An Analysis of Colorado's School Voucher Proposals

This Occasional Paper provides an analysis of three school voucher bills: the Colorado Education Scholarship Program (SB 099), the Colorado Education Scholarship Pilot Program (SB 077), and the Colorado Opportunity Contract Pilot Program (HB 1160). It begins with a general discussion of school vouchers

Por que teoria é importante: Uma investigação das reformas contemporâneas do tempo de aprendizagem

This article explores the contemporary policy reform push to extend and expand learning time in schools. In light of the potential and continued prominence of learning time reforms in today’s national educational landscape, this article makes visible the ways in which theory matters for the near- and long-term success of equity-focused educational reforms. Using the recent enactment of learning time reforms in Colorado as an illustration, and the zone of mediation framework as a conceptual lens, this article demonstrates how such reforms are likely to be weakened and undermined without strong theoretical grounding.Este artículo examina políticas contemporáneas que enfatizan un cambio para extender y/o dispersar el tiempo de aprendizaje en las escuelas. Dado el potencial y relevancia actual de las reformas hacia el tiempo de aprendizaje en el campo general de educación, el propósito de este articulo es brevemente enaltecer las maneras en las cuales la teoría educativa son de suma importancia, a largo y corto plazo, para asegurar el éxito de dichas reformas educativas orientadas hacia la equidad. Utilizando el ejemplo de la implementación de estas reformas en Colorado, y el instrumento teorético de la zona me mediación, este artículo demuestra como reformas similares pueden ser disminuidos por una falta de un base de teoría fuerte.Este artigo examina o promover da reforma contemporânea das regras para ampliar e expandir o tempo de aprendizagem nas escolas. Considerando o potencial e o contínuo destaque da reforma do tempo de aprendizagem no ambiente da educação nacional atualmente, este artigo ilustra as maneiras em que teoria é importante para o sucesso imediato e futuro das reformas educacionais que se focalizam em equidade. Usando a recente promulgação das reformas do tempo de aprendizagem em Colorado como ilustração, e o sistema de zona de mediação como uma lente conceitual, o artigo demonstra como tais reformas serão provavelmente enfraquecidas sem uma forte base teórica

Assessment of behavioral change in a child psychiatric inpatient program

A behavioral rating scale, the Devereux Child Behavior Scale, was used to assess change in 55 children who were patients in a child psychiatric inpatient unit for an average of 3.9 months. The children were rated by unit staff on admission and at discharge, and by their parents prior to admission and at three and six months after discharge. The ratings indicate that the children did make statistically significant positive behavioral changes while in the hospital and that they continued to change up to six months post-discharge. Staff tended to rate the children as less disturbed than the parents but both groups of raters indicated significant change by their ratings.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43952/1/10578_2004_Article_BF00706168.pd

Candida albicans Induces Selective Development of Macrophages and Monocyte Derived Dendritic Cells by a TLR2 Dependent Signalling

As TLRs are expressed by haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), these receptors may play a role in haematopoiesis in response to pathogens during infection. We have previously demonstrated that in in vitro defined conditions inactivated yeasts and hyphae of Candida albicans induce HSPCs proliferation and differentiation towards the myeloid lineage by a TLR2/MyD88 dependent pathway. In this work, we showed that C. albicans invasive infection with a low virulence strain results in a rapid expansion of HSPCs (identified as LKS cells: Lin− c-Kit+ Sca-1+ IL-7Rα−), that reach the maximum at day 3 post-infection. This in vivo expansion of LKS cells in TLR2−/− mice was delayed until day 7 post- infection. Candidiasis was, as expected, accompanied by an increase in granulopoiesis and decreased lymphopoiesis in the bone marrow. These changes were more pronounced in TLR2−/− mice correlating with their higher fungal burden. Accordingly, emigration of Ly6Chigh monocytes and neutrophils to spleen was increased in TLR2−/− mice, although the increase in macrophages and inflammatory macrophages was completely dependent on TLR2. Similarly, we detected for the first time, in the spleen of C. albicans infected control mice, a newly generated population of dendritic cells that have the phenotype of monocyte derived dendritic cells (moDCs) that were not generated in TLR2−/− infected mice. In addition, C. albicans signalling through TLR2/MyD88 and Dectin-1 promotes in vitro the differentiation of Lin− cells towards moDCs that secrete TNF-α and are able to kill the microorganism. Therefore, our results indicate that during infection C. albicans can directly stimulate progenitor cells through TLR2 and Dectin-1 to generate newly formed inflammatory macrophages and moDCs that may fulfill an essential role in defense mechanisms against the pathogen

