Can small institutes address some problems facing biomedical researchers?

PubMed

Sheetz, Michael P

2014-11-01

At a time of historically low National Institutes of Health funding rates and many problems with the conduct of research (unfunded mandates, disgruntled reviewers, and rampant paranoia), there is a concern that biomedical research as a profession is waning in the United States (see "Rescuing US biomedical research from its systemic flaws" by Alberts and colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). However, it is wonderful to discover something new and to tackle tough puzzles. If we could focus more of our effort on discussing scientific problems and doing research, then we could be more productive and perhaps happier. One potential solution is to focus efforts on small thematic institutes in the university structure that can provide a stimulating and supportive environment for innovation and exploration. With an open-lab concept, there are economies of scale that can diminish paperwork and costs, while providing greater access to state-of-the-art equipment. Merging multiple disciplines around a common theme can catalyze innovation, and this enables individuals to develop new concepts without giving up the credit they deserve, because it is usually clear who did the work. Small institutes do not solve larger systemic problems but rather enable collective efforts to address the noisome aspects of the system and foster an innovative community effort to address scientific problems. © 2014 Sheetz.

Using Scenarios to Design Complex Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Jong, Ton; Weinberger, Armin; Girault, Isabelle; Kluge, Anders; Lazonder, Ard W.; Pedaste, Margus; Ludvigsen, Sten; Ney, Muriel; Wasson, Barbara; Wichmann, Astrid; Geraedts, Caspar; Giemza, Adam; Hovardas, Tasos; Julien, Rachel; van Joolingen, Wouter R.; Lejeune, Anne; Manoli, Constantinos C.; Matteman, Yuri; Sarapuu, Tago; Verkade, Alex; Vold, Vibeke; Zacharia, Zacharias C.

2012-01-01

Science Created by You (SCY) learning environments are computer-based environments in which students learn about science topics in the context of addressing a socio-scientific problem. Along their way to a solution for this problem students produce many types of intermediate products or learning objects. SCY learning environments center the entire…

Linking Research, Education and Public Engagement in Geoscience: Leadership and Strategic Partnerships - Chris McEntee

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McEntee, C.; Moosavi, S. C.; Laj, C. E.; Chambers, L. H.; Harcourt, P.; Spellman, K.; McEntee, C.

2017-12-01

The American Geophysical Union is the world's largest Earth and space science society. Under a strategic plan adopted in 2010, AGU has been steadily expanding science outreach and public engagement through a variety of different types of strategic alliances and partnerships at the local, national, regional and global levels. Building on its strength as a convener, AGU has been assuming leadership and forging strategic partnerships within and outside the scientific/research community in areas that are advancing global commitment to open data, building broader coalitions in science policy, addressing harassment in the scientific work environment, and forging scientific-community relationships to address local problems arising from climate change, hazards and disasters and natural resource limitations.

Whole earth modeling: developing and disseminating scientific software for computational geophysics.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kellogg, L. H.

2016-12-01

Historically, a great deal of specialized scientific software for modeling and data analysis has been developed by individual researchers or small groups of scientists working on their own specific research problems. As the magnitude of available data and computer power has increased, so has the complexity of scientific problems addressed by computational methods, creating both a need to sustain existing scientific software, and expand its development to take advantage of new algorithms, new software approaches, and new computational hardware. To that end, communities like the Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics (CIG) have been established to support the use of best practices in scientific computing for solid earth geophysics research and teaching. Working as a scientific community enables computational geophysicists to take advantage of technological developments, improve the accuracy and performance of software, build on prior software development, and collaborate more readily. The CIG community, and others, have adopted an open-source development model, in which code is developed and disseminated by the community in an open fashion, using version control and software repositories like Git. One emerging issue is how to adequately identify and credit the intellectual contributions involved in creating open source scientific software. The traditional method of disseminating scientific ideas, peer reviewed publication, was not designed for review or crediting scientific software, although emerging publication strategies such software journals are attempting to address the need. We are piloting an integrated approach in which authors are identified and credited as scientific software is developed and run. Successful software citation requires integration with the scholarly publication and indexing mechanisms as well, to assign credit, ensure discoverability, and provide provenance for software.

Mapping the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's Global Impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chaomei; Zhang, Jian; Vogeley, Michael S.

2009-07-01

The scientific capacity of a country is essential in todayâ's increasingly globalized science and technology ecosystem. Scientific capacity has four increasingly advanced levels of capabilities: absorbing, applying, creating, and retaining scientific knowledge. Moving to a advanced level requires additional skills and training. For example, it requires more specialized skills to apply scientific knowledge than to absorb knowledge. Similarly, making new discoveries requires more knowledge than applying existing procedures. Research has shown the importance of addressing specific, local problems while tapping into globally available expertise and resources. Accessing scientific knowledge is the first step towards absorbing knowledge. Low-income countries have increased their access to scientific literature on the Internet, but to what extent has this access led to more advanced levels of scientific capacity? Interdisciplinary and international collaboration may hold the key to creating and retaining knowledge. For example, creative ideas tend to be associated with inspirations originated from a diverse range of perspectives On the other hand, not all collaborations are productive. Assessing global science and technology needs to address both successes and failures and reasons behind them.

Seeking an international dialogue on research integrity.

PubMed

Aschwanden, Christie

2007-10-05

Scientific misconduct is a global problem, yet protocols for addressing it remain highly fragmented and uneven. A conference held last month in Lisbon aimed to encourage international efforts to promote research integrity and to prevent misconduct.

Scientifically supported mental health intervention in schools: meeting accountability demands with an online resource.

PubMed

Powers, Joelle D

2012-01-01

Legislation has been passed that holds schools increasingly accountable for the proficiency of all students, including those with mental health problems. A critical obstacle impeding the ability of schools to effectively support students is the lack of access to quick, pre-screened, and organized information about scientifically-supported interventions that effectively address youth mental health problems. A new mental health best practices database was developed and made available online that provides access to free and user-friendly information about evidence-based interventions for use in schools. School staff will be better able to meet accountability demands of legislation and to effectively respond to student mental health problems.

Redesigning Introductory Science Courses to Teach Sustainability: Introducing the L(SC)2 Paradigm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myers, J. D.; Campbell-Stone, E.; Massey, G.

2008-12-01

Modern societies consume vast quantities of Earth resources at unsustainable levels; at the same time, resource extraction, processing, production, use and disposal have resulted in environmental damage severe enough to threaten the life-support systems of our planet. These threats are produced by multiple, integrative and cumulative environmental stresses, i.e. syndromes, which result from human physical, ecological and social interactions with the environment in specific geographic places. In recent decades, recognition of this growing threat has lead to the concept of sustainability. The science needed to provide the knowledge and know-how for a successful sustainability transition differs markedly from the science that built our modern world. Sustainability science must balanced basic and applied research, promote integrative research focused on specific problems and devise a means of merging fundamental, general scientific principles with understanding of specific places. At the same time, it must use a variety of knowledge areas, i.e. biological systems, Earth systems, technological systems and social systems, to devise solutions to the many complex and difficult problems humankind faces. Clearly, sustainability science is far removed from the discipline-based science taught in most U.S. colleges. Many introductory science courses focus on content, lack context and do not integrate scientific disciplines. To prepare the citizens who will confront future sustainability issues as well as the scientists needed to devise future sustainability strategies, educators and scientists must redesign the typical college science course. A new course paradigm, Literacies and Scientific Content in Social Context (L(SC)2), is ideally suited to teach sustainability science. It offers an alternative approach to liberal science education by redefining and expanding the concept of the interdisciplinary course and merging it with the integrated science course. In addition to promoting scientific literacy, L(SC)2 courses explicitly promote mastery of fundamental quantitative and qualitative skills critical to science and commonly a barrier to student success in science. Scientific content addresses the principles and disciplines necessary to tackle the multifaceted problems that must be solved in any sustainability transition and illustrates the limitations on what can be accomplished. Finally, social context adds the place-based component that is critical to sustainability science while revealing how science impacts students' everyday lives. Experience in addressing realistic, real-life problems fosters the habits of mind necessary to address these problems and instills a sense of social and political efficacy and responsibility. The L(SC)2 course paradigm employs a variety of educational tools (active problem-based learning, collaborative work, peer instruction, interdisciplinarity, and global context-based instruction) that improve lasting comprehension by creating a more effective learning environment. In this paradigm, STEM students learn that although there may be a technically or scientifically optimal solution to a problem, it must be responsive to a society's social, legal, cultural and religious parameters. Conversely, students in non-STEM fields learn that solutions to societal problems must be scientifically valid and technologically feasible. The interaction of STEM and non-STEM students in L(SC)2 courses builds bridges between the natural and social sciences that are critical for a successful sustainability transition and lacking in most traditional science courses.

The Representation of Anatomical Structures through Computer Animation for Scientific, Educational and Artistic Applications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stredney, Donald Larry

An overview of computer animation and the techniques involved in its creation is provided in the introduction to this masters thesis, which focuses on the problems encountered by students in learning the forms and functions of complex anatomical structures and ways in which computer animation can address these problems. The objectives for,…

Children's Understanding of Globes as a Model of the Earth: A Problem of Contextualizing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ehrlen, Karin

2008-01-01

Visual representations play an important role in science teaching. The way in which visual representations may help children to acquire scientific concepts is a crucial test in the debate between constructivist and socio-cultural oriented researchers. In this paper, the question is addressed as a problem of how to contextualize conceptions and…

Sensemaking: Conceptualizing and Coding for “Good” Student Reasoning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elby, Andrew; Scherr, R.; Bing, T.

2006-12-01

Physics instructors’ goals often go beyond improving students’ conceptual understanding and problem solving. Instructors also want students to engage in inquiry, become scientific/critical thinkers, understand the scientific process, and so on. We see two problems with these “non-content” goals. First, notions such as inquiry and scientific thinking are often defined vaguely or inconsistently across the literature. Second, even when like-minded instructors share a vision of what we’d love to see our students do, descriptions of that vision are often too squishy to communicate, debate, or assess: “We know it when we see it!” In this talk and poster, we address these problems by introducing sensemaking vs. answermaking, two mindsets with which students can approach physics. Our definitions of those notions benefit from a theoretical base, and our coding scheme for sensemaking vs. answermaking displays high interrater reliability and rests upon a list of specific indicators.

Computing through Scientific Abstractions in SysBioPS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chin, George; Stephan, Eric G.; Gracio, Deborah K.

2004-10-13

Today, biologists and bioinformaticists have a tremendous amount of computational power at their disposal. With the availability of supercomputers, burgeoning scientific databases and digital libraries such as GenBank and PubMed, and pervasive computational environments such as the Grid, biologists have access to a wealth of computational capabilities and scientific data at hand. Yet, the rapid development of computational technologies has far exceeded the typical biologist’s ability to effectively apply the technology in their research. Computational sciences research and development efforts such as the Biology Workbench, BioSPICE (Biological Simulation Program for Intra-Cellular Evaluation), and BioCoRE (Biological Collaborative Research Environment) are importantmore » in connecting biologists and their scientific problems to computational infrastructures. On the Computational Cell Environment and Heuristic Entity-Relationship Building Environment projects at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, we are jointly developing a new breed of scientific problem solving environment called SysBioPSE that will allow biologists to access and apply computational resources in the scientific research context. In contrast to other computational science environments, SysBioPSE operates as an abstraction layer above a computational infrastructure. The goal of SysBioPSE is to allow biologists to apply computational resources in the context of the scientific problems they are addressing and the scientific perspectives from which they conduct their research. More specifically, SysBioPSE allows biologists to capture and represent scientific concepts and theories and experimental processes, and to link these views to scientific applications, data repositories, and computer systems.« less

A Scalable, Open Source Platform for Data Processing, Archiving and Dissemination

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-01

Object Oriented Data Technology (OODT) big data toolkit developed by NASA and the Work-flow INstance Generation and Selection (WINGS) scientific work...to several challenge big data problems and demonstrated the utility of OODT-WINGS in addressing them. Specific demonstrated analyses address i...source software, Apache, Object Oriented Data Technology, OODT, semantic work-flows, WINGS, big data , work- flow management 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF

Preparing to understand and use science in the real world: interdisciplinary study concentrations at the Technical University of Darmstadt.

PubMed

Liebert, Wolfgang J

2013-12-01

In order to raise awareness of the ambiguous nature of scientific-technological progress, and of the challenging problems it raises, problems which are not easily addressed by courses in a single discipline and cannot be projected onto disciplinary curricula, Technical University of Darmstadt has established three interdisciplinary study concentrations: "Technology and International Development", "Environmental Sciences", and "Sustainable Shaping of Technology and Science". These three programmes seek to overcome the limitations of strictly disciplinary research and teaching by developing an integrated, problem-oriented approach. For example, one course considers fundamental nuclear dilemmas and uses role-playing techniques to address a controversy in the area of nuclear security. At the same time, incorporating interdisciplinary teaching into a university that is organized around mono- or multi-disciplinary faculties also poses a number of challenges. Recognition in disciplinary curricula, and appropriate organizational support and funding are examples of those challenges. It is expected that science and engineering students, empowered by such interdisciplinary study programmes, will be better prepared to act responsibly with regard to scientific and technological challenges.

Key Issues in Hymenoptera Venom Allergy: An Update.

PubMed

Alfaya Arias, T; Soriano Gómis, V; Soto Mera, T; Vega Castro, A; Vega Gutiérrez, J M; Alonso Llamazares, A; Antolín Amérigo, D; Carballada Gonzalez, F J; Dominguez Noche, C; Gutierrez Fernandez, D; Marques Amat, L; Martinez Arcediano, A; Martinez San Ireneo, M; Moreno Ancillo, A; Puente Crespo, Y; Ruiz Leon, B; Sánchez Morillas, L

In this review, the Hymenoptera Allergy Committee of the SEAIC analyzes the most recent scientific literature addressing problems related to the diagnosis of hymenoptera allergy and to management of venom immunotherapy. Molecular diagnosis and molecular risk profiles are the key areas addressed. The appearance of new species of hymenoptera that are potentially allergenic in Spain and the associated diagnostic and therapeutic problems are also described. Finally, we analyze the issue of mast cell activation syndrome closely related to hymenoptera allergy, which has become a new diagnostic challenge for allergists given its high prevalence in patients with venom anaphylaxis.

Decolonizing Our Voices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salmon, Enrique

1996-01-01

Addresses problems associated with the appropriation of indigenous knowledge and the marginalization of indigenous intellectual accomplishments by the academic and scientific community. An example is the misuse of indigenous medicinal plant knowledge and the lack of equal status given to this knowledge at nonindigenous institutions. Offers…

In defense of basic science funding: today's scientific discovery is tomorrow's medical advance.

PubMed

Tessier-Lavigne, Marc

2013-06-01

In this address, I will discuss the importance of basic science in tackling our health problems. I will also describe how the funding cuts are damaging our economic competitiveness and turning our young people away from science.

Building the Scientific Modeling Assistant: An interactive environment for specialized software design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M.

1991-01-01

The construction of scientific software models is an integral part of doing science, both within NASA and within the scientific community at large. Typically, model-building is a time-intensive and painstaking process, involving the design of very large, complex computer programs. Despite the considerable expenditure of resources involved, completed scientific models cannot easily be distributed and shared with the larger scientific community due to the low-level, idiosyncratic nature of the implemented code. To address this problem, we have initiated a research project aimed at constructing a software tool called the Scientific Modeling Assistant. This tool provides automated assistance to the scientist in developing, using, and sharing software models. We describe the Scientific Modeling Assistant, and also touch on some human-machine interaction issues relevant to building a successful tool of this type.

Introducing soft systems methodology plus (SSM+): why we need it and what it can contribute.

PubMed

Braithwaite, Jeffrey; Hindle, Don; Iedema, Rick; Westbrook, Johanna I

2002-01-01

There are many complicated and seemingly intractable problems in the health care sector. Past ways to address them have involved political responses, economic restructuring, biomedical and scientific studies, and managerialist or business-oriented tools. Few methods have enabled us to develop a systematic response to problems. Our version of soft systems methodology, SSM+, seems to improve problem solving processes by providing an iterative, staged framework that emphasises collaborative learning and systems redesign involving both technical and cultural fixes.

The author’s opportunity and obligation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Peer review is a critical component of the scientific method and therefore should be an obligation for everyone who desires to publish their research results in refereed journals. This editorial is written to address a specific problem being encountered by editors of Soil & Tillage Research, but the...

Analysis of small crack behavior for airframe applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcclung, R. C.; Chan, K. S.; Hudak, S. J., Jr.; Davidson, D. L.

1994-01-01

The small fatigue crack problem is critically reviewed from the perspective of airframe applications. Different types of small cracks-microstructural, mechanical, and chemical-are carefully defined and relevant mechanisms identified. Appropriate analysis techniques, including both rigorous scientific and practical engineering treatments, are briefly described. Important materials data issues are addressed, including increased scatter in small crack data and recommended small crack test methods. Key problems requiring further study are highlighted.

Government Regulation of the Pursuit of Knowledge: The Recombinant DNA Controversy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berger, Richard G.

1978-01-01

Government regulation of recombinant DNA research is addressed. Issues discussed include the potential of such research; National Institutes of Health guidelines; federal, state, and local regulation; the controversy over self-regulation; first amendment protection for scientific research; and problems in drafting legislation. (JMD)

Scientific Data Management (SDM) Center for Enabling Technologies. 2007-2012

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ludascher, Bertram; Altintas, Ilkay

Over the past five years, our activities have both established Kepler as a viable scientific workflow environment and demonstrated its value across multiple science applications. We have published numerous peer-reviewed papers on the technologies highlighted in this short paper and have given Kepler tutorials at SC06,SC07,SC08,and SciDAC 2007. Our outreach activities have allowed scientists to learn best practices and better utilize Kepler to address their individual workflow problems. Our contributions to advancing the state-of-the-art in scientific workflows have focused on the following areas. Progress in each of these areas is described in subsequent sections. Workflow development. The development of amore » deeper understanding of scientific workflows "in the wild" and of the requirements for support tools that allow easy construction of complex scientific workflows; Generic workflow components and templates. The development of generic actors (i.e.workflow components and processes) which can be broadly applied to scientific problems; Provenance collection and analysis. The design of a flexible provenance collection and analysis infrastructure within the workflow environment; and, Workflow reliability and fault tolerance. The improvement of the reliability and fault-tolerance of workflow environments.« less

Addressing controversies in science education: a pragmatic approach to evolution education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hildebrand, David; Bilica, Kimberly; Capps, John

2008-09-01

Science education controversies typically prove more intractable than those in scientific research because they involve a wider range of considerations (e.g., epistemic, social, ethical, political, and religious). How can educators acknowledge central issues in a controversy (such as evolution)? How can such problems be addressed in a way that is ethically sensitive and intellectually responsible? Drawing in part on pragmatic philosopher John Dewey, our solution is politically proactive, philosophically pragmatic, and grounded in research. Central to our proposal is (1) steps toward creating a philosophical “total attitude” that is democratic, imaginative, and hypothetical; (2) a deeper understanding of how scientific theories can be pragmatically true; and (3) an assessment of differing pedagogical approaches for teaching evolution in the classroom.

Social behavioural epistemology and the scientific community.

PubMed

Watve, Milind

2017-07-01

The progress of science is influenced substantially by social behaviour of and social interactions within the scientific community. Similar to innovations in primate groups, the social acceptance of an innovation depends not only upon the relevance of the innovation but also on the social dominance and connectedness of the innovator. There are a number of parallels between many well-known phenomena in behavioural evolution and various behavioural traits observed in the scientific community. It would be useful, therefore, to use principles of behavioural evolution as hypotheses to study the social behaviour of the scientific community. I argue in this paper that a systematic study of social behavioural epistemology is likely to boost the progress of science by addressing several prevalent biases and other problems in scientific communication and by facilitating appropriate acceptance/rejection of novel concepts.

Microplastics: addressing ecological risk through lessons learned.

PubMed

Syberg, Kristian; Khan, Farhan R; Selck, Henriette; Palmqvist, Annemette; Banta, Gary T; Daley, Jennifer; Sano, Larissa; Duhaime, Melissa B

2015-05-01

Plastic litter is an environmental problem of great concern. Despite the magnitude of the plastic pollution in our water bodies, only limited scientific understanding is available about the risk to the environment, particularly for microplastics. The apparent magnitude of the problem calls for quickly developing sound scientific guidance on the ecological risks of microplastics. The authors suggest that future research into microplastics risks should be guided by lessons learned from the more advanced and better understood areas of (eco) toxicology of engineered nanoparticles and mixture toxicity. Relevant examples of advances in these two fields are provided to help accelerate the scientific learning curve within the relatively unexplored area of microplastics risk assessment. Finally, the authors advocate an expansion of the "vector effect" hypothesis with regard to microplastics risk to help focus research of microplastics environmental risk at different levels of biological and environmental organization. © 2015 SETAC.

Partitioning Rectangular and Structurally Nonsymmetric Sparse Matrices for Parallel Processing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

B. Hendrickson; T.G. Kolda

1998-09-01

A common operation in scientific computing is the multiplication of a sparse, rectangular or structurally nonsymmetric matrix and a vector. In many applications the matrix- transpose-vector product is also required. This paper addresses the efficient parallelization of these operations. We show that the problem can be expressed in terms of partitioning bipartite graphs. We then introduce several algorithms for this partitioning problem and compare their performance on a set of test matrices.

Sexual Health Care in Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Servais, Laurent

2006-01-01

In the past, preventive health concerning sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities was addressed through surgical sterilization as part of nationwide eugenic programs in many countries. For more than 30 years now, it has come progressively to light in the scientific literature that, besides major ethical and legal problems, these…

Witnessing Violence: Making the Invisible Visible.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holton, John K.

1995-01-01

Explores the problem of urban violence, and discusses a research strategy that can help to explain this phenomenon. The author contends that research might best address violence if it was designed to include variables of poverty and racism and was more inclusive of research from a broader range of scientific disciplines. (GR)

The Health of the Oceans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldberg, Edward D.

International scientific literature is used to review relevant data concerning pollution of the world's oceans. Chapters 1, 8 and 9 address themselves to the problems of international control of marine pollution. Chapter 1 introduces the importance of the time factor, revealing information on how long it takes a pollutant to reach an undesirable…

Deep Space Gateway Facilitates Exploration of Planetary Crusts: A Human/Robotic Exploration Design Reference Campaign to the Lunar Orientale Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Head, J. W.; Pieters, C. M.; Scott, D. R.

2018-02-01

We outline an Orientale Basin Human/Robotic Architecture that can be facilitated by a Deep Space Gateway International Science Operations Center (DSG-ISOC) (like McMurdo/Antarctica) to address fundamental scientific problems about the Moon and Mars.

The Philosophical Problem of Truth in Librarianship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Labaree, Robert V.; Scimeca, Ross

2008-01-01

The authors develop a framework for addressing the question of truth in librarianship and in doing so attempt to move considerations of truth closer to the core of philosophical debates within the profession. After establishing ways in which philosophy contributes to social scientific inquiry in library science, the authors examine concepts of…

Race and Genetics from a Modal Materialist Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Condit, Celeste M.

2008-01-01

Prevailing idealist and materialist theories of rhetoric fail to account for the continual circulation and recirculation of "racism" as a scientific discourse. An alternative theory of modal materialism addresses this problem by suggesting that the properties of all being are constituted through three distinguishable forms of matter that include…

Mars Pathfinder Landing Site Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Golombek, Matthew (Editor)

1994-01-01

The Mars Pathfinder Project is an approved Discovery-class mission that will place a lander and rover on the surface of the Red Planet in July 1997. The Mars Pathfinder Landing Site Workshop was designed to allow the Mars scientific community to provide input as to where to land Pathfinder on Mars. The workshop was attended by over 60 people from around the United States and from Europe. Over 20 landing sites were proposed at the workshop, and the scientific questions and problems concerning each were addressed. The workshop and the discussion that occured during and afterward have significantly improved the ability to select a scientifically exciting but safe landing site on Mars.

Administrative automation in a scientific environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jarrett, J. R.

1984-01-01

Although the scientific personnel at GSFC were advanced in the development and use of hardware and software for scientific applications, resistance to the use of automation or purchase of terminals, software and services, specifically for administrative functions was widespread. The approach used to address problems and constraints and plans for administrative automation within the Space and Earth Sciences Directorate are delineated. Accomplishments thus far include reduction of paperwork and manual efforts; improved communications through telemail and committees; additional support staff; increased awareness at all levels on ergonomic concerns and the need for training; better equipment; improved ADP skills through experience; management commitment; and an overall strategy for automating.

Critical materialism: science, technology, and environmental sustainability.

PubMed

York, Richard; Clark, Brett

2010-01-01

There are widely divergent views on how science and technology are connected to environmental problems. A view commonly held among natural scientists and policy makers is that environmental problems are primarily technical problems that can be solved via the development and implementation of technological innovations. This technologically optimistic view tends to ignore power relationships in society and the political-economic order that drives environmental degradation. An opposed view, common among postmodernist and poststructuralist scholars, is that the emergence of the scientific worldview is one of the fundamental causes of human oppression. This postmodernist view rejects scientific epistemology and often is associated with an anti-realist stance, which ultimately serves to deny the reality of environmental problems, thus (unintentionally) abetting right-wing efforts to scuttle environmental protection. We argue that both the technologically optimistic and the postmodernist views are misguided, and both undermine our ability to address environmental crises. We advocate the adoption of a critical materialist stance, which recognizes the importance of natural science for helping us to understand the world while also recognizing the social embeddedness of the scientific establishment and the need to challenge the manipulation of science by the elite.

Transforming "Ecosystem" from a Scientific Concept into a Teachable Topic: Philosophy and History of Ecology Informs Science Textbook Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schizas, Dimitrios; Papatheodorou, Efimia; Stamou, George

2017-04-01

This study conducts a textbook analysis in the frame of the following working hypothesis: The transformation of scientific knowledge into school knowledge is expected to reproduce the problems encountered with the scientific knowledge itself or generate additional problems, which may both induce misconceptions in textbook users. Specifically, we describe four epistemological problems associated with how the concept of "ecosystem" is elaborated within ecological science and we examine how each problem is reproduced in the biology textbook utilized by Greek students in the 12th grade and the resulting teacher and student misunderstandings that may occur. Our research demonstrates that the authors of the textbook address these problems by appealing simultaneously to holistic and reductionist ideas. This results in a meaningless and confused depiction of "ecosystem" and may provoke many serious misconceptions on the part of textbook users, for example, that an ecosystem is a system that can be applied to every set of interrelated ecological objects irrespective of the organizational level to which these entities belong or how these entities are related to each other. The implications of these phenomena for science education research are discussed from a perspective that stresses the role of background assumptions in the understanding of declarative knowledge.

Discovery and development of new antibacterial drugs: learning from experience?

PubMed

Jackson, Nicole; Czaplewski, Lloyd; Piddock, Laura J V

2018-06-01

Antibiotic (antibacterial) resistance is a serious global problem and the need for new treatments is urgent. The current antibiotic discovery model is not delivering new agents at a rate that is sufficient to combat present levels of antibiotic resistance. This has led to fears of the arrival of a 'post-antibiotic era'. Scientific difficulties, an unfavourable regulatory climate, multiple company mergers and the low financial returns associated with antibiotic drug development have led to the withdrawal of many pharmaceutical companies from the field. The regulatory climate has now begun to improve, but major scientific hurdles still impede the discovery and development of novel antibacterial agents. To facilitate discovery activities there must be increased understanding of the scientific problems experienced by pharmaceutical companies. This must be coupled with addressing the current antibiotic resistance crisis so that compounds and ultimately drugs are delivered to treat the most urgent clinical challenges. By understanding the causes of the failures and successes of the pharmaceutical industry's research history, duplication of discovery programmes will be reduced, increasing the productivity of the antibiotic drug discovery pipeline by academia and small companies. The most important scientific issues to address are getting molecules into the Gram-negative bacterial cell and avoiding their efflux. Hence screening programmes should focus their efforts on whole bacterial cells rather than cell-free systems. Despite falling out of favour with pharmaceutical companies, natural product research still holds promise for providing new molecules as a basis for discovery.

Current Approaches in Implementing Citizen Science in the Classroom

PubMed Central

Shah, Harsh R.; Martinez, Luis R.

2016-01-01

Citizen science involves a partnership between inexperienced volunteers and trained scientists engaging in research. In addition to its obvious benefit of accelerating data collection, citizen science has an unexplored role in the classroom, from K–12 schools to higher education. With recent studies showing a weakening in scientific competency of American students, incorporating citizen science initiatives in the curriculum provides a means to address deficiencies in a fragmented educational system. The integration of traditional and innovative pedagogical methods to reform our educational system is therefore imperative in order to provide practical experiences in scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and problem solving for school-age individuals. Citizen science can be used to emphasize the recognition and use of systematic approaches to solve problems affecting the community. PMID:27047583

Current Approaches in Implementing Citizen Science in the Classroom.

PubMed

Shah, Harsh R; Martinez, Luis R

2016-03-01

Citizen science involves a partnership between inexperienced volunteers and trained scientists engaging in research. In addition to its obvious benefit of accelerating data collection, citizen science has an unexplored role in the classroom, from K-12 schools to higher education. With recent studies showing a weakening in scientific competency of American students, incorporating citizen science initiatives in the curriculum provides a means to address deficiencies in a fragmented educational system. The integration of traditional and innovative pedagogical methods to reform our educational system is therefore imperative in order to provide practical experiences in scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and problem solving for school-age individuals. Citizen science can be used to emphasize the recognition and use of systematic approaches to solve problems affecting the community.

Complexities in understanding and addressing the serious public health issues related to the nonmedical use of prescription drugs

PubMed Central

Arria, Amelia M.; Compton, Wilson M.

2016-01-01

The nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) is not only a serious public health problem, but also a complex one. The articles presented in this special issue underscore that complexity by describing multiple classes of prescription drugs (e.g., opioid analgesics, benzodiazepines, stimulants, anxiolytics, and sedatives) and examining multiple aspects of their patterns of use. Collectively, the articles examine epidemiologic use patterns in the United States, risk factors, clinical characteristics of individuals in treatment for dependence, and consequences. The key to addressing NMUPD is to construct a solid understanding of the issues through scientific research, and to translate the scientific evidence into action. The articles in this issue build upon a large body of literature that has accumulated during the last two decades. Dramatic increases in overdoses from prescription opioids and the transition to heroin use among nonmedical users of prescription opioids has captured the attention of community leaders across the nation. Yet, less well known is the co-occurrence of multiple substances among those using prescription drug nonmedically. This represents a common theme across these articles which document that nonmedical users were observed to have a history of using alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and other psychoactive substances. In addition, the articles dispel certain ideas that appear to have gained traction in the popular discourse that have little scientific evidence behind them. First, the notion that prescription drug problems arise in cases of drug naïve individuals who are first exposed through a physician’s prescription for pain medication is widespread, but is not rooted in scientific evidence. Second, despite the popular notion that nonmedical use of stimulants confers an “academic edge”, nonmedical users have lower grade point averages (GPAs) than non-users. NMUPD was also shown to be associated with sexual aggression victimization and perpetration and regretted sex. In addition, several of the articles in this issue point to innovative targets for prevention of NMUPD. It is only through high-quality research can we gain a clearer understanding of the problem and how to address it. PMID:27639956

The Experimental Design Assistant.

PubMed

Percie du Sert, Nathalie; Bamsey, Ian; Bate, Simon T; Berdoy, Manuel; Clark, Robin A; Cuthill, Innes; Fry, Derek; Karp, Natasha A; Macleod, Malcolm; Moon, Lawrence; Stanford, S Clare; Lings, Brian

2017-09-01

Addressing the common problems that researchers encounter when designing and analysing animal experiments will improve the reliability of in vivo research. In this article, the Experimental Design Assistant (EDA) is introduced. The EDA is a web-based tool that guides the in vivo researcher through the experimental design and analysis process, providing automated feedback on the proposed design and generating a graphical summary that aids communication with colleagues, funders, regulatory authorities, and the wider scientific community. It will have an important role in addressing causes of irreproducibility.

The Experimental Design Assistant

PubMed Central

Bamsey, Ian; Bate, Simon T.; Berdoy, Manuel; Clark, Robin A.; Cuthill, Innes; Fry, Derek; Karp, Natasha A.; Macleod, Malcolm; Moon, Lawrence; Stanford, S. Clare; Lings, Brian

2017-01-01

Addressing the common problems that researchers encounter when designing and analysing animal experiments will improve the reliability of in vivo research. In this article, the Experimental Design Assistant (EDA) is introduced. The EDA is a web-based tool that guides the in vivo researcher through the experimental design and analysis process, providing automated feedback on the proposed design and generating a graphical summary that aids communication with colleagues, funders, regulatory authorities, and the wider scientific community. It will have an important role in addressing causes of irreproducibility. PMID:28957312

Environmental problem solving

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, A.

Human influences create both environmental problems and barriers to effective policy aimed at addressing those problems. In effect, environmental managers manage people as much as they manage the environment. Therefore, they must gain an understanding of the psychological and sociopolitical dimensions of environmental problems that they are attempting to resolve. The author reappraises conventional analyses of environmental problems using lessons from the psychosocial disciplines. The author combines the disciplines of ecology, political sociology and psychology to produce a more adaptive approach to problem-solving that is specifically geared toward the environmental field. Numerous case studies demonstrate the practical application of theorymore » in a way that is useful to technical and scientific professionals as well as to policymakers and planners.« less

The impact of a student-teacher-scientist partnership (STSP) on students' and teachers' content knowledge and attitudes toward science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houseal, Ana K.

Engaging elementary students in science through inquiry-based methodologies is at the center of science education reform efforts (AAAS, 1989, NRC 1996, 2000). Through scientific problem solving, students can learn that science is more than just learning facts and concepts (NRC, 2000) The process of scientific inquiry, as a way of approaching scientific problem solving, can be taught to students through experiential, authentic (or real-world) science experiences. Student-teacher-scientist partnerships (STSPs) are one vehicle used to connect students to these science experiences with practicing research scientists. However, the literature on STSPs demonstrates they are fraught with challenges and very little is known of their effects on teachers' and students' content knowledge growth or changes in their attitudes about science and scientists. This study addressed these two areas by researching a particular STSP. The STSP, called Students, Teachers, and Rangers and Research Scientists (STaRRS), designed to be incorporated into the existing long-standing education program Expedition: Yellowstone! (E:Y!) was the focus of this study. For teachers, a pre-test, intervention, post-test research design addressing content knowledge gains, attitude changes, and pedagogical changes was used. A quasi-experimental pre- post-test design using treatment and comparison groups of students addressed content knowledge gains and attitude changes. Findings provided evidence of significant positive shifts in teachers' attitudes regarding science and scientists, and trends of shifting pedagogical choices made by teachers. Students showed significant content knowledge gains and an increased positive attitude regarding their perceptions of scientists.

The Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey (ARES) Mission to Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, J. S.

2005-01-01

ARES is an exploration mission concept for an Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey of Mars designed to fly an instrumented platform over the surface of Mars at very low altitudes (1-3 km) for distances of hundreds to thousands of kilometers to obtain scientific data to address fundamental problems in Mars science. ARES helps to fill a gap in the scale and perspective of the Mars Exploration Program and addresses many key COMPLEX/MEPAG questions (e.g., nature and origin of crustal magnetic anomalies) not readily pursued in other parts of the exploration program. ARES supports the human exploration program through key environmental measurements and high-resolution contiguous data essential to reference mission design. Here we describe the major types of scientific goals, candidate instruments, and reference mission profiles.

Scientific impact: opportunity and necessity.

PubMed

Cohen, Marlene Z; Alexander, Gregory L; Wyman, Jean F; Fahrenwald, Nancy L; Porock, Davina; Wurzbach, Mary E; Rawl, Susan M; Conn, Vicki S

2010-08-01

Recent National Institutes of Health changes have focused attention on the potential scientific impact of research projects. Research with the excellent potential to change subsequent science or health care practice may have high scientific impact. Only rigorous studies that address highly significant problems can generate change. Studies with high impact may stimulate new research approaches by changing understanding of a phenomenon, informing theory development, or creating new research methods that allow a field of science to move forward. Research with high impact can transition health care to more effective and efficient approaches. Studies with high impact may propel new policy developments. Research with high scientific impact typically has both immediate and sustained influence on the field of study. The article includes ideas to articulate potential scientific impact in grant applications as well as possible dissemination strategies to enlarge the impact of completed projects.

Brains in Jars: The Problem of Language in Neuroscientific Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Jessica A.; Curran, Christopher M.

2010-01-01

Neuroscience is a rapidly expanding scientific field, and its influence on our perceptions of fundamental aspects of human life is becoming widespread, particularly in the social and behavioral sciences. This influence has many philosophical implications, only one of which will be addressed in this article. For many centuries, philosophers have…

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration

Treesearch

Rachel White; Sarah McCaffrey

2007-01-01

A century of fire suppression has created heavy fuel loads in many U.S. forests, leading to increasingly intense wildfires. Addressing this problem will require widespread fuels treatments, yet fuels treatment planners do not always have access to the current scientific information that can help guide their planning process. The Fuels Planning: Science Synthesis and...

Care and Feeding of a Changing Faculty in the 1990s: The Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sorby, Donald L.

1990-01-01

Eleven important trends seen as potential causes for pharmacy faculty discontent and stress in the 1990s are examined, including trends resulting from resource changes, technological and scientific advances, and changes in society and health care delivery. Resulting problems and possible strategies for addressing them are offered. (MSE)

Making research more relevant: give it a try!

Treesearch

David W. Lime

2002-01-01

Barriers to research use are common to most scientific disciplines and areas of investigation. This paper addresses three interrelated issues to enhancing the effectiveness of science to aid decision making specifically to outdoor recreation, leisure and tourism: (1) clearly defining and framing research problems, (2) enhancing the flow of research findings to those...

Riding Alone on the Elevator: A Class Experiment in Interdisciplinary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frank, Anna M.; Froese, Rebecca; Hof, Barbara C.; Scheffold, Maike I. E.; Schreyer, Felix; Zeller, Mathias; Rödder, Simone

2017-01-01

The ability to conduct interdisciplinary research is crucial to address complex real-world problems that require the collaboration of different scientific fields, with global warming being a case in point. To produce integrated climate-related knowledge, climate researchers should be trained early on to work across boundaries and gain an…

Methodological Issues and Practical Strategies in Research on Child Maltreatment Victims' Abilities and Experiences as Witnesses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chae, Yoojin; Goodman, Gail S.; Bederian-Gardner, Daniel; Lindsay, Adam

2011-01-01

Scientific studies of child maltreatment victims' memory abilities and court experiences have important legal, psychological, and clinical implications. However, state-of-the-art research on child witnesses is often hindered by methodological challenges. In this paper, we address specific problems investigators may encounter when attempting such…

Evidence Summary for H&R Block College Financial Aid Application Assistance. Top Tier Evidence Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, 2012

2012-01-01

U.S. social programs, set up to address important problems, often fall short by funding specific models/strategies ("interventions") that are not effective. When evaluated in scientifically-rigorous studies, social interventions in K-12 education, job training, crime prevention, and other areas are frequently found ineffective or…

Uncertainty analysis in ecological studies: an overview

Treesearch

Harbin Li; Jianguo Wu

2006-01-01

Large-scale simulation models are essential tools for scientific research and environmental decision-making because they can be used to synthesize knowledge, predict consequences of potential scenarios, and develop optimal solutions (Clark et al. 2001, Berk et al. 2002, Katz 2002). Modeling is often the only means of addressing complex environmental problems that occur...

Evidence Summary for New York City's Small Schools of Choice. Top Tier Evidence Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, 2015

2015-01-01

U.S. social programs, set up to address important problems, often fall short by funding specific models/strategies ("interventions") that are not effective. When evaluated in scientifically-rigorous studies, social interventions in K-12 education, job training, crime prevention, and other areas are frequently found ineffective or…

Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness against Null Hypothesis Significance Testing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

García-Pérez, Miguel A.

2017-01-01

Null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) has been the subject of debate for decades and alternative approaches to data analysis have been proposed. This article addresses this debate from the perspective of scientific inquiry and inference. Inference is an inverse problem and application of statistical methods cannot reveal whether effects…

The Marine Resources Experiment Program (MAREX)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

The Satellite Ocean Color Science Working Group was established to consider the scientific utility of repeated satellite measurements of ocean color, especially for measuring global ocean chlorophyll and for studying the fate of global primary productivity in the sea. Results of the group's deliberations are presented. The scientific requirements are given for ocean color data from a CZCS follow on sensor in order to address global primary productivity, fishery, and carbon storage problems. Some specific experiments, called the marine resource experiment and designed to determine critical nutrient fluxes, photosynthetic rates, and primary productivity and biomass, are outlined.

Discrete Inverse and State Estimation Problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wunsch, Carl

2006-06-01

The problems of making inferences about the natural world from noisy observations and imperfect theories occur in almost all scientific disciplines. This book addresses these problems using examples taken from geophysical fluid dynamics. It focuses on discrete formulations, both static and time-varying, known variously as inverse, state estimation or data assimilation problems. Starting with fundamental algebraic and statistical ideas, the book guides the reader through a range of inference tools including the singular value decomposition, Gauss-Markov and minimum variance estimates, Kalman filters and related smoothers, and adjoint (Lagrange multiplier) methods. The final chapters discuss a variety of practical applications to geophysical flow problems. Discrete Inverse and State Estimation Problems is an ideal introduction to the topic for graduate students and researchers in oceanography, meteorology, climate dynamics, and geophysical fluid dynamics. It is also accessible to a wider scientific audience; the only prerequisite is an understanding of linear algebra. Provides a comprehensive introduction to discrete methods of inference from incomplete information Based upon 25 years of practical experience using real data and models Develops sequential and whole-domain analysis methods from simple least-squares Contains many examples and problems, and web-based support through MIT opencourseware

A critical review of the life sciences project management at Ames Research Center for the Spacelab Mission development test 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helmreich, R. L.; Wilhelm, J. M.; Tanner, T. A.; Sieber, J. E.; Burgenbauch, S. F.

1979-01-01

A management study was initiated by ARC (Ames Research Center) to specify Spacelab Mission Development Test 3 activities and problems. This report documents the problems encountered and provides conclusions and recommendations to project management for current and future ARC life sciences projects. An executive summary of the conclusions and recommendations is provided. The report also addresses broader issues relevant to the conduct of future scientific missions under the constraints imposed by the space environment.

A ranking algorithm for spacelab crew and experiment scheduling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grone, R. D.; Mathis, F. H.

1980-01-01

The problem of obtaining an optimal or near optimal schedule for scientific experiments to be performed on Spacelab missions is addressed. The current capabilities in this regard are examined and a method of ranking experiments in order of difficulty is developed to support the existing software. Experimental data is obtained from applying this method to the sets of experiments corresponding to Spacelab mission 1, 2, and 3. Finally, suggestions are made concerning desirable modifications and features of second generation software being developed for this problem.

Estimation versus falsification approaches in sport and exercise science.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Michael; Winter, Edward M

2018-05-22

There has been a recent resurgence in debate about methods for statistical inference in science. The debate addresses statistical concepts and their impact on the value and meaning of analyses' outcomes. In contrast, philosophical underpinnings of approaches and the extent to which analytical tools match philosophical goals of the scientific method have received less attention. This short piece considers application of the scientific method to "what-is-the-influence-of x-on-y" type questions characteristic of sport and exercise science. We consider applications and interpretations of estimation versus falsification based statistical approaches and their value in addressing how much x influences y, and in measurement error and method agreement settings. We compare estimation using magnitude based inference (MBI) with falsification using null hypothesis significance testing (NHST), and highlight the limited value both of falsification and NHST to address problems in sport and exercise science. We recommend adopting an estimation approach, expressing the uncertainty of effects of x on y, and their practical/clinical value against pre-determined effect magnitudes using MBI.

Manifestation of the synergetic mechanism in the implementation of automatic processing of scientific documents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chizhacovsky, Valentin; Popescu, Anatol N.; Russu, Vladimir

2005-02-01

This article is dedicated to the problem of the presence in the natural language and in the cognitive-verbal human activity of an interior mechanisms of reproduction and self regulation which will help us solve problem by the automatic documents. We have attributed to these mechanisms the property of being synergetic. The above expressed thought has been confirmed at the implementation of the automatic processing of scientific articles, published in the German specialized magazine "Wasserwirtschaft-Wassertechnik-WWT", which we have addressed to the sub subject field "Abwasser" (waste water). By dividing the implementation of our task in many consequent stages and sub stages we have obtained the possibilities to create the conditions which favored the manifestation of the needed linguistic synergetic activities.

Addressing chronic operational issues at the W. M. Keck Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nordin, Tom; Matsuda, Richard

2016-07-01

The W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO) has a good track record at addressing large critical faults which impact observing. Our performance tracking and correcting chronic minor faults has been mixed, yet this class of problems has a significant negative impact on scientific productivity and staff effectiveness. We have taken steps to address this shortcoming. This paper outlines the creation of a program to identify, categorize and rank these chronic operational issues, track them over time, and develop management options for their resolution. The success of the program at identifying these chronic operational issues and the advantages of dedicating observatory resources to this endeavor are presented.

Evidence Summary for First-Grade Classroom Prevention Program (Good Behavior Game Plus Enhanced Academic Curriculum). Top Tier Evidence Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, 2010

2010-01-01

U.S. social programs, set up to address important problems, often fall short by funding specific models/strategies ("interventions") that are not effective. When evaluated in scientifically-rigorous studies, social interventions in K-12 education, job training, crime prevention, and other areas are frequently found ineffective or…

Major Long-Term Factors Influencing Dental Education in the Twenty-First Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, M. Michael, Jr.

2002-01-01

Explores broad trends such as advances in oral sciences and the increasing old-age population and their effects on dental education. Asserts that these trends will ultimately result in the merging of dental and medical education. Also addresses the integration of scientific and clinical dental approaches, the problem of dental faculty isolation,…

Lightning threat to aircraft: Do we know all we need to know?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mazur, Vladislav

1991-01-01

The problem of lightning threat to aircraft has two aspects: strike avoidance and aircraft protection. These two issues are addressed under the following topics: (1) lightning strikes, weather conditions, and natural lightning rate; (2) the engineering vs. scientific approach to aircraft protection; and (3) the additional information needed to understand lightning threat to aircraft.

"Thank You for Being Republican": Negotiating Science and Political Identities in Climate Change Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Elizabeth M.; Tsurusaki, Blakely K.

2018-01-01

When engaging with socioscientific issues, learners act at the intersection of scientific, school, and other societal communities, drawing on knowledge, practices, and identities from both in and out of the classroom to address problems as national or global citizens. We present three case studies of high school students whose classroom…

Attacking a Dense Problem: A Learner-Centered Approach to Teaching Density

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hitt, Austin M.

2005-01-01

Density is a difficult concept for students to learn because it is abstract and because it is derived from the concepts of mass and volume. The solution is to address density at each of the three levels of scientific understanding: macroscopic, particle/modeling, and symbolic. This article demonstrates how to help students gain a conceptual…

Examination of Bond Properties through Infrared Spectroscopy and Molecular Modeling in the General Chemistry Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Csizmar, Clifford M.; Force, Dee Ann; Warner, Don L.

2012-01-01

A concerted effort has been made to increase the opportunities for undergraduate students to address scientific problems employing the processes used by practicing chemists. As part of this effort, an infrared (IR) spectroscopy and molecular modeling experiment was developed for the first-year general chemistry laboratory course. In the…

Culturally induced range infilling of eastern redcedar: a problem in ecology, an ecological problem, or both?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Streit Krug, Aubrey; Uden, Daniel R.; Allen, Craig R.; Twidwell, Dirac

2017-01-01

The philosopher John Passmore distinguished between (1) “problems in ecology,” or what we might call problems in scientific understanding of ecological change, and (2) “ecological problems,” or what we might call problems faced by societies due to ecological change. The spread of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) and conversion of the central and southern Great Plains of North America to juniper woodland might be categorized as a problem in ecology, an ecological problem, or both. Here, we integrate and apply two interdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving—social-ecological systems thinking and ecocriticism—to understand the role of human culture in recognizing, driving, and responding to cedar’s changing geographic distribution. We interpret the spread of cedar as a process of culturally induced range infilling due to the ongoing social-ecological impacts of colonization, analyze poetic literary texts to clarify the concepts that have so far informed different cultural values related to cedar, and explore the usefulness of diverse interdisciplinary collaborations and knowledge for addressing social-ecological challenges like cedar spread in the midst of rapidly unfolding global change. Our examination suggests that it is not only possible, but preferable, to address cedar spread as both a scientific and a social problem. Great Plains landscapes are teetering between grassland and woodland, and contemporary human societies both influence and choose how to cope with transitions between these ecological states. We echo previous studies in suggesting that human cultural values about stability and disturbance, especially cultural concepts of fire, will be primary driving factors in determining future trajectories of change on the Great Plains. Although invasion-based descriptors of cedar spread may be useful in ecological research and management, language based on the value of restraint could provide a common vocabulary for effective cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary communication about the relationship between culture and cedar, as well as an ethical framework for cross-cultural communication, decision-making, and management.

