407 research outputs found
Service Learning as Inquiry in an Undergraduate Science Course
To engage students in applying scientific process skills to real-world issues, we implemented a service-learning project model in our undergraduate introductory biology course for science majors. This model illustrates how we integrate inquiry inside and outside of the classroom through four steps: service, learning, classroom, and community. Out-of-class activities engaged students in serving the community (Service step) while deepening their learning experience beyond what they would learn in a classroom (Learning step). To connect the service-learning project with scientific process skills, students were asked to identify problems that our community partners were trying to solve, identify proposed solutions, and design ways to evaluate those solutions (Classroom step). Additionally, students connected their service-learning topic with core concepts in Biology. After their service, students used metrics to analyze their impact. Students then synthesized the connection between their service, learning, and classroom projects by presenting their findings to the scientific and lay communities through a poster session (Community step). Here we provide details of the model, recommendations, and examples for others to execute an inquiry-based service-learning project
Optimal branching asymmetry of hydrodynamic pulsatile trees
Most of the studies on optimal transport are done for steady state regime
conditions. Yet, there exists numerous examples in living systems where supply
tree networks have to deliver products in a limited time due to the pulsatile
character of the flow. This is the case for mammals respiration for which air
has to reach the gas exchange units before the start of expiration. We report
here that introducing a systematic branching asymmetry allows to reduce the
average delivery time of the products. It simultaneously increases its
robustness against the unevitable variability of sizes related to
morphogenesis. We then apply this approach to the human tracheobronchial tree.
We show that in this case all extremities are supplied with fresh air, provided
that the asymmetry is smaller than a critical threshold which happens to fit
with the asymmetry measured in the human lung. This could indicate that the
structure is adjusted at the maximum asymmetry level that allows to feed all
terminal units with fresh air.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
A small surface hydrophobic stripe in the coiled-coil domain of type I keratins mediates tetramer stability
Intermediate filaments (IFs) are fibrous polymers encoded by a large family of differentially expressed genes that provide crucial structural support in the cytoplasm and nucleus in higher eukaryotes. The mechanisms involved in bringing together âŒ16 elongated coiled-coil dimers to form an IF are poorly defined. Available evidence suggests that tetramer subunits play a key role during IF assembly and regulation. Through molecular modeling and site-directed mutagenesis, we document a hitherto unnoticed hydrophobic stripe exposed at the surface of coiled-coil keratin heterodimers that contributes to the extraordinary stability of heterotetramers. The inability of K16 to form urea-stable tetramers in vitro correlates with an increase in its turnover rate in vivo. The data presented support a specific conformation for the assembly competent IF tetramer, provide a molecular basis for their differential stability in vitro, and point to the physiological relevance associated with this property in vivo
Damage and fluctuations induce loops in optimal transport networks
Leaf venation is a pervasive example of a complex biological network,
endowing leaves with a transport system and mechanical resilience. Transport
networks optimized for efficiency have been shown to be trees, i.e. loopless.
However, dicotyledon leaf venation has a large number of closed loops, which
are functional and able to transport fluid in the event of damage to any vein,
including the primary veins. Inspired by leaf venation, we study two possible
reasons for the existence of a high density of loops in transport networks:
resilience to damage and fluctuations in load. In the first case, we seek the
optimal transport network in the presence of random damage by averaging over
damage to each link. In the second case, we seek the network that optimizes
transport when the load is sparsely distributed: at any given time most sinks
are closed. We find that both criteria lead to the presence of loops in the
optimum state
Fluctuations and redundancy in optimal transport networks
The structure of networks that provide optimal transport properties has been
investigated in a variety of contexts. While many different formulations of
this problem have been considered, it is recurrently found that optimal
networks are trees. It is shown here that this result is contingent on the
assumption of a stationary flow through the network. When time variations or
fluctuations are allowed for, a different class of optimal structures is found,
which share the hierarchical organization of trees yet contain loops. The
transitions between different network topologies as the parameters of the
problem vary are examined. These results may have strong implications for the
structure and formation of natural networks, as is illustrated by the example
of leaf venation networks.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Testing data types implementations from algebraic specifications
Algebraic specifications of data types provide a natural basis for testing
data types implementations. In this framework, the conformance relation is
based on the satisfaction of axioms. This makes it possible to formally state
the fundamental concepts of testing: exhaustive test set, testability
hypotheses, oracle. Various criteria for selecting finite test sets have been
proposed. They depend on the form of the axioms, and on the possibilities of
observation of the implementation under test. This last point is related to the
well-known oracle problem. As the main interest of algebraic specifications is
data type abstraction, testing a concrete implementation raises the issue of
the gap between the abstract description and the concrete representation. The
observational semantics of algebraic specifications bring solutions on the
basis of the so-called observable contexts. After a description of testing
methods based on algebraic specifications, the chapter gives a brief
presentation of some tools and case studies, and presents some applications to
other formal methods involving datatypes
Geodesics in the space of measure-preserving maps and plans
We study Brenier's variational models for incompressible Euler equations.
These models give rise to a relaxation of the Arnold distance in the space of
measure-preserving maps and, more generally, measure-preserving plans. We
analyze the properties of the relaxed distance, we show a close link between
the Lagrangian and the Eulerian model, and we derive necessary and sufficient
optimality conditions for minimizers. These conditions take into account a
modified Lagrangian induced by the pressure field. Moreover, adapting some
ideas of Shnirelman, we show that, even for non-deterministic final conditions,
generalized flows can be approximated in energy by flows associated to
measure-preserving maps
Spin canting in a Dy-based Single-Chain Magnet with dominant next-nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic interactions
We investigate theoretically and experimentally the static magnetic
properties of single crystals of the molecular-based Single-Chain Magnet (SCM)
of formula [Dy(hfac)NIT(CHOPh)] comprising
alternating Dy and organic radicals. A peculiar inversion between maxima
and minima in the angular dependence of the magnetic molar susceptibility
occurs on increasing temperature. Using information regarding the
monomeric building block as well as an {\it ab initio} estimation of the
magnetic anisotropy of the Dy ion, this anisotropy-inversion phenomenon
can be assigned to weak one-dimensional ferromagnetism along the chain axis.
This indicates that antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor interactions
between Dy ions dominate, despite the large Dy-Dy separation, over the
nearest-neighbor interactions between the radicals and the Dy ions.
Measurements of the field dependence of the magnetization, both along and
perpendicularly to the chain, and of the angular dependence of in a
strong magnetic field confirm such an interpretation. Transfer matrix
simulations of the experimental measurements are performed using a classical
one-dimensional spin model with antiferromagnetic Heisenberg exchange
interaction and non-collinear uniaxial single-ion anisotropies favoring a
canted antiferromagnetic spin arrangement, with a net magnetic moment along the
chain axis. The fine agreement obtained with experimental data provides
estimates of the Hamiltonian parameters, essential for further study of the
dynamics of rare-earths based molecular chains.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
A framework for models of movement in geographic space
This article concerns the theoretical foundations of movement informatics. We discuss general frameworks in which models of spatial movement may be developed. In particular, the article considers the objectâfield and LagrangianâEulerian dichotomies, and the SNAP/SPAN ontologies of the dynamic world, and classifies the variety of informatic structures according to these frameworks. A major challenge is transitioning between paradigms. Usually data is captured with respect to one paradigm but can usefully be represented in another. We discuss this process in formal terms and then describe experiments that we performed to show feasibility. It emerges that observational granularity plays a crucial role in these transitions
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