According to a survey, the majority of fourth grade students in 2005 did not choose reading as a preferred activity for entertainment (Guthrie, McRae, & Klauda, 2007). Adolescents are increasingly resistant to reading and seldom list it as a pleasurable activity. Interestingly, research shows that students who enjoy reading more do better academically (Gambrell, 2011). Accordingly, as a teacher I seek to increase students' reading for pleasure. To give space in my curriculum for students to do this and for me to support them, I used Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), a practice where students are given time to read a text of their choosing during class time. Adhering to LaBoskey's (2004) criteria for self-studies, I conducted a self-study of teacher practices. There were two rounds of field notes with critical friend commentary that allowed me to identify types of readers and types of responses. To present my findings, I developed vignettes to capture my field notes about types of readers and I identified field notes that captured general and specific responses to readers for which I provided exemplar on my findings. I also attended to trustworthiness. This study explored what I as a teacher know and learned about increasing my students' engagement with reading for pleasure during SSR time. By categorizing my students' habits and charting my responses and interventions, I was able to understand what practices to use to encourage students to read for pleasure according to their characteristics.

Several studies suggest profound effects on mood and cognition by neuroactive steroids. Estrogen alone or in combination with antidepressant drugs affecting the serotonin system has been used to treat mood disorders. On the other hand, progesterone is related to negative effects on mood and memory. A major part of the progesterone effects on the brain can be mediated by its metabolite allopregnanolone, which is also de novo synthesized in the brain, and affects the GABAA receptors. It would be of great importance to find a substance that antagonize allopregnanolone adverse effects. To investigate how long term supplementation of estradiol and progesterone, resembling postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy, affects serotonin receptors in different brain areas important for mood and memory functions, we used ovariectomized female rats. After 2 weeks of supplementation with 17β-estradiol alone or in combination with progesterone, or placebo pellets, estradiol alone decreases but estradiol supplemented together with progesterone increases 5HT1A mRNA expression in the hippocampus. Estradiol decreases the 5HT2C receptor gene expression, while estradiol in combination with progesterone increases the 5HT2A mRNA expression in the ventral hippocampus. Thus, estradiol alone has opposite effects compared to the estradiol/progesterone combination. To detect if acute tolerance develops to allopregnanolone, an EEG method was used where male rats by continuous allopregnanolone infusion were kept on anesthesia level of the silent second (SS). After different time intervals (first SS, 30 min or 90 min of anesthesia) several GABAA receptor subunit mRNAs were measured for detecting if changed expression of any GABAA receptor subunits is involved in development of acute tolerance. There is development of acute tolerance to allopregnanolone and brain regions of importance are hippocampus, thalamus and hypothalamus. The GABAA receptor alpha4 subunit in thalamus and alpha2 subunit in the dorsal hippocampus are related to development of acute tolerance. For assessing allopregnanolone behavioral effects, we studied how this neurosteroid affects spatial learning in the Morris water maze task Allopregnanolone inhibits spatial learning short after the injection and shows a specific behavioral pattern with swimming close to the pool wall. The steroid UC1011 can inhibit the increase in chloride ion uptake induced by allopregnanolone. UC1011 decreases allopregnanoloneinduced impairment of spatial learning in the water maze, as well as the specific behavioral swim pattern. In conclusion, the present work demonstrates that neuroactive steroids affect the 5HT and GABA systems in a brain region specific way. GABAA receptor subunit changes in hippocampus and thalamus are related to acute allopregnanolone tolerance. Allopregnanolone induces cognitive deficits, like spatial learning impairment and UC1011 can inhibit allopregnanolone-induced effects in vitro and in vivo. Key words: Estradiol, progesterone, HRT, allopregnanolone, UC1011, serotonin receptor, GABAA receptor, mRNA, Morris water maze, silent second, tolerance.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the telomeres and rDNA repeats are repetitive silent chromatin domains that are tightly regulated to maintain silencing and genome stability. Disruption of the Cohibin complex, which maintains rDNA silencing and stability, also abrogates telomere localization and silencing. Cohibin-deficient cells have decreased Sir2 localization at telomeres, and restoring telomeric Sir2 concentrations rescues the telomeric defects observed in Cohibin-deficient cells. Genetic and molecular interactions suggest that Cohibin clusters telomeres to the nuclear envelope by binding inner nuclear membrane proteins. Futhermore, telomeric and rDNA sequences can form G-quadruplex structures. G-quadruplexes are non-canonical DNA structures that have been linked to processes affecting chromosome stability. Disruption of the G-quadruplex stabilizing protein Stm1, which also interacts with Cohibin, increases rDNA stability without affecting silent chromatin formation. In all, our findings have led to the discovery of new processes involved in the maintenance of repetitive silent chromatin domains that may be conserved across eukaryotes.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