Working Toward a Healthy Planet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maynard, Nancy G.

2003-01-01

Using information from NASA s Earth Science Public Health Applications Program, Dr. Maynard will address how remote sensing data and associated technologies can be used toward a better understanding of the links among human health, the environment and weather/climate - and, how this increased understanding plus improved information sharing can empower local health and environmental decision-makers to better predict climate-related health problems, take preventive measures, and improve response actions. Remotely-sensed data and observations are providing powerful new tools for addressing climate and environment-related human health problems through increased capabilities for monitoring and surveillance of parameters useful to such problems as infectious and vector-borne diseases, air and water quality, harmful algal blooms, UV radiation, contaminant and pathogen transport in air and water, and thermal stress. NASA s multi-disciplinary scientific team is demonstrating how satellites from their unique vantage point in space can serve as sentinels for weather, climate, and health problems through studies on asthma, malaria, Rift Valley Fever, Asian and African dust, and West Nile Virus

Learning biology through connecting mathematics to scientific mechanisms: Student outcomes and teacher supports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuchardt, Anita

Integrating mathematics into science classrooms has been part of the conversation in science education for a long time. However, studies on student learning after incorporating mathematics in to the science classroom have shown mixed results. Understanding the mixed effects of including mathematics in science has been hindered by a historical focus on characteristics of integration tangential to student learning (e.g., shared elements, extent of integration). A new framework is presented emphasizing the epistemic role of mathematics in science. An epistemic role of mathematics missing from the current literature is identified: use of mathematics to represent scientific mechanisms, Mechanism Connected Mathematics (MCM). Building on prior theoretical work, it is proposed that having students develop mathematical equations that represent scientific mechanisms could elevate their conceptual understanding and quantitative problem solving. Following design and implementation of an MCM unit in inheritance, a large-scale quantitative analysis of pre and post implementation test results showed MCM students, compared to traditionally instructed students) had significantly greater gains in conceptual understanding of mathematically modeled scientific mechanisms, and their ability to solve complex quantitative problems. To gain insight into the mechanism behind the gain in quantitative problem solving, a small-scale qualitative study was conducted of two contrasting groups: 1) within-MCM instruction: competent versus struggling problem solvers, and 2) within-competent problem solvers: MCM instructed versus traditionally instructed. Competent MCM students tended to connect their mathematical inscriptions to the scientific phenomenon and to switch between mathematical and scientifically productive approaches during problem solving in potentially productive ways. The other two groups did not. To address concerns about teacher capacity presenting barriers to scalability of MCM approaches, the types and amount of teacher support needed to achieve these types of student learning gains were investigated. In the context of providing teachers with access to educative materials, students achieved learning gains in both areas in the absence of face-to-face teacher professional development. However, maximal student learning gains required the investment of face-to-face professional development. This finding can govern distribution of scarce resources, but does not preclude implementation of MCM instruction even where resource availability does not allow for face-to-face professional development.

Experimental philosophy and the problem of free will.

PubMed

Nichols, Shaun

2011-03-18

Many philosophical problems are rooted in everyday thought, and experimental philosophy uses social scientific techniques to study the psychological underpinnings of such problems. In the case of free will, research suggests that people in a diverse range of cultures reject determinism, but people give conflicting responses on whether determinism would undermine moral responsibility. When presented with abstract questions, people tend to maintain that determinism would undermine responsibility, but when presented with concrete cases of wrongdoing, people tend to say that determinism is consistent with moral responsibility. It remains unclear why people reject determinism and what drives people's conflicted attitudes about responsibility. Experimental philosophy aims to address these issues and thereby illuminate the philosophical problem of free will.

The limits of scientific planning: Doxiadis and the Tehran Action Plan.

PubMed

Madanipour, Ali

2010-01-01

Tehran after the Second World War experienced a modernization drive and rapid population growth. In 1972, the Greek planner, Constantinos Doxiadis, who had already undertaken major housing and planning projects in Iran, was invited to prepare an action plan for the city, to guide the future investment for easing the city's problems. Doxiadis saw cities as nightmares, but advocated that a holistic scientific analysis and a naturalist approach to urban growth management could address their problems. In applying his ideas to Tehran, however, the limits of his ideas of scientific planning became evident, not only through contextual pressures, such as lack of time and data, but also through the planning consultant's approach, in which commercial considerations and the application of readymade solutions could shape the outcome. Rather than working with the context, Doxiadis followed the modernist tenet of breaking with the past, proposing the creation of West Tehran, an alternative to the city where all future growth should take place on a utopian basis. The radical nature of his proposals, his death, and a turbulent revolution aborted the impact of his action plan on Tehran, while faith in modernist scientific planning was widely being abandoned.

Module Validity of Peer Counselor Character Service in State University of Medan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dewi, Rosmala; Rahmadana, Muhammad Fitri; Dalimunthe, Muhammad Bukhori

2016-01-01

Many ways can be done to address the problem of students, one of them involving the students themselves (peer counselor). It required a standard model that can be applied by students as guidelines for the implementation of the guidance. Validity of the module it must be done according to the rules of various scientific tests. State University of…

Reviews and Practice of College Students Regarding Access to Scientific Knowledge: A Case Study in Two Spanish Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopez, Jose Manuel Saez; Ruiz Ruiz, Jose Maria; Gonzalez, Maria-Luz Cacheiro

2013-01-01

This study analyzes the concepts, attitudes, and practices of 327 pedagogy students from two major Spanish universities related to the process of finding academic information utilizing open access. A training program has been developed through an innovation project (PIMCD) to address the problem of the lack of university training designed to…

Arthropod genomics research in the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service: Applications of RNA interference and CRISPR gene editing technologies in pest control

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the intramural research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which addresses basic scientific questions and develops applied solutions to a range of agricultural problems, and in doing so protects national food security and supports ...

Growing Faculty Research for Students' Success: Best Practices of a Research Institute at a Minority-Serving Undergraduate Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godreau, Isar; Gavillán-Suárez, Jannette; Franco-Ortiz, Mariluz; Calderón-Squiabro, José M.; Marti, Vionex; Gaspar-Concepción, Jessica

2015-01-01

Broader diversity in the research workforce affords the inclusion of research agendas, methods, and perspectives that might otherwise be overlooked to address key social and scientific problems. However, promoting diversity in science is not a trivial matter. It entails mitigating some of the long-term social and institutional inequalities that…

Addressing Challenges to Public Understanding of Science: Epistemic Cognition, Motivated Reasoning, and Conceptual Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinatra, Gale M.; Kienhues, Dorothe; Hofer, Barbara K.

2014-01-01

Science is of critical importance to daily life in a knowledge society and has a significant influence on many everyday decisions. As scientific problems increase in their number and complexity, so do the challenges facing the public in understanding these issues. Our objective is to focus on 3 of those challenges: the challenge of reasoning about…

Visualization for Hyper-Heuristics. Front-End Graphical User Interface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kroenung, Lauren

Modern society is faced with ever more complex problems, many of which can be formulated as generate-and-test optimization problems. General-purpose optimization algorithms are not well suited for real-world scenarios where many instances of the same problem class need to be repeatedly and efficiently solved because they are not targeted to a particular scenario. Hyper-heuristics automate the design of algorithms to create a custom algorithm for a particular scenario. While such automated design has great advantages, it can often be difficult to understand exactly how a design was derived and why it should be trusted. This project aims to address thesemore » issues of usability by creating an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) for hyper-heuristics to support practitioners, as well as scientific visualization of the produced automated designs. My contributions to this project are exhibited in the user-facing portion of the developed system and the detailed scientific visualizations created from back-end data.« less

Data sharing policy design for consortia: challenges for sustainability.

PubMed

Kaye, Jane; Hawkins, Naomi

2014-01-01

The field of human genomics has led advances in the sharing of data with a view to facilitating translation of research into innovations for human health. This change in scientific practice has been implemented through new policy developed by many principal investigators, project managers and funders, which has ultimately led to new forms of practice and innovative governance models for data sharing. Here, we examine the development of the governance of data sharing in genomics, and explore some of the key challenges associated with the design and implementation of these policies. We examine how the incremental nature of policy design, the perennial problem of consent, the gridlock caused by multiple and overlapping access systems, the administrative burden and the problems with incentives and acknowledgment all have an impact on the potential for data sharing to be maximized. We conclude by proposing ways in which the scientific community can address these problems, to improve the sustainability of data sharing into the future.

The design of nonlinear observers for wind turbine dynamic state and parameter estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ritter, B.; Schild, A.; Feldt, M.; Konigorski, U.

2016-09-01

This contribution addresses the dynamic state and parameter estimation problem which arises with more advanced wind turbine controllers. These control devices need precise information about the system's current state to outperform conventional industrial controllers effectively. First, the necessity of a profound scientific treatment on nonlinear observers for wind turbine application is highlighted. Secondly, the full estimation problem is introduced and the variety of nonlinear filters is discussed. Finally, a tailored observer architecture is proposed and estimation results of an illustrative application example from a complex simulation set-up are presented.

The American Experience in the Transition from Vocational Schools to Work: A Report to the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. International Symposium on Problems of Transition from Technical and Vocational Schools to Work (Berlin, German Democratic Republic, 14-18 April, 1980).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunham, Daniel B.

This paper discusses the central problems and issues of the transition from school to worklife in the United States. Developed from a framework which outlines the structure of the education system and the place of vocational-technical education within it, the paper addresses measures the United States has taken to facilitate the transition from…

Effects of Sonic Booms on Marine Mammals: Problem Review and Recommended Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowles, Ann E.

1996-01-01

By flying the High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) exclusively over uninhabited areas and mo over water, human annoyance will be reduced to acceptable levels. However, this strategy will for HSCT proponents to contend with the potential effects of sonic booms on animals, particularly ma mammals. What follows is a summary of the environmental regulations that must be addressed, the scientific community's concerns about the potential effects of the HSCT, and recommendations fox research to address the most important concerns. The recommendations included herein are based both on existing scientific evidence and regulatory needs. One cannot over-emphasize the importance of obtaining the appropriate information prior to substantial public exposure. Recent controversies over other human-made acoustic sources in the ocean suggest that the HSCT will receive intense scrutiny. It seems certain that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) or its equivalent will be necessary.

Concept Formation in Scientific Knowledge Discovery from a Constructivist View

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Wei; Gero, John S.

The central goal of scientific knowledge discovery is to learn cause-effect relationships among natural phenomena presented as variables and the consequences their interactions. Scientific knowledge is normally expressed as scientific taxonomies and qualitative and quantitative laws [1]. This type of knowledge represents intrinsic regularities of the observed phenomena that can be used to explain and predict behaviors of the phenomena. It is a generalization that is abstracted and externalized from a set of contexts and applicable to a broader scope. Scientific knowledge is a type of third-person knowledge, i.e., knowledge that independent of a specific enquirer. Artificial intelligence approaches, particularly data mining algorithms that are used to identify meaningful patterns from large data sets, are approaches that aim to facilitate the knowledge discovery process [2]. A broad spectrum of algorithms has been developed in addressing classification, associative learning, and clustering problems. However, their linkages to people who use them have not been adequately explored. Issues in relation to supporting the interpretation of the patterns, the application of prior knowledge to the data mining process and addressing user interactions remain challenges for building knowledge discovery tools [3]. As a consequence, scientists rely on their experience to formulate problems, evaluate hypotheses, reason about untraceable factors and derive new problems. This type of knowledge which they have developed during their career is called “first-person” knowledge. The formation of scientific knowledge (third-person knowledge) is highly influenced by the enquirer’s first-person knowledge construct, which is a result of his or her interactions with the environment. There have been attempts to craft automatic knowledge discovery tools but these systems are limited in their capabilities to handle the dynamics of personal experience. There are now trends in developing approaches to assist scientists applying their expertise to model formation, simulation, and prediction in various domains [4], [5]. On the other hand, first-person knowledge becomes third-person theory only if it proves general by evidence and is acknowledged by a scientific community. Researchers start to focus on building interactive cooperation platforms [1] to accommodate different views into the knowledge discovery process. There are some fundamental questions in relation to scientific knowledge development. What aremajor components for knowledge construction and how do people construct their knowledge? How is this personal construct assimilated and accommodated into a scientific paradigm? How can one design a computational system to facilitate these processes? This chapter does not attempt to answer all these questions but serves as a basis to foster thinking along this line. A brief literature review about how people develop their knowledge is carried out through a constructivist view. A hydrological modeling scenario is presented to elucidate the approach.

Concept Formation in Scientific Knowledge Discovery from a Constructivist View

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Wei; Gero, John S.

The central goal of scientific knowledge discovery is to learn cause-effect relationships among natural phenomena presented as variables and the consequences their interactions. Scientific knowledge is normally expressed as scientific taxonomies and qualitative and quantitative laws [1]. This type of knowledge represents intrinsic regularities of the observed phenomena that can be used to explain and predict behaviors of the phenomena. It is a generalization that is abstracted and externalized from a set of contexts and applicable to a broader scope. Scientific knowledge is a type of third-person knowledge, i.e., knowledge that independent of a specific enquirer. Artificial intelligence approaches, particularly data mining algorithms that are used to identify meaningful patterns from large data sets, are approaches that aim to facilitate the knowledge discovery process [2]. A broad spectrum of algorithms has been developed in addressing classification, associative learning, and clustering problems. However, their linkages to people who use them have not been adequately explored. Issues in relation to supporting the interpretation of the patterns, the application of prior knowledge to the data mining process and addressing user interactions remain challenges for building knowledge discovery tools [3]. As a consequence, scientists rely on their experience to formulate problems, evaluate hypotheses, reason about untraceable factors and derive new problems. This type of knowledge which they have developed during their career is called "first-person" knowledge. The formation of scientific knowledge (third-person knowledge) is highly influenced by the enquirer's first-person knowledge construct, which is a result of his or her interactions with the environment. There have been attempts to craft automatic knowledge discovery tools but these systems are limited in their capabilities to handle the dynamics of personal experience. There are now trends in developing approaches to assist scientists applying their expertise to model formation, simulation, and prediction in various domains [4], [5]. On the other hand, first-person knowledge becomes third-person theory only if it proves general by evidence and is acknowledged by a scientific community. Researchers start to focus on building interactive cooperation platforms [1] to accommodate different views into the knowledge discovery process. There are some fundamental questions in relation to scientific knowledge development. What aremajor components for knowledge construction and how do people construct their knowledge? How is this personal construct assimilated and accommodated into a scientific paradigm? How can one design a computational system to facilitate these processes? This chapter does not attempt to answer all these questions but serves as a basis to foster thinking along this line. A brief literature review about how people develop their knowledge is carried out through a constructivist view. A hydrological modeling scenario is presented to elucidate the approach.

It Ain't (Just) the Heat, It's the Humanity: Increasing Public Understanding of Scientific Consensus and Its Role in Climate Literacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobs, P.; Cook, J.; Nuccitelli, D.

2014-12-01

An overwhelming scientific consensus exists on the issue of anthropogenic climate change. Unfortunately, public perception of expert agreement remains low- only around 1 in 10 Americans correctly estimates the actual level of consensus on the topic. Moreover, several recent studies have demonstrated the pivotal role that perceived consensus plays in the public's acceptance of key scientific facts about environmental problems, as well as their willingness to support policy to address them. This "consensus gap", between the high level of scientific agreement vs. the public's perception of it, has led to calls for increased consensus messaging. However this call has been challenged by a number of different groups: climate "skeptics" in denial about the existence and validity of the consensus; some social science researchers and journalists who believe that such messages will be ineffective or counterproductive; and even some scientists and science advocates who downplay the value of consensus in science generally. All of these concerns can be addressed by effectively communicating the role of consensus within science to the public, as well as the conditions under which consensus is likely to be correct. Here, we demonstrate that the scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change satisfies these conditions, and discuss past examples of purported consensus that failed or succeeded to satisfy them as well. We conclude by discussing the way in which scientific consensus is interpreted by the public, and how consensus messaging can improve climate literacy.

BioCraft: Using Gamification to Stimulate Students' Motivation and Acquisition of Scientific Terms in a Bilingual Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Kent Alan

Gamification is the act of introducing game elements in any aspect of life. In this case, it is a classroom. The operating model of BioCraft was a role-playing game that reinforced deaf students' use of new vocabulary in a gamified environment. BioCraft addressed the problem of deaf students acquiring scientific terms and using these scientific terms bilingually in academic language. BioCraft also established a student-centered learning atmosphere that promoted intersubjectivity, appropriation, and self-determination. In BioCraft, students became avatars of new organisms living on a new planet who needed to learn about living systems, adaptations, and genetics in order to survive. The results of the operating model suggested that gamification had an effect on deaf students' motivation and frequency of using new scientific terms with minimal persuasion from the teacher.

Learning the wrong lessons? Science and fisheries management in the Chesapeake Bay blue crab fishery.

PubMed

Beem, Betsi

2012-05-01

This paper argues that information produced and then taken up for policy decision making is a function of a complex interplay within the scientific community and between scientists and the broader policy network who are all grappling with issues in a complex environment with a high degree of scientific uncertainty. The dynamics of forming and re-forming the scientific community are shaped by political processes, as are the directions and questions scientists attend to in their roles as policy advisors. Three factors: 1) social construction of scientific communities, 2) the indeterminacy of science, and 3) demands by policy makers to have concrete information for decision making; are intertwined in the production and dissemination of information that may serve as the basis for policy learning. Through this process, however, what gets learned may not be what is needed to mitigate the problem, be complete in terms of addressing multiple causations, or be correct.

Predicting the long-term effects of human-robot interaction: a reflection on responsibility in medical robotics.

PubMed

Datteri, Edoardo

2013-03-01

This article addresses prospective and retrospective responsibility issues connected with medical robotics. It will be suggested that extant conceptual and legal frameworks are sufficient to address and properly settle most retrospective responsibility problems arising in connection with injuries caused by robot behaviours (which will be exemplified here by reference to harms occurred in surgical interventions supported by the Da Vinci robot, reported in the scientific literature and in the press). In addition, it will be pointed out that many prospective responsibility issues connected with medical robotics are nothing but well-known robotics engineering problems in disguise, which are routinely addressed by roboticists as part of their research and development activities: for this reason they do not raise particularly novel ethical issues. In contrast with this, it will be pointed out that novel and challenging prospective responsibility issues may emerge in connection with harmful events caused by normal robot behaviours. This point will be illustrated here in connection with the rehabilitation robot Lokomat.

The Workstation Approach to Laboratory Computing

PubMed Central

Crosby, P.A.; Malachowski, G.C.; Hall, B.R.; Stevens, V.; Gunn, B.J.; Hudson, S.; Schlosser, D.

1985-01-01

There is a need for a Laboratory Workstation which specifically addresses the problems associated with computing in the scientific laboratory. A workstation based on the IBM PC architecture and including a front end data acquisition system which communicates with a host computer via a high speed communications link; a new graphics display controller with hardware window management and window scrolling; and an integrated software package is described.

Gesellschaft fuer angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik, Scientific Annual Meeting, Universitaet Stuttgart, Federal Republic of Germany, Apr. 13-17, 1987, Reports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Recent advances in the analytical and numerical treatment of physical and engineering problems are discussed in reviews and reports. Topics addressed include fluid mechanics, numerical methods for differential equations, FEM approaches, and boundary-element methods. Consideration is given to optimization, decision theory, stochastics, actuarial mathematics, applied mathematics and mathematical physics, and numerical analysis.

Proactive Students in Global Education. Understanding the Third World: A Moving Force in Our Lives. The Teacher.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, Richard Oakes

A global approach to the world's problems is presented, viewing social, cultural, scientific, and humanistic questions as factors in a world that is a single interacting system. It is noted that the basic needs of the third world, which represents nearly half of the world's population, have not been met. A discussion on this topic addresses the…

Integrative Convergence in Neuroscience: Trajectories, Problems, and the Need for a Progressive Neurobioethics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giordano, J.

The advanced integrative scientific convergence (AISC) model represents a viable approach to neuroscience. Beyond simple multi-disciplinarity, the AISC model unifies constituent scientific and technological fields to foster innovation, invention and new ways of addressing seemingly intractable questions. In this way, AISC can yield novel methods and foster new trajectories of knowledge and discovery, and yield new epistemologies. As stand-alone disciplines, each and all of the constituent fields generate practical and ethical issues, and their convergence may establish a unique set of both potential benefits and problems. To effectively attend to these contingencies requires pragmatic assessment of the actual capabilities and limits of neurofocal AISC, and an openness to what new knowledge and scientific/technological achievements may be produced, and how such outcomes can affect humanity, the human condition, society and the global environment. It is proposed that a progressive neurobioethics may be needed to establish both a meta-ethical framework upon which to structure ethical decisions, and a system and method of ethics that is inclusive, convergent and innovative, and in thus aligned with and meaningful to use of an AISC model in neuroscience.

Abnormal uterine bleeding: advantages of formal classification to patients, clinicians and researchers.

PubMed

Madhra, Mayank; Fraser, Ian S; Munro, Malcolm G; Critchley, Hilary O D

2014-07-01

To highlight the advantages of formal classification of causes of abnormal uterine bleeding from a clinical and scientific perspective. Review and recommendations for local implementation. In the past, research in the field of menstrual disorders has not been funded adequately with respect to the impact of symptoms on individuals, healthcare systems and society. This was confounded by a diverse terminology, which lead to confusion between clinical and scientific groups, ultimately harming the underlying evidence base. To address this, a formal classification system (PALM-COEIN) for the causes of abnormal uterine bleeding has been published for worldwide use by FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics). This commentary explains problems created by the prior absence of such a system, the potential advantages stemming from its use, and practical suggestions for local implementation. The PALM-COEIN classification is applicable globally and, as momentum gathers, will ameliorate recurrence of historic problems, and harmonise reporting of clinical and scientific research to facilitate future progress in women's health. © 2014 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Basics of the medical use of ayahuasca: physiology of dimethyltryptamine.

PubMed

Ede, Frecska; Attila, Kovács; Attila, Szabó; Csaba, Ferencz; Csaba, Móré

2016-01-01

Ayahuasca is a brew made of two admixture plants containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and b-carbolines (harmine and tetrahydroharmine). The indigenous groups of the Amazonas basin have been using it for centuries as an ethnomedical substance in healing and spiritual-religious rituals. During the last two decades the brew has raised increased scientific and public interest worldwide about its healing effects. Present paper addresses the therapeutic potentials of ayahuasca use and outlines the cellular mechanisms behind - in focus of the Q-1 receptor mediated action of DMT. The scientific investigation of ayahuasca is complicated by methodical problems, legal issues, and sociocultural pre-conceptions.

USGS California Water Science Center water programs in California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shulters, Michael V.

2005-01-01

California is threatened by many natural hazards—fire, floods, landslides, earthquakes. The State is also threatened by longer-term problems, such as hydrologic effects of climate change, and human-induced problems, such as overuse of ground water and degradation of water quality. The threats and problems are intensified by increases in population, which has risen to nearly 36.8 million. For the USGS California Water Science Center, providing scientific information to help address hazards, threats, and hydrologic issues is a top priority. To meet the demands of a growing California, USGS scientific investigations are helping State and local governments improve emergency management, optimize resources, collect contaminant-source and -mobility information, and improve surface- and ground-water quality. USGS hydrologic studies and data collection throughout the State give water managers quantifiable and detailed scientific information that can be used to plan for development and to protect and more efficiently manage resources. The USGS, in cooperation with state, local, and tribal agencies, operates more than 500 instrument stations, which monitor streamflow, ground-water levels, and surface- and ground-water constituents to help protect water supplies and predict the threats of natural hazards. The following are some of the programs implemented by the USGS, in cooperation with other agencies, to obtain and analyze information needed to preserve California's environment and resources.

A Science Superior to Music: Joseph Sauveur and the Estrangement between Music and Acoustics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fix, Adam

2015-09-01

The scientific revolution saw a shift from the natural philosophy of music to the science of acoustics. Joseph Sauveur (1653-1716), an early pioneer in acoustics, determined that science as understood in the eighteenth century could not address the fundamental problems of music, particularly the problem of consonance. Building on Descartes, Mersenne, and Huygens especially, Sauveur drew a sharp divide between sound and music, recognizing the former as a physical phenomenon obeying mechanical and mathematical principles and the latter as an inescapably subjective and unquantifiable perception. While acoustics grew prominent in the Académie des sciences, music largely fell out of the scientific discourse, becoming primarily practiced art rather than natural philosophy. This study illuminates what was considered proper science at the dawn of the Enlightenment and why one particular branch of natural philosophy—music—did not make the cut.

[Tacit and explicit knowledge: comparative analysis of the prioritization of maternal health problems in Mexico].

PubMed

Moreno Zegbe, Estephania; Becerril Montekio, Víctor; Alcalde Rabanal, Jacqueline

To identify coincidences and differences in the identification and prioritization of maternal healthcare service problems in Mexico based on the perspective of tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge that may offer evidence that can contribute to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. Mixed study performed in three stages: 1) systematization of maternal healthcare service problems identified by tacit knowledge (derived from professional experience); 2) identification of maternal healthcare service problems in Latin America addressed by explicit knowledge (scientific publications); 3) comparison between the problems identified by tacit and explicit knowledge. The main problems of maternal health services identified by tacit knowledge are related to poor quality of care, while the predominant problems studied in the scientific literature are related to access barriers to health services. Approximately, 70% of the problems identified by tacit knowledge are also mentioned in the explicit knowledge. Conversely, 70% of the problems identified in the literature are also considered by tacit knowledge. Nevertheless, when looking at the problems taken one by one, no statistically significant similarities were found. The study discovered that the identification of maternal health service problems by tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge is fairly comparable, according to the comparability index used in the study, and highlights the interest of integrating both approaches in order to improve prioritization and decision making towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Drilling to investigate processes in active tectonics and magmatism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shervais, J.; Evans, J.; Toy, V.; Kirkpatrick, J.; Clarke, A.; Eichelberger, J.

2014-12-01

Coordinated drilling efforts are an important method to investigate active tectonics and magmatic processes related to faults and volcanoes. The US National Science Foundation (NSF) recently sponsored a series of workshops to define the nature of future continental drilling efforts. As part of this series, we convened a workshop to explore how continental scientific drilling can be used to better understand active tectonic and magmatic processes. The workshop, held in Park City, Utah, in May 2013, was attended by 41 investigators from seven countries. Participants were asked to define compelling scientific justifications for examining problems that can be addressed by coordinated programs of continental scientific drilling and related site investigations. They were also asked to evaluate a wide range of proposed drilling projects, based on white papers submitted prior to the workshop. Participants working on faults and fault zone processes highlighted two overarching topics with exciting potential for future scientific drilling research: (1) the seismic cycle and (2) the mechanics and architecture of fault zones. Recommended projects target fundamental mechanical processes and controls on faulting, and range from induced earthquakes and earthquake initiation to investigations of detachment fault mechanics and fluid flow in fault zones. Participants working on active volcanism identified five themes: the volcano eruption cycle; eruption sustainability, near-field stresses, and system recovery; eruption hazards; verification of geophysical models; and interactions with other Earth systems. Recommended projects address problems that are transferrable to other volcanic systems, such as improved methods for identifying eruption history and constraining the rheological structure of shallow caldera regions. Participants working on chemical geodynamics identified four major themes: large igneous provinces (LIPs), ocean islands, continental hotspot tracks and rifts, and convergent plate margins (subduction zones). This workshop brought together a diverse group of scientists with a broad range of scientific experience and interests. A particular strength was the involvement of both early-career scientists, who will initiate and carry out these new research programs, and more senior researchers with many years of experience in scientific drilling and active tectonics research. Each of the themes and questions outlined above has direct benefits to society, including improving hazard assessment, direct monitoring of active systems for early warning, renewable and non-renewable resource and energy exploitation, and predicting the environmental impacts of natural hazards, emphasizing the central role that scientific drilling will play in future scientific and societal developments.

Developing a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum for professionalism and scientific integrity training for biomedical graduate students.

PubMed

Jones, Nancy L; Peiffer, Ann M; Lambros, Ann; Guthold, Martin; Johnson, A Daniel; Tytell, Michael; Ronca, April E; Eldridge, J Charles

2010-10-01

A multidisciplinary faculty committee designed a curriculum to shape biomedical graduate students into researchers with a high commitment to professionalism and social responsibility and to provide students with tools to navigate complex, rapidly evolving academic and societal environments with a strong ethical commitment. The curriculum used problem-based learning (PBL), because it is active and learner-centred and focuses on skill and process development. Two courses were developed: Scientific Professionalism: Scientific Integrity addressed discipline-specific and broad professional norms and obligations for the ethical practice of science and responsible conduct of research (RCR). Scientific Professionalism: Bioethics and Social Responsibility focused on current ethical and bioethical issues within the scientific profession, and implications of research for society. Each small-group session examined case scenarios that included: (1) learning objectives for professional norms and obligations; (2) key ethical issues and philosophies within each topic area; (3) one or more of the RCR instructional areas; and (4) at least one type of moral reflection. Cases emphasised professional standards, obligations and underlying philosophies for the ethical practice of science, competing interests of stakeholders and oversight of science (internal and external). To our knowledge, this is the first use of a longitudinal, multi-semester PBL course to teach scientific integrity and professionalism. Both faculty and students endorsed the active learning approach for these topics, in contrast to a compliance-based approach that emphasises learning rules and regulations.

Care arrangements, grief and psychological problems among children orphaned by AIDS in China.

PubMed

Zhao, G; Li, X; Fang, X; Zhao, J; Yang, H; Stanton, B

2007-10-01

The China Ministry of Health has estimated that there are at least 100,000 AIDS orphans in China. The UNICEF China Office estimates that between 150,000 and 250,000 additional children will be orphaned by AIDS over the next five years. However, limited data are available regarding the sociodemographic characteristics, care arrangements, barriers to appropriate grief resolution and psychological problems among AIDS orphans in China. In this article, we review secondary data and reports from scientific literature, government, non-governmental organisations and public media regarding children orphaned by AIDS in China to address their living situation, bereavement process and psychological problems. Our review suggests that AIDS orphans in China are living in a stressful environment, with many orphans struggling with psychological problems and unmet basic needs such as food, shelter, education and medical care. Based on our review, we suggest that future studies should address the psychosocial needs of AIDS orphans in China and develop health promotion programmes to mitigate the negative impact of parental death on the physical and psychosocial well-being of these orphans.

Care arrangement, grief, and psychological problems among children orphaned by AIDS in China

PubMed Central

Zhao, Guoxiang; Li, Xiaoming; Fang, Xiaoyi; Zhao, Junfeng; Yang, Hongmei; Stanton, Bonita

2007-01-01

The China Ministry of Health has estimated that there are at least 100,000 AIDS orphans in China. The UNICEF China Office estimates that between 150,000 and 250,000 additional children will be orphaned by AIDS over the next five years. However, limited data are available regarding the socio-demographic characteristics, care arrangement, barriers to appropriate grief resolution and psychological problems among AIDS orphans in China. In this article, we review secondary data and reports from scientific literature, government, non-governmental organizations, and public media regarding children orphaned by AIDS in China to address their living situation, bereavement process, and psychological problems. Our review suggests that AIDS orphans in China are living in a stressful environment with many orphans struggling with psychological problems and unmet basic needs such as food, shelter, education, and medical care. Based on our review, we suggest that future studies should address the psychosocial needs of AIDS orphans in China and develop health promotion programs to mitigate the negative impact of parental death on the physical and psychosocial well-being of these orphans. PMID:18058390

Future scientific exploration of Taurus-Littrow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, G. Jeffrey

1992-01-01

The Apollo 17 site was surveyed with great skill and the collected samples have been studied thoroughly (but not completely) in the 20 years since. Ironically, the success of the field and sample studies makes the site an excellent candidate for a return mission. Rather than solving all the problems, the Apollo 17 mission provided a set of sophisticated questions that can be answered only by returning to the site and exploring further. This paper addresses the major unsolved problems in lunar science and points out the units at the Apollo 17 site that are most suitable for addressing each problem. It then discusses how crucial data can be obtained by robotic rovers and human field work. I conclude that, in general, the most important information can be obtained only by human exploration. The paper ends with some guesses about what we could have learned at the Apollo 17 site from a fairly sophisticated rover capable of in situ analyses, instead of sending people.

Rethinking Environmental Protection: Meeting the Challenges of a Changing World.

PubMed

Burke, Thomas A; Cascio, Wayne E; Costa, Daniel L; Deener, Kacee; Fontaine, Thomas D; Fulk, Florence A; Jackson, Laura E; Munns, Wayne R; Orme-Zavaleta, Jennifer; Slimak, Michael W; Zartarian, Valerie G

2017-03-01

From climate change to hydraulic fracturing, and from drinking water safety to wildfires, environmental challenges are changing. The United States has made substantial environmental protection progress based on media-specific and single pollutant risk-based frameworks. However, today’s environmental problems are increasingly complex and new scientific approaches and tools are needed to achieve sustainable solutions to protect the environment and public health. In this article, we present examples of today’s environmental challenges and offer an integrated systems approach to address them. We provide a strategic framework and recommendations for advancing the application of science for protecting the environment and public health. We posit that addressing 21st century challenges requires transdisciplinary and systems approaches, new data sources, and stakeholder partnerships. To address these challenges, we outline a process driven by problem formulation with the following steps: a ) formulate the problem holistically, b ) gather and synthesize diverse information, c ) develop and assess options, and d ) implement sustainable solutions. This process will require new skills and education in systems science, with an emphasis on science translation. A systems-based approach can transcend media- and receptor-specific bounds, integrate diverse information, and recognize the inextricable link between ecology and human health.

Rethinking Environmental Protection: Meeting the Challenges of a Changing World

PubMed Central

Burke, Thomas A.; Cascio, Wayne E.; Costa, Daniel L.; Deener, Kacee; Fontaine, Thomas D.; Fulk, Florence A.; Jackson, Laura E.; Munns, Wayne R.; Orme-Zavaleta, Jennifer; Slimak, Michael W.; Zartarian, Valerie G.

2017-01-01

Summary: From climate change to hydraulic fracturing, and from drinking water safety to wildfires, environmental challenges are changing. The United States has made substantial environmental protection progress based on media-specific and single pollutant risk-based frameworks. However, today’s environmental problems are increasingly complex and new scientific approaches and tools are needed to achieve sustainable solutions to protect the environment and public health. In this article, we present examples of today’s environmental challenges and offer an integrated systems approach to address them. We provide a strategic framework and recommendations for advancing the application of science for protecting the environment and public health. We posit that addressing 21st century challenges requires transdisciplinary and systems approaches, new data sources, and stakeholder partnerships. To address these challenges, we outline a process driven by problem formulation with the following steps: a) formulate the problem holistically, b) gather and synthesize diverse information, c) develop and assess options, and d) implement sustainable solutions. This process will require new skills and education in systems science, with an emphasis on science translation. A systems-based approach can transcend media- and receptor-specific bounds, integrate diverse information, and recognize the inextricable link between ecology and human health. PMID:28248180

Water and Social Justice in Bangladesh: A Transdisciplinary and Intercultural Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilligan, J. M.; Ackerly, B.; Ahmed, K.; Benneyworth, L.; Goodbred, S. L.; Hall, M.; Jacobi, J. H.; Mondal, D. R.; Pickering, J.; Rogers, K. G.; Roy, K.; Wallace Auerbach, L.

2013-12-01

Effectively addressing environmental problems---at local, national, and global scales---requires actively crossing disciplinary boundaries between natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and policymaking. The best technical solution is useless if it cannot win political support from the people it is intended to help. Enacted policies are too often hindered either by misunderstanding or ignorance of scientific and technical aspects of the problem or by misunderstanding the behavior of the population they address. Environmental problems at the international scale also require understanding of cultural and social differences across national boundaries. To prepare graduate students to be professionally effective at addressing major environmental problems, Vanderbilt University has created a transdisciplinary, intercultural course that brings students from the US and Bangladesh together, both through online connections such as blogs and Skype sessions, and in person in a week-long joint field trip in which students and faculty from universities in both countries, and representing many disciplines work side-by-side to study water as both a natural resource and a natural hazard. Activities included studying sources of drinking water, observing areas affected by flooding from cyclone storm surges, cataloging physical infrastructure, and conducting interviews with residents of vulnerable areas. Few if any students can simultaneously master the social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering skills necessary to comprehensively address major environmental problems, but students can learn to work and communicate effectively with peers in other disciplines, working together to understand the complex interactions between different aspects of their problem. We will report on the structure of the course; our experiences as faculty and student participants; and connections between this class, graduate curricula in environmental sciences, and international transdisciplinary research projects.

A Series of MATLAB Learning Modules to Enhance Numerical Competency in Applied Marine Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, A. M.; Lucieer, V.; Burke, C.

2016-12-01

Enhanced numerical competency to navigate the massive data landscapes are critical skills students need to effectively explore, analyse and visualize complex patterns in high-dimensional data for addressing the complexity of many of the world's problems. This is especially the case for interdisciplinary, undergraduate applied marine science programs, where students are required to demonstrate competency in methods and ideas across multiple disciplines. In response to this challenge, we have developed a series of repository-based data exploration, analysis and visualization modules in MATLAB for integration across various attending and online classes within the University of Tasmania. The primary focus of these modules is to teach students to collect, aggregate and interpret data from large on-line marine scientific data repositories to, 1) gain technical skills in discovering, accessing, managing and visualising large, numerous data sources, 2) interpret, analyse and design approaches to visualise these data, and 3) to address, through numerical approaches, complex, real-world problems, that the traditional scientific methods cannot address. All modules, implemented through a MATLAB live script, include a short recorded lecture to introduce the topic, a handout that gives an overview of the activities, an instructor's manual with a detailed methodology and discussion points, a student assessment (quiz and level-specific challenge task), and a survey. The marine science themes addressed through these modules include biodiversity, habitat mapping, algal blooms and sea surface temperature change and utilize a series of marine science and oceanographic data portals. Through these modules students, with minimal experience in MATLAB or numerical methods are introduced to array indexing, concatenation, sorting, and reshaping, principal component analysis, spectral analysis and unsupervised classification within the context of oceanographic processes, marine geology and marine community ecology.

An Analysis of the Cost Estimating Process in Air Force Research and Development Laboratories.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-01

inexperienced military or civilian engineer/scientist new to the laboratory environ - ment the cost eatimating dilemma may be especially acute. Problem...several components are subjected to repeated environmental testing. Thus, the data from Question 6 was used to address the first two research questions: 1...Research Scientific study and experimentation directed toward increasing knowledge and understanding in the physical, engineering, environmental , and

Representation and Exchange of Knowledge as a Basis of Information Processes. Proceedings of the International Research Forum in Information Science (5th, Heidelberg, West Germany, September 5-7, 1983).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dietschmann, Hans, Ed.

This 22-paper collection addresses a variety of issues related to representation and transfer of knowledge. Individual papers include an explanation of the usefulness of general scientific models versus case-specific approaches and a discussion of different empirical approaches to the general problem of knowledge representation for information…

Analysis of a Physics Teacher's Pedagogical "Micro-Actions" That Support 17-Year-Olds' Learning of Free Body Diagrams via a Modelling Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tay, Su Lynn; Yeo, Jennifer

2018-01-01

Great teaching is characterised by the specific actions a teacher takes in the classroom to bring about learning. In the context of model-based teaching (MBT), teachers' difficulty in working with students' models that are not scientifically consistent is troubling. To address this problem, the aim of this study is to identify the pedagogical…

Toxic red tides and harmful algal blooms: A practical challenge in coastal oceanography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Donald M.

1995-07-01

The debate over the relative value of practical or applied versus fundamental research has heated up considerably in recent years, and oceanography has not been spared this re-evaluation of science funding policy. Some federal agencies with marine interests have always focused their resources on practical problems, but those with a traditional commitment to basic research such as the National Science Foundation have increasingly had to fight to maintain their freedom to fund quality science without regard to practical or commercial applications. Within this context, it is instructive to highlight the extent to which certain scientific programs can satisfy both sides of this policy dilemma—i.e. address important societal issues through advances in fundamental or basic research. One clear oceanographic example of such a program involves the phenomena called "red tides" or "harmful algal blooms". This paper describes the nature and extent of the problems caused by these outbreaks, emphasizing the alarming expansion in their incidence and their impacts in recent years, both in the U.S. and worldwide. The objective is to highlight fundamental physical, biological, and chemical oceanographic question that must be addressed if we are to achieve the practical goal of scientifically based management of fisheries resources, public health, and ecosystem health in regions threatened by toxic and harmful algae.

Science, society, and the coastal groundwater squeeze

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michael, Holly A.; Post, Vincent E. A.; Wilson, Alicia M.; Werner, Adrian D.

2017-04-01

Coastal zones encompass the complex interface between land and sea. Understanding how water and solutes move within and across this interface is essential for managing resources for society. The increasingly dense human occupation of coastal zones disrupts natural groundwater flow patterns and degrades freshwater resources by both overuse and pollution. This pressure results in a "coastal groundwater squeeze," where the thin veneers of potable freshwater are threatened by contaminant sources at the land surface and saline groundwater at depth. Scientific advances in the field of coastal hydrogeology have enabled responsible management of water resources and protection of important ecosystems. To address the problems of the future, we must continue to make scientific advances, and groundwater hydrology needs to be firmly embedded in integrated coastal zone management. This will require interdisciplinary scientific collaboration, open communication between scientists and the public, and strong partnerships with policymakers.

Proceedings of the First International Linked Science Workshop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pouchard, Line Catherine; Kauppinnen, Tomi; Kessler, Carsten

2011-01-01

Scientific efforts are traditionally published only as articles, with an estimate of millions of publications worldwide per year; the growth rate of PubMed alone is now 1 papers per minute. The validation of scientific results requires reproducible methods, which can only be achieved if the same data, processes, and algorithms as those used in the original experiments were available. However, the problem is that although publications, methods and datasets are very related, they are not always openly accessible and interlinked. Even where data is discoverable, accessible and assessable, significant challenges remain in the reuse of the data, in particular facilitatingmore » the necessary correlation, integration and synthesis of data across levels of theory, techniques and disciplines. In the LISC 2011 (1st International Workshop on Linked Science) we will discuss and present results of new ways of publishing, sharing, linking, and analyzing such scientific resources motivated by driving scientific requirements, as well as reasoning over the data to discover interesting new links and scientific insights. Making entities identifiable and referenceable using URIs augmented by semantic, scientifically relevant annotations greatly facilitates access and retrieval for data which used to be hardly accessible. This Linked Science approach, i.e., publishing, sharing and interlinking scientific resources and data, is of particular importance for scientific research, where sharing is crucial for facilitating reproducibility and collaboration within and across disciplines. This integrated process, however, has not been established yet. Bibliographic contents are still regarded as the main scientific product, and associated data, models and software are either not published at all, or published in separate places, often with no reference to the respective paper. In the workshop we will discuss whether and how new emerging technologies (Linked Data, and semantic technologies more generally) can realize the vision of Linked Science. We see that this depends on their enabling capability throughout the research process, leading up to extended publications and data sharing environments. Our workshop aims to address challenges related to enabling the easy creation of data bundles - data, processes, tools, provenance and annotation - supporting both publication and reuse of the data. Secondly, we look for tools and methods for the easy correlation, integration and synthesis of shared data. This problem is often found in many disciplines (including astronomy, biology, geosciences, cultural heritage, earth, climate, environmental and ecological sciences and impacts etc.), as they need to span techniques, levels of theory, scales, and disciplines. With the advent of Linked Science, it is timely and crucial to address these identified research challenges through both practical and formal approaches.« less

Revising explanatory models to accommodate anomalous genetic phenomena: Problem solving in the context of discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hafner, Robert; Stewart, Jim

Past problem-solving research has provided a basis for helping students structure their knowledge and apply appropriate problem-solving strategies to solve problems for which their knowledge (or mental models) of scientific phenomena is adequate (model-using problem solving). This research examines how problem solving in the domain of Mendelian genetics proceeds in situations where solvers' mental models are insufficient to solve problems at hand (model-revising problem solving). Such situations require solvers to use existing models to recognize anomalous data and to revise those models to accommodate the data. The study was conducted in the context of 9-week high school genetics course and addressed: the heuristics charactenstic of successful model-revising problem solving: the nature of the model revisions, made by students as well as the nature of model development across problem types; and the basis upon which solvers decide that a revised model is sufficient (that t has both predictive and explanatory power).

Addressing the Challenge of Molecular Change: An Interim Report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levine, Raphael D.

2018-04-01

Invited by the editorial committee of the Annual Review of Physical Chemistry to "contribute my autobiography," I present it here, as I understand the term. It is about my parents, my mentors, my coworkers, and my friends in learning and the scientific problems that we tried to address. Courtesy of the editorial assistance of Annual Reviews, some of the science is in the figure captions and sidebars. I am by no means done: I am currently trying to fuse the quantitative rigor of physical chemistry with systems biology while also dealing with a post-Born-Oppenheimer regime in electronic dynamics and am attempting to instruct molecules to perform advanced logic.

Addressing the Challenge of Molecular Change: An Interim Report.

PubMed

Levine, Raphael D

2018-04-20

Invited by the editorial committee of the Annual Review of Physical Chemistry to "contribute my autobiography," I present it here, as I understand the term. It is about my parents, my mentors, my coworkers, and my friends in learning and the scientific problems that we tried to address. Courtesy of the editorial assistance of Annual Reviews, some of the science is in the figure captions and sidebars. I am by no means done: I am currently trying to fuse the quantitative rigor of physical chemistry with systems biology while also dealing with a post-Born-Oppenheimer regime in electronic dynamics and am attempting to instruct molecules to perform advanced logic.

On the limitations of standard statistical modeling in biological systems: a full Bayesian approach for biology.

PubMed

Gomez-Ramirez, Jaime; Sanz, Ricardo

2013-09-01

One of the most important scientific challenges today is the quantitative and predictive understanding of biological function. Classical mathematical and computational approaches have been enormously successful in modeling inert matter, but they may be inadequate to address inherent features of biological systems. We address the conceptual and methodological obstacles that lie in the inverse problem in biological systems modeling. We introduce a full Bayesian approach (FBA), a theoretical framework to study biological function, in which probability distributions are conditional on biophysical information that physically resides in the biological system that is studied by the scientist. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing the Downstream Impact of the Integrated Use of Socioeconomic and Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, R. S.; Downs, R. R.; Schumacher, J.

2014-12-01

The interdisciplinary use of data from multiple disciplines to address both research and applied problems has received increasing attention in the sciences, but understanding remains limited on the specific modalities of data use and their impact not only in enabling new research insights but also in facilitating the application of research to societal problems. In our previous work, we used citation analysis to investigate the use of data from the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) and identify the extent of interdisciplinary use, based on the subject classifications of citing journals. We also proposed and tested a taxonomy of data integration and use on a selection of peer-reviewed scientific articles that cited both remote sensing data and socioeconomic data from SEDAC. We extend both of these analyses here. We analyze the interdisciplinary use of SEDAC data over a seven-year period including the types and topical areas of application observed. We also explore the degree to which different types of data integration and use are leading to further "downstream" research and applications, and if objective measures can be developed using bibliometric methods to quantify downstream use and impact in meaningful ways. These methods include both traditional citation analysis and searches of the informal literature and online resources. Better understanding of how disparate data and information has been utilized to address new interdisciplinary problems will help the data user and provider communities improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their efforts. It should also provide justification for further investments in linking different data resources and networks across scientific fields, in methods of interdisciplinary data integration, and in application of integrated data to societal problems.

Groundwater remediation solutions at hanford

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gilmore, T.J.; Truex, M.J.; Williams, M.D.

