THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES’ TAX PLANS

Grading the Candidates’ Tax Plans: What Will Clinton and Trump Do for You? Grading the Candidates’ Tax Plans: What Will Clinton and Trump Do for You? On Oct. 13, 2016, CSLF and FRC hosted a special presentation analyzing what Hillary Clinton’s and Donald Trump’s tax plans will mean for you and the U.S. economy. The experts discussed the major features of each presidential candidate’s plan, including changes to personal income tax and corporate tax, implications for federal tax revenue, changes to tax burdens across income groups and more

Supporting Coordinators of Large Units An Integrated, Team Approach - The OK Caral Model – From Peru’s Sandy Caral To Academe’s Stony Walls - Collaboration for Professional Development is OK!

In 2001, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Teaching and Learning Committee approved funding for a professional development program for Coordinators of Large Units (CLU) for 2002. This program is jointly facilitated by the Human Resources Department (HR) and Teaching and Learning Support Services (TALSS). The program is unique in both its focus and the way it has harnessed the distinct development responsibilities of two departments – HR for development in management and leadership and TALSS for development in teaching and learning. The CLU program facilitation team comprises two staff members from each Department along with joint administrative support. The focus of the CLU program is twofold: a) to support CLUs as a staff cohort with unique and specific needs and b) to acknowledge and make visible the systemic issues associated with teaching large groups of students

Memorandum: Election as a Delegate to IWY Conference, Houston

Information about the Houston conference and accommodations. October 12, 1977

Loss of Transcriptional Silencing Causes Sterility in Old Mother Cells of S. cerevisiae

AbstractWe show that sterility is an aging-specific phenotype in S. cerevisiae and, by genetic and physical means, demonstrate that this phenotype results from a loss of silencing in most old cells by the SIR complex at the HM loci. This loss of silencing is specific because transcription of genes, such as MEI4 and DCM1, normally induced by sporulation, is not observed, while transcription of HMRa is observed. These findings pinpoint the molecular cause of an aging-specific phenotype in yeast. Further, they provide direct evidence for a breakdown of silencing in old cells, as predicted from earlier findings that SIR4 is a determinant of life span in this organism

Desmoglein 3: a help or a hindrance in cancer progression?

Desmoglein 3 is one of seven desmosomal cadherins that mediate cell-cell adhesion in desmosomes. Desmosomes are the intercellular junctional complexes that anchor the intermediate filaments of adjacent cells and confer strong cell adhesion thus are essential in the maintenance of tissue architecture and structural integrity. Like adherens junctions, desmosomes function as tumour suppressors and are down regulated in the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and in tumour cell invasion and metastasis. However, recently several studies have shown that various desmosomal components, including desmoglein 3, are up-regulated in cancer with increased levels of expression correlating with the clinical stage of malignancy, implicating their potentiality to serve as a diagnostic and prognostic marker. Furthermore, in vitro studies have demonstrated that overexpression of desmoglein 3 in cancer cell lines activates several signal pathways that have an impact on cell morphology, adhesion and locomotion. These additional signalling roles of desmoglein 3 may not be associated to its adhesive function in desmosomes but rather function outside of the junctions, acting as a key regulator in the control of actin based cellular processes. This review will discuss recent advances which support the role of desmoglein 3 in cancer progression.The authors would like to thank Medical Research Council, British Skin Foundation and Institute of Dentistry, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London for support to the work in the authors’ lab

Leading sustainable improvement in university teaching and learning : Lessons from the sector

