The End of the Line; Next Stop: Higher Education V2.0

Though higher education appears to be making strides towards providing better learning experiences and outcomes for students, the question remains as to whether schools are doing enough to keep up with industry. Exploring recent innovation in business and leadership programs such as The Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership program run by Gonzaga University, and The Evergreen State College’s unique approach to liberal education, this paper provides insight into how higher education has begun to move forward in the 21st century. Despite these advances, alternative pedagogies continue to be recommended by scholars, including Constructivism and Experiential Learning. The gap that exists between what is needed for students to succeed and what schools are willing to change could signal the end of higher education as we know it. This paper concludes that the future of higher education could consist of vastly different organizational structures, educational approaches, and student outcomes

Book Review: The Student Loan Mess: How Good Intentions Created a Trillion-dollar Problem

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Guest Editors’ Conclusions: Financial Aid Practitioner-Researcher Partnerships: Lessons from the Field

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Guest Editors’ Introduction: Strengthening Financial Aid Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships

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Transfer of Macronutrients, Micronutrients, and Toxic Elements from Soil to Grapes to White Wines in Uncontaminated Vineyards

Wine is a popular beverage and may be a source of nutrient and toxic elements during human consumption. Here, we explored the variation in nutrient and toxic elements from soils to grape berries and commercial white wines (Chardonnay) at five USA vineyards (New York, Vermont, California, Virginia) with strongly contrasting geology, soils, and climates. Samples were analyzed for macronutrients (Ca, K, and Mg), micronutrients (Mn, Cu, and Zn), and toxic elements (As, Cd, and Pb). Our study showed contrasting macronutrient, micronutrient, and toxic element concentrations in soils and in vines, leaves, and grapes. However, plant tissue concentrations did not correspond with total soil concentrations, suggesting a disconnect governing their accumulation. Bioconcentration factors for soil to grape berry transfer suggest the accumulation of Ca, K and Mg in berries while Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, and Pb were generally not accumulated in our study or in previous studies. Wines from the five vineyards studied had comparable nutrient, micronutrient, and toxic metal concentrations as wines from Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Czech Republic, and Japan. The transfer of nutrients and toxic elements from grape berries to wine indicated that only Ca, K, and Mg were added or retained while concentrations of all other micronutrients and toxic elements were somewhat to extensively diminished. Thus, there appears to be a substantial effect on the geochemistry of the wine from the grape from either the fermentation process (i.e., flocculation), or a dilution effect. We conclude that soils, geology, and climate do not appear to generate a unique geochemical terroir as the transfer and concentration of inorganic nutrients appear to be comparable across strongly contrasting vineyards. This has several implications for human health. Nutrients in wine have potential impacts for human nutrition, as wine can meet or exceed the recommended dietary requirements of Ca, K, Mg, and Fe, and toxic metals As and Pb concentrations were also non-trivial

An evaluation of a research experience for teachers in nanotechnology

This study involves the evaluation of the second implementation of a Research Experiences for Teacher Advancement In Nanotechnology (RETAIN) program offered at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). RETAIN represents a professional development model for providing high school teachers with laboratory research experiences in nanoscience and related content areas. In this intensive summer program, teachers spend six weeks conducting nanotechnology-related research in an IUPUI lab. As part of the RETAIN program, teachers complete six credit hours of coursework, wherein they translate their research experiences into the design of classroom modules. Teachers are expected to then implement their modules within their own classrooms during the subsequent academic year. This evaluation focuses on teachers' experiences in IUPUI labs during the summer of 2016, along with three teachers' implementation of nanotechnology labs within their courses during the 2016-2017 school year. To evaluate RETAIN, we explored teacher satisfaction, changes in teachers' content knowledge and nanotechnology perceptions, as well as changes in teachers' epistemological beliefs. Further, we explored the impact of the three teachers' module integration on their students' STEM attitudes and nanotechnology perceptions. The findings indicated that teachers were generally satisfied with the research and course experiences. Further, as a result of RETAIN participation, teachers showed increased nanotechnology content knowledge and knowledge of nanotechnology-related careers. Lastly, three teachers' integration of nanotechnology modules indicated that their students had significantly improved perceptions of nanotechnology's potential coupled with more knowledge of nanotechnology-related careers. The paper concludes with considerations of the quantitative findings in light of teachers' written reflections and author observations of teacher module integration in their classrooms

A search for rapidly pulsating hot subdwarf stars in the GALEX survey

NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) provided near- and far-UV observations for approximately 77 percent of the sky over a ten-year period; however, the data reduction pipeline initially only released single NUV and FUV images to the community. The recently released Python module gPhoton changes this, allowing calibrated time-series aperture photometry to be extracted easily from the raw GALEX data set. Here we use gPhoton to generate light curves for all hot subdwarf B (sdB) stars that were observed by GALEX, with the intention of identifying short-period, p-mode pulsations. We find that the spacecraft's short visit durations, uneven gaps between visits, and dither pattern make the detection of hot subdwarf pulsations difficult. Nonetheless, we detect UV variations in four previously known pulsating targets and report their UV pulsation amplitudes and frequencies. Additionally, we find that several other sdB targets not previously known to vary show promising signals in their periodograms. Using optical follow-up photometry with the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network, we confirm p-mode pulsations in one of these targets, LAMOST J082517.99+113106.3, and report it as the most recent addition to the sdBVr class of variable stars.Comment: 11 Pages, 8 Figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Facilitated Cross-Bridge Interactions with Thin Filaments by Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Mutations in α-Tropomyosin

Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (FHC) is a disease of cardiac sarcomeres. To identify molecular mechanisms underlying FHC pathology, functional and structural differences in three FHC-related mutations in recombinant α-Tm (V95A, D175N, and E180G) were characterized using both conventional and modified in vitro motility assays and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Mutant Tm's exhibited reduced α-helical structure and increased unordered structure. When thin filaments were fully occupied by regulatory proteins, little or no motion was detected at pCa 9, and maximum speed (pCa 5) was similar for all tropomyosins. Ca2+-responsiveness of filament sliding speed was increased either by increased pCa50 (V95A), reduced cooperativity n (D175N), or both (E180G). When temperature was increased, thin filaments with E180G exhibited dysregulation at temperatures ~10°C lower, and much closer to body temperature, than WT. When HMM density was reduced, thin filaments with D175N required fewer motors to initiate sliding or achieve maximum sliding speed

An Improved Model of Cryogenic Propellant Stratification in a Rotating, Reduced Gravity Environment

This paper builds on a series of analytical literature models used to predict thermal stratification within rocket propellant tanks. The primary contribution to the literature is to add the effect of tank rotation and to demonstrate the influence of rotation on stratification times and temperatures. This work also looks levels of thermal stratification for generic propellant tanks (cylindrical shapes) over a parametric range of upper-stage coast times, heating levels, rotation rates, and gravity levels