2007-07-01

In 2006, Congress provided funding to the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) to study new technologies that could be used to treat contamination from the Hanford Site that might impact the Columbia River. DOE identified three high priority sites that had groundwater contamination migrating towards the Columbia river for remediation. The contaminants included strontium-90, uranium and chromium. A natural systems approach was taken that uses a mass balance concept to frame the problem and determine the most appropriate remedial approach. This approach provides for a scientifically based remedial decision. The technologies selected to address these contaminants included an apatitemore » adsorption barrier coupled with a phyto-remediation to address the strontium-90 contamination, injection of polyphosphate into the subsurface to sequester uranium, and a bioremediation approach to reduce chromium contamination in the groundwater. The ability to provide scientifically based approaches to these sites was in large part due to work the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed under previous DOE Office of Science and Office of Environmental Management projects. (authors)« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Duro, Francisco Rodrigo; Blas, Javier Garcia; Isaila, Florin

The increasing volume of scientific data and the limited scalability and performance of storage systems are currently presenting a significant limitation for the productivity of the scientific workflows running on both high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud platforms. Clearly needed is better integration of storage systems and workflow engines to address this problem. This paper presents and evaluates a novel solution that leverages codesign principles for integrating Hercules—an in-memory data store—with a workflow management system. We consider four main aspects: workflow representation, task scheduling, task placement, and task termination. As a result, the experimental evaluation on both cloud and HPC systemsmore » demonstrates significant performance and scalability improvements over existing state-of-the-art approaches.« less

Overcoming the gender gap: increasing gender diversity, scientific scholarship and social legitimacy of our profession.

PubMed

Golding, Penny M

2015-06-01

This article examines a recent college review of the gender distribution on Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry (RANZCP) committees. It includes an analysis of the key reasons we should seek to address the gender disparity in our committees and conference speakers and strategies by which to achieve this. The gender gap in Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry leadership influences the perception, social legitimacy, problem-solving capacity and scientific direction of our field. We could improve equality in our college committees and conference speakers by adopting strategies used by governments and other professional associations. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Transgenes for tea?

PubMed

Heritage, John

2005-01-01

So far, no compelling scientific evidence has been found to suggest that the consumption of transgenic or genetically modified (GM) plants by animals or humans is more likely to cause harm than is the consumption of their conventional counterparts. Despite this lack of scientific evidence, the economic prospects for GM plants are probably limited in the short term and there is public opposition to the technology. Now is a good time to address several issues concerning GM plants, including the potential for transgenes to migrate from GM plants to gut microbes or to animal or human tissues, the consequences of consuming GM crops, either as fresh plants or as silage, and the problems caused by current legislation on GM labelling and beyond.

Identifying problem and compulsive gamblers.

PubMed Central

van Es, R.

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To present a meta-analysis of current research on the prevalence, identification, and treatment of problem and compulsive gamblers. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: Problem and compulsive gambling was not a socio-scientific concern until the last two decades. Hence research on this topic is limited. The summary and analysis for this paper relied on computer searches of journal and news abstracts in addition to direct contact with organizations addressing the identification and treatment of compulsive gamblers. MAIN MESSAGE: An estimated 5% of those who gamble run into problems. About 1% of those who gamble are predicted to experience serious problems. Successful treatment of problem and compulsive gambling continues to be a challenge. Although cognitive therapy has been the favoured approach, a combination of several therapeutic approaches is advocated. CONCLUSIONS: Problem and compulsive gambling can present a real health threat. As with other addictions, treatment strategies continue to be a baffling social problem. Aware and informed physicians can have a pivotal role in the difficult process of identifying, acknowledging, and remediating problem and compulsive gambling. PMID:10907572

Chemistry, toxicity, and bioavailability of copper and its relationship to regulation in the marine environment. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seligman, P.E.; Zirino, A.

1998-11-01

This document details issues addressed at a June 1997 workshop attended by Navy and regulatory representatives and scientific experts. Objectives discussed were: (1) define the current status and future direction of copper (Cu) regulations, (2) define problems and issues associated with the introduction of copper into the estuarine environment, and (3) discuss and evaluate the relationship between copper speciation, bio-availability, and toxicity.

Plagiarism and scientific writing: a personal commentary.

PubMed

Ponniah, Irulandy

2012-11-01

There have been a number of papers that have addressed the issue of plagiarism. Nevertheless, the charges of plagiarism usually merit little attention with experts, because it is still not clear what sort of copying actually constitutes plagiarism. Another problem that eludes consensus is whether plagiarism was committed with or without intention. This paper discusses certain issues relating to plagiarism and differentiates between intentional and unintentional forms of plagiarism. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Human nutrition, the gut microbiome, and immune system: envisioning the future

PubMed Central

Kau, Andrew L.; Ahern, Philip P.; Griffin, Nicholas W.; Goodman, Andrew L.; Gordon, Jeffrey I.

2012-01-01

Summary Paragraph Dramatic changes in socioeconomic status, cultural traditions, population growth, and agriculture are affecting diets worldwide. Understanding how our diet and nutritional status influence the composition and dynamic operations of our gut microbial communities, and the innate and adaptive arms of our immune system, represents an area of scientific need, opportunity and challenge. The insights gleaned should help address a number of pressing global health problems. PMID:21677749

Integrated Concentration in Science (iCons): Undergraduate Education Through Interdisciplinary, Team-Based, Real-World Problem Solving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuominen, Mark

2013-03-01

Attitude, Skills, Knowledge (ASK) - In this order, these are fundamental characteristics of scientific innovators. Through first-hand practice in using science to unpack and solve complex real-world problems, students can become self-motivated scientific leaders. This presentation describes the pedagogy of a recently developed interdisciplinary undergraduate science education program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst focused on addressing global challenges with scientific solutions. Integrated Concentration in Science (iCons) is an overarching concentration program that supplements the curricula provided within each student's chosen major. iCons is a platform for students to perform student-led research in interdisciplinary collaborative teams. With a schedule of one course per year over four years, the cohort of students move through case studies, analysis of real-world problems, development of potential solutions, integrative communication, laboratory practice, and capstone research projects. In this presentation, a track emphasizing renewable energy science is used to illustrate the iCons pedagogical methods. This includes discussion of a third-year laboratory course in renewable energy that is educationally scaffolded: beginning with a boot camp in laboratory techniques and culminating with student-designed research projects. Among other objectives, this course emphasizes the practice of using reflection and redesign, as a means of generating better solutions and embedding learning for the long term. This work is supported in part by NSF grant DUE-1140805.

Avoiding Twisted Pixels: Ethical Guidelines for the Appropriate Use and Manipulation of Scientific Digital Images

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Digital imaging has provided scientists with new opportunities to acquire and manipulate data using techniques that were difficult or impossible to employ in the past. Because digital images are easier to manipulate than film images, new problems have emerged. One growing concern in the scientific community is that digital images are not being handled with sufficient care. The problem is twofold: (1) the very small, yet troubling, number of intentional falsifications that have been identified, and (2) the more common unintentional, inappropriate manipulation of images for publication. Journals and professional societies have begun to address the issue with specific digital imaging guidelines. Unfortunately, the guidelines provided often do not come with instructions to explain their importance. Thus they deal with what should or should not be done, but not the associated ‘why’ that is required for understanding the rules. This article proposes 12 guidelines for scientific digital image manipulation and discusses the technical reasons behind these guidelines. These guidelines can be incorporated into lab meetings and graduate student training in order to provoke discussion and begin to bring an end to the culture of “data beautification”. PMID:20567932

Avoiding twisted pixels: ethical guidelines for the appropriate use and manipulation of scientific digital images.

PubMed

Cromey, Douglas W

2010-12-01

Digital imaging has provided scientists with new opportunities to acquire and manipulate data using techniques that were difficult or impossible to employ in the past. Because digital images are easier to manipulate than film images, new problems have emerged. One growing concern in the scientific community is that digital images are not being handled with sufficient care. The problem is twofold: (1) the very small, yet troubling, number of intentional falsifications that have been identified, and (2) the more common unintentional, inappropriate manipulation of images for publication. Journals and professional societies have begun to address the issue with specific digital imaging guidelines. Unfortunately, the guidelines provided often do not come with instructions to explain their importance. Thus they deal with what should or should not be done, but not the associated 'why' that is required for understanding the rules. This article proposes 12 guidelines for scientific digital image manipulation and discusses the technical reasons behind these guidelines. These guidelines can be incorporated into lab meetings and graduate student training in order to provoke discussion and begin to bring an end to the culture of "data beautification".

MapReduce in the Cloud: A Use Case Study for Efficient Co-Occurrence Processing of MEDLINE Annotations with MeSH.

PubMed

Kreuzthaler, Markus; Miñarro-Giménez, Jose Antonio; Schulz, Stefan

2016-01-01

Big data resources are difficult to process without a scaled hardware environment that is specifically adapted to the problem. The emergence of flexible cloud-based virtualization techniques promises solutions to this problem. This paper demonstrates how a billion of lines can be processed in a reasonable amount of time in a cloud-based environment. Our use case addresses the accumulation of concept co-occurrence data in MEDLINE annotation as a series of MapReduce jobs, which can be scaled and executed in the cloud. Besides showing an efficient way solving this problem, we generated an additional resource for the scientific community to be used for advanced text mining approaches.

Doing Science that Matters to Address India's Water Crisis.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srinivasan, V.

2017-12-01

Addressing water security in developing regions involves predicting water availability under unprecedented rates of population and economic growth. India is one of the most water stressed countries in the world. Despite appreciable increases in funding for water research, high quality science that is usable by stakeholders remains elusive. The absence of usable research, has been driven by notions of what is publishable in the developed world. This can be attributed to the absence of problem driven research on questions that actually matter to stakeholders, unwillingness to transcend disciplinary boundaries and the demise of a field-work research culture in favour of computer simulation. Yet the combination of rapid change, inadequate data and human modifications to watersheds poses a challenge, as researchers face a poorly constrained water resources modelling problem. Instead, what India and indeed all developing regions need is to approach the problem from first principles, identifying the most critical knowledge gaps, then prioritizing data collection using novel sensing and modelling approaches to address them. This might also necessitate consideration of underlying social and governance drivers of hydrologic change. Using examples from research in the Cauvery Basin, a highly contentious inter-state river basin, I offer some insights into framing "use-inspired" research agenda and show how the research generates not just new scientific insights but may be translated into practice.

A comparison of mixed-integer linear programming models for workforce scheduling with position-dependent processing times

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno-Camacho, Carlos A.; Montoya-Torres, Jairo R.; Vélez-Gallego, Mario C.

2018-06-01

Only a few studies in the available scientific literature address the problem of having a group of workers that do not share identical levels of productivity during the planning horizon. This study considers a workforce scheduling problem in which the actual processing time is a function of the scheduling sequence to represent the decline in workers' performance, evaluating two classical performance measures separately: makespan and maximum tardiness. Several mathematical models are compared with each other to highlight the advantages of each approach. The mathematical models are tested with randomly generated instances available from a public e-library.

Responses and Clarifications Regarding Science and Worldviews

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gauch, Hugh G.

2009-06-01

This article responds to the other 10 papers in this thematic issue on science and worldviews and it clarifies some of the points in my lead article. The Bayesian framework provides helpful structure for worldview inquiries by recognizing and integrating both public and personal evidence. Drawing upon the other 10 papers, six kinds of potential evidence or considerations are identified: the problem of evil, evolution, miracles and prayer, the Anthropic Principle, religious experience, and natural theology. The thesis is defended that considerations informing worldview convictions include public evidence from the sciences and the humanities and personal evidence from individual experience. Additional topics addressed briefly include scientific realism, the tentativeness of scientific knowledge, science’s presuppositions, the relationship between natural science and natural theology, the nature of religious faith, and the importance of philosophy in science education. Seven questions are posed for which further leadership from the AAAS and NAS would benefit the scientific community.

The Science DMZ: A Network Design Pattern for Data-Intensive Science

DOE PAGES

Dart, Eli; Rotman, Lauren; Tierney, Brian; ...

2014-01-01

The ever-increasing scale of scientific data has become a significant challenge for researchers that rely on networks to interact with remote computing systems and transfer results to collaborators worldwide. Despite the availability of high-capacity connections, scientists struggle with inadequate cyberinfrastructure that cripples data transfer performance, and impedes scientific progress. The Science DMZ paradigm comprises a proven set of network design patterns that collectively address these problems for scientists. We explain the Science DMZ model, including network architecture, system configuration, cybersecurity, and performance tools, that creates an optimized network environment for science. We describe use cases from universities, supercomputing centers andmore » research laboratories, highlighting the effectiveness of the Science DMZ model in diverse operational settings. In all, the Science DMZ model is a solid platform that supports any science workflow, and flexibly accommodates emerging network technologies. As a result, the Science DMZ vastly improves collaboration, accelerating scientific discovery.« less

Ecological literacy and beyond: Problem-based learning for future professionals.

PubMed

Lewinsohn, Thomas M; Attayde, José Luiz; Fonseca, Carlos Roberto; Ganade, Gislene; Jorge, Leonardo Ré; Kollmann, Johannes; Overbeck, Gerhard E; Prado, Paulo Inácio; Pillar, Valério D; Popp, Daniela; da Rocha, Pedro L B; Silva, Wesley Rodrigues; Spiekermann, Annette; Weisser, Wolfgang W

2015-03-01

Ecological science contributes to solving a broad range of environmental problems. However, lack of ecological literacy in practice often limits application of this knowledge. In this paper, we highlight a critical but often overlooked demand on ecological literacy: to enable professionals of various careers to apply scientific knowledge when faced with environmental problems. Current university courses on ecology often fail to persuade students that ecological science provides important tools for environmental problem solving. We propose problem-based learning to improve the understanding of ecological science and its usefulness for real-world environmental issues that professionals in careers as diverse as engineering, public health, architecture, social sciences, or management will address. Courses should set clear learning objectives for cognitive skills they expect students to acquire. Thus, professionals in different fields will be enabled to improve environmental decision-making processes and to participate effectively in multidisciplinary work groups charged with tackling environmental issues.

Approach of Decision Making Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process for Urban Landscape Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srdjevic, Zorica; Lakicevic, Milena; Srdjevic, Bojan

2013-03-01

This paper proposes a two-stage group decision making approach to urban landscape management and planning supported by the analytic hierarchy process. The proposed approach combines an application of the consensus convergence model and the weighted geometric mean method. The application of the proposed approach is shown on a real urban landscape planning problem with a park-forest in Belgrade, Serbia. Decision makers were policy makers, i.e., representatives of several key national and municipal institutions, and experts coming from different scientific fields. As a result, the most suitable management plan from the set of plans is recognized. It includes both native vegetation renewal in degraded areas of park-forest and continued maintenance of its dominant tourism function. Decision makers included in this research consider the approach to be transparent and useful for addressing landscape management tasks. The central idea of this paper can be understood in a broader sense and easily applied to other decision making problems in various scientific fields.

Rigged or rigorous? Partnerships for research and evaluation of complex social problems: Lessons from the field of violence against women and girls.

PubMed

Zimmerman, Cathy; Michau, Lori; Hossain, Mazeda; Kiss, Ligia; Borland, Rosilyne; Watts, Charlotte

2016-09-01

There is growing demand for robust evidence to address complex social phenomena such as violence against women and girls (VAWG). Research partnerships between scientists and non-governmental or international organizations (NGO/IO) are increasingly popular, but can pose challenges, including concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Drawing on our experience collaborating on VAWG research, we describe challenges and contributions that NGO/IO and academic partners can make at different stages of the research process and the effects that collaborations can have on scientific inquiry. Partners may struggle with differing priorities and misunderstandings about roles, limitations, and intentions. Benefits of partnerships include a shared vision of study goals, differing and complementary expertise, mutual respect, and a history of constructive collaboration. Our experience suggests that when investigating multi-faceted social problems, instead of 'rigging' study results, research collaborations can strengthen scientific rigor and offer the greatest potential for impact in the communities we seek to serve.

Approach of decision making based on the analytic hierarchy process for urban landscape management.

PubMed

Srdjevic, Zorica; Lakicevic, Milena; Srdjevic, Bojan

2013-03-01

This paper proposes a two-stage group decision making approach to urban landscape management and planning supported by the analytic hierarchy process. The proposed approach combines an application of the consensus convergence model and the weighted geometric mean method. The application of the proposed approach is shown on a real urban landscape planning problem with a park-forest in Belgrade, Serbia. Decision makers were policy makers, i.e., representatives of several key national and municipal institutions, and experts coming from different scientific fields. As a result, the most suitable management plan from the set of plans is recognized. It includes both native vegetation renewal in degraded areas of park-forest and continued maintenance of its dominant tourism function. Decision makers included in this research consider the approach to be transparent and useful for addressing landscape management tasks. The central idea of this paper can be understood in a broader sense and easily applied to other decision making problems in various scientific fields.

Cross-Identification of Astronomical Catalogs on Multiple GPUs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, M. A.; Budavári, T.

2013-10-01

One of the most fundamental problems in observational astronomy is the cross-identification of sources. Observations are made in different wavelengths, at different times, and from different locations and instruments, resulting in a large set of independent observations. The scientific outcome is often limited by our ability to quickly perform meaningful associations between detections. The matching, however, is difficult scientifically, statistically, as well as computationally. The former two require detailed physical modeling and advanced probabilistic concepts; the latter is due to the large volumes of data and the problem's combinatorial nature. In order to tackle the computational challenge and to prepare for future surveys, whose measurements will be exponentially increasing in size past the scale of feasible CPU-based solutions, we developed a new implementation which addresses the issue by performing the associations on multiple Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Our implementation utilizes up to 6 GPUs in combination with the Thrust library to achieve an over 40x speed up verses the previous best implementation running on a multi-CPU SQL Server.

An analysis of 12th-grade students' reasoning styles and competencies when presented with an environmental problem in a social and scientific context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Fang-Ying

This study examined reasoning and problem solving by 182 12th grade students in Taiwan when considering a socio-scientific issue regarding the use of nuclear energy. Students' information preferences, background characteristics, and eleven everyday scientific thinking skills were scrutinized. It was found most participants displayed a willingness to take into account both scientific and social information in reasoning the merits of a proposed construction of a nuclear power plant. Students' reasoning scores obtained from the "information reasoning style" test ranged from -0.5 to 1.917. And, the distribution was approximately normal with mean and median at around 0.5. For the purpose of categorization, students whose scores were within one standard deviation from the mean were characterized as having a "equally disposed" reasoning style. One hundred and twenty-five subjects, about 69%, belonged to this category. Students with scores locating at the two tails of the distribution were assigned to either the "scientifically oriented" or the "socially oriented" reasoning category. Among 23 background characteristics investigated using questionnaire data and ANOVA statistical analysis, only students' science performance and knowledge about nuclear energy were statistically significantly related to their information reasoning styles (p < 0.05). The assessed background characteristics addressed dimensions such as gender, academic performances, class difference, future education, career expectation, commitment to study, assessment to educational enrichment, family conditions, epistemological views about science, religion, and the political party preference. For everyday scientific thinking skills, interview data showed that both "scientifically oriented" students and those who were categorized as "equally disposed to using scientific and social scientific sources of data" displayed higher frequencies than "socially oriented" ones in using these skills, except in the use of the "multidisciplinary thinking" skill. Among the 11 skills assessed, the "scientifically oriented" students outperformed the "equally disposed" ones only in the use of 3 thinking skills; namely, searching for or recalling scientific concepts/evidence, recognizing and evaluating alternatives, and making conclusions based on the scientific intuition.

Addressing scientific literacy through content area reading and processes of scientific inquiry: What teachers report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, Susan J.

The purpose of this study was to interpret the experiences of secondary science teachers in Florida as they address the scientific literacy of their students through teaching content reading strategies and student inquiry skills. Knowledge of the successful integration of content reading and inquiry skills by experienced classroom teachers would be useful to many educators as they plan instruction to achieve challenging state and national standards for reading as well as science. The problem was investigated using grounded theory methodology. Open-ended questions were asked in three focus groups and six individual interviews that included teachers from various Florida school districts. The constant comparative approach was used to analyze the data. Initial codes were collapsed into categories to determine the conceptual relationships among the data. From this, the five core categories were determined to be Influencers, Issues, Perceptions, Class Routines, and Future Needs. These relate to the central phenomenon, Instructional Modifications, because teachers often described pragmatic and philosophical changes in their teaching as they deliberated to meet state standards in both reading and science. Although Florida's secondary science teachers have been asked to incorporate content reading strategies into their science instruction for the past several years, there was limited evidence of using these strategies to further student understanding of scientific processes. Most teachers saw little connection between reading and inquiry, other than the fact that students must know how to read to follow directions in the lab. Scientific literacy, when it was addressed by teachers, was approached mainly through class discussions, not reading. Teachers realized that students cannot learn secondary science content unless they read science text with comprehension; therefore the focus of reading instruction was on learning science content, not scientific literacy or student inquiry. Most of the teachers were actively looking for reading materials and strategies to facilitate student understanding of science concepts, but they did not want to give up limited class time attempting methods that have not been proven to be successful in science classrooms.

Editorial: Computational Creativity, Concept Invention, and General Intelligence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Besold, Tarek R.; Kühnberger, Kai-Uwe; Veale, Tony

2015-12-01

Over the last decade, computational creativity as a field of scientific investigation and computational systems engineering has seen growing popularity. Still, the levels of development between projects aiming at systems for artistic production or performance and endeavours addressing creative problem-solving or models of creative cognitive capacities is diverging. While the former have already seen several great successes, the latter still remain in their infancy. This volume collects reports on work trying to close the accrued gap.

What Would Pascal Think About Space Safety?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfitzer, Tom

2013-09-01

Blaise Pascal was a true Renaissance man being well versed in science, physics, religion, philosophy, and especially mathematics. He had a knack for simplifying complex problems into mathematical formulae. He had well-formed opinions about the scientific issues of his day, in particular about risk. There is little doubt that were he alive today, he would have opinions useful to this society. This paper addresses what he thought then as a foundation for what he would have thought now.

Problems of Waste Management at Poultry Plants and Ways to Address Them

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazareva, L. P.; Kostryakova, O. N.

2017-11-01

The paper analyzes scientific literature on manure recycling and systems of waste management at two poultry plants that use different technologies of poultry housing and manure disposal and calculates the volumes of waste generation for two plants. The authors suggest an economically and ecologically efficient manure utilization technology, consider the feasibility of replacing traditional fuel with the one produced by manure recycling and calculate expected profits and the payback time of equipment.

Amelogenesis imperfecta and anterior open bite: Etiological, classification, clinical and management interrelationships

PubMed Central

Alachioti, Xanthippi Sofia; Dimopoulou, Eleni; Vlasakidou, Anatoli; Athanasiou, Athanasios E

2014-01-01

Although amelogenesis imperfecta is not a common dental pathological condition, its etiological, classification, clinical and management aspects have been addressed extensively in the scientific literature. Of special clinical consideration is the frequent co-existence of amelogenesis imperfecta with the anterior open bite. This paper provides an updated review on amelogenesis imperfecta as well as anterior open bite, in general, and documents the association of these two separate entities, in particular. Diagnosis and treatment of amelogenesis imperfecta patients presenting also with anterior open bite require a lengthy, comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach, which should aim to successfully address all dental, occlusal, developmental, skeletal and soft tissue problems associated with these two serious clinical conditions. PMID:24987656

Amelogenesis imperfecta and anterior open bite: Etiological, classification, clinical and management interrelationships.

PubMed

Alachioti, Xanthippi Sofia; Dimopoulou, Eleni; Vlasakidou, Anatoli; Athanasiou, Athanasios E

2014-01-01

Although amelogenesis imperfecta is not a common dental pathological condition, its etiological, classification, clinical and management aspects have been addressed extensively in the scientific literature. Of special clinical consideration is the frequent co-existence of amelogenesis imperfecta with the anterior open bite. This paper provides an updated review on amelogenesis imperfecta as well as anterior open bite, in general, and documents the association of these two separate entities, in particular. Diagnosis and treatment of amelogenesis imperfecta patients presenting also with anterior open bite require a lengthy, comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach, which should aim to successfully address all dental, occlusal, developmental, skeletal and soft tissue problems associated with these two serious clinical conditions.

Present and future of scientific bird ringing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Spina, F.; Tautin, J.; Adams, N.J.; Slotow, R.H.

1998-01-01

In 1999 scientific bird ringing will celebrate its first century of existence. Started mainly to investigate bird movements, bird ringing has become a much more flexible method to study different aspects of bird biology. Bird ringing can only be properly organised if an effective international co-operation exists. In Europe, this co-ordination is ensured by EURING, made of 35 national ringing centres; sister organisations exist in other parts of the world (like Africa, Australia, U.S. and Canada), sharing the same aims and problems. This RTD is mainly targeted to ornithologists involved with the co-ordination of bird ringing stations and national centres world-wide. Common aspects of the organisation of ringing activities, as well as of the potential ringing has and will have in the future in addressing major scientific questions in Ornithology will be taken into account. The advisability of setting up a standing committee on bird ringing within the IOC will be discussed, and the project of creating a world-wide organisation of ringing schemes in order to further improve communication and exchange of experiences will also be addressed. This new organisation would be formally founded in 1999, when an international conference organised by EURING to celebrate the first 100 years of bird ringing will be held in Denmark.

Present and future of scientific bird ringing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Spina, F.; Tautin, J.; Adams, N.J.; Slotow, R.H.

1999-01-01

In 1999 scientific bird ringing will celebrate its first century of existence. Started mainly to investigate bird movements, bird ringing has become a much more flexible method to study different aspects of bird biology. Bird ringing can only be properly organised if an effective international co-operation exists. In Europe, this co-ordination is ensured by EURING, made of 35 national ringing centres; sister organisations exist in other parts of the world (like Africa, Australia, U.S. and Canada), sharing the same aims and problems. This RTD is mainly targeted to ornithologists involved with the co-ordination of bird ringing stations and national centres world-wide. Common aspects of the organisation of ringing activities, as well as of the potential ringing has and will have in the future in addressing major scientific questions in Ornithology will be taken into account. The advisability of setting up a standing committee on bird ringing within the IOC will be discussed, and the project of creating a world-wide organisation of ringing schemes in order to further improve communication and exchange of experiences will also be addressed. This new organisation would be formally founded in 1999, when an international conference organised by EURING to celebrate the first 100 years of bird ringing will be held in Denmark.

Treatment Nonadherence in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Identification, Scope, and Management Strategies.

PubMed

Herman, Margot L; Kane, Sunanda V

2015-12-01

Treatment adherence is of critical importance in the management of patients with IBD. Poor adherence can lead to increased disease activity, loss of response to therapy, and increased costs of care. It has been well established that adherence to long-term therapy for chronic illnesses is extremely poor, averaging around 50% in developed countries. Measured rates of nonadherence in IBD are similar, but vary depending on the type of therapy and the population being observed. This article reviews the scientific data on treatment nonadherence in IBD. The methods commonly used to evaluate treatment adherence investigation are reviewed. The consequences and scope of treatment nonadherence are summarized. Finally, the scientific data on management strategies to address the problem of treatment nonadherence are explored.

Antibacterial resistance leadership group: open for business.

PubMed

Chambers, Henry F; Bartlett, John G; Bonomo, Robert A; Chiou, Christine; Cosgrove, Sara E; Cross, Heather R; Daum, Robert S; Downing, Michele; Evans, Scott R; Knisely, Jane; Kreiswirth, Barry N; Lautenbach, Ebbing; Mickley, Brenda S; Patel, Robin; Pettigrew, Melinda M; Rodvold, Keith A; Spellberg, Brad; Fowler, Vance G

2014-06-01

Funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG) is tasked with developing a clinical research agenda and conducting clinical studies to address the growing public health threat of antibacterial resistance. The ARLG has identified 4 high-priority areas of research: infections caused by gram-negative bacteria, infections caused by gram-positive bacteria, antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention, and diagnostics. The ARLG will be accepting proposals from the scientific community for clinical research that addresses 1 or more of these high-priority areas. These studies should have the potential to transform medical practice and be unlikely to occur without ARLG support. The purpose of this article is to make interested parties aware of clinical research opportunities made available by ARLG and to encourage submission of clinical research proposals that address the problem of antibacterial resistance.

A Systematic Approach for Obtaining Performance on Matrix-Like Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veras, Richard Michael

Scientific Computation provides a critical role in the scientific process because it allows us ask complex queries and test predictions that would otherwise be unfeasible to perform experimentally. Because of its power, Scientific Computing has helped drive advances in many fields ranging from Engineering and Physics to Biology and Sociology to Economics and Drug Development and even to Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Common among these domains is the desire for timely computational results, thus a considerable amount of human expert effort is spent towards obtaining performance for these scientific codes. However, this is no easy task because each of these domains present their own unique set of challenges to software developers, such as domain specific operations, structurally complex data and ever-growing datasets. Compounding these problems are the myriads of constantly changing, complex and unique hardware platforms that an expert must target. Unfortunately, an expert is typically forced to reproduce their effort across multiple problem domains and hardware platforms. In this thesis, we demonstrate the automatic generation of expert level high-performance scientific codes for Dense Linear Algebra (DLA), Structured Mesh (Stencil), Sparse Linear Algebra and Graph Analytic. In particular, this thesis seeks to address the issue of obtaining performance on many complex platforms for a certain class of matrix-like operations that span across many scientific, engineering and social fields. We do this by automating a method used for obtaining high performance in DLA and extending it to structured, sparse and scale-free domains. We argue that it is through the use of the underlying structure found in the data from these domains that enables this process. Thus, obtaining performance for most operations does not occur in isolation of the data being operated on, but instead depends significantly on the structure of the data.

Reflections on writing hydrologic reports

USGS Publications Warehouse

Olcott, Perry G.

1987-01-01

Reporting of scientific work should be characterized by a logical argument that is developed through presentation of the problem, tabulation and display of data pertinent to the problem , and testing and interpretation of the data to prove hypotheses that address the problem. Organization of the report is vital to developing this logical argument: it provides structure, continuity, logic, and emphasis to the presentation. Each part of the report serves a specific function and each is linked by a connecting logic, the logical argument of the report. Each scientific report normally has a title, table of contents, abstract, introduction, body (of the report), and summary and/or conclusions. Organization of sections within the body of the report is exactly parallel to overall organization; subjects presented in the section title are developed by logical subdivisions and pertinent discussion. The summary and/or conclusions section culminates the logical argument of the report by drawing together and quantitatively reiterating the principal conclusions developed in the discussion. Supplemental information on report content, background of the study, additional data or details on procedures, and other information of interest to the reader is presented in the foreward or preface, list of illustrations or tables, glossaries, and appendixes. (Lantz-PTT)

[Marketing research in health service].

PubMed

Ameri, Cinzia; Fiorini, Fulvio

2015-01-01

Marketing research is the systematic and objective search for, and analysis of, information relevant to the identification and solution of any problem in the field of marketing. The key words in this definition are: systematic, objective and analysis. Marketing research seeks to set about its task in a systematic and objective fashion. This means that a detailed and carefully designed research plan is developed in which each stage of the research is specified. Such a research plan is only considered adequate if it specifies: the research problem in concise and precise terms, the information necessary to address the problem, the methods to be employed in gathering the information and the analytical techniques to be used to interpret it. Maintaining objectivity in marketing research is essential if marketing management is to have sufficient confidence in its results to be prepared to take risky decisions based upon those results. To this end, as far as possible, marketing researchers employ the scientific method. The characteristics of the scientific method are that it translates personal prejudices, notions and opinions into explicit propositions (or hypotheses). These are tested empirically. At the same time alternative explanations of the event or phenomena of interest are given equal consideration.

Some Thoughts Regarding Practical Quantum Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghoshal, Debabrata; Gomez, Richard; Lanzagorta, Marco; Uhlmann, Jeffrey

2006-03-01

Quantum computing has become an important area of research in computer science because of its potential to provide more efficient algorithmic solutions to certain problems than are possible with classical computing. The ability of performing parallel operations over an exponentially large computational space has proved to be the main advantage of the quantum computing model. In this regard, we are particularly interested in the potential applications of quantum computers to enhance real software systems of interest to the defense, industrial, scientific and financial communities. However, while much has been written in popular and scientific literature about the benefits of the quantum computational model, several of the problems associated to the practical implementation of real-life complex software systems in quantum computers are often ignored. In this presentation we will argue that practical quantum computation is not as straightforward as commonly advertised, even if the technological problems associated to the manufacturing and engineering of large-scale quantum registers were solved overnight. We will discuss some of the frequently overlooked difficulties that plague quantum computing in the areas of memories, I/O, addressing schemes, compilers, oracles, approximate information copying, logical debugging, error correction and fault-tolerant computing protocols.

Workshop on Advancing Experimental Rock Deformation Research: Scientific and Technical Needs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tullis, Terry E.

A workshop for the experimental rock deformation community was held in Boston on August 16-19, 2012, following some similar but smaller preliminary meetings. It was sponsored primarily by the NSF, with additional support from the DOE, the SCEC, and in-kind support by the USGS. A white paper summarizing the active discussions at the workshop and the outcomes is available (https://brownbox.brown.edu/download.php?hash=0b854d11). Those attending included practitioners of experimental rock deformation, i.e., those who conduct laboratory experiments, as well as users of the data provided by practitioners, namely field geologists, seismologists, geodynamicists, earthquake modelers, and scientists from the oil and gas industry. Amore » considerable fraction of those attending were early-career scientists. The discussion initially focused on identifying the most important unsolved scientific problems in all of the research areas represented by the users that experiments would help solve. This initial session was followed by wide-ranging discussions of the most critical problems faced by practitioners, particularly by early-career scientists. The discussion also focused on the need for designing and building the next generation of experimental rock deformation equipment required to meet the identified scientific challenges. The workshop participants concluded that creation of an experimental rock deformation community organization is needed to address many of the scientific, technical, and demographic problems faced by this community. A decision was made to hold an organizational meeting of this new organization in San Francisco on December 1-2, 2012, just prior to the Fall Meeting of the AGU. The community has decided to name this new organization “Deformation Experimentation at the Frontier Of Rock and Mineral research” or DEFORM. As of May 1, 2013, 64 institutions have asked to be members of DEFORM.« less

DEVELOPING A PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING (PBL) CURRICULUM FOR PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS TRAINING FOR BIOMEDICAL GRADUATE STUDENTS

PubMed Central

Jones, Nancy L.; Peiffer, Ann M.; Lambros, Ann; Guthold, Martin; Johnson, A. Daniel; Tytell, Michael; Ronca, April E.; Eldridge, J. Charles

2013-01-01

A curriculum was designed to shape biomedical graduate students into researchers with a high commitment to professionalism and social responsibility, and to provide students with tools to navigate the complex, rapidly evolving academic and societal environments with a strong ethical commitment. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) pedagogy was chosen because it is active, learner-centered, and focuses on skill and process development. Additionally, the small group format provides a high degree of socialization around professional norms. Two courses were developed. Scientific Professionalism Scientific Integrity addressed discipline-specific and broad professional norms and obligations for the ethical practice of science and responsible conduct of research (RCR). Scientific Professionalism Bioethics and Social Responsibility focused on current ethical and bioethical issues within the scientific profession and implications of research for society. Each small-group session examined case scenarios that included: (1) learning objectives for professional norms and obligations; (2) key ethical issues and philosophies within each topic area; (3) one or more of the RCR instructional areas; and (4) at least one type of moral reflection. Cases went beyond covering overt research misconduct to emphasize professional standards, obligations, and underlying philosophies for the ethical practice of science, competing interests of stakeholders, and oversight of science (internal and external). To our knowledge this was the first use of PBL to teach scientific integrity and ethics. Both faculty and students at Wake Forest endorsed the orientation of professionalism, active learning, and acquiring skills in contrast to a compliance-based approach that emphasizes learning rules and regulations. PMID:20797979

GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION SOLUTIONS AT HANFORD

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gilmore, Tyler J.; Truex, Michael J.; Williams, Mark D.

2007-02-26

In 2006, Congress provided funding to the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) to study new technologies that could be used to treat contamination from the Hanford Site that might impact the Columbia River. The contaminants of concern are primarily metals and radionuclides, which are byproducts of Hanford’s cold war mission to produce plutonium for atomic weapons. The DOE asked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to consider this problem and develop approaches to address the contamination that threatens the river. DOE identified three high priority sites that had groundwater contamination migrating towards the Columbia river for remediation. The contaminants includedmore » strontium-90, uranium and chromium. Remediation techniques for metals and radionuclides focus primarily on altering the oxidation state of the contaminant chemically or biologically, isolating the contaminants from the environment through adsorption or encapsulation or concentrating the contaminants for removal. A natural systems approach was taken that uses a mass balance concept to frame the problem and determine the most appropriate remedial approach. This approach provides for a scientifically based remedial decision. The technologies selected to address these contaminants included an apatite adsorption barrier coupled with a phytoremediation to address the strontium-90 contamination, injection of polyphosphate into the subsurface to sequester uranium, and a bioremediation approach to reduce chromium contamination in the groundwater. The ability to provide scientifically based approaches is in large part due to work developed under previous DOE Office of Science and Office of Environmental Management projects. For example, the polyphosphate and the bioremediation techniques, were developed by PNNL under the EMSP and NABIR programs. Contaminated groundwater under the Hanford Site poses a potential risk to humans and the Columbia River. These new technologies holds great promise for effectively remediating the residual waste that threatens the environment.« less

The Ionospheric Connection Explorer - A pioneering research mission for space physics and aeronomy.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Immel, T. J.; Mende, S. B.; Heelis, R. A.; Englert, C. R.; Edelstein, J.; Forbes, J. M.; England, S.; Maute, A. I.; Makela, J. J.; Crowley, G.; Stephan, A. W.; Huba, J. D.; Harlander, J. M.; Swenson, G. R.; Frey, H. U.; Bust, G. S.; Hysell, D. L.; Saito, A.; Yigit, E.

2012-12-01

Earth's ionosphere, the 'inner edge of space,' is a highly variable boundary that is influenced from below by internal atmospheric waves of various scales and from above by solar and geomagnetic activity. Recent observational findings and modeling studies have raised many questions about the effects and interaction of these drivers in our geospace environment, and how these vary between extremes in solar activity. ICON will address the most compelling science issues that deal with the coupling of the ionosphere to the neutral atmosphere below and space above: 1) The highly variable nature of the electric field in the ionosphere and its potential link to thermospheric wind, 2) the effect of forcing from below: how large-scale atmospheric waves penetrate into the thermosphere and ionosphere, and 3) the effect of forcing from above: how ion-neutral coupling changes during solar and geomagnetically active periods. To address these, ICON will measure all key parameters of the atmosphere and ionosphere simultaneously and continuously with a combination of remote sensing and in-situ measurements. The scientific return from ICON is enhanced by dynamic operational modes of the observatory that provide capabilities well beyond that afforded by a static space platform. If selected for development by NASA, ICON will launch in late 2016 into a low-inclination orbit that is particularly well suited to address the above-noted scientific problems and to make a number of coordinated measurements with ground based facilities at low and middle latitudes.The ICON observatory is depicted with solar arrays deployed. The scientific payload is on the nadir facing portion of the spacecraft.

United States and Western Europe cooperation in planetary exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levy, Eugene H.; Hunten, Donald M.; Masursky, Harold; Scarf, Frederick L.; Solomon, Sean C.; Wilkening, Laurel L.; Fechtig, Hugo; Balsiger, Hans; Blamont, Jacques; Fulchignoni, Marcello

1989-01-01

A framework was sought for U.S.-European cooperation in planetary exploration. Specific issues addressed include: types and levels of possible cooperative activities in the planetary sciences; specific or general scientific areas that seem most promising as the main focus of cooperative efforts; potential mission candidates for cooperative ventures; identification of special issues or problems for resolution by negotiation between the agencies, and possible suggestions for their resolutions; and identification of coordinated technological and instrumental developments for planetary missions.

Developing Breast Cancer Program at Xavier; Genomic and Proteomic Analysis of Signaling Pathways Involved in Xenohormone and MEK5 Regulation of Breast

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-01

will build a core of human talent that will address scientific problems such as drug resistance and the effect of environmental agents on breast...normal for Xavier University after the continuing effects of Hurricane Katrina. Xavier University of Louisiana did an amazing recovery from the...an increase in expression of ERβ . To determine the effects of MEK5 on ER signaling we used an ERE-luciferase reporter assay. Parental MCF-7 cells

On the availability of geoscientific data and scientific collaborators of an in Africa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hastings, David A.

1982-01-01

In addition to the technical papers, the major topic of discussion at the symposium which formed the stepping-off point for this issue of Geoexplorution was the difficult communications between specialists on Africa and the lack of available geological and geophysical data. However, much of this difficulty stems from a lack of advice on where to turn for data and for eollaboration with other interested scientists. This short note attempts to address these problems with some possible solutions.

A Comparison of Current Guidelines of Five International Societies on Clostridium difficile Infection Management.

PubMed

Fehér, Csaba; Mensa, Josep

2016-09-01

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is increasingly recognized as an emerging healthcare problem of elevated importance. Prevention and treatment strategies are constantly evolving along with the apperance of new scientific evidence and novel treatment methods, which is well-reflected in the differences among consecutive international guidelines. In this article, we summarize and compare current guidelines of five international medical societies on CDI management, and discuss some of the controversial and currently unresolved aspects which should be addressed by future research.

Whistleblowing in academic medicine

PubMed Central

Rhodes, R; Strain, J

2004-01-01

The authors present and discuss cases of academic medicine failing to address unethical behaviour in academic science and, thereby, illustrate the scope and seriousness of the problem. The Olivieri/Apotex affair is just another instance of academic medicine's dereliction in a case of scientific fraud and misconduct. Instead of vigorously supporting their faculty member in her efforts to honestly communicate her findings and to protect patients from the risks associated with the use of the study drug, the University of Toronto collaborated with the Apotex company's "stalling tactics," closed down Dr Olivieri's laboratory, harassed her, and ultimately dismissed her. The authors argue that the incentives for addressing problematic behaviour have to be revised in order to effect a change in the current pattern of response that occurs in academic medicine. An externally imposed realignment of incentives could convert the perception of the whistleblower, from their present caste as the enemy within, into a new position, as valued friend of the institution. The authors explain how such a correction could encourage appropriate reactions to scientific misconduct from academic medicine. PMID:14872069

Addressing Common Student Technical Errors in Field Data Collection: An Analysis of a Citizen-Science Monitoring Project.

PubMed

Philippoff, Joanna; Baumgartner, Erin

2016-03-01

The scientific value of citizen-science programs is limited when the data gathered are inconsistent, erroneous, or otherwise unusable. Long-term monitoring studies, such as Our Project In Hawai'i's Intertidal (OPIHI), have clear and consistent procedures and are thus a good model for evaluating the quality of participant data. The purpose of this study was to examine the kinds of errors made by student researchers during OPIHI data collection and factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of these errors. Twenty-four different types of errors were grouped into four broad error categories: missing data, sloppiness, methodological errors, and misidentification errors. "Sloppiness" was the most prevalent error type. Error rates decreased with field trip experience and student age. We suggest strategies to reduce data collection errors applicable to many types of citizen-science projects including emphasizing neat data collection, explicitly addressing and discussing the problems of falsifying data, emphasizing the importance of using standard scientific vocabulary, and giving participants multiple opportunities to practice to build their data collection techniques and skills.

Semi-annual technical report, September 30, 1999 - March 31, 2000

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schumacher, Dorin

2000-04-01

The Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research, Inc. (CPBR) continues to operate according to objectives outlined in the proposal funded through the cooperative agreement. The italicized objectives below are addressed in this report, which covers the period September 30,1999 through March 31, 2000. (1) Update the research agenda using information obtained from member companies. (2) Identify and implement research projects that are deemed by industrial, scientific, and sponsoring agency evaluation to address significantly the problems and future of U.S. energy resources and that are relevant to the Department of Energy's mission. Specifically: (1) Announce research grants competition through a Request formore » Preproposals. (2) Conduct a dual-stage review process: Stage one--industrial and DOE review of preproposals; and Stage two--peer review, scientific consultants' review, DOE review of full proposals and Project Recommendation Committee evaluation and recommendation for funding. (3) Board of Directors approval of recommended awards. (4) Conduct ongoing project management. (5) Obtain semiannual, annual and final reports for evaluation of research goals and technology transfer. (6) Present reports to DOE.« less

Challenges of Antibacterial Discovery

PubMed Central

Silver, Lynn L.

2011-01-01

Summary: The discovery of novel small-molecule antibacterial drugs has been stalled for many years. The purpose of this review is to underscore and illustrate those scientific problems unique to the discovery and optimization of novel antibacterial agents that have adversely affected the output of the effort. The major challenges fall into two areas: (i) proper target selection, particularly the necessity of pursuing molecular targets that are not prone to rapid resistance development, and (ii) improvement of chemical libraries to overcome limitations of diversity, especially that which is necessary to overcome barriers to bacterial entry and proclivity to be effluxed, especially in Gram-negative organisms. Failure to address these problems has led to a great deal of misdirected effort. PMID:21233508

Information Power Grid Posters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vaziri, Arsi

2003-01-01

This document is a summary of the accomplishments of the Information Power Grid (IPG). Grids are an emerging technology that provide seamless and uniform access to the geographically dispersed, computational, data storage, networking, instruments, and software resources needed for solving large-scale scientific and engineering problems. The goal of the NASA IPG is to use NASA's remotely located computing and data system resources to build distributed systems that can address problems that are too large or complex for a single site. The accomplishments outlined in this poster presentation are: access to distributed data, IPG heterogeneous computing, integration of large-scale computing node into distributed environment, remote access to high data rate instruments,and exploratory grid environment.

Bioethics of Clinical Applications of Stem Cells.

PubMed

Petrini, Carlo

2017-04-12

The clinical applications of stem cells pose a multitude of problems, including safety, efficacy, information and consent, the right to unproven treatments, the "right to try", costs, access, sustainability, scientific scrupulousness, patents and regulatory aspects, to name but a few. This article does not address individual issues, but rather introduces and discusses some of the possible approaches to solving the problems. The first part compares the consequentialist and deontological approaches, offering an overview of "top-down" and "bottom-up" models and proposing the principles of personalism as applied in clinical settings. The second part of the article suggests practical frameworks for organising the ethical issues, focusing in particular on the medical indications, patient preferences, quality of life, and contextual features.

Data Curation: Improving Environmental Health Data Quality.

PubMed

Yang, Lin; Li, Jiao; Hou, Li; Qian, Qing

2015-01-01

With the growing recognition of the influence of climate change on human health, scientists' attention to analyzing the relationship between meteorological factors and adverse health effects. However, the paucity of high quality integrated data is one of the great challenges, especially when scientific studies rely on data-intensive computing. This paper aims to design an appropriate curation process to address this problem. We present a data curation workflow that: (i) follows the guidance of DCC Curation Lifecycle Model; (ii) combines manual curation with automatic curation; (iii) and solves environmental health data curation problem. The workflow was applied to a medical knowledge service system and showed that it was capable of improving work efficiency and data quality.

A rapid prototyping/artificial intelligence approach to space station-era information management and access

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carnahan, Richard S., Jr.; Corey, Stephen M.; Snow, John B.

1989-01-01

Applications of rapid prototyping and Artificial Intelligence techniques to problems associated with Space Station-era information management systems are described. In particular, the work is centered on issues related to: (1) intelligent man-machine interfaces applied to scientific data user support, and (2) the requirement that intelligent information management systems (IIMS) be able to efficiently process metadata updates concerning types of data handled. The advanced IIMS represents functional capabilities driven almost entirely by the needs of potential users. Space Station-era scientific data projected to be generated is likely to be significantly greater than data currently processed and analyzed. Information about scientific data must be presented clearly, concisely, and with support features to allow users at all levels of expertise efficient and cost-effective data access. Additionally, mechanisms for allowing more efficient IIMS metadata update processes must be addressed. The work reported covers the following IIMS design aspects: IIMS data and metadata modeling, including the automatic updating of IIMS-contained metadata, IIMS user-system interface considerations, including significant problems associated with remote access, user profiles, and on-line tutorial capabilities, and development of an IIMS query and browse facility, including the capability to deal with spatial information. A working prototype has been developed and is being enhanced.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yuan, Chris, E-mail: cyuan@uwm.edu; Wang, Endong; Zhai, Qiang

Temporal homogeneity of inventory data is one of the major problems in life cycle assessment (LCA). Addressing temporal homogeneity of life cycle inventory data is important in reducing the uncertainties and improving the reliability of LCA results. This paper attempts to present a critical review and discussion on the fundamental issues of temporal homogeneity in conventional LCA and propose a theoretical framework for temporal discounting in LCA. Theoretical perspectives for temporal discounting in life cycle inventory analysis are discussed first based on the key elements of a scientific mechanism for temporal discounting. Then generic procedures for performing temporal discounting inmore » LCA is derived and proposed based on the nature of the LCA method and the identified key elements of a scientific temporal discounting method. A five-step framework is proposed and reported in details based on the technical methods and procedures needed to perform a temporal discounting in life cycle inventory analysis. Challenges and possible solutions are also identified and discussed for the technical procedure and scientific accomplishment of each step within the framework. - Highlights: • A critical review for temporal homogeneity problem of life cycle inventory data • A theoretical framework for performing temporal discounting on inventory data • Methods provided to accomplish each step of the temporal discounting framework.« less

Metadata for data rescue and data at risk

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anderson, William L.; Faundeen, John L.; Greenberg, Jane; Taylor, Fraser

2011-01-01

Scientific data age, become stale, fall into disuse and run tremendous risks of being forgotten and lost. These problems can be addressed by archiving and managing scientific data over time, and establishing practices that facilitate data discovery and reuse. Metadata documentation is integral to this work and essential for measuring and assessing high priority data preservation cases. The International Council for Science: Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) has a newly appointed Data-at-Risk Task Group (DARTG), participating in the general arena of rescuing data. The DARTG primary objective is building an inventory of scientific data that are at risk of being lost forever. As part of this effort, the DARTG is testing an approach for documenting endangered datasets. The DARTG is developing a minimal and easy to use set of metadata properties for sufficiently describing endangered data, which will aid global data rescue missions. The DARTG metadata framework supports rapid capture, and easy documentation, across an array of scientific domains. This paper reports on the goals and principles supporting the DARTG metadata schema, and provides a description of the preliminary implementation.

