Montessori Education and a Neighborhood School: A Case Study of Two Early Childhood Education Classrooms

Project SYNC (Systems, Yoked through Nuanced Collaboration) details perspectives of a community of stakeholders committed to the enhancement of early childhood (i.e., prekindergarten through grade 3) education. Although there is a growing number of public-school programs informed by the Montessori philosophy, Montessori educational experiences often take place within affluent communities. SYNC aimed to enhance the prekindergarten through grade 3 educational experiences for traditionally underserved students by transforming two traditional early childhood classrooms to Montessori settings within a diverse, Title I school. Montessori pedagogy, curricula, and materials aligned with the school’s dedicated commitment to social justice. The study, one in a series, explored the impact of Montessori education on a neighborhood school community as evidenced through stakeholder opinions, project implementation, and teacher attitudes. Project data illustrate that a Montessori educational experience created learning opportunities that supported children from culturally and ethnically diverse communities in a traditional, Title I elementary school

Teacher Observations Using Telepresence Robots: Benefits and Challenges for Strengthening Evaluations

Project SCOUT (School Classroom Observations Using Telepresence) details findings from a pilot project where observers used a telepresence robot designed to capture teaching episodes. The study examined: 1) participants’ ability to review classroom teaching and determine teaching quality using a telepresence format; 2) whether a telepresence robot allowed observers to review the specific teaching competencies they would otherwise evaluate during in-person observations; and 3) the success of the telepresence robot in evaluating specific pedagogical environments (i.e., Montessori classrooms). Survey and observation data from two focal classrooms highlight the benefits of telepresence tools by allowing flexibility and the potential for a wider audience of observers using real time data collection. Limitations of a telepresence robot include challenges in its ability to capture classroom nuances necessary for evaluation, coaching, or supervisory support. Those who use a telepresence robot must be particularly sensitive to using a technology that might cause privacy and safety concerns for children and their families, particularly for marginalized communities

Do short sellers arbitrage pricing anomalies related to earnings management?

I study whether short sellers\u27 trading behavior is related to firms\u27 earnings management. Prior literature shows that stock prices do not rationally reflect the future earnings implications of the current earnings associated with earnings management activities and that there are pricing anomalies related to those earnings. I posit that sophisticated investors like short sellers have incentives to exploit the anomalies. Using a large sample for the period of 1989-2009, I provide evidence that earnings management activities are positively associated with subsequent short interest. More specifically, I find that short sellers\u27 activities are associated with firms\u27 real earnings management activities but not with accrual earnings management activities. This finding is consistent with recent studies that show the increasing importance of understanding real earnings management. Moreover, I show that the positive relation between earnings management activities and short interest is more pronounced for firms with high institutional ownership, small positive earnings surprises, and analyst following. These findings are consistent with the following view: short sellers attempt to refine their trading strategies to minimize transaction costs

Electrolyte Additive-Driven Interfacial Engineering for High-Capacity Electrodes in Lithium-Ion Batteries: Promise and Challenges

Electrolyte additives have been explored to attain significant breakthroughs in the long-term cycling performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) without sacrificing energy density; this has been achieved through the development of stable electrode interfacial structures and the elimination of reactive substances. Here we highlight the potential and the challenges raised by studies on electrolyte additives toward addressing the interfacially induced deterioration of high-capacity electrodes with a focus on Ni-rich layered oxides and Si, which are expected to satisfy the growing demands for high-energy-density batteries. We also discuss issues with the design of electrolyte additives for practical viability. A deep understanding of the roles of existing electrolyte additives depending on their functional groups will aid in the design of functional additive moieties capable of building robust interfacial layers, scavenging undesired reactive species, and suppressing the gas generation that causes safety hazards and shortened lifetimes of LIBs

A Preliminary Study for Identifying Quantitative Trait Loci Associated with Seed Production in Radish Using Genotyping-by-Sequencing

The high yield of seeds can reduce the cost of seed production for parental lines, as well as F1 cultivars in radish. The number of seeds per silique and silique length are two important traits among traits determining seed yield, but no study has been conducted on their quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in radish. A high-density linkage map was constructed, based on genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) of the F2 population, derived from two parental lines, significantly differed by the two traits, which were grown in a controlled environment to minimize the environmental effects. Using the map with 848 SNPs, three significant QTLs were identified, two and one of which were associated with the number of seeds per silique and silique length, respectively. Ortholog analysis was conducted with Arabidopsis thaliana genes, related to the number of seeds per silique, and revealed five radish putative candidate genes. These putative candidate genes appear to be related to ovule, embryo sac, embryo, pollen and seed development, as well as a double fertilization process. The method to pollinate the F2 population, as well as preliminary QTLs and SNPs therein, can be helpful for future QTL studies to improve seed production in radish breeding programs

