Students\u27 and Teachers\u27 Perceptions of a Basal Reading Program

The following research portrays both students\u27 and teachers\u27 perceptions of a basal reading program. The participants for this study are four teachers and approximately 40 students from two 3rd and 4th grade classrooms. The participants took part in an observation session, survey, and interview. Throughout the study, both positive and negative qualities of a basal reading program were discussed and analyzed

Teaching Accurate and Age-Appropriate History to Elementary Students: Teaching Third Graders about Historic Thanksgiving

This educational and historical research is based on teaching accurate and age-appropriate history to elementary students. Unfortunately, instead of true history elementary schoolers are often taught myths, to avoid teaching children about the embarrassing and gruesome parts of United States history. When history is not taught truthfully, it can perpetuate stereotypes and leave students confused when they reach secondary and higher education and discover that some of what they know is incorrect. The purpose of this project is to investigate what really happened at the 1621 Harvest Feast and its evolution into the holiday that is celebrated today, assess how to teach this information to children based on developmental appropriateness, and create lesson plans for teachers to do so. First, the research in this thesis consists of exploring the actual historical events of the 1621 Harvest Feast, through primary and secondary historical documents. Second, I examine how Thanksgiving is currently taught at the 3rd grade level, by reading teaching materials and books used in third grade classroom and examining the data gathered from an anonymous survey sent to Massachusetts teachers. This research has implications for not only how history is taught to elementary students and for helping teachers figure out how to do that, but also argues for a change in elementary education that can positively change the United States’ and cultural ideas of Thanksgiving

Alternative Lithographic Methods for Variable Aspect Ratio Vias

The foundation of semiconductor industry has historically been driven by scaling. Device size reduction is enabled by increased pattern density, enhancing functionality and effectively reducing cost per chip. Aggressive reductions in memory cell size have resulted in systems with diminishing area between parallel bit/word lines. This affords an even greater challenge in the patterning of contact level features that are inherently difficult to resolve because of their relatively small area, a product of their two domain critical dimension image. To accommodate these trends there has been a shift toward the implementation of elliptical contact features. This empowers designers to maximize the use of free space between bit/word lines and gate stacks while preserving contact area; effectively reducing the minor via axis dimension while maintaining a patternable threshold in increasingly dense circuitry. It is therefore critical to provide methods that enhance the resolving capacity of varying aspect ratio vias for implementation in electronic design systems. This work separately investigates two unique, non-traditional lithographic techniques in the integration of an optical vortex mask as well as a polymer assembly system as means to augment ellipticity while facilitating contact feature scaling. This document affords a fundamental overview of imaging theory, details previous literature as to the technological trends enabling the resolving of contact features and demonstrates simulated & empirical evidence that the described methods have great potential to extend the resolution of variable aspect ratio vias using lithographic technologies

Bovine Colostrum And Gene Expression In E. Coli.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of host immune factors in colostrum on E. coli K-12 growth, RNA transcription, and gene expression. Samples of E. coli K-12 were grown to mid-log in LB (Luria Bertani) broth and colostrum-treated LB broth

Adaptive data synchronization algorithm for IoT-oriented low-power wide-area networks

The Internet of Things (IoT) is by now very close to be realized, leading the world towards a new technological era where people’s lives and habits will be definitively revolutionized. Furthermore, the incoming 5G technology promises significant enhancements concerning the Quality of Service (QoS) in mobile communications. Having billions of devices simultaneously connected has opened new challenges about network management and data exchange rules that need to be tailored to the characteristics of the considered scenario. A large part of the IoT market is pointing to Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWANs) representing the infrastructure for several applications having energy saving as a mandatory goal besides other aspects of QoS. In this context, we propose a low-power IoT-oriented file synchronization protocol that, by dynamically optimizing the amount of data to be transferred, limits the device level of interaction within the network, therefore extending the battery life. This protocol can be adopted with different Layer 2 technologies and provides energy savings at the IoT device level that can be exploited by different applications