The Ketogenic Diet: Making a Comeback.

PubMed

Walczyk, Thomas; Wick, Jeannette Y

2017-07-01

Americans have embraced a large number of diets in an attempt to manage obesity, improve quality of life, and address specific health problems. Among diets developed to address health problems, the ketogenic diet has had a long and variable history. Developed in the 1920s by a faith healer to help children with epilepsy, this diet induces a state that mimics carbohydrate starvation. As medications became available and effectively addressed seizures, the diet fell out of favor. During the last few decades, researchers and clinicians have learned that it can be useful in children and adults with refractory epilepsy and a variety of other conditions. Once again, pharmacists may encounter patients who are employing dietary management of serious health problems. This very high-fat diet almost eliminates carbohydrates from the patient's food selection. The result is the substitution of ketone bodies as a source of energy. Today's ketogenic diet has been modified with scientifically proven adjustments to increase palatability and help with adherence. Effective for some forms of epilepsy, the ketogenic diet also seems to have some utility in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and glaucoma, and many Americans are using it to lose weight. Consultant pharmacists may field questions about this diet, its potential to correct or alleviate health conditions, and its limitations. The article discusses the ketogenic diet's strengths, limitations, potential mechanisms, and use in a number of conditions with an emphasis on the elderly.

A statistical inference approach for the retrieval of the atmospheric ozone profile from simulated satellite measurements of solar backscattered ultraviolet radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonavito, N. L.; Gordon, C. L.; Inguva, R.; Serafino, G. N.; Barnes, R. A.

1994-01-01

NASA's Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) will address important interdisciplinary and environmental issues such as global warming, ozone depletion, deforestation, acid rain, and the like with its long term satellite observations of the Earth and with its comprehensive Data and Information System. Extensive sets of satellite observations supporting MTPE will be provided by the Earth Observing System (EOS), while more specific process related observations will be provided by smaller Earth Probes. MTPE will use data from ground and airborne scientific investigations to supplement and validate the global observations obtained from satellite imagery, while the EOS satellites will support interdisciplinary research and model development. This is important for understanding the processes that control the global environment and for improving the prediction of events. In this paper we illustrate the potential for powerful artificial intelligence (AI) techniques when used in the analysis of the formidable problems that exist in the NASA Earth Science programs and of those to be encountered in the future MTPE and EOS programs. These techniques, based on the logical and probabilistic reasoning aspects of plausible inference, strongly emphasize the synergetic relation between data and information. As such, they are ideally suited for the analysis of the massive data streams to be provided by both MTPE and EOS. To demonstrate this, we address both the satellite imagery and model enhancement issues for the problem of ozone profile retrieval through a method based on plausible scientific inferencing. Since in the retrieval problem, the atmospheric ozone profile that is consistent with a given set of measured radiances may not be unique, an optimum statistical method is used to estimate a 'best' profile solution from the radiances and from additional a priori information.

Results of the Workshop on Two-Phase Flow, Fluid Stability and Dynamics: Issues in Power, Propulsion, and Advanced Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McQuillen, John; Rame, Enrique; Kassemi, Mohammad; Singh, Bhim; Motil, Brian

2003-01-01

The Two-phase Flow, Fluid Stability and Dynamics Workshop was held on May 15, 2003 in Cleveland, Ohio to define a coherent scientific research plan and roadmap that addresses the multiphase fluid problems associated with NASA s technology development program. The workshop participants, from academia, industry and government, prioritized various multiphase issues and generated a research plan and roadmap to resolve them. This report presents a prioritization of the various multiphase flow and fluid stability phenomena related primarily to power, propulsion, fluid and thermal management and advanced life support; and a plan to address these issues in a logical and timely fashion using analysis, ground-based and space-flight experiments.

Experimental evaluation of a flexible I/O architecture for accelerating workflow engines in ultrascale environments

DOE PAGES

Duro, Francisco Rodrigo; Blas, Javier Garcia; Isaila, Florin; ...

2016-10-06

The increasing volume of scientific data and the limited scalability and performance of storage systems are currently presenting a significant limitation for the productivity of the scientific workflows running on both high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud platforms. Clearly needed is better integration of storage systems and workflow engines to address this problem. This paper presents and evaluates a novel solution that leverages codesign principles for integrating Hercules—an in-memory data store—with a workflow management system. We consider four main aspects: workflow representation, task scheduling, task placement, and task termination. As a result, the experimental evaluation on both cloud and HPC systemsmore » demonstrates significant performance and scalability improvements over existing state-of-the-art approaches.« less

Uncertainty Assessment: What Good Does it Do? (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oreskes, N.; Lewandowsky, S.

2013-12-01

The scientific community has devoted considerable time and energy to understanding, quantifying and articulating the uncertainties related to anthropogenic climate change. However, informed decision-making and good public policy arguably rely far more on a central core of understanding of matters that are scientifically well established than on detailed understanding and articulation of all relevant uncertainties. Advocates of vaccination, for example, stress its overall efficacy in preventing morbidity and mortality--not the uncertainties over how long the protective effects last. Advocates for colonoscopy for cancer screening stress its capacity to detect polyps before they become cancerous, with relatively little attention paid to the fact that many, if not most, polyps, would not become cancerous even if left unremoved. So why has the climate science community spent so much time focused on uncertainty? One reason, of course, is that articulation of uncertainty is a normal and appropriate part of scientific work. However, we argue that there is another reason that involves the pressure that the scientific community has experienced from individuals and groups promoting doubt about anthropogenic climate change. Specifically, doubt-mongering groups focus public attention on scientific uncertainty as a means to undermine scientific claims, equating uncertainty with untruth. Scientists inadvertently validate these arguments by agreeing that much of the science is uncertain, and thus seemingly implying that our knowledge is insecure. The problem goes further, as the scientific community attempts to articulate more clearly, and reduce, those uncertainties, thus, seemingly further agreeing that the knowledge base is insufficient to warrant public and governmental action. We refer to this effect as 'seepage,' as the effects of doubt-mongering seep into the scientific community and the scientific agenda, despite the fact that addressing these concerns does little to alter the public debate or advance public policy. We argue that attempts to address public doubts by improving uncertainty assessment are bound to fail, insofar as the motives for doubt-mongering are independent of scientific uncertainty, and therefore remain unaffected even as those uncertainties are diminished. We illustrate this claim by consideration of the evolution of the debate over the past ten years over the relationship between hurricanes and anthropogenic climate change. We suggest that scientists should pursue uncertainty assessment if such assessment improves scientific understanding, but not as a means to reduce public doubts or advance public policy in relation to anthropogenic climate change.

A proposed reductionist solution to address the methodological challenges of inconsistent reflexology maps and poor experimental controls in reflexology research: a discussion paper.

PubMed

Jones, Jenny; Thomson, Patricia; Lauder, William; Leslie, Stephen J

2013-03-01

Reflexology is a complex massage intervention, based on the concept that specific areas of the feet (reflex points) correspond to individual internal organs within the body. Reflexologists trained in the popular Ingham reflexology method claim that massage to these points, using massage techniques unique to reflexology, stimulates an increase in blood supply to the corresponding organ. Reflexology researchers face two key methodological challenges that need to be addressed if a specific treatment-related hemodynamic effect is to be scientifically demonstrated. The first is the problem of inconsistent reflexology foot maps; the second is the issue of poor experimental controls. This article proposes a potential experimental solution that we believe can address both methodological challenges and in doing so, allow any specific hemodynamic treatment effect unique to reflexology to experimentally reveal itself.

History Forum Addresses Creation/Evolution Controversy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schweinsberg, John

1997-01-01

A series of programs entitled Creationism and Evolution: The History of a Controversy was presented at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The controversy was addressed from an historical and sociological, rather than a scientific perspective. Speakers addressed the evolution of scientific creationism, ancient texts versus sedimentary rocks…

Social and content aware One-Class recommendation of papers in scientific social networks.

PubMed

Wang, Gang; He, XiRan; Ishuga, Carolyne Isigi

2017-01-01

With the rapid development of information technology, scientific social networks (SSNs) have become the fastest and most convenient way for researchers to communicate with each other. Many published papers are shared via SSNs every day, resulting in the problem of information overload. How to appropriately recommend personalized and highly valuable papers for researchers is becoming more urgent. However, when recommending papers in SSNs, only a small amount of positive instances are available, leaving a vast amount of unlabelled data, in which negative instances and potential unseen positive instances are mixed together, which naturally belongs to One-Class Collaborative Filtering (OCCF) problem. Therefore, considering the extreme data imbalance and data sparsity of this OCCF problem, a hybrid approach of Social and Content aware One-class Recommendation of Papers in SSNs, termed SCORP, is proposed in this study. Unlike previous approaches recommended to address the OCCF problem, social information, which has been proved playing a significant role in performing recommendations in many domains, is applied in both the profiling of content-based filtering and the collaborative filtering to achieve superior recommendations. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed SCORP approach, a real-life dataset from CiteULike was employed. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach is superior to all of the compared approaches, thus providing a more effective method for recommending papers in SSNs.

Social and content aware One-Class recommendation of papers in scientific social networks

PubMed Central

Wang, Gang; He, XiRan

2017-01-01

With the rapid development of information technology, scientific social networks (SSNs) have become the fastest and most convenient way for researchers to communicate with each other. Many published papers are shared via SSNs every day, resulting in the problem of information overload. How to appropriately recommend personalized and highly valuable papers for researchers is becoming more urgent. However, when recommending papers in SSNs, only a small amount of positive instances are available, leaving a vast amount of unlabelled data, in which negative instances and potential unseen positive instances are mixed together, which naturally belongs to One-Class Collaborative Filtering (OCCF) problem. Therefore, considering the extreme data imbalance and data sparsity of this OCCF problem, a hybrid approach of Social and Content aware One-class Recommendation of Papers in SSNs, termed SCORP, is proposed in this study. Unlike previous approaches recommended to address the OCCF problem, social information, which has been proved playing a significant role in performing recommendations in many domains, is applied in both the profiling of content-based filtering and the collaborative filtering to achieve superior recommendations. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed SCORP approach, a real-life dataset from CiteULike was employed. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach is superior to all of the compared approaches, thus providing a more effective method for recommending papers in SSNs. PMID:28771495

Survey of editors and reviewers of high-impact psychology journals: statistical and research design problems in submitted manuscripts.

PubMed

Harris, Alex; Reeder, Rachelle; Hyun, Jenny

2011-01-01

The authors surveyed 21 editors and reviewers from major psychology journals to identify and describe the statistical and design errors they encounter most often and to get their advice regarding prevention of these problems. Content analysis of the text responses revealed themes in 3 major areas: (a) problems with research design and reporting (e.g., lack of an a priori power analysis, lack of congruence between research questions and study design/analysis, failure to adequately describe statistical procedures); (b) inappropriate data analysis (e.g., improper use of analysis of variance, too many statistical tests without adjustments, inadequate strategy for addressing missing data); and (c) misinterpretation of results. If researchers attended to these common methodological and analytic issues, the scientific quality of manuscripts submitted to high-impact psychology journals might be significantly improved.

Cognitive and learning sciences in biomedical and health instructional design: A review with lessons for biomedical informatics education.

PubMed

Patel, Vimla L; Yoskowitz, Nicole A; Arocha, Jose F; Shortliffe, Edward H

2009-02-01

Theoretical and methodological advances in the cognitive and learning sciences can greatly inform curriculum and instruction in biomedicine and also educational programs in biomedical informatics. It does so by addressing issues such as the processes related to comprehension of medical information, clinical problem-solving and decision-making, and the role of technology. This paper reviews these theories and methods from the cognitive and learning sciences and their role in addressing current and future needs in designing curricula, largely using illustrative examples drawn from medical education. The lessons of this past work are also applicable, however, to biomedical and health professional curricula in general, and to biomedical informatics training, in particular. We summarize empirical studies conducted over two decades on the role of memory, knowledge organization and reasoning as well as studies of problem-solving and decision-making in medical areas that inform curricular design. The results of this research contribute to the design of more informed curricula based on empirical findings about how people learn and think, and more specifically, how expertise is developed. Similarly, the study of practice can also help to shape theories of human performance, technology-based learning, and scientific and professional collaboration that extend beyond the domain of medicine. Just as biomedical science has revolutionized health care practice, research in the cognitive and learning sciences provides a scientific foundation for education in biomedicine, the health professions, and biomedical informatics.

A scientific program for infrared, submillimeter and radio astronomy from space: A report by the Management Operations Working Group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Important and fundamental scientific progress can be attained through space observations in the wavelengths longward of 1 micron. The formation of galaxies, stars, and planets, the origin of quasars and the nature of active galactic nuclei, the large scale structure of the Universe, and the problem of the missing mass, are among the major scientific issues that can be addressed by these observations. Significant advances in many areas of astrophysics can be made over the next 20 years by implementing the outlined program. This program combines large observatories with smaller projects to create an overall scheme that emphasized complementarity and synergy, advanced technology, community support and development, and the training of the next generation of scientists. Key aspects of the program include: the Space Infrared Telescope Facility; the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy; a robust program of small missions; and the creation of the technology base for future major observatories.

Second Quarter Report Environmental Biosciences Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2002-10-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risk issues. These initiatives are consistent with the Medical University's role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable the Medical University to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBP's success in convening worldwide scientific expertise is due in part to the inherent credibility the Medical University brings to the process of addressing these complex issues.« less

Environmental Biosciences Program Third Quarter Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2003-01-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risk issues. These initiatives are consistent with the Medical University's role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable the Medical University to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBP's success in convening worldwide scientific expertise is due in part to the inherent credibility the Medical University brings to the process of addressing these complex issues.« less

MUSC Environmental Biosciences Program First Quarter Report May - June, 2002

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr

2002-07-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risk issues. These initiatives are consistent with the Medical University's role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable the Medical University to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBP's success in convening worldwide scientific expertise is due in part to the inherent credibility the Medical University brings to the process of addressing these complex issues.« less

Inconsistencies in Numerical Simulations of Dynamical Systems Using Interval Arithmetic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nepomuceno, Erivelton G.; Peixoto, Márcia L. C.; Martins, Samir A. M.; Rodrigues, Heitor M.; Perc, Matjaž

Over the past few decades, interval arithmetic has been attracting widespread interest from the scientific community. With the expansion of computing power, scientific computing is encountering a noteworthy shift from floating-point arithmetic toward increased use of interval arithmetic. Notwithstanding the significant reliability of interval arithmetic, this paper presents a theoretical inconsistency in a simulation of dynamical systems using a well-known implementation of arithmetic interval. We have observed that two natural interval extensions present an empty intersection during a finite time range, which is contrary to the fundamental theorem of interval analysis. We have proposed a procedure to at least partially overcome this problem, based on the union of the two generated pseudo-orbits. This paper also shows a successful case of interval arithmetic application in the reduction of interval width size on the simulation of discrete map. The implications of our findings on the reliability of scientific computing using interval arithmetic have been properly addressed using two numerical examples.

We’re only in it for the knowledge? A problem solving turn in environment and health expert elicitation

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The FP6 EU HENVINET project aimed at synthesizing the scientific information available on a number of topics of high relevance to policy makers in environment and health. The goal of the current paper is to reflect on the methodology that was used in the project, in view of exploring the usefulness of this and similar methodologies to the policy process. The topics investigated included health impacts of the brominated flame retardants decabrominated diphenylether (decaBDE) and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), phthalates highlighting di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), the pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF), nanoparticles, the impacts of climate change on asthma and other respiratory disorders, and the influence of environment health stressors on cancer induction. Methods Initially the focus was on identifying knowledge gaps in the state of the art in scientific knowledge. Literature reviews covered all elements that compose the causal chain of the different environmental health issues from emissions to exposures, to effects and to health impacts. Through expert elicitation, knowledge gaps were highlighted by assessing expert confidence using calibrated confidence scales. During this work a complementary focus to that on knowledge gaps was developed through interdisciplinary reflections. By extending the scope of the endeavour from only a scientific perspective, to also include the more problem solving oriented policy perspective, the question of which kind of policy action experts consider justifiable was addressed. This was addressed by means of a questionnaire. In an expert workshop the results of both questionnaires were discussed as a basis for policy briefs. Results The expert elicitation, the application of the calibrated confidence levels and the problem solving approach were all experienced as being quite challenging for the experts involved, as these approaches did not easily relate to mainstream environment and health scientific practices. Even so, most experts were quite positive about it. In particular, the opportunity to widen one’s own horizon and to interactively exchange knowledge and debate with a diversity of experts seemed to be well appreciated in this approach. Different parts of the approach also helped in focussing on specific relevant aspects of scientific knowledge, and as such can be considered of reflective value. Conclusions The approach developed by HENVINET was part of a practice of learning by doing and of interdisciplinary cooperation and negotiation. Ambitions were challenged by unforeseen complexities and difference of opinion and as no Holy Grail approach was at hand to copy or follow, it was quite an interesting but also complicated endeavour. Perfection, if this could be defined, seemed out of reach all the time. Nevertheless, many involved were quite positive about it. It seems that many felt that it fitted some important needs in current science when addressing the needs of policy making on such important issues, without anyone really having a clue on how to actually do this. Challenging questions remain on the quality of such approach and its product. Practice tells us that there probably is no best method and that the best we can do is dependent on contextual negotiation and learning from experiences that we think are relevant. PMID:22759503

Men ask more questions than women at a scientific conference

PubMed Central

Sutherland, William J.; Johnston, Alison

2017-01-01

Gender inequity in science and academia, especially in senior positions, is a recognised problem. The reasons are poorly understood, but include the persistence of historical gender ratios, discrimination and other factors, including gender-based behavioural differences. We studied participation in a professional context by observing question-asking behaviour at a large international conference with a clear equality code of conduct that prohibited any form of discrimination. Accounting for audience gender ratio, male attendees asked 1.8 questions for each question asked by a female attendee. Amongst only younger researchers, male attendees also asked 1.8 questions per female question, suggesting the pattern cannot be attributed to the temporary problem of demographic inertia. We link our findings to the ‘chilly’ climate for women in STEM, including wider experiences of discrimination likely encountered by women throughout their education and careers. We call for a broader and coordinated approach to understanding and addressing the barriers to women and other under-represented groups. We encourage the scientific community to recognise the context in which these gender differences occur, and evaluate and develop methods to support full participation from all attendees. PMID:29036191

Motivations of medical students towards psychiatry: a perspective from Turkey.

PubMed

Sakarya, Direnc; Camsari, Ulas Mehmet; Coskun, Bulent

2013-08-01

Recruitment in psychiatry has been an ongoing challenge worldwide; Turkey is no exception. In this article we have reviewed the issue from multiple aspects. Negative opinions on psychiatry among medical students have been associated with various matters, such as problems with scientific soundness, stigma, prestige and financial incentives. It has been reported that these negative opinions could be reversed by clinical exposure, improved knowledge base and increased affiliation with the field. Unfortunately, reversed attitudes do not have permanency. Considering that there has not been any study focusing on recruitment problems in Turkey, we attempted to provide a perspective by reporting the results of our study conducted with Turkish medical students. Attractive qualities of psychiatry were of particular interest. We found that brain research, neuroscience, philosophy, psychotherapy and academics are main areas of interest in psychiatry. We attempt to discuss our findings in view of current literature while noting current setbacks of psychiatry residency training in Turkey. We conclude that there exists a great need for working strategies in order to improve recruitment in psychiatry, addressing the stigma and correcting false beliefs such as treatment inefficacy or compromised scientific solidity.

Cloud Feedbacks on Climate: A Challenging Scientific Problem

ScienceCinema

Norris, Joe

2017-12-22

One reason it has been difficult to develop suitable social and economic policies to address global climate change is that projected global warming during the coming century has a large uncertainty range. The primary physical cause of this large uncertainty range is lack of understanding of the magnitude and even sign of cloud feedbacks on the climate system. If Earth's cloudiness responded to global warming by reflecting more solar radiation back to space or allowing more terrestrial radiation to be emitted to space, this would mitigate the warming produced by increased anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Contrastingly, a cloud response that reduced solar reflection or terrestrial emission would exacerbate anthropogenic greenhouse warming. It is likely that a mixture of responses will occur depending on cloud type and meteorological regime, and at present, we do not know what the net effect will be. This presentation will explain why cloud feedbacks have been a challenging scientific problem from the perspective of theory, modeling, and observations. Recent research results on observed multidecadal cloud-atmosphere-ocean variability over the Pacific Ocean will also be shown, along with suggestions for future research.

Prepublication disclosure of scientific results: Norms, competition, and commercial orientation

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

On the basis of a survey of 7103 active faculty researchers in nine fields, we examine the extent to which scientists disclose prepublication results, and when they do, why? Except in two fields, more scientists disclose results before publication than not, but there is significant variation in their reasons to disclose, in the frequency of such disclosure, and in withholding crucial results when making public presentations. They disclose results for feedback and credit and to attract collaborators. Particularly in formulaic fields, scientists disclose to attract new researchers to the field independent of collaboration and to deter others from working on their exact problem. A probability model shows that 70% of field variation in disclosure is related to differences in respondent beliefs about norms, competition, and commercialization. Our results suggest new research directions—for example, do the problems addressed or the methods of scientific production themselves shape norms and competition? Are the levels we observe optimal or simply path-dependent? What is the interplay of norms, competition, and commercialization in disclosure and the progress of science? PMID:29774233

Men ask more questions than women at a scientific conference.

PubMed

Hinsley, Amy; Sutherland, William J; Johnston, Alison

2017-01-01

Gender inequity in science and academia, especially in senior positions, is a recognised problem. The reasons are poorly understood, but include the persistence of historical gender ratios, discrimination and other factors, including gender-based behavioural differences. We studied participation in a professional context by observing question-asking behaviour at a large international conference with a clear equality code of conduct that prohibited any form of discrimination. Accounting for audience gender ratio, male attendees asked 1.8 questions for each question asked by a female attendee. Amongst only younger researchers, male attendees also asked 1.8 questions per female question, suggesting the pattern cannot be attributed to the temporary problem of demographic inertia. We link our findings to the 'chilly' climate for women in STEM, including wider experiences of discrimination likely encountered by women throughout their education and careers. We call for a broader and coordinated approach to understanding and addressing the barriers to women and other under-represented groups. We encourage the scientific community to recognise the context in which these gender differences occur, and evaluate and develop methods to support full participation from all attendees.

Designing a solution to enable agency-academic scientific collaboration for disasters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mease, Lindley A.; Gibbs-Plessl, Theodora; Erickson, Ashley; Ludwig, Kristin A.; Reddy, Christopher M.; Lubchenco, Jane

2017-01-01

As large-scale environmental disasters become increasingly frequent and more severe globally, people and organizations that prepare for and respond to these crises need efficient and effective ways to integrate sound science into their decision making. Experience has shown that integrating nongovernmental scientific expertise into disaster decision making can improve the quality of the response, and is most effective if the integration occurs before, during, and after a crisis, not just during a crisis. However, collaboration between academic, government, and industry scientists, decision makers, and responders is frequently difficult because of cultural differences, misaligned incentives, time pressures, and legal constraints. Our study addressed this challenge by using the Deep Change Method, a design methodology developed by Stanford ChangeLabs, which combines human-centered design, systems analysis, and behavioral psychology. We investigated underlying needs and motivations of government agency staff and academic scientists, mapped the root causes underlying the relationship failures between these two communities based on their experiences, and identified leverage points for shifting deeply rooted perceptions that impede collaboration. We found that building trust and creating mutual value between multiple stakeholders before crises occur is likely to increase the effectiveness of problem solving. We propose a solution, the Science Action Network, which is designed to address barriers to scientific collaboration by providing new mechanisms to build and improve trust and communication between government administrators and scientists, industry representatives, and academic scientists. The Science Action Network has the potential to ensure cross-disaster preparedness and science-based decision making through novel partnerships and scientific coordination.

76 FR 54197 - Census Scientific Advisory Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-31

...-SAC). The Committee will address policy, research, and technical issues relating to a full range of... scientific and technical expertise, as appropriate, to address Census Bureau program needs and objectives...

On Complex Water Conflicts: Role of Enabling Conditions for Pragmatic Resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Islam, S.; Choudhury, E.

2016-12-01

Many of our current and emerging water problems are interconnected and cross boundaries, domains, scales, and sectors. These boundary crossing water problems are neither static nor linear; but often are interconnected nonlinearly with other problems and feedback. The solution space for these complex problems - involving interdependent variables, processes, actors, and institutions - can't be pre-stated. We need to recognize the disconnect among values, interests, and tools as well as problems, policies, and politics. Scientific and technological solutions are desired for efficiency and reliability, but need to be politically feasible and actionable. Governing and managing complex water problems require difficult tradeoffs in exploring and sharing benefits and burdens through carefully crafted negotiation processes. The crafting of such negotiation process, we argue, constitutes a pragmatic approach to negotiation - one that is based on the identification of enabling conditions - as opposed to mechanistic casual explanations, and rooted in contextual conditions to specify and ensure the principles of equity and sustainability. We will use two case studies to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed principled pragmatic approcah to address complex water problems.

Overview of SCIAMACHY validation: 2002 2004

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piters, A. J. M.; Bramstedt, K.; Lambert, J.-C.; Kirchhoff, B.

2005-08-01

SCIAMACHY, on board Envisat, is now in operation for almost three years. This UV/visible/NIR spectrometer measures the solar irradiance, the earthshine radiance scattered at nadir and from the limb, and the attenuation of solar radiation by the atmosphere during sunrise and sunset, from 240 to 2380 nm and at moderate spectral resolution. Vertical columns and profiles of a variety of atmospheric constituents are inferred from the SCIAMACHY radiometric measurements by dedicated retrieval algorithms. With the support of ESA and several international partners, a methodical SCIAMACHY validation programme has been developed jointly by Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium (the three instrument providing countries) to face complex requirements in terms of measured species, altitude range, spatial and temporal scales, geophysical states and intended scientific applications. This summary paper describes the approach adopted to address those requirements. The actual validation of the operational SCIAMACHY processors established at DLR on behalf of ESA has been hampered by data distribution and processor problems. Since first data releases in summer 2002, operational processors were upgraded regularly and some data products - level-1b spectra, level-2 O3, NO2, BrO and clouds data - have improved significantly. Validation results summarised in this paper conclude that for limited periods and geographical domains they can already be used for atmospheric research. Nevertheless, remaining processor problems cause major errors preventing from scientific usability in other periods and domains. Untied to the constraints of operational processing, seven scientific institutes (BIRA-IASB, IFE, IUP-Heidelberg, KNMI, MPI, SAO and SRON) have developed their own retrieval algorithms and generated SCIAMACHY data products, together addressing nearly all targeted constituents. Most of the UV-visible data products (both columns and profiles) already have acceptable, if not excellent, quality. Several near-infrared column products are still in development but they have already demonstrated their potential for a variety of applications. In any case, scientific users are advised to read carefully validation reports before using the data. It is required and anticipated that SCIAMACHY validation will continue throughout instrument lifetime and beyond. The actual amount of work will obviously depend on funding considerations.

Social and ethical dimension of the natural sciences, complex problems of the age, interdisciplinarity, and the contribution of education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Develaki, Maria

2008-09-01

In view of the complex problems of this age, the question of the socio-ethical dimension of science acquires particular importance. We approach this matter from a philosophical and sociological standpoint, looking at such focal concerns as the motivation, purposes and methods of scientific activity, the ambivalence of scientific research and the concomitant risks, and the conflict between research freedom and external socio-political intervention. We then point out the impediments to the effectiveness of cross-disciplinary or broader meetings for addressing these complex problems and managing the associated risks, given the difficulty in communication between experts in different fields and non-experts, difficulties that education is challenged to help resolve. We find that the social necessity of informed decision-making on the basis of cross-disciplinary collaboration is reflected in the newer curricula, such as that of Greece, in aims like the acquisition of cross-subject knowledge and skills, and the ability to make decisions on controversial issues involving value conflicts. The interest and the reflections of the science education community in these matters increase its—traditionally limited—contribution to the theoretical debate on education and, by extension, the value of science education in the education system.

From environmental to ecological ethics: toward a practical ethics for ecologists and conservationists.

PubMed

Minteer, Ben A; Collins, James P

2008-12-01

Ecological research and conservation practice frequently raise difficult and varied ethical questions for scientific investigators and managers, including duties to public welfare, nonhuman individuals (i.e., animals and plants), populations, and ecosystems. The field of environmental ethics has contributed much to the understanding of general duties and values to nature, but it has not developed the resources to address the diverse and often unique practical concerns of ecological researchers and managers in the field, lab, and conservation facility. The emerging field of "ecological ethics" is a practical or scientific ethics that offers a superior approach to the ethical dilemmas of the ecologist and conservation manager. Even though ecological ethics necessarily draws from the principles and commitments of mainstream environmental ethics, it is normatively pluralistic, including as well the frameworks of animal, research, and professional ethics. It is also methodologically pragmatic, focused on the practical problems of researchers and managers and informed by these problems in turn. The ecological ethics model offers environmental scientists and practitioners a useful analytical tool for identifying, clarifying, and harmonizing values and positions in challenging ecological research and management situations. Just as bioethics provides a critical intellectual and problem-solving service to the biomedical community, ecological ethics can help inform and improve ethical decision making in the ecology and conservation communities.

Project CUES: A New Middle-School Earth System Science Curriculum Being Developed by the American Geological Institute

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. C.; Smith, M. J.; Lederman, N.; Southard, J. B.; Rogers, E. A.; Callahan, C. N.

2002-12-01

Project CUES is a middle-school earth systems science curriculum project under development by the American Geological Institute (AGI) and funded by the National Science Foundation (ESI-0095938). CUES features a student-centered, inquiry pedagogy and approaches earth science from a systems perspective. CUES will use the expanded learning cycle approach of Trowbridge and Bybee (1996), known as the 5E model (engage-explore-explain-elaborate-evaluate). Unlike AGI's Investigating Earth Systems (IES) curriculum modules, CUES will include a single hard-bound textbook, and will take one school-year to complete. The textbook includes a prologue that addresses systems concepts and four main units: Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, and Biosphere. Each eight-week unit takes students through a progression from guided inquiry to open-ended, student-driven inquiry. During first 4 to 5 weeks of each unit, students explore important earth science phenomena and concepts through scripted investigations and narrative reading passages written by scientists as "inquiry narratives". The narratives address the development of scientific ideas and relay the personal experiences of a scientist during their scientific exploration. Aspects of the nature of science will be explicitly addressed in investigations and inquiry narratives. After the guided inquiry, students will develop a research proposal and conduct their own inquiry into local or regional scientific problems. Each unit culminates with a science conference at which students present their research. CUES will be the first NSF-funded, comprehensive earth systems textbook for middle school that is based on national standards. CUES will be pilot tested in 12 classrooms in January 2003, with a national field test of the program in 50 classrooms during the 2003-2004 school year.

Bioethics of Clinical Applications of Stem Cells

PubMed Central

Petrini, Carlo

2017-01-01

The clinical applications of stem cells pose a multitude of problems, including safety, efficacy, information and consent, the right to unproven treatments, the “right to try”, costs, access, sustainability, scientific scrupulousness, patents and regulatory aspects, to name but a few. This article does not address individual issues, but rather introduces and discusses some of the possible approaches to solving the problems. The first part compares the consequentialist and deontological approaches, offering an overview of “top–down” and “bottom–up” models and proposing the principles of personalism as applied in clinical settings. The second part of the article suggests practical frameworks for organising the ethical issues, focusing in particular on the medical indications, patient preferences, quality of life, and contextual features. PMID:28417921

Spatiotemporal Characterization of a Fibrin Clot Using Quantitative Phase Imaging

PubMed Central

Gannavarpu, Rajshekhar; Bhaduri, Basanta; Tangella, Krishnarao; Popescu, Gabriel

2014-01-01

Studying the dynamics of fibrin clot formation and its morphology is an important problem in biology and has significant impact for several scientific and clinical applications. We present a label-free technique based on quantitative phase imaging to address this problem. Using quantitative phase information, we characterized fibrin polymerization in real-time and present a mathematical model describing the transition from liquid to gel state. By exploiting the inherent optical sectioning capability of our instrument, we measured the three-dimensional structure of the fibrin clot. From this data, we evaluated the fractal nature of the fibrin network and extracted the fractal dimension. Our non-invasive and speckle-free approach analyzes the clotting process without the need for external contrast agents. PMID:25386701

75 FR 51239 - Census Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Public Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-19

... Advisory Committee (C-SAC). The Committee will address policy, research, and technical issues relating to a.... The Committee provides scientific and technical expertise, as appropriate, to address Census Bureau...

Chasing nuclear rainbows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allison, Wade

2010-01-01

Expeditions in search of a rainbow's end never reach their goal. Efforts to solve the problem of nuclear-waste disposal have not had much success either - perhaps because they have been addressing questions the wrong way round. There are two basic challenges of waste disposal. The first is scientific: the waste must be kept somewhere out of harm's way, where it does not incur major risks to current or future residents of the planet. The second is political: scientists must persuade and reassure the community as a whole that the waste is being handled, stored and disposed of safely.

Could HPS Improve Problem-Solving?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coelho, Ricardo Lopes

2013-05-01

It is generally accepted nowadays that History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) is useful in understanding scientific concepts, theories and even some experiments. Problem-solving strategies are a significant topic, since students' careers depend on their skill to solve problems. These are the reasons for addressing the question of whether problem solving could be improved by means of HPS. Three typical problems in introductory courses of mechanics—the inclined plane, the simple pendulum and the Atwood machine—are taken as the object of the present study. The solving strategies of these problems in the eighteenth and nineteenth century constitute the historical component of the study. Its philosophical component stems from the foundations of mechanics research literature. The use of HPS leads us to see those problems in a different way. These different ways can be tested, for which experiments are proposed. The traditional solving strategies for the incline and pendulum problems are adequate for some situations but not in general. The recourse to apparent weights in the Atwood machine problem leads us to a new insight and a solving strategy for composed Atwood machines. Educational implications also concern the development of logical thinking by means of the variety of lines of thought provided by HPS.

Scientific Visualization & Modeling for Earth Systems Science Education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chaudhury, S. Raj; Rodriguez, Waldo J.

2003-01-01

Providing research experiences for undergraduate students in Earth Systems Science (ESS) poses several challenges at smaller academic institutions that might lack dedicated resources for this area of study. This paper describes the development of an innovative model that involves students with majors in diverse scientific disciplines in authentic ESS research. In studying global climate change, experts typically use scientific visualization techniques applied to remote sensing data collected by satellites. In particular, many problems related to environmental phenomena can be quantitatively addressed by investigations based on datasets related to the scientific endeavours such as the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). Working with data products stored at NASA's Distributed Active Archive Centers, visualization software specifically designed for students and an advanced, immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environment, students engage in guided research projects during a structured 6-week summer program. Over the 5-year span, this program has afforded the opportunity for students majoring in biology, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, physics, engineering and science education to work collaboratively in teams on research projects that emphasize the use of scientific visualization in studying the environment. Recently, a hands-on component has been added through science student partnerships with school-teachers in data collection and reporting for the GLOBE Program (GLobal Observations to Benefit the Environment).

Problems Encountered during the Scientific Research Process in Graduate Education: The Institute of Educational Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akyürek, Erkan; Afacan, Özlem

2018-01-01

This study was conducted to determine the problems faced by graduate students when conducting scientific research and to make suggestions for solving these problems. The research model was a case study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants in the study with questions about the problems encountered during scientific research…

A blueprint for demonstrating quantum supremacy with superconducting qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neill, C.; Roushan, P.; Kechedzhi, K.; Boixo, S.; Isakov, S. V.; Smelyanskiy, V.; Megrant, A.; Chiaro, B.; Dunsworth, A.; Arya, K.; Barends, R.; Burkett, B.; Chen, Y.; Chen, Z.; Fowler, A.; Foxen, B.; Giustina, M.; Graff, R.; Jeffrey, E.; Huang, T.; Kelly, J.; Klimov, P.; Lucero, E.; Mutus, J.; Neeley, M.; Quintana, C.; Sank, D.; Vainsencher, A.; Wenner, J.; White, T. C.; Neven, H.; Martinis, J. M.

2018-04-01

A key step toward demonstrating a quantum system that can address difficult problems in physics and chemistry will be performing a computation beyond the capabilities of any classical computer, thus achieving so-called quantum supremacy. In this study, we used nine superconducting qubits to demonstrate a promising path toward quantum supremacy. By individually tuning the qubit parameters, we were able to generate thousands of distinct Hamiltonian evolutions and probe the output probabilities. The measured probabilities obey a universal distribution, consistent with uniformly sampling the full Hilbert space. As the number of qubits increases, the system continues to explore the exponentially growing number of states. Extending these results to a system of 50 qubits has the potential to address scientific questions that are beyond the capabilities of any classical computer.

Final Report for DOE Award ER25756

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kesselman, Carl

2014-11-17

The SciDAC-funded Center for Enabling Distributed Petascale Science (CEDPS) was established to address technical challenges that arise due to the frequent geographic distribution of data producers (in particular, supercomputers and scientific instruments) and data consumers (people and computers) within the DOE laboratory system. Its goal is to produce technical innovations that meet DOE end-user needs for (a) rapid and dependable placement of large quantities of data within a distributed high-performance environment, and (b) the convenient construction of scalable science services that provide for the reliable and high-performance processing of computation and data analysis requests from many remote clients. The Centermore » is also addressing (c) the important problem of troubleshooting these and other related ultra-high-performance distributed activities from the perspective of both performance and functionality« less

(abstract) TOPEX/Poseidon: Four Years of Synoptic Oceanography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fu, Lee-Lueng

1996-01-01

Exceeding all expectations of measurement precision and accuracy, the US/France TOPEX/Poseidon satellite mission is now in its 5th year. Returning more than 98 percent of the altimetric data, the measured global geocentric height of the sea surface has provided unprecedented opportunities to address a host of scientific problems ranging from the dynamics of ocean circulation to the distribution of internal tidal energy. Scientific highlights of this longest-running altimetric satellite mission include improvements in our understanding of the dynamics and thermodynamics of the large-scale ocean variability, such as, the properties of planetary waves; the energetics of basin-wide gyres; the heat budget of the ocean; and the ocean's response to wind forcing. For the first time, oceanographers have quantitative descriptions of a dynamic variable of the physical state of the global oceans available in near-real-time.

LSST Astroinformatics And Astrostatistics: Data-oriented Astronomical Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borne, Kirk D.; Stassun, K.; Brunner, R. J.; Djorgovski, S. G.; Graham, M.; Hakkila, J.; Mahabal, A.; Paegert, M.; Pesenson, M.; Ptak, A.; Scargle, J.; Informatics, LSST; Statistics Team

2011-01-01

The LSST Informatics and Statistics Science Collaboration (ISSC) focuses on research and scientific discovery challenges posed by the very large and complex data collection that LSST will generate. Application areas include astroinformatics, machine learning, data mining, astrostatistics, visualization, scientific data semantics, time series analysis, and advanced signal processing. Research problems to be addressed with these methodologies include transient event characterization and classification, rare class discovery, correlation mining, outlier/anomaly/surprise detection, improved estimators (e.g., for photometric redshift or early onset supernova classification), exploration of highly dimensional (multivariate) data catalogs, and more. We present sample science results from these data-oriented approaches to large-data astronomical research. We present results from LSST ISSC team members, including the EB (Eclipsing Binary) Factory, the environmental variations in the fundamental plane of elliptical galaxies, and outlier detection in multivariate catalogs.

Spacelab Life Sciences 1 and 2 scientific research objectives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leach, Carolyn S.; Schneider, Howard J.

1987-01-01

The pressurized Spacelab module was designed and built to allow investigators to conduct research in space in an environment approximating that of a ground-based laboratory. It is configured to allow multiple investigations employing both human and nonhuman subjects. This flexability is exemplified by the SLS-1, SLS-2, and SLS-3 experiment complement. A total of 21 experiments are scheduled for these missions; the areas to be investigated are renal/endocrine function, cardiovascular/cardiopulmonary function, hematology, immunology, metabolic activity of muscle, Ca metabolism, the vestibular system, and general biology. A plan for integration of measurements will allow each investigator to use data from other experiments. The experiments make up a scientifically balanced payload that addresses fundamental biomedical problems associated with space flight and provides the first opportunity to study the acute effects of weightlessness in a comprehensive, interrelated fashion.

Establishing a reliable framework for harnessing the creative power of the scientific crowd.

PubMed

Carter, Adrian J; Donner, Amy; Lee, Wen Hwa; Bountra, Chas

2017-02-01

Discovering new medicines is difficult and increasingly expensive. The pharmaceutical industry has responded to this challenge by embracing open innovation to access external ideas. Historically, partnerships were usually bilateral, and the drug discovery process was shrouded in secrecy. This model is rapidly changing. With the advent of the Internet, drug discovery has become more decentralised, bottom-up, and scalable than ever before. The term open innovation is now accepted as just one of many terms that capture different but overlapping levels of openness in the drug discovery process. Many pharmaceutical companies recognise the advantages of revealing some proprietary information in the form of results, chemical tools, or unsolved problems in return for valuable insights and ideas. For example, such selective revealing can take the form of openly shared chemical tools to explore new biological mechanisms or by publicly admitting what is not known in the form of an open call. The essential ingredient for addressing these problems is access to the wider scientific crowd. The business of crowdsourcing, a form of outsourcing in which individuals or organisations solicit contributions from Internet users to obtain ideas or desired services, has grown significantly to fill this need and takes many forms today. Here, we posit that open-innovation approaches are more successful when they establish a reliable framework for converting creative ideas of the scientific crowd into practice with actionable plans.

Final Scientific/Technical Report: National Institute for Climatic Change Research Coastal Center

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tornqvist, Torbjorn; Chambers, Jeffrey

It is widely recognized that coastal environments are under particular threat due to changes associated with climate change. Accelerated sea-level rise, in some regions augmented by land subsidence, plus the possibility of a changing storm climate, renders low-lying coastal landscapes and their ecosystems vulnerable to future change. This is a pressing problem, because these ecosystems commonly rank as some of the most valuable on the planet. The objective of the NICCR Coastal Center was to support basic research that aims at reducing uncertainty about ecosystem changes during the next century, carried out along the U.S. coastlines. The NICCR Coastal Centermore » has funded 20 projects nationwide (carried out at 27 institutions) that addressed numerous aspects of the problems outlined above. The research has led to a variety of new insights, a significant number of which published in elite scientific journals. It is anticipated that the dissemination of this work in the scientific literature will continue for several more years, given that a number of projects have only recently reached their end date. In addition, NICCR funds have been used to support research at Tulane University. The lion’s share of these funds has been invested in the development of unique facilities for experimental research in coastal ecosystems. This aspect of the work could have a lasting impact in the future.« less

Establishing a reliable framework for harnessing the creative power of the scientific crowd

PubMed Central

Donner, Amy; Lee, Wen Hwa; Bountra, Chas

2017-01-01

Discovering new medicines is difficult and increasingly expensive. The pharmaceutical industry has responded to this challenge by embracing open innovation to access external ideas. Historically, partnerships were usually bilateral, and the drug discovery process was shrouded in secrecy. This model is rapidly changing. With the advent of the Internet, drug discovery has become more decentralised, bottom-up, and scalable than ever before. The term open innovation is now accepted as just one of many terms that capture different but overlapping levels of openness in the drug discovery process. Many pharmaceutical companies recognise the advantages of revealing some proprietary information in the form of results, chemical tools, or unsolved problems in return for valuable insights and ideas. For example, such selective revealing can take the form of openly shared chemical tools to explore new biological mechanisms or by publicly admitting what is not known in the form of an open call. The essential ingredient for addressing these problems is access to the wider scientific crowd. The business of crowdsourcing, a form of outsourcing in which individuals or organisations solicit contributions from Internet users to obtain ideas or desired services, has grown significantly to fill this need and takes many forms today. Here, we posit that open-innovation approaches are more successful when they establish a reliable framework for converting creative ideas of the scientific crowd into practice with actionable plans. PMID:28199324

Accelerating scientific discovery : 2007 annual report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beckman, P.; Dave, P.; Drugan, C.

2008-11-14

As a gateway for scientific discovery, the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) works hand in hand with the world's best computational scientists to advance research in a diverse span of scientific domains, ranging from chemistry, applied mathematics, and materials science to engineering physics and life sciences. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science, researchers are using the IBM Blue Gene/L supercomputer at the ALCF to study and explore key scientific problems that underlie important challenges facing our society. For instance, a research team at the University of California-San Diego/ SDSC is studying the molecular basis ofmore » Parkinson's disease. The researchers plan to use the knowledge they gain to discover new drugs to treat the disease and to identify risk factors for other diseases that are equally prevalent. Likewise, scientists from Pratt & Whitney are using the Blue Gene to understand the complex processes within aircraft engines. Expanding our understanding of jet engine combustors is the secret to improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. Lessons learned from the scientific simulations of jet engine combustors have already led Pratt & Whitney to newer designs with unprecedented reductions in emissions, noise, and cost of ownership. ALCF staff members provide in-depth expertise and assistance to those using the Blue Gene/L and optimizing user applications. Both the Catalyst and Applications Performance Engineering and Data Analytics (APEDA) teams support the users projects. In addition to working with scientists running experiments on the Blue Gene/L, we have become a nexus for the broader global community. In partnership with the Mathematics and Computer Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory, we have created an environment where the world's most challenging computational science problems can be addressed. Our expertise in high-end scientific computing enables us to provide guidance for applications that are transitioning to petascale as well as to produce software that facilitates their development, such as the MPICH library, which provides a portable and efficient implementation of the MPI standard--the prevalent programming model for large-scale scientific applications--and the PETSc toolkit that provides a programming paradigm that eases the development of many scientific applications on high-end computers.« less

LUT Wrap Up

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-30

1 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. LUT Wrap Up Curtis D. Mobley Sequoia Scientific, Inc...NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Sequoia Scientific, Inc,2700 Richards Road, Suite 107,Bellevue,WA...2010. EcoLight-S 1.0 Users’ Guide and Technical Documentation. Sequoia Scientific, Inc., 40 pages. Mobley, C. D., 2011. Fast light

Job Scheduling in a Heterogeneous Grid Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shan, Hong-Zhang; Smith, Warren; Oliker, Leonid; Biswas, Rupak

2004-01-01

Computational grids have the potential for solving large-scale scientific problems using heterogeneous and geographically distributed resources. However, a number of major technical hurdles must be overcome before this potential can be realized. One problem that is critical to effective utilization of computational grids is the efficient scheduling of jobs. This work addresses this problem by describing and evaluating a grid scheduling architecture and three job migration algorithms. The architecture is scalable and does not assume control of local site resources. The job migration policies use the availability and performance of computer systems, the network bandwidth available between systems, and the volume of input and output data associated with each job. An extensive performance comparison is presented using real workloads from leading computational centers. The results, based on several key metrics, demonstrate that the performance of our distributed migration algorithms is significantly greater than that of a local scheduling framework and comparable to a non-scalable global scheduling approach.

How to Deliver a More Persuasive Message Regarding Addiction as a Medical Disorder.

