School Science News for Kids

DALLAS – Jan. 20, 2012 – The health benefits of exercise on blood sugar metabolism may come from the body’s ability to devour itself, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report in the journal Nature.

Dr. Beth Levine (second from left) and UT Southwestern colleagues – including Dr. Philipp Scherer, Dr. Kai Sun and Dr. Congcong He – have found that the process of autophagy could explain some of the health benefits of exercise.

Autophagy is a process by which a cell responds to starvation and other stresses by degrading damaged or unneeded parts of itself to produce energy. It is sometimes called the cell’s housekeeping pathway.

“Exercise is known to have many health benefits but the mechanisms have been unclear. Autophagy is also known to have several health benefits, and these benefits correspond closely to the effects of exercise. We hypothesized that some of the health benefits of exercise might be explained through autophagy,” said senior author Dr. Beth Levine, professor of internal medicine and microbiology who leads the Center for Autophagy Research at UT Southwestern.

Dr. Levine, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator at the medical center, decided to focus on one specific health effect of exercise – the ability of exercise to prevent blood sugar abnormalities in the face of a high-fat diet. Her mouse study provides the first evidence that exercise stimulates autophagy.

The researchers found that mice genetically unable to increase autophagy in response to short-term exercise have decreased endurance and fail to experience the normal benefits of exercise on blood sugar metabolism.

This discovery led the team to investigate whether autophagy is important in the protective effects of chronic exercise on diabetes. A high-fat diet induced diabetes-like changes in blood sugar metabolism in both control mice and in test mice that were genetically unable to increase autophagy above baseline levels, said Dr. Congcong He, lead author and a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Levine’s lab. However, the researchers found that exercise reversed these blood sugar abnormalities in control mice but not in the autophagy-deficient mice.

“Our finding that exercise fails to improve glucose metabolism in autophagy-deficient mice strongly suggests that autophagy is an important mechanism by which exercise protects against diabetes,” said Dr. Levine. “It also raises the possibility that activation of autophagy may contribute to other health benefits of exercise, including protection against cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and aging.

Dr. Levine has made fundamental discoveries previously that are in large part credited for expanding the field of autophagy research. In 1999, she identified the first mammalian autophagy gene, beclin 1, and its link to the suppression of breast cancer, which marked the first discovery of an association between defects in an autophagy gene and a human disease.

She similarly is credited with demonstrating that autophagy functions in innate immunity – protecting against lethal viral encephalitis – as well as initially reporting that autophagy plays a role in lifespan extension, shown in a study of C. elegans worms.

Other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the Nature study include Dr. Kai Sun, assistant instructor of internal medicine; Dr. Yongjie Wei, assistant professor of internal medicine; research specialist Zhongju Zou; graduate student Zhenyi An; computational biologist Dr. Qihua Sun; Dr. Milton Packer, chairman of clinical sciences and professor of internal medicine; research scientist Herman May; Dr. Joseph Hill, director of the Harry S. Moss Heart Center, chief of cardiology, and professor of internal medicine and molecular biology; Dr. Christopher Gilpin, assistant professor of cell biology; Dr. Guanghua Xiao, assistant professor of clinical sciences; Dr. Rhonda Bassel-Duby, professor of molecular biology; Dr. Philipp Scherer, professor of  internal medicine and cell biology and director of the Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research; and former postdoctoral researcher Dr. Viviana Moresi of molecular biology.

Researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Washington University and the University of California at San Francisco also contributed.

The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the HHMI.

“We believe in accountability and strong accountability,” Barresi said. “Under No Child Left Behind every district worked hard to make sure they hit just kind of a golden number, if you will, just hit that test score number. And actually what happened is that led teachers into doing drill work with their classes. Well, no more.”

Oklahoma will learn later this month whether the state has been granted a number of exemptions from federal education law in exchange for new reforms developed by lawmakers and Barresi.

Barresi was a guest on the Oklahoma Republican Party’s Facebook Town Hall on Monday and the interview was streamed live online. In the weeks leading up to the interview, Facebook followers posted questions for Barresi on the Republican Party’s Facebook page.

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When you go to Superintendent School they teach you a lot of things.

Such as, superintendents get paid more than principals (I got an A on this quiz nailed it!).

Usually, this lesson is enough to pique ones interest.

They also teach you about public relations, finances, and school law.

Thats the good part.

The bad part is they dont teach you everything.  Some things you just have to learn on the job.

This is not very reassuringfor the superintendent and school board.

Lots of Responsibility + Lack of Knowledge = Ruh Roh, Raggy!

In a perfect world, superintendents would be prepared when they started their new careers, but as you mightve heard, the world isnt always perfect (if this is news to you Im sorry you had to hear it here).

The superintendentcy is a big job, so I cant really blame universities if some things fall through the cracks.

Not to complain but there is one little tidbit I would like to see college professors share before diplomas are handed out.

