Intestinal Extracts Reveals the Involvement of a Widely Conserved Iron Uptake System.

Campylobacter jejuni is a pathogenic bacterium that causes gastroenteritis in humans yet is a widespread commensal in wild and domestic animals, particularly poultry. Using RNA sequencing, we assessed C. jejuni transcriptional responses to medium supplemented with human fecal versus chicken cecal extracts and in extract-supplemented medium versus medium alone. C. jejuni exposed to extracts had altered expression of 40 genes related to iron uptake, metabolism, chemotaxis, energy production, and osmotic stress response. In human fecal versus chicken cecal extracts, C. jejuni displayed higher expression of genes involved in respiration (fdhTU) and in known or putative iron uptake systems (cfbpA, ceuB, chuC, and CJJ81176_1649-1655 [here designated 1649-1655]). The 1649-1655 genes and downstream overlapping gene 1656 were investigated further. Uncharacterized homologues of this system were identified in 33 diverse bacterial species representing 6 different phyla, 21 of which are associated with human disease. The 1649 and 1650 (p19) genes encode an iron transporter and a periplasmic iron binding protein, respectively; however, the role of the downstream 1651-1656 genes was unknown. A Δ1651-1656 deletion strain had an iron-sensitive phenotype, consistent with a previously characterized Δp19 mutant, and showed reduced growth in acidic medium, increased sensitivity to streptomycin, and higher resistance to H2O2 stress. In iron-restricted medium, the 1651-1656 and p19 genes were required for optimal growth when using human fecal extracts as an iron source. Collectively, this implicates a function for the 1649-1656 gene cluster in C. jejuni iron scavenging and stress survival in the human intestinal environment.IMPORTANCE Direct comparative studies of C. jejuni infection of a zoonotic commensal host and a disease-susceptible host are crucial to understanding the causes of infection outcome in humans. These studies are hampered by the lack of a disease-susceptible animal model reliably displaying a similar pathology to human campylobacteriosis. In this work, we compared the phenotypic and transcriptional responses of C. jejuni to intestinal compositions of humans (disease-susceptible host) and chickens (zoonotic host) by using human fecal and chicken cecal extracts. The mammalian gut is a complex and dynamic system containing thousands of metabolites that contribute to host health and modulate pathogen activity. We identified C. jejuni genes more highly expressed during exposure to human fecal extracts in comparison to chicken cecal extracts and differentially expressed in extracts compared with medium alone, and targeted one specific iron uptake system for further molecular, genetic, and phenotypic study

Text recycling: Views of North American journal editors from an interview-based study

Over the past decade, text recycling (TR; AKA ‘self‐plagiarism’) has become a visible and somewhat contentious practice, particularly in the realm of journal articles. While growing numbers of publishers are writing editorials and formulating guidelines on TR, little is known about how editors view the practice or how they respond to it. We present results from an interview‐based study of 21 North American journal editors from a broad range of academic disciplines. Our findings show that editors' beliefs and practices are quite individualized rather than being tied to disciplinary or other structural parameters. While none of our participants supported the use of large amounts of recycled material from one journal article to another, some editors were staunchly against any use of recycled material, while others were accepting of the practice in certain circumstances. Issues of originality, the challenges of rewriting text, the varied circulation of texts, and abiding by copyright law were prominent themes as editors discussed their approaches to TR. Overall, the interviews showed that many editors have not thought systematically about the practice of TR, and they sometimes have trouble aligning their beliefs and practices

Harmonic generation from silicon membranes at visible and ultraviolet wavelengths

© 2023 Optica Publishing Group. Users may use, reuse, and build upon the article, or use the article for text or data mining, so long as such uses are for non-commercial purposes and appropriate attribution is maintained. All other rights are reserved.Nonlinear silicon photonics offers unique abilities to generate, manipulate and detect optical signals in nano-devices, with applications based on field localization and large third order nonlinearity. However, at the nanoscale, inefficient nonlinear processes, absorption, and the lack of realistic models limit the nano-engineering of silicon. Here we report measurements of second and third harmonic generation from undoped silicon membranes. Using experimental results and simulations we identify the effective mass of valence electrons, which determines second harmonic generation efficiency, and oscillator parameters that control third order processes. We can then accurately predict the nonlinear optical properties of complex structures, without introducing and artificially separating the effective ¿(2) into surface and volume contributions, and by simultaneously including effects of linear and nonlinear dispersions. Our results suggest that judicious exploitation of the nonlinear dispersion of ordinary semiconductors can provide reasonable nonlinear efficiencies and transformational device physics well into the UV range.The authors thank Zack Coppens and Dana Dement for useful discussions and help with the sample. LRS, JT, and CC acknowledge to US Army Research Laboratory Cooperative Agreement N° W911NF1920279 issued by US ARMY ACC-APG-RTP and Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (project no. PID2019-105089GBI00/AEI/10.130397501100011033). MAV was partially sponsored by the Army Research Laboratory under Cooperative Agreement N° W911NF2020078.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version