A Large, First-Year, Introductory, Multi-Sectional Biological Concepts of Health Course Designed to Develop Skills and Enhance Deeper Learning

Large first-year biology classes, with their heavy emphasis on factual content, contribute to low student engagement and misrepresent the dynamic, interdisciplinary nature of biological science. We sought to redesign a course to deliver fundamental biology curriculum through the study of health, promote skills development, and encourage a deeper level of learning for a large, multi-section first-year class. We describe the Biological Concepts of Health course designed to encourage higher-order learning and teach oral communication and independent learning skills to large numbers of first-year students. We used the Blooming Biology Tool to determine the cognitive skills level assessed in the newly developed course and the courses it replaced. This evidence-based approach demonstrated that our new course design achieved the goal of encouraging a deeper level of cognition, and further, successfully introduced both oral communication and independent learning skills in large first-year classes.  En mettant l’emphase sur un contenu factuel, les grandes classes de biologie de première année contribuent au faible engagement des élèves et donnent une représentation imprécise de la nature dynamique et interdisciplinaire des sciences de la biologie. Afin d’offrir un programme fondamental en biologie par l’étude de la santé, de promouvoir le perfectionnement des compétences et d’encourager un niveau d’apprentissage marqué, nous avons repensé un cours pour une grande classe de première année contenant plusieurs sous-groupes. Nous décrivons le cours « Biological Concepts of Health » conçu pour encourager l’apprentissage supérieur, ainsi que pour enseigner la communication orale et les habiletés d’apprentissage individualisé à un grand nombre d’étudiants de première année. Pour déterminer le niveau d’habiletés cognitives évalué dans ce cours nouvellement conçu et les cours qu’il remplace, nous avons utilisé le « Blooming Biology Tool ». Cette approche éprouvée démontre que ce nouveau cours a atteint son but d’encourager l’approfondissement des connaissances et, par ailleurs, a réussi à introduire la communication orale, de même que les habiletés d’apprentissage individualisé aux grandes classes de première année

Why Some Interfaces Cannot be Sharp

A central goal of modern materials physics and nanoscience is control of materials and their interfaces to atomic dimensions. For interfaces between polar and non-polar layers, this goal is thwarted by a polar catastrophe that forces an interfacial reconstruction. In traditional semiconductors this reconstruction is achieved by an atomic disordering and stoichiometry change at the interface, but in multivalent oxides a new option is available: if the electrons can move, the atoms don`t have to. Using atomic-scale electron energy loss spectroscopy we find that there is a fundamental asymmetry between ionically and electronically compensated interfaces, both in interfacial sharpness and carrier density. This suggests a general strategy to design sharp interfaces, remove interfacial screening charges, control the band offset, and hence dramatically improving the performance of oxide devices.Comment: 12 pages of text, 6 figure

The first three dimensional fossils of Cretaceous sclerorhynchid sawfish Asflapristis cristadentis gen et sp nov and implications for the phylogenetic position of the Sclerorhynchoidei (Chondrichthyes)

A new fossil batoid (ray) Asflapristis cristadentis gen. et sp. nov. is described from six exceptionally well-preserved, three-dimensional skeletal remains from the Turonian (Late Cretaceous) of Morocco. Mechanical and acid preparation and CT scanning of these specimens reveal details of much of the proximal skeleton, especially the skull, synarcual and pectoral skeleton, with only the more distal parts of the skeleton missing. These fossils represent a relatively large animal (62 cm preserved length, estimated total length to approximately 2 meters) possessing a robust rostrum that lacks enlarged rostral denticles. It has a narrow and small chondrocranium with jaws that are relatively large compared to the rest of the skull and robust with highly ornamented teeth that lack cusps. The branchial skeleton shows a large second hypobranchial without anterior process which was probably fused to the basibranchial as in other sclerorhynchoids. The synarcual is large and lacks centra through its entire length, and with no direct connection to the pectoral girdle was observed. Pectoral fins probably possessed enlarged proximal elements (propterygium, mesopterygium and metapterygium), the reduced articulation facet between the coracoid with the pectoral elements was reduced. A phylogenetic analysis using both parsimony and bayesian methods was performed incorporating this new taxon. Both analyses recovered a phylogenetic topology that places the sclerorhynchoids in a close relation to rajoids and clearly separated from the morphologically similar Pristidae within the Rhinopristiformes. In respect to the extant taxa, the phylogenies generated are similar to that obtained in molecular analysis of modern batoids. The palaeoecological implication of this discovery suggests that the Asfla assemblage was not from a ‘normal’ open carbonate shelf but rather a restricted environment favouring a low diversity chondrichthyan fauna

