Evaluation of Jacobian determinants by Monte Carlo methods: Application to the quasiclassical approximation in molecular scattering

A technique is described which can be used to evaluate Jacobian determinants which occur in classical mechanical and quasiclassical approximation descriptions of molecular scattering. The method may be valuable in the study of reactive scattering using the quasiclassical approximation

Our War Against Our Water

Will it be Armistice or Armageddon

Stichwort: Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht

Zusammenfassung: Die naturwissenschaftliche Bildung ist wieder vermehrt in den Fokus fachdidaktischer, erziehungswissenschaftlicher und politischer Diskussionen gerückt. In diesem Reviewartikel werden Schwerpunkte der naturwissenschaftsdidaktischen Forschung und Perspektiven der Entwicklung des naturwissenschaftlichen Unterrichts präsentiert. Dabei geht es einerseits um Ziele naturwissenschaftlicher Bildung, andererseits um Schwerpunkte empirischer fachdidaktischer Forschung sowie um Arbeiten zur inhaltlichen Weiterentwicklung des Unterrichts. Ausblicke auf Implementationen von Erneuerungen sowie auf Zukunftsperspektiven der naturwissenschaftlichen Bildung runden den Beitrag a

Membrane Protein Stability Analyses by Means of Protein Energy Profiles in Case of Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus

Diabetes insipidus (DI) is a rare endocrine, inheritable disorder with low incidences in an estimated one per 25,000–30,000 live births. This disease is characterized by polyuria and compensatory polydypsia. The diverse underlying causes of DI can be central defects, in which no functional arginine vasopressin (AVP) is released from the pituitary or can be a result of defects in the kidney (nephrogenic DI, NDI). NDI is a disorder in which patients are unable to concentrate their urine despite the presence of AVP. This antidiuretic hormone regulates the process of water reabsorption from the prourine that is formed in the kidney. It binds to its type-2 receptor (V2R) in the kidney induces a cAMP-driven cascade, which leads to the insertion of aquaporin-2 water channels into the apical membrane. Mutations in the genes of V2R and aquaporin-2 often lead to NDI. We investigated a structure model of V2R in its bound and unbound state regarding protein stability using a novel protein energy profile approach. Furthermore, these techniques were applied to the wild-type and selected mutations of aquaporin-2. We show that our results correspond well to experimental water ux analysis, which confirms the applicability of our theoretical approach to equivalent problems

An energy concerving modification of numerical methods for the integration of equations of motion

In the integration of the equations of motion of a system of particles, conventional numerical methods generate an error in the total energy of the same order as the truncation error. A simple modification of these methods is described, which results in exact conservation of the energy

Science Education Needs a Multilevel Approach

Triggered by an increasing consensus on the importance of science education for the economy and society as a whole, in recent years, a growing number of educational programs, initiatives and projects have been launched by various players (from educational policy makers over teacher education institutions to industry). Many of these initiatives have a direct or indirect link to molecular sciences. In this article, we develop a two-dimensional framework which can be used as a guideline in the classification and discussion of existing projects as well as in the planning and design of future initiatives. The framework incorporates three organizational levels or groups of persons and the two very central fields of objectives 'knowledge and skills' and 'motivation and interest'. On the basis of this framework, we discuss four projects in which our science and technology education center has been involved, with respect to their influence on the knowledge, skills and interest of pupils, teachers and school administration representatives in science

Formative Assessment to Support Students’ Competences in Inquiry-Based Science Education

Inquiry-based education has been part of innovative science teaching for the last few decades. With the competence orientation now underlying many national curricula, one of the emerging questions is how the development of student competences can be fostered in the context of inquiry-based science education. One approach to supporting students in their learning is formative assessment, which is, however, not frequently used in a structured way in daily teaching practice. The aim of this study therefore is to explore what kinds of measures might support science teachers in implementing formative assessment activities in their inquiry-based education. For this, firstly, we investigated the challenges that occur on a classroom level when using formative assessment methods in inquiry-based science education from teachers’ perspectives. Secondly, we analyzed the teachers’ suggestions on measures of support. Based on the respective results, this paper discusses implications for an implementation of structured formative assessment in inquiry-based science education to enhance student competences