Leadership for the reform of senior secondary learning : a case study of Queensland's vocational education and training in schools

The research project reported upon in this thesis focuses on leadership for reforms in Senior Learning through vocational education and training in schools (VETiS). Developments in Queensland during the period of 2006 to 2009 provide the empirical focus for this study. The main research question is: what is the characteristic of leadership displayed in the implementation of reforms to Senior Learning through VETiS? The contributory research questions that are addressed in the evidentiary chapters and help answer the main research question relate to: the policies driving the leadership of reforms of education and training in Queensland schools; the barriers to VETiS reforms that pose challenges for leadership strategies; the worries facing Queensland's VETiS leaders and the changes made due to their leadership; and the vindication of their leadership. To date there has been no research that has specifically studied the leadership of the Senior Learning reforms in Queensland, or elsewhere in Australia. This research in this thesis contributes to knowledge of leadership now operating at different levels across different systems and sectors in Queensland. Fullan's (2005) concept of tri-leadership and Lear's (2006) concept of leadership in terms of radical hope were used as the conceptual framework, and provide the counter-point for the argument developed in this study. Data were collected through interviews and from documents. NVivo software was used to aid in the data analysis. How leadership can be characterised given the multi-dimensional, multilevel, multi-agency nature of education and training reforms in Queensland schools is the underlying theoretical concern. A Chinese metaphor, lì tǐ is introduced to conceptualise the complexity of leadership in Queensland because of the limitations identified in Fullan (2005) and Lear's (2006) theories. This Chinese concept serves as useful and innovative lenses for understanding educational leadership in the context of large scale educational reform. Overall, this thesis argues that the leadership of Queensland's education and training reforms in senior secondary learning can be better understood by the concept of lì tǐ leadership than the key concepts from Fullan (2005) or Lear (2006). Lì tǐ leadership refers to the capability to deal with multi-dimensional, multi-level, multi-agency changes. Lì tǐ leadership includes understanding policy driven change, the strategies xv to engage challenges and barriers to innovation, the necessity to track changes, and the need to vindicate efforts to make change

A study on growth and intestinal microecology of newborn infants fed with yak milk-based infant formula

Objectives: We aimed to determine the early growth and gut microbiota profile in newborns fed with yak milk based infant formula (YM) using a randomized trial, in which a cow milk formula (CM) served as a control and a breast fed (BF) group as a reference. Methods: Healthy term infants aged up to 2 weeks were recruited from Jingjiang People’s Hospital of Jiangsu Province and randomized to YM or CM. Weight, length, head circumference were measured at baseline, and at 6 and 12 weeks after birth. Stool frequency, character and color was recorded every 2 weeks for 3 consecutive days. Stool samples were collected twice on 6 weeks and 12 weeks. 16S rRNA sequencing was conducted to analyze the gut microbiota. Results: A total of 89 (including 34YM fed, 31 BF and 24 CM fed) infants enrolled in this study. At 12 weeks, there were no statistically significant differences in weight and length among the three groups. Fecal characteristics vary across the three groups; however, there was no difference in the frequency of feces among the three groups. Notable variations in alpha diversity were observed between the breastfed and yak milk-fed groups. In BF group, Klebsiella emerged as predominant, followed by Bacteroidetes and Bacteroidales. Conversely, YM group was characterized by a marked presence of Streptococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Lachnospiracea incertae sedis.</p

Ranciere and leadership for reforms to school-to-work transition : the presupposition of equality of theoretical assets from diverse educational cultures

The research reported in this chapter focuses on how the Western Anglophone system of higher degree research training can build on non-Western students' diverse intellectual heritage and linguistic assets in their transition from education to work. One approach to researching cultural diversity in school-to-work transition is to treat students of non-Western backgrounds as a source of data for analysis by Western theories

Dynamic Habitat Indices and Climatic Characteristics Explain Species Richness Patterns on the Mongolian Plateau

