The Case for Improving U.S. Computer Science Education

Despite the growing use of computers and software in every facet of our economy, not until recently has computer science education begun to gain traction in American school systems. The current focus on improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S. school system has disregarded differences within STEM fields. Indeed, the most important STEM field for a modern economy is not only one that is not represented by its own initial in "STEM" but also the field with the fewest number of high school students taking its classes and by far has the most room for improvement—computer science

Activation of Long Descending Propriospinal Neurons in Cat Spinal Cord

Isolated mammalian spinal cord has been shown capable of generating locomotor activity. Propriospinal systems assumed to coordinate fore- and hindlimb activity are poorly understood. This study characterizes the long descending propriospinal (LDP) neurons in terms of the location of the somas and their peripheral inputs by direct neuronal recording. Anatomical studies using axonal retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase from the lumbar to the cervical spinal cord as a tracer first described these neurons. Two hundred and thirty-one LDP neurons were identified in electrophysiological experiments. Of these, 123 responded to natural stimulation, and about 50% of the others were activated only by electrical stimulation. The majority of cells were located in laminae VII and VIII in agreement with anatomical data. The most effective stimuli were mechanical stimulation of skin, deep pressure to subcutaneous tissues, and paw joint movement. Bot excitatory and inhibitory responses were observed

Aquaculture and marketing of the Florida Bay Scallop in Crystal River, Florida

The overall goal of this study was to develop a new fishery resource product through open-water aquaculture for the west coast of Florida that would compete as a non-traditional product through market development. Specific objectives were as follows: I. To grow a minimum of 50, 000 juvenile scallops to a minimum market size of40 mm in a cage and float system in the off-shore waters of Crystal River, Florida. 2. To determine the growth rate, survival, and time to market size for the individuals in this system and area to other similar projects like Virginia. 3. To introduce local fishermen and the aquaculture students at Crystal River High School to the hatchery, nursery, and grow-out techniques. 4. To determine the economic and financial characteristics of bay scallop culture in Florida and assess the sensitivity of projected costs and earnings to changes in key technical, managerial, and market related parameters. 5. To determine the market acceptability and necessary marketing strategy for whole bay scallop product in Florida. (PDF has 99 pages.

EXPLORING THE SUPPLY OF SAFER FOODS: A CASE STUDY OF OYSTER DEPURATION IN DIXIE AND LEVY COUNTIES, FLORIDA

Shellfish depuration, economic feasibility, restaurant, consumer acceptance, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

A Flexible Path for Human and Robotic Space Exploration

During the summer of 2009, a flexible path scenario for human and robotic space exploration was developed that enables frequent, measured, and publicly notable human exploration of space beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). The formulation of this scenario was in support of the Exploration Beyond LEO subcommittee of the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee that was commissioned by President Obama. Exploration mission sequences that allow humans to visit a wide number of inner solar system destinations were investigated. The scope of destinations included the Earth-Moon and Earth-Sun Lagrange points, near-Earth objects (NEOs), the Moon, and Mars and its moons. The missions examined assumed the use of Constellation Program elements along with existing launch vehicles and proposed augmentations. Additionally, robotic missions were envisioned as complements to human exploration through precursor missions, as crew emplaced scientific investigations, and as sample gathering assistants to the human crews. The focus of the flexible path approach was to gain ever-increasing operational experience through human exploration missions ranging from a few weeks to several years in duration, beginning in deep space beyond LEO and evolving to landings on the Moon and eventually Mars

Designing Effective Habitat Studies: Quantifying Multiple Sources of Variability in Bat Activity

Common aims of habitat studies are to differentiate between (i) suitable and unsuitable sites for a given species, and (ii) sites used by different communities of species. To quantify differences between sites, field data of site use must be precise enough that true underlying between-site variability is not masked by within-site measurement error. We designed a pilot study to guide the development of a survey protocol for a habitat study on bats in an agricultural landscape in southeastern Australia. Three woodland sites and two scattered tree sites of 2 ha each were surveyed for nine consecutive nights. At three locations within each site (spaced > 50 m apart) one or two Anabat detectors were mounted 1 m above ground or in a tree (2 m above ground). We used mixed regression models to quantify multiple sources of variability in bat calling activity, and graphical data analysis to visualise how increases in survey effort were likely to affect inference. For the five most active species, we found that typically over 40% of variability in nightly detections occurred at the between-site level; approximately 10% occurred between locations within sites; approximately 20% was explained by night-to-night differences; and approximately 30% of variability was not attributable to systematic variation within experimental units. Differences in community composition between sites were clearly evident when two or more detectors per site were used for four or more nights. We conclude with six general considerations for the design of effective habitat studies. These are to (i) consider key contrasts of interest; (ii) use data from mild, calm, dry nights only; (iii) calibrate detectors; (iv) use multiple detectors where possible, or move a single detector within a site; (v) survey for multiple nights; and (vi) where vertical differentiation in habitat use is likely, mount detectors at different heights. These considerations need to be balanced within the context of financial and logistical constraints

Phaser.MRage: automated molecular replacement.

Phaser.MRage is a molecular-replacement automation framework that implements a full model-generation workflow and provides several layers of model exploration to the user. It is designed to handle a large number of models and can distribute calculations efficiently onto parallel hardware. In addition, phaser.MRage can identify correct solutions and use this information to accelerate the search. Firstly, it can quickly score all alternative models of a component once a correct solution has been found. Secondly, it can perform extensive analysis of identified solutions to find protein assemblies and can employ assembled models for subsequent searches. Thirdly, it is able to use a priori assembly information (derived from, for example, homologues) to speculatively place and score molecules, thereby customizing the search procedure to a certain class of protein molecule (for example, antibodies) and incorporating additional biological information into molecular replacement