National Board Certification and School Leadership in Louisiana

The challenges of school accountability call for new models of school leadership. Teacher leaders are needed to create, implement, and sustain reform efforts. This study investigated whether a specific model of professional development, National Board Certification (NBC), can create sustained change aimed at improved school leadership. The research question which guided this study was: Does the National Board Certification professional development model contribute to school leadership in Louisiana? The state of Louisiana currently has approximately 1,000 teachers with National Board Certification (NBPTS, 2006f). These NBC teachers and approximately 3,000 non-NBC teachers received the online School Leadership Survey, which included survey items taken from a previous study of NBC teachers by Sykes, et al. (2006). A total of 449 NBC teachers and 911 non-NBC teachers responded. The survey included 32 checklist items which explored teacher leadership activities and perceptions in five main areas: types of leadership activities, sense of responsibility to the profession, influence in school-wide policy development, career satisfaction, and future commitment to the teaching profession. A quantitative research design was applied. The research followed an ex post facto, cross-sectional survey model in an attempt to identify a relationship between the independent variable, National Board Certification, and the dependent variable, school leadership, by comparing the leadership activities of NBC and non-NBC teachers. Univariate analysis was used to examine and report the results of the School Leadership Survey. Additionally, the data were used to calculate independent t-tests, factor analysis, chi square tests, and regression analysis.The results of this study revealed that, overall, National Board Certification teachers are leaders in their schools and beyond. When compared to their non-NBC peers, NBC teachers were more likely to be involved in leadership activities at the school, district, and state level. Further, the NBC teachers reported a greater sense of responsibility to the profession, greater career satisfaction, and a deeper commitment to stay in the teaching profession than non-NBC teachers. Using a distributed leadership conceptual framework as a lens to guide the interpretation, the data collected gave evidence that the benefits of National Board Certification are far greater than previously suspected

“I’m Now Always Thinking About Math”: Exploring Mathematics Identities, Beliefs, and Lived Experiences Through YPAR

This youth participatory action research (YPAR) study employing survey and case study design sought to explore and document the influence of YPAR participation on Black and Latine high school students’ perceptions of their mathematics identity development, what they learned about their peers’ and their own mathematics perceptions and lived experiences, and their recommendations for change in their own school and mathematics education in general. Eight high school participants were invited to engage in 12 YPAR study sessions that drew on the literature of mathematics identity, equity in mathematics education, and YPAR and were grounded in a theoretical framework including culturally sustaining pedagogy, critical race theory in mathematics education, and situated expectancy-value theory. Data were collected through pre-study and post-study surveys, post-study semi-structured interviews, participant artifacts, field notes, and memos. Findings indicated that participation in YPAR and the development of emerging young researcher identities enriched participants’ understanding of their complex mathematics identities. Furthermore, findings demonstrated the importance of creating culturally sustaining mathematics classroom spaces where all students can experience growth and success. Moreover, they affirmed the value of centering the voices of youth, which are often absent from the research, as well as involving youth as key members of any “collective action that addresses the problem” (Duncan-Andrade & Morrell, 2008, p. 12) of educational inequity in our schools

Low relative error in consumer-grade GPS units make themideal for measuring small-scale animal movement patterns

Consumer-grade GPS units are a staple of modern field ecology, but the relatively large error radii reported by manufacturers (up to 10 m) ostensibly precludes their utility in measuring fine-scale movement of small animals such as insects. Here we demonstrate that for data collected at fine spatio-temporal scales, these devices can produce exceptionally accurate data on step-length and movement patterns of small animals. With an understanding of the properties of GPS error and how it arises, it is possible, using a simple field protocol, to use consumer grade GPS units to collect step-length data for the movement of small animals that introduces a median error as small as 11 cm. These small error rates were measured in controlled observations of real butterfly movement. Similar conclusions were reached using a ground-truth test track prepared with a field tape and compass and subsequently measured 20 times using the same methodology as the butterfly tracking. Median error in the ground-truth track was slightly higher than the field data, mostly between 20 and 30 cm, but even for the smallest ground-truth step (70 cm), this is still a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1, and for steps of 3mor more, the ratio is greater than 10:1. Such small errors relative to the movements being measured make these inexpensive units useful for measuring insect and other small animal movements on small to intermediate scales with budgets orders of magnitude lower than survey-grade units used in past studies. As an additional advantage, these units are simpler to operate, and insect or other small animal trackways can be collected more quickly than either survey-grade units or more traditional ruler/gird approaches.Keywords: Insect movement, Butterfly movement, Checkerspot butterflies, Tracking methods, Animal tracking, Euphydrays, Movement ecologyThis is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by PeerJ. The published article can be found at: https://peerj.com

