On Becoming a District of Choice: Implications for Equity Along the United States-Mexico Border.

Purpose: Despite the popularity of open enrollment as a school choice mechanism, there is little research on how principals behave in a district-run competitive setting. This study adds to our understanding of how open enrollment policies affect the role of the principal as well as educational equity by examining the roles and behaviors of school principals in an unregulated marketplace of schools. Research Method: This study uses an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach. We first analyze school-level transfer data for school year 2014-2015 and demographic data in order to examine trends such as poverty concentration as well as to identify "winners," "losers," and "nonplayers" in the open enrollment marketplace. Since principals are heavily involved in recruitment, student screening, and selection of specialized programs, we interviewed 12 principals to better understand their role in the competitive settings. Findings: We find that some schools have emerged as "winners" in this marketplace, attracting large numbers of transfers without losing many students, while other principals and schools struggle to overcome a negative perception and find a market niche to attract students. Our quantitative analysis indicates a relatively small relationship between open enrollment and increased segregation in the district. District oversight seems to have prevented worsening segregation. However, many principals seek more control on the screening process raising equity concerns if formal regulations are not provided. Implications: These findings have implications for school and district leaders navigating open enrollment plans as a means to increase enrollments and encourage innovation while also maintaining equity.

Trends in Acute Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma, Peripheral Iridotomy and Cataract Surgery in Scotland, 1998-2012.

PURPOSE: We present rates of acute primary angle-closure glaucoma (APACG), peripheral iridotomy (PI) and cataract surgery in Scotland between 1998 and 2012. METHODS: The number of patients in Scotland with APACG in each of the years between 1998 and 2012 was obtained from Information Service Division (ISD) Scotland. Data was also obtained for patients who had undergone laser PI and cataract surgery. The annual rates of APACG, PI and cataract surgery were calculated using Scotland's population data during each of these years. RESULTS: Between 1998 and 2012 the rate of APACG in National Health Service patients decreased by 46.4% (from 46.7 to 25.0 per million, p < 0.005). The rate of PI increased overall by 116.3% (from 38.0 to 82.2 per million), but demonstrated a decrease of 48.2% (38.0 to 19.7 per million, p = 0.002) between 1998 and 2008, and an increase of 317.3% (19.7 to 82.2 per million, p = 0.005) between 2008 and 2012. Over the same 15-year period, cataract surgery increased by 73.4% (from 354.2 to 615.2 per 100,000, p < 0.005). In this timeframe, mid-year Scottish population estimates increased by 4.6%. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate a significant reduction in the rate of APACG in the Scottish population between 1998 and 2012, along with a rising rate of PI and cataract surgery. The trend of decreasing APACG may be due to the increasing rate of cataract surgery in the same time period. This parallels patterns seen in other European countries. We discuss these findings together with other related epidemiological factors.

Expansive gene transfer in the rat CNS rapidly produces amyotrophic lateral sclerosis relevant sequelae when TDP-43 is overexpressed.

Improved spread of transduction in the central nervous system (CNS) was achieved from intravenous administration of adeno-associated virus serotype-9 (AAV9) to neonatal rats. Spinal lower motor neuron transduction efficiency was estimated to be 78% using the highest vector dose tested at a 12-week interval. The widespread expression could aid studying diseases that affect both the spinal cord and brain, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The protein most relevant to neuropathology in ALS is transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43). When expressed in rats, human wild-type TDP-43 rapidly produced symptoms germane to ALS including paralysis of the hindlimbs and muscle wasting, and mortality over 4 weeks that did not occur in controls. The hindlimb atrophy and weakness was evidenced by assessments of rotarod, rearing, overall locomotion, muscle mass, and histology. The muscle wasting suggested denervation, but there was only 14% loss of motor neurons in the TDP-43 rats. Tissues were negative for ubiquitinated, cytoplasmic TDP-43 pathology, suggesting that altering TDP-43's nuclear function was sufficient to cause the disease state. Other relevant pathology in the rats included microgliosis and degenerating neuronal perikarya positive for phospho-neurofilament. The expression pattern encompassed the distribution of neuropathology of ALS, and could provide a rapid, relevant screening assay for TDP-43 variants and other disease-related proteins.

In vivo survivors of transformed mouse ovarian surface epithelial cells display diverse phenotypes for gene expression and tumorigenicity.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in women. Due to a lack of appropriate animal models, studies involving tumorigenicity, tumor progression and immune response at the molecular level are limited. We isolated many clones derived from thesurvivors of a transformed mouse ovarian epithelial cell line IG-10 in immune- competent mice and found that the clones displayed diverse phenotypes. Most clones were deficient in components of the MHC-I antigen presentation pathway. Soft-agarose colony assays showed different growth rates among clones. However, this did not completely correlate with each clone's in vivo tumorigenicity regarding growth, tumor mass and ascites formation, suggesting the possibility that the clones may display contrasting intrinsic gene expression. We therefore performed two types of arrays to evaluate gene expression at transcriptional and translational levels. The results showed differences in expression of COL4alpha5, NOS-2, and SOCS-1 genes at the transcriptional level, MIP-2 gene at the protein level and CCL5, CXCL-10, IL-1alpha genes at both transcriptional and protein levels between low and high tumorigenic clones. Thus, our animal cell model together with the identified genes may provide a useful tool to study ovarian cancer immune response, tumorigenicity and tumor-host cell interactions in the tumor microenvironment.