PTEN Gene: A Model for Genetic Diseases in Dermatology

PTEN gene is considered one of the most mutated tumor suppressor genes in human cancer, and it's likely to become the first one in the near future. Since 1997, its involvement in tumor suppression has smoothly increased, up to the current importance. Germline mutations of PTEN cause the PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS), which include the past-called Cowden, Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba, Proteus, Proteus-like, and Lhermitte-Duclos syndromes. Somatic mutations of PTEN have been observed in glioblastoma, prostate cancer, and brest cancer cell lines, quoting only the first tissues where the involvement has been proven. The negative regulation of cell interactions with the extracellular matrix could be the way PTEN phosphatase acts as a tumor suppressor. PTEN gene plays an essential role in human development. A recent model sees PTEN function as a stepwise gradation, which can be impaired not only by heterozygous mutations and homozygous losses, but also by other molecular mechanisms, such as transcriptional regression, epigenetic silencing, regulation by microRNAs, posttranslational modification, and aberrant localization. The involvement of PTEN function in melanoma and multistage skin carcinogenesis, with its implication in cancer treatment, and the role of front office in diagnosing PHTS are the main reasons why the dermatologist should know about PTEN

At 21 - the Journal of Business to Business Marketing Book Review Section with an analysis of book reviews rendered : looking toward the future

Purpose: The aim of this article is to examine the development of the book review section of the Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing relative to changes in the publication industry. Methodology/approach: The analysis compared descriptive categories and content analysis of the book reviews and book review essays across four time periods. The content analysis was conducted using Leximancer, an automatic text analytic tool that codes according to the co-occurrence of main concepts within the text. The time periods relate to the journal volumes: 1–5, 6–10, 11–15, and 16–21. These time periods were tagged within Leximancer indicating the differences and commonalities of the book review content between each time period. Findings: The results indicated that the number of book reviews has fallen over the journal’s life. The following reasons influencing the falling number of book reviews were proposed: changing promotion/tenure criteria for academics over the last 20 years, the different attitudes between academics and practitioners in relation to book content, financial pressures placed on academic publishers, and the changing proportion of the university library budget allocated to procuring books. The results also indicated that the topics covered in the book reviews have changed over the four time periods. These changes are thought to be influenced by the changing “hot topics” business marketing academics are interested in and topics preferred by book publishers. Implications: Although the publishing industry and academic reward systems continue to change, books will continue to be an important outlet for the dissemination of knowledge and academics will continue to publish books. The broader publishing environment and discipline specific trends should be considered when determining publishing approaches. Books offer an alternative avenue for reaching a broad academic audience (rather than those who only read specialized journals) and academics passionate about their research will be motivated to share with a broad audience.Peer reviewe

erosive lichen planus on an atypical site mimicking a factitial dermatitis

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Problems Encountered During the Recertification of the GLORY Solar Array Dual Axis Gimbal Drive Actuators

The Glory observatory is the current incarnation of the Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) mission spacecraft bus. The VCL spacecraft bus, having been cancelled for programmatic reasons in 2000, was nearly integrated when it was put into storage for possible future use. The Glory mission was a suitable candidate for using this spacecraft and in 2006 an effort to recertify the two axis solar array gimbal drive after its extended storage was begun. What was expected to be a simple performance validation of the two dual axis gimbal stepper motors became a serious test, diagnosis and repair task once questions arose on the flight worthiness of the hardware. A significant test program logic flow was developed which identified decisions that could be made based on the results of individual recertification tests. Without disassembling the bi-axial gimbals, beginning with stepper motor threshold voltage measurements and relating these to powered drive torque measurements, both performed at the spacecraft integrator s facility, a confusing picture of the health of the actuators came to light. Tests at the gimbal assembly level and tests of the disassembled actuators were performed by the manufacturer to validate our results and torque discrepancies were noted. Further disassembly to the component level of the actuator revealed the source of the torque loss

Protease signaling regulates apical cell extrusion, cell contacts, and proliferation in epithelia.

Mechanisms that sense and regulate epithelial morphogenesis, integrity, and homeostasis are incompletely understood. Protease-activated receptor 2 (Par2), the Par2-activating membrane-tethered protease matriptase, and its inhibitor, hepatocyte activator inhibitor 1 (Hai1), are coexpressed in most epithelia and may make up a local signaling system that regulates epithelial behavior. We explored the role of Par2b in matriptase-dependent skin abnormalities in Hai1a-deficient zebrafish embryos. We show an unexpected role for Par2b in regulation of epithelial apical cell extrusion, roles in regulating proliferation that were opposite in distinct but adjacent epithelial monolayers, and roles in regulating cell-cell junctions, mobility, survival, and expression of genes involved in tissue remodeling and inflammation. The epidermal growth factor receptor Erbb2 and matrix metalloproteinases, the latter induced by Par2b, may contribute to some matriptase- and Par2b-dependent phenotypes and be permissive for others. Our results suggest that local protease-activated receptor signaling can coordinate cell behaviors known to contribute to epithelial morphogenesis and homeostasis