Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development

This Compendium summarizes and discusses 62 research studies that examine the effects of arts learning on students' social and academic skills. The research studies cover each of the art forms and have been widely used to help make the case that learning in the arts is academic, basic, and comprehensive

Tapered optical fibers as tools for probing magneto-optical trap characteristics

We present a novel technique for measuring the characteristics of a magneto-optical trap for cold atoms by monitoring the spontaneous emission from trapped atoms coupled into the guided mode of a tapered optical nanofiber. We show that the nanofiber is highly sensitive to very small numbers of atoms close to its surface. The size and shape of the MOT, determined by translating the cold atom cloud across the tapered fiber, is in excellent agreement with measurements obtained using the conventional method of fluorescence imaging using a CCD camera. The coupling of atomic fluorescence into the tapered fiber also allows us to monitor the loading and lifetime of the trap. The results are compared to those achieved by focusing the MOT fluorescence onto a photodiode and it was seen that the tapered fiber gives slightly longer loading and lifetime measurements due to the sensitivity of the fiber, even when very few atoms are present.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure

Incorporation in vitro of labeled amino acids into bone marrow cell proteins

Nearly all experiments on the incorporation of labeled amino acids into tissue proteins in vitro have been done on tissues whose cell structure has been partially or completely disintegrated, e.g. tissue slices, segments, or homogenates. Since cell destruction reduces or abolishes the uptake of labeled amino acids (1), it seemed worth while to carry out studies on intact cells in vitro. Bone marrow cells were found to be suitable for this purpose. The labeled amino acids used were glycine-1-C14, L-leucine-1-C14, L-lysine-1-C14, and L-lysine-6-C14

The incorporation of labeled lysine into the proteins of guinea pig liver homogenate

When C14-labeled lysine is incubated with guinea pig liver homogenate, α-aminoadipic, α-ketoadipic, and glutaric acids are formed from the lysine (1). These transformations were established by finding the radioactivity of the C14 tracer in the metabolic products. The homogenate proteins coagulated by boiling at pH 5 also contained radioactivity. The counts given by the proteins corresponded to about 0.02 to 0.03 per cent of that added as lysine; the extent of lysine incorporation into the proteins was of the same order of magnitude as Melchior and Tarver (2) had found after incubating S35-labeled methionine and Winnick et al. (3, 4) C14-labeled glycine with rat tissue homogenates. Yet we could not satisfy ourselves that the radioactivity remaining in the proteins in our experiments, although it persisted through exhaustive extraction, did not come from traces of adsorbed radioactive lysine. Some counts were found in the protein when the homogenate was boiled prior to incubation with isotopic lysine

The degradation of L-lysine in guinea pig liver homogenate: formation of alpha-aminoadipic acid

A summary of the little that is known of the metabolism of lysine in animals is as follows: it is indispensable in the diet, its α-amino group does not participate in reversible transamination reaction in vivo (2), neither the L nor D form is attacked by the appropriate amino acid oxidase, certain ε-nitrogen-substituted derivatives can replace lysine in the diet and their α-amino groups are oxidized by amino acid oxidases (3, 4), no α-nitrogen-substituted derivatives yet prepared can substitute for lysine in the diet (4-6)

Alpha-aminoadipic acid: A product of lysine metabolism

As part of a study of protein and peptide metabolism lysine was synthesized with C14 in the ε position and resolved into the L and D isomers. 10 mg. of labeled lysine dihydrochloride (either L- or D-) and 0.66 gm. (wet weight) of guinea pig liver homogenate were added to a reaction mixture containing 1.3 per cent of an amino acid mixture corresponding to the composition of casein except for lysine and 0.01 M α-ketoglutarate, all in a final volume of 4 ml. of isotonic saline solution.(1) The reaction was carried out under oxygen for 6 hours at 38°

Isolation of a peptide in guinea pig liver homogenate and its turnover of leucine

Leucine was synthesized with C14 in the carboxyl group. 10 mg. of the radioactive amino acid (DL) and 0.66 gm. (wet weight) of guinea pig liver homogenate were added to a reaction mixture containing 1.3 per cent of an amino acid mixture corresponding to the composition of casein and 0.005 M fumarate, all in a final volume of 4 ml. of isotonic saline solution(1) at pH 7.4. The reaction was carried out under oxygen for 6 hours at 38°

Incorporation in vitro of labeled amino acids into proteins of rabbit reticuloytes

Continuing our work on the incorporation of labeled amino acids into proteins (1), we have begun a study of the incorporation in vitro of C14-labeled glycine, L-histidine, L-leucine, and L-lysine into the proteins of rabbit reticulocytes. In preliminary experiments the incorporation into the hemoglobin isolated from the reticulocytes was determined. But, after it was found that plasma contains factors accelerating amino acid incorporation, it was decided to proceed as rapidly as possible toward the identification of these factors; we have, therefore, measured incorporation into the total proteins of the reticulocytes, since isolation of the hemoglobin was time-consuming. The results obtained with hemoglobin and with the total proteins are essentially the same, indicating that the other proteins of the reticulocytes incorporate amino acids at approximately the same rate as hemoglobin

Third Space: When Learning Matters -- School Profiles & Demographics

Third Space tells the riveting story of the profound changes in the lives of kids, teachers, and parents in ten economically disadvantaged communities across the country that place their bets on the arts as a way to create great schools. The schools become caring communities where kids - many of whom face challenges of poverty, the need to learn English, and to surmount learning difficulties - thrive and succeed and where teachers find new joy and satisfaction in teaching.This document is the profiles and demographics of the schools being studied