PubMed

Humphreys, Keith

: Many members of our field are frustrated that the public does not see addiction as a legitimate medical disorder which should be compassionately addressed as a health problem rather than a criminal justice problem. Although some attribute the disconnect to the public's lack of scientific knowledge or attachment to outdated moral views regarding substance use, this commentary suggests that the problem may well be our own messaging. We would be more persuasive if we acknowledged that addiction is different from most medical disorders because of its high negative externalities, and that this understandably makes the public more scared of and angry about addiction than they are about conditions like asthma, type II diabetes, and hypertension. Relatedly, because of the amount of violence and other crimes associated with addiction, we should acknowledge that the public's belief that law enforcement has an important role to play in responding to addiction has a rational basis.

The Boussinesq Debate: Reversibility, Instability, and Free Will.

PubMed

Michael Mueller, Thomas

2015-12-01

In 1877, a young mathematician named Joseph Boussinesq presented a mémoire to the Académie des sciences which demonstrated that some differential equations may have more than one solution. Boussinesq linked this fact to indeterminism and to a possible solution to the free will versus determinism debate. Boussinesq's main interest was to reconcile his philosophical and religious views with science by showing that matter and motion do not suffice to explain all there is in the world. His argument received mixed criticism that addressed both his philosophical views and the scientific content of his work, pointing to the physical "realisticness" of multiple solutions. While Boussinesq proved to be able to face the philosophical criticism, the scientific objections became a serious problem, thus slowly moving the focus of the debate from the philosophical plane to the scientific one. This change of perspective implied a wide discussion on topics such as instability, the sensitivity to initial conditions, and the conservation of energy. The Boussinesq debate is an example of a philosophically motivated debate that transforms into a scientific one, an example of the influence of philosophy on the development of science.

Teaching the process of science: faculty perceptions and an effective methodology.

PubMed

Coil, David; Wenderoth, Mary Pat; Cunningham, Matthew; Dirks, Clarissa

2010-01-01

Most scientific endeavors require science process skills such as data interpretation, problem solving, experimental design, scientific writing, oral communication, collaborative work, and critical analysis of primary literature. These are the fundamental skills upon which the conceptual framework of scientific expertise is built. Unfortunately, most college science departments lack a formalized curriculum for teaching undergraduates science process skills. However, evidence strongly suggests that explicitly teaching undergraduates skills early in their education may enhance their understanding of science content. Our research reveals that faculty overwhelming support teaching undergraduates science process skills but typically do not spend enough time teaching skills due to the perceived need to cover content. To encourage faculty to address this issue, we provide our pedagogical philosophies, methods, and materials for teaching science process skills to freshman pursuing life science majors. We build upon previous work, showing student learning gains in both reading primary literature and scientific writing, and share student perspectives about a course where teaching the process of science, not content, was the focus. We recommend a wider implementation of courses that teach undergraduates science process skills early in their studies with the goals of improving student success and retention in the sciences and enhancing general science literacy.

Teaching the Process of Science: Faculty Perceptions and an Effective Methodology

PubMed Central

Coil, David; Wenderoth, Mary Pat; Cunningham, Matthew

2010-01-01

Most scientific endeavors require science process skills such as data interpretation, problem solving, experimental design, scientific writing, oral communication, collaborative work, and critical analysis of primary literature. These are the fundamental skills upon which the conceptual framework of scientific expertise is built. Unfortunately, most college science departments lack a formalized curriculum for teaching undergraduates science process skills. However, evidence strongly suggests that explicitly teaching undergraduates skills early in their education may enhance their understanding of science content. Our research reveals that faculty overwhelming support teaching undergraduates science process skills but typically do not spend enough time teaching skills due to the perceived need to cover content. To encourage faculty to address this issue, we provide our pedagogical philosophies, methods, and materials for teaching science process skills to freshman pursuing life science majors. We build upon previous work, showing student learning gains in both reading primary literature and scientific writing, and share student perspectives about a course where teaching the process of science, not content, was the focus. We recommend a wider implementation of courses that teach undergraduates science process skills early in their studies with the goals of improving student success and retention in the sciences and enhancing general science literacy. PMID:21123699

Why so few young women in mathematics, science, and technology classes?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wieda, K.J.

Many factors influence the success of women in scientific and technical careers. Women represent over 50% of the U.S. population, yet less than 16% of women are employed in scientific and technical careers. Research over the last decade makes it clear that disparities exist in the participation, achievement, and attitudes of young men and young women in science classes. Young women are as interested in science experiences as young men up until age nine. After that age, the number of young women interested in science, mathematics, and technology classes drops. Not enrolling in science and mathematics classes in high schoolmore » limits career options for young women, and their chance to succeed in a scientific or technical field becomes remote. Why is this happening? What can we, as educators, scientists, and parents do to address this problem? The literature identifies three principal factors that relate to the lack of female involvement in science classes: culture, attitude, and education. This paper reviews these factors and provides examples of programs that Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) and others have developed to increase the number of young women entering college ready and wanting to pursue a career in a scientific or technical field.« less

Efficient and automatic wireless geohazard monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubin, Marc J.

In this dissertation, we present our research contributions geared towards creating an automated and efficient wireless sensor network (WSN) for geohazard monitoring. Specifically, this dissertation addresses three overall technical research problems inherent in implementing and deploying such a WSN, i.e., 1) automated event detection from geophysical data, 2) efficient wireless transmission, and 3) low-cost wireless hardware. In addition, after presenting algorithms, experimentation, and results from these three overall problems, we take a step back and discuss how, when, and why such scientific work matters in a geohazardous risk scenario. First, in Chapter 2, we discuss automated geohazard event detection within geophysical data. In particular, we present our pattern recognition workflow that can automatically detect snow avalanche events in seismic (geophone sensor) data. This workflow includes customized signal preprocessing for feature extraction, cluster-based stratified sub-sampling for majority class reduction, and experimentation with 12 different machine learning algorithms; results show that a decision stump classifier achieved 99.8% accuracy, 88.8% recall, and 13.2% precision in detecting avalanches within seismic data collected in the mountains above Davos, Switzerland, an improvement on previous work in the field. To address the second overall research problem (i.e., efficient wireless transmission), we present and evaluate our on-mote compressive sampling algorithm called Randomized Timing Vector (RTV) in Chapter 3 and compare our approach to four other on-mote, lossy compression algorithms in Chapter 4. Results from our work show that our RTV algorithm outperforms current on-mote compressive sampling algorithms and performs comparably to (and in many cases better than) the four state-of-the-art, on-mote lossy compression techniques. The main benefit of RTV is that it can guarantee a desired level of compression performance (and thus, radio usage and power consumption) without subjugating recovered signal quality. Another benefit of RTV is its simplicity and low computational overhead; by sampling directly in compressed form, RTV vastly decreases the amount of memory space and computation time required for on-mote compression. Third, in Chapter 5, we present and evaluate our custom, low-cost, Arduino-based wireless hardware (i.e., GeoMoteShield) developed for wireless seismic data acquisition. In particular, we first provide details regarding the motivation, design, and implementation of our custom GeoMoteShield and then compare our custom hardware against two much more expensive systems, i.e., a traditional wired seismograph and a "from-the-ground-up" wireless mote developed by SmartGeo colleagues. We validate our custom WSN of nine GeoMoteShields using controlled lab tests and then further evaluate the WSN's performance during two seismic field tests, i.e., a "walk-away" test and a seismic refraction survey. Results show that our low-cost, Arduino-based GeoMoteShield performs comparably to a much more expensive wired system and a "from the ground up" wireless mote in terms of signal precision, accuracy, and time synchronization. Finally, in Chapter 6, we provide a broad literature review and discussion of how, when, and why scientific work matters in geohazardous risk scenarios. This work is geared towards scientists conducting research within fields involving geohazard risk assessment and mitigation. In particular, this chapter reviews three topics from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Policy (STEP): 1) risk, scientific uncertainty, and policy, 2) society's perceptions of risk, and 3) the effectiveness of risk communication. Though this chapter is not intended to be a comprehensive STEP literature survey, it addresses many pertinent questions and provides guidance to scientists and engineers operating in such fields. In short, this chapter aims to answer three main questions, i.e., 1) "when does scientific work influence policy decisions?", 2) "how does scientific work impact people's perception of risk?", and 3) "how is technical scientific work communicated to the non-scientific community?".

From Dr. Steven Ashby, Director of PNNL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ashby, Steven

Powered by the creativity and imagination of more than 4,000 exceptional scientists, engineers and support professionals, at PNNL we advance the frontiers of science and address some of the most challenging problems in energy, the environment and national security. As DOE’s premier chemistry, environmental sciences and data analytics laboratory, we provide national leadership in four areas: deepening our understanding of climate science; inventing the future power grid; preventing nuclear proliferation; and speeding environmental remediation. Other areas where we make important contributions include energy storage, microbial biology and cyber security. PNNL also is home to EMSL (the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory),more » one of DOE’s scientific user facilities. We apply these science strengths to address both national and international problems in complex adaptive systems that are too difficult for one institution to tackle alone. Take earth systems, for instance. The earth is a complex adaptive system because it involves everything from climate and microbial communities in the soil to emissions from cars and coal-powered industrial plants. All of these factors and others ultimately influence not only our environment and overall quality of life, but cause the earth to adapt in ways that must be further addressed. PNNL researchers are playing a vital role in finding solutions across every area of this complex adaptive system.« less

NASA Virtual Institutes: International Bridges for Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, Gregory K.

2016-01-01

NASA created the first virtual institute, the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI), in 2009 with an aim toward bringing together geographically disparate and multidisciplinary teams toward the goal of answering broad questions in the then-new discipline of astrobiology. With the success of the virtual institute model, NASA then created the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) in 2008 to address questions of science and human exploration of the Moon, and then the NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI) in 2012 which addresses key questions in the development of aeronautics technologies. With the broadening of NASA's human exploration targets to include Near Earth Asteroids and the moons of Mars as well as the Moon, the NLSI morphed into the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) in 2012. SSERVI funds domestic research teams to address broad questions at the intersection of science and human exploration, with the underlying principle that science enables human exploration, and human exploration enables science. Nine domestic teams were funded in 2014 for a five-year period to address a variety of different topics, and nine international partners (with more to come) also work with the U.S. teams on a variety of topics of mutual interest. The result is a robust and productive research infrastructure that is not only scientifically productive but can respond to strategic topics of domestic and international interest, and which develops a new generation of researchers. This is all accomplished with the aid of virtual collaboration technologies which enable scientific research at a distance. The virtual institute model is widely applicable to a range of space science and exploration problems.

Igniting the Light Elements: The Los Alamos Thermonuclear Weapon Project, 1942-1952

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fitzpatrick, Anne C.

1999-07-01

The American system of nuclear weapons research and development was conceived and developed not as a result of technological determinism, but by a number of individual architects who promoted the growth of this large technologically-based complex. While some of the technological artifacts of this system, such as the fission weapons used in World War II, have been the subject of many historical studies, their technical successors--fusion (or hydrogen) devices--are representative of the largely unstudied highly secret realms of nuclear weapons science and engineering. In the postwar period a small number of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory's staff and affiliates were responsiblemore » for theoretical work on fusion weapons, yet the program was subject to both the provisions and constraints of the US Atomic Energy Commission, of which Los Alamos was a part. The Commission leadership's struggle to establish a mission for its network of laboratories, least of all to keep them operating, affected Los Alamos's leaders' decisions as to the course of weapons design and development projects. Adapting Thomas P. Hughes's ''large technological systems'' thesis, I focus on the technical, social, political, and human problems that nuclear weapons scientists faced while pursuing the thermonuclear project, demonstrating why the early American thermonuclear bomb project was an immensely complicated scientific and technological undertaking. I concentrate mainly on Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory's Theoretical, or T, Division, and its members' attempts to complete an accurate mathematical treatment of the ''Super''--the most difficult problem in physics in the postwar period--and other fusion weapon theories. Although tackling a theoretical problem, theoreticians had to address technical and engineering issues as well. I demonstrate the relative value and importance of H-bomb research over time in the postwar era to scientific, politician, and military participants in this project. I analyze how and when participants in the H-bomb project recognized both blatant and subtle problems facing the project, how scientists solved them, and the relationship this process had to official nuclear weapons policies. Consequently, I show how the practice of nuclear weapons science in the postwar period became an extremely complex, technologically-based endeavor.« less

Nature of Science, Scientific Inquiry, and Socio-Scientific Issues Arising from Genetics: A Pathway to Developing a Scientifically Literate Citizenry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lederman, Norman G.; Antink, Allison; Bartos, Stephen

2014-02-01

The primary focus of this article is to illustrate how teachers can use contemporary socio-scientific issues to teach students about nature of scientific knowledge as well as address the science subject matter embedded in the issues. The article provides an initial discussion about the various aspects of nature of scientific knowledge that are addressed. It is important to remember that the aspects of nature of scientific knowledge are not considered to be a comprehensive list, but rather a set of important ideas for adolescent students to learn about scientific knowledge. These ideas have been advocated as important for secondary students by numerous reform documents internationally. Then, several examples are used to illustrate how genetically based socio-scientific issues can be used by teachers to improve students' understandings of the discussed aspects of nature of scientific knowledge.

NIAAA's rapid response to college drinking problems initiative: reinforcing the use of evidence-based approaches in college alcohol prevention.

PubMed

Dejong, William; Larimer, Mary E; Wood, Mark D; Hartman, Roger

2009-07-01

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) created the Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems initiative so that senior college administrators facing an alcohol-related crisis could get assistance from well-established alcohol researchers and NIAAA staff. Based on a competitive grant process, NIAAA selected five teams of research scientists with expertise in college drinking research. NIAAA then invited college administrators to propose interventions to address a recently experienced alcohol-related problem. Between September 2004 and September 2005, NIAAA selected 15 sites and paired each recipient college with a scientific team. Together, each program development/evaluation team, working closely with NIAAA scientific staff, jointly designed, implemented, and evaluated a Rapid Response project. This supplement reports the results of several Rapid Response projects, plus other findings of interest that emerged from that research. Eight articles present evaluation findings for prevention and treatment interventions, which can be grouped by the individual, group/interpersonal, institutional, and community levels of the social ecological framework. Additional studies provide further insights that can inform prevention and treatment programs designed to reduce alcohol-related problems among college students. This article provides an overview of these findings, placing them in the context of the college drinking intervention literature. College drinking remains a daunting problem on many campuses, but evidence-based strategies-such as those described in this supplement-provide hope that more effective solutions can be found. The Rapid Response initiative has helped solidify the necessary link between research and practice in college alcohol prevention and treatment.

Building the Synergy between Public Sector and Research Data Infrastructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craglia, Massimo; Friis-Christensen, Anders; Ostländer, Nicole; Perego, Andrea

2014-05-01

INSPIRE is a European Directive aiming to establish a EU-wide spatial data infrastructure to give cross-border access to information that can be used to support EU environmental policies, as well as other policies and activities having an impact on the environment. In order to ensure cross-border interoperability of data infrastructures operated by EU Member States, INSPIRE sets out a framework based on common specifications for metadata, data, network services, data and service sharing, monitoring and reporting. The implementation of INSPIRE has reached important milestones: the INSPIRE Geoportal was launched in 2011 providing a single access point for the discovery of INSPIRE data and services across EU Member States (currently, about 300K), while all the technical specifications for the interoperability of data across the 34 INSPIRE themes were adopted at the end of 2013. During this period a number of EU and international initiatives has been launched, concerning cross-domain interoperability and (Linked) Open Data. In particular, the EU Open Data Portal, launched in December 2012, made provisions to access government and scientific data from EU institutions and bodies, and the EU ISA Programme (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations) promotes cross-sector interoperability by sharing and re-using EU-wide and national standards and components. Moreover, the Research Data Alliance (RDA), an initiative jointly funded by the European Commission, the US National Science Foundation and the Australian Research Council, was launched in March 2013 to promote scientific data sharing and interoperability. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC), besides being the technical coordinator of the implementation of INSPIRE, is also actively involved in the initiatives promoting cross-sector re-use in INSPIRE, and sustainable approaches to address the evolution of technologies - in particular, how to support Linked Data in INSPIRE and the use of global persistent identifiers. It is evident that government and scientific data infrastructures are currently facing a number of issues that have already been addressed in INSPIRE. Sharing experiences and competencies will avoid re-inventing the wheel, and help promoting the cross-domain adoption of consistent solutions. Actually, one of the lessons learnt from INSPIRE and the initiatives in which JRC is involved, is that government and research data are not two separate worlds. Government data are commonly used as a basis to create scientific data, and vice-versa. Consequently, it is fundamental to adopt a consistent approach to address interoperability and data management issues shared by both government and scientific data. The presentation illustrates some of the lessons learnt during the implementation of INSPIRE and in work on data and service interoperability coordinated with European and international initiatives. We describe a number of critical interoperability issues and barriers affecting both scientific and government data, concerning, e.g., data terminologies, quality and licensing, and propose how these problems could be effectively addressed by a closer collaboration of the government and scientific communities, and the sharing of experiences and practices.

Establishing Long Term Data Management Research Priorities via a Data Decadal Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, A.; Uhlir, P.; Meyer, C. B.; Robinson, E.

2013-12-01

We live in a time of unprecedented collection of and access to scientific data. Improvements in sensor technologies and modeling capabilities are constantly producing new data sources. Data sets are being used for unexpected purposes far from their point of origin, as research spans projects, discipline domains, and temporal and geographic boundaries. The nature of science is evolving, with more open science, open publications, and changes to the nature of peer review and data "publication". Data-intensive, or computational science, has been identified as a new research paradigm. There is recognition that the creation of a data set can be a contribution to science deserving of recognition comparable to other scientific publications. Federally funded projects are generally expected to make their data open and accessible to everyone. In this dynamic environment, scientific progress is ever more dependent on good data management practices and policies. Yet current data management and stewardship practices are insufficient. Data sets created at great, and often public, expense are at risk of being lost for technological or organizational reasons. Insufficient documentation and understanding of data can mean that the data are used incorrectly or not at all. Scientific results are being scrutinized and questioned, and occasionally retracted due to problems in data management. The volume of data is greatly increasing while funding for data management is meager and generally must be found within existing budgets. Many federal government agencies, including NASA, USGS, NOAA and NSF are already making efforts to address data management issues. Executive memos and directives give substantial impetus to those efforts, such as the May 9 Executive Order directing agencies to implement Open Data Policy requirements and regularly report their progress. However, these distributed efforts risk duplicating effort, lack a unifying, long-term strategic vision, and too often work in competition with other priorities of the research enterprise. This presentation will introduce the Data Decadal Survey, an initial concept created in collaboration between the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) and of the National Research Council's Board on Research Data and Information (BRDI). Consistent with Executive open data policies, the Survey will provide a coordinating platform to address overarching issues and identify research needs and funding priorities in scientific data management and stewardship for the long term. The Survey would address at the broadest level gaps in data management knowledge and practices that hold back scientific progress, and recommend a strategy to address them. The goal is to provide a long term strategic vision that will

History of Injury and Violence as public health problems and emergence of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at CDC.

PubMed

Sleet, David A; Baldwin, Grant; Marr, Angela; Spivak, Howard; Patterson, Sara; Morrison, Christine; Holmes, Wendy; Peeples, Amy B; Degutis, Linda C

2012-09-01

Injuries and violence are among the oldest health problems facing humans. Only within the past 50 years, however, has the problem been addressed with scientific rigor using public health methods. The field of injury control began as early as 1913, but wasn't approached systematically or epidemiologically until the 1940s and 1950s. It accelerated rapidly between 1960 and 1985. Coupled with active federal and state interest in reducing injuries and violence, this period was marked by important medical, scientific, and public health advances. The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) was an outgrowth of this progress and in 2012 celebrated its 20th anniversary. NCIPC was created in 1992 after a series of government reports identified injury as one of the most important public health problems facing the nation. Congressional action provided the impetus for the creation of NCIPC as the lead federal agency for non-occupational injury and violence prevention. In subsequent years, NCIPC and its partners fostered many advances and built strong capacity. Because of the tragically high burden and cost of injuries and violence in the United States and around the globe, researchers, practitioners, and decision makers will need to redouble prevention efforts in the next 20 years. This article traces the history of injury and violence prevention as a public health priority-- including the evolution and current structure of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Arctic Connections, an Interactive CD-ROM Program for Middle School Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elias, S. A.

2003-12-01

In this project we developed an interactive CD-ROM program for middle school students, accompanied by an interactive web site. The project was sponsored by a grant from the NSF ESIE Instructional Materials Development program. One of the major goals of this project was to involve middle school students in inquiry-based science education, using topics that are of interest to students in Arctic communities. Native Alaskan students have traditionally done poorly in science at the secondary level, and few have gone on to major in the sciences in college or to pursue scientific careers. Part of the problem is a perceived dichotomy between science and traditional Native ways of knowing about the natural world. Hence some students reject the scientific method as being foreign to their native culture. Our goal was to help bridge this cultural barrier, and to demonstrate to native students that the scientific method is not antithetical to their traditional way of life. The program uses story modules that discuss both scientific and Native ways of understanding, through the use of action-adventure stories and brief learning modules. The aim was to show students the relevance of science to their daily lives, and to convince them that scientific methods are a vital tool in solving major problems in arctic communities. Each action-adventure story contains a series of problems that the program user must solve through interactive participation, in order for the story to progress. The interactive elements include answering quiz questions correctly, measuring pH by comparing litmus paper colors, measuring archaeological artifact dimensions, finding the location of fossil bones in a photograph, and correctly identifying photographs of whale species, arctic plants, and fish. The stories contain a mixture of live-action film sequences and voice-over sketch art story boards. The ten modules include such topics as arctic flora and fauna (including terrestrial and sea mammals), arctic solar phenomena, the archaeology and ice-age history of Alaska, water quality, sea ice, permafrost, and climatology. The topics are designed to show connections between the past, present, and future of the Arctic, highlighting problems that can be addressed by scientific inquiry. The accompanying teacher's guide contains a series of hands-on experiments and additional learning materials for each module. The scientific information contained in the modules was refereed by a team of experts who have also volunteered to respond to student questions via e-mail. During the last three years, the program has been field tested in middle schools in Barrow, Kotzebue, Fairbanks, and Anchorage, Alaska. These tests have brought many suggestions for improvements from both teachers and students. The program is in its final evaluation phase, and will be available to schools early in 2004.

Technology Development, Implementation, and Assessment: K-16 Pre-Service, In-Service, and Distance Learning Initiatives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petersen, Richard

1998-01-01

This summer 22 kindergarten through 8th grade teachers attended a 3-week Teacher Enhancement Institute (TEI) at NASA Langley Research Center. TEI is funded by NASA Education Division and is a collaborative effort between NASA Langley's Office of Education and Christopher Newport University. Selected teacher teams were drawn from Langley's 5-state precollege service region, which includes Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. The goal of TEI was for teachers to learn aeronautics and the broad application of science and technology through a problem-based learning (PBL) strategy. PBL is an instructional method using a real world problem, also known as an ill-structured problem, as the context for an in-depth investigation. Most real life problems are ill-structured, as are all the really important social, political and scientific problems. The teachers were immediately immersed in an ill-structured problem to design a communication strategy for the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security to educate and disseminate aviation information to the general public. Specifically, the communication strategy was to focus on aeronautics principles, technology and design associated with US general aviation revitalization and aviation safety programs. The presented problem addressed NASA's strategic outcome to widely communicate the content, relevancy and excitement of its missions and discoveries to the general population. Further, the PBL scenario addressed the technological challenges being taken up by NASA to revolutionize air travel and the way in which aircraft are designed, built, and operated. It also addressed getting people and freight safely and efficiently to any location in the world at a reasonable cost. With a "real" need-to-know problem facing them, the teachers set out to gather information and to better understand the problem using inquiry-based and scientific methods. The learning in this aeronautics scenario was driven by the direction taken by participants. With the support of the TEI faculty, the teachers quickly identified NASA Langley researchers that served as consultants to help solve the problem. To achieve their goal, the teacher teams developed lesson plans for elementary and middle school students, wrote a newspaper, published a brochure to educate the general public, constructed games for children of all ages, and produced a video. As a second problem, the TEI participants will design their own aeronautic lesson plan and immerse their 1997-98 school year students in the problem. The problem is for the students "to create a traveling hands-on, minds-on aeronautics museum exhibit created for children by children." As a culminating activity, the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton, VA, will set up a special display of the exhibits in the Summer 1998. The TEI faculty will visit each TEI teacher's classroom during the academic school year to observe the implementation of the unit. In addition to the classroom observations, electronic follow-up sessions will be conducted during the school year to support the teachers' efforts in developing their PBL units to integrate technology in math and science instruction. These sessions eill be conducted using the Internet. Teachers will be connected through a chat-line to share ideas, ask questions, and generate solutions.

Game-Based Learning in Science Education: A Review of Relevant Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ming-Chaun; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2013-12-01

The purpose of this study is to review empirical research articles regarding game-based science learning (GBSL) published from 2000 to 2011. Thirty-one articles were identified through the Web of Science and SCOPUS databases. A qualitative content analysis technique was adopted to analyze the research purposes and designs, game design and implementation, theoretical backgrounds and learning foci of these reviewed studies. The theories and models employed by these studies were classified into four theoretical foundations including cognitivism, constructivism, the socio-cultural perspective, and enactivism. The results indicate that cognitivism and constructivism were the major theoretical foundations employed by the GBSL researchers and that the socio-cultural perspective and enactivism are two emerging theoretical paradigms that have started to draw attention from GBSL researchers in recent years. The analysis of the learning foci showed that most of the digital games were utilized to promote scientific knowledge/concept learning, while less than one-third were implemented to facilitate the students' problem-solving skills. Only a few studies explored the GBSL outcomes from the aspects of scientific processes, affect, engagement, and socio-contextual learning. Suggestions are made to extend the current GBSL research to address the affective and socio-contextual aspects of science learning. The roles of digital games as tutor, tool, and tutee for science education are discussed, while the potentials of digital games to bridge science learning between real and virtual worlds, to promote collaborative problem-solving, to provide affective learning environments, and to facilitate science learning for younger students are also addressed.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Estuarine and Atmospheric Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aller, J. Y.

2009-12-01

Our program in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University is unique in emphasizing the interdisciplinary study of coastal ocean and atmospheric processes. We attract a large number of both male and female undergraduate applicants representing diverse ethnic groups from across the country. Many are multi-discipline majors merging geology, biology, chemistry, or physics with engineering, and/or mathematics and welcome the opportunity to combine their academic training to examine environmental problems. Our goal is a program reflective of today’s world and environmental challenges, one that provides a ‘hands-on’ research experience which illustrates the usefulness of scientific research for understanding real-world problems or phenomena, and one in which students are challenged to apply their academic backgrounds to develop intuition about natural systems and processes. Projects this past summer focused on assessing climate change and its effects on coastal environments and processes. Projects addressed the implications of a changing global climate over the next 50 years on hydrologic cycles and coastal environments like barrier islands and beaches, on seasonal weather conditions and extreme events, on aerosols and the Earth’s radiative balance, and on aquatic habitats and biota. Collaborative field and laboratory or computer-based projects involving two or three REU students, graduate students, and several mentors, enable undergraduate students appreciate the importance of teamwork in addressing specific scientific questions or gaining maximum insight into a particular phenomenon or process. We believe that our approach allows students to understand what their role will be as scientists in the next phase of our earth’s evolution.

Educational NASA Computational and Scientific Studies (enCOMPASS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Memarsadeghi, Nargess

2013-01-01

Educational NASA Computational and Scientific Studies (enCOMPASS) is an educational project of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center aimed at bridging the gap between computational objectives and needs of NASA's scientific research, missions, and projects, and academia's latest advances in applied mathematics and computer science. enCOMPASS achieves this goal via bidirectional collaboration and communication between NASA and academia. Using developed NASA Computational Case Studies in university computer science/engineering and applied mathematics classes is a way of addressing NASA's goals of contributing to the Science, Technology, Education, and Math (STEM) National Objective. The enCOMPASS Web site at http://encompass.gsfc.nasa.gov provides additional information. There are currently nine enCOMPASS case studies developed in areas of earth sciences, planetary sciences, and astrophysics. Some of these case studies have been published in AIP and IEEE's Computing in Science and Engineering magazines. A few university professors have used enCOMPASS case studies in their computational classes and contributed their findings to NASA scientists. In these case studies, after introducing the science area, the specific problem, and related NASA missions, students are first asked to solve a known problem using NASA data and past approaches used and often published in a scientific/research paper. Then, after learning about the NASA application and related computational tools and approaches for solving the proposed problem, students are given a harder problem as a challenge for them to research and develop solutions for. This project provides a model for NASA scientists and engineers on one side, and university students, faculty, and researchers in computer science and applied mathematics on the other side, to learn from each other's areas of work, computational needs and solutions, and the latest advances in research and development. This innovation takes NASA science and engineering applications to computer science and applied mathematics university classes, and makes NASA objectives part of the university curricula. There is great potential for growth and return on investment of this program to the point where every major university in the U.S. would use at least one of these case studies in one of their computational courses, and where every NASA scientist and engineer facing a computational challenge (without having resources or expertise to solve it) would use enCOMPASS to formulate the problem as a case study, provide it to a university, and get back their solutions and ideas.

Prevention and treatment of HIV addicted patients: a biopsychosocial approach.

PubMed

Iskandar, Shelly; van Crevel, Reinout; Siregar, I M P; Achmad, T H; van der Ven, A J A M; de Jong, C A J

2009-07-01

Injecting drug use is the main route of HIV transmission in many parts of Indonesia. Efforts to prevent HIV-transmission through injecting drug use mostly focus on subjects who actively inject. In scientific publications, the term 'injecting drug users' tends to be used without a clear definition and without specifying the pattern of drug use as current or former drug use, frequency, duration, type of injected drug(s) or context (e.g. imprisonment). Actually, injecting drug users (IDUs) have different drug use patterns, risk behavior, somatic co-morbidity, psychiatric co-morbidity, and psychosocial problems. In fact, these patients are suffering from addiction as a chronic brain disease in co-occurrence with somatic and psychiatric disorder and many social problems. Failing in addressing the problems comprehensively will lead to the failure of drug treatment. This is why addiction can be best studied and treated from a biopsychosocial perspective. Accordingly, treatment goals can be differentiated in crisis intervention, cure or recovery (detoxification, relapse prevention), and care or partial remission (stabilization and harm reduction). In summary, injecting drug use in Indonesia is not a single entity and patient oriented prevention and care for IDUs, especially focusing on their addiction, should be addressed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Dealing with misconduct in biomedical research: a review of the problems and the proposed methods for improvement.

PubMed

Kumar, Malhar N

2009-11-01

The increasing complexity of scientific research has been followed by increasing varieties of research misconduct. Dealing with misconduct involves the processes of detection, reporting, and investigation of misconduct. Each of these steps is associated with numerous problems which need to be addressed. Misconduct investigation should not stop with inquiries and disciplinary actions in specific episodes of misconduct. It is necessary to decrease the personal price paid by those who expose misconduct and to protect the personal and professional interests of honest researchers accused of misconduct unfairly or mistakenly. There is no dearth of suggestions to improve the objectivity and fairness of investigations. What is needed is the willingness to test the various options and implement the most suitable ones.

Problem Based Learning and the scientific process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuchardt, Daniel Shaner

This research project was developed to inspire students to constructively use problem based learning and the scientific process to learn middle school science content. The student population in this study consisted of male and female seventh grade students. Students were presented with authentic problems that are connected to physical and chemical properties of matter. The intent of the study was to have students use the scientific process of looking at existing knowledge, generating learning issues or questions about the problems, and then developing a course of action to research and design experiments to model resolutions to the authentic problems. It was expected that students would improve their ability to actively engage with others in a problem solving process to achieve a deeper understanding of Michigan's 7th Grade Level Content Expectations, the Next Generation Science Standards, and a scientific process. Problem based learning was statistically effective in students' learning of the scientific process. Students statistically showed improvement on pre to posttest scores. The teaching method of Problem Based Learning was effective for seventh grade science students at Dowagiac Middle School.

The Dogma of "The" Scientific Method.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wivagg, Dan; Allchin, Douglas

2002-01-01

Points out major problems with the scientific method as a model for learning about methodology in science and suggests teaching about the scientists' toolbox to remedy problems with the conventional scientific method. (KHR)

Merging spatially variant physical process models under an optimized systems dynamics framework.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cain, William O.; Lowry, Thomas Stephen; Pierce, Suzanne A.

The complexity of water resource issues, its interconnectedness to other systems, and the involvement of competing stakeholders often overwhelm decision-makers and inhibit the creation of clear management strategies. While a range of modeling tools and procedures exist to address these problems, they tend to be case specific and generally emphasize either a quantitative and overly analytic approach or present a qualitative dialogue-based approach lacking the ability to fully explore consequences of different policy decisions. The integration of these two approaches is needed to drive toward final decisions and engender effective outcomes. Given these limitations, the Computer Assisted Dispute Resolution systemmore » (CADRe) was developed to aid in stakeholder inclusive resource planning. This modeling and negotiation system uniquely addresses resource concerns by developing a spatially varying system dynamics model as well as innovative global optimization search techniques to maximize outcomes from participatory dialogues. Ultimately, the core system architecture of CADRe also serves as the cornerstone upon which key scientific innovation and challenges can be addressed.« less

Improved Ecosystem Predictions of the California Current System via Accurate Light Calculations

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-30

System via Accurate Light Calculations Curtis D. Mobley Sequoia Scientific, Inc. 2700 Richards Road, Suite 107 Bellevue, WA 98005 phone: 425...7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Sequoia Scientific, Inc,2700 Richards Road, Suite 107,Bellevue,WA,98005 8. PERFORMING...EcoLight-S 1.0 Users’ Guide and Technical Documentation. Sequoia Scientific, Inc., Bellevue, WA, 38 pages. Mobley, C. D., 2011. Fast light calculations

Applying AN Object-Oriented Database Model to a Scientific Database Problem: Managing Experimental Data at Cebaf.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehlmann, Bryon K.

Current scientific experiments are often characterized by massive amounts of very complex data and the need for complex data analysis software. Object-oriented database (OODB) systems have the potential of improving the description of the structure and semantics of this data and of integrating the analysis software with the data. This dissertation results from research to enhance OODB functionality and methodology to support scientific databases (SDBs) and, more specifically, to support a nuclear physics experiments database for the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). This research to date has identified a number of problems related to the practical application of OODB technology to the conceptual design of the CEBAF experiments database and other SDBs: the lack of a generally accepted OODB design methodology, the lack of a standard OODB model, the lack of a clear conceptual level in existing OODB models, and the limited support in existing OODB systems for many common object relationships inherent in SDBs. To address these problems, the dissertation describes an Object-Relationship Diagram (ORD) and an Object-oriented Database Definition Language (ODDL) that provide tools that allow SDB design and development to proceed systematically and independently of existing OODB systems. These tools define multi-level, conceptual data models for SDB design, which incorporate a simple notation for describing common types of relationships that occur in SDBs. ODDL allows these relationships and other desirable SDB capabilities to be supported by an extended OODB system. A conceptual model of the CEBAF experiments database is presented in terms of ORDs and the ODDL to demonstrate their functionality and use and provide a foundation for future development of experimental nuclear physics software using an OODB approach.

Subjective Quality Assessment of Underwater Video for Scientific Applications

PubMed Central

Moreno-Roldán, José-Miguel; Luque-Nieto, Miguel-Ángel; Poncela, Javier; Díaz-del-Río, Víctor; Otero, Pablo

2015-01-01

Underwater video services could be a key application in the better scientific knowledge of the vast oceanic resources in our planet. However, limitations in the capacity of current available technology for underwater networks (UWSNs) raise the question of the feasibility of these services. When transmitting video, the main constraints are the limited bandwidth and the high propagation delays. At the same time the service performance depends on the needs of the target group. This paper considers the problems of estimations for the Mean Opinion Score (a standard quality measure) in UWSNs based on objective methods and addresses the topic of quality assessment in potential underwater video services from a subjective point of view. The experimental design and the results of a test planned according standardized psychometric methods are presented. The subjects used in the quality assessment test were ocean scientists. Video sequences were recorded in actual exploration expeditions and were processed to simulate conditions similar to those that might be found in UWSNs. Our experimental results show how videos are considered to be useful for scientific purposes even in very low bitrate conditions. PMID:26694400

Development of Clinical Pharmacology in the Russian Federation.

PubMed

Petrov, V I; Kagramanyan, I N; Khokhlov, A L; Frolov, M U; Lileeva, E G

2016-05-01

The article aims to provide the history, organization, and approaches to clinical pharmacology in the Russian Federation. This article is based on major international and Russian documents, along with groundbreaking historical facts and scientific articles related to the development of modern clinical pharmacology the Russian Federation. Improving the quality of drug therapy is the main goal of clinical pharmacology in the Russian Federation. Decisions of the World Health Organization, scientific achievements, and the work of well-known scientists among the world community and in the Russian Federation have strongly influenced the development of clinical pharmacology the Russian Federation. Clinical pharmacology in the Russian Federation addresses a wide range of problems; it actively engages in modern scientific research, education; and clinical practice. Clinical pharmacologists participate in studies of new drugs and often have a specific area of expertise. The future development of clinical pharmacology in the Russian Federation will be related to improvements in training, refinement of the framework that regulates clinical pharmacologists, and the creation of clinical pharmacology laboratories with modern equipment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier HS Journals, Inc. All rights reserved.

Subjective Quality Assessment of Underwater Video for Scientific Applications.

PubMed

Moreno-Roldán, José-Miguel; Luque-Nieto, Miguel-Ángel; Poncela, Javier; Díaz-del-Río, Víctor; Otero, Pablo

2015-12-15

Underwater video services could be a key application in the better scientific knowledge of the vast oceanic resources in our planet. However, limitations in the capacity of current available technology for underwater networks (UWSNs) raise the question of the feasibility of these services. When transmitting video, the main constraints are the limited bandwidth and the high propagation delays. At the same time the service performance depends on the needs of the target group. This paper considers the problems of estimations for the Mean Opinion Score (a standard quality measure) in UWSNs based on objective methods and addresses the topic of quality assessment in potential underwater video services from a subjective point of view. The experimental design and the results of a test planned according standardized psychometric methods are presented. The subjects used in the quality assessment test were ocean scientists. Video sequences were recorded in actual exploration expeditions and were processed to simulate conditions similar to those that might be found in UWSNs. Our experimental results show how videos are considered to be useful for scientific purposes even in very low bitrate conditions.

Online Interactive Teaching Modules Enhance Quantitative Proficiency of Introductory Biology Students

PubMed Central

Nelson, Kären C.; Marbach-Ad, Gili; Keller, Michael; Fagan, William F.

2010-01-01

There is widespread agreement within the scientific and education communities that undergraduate biology curricula fall short in providing students with the quantitative and interdisciplinary problem-solving skills they need to obtain a deep understanding of biological phenomena and be prepared fully to contribute to future scientific inquiry. MathBench Biology Modules were designed to address these needs through a series of interactive, Web-based modules that can be used to supplement existing course content across the biological sciences curriculum. The effect of the modules was assessed in an introductory biology course at the University of Maryland. Over the course of the semester, students showed significant increases in quantitative skills that were independent of previous math course work. Students also showed increased comfort with solving quantitative problems, whether or not they ultimately arrived at the correct answer. A survey of spring 2009 graduates indicated that those who had experienced MathBench in their course work had a greater appreciation for the role of mathematics in modern biology than those who had not used MathBench. MathBench modules allow students from diverse educational backgrounds to hone their quantitative skills, preparing them for more complex mathematical approaches in upper-division courses. PMID:20810959

Online interactive teaching modules enhance quantitative proficiency of introductory biology students.

PubMed

Thompson, Katerina V; Nelson, Kären C; Marbach-Ad, Gili; Keller, Michael; Fagan, William F

2010-01-01

There is widespread agreement within the scientific and education communities that undergraduate biology curricula fall short in providing students with the quantitative and interdisciplinary problem-solving skills they need to obtain a deep understanding of biological phenomena and be prepared fully to contribute to future scientific inquiry. MathBench Biology Modules were designed to address these needs through a series of interactive, Web-based modules that can be used to supplement existing course content across the biological sciences curriculum. The effect of the modules was assessed in an introductory biology course at the University of Maryland. Over the course of the semester, students showed significant increases in quantitative skills that were independent of previous math course work. Students also showed increased comfort with solving quantitative problems, whether or not they ultimately arrived at the correct answer. A survey of spring 2009 graduates indicated that those who had experienced MathBench in their course work had a greater appreciation for the role of mathematics in modern biology than those who had not used MathBench. MathBench modules allow students from diverse educational backgrounds to hone their quantitative skills, preparing them for more complex mathematical approaches in upper-division courses.

The highs and lows of theoretical interpretation in animal-metacognition research

PubMed Central

Smith, J. David; Couchman, Justin J.; Beran, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Humans feel uncertain. They know when they do not know. These feelings and the responses to them ground the research literature on metacognition. It is a natural question whether animals share this cognitive capacity, and thus animal metacognition has become an influential research area within comparative psychology. Researchers have explored this question by testing many species using perception and memory paradigms. There is an emerging consensus that animals share functional parallels with humans’ conscious metacognition. Of course, this research area poses difficult issues of scientific inference. How firmly should we hold the line in insisting that animals’ performances are low-level and associative? How high should we set the bar for concluding that animals share metacognitive capacities with humans? This area offers a constructive case study for considering theoretical problems that often confront comparative psychologists. The authors present this case study and address diverse issues of scientific judgement and interpretation within comparative psychology. PMID:22492748

Geoscience and Public Policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, K. S.

2013-12-01

Many current public policy issues have a geoscience component: climate change, natural hazards, energy, and mineral resources to name just a few. In addition, Congress makes decisions that directly affect scientists, such as funding allocations and visa and travel policy. Yet few geoscientists are engaged in the policy-making process. Members of Congress have called on scientists to become more active, including Ph.D. physicist and former-Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-MI). In an address at the 2010 AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy, he told scientists, "The gulf between the scientifically minded and those who are not scientifically minded is still tremendous. I think we are keeping far too quiet about what we know and how we would go about solving problems. We have so much to offer this country à solutions to various difficulties." This talk will provide information on avenues for geoscientists to more effectively engage in the public policy arena.

Critical review of Ames Life Science participation in Spacelab Mission Development Test 3: The SMD 3 management study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helmreich, R.; Wilhelm, J.; Tanner, T. A.; Sieber, J. E.; Burgenbauch, S.

1978-01-01

A management study was conducted to specify activities and problems encountered during the development of procedures for documentation and crew training on experiments, as well as during the design, integration, and delivery of a life sciences experiment payload to Johnson Space Center for a 7 day simulation of a Spacelab mission. Conclusions and recommendations to project management for current and future Ames' life sciences projects are included. Broader issues relevant to the conduct of future scientific missions under the constraints imposed by the environment of space are also addressed.

Cognition and the menopause transition.

PubMed

Maki, Pauline M; Henderson, Victor W

2016-07-01

Complaints about forgetfulness, "brain fog," and difficulty concentrating are common in women transitioning through menopause. Women with these cognitive complaints often express concern about whether these problems are normal, related to menopause, or represent a symptom of Alzheimer disease or another serious cognitive disorder. In this Practice Pearl, we provide a brief summary of the scientific literature on the frequency of cognitive complaints in midlife women, the validity of complaints in relation to performance on standardized cognitive tests, and the influence of menopause on cognitive performance. We then offer recommendations for healthcare providers and women to address cognitive concerns.

Issues in the analysis of oligonucleotide tiling microarrays for transcript mapping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Royce, Thomas E.; Rozowsky, Joel S.; Bertone, Paul; Samanta, Manoj; Stolc, Viktor; Weissman, Sherman; Snyder, Michael; Gerstein, Mark

2005-01-01

Traditional microarrays use probes complementary to known genes to quantitate the differential gene expression between two or more conditions. Genomic tiling microarray experiments differ in that probes that span a genomic region at regular intervals are used to detect the presence or absence of transcription. This difference means the same sets of biases and the methods for addressing them are unlikely to be relevant to both types of experiment. We introduce the informatics challenges arising in the analysis of tiling microarray experiments as open problems to the scientific community and present initial approaches for the analysis of this nascent technology.

Gesellschaft fuer angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik, Annual Scientific Meeting, Universitaet Regensburg, Regensburg, West Germany, April 16-19, 1984, Proceedings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Problems in applied mathematics and mechanics are addressed in reviews and reports. Areas covered are vibration and stability, elastic and plastic mechanics, fluid mechanics, the numerical treatment of differential equations (general theory and finite-element methods in particular), optimization, decision theory, stochastics, actuarial mathematics, applied analysis and mathematical physics, and numerical analysis. Included are major lectures on separated flows, the transition regime of rarefied-gas dynamics, recent results in nonlinear elasticity, fluid-elastic vibration, the new computer arithmetic, and unsteady wave propagation in layered elastic bodies.

Public health policy for preventing violence.

PubMed

Mercy, J A; Rosenberg, M L; Powell, K E; Broome, C V; Roper, W L

1993-01-01

The current epidemic of violence in America threatens not only our physical health but also the integrity of basic social institutions such as the family, the communities in which we live, and our health care system. Public health brings a new vision of how Americans can work together to prevent violence. This new vision places emphasis on preventing violence before it occurs, making science integral to identifying effective policies and programs, and integrating the efforts of diverse scientific disciplines, organizations, and communities. A sustained effort at all levels of society will be required to successfully address this complex and deeply rooted problem.

Human recognition in a video network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhanu, Bir

2009-10-01

Video networks is an emerging interdisciplinary field with significant and exciting scientific and technological challenges. It has great promise in solving many real-world problems and enabling a broad range of applications, including smart homes, video surveillance, environment and traffic monitoring, elderly care, intelligent environments, and entertainment in public and private spaces. This paper provides an overview of the design of a wireless video network as an experimental environment, camera selection, hand-off and control, anomaly detection. It addresses challenging questions for individual identification using gait and face at a distance and present new techniques and their comparison for robust identification.

Climate Change and Morality: Students' perspectives on the individual and society

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sternäng, Li; Lundholm, Cecilia

2011-05-01

There is a growing interest in addressing moral aspects in the research and education of socio-scientific issues. This paper investigates students' interpretations of climate change from a moral perspective. The students were 14 years old, studying at Green Schools in the Beijing area, China. The study was based on semi-structured group interviews and the data were analysed from an intentional perspective, which means that both cognitive and situational aspects were taken into consideration in the analysis. Previous research has revealed a close relation between morality and socio-scientific issues and also advocated the need for addressing ethical aspects in science education. However, empirical studies exploring the question of what students' moral reasoning might look like at the individual level have not yet generated enough attention. In this study this is the core focus of interest. The findings show that the students conceptualise the solutions to mitigating climate change in relation to two different stances. That is, they contextualise the problems and solutions by addressing the individual, where the individual is either 'myself' or 'someone else'. The different notions of the individual become crucial as the students' views and considerations for the environment, as well as society, change according to the different contexts. From a moral point of view, the students seem quite unaware of their varying consideration for others, the environment and society. The paper ends with a discussion of implications for practice and research.

Low Latency Workflow Scheduling and an Application of Hyperspectral Brightness Temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, P. T.; Chapman, D. R.; Halem, M.

2012-12-01

New system analytics for Big Data computing holds the promise of major scientific breakthroughs and discoveries from the exploration and mining of the massive data sets becoming available to the science community. However, such data intensive scientific applications face severe challenges in accessing, managing and analyzing petabytes of data. While the Hadoop MapReduce environment has been successfully applied to data intensive problems arising in business, there are still many scientific problem domains where limitations in the functionality of MapReduce systems prevent its wide adoption by those communities. This is mainly because MapReduce does not readily support the unique science discipline needs such as special science data formats, graphic and computational data analysis tools, maintaining high degrees of computational accuracies, and interfacing with application's existing components across heterogeneous computing processors. We address some of these limitations by exploiting the MapReduce programming model for satellite data intensive scientific problems and address scalability, reliability, scheduling, and data management issues when dealing with climate data records and their complex observational challenges. In addition, we will present techniques to support the unique Earth science discipline needs such as dealing with special science data formats (HDF and NetCDF). We have developed a Hadoop task scheduling algorithm that improves latency by 2x for a scientific workflow including the gridding of the EOS AIRS hyperspectral Brightness Temperatures (BT). This workflow processing algorithm has been tested at the Multicore Computing Center private Hadoop based Intel Nehalem cluster, as well as in a virtual mode under the Open Source Eucalyptus cloud. The 55TB AIRS hyperspectral L1b Brightness Temperature record has been gridded at the resolution of 0.5x1.0 degrees, and we have computed a 0.9 annual anti-correlation to the El Nino Southern oscillation in the Nino 4 region, as well as a 1.9 Kelvin decadal Arctic warming in the 4u and 12u spectral regions. Additionally, we will present the frequency of extreme global warming events by the use of a normalized maximum BT in a grid cell relative to its local standard deviation. A low-latency Hadoop scheduling environment maintains data integrity and fault tolerance in a MapReduce data intensive Cloud environment while improving the "time to solution" metric by 35% when compared to a more traditional parallel processing system for the same dataset. Our next step will be to improve the usability of our Hadoop task scheduling system, to enable rapid prototyping of data intensive experiments by means of processing "kernels". We will report on the performance and experience of implementing these experiments on the NEX testbed, and propose the use of a graphical directed acyclic graph (DAG) interface to help us develop on-demand scientific experiments. Our workflow system works within Hadoop infrastructure as a replacement for the FIFO or FairScheduler, thus the use of Apache "Pig" latin or other Apache tools may also be worth investigating on the NEX system to improve the usability of our workflow scheduling infrastructure for rapid experimentation.

