An Investigation of Middle School Reading Performance Based on the 6th Grade Reading Instruction Setting

This study investigated the reading performance of students who attended the participating schools from 5th to 8th grade, based on the setting where 6th grade reading occurred. The study also investigated the performance of students whose NCE reading scores on the Terra Nova test fell in the upper and lower third based on receiving 6th grade reading instruction in an elementary or middle school. The results found no significant differences based on setting from 5th to 8th grade. When the element of setting was removed and the scores for the three groups were compared over time, significant results were found. Post-hoc tests revealed students' scores significantly dropped from 6th to 7th grade, but increased significantly in 8th grade. The upper third, however, had declining scores all through middle school. Randomly selected elementary and middle school principals were interviewed to determine whether there were differences in the structure and organization of 6th grade reading programs between settings

Identification of lipids and lipid-binding proteins in phloem exudates from Arabidopsis thaliana

The phloem plays a crucial role in assimilate and nutrient transport, pathogen response, and plant growth and development. Yet, few species have yielded pure phloem exudate and, if proteins need to be analysed, those species may not have sequenced genomes, making identification difficult. The enrichment of Arabidopsis thaliana phloem exudate in amounts large enough to allow for metabolite and protein analysis is described. Using this method, it was possible to identify 65 proteins present in the Arabidopsis phloem exudate. The majority of these proteins could be grouped by response to pathogens, stress, or hormones, carbon metabolism, protein interaction, modification, and turnover, and transcription factors. It was also possible to detect 11 proteins that play a role in lipid/fatty acid metabolism (aspartic protease, putative 3-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, UDP-sulphoquinovose synthase/SQD1, lipase, PIG-P-like protein: phosphatidylinositol-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase), storage (glycine-rich protein), binding (annexin, lipid-associated family protein, GRP17/oleosin), and/or signalling (annexin, putative lipase, PIG-P-like protein). Along with putative lipid-binding proteins, several lipids and fatty acids could be identified. Only a few examples exist of lipids (jasmonic acid, oxylipins) or lipid-binding proteins (DIR1, acyl-CoA-binding protein) in the phloem. Finding hydrophobic compounds in an aqueous environment is not without precedence in biological systems: human blood contains a variety of lipids, many of which play a significant role in human health. In blood, lipids are transported while bound to proteins. The present findings of lipids and lipid-binding proteins in phloem exudates suggest that a similar long-distance lipid signalling exists in plants and may play an important role in plant growth and development

The diversity of ice algal communities on the Greenland Ice Sheet as revealed by oligotyping

The Arctic is being disproportionally affected by climate change compared with other geographic locations, and is currently experiencing unprecedented melt rates. The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) can be regarded as the largest supraglacial ecosystem on Earth, and ice algae are the dominant primary producers on bare ice surfaces throughout the course of a melt season. Ice-algal-derived pigments cause a darkening of the ice surface, which in turn decreases albedo and increases melt rates. The important role of ice algae in changing melt rates has only recently been recognized, and we currently know little about their community compositions and functions. Here, we present the first analysis of ice algal communities across a 100 km transect on the GrIS by high-throughput sequencing and subsequent oligotyping of the most abundant taxa. Our data reveal an extremely low algal diversity with Ancylonema nordenskiöldii and a Mesotaenium species being by far the dominant taxa at all sites. We employed an oligotyping approach and revealed a hidden diversity not detectable by conventional clustering of operational taxonomic units and taxonomic classification. Oligotypes of the dominant taxa exhibit a site-specific distribution, which may be linked to differences in temperatures and subsequently the extent of the melting. Our results help to better understand the distribution patterns of ice algal communities that play a crucial role in the GrIS ecosystem

Controlled biomineralization of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) by <i>Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense</i>

Results from a study of the chemical composition and micro-structural characteristics of bacterial magnetosomes extracted from the magnetotactic bacterial strain Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense are presented here. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy combined with selected-area electron diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, biogenic magnetite particles isolated from mature cultures were analysed for variations in crystallinity and particle size, as well as chain character and length. The analysed crystals showed a narrow size range (∼14-67 nm) with an average diameter of 46±6.8 nm, cuboctahedral morphologies and typical Gamma type crystal size distributions. The magnetite particles exhibited a high chemical purity (exclusively Fe3O4) and the majority fall within the single-magnetic-domain range

Analisis Penguasaan Pemilikan Penggunaan Dan Pemanfaatan Tanah (P4t) Berbasis Bidang Menggunakan Sistem Informasi Geografis (Sig) (Studi Kasus : Kelurahan Tembalang Tahun 2015)