Associations between nutrient intake and gastrointestinal symptoms in autism spectrum disorder

Many children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have significant gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, but the etiology is not well understood. Studies have shown conflicting evidence on whether there are nutritional deficiencies in the various diets of individuals with ASD. However, little is known about the relationship between dietary intake and GI symptomatology in ASD. The goal of the present study was to assess for potential relationships between GI symptoms and nutrient intake from diet in the same sample of individuals from the previous study, and to determine whether dietary differences might have contributed to our previously observed findings of a relationship between stress responses and GI functioning in ASD

The SET and transposase domain protein Metnase enhances chromosome decatenation: regulation by automethylation

Metnase is a human SET and transposase domain protein that methylates histone H3 and promotes DNA double-strand break repair. We now show that Metnase physically interacts and co-localizes with Topoisomerase IIα (Topo IIα), the key chromosome decatenating enzyme. Metnase promotes progression through decatenation and increases resistance to the Topo IIα inhibitors ICRF-193 and VP-16. Purified Metnase greatly enhanced Topo IIα decatenation of kinetoplast DNA to relaxed circular forms. Nuclear extracts containing Metnase decatenated kDNA more rapidly than those without Metnase, and neutralizing anti-sera against Metnase reversed that enhancement of decatenation. Metnase automethylates at K485, and the presence of a methyl donor blocked the enhancement of Topo IIα decatenation by Metnase, implying an internal regulatory inhibition. Thus, Metnase enhances Topo IIα decatenation, and this activity is repressed by automethylation. These results suggest that cancer cells could subvert Metnase to mediate clinically relevant resistance to Topo IIα inhibitors

The distribution of onion virulence gene clusters among Pantoea spp.

Pantoea ananatis is a gram-negative bacterium and the primary causal agent of center rot of onions in Georgia. Previous genomic studies identified two virulence gene clusters, HiVir and alt, associated with center rot. The HiVir gene cluster is required to induce necrosis on onion tissues via synthesis of pantaphos, (2-hydroxy[phosphonomethyl) maleate), a phosphonate phytotoxin. The alt gene cluster aids in tolerance to thiosulfinates generated during onion tissue damage. Whole genome sequencing of other Pantoea species suggests that these gene clusters are present outside of P. ananatis. To assess the distribution of these gene clusters, two PCR primer sets were designed to detect the presence of HiVir and alt. Two hundred fifty-two strains of Pantoea spp. were phenotyped using the red onion scale necrosis (RSN) assay and were genotyped using PCR for the presence of these virulence genes. A diverse panel of strains from three distinct culture collections comprised of 24 Pantoea species, 41 isolation sources, and 23 countries, collected from 1946–2019, was tested. There is a significant association between the alt PCR assay and Pantoea strains recovered from symptomatic onion (P < 0.001). There is also a significant association of a positive HiVir PCR and RSN assay among P. ananatis strains but not among Pantoea spp., congeners. This may indicate a divergent HiVir cluster or different pathogenicity and virulence mechanisms. Last, we describe natural alt positive [RSN C /HiVir C /alt C ] P. ananatis strains, which cause extensive bulb necrosis in a neck-to-bulb infection assay compared to alt negative [RSN C /HiVir C /alt] P. ananatis strains. A combination of assays that include PCR of virulence genes [HiVir and alt] and an RSN assay can potentially aid in identification of onion-bulb-rotting pathogenic P. ananatis strains.The Vidalia Onion Committee, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), ANII, Uruguay), CSIC Grupos de Investigación I + D 2000 (CSIC, Udelar, Uruguay), Specialty Crops Research Initiative Award from the USDA, and National Institute of Food and Agriculture.http://www.frontiersin.org/Plant_Scienceam2022BiochemistryForestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)GeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

The relationship between stimulus intensity and response amplitude for the photopic negative response of the flash electroretinogram

