Principles And Practices Fostering Inclusive Excellence: Lessons From The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Capstone Institutions

Best-practices pedagogy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) aims for inclusive excellence that fosters student persistence. This paper describes principles of inclusivity across 11 primarily undergraduate institutions designated as Capstone Awardees in Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) 2012 competition. The Capstones represent a range of institutional missions, student profiles, and geographical locations. Each successfully directed activities toward persistence of STEM students, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups, through a set of common elements: mentoring programs to build community; research experiences to strengthen scientific skill/identity; attention to quantitative skills; and outreach/bridge programs to broaden the student pool. This paper grounds these program elements in learning theory, emphasizing their essential principles with examples of how they were implemented within institutional contexts. We also describe common assessment approaches that in many cases informed programming and created traction for stakeholder buy-in. The lessons learned from our shared experiences in pursuit of inclusive excellence, including the resources housed on our companion website, can inform others’ efforts to increase access to and persistence in STEM in higher education

Pequenos mamíferos do Parque Estadual da Serra do Brigadeiro, Minas Gerais, Sudeste do Brasil: composição de espécies e distribuição altitudinal

The Serra do Brigadeiro State Park represents one of the few remnants of Atlantic forest in a mountainous region of the State of Minas Gerais. The terrestrial small mammal fauna of the park within a 1200- 1800m altitudinal interval was inventoried from 1996 to 2004 to generate estimates about taxonomic composition, richness, abundance, and altitudinal distribution of species. Cytogenetic analyses were carried out for selected species as an additional tool for taxonomic identifications and diversity estimates. A sampling effort of 4620 trapping-nights resulted in 21 species of rodents (families Cricetidae and Echimyidae) and marsupials (family Didelphidae) recorded, of which seven have their karyotypes described. Cumulative curves and non-parametric estimators suggest that the overall inventory is 81% complete and that at least five species are likely to be recorded with additional sampling. Species composition and diversity varied significantly across elevational belts with the lower altitudes characterized by both forest restricted and habitat-generalist species, while the upper altitudes are exclusively characterized by elevationally widespread and habitat-generalist species. Species diversity peaked at middle elevations (1300-1400m) and the putative factors responsible for this pattern are discussed.O Parque Estadual da Serra do Brigadeiro é um dos poucos remanescentes de Mata Atlântica, na Zona da Mata de Minas Gerais, localizado em região montanhosa. No período entre 1996 e 2004, foi empreendido um esforço de captura de 4620 armadilhas-noite, amostrando o intervalo altitudinal 1200-1800m, com o objetivo de inventariar a fauna de pequenos mamiferos terrestres, produzir estimativas sobre a composição taxonômica, riqueza, abundância e distribuição altitudinal das espécies desse grupo no parque. Análises citogenéticas foram realizadas em algumas espécies para auxiliar a identificação taxonômica. Foram registradas 21 espécies de roedores e marsupiais (famílias Cricetidae, Echimyidae e Didelphidae), sete das quais tiveram seus cariótipos descritos. O padrão de diversidade revelado pelas curvas cumulativas de espécie e estimadores não-paramétricos sugere que aproximadamente 81% da riqueza de espécies foi amostrada e que pelo menos cinco espécies possam ser adicionadas à listagem com esforço de captura adicional. A riqueza e composição de espécies variaram significativamente entre as cotas altimétricas, sendo as áreas mais baixas caracterizadas pela presença simultânea de espécies restritas à mata e espécies generalistas, enquanto a comunidade das áreas mais elevadas foi composta exclusivamente por espécies com ampla distribuição altitudinal e generalistas com relação ao hábitat. A maior riqueza de espécies foi detectada nas altitudes intermediárias (1300-1400m), sendo discutidos os fatores possivelmente responsáveis por esse padrão

Classification of fibroglandular tissue distribution in the breast based on radiotherapy planning CT

Accurate segmentation of breast tissues is required for a number of applications such as model based deformable registration in breast radiotherapy. The accuracy of breast tissue segmentation is affected by the spatial distribution (or pattern) of fibroglandular tissue (FT). The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate texture features, determined from planning computed tomography (CT) data, to classify the spatial distribution of FT in the breas

Field Blue Stragglers and Related Mass Transfer Issues

This chapter contains my impressions and perspectives about the current state of knowledge about field blue stragglers (FBS) stars, drawn from an extensive literature that I searched. I conclude my review of issues that attend FBS and mass transfer, by a brief enumeration of a few mildly disquieting observational facts.Comment: Chapter 4, in Ecology of Blue Straggler Stars, H.M.J. Boffin, G. Carraro & G. Beccari (Eds), Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Springe

Direct multi-wavelength limb-darkening measurements of three late-type giants with the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer

We present direct measurements of the limb-darkened intensity profiles of the late-type giant stars HR5299, HR7635, and HR8621 obtained with the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI) at the Lowell Observatory. A triangle of baselines with lengths of 18.9 m, 22.2 m, and 37.5 m was used. We utilized squared visibility amplitudes beyond the first minimum, as well as triple amplitudes and phases in up to 10 spectral channels covering a wavelength range of ~650 nm to ~850 nm. We find that our data can best be described by featureless symmetric limb-darkened disk models while uniform disk and fully darkened disk models can be rejected. We derive high-precision angular limb-darkened diameters for the three stars of 7.44 mas +/- 0.11 mas, 6.18 mas +/- 0.07 mas, and 6.94 mas +/- 0.12 mas, respectively. Using the HIPPARCOS parallaxes, we determine linear limb-darkened radii of 114 R$_\odot \pm$13 R$_\odot$, 56 R$_\odot \pm$4 R$_\odot$, and 98 R$_\odot \pm$9 R$_\odot$, respectively. We compare our data to a grid of Kurucz stellar model atmospheres, with them derive the effective temperatures and surface gravities without additional information, and find agreement with independent estimates derived from empirical calibrations and bolometric fluxes. This confirms the consistency of model predictions and direct observations of the limb-darkening effect.Comment: 13 pages, accepted for publication in A&

1, 2, 3, 4: Infusing Quantitative Literacy into Introductory Biology

Biology of the twenty-first century is an increasingly quantitative science. Undergraduate biology education therefore needs to provide opportunities for students to develop fluency in the tools and language of quantitative disciplines. Quantitative literacy (QL) is important for future scientists as well as for citizens, who need to interpret numeric information and data-based claims regarding nearly every aspect of daily life. To address the need for QL in biology education, we incorporated quantitative concepts throughout a semester-long introductory biology course at a large research university. Early in the course, we assessed the quantitative skills that students bring to the introductory biology classroom and found that students had difficulties in performing simple calculations, representing data graphically, and articulating data-driven arguments. In response to students' learning needs, we infused the course with quantitative concepts aligned with the existing course content and learning objectives. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated by significant improvement in the quality of students' graphical representations of biological data. Infusing QL in introductory biology presents challenges. Our study, however, supports the conclusion that it is feasible in the context of an existing course, consistent with the goals of college biology education, and promotes students' development of important quantitative skills