A History of the Public Schools of Raton, New Mexico

Educational literature is singularly lacking in studies of the actual development of typical school systems. This raises the question of whether such a study would be of any value as a contribution to educational literature. If the interest manifested by all school people who had a part in the preparation of this study can be used as a measure, then both an interest and a need are felt

Technology Education Effects on High School Student\u27s Test Scores

The researcher will attempt to answer four specific questions with this study: Do technology education classes have a positive impact on students\u27 SOL scores? On which academic subject\u27s SOL test scores do technology education classes have the greatest impact? On which academic subject\u27s SOL test scores do technology education have the least impact? What can technology education teachers do to increase their positive impact on academic test scores

Impact of citrus nematode (Tylenchulus semipenetrans) densities in soil on yield of grapevines (Vitis vinifera 'Shiraz') in south-eastern New South Wales

'Shiraz' is a popular red wine grape variety grown in NSW, Australia, and is susceptible to citrus nematode (Tylenchulus semipenetrans). The extent of damage, particularly yield loss, or the damage threshold level of T. semipenetrans in 'Shiraz' is not known. In this study we investigated the population dynamics and the effects of a range of population densities of T. semipenetrans on yield of 'Shiraz' in a naturally infested vineyard across three growing seasons. Results showed that the population density of T. semipenetrans J2 in soil did not increase or decrease consistently during the trial period. However, the population densities varied significantly (P < 0.05) between the temporal seasons in a year and were in order of summer > spring > autumn > winter. Yield from vines with T. semipenetrans J2 population densities greater than 9,000·kg-1 dry soil (average population over 11,000·kg-1 dry soil) was 15 % lower compared to vines with 500-3,000 (average 932) T. semipenetrans J2·kg-1 dry soil in 2004 but not in 2001 and 2003. Regression analysis showed a linear trend (r = -0.36) on yield decrease with the increase of T. semipenetrans densities in soil in 2004, when the 'Shiraz' vines were eight years old. Pruning weight was reduced by 18.7 to 22.9 % when nematode population densities were greater than 12,000·kg-1 dry soil (average population over 19,000·kg-1 dry soil).

SINGLE-NUCLEOTIDE RESOLUTION VIEW OF GENE EXPRESSION IN ESCHERICHIA COLI K-12 UNDER VARIOUS PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

We analyzed the transcriptome of Escherichia coli K-12 by strand-specific RNA sequencing at single-nucleotide resolution during logarithmic- growth and upon entry into stationary phase under carbon, nitrogen, and phosphate starvation conditions. To generate high-resolution transcriptome maps, we developed a quantitative method for first annotating and then calculating the three features that define an operon: the promoter, terminator, and deep RNA sequence read coverage to connect the two transcript ends. Based upon the annotation of transcription features we were able to calculate relative promoter activities, terminator efficiencies, and transcription unit activities for 2,122 promoters, 1,774 terminators, and 1,510 operons, respectively. Our analyses revealed an unprecedented view of E. coli operon architecture. A large proportion (36%) of operons are complex with internal promoters or terminators that generate multiple transcription units. We found that 276 of 370 convergent operons terminate inefficiently, generating complementary 3’ transcript ends which overlap on average by 286 nucleotides, and 136 of 388 divergent operons have promoters arranged such that their 5’ ends overlap on average by 168 nucleotides. We found 89 antisense transcripts of 397-nucleotide average length, 7 unannotated transcripts within intergenic regions, and 18 sense transcripts that completely overlap operons on the opposite strand. Of 519 overlapping transcripts, 75% correspond to sequences that are highly conserved in E. coli (>50 genomes). Additionally, we sought to identify and characterize RpoS-dependent operons, genes and promoters under carbon, phosphate and nitrogen starvation. RpoS-dependency was identified using DEseq software. Following differential expression analysis by DEseq, only transcription units, genes and promoters that were statistically significant (p-value ≤ 0.05) and demonstrated a 4-fold or greater change in expression were classified. As a result of our analysis 315 operons, 317 genes, and 278 promoters were classified as being RpoS-dependent. It was observed that RpoS-dependency was most impactful when the culture was starved for carbon, accounting for two-times more differentially regulated transcription units than nitrogen or phosphate starvation. Significant differences in the structure of RpoS-dependent transcripts were observed when compared to RpoS-independent transcripts. It was determined that most RpoS-dependent operons are monocistronic and are approximately half the size of RpoS-independent operons. Analysis of the -10 regions of the 278 putative RpoS-dependent promoters determined that the most abundant nucleotide sequence was CTACGCTTAA, a significant deviation from the consensus motif (CTATAATTAA). We hypothesize that the presence of guanine and cytosine nucleotides (CGC) at base locations -8 through -10 results in the preferential binding of RpoS to these promoter regions, whereas the vegetative sigma factor RpoD would not bind. Additionally, four new RpoS-dependent transcripts were identified within the intergenic regions of the E. coli genome. These results and conclusions describe RpoS-dependency at the operon, gene, and promoter levels, and elucidate the “core” of the RpoS regulon under three different starvation conditions