Teach future educational leaders how to say “No”.

Everyone can say “Yes”, but only a select few can say “No”.

I think this gets many people into trouble.  Its almost like new superintendents need a safe word.

Personally, mine is “Serenity now!” (if you see me screaming this while huddled in a corner rocking back and forth in a fetal position please back away slowly and notify the authorities).

Saying no sounds simple, but its hard.

Really hard.

Especially for people who havent been taught.

I want it noted this is the only blog where you get  Superintendent talk mixed in with Seinfeld and Scooby-Doo references.  Youre welcome.

The budget compromise recently hammered out in Washington breathes new life into a major literacy initiative at the U.S. Department of Education.

Congress restored the moribund  program, which seeks to promote literacy from birth to the end of high school, as part of an omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2012 that President Barack Obama signed into law late last month. The literacy program received no federal aid last year, but in a quirk of the budget process, money from the year before that is fueling $180 million in grants was awarded to six states in September.  The Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) program is authorized  under the Title I demonstration authority (Part E, Section 1502 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act ESEA).

The purpose of the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) discretionary grants is to create a comprehensive literacy program to advance literacy skills — including pre-literacy skills, reading, and writing — for students from birth through grade 12, including limited-English-proficient students and students with disabilities.

Schoodoodle.com carries a wide selection of instructional materials that qualify for the program.  Browse materials for students in preschool through high school to enhance teaching and learning in , ESL, special education and more.

Online customer service degrees can be attained at the associate or bachelor degree level.

Customer service is the process of taking care of customers needs and desires in a professional and courteous manner. It is the provision of service to customers before, during and after purchases. This means that customer services personnel must have a good knowledge of their particular industry, product, or service, customer service skills, good communication skills, and knowledge of company policies and regulations. Other skills include keyboard skills and data entry skills (ten-key) telephone skills, arithmetic skills, and computing skills. Employment is available in banking, call centers, retail, e-commerce etc. Customer service representatives should have an in-depth knowledge of the product or service they support, in addition to skills in communication, conflict mediation, and knowledge of company policies and regulations.

Online Customer Service Degree Programs

Jones International University

• BBA in Customer Care Management

Florida Career College

• Associate’s Degree – Professional Sales and Customer Service
• Diploma – Professional Sales and Customer Service

Customer Service Education and Training

Customer service representatives and call center personnel have responsibilities that include responding to customer and client questions and complaints. With customer service training students usually get an associate degree in business, a certificate in customer care management, or bachelor’s degree in business. Often time, customer service training is provided directly by the employer, although in many situations it is helpful to have attained basic qualifications and training, for example by completing a bachelors or associate degree in business.

Customer Service Careers

Many customer service positions require employees to have at least a high school diploma or GED, but most companies prefer their applicants who have training and a degree or a diploma. Many companies do their own in-house training or internal customer service training. Therefore, having a degree or customer service training will give you a competitive edge. In fact most management and supervisory positions in customer service require a degree and experience.

Expected Salary and Projected Career Growth

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that customer care positions should grow by about 25% in the next few years, with bilingual speakers being more in demand. Earns are about $15.00 an hour for most industries. Many customer service positions are entry-level jobs.

The median salary according to the United States Department of Labor is about $27,500, but varies greatly by industry and experience level. The top 10% of customer service professionals earn about $40,000, and managers and supervisor positions earn more, ranging from $56,000 to $80,000 a year. Having a customer service degree is certainly an advantage to higher income and promotion.

College students who are looking for a career in health care may decide to become a cardiovascular technician. With EKG technician training students learn how to recognize and alleviate the signs of heart related disease / illness.

Educational institutions provide training and skills required in cardiac catheterization, angioplasty, and echocardiography. Also students may consider additional training in Holter monitoring and stress tests. The course includes learning how to perform medical transcription, and how to keep the patient’s records. A certification course can be finished in about twelve months of special training or faster if a person is specialized in other medical field.

The prospects for this occupation are simply outstanding. Employment opportunities for EKG technicians will remain high and should increase as the demand for care related to heart, especially for aging population, is rising in the United States. The best job prospects will have technicians who have experience in multiple non-invasive technologies. On an average, the median annual income is $ 30 000 – 35 000, depending on different factors, such as your level of training and experience. As you gain more experience, you can even take advantage of salary up to $ 50 000 per year or more according to national salary surveys. Also, once you have completed the certificate program, you also get to work in a medical practice, cardiology department, or a variety of testing facilities.

This can sometimes be quite stressful, especially when you are treating patients with severe and fatal cardiovascular problems. On a regular work day, you can expect to work for at least five hours on average, 40 hours a week. In addition, you are most likely to spend most of your time either standing or walking around a hospital to check on your patients. But on the bright side, an ECG technician holds promise for future growth and its demand is expected to grow very quickly.