Dominant Leadership Dynamics of School Administrators Leading Non-Instructional Personnel

With the literature and many schools and school districts advocating for enhanced communication and engagement with parents, families, and the community at large, it is advisable that school-level administrators consider the manner in which they engage the non-instructional employees who serve their schools. This dissertation explores the dominant leadership dynamics experienced by high school principals responsible for supervising non-instructional support services and leading non-instructional operations personnel in their schools. Trained and expected to be instructional leaders, principals must still ensure their students receive the basic services necessary to maintain a safe and effective learning environment. Ensuring students receive the benefit of meal service, bus transportation, facilities maintenance, and janitorial services are essential responsibilities of principals, but may seem contradictory to a quixotic notion of instructional leadership. This phenomenological qualitative inquiry compares leadership styles used by school administrators when leading non-instructional personnel as compared to those utilized with instructional faculty. Challenges examined in the inquiry include the navigation of organizational complexities involved with non-instructional operational services provided by the school district and the leading of outsourced employees in schools. Specific complexities explored in the study include school district organizational structure, the outsourcing of non-instructional services and employees, the delegation of principal responsibilities, and the discovery of employees who perceive themselves to be isolated from the school community. Finally, this research delves into the manner in which principal preparatory and professional development programs prepare school administrators to lead non-instructional staff in the performance of their fundamental school operational functions. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future practice include school –level administrator professional development relating to the engagement of and communication with non-instructional support personnel in their schools. Additional practical recommendations involve district-level program evaluations to determine the current effectiveness of organizational service structures and the outsourcing of operational services and staffing

Why Teachers Stay: A Multiple Case Study of Retention in Small to Midsized Schools

Teacher retention presents a critical challenge for small to midsized school districts, often compounded by limited resources and unique community dynamics. Using Herzberg’s twofactor theory, this qualitative study explored factors influencing teacher retention in districts with retention rates exceeding 85%. Semistructured interviews with nine teachers examined the impact of hygiene factors, such as administrative support and compensation, and motivators, like autonomy and professional growth. Thematic analysis revealed that administrative support and equitable workloads prevent dissatisfaction, while motivators such as meaningful relationships, recognition, and relevant professional development drive commitment. Professional development emerged as both a motivator and a hygiene factor based on quality and accessibility. The findings emphasize balancing extrinsic needs with intrinsic motivators, emphasizing supportive leadership, tailored professional development, and community engagement. Recommendations include improving leadership training and addressing workload concerns. Future research should explore retention across varied contexts and through longitudinal studies

The effects of X-ray CT scanning on microbial communities in sediment cores

Using X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning to characterize the physical characteristics of soil and sediment cores allows scientists to observe and analyze stratigraphy without destroying the integrity of different layers. Microbiologists often work with geologists to characterize the microbial communities in such cores; however, X-rays are known to be destructive to cells and this is not typically considered when cores are scanned. My objective was to determine whether X-ray CT scanning affects microbial community composition within the cores. Sediment cores were extracted from salt marshes in Netarts Bay, OR to examine CT scan effects on microbial communities in fine and coarse grain layers. We observed no apparent effect of X-ray CT scanning on microbial community composition in any of the sediment cores; however, other factors in the samples such as location in the marsh from which the samples were obtained and sediment type did have a marked effect on microbial community structure. Key Words: Sediment core, X-ray Computed Tomography, microbial community structure

Species- and Temporal-Specific Coral Microbiome Fluctuations in Response to a Natural Bleaching Event

Corals provide a diversity of ecosystem services, are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, and directly support ~500 million people globally; however, corals are increasingly experiencing significant threats and are undergoing severe bleaching events as the result of the warming climate. Using a two-year data set surrounding a massive bleaching event around the island of Mo’orea, French Polynesia, this study examines a vital determiner of coral health: its microbiome. We hypothesized that the microbiomes of the dominant corals Acropora hyacinthus, Pocillopora verrucosa, and Porites lobata would show stochastic responses to bleaching, yet degrees of resistance to bleaching would be coral species specific. Among all coral microbiomes, certain dominant families shifted in response to bleaching; however, coral species-specific responses were seen regarding fluctuations of Shannon diversity and richness, in addition to shifts in the relative abundance of the highly abundant family Endozoicomonas. Acropora hyacinthus bleached most readily. Pocillopora verrucosa had the lowest percent abundance of Endozoicomonas months before and during bleaching. In addition, it was the only coral species to have its microbiome increase in diversity and decrease in Endozoicomonas percent abundance before bleaching; however, its health trajectory followed that of Porites lobata relatively closely. Trends in the microbial community inhabiting Porites lobata including family level richness and diversity and Endozoicomonas levels followed those of Acropora hyacinthus closely

The analysis of kisspeptin neuronal exosomes and their effects on neuronal plasticity of downstream gonadotropin-releasing hormone expressing neurons