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between stimulus intensity and response amplitude for the photopic negative response (PhNR) of the flash ERG. Specific aims were (i) to determine whether a generalized Naka-Rushton function provided a good fit to the intensity-response data and (ii) to determine the variability of the parameters of the best-fitting Naka-Rushton models. Electroretinograms were recorded in 18 participants, on two occasions, using both DTL fibre and skin active electrodes, in response to Ganzfeld red stimuli (Lee filter "terry red") ranging in stimulus strength from -1.30 to 0.53 log cd.s.m(-2) (0.28-2.11 log phot td.s) presented over a steady blue background (Schott glass filter BG28; 3.9 log scot td). PhNR amplitude was measured from b-wave peak and from pre-stimulus baseline. The Naka-Rushton function was fitted to all intensity-response data, and parameters, 'n', 'Vmax' and 'K' were obtained. Coefficients of variation (CoV), and inter-ocular and inter-session limits of agreement (LoA) were calculated for both Naka-Rushton parameters. A generalized Naka-Rushton function was found to provide a good fit to the intensity-response data, except at the highest stimulus intensity, where a reduction in amplitude occurred in many individuals. The 'Vmax' parameter was less variable than 'K' for all intensity-response data. Variability was lower for DTL than skin electrodes, and for peak-to-trough PhNR measurements, compared to baseline-to-trough. This study has demonstrated for the first time that the Naka-Rushton model provides a useful means of quantifying the intensity-response relationship of the PhNR

Representational Switching by Dynamical Reorganization of Attractor Structure in a Network Model of the Prefrontal Cortex

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a crucial role in flexible cognitive behavior by representing task relevant information with its working memory. The working memory with sustained neural activity is described as a neural dynamical system composed of multiple attractors, each attractor of which corresponds to an active state of a cell assembly, representing a fragment of information. Recent studies have revealed that the PFC not only represents multiple sets of information but also switches multiple representations and transforms a set of information to another set depending on a given task context. This representational switching between different sets of information is possibly generated endogenously by flexible network dynamics but details of underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here we propose a dynamically reorganizable attractor network model based on certain internal changes in synaptic connectivity, or short-term plasticity. We construct a network model based on a spiking neuron model with dynamical synapses, which can qualitatively reproduce experimentally demonstrated representational switching in the PFC when a monkey was performing a goal-oriented action-planning task. The model holds multiple sets of information that are required for action planning before and after representational switching by reconfiguration of functional cell assemblies. Furthermore, we analyzed population dynamics of this model with a mean field model and show that the changes in cell assemblies' configuration correspond to those in attractor structure that can be viewed as a bifurcation process of the dynamical system. This dynamical reorganization of a neural network could be a key to uncovering the mechanism of flexible information processing in the PFC

Lethal trap created by adaptive evolutionary response to an exotic resource

International audienceGlobal transport of organisms by humans provides novel resources to wild species, which often respond maladaptively. Native herbivorous insects have been killed feeding on toxic exotic plants, which acted as ‘ecological traps’1,2,3,4. We document a novel ‘eco-evolutionary trap’ stemming from the opposite effect; that is, high fitness on an exotic resource despite lack of adaptation to it. Plantago lanceolata was introduced to western North America by cattle-ranching. Feeding on this exotic plant released a large, isolated population of the native butterfly Euphydryas editha from a longstanding trade-off between maternal fecundity and offspring mortality. Because of this release—and despite a reduced insect developmental rate when feeding on this exotic—Plantago immediately supported higher larval survival than did the insects’ traditional host, Collinsia parviflora5. Previous work from the 1980s documented an evolving preference for Plantago by ovipositing adults6. We predicted that if this trend continued the insects could endanger themselves, because the availability of Plantago to butterflies is controlled by humans, who change land management practices faster than butterflies evolve6. Here we report the fulfilment of this prediction. The butterflies abandoned Collinsia and evolved total dependence on Plantago. The trap was set. In 2005, humans withdrew their cattle, springing the trap. Grasses grew around the Plantago, cooling the thermophilic insects, which then went extinct. This local extinction could have been prevented if the population had retained partial use of Collinsia, which occupied drier microhabitats unaffected by cattle removal. The flush of grasses abated quickly, rendering the meadow once again suitable for Euphydryas feeding on either host, but no butterflies were observed from 2008 to 2012. In 2013–2014, the site was naturally recolonized by Euphydryas feeding exclusively on Collinsia, returning the system to its starting point and setting the stage for a repeat of the anthropogenic evolutionary cycle