Proceedings of the first U.S. Geological Survey scientific information management workshop, March 21-23, 2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Henkel, Heather S.

2007-01-01

In March 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) held the first Scientific Information Management (SIM) Workshop in Reston, Virginia. The workshop brought together more than 150 SIM professionals from across the organization to discuss the range and importance of SIM problems, identify common challenges and solutions, and investigate the use and value of “communities of practice” (CoP) as mechanisms to address these issues. The 3-day workshop began with presentations of SIM challenges faced by the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network and two USGS programs from geology and hydrology. These presentations were followed by a keynote address and discussion of CoP by Dr. Etienne Wenger, a pioneer and leading expert in CoP, who defined them as "groups of people who share a passion for something that they know how to do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better." Wenger addressed the roles and characteristics of CoP, how they complement formal organizational structures, and how they can be fostered. Following this motivating overview, five panelists (including Dr. Wenger) with CoP experience in different institutional settings provided their perspectives and lessons learned. The first day closed with an open discussion on the potential intersection of SIM at the USGS with SIM challenges and the potential for CoP. The second session began the process of developing a common vocabulary for both scientific data management and CoP, and a list of eight guiding principles for information management were proposed for discussion and constructive criticism. Following this discussion, 20 live demonstrations and posters of SIM tools developed by various USGS programs and projects were presented. Two community-building sessions were held to explore the next steps in 12 specific areas: Archiving of Scientific Data and Information; Database Networks; Digital Libraries; Emerging Workforce; Field Data for Small Research Projects; Knowledge Capture; Knowledge Organization Systems and Controlled Vocabularies; Large Time Series Data Sets; Metadata; Portals and Frameworks; Preservation of Physical Collections; and Scientific Data from Monitoring Programs. In about two-thirds of these areas, initial steps to forming CoP are now underway. The final afternoon included a panel in which information professionals, managers, program coordinators, and associate directors shared their perspectives on the workshop, on ways in which the USGS could better manage its scientific information, and on the use of CoP as informal mechanisms to complement formal organizational structures. The final session focused on developing the next steps, an action plan, and a communication strategy to ensure continued development.

Problem-based learning: effects on student’s scientific reasoning skills in science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wulandari, F. E.; Shofiyah, N.

2018-04-01

This research aimed to develop instructional package of problem-based learning to enhance student’s scientific reasoning from concrete to formal reasoning skills level. The instructional package was developed using the Dick and Carey Model. Subject of this study was instructional package of problem-based learning which was consisting of lesson plan, handout, student’s worksheet, and scientific reasoning test. The instructional package was tried out on 4th semester science education students of Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidoarjo by using the one-group pre-test post-test design. The data of scientific reasoning skills was collected by making use of the test. The findings showed that the developed instructional package reflecting problem-based learning was feasible to be implemented in classroom. Furthermore, through applying the problem-based learning, students could dominate formal scientific reasoning skills in terms of functionality and proportional reasoning, control variables, and theoretical reasoning.

How long must they suffer? success and failure of our efforts to end the animal tragedy in laboratories.

PubMed

Kolar, Roman

2015-05-01

Scientific findings have revealed how much we have dramatically underestimated the intellectual, social and emotional capabilities of non-human animals, including their levels of self-consciousness and ability to suffer from psychological stress. In the 21st century, the field of animal ethics has evolved as a serious scientific discipline, and nowadays largely advocates that the way we treat animals, both legally and in practice, is morally wrong. Politics and legislation have reacted to these facts, to some extent, but neither current legislation nor current practice reflect the scientific and moral state-of-the-art. Too often, the will to change things is watered down in the decision-making process, e.g. in the drafting of legislation. In the field of animal experimentation there have been many genuine efforts by various players, to advance and apply the principles behind the Three Rs. However, the fundamental problem, i.e. the overall number of animals sacrificed for scientific purposes, has increased. Clearly, if we are serious about our will to regard animal experimentation as an ethical and societal problem, we have to put much more emphasis on addressing the question of how to avoid the use of animals in science. To achieve this goal, certain issues need to be considered: a) the present system of ethical evaluation of animal experiments, including testing for regulatory purposes, needs to be reformed and applied effectively to meet the legal and moral requirements; b) animal testing must be avoided in future legislation, and existing legislation has to be revised in that regard; c) resources from animal-based research have to re-allocated toward alternatives; and d) the academic curricula must be reformed to foster and integrate ethical and animal welfare issues. 2015 FRAME.

Environmental Biosciences Program Second Quarter Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2004-12-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene (TCE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Environmental Biosciences Program Quarterly Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2006-10-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Environmental Biosciences Program Fourth Quarter Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2005-06-30

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation s need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems.more » The intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems. Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene (TCE), polychlorinated biphenyles (PCBs), and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

TRIENNIAL REPRODUCTION SYMPOSIUM: American Society of Animal Science L. E. Casida Award for Excellence in Graduate Education: Thoughts on mentoring graduate students in reproductive biology.

PubMed

Smith, M F

2016-07-01

Programs in animal science are particularly well suited for graduate education because students can receive comprehensive training in the laboratory as well as with the whole animal. Furthermore, graduate students in animal science have the opportunity to understand how their research relates to a real world problem. Graduate students need to take ownership of their education by identifying training goals, choosing a mentor who will help them achieve their goals, and becoming engaged in research as soon as possible. In my own graduate program, I emphasize concepts more than techniques and I believe that graduate course work should focus on the basic areas of science that underlie reproductive biology (e.g., endocrinology, biochemistry, physiology, immunology, and statistics). Based on the increase in technology available for scientific investigation and the diversity of expertise required to address important research problems, graduate students need to learn the importance of establishing productive collaborations and begin building a scientific network. Preparation for graduate school frequently begins early with a curiosity and passion for understanding how biology works. Undergraduate courses can facilitate scientific thinking by providing opportunities in lectures and laboratories for students to transition from passive learners to thinking of themselves as animal scientists. There is a profound difference between individuals who view themselves as practitioners of a discipline and those who are simply trying to complete a course requirement. Teachers of undergraduate courses should incorporate experiential learning exercises into their lectures and laboratories to provide undergraduate students the opportunity to function as animal scientists and to embrace their scientific education. Graduate training has been the most enjoyable aspect of my career and it has been a joy to witness the achievements of students following completion of their degree!

Astronomy Village: Innovative Uses of Planetary Astronomy Images and Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Croft, S. K.; Pompea, S. M.

2008-06-01

Teaching and learning science is best done by hands-on experience with real scientific data and real scientific problems. Getting such experiences into public and home-schooling classrooms is a challenge. Here we describe two award-winning multimedia products that embody one successful solution to the problem: Astronomy Village: Investigating the Universe, and Astronomy Village: Investigating the Solar System. Each Village provides a virtual environment for inquiry-based scientific exploration of ten planetary and astronomical problems such as ``Mission to Pluto'' and ``Search for a Supernova.'' Both Villages are standards-based and classroom tested. Investigating the Solar System is designed for middle and early high school students, while Investigating the Universe is at the high school and introductory college level. The objective of both Villages is to engage students in scientific inquiry by having them acquire, explore, and analyze real scientific data and images drawn from real scientific problems.

Is it possible to give scientific solutions to Grand Challenges? On the idea of grand challenges for life science research.

PubMed

Efstathiou, Sophia

2016-04-01

This paper argues that challenges that are grand in scope such as "lifelong health and wellbeing", "climate action", or "food security" cannot be addressed through scientific research only. Indeed scientific research could inhibit addressing such challenges if scientific analysis constrains the multiple possible understandings of these challenges into already available scientific categories and concepts without translating between these and everyday concerns. This argument builds on work in philosophy of science and race to postulate a process through which non-scientific notions become part of science. My aim is to make this process available to scrutiny: what I call founding everyday ideas in science is both culturally and epistemologically conditioned. Founding transforms a common idea into one or more scientifically relevant ones, which can be articulated into descriptively thicker and evaluatively deflated terms and enable operationalisation and measurement. The risk of founding however is that it can invisibilise or exclude from realms of scientific scrutiny interpretations that are deemed irrelevant, uninteresting or nonsensical in the domain in question-but which may remain salient for addressing grand-in-scope challenges. The paper considers concepts of "wellbeing" in development economics versus in gerontology to illustrate this process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cross-cultural perspectives of scientific misconduct.

PubMed

Momen, Hooman; Gollogly, Laragh

2007-09-01

The increasing globalization of scientific research lends urgency to the need for international agreement on the concepts of scientific misconduct. Universal spiritual and moral principles on which ethical standards are generally based indicate that it is possible to reach international agreement on the ethical principles underlying good scientific practice. Concordance on an operational definition of scientific misconduct that would allow independent observers to agree which behaviour constitutes misconduct is more problematic. Defining scientific misconduct to be universally recognized and universally sanctioned means addressing the broader question of ensuring that research is not only well-designed - and addresses a real need for better evidence - but that it is ethically conducted in different cultures. An instrument is needed to ensure that uneven ethical standards do not create unnecessary obstacles to research, particularly in developing countries.

An Array Library for Microsoft SQL Server with Astrophysical Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobos, L.; Szalay, A. S.; Blakeley, J.; Falck, B.; Budavári, T.; Csabai, I.

2012-09-01

Today's scientific simulations produce output on the 10-100 TB scale. This unprecedented amount of data requires data handling techniques that are beyond what is used for ordinary files. Relational database systems have been successfully used to store and process scientific data, but the new requirements constantly generate new challenges. Moving terabytes of data among servers on a timely basis is a tough problem, even with the newest high-throughput networks. Thus, moving the computations as close to the data as possible and minimizing the client-server overhead are absolutely necessary. At least data subsetting and preprocessing have to be done inside the server process. Out of the box commercial database systems perform very well in scientific applications from the prospective of data storage optimization, data retrieval, and memory management but lack basic functionality like handling scientific data structures or enabling advanced math inside the database server. The most important gap in Microsoft SQL Server is the lack of a native array data type. Fortunately, the technology exists to extend the database server with custom-written code that enables us to address these problems. We present the prototype of a custom-built extension to Microsoft SQL Server that adds array handling functionality to the database system. With our Array Library, fix-sized arrays of all basic numeric data types can be created and manipulated efficiently. Also, the library is designed to be able to be seamlessly integrated with the most common math libraries, such as BLAS, LAPACK, FFTW, etc. With the help of these libraries, complex operations, such as matrix inversions or Fourier transformations, can be done on-the-fly, from SQL code, inside the database server process. We are currently testing the prototype with two different scientific data sets: The Indra cosmological simulation will use it to store particle and density data from N-body simulations, and the Milky Way Laboratory project will use it to store galaxy simulation data.

Secure Scientific Applications Scheduling Technique for Cloud Computing Environment Using Global League Championship Algorithm

PubMed Central

Abdulhamid, Shafi’i Muhammad; Abd Latiff, Muhammad Shafie; Abdul-Salaam, Gaddafi; Hussain Madni, Syed Hamid

2016-01-01

Cloud computing system is a huge cluster of interconnected servers residing in a datacenter and dynamically provisioned to clients on-demand via a front-end interface. Scientific applications scheduling in the cloud computing environment is identified as NP-hard problem due to the dynamic nature of heterogeneous resources. Recently, a number of metaheuristics optimization schemes have been applied to address the challenges of applications scheduling in the cloud system, without much emphasis on the issue of secure global scheduling. In this paper, scientific applications scheduling techniques using the Global League Championship Algorithm (GBLCA) optimization technique is first presented for global task scheduling in the cloud environment. The experiment is carried out using CloudSim simulator. The experimental results show that, the proposed GBLCA technique produced remarkable performance improvement rate on the makespan that ranges between 14.44% to 46.41%. It also shows significant reduction in the time taken to securely schedule applications as parametrically measured in terms of the response time. In view of the experimental results, the proposed technique provides better-quality scheduling solution that is suitable for scientific applications task execution in the Cloud Computing environment than the MinMin, MaxMin, Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) scheduling techniques. PMID:27384239

Secure Scientific Applications Scheduling Technique for Cloud Computing Environment Using Global League Championship Algorithm.

PubMed

Abdulhamid, Shafi'i Muhammad; Abd Latiff, Muhammad Shafie; Abdul-Salaam, Gaddafi; Hussain Madni, Syed Hamid

2016-01-01

Cloud computing system is a huge cluster of interconnected servers residing in a datacenter and dynamically provisioned to clients on-demand via a front-end interface. Scientific applications scheduling in the cloud computing environment is identified as NP-hard problem due to the dynamic nature of heterogeneous resources. Recently, a number of metaheuristics optimization schemes have been applied to address the challenges of applications scheduling in the cloud system, without much emphasis on the issue of secure global scheduling. In this paper, scientific applications scheduling techniques using the Global League Championship Algorithm (GBLCA) optimization technique is first presented for global task scheduling in the cloud environment. The experiment is carried out using CloudSim simulator. The experimental results show that, the proposed GBLCA technique produced remarkable performance improvement rate on the makespan that ranges between 14.44% to 46.41%. It also shows significant reduction in the time taken to securely schedule applications as parametrically measured in terms of the response time. In view of the experimental results, the proposed technique provides better-quality scheduling solution that is suitable for scientific applications task execution in the Cloud Computing environment than the MinMin, MaxMin, Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) scheduling techniques.

Mega-prizes in medicine: big cash awards may stimulate useful and rapid therapeutic innovation.

PubMed

Charlton, Bruce G

2007-01-01

Following Horrobin's suggestion of 1986, I argue that offering very large prizes (tens of millions of US dollars, or more) for solving specific therapeutic problems, would be an excellent strategy for promoting the rapid development of effective new treatments. The two mainstream ways of paying for medical research are funding the process with grants or funding the outcome via patent protection. When grants are used to fund the process of research the result tends to be 'pure' science, guided by intrinsic scientific objectives. Practical results, such as useful therapeutic advances, are a by-product. Patent-seeking research, by contrast, is more focused on technology than science. It seeks practical results; and aims to pay for itself (and make a profit) in the long term by generating a patentable product or procedure. Prize-seeking research is subject to different incentives and applicable to different situations than either process-funded or patent-seeking research. Prize seeking researchers have a strong incentive to solve the specified problem as rapidly as possible, but the problem may be solved using old ideas that are scientifically mundane or unpatentable technologies and methods. Prizes therefore seem to generate solutions which are incremental extensions, new applications or novel combinations of already-existing technologies. The main use of mega-prizes in medicine would be to accelerate therapeutic progress in stagnant fields of research and to address urgent problems. For example, medical charities focused on specific diseases should consider accumulating their resources until they can offer a mega-prize for solving a clinical problem of special concern to their patients. Prize money should be big enough to pay for the research and development, the evaluation of the new treatment in a clinical trial, and with a large profit left-over to compensate for the intrinsic risk of competing. Sufficiently large amounts of money, and the prestige and publicity derived from winning a mega-prize, could rapidly mobilize research efforts to discover a whole range of scientifically un-glamorous but clinically-useful therapeutic breakthroughs.

Implementing interactive decision support: A case for combining cyberinfrastructure, data fusion, and social process to mobilize scientific knowledge in sustainability problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, S. A.

2014-12-01

Geosciences are becoming increasingly data intensive, particularly in relation to sustainability problems, which are multi-dimensional, weakly structured and characterized by high levels of uncertainty. In the case of complex resource management problems, the challenge is to extract meaningful information from data and make sense of it. Simultaneously, scientific knowledge alone is insufficient to change practice. Creating tools, and group decision support processes for end users to interact with data are key challenges to transforming science-based information into actionable knowledge. The ENCOMPASS project began as a multi-year case study in the Atacama Desert of Chile to design and implement a knowledge transfer model for energy-water-mining conflicts in the region. ENCOMPASS combines the use of cyberinfrastructure (CI), automated data collection, interactive interfaces for dynamic decision support, and participatory modelling to support social learning. A pilot version of the ENCOMPASS CI uses open source systems and serves as a structure to integrate and store multiple forms of data and knowledge, such as DEM, meteorological, water quality, geomicrobiological, energy demand, and groundwater models. In the case study, informatics and data fusion needs related to scientific uncertainty around deep groundwater flowpaths and energy-water connections. Users may upload data from field sites with handheld devices or desktops. Once uploaded, data assets are accessible for a variety of uses. To address multi-attributed decision problems in the Atacama region a standalone application with touch-enabled interfaces was created to improve real-time interactions with datasets by groups. The tool was used to merge datasets from the ENCOMPASS CI to support exploration among alternatives and build shared understanding among stakeholders. To date, the project has increased technical capacity among stakeholders, resulted in the creation of both for-profit and non-profit entities, enabled cross-sector collaboration with mining-indigenous stakeholders, and produced an interactive application for group decision support. ENCOMPASS leverages advances in computational tools to deliver data and models for group decision support applied to sustainability science problems.

Shared Knowledge for Addressing Impacts of Land Use Transitions on Reindeer Husbandry in Northern Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maynard, N.; Yurchak, B.; Sleptsov, Y.; Turi, J. M.

2004-12-01

Reindeer husbandry in Northern Russia is an economic activity with a special cultural dimension of utmost importance to the indigenous peoples. Climate changes with warmer temperatures are creating significant problems now in the Arctic for the reindeer herds. These climate factors, industrial development, and the recent transition of Russia to a market economy have resulted in a nearly complete disruption of any system of supply of goods and services and health care to indigenous peoples. In turn, this has caused rapidly deteriorating health and living conditions in the indigenous reindeer herder communities. To try to address some of these issues, a NASA-reindeer herder partnership, called Reindeer Mapper, has been initiated which is establishing a system to bring indigenous traditional and local knowledge together with scientific and engineering knowledge, remote sensing and information technologies to create a more powerful information base for addressing these environmental, climate, industrial, political, and business problems. Preliminary results from the Reindeer Mapper pilot project will be presented including a special information-sharing communications system for the Reindeer Mapper project (a private intranet system), several NASA data sets useful to the herders including SAR and Landsat imagery, local knowledge of herd distributions, ground-based data, and weather observations. Results will also be presented from the first NASA-reindeer herder science and indigenous knowledge summer camp for children of reindeer herders from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Addressing the Health of Formerly Imprisoned Persons in a Distressed Neighborhood Through a Community Collaborative Board

PubMed Central

Smith, Vivian C.; Jemal, Alexis

2016-01-01

This article provides a case study evaluating the structure and dynamic process of a Community Collaborative Board that had the goal of creating an evidence-based substance abuse/health intervention for previously incarcerated individuals. Meeting agendas, attendance, minutes, video recording of meetings, and in-depth interviews with 13 Community Collaborative Board members were used to conduct an independent process evaluation. Open coding identified quotes exemplifying specific themes and/or patterns across answers related to the desired domain. Several themes were identified regarding membership engagement, retention, and power distribution. Results showed member retention was due to strong personal commitment to the targeted problem. Analysis also revealed an unequal power distribution based on participants' background. Nevertheless, the development of an innovative, community-based health intervention manual was accomplished. Aspects of the process, such as incentives, subcommittees, and trainings, enhanced the Board's ability to integrate the community and scientific knowledge to accomplish its research agenda. Community-based participatory research was a useful framework in enhancing quality and efficiency in the development of an innovative, substance abuse/health intervention manual for distressed communities. Overall, this article sheds light on a process that illustrates the integration of community-based and scientific knowledge to address the health, economic, and societal marginalization of low-income, minority communities. PMID:26055460

Communicating Climate Change Science: Conundrum Or Creative Challenge?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casey, A. G.; Webster, K.; Unger, H. M.

2004-12-01

"Climate change" may seem like a mild or politically motivated name for what most lay people know as "global warming." But the term is correct for what is happening to our planet, and it is an issue that scientific research organizations must address. Regardless of whether public outreach is part of an organization's mission, getting data to the scientific community usually is. Scientists are being asked the questions "Is global warming real? Is it just a scare tactic by environmentalists? What does it have to do with me?" So all research organizations must step up to help answer these questions. As National Geographic has done so well in its September 2004 issue "Global Warning," science outreach must not be afraid to deliver clear information and let the reader decide. Readers from any educational background can be made aware of the fact that many climate indicators are changing, even things in their own regions. One of the challenges is the sheer amount of information available. A creative way to address this problem is to present material that relates to peoples' local regions. Another challenge is that providing this alarming information can scare people. One way to deal with this issue is to present ways that people can participate in slowing the human impact on our planet.

A historical application of social amplification of risk model: Economic impacts of risk events at nuclear weapons facilities?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Metz, W.C.

1996-12-31

Public perceptions of risk have proven to be a critical barrier to the federal government`s extensive, decade-long, technical and scientific effort to site facilities for the interim storage and permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The negative imagery, fear, and anxiety that are linked to ``nuclear`` and ``radioactive`` technologies, activities, and facilities by the public originate from the personal realities and experiences of individuals and the information they receive. These perceptions continue to be a perplexing problem for those responsible for making decisions about federal nuclear waste management policies and programs. The problem of understanding and addressing public perceptionsmore » is made even more difficult because there are decidedly different opinions about HLW held by the public and nuclear industry and radiation health experts.« less

Training for Research in Mental Health and HIV/AIDS Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations: Meeting the Needs of New Investigators

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

My experiences as a mentor of young investigators, along with conversations with a diverse pool of mentees, led me to question the ability of conventional research methods, problem formulation, and instruments to address the unique challenges of studying racial and ethnic minorities. Training of new investi-gators should prepare them to explore alternative research paradigms and atypical research strategies, such as community-based participatory research and Photovoice technique. Unconventional approaches to research may challenge common explanations for unmet needs, noncompliance with treatments, and poor service outcomes. Mentors may need to develop broader theoretical insights that will facilitate unconventional problem formulation. The teaching of scientific research and mentoring of young investigators who study minority populations should evolve along with the changing research environment. PMID:19246670

[Complaints by private health insurance policy-holders to the Consumer Protection Bureau in Argentina, 2000-2008].

PubMed

Luzuriaga, María José; Spinelli, Hugo

2014-05-01

This paper analyzes problems experienced by policy-holders of voluntary private health insurance plans in Argentina when insurance companies fail to comply with the Consumer Protection Code. The sample consisted of consumer complaints filed with the Consumer Protection Bureau and rulings by the Bureau from 2000 to 2008. One striking issue was recurrent non-compliance with services included in the Mandatory Medical Program and the companies' attempts to blame policy-holders. According to the study, the lack of an information system hinders scientific studies to adequately address the problem. Thus, a comparison with studies on health insurance in other Latin American countries highlighted the importance of such research, the relationship to health systems, constraints on use and denial of citizens' rights to healthcare, and the increasing judicialization of healthcare provision.

A masterclass to teach public health professionals to conduct practice-based research to promote evidence-based practice: a case study from The Netherlands.

PubMed

Jansen, Maria W J; Hoeijmakers, Marjan

2013-01-01

Public health professionals have a pivotal position in efforts to obtain more practice-based evidence about what people need and what works in real circumstances. Close collaboration with researchers should enable public health professionals to design and conduct research in practical settings to address today's complex public health problems and increase the external validity of results. This requires expanding the research competencies of public health professionals. We developed and implemented a masterclass for public health professionals, modeled on an existing scientific training course for general practitioners and rehabilitation physicians. The masterclass was evaluated using a multiple method design, involving quantitative and qualitative methods. Evaluation took place during, at the end of, and 9 months after the masterclass. Twenty-one candidates (mean age, 41 y) started the program, 66% of whom completed it. Teaching materials, lectures, organization, and facilities were favorably evaluated. At the end of the masterclass, participants were able to design and implement a research proposal in their daily work setting, write a draft article, and critically appraise scientific research for practice and policy purposes. Participants had become more confident about their research competence. Management support from their employer proved crucial. Results obtained with the different methods were consistent. The masterclass appeared to be an effective instrument to increase the practice-based research skills of public health professionals, provided the research is implemented in a supportive organization with management backing and supervision by senior university researchers. We recommend using masterclasses to contribute to the improvement of practice-based evidence for projects addressing current and future public health problems.

48 CFR 435.010 - Scientific and technical reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... CATEGORIES OF CONTRACTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTING 435.010 Scientific and technical reports... all scientific and technical reports to the National Technical Information Service at the address... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Scientific and technical...

Virtual Special Issue on Catalysis at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pruski, Marek; Sadow, Aaron; Slowing, Igor

Catalysis research at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Laboratories covers a wide range of research topics in heterogeneous catalysis, homogeneous/ molecular catalysis, electrocatalysis, and surface science. Since much of the work at National Laboratories is funded by DOE, the research is largely focused on addressing DOE’s mission to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through trans-formative science and technology solutions. The catalysis research carried out at the DOE National Laboratories ranges from very fundamental catalysis science, funded by DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES), to applied research and development (R&D)more » in areas such as biomass conversion to fuels and chemicals, fuel cells, and vehicle emission control with primary funding from DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. National Laboratories are home to many DOE Office of Science national scientific user facilities that provide researchers with the most advanced tools of modern science, including accelerators, colliders, supercomputers, light sources, and neutron sources, as well as facilities for studying the nanoworld and the terrestrial environment. National Laboratory research programs typically feature teams of researchers working closely together, often joining scientists from different disciplines to attack scientific and technical problems using a variety of tools and techniques available at the DOE national scientific user facilities. Along with collaboration between National Laboratory scientists, interactions with university colleagues are common in National Laboratory catalysis R&D. In some cases, scientists have joint appoint-ments at a university and a National Laboratory.« less

Virtual Special Issue on Catalysis at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pruski, Marek; Sadow, Aaron D.; Slowing, Igor I.

Catalysis research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Laboratories covers a wide range of research topics in heterogeneous catalysis, homogeneous/molecular catalysis, biocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and surface science. Since much of the work at National Laboratories is funded by DOE, the research is largely focused on addressing DOE’s mission to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. The catalysis research carried out at the DOE National Laboratories ranges from very fundamental catalysis science, funded by DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES), to applied research and development (R&D)more » in areas such as biomass conversion to fuels and chemicals, fuel cells, and vehicle emission control with primary funding from DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. National Laboratories are home to many DOE Office of Science national scientific user facilities that provide researchers with the most advanced tools of modern science, including accelerators, colliders, supercomputers, light sources, and neutron sources, as well as facilities for studying the nanoworld and the terrestrial environment. National Laboratory research programs typically feature teams of researchers working closely together, often joining scientists from different disciplines to tackle scientific and technical problems using a variety of tools and techniques available at the DOE national scientific user facilities. Along with collaboration between National Laboratory scientists, interactions with university colleagues are common in National Laboratory catalysis R&D. In some cases, scientists have joint appointments at a university and a National Laboratory.« less

Induction of Asthma and the Environment: What We Know and Need to Know

PubMed Central

Selgrade, MaryJane K.; Lemanske, Robert F.; Gilmour, M. Ian; Neas, Lucas M.; Ward, Marsha D.W.; Henneberger, Paul K.; Weissman, David N.; Hoppin, Jane A.; Dietert, Rodney R.; Sly, Peter D.; Geller, Andrew M.; Enright, Paul L.; Backus, Gillian S.; Bromberg, Philip A.; Germolec, Dori R.; Yeatts, Karin B.

2006-01-01

The prevalence of asthma has increased dramatically over the last 25 years in the United States and in other nations as a result of ill-defined changes in living conditions in modern society. On 18 and 19 October 2004 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences sponsored the workshop “Environmental Influences on the Induction and Incidence of Asthma” to review current scientific evidence with respect to factors that may contribute to the induction of asthma. Participants addressed two broad questions: a) What does the science suggest that regulatory and public health agencies could do now to reduce the incidence of asthma? and b) What research is needed to improve our understanding of the factors that contribute to the induction of asthma and our ability to manage this problem? In this article (one of four articles resulting from the workshop), we briefly characterize asthma and its public health and economic impacts, and intervention strategies that have been successfully used to prevent induction of asthma in the workplace. We conclude with the findings of seven working groups that focus on ambient air, indoor pollutants (biologics), occupational exposures, early life stages, older adults, intrinsic susceptibility, and lifestyle. These groups found strong scientific support for public health efforts to limit in utero and postnatal exposure to cigarette smoke. However, with respect to other potential types of interventions, participants noted many scientific questions, which are summarized in this article. Research to address these questions could have a significant public health and economic impact that would be well worth the investment. PMID:16581555

Introduction to the special issue Hermann Weyl and the philosophy of the 'New Physics'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Bianchi, Silvia; Catren, Gabriel

2018-02-01

This Special Issue Hermann Weyl and the Philosophy of the 'New Physics' has two main objectives: first, to shed fresh light on the relevance of Weyl's work for modern physics and, second, to evaluate the importance of Weyl's work and ideas for contemporary philosophy of physics. Regarding the first objective, this Special Issue emphasizes aspects of Weyl's work (e.g. his work on spinors in n dimensions) whose importance has recently been emerging in research fields across both mathematical and experimental physics, as well as in the history and philosophy of physics. Regarding the second objective, this Special Issue addresses the relevance of Weyl's ideas regarding important open problems in the philosophy of physics, such as the problem of characterizing scientific objectivity and the problem of providing a satisfactory interpretation of fundamental symmetries in gauge theories and quantum mechanics. In this Introduction, we sketch the state of the art in Weyl studies and we summarize the content of the contributions to the present volume.

Should Internet Researchers Use Ill-Gotten Information?

PubMed

Douglas, David M

2017-06-26

This paper describes how the ethical problems raised by scientific data obtained through harmful and immoral conduct (which, following Stan Godlovitch, is called ill-gotten information) may also emerge in cases where data is collected from the Internet. It describes the major arguments for and against using ill-gotten information in research, and shows how they may be applied to research that either collects information about the Internet itself or which uses data from questionable or unknown sources on the Internet. Three examples (the Internet Census 2012, the PharmaLeaks study, and research into keylogger dropzones) demonstrate how researchers address the ethical issues raised by the sources of data that they use and how the existing arguments concerning the use of ill-gotten information apply to Internet research. The problems faced by researchers who collect or use data from the Internet are shown to be the same problems faced by researchers in other fields who may obtain or use ill-gotten information.

Basic research needed for stimulating the development of behavioral technologies

PubMed Central

Mace, F. Charles

1994-01-01

The costs of disconnection between the basic and applied sectors of behavior analysis are reviewed, and some solutions to these problems are proposed. Central to these solutions are collaborations between basic and applied behavioral scientists in programmatic research that addresses the behavioral basis and solution of human behavior problems. This kind of collaboration parallels the deliberate interactions between basic and applied researchers that have proven to be so profitable in other scientific fields, such as medicine. Basic research questions of particular relevance to the development of behavioral technologies are posed in the following areas: response allocation, resistance to change, countercontrol, formation and differentiation/discrimination of stimulus and response classes, analysis of low-rate behavior, and rule-governed behavior. Three interrelated strategies to build connections between the basic and applied analysis of behavior are identified: (a) the development of nonhuman animal models of human behavior problems using operations that parallel plausible human circumstances, (b) replication of the modeled relations with human subjects in the operant laboratory, and (c) tests of the generality of the model with actual human problems in natural settings. PMID:16812734

Publications - USGS Publications Series | Alaska Division of Geological &

Science.gov Websites

different aspects of a single scientific topic, either issued as individual chapters or as a single volume related papers addressing different aspects of a single scientific topic, either issued together under one illustrations. The series also may include collections of related maps addressing different aspects of a single

76 FR 50221 - International Workshop on Alternative Methods for Human and Veterinary Rabies Vaccine Testing...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-12

... available space. Abstracts for scientific posters for display at the workshop are also invited (see... submission of poster abstracts is September 16, 2011. ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the Center for... scientific posters to be displayed during this workshop. Posters should address current research, development...

Modification of the Integrated Sasang Constitutional Diagnostic Model

PubMed Central

Nam, Jiho

2017-01-01

In 2012, the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine proposed an objective and comprehensive physical diagnostic model to address quantification problems in the existing Sasang constitutional diagnostic method. However, certain issues have been raised regarding a revision of the proposed diagnostic model. In this paper, we propose various methodological approaches to address the problems of the previous diagnostic model. Firstly, more useful variables are selected in each component. Secondly, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator is used to reduce multicollinearity without the modification of explanatory variables. Thirdly, proportions of SC types and age are considered to construct individual diagnostic models and classify the training set and the test set for reflecting the characteristics of the entire dataset. Finally, an integrated model is constructed with explanatory variables of individual diagnosis models. The proposed integrated diagnostic model significantly improves the sensitivities for both the male SY type (36.4% → 62.0%) and the female SE type (43.7% → 64.5%), which were areas of limitation of the previous integrated diagnostic model. The ideas of these new algorithms are expected to contribute not only to the scientific development of Sasang constitutional medicine in Korea but also to that of other diagnostic methods for traditional medicine. PMID:29317897

Fluvial sediment in the environment: a national challenge

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larsen, Matthew C.; Gellis, Allen C.; Glysson, G. Douglas; Gray, John R.; Horowitz, Arthur J.

2010-01-01

Sediment and sediment-associated constituents can contribute substantially to water-quality impairment. In the past, sediment was viewed mainly as an engineering problem that affected reservoir storage capacity, shipping channel maintenance, and bridge scour, as well as the loss of agricultural soil. Sediment is now recognized as a major cause of aquatic system degradation in many rivers and streams as a result of light attenuation, loss of spawning substrate due to fine-grained sediment infilling, reduction in primary productivity, decreases in biotic diversity, and effects from sediment-associated chemical constituents. Recent advances in sediment measurement, assessment, source-identification, and analytical protocols provide new capabilities to quantify sediment and solid-phase chemical fluxes in aquatic systems. Developing, maintaining, and augmenting current sediment- and water-quality-monitoring networks is essential for determining the health of U.S. waterways and for evaluating the effectiveness of management actions in reducing sediment-related problems. The application of new scientific capabilities that address the adverse effects of sediment and sediment- associated constituents represents a major step in managing the Nation’s water quality. A robust Federal, national-scale eff rt, in collaboration with vested stakeholders, is needed to address these sediment-related water-quality issues across the United States.

A blueprint for demonstrating quantum supremacy with superconducting qubits.

PubMed

Neill, C; Roushan, P; Kechedzhi, K; Boixo, S; Isakov, S V; Smelyanskiy, V; Megrant, A; Chiaro, B; Dunsworth, A; Arya, K; Barends, R; Burkett, B; Chen, Y; Chen, Z; Fowler, A; Foxen, B; Giustina, M; Graff, R; Jeffrey, E; Huang, T; Kelly, J; Klimov, P; Lucero, E; Mutus, J; Neeley, M; Quintana, C; Sank, D; Vainsencher, A; Wenner, J; White, T C; Neven, H; Martinis, J M

2018-04-13

A key step toward demonstrating a quantum system that can address difficult problems in physics and chemistry will be performing a computation beyond the capabilities of any classical computer, thus achieving so-called quantum supremacy. In this study, we used nine superconducting qubits to demonstrate a promising path toward quantum supremacy. By individually tuning the qubit parameters, we were able to generate thousands of distinct Hamiltonian evolutions and probe the output probabilities. The measured probabilities obey a universal distribution, consistent with uniformly sampling the full Hilbert space. As the number of qubits increases, the system continues to explore the exponentially growing number of states. Extending these results to a system of 50 qubits has the potential to address scientific questions that are beyond the capabilities of any classical computer. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Conducting Research With Community Groups.

PubMed

Doornbos, Mary Molewyk; Ayoola, Adejoke; Topp, Robert; Zandee, Gail Landheer

2015-10-01

Nurse scientists are increasingly recognizing the necessity of conducting research with community groups to effectively address complex health problems and successfully translate scientific advancements into the community. Although several barriers to conducting research with community groups exist, community-based participatory research (CBPR) has the potential to mitigate these barriers. CBPR has been employed in programs of research that respond in culturally sensitive ways to identify community needs and thereby address current health disparities. This article presents case studies that demonstrate how CBPR principles guided the development of (a) a healthy body weight program for urban, underserved African American women; (b) a reproductive health educational intervention for urban, low-income, underserved, ethnically diverse women; and (c) a pilot anxiety/depression intervention for urban, low-income, underserved, ethnically diverse women. These case studies illustrate the potential of CBPR as an orientation to research that can be employed effectively in non-research-intensive academic environments. © The Author(s) 2015.

Conducting Research with Community Groups

PubMed Central

Doornbos, Mary Molewyk; Ayoola, Adejoke; Topp, Robert; Zandee, Gail Landheer

2016-01-01

Nurse scientists are increasingly recognizing the necessity of conducting research with community groups to effectively address complex health problems and successfully translate scientific advancements into the community. While several barriers to conducting research with community groups exist, community based participatory research (CBPR) has the potential to mitigate these barriers. CBPR has been employed in programs of research that respond in culturally sensitive ways to identify community needs and thereby address current health disparities. This manuscript presents case studies that demonstrate how CBPR principles guided the development of: (a) a healthy body weight program for urban, underserved African-American women, (b) a reproductive health educational intervention for urban, low-income, underserved, ethnically diverse women, and (c) a pilot anxiety/depression intervention for urban, low-income, underserved, ethnically diverse women. These case studies illustrate the potential of CBPR as an orientation to research that can be employed effectively in non-research intensive academic environments. PMID:25724557

Challenges in studying the effects of scientific societies on research integrity.

PubMed

Levine, Felice J; Iutcovich, Joyce M

2003-04-01

Beyond impressionistic observations, little is known about the role and influence of scientific societies on research conduct. Acknowledging that the influence of scientific societies is not easily disentangled from other factors that shape norms and practices, this article addresses how best to study the promotion of research integrity generally as well as the role and impact of scientific societies as part of that process. In setting forth the parameters of a research agenda, the article addresses four issues: (1) how to conceptualize research on scientific societies and research integrity; (2) challenges and complexities in undertaking basic research; (3) strategies for undertaking basic research that is attentive to individual, situational, organizational, and environmental levels of analysis; and (4) the need for evaluation research as integral to programmatic change and to assessment of the impact of activities by scientific societies.

50 CFR 21.23 - Scientific collecting permits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... take, transport, or possess migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs for scientific research or... project involved; (4) Name and address of the public, scientific, or educational institution to which all... scientific, or educational institution designated in the permit application within 60 days following the date...

50 CFR 21.23 - Scientific collecting permits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... take, transport, or possess migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs for scientific research or... project involved; (4) Name and address of the public, scientific, or educational institution to which all... scientific, or educational institution designated in the permit application within 60 days following the date...

50 CFR 21.23 - Scientific collecting permits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... take, transport, or possess migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs for scientific research or... project involved; (4) Name and address of the public, scientific, or educational institution to which all... scientific, or educational institution designated in the permit application within 60 days following the date...

Fostering Scientific Literacy: Establishing Social Relevance via the Grand Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyford, M. E.; Myers, J. D.; Buss, A.

2010-12-01

Numerous studies and polls suggest the general public’s understanding of science and scientific literacy remain woefully inadequate despite repeated calls for improvement over the last 150 years. This inability to improve scientific literacy significantly is a complex problem likely driven by a number of factors. However, we argue that past calls and efforts for improving scientific literacy have failed to: 1) articulate a truly meaningful justification for society to foster a scientifically literate public; 2) provide a rationale that motivates individuals of diverse backgrounds to become scientifically literate; 3) consider the impact of personal perspective, e.g. values, beliefs, attitudes, etc., on learning; and 4) offer a relevant and manageable framework in which to define scientific literacy. For instance, past calls for improving scientific literacy, e.g. the U.S. is behind the Soviets in the space race, U.S students rank below country X in math and science, etc., have lacked justification, personal motivation and a comprehensive framework for defining scientific literacy. In these cases, the primary justification for improving science education and scientific literacy was to regain international dominance in the space race or to advance global standing according to test results. These types of calls also articulate short-term goals that are rendered moot once they have been achieved. At the same time, teaching practices have commonly failed to consider the perspectives students bring to the classroom. Many STEM faculty do not address issues of personal perspective through ignorance or the desire to avoid controversial subjects, e g. evolution, climate change. We propose that the ‘grand challenges’ (e.g., energy, climate change, antibacterial resistance, water, etc.) humankind currently faces provides a compelling framework for developing courses and curricula well-suited for improving scientific literacy. A grand challenge paradigm offers four distinct advantages. First, it defines an enduring and meaningful rationale for society to invest resources in educational programs that promote scientific literacy. Second, it provides an educational context designed to engage individuals and motivate them to learn. Third, the nature of grand challenges provides mechanisms for addressing other affective barriers to individual learning that are commonly associated with controversial science-societal issues. Fourth, a grand challenge approach provides a framework to identify the concepts and processes of science a scientifically literate person should understand. Based on our experiences, we propose grand challenge science literacy (GCSL) courses or curricula are based on two primary foundations: the nature of science and the unifying concepts of science. Complementing this foundation is the science necessary to understand the grand challenge. To illustrate how science can contribute to crafting a just, equitable and sustainable solution, a GCSL course must also incorporate non-STEM perspectives, e.g. economics, politics. Finally, the personal perspectives learners bring to the classroom must be explicitly considered throughout the course.

Adopting Open Source Software to Address Software Risks during the Scientific Data Life Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinay, S.; Downs, R. R.

2012-12-01

Software enables the creation, management, storage, distribution, discovery, and use of scientific data throughout the data lifecycle. However, the capabilities offered by software also present risks for the stewardship of scientific data, since future access to digital data is dependent on the use of software. From operating systems to applications for analyzing data, the dependence of data on software presents challenges for the stewardship of scientific data. Adopting open source software provides opportunities to address some of the proprietary risks of data dependence on software. For example, in some cases, open source software can be deployed to avoid licensing restrictions for using, modifying, and transferring proprietary software. The availability of the source code of open source software also enables the inclusion of modifications, which may be contributed by various community members who are addressing similar issues. Likewise, an active community that is maintaining open source software can be a valuable source of help, providing an opportunity to collaborate to address common issues facing adopters. As part of the effort to meet the challenges of software dependence for scientific data stewardship, risks from software dependence have been identified that exist during various times of the data lifecycle. The identification of these risks should enable the development of plans for mitigating software dependencies, where applicable, using open source software, and to improve understanding of software dependency risks for scientific data and how they can be reduced during the data life cycle.

6th Institute for Systems Biology International Symposium: Systems Biology and the Environment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Galitski, Timothy P.

2007-04-23

Systems biology recognizes the complex multi-scale organization of biological systems, from molecules to ecosystems. The International Symposium on Systems Biology is an annual two-day event gathering the most influential researchers transforming biology into an integrative discipline investigating complex systems. In recognition of the fundamental similarity between the scientific problems addressed in environmental science and systems biology studies at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels, the 2007 Symposium featured global leaders in “Systems Biology and the Environment.” The objective of the 2007 “Systems Biology and the Environment” International Symposium was to stimulate interdisciplinary thinking and research that spans systems biology andmore » environmental science. This Symposium was well aligned with the DOE’s Genomics: GTL program efforts to achieve scientific objectives for each of the three DOE missions: Develop biofuels as a major secure energy source for this century; Develop biological solutions for intractable environmental problems; Understand biosystems’ climate impacts and assess sequestration strategies. Our scientific program highlighted world-class research exemplifying these priorities. The Symposium featured 45 minute lectures from 12 researchers including: Penny/Sallie Chisholm of MIT gave the keynote address “Tiny Cells, Global Impact: What Prochlorococcus Can Teach Us About Systems Biology”, plus Jim Fredrickson of PNNL, Nitin Baliga of ISB, Steve Briggs of UCSD, David Cox of Perlegen Sciences, Antoine Danchin of Institut Pasteur, John Delaney of the U of Washington, John Groopman of Johns Hopkins, Ben Kerr of the U of Washington, Steve Koonin of BP, Elliott Meyerowitz of Caltech, and Ed Rubin of LBNL. The 2007 Symposium promoted DOE’s three mission areas among scientists from multiple disciplines representing academia, non-profit research institutions, and the private sector. As in all previous Symposia, we had excellent attendance of participants representing 20-30 academic or research-oriented facilities along with 25-30 private corporations from 5-10 countries. To broaden the audience for the Symposium and ensure the continued accessibility of the presentations, we made the presentation videos available afterward on the ISB’s website.« less

A comparative analysis of perspectives of Mileva Maric Einstein

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnett, Carol C.

This dissertation examines the controversy surrounding Mileva Maric Einstein and the allegations subsequent to the publication of love letters during the time that Mileva Maric and Albert Einstein were students and during the early years of their marriage. It also examines the role of women in science from a historical perspective. Chapter One surveys the history of women in science from antiquity to the late nineteenth century and the patterns of gender related and restricting practices such as education, publication, the problem of mentoring and the issue of the lack of historical recognition. Chapter Two provides a comparative analyses between the lives of Mileva Maric Einstein and Marie Sklodowska Curie. Both had very similar social and educational backgrounds yet Marie Curie was able to work and publish jointly with her husband and received (although belatedly) international recognition for her work. On the other hand, Mileva Maric Einstein was never able to complete her degree and lived a life of obscurity and unfulfilled professional dreams. Both highly educated and intelligent women, but with drastically different outcomes in their professional and personal lives. Chapter Three examines the one book devoted to the life of Mileva Maric Einstein, Im Schatten Albert Einsteins: Das Tragische Leben der Mileva Einstein-Maric (In The Shadow of Albert Einstein: The Tragic Life of Mileva Maric), by Desanka Trbuhovic-Gjuric, Paul Haupt Publishers, 1985. It addresses the subjective as well as constructive and destructive criticisms of the various critical camps and provides examples of the statements made by the author which prompted a controversy within the academic and scientific communities. Appropriate responses are provided from various members of the scientific community to reflect the diversity of opinion and the intensity of the debate. Chapter Four addresses the problem of historicity and various interpretations of evidence which might suggest that the role of Mileva Maric was indeed more than just emotional spousal support for the scientific ideas of Albert Einstein. This chapter also details various lines and quotes from the book on Maric Einstein and also from the love letters shared between she and Albert Einstein to provide an indepth account of what evidence we have of possible professional collaboration.

[About History of Scientific Clinical Schools in Russia: Certain Disputable Issues of Methodology of Studying Problem].

PubMed

Borodulin, V I; Gliantsev, S P

2017-07-01

The article considers particular key methodological aspects of problem of scientific clinical school in national medicine. These aspects have to do with notion of school, its profile, issues of pedagogues, teachings and followers, subsidiary schools and issue of ethical component of scientific school. The article is a polemic one hence one will find no definite answers to specified questions. The reader is proposed to ponder over answers independently adducing examples of pro and contra. The conclusion is made about necessity of studying scientific schools in other areas of medicine and further elaboration of problem.

75 FR 53325 - Proposed Scientific Integrity Policy of the Department of the Interior

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-31

... September 20, 2010. ADDRESSES: Send comments to: [email protected]ios.doi.gov . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION... scientific products, or on documents compiled and translated from scientific products, to ensure that agency... involving inventorying, monitoring, experimentation, study, research, modeling, and scientific assessment...

The Open Access Model of Meteorologische Zeitschrift and other meteorological journals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emeis, S.

2009-09-01

Today's availability and possibilities of the internet have already brought significant changes to the means of scientific communication. This also affects the publication and reception of peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals. In pre-internet times, the publication of scientific journals was mainly financed through subscription fees paid by libraries and other subscribers. The readers went to the libraries of their institution to search, read, and photocopy these papers. Today, everybody expects to have scientific papers more or less freely available on their desktop computers and from their printers. This has forced the publishers to change the financial model for the publication of scientific papers. An increasing number of journals now publish papers whose production costs have to be paid before the publication by the author or its institution. Those "pre-paid” papers are then freely available from the internet. This publication model has become known as "Open Access (OA)” model. Also the 126-year old Meteorologische Zeitschrift has changed its publication model to an Optional Open Access model. The features of this model will be presented and compared to other OA models with meteorological journals. This change in the publication models with a shift of its payment from the end (libraries and subscribers) to the beginning of the publication process (authors) has also confronted the scientific research and funding institutions with some problems. They must now also change their structures in financing one of their major outputs, the publications of their researchers. A few aspects of the present state of this shift will be addressed.

