Communities of Practice: A Consortium of Catholic Elementary Schools’ Collaborative Journey

Archdioceses and dioceses around the United States continue to brainstorm innovative ways to market their schools in an education system that provides a number of choices to parents and their children. Applying Wenger’s (1998) learning theory entitled Communities of Practice (COPs), the purpose of this case study was to investigate one such plan to improve the viability of three inner-city Catholic elementary schools that had similar missions, were located within just a few miles of one another, and served the same neighborhoods of a working-class, culture-rich Latino community in Southern California. Data collection included in-depth interviews with principals and teachers and site visits that involved observations of classroom lessons and joint faculty meetings. Data were analyzed using a two-step coding scheme that was grounded in the main tenets of the theoretical framework. Findings showed the early stages of an interschool consortium that consisted of multiple levels of distributed leadership and the development and maintenance of COPs among principals, teachers, parents, and students. The findings of this study offer a potential model for Catholic schools in similar contexts. Comunidades de práctica: camino colaborador de un consorcio de escuelas elementales católicas Las archidiócesis y diócesis de Estados Unidos siguen compartiendo maneras innovadoras para publicitar sus escuelas en un sistema educativo que provee una amplia variedad de opciones a los padres y a sus hijos. Aplicando la teoría de aprendizaje de Wenger (1998) llamada Comunidades de práctica (COP), el objetivo de este estudio de caso fue investigar uno de estos planes para mejorar la viabilidad de tres escuelas elementales católicas del centro urbano que tenían misiones similares, estaban separadas por pocos quilómetros y servían a los mismos barrios de una comunidad de clase trabajadora, de riqueza cultural latina en el sur de California. La recolección de información incluyó entrevistas exhaustivas a directores y profesores, y visitas a los centros que supusieron observaciones de clases y de reuniones de profesorado. Se analizaron los datos usando un sistema de codificación de dos pasos basado en los principios del marco teórico. Los resultados revelaron las etapas tempranas de un consorcio interescolar que consistía en múltiples niveles y distribución del liderazgo y del desarrollo, así como mantenimiento de los COP entre directores, profesores, padres y estudiantes. Los resultados de este estudio ofrecen un modelo potencial para las escuelas católicas que se encuentren en contextos similares. Palabras clave: consorcio de escuelas, liderazgo distribuido Communautés de pratiques : le parcours collaboratif d\u27un consortium d\u27écoles catholiques primaires Les diocèses et archidiocèses aux États-Unis continuent de réfléchir à des manières innovantes de faire connaître leurs écoles dans un système éducatif présentant de nombreux choix aux parents et leurs enfants. Cette étude de cas, qui applique la théorie de Wenger sur l\u27apprentissage (1998), intitulée les Communautés de pratiques (CDP), avait pour but de faire des recherches sur un tel plan pour améliorer la viabilité de trois écoles catholiques primaires dans des cités, aux missions similaires, et situées à quelques kilomètres les unes des autres, dans les mêmes quartiers de classe ouvrière, imprégnés de culture latino-américaine, dans le sud de la Californie. Les données recueillies comportaient des entretiens approfondis avec les chefs d\u27établissement et les enseignants et des visites sur place contenant des observations en salle de classe et des réunions d\u27enseignants. Les données ont été analysées à l\u27aide d\u27un mécanisme de codage en deux étapes, fondé sur les préceptes principaux du cadre théorique. Les constatations ont montré les premières phases d\u27un consortium inter-écoles qui se composait de plusieurs niveaux de leadership partagé et l\u27élaboration et la maintenance des CDP parmi les chefs d\u27établissements, les enseignants, les parents et les élèves. Les conclusions de cette étude constituent un modèle potentiel pour les écoles catholiques dans des contextes similaires. Mots-clés : consortium d\u27écoles, leadership partag

NRG Oncology/RTOG 0921: A phase 2 study of postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy with concurrent cisplatin and bevacizumab followed by carboplatin and paclitaxel for patients with endometrial cancer.

BACKGROUND: The current study was conducted to assess acute and late adverse events (AEs), overall survival (OS), pelvic failure, regional failure, distant failure, and disease-free survival in a prospective phase 2 clinical trial of bevacizumab and pelvic intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with chemotherapy in patients with high-risk endometrial cancer. METHODS: Patients underwent a hysterectomy and lymph node removal, and had ≥1 of the following high-risk factors: grade 3 carcinoma with \u3e50% myometrial invasion, grade 2 or 3 disease with any cervical stromal invasion, or known extrauterine extension confined to the pelvis. Treatment included pelvic IMRT and concurrent cisplatin on days 1 and 29 of radiation and bevacizumab (at a dose of 5 mg/kg on days 1, 15, and 29 of radiation) followed by adjuvant carboplatin and paclitaxel for 4 cycles. The primary endpoint was grade ≥3 AEs occurring within the first 90 days (toxicity was graded according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [version 4.0]). RESULTS: A total of 34 patients were accrued from November 2009 through December 2011, 30 of whom were eligible and received study treatment. Seven of 30 patients (23.3%; 1-sided 95% confidence interval, 10.6%-36.0%) developed grade ≥3 treatment-related nonhematologic toxicities within 90 days; an additional 6 patients experienced grade ≥3 toxicities between 90 and 365 days after treatment. The 2-year OS rate was 96.7% and the disease-free survival rate was 79.1%. No patient developed a within-field pelvic failure and no patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage I to IIIA disease developed disease recurrence after a median follow-up of 26 months. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative bevacizumab added to chemotherapy and pelvic IMRT appears to be well tolerated and results in high OS rates at 2 years for patients with high-risk endometrial carcinoma

