An Impossible Job? The View From the Urban Superintendent's Chair

Presents the results of a survey of superintendents of the 100 largest urban and ex-urban districts in the U.S. Examines how school leaders define their challenges and potential solutions

The effect of valproic acid on motility and morphometry parameters, and actin and N-cadherin distribution in avian neural crest cells

All vertebrate species contain a transient ectodermal structure termed the neural crest from which a specific subpopulation of migratory cells, the neural crest cells (NCCs), is derived. Following an epithelial-mesenchymal transition, NCCs actively migrate throughout the developing embryo. Precise temporal and spatial cellular migration is essential for the formation of a diverse array of neural crest derived tissues and structures. Valproic acid (VP A) is a unique anti-convulsant drug that can produce craniofacial and neural tube defects in exposed infants. Alterations of NCC migration, proliferation, and cytoskeletal composition have been proposed as mechanisms of VP A\u27s teratogenicity. To investigate this drug\u27s effects on NCCs, trunk neural fold explants were microdissected from chick embryos and cultured in the presence of 0.75-3.0 mM VPA. Computer assisted video image analysis, BrdU proliferation assays, and immunostaining with antibodies to F-actin and N-cadherin (A-CAM) were employed to investigate NCC behavior during VPA exposure. Overall cell area and width parameters were decreased compared to controls for all VPA-treated groups. Perimeter, length, elongation index, and migration velocity were not consistently changed from controls. Dynamic change in area and dynamic change in perimeter appeared to be negatively correlated with VPA concentration. This suggests inhibited cellular motile activity in the presence of VPA. VPA exposure increased the number of explants exhibiting a continuous epithelial layer of cells extending from the periphery of the attached explants, indicating a disturbed ability of the NCCs to complete the epithelial-mesenchymal transition necessary for proper migration. Proliferation assays revealed that 2.0 mM VPA significantly lowered BrdU incorporation by 11.2% compared to controls. BrdU incorporation was inhibited 100% at 3.0 mM VPA. lmmunostaining analysis of VPA exposed explants revealed A-CAM positive cell-cell junctions within attached epithelial sheets. Independent NCCs within the same cultures were not positive for A-CAM. This suggests VPA altered A-CAM regulation, inhibiting the ability of NCCs to break free of their adherens junctions. F-actin staining revealed dose-dependant decreases in the staining intensity of stress fibers and cortical areas of independent NCCs. In a small proportion of 2.0 mM VPA exposed NCCs there was an irregular, globular distribution of intense (bright) staining not seen in any other concentrations. This pattern was also seen in many rounded cells at this concentration. Within explant attached epithelial sheets, only cortical areas of NCCs were stained positively. Stress fiber staining was absent. Alteration of neural tube integrity and NCC motile capabilities through increased cell-cell adhesion, and lowered or terminated cell proliferation could promote the development of NTDs such as spina bifida. Other VPA induced defects might consequently be produced through lowered number of NCCs available to contribute to neural crest derivatives

Patients’ and consumers’ perceptions of and involvement in safety and quality in Australian general practice

The importance of patient safety and quality research is renowned worldwide, but research outlining the interventions, intended outcomes, measurement and effectiveness are few and far between. Most of the research surrounding patient safety has focused on measurement and identifying what constitutes a risk, analysing, evaluating and managing risks effectively. Identifying practices and process of successful quality improvement can lead to effective results through greater understanding of the development, design and evaluation of complex interventions. Davidoff & Batalden (2005) point out that health care safety and quality research adds to scientific discovery and experiential learning, and that disseminating knowledge leads to better performance.However, there is still lack of relevant, timely, appropriate, accurate and transparent studies on this topic. Research on safety in primary care is just beginning to emerge as much of the literature has focussed on secondary care settings. Furthermore, research involving patients and carers is in its infancy and there has been a call to engage and partner with patients more effectively to improve the safety and quality of care they receive. Patients and carers have an important role to play when preventing errors and reducing harm. They have firsthand experience of their care, and are often able to provide detailed information about the processes, systems and structures that have led to the occurrence of an adverse event. Although there are many well-recognised benefits for involving patients to improve the safety of their care, there are still some unresolved contentions regarding the effectiveness of interventions, the roles and responsibilities for both patients and health professionals, and the kind of health care culture and organisational governance required for patient involvement in safety to occur successfully. A systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve the delivery of patient centred care has shown that there are some promising approaches. This mainly includes improving patient education, health literacy, self-management skills, and capacity for making decisions, as well as developing partnerships with physicians, and contributing to safety and quality of care. There is also a growing evidence base centred on how health professionals can better support patient engagement in care. Patient involvement in health care has been proposed as a promising approach to achieving better quality of care, greater cost efficiency, and improved population health. Much of the literature on patient involvement in safety has focussed on partnering with patients to reduce harm in hospital settings. Hand hygiene interventions and speaking up campaigns dominate the evidence base in this area. However, research that has been conducted in general practice is scarce. A tool to measure patient involvement in decision making in general practice has been developed by Elwyn and collegues (2003), Sanders et al (2013) have found that interventions aiming to increase patient participation as a means to improve health outcomes in general practice are non-conclusive, and Flink et al (2012) have investigated patient activation during handover between primary and secondary care. Apart from these studies little else has been undertaken in this setting. To the authors knowledge only one study conducted in Australian general practice found that patient directed questioning improved information provision by physicians and patient involvement in safety. While there are some examples of partnering with patients to improve the safety of primary care, there is no evidence of how patients and carers view safety. Having an in depth understanding of patients and carers perceptions of safety is the starting point for designing and implementing effective and appropriate interventions that can help to reduce harm in the primary care setting.The research reported in this paper is a project of the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute which is supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing under the Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and Development Strategy

