Illinois: The New Leader in Education Reform?

Describes Illinois education advocates' collaborative efforts to finalize legislation overhauling state policies on teacher hiring, tenure, layoffs, and dismissal, with a focus on effectiveness. Offers lessons learned about engaging multiple stakeholders

In Any Language: Improving the Quality and Availability of Language Services in Hospitals

Showcases initiatives and interventions implemented in ten hospitals participating in RWJF's Speaking Together initiative to measure and enhance language services delivery. Discusses factors for success, strategies for improvement, and lessons learned

The Heart of the Matter: The Relationship Between Communities, Cardiovascular Services and Racial and Ethnic Gaps in Care

As part of an initiative to address racial/ethnic disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, examines factors behind the segmentation of healthcare access and service patterns by income and insurance status and its effect on minorities

Talking With Patients: How Hospitals Use Bilingual Clinicians and Staff to Care for Patients With Language Needs

Presents survey findings on bilingual clinicians, staff, interpreters, and volunteers providing language services; training and assessment; hospital policies; and their impact. Recommends explicit policies, robust assessments, and proactive approaches

Putting a Price Tag on the Common Core: How Much Will Smart Implementation Cost?

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts and mathematics represent a sea change in standards-based reform and their implementation is the movement's next -- and greatest -- challenge. Yet, while most states have now set forth implementation plans, these tomes seldom address the crucial matter of cost. Putting a Price Tag on the Common Core: How Much Will Smart Implementation Cost? estimates the implementation cost for each of the forty-five states (and the District of Columbia) that have adopted the Common Core State Standards and shows that costs naturally depend on how states approach implementation. Authors Patrick J. Murphy of the University of San Francisco and Elliot Regenstein of EducationCounsel LLC illustrate this with three models

Cosmetic potential of marine fish skin collagen

Many cosmetic formulations have collagen as a major component because of its significant benefits as a natural humectant and moisturizer. This industry is constantly looking for innovative, sustainable, and truly efficacious products, so marine collagen based formulations are arising as promising alternatives. A solid description and characterization of this protein is fundamental to guarantee the highest quality of each batch. In the present study, we present an extensive characterization of marine-derived collagen extracted from salmon and codfish skins, targeting its inclusion as component in cosmetic formulations. Chemical and physical characterizations were performed using several techniques such as sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), Fourier Transformation Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy rheology, circular dichroism, X-ray diffraction, humidity uptake, and a biological assessment of the extracts regarding their irritant potential. The results showed an isolation of type I collagen with high purity but with some structural and chemical differences between sources. Collagen demonstrated a good capacity to retain water, thus being suitable for dermal applications as a moisturizer. A topical exposure of collagen in a human reconstructed dermis, as well as the analysis of molecular markers for irritation and inflammation, exhibited no irritant potential. Thus, the isolation of collagen from fish skins for inclusion in dermocosmetic applications may constitute a sustainable and low-cost platform for the biotechnological valorization of fish by-products.The authors would like to acknowledge to European Union for the financial support under the scope of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the projects 0687_NOVOMAR_1_P (POCTEP (Programa Operacional de Cooperação Transfronteiriça España-Portugal) 2007/2013) and 0302_CVMAR_I_1_P (POCTEP 2014/2020) and the Structured Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000021 (Norte2020) and under the scope of the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) through grant agreement ERC-2012-ADG 20120216-321266 (ERC Advanced Grant ComplexiTE). The Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology is also acknowledged for the grant of A.L.A (Ana Luísa Alves.) under Doctoral Programme Do* Mar (PD/BD/127995/2016).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Halal Integrity in the Food Supply Chain

Purpose: This paper argues that there is an absence of halal integrity within the conventional stages of a food chain. This paper adapts the understanding of the different stages and argues the need to develop a critical consciousness for halal integrity within the food chain to address the needs of the ever-growing Muslim consumers’ market. The aim of this paper is to propose a definition of halal integrity using farm to fork and global food supply chain models. Design: The study includes a review of priori literature and media reports regarding cross contamination of food products with haram (forbidden) components. This background will be used to conceptualise halal integrity using farm to fork and a global supply chain models. Findings: Different interpretations of halal – what is permitted and what is prohibited – exist for the different schools of Islamic legal thought and within the customs of different countries. In order to ensure that food production is embracive of the religious needs of the global Muslim customer market, this paper utilises the farm to fork and global supply chain models to foster a critical awareness of halal needs. Halal integrity should be clearly presenting the details of the halal status of the product and assuring that the requirements for halal as stated are met. Halal integrity not only deals with permitted and prohibited foods, but that the halal status of the food products (i.e. from raw materials until it reaches the consumers) should not be breached (i.e. no cross contamination with haram products / methods and no ill intents). A formal definition of halal integrity has been proposed

Aligning Forces for Quality: Improving Language Services Performance Measures

This portion of the Language Services Performance Measures guide provides a brief overview of the information contained within each section of the manual. It is intended for use as a quick reference to assist in the implementation of the Language Services performance measures. The sections of the manual are interrelated and have been designed to be used together

These Are the People in Your Neighborhood

The 1997 St. Louis Rams media guide contains a glowing description of the team\u27s star rookie from the prior season. The guide highlights his brilliant college career, describes his solid first professional season, and mentions that he grew up in Los Angeles. In a gray box above his football statistics, it notes that he frequently visits the Emergency Children\u27s Home (ECHO) for troubled youth, where he talks to kids and plays basketball with them. The description would all look pretty normal if it wasn\u27t a portrait of Lawrence Phillips. Almost every other sporting publication has written of Phillips not as a mentor to underprivileged youth, but as the man who in 1995 savagely beat Kate McEwen, a University of Nebraska basketball player and Phillips\u27s former girlfriend. The Rams media guide story about Phillips helping children is apparently true. But, unfortunately, so are the stories of his driving recklessly, missing team meetings, and assaulting a woman in Florida in June 1998