Arbitration in the Boston schools.

The study of arbitration in the Boston Schools is an analysis of teacher grievance arbitration cases during the period 1980-1989. The research comes from the case files of the Boston Schools, the Boston Teachers\u27 Union and the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and represents all the cases which have proceeded to arbitration for resolution during a nine year period. The study is designed to coincide with the three union contracts commencing 1 September 1980 and ending 31 August 1989, with a three year term for each contract. The major causes of grievance arbitration during the period were found in the areas of (1) appointment and assignment of teachers (36% of the cases); (2) teacher compensation and pay (27%); (3) working conditions regarding class size and assignment of students (12%); (4) teacher discipline issues (11%); (5) the performance and evaluation of teachers (6%); and (6) actions taken by management without notice to the union (5%). Of the 90 cases which were awarded by arbitration during the period, those awarded in favor of the union numbered 53 (59%) and 37 (41%) favored the school committee. In a review of the cases in the Boston Schools it was concluded that the grievances were generally caused by: an outright violation of the school contract; a disagreement over contract language; a disagreement over the way the contract was implemented; disputes over fairness and reasonableness of management actions; or the enforcement of an administrative decision. Arbitration allows both sides some protection. If the contract was violated by the administration and the rights of teachers have been wronged, or if a teacher has violated the rules, the arbitrator will affirm the rights entitled to the individual teacher or that of the school. Arbitrators will impose discipline on both parties to the contract. Union and school bargaining and the adversarial positions played by both parties continues to dominate public education. The process of teacher grievance definition and any resultant arbitration is considered a rational and effective method for resolving confrontational issues. Arbitration is the preferred method of resolution because of its benefits in lower costs and speedy resolution of disagreements. Arbitration has made a lasting imprint upon the public education system in the United States (US) and will be an important part of school administration. This process will continue to play an important role in the management of education reform

A Rare Case of Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma Diagnosed 10 Years after Liver Transplant

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) represent a rare and potentially life-threatening complication after liver transplantation. Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), with an incidence of approximately 1.8–3.4% of all PTLD cases, represents a minority of PTLD, mainly presenting as a late transplant complication. The main risk factors for the development of PTLD are Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and intensive immunosuppression. However, other risk factors like hepatitis C virus may, together with EBV infection, contribute to the development of PTLD. Here we present a case of late-onset EBV-positive cHL that occurred 10 years after an unrelated donor liver transplantation. To our knowledge, this is the first report of cHL occurring with such a long interval after liver transplantation. Given the low incidence of cHL PTLD, there is little information regarding pathology, clinical characteristics, and management of this disease. The development of individual, risk-adapted treatments may improve the long-term outcome of cHL PTLD

Allele-specific loss and transcription of the miR-15a/16-1 cluster in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Deregulation of the miR-15a/16-1 cluster has a key role in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a clinically heterogeneous disease with indolent and aggressive forms. The miR-15a/16-1 locus is located at 13q14, the most frequently deleted region in CLL. Starting from functional investigations of a rare SNP upstream the miR cluster, we identified a novel allele-specific mechanism that exploits a cryptic activator region to recruit the RNA polymerase III for miR-15a/16-1 transcription. This regulation of the miR-15a/16- locus is independent of the DLEU2 host gene, which is often transcribed monoallellically by RPII. We found that normally one allele of miR-15a/16-1 is transcribed by RNAPII, the other one by RNAPIII. In our subset of CLL patients harboring 13q14 deletions, exclusive RNA polymerase III (RPIII)-driven transcription of the miR-15a/16-1 was the consequence of loss of the RPII-regulated allele and correlated with high expression of the poor prognostic marker ZAP70 (P=0.019). Thus, our findings point to a novel biological process, characterized by double allele-specific transcriptional regulation of the miR-15a/16-1 locus by alternative mechanisms. Differential usage of these mechanisms may distinguish at onset aggressive from indolent forms of CLL. This provides a basis for the clinical heterogeneity of the CLL patients carrying 13q14 deletions

Chlorambucil plus rituximab as front-line therapy for elderly and/or unfit chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients: Correlation with biologically-based risk stratification

First-line treatment for young/fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the combination of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (FCR), which has improved these patients’ progression-free survival and overall survival, 1 but is poorly tolerated by elderly patients or patients with comorbidities. 2 Such patients have been historically treated with chlorambucil, which is well tolerated but does not improve survival. 3 To improve outcomes, chlorambucil has been combined with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies. Three prospective studies4-6 and one retrospective7 one investigated the combination of chlorambucil with rituximab (Chl-R) as front-line treatment for elderly CLL patients or for younger patients unsuitable for fludarabine-based therapies. Overall response rates ranging from 66% to 84% have been reported, with complete response rates of 8- 26% and progression-free survival from 16.3 to 34.7 months