This research sought to add to a body of knowledge that is severely underrepresented in the scientific literature, reading comprehension in secondary students. Chapter 1 examines the current state of literacy in the nation’s public schools and the consequences that arise if students leave high school with inadequate reading skills. It discusses the neurological processes involved with reading and posits that independent silent reading (ISR) combined with scaffolding techniques may prove to be an effective method for addressing reading comprehension. The review also analyzes the components believed to be essential to reading, including vocabulary development, prior knowledge and background information, inferencing and prediction, and cognitive and metacognitive strategies. It argues that technological tools may have the potential to address these components within the framework of ISR. Chapter 2 details the experiment that tested these hypotheses. The study implemented an ISR program across a 5-month semester in a public high school and included 145 participants from nine 10th grade literature classes. The control group took part in no ISR, one treatment group participated in weekly ISR read from a textbook, and another treatment group participated in weekly ISR read from a computer module designed to address the components of reading comprehension. Students were measured on multiple achievement and motivational assessments. Results indicated that students from the ISR groups made greater gains than the control group in total reading ability, reading comprehension, end-of-course reading scores, and success/ability attribution, but no differences emerged on the vocabulary assessment. The computer module ISR group performed similarly in most respects to the textbook ISR group, but students in the computer module ISR group increased in their reading motivation and scored better on the individual reading assignments, suggesting the cognitive tools assisted them in understanding specific material at hand. This research offers much needed data on secondary students’ reading achievement and motivation, and provides evidence for one method, ISR, that has the potential to address development in these areas.

A mutation (CTG to TTG) of FeSOD gene was found in Escherichia coli. Since they both encode leucine, it is a silent mutation. Site-­‐directed mutagenesis was applied to correct the mutation, and the mutant FeSOD (before gene correction) and wild type FeSOD (after gene correction) were purified. The FeSODs from the two genes were Characterized using different assays and spectroscopic methods including EPR and CD. The requirement for the rare codon TTG may result in slowed translation and heavy demand on a scarce tRNA. Cultures expressing wild type FeSOD are better able to grow for long times after addition of IPTG and more mature to incorporate Fe atoms to the active sites than are cultures expressing the mutant gene. Moreover, the wild type FeSOD has more activity than the mutant. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a silent mutation has been demonstrated to affect metal incorporation into a metalloenzyme.

