A Study of the Comparative Perceptions of Non-Tenured and Tenured Music Teachers and Music Supervisors Regarding the Needs and Concerns of the Teacher in Music Performance Education

The purpose of this study was to elicit information through a survey from non-tenured and tenured music performance teachers and their music supervisors concerning their perceived needs and concerns at work. An instrument created for evaluation and assessment was constructed to yield twelve scale areas of needs and concerns. Comparison of responses provided results showing areas of congruence and disagreement among music performance teachers and supervisors. Teachers placed teaching materials and resources as a high concern while supervisors expressed greatest concern in the area of music-related competence. In terms of assistance, non-tenured music teachers felt that mentor teachers, music conferences, and discussions with experienced colleagues provided the greatest support during their early years of teaching. This study provides a means by which music supervisors could better assist their non-tenured music performance teachers. Findings from this research should be of assistance in the development of mentoring and professional development programs

UnManley persuasion coverage of the Manley government in Jamaica by the New York Times, Time and Newsweek between 1972-80.

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 40-07, page: . Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1984

The nexus of vitamin homeostasis and DNA synthesis and modification in mammalian brain

The purpose of this review is to discuss the implications of the 2009 discovery of the sixth deoxyribonucleoside (dN) [5-hydroxymethyldeoxycytidine (hmdC)] in DNA which is the most abundant in neurons. The concurrent discovery of the three ten-eleven translocation enzymes (TET) which not only synthesize but also oxidize hmdC in DNA, prior to glycosylase removal and base excision repair, helps explain many heretofore unexplained phenomena in brain including: 1) the high concentration of ascorbic acid (AA) in neurons since AA is a cofactor for the TET enzymes, 2) the requirement for reduced folates and the dN synthetic enzymes in brain, 3) continued DNA synthesis in non-dividing neurons to repair the dynamic formation/removal of hmdC, and 4) the heretofore unexplained mechanism to remove 5-methyldeoxycytidine, the fifth nucleoside, from DNA. In these processes, we also describe the important role of choroid plexus and CSF in supporting vitamin homeostasis in brain: especially for AA and folates, for hmdC synthesis and removal, and methylated deoxycytidine (mdC) removal from DNA in brain. The nexus linking AA and folates to methylation, hydroxymethylation, and demethylation of DNA is pivotal to understanding not only brain development but also the subsequent function

Inquiry-based Experiments for Large-scale Introduction to PCR and Eestriction Enzyme Digests

Polymerase chain reaction and restriction endonuclease digest are important techniques that should be included in all Biochemistry and Molecular Biology laboratory curriculums. These techniques are frequently taught at an advanced level, requiring many hours of student and faculty time. Here we present two inquiry-based experiments that are designed for introductory laboratory courses and combine both techniques. In both approaches, students must determine the identity of an unknown DNA sequence, either a gene sequence or a primer sequence, based on a combination of PCR product size and restriction digest pattern. The experimental design is flexible, and can be adapted based on available instructor preparation time and resources, and both approaches can accommodate large numbers of students. We implemented these experiments in our courses with a combined total of 584 students and have an 85% success rate. Overall, students demonstrated an increase in their understanding of the experimental topics, ability to interpret the resulting data, and proficiency in general laboratory skills

1/f noise in hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium alloys

Measurements were made of conductance noise of a-Si:H and a-Si 1-xGex:H in two different geometries: one where the current flow is transverse to the surface and the other where it is longitudinal to the surface. Because of the large change in sample resistance between the two geometries, it was not possible to measure both geometries at the same temperature. For both geometries, alloyinzg with up to 40% Ge reduces the noise magnitude by several orders of magnitude over that found in a-Si:H. The decrease is incompatible with several popular noise models. Extrapolating the temperature trends for each geometry shows that it is possible that the noise observed in the transverse samples has the same origin as the higher frequency part of the double power law spectra observed in the longitudinal samples.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canad

