Education reform has been a hot topic among politicians and one of Gov. Chris Christie’s reforms — the superintendent salary cap — has already started having effects. New Jersey Monthly Editor Ken Schlager told NJ Today Senior Correspondent Desirée Taylor that the salary cap has caused some veteran superintendents to seek employment in other states. He also discussed his magazine’s latest ranking of state high schools, which has New Providence High School at the top.
Schlager said about 20 superintendents have left their jobs because of the salary cap, which went into effect in 2011. He said those paid more than $200,000 per year would have to take a pay cut to about $170,000 if they renew their contracts. “So they’re bailing from their jobs and going to places like Westchester if they’re in northern New Jersey or if they’re in southern New Jersey maybe they’re going to areas around Philadelphia where they can get better paying jobs as superintendents,” he said.
Proponents of the salary cap have said the pay rate is a good salary, but Schlager said many of the highest paid superintendents are experienced individuals who have been doing their work for many years. He cited Roy Montesano, who was the superintendent in Ramsey when he was named superintendent of the year, as an example. Montesano left New Jersey to be a superintendent at Hastings on Hudson in New York. Schlager said Montesano would likely have had to take a $60,000 pay cut to remain in Ramsey.
“It’s good news for the towns in that they get to save money, but potentially bad news because the crop of people that they can choose from to replace these positions, to fill these positions, are not going to be as experienced people,” Schlager explained.
Superintendents are like the CEOs of the school system, according to Schlager, and they want to be paid accordingly. He said the higher paid individuals are disappearing from the job pool in New Jersey.
New Jersey Monthly has ranked the state’s high schools for the first time since September 2010. Schlager said New Providence High School came out on top, rising from fifth to first on the magazine’s list. “There’s a fair amount of movement on our list this year and it’s because we did change the methodology a little and we changed it because of the times,” he said.
Schlager explained that the ranking criteria includes factors like classroom size, student-faculty ratio, test scores and where students go after graduation. For this year’s rankings, the magazine weighted the test scores and student college choices higher than the last time because it didn’t want to penalize school districts that received less state aid for having to increase class sizes or lay off teachers.
“If they’re still putting out great results like students are getting great SAT scores, they shouldn’t be penalized because they had to add to class size,” Schlager said. “So things changed a little and by necessity that would move the rankings around a little bit.”
Some have criticized the criteria used, but Schlager said, “There’s no perfect rating system. … Every school is judged the same way.”
He added that New Jersey Monthly included rankings of district factor groups, which groups similar socioeconomic school districts. The magazine also ranked 35 vocational schools. “That was a real eyeopener because some of those schools — particularly a group of schools in Monmouth County, they have these career academies — are off the charts as far as how well the kids in those schools do.”


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Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in 'Wonder Woman' started by BatmanVSuperman, Oct 29, 2014.
I made an alternate costume lol
I hope we see that victory pose at some point in the movie.
Here you can pose with the iconic Wonder Woman pose:
Fan art by itokillustration:
Lots of wonderful Artwork here, I must say fan artwork for this movie and Suicide Squad is the best I have seen recently.
Lynda Carter Wonder Woman Modern.
Did this in PicsArt.
Gal Lynda Meld.

