1,498 research outputs found
Increasing Historically Underserved and Underrepresented Student Completion in STEM Pathways at a Hispanic-Serving Institution: An Action Research Study
There is a demand for accountability for higher education institutions to increase student completion, specifically for institutions that enroll many students from historically underserved and underrepresented populations (HUUP). Meanwhile, labor market analysis presents a demand for skilled and diverse workers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Hispanic-serving institutions (HSI) have an advantage when supporting student completion to meet this workforce demand. This inquiry employed participatory action research (PAR) through a partnership with an HSI in rural Washington State. Using transformative worldview as the theoretical framework, this study aimed to determine the influence of completion planning for STEM students who represent HUUP. Research participants were students in the institution’s mathematics, engineering, science achievement (MESA) program. Two research questions guided this study and centered on how Hispanic participants and their lived experiences may inform completion planning for students from HUUP. The researchers sought to understand to what extent the MESA program’s support services impact student participation at a rural institution. This study collected nonquantitative data through a two-phase approach consisting of a survey and focus groups. The data analysis determined two key themes related to the study’s research questions: student barriers to completion at entry and strategies to support completion. The study’s findings led to four program-specific recommendations and three implications for policy-making decisions for the community partner’s leadership and for other higher education leaders seeking to increase student completion for students from HUUP into STEM pathways
Differential expression of exosomal microRNAs in prefrontal cortices of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients
Exosomes are cellular secretory vesicles containing microRNAs (miRNAs). Once secreted, exosomes are able to attach to recipient cells and release miRNAs potentially modulating the function of the recipient cell. We hypothesized that exosomal miRNA expression in brains of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) might differ from controls, reflecting either disease-specific or common aberrations in SZ and BD patients. The sources of the analyzed samples included McLean 66 Cohort Collection (Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center), BrainNet Europe II (BNE, a consortium of 18 brain banks across Europe) and Boston Medical Center (BMC). Exosomal miRNAs from frozen postmortem prefrontal cortices with well-preserved RNA were isolated and submitted to profiling by Luminex FLEXMAP 3D microfluidic device. Multiple statistical analyses of microarray data suggested that certain exosomal miRNAs were differentially expressed in SZ and BD subjects in comparison to controls. RT-PCR validation confirmed that two miRNAs, miR-497 in SZ samples and miR-29c in BD samples, have significantly increased expression when compared to control samples. These results warrant future studies to evaluate the potential of exosome-derived miRNAs to serve as biomarkers of SZ and BD
Expression of Interest: The Atmospheric Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE)
Neutron tagging in Gadolinium-doped water may play a significant role in
reducing backgrounds from atmospheric neutrinos in next generation proton-decay
searches using megaton-scale Water Cherenkov detectors. Similar techniques
might also be useful in the detection of supernova neutrinos. Accurate
determination of neutron tagging efficiencies will require a detailed
understanding of the number of neutrons produced by neutrino interactions in
water as a function of momentum transferred. We propose the Atmospheric
Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE), designed to measure the
neutron yield of atmospheric neutrino interactions in gadolinium-doped water.
An innovative aspect of the ANNIE design is the use of precision timing to
localize interaction vertices in the small fiducial volume of the detector. We
propose to achieve this by using early production of LAPPDs (Large Area
Picosecond Photodetectors). This experiment will be a first application of
these devices demonstrating their feasibility for Water Cherenkov neutrino
detectors.Comment: Submitted for the January 2014 Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee
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Bacteremia After Prophylaxis II
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141639/1/jper0371.pd
Solar fusion cross sections II: the pp chain and CNO cycles
We summarize and critically evaluate the available data on nuclear fusion
cross sections important to energy generation in the Sun and other
hydrogen-burning stars and to solar neutrino production. Recommended values and
uncertainties are provided for key cross sections, and a recommended spectrum
is given for 8B solar neutrinos. We also discuss opportunities for further
increasing the precision of key rates, including new facilities, new
experimental techniques, and improvements in theory. This review, which
summarizes the conclusions of a workshop held at the Institute for Nuclear
Theory, Seattle, in January 2009, is intended as a 10-year update and
supplement to Reviews of Modern Physics 70 (1998) 1265.Comment: 54 pages, 20 figures, version to be published in Reviews of Modern
Physics; various typos corrected and several updates mad
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