Impact of Including Authentic Inquiry Experiences in Methods Courses for Pre-Service Secondary Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, T. F.; Elfring, L.; Novodvorsky, I.; Talanquer, V.; Quintenz, J.

2007-12-01

Science education reform documents universally call for students to have authentic and meaningful experiences using real data in the context of their science education. The underlying philosophical position is that students analyzing data can have experiences that mimic actual research. In short, research experiences that reflect the scientific spirit of inquiry potentially can: prepare students to address real world complex problems; develop students' ability to use scientific methods; prepare students to critically evaluate the validity of data or evidence and of the consequent interpretations or conclusions; teach quantitative skills, technical methods, and scientific concepts; increase verbal, written, and graphical communication skills; and train students in the values and ethics of working with scientific data. However, it is unclear what the broader pre-service teacher preparation community is doing in preparing future teachers to promote, manage, and successful facilitate their own students in conducting authentic scientific inquiry. Surveys of undergraduates in secondary science education programs suggests that students have had almost no experiences themselves in conducting open scientific inquiry where they develop researchable questions, design strategies to pursue evidence, and communicate data-based conclusions. In response, the College of Science Teacher Preparation Program at the University of Arizona requires all students enrolled in its various science teaching methods courses to complete an open inquiry research project and defend their findings at a specially designed inquiry science mini-conference at the end of the term. End-of-term surveys show that students enjoy their research experience and believe that this experience enhances their ability to facilitate their own future students in conducting open inquiry.

Solving the Supreme Problem: 100 years of selection and recruitment at the Journal of Applied Psychology.

PubMed

Ployhart, Robert E; Schmitt, Neal; Tippins, Nancy T

2017-03-01

This article reviews 100 years of research on recruitment and selection published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. Recruitment and selection research has been present in the Journal from the very first issue, where Hall (1917) suggested that the challenge of recruitment and selection was the Supreme Problem facing the field of applied psychology. As this article shows, the various topics related to recruitment and selection have ebbed and flowed over the years in response to business, legal, and societal changes, but this Supreme Problem has captivated the attention of scientist-practitioners for a century. Our review starts by identifying the practical challenges and macro forces that shaped the sciences of recruitment and selection and helped to define the research questions the field has addressed. We then describe the evolution of recruitment and selection research and the ways the resulting scientific advancements have contributed to staffing practices. We conclude with speculations on how recruitment and selection research may proceed in the future. Supplemental material posted online provides additional depth by including a summary of practice challenges and scientific advancements that affected the direction of selection and recruitment research and an outline of seminal articles published in the Journal and corresponding time line. The 100-year anniversary of the Journal of Applied Psychology is very much the celebration of recruitment and selection research, although predictions about the future suggest there is still much exciting work to be done. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

A Parallel Processing Algorithm for Remote Sensing Classification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gualtieri, J. Anthony

2005-01-01

A current thread in parallel computation is the use of cluster computers created by networking a few to thousands of commodity general-purpose workstation-level commuters using the Linux operating system. For example on the Medusa cluster at NASA/GSFC, this provides for super computing performance, 130 G(sub flops) (Linpack Benchmark) at moderate cost, $370K. However, to be useful for scientific computing in the area of Earth science, issues of ease of programming, access to existing scientific libraries, and portability of existing code need to be considered. In this paper, I address these issues in the context of tools for rendering earth science remote sensing data into useful products. In particular, I focus on a problem that can be decomposed into a set of independent tasks, which on a serial computer would be performed sequentially, but with a cluster computer can be performed in parallel, giving an obvious speedup. To make the ideas concrete, I consider the problem of classifying hyperspectral imagery where some ground truth is available to train the classifier. In particular I will use the Support Vector Machine (SVM) approach as applied to hyperspectral imagery. The approach will be to introduce notions about parallel computation and then to restrict the development to the SVM problem. Pseudocode (an outline of the computation) will be described and then details specific to the implementation will be given. Then timing results will be reported to show what speedups are possible using parallel computation. The paper will close with a discussion of the results.

Examining the Relationship of Scientific Reasoning with Physics Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fabby, Carol; Koenig, Kathleen

2015-01-01

Recent research suggests students with more formal reasoning patterns are more proficient learners. However, little research has been done to establish a relationship between scientific reasoning and problem solving abilities by novices. In this exploratory study, we compared scientific reasoning abilities of students enrolled in a college level…

How scientific experiments are designed: Problem solving in a knowledge-rich, error-rich environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, Lisa M.

While theory formation and the relation between theory and data has been investigated in many studies of scientific reasoning, researchers have focused less attention on reasoning about experimental design, even though the experimental design process makes up a large part of real-world scientists' reasoning. The goal of this thesis was to provide a cognitive account of the scientific experimental design process by analyzing experimental design as problem-solving behavior (Newell & Simon, 1972). Three specific issues were addressed: the effect of potential error on experimental design strategies, the role of prior knowledge in experimental design, and the effect of characteristics of the space of alternate hypotheses on alternate hypothesis testing. A two-pronged in vivo/in vitro research methodology was employed, in which transcripts of real-world scientific laboratory meetings were analyzed as well as undergraduate science and non-science majors' design of biology experiments in the psychology laboratory. It was found that scientists use a specific strategy to deal with the possibility of error in experimental findings: they include "known" control conditions in their experimental designs both to determine whether error is occurring and to identify sources of error. The known controls strategy had not been reported in earlier studies with science-like tasks, in which participants' responses to error had consisted of replicating experiments and discounting results. With respect to prior knowledge: scientists and undergraduate students drew on several types of knowledge when designing experiments, including theoretical knowledge, domain-specific knowledge of experimental techniques, and domain-general knowledge of experimental design strategies. Finally, undergraduate science students generated and tested alternates to their favored hypotheses when the space of alternate hypotheses was constrained and searchable. This result may help explain findings of confirmation bias in earlier studies using science-like tasks, in which characteristics of the alternate hypothesis space may have made it unfeasible for participants to generate and test alternate hypotheses. In general, scientists and science undergraduates were found to engage in a systematic experimental design process that responded to salient features of the problem environment, including the constant potential for experimental error, availability of alternate hypotheses, and access to both theoretical knowledge and knowledge of experimental techniques.

Nature of Science, Scientific Inquiry, and Socio-Scientific Issues Arising from Genetics: A Pathway to Developing a Scientifically Literate Citizenry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lederman, Norman G.; Antink, Allison; Bartos, Stephen

2014-01-01

The primary focus of this article is to illustrate how teachers can use contemporary socio-scientific issues to teach students about nature of scientific knowledge as well as address the science subject matter embedded in the issues. The article provides an initial discussion about the various aspects of nature of scientific knowledge that are…

NASA/ESA CV-990 Spacelab Simulation (ASSESS 2)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

Cost effective techniques for addressing management and operational activities on Spacelab were identified and analyzed during a ten day NASA-ESA cooperative mission with payload and flight responsibilities handled by the organization assigned for early Spacelabs. Topics discussed include: (1) management concepts and interface relationships; (2) experiment selection; (3) hardware development; (4) payload integration and checkout; (5) selection and training of mission specialists and payload specialists; (6) mission control center/payload operations control center interactions with ground and flight problems; (7) real time interaction during flight between principal investigators and the mission specialist/payload specialist flight crew; and (8) retrieval of scientific data and its analysis.

Global pharmaceutical development and access: critical issues of ethics and equity.

PubMed

Lage, Agustín

2011-07-01

The article presents global data on access to pharmaceuticals and discusses underlying barriers. Two are highly visible: pricing policies and intellectual property rights; two are less recognized: the regulatory environment and scientific and technological capacities. Two ongoing transitions influence and even distort the problem of universal access to medications: the epidemiologic transition to an increasing burden of chronic non-communicable diseases; and the growing role of biotechnology products (especially immunobiologicals) in the pharmacopeia. Examples from Cuba and Brazil are used to explore what can and should be done to address commercial, regulatory, and technological aspects of assuring universal access to medications.

Radioactive waste disposal in the marine environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, D. R.

In order to find the optimal solution to waste disposal problems, it is necessary to make comparisons between disposal media. It has become obvious to many within the scientific community that the single medium approach leads to over protection of one medium at the expense of the others. Cross media comparisons are being conducted in the Department of Energy ocean disposal programs for several radioactive wastes. Investigations in three areas address model development, comparisons of laboratory tests with field results and predictions, and research needs in marine disposal of radioactive waste. Tabulated data are included on composition of liquid high level waste and concentration of some natural radionuclides in the sea.

Crowdsourcing biomedical research: leveraging communities as innovation engines

PubMed Central

Saez-Rodriguez, Julio; Costello, James C.; Friend, Stephen H.; Kellen, Michael R.; Mangravite, Lara; Meyer, Pablo; Norman, Thea; Stolovitzky, Gustavo

2018-01-01

The generation of large-scale biomedical data is creating unprecedented opportunities for basic and translational science. Typically, the data producers perform initial analyses, but it is very likely that the most informative methods may reside with other groups. Crowdsourcing the analysis of complex and massive data has emerged as a framework to find robust methodologies. When the crowdsourcing is done in the form of collaborative scientific competitions, known as Challenges, the validation of the methods is inherently addressed. Challenges also encourage open innovation, create collaborative communities to solve diverse and important biomedical problems, and foster the creation and dissemination of well-curated data repositories. PMID:27418159

Crowdsourcing biomedical research: leveraging communities as innovation engines.

PubMed

Saez-Rodriguez, Julio; Costello, James C; Friend, Stephen H; Kellen, Michael R; Mangravite, Lara; Meyer, Pablo; Norman, Thea; Stolovitzky, Gustavo

2016-07-15

The generation of large-scale biomedical data is creating unprecedented opportunities for basic and translational science. Typically, the data producers perform initial analyses, but it is very likely that the most informative methods may reside with other groups. Crowdsourcing the analysis of complex and massive data has emerged as a framework to find robust methodologies. When the crowdsourcing is done in the form of collaborative scientific competitions, known as Challenges, the validation of the methods is inherently addressed. Challenges also encourage open innovation, create collaborative communities to solve diverse and important biomedical problems, and foster the creation and dissemination of well-curated data repositories.

Behavioural science at work for Canada: National Research Council laboratories.

PubMed

Veitch, Jennifer A

2007-03-01

The National Research Council is Canada's principal research and development agency. Its 20 institutes are structured to address interdisciplinary problems for industrial sectors, and to provide the necessary scientific infrastructure, such as the national science library. Behavioural scientists are active in five institutes: Biological Sciences, Biodiagnostics, Aerospace, Information Technology, and Construction. Research topics include basic cellular neuroscience, brain function, human factors in the cockpit, human-computer interaction, emergency evacuation, and indoor environment effects on occupants. Working in collaboration with NRC colleagues and with researchers from universities and industry, NRC behavioural scientists develop knowledge, designs, and applications that put technology to work for people, designed with people in mind.

Advancing Cyberinfrastructure to support high resolution water resources modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarboton, D. G.; Ogden, F. L.; Jones, N.; Horsburgh, J. S.

2012-12-01

Addressing the problem of how the availability and quality of water resources at large scales are sensitive to climate variability, watershed alterations and management activities requires computational resources that combine data from multiple sources and support integrated modeling. Related cyberinfrastructure challenges include: 1) how can we best structure data and computer models to address this scientific problem through the use of high-performance and data-intensive computing, and 2) how can we do this in a way that discipline scientists without extensive computational and algorithmic knowledge and experience can take advantage of advances in cyberinfrastructure? This presentation will describe a new system called CI-WATER that is being developed to address these challenges and advance high resolution water resources modeling in the Western U.S. We are building on existing tools that enable collaboration to develop model and data interfaces that link integrated system models running within an HPC environment to multiple data sources. Our goal is to enhance the use of computational simulation and data-intensive modeling to better understand water resources. Addressing water resource problems in the Western U.S. requires simulation of natural and engineered systems, as well as representation of legal (water rights) and institutional constraints alongside the representation of physical processes. We are establishing data services to represent the engineered infrastructure and legal and institutional systems in a way that they can be used with high resolution multi-physics watershed modeling at high spatial resolution. These services will enable incorporation of location-specific information on water management infrastructure and systems into the assessment of regional water availability in the face of growing demands, uncertain future meteorological forcings, and existing prior-appropriations water rights. This presentation will discuss the informatics challenges involved with data management and easy-to-use access to high performance computing being tackled in this project.

The dual-use problem, scientific isolationism and the division of moral labour.

PubMed

Douglas, Thomas

2014-01-01

The dual-use problem is an ethical quandary sometimes faced by scientists and others in a position to influence the creation or dissemination of scientific knowledge. It arises when (i) an agent is considering whether to pursue some project likely to result in the creation or dissemination of scientific knowledge, (ii) that knowledge could be used in both morally desirable and morally undesirable ways, and (iii) the risk of undesirable use is sufficiently high that it is not clear that the agent may permissibly pursue the project or policy. Agents said to be faced with dual-use problems have frequently responded by appealing to a view that I call scientific isolationism. This is, roughly, the view that scientific decisions may be made without morally appraising the likely uses of the scientific knowledge whose production or dissemination is at stake. I consider whether scientific isolationism can be justified in a form that would indeed provide a way out of dual-use problems. I first argue for a presumption against a strong form of isolationism, and then examine four arguments that might be thought to override this presumption. The most promising of these arguments appeals to the idea of a division of moral labour, but I argue that even this argument can sustain at most a highly attenuated form of scientific isolationism and that this variant of isolationism has little practical import for discussions of the dual-use problem.

Global Climate Change and Society: Scientific, Policy, and Philosophic Themes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frodeman, R.; Bullock, M. A.

2001-12-01

The summer of 2001 saw the inauguration of the Global Climate Change and Society Program (GCCS), an eight week, NSF-funded experiment in undergraduate pedagogy held at the University of Colorado and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Acknowledging from the start that climate change is more than a scientific problem, GCCS began with the simultaneous study of basic atmospheric physics, classical and environmental philosophy, and public policy. In addition to lectures and discussions on these subjects, our twelve undergraduates (majoring in the physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities) also participated in internships with scholars and researchers at NCAR, University of Colorado's Center of the American West, and the Colorado School of Mines, on specific issues in atmospheric science, science policy, and ethics and values. This talk will discuss the outcomes of GCCS: specifically, new insights into interdisciplinary pedagogy and the student creation of an extraordinary "deliverable," a group summary assessment of the global climate change debate. The student assessment called for an integrated discussion of both the science of climate change and the human values related to how we inhabit the world. The problems facing society today cannot be addressed through the single-minded adherence to science and technology; instead, society must develop new means of integrating the humanities and science in a meaningful dialogue about our common future.

Proposed declassification of disease categories related to sexual orientation in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11).

PubMed

Cochran, Susan D; Drescher, Jack; Kismödi, Eszter; Giami, Alain; García-Moreno, Claudia; Atalla, Elham; Marais, Adele; Vieira, Elisabeth Meloni; Reed, Geoffrey M

2014-09-01

The World Health Organization is developing the 11th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11), planned for publication in 2017. The Working Group on the Classification of Sexual Disorders and Sexual Health was charged with reviewing and making recommendations on disease categories related to sexuality in the chapter on mental and behavioural disorders in the 10th revision (ICD-10), published in 1990. This chapter includes categories for diagnoses based primarily on sexual orientation even though ICD-10 states that sexual orientation alone is not a disorder. This article reviews the scientific evidence and clinical rationale for continuing to include these categories in the ICD. A review of the evidence published since 1990 found little scientific interest in these categories. In addition, the Working Group found no evidence that they are clinically useful: they neither contribute to health service delivery or treatment selection nor provide essential information for public health surveillance. Moreover, use of these categories may create unnecessary harm by delaying accurate diagnosis and treatment. The Working Group recommends that these categories be deleted entirely from ICD-11. Health concerns related to sexual orientation can be better addressed using other ICD categories.

The proactive historian: Methodological opportunities presented by the new archives documenting genomics.

PubMed

García-Sancho, Miguel

2016-02-01

In this paper, I propose a strategy for navigating newly available archives in the study of late-twentieth century genomics. I demonstrate that the alleged 'explosion of data' characteristic of genomics-and of contemporary science in general-is not a new problem and that historians of earlier periods have dealt with information overload by relying on the 'perspective of time': the filtering effect the passage of time naturally exerts on both sources and memories. I argue that this reliance on the selective capacity of time results in inheriting archives curated by others and, consequently, poses the risk of reifying ahistorical scientific discourses. Through a preliminary examination of archives documenting early attempts at mapping and sequencing the human genome, I propose an alternative approach, in which historians proactively problematize and improve available sources. This approach provides historians with a voice in the socio-political management of scientific heritage and advances methodological innovations in the use of oral histories. It also provides a narrative framework in which to address big science initiatives by following second order administrators, rather than individual scientists. The new genomic archives thus represent an opportunity for historians to take an active role in current debates concerning 'big data' and critically embed the humanities in pressing global problems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proposed declassification of disease categories related to sexual orientation in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11)

PubMed Central

Drescher, Jack; Kismödi, Eszter; Giami, Alain; García-Moreno, Claudia; Atalla, Elham; Marais, Adele; Vieira, Elisabeth Meloni; Reed, Geoffrey M

2014-01-01

Abstract The World Health Organization is developing the 11th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11), planned for publication in 2017. The Working Group on the Classification of Sexual Disorders and Sexual Health was charged with reviewing and making recommendations on disease categories related to sexuality in the chapter on mental and behavioural disorders in the 10th revision (ICD-10), published in 1990. This chapter includes categories for diagnoses based primarily on sexual orientation even though ICD-10 states that sexual orientation alone is not a disorder. This article reviews the scientific evidence and clinical rationale for continuing to include these categories in the ICD. A review of the evidence published since 1990 found little scientific interest in these categories. In addition, the Working Group found no evidence that they are clinically useful: they neither contribute to health service delivery or treatment selection nor provide essential information for public health surveillance. Moreover, use of these categories may create unnecessary harm by delaying accurate diagnosis and treatment. The Working Group recommends that these categories be deleted entirely from ICD-11. Health concerns related to sexual orientation can be better addressed using other ICD categories. PMID:25378758

ICON: The Ionospheric Connection Explorer - NASA's Next Space Physics and Aeronomy Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Immel, T. J.; Mende, S. B.; Heelis, R. A.; Englert, C. R.; Edelstein, J.; Forbes, J. M.; England, S.; Maute, A. I.; Makela, J. J.; Kamalabadi, F.; Crowley, G.; Stephan, A. W.; Huba, J. D.; Harlander, J.; Swenson, G. R.; Frey, H. U.; Bust, G. S.; Gerard, J. M.; Hubert, B. A.; Rowland, D. E.; Hysell, D. L.; Saito, A.; Frey, S.; Bester, M.; Valladares, C. E.

2013-12-01

Earth's ionosphere is a highly variable layer of plasma surrounding earth that is influenced from below by internal atmospheric waves of various scales and from above by solar and geomagnetic activity. Recent observational findings and modeling studies have raised many questions about the effects and interaction of these drivers in our geospace environment, and how these vary between extremes in solar activity. ICON will address the most compelling science issues that deal with the coupling of the ionosphere to the neutral atmosphere below and space above: 1) The highly variable nature of the electric field in the ionosphere and its potential link to thermospheric wind, 2) the effect of forcing from below: how large-scale atmospheric waves penetrate into the thermosphere and ionosphere, and 3) the effect of forcing from above: how ion-neutral coupling changes during solar and geomagnetically active periods. To address these, ICON will measure all key parameters of the atmosphere and ionosphere simultaneously and continuously with a combination of remote sensing and in-situ measurements. The scientific return from ICON is enhanced by dynamic operational modes of the observatory that provide capabilities well beyond that afforded by a static space platform. Selected for development by NASA, ICON will launch in early 2017 into a low-inclination orbit that is particularly well suited to address the above-noted scientific problems and to make a number of coordinated measurements with other ground- and space-based facilities at low and middle latitudes. The ICON Observatory carries a compliment of 4 instruments on the nadir facing payload integration plate.

EarthCube Activities: Community Engagement Advancing Geoscience Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinkade, D.

2015-12-01

Our ability to advance scientific research in order to better understand complex Earth systems, address emerging geoscience problems, and meet societal challenges is increasingly dependent upon the concept of Open Science and Data. Although these terms are relatively new to the world of research, Open Science and Data in this context may be described as transparency in the scientific process. This includes the discoverability, public accessibility and reusability of scientific data, as well as accessibility and transparency of scientific communication (www.openscience.org). Scientists and the US government alike are realizing the critical need for easy discovery and access to multidisciplinary data to advance research in the geosciences. The NSF-supported EarthCube project was created to meet this need. EarthCube is developing a community-driven common cyberinfrastructure for the purpose of accessing, integrating, analyzing, sharing and visualizing all forms of data and related resources through advanced technological and computational capabilities. Engaging the geoscience community in EarthCube's development is crucial to its success, and EarthCube is providing several opportunities for geoscience involvement. This presentation will provide an overview of the activities EarthCube is employing to entrain the community in the development process, from governance development and strategic planning, to technical needs gathering. Particular focus will be given to the collection of science-driven use cases as a means of capturing scientific and technical requirements. Such activities inform the development of key technical and computational components that collectively will form a cyberinfrastructure to meet the research needs of the geoscience community.

Reviewing model application to support animal health decision making.

PubMed

Singer, Alexander; Salman, Mo; Thulke, Hans-Hermann

2011-04-01

Animal health is of societal importance as it affects human welfare, and anthropogenic interests shape decision making to assure animal health. Scientific advice to support decision making is manifold. Modelling, as one piece of the scientific toolbox, is appreciated for its ability to describe and structure data, to give insight in complex processes and to predict future outcome. In this paper we study the application of scientific modelling to support practical animal health decisions. We reviewed the 35 animal health related scientific opinions adopted by the Animal Health and Animal Welfare Panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Thirteen of these documents were based on the application of models. The review took two viewpoints, the decision maker's need and the modeller's approach. In the reviewed material three types of modelling questions were addressed by four specific model types. The correspondence between tasks and models underpinned the importance of the modelling question in triggering the modelling approach. End point quantifications were the dominating request from decision makers, implying that prediction of risk is a major need. However, due to knowledge gaps corresponding modelling studies often shed away from providing exact numbers. Instead, comparative scenario analyses were performed, furthering the understanding of the decision problem and effects of alternative management options. In conclusion, the most adequate scientific support for decision making - including available modelling capacity - might be expected if the required advice is clearly stated. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Climate Literacy Through Student-Teacher-Scientist Research Partnerships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niepold, F.; Brooks, D.; Lefer, B.; Linsley, A.; Duckenfield, K.

2006-12-01

Expanding on the GLOBE Program's Atmosphere and Aerosol investigations, high school students can conduct Earth System scientific research that promotes scientific literacy in both content and the science process. Through the use of Student-Teacher-Scientist partnerships, Earth system scientific investigations can be conducted that serve the needs of the classroom as well as participating scientific investigators. During the proof-of-concept phase of this partnership model, teachers and their students developed science plans, through consultation with scientists, and began collecting atmospheric and aerosol data in support of the Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (GoMACCS) campaign in Houston Texas. This effort uses some pre-existing GLOBE materials, but draws on a variety of other resources to tailor the teacher development activities and intended student participation in a way that addresses local and regional problems. Students and teachers have learned about best practices in scientific inquiry and they also helped to expand the pipeline of potential future scientists and researchers for industry, academia, and government. This work began with a Student-Teacher-Scientist partnership started in 2002 during a GLOBE Aerosol Protocol Cross- Ground Validation of AERONET with MODIS Satellite Aerosol Measurements. Several other GLOBE schools, both national and international, have contributed to this research. The current project support of the intensive GoMACCS air quality and atmospheric dynamics field campaign during September and October of 2006. This model will be evaluated for wider use in other project-focused partnerships led by NOAA's Climate Program Office.

Basic targeting strategies for rendezvous and flyby missions to the near-Earth asteroids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perozzi, Ettore; Rossi, Alessandro; Valsecchi, Giovanni B.

2001-01-01

Missions to asteroids and comets are becoming increasingly feasible both from a technical and a financial point of view. In particular, those directed towards the Near-Earth Asteroids have proven suitable for a low-cost approach, thus attracting the major space agencies as well as private companies. The choice of a suitable target involves both scientific relevance and mission design considerations, being often a difficult task to accomplish due to the limited energy budget at disposal. The aim of this paper is to provide an approach to basic trajectory design which allows to account for both aspects of the problem, taking into account scientific and technical information. A global characterization of the Near-Earth Asteroids population carried out on the basis of their dynamics, physical properties and flight dynamics considerations, allows to identify a group of candidates which satisfy both, the scientific and engineering requirements. The feasibility of rendezvous and flyby missions towards them is then discussed and the possibility of repeated encounters with the same object is investigated, as an intermediate scenario. Within this framework, the capability of present and near future launch and propulsion systems for interplanetary missions is also addressed.

[Problems of the development of Polish Medical Periodicals in the inter-war period with particular focus on the hygiene-related press].

PubMed

Paciorek, Magdalena

2006-01-01

During the two decades between the World Wars, the medical press was an indispensable element in the development of medicine. The dissemination of scientific breakthroughs and new medical procedures as well as the opportunity to discuss them and formulate opinions thereon were the overriding goals of the scientific medical press. But the difficult economic conditions of the inter-war period were not conducive to the existence of such journals. Nevertheless, during the period under discussion the number of new medical periodicals kept increasing, adversely affecting the readership of existing journals. During the inter-war period, the development of a hitherto unencountered field of medicine, hygiene, was noted. Its further development depended on the dissemination of research results and the promotion of health-protection principles. Therefore it was in free Poland that the hygiene-related press developed apace. The article contains a list of 22 hygiene periodicals, nine of which met the criteria of scientific periodicals (of the archival type or addressed to the general public). The remaining 13 were popular magazines and health guides. An analysis of the form and content of the titles appearing during that period has been conducted.

Rebuilding the Brookhaven high flux beam reactor: A feasibility study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brynda, W.J.; Passell, L.; Rorer, D.C.

1995-01-01

After nearly thirty years of operation, Brookhaven`s High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) is still one of the world`s premier steady-state neutron sources. A major center for condensed matter studies, it currently supports fifteen separate beamlines conducting research in fields as diverse as crystallography, solid-state, nuclear and surface physics, polymer physics and structural biology and will very likely be able to do so for perhaps another decade. But beyond that point the HFBR will be running on borrowed time. Unless appropriate remedial action is taken, progressive radiation-induced embrittlement problems will eventually shut it down. Recognizing the HFBR`s value as a nationalmore » scientific resource, members of the Laboratory`s scientific and reactor operations staffs began earlier this year to consider what could be done both to extend its useful life and to assure that it continues to provide state-of-the-art research facilities for the scientific community. This report summarizes the findings of that study. It addresses two basic issues: (i) identification and replacement of lifetime-limiting components and (ii) modifications and additions that could expand and enhance the reactor`s research capabilities.« less

Application of Metamorphic Testing to Supervised Classifiers

PubMed Central

Xie, Xiaoyuan; Ho, Joshua; Kaiser, Gail; Xu, Baowen; Chen, Tsong Yueh

2010-01-01

Many applications in the field of scientific computing - such as computational biology, computational linguistics, and others - depend on Machine Learning algorithms to provide important core functionality to support solutions in the particular problem domains. However, it is difficult to test such applications because often there is no “test oracle” to indicate what the correct output should be for arbitrary input. To help address the quality of such software, in this paper we present a technique for testing the implementations of supervised machine learning classification algorithms on which such scientific computing software depends. Our technique is based on an approach called “metamorphic testing”, which has been shown to be effective in such cases. More importantly, we demonstrate that our technique not only serves the purpose of verification, but also can be applied in validation. In addition to presenting our technique, we describe a case study we performed on a real-world machine learning application framework, and discuss how programmers implementing machine learning algorithms can avoid the common pitfalls discovered in our study. We also discuss how our findings can be of use to other areas outside scientific computing, as well. PMID:21243103

Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics at AGU - The Establishment and Evolution of an Ethics Program at a Large Scientific Society

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McPhaden, Michael; Leinen, Margaret; McEntee, Christine; Townsend, Randy; Williams, Billy

2016-04-01

The American Geophysical Union, a scientific society of 62,000 members worldwide, has established a set of scientific integrity and professional ethics guidelines for the actions of its members, for the governance of the union in its internal activities, and for the operations and participation in its publications and scientific meetings. This presentation will provide an overview of the Ethics program at AGU, highlighting the reasons for its establishment, the process of dealing ethical breaches, the number and types of cases considered, how AGU helps educate its members on Ethics issues, and the rapidly evolving efforts at AGU to address issues related to the emerging field of GeoEthics. The presentation will also cover the most recent AGU Ethics program focus on the role for AGU and other scientific societies in addressing sexual harassment, and AGU's work to provide additional program strength in this area.

Some Key Issues in Creating Inquiry-Based Instructional Practices that Aim at the Understanding of Simple Electric Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kock, Zeger-Jan; Taconis, Ruurd; Bolhuis, Sanneke; Gravemeijer, Koeno

2013-04-01

Many students in secondary schools consider the sciences difficult and unattractive. This applies to physics in particular, a subject in which students attempt to learn and understand numerous theoretical concepts, often without much success. A case in point is the understanding of the concepts current, voltage and resistance in simple electric circuits. In response to these problems, reform initiatives in education strive for a change of the classroom culture, putting emphasis on more authentic contexts and student activities containing elements of inquiry. The challenge then becomes choosing and combining these elements in such a manner that they foster an understanding of theoretical concepts. In this article we reflect on data collected and analyzed from a series of 12 grade 9 physics lessons on simple electric circuits. Drawing from a theoretical framework based on individual (conceptual change based) and socio-cultural views on learning, instruction was designed addressing known conceptual problems and attempting to create a physics (research) culture in the classroom. As the success of the lessons was limited, the focus of the study became to understand which inherent characteristics of inquiry based instruction complicate the process of constructing conceptual understanding. From the analysis of the data collected during the enactment of the lessons three tensions emerged: the tension between open inquiry and student guidance, the tension between students developing their own ideas and getting to know accepted scientific theories, and the tension between fostering scientific interest as part of a scientific research culture and the task oriented school culture. An outlook will be given on the implications for science lessons.

[The treatment of scientific knowledge in the framework of CITES].

PubMed

Lanfranchi, Marie-Pierre

2014-03-01

Access to scientific knowledge in the context of CITES is a crucial issue. The effectiveness of the text is indeed largely based on adequate scientific knowledge of CITES species. This is a major challenge: more than 30,000 species and 178 member states are involved. The issue of expertise, however, is not really addressed by the Convention. The question was left to the consideration of the COP. Therefore, the COP has created two ad hoc scientific committees: the Plants Committee and the Animals Committee, conferring upon them an ambitious mandate. The article addresses some important issues at stake which are linked to institutional questions, as well as the mixed record after twenty-five years of practice.

The effect of Think Pair Share (TPS) using scientific approach on students’ self-confidence and mathematical problem-solving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rifa’i, A.; Lestari, H. P.

2018-03-01

This study was designed to know the effects of Think Pair Share using Scientific Approach on students' self-confidence and mathematical problem-solving. Quasi-experimental with pre-test post-test non-equivalent group method was used as a basis for design this study. Self-confidence questionnaire and problem-solving test have been used for measurement of the two variables. Two classes of the first grade in religious senior high school (MAN) in Indonesia were randomly selected for this study. Teaching sequence and series from mathematics book at control group in the traditional way and at experiment group has been in TPS using scientific approach learning method. For data analysis regarding students’ problem-solving skill and self-confidence, One-Sample t-Test, Independent Sample t-Test, and Multivariate of Variance (MANOVA) were used. The results showed that (1) TPS using a scientific approach and traditional learning had positive effects (2) TPS using scientific approach learning in comparative with traditional learning had a more significant effect on students’ self-confidence and problem-solving skill.

Grand challenges for integrated USGS science—A workshop report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jenni, Karen E.; Goldhaber, Martin B.; Betancourt, Julio L.; Baron, Jill S.; Bristol, R. Sky; Cantrill, Mary; Exter, Paul E.; Focazio, Michael J.; Haines, John W.; Hay, Lauren E.; Hsu, Leslie; Labson, Victor F.; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Ludwig, Kristin A.; Milly, Paul C. D.; Morelli, Toni L.; Morman, Suzette A.; Nassar, Nedal T.; Newman, Timothy R.; Ostroff, Andrea C.; Read, Jordan S.; Reed, Sasha C.; Shapiro, Carl D.; Smith, Richard A.; Sanford, Ward E.; Sohl, Terry L.; Stets, Edward G.; Terando, Adam J.; Tillitt, Donald E.; Tischler, Michael A.; Toccalino, Patricia L.; Wald, David J.; Waldrop, Mark P.; Wein, Anne; Weltzin, Jake F.; Zimmerman, Christian E.

2017-06-30

Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of advancing the traditional Earth science disciplines and identifying opportunities to integrate USGS science across disciplines to address complex societal problems. The USGS science strategy for 2007–2017 laid out key challenges in disciplinary and interdisciplinary arenas, culminating in a call for increased focus on a number of crosscutting science directions. Ten years on, to further the goal of integrated science and at the request of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), a workshop with three dozen invited scientists spanning different disciplines and career stages in the Bureau convened on February 7–10, 2017, at the USGS John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis in Fort Collins, Colorado.The workshop focused on identifying “grand challenges” for integrated USGS science. Individual participants identified nearly 70 potential grand challenges before the workshop and through workshop discussions. After discussion, four overarching grand challenges emerged:Natural resource security,Societal risk from existing and emerging threats,Smart infrastructure development, andAnticipatory science for changing landscapes.Participants also identified a “comprehensive science challenge” that highlights the development of integrative science, data, models, and tools—all interacting in a modular framework—that can be used to address these and other future grand challenges:Earth Monitoring, Analyses, and Projections (EarthMAP)EarthMAP is our long-term vision for an integrated scientific framework that spans traditional scientific boundaries and disciplines, and integrates the full portfolio of USGS science: research, monitoring, assessment, analysis, and information delivery.The Department of Interior, and the Nation in general, have a vast array of information needs. The USGS meets these needs by having a broadly trained and agile scientific workforce. Encouraging and supporting cross-discipline engagement would position the USGS to tackle complex and multifaceted scientific and societal challenges in the 21st Century.

Enhancing insight in scientific problem solving by highlighting the functional features of prototypes: an fMRI study.

PubMed

Hao, Xin; Cui, Shuai; Li, Wenfu; Yang, Wenjing; Qiu, Jiang; Zhang, Qinglin

2013-10-09

Insight can be the first step toward creating a groundbreaking product. As evident in anecdotes and major inventions in history, heuristic events (heuristic prototypes) prompted inventors to acquire insight when solving problems. Bionic imitation in scientific innovation is an example of this kind of problem solving. In particular, heuristic prototypes (e.g., the lotus effect; the very high water repellence exhibited by lotus leaves) help solve insight problems (e.g., non-stick surfaces). We speculated that the biological functional feature of prototypes is a critical factor in inducing insightful scientific problem solving. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we selected scientific innovation problems and utilized "learning prototypes-solving problems" two-phase paradigm to test the supposition. We also explored its neural mechanisms. Functional MRI data showed that the activation of the middle temporal gyrus (MTG, BA 37) and the middle occipital gyrus (MOG, BA 19) were associated with the highlighted functional feature condition. fMRI data also indicated that the MTG (BA 37) could be responsible for the semantic processing of functional features and for the formation of novel associations based on related functions. In addition, the MOG (BA 19) could be involved in the visual imagery of formation and application of function association between the heuristic prototype and problem. Our findings suggest that both semantic processing and visual imagery could be crucial components underlying scientific problem solving. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vygotsky circle as a personal network of scholars: restoring connections between people and ideas.

PubMed

Yasnitsky, Anton

2011-12-01

The name of Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) is well-known among contemporary psychologists and educators. The cult of Vygotsky, also known as "Vygotsky boom", is probably conducive to continuous reinterpretation and wide dissemination of his ideas, but hardly beneficial for their understanding as an integrative theory of human cultural and biosocial development. Two problems are particularly notable. These are, first, numerous gaps and age-old biases and misconceptions in the historiography of Soviet psychology, and, second, the tendency to overly focus on the figure of Vygotsky to the neglect of the scientific activities of a number of other protagonists of the history of cultural-historical psychology. This study addresses these two problems and reconstructs the history and group dynamics within the dense network of Vygotsky's collaborators and associates, and overviews their research, which is instrumental in understanding Vygotsky's integrative theory in its entirety as a complex of interdependent ideas, methods, and practices.

An Interview with Matthew P. Greving, PhD. Interview by Vicki Glaser.

PubMed

Greving, Matthew P

2011-10-01

Matthew P. Greving is Chief Scientific Officer at Nextval Inc., a company founded in early 2010 that has developed a discovery platform called MassInsight™.. He received his PhD in Biochemistry from Arizona State University, and prior to that he spent nearly 7 years working as a software engineer. This experience in solving complex computational problems fueled his interest in developing technologies and algorithms related to acquisition and analysis of high-dimensional biochemical data. To address the existing problems associated with label-based microarray readouts, he beganwork on a technique for label-free mass spectrometry (MS) microarray readout compatible with both matrix-assisted laser/desorption ionization (MALDI) and matrix-free nanostructure initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS). This is the core of Nextval’s MassInsight technology, which utilizes picoliter noncontact deposition of high-density arrays on mass-readout substrates along with computational algorithms for high-dimensional data processingand reduction.

Image pattern recognition supporting interactive analysis and graphical visualization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coggins, James M.

1992-01-01

Image Pattern Recognition attempts to infer properties of the world from image data. Such capabilities are crucial for making measurements from satellite or telescope images related to Earth and space science problems. Such measurements can be the required product itself, or the measurements can be used as input to a computer graphics system for visualization purposes. At present, the field of image pattern recognition lacks a unified scientific structure for developing and evaluating image pattern recognition applications. The overall goal of this project is to begin developing such a structure. This report summarizes results of a 3-year research effort in image pattern recognition addressing the following three principal aims: (1) to create a software foundation for the research and identify image pattern recognition problems in Earth and space science; (2) to develop image measurement operations based on Artificial Visual Systems; and (3) to develop multiscale image descriptions for use in interactive image analysis.

Human connectome module pattern detection using a new multi-graph MinMax cut model.

PubMed

De, Wang; Wang, Yang; Nie, Feiping; Yan, Jingwen; Cai, Weidong; Saykin, Andrew J; Shen, Li; Huang, Heng

2014-01-01

Many recent scientific efforts have been devoted to constructing the human connectome using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data for understanding the large-scale brain networks that underlie higher-level cognition in human. However, suitable computational network analysis tools are still lacking in human connectome research. To address this problem, we propose a novel multi-graph min-max cut model to detect the consistent network modules from the brain connectivity networks of all studied subjects. A new multi-graph MinMax cut model is introduced to solve this challenging computational neuroscience problem and the efficient optimization algorithm is derived. In the identified connectome module patterns, each network module shows similar connectivity patterns in all subjects, which potentially associate to specific brain functions shared by all subjects. We validate our method by analyzing the weighted fiber connectivity networks. The promising empirical results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.

WeFold: A Coopetition for Protein Structure Prediction

PubMed Central

Khoury, George A.; Liwo, Adam; Khatib, Firas; Zhou, Hongyi; Chopra, Gaurav; Bacardit, Jaume; Bortot, Leandro O.; Faccioli, Rodrigo A.; Deng, Xin; He, Yi; Krupa, Pawel; Li, Jilong; Mozolewska, Magdalena A.; Sieradzan, Adam K.; Smadbeck, James; Wirecki, Tomasz; Cooper, Seth; Flatten, Jeff; Xu, Kefan; Baker, David; Cheng, Jianlin; Delbem, Alexandre C. B.; Floudas, Christodoulos A.; Keasar, Chen; Levitt, Michael; Popović, Zoran; Scheraga, Harold A.; Skolnick, Jeffrey; Crivelli, Silvia N.; Players, Foldit

2014-01-01

The protein structure prediction problem continues to elude scientists. Despite the introduction of many methods, only modest gains were made over the last decade for certain classes of prediction targets. To address this challenge, a social-media based worldwide collaborative effort, named WeFold, was undertaken by thirteen labs. During the collaboration, the labs were simultaneously competing with each other. Here, we present the first attempt at “coopetition” in scientific research applied to the protein structure prediction and refinement problems. The coopetition was possible by allowing the participating labs to contribute different components of their protein structure prediction pipelines and create new hybrid pipelines that they tested during CASP10. This manuscript describes both successes and areas needing improvement as identified throughout the first WeFold experiment and discusses the efforts that are underway to advance this initiative. A footprint of all contributions and structures are publicly accessible at http://www.wefold.org. PMID:24677212

The first concussion crisis: head injury and evidence in early American football.

PubMed

Harrison, Emily A

2014-05-01

In the early 21st century, sports concussion has become a prominent public health problem, popularly labeled "The Concussion Crisis." Football-related concussion contributes much of the epidemiological burden and inspires much of the public awareness. Though often cast as a recent phenomenon, the crisis in fact began more than a century ago, as concussions were identified among footballers in the game's first decades. This early concussion crisis subsided-allowing the problem to proliferate-because work was done by football's supporters to reshape public acceptance of risk. They appealed to an American culture that permitted violence, shifted attention to reforms addressing more visible injuries, and legitimized football within morally reputable institutions. Meanwhile, changing demands on the medical profession made practitioners reluctant to take a definitive stance. Drawing on scientific journals, public newspapers, and personal letters of players and coaches, this history of the early crisis raises critical questions about solutions being negotiated at present.

Improving data transparency in clinical trials using blockchain smart contracts.

PubMed

Nugent, Timothy; Upton, David; Cimpoesu, Mihai

2016-01-01

The scientific credibility of findings from clinical trials can be undermined by a range of problems including missing data, endpoint switching, data dredging, and selective publication. Together, these issues have contributed to systematically distorted perceptions regarding the benefits and risks of treatments. While these issues have been well documented and widely discussed within the profession, legislative intervention has seen limited success. Recently, a method was described for using a blockchain to prove the existence of documents describing pre-specified endpoints in clinical trials. Here, we extend the idea by using smart contracts - code, and data, that resides at a specific address in a blockchain, and whose execution is cryptographically validated by the network - to demonstrate how trust in clinical trials can be enforced and data manipulation eliminated. We show that blockchain smart contracts provide a novel technological solution to the data manipulation problem, by acting as trusted administrators and providing an immutable record of trial history.

Reproductive hazards in the workplace: what the practitioner needs to know about chemical exposures.

PubMed

Paul, M; Himmelstein, J

1988-06-01

A growing body of scientific evidence implicates occupational chemical exposures in the etiology of human adverse reproductive outcomes. Most reproductive toxins that have been investigated in sufficient detail have been shown to exert multiple effects on and through both men and women. In the face of growing public awareness, it is essential that clinicians develop a knowledgeable and effective approach to patient concerns about reproductive hazards in the workplace. Of vital importance is the accurate characterization of exposure at the worksite. Intervention strategies for worrisome situations include amelioration of worksite exposure or, as a last resort, temporary, compensated job modification or transfer. The clinician can obtain assistance in addressing the problem from several resources, including local regulatory agencies and occupational health clinics. Widespread involvement of knowledgeable health professionals can have a dramatic impact on improving this important contemporary public health problem.

Bioethics and Science.

PubMed

2018-03-01

Bioethics comes in for furious criticism in Stephen Pinker's new book, Enlightenment Now. Pinker argues that scientists are making human lives better and better, and that lives would get still better even faster if bioethicists did not use ideas like informed consent, dignity, sacredness, and social justice to hobble the scientists. Daniel Callahan, a cofounder of The Hastings Center and arguably of bioethics, is perhaps the best living embodiment of a bioethicist who has written about medical progress, and the March-April 2018 issue of the Hastings Center Report turns to him for a review of Pinker's book. In his essay, Callahan describes bioethics as guiding science, addressing problems generated by scientific developments and attempting to head off possible problems, rather than as broadly opposing science. That description of bioethics serves as well as anything to convey the flavor of much of this issue of the Report. © 2018 The Hastings Center.

Science policy in the Arab world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khasawnih, Sami A.

1986-03-01

The paper gives an overview of recent trends in the development of policies and technology in the Arab world. It describes the problems that Arab policy-makers must address in order to set the Arab world on the road to scientific and technological self-reliance, with special emphasis on the shortcomings of the Arab education system and the problem of the brain drain. It also discusses the development of Arab policies on science and technology in the context of the need to democratize Arab society as a prerequisite to real advancement. And finally it surveys the efforts that Arab policy-makers have made in recent years to formulate coherent inter-Arab policies on science and technology. Arab national policy on science and technology for development must be formulated in accordance with the concepts of international co-operation and take full advantage of the vehicles for co-operation that exist today.

Hello oil rig: The role of simulacra images in producing future reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, Abdallah

This project is the first approach to address the problem of the image through a discussion between science, philosophy, art history, art theory, and fine arts based on one body of specific art work designed especially to explain the role of the image in producing future reality models. This study is a continuation of the dialogue between important philosophers and thinkers about the image and its place in the contemporary scene. The technical fossil medium used in painting this project crosses the boundary between scientific research with its data sheets to art theory and fine arts with their aesthetic rhetoric thus bringing many disciplines together. Seven images were created to discuss the problem. The artwork and the academic research are both interacting in this paper in a multidiscipline discussion to uncover the role of the images in creating a new reality and in forging the hyperreal culture.

JSD: Parallel Job Accounting on the IBM SP2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saphir, William; Jones, James Patton; Walter, Howard (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

The IBM SP2 is one of the most promising parallel computers for scientific supercomputing - it is fast and usually reliable. One of its biggest problems is a lack of robust and comprehensive system software. Among other things, this software allows a collection of Unix processes to be treated as a single parallel application. It does not, however, provide accounting for parallel jobs other than what is provided by AIX for the individual process components. Without parallel job accounting, it is not possible to monitor system use, measure the effectiveness of system administration strategies, or identify system bottlenecks. To address this problem, we have written jsd, a daemon that collects accounting data for parallel jobs. jsd records information in a format that is easily machine- and human-readable, allowing us to extract the most important accounting information with very little effort. jsd also notifies system administrators in certain cases of system failure.

Results of a Wildlife Toxicology Workshop held by the Smithsonian Institution ? Identification and prioritization of problem statements

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grim, K.C.; Fairbrother, A.; Monfort, S.; Tan, S.; Rattner, B.A.; Gerould, S.; Beasley, V.; Aguirre, A.; Rowles, T.

2007-01-01

On March 13-15, 2007 nearly 50 scientists and administrators from the US and Canada participated in a Smithsonian-sponsored Wildlife Toxicology Workshop. Invitees were from academic, government, conservation and the private organizations and were selected to represent the diverse disciplines that encompass wildlife toxicology. The workshop addressed scientific and policy issues, strengths and weaknesses of current research strategies, interdisciplinary and science-based approaches in the study of complex contaminant issues, mechanisms for disseminating data to policy-makers, and the development of a partner network to meet the challenges facing wildlife toxicology over the next decade. Prior to the meeting, participants were asked to submit issues they deemed to be of highest concern which shaped four thematic groups for discussion: Wildlife Toxicology in Education, Risk Assessment, Multiple Stressors/Complex Mixtures, and Sub-Lethal to Population-Level Effects. From these discussion groups, 18 problem statements were developed and prioritized outlining what were deemed the most important issues to address now and into the future. Along with each problem statement participants developed potential solutions and action steps geared to move each issue forward. The workshop served as a stepping stone for action in the field of wildlife toxicology. These problem statements and the resulting action items are presented to the inter-disciplinary wildlife toxicology community for adoption, and future work and action items in these areas are encouraged. The workshop outcome looks to generate conversation and collaboration that will lead to the development of innovative research, future mechanisms for funding, workshops, working groups, and listserves within the wildlife toxicology community.

nSTAT: Open-Source Neural Spike Train Analysis Toolbox for Matlab

PubMed Central

Cajigas, I.; Malik, W.Q.; Brown, E.N.

