Make it Real : A Guide to Implementing and Connecting State Madated Classroom-Based Assessments with the National History Day Curriculum at the Middle School Level

This manuscript is intended to provide a framework for teachers to use the National History Day curriculum as a qualifying classroom-based assessment which will be required for all Washington State gth Grade Social Studies classes in 2008. A review of the literature of National History Day as well as classroom-based assessments is included. A plan for a preliminary assessment of available resources is explored, as well as a sequential topic-bytopic plan for implementing National History Day. Possible variations of student-centered activities are included; student roles in the research process and self-assessment are discussed. Alignment with Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements is reviewed

Genome-wide transcriptomic analysis of the response to nitrogen limitation in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The present study represents a genome-wide transcriptomic analysis of the response of the model streptomycete <it>Streptomyces coelicolor </it>A3(2) M145 to fermentor culture in Modified Evans Media limited, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphate and carbon undertaken as part of the ActinoGEN consortium to provide a publicly available reference microarray dataset.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>A microarray dataset using samples from two replicate cultures for each nutrient limitation was generated. In this report our analysis has focused on the genes which are significantly differentially expressed, as determined by Rank Products Analysis, between samples from matched time points correlated by growth phase for the three pairs of differently limited culture datasets. With a few exceptions, genes are only significantly differentially expressed between the N6/N7 time points and their corresponding time points in the C and P-limited cultures, with the vast majority of the differentially expressed genes being more highly expressed in the N-limited cultures. Our analysis of these genes indicated expression of several members of the GlnR regulon are induced upon nitrogen limitation, as assayed for by [NH₄⁺] measurements, and we are able to identify several additional genes not present in the GlnR regulon whose expression is induced in response to nitrogen limitation. We also note SCO3327 which encodes a small protein (32 amino acid residues) unusually rich in the basic amino acids lysine (31.25%) and arginine (25%) is significantly differentially expressed in the nitrogen limited cultures. Additionally, we investigate the expression of known members of the GlnR regulon and the relationship between gene organization and expression for the SCO2486-SCO2487 and SCO5583-SCO5585 operons.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We provide a list of genes whose expression is differentially expressed in low nitrogen culture conditions, including a putative nitrogen storage protein encoded by SCO3327. Our list includes several genes whose expression patterns are similar to up-regulated members of the GlnR regulon and are induced in response to nitrogen limitation. These genes represent likely targets for future studies into the nitrogen starvation response in <it>Streptomyces coelicolor</it>.</p

A Comparison Study of Static Mapping Heuristics for a Class of Meta-tasks on Heterogeneous Computing Systems

Heterogeneous computing (HC) environments are well suited to meet the computational demands of large diverse groups of tasks (i. e., a meta- task). The prob lem of mapping (defi ned as matching and scheduling ) these tasks onto the machines of an HC environment has been shown in general to be NP- complete, requir ing the development of heuristic techniques. Selecting the best heuristic to use in a given environment , how ever, remains a di cult problem because comparisons are often clouded by di erent underlying assumptions in the original studies of each heuristic. Therefore, a collection of eleven heuristics from the literature has been selected implemented and analyzed under one set of common assumptions. The eleven heuristics exam ined are Opportunistic Load Balancing, User- Directed Assignment, Fast Greedy, Min min Max- min, Greedy, Genetic Algorithm, Simulated Annealing , Genetic Sim ulated Annealing, Tabu , and A*. This study provides one even basis for comparison and insights into circum stances where one technique will outperform another . The evaluation procedure is speci ed the heuristics are defined and then selected results are compared

A comparison of eleven static heuristics for mapping a class of independent tasks onto heterogeneous distributed computing systems

The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1006 jpdc.2000.1714Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing 61, 810 837 (2001)This research was supported in part by the DARPA ITO Quorum Program project called MSHN (management system for heterogeneous networks). MSHN was a collaborative research effort among the Naval Postgraduate School, NOEMIX, Purdue University, and the University of Southern California. One objective of MSHN was to design and evaluate mapping heuristics for different types of HC environments.This research was supported in part by the DARPA ITO Quorum Program under NPS Subcontracts N62271-98-M-0217 and N62271-98-M-0448, and under the GSA Subcontract GS09K99BH0250. Some of the equipment used was donated by Intel and Microsoft

Cement pressurizing reduces radiolucent lines at glenoid: A randomized, multicentric study.

Background The hypothesis of this study is that cement pressurization into the glenoid reduces the rate of radiolucent lines in total shoulder arthroplasty in the mean 25.5 months after the operation. Methods To examine this effect, a multicentric prospective randomized study (level of evidence 1) was initiated: one group (group P, n = 24) received intraoperative pressurization of cement into the cancellous bone of the glenoid, the other cement without pressure (group NoP, n = 27). Inclusion criteria were an osteoarthritis with glenoid erosion <15° and an intact rotator cuff. Results There were no significant differences preoperatively between the groups regarding age (mean age 66 ± 10 years (range 44-81)), gender, range of motion, scores and pathomorphology. Both groups had a significant improvement of the scores, strength, motion and satisfaction 25.5 months after the intervention. The scores were similar between the groups (ns). However, cement pressurization at the glenoid side significantly reduced the incidence of radiolucent lines (p < 0.027). Conclusion This supports the use of this simple technique to improve long-term survival of total shoulder arthroplasty.Level of evidence: 1

Erasure of histone acetylation by Arabidopsis HDA6 mediates large-scale gene silencing in nucleolar dominance

Nucleolar dominance describes the silencing of one parental set of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes in a genetic hybrid, an epigenetic phenomenon that occurs on a scale second only to X-chromosome inactivation in mammals. An RNA interference (RNAi) knockdown screen revealed that the predicted Arabidopsis histone deacetylase, HDA6, is required for rRNA gene silencing in nucleolar dominance. In vivo, derepression of silenced rRNA genes upon knockdown of HDA6 is accompanied by nucleolus organizer region (NOR) decondensation, loss of promoter cytosine methylation, and replacement of histone H3 Lys 9 (H3K9) dimethylation with H3K4 trimethylation, H3K9 acetylation, H3K14 acetylation, and histone H4 tetra-acetylation. Consistent with these in vivo results, purified HDA6 deacetylates lysines modified by histone acetyltransferases whose substrates include H3K14, H4K5, and H4K12. HDA6 localizes, in part, to the nucleolus, supporting a model whereby HDA6 erases histone acetylation as a key step in an epigenetic switch mechanism that silences rRNA genes through concerted histone and DNA modifications

A Comparison Study of Static Mapping Heuristics for a Class of Meta-tasks on Heterogeneous Computing Systems

Heterogeneous computing (HC) environments are well suited to meet the computational demands of large, diverse groups of tasks (i.e., a meta-task). The problem of mapping (defined as matching and scheduling) these tasks onto the machines of an HC environment has been shown, in general, to be NP-complete, requiring the development of heuristic techniques. Selecting the best heuristic to use in a given environment, however, remains a difficult problem, because comparisons are often clouded by different underlying assumptions in the original studies of each heuristic. Therefore, a collection of eleven heuristics from the literature has been selected, implemented, and analyzed under one set of common assumptions. The eleven heuristics examined are Opportunistic Load Balancing, User-Directed Assignment, Fast Greedy, Min-min, Max-min, Greedy, Genetic Algorithm, Simulated Annealing, Genetic Simulated Annealing, Tabu, and A*. This study provides one even basis for comparison and insights into c..