Overall, the investigation found that universities that wish to improve the quality of teaching and learning should take an approach that aims to be: collaborative and developmental; embedded; sustainable; and focused on enabling innovation and enhancement. The seven interlinked insights characteristic of sustainable, positive change in teaching and learning in Australian universities are as follows. 1. Efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning are aligned with the strategic direction of the university The evidence indicates that efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning within an institution should be aligned with the strategic direction of the university. While this might seem self evident, the findings indicate that there are sometimes tensions between overall institutional priorities and efforts to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. Careful strategic thinking can ensure efforts to enhance teaching and learning provide a means through which universities can enact aspects of their strategic plans. 2. Senior executives support teaching and learning enhancement, and resources for those improvements are allocated as part of the universityʼs planning and budget cycle The study found that embedding and sustaining good teaching and learning practice requires high-level support within an institution. In addition to providing stable representation and championing of teaching and learning, effective support was found to also incorporate institutional investment in the form of funding and resourcing positions and initiatives. It was found that sustainability relies on institutional funding that ensured ongoing impetus for, and successful work in, enhancing teaching and learning. 3. Staff workload allocations allow time for innovation, enhancement and improvement in teaching and learning The project findings indicate that the major factor inhibiting efforts to improve teaching and learning is high staff workloads and the consequent lack of time to engage with, and contribute to, teaching and learning enhancement efforts. This finding mirrors those of several other recent Australian studies of the changing academic profession, although this current project notes the applicability of workload matters to both academic and professional staff. If leaders in Australian universities wish to enhance teaching and learning, fresh thinking, policy and planning is needed around academic and professional staff roles and workload allocation. 4. Effective leadership proactively manages tensions between discipline research endeavours and efforts to improve teaching and learning This research found that a major cultural impediment to enhancing teaching and learning is the privileging of research over teaching and learning within an institution. The findings suggest that effective leadership and management of the tensions that arise between research endeavours and efforts to improve teaching and learning are critical if the latter are to be successful. The findings suggest that the reconciliation of research and teaching and learning can be achieved to some extent through a range of means, including the facilitation of research and scholarship around teaching and learning. Leading sustainable change in university teaching and learning: Lessons from the sector 6 5. Teaching and learning are supported by relevant research and scholarship conducted within the institution and in collaboration with other institutions and relevant bodies The study findings indicate the importance of research and scholarship in the area of teaching and learning. External interface, networking and exchange with stakeholders and bodies outside the institution are critical to ensuring enhancement efforts fit with the broader context in which they are occurring. Some of the benefits of engaging in such research and scholarship were: increased reflection on practice; a heightened awareness of the link between an individualʼs own teaching and their studentsʼ outcomes; increased innovation in teaching; improved morale; enhancing the quality of teaching and learning both within an institution and more broadly; and opportunities to both benchmark and improve teaching performance. The potential for research into teaching and learning to contribute to resolving the tensions between discipline research and teaching and learning was also noted. 6. A distributed teaching and learning support structure exists within the institution and is coordinated from the centre The findings of this research showed that a distributed institutional support structure for teaching and learning enhancement, coordinated from the centre, was perceived to be the most effective approach. Most commonly this involved cooperation between a central teaching and learning centre and one or more of: teaching and learning committees; the associate deans (teaching and learning) or equivalent; educational development and other staff located in the faculties; and a critical mass of people with a commitment to teaching and learning improvement and enhancement who have the capacity to lead. 7. Mechanisms to recognise excellence in teaching and learning and to enable teaching and learning career pathways are in place This study found that professional development, reward and recognition mechanisms and enabling career pathways for those committed to teaching and learning are important components in the successful leadership of teaching and learning enhancement. The project findings indicate the centrality of linking efforts to enhance teaching and learning with promotion opportunities. The research findings indicate that university promotion criteria that incorporate excellence in teaching and learning scholarship and practice allow appropriate recognition, enable the sustainability of excellent practice and help embed enhancement

Targeting the CXCR4 pathway using a novel anti-CXCR4 IgG1 antibody (PF-06747143) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