Reconfiguring experimental archaeology using 3D reconstruction

Experimental archaeology has long yielded valuable insights into the tools and techniques that featured in past peoples’ relationship with the material world around them. We can determine, for example, how many trees would need to be felled to construct a large round-house of the southern British Iron Age (over one hundred), infer the exact angle needed to strike a flint core in order to knap an arrowhead in the manner of a Neolithic hunter-gatherer, or recreate the precise environmental conditions needed to store grain in underground silos over the winter months, with only the technologies and materials available to Romano-Briton villagers (see Coles 1973; Reynolds 1993). However, experimental archaeology has, hitherto, confined itself to rather rigid, empirical and quantitative questions such as those posed in these examples. This is quite understandable, and in line with good scientific practice, which stipulates that any ‘experiment’ must be based on replicable data, and be reproducible. Despite their potential in this area however, it is notable that digital reconstruction technologies have yet to play a significant role in experimental archaeology. Whilst many excellent examples of digital 3D reconstruction of heritage sites exist (for example the Digital Roman Forum project: http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum) most, if not all, of these are characterized by a drive to establish a photorealistic re-creation of physical features. This paper will discuss possibilities that lie beyond straightforward positivist re-creation of heritage sites, in the experimental reconstruction of intangible heritage. Between 2010 and 2012, the authors led the Motion in Place Platform project (MiPP: http://www.motioninplace.org/), a capital grant under the AHRC's DEDEFI scheme developing motion capture and analysis tools for exploring how people move through spaces. In the course of MiPP, a series of experiments were conducted using motion capture hardware and software at the Silchester Roman town archaeological excavation in Hampshire, and at the Butser Ancient Farm facility, where Romano-British and Iron Age dwellings have been constructed according to the best experimental practice. As well as reconstructing such Roman and early British dwellings in 3D, the authors were able to use motion capture to reconstruct the kind of activities that – according to the material evidence – are likely to have been carried out by the occupants who used them. Bespoke motion capture suits developed for the project were employed, and the traces captured and rendered with a combination of Autodesk and Unity3D software. This sheds new light on how the reconstructed spaces - and, by inference, their ancient counterparts - were most likely to have been used. In particular the exercises allowed the evaluation and visualisation of changes in behaviour which occur as a result of familiarity with an environment and the acquisition of expertise over time; and to assess how interaction between different actors affects how everyday tasks are carried out

Putative ligand binding sites of two functionally characterized bark beetle odorant receptors

Background: Bark beetles are major pests of conifer forests, and their behavior is primarily mediated via olfaction. Targeting the odorant receptors (ORs) may thus provide avenues towards improved pest control. Such an approach requires information on the function of ORs and their interactions with ligands, which is also essential for understanding the functional evolution of these receptors. Hence, we aimed to identify a high-quality complement of ORs from the destructive spruce bark beetle Ips typographus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae) and analyze their antennal expression and phylogenetic relationships with ORs from other beetles. Using 68 biologically relevant test compounds, we next aimed to functionally characterize ecologically important ORs, using two systems for heterologous expression. Our final aim was to gain insight into the ligand-OR interaction of the functionally characterized ORs, using a combination of computational and experimental methods. Results: We annotated 73 ORs from an antennal transcriptome of I. typographus and report the functional characterization of two ORs (ItypOR46 and ItypOR49), which are responsive to single enantiomers of the common bark beetle pheromone compounds ipsenol and ipsdienol, respectively. Their responses and antennal expression correlate with the specificities, localizations, and/or abundances of olfactory sensory neurons detecting these enantiomers. We use homology modeling and molecular docking to predict their binding sites. Our models reveal a likely binding cleft lined with residues that previously have been shown to affect the responses of insect ORs. Within this cleft, the active ligands are predicted to specifically interact with residues Tyr84 and Thr205 in ItypOR46. The suggested importance of these residues in the activation by ipsenol is experimentally supported through site-directed mutagenesis and functional testing, and hydrogen bonding appears key in pheromone binding. Conclusions: The emerging insight into ligand binding in the two characterized ItypORs has a general importance for our understanding of the molecular and functional evolution of the insect OR gene family. Due to the ecological importance of the characterized receptors and widespread use of ipsenol and ipsdienol in bark beetle chemical communication, these ORs should be evaluated for their potential use in pest control and biosensors to detect bark beetle infestations