Global climate change affects biodiversity patterns, especially in arid and semi-arid regions such as the Mongolian plateau, one of the most ecologically fragile regions in the world. Three dynamic habitat indices (DHIs) were related to the productivity hypothesis and calculated based on FAPAR, including cumulative productivity (DHIcum indicates the availability of resources such as food supply and habitat in a year, representing available energy), minimum productivity (DHImin indicates the limitations of food and habitat resources in a year, representing environmental stress), and seasonal productivity (DHIsea denotes the change in productivity in a year, representing environmental stability). In this paper, we investigated the distribution pattern of species richness on the Mongolian Plateau based on the productivity hypothesis. We constructed models of the richness of three species (mammals, birds, and amphibians) using DHIs and climate variables to explain patterns of species richness on the Mongolian Plateau. The results revealed that, on the Mongolian plateau, there is a relatively high correlation between DHIs and species richness, especially with DHIcum (R = 0.59 for mammals, R = 0.73 for birds, and R = 0.58 for amphibians). There was a significant non-linear relationship between DHIs and species richness, as the model predictive power was significantly enhanced with GAM and RF. The inclusion of climate variables significantly improved the explanatory power of various models for the mammal, bird, and amphibian species richness on the Mongolian Plateau, with the best results for RF (0.89, 0.94, and 0.91, respectively). The influence of climate variables on species richness patterns in the importance ranking was higher than that of DHIs. Climate also has an influence on species richness. Vegetation productivity and climatic factors are good determinants of species richness on the Mongolian Plateau and should be carefully considered in future studies

Pharmacokinetics of combined gene therapy expressing constitutive human GM-CSF and hyperthermia-regulated human IL-12

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An adenovirus that expresses both interleukin (IL)-12 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating-factor (GM-CSF) has been proven to be very effective in treating several tumors, but causes serious normal tissue toxicities.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, a novel adenoviral vector was constructed by placing the human GM-CSF gene under the control of the CMV-IE promoter and human IL-12 gene under the control of heat shock protein 70B gene promoter. Both hGM-CSF and hIL-12 expressions in virus-infected tumor cells were analyzed <it>in vitro</it> and <it>in vivo</it> when underlying single or multiple rounds of hyperthermia.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed constitutive high expression of human GM-CSF and heat-induced expression of human IL-12 after a single round of hyperthermia post viral infection. The heat-induced hIL-12 expression exhibited a pulse-like pattern with a peak at 24 hrs followed by a decline 48 hrs post heat stress. Repeated heat treatment was more effective in inducing hIL-12 expression than a one-time heat treatment. Interestedly, we also observed that constitutive expression of hGM-CSF could be stimulated by heat stress in tested tumor cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study provided a novel strategy for combined gene therapy that allows constitutive expression of a non-toxic gene such as GM-CSF and heat-induced expression of a toxic gene such as IL-12. In addition, our study also showed that hyperthermia can be used to trigger gene expression in temporal and special manner.</p

Correlations of circulating peptide YY and ghrelin with body weight, rate of weight gain, and time required to achieve the recommended daily intake in preterm infants

The objective was to elucidate the relationships between serum concentrations of the gut hormone peptide YY (PYY) and ghrelin and growth development in infants for potential application to the clinical observation index. Serum concentrations of PYY and ghrelin were measured using radioimmunoassay from samples collected at the clinic. For each patient, gestational age, birth weight, time required to return to birth weight, rate of weight gain, time required to achieve recommended daily intake (RDI) standards, time required for full-gastric feeding, duration of hospitalization, and time of administration of total parenteral nutrition were recorded. Serum PYY and ghrelin concentrations were significantly higher in the preterm group (N = 20) than in the full-term group (N = 20; P < 0.01). Within the preterm infant group, the serum concentrations of PYY and ghrelin on postnatal day (PND) 7 (ghrelin = 1485.38 ± 409.24; PYY = 812.37 ± 153.77 ng/L) were significantly higher than on PND 1 (ghrelin = 956.85 ± 223.09; PYY = 545.27 ± 204.51 ng/L) or PND 3 (ghrelin = 1108.44 ± 351.36; PYY = 628.96 ± 235.63 ng/L; P < 0.01). Both serum PYY and ghrelin concentrations were negatively correlated with body weight, and the degree of correlation varied with age. Serum ghrelin concentration correlated negatively with birth weight and positively with the time required to achieve RDI (P < 0.05). In conclusion, serum PYY and ghrelin concentrations reflect a negative energy balance, predict postnatal growth, and enable compensation. Further studies are required to elucidate the precise concentration and roles of PYY and ghrelin in newborns and to determine the usefulness of measuring these hormones in clinical practice