Stochastic Modeling of B Lymphocyte Terminal Differentiation and Its Suppression by Dioxin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Upon antigen encounter, naïve B lymphocytes differentiate into antibody-secreting plasma cells. This humoral immune response is suppressed by the environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and other dioxin-like compounds, which belong to the family of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonists.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To achieve a better understanding of the immunotoxicity of AhR agonists and their associated health risks, we have used computer simulations to study the behavior of the gene regulatory network underlying B cell terminal differentiation. The core of this network consists of two coupled double-negative feedback loops involving transcriptional repressors Bcl-6, Blimp-1, and Pax5. Bifurcation analysis indicates that the feedback network can constitute a bistable system with two mutually exclusive transcriptional profiles corresponding to naïve B cells and plasma cells. Although individual B cells switch to the plasma cell state in an all-or-none fashion when stimulated by the polyclonal activator lipopolysaccharide (LPS), stochastic fluctuations in gene expression make the switching event probabilistic, leading to heterogeneous differentiation response among individual B cells. Moreover, stochastic gene expression renders the dose-response behavior of a population of B cells substantially graded, a result that is consistent with experimental observations. The steepness of the dose response curve for the number of plasma cells formed vs. LPS dose, as evaluated by the apparent Hill coefficient, is found to be inversely correlated to the noise level in Blimp-1 gene expression. Simulations illustrate how, through AhR-mediated repression of the AP-1 protein, TCDD reduces the probability of LPS-stimulated B cell differentiation. Interestingly, stochastic simulations predict that TCDD may destabilize the plasma cell state, possibly leading to a reversal to the B cell phenotype.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that stochasticity in gene expression, which renders a graded response at the cell population level, may have been exploited by the immune system to launch humoral immune response of a magnitude appropriately tuned to the antigen dose. In addition to suppressing the initiation of the humoral immune response, dioxin-like compounds may also disrupt the maintenance of the acquired immunity.</p

At the bottom of the differential diagnosis list: unusual causes of pediatric hypertension

Hypertension affects 1–5% of children and adolescents, and the incidence has been increasing in association with obesity. However, secondary causes of hypertension such as renal parenchymal diseases, congenital abnormalities and renovascular disorders still remain the leading cause of pediatric hypertension, particularly in children under 12 years old. Other less common causes of hypertension in children and adolescents, including immobilization, burns, illicit and prescription drugs, dietary supplements, genetic disorders, and tumors will be addressed in this review

The influence of racial factors on psychiatric diagnosis: A review and suggestions for research

Research on race and diagnosis initially focused on black-white differences in depression and schizophrenia. Statistics showing a higher treated prevalence of schizophrenia and a lower prevalence of depression for blacks seemed to support the claim that blacks did not suffer from depression. Others argued, however, that clinicians were misdiagnosing depression in blacks. This article reviews empirical studies of racial differences in individual symptoms and summarizes the evidence on misdiagnosis. It argues that more attention must be paid to resolving two contradictory assumptions made by researchers working in the area of race and diagnostic inference: (1) blacks and whites exhibit symptomatology similarly but diagnosticians mistakenly assume that they are different; (2) blacks and whites display psychopathology in different ways but diagnosticians are unaware of or insensitive to such cultural differences. The article concludes with suggested research directions and a discussion of critical research issues.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44303/1/10597_2004_Article_BF00755677.pd