Puffer: Pop-Up Flat Folding Explorer Robot

A repeatably reconfigurable robot, comprising at least two printed circuit board (PCB) rigid sections, at least one PCB flexible section coupled to the at least two PCB rigid sections, at least one wheel, hybrid wheel propeller, wheel and propeller, or hybrid wheel screw propeller rotatably coupled to at least one of the at least two PCB rigid sections and at least one actuator coupled to the at least two PCB rigid sections, wherein the at least one actuator folds and unfolds the repeatably reconfigurable robot

An Analysis of Post-Radiation Therapy and Clinical Disease Predictors in the Development of Xerostomia and Dysphagia in Head and Neck Cancer Patient

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp22/1086/thumbnail.jp

Building capacity for the use of participatory video in academic research

The network will be running 4 two-day training workshops on using PV in research, between now and the end of January. The workshops will be suitable as an introduction to PV techniques, or to sharpen your existing skills as a PV facilitator in a research setting. The workshops will be run by academics and PV practitioners with experience of using PV in research, and of the delivery of research training

Architecture for in-space robotic assembly of a modular space telescope

An architecture and conceptual design for a robotically assembled, modular space telescope (RAMST) that enables extremely large space telescopes to be conceived is presented. The distinguishing features of the RAMST architecture compared with prior concepts include the use of a modular deployable structure, a general-purpose robot, and advanced metrology, with the option of formation flying. To demonstrate the feasibility of the robotic assembly concept, we present a reference design using the RAMST architecture for a formation flying 100-m telescope that is assembled in Earth orbit and operated at the Sun–Earth Lagrange Point 2

Filter-Based Assay for Escherichia coli in Aqueous Samples Using Bacteriophage-Based Amplification

This paper describes a method to detect the presence of bacteria in aqueous samples, based on the capture of bacteria on a syringe filter, and the infection of targeted bacterial species with a bacteriophage (phage). The use of phage as a reagent provides two opportunities for signal amplification: i) the replication of phage inside a live bacterial host (1000-fold amplification for M13 phage in E. coli K12), and ii) the rapid conversion of a colorless substrate to a colored or fluorescent product by an enzyme that is co-expressed with the phage (in this demonstration β- galactosidase, which has a turnover rate of ~ 600 molecules/second). This method can detect a single colony-forming unit (CFU) of E. coli in one liter of water with an overnight culture-based assay, or 50 CFUs of E. coli in 1 liter of water (or 10 mL of orange juice, or 10 mL of skim milk) in less than four hours with a solution-based assay with visual readout. The solution-based assay does not require specialized equipment or access to a laboratory, and is more rapid than existing tests that are suitable for use at the point of access. This method could be applied to the detection of many different bacteria, in parallel, with bacteriophages that express enzymes not natively expressed in the target bacteria.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

Conservation physiology and the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have had unanticipated effects on ecosystems and biodiversity. Conservation physiology and its mechanistic underpinnings are well positioned to generate robust data to inform the extent to which the Anthropause has benefited biodiversity through alterations in disturbance-, pollution- and climate change-related emissions. The conservation physiology toolbox includes sensitive biomarkers and tools that can be used both retroactively (e.g. to reconstruct stress in wildlife before, during and after lockdown measures) and proactively (e.g. future viral waves) to understand the physiological consequences of the pandemic. The pandemic has also created new risks to ecosystems and biodiversity through extensive use of various antimicrobial products (e.g. hand cleansers, sprays) and plastic medical waste. Conservation physiology can be used to identify regulatory thresholds for those products. Moreover, given that COVID-19 is zoonotic, there is also opportunity for conservation physiologists to work closely with experts in conservation medicine and human health on strategies that will reduce the likelihood of future pandemics (e.g. what conditions enable disease development and pathogen transfer) while embracing the One Health concept. The conservation physiology community has also been impacted directly by COVID-19 with interruptions in research, training and networking (e.g. conferences). Because this is a nascent discipline, it will be particularly important to support early career researchers and ensure that there are recruitment pathways for the next generation of conservation physiologists while creating a diverse and inclusive community. We remain hopeful for the future and in particular the ability of the conservation physiology community to deliver relevant, solutions-oriented science to guide decision makers particularly during the important post-COVID transition and economic recovery