Changes in the Weathering Activity and Populations of Culturable Rock-Weathering Bacteria from the Altered Purple Siltstone and the Adjacent Soil

<p>A total of 150 bacteria were isolated from the less and more altered (weathered) purple siltstones and the adjacent soils to compare the changes in the rock weathering patterns and populations of rock-weathering bacteria. The proportions of the highly effective Fe and Si solubilizers were significantly different among the altered rocks and soils. Maximum proportions of the highly effective Fe, Si, and Al solubilizers were observed in the soils, while significantly higher proportion of the highly effective K solubilizers was observed in the more altered rocks and the soils. The rock-weathering bacteria belonged to 37 bacterial species, among which 36, 64, and 56% of the species were specific to the less and more altered rocks and the soils, respectively. In the rock-weathering process, strains M78 and L38 mainly produced acetic acid, while strain H28 mainly produced gluconic acid. Furthermore, dominant rock-weathering members of <i>Ensifer</i> genus had the higher ability to release Fe and Si, while dominant rock-weathering members of <i>Bacillus</i> had the higher ability to release K. The results suggest the changes in the element mobilization patterns and populations of the rock-weathering bacteria and highlight the possible role of these bacteria in the rock weathering and soil formation.</p

Association of preterm outcome with maternal systemic lupus erythematosus: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background Maternal systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is at greater risk of pregnancy complications and is associated with increased risk of preterm delivery. However hardly any study has looked at the influence of SLE on the outcomes of preterm infants. This study aimed to explore the influence of SLE on the outcomes of preterm infants. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, preterm infants born to mothers with SLE from Shanghai Children’s Medical Center during 2012 to 2021 were enrolled. Infants were excluded if they were died during hospitalization or has major congenital anomalies and neonatal lupus. Exposure was defined as mother diagnosed SLE before or during pregnancy. Maternal SLE group was matched with Non-SLE group by gestational age, birth weight and gender. Clinical data has been extracted from patients’ records and registered. Major morbidities of premature and biochemical parameters in the two groups were compared using multiple logistic regression. Results One hundred preterm infants born to 95 mothers with SLE were finally enrolled. The mean (standard deviation) of gestational age and birth weight were 33.09 (7.28) weeks and 1768.50 (423.56) g respectively. There was no significant difference in major morbidities between SLE group and non-SLE group. Compared with non-SLE group, SLE off-spring had significantly lower leukocytes, neutrophiles after birth, neutrophils and platlet in one week (mean difference: -2.825, -2.001, -0.842, -45.469, respectively). Among SLE group, lower birth weight and smaller gestational age were observed in SLE mothers with disease active during pregnancy, kidney involved, blood system involved and not taking Aspirin during pregnancy. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, exposure to aspirin during pregnancy reduced the risk of very preterm birth and increased the incidence of survive without major morbidities among preterm infants born to SLE mothers. Conclusion Born to mothers with SLE may not increase the risk of major premature morbidities, but the hematologic profile of SLE preterm infants may be different from preterm infants born to women without SLE. The outcome of SLE preterm infants is associated with maternal SLE status and may benefit from maternal aspirin administration