“THEIR OWN MERIT”: OPERATION VARSITY BLUES AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE TO IMAGE REPAIR DISCOURSE AND THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS IN THE UNITED STATES

In March 2019, federal officials announced charges (CNN, 2019) in the “largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice” (NBC 6 South Florida, 2019). Authorities dubbed this effort Operation Varsity Blues (Lens, 2021). Certain individuals stepped forward to apologize for their roles in the scandal. Operation Varsity Blues created an opportunity for new research to add to extant image repair literature and to study the event’s broader impact. The researcher (1) used publicly available texts of individuals’ apologies and analyzed these texts through the lens of Benoit’s (1997) Image Repair Theory, (2) compared the strategies used in the apologies and evaluated the strategies’ effectiveness, and (3) studied Operation Varsity Blue’s impact on the college admissions process in the United States. The researcher ultimately concluded that, generally, the individuals’ image repair efforts were successful and that the scandal did not create meaningful change in the college admissions process

Achieving better outcomes in education challenges, interventions and issues in Gauteng province of South Africa : the significance of a quality education system for building the Gauteng Global City Region

Public Sector Barometer: the public lecture series. A presentation delivered by: Ms Barbary Creecy MEC of Education, Gauteng Province of South Africa at the School of Public Management and Administration University of Pretoria

Morphological and mechanical characterization of bone phenotypes in the Amish G610C murine model of osteogenesis imperfecta

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a hereditary bone disease where gene mutations affect Type I collagen formation resulting in osteopenia and increased fracture risk. There are several established mouse models of OI, but some are severe and result in spontaneous fractures or early animal death. The Amish Col1a2G610C/+ (G610C) mouse model is a newer, moderate OI model that is currently being used in a variety of intervention studies, with differing background strains, sexes, ages, and bone endpoints. This study is a comprehensive mechanical and architectural characterization of bone in G610C mice bred on a C57BL/6 inbred strain and will provide a baseline for future treatment studies. Male and female wild-type (WT) and G610C mice were euthanized at 10 and 16 weeks (n = 13-16). Harvested tibiae, femora, and L4 vertebrae were scanned via micro-computed tomography and analyzed for cortical and trabecular architectural properties. Femora and tibiae were then mechanically tested to failure. G610C mice had less bone but more highly mineralized cortical and trabecular tissue than their sex- and age-matched WT counterparts, with cortical cross-sectional area, thickness, and mineral density, and trabecular bone volume, mineral density, spacing, and number all differing significantly as a function of genotype (2 Way ANOVA with main effects of sex and genotype at each age). In addition, mechanical yield force, ultimate force, displacement, strain, and toughness were all significantly lower in G610C vs. WT, highlighting a brittle phenotype. This characterization demonstrates that despite being a moderate OI model, the Amish G610C mouse model maintains a distinctly brittle phenotype and is well-suited for use in future intervention studies

The impact of metadata on the accuracy of automated patent classification

During the last decade, the advance of machine-learning tools and algorithms has resulted in tremendous progress in the automated classification of documents. However, many classifiers base their classification decisions solely on document text and ignore metadata (such as authors, publication date, and author affiliation). In this project, automated classifiers using the k-Nearest Neighbour algorithm were developed for the classification of patents into two different classification systems. Those using metadata (in this case inventor names, applicant names and International Patent Classification codes) were compared with those ignoring it. The use of metadata could significantly improve the classification of patents with one classification system, improving classification accuracy from 70.8% up to 75.4%, which was highly statistically significant. However, the results for the other classification system were inconclusive: while metadata could improve the quality of the classifier for some experiments (recall increased from 66.0% to 68.9%, which was a small but nonetheless significant improvement), experiments with different parameters showed that it could also lead to a deterioration of quality (recall dropping as low as 61.0%). The study shows that metadata can play an extremely useful role in the classification of patents. Nonetheless, it must not be used indiscriminately but only after careful evaluation of its usefulness

Raloxifene improves skeletal properties in an animal model of cystic chronic kidney disease

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have an increased risk of fracture. Raloxifene is a mild antiresorptive agent that reduces fracture risk in the general population. Here we assessed the impact of raloxifene on the skeletal properties of animals with progressive CKD. Male Cy/+ rats that develop autosomal dominant cystic kidney disease were treated with either vehicle or raloxifene for five weeks. They were assessed for changes in mineral metabolism and skeletal parameters (microCT, histology, whole-bone mechanics, and material properties). Their normal littermates served as controls. Animals with CKD had significantly higher parathyroid hormone levels compared with normal controls, as well as inferior structural and mechanical skeletal properties. Raloxifene treatment resulted in lower bone remodeling rates and higher cancellous bone volume in the rats with CKD. Although it had little effect on cortical bone geometry, it resulted in higher energy to fracture and modulus of toughness values than vehicle-treated rats with CKD, achieving levels equivalent to normal controls. Animals treated with raloxifene had superior tissue-level mechanical properties as assessed by nanoindentation, and higher collagen D-periodic spacing as assessed by atomic force microscopy. Thus, raloxifene can positively impact whole-bone mechanical properties in CKD through its impact on skeletal material properties