8 research outputs found

    INTEGRATIVE VS INTEGRATION : STEM SKILLS AND CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT IN 6TH GRADE STUDENTS

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    As a whole, interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools is on the rise at a national level, and it is widely recognized that the development of skills and concepts in science, technology, engineering, and math are not only beneficial to students, but are in fact necessities for future citizens of an increasingly global world (Kelley & Knowles, 2016.) Despite this increasing acceptance and awareness of the need for STEM literacy, there is a critical lack of guidelines on what STEM education actually entails and how to effectively integrate these concepts and skills into the educational system. Approaches span a broad range of ideas, from perspectives encouraging STEM integration to be more dynamic and led by students to other viewpoints emphasizing the more typical procedure of teacher-led learning. Situated in a metropolitan elementary school, this study examines a University-School District partnership through an undergraduate research experience which aims to determine how young students best learn and develop STEM knowledge and skills

    Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

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    The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∌99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∌1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

    “Integrative” vs “Integration”: STEM Skills and Concept Development in 6th Grade Students

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    As a whole, interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools is on the rise at a national level, and it is widely recognized that the development of skills and concepts in science, technology, engineering, and math are not only beneficial to students, but are in fact necessities for future citizens of an increasingly global world (Kelley & Knowles, 2016.) Despite this increasing acceptance and awareness of the need for STEM literacy, there is a lack of consensus on what STEM education actually entails and viewpoints on how it should be implemented into the school system vary widely. It is often left up to individual districts - or even individual educators - to decide how to integrate STEM learning within a typical educational framework. With no widespread guidelines, this can be a daunting task (Honey, Pearson, & Schweingruber, 2014.) Approaches range from teaching one STEM subject by itself in a more traditional classroom style (e.g., mathematics) to teaching two subjects at a time using new and novel methods (e.g., teaching mathematics using technology). There are even perspectives encouraging STEM integration to be more dynamic and student-led, while other viewpoints emphasize the typical, often more static, procedure of teacher-centered instruction (English, 2016.) In a paper entitled, “Advancing Elementary and Middle School STEM education,” author and mathematics educator Lyn D. English notes that even among researchers opinions are quite distinct and controversial. She cites Sanders and Wells, “for example, [who] argued that “integrative STEM” and “STEM integration” are markedly different, with integrative indicating an “ongoing, dynamic, learner-centered process of teaching and learning”, as distinct from integrated, which suggests a more static, teacher-directed process.” To better understand the complex nature of STEM education and learning, the focus of this project is to investigate the differences between “integrative STEM” and “STEM integration,” and to determine in which format students learn and develop best, if either. Situated in a metropolitan area elementary school, this study implements both approaches to STEM learning to teach and expose 6th grade students to careers and concepts in STEM disciplines. This research specifically seeks to answer the question, “Do elementary-age students learn STEM skills and concepts better through integrative STEM approaches or through STEM integration approaches?

    Solving Two-Dimensional Schrödinger Equation for a Double Well Potential Using Analytical and Variational Methods

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    The Schrödinger equation serves as a pivotal differential equation, capturing the fundamental duality of particles as both matter and waves. Upon solving it, we derive a particle\u27s wave function within a given potential, delineating the confines within which the particle operates. This wave function enables us to ascertain the most probable values for parameters such as position, momentum, and energy within the specified potential. In this study, we focus on the double-well potential in two dimensions, resembling a bowl-like structure. Specifically tailored equations, termed Equation 1 and Equation 2, stem from the general Schrödinger equation when applied to the prescribed conditions. This research aims to utilize these equations to describe a particle’s behavior within the ground and the first excited states of the double well potential, employing two distinct methodologies. The first methodology involves leveraging the variational method on Equations 1 and 2 to obtain approximate solutions, providing crucial inputs for our subsequent approach. The second methodology serves as entails an analytical solution of Equations 1 and 2. A comparative analysis of the outcomes from both methods is anticipated to ensure the coherence and validity of the variational method. This project integrates key principles and proficiencies from both physics and mathematics disciplines, offering a platform for honing practical skills in applying these methodologies within a real-world context

    Update to: Assessing the efficacy of male Wolbachia-infected mosquito deployments to reduce dengue incidence in Singapore

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    Abstract Background This trial is a parallel, two-arm, non-blinded cluster randomised controlled trial that is under way in Singapore, with the aim of measuring the efficacy of male Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti deployments in reducing dengue incidence in an endemic setting with all four dengue serotypes in circulation. The trial commenced in July 2022 and is expected to conclude in September 2024. The original study protocol was published in December 2022. Here, we describe amendments that have been made to the study protocol since commencement of the trial. Methods The key protocol amendments are (1) addition of an explicit definition of Wolbachia exposure for residents residing in intervention sites based on the duration of Wolbachia exposure at point of testing, (2) incorporation of a high-dimensional set of anthropogenic and environmental characteristics in the analysis plan to adjust for baseline risk factors of dengue transmission, and (3) addition of alternative statistical analyses for endpoints to control for post hoc imbalance in cluster-based environmental and anthropogenic characteristics. Discussion The findings from this study will provide the first experimental evidence for the efficacy of releasing male-Wolbachia infected mosquitoes to reduce dengue incidence in a cluster-randomised controlled trial. The trial will conclude in 2024 and results will be reported shortly thereafter. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT05505682. Registered on 16 August 2022. Retrospectively registered. Last updated 11 November 2023

    Benchmark datasets for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance bioinformatics

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    Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has spread globally and is being surveilled with an international genome sequencing effort. Surveillance consists of sample acquisition, library preparation, and whole genome sequencing. This has necessitated a classification scheme detailing Variants of Concern (VOC) and Variants of Interest (VOI), and the rapid expansion of bioinformatics tools for sequence analysis. These bioinformatic tools are means for major actionable results: maintaining quality assurance and checks, defining population structure, performing genomic epidemiology, and inferring lineage to allow reliable and actionable identification and classification. Additionally, the pandemic has required public health laboratories to reach high throughput proficiency in sequencing library preparation and downstream data analysis rapidly. However, both processes can be limited by a lack of a standardized sequence dataset. Methods We identified six SARS-CoV-2 sequence datasets from recent publications, public databases and internal resources. In addition, we created a method to mine public databases to identify representative genomes for these datasets. Using this novel method, we identified several genomes as either VOI/VOC representatives or non-VOI/VOC representatives. To describe each dataset, we utilized a previously published datasets format, which describes accession information and whole dataset information. Additionally, a script from the same publication has been enhanced to download and verify all data from this study. Results The benchmark datasets focus on the two most widely used sequencing platforms: long read sequencing data from the Oxford Nanopore Technologies platform and short read sequencing data from the Illumina platform. There are six datasets: three were derived from recent publications; two were derived from data mining public databases to answer common questions not covered by published datasets; one unique dataset representing common sequence failures was obtained by rigorously scrutinizing data that did not pass quality checks. The dataset summary table, data mining script and quality control (QC) values for all sequence data are publicly available on GitHub: https://github.com/CDCgov/datasets-sars-cov-2. Discussion The datasets presented here were generated to help public health laboratories build sequencing and bioinformatics capacity, benchmark different workflows and pipelines, and calibrate QC thresholds to ensure sequencing quality. Together, improvements in these areas support accurate and timely outbreak investigation and surveillance, providing actionable data for pandemic management. Furthermore, these publicly available and standardized benchmark data will facilitate the development and adjudication of new pipelines
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