Motivation: Ischemic heart disease is the eighth leading cause of death in an African population. Silent ischemia can be defined as an ischemic episode without associated pain. The clinical significance of silent ischemia is growing and can now be considered as a risk factor in the development of coronary disease. Hypertension and associated risk factors, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes are associated with silent ischemia. Other factors such as higher pulse pressure, double product, heart rate and higher carotid intima-media thickness are also associated with silent ischemia. Urbanisation is rising in South-Africa. This new lifestyle is associated with several risk factors including: poor diets, lower physical activity levels, hypertension and increased smoking and alcohol abuse. The prevalence of stroke is high among Africans, which can be due to a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the associations between silent ischemia and cardiovascular function in African men. The focus fell on hypertension and associated risk factors, higher total cholesterol levels, and increased pulse pressure, heart rate and sub-clinical atherosclerosis. vi Methodology: This study constituted a population study in the North-West province carried out on urbanized African male teachers aged between 20-60 years. The SABPA (Sympathetic activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans) sub-study consisted of a total of 80 African male volunteers. The Cardiotens apparatus was placed on each participant on the first morning. This apparatus took ambulatory blood pressure measurements as well as Electrocardiogram measurements. Hereafter, participants continued with their normal work day until 1700. After an overnight stay at the Metabolic unit of the North-West University Potchefstroom campus, the apparatus was removed at 0600. During statistical analyses, the African males were divided into groups of participants with silent ischemia (SI) and those without silent ischemia (nSI), as determined by the ambulatory electrocardiogram. Statistical analyses were performed by means of the Statistica version 10 software program. Results: In comparison with the nSI men, the SI showed the following: above normal high sensitivity C-reactive protein and glucose, higher ambulatory blood pressure, heart rate, pulse pressure, resting ST-segment depression and carotid intima-media thickness. Multiple regression analyses indicated that ambulatory silent ischemia is associated with sub-clinical atherosclerosis, possibly increasing their stroke risk. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Physiology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

This thesis argues that how-to manuals and cue sheets are indicative of ideal performance practice amongst musicians from the silent film era. Pre-scored music was widely practiced amongst musicians. How-to manuals and cue sheets helped the musician accurately and consistently accompany a film. Authors of period manuals include W. Tyacke George, Edith Lang and George West, Ernst Luz and George Tootell. Compilers of cue sheet include James C. Bradford, Ernst Luz, Edward Kilenyi and Michael P. Krueger. Cue by cue analyses of The Cat and the Canary and The Gaucho show a high repetition of music, establishing continuity between the music played and the image on the screen. This shows how compilers associated music and film. These manuals and cue sheets prove that the musician community strove for a close connection between the image on screen and accompaniment. By 1920, arbitrary improvisation was unacceptable.

Motivation: Ischemic heart disease is the eighth leading cause of death in an African population. Silent ischemia can be defined as an ischemic episode without associated pain. The clinical significance of silent ischemia is growing and can now be considered as a risk factor in the development of coronary disease. Hypertension and associated risk factors, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes are associated with silent ischemia. Other factors such as higher pulse pressure, double product, heart rate and higher carotid intima-media thickness are also associated with silent ischemia. Urbanisation is rising in South-Africa. This new lifestyle is associated with several risk factors including: poor diets, lower physical activity levels, hypertension and increased smoking and alcohol abuse. The prevalence of stroke is high among Africans, which can be due to a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the associations between silent ischemia and cardiovascular function in African men. The focus fell on hypertension and associated risk factors, higher total cholesterol levels, and increased pulse pressure, heart rate and sub-clinical atherosclerosis. vi Methodology: This study constituted a population study in the North-West province carried out on urbanized African male teachers aged between 20-60 years. The SABPA (Sympathetic activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans) sub-study consisted of a total of 80 African male volunteers. The Cardiotens apparatus was placed on each participant on the first morning. This apparatus took ambulatory blood pressure measurements as well as Electrocardiogram measurements. Hereafter, participants continued with their normal work day until 1700. After an overnight stay at the Metabolic unit of the North-West University Potchefstroom campus, the apparatus was removed at 0600. During statistical analyses, the African males were divided into groups of participants with silent ischemia (SI) and those without silent ischemia (nSI), as determined by the ambulatory electrocardiogram. Statistical analyses were performed by means of the Statistica version 10 software program. Results: In comparison with the nSI men, the SI showed the following: above normal high sensitivity C-reactive protein and glucose, higher ambulatory blood pressure, heart rate, pulse pressure, resting ST-segment depression and carotid intima-media thickness. Multiple regression analyses indicated that ambulatory silent ischemia is associated with sub-clinical atherosclerosis, possibly increasing their stroke risk. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Physiology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.