Conservative dissipation: How important is the Jacobi identity in the dynamics?

Hamiltonian dynamics are characterized by a function, called the Hamiltonian, and a Poisson bracket. The Hamiltonian is a conserved quantity due to the anti-symmetry of the Poisson bracket. The Poisson bracket satisfies the Jacobi identity which is usually more intricate and more complex to comprehend than the conservation of the Hamiltonian. Here we investigate the importance of the Jacobi identity in the dynamics by considering three different types of conservative flows in R3 : Hamiltonian, almost-Poisson and metriplectic. The comparison of their dynamics reveals the importance of the Jacobi identity in structuring the resulting phase space

Developing Creative Problem Solvers Using Inquiry–based Instructional Strategies in an Aviation Curriculum

The aviation industry has a need for innovators and problem solvers. An educator’s role is to develop students with the proper knowledge, skills, and abilities to meet those needs. However, the students must be intrinsically motivated toward these pursuits in order to be effective, and educators should not introduce factors that discourage creativity and inquisitiveness. This theory–oriented paper identifies the specific skills that students should master and offers a model of instruction that encourages creativity through research, along with recommendations for improvements to the curriculum. Finally, the author provides a select bibliography of strategies for implementing inquiry, creativity, and research activities

Development of a Cell-Based Fluorescence Polarization Biosensor Using Preproinsulin to Identify Compounds That Alter Insulin Granule Dynamics

Diabetes currently affects 9.3% of the U.S. population totaling $245 billion annually in U.S. direct and indirect healthcare costs. Current therapies for diabetes are limited in their ability to control blood glucose and/or enhance insulin sensitivity. Therefore, innovative and efficacious therapies for diabetes are urgently needed. Herein we describe a fluorescent insulin reporter system (preproinsulin-mCherry, PPI-mCherry) that tracks live-cell insulin dynamics and secretion in pancreatic β-cells with utility for high-content assessment of real-time insulin dynamics. Additionally, we report a new modality for sensing insulin granule packaging in conventional high-throughput screening (HTS), using a hybrid cell-based fluorescence polarization (FP)/internal FRET biosensor using the PPI-mCherry reporter system. We observed that bafilomycin, a vacuolar H+ ATPase inhibitor and inhibitor of insulin granule formation, significantly increased mCherry FP in INS-1 cells with PPI-mCherry. Partial least squares regression analysis demonstrated that an increase of FP by bafilomycin is significantly correlated with a decrease in granularity of PPI-mCherry signal in the cells. The increased FP by bafilomycin is due to inhibition of self-Förster resonant energy transfer (homo-FRET) caused by the increased mCherry intermolecular distance. FP substantially decreases when insulin is tightly packaged in the granules, and the homo-FRET decreases when insulin granule packaging is inhibited, resulting in increased FP. We performed pilot HTS of 1782 FDA-approved small molecules and natural products from Prestwick and Enzo chemical libraries resulting in an overall Z′-factor of 0.52 ± 0.03, indicating the suitability of this biosensor for HTS. This novel biosensor enables live-cell assessment of protein–protein interaction/protein aggregation in live cells and is compatible with conventional FP plate readers

Helping Underprepared Students A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a College Retention Program

The goal to discover the effective elements of a retention program is part of the pragmatic epistemology of mixed-methods research. This research evaluated the effectiveness of a first-year retention program at an open-access university in the northwestern United States. The grade point averages and retention rates of students who participated in the program were compared against two groups of students: those who were eligible for the program but did not participate and other freshman students in the same academic year. Overall, most of the students who participated in the program earned higher GPAs than students who opted out of the program, but none of the differences were statistically significant. Additionally, the program improved student retention when compared with students who opted out of the program, but the differences in retention rates were not statistically significant. Qualitative data gathered from the students and staff who participated in the program provided some insight into the benefits and hinderances of the program as they pertain to social integration, institutional commitment, locus of control, self-efficacy, and achievement. The evaluation concludes with recommendations for improvement and future research

Data supporting a pilot high-throughput screen of a drug library for identification of DYRK1A inhibitors and high-content imaging analysis of identified harmine analogs

The data presented in this article support the accompanying research article “Identification of harmine and β-carboline analogs from a high-throughput screen of an approved drug collection; profiling as differential inhibitors of DYRK1A and monoamine oxidase A and for in vitro and in vivo anti-cancer studies” [1]. As DYRK1A (dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1a) plays a role in the pathophysiology of a number of diseases including diabetes, cancer and neurodegeneration [2–4], the identification of DYRK1A inhibitors is of significant interest. This data article details the hits identified from a DYRK1A high-throughput screen of a small molecule compound library containing over 95% approved drugs. Twenty-two compounds were identified with >50% inhibition, including harmine and four of its analogs. Subsequent profiling of these harmine analogs using glioma cancer cell lines and high-content image analysis identified those with effects on growth and cytotoxicity

Learning Strategies that Predict Success in Overcoming English Language Learning Anxiety

This study determined the respondents’ level and causes of their anxiety and the strategies that they use in the context of English language learning (ELL). Also, it identified the language strategies that predict success in overcoming the students’ ELL anxiety. Descriptive-correlational design was used in the study. It involved 171 Grades 9 and 10 indigenous peoples of selected schools in the province of Ilocos Norte. It used two gathering tools: Horowitz et al. (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) adopted from Oxford (1990). The data gathered from FLCAS made use of descriptive analysis to compute the means and SILL were analysed using averages, percentages and ranks. Pearson r and multiple regression analysis were used to determine the language strategies that could predict respondents’ language learning anxiety and language strategies.The salient findings are: 1) the selected grades 9 and 10 Indigenous peoples experience moderate level of English language learning anxiety; 2) external factors such as in-class activities and classroom atmosphere are the main causes of language learning anxiety of the respondents; 3) Metacognitive strategy is the commonly used strategy of the selected grades 9 and 10 indigenous peoples followed by social strategy, memory strategy, affective strategy, cognitive strategy, and compensation strategy; and 4) the language learning strategies used by the indigenous peoples are all beneficial in their attempt to improve their proficiency in the language. However, the cognitive and affective strategies are the best among the six