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons are able to trigger the release of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone which control the maturation of oocytes and ovulation which is vital for reproduction. They are the most downstream neurons that project to the median eminence into the pituitary portal where they release GnRH. Modulation of these neurons is done by upstream kisspeptin (Kiss) neurons, but the mechanism is not fully understood. We have looked at a type of intercellular communication via extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from Kiss neurons as possibly contributory to the unsolved mechanism. Exosomes are one subset of EVs that contain cargo that has implications in synaptic plasticity (i.e. connexins, semaphorins, annexins) so we explored the link between Kiss derived exosome exposure and gene expression in GnRH neurons of various genes associated with synaptic plasticity in vitro. The exosomes were harvested from conditioned media from immortalized Kiss neuron cell lines exposed to different estrogen (E2) concentrations to mimic levels within different phases of the estrous cycle. Our work has shown that gap junction protein connexin 26 doesn’t change expression levels, but expression of connexin 43 is induced in response to Kiss derived exosomes from the anteroventral periventricular nucleus treated with a high concentration of E2. The increase in gap junction protein cx 43 could indicate a preovulatory priming mechanism mediated by exosomes

Tumor cell dormancy

Metastasis is the primary cause of death in cancer patients and current treatments fail to provide durable responses. Efforts to treat metastatic disease are hindered by the fact that metastatic cells often remain dormant for prolonged intervals of years, or even decades. Tumor dormancy reflects the capability of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs), or micrometastases, to evade treatment and remain at low numbers after primary tumor resection. Unfortunately, dormant cells will eventually produce overt metastasis. Innovations are needed to understand metastatic dormancy and improve cancer detection and treatment. Currently, few models exist that faithfully recapitulate metastatic dormancy and metastasis to clinically relevant tissues, such as the bone. Herein, we discuss recent advances describing genetic cell-autonomous and systemic or local changes in the microenvironment that have been shown to endow DTCs with properties to survive and eventually colonize distant organs

The implication of identifying JAK2V617F in myeloproliferative neoplasms and myelodysplastic syndromes with bone marrow fibrosis

The myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) occasionally demonstrate overlapping morphological features including hypercellularity, mild/nonspecific dysplastic changes and variable bone marrow fibrosis. Thus, when the associated bone marrow fibrosis results in a suboptimal specimen for morphological evaluation, the descriptive diagnosis “fibrotic marrow with features indeterminate for MDS versus MPN” is often applied. The JAK2V617F mutation was recently shown to be frequently identified in MPN, but it is rarely present in other myeloid disorders. However, the diagnostic utility of JAK2V617F screening in hypercellular bone marrow specimens with fibrosis has not been previously investigated. Using a real-time polymerase chain reaction melting-curve assay capable of detecting JAK2V617F in archived fixed materials, we retrospectively studied JAK2V617F in 45 cases with fibrotic hypercellular bone marrow at initial presentation, including 19 cases initially described as “with features indeterminate for MDS versus MPN”. These 19 cases were reclassified into more specific categories of MDS (n = 14) or MPN (n = 5) based on the availability of subsequent clinical data and/or bone marrow examinations. The JAK2V617F allele was identified in 17 out of 18 BCR/ABL gene-negative MPN cases with marrow fibrosis, whereas only wild-type alleles were identified in the remaining non-MPN cases. Importantly, JAK2V617F alleles were seen in all five cases of “with features indeterminate for MDS versus MPN” at initial presentation that were later determined to be MPN, but they were absent in the 14 cases later determined to be MDS. Our results suggest that JAK2V617F allele evaluation can be a useful ancillary test for discriminating MDS from MPN in specimens with bone marrow fibrosis

A dual specificity kinase, DYRK1A, as a potential therapeutic target for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Despite advances in clinical management, 5-year survival rate in patients with late-stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has not improved significantly over the past decade. Targeted therapies have emerged as one of the most promising approaches to treat several malignancies. Though tyrosine phosphorylation accounts for a minority of total phosphorylation, it is critical for activation of signaling pathways and plays a significant role in driving cancers. To identify activated tyrosine kinase signaling pathways in HNSCC, we compared the phosphotyrosine profiles of a panel of HNSCC cell lines to a normal oral keratinocyte cell line. Dual-specificity tyrosine-(Y)-phosphorylation regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) was one of the kinases hyperphosphorylated at Tyr-321 in all HNSCC cell lines. Inhibition of DYRK1A resulted in an increased apoptosis and decrease in invasion and colony formation ability of HNSCC cell lines. Further, administration of the small molecular inhibitor against DYRK1A in mice bearing HNSCC xenograft tumors induced regression of tumor growth. Immunohistochemical labeling of DYRK1A in primary tumor tissues using tissue microarrays revealed strong to moderate staining of DYRK1A in 97.5% (39/40) of HNSCC tissues analyzed. Taken together our results suggest that DYRK1A could be a novel therapeutic target in HNSCC