Criterion-Based Grading, Agile Goal Setting, and Course (Un)Completion Strategies

Peer reviewe

Results From a Survey of American Geriatrics Society Members’ Views on Physician‐Assisted Suicide

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152741/1/jgs16245_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152741/2/jgs16245-sup-0001-Supinfo.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152741/3/jgs16245.pd

The Rho GDI Rdi1 regulates Rho GTPases by distinct mechanisms

© 2008 by The American Society for Cell Biology. Under the License and Publishing Agreement, authors grant to the general public, effective two months after publication of (i.e.,. the appearance of) the edited manuscript in an online issue of MBoC, the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the manuscript subject to the terms of the Creative Commons–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).The small guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding proteins of the Rho family are implicated in various cell functions, including establishment and maintenance of cell polarity. Activity of Rho guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) is not only regulated by guanine nucleotide exchange factors and GTPase-activating proteins but also by guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitors (GDIs). These proteins have the ability to extract Rho proteins from membranes and keep them in an inactive cytosolic complex. Here, we show that Rdi1, the sole Rho GDI of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, contributes to pseudohyphal growth and mitotic exit. Rdi1 interacts only with Cdc42, Rho1, and Rho4, and it regulates these Rho GTPases by distinct mechanisms. Binding between Rdi1 and Cdc42 as well as Rho1 is modulated by the Cdc42 effector and p21-activated kinase Cla4. After membrane extraction mediated by Rdi1, Rho4 is degraded by a novel mechanism, which includes the glycogen synthase kinase 3β homologue Ygk3, vacuolar proteases, and the proteasome. Together, these results indicate that Rdi1 uses distinct modes of regulation for different Rho GTPases.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaf

Prenatal antidepressant exposure associated with CYP2E1 DNA methylation change in neonates

Some but not all neonates are affected by prenatal exposure to serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants (SRI) and maternal mood disturbances. Distinguishing the impact of these 2 exposures is challenging and raises critical questions about whether pharmacological, genetic, or epigenetic factors can explain the spectrum of reported outcomes. Using unbiased DNA methylation array measurements followed by a detailed candidate gene approach, we examined whether prenatal SRI exposure was associated with neonatal DNA methylation changes and whether such changes were associated with differences in birth outcomes. Prenatal SRI exposure was first associated with increased DNA methylation status primarily at CYP2E1(βNon-exposed = 0.06, βSRI-exposed = 0.30, FDR = 0); however, this finding could not be distinguished from the potential impact of prenatal maternal depressed mood. Then, using pyrosequencing of CYP2E1 regulatory regions in an expanded cohort, higher DNA methylation status both the mean across 16 CpG sites (P < 0.01) and at each specific CpG site (P < 0.05) was associated with exposure to lower 3rd trimester maternal depressed mood symptoms only in the SRI-exposed neonates, indicating a maternal mood x SRI exposure interaction. In addition, higher DNA methylation levels at CpG2 (P = 0.04), CpG9 (P = 0.04) and CpG10 (P = 0.02), in the interrogated CYP2E1 region, were associated with increased birth weight independently of prenatal maternal mood, SRI drug exposure, or gestational age at birth. Prenatal SRI antidepressant exposure and maternal depressed mood were associated with altered neonatal CYP2E1 DNA methylation status, which, in turn, appeared to be associated with birth weight

The muscarinic receptor antagonist propiverine exhibits α1-adrenoceptor antagonism in human prostate and porcine trigonum

Combination therapy of male lower urinary tract symptoms with α(1)-adrenoceptor and muscarinic receptor antagonists attracts increasing interest. Propiverine is a muscarinic receptor antagonist possessing additional properties, i.e., block of L-type Ca(2+) channels. Here, we have investigated whether propiverine and its metabolites can additionally antagonize α(1)-adrenoceptors. Human prostate and porcine trigone muscle strips were used to explore inhibition of α(1)-adrenoceptor-mediated contractile responses. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing cloned human α(1)-adrenoceptors were used to determine direct interactions with the receptor in radioligand binding and intracellular Ca(2+) elevation assays. Propiverine concentration-dependently reversed contraction of human prostate pre-contracted with 10 μM phenylephrine (-log IC(50) [M] 4.43 ± 0.08). Similar inhibition was observed in porcine trigone (-log IC(50) 5.01 ± 0.05), and in additional experiments consisted mainly of reduced maximum phenylephrine responses. At concentrations ≥1 μM, the propiverine metabolite M-14 also relaxed phenylephrine pre-contracted trigone strips, whereas metabolites M-5 and M-6 were ineffective. In radioligand binding experiments, propiverine and M-14 exhibited similar affinity for the three α(1)-adrenoceptor subtypes with -log K (i) [M] values ranging from 4.72 to 4.94, whereas the M-5 and M-6 did not affect [(3)H]-prazosin binding. In CHO cells, propiverine inhibited α(1)-adrenoceptor-mediated Ca(2+) elevations with similar potency as radioligand binding, again mainly by reducing maximum responses. In contrast to other muscarinic receptor antagonists, propiverine exerts additional L-type Ca(2+)-channel blocking and α(1)-adrenoceptor antagonist effects. It remains to be determined clinically, how these additional properties contribute to the clinical effects of propiverine, particularly in male voiding dysfunctio