“More Challenging than I Expected but More Satisfying”: Exploring the Experiences of New Heads of Independent Schools and the Leadership Skills They Employ

This study examines leader behavior in an independent school setting. Specifically, this qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of new heads of schools in independent schools located in Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma and their conceptualization of the skills required for the headship. The study explores the knowledge and skills new heads say they use as leaders, how the knowledge and skills they developed in their careers prepared them for leadership, and the ways in which they feel they might have been better prepared for leadership. The study uses the skills-based model of leadership as its theoretical framework, and its methodological approach and discussion of findings are influenced by the framework’s three main areas: knowledge, social judgment skills, and problem-solving skills. The study revealed three main types of knowledge relevant to independent school leader preparation: knowledge acquired through terminal degree or other formalized programs, practical knowledge acquired through professional experience, and institutional knowledge, i.e. knowledge unique to a head’s work in a specific school. The study also discusses three distinct ways in which new heads utilize social judgment skills: how they communicate, how they work with school constituents, and how they delegate work. The study suggests patience, deliberation, and listening are key factors in how new heads of school execute their problem-solving skills. The study also discusses other findings of note that are also relevant to the experiences of new heads of school. These include the feelings of loneliness and stress the participants felt as new heads as well as the personal and professional sources of support they sought because of those challenges. The study may be used to inform leader preparation programs oriented towards independent school leaders

The Normative Dimensions of Health Disparities

Understanding what conditions must be satisfied for a health inequality to be a health inequity (disparity) is crucial for health policy makers. The failure to understand what constitutes a health inequity, and confusing health inequalities with health inequities threatens the successful creation of health policies by diverting needed attention and resources away from addressing health inequalities that are health inequities. More generally, the failure threatens to undercut our ability to tell what research is relevant to the creation of health policies that aim to mitigate or eliminate health inequities. With this in mind, the principal aim of the present paper is to provide a framework within which to understand the relationships of concepts such as health difference, health inequality and health inequity to one another. Under the umbrella heading of “health disparities”, which is often used as a catch-all expression to refer to various, sometimes very different concepts of health, health outcomes and health determinants, the paper draws attention to two important axes in this framework; the axis of health inequalities (the empirical dimensions) and the axis of health inequities (the normative dimensions). Using the writings of John Dewey on valuation and value judgments, the paper explores how it is possible for a claim about the existence, prevalence or scope of health disparities to have both an empirical dimension and a normative dimension

Discharge suppression system for a double focusing, atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometer

An electrical discharge suppression system for a medium throughput (∼2 l/s) pumping line has been devised that works up to potentials of ±15 kV. This device permits atmospheric pressure ionization sources to be interfaced to high-resolution, magnetic sector mass spectrometers with source potentials of 6-10 k

Metabolic pathway engineering in mammalian cells through kinetic model optimization

Excessive lactate production and accumulation in cell culture can result in reduced culture productivity and altered product quality. Engineering cell metabolism to eliminate or reduce lactate production can lead to higher performing, more robust processes. However, prior efforts to engineer cell lines with low lactate production have been met with limited success, often also resulting in reduced cell growth rate. Given the complex roles of energy metabolism in sustaining anabolism and redox homeostasis, it is likely that successful suppression of lactate production in proliferating cells will require simultaneous alteration of multiple genes in energy metabolism. Considering the nonlinear nature of the energy metabolism reactions and the number of reactions involved, we have taken a systems approach to devise a strategy to alter cellular metabolic behavior to advance cell culture bioprocessing. In this study, we develop a method using optimization of a nonlinear kinetic model of cell metabolism designed to rewire glycolysis to have reduced lactate production while maintaining a high growth rate. The model encompasses glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, and the citric acid cycle, and also includes the known allosteric regulations. The large number of possible enzyme combinations necessitates a method to search the parameter space intelligently for key changes that can be made to manipulate metabolism. The model was solved using a local nonlinear optimizer embedded in General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS). A multi-objective optimization was formulated, demonstrating the relationship between lactate production and glucose consumption. Constraints were chosen to maintain cellular requirements for growth including energy production and precursors for biosynthesis. The primary objective of this optimization was to minimize the rate of lactate production for cells in culture, but the objective function was modified with a penalty term to also reduce the number of genetic alterations in an optimal state to ease experimental design. The resulting solutions to the optimization problem contain small sets of recommended changes to enzyme expression and activity that can be tested in an engineered cell line. We have demonstrated a method for rationally guiding cellular engineering through kinetic model optimization. The findings from this optimization are being evaluated experimentally, generating new cell lines with altered metabolic behavior. By identifying sets of parameter changes that yield desirable outcomes, optimization of kinetic models can greatly reduce the effort required to engineer cell metabolism, providing multiple metabolic engineering strategies with different enzyme combinations as well as deep insight into the reaction networks and their behavior

