Globalization and the Marginalization of Educational Purpose: Preparation of Workers and Citizens for the 21st Century and the Vision of Sustainable Futures

Human capital development remains a primary goal of modern schooling. This paper raises questions concerning the link between global economic needs and school-based human capital development. The primary mission of preparing students for the workplace may weaken other educational missions vital in achieving a more sustainable future for humanity.

Improving the Preparation of Teachers Wishing to Work in Two-Way Bilingual Education Programs: Listening to the Practitioners

Two-way bilingual school principals were interviewed to find out their views on staffing. Finding candidates proficient in Spanish to provide content area instruction in this language was their greatest challenge. They suggested that the university offer content courses taught in Spanish and courses focusing on the mechanics of the language.

Preparation of an Immunosorbent and its use in the Solid Phase Extraction of Benzodiazepines

The use of capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been restricted to applications having high sample concentrations because of its low sensitivity caused by small injection volumes and, when ultraviolet (UV) detection is used, the short optical path length. Sensitivity in CE can be improved by using more sensitive detection systems, or by preconcentration techniques which are based on chromatographic and/or electrophoretic principles. One of the promising strategies to improve sensitivity is solid phase extraction (SPE). Solid Phase Extraction utilizes high sample volumes and a variety of complex matrixes to facilitate trace detection. To increase the specificity of the SPE a selective solid phase must be chosen. Immunosorbents, which are a combination of an antibody and a solid support, have proven to be an excellent option because of high selectivity of the antibody. This thesis is an exploratory study of the application of immunosorbent-SPE combined with CE for trace concentration of benzodiazepines. This research describes the immobilization and performance evaluation of an immunosorbent prepared by immobilizing a benzodiazepine-specific antibody on aminopropyl silica. The binding capacity of the immunosorbent, measured as µg of benzodiazepine/ gram of immunosorbent, was 39 ± 10. The long term stability of the prepared immunosorbent has been improved by capping the remaining aminopropyl groups by reaction with acetic anhydride. The capped immunosorbent retained its binding capacity after several uses.

Syntheses of aza analogs of kainoids

The kainoids are a class of non-proteinogenic pyrrolidine dicarboxylates that exhibit both excitatory and excitotoxic activities. These activities are a result of the ability of the kainoids to act as glutamate receptor agonists by activating ionotropic glutamate receptors. The parent of this group of compounds is α-kainic acid. Kainic acid is isolated from the seaweed Diginea simplex and has been used in Asian countries as a treatment for intestinal worms in children. In addition it is used extensively by neuropharmacologists for the study of glutamate receptors. Several years ago, the world's sole supplier of kainic acid discontinued this product. Since that time, other sources have appeared, however, the price of kainic acid remains significantly higher than it once was. We have thus been working on synthesizing aza analogs of kainoids which would be less costly but potentially potent alternatives to kainic acid via the dipolar cycloadditions of diazoalkanes with trans diethyl glutaconate. These 1, 3-dipolar cycloadditions yielded 2-pyrazolines or pyrazoles. The 2-pyrazolines may be precursors to aza analogs of kainoids. The regioselectivity of these 1, 3-dipolar cycloadditions and isomerization of the 1-pyrazolines to 2-pyrazolines was evaluated. Reductions of the 2-pyrazolines yielded aza analogs of kainoids.^ TMS diazomethane, due to the commercial availability, has been frequently used as a synthetic reagent in 1, 3-dipolar cycloadditions, particularly in the preparation of novel amino acid analogs. A survey of the recent literature indicates that the regioselectivity of the double bond isomerization of TMS substituted 1-pyrazolines is variable and at first glance, unpredictable. In an effort to develop a mechanistic rational for the isomerization which could account for the products obtained, a systematic survey of dipolar cycloadditions between TMS diazomethane and α, β-unsaturated dipolarophiles was undertaken. It was suggested that the steric demand of the dipolarophiles had a profound effect on both the relative stereochemistry of dipolar cycloaddition reactions of TMSCHN2 and the preferred direction of isomerization of the resulting 1-pyrazoline.^