domain: entertainment


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How Do Drugs Affect Synapses?
Drugs increase or decrease the effects of neurotransmitters. A drug that works against or blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter is defned as an antogonist. A drug that increases or pushes the effects is defined as an agonist. Some drugs can be both. This type of drug is called a mixed agonist-antagonist. This drug can be either depending on the dose. In other words it can be agonist at some doses and antagonist at other doses.
Drugs effect synaptic activities in quite a few ways. For a dopamine synapse, a drug can decrease or increase the sythesis of the neurotransmitter or even cause it to leak at its vesicles. It can increase its release, block its breaking down process, decrease its reuptake, inactivate chemicals, or even stimulate or stop the postsynaptic receptors.
Researchers say that a drug has an affinity for a specific type of receptor if it attaches or binds to that receptor. Some researchers have explained it sort of like a lock and a key.
Drugs differ in their affinity from strong to weak. The tendency to activate the receptor is the efficacy of a drug. For instance, a drug that binds to a receptor but does not stimulate it is said to be high in affinity but low in efficacy. This type of drug would be an antogonist because it occupies the receptor and prevents the effects of transmitting.
Drugs Effect Each Person Differently:
Each drug affects many kinds of synapses. Antipsychotic drugs block, for the most part, dopamine receptors but have some effect on other types of receptors as well. For each neurotransmitter, the brain has different types of receptors, which aslo differ in behavioral functions. People differ in their amounts of each type of receptor. Some people have genes that change the shape and effectiveness of certain receptors. What this means is one person might have a large number of dopamine type D4 receptors and very few D1 or D2 receptors, where someone else has more D1, less D4, and a normal amount of D2 receptors. A drug that alters dopamine synapses can have different effects on different people.
Researchers in 1954 found that brain stimulation is reinforcing and almost completely and exclusively in tracts of axons that release dopamine. Dopamine has been known as a pleasure chemical. Addictive drugs have a very large ability to be over-bearing on the user's cravings.
Many extremely highly addictive drugs are stimulant drugs. These drugs produce alertness, mood elevation, excitement, lower fatigue, and usually give an increased motor activity. Each of these drugs increase the activity of the dopamine receptors.
Amphetamine produces dopamine synapses stimulation by increasing the release of dopamine from the presynaptic terminal. The presynaptic terminal usually reabsorbs released dopamine via a protein called the dopamine transporter. Amphetamine reverses the transporter, forcing the cell to excrete dopamine instead of absorbing it. Cocaine stops the reuptake of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, which lengthens the effects.
Research shows that the behavioral effects of cocaine are dependent on the increasing dopamine effects and also on serotonin effects. Since both Cocaine and damphetamine raise dopamine activity, their behavorial effects are quite similar.
The effects of amphetamine and Cocaine are intense but doesn't last long. By increasing the release of domapine or lowering its reuptake the drugs increase the buildup of dopamine in the synaptic cleft. However, the extra dopamine washes away from the synapse quicker than the presynaptic cell can synthesize more dopamine. Also the excess dopamine activates autoreceptors on the presynaptic terminal, giving a negative signal, which reduces further release of dopamine. The end result is that within a few hours of cocaine or amphetamine the user will fall into a depressed state that is well-known as "crashing".
Tolerance by the user also plays a role in the effects of the drug. After someone has used a drug repeatedly, the drug will release less dopamine and more of the transmitter called dynophin, wich counteracts the effects of the drug. This will result in increasing the frequency and dosage of the drug
Long term use of these types of drugs can cause long-term, permanent disruption of brain functions. Long-term cocaine use causes lasting changes in blood flow and metabolism in the brain, which greatly increases their chances of epilepsy, stroke, and memory functions.
Giros, Jaber, Jones, Wight-man`, & Caron, 1996
Rocha et al., 1998; Volkow, Wang, Fischman, et al., 1997
R.A. Harris, Brodie, & Dunwiddie, 1992; wise & Bozarth, 1987
Xu, Hu, cooper, White, & Tonegawa, 1996
London et al., 1990
Mattay et al., 1996
Gainetdinov et al., 1999\
McCann, Lowe, & Ricaurte, 1997

domain: medical


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Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the main genetic cause of death among the Caucasian population. The disease is characterized by abnormal fluid and electrolyte mobility across secretory epithelia. The first manifestations occur within hours of birth (meconium ileus), later extending to other organs, generally affecting the respiratory tract. It is caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. CFTR encodes a cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent, phosphorylation-regulated chloride channel required for transport of chloride and other ions through cell membranes. There are more than 2,000 mutations described in the CFTR gene, but one of them, phenylalanine residue at amino acid position 508 (p.F508del), a recessive allele, is responsible for the vast majority of CF cases worldwide. Here, we present the results of the application of genome-editing techniques to the restoration of CFTR activity in p.F508del patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Gene-edited iPSCs were subsequently used to produce intestinal organoids on which the physiological activity of the restored gene was tested in forskolin-induced swelling tests. The seamless restoration of the p.F508del mutation resulted in normal expression of the mature CFTR glycoprotein, full recovery of CFTR activity, and a normal response of the repaired organoids to treatment with two approved CF therapies: VX-770 and VX-809.
Keywords: Cystic Fibrosis; FIS assay; TALEN; gene targeting; iPSC; intestinal organoids.
© 2020 The Author(s).

domain: biology


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Measures to help business customers that are struggling to pay their water bills after being hit in the pocket by the pandemic have been extended.
The option to take out a repayment scheme should now be available to all businesses in England that can evidence their finances have been impacted by Covid-19 until the end of July 2021.
Businesses should approach their water retailer if they’re based in England to agree a plan. Customers in Wales should speak to their water company to find our what support is available.
For more advice visit our Covid-19 guidance for business customers

domain: finance


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Los Angeles, CAUSA
January 31, 2012
I played professionally for many years, including 37 years with the Pasadena Symphony. I now specialize in teaching and particularly enjoy teaching adults and coaching chamber music.
I enjoy teaching adult beginners because I believe that it is never too late to start studying the violin. My students were the inspiration for this meet up group.

domain: artistic