The Taming of the Cat

This article discusses research into the evolution of domesticated cats, which is complicated by the fact that they do not appear to serve humans. Although several species are morphologically similar, genetic research focusing on mitochondrial DNA and genetic microsatellites found that domesticated cats descended from F. sylvestris lybica. Archaeological research indicating cats came to live with humans as the prevalence of house mice in agricultural settlements increased is noted. Insets: The House Cat\u27s Ancestor; Early Domestication; From Wild to Mild; The Truth about Cats and Dog

Clinical features and risk factors of oedematous Mycobacterium ulcerans lesions in an Australian population: beware cellulitis in an endemic area

IntroductionOedematous lesions are a less common but more severe form of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease. Misdiagnosis as bacterial cellulitis can lead to delays in treatment. We report the first comprehensive descriptions of the clinical features and risk factors of patients with oedematous disease from the Bellarine Peninsula of south-eastern Victoria, Australia.MethodsData on all confirmed Mycobacterium ulcerans cases managed at Barwon Health, Victoria, were collected from 1/1/1998–31/12/2012. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to assess associations with oedematous forms of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease.ResultsSeventeen of 238 (7%) patients had oedematous Mycobacterium ulcerans lesions. Their median age was 70 years (IQR 17–82 years) and 71% were male. Twenty-one percent of lesions were WHO category one, 35% category two and 41% category three. 16 (94%) patients were initially diagnosed with cellulitis and received a median 14 days (IQR 9–17 days) of antibiotics and 65% required hospitalization prior to Mycobacterium ulcerans diagnosis. Fever was present in 50% and pain in 87% of patients. The WCC, neutrophil count and CRP were elevated in 54%, 62% and 75% of cases respectively. The median duration of antibiotic treatment was 84 days (IQR 67–96) and 94% of cases required surgical intervention. On multivariable analysis, there was an increased likelihood of a lesion being oedematous if on the hand (OR 85.62, 95% CI 13.69–535.70; P<0.001), elbow (OR 7.83, 95% CI 1.39–43.96; p<0.001) or ankle (OR 7.92, 95% CI 1.28–49.16; p<0.001), or if the patient had diabetes mellitus (OR 9.42, 95% CI 1.62–54.74; p = 0.02).ConclusionsIn an Australian population, oedematous Mycobacterium ulcerans lesions present with similar symptoms, signs and investigation results to, and are commonly mistakenly diagnosed for, bacterial limb cellulitis. There is an increased likelihood of oedematous lesions affecting the hand, elbow or ankle, and in patients with diabetes

Innovating Nanoparticle Safety: Storage, Handling, and Disposal Processes

Uncertainty concerning nanoparticle safety measures stem from a scarcity of readily accessible, practical, and application-specific information. This constitutes a hazard for the workplace and the environment. We investigated nano-safety questions and interviewed researchers across Switzerland. We created a set of printable, customizable posters with clear guidelines and a 3-D model of a nanoparticle-ready laboratory space, which we both made available online. Through these solutions, we aim to improve the implementation of safe nanoparticle practices and save researchers time and frustration

Refinement and validation of a multi-level assessment method for Mid-Atlantic tidal wetlands (EPA #CD-973494-01)

The Shoreline Inventory for Delaware Coastal Bays has occurred in a series of Phases beginning in 2005. Phase was to develop a Tidal Wetlands Protocol which included data development for the Shoreline Inventory for the Indian River Watershed. The data inventory developed for the Shoreline Inventory is based on a three-tiered shoreline assessment approach. In most cases this assessment characterizes conditions that can be observed from a small boat navigating along the shoreline. Hand-held GPS units and GPS registered videography were used to collect data on conditions observed in the field. The three-tiered shoreline assessment approach divides the shore zone into three regions: 1) the immediate riparian zone, evaluated for land use; 2) the bank, evaluated for height, stability, cover and natural protection; and 3) the shoreline, describing the presence of shoreline structures for shore protection and recreational use. Access report via Download tab