The Nature Drawings of Peter Karklins

https://via.library.depaul.edu/museum-publications/1010/thumbnail.jp

Seeing the woods for the trees: the problem of information inefficiency and information overload on operator performance

One of the recurring questions in designing dynamic control environments is whether providing more information leads to better operational decisions. The idea of having every piece of information is increasingly tempting (and in safety critical domains often mandatory) but has become a potential obstacle for designers and operators. The present research study examined this challenge of appropriate information design and usability within a railway control setting. A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the presentation of different levels of information (taken from data processing framework, Dadashi et al., 2014) and the association with, and potential prediction of, the performance of a human operator when completing a cognitively demanding problem solving scenario within railways. Results indicated that presenting users only with information corresponding to their cognitive task, and in the absence of other, non task-relevant information, improves the performance of their problem solving/alarm handling. Knowing the key features of interest to various agents (machine or human) and using the data processing framework to guide the optimal level of information required by each of these agents could potentially lead to safer and more usable designs

Radio Astronomy

Contains summary of research and reports on seven research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant AST82-14296)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NAGW-373)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Contract NAS5-28410)U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (Contract N00014-84-C-2082)M.I.T. Sloan Fund for Basic ResearchNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Grant 04-8-M01-1)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NAG5-10)Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (Contract MDA 903-84-K-0297

Functional and epigenetic phenotypes of humans and mice with DNMT3A Overgrowth Syndrome

Germline mutations in the DNMT3A gene can cause an overgrowth syndrome associated with behavioural and hematopoietic phenotypes. Here the authors describe a mouse model of this syndrome that recapitulates many of these features, including conserved alterations in DNA methylation in the blood cells of both species

Cognitive Information Processing

Contains goals, background, research activities on one research project and reports on three research projects.Center for Advanced Television StudiesAmerican Broadcasting CompanyAmpex CorporationColumbia Broadcasting SystemsHarris CorporationHome Box OfficePublic Broadcasting ServiceNational Broadcasting CompanyRCA CorporationTektronix3M CompanyProvidence Gravure Co. (Grant)International Business Machines, Inc

The SDSS Quasar Survey: Quasar Luminosity Function from Data Release Three

We determine the number counts and z=0-5 luminosity function for a well-defined, homogeneous sample of quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We conservatively define the most uniform statistical sample possible, consisting of 15,343 quasars within an effective area of 1622 deg^2 that was derived from a parent sample of 46,420 spectroscopically confirmed broad-line quasars in the 5282 deg^2 of imaging data from SDSS Data Release Three. The sample extends from i=15 to i=19.1 at z3. The number counts and luminosity function agree well with the results of the 2dF QSO Survey, but the SDSS data probe to much higher redshifts than does the 2dF sample. The number density of luminous quasars peaks between redshifts 2 and 3, although uncertainties in the selection function in this range do not allow us to determine the peak redshift more precisely. Our best fit model has a flatter bright end slope at high redshift than at low redshift. For z<2.4 the data are best fit by a redshift-independent slope of beta = -3.1 (Phi(L) propto L^beta). Above z=2.4 the slope flattens with redshift to beta=-2.37 at z=5. This slope change, which is significant at a >5-sigma level, must be accounted for in models of the evolution of accretion onto supermassive black holes.Comment: 57 pages, 21 figures (9 color); minor changes to reflect the version accepted by AJ; higher resolution version available at ftp://ftp.astro.princeton.edu/gtr/dr3qlf/Feb1306

Burmese pythons in Florida: A synthesis of biology, impacts, and management tools

Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are native to southeastern Asia, however, there is an established invasive population inhabiting much of southern Florida throughout the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Pythons have severely impacted native species and ecosystems in Florida and represent one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe. The difficulty stems from a unique combination of inaccessible habitat and the cryptic and resilient nature of pythons that thrive in the subtropical environment of southern Florida, rendering them extremely challenging to detect. Here we provide a comprehensive review and synthesis of the science relevant to managing invasive Burmese pythons. We describe existing control tools and review challenges to productive research, identifying key knowledge gaps that would improve future research and decision making for python control. (119 pp