BackgroundThe CXCR4-CXCL12 axis plays an important role in the chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)-microenvironment interaction. Overexpression of CXCR4 has been reported in different hematological malignancies including CLL. Binding of the pro-survival chemokine CXCL12 with its cognate receptor CXCR4 induces cell migration. CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling axis promotes cell survival and proliferation and may contribute to the tropism of leukemia cells towards lymphoid tissues and bone marrow. Therefore, we hypothesized that targeting CXCR4 with an IgG1 antibody, PF-06747143, may constitute an effective therapeutic approach for CLL.MethodsPatient-derived primary CLL-B cells were assessed for cytotoxicity in an in vitro model of CLL microenvironment. PF-06747143 was analyzed for cell death induction and for its potential to interfere with the chemokine CXCL12-induced mechanisms, including migration and F-actin polymerization. PF-06747143 in vivo efficacy was determined in a CLL murine xenograft tumor model.ResultsPF-06747143, a novel-humanized IgG1 CXCR4 antagonist antibody, induced cell death of patient-derived primary CLL-B cells, in presence or absence of stromal cells. Moreover, cell death induction by the antibody was independent of CLL high-risk prognostic markers. The cell death mechanism was dependent on CXCR4 expression, required antibody bivalency, involved reactive oxygen species production, and did not require caspase activation, all characteristics reminiscent of programmed cell death (PCD). PF-06747143 also induced potent B-CLL cytotoxicity via Fc-driven antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity activity (CDC). PF-06747143 had significant combinatorial effect with standard of care (SOC) agents in B-CLL treatment, including rituximab, fludarabine (F-ara-A), ibrutinib, and bendamustine. In a CLL xenograft model, PF-06747143 decreased tumor burden and improved survival as a monotherapy, and in combination with bendamustine.ConclusionsWe show evidence that PF-06747143 has biological activity in CLL primary cells, supporting a rationale for evaluation of PF-06747143 for the treatment of CLL patients

Crop Evapotranspiration, IrrigationWater Requirement and Water Productivity of Maize from Meteorological Data under Semiarid Climate

Under the semiarid climate of the Southwest United States, accurate estimation of crop water use is important for water management and planning under conservation agriculture. The objectives of this study were to estimate maize water use and water productivity in the Four Corners region of New Mexico. Maize was grown under full irrigation during the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2017 seasons at the Agricultural Science Center at Farmington (NM). Seasonal amounts of applied irrigation varied from 576.6 to 1051.6 mm and averaged 837.7 mm and the total water supply varied from 693.4 to 1140.5 mm. Maize actual evapotranspiration was estimated using locally developed crop coefficient curve and the tabulated United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) crop coefficients, and from this maize water productivity was determined. Maize actual daily evapotranspiration (ETa) varied from 0.23 to 10.2 mm and the seasonal ETa varied with year and ranged from 634.2 to 697.7 mm averaging 665.3 mm by the local Kc curve, from 687.3 to 739.3 mm averaging 717.8 mm by the non-adjusted FAO Kc values, and from 715.8 to 779.6 mm averaging 754.9 mm with the FAO adjusted Kc values. Maize irrigation requirements varied from 758.4 to 848.3 mm and averaged 800.2 mm using the local developed Kc and varied from 835.5 to 935.6 mm and averaged 912.2 mm using FAO Kc. The net irrigation requirement varied from 606.8 to 678.6 using local Kc curve, and from 682.78 to 748.5 mm when adopting the FAO Kc values. Average irrigation requirement was 641 mm under the local Kc option and 730 mm under FAO Kc values option. Maize crop water use efficiency (CWUE) ranged from 1.3 to 1.9 kg/m3 and averaged 1.53 kg/m3, evapotranspiration water use efficiency (ETWUE) values were higher than CWUE and varied from 2.0 to 2.3 kg/m3, averaging 2.1 kg/m3. Maize irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) was varied with years and averaged 1.74 kg/m3. There were strong relationships between maize CWUE and maize seasonal irrigation amounts of IWUE and the seasonal irrigation amounts with R2 of 0.97 and 0.92, respectively. Maize CWUE increased linearly with maize IWUE with a coefficient of determination R2 of 0.99, while IWUE showed a strong quadratic relationship with ETWUE (R2 = 0.94). The results of this study can be used as a guideline for maize water management under the semiarid conditions in northwestern New Mexico and other locations with similar climate and management conditions. Irrigation requirements for maize should be adjusted to the local meteorological conditions for optimizing maize irrigation requirement and improving maize water productivity