Tembalang merupakan wilayah yang memiliki perkembangan yang sangat dinamis, karena selain fungsinya sebagai kawasan pemukiman, Tembalang juga merupakan kawasan pendidikan. Pembangunan kampus Univesitas Diponegoro (UNDIP) yang dimulai sejak tahun 1990-an sampai dengan saat ini membuat banyak Perubahan bagi TembalangData yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini berupa peta administrasi Kelurahan Tembalang, citra GeoEye terkoreksi tahun 2013 dan sebaran persil BPN. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah identifikasi pada obyek bidang tanah berupa poin penggunaan, pemanfaatan, pemilikan, dan penguasaan tanah.Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mendapatkan hasil berupa peta yang akurat dan teliti mengenai sebaran bidang tanah lengkap dengan penggunaan, pemanfaatan, pemilikan, dan penguasaan tanah di Kelurahan Tembalang. Penggunaan tanah di Kelurahan Tembalang sebagian besar merupakan tanah kosong sudah diperuntukan dengan persentase 33,930%, pemanfaatan terbanyak adalah pemanfaatan campuran sebesar 29,68%, pemilikan tanah oleh negara sebesar 67,80% dan penguasaan tanah oleh negara sebesar 67,80%. Pola hubungan yang terjadi antara penguasaan, pemilikan, penggunaan, dan pemanfaatan tanah di Kelurahan Tembalang sebanyak 103 pola dengan pola yang mendominasi adalah pola penguasaan oleh negara dengan status kepemilikan tanah milik negara yang penggunaannya sebagai tanah kosong sudah diperuntukan dan dimanfaatkan sebagai pemanfaatan campuran dengan persentase 24,3454 % dan luas 93,045 Ha.Kata Kunci : Penguasaan, Pemilikan, Penggunaan, Pemanfaatan ABSTRACKTembalang is an area that has a very dynamic growth. It has a function not only for settlement area but also as an education area. The establishment of Diponegoro University (UNDIP) that started since 1990s until now, makes much changes for Tembalang.The data that is used in this study is a map of Tembalang, corrected GeoEye images from 2013 and BPN plot distribution. This study uses a method of identification of land area objects that are in the form of land use, utilization, ownership and authorization point.This study is being done to get a result that is in the form of accurate and precise maps about land area distribution with their land use, utilization,ownership and authorization at Tembalang. Land use at Tembalang district is mostly reserved barren land at 33,93%, the most use is mixed use at 29,68%, land ownership by the government at 67,80% and land authority by the government at 67,80%. The amount of correlation pattern that happens between land authority, land ownership, land use and utilization in Tembalang district is 103 pattern. With the dominating pattern which is authority by the government – land ownership by government – land use of reserved barren land – mixed use at 24,3454% and the area is 93,045 Hectare

К анализу торцового трещинообразования при сушке древесины сосны

В статье рассмотрена причина появления трещин усушки и показана необходимость их контроля с учетом влияния на качество сушки пиломатериала. Приведены данные по контролю торцовых трещин, выходящих на боковые поверхности, и расчетным путем определены скорости изменения температурного поля пиломатериала в момент начала интенсивного трещинообразования. В результате получено, что в первом периоде сушки, характеризующемся интенсивным изменением температурного поля, в древесине сосны появляются только мелкие торцовые трещины, не выходящие на поверхность пиломатериала. Во втором периоде сушки - периоде постоянной скорости, характеризующемся интенсивным испарением влаги, появляются развитые торцовые трещины, выходящие на боковые поверхности и дающие большой процент брака

Higher biomass accumulation by increasing phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase activity in Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum

Plants are able to produce all the organic compounds required for development and growth. As developmental processes and metabolic pathways use a common resource pool, the tight regulation of the distribution of metabolites between growth, production of defence compounds and storage products can be assumed. A transgenic approach was used to investigate the importance of supplying the key intermediate phosphoribosylpyrophosphate (PRPP) for plant growth and biomass accumulation in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and in Nicotiana tabacum. For this purpose, the Ashbya gossypii genes coding for either PRPP synthetase (PRS) or a mutated variant of the same gene were over-expressed under the control of a constitutive promoter. It was shown that increased PRS activity in A. thaliana or N. tabacum leads to a substantial increase in biomass accumulation under different standardized growth conditions. Growth enhancement was accompanied by significant changes in the amount of sugars and other metabolites. This study provides evidence that the supply of PRPP co-limits growth rates, and has obvious implications for biotechnological strategies aiming to increase plant biomass as an alternative renewable energy source

The Biodiversity and Geochemistry of Cryoconite Holes in Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica

Cryoconite holes are oases of microbial diversity on ice surfaces. In contrast to the Arctic, where during the summer most cryoconite holes are ‘open’, in Continental Antarctica they are most often ‘lidded’ or completely frozen year-round. Thus, they represent ideal systems for the study of microbial community assemblies as well as carbon accumulation, since individual cryoconite holes can be isolated from external inputs for years. Here, we use high-throughput sequencing of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes to describe the bacterial and eukaryotic community compositions in cryoconite holes and surrounding lake, snow, soil and rock samples in Queen Maud Land. We cross correlate our findings with a broad range of geochemical data including for the first time 13C and 14C analyses of Antarctic cryoconites. We show that the geographic location has a larger effect on the distribution of the bacterial community compared to the eukaryotic community. Cryoconite holes are distinct from the local soils in both 13C and 14C and their isotopic composition is different from similar samples from the Arctic. Carbon contents were generally low (≤0.2%) and older (6–10 ky) than the surrounding soils, suggesting that the cryoconite holes are much more isolated from the atmosphere than the soils