A Preliminary Study for Identifying Quantitative Trait Loci Associated with Seed Production in Radish Using Genotyping-by-Sequencing

The high yield of seeds can reduce the cost of seed production for parental lines, as well as F1 cultivars in radish. The number of seeds per silique and silique length are two important traits among traits determining seed yield, but no study has been conducted on their quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in radish. A high-density linkage map was constructed, based on genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) of the F2 population, derived from two parental lines, significantly differed by the two traits, which were grown in a controlled environment to minimize the environmental effects. Using the map with 848 SNPs, three significant QTLs were identified, two and one of which were associated with the number of seeds per silique and silique length, respectively. Ortholog analysis was conducted with Arabidopsis thaliana genes, related to the number of seeds per silique, and revealed five radish putative candidate genes. These putative candidate genes appear to be related to ovule, embryo sac, embryo, pollen and seed development, as well as a double fertilization process. The method to pollinate the F2 population, as well as preliminary QTLs and SNPs therein, can be helpful for future QTL studies to improve seed production in radish breeding programs

The Roles of β-Oxidation and Cofactor Homeostasis in Peroxisome Distribution and Function in Arabidopsis thaliana

Key steps of essential metabolic pathways are housed in plant peroxisomes. We conducted a microscopy-based screen for anomalous distribution of peroxisomally targeted fluorescence in Arabidopsis thaliana. This screen uncovered 34 novel alleles in 15 genes affecting oil body mobilization, fatty acid β-oxidation, the glyoxylate cycle, peroxisome fission, and pexophagy. Partial loss-of-function of lipid-mobilization enzymes conferred peroxisomes clustered around retained oil bodies without other notable defects, suggesting that this microscopy-based approach was sensitive to minor perturbations, and that fatty acid β-oxidation rates in wild type are higher than required for normal growth. We recovered three mutants defective in PECTIN METHYLESTERASE31, revealing an unanticipated role in lipid mobilization for this cytosolic enzyme. Whereas mutations reducing fatty acid import had peroxisomes of wild-type size, mutations impairing fatty acid β-oxidation displayed enlarged peroxisomes, possibly caused by excess fatty acid β-oxidation intermediates in the peroxisome. Several fatty acid β-oxidation mutants also displayed defects in peroxisomal matrix protein import. Impairing fatty acid import reduced the large size of peroxisomes in a mutant defective in the PEROXISOMAL NAD+ TRANSPORTER (PXN), supporting the hypothesis that fatty acid accumulation causes pxn peroxisome enlargement. The diverse mutants isolated in this screen will aid future investigations of the roles of β-oxidation and peroxisomal cofactor homeostasis in plant development

Fluorine-Enriched Interfaces Enhance Cycling Stability of 4V Class Li Metal Batteries

Lithium (Li) metal has been regarded as an ideal anode for energy storage system because it has high theoretical specific capacity (3860 mAh g-1) and the most negative electrochemical potential (-3.04 V versus standard hydrogen electrode) and it is the lightest metal (0.534 g cm-3). On basis of these outstanding features, the combination with Ni-based intercalation-type layered oxides that can deliver a reversible capacity of ~200 mAh g-1 will conduce to the realization of high-energy density batteries. However, dendritic Li growth and low Coulombic efficiency (CE) of Li plating and stripping reaction place a hurdle the practical uses of Li metal on batteries due to safety concerns and low lifespan of battery.4,5 To resolve these critical issues, a considerable exertion has been made to find desirable electrolyte systems including high salt concentration, sacrificial additives protecting reactive Li metal and less reactive solvents. The use of ether-based electrolytes to lithium batteries with 4V-class cathodes have been precluded, mainly due to their low upper voltage limits of lower than 4 V vs. Li/Li+ and high flammability causing the safety concerns of batteries. Here, we present tailored electrolyte systems that can provide a solution for long-lasting Li metal batteries without sacrificing energy density, by constructing a controlled and robust solid electrolyte interphase. The interfacial engineering of electrode materials by electrolyte additives offers great promise for high-energy-density batteries