2012-01-01

Over the last decade there has been a tremendous advance in the analytical tools available to neuroscientists to understand and model neural function. In particular, the point process - Generalized Linear Model (PPGLM) framework has been applied successfully to problems ranging from neuro-endocrine physiology to neural decoding. However, the lack of freely distributed software implementations of published PP-GLM algorithms together with problem-specific modifications required for their use, limit wide application of these techniques. In an effort to make existing PP-GLM methods more accessible to the neuroscience community, we have developed nSTAT – an open source neural spike train analysis toolbox for Matlab®. By adopting an Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) approach, nSTAT allows users to easily manipulate data by performing operations on objects that have an intuitive connection to the experiment (spike trains, covariates, etc.), rather than by dealing with data in vector/matrix form. The algorithms implemented within nSTAT address a number of common problems including computation of peri-stimulus time histograms, quantification of the temporal response properties of neurons, and characterization of neural plasticity within and across trials. nSTAT provides a starting point for exploratory data analysis, allows for simple and systematic building and testing of point process models, and for decoding of stimulus variables based on point process models of neural function. By providing an open-source toolbox, we hope to establish a platform that can be easily used, modified, and extended by the scientific community to address limitations of current techniques and to extend available techniques to more complex problems. PMID:22981419

Integrated Hardware and Software for No-Loss Computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, Mark

2007-01-01

When an algorithm is distributed across multiple threads executing on many distinct processors, a loss of one of those threads or processors can potentially result in the total loss of all the incremental results up to that point. When implementation is massively hardware distributed, then the probability of a hardware failure during the course of a long execution is potentially high. Traditionally, this problem has been addressed by establishing checkpoints where the current state of some or part of the execution is saved. Then in the event of a failure, this state information can be used to recompute that point in the execution and resume the computation from that point. A serious problem arises when one distributes a problem across multiple threads and physical processors is that one increases the likelihood of the algorithm failing due to no fault of the scientist but as a result of hardware faults coupled with operating system problems. With good reason, scientists expect their computing tools to serve them and not the other way around. What is novel here is a unique combination of hardware and software that reformulates an application into monolithic structure that can be monitored in real-time and dynamically reconfigured in the event of a failure. This unique reformulation of hardware and software will provide advanced aeronautical technologies to meet the challenges of next-generation systems in aviation, for civilian and scientific purposes, in our atmosphere and in atmospheres of other worlds. In particular, with respect to NASA s manned flight to Mars, this technology addresses the critical requirements for improving safety and increasing reliability of manned spacecraft.

The Use of Photo Elicitation Interviews in Summer Science Programs to Determine Children's Perceptions of Being a Scientist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Catherine Marie

2014-01-01

Reform-based science education emphasizes the need for engagement in authentic science, that is, work that resembles real-life scientific practices. However, few studies address the notion of authenticity from the participants' perspectives. As such, this study addresses the following: What events do young participants view as scientific? To what…

Communicating Scientific Findings to Lawyers, Policy-Makers, and the Public (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, W.; Velsko, S. P.

2013-12-01

This presentation will summarize the authors' collaborative research on inferential errors, bias and communication difficulties that have arisen in the area of WMD forensics. This research involves analysis of problems that have arisen in past national security investigations, interviews with scientists from various disciplines whose work has been used in WMD investigations, interviews with policy-makers, and psychological studies of lay understanding of forensic evidence. Implications of this research for scientists involved in nuclear explosion monitoring will be discussed. Among the issues covered will be: - Potential incompatibilities between the questions policy makers pose and the answers that experts can provide. - Common misunderstandings of scientific and statistical data. - Advantages and disadvantages of various methods for describing and characterizing the strength of scientific findings. - Problems that can arise from excessive hedging or, alternatively, insufficient qualification of scientific conclusions. - Problems that can arise from melding scientific and non-scientific evidence in forensic assessments.

A testable theory of problem solving courts: Avoiding past empirical and legal failures.

PubMed

Wiener, Richard L; Winick, Bruce J; Georges, Leah Skovran; Castro, Anthony

2010-01-01

Recent years have seen a proliferation of problem solving courts designed to rehabilitate certain classes of offenders and thereby resolve the underlying problems that led to their court involvement in the first place. Some commentators have reacted positively to these courts, considering them an extension of the philosophy and logic of Therapeutic Jurisprudence, but others show concern that the discourse surrounding these specialty courts has not examined their process or outcomes critically enough. This paper examines that criticism from historical and social scientific perspectives. The analysis culminates in a model that describes how offenders are likely to respond to the process as they engage in problem solving court programs and the ways in which those courts might impact subsequent offender conduct. This Therapeutic Jurisprudence model of problem solving courts draws heavily on social cognitive psychology and more specifically on theories of procedural justice, motivation, and anticipated emotion to offer an explanation of how offenders respond to these programs. We offer this model as a lens through which social scientists can begin to address the concern that there is not enough critical analysis of the process and outcome of these courts. Applying this model to specialty courts constitutes an important step in critically examining the contribution of problem solving courts. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How Earth Educators Can Help Students Develop a Holistic Understanding of Sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curren, R. R.; Metzger, E. P.

2017-12-01

With their expert understanding of planetary systems, Earth educators play a pivotal role in helping students understand the scientific dimensions of solution-resistant ("wicked") challenges to sustainability that arise from complex interactions between intertwined and co-evolving natural and human systems. However, teaching the science of sustainability in isolation from consideration of human values and social dynamics leaves students with a fragmented understanding and obscures the underlying drivers of unsustainability. Geoscience instructors who wish to address sustainability in their courses may feel ill-equipped to engage students in investigation of the fundamental nature of sustainability and its social and ethical facets. This presentation will blend disciplinary perspectives from Earth system science, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology to: 1) outline a way to conceptualize sustainability that synthesizes scientific, social, and ethical perspectives and 2) provide an overview of resources and teaching strategies designed to help students connect science content to the socio-political dimensions of sustainability through activities and assignments that promote active learning, systems thinking, reflection, and collaborative problem-solving.

Individual responsibility and social constraint: the construction of adolescent motherhood in social scientific research.

PubMed

Breheny, Mary; Stephens, Christine

2007-01-01

Research has an important role in the production of knowledge and in shaping dominant social attitudes towards adolescent motherhood. Although adolescent motherhood has been framed as a social problem in social scientific research, recent researchers have attempted to go beyond the focus on disadvantage to suggest that outcomes for adolescent mothers depend upon individual differences and contextual factors related to successful mothering. Social structures have also been considered, and adolescent motherhood has been investigated from the perspective of the mothers themselves. Each of these approaches to researching adolescent motherhood provides a subject position for adolescent mothers with associated potential for both positive and negative impact on their social lives. These implications and the alternatives to individualizing success and discounting social constraint require consideration. Useful strategies could include valuing motherhood regardless of the social and economic position of the mother, and addressing structures which contribute to the exclusion of adolescent mothers from education and economic participation.

Bareback sex and gay men: an HIV prevention failure.

PubMed

Goodroad, B K; Kirksey, K M; Butensky, E

2000-01-01

Bareback sex, or actively seeking unprotected anal intercourse is occurring in the gay male community. This represents a new phenomenon, different from previously identified "relapse" unsafe sexual behavior and poses an important HIV prevention problem. This article reviews the extant literature regarding bareback sex. The lay press and scientific literature are reviewed. Although discussion of issues surrounding bareback sex is abundant in the gay press, scientific literature regarding this phenomenon is nonexistent. The evidence-based literature addresses relapse to unsafe sexual behavior. Although this literature provides further understanding of safer sexual behaviors in gay men, barebacking is a unique issue that requires additional exploration. In this article, factors underlying bareback sexual behavior are explored, including previous HIV prevention efforts and their relationship to this phenomenon. Finally, bareback sex in the gay male community and its implications for nursing practice, research, and education are explored. The harm reduction model is offered as a useful guide for nursing assessment and intervention.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tang, Q; Xie, S

This report describes the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Best Estimate (ARMBE) 2-dimensional (2D) gridded surface data (ARMBE2DGRID) value-added product. Spatial variability is critically important to many scientific studies, especially those that involve processes of great spatial variations at high temporal frequency (e.g., precipitation, clouds, radiation, etc.). High-density ARM sites deployed at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) allow us to observe the spatial patterns of variables of scientific interests. The upcoming megasite at SGP with its enhanced spatial density will facilitate the studies at even finer scales. Currently, however, data are reported only at individual site locations at different time resolutionsmore » for different datastreams. It is difficult for users to locate all the data they need and requires extra effort to synchronize the data. To address these problems, the ARMBE2DGRID value-added product merges key surface measurements at the ARM SGP sites and interpolates the data to a regular 2D grid to facilitate the data application.« less

Contributions to nuclear safety and radiation technologies in Ukraine by the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taranenko, L.; Janouch, F.; Owsiacki, L.

2001-06-01

This paper presents Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU) activities devoted to furthering nuclear and radiation safety, which is a prioritized STCU area. The STCU, an intergovernmental organization with the principle objective of non-proliferation, administers financial support from the USA, Canada, and the EU to Ukrainian projects in various scientific and technological areas; coordinates projects; and promotes the integration of Ukrainian scientists into the international scientific community, including involving western collaborators. The paper focuses on STCU's largest project to date "Program Supporting Y2K Readiness at Ukrainian NPPs" initiated in April 1999 and designed to address possible Y2K readiness problems at 14 Ukrainian nuclear reactors. Other presented projects demonstrate a wide diversity of supported directions in the fields of nuclear and radiation safety, including reactor material improvement ("Improved Zirconium-Based Elements for Nuclear Reactors"), information technologies for nuclear industries ("Ukrainian Nuclear Data Bank in Slavutich"), and radiation health science ("Diagnostics and Treatment of Radiation-Induced Injuries of Human Biopolymers").

The European Project Semester at ISEP: the challenge of educating global engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malheiro, Benedita; Silva, Manuel; Ribeiro, Maria Cristina; Guedes, Pedro; Ferreira, Paulo

2015-05-01

Current engineering education challenges require approaches that promote scientific, technical, design and complementary skills while fostering autonomy, innovation and responsibility. The European Project Semester (EPS) at Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) (EPS@ISEP) is a one semester project-based learning programme (30 European Credit Transfer Units (ECTU)) for engineering students from diverse scientific backgrounds and nationalities that intends to address these goals. The students, organised in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, are challenged to solve real multidisciplinary problems during one semester. The EPS package, although on project development (20 ECTU), includes a series of complementary seminars aimed at fostering soft, project-related and engineering transversal skills (10 ECTU). Hence, the students enrolled in this programme improve their transversal skills and learn, together and with the team of supervisors, subjects distinct from their core training. This paper presents the structure, implementation and results of the EPS@ISEP that was created in 2011 to apply the best engineering practices and promote internationalisation and engineering education innovation at ISEP.

Active tectonics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1986-01-01

This study is part of a series of Studies in Geophysics that have been undertaken for the Geophysics Research Forum by the Geophysics Study Committee. One purpose of each study is to provide assessments from the scientific community to aid policymakers in decisions on societal problems that involve geophysics. An important part of such assessments is an evaluation of the adequacy of current geophysical knowledge and the appropriateness of current research programs as a source of information required for those decisions. The study addresses our current scientific understanding of active tectonics --- particularly the patterns and rates of ongoing tectonicmore » processes. Many of these processes cannot be described reasonably using the limited instrumental or historical records; however, most can be described adequately for practical purposes using the geologic record of the past 500,000 years. A program of fundamental research focusing especially on Quaternary tectonic geology and geomorphology, paleoseismology, neotectonics, and geodesy is recommended to better understand ongoing, active tectonic processes. This volume contains 16 papers. Individual papers are indexed separately on the Energy Database.« less

hctsa: A Computational Framework for Automated Time-Series Phenotyping Using Massive Feature Extraction.

PubMed

Fulcher, Ben D; Jones, Nick S

2017-11-22

Phenotype measurements frequently take the form of time series, but we currently lack a systematic method for relating these complex data streams to scientifically meaningful outcomes, such as relating the movement dynamics of organisms to their genotype or measurements of brain dynamics of a patient to their disease diagnosis. Previous work addressed this problem by comparing implementations of thousands of diverse scientific time-series analysis methods in an approach termed highly comparative time-series analysis. Here, we introduce hctsa, a software tool for applying this methodological approach to data. hctsa includes an architecture for computing over 7,700 time-series features and a suite of analysis and visualization algorithms to automatically select useful and interpretable time-series features for a given application. Using exemplar applications to high-throughput phenotyping experiments, we show how hctsa allows researchers to leverage decades of time-series research to quantify and understand informative structure in time-series data. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Informed consent as a prescription calling for debate between analysts and researchers.

PubMed

Rodríguez Quiroga de Pereira, Andrea; Messina, Verónica María; Sansalone, Paula Andrea

2012-08-01

This article is a review of the international scientific literature on informed consent and its use in some of the constituent organizations of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA). Because psychoanalysis comprises a theory based on practice, the dearth of clinical material for study, training and research purposes is a serious problem for analysts. Supervisions, presentations at scientific societies and congresses, publications and teaching material involve patients to an extent that goes beyond the work done in their sessions. Should consent be requested in these cases? This contribution addresses controversial and long-standing issues such as informed consent and confidentiality, audio recording of treatments, knowledge production, the ambivalence of participating subjects over time and the perspective of analysts and patients respectively. The authors consider the various alternative approaches available for the handling of these ethical dilemmas without losing sight of the patient's dignity and personal rights, while also taking account of the position of the analyst. Copyright © 2012 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

["The hard core". Science between politics and philosophy by Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker and in the finalization theory].

PubMed

Krohn, Wolfgang

2014-01-01

In the Starnberg Max-Planck Institute one of the working groups was concerned with science as the formative condition--or "hard core"--of societal modernity, and with science as potential resource for solving social problems and addressing future goals. More precisely, the group intended to differentiate between phases in which scientific disciplines predominantly care for their own paradigmatic completion and those allowing their theoretical potential resonate with external needs. The conceptual model was coined "finalization in science". It soon provoked a heated controversy on the dangers of social control of science. The paper analyses Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker's views on the relation between philosophy and policy of science including his interpretation of Thomas Kuhn and reconstructs the impact of his ideas on the finalization model. It finally reflects on the relationship between science development and change of consciousness in the context of scientific responsibility for (the use of) research outcomes.

Filtered Push: Annotating Distributed Data for Quality Control and Fitness for Use Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, P. J.; Kelly, M. A.; Lowery, D. B.; Macklin, J. A.; Morris, R. A.; Tremonte, D.; Wang, Z.

2009-12-01

The single greatest problem with the federation of scientific data is the assessment of the quality and validity of the aggregated data in the context of particular research problems, that is, its fitness for use. There are three critical data quality issues in networks of distributed natural science collections data, as in all scientific data: identifying and correcting errors, maintaining currency, and assessing fitness for use. To this end, we have designed and implemented a prototype network in the domain of natural science collections. This prototype is built over the open source Map-Reduce platform Hadoop with a network client in the open source collections management system Specify 6. We call this network “Filtered Push” as, at its core, annotations are pushed from the network edges to relevant authoritative repositories, where humans and software filter the annotations before accepting them as changes to the authoritative data. The Filtered Push software is a domain-neutral framework for originating, distributing, and analyzing record-level annotations. Network participants can subscribe to notifications arising from ontology-based analyses of new annotations or of purpose-built queries against the network's global history of annotations. Quality and fitness for use of distributed natural science collections data can be addressed with Filtered Push software by implementing a network that allows data providers and consumers to define potential errors in data, develop metrics for those errors, specify workflows to analyze distributed data to detect potential errors, and to close the quality management cycle by providing a network architecture to pushing assertions about data quality such as corrections back to the curators of the participating data sets. Quality issues in distributed scientific data have several things in common: (1) Statements about data quality should be regarded as hypotheses about inconsistencies between perhaps several records, data sets, or practices of science. (2) Data quality problems often cannot be detected only from internal statistical correlations or logical analysis, but may need the application of defined workflows that signal illogical output. (3) Changes in scientific theory or practice over time can result in changes of what QC tests should be applied to legacy data. (4) The frequency of some classes of error in a data set may be identifiable without the ability to assert that a particular record is in error. To address these issues requires, as does science itself, framing QC hypotheses against data that may be anywhere and may arise at any time in the future. In short, QC for science data is a never ending process. It must provide for notice to an agent (human or software) that a given dataset supports a hypothesis of inconsistency with a current scientific resource or model, or with potential generalizations of the concepts in a metadata ontology. Like quality control in general, quality control of distributed data is a repeated cyclical process. In implementing a Filtered Push network for quality control, we have a model in which the cost of QC forever is not substantially greater than QC once.

Financial conflicts of interest in science.

PubMed

Sax, Joanna K

2012-01-01

This Article proposes a new direction for addressing financial conflicts of interest, which plague biomedical research and threaten scientific integrity. This Article descriptively states the controversy surrounding financial conflicts of interest by explaining how these conflicts arise and the damage that can be created as a result. By describing the scientific process, the Article explains that changes to the academic environment may allow the public-private interaction to proceed, without creating the problems associated with financial conflicts of interest. Financial conflicts of interest are created when the profit-seeking motive of a private funding source unduly influences an academic scientist's primary responsibilities. The problem with financial conflicts of interest has grown since the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980. The cornerstone of current policies to address financial conflicts of interest is disclosure, which is inadequate and unsatisfying. The analysis herein changes the trajectory of current approaches in this area by proposing that an analysis of the underlying environment and behavior leading to conflicts of interest must be considered. This Article proposes the use of behavioral economics to craft a policy that effectively addresses conflicts of interest. To this end, this Article applies research from the field of psychology to understand both the environment of academic scientists as well as to begin to understand how academic scientists make decisions. Drawing on psychology literature, this article proposes that academic scientists may experience cognitive dissonance when faced with a situation in which a conflict of interest may arise. This helps to understand why an academic scientist may make a decision that creates a conflict of interest. In addition, this Article utilizes the results of an empirical study conducted by myself and a colleague. In this study, we asked faculty at five medical schools to respond to an anonymous survey containing hypothetical situations in which a conflict may arise. The combination of the psychology literature and our empirical study can provide support to the creation of new policies. Policy proposals include implementation of default rules, education, and changes to academic requirements. Furthermore, this Article considers ways to incentivize medical centers to implement effective policies as well as changes to intellectual property law.

Highly parallel computation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Denning, Peter J.; Tichy, Walter F.

1990-01-01

Highly parallel computing architectures are the only means to achieve the computation rates demanded by advanced scientific problems. A decade of research has demonstrated the feasibility of such machines and current research focuses on which architectures designated as multiple instruction multiple datastream (MIMD) and single instruction multiple datastream (SIMD) have produced the best results to date; neither shows a decisive advantage for most near-homogeneous scientific problems. For scientific problems with many dissimilar parts, more speculative architectures such as neural networks or data flow may be needed.

Consistency of nature of science views across scientific and socio-scientific contexts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khishfe, Rola

2017-03-01

The purpose of the investigation was to investigate the consistency of NOS views among high school students across different scientific and socio-scientific contexts. A total of 261 high school students from eight different schools in Lebanon participated in the investigation. The schools were selected based on different geographical areas in Lebanon and the principals' consent to participate in the study. The investigation used a qualitative design to compare the responses of students across different contexts/topics. All the participants completed a five-item open-ended questionnaire, which includes five topics addressing scientific and socio-scientific contexts. The items of the questionnaire addressed the empirical, tentative, and subjective aspects of NOS. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to answer the research questions. Results showed that participants' views of the emphasised NOS aspects were mostly inconsistent. Plus, there was variance in participants' views of NOS between scientific and socio-scientific issues. Discussion of the results related to differential developmental progression, contextual factors, social constructivist perspective, different domains of knowledge, and students' individual differences.

A campaign to convey the scientific consensus about human-caused climate change: rationale, formative research, and campaign overview. (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maibach, E.; Leiserowitz, A.; Gould, R.

2013-12-01

Large numbers of Americans mistakenly believe that there is disagreement among the experts about the reality of climate change. For example, in our nationally representative survey conducted in April 2013, only 42% of respondents reported 'most scientists think global warming is happening;' conversely, 33% reported 'there is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether or not global warming is happening,' and an additional 20% responded they 'don't know enough to say.' Our research has also shown that this common misperception is highly consequential: people who misunderstand the scientific consensus are less convinced that climate change is occurring, is human-caused, serious, and solvable; they are also less likely to support societal responses to address the problem. In this paper, we will present the results of a series of randomized controlled message experiments conducted to determine the most effective means of conveying the extent of the scientific consensus about human-caused climate change. The variables tested include quantitative vs. qualitative consensus descriptions, more vs. less precise descriptions, contextualizing metaphors, graphical representations, and explanations regarding why people may have developed a misperception. The findings from this formative research are being used to create a communication campaign that will be launched in fall 2013 by a leading American scientific society prior to the AGU Annual Meeting. A full description of the campaign will be presented.

The Disconnect Between Journalism and Science and its Role in Public Misunderstanding of Important Scientific Issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yulsman, T.

2006-12-01

Research shows that Americans' knowledge of science is sorely inaccurate. U.S. adults get most of their knowledge from the popular media, so it has been claimed that problems with media coverage of science are to blame. But this is a simplistic analysis. At their roots, scientific and journalistic modes of inquiry actually share two important normative standards: empiricism and skepticism. On the other hand, news and new scientific knowledge are two very different things. News gathering is guided in large measure by criteria that help journalists decide what is worth covering, as well as by standards of fairness and balance. The overarching goal is to report on things considered newsworthy in a neutral manner. In science, the goal is to ruthlessly discard incorrect ideas to get at the truth about nature. This talk will examine the "good" -- the normative standards that journalists and scientists share, as well as the "bad" -- how the significant disconnects between science and journalism may be contributing to a lack of public understanding of critical scientific issues such as climate change. Among the questions that will be addressed: How do journalists decide what is news? How does science fare when these newsworthiness standards are applied to it? How does the journalistic standard of balance result in inaccurate reporting on climate change? And how might we improve the situation by enhancing communication between scientists and journalist?

Hydrology: The interdisciplinary science of water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogel, Richard M.; Lall, Upmanu; Cai, Ximing; Rajagopalan, Balaji; Weiskel, Peter K.; Hooper, Richard P.; Matalas, Nicholas C.

2015-06-01

We live in a world where biophysical and social processes are tightly coupled. Hydrologic systems change in response to a variety of natural and human forces such as climate variability and change, water use and water infrastructure, and land cover change. In turn, changes in hydrologic systems impact socioeconomic, ecological, and climate systems at a number of scales, leading to a coevolution of these interlinked systems. The Harvard Water Program, Hydrosociology, Integrated Water Resources Management, Ecohydrology, Hydromorphology, and Sociohydrology were all introduced to provide distinct, interdisciplinary perspectives on water problems to address the contemporary dynamics of human interaction with the hydrosphere and the evolution of the Earth's hydrologic systems. Each of them addresses scientific, social, and engineering challenges related to how humans influence water systems and vice versa. There are now numerous examples in the literature of how holistic approaches can provide a structure and vision of the future of hydrology. We review selected examples, which taken together, describe the type of theoretical and applied integrated hydrologic analyses and associated curricular content required to address the societal issue of water resources sustainability. We describe a modern interdisciplinary science of hydrology needed to develop an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of the connectedness between human and natural systems and to determine effective solutions to resolve the complex water problems that the world faces today. Nearly, every theoretical hydrologic model introduced previously is in need of revision to accommodate how climate, land, vegetation, and socioeconomic factors interact, change, and evolve over time.

Hydrology: The interdisciplinary science of water

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vogel, Richard M.; Lall, Upmanu; Cai, Ximing; Rajagopalan, Balaji; Weiskel, Peter K.; Hooper, Richard P.; Matalas, Nicholas C.

2015-01-01

We live in a world where biophysical and social processes are tightly coupled. Hydrologic systems change in response to a variety of natural and human forces such as climate variability and change, water use and water infrastructure, and land cover change. In turn, changes in hydrologic systems impact socioeconomic, ecological, and climate systems at a number of scales, leading to a coevolution of these interlinked systems. The Harvard Water Program, Hydrosociology, Integrated Water Resources Management, Ecohydrology, Hydromorphology, and Sociohydrology were all introduced to provide distinct, interdisciplinary perspectives on water problems to address the contemporary dynamics of human interaction with the hydrosphere and the evolution of the Earth’s hydrologic systems. Each of them addresses scientific, social, and engineering challenges related to how humans influence water systems and vice versa. There are now numerous examples in the literature of how holistic approaches can provide a structure and vision of the future of hydrology. We review selected examples, which taken together, describe the type of theoretical and applied integrated hydrologic analyses and associated curricular content required to address the societal issue of water resources sustainability. We describe a modern interdisciplinary science of hydrology needed to develop an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of the connectedness between human and natural systems and to determine effective solutions to resolve the complex water problems that the world faces today. Nearly, every theoretical hydrologic model introduced previously is in need of revision to accommodate how climate, land, vegetation, and socioeconomic factors interact, change, and evolve over time.

An Integrated Assessment Approach to Address Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana.

PubMed

Basu, Niladri; Renne, Elisha P; Long, Rachel N

2015-09-17

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is growing in many regions of the world including Ghana. The problems in these communities are complex and multi-faceted. To help increase understanding of such problems, and to enable consensus-building and effective translation of scientific findings to stakeholders, help inform policies, and ultimately improve decision making, we utilized an Integrated Assessment approach to study artisanal and small-scale gold mining activities in Ghana. Though Integrated Assessments have been used in the fields of environmental science and sustainable development, their use in addressing specific matter in public health, and in particular, environmental and occupational health is quite limited despite their many benefits. The aim of the current paper was to describe specific activities undertaken and how they were organized, and the outputs and outcomes of our activity. In brief, three disciplinary workgroups (Natural Sciences, Human Health, Social Sciences and Economics) were formed, with 26 researchers from a range of Ghanaian institutions plus international experts. The workgroups conducted activities in order to address the following question: What are the causes, consequences and correctives of small-scale gold mining in Ghana? More specifically: What alternatives are available in resource-limited settings in Ghana that allow for gold-mining to occur in a manner that maintains ecological health and human health without hindering near- and long-term economic prosperity? Several response options were identified and evaluated, and are currently being disseminated to various stakeholders within Ghana and internationally.

An Integrated Assessment Approach to Address Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana

PubMed Central

Basu, Niladri; Renne, Elisha P.; Long, Rachel N.

2015-01-01

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is growing in many regions of the world including Ghana. The problems in these communities are complex and multi-faceted. To help increase understanding of such problems, and to enable consensus-building and effective translation of scientific findings to stakeholders, help inform policies, and ultimately improve decision making, we utilized an Integrated Assessment approach to study artisanal and small-scale gold mining activities in Ghana. Though Integrated Assessments have been used in the fields of environmental science and sustainable development, their use in addressing specific matter in public health, and in particular, environmental and occupational health is quite limited despite their many benefits. The aim of the current paper was to describe specific activities undertaken and how they were organized, and the outputs and outcomes of our activity. In brief, three disciplinary workgroups (Natural Sciences, Human Health, Social Sciences and Economics) were formed, with 26 researchers from a range of Ghanaian institutions plus international experts. The workgroups conducted activities in order to address the following question: What are the causes, consequences and correctives of small-scale gold mining in Ghana? More specifically: What alternatives are available in resource-limited settings in Ghana that allow for gold-mining to occur in a manner that maintains ecological health and human health without hindering near- and long-term economic prosperity? Several response options were identified and evaluated, and are currently being disseminated to various stakeholders within Ghana and internationally. PMID:26393627

TOUGH3: A new efficient version of the TOUGH suite of multiphase flow and transport simulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Yoojin; Pau, George Shu Heng; Finsterle, Stefan; Pollyea, Ryan M.

2017-11-01

The TOUGH suite of nonisothermal multiphase flow and transport simulators has been updated by various developers over many years to address a vast range of challenging subsurface problems. The increasing complexity of the simulated processes as well as the growing size of model domains that need to be handled call for an improvement in the simulator's computational robustness and efficiency. Moreover, modifications have been frequently introduced independently, resulting in multiple versions of TOUGH that (1) led to inconsistencies in feature implementation and usage, (2) made code maintenance and development inefficient, and (3) caused confusion to users and developers. TOUGH3-a new base version of TOUGH-addresses these issues. It consolidates both the serial (TOUGH2 V2.1) and parallel (TOUGH2-MP V2.0) implementations, enabling simulations to be performed on desktop computers and supercomputers using a single code. New PETSc parallel linear solvers are added to the existing serial solvers of TOUGH2 and the Aztec solver used in TOUGH2-MP. The PETSc solvers generally perform better than the Aztec solvers in parallel and the internal TOUGH3 linear solver in serial. TOUGH3 also incorporates many new features, addresses bugs, and improves the flexibility of data handling. Due to the improved capabilities and usability, TOUGH3 is more robust and efficient for solving tough and computationally demanding problems in diverse scientific and practical applications related to subsurface flow modeling.

Toward Theory-Based Instruction in Scientific Problem Solving.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heller, Joan I.; And Others

Several empirical and theoretical analyses related to scientific problem-solving are reviewed, including: detailed studies of individuals at different levels of expertise, and computer models simulating some aspects of human information processing during problem solving. Analysis of these studies has revealed many facets about the nature of the…

Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics at AGU - Strategies and Actions to Impact Sexual Harassment in Science and other Work Climate Issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McPhaden, Michael; Davidson, Eric; McEntee, Christine; Williams, Billy

2017-04-01

The American Geophysical Union (AGU), a scientific society of 62,000 members worldwide, has established a set of scientific integrity and professional ethics guidelines for the actions of its members, for the governance of the union in its internal activities, and for the operations and participation in its publications and scientific meetings. More recently AGU has undertaken strategies and actions to help address the issue of harassment in the sciences and other work climate issues. This presentation will provide an overview of the role of scientific societies in helping to address these important issues, as well as specific strategies and actions underway at AGU and other societies. Progress to date and remaining challenges of this effort will be discussed, including AGU's work to provide additional program strength in this area.

Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics (CIG)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurnis, M.; Kellogg, L. H.; Bloxham, J.; Hager, B. H.; Spiegelman, M.; Willett, S.; Wysession, M. E.; Aivazis, M.

2004-12-01

Solid earth geophysicists have a long tradition of writing scientific software to address a wide range of problems. In particular, computer simulations came into wide use in geophysics during the decade after the plate tectonic revolution. Solution schemes and numerical algorithms that developed in other areas of science, most notably engineering, fluid mechanics, and physics, were adapted with considerable success to geophysics. This software has largely been the product of individual efforts and although this approach has proven successful, its strength for solving problems of interest is now starting to show its limitations as we try to share codes and algorithms or when we want to recombine codes in novel ways to produce new science. With funding from the NSF, the US community has embarked on a Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics (CIG) that will develop, support, and disseminate community-accessible software for the greater geodynamics community from model developers to end-users. The software is being developed for problems involving mantle and core dynamics, crustal and earthquake dynamics, magma migration, seismology, and other related topics. With a high level of community participation, CIG is leveraging state-of-the-art scientific computing into a suite of open-source tools and codes. The infrastructure that we are now starting to develop will consist of: (a) a coordinated effort to develop reusable, well-documented and open-source geodynamics software; (b) the basic building blocks - an infrastructure layer - of software by which state-of-the-art modeling codes can be quickly assembled; (c) extension of existing software frameworks to interlink multiple codes and data through a superstructure layer; (d) strategic partnerships with the larger world of computational science and geoinformatics; and (e) specialized training and workshops for both the geodynamics and broader Earth science communities. The CIG initiative has already started to leverage and develop long-term strategic partnerships with open source development efforts within the larger thrusts of scientific computing and geoinformatics. These strategic partnerships are essential as the frontier has moved into multi-scale and multi-physics problems in which many investigators now want to use simulation software for data interpretation, data assimilation, and hypothesis testing.

Transforming "Ecosystem" from a Scientific Concept into a Teachable Topic: Philosophy and History of Ecology Informs Science Textbook Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schizas, Dimitrios; Papatheodorou, Efimia; Stamou, George

2018-01-01

This study conducts a textbook analysis in the frame of the following working hypothesis: The transformation of scientific knowledge into school knowledge is expected to reproduce the problems encountered with the scientific knowledge itself or generate additional problems, which may both induce misconceptions in textbook users. Specifically, we…

Potential Solution of a Hardware-Software System V-Cluster for Big Data Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morra, G.; Tufo, H.; Yuen, D. A.; Brown, J.; Zihao, S.

2017-12-01

Today it cannot be denied that the Big Data revolution is taking place and is replacing HPC and numerical simulation as the main driver in society. Outside the immediate scientific arena, the Big Data market encompass much more than the AGU. There are many sectors in society that Big Data can ably serve, such as governments finances, hospitals, tourism, and, last by not least, scientific and engineering problems. In many countries, education has not kept pace with the demands from students outside computer science to get into Big Data science. Ultimate Vision (UV) in Beijing attempts to address this need in China by focusing part of our energy on education and training outside the immediate university environment. UV plans a strategy to maximize profits in our beginning. Therefore, we will focus on growing markets such as provincial governments, medical sectors, mass media, and education. And will not address issues such as performance for scientific collaboration, such as seismic networks, where the market share and profits are small by comparison. We have developed a software-hardware system, called V-Cluster, built with the latest NVIDIA GPUs and Intel CPUs with ample amounts of RAM (over couple of Tbytes) and local storage. We have put in an internal network with high bandwidth (over 100 Gbits/sec) and each node of V-Cluster can run at around 40 Tflops. Our system can scale linearly with the number of codes. Our main strength in data analytics is the use of graph-computing paradigm for optimizing the transfer rate in collaborative efforts. We focus in training and education with our clients in order to gain experience in learning about new applications. We will present the philosophy of this second generation of our Data Analytic system, whose costs fall far below those offered elsewhere.

ISEES: an institute for sustainable software to accelerate environmental science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, M. B.; Schildhauer, M.; Fox, P. A.

2013-12-01

Software is essential to the full science lifecycle, spanning data acquisition, processing, quality assessment, data integration, analysis, modeling, and visualization. Software runs our meteorological sensor systems, our data loggers, and our ocean gliders. Every aspect of science is impacted by, and improved by, software. Scientific advances ranging from modeling climate change to the sequencing of the human genome have been rendered possible in the last few decades due to the massive improvements in the capabilities of computers to process data through software. This pivotal role of software in science is broadly acknowledged, while simultaneously being systematically undervalued through minimal investments in maintenance and innovation. As a community, we need to embrace the creation, use, and maintenance of software within science, and address problems such as code complexity, openness,reproducibility, and accessibility. We also need to fully develop new skills and practices in software engineering as a core competency in our earth science disciplines, starting with undergraduate and graduate education and extending into university and agency professional positions. The Institute for Sustainable Earth and Environmental Software (ISEES) is being envisioned as a community-driven activity that can facilitate and galvanize activites around scientific software in an analogous way to synthesis centers such as NCEAS and NESCent that have stimulated massive advances in ecology and evolution. We will describe the results of six workshops (Science Drivers, Software Lifecycles, Software Components, Workforce Development and Training, Sustainability and Governance, and Community Engagement) that have been held in 2013 to envision such an institute. We will present community recommendations from these workshops and our strategic vision for how ISEES will address the technical issues in the software lifecycle, sustainability of the whole software ecosystem, and the critical issue of computational training for the scientific community. Process for envisioning ISEES.

High-Precision and Low Latency RT-GNSS Processed Data for Diverse Geophysical and Natural Hazard Communities.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mencin, David; Hodgkinson, Kathleen; Sievers, Charlie; David, Phillips; Charles, Meertens; Glen, Mattioli

2017-04-01

UNAVCO has been providing infrastructure and support for solid-earth sciences and earthquake natural hazards for the past two decades. Recent advances in GNSS technology and data processing are now providing position solutions with centimeter-level precision at high-rate (>1 Hz) and low latency (i.e. the time required for data to arrive for analysis, in this case less than 1 second). These data have the potential to improve our understanding in diverse areas of geophysics including properties of seismic, volcanic, magmatic and tsunami sources, and thus profoundly transform rapid event characterization and warning. Scientific and operational applications also include glacier and ice sheet motions; tropospheric modeling; and space weather. These areas of geophysics represent a spectrum of research fields, including geodesy, seismology, tropospheric weather, space weather and natural hazards. Processed Real-Time GNSS (RT-GNSS) data will require formats and standards that allow this broad and diverse community to use these data and associated meta-data in existing research infrastructure. These advances have critically highlighted the difficulties associated with merging data and metadata between scientific disciplines. Even seemingly very closely related fields such as geodesy and seismology, which both have rich histories of handling large volumes of data and metadata, do not go together well in any automated way. Community analysis strategies, or lack thereof, such as treatment of error prove difficult to address and are reflected in the data and metadata. In addition, these communities have differing security, accessibility and reliability requirements. We propose some solutions to the particular problem of making RT-GNSS processed solution data and metadata accessible to multiply scientific and natural hazard communities. Importantly, we discuss the roadblocks encounter and solved and those that remain to be addressed.

The ethics of socio-ecohydrological catchment management: towards hydrosolidarity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falkenmark, M.; Folke, Carl

This paper attempts to clarify key biophysical issues and the problems involved in the ethics of socio-ecohydrological catchment management. The issue in managing complex systems is to live with unavoidable change while securing the capacity of the ecohydrological system of the catchment to sustain vital ecological goods and services, aquatic as well as terrestrial, on which humanity depends ultimately. Catchment management oriented to sustainability has to be based on ethical principles: human rights, international conventions, sustaining crucial ecological goods and services, and protecting ecosystem resilience, all of which have water linkages. Many weaknesses have to be identified, assessed and mitigated to improve the tools by which the ethical issues can be addressed and solved:

• a heritage of constraining tunnel vision in both science and management;
• inadequate shortcuts made in modern scientific system analyses (e.g. science addressing sustainability issues);
• simplistic technical-fix approaches to water and ecosystems in land/water/ecosystem management;
• conventional tools for evaluation of scientific quality with its focus on "doing the thing right" rather than "doing the right thing".

The new ethics have to incorporate principles that, on a catchment basis, allow for proper attention to the hungry and poor, upstream and downstream, to descendants, and to sites and habitats that need to be protected.

Time for a change: addressing R&D and commercialization challenges for antibacterials

PubMed Central

Payne, David J.; Miller, Linda Federici; Findlay, David; Anderson, James; Marks, Lynn

2015-01-01

The antibacterial therapeutic area has been described as the perfect storm. Resistance is increasing to the point that our hospitals encounter patients infected with untreatable pathogens, the overall industry pipeline is described as dry and most multinational pharmaceutical companies have withdrawn from the area. Major contributing factors to the declining antibacterial industry pipeline include scientific challenges, clinical/regulatory hurdles and low return on investment. This paper examines these challenges and proposes approaches to address them. There is a need for a broader scientific agenda to explore new approaches to discover and develop antibacterial agents. Additionally, ideas of how industry and academia could be better integrated will be presented. While promising progress in the regulatory environment has been made, more streamlined regulatory paths are still required and the solutions will lie in global harmonization and clearly defined guidance. Creating the right incentives for antibacterial research and development is critical and a new commercial model for antibacterial agents will be proposed. One key solution to help resolve both the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and lack of new drug development are rapid, cost-effective, accurate point of care diagnostics that will transform antibacterial prescribing and enable more cost-effective and efficient antibacterial clinical trials. The challenges of AMR are too great for any one group to resolve and success will require leadership and partnerships among academia, industry and governments globally. PMID:25918443

From Comparison Between Scientists to Gaining Cultural Scientific Knowledge. Leonardo and Galileo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galili, Igal

2016-03-01

Physics textbooks often present items of disciplinary knowledge in a sequential order of topics of the theory under instruction. Such presentation is usually univocal, that is, isolated from alternative claims and contributions regarding the subject matter in the pertinent scientific discourse. We argue that comparing and contrasting the contributions of scientists addressing similar or the same subject could not only enrich the picture of scientific enterprise, but also possess a special appealing power promoting genuine understanding of the concept considered. This approach draws on the historical tradition from Plutarch in distant past and Koyré in the recent history and philosophy of science. It gains a new support in the discipline-culture structuring of the physics curriculum, seeking cultural content knowledge (CCK) of the subject matter. Here, we address two prominent individuals of Italian Renaissance, Leonardo and Galileo, in their dealing with issues relevant for introductory science courses. Although both figures addressed similar subjects of scientific content, their products were essentially different. Considering this difference is educationally valuable, illustrating the meaning of what students presently learn in the content knowledge of mechanics, optics and astronomy, as well as the nature of science and scientific knowledge.

Assessment of Uncertainty-Infused Scientific Argumentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Hee-Sun; Liu, Ou Lydia; Pallant, Amy; Roohr, Katrina Crotts; Pryputniewicz, Sarah; Buck, Zoë E.

2014-01-01

Though addressing sources of uncertainty is an important part of doing science, it has largely been neglected in assessing students' scientific argumentation. In this study, we initially defined a scientific argumentation construct in four structural elements consisting of claim, justification, uncertainty qualifier, and uncertainty…

An analysis of the concept of teaching in elementary school science education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seatter, Carol Eunice Scarff

The problem for this thesis arises directly from several years of observation of science classrooms in British Columbia. The troubling phenomenon seen within numerous classrooms, taught by teachers claiming to be constructivist teachers, involved teachers fostering the idea that children can think about science in terms of their own ideas, that is, that children can think about science in common-sense terms. In the many cases I have observed, teachers justify this practice on the grounds of constructivist theory. However, this kind of "constructivist teaching" does not, in my opinion, lead to scientific reasoning. My argument begins with the premise that the development of scientific reasoning in children is necessary for science education. I will argue that the currently popular "constructivist" movement has significant potential to fail in producing scientific reasoning in children, as did its predecessor, the "discovery learning" movement of the 1960s. The incommensurable differences between scientific and common-sense reasoning are presented and discussed. This thesis examines constructivist theory in terms of its potential to hinder the development of scientific reasoning in children. Two features of the constructivist writings are examined: those which pertain to the nature of science, and those relating to the concept of teaching. A chapter on the logic of scientific inquiry is central to the thesis, as it describes and explains the concepts, forms of explanation and truth criteria unique to the discipline of science. The epistemological foundations of science education are discussed in terms of the realist/instrumentalist debate. The thesis argues in favor of a sophisticated realist view of knowledge, such as those offered by Hacking and Matthews who take into account Hanson's "theory-laden" observation without falling prey to a naive realist view. Reasoning in science is compared with children's common-sense reasoning in an attempt to further understand the phenomenon of children's science. The chapter on teaching discusses intellectual and strategic teaching acts and relates these to Roberts' notion of the "Trialogue" teaching style. Roberts' notion of "Abandonment"---a style of teaching in which the teacher's prerogative to share his or her expertise is omitted---is presented as a way of discussing the potential for abandonment in contemporary science education. The final chapter addresses the question, "What can we do about the potential problem of Abandonment?" Strategies are presented in which students are able to develop scientific understanding with respect to objects and events, while allowing the teacher to implement intellectual teaching acts, necessary for the teaching of scientific concepts.

Identifying Key Features, Cutting Edge Cloud Resources, and Artificial Intelligence Tools to Achieve User-Friendly Water Science in the Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, S. A.

2017-12-01

Decision making for groundwater systems is becoming increasingly important, as shifting water demands increasingly impact aquifers. As buffer systems, aquifers provide room for resilient responses and augment the actual timeframe for hydrological response. Yet the pace impacts, climate shifts, and degradation of water resources is accelerating. To meet these new drivers, groundwater science is transitioning toward the emerging field of Integrated Water Resources Management, or IWRM. IWRM incorporates a broad array of dimensions, methods, and tools to address problems that tend to be complex. Computational tools and accessible cyberinfrastructure (CI) are needed to cross the chasm between science and society. Fortunately cloud computing environments, such as the new Jetstream system, are evolving rapidly. While still targeting scientific user groups systems such as, Jetstream, offer configurable cyberinfrastructure to enable interactive computing and data analysis resources on demand. The web-based interfaces allow researchers to rapidly customize virtual machines, modify computing architecture and increase the usability and access for broader audiences to advanced compute environments. The result enables dexterous configurations and opening up opportunities for IWRM modelers to expand the reach of analyses, number of case studies, and quality of engagement with stakeholders and decision makers. The acute need to identify improved IWRM solutions paired with advanced computational resources refocuses the attention of IWRM researchers on applications, workflows, and intelligent systems that are capable of accelerating progress. IWRM must address key drivers of community concern, implement transdisciplinary methodologies, adapt and apply decision support tools in order to effectively support decisions about groundwater resource management. This presentation will provide an overview of advanced computing services in the cloud using integrated groundwater management case studies to highlight how Cloud CI streamlines the process for setting up an interactive decision support system. Moreover, advances in artificial intelligence offer new techniques for old problems from integrating data to adaptive sensing or from interactive dashboards to optimizing multi-attribute problems. The combination of scientific expertise, flexible cloud computing solutions, and intelligent systems opens new research horizons.

Conceptualization of an R&D Based Learning-to-Innovate Model for Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, Oiki Sylvia

The purpose of this research was to conceptualize an R & D based learning-to-innovate (LTI) model. The problem to be addressed was the lack of a theoretical L TI model, which would inform science pedagogy. The absorptive capacity (ACAP) lens was adopted to untangle the R & D LTI phenomenon into four learning processes: problem-solving via knowledge acquisition, incremental improvement via knowledge participation, scientific discovery via knowledge creation, and product design via knowledge productivity. The four knowledge factors were the latent factors and each factor had seven manifest elements as measured variables. The key objectives of the non experimental quantitative survey were to measure the relative importance of the identified elements and to explore the underlining structure of the variables. A questionnaire had been prepared, and was administered to more than 155 R & D professionals from four sectors - business, academic, government, and nonprofit. The results showed that every identified element was important to the R & D professionals, in terms of improving the related type of innovation. The most important elements were highlighted to serve as building blocks for elaboration. In search for patterns of the data matrix, exploratory factor analysis (EF A) was performed. Principal component analysis was the first phase of EF A to extract factors; while maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) was used to estimate the model. EF A yielded the finding of two aspects in each kind of knowledge. Logical names were assigned to represent the nature of the subsets: problem and knowledge under knowledge acquisition, planning and participation under knowledge participation, exploration and discovery under knowledge creation, and construction and invention under knowledge productivity. These two constructs, within each kind of knowledge, added structure to the vague R & D based LTI model. The research questions and hypotheses testing were addressed using correlation analysis. The alternative hypotheses that there were positive relationships between knowledge factors and their corresponding types of innovation were accepted. In-depth study of each process is recommended in both research and application. Experimental tests are needed, in order to ultimately present the LTI model to enhance the scientific knowledge absorptive capacity of the learners to facilitate their innovation performance.

Perspectives of German and US Students as They Make Meaning of Science in Their Everyday Lives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preczewski, Paul J.; Mittler, Alexandra; Tillotson, John W.

2009-01-01

Scientific literacy is a major educational and political goal worldwide, yet the development and enhancement of scientific literacy is not well understood. In order to better understand scientific literacy at the level of everyday science meaning making and a person's ability to address scientific questions and issues, this study reports on…

The Crossroads between Biology and Mathematics: The Scientific Method as the Basics of Scientific Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karsai, Istvan; Kampis, George

2010-01-01

Biology is changing and becoming more quantitative. Research is creating new challenges that need to be addressed in education as well. New educational initiatives focus on combining laboratory procedures with mathematical skills, yet it seems that most curricula center on a single relationship between scientific knowledge and scientific method:…

Searching for scientific literacy and critical pedagogy in socioscientific curricula: A critical discourse analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cummings, Kristina M.

The omnipresence of science and technology in our society require the development of a critical and scientifically literate citizenry. However, the inclusion of socioscientific issues, which are open-ended controversial issues informed by both science and societal factors such as politics, economics, and ethics, do not guarantee the development of these skills. The purpose of this critical discourse analysis is to identify and analyze the discursive strategies used in intermediate science texts and curricula that address socioscientific topics and the extent to which the discourses are designed to promote or suppress the development of scientific literacy and a critical pedagogy. Three curricula that address the issue of energy and climate change were analyzed using Gee's (2011) building tasks and inquiry tools. The curricula were written by an education organization entitled PreSEES, a corporate-sponsored group called NEED, and a non-profit organization named Oxfam. The analysis found that the PreSEES and Oxfam curricula elevated the significance of climate change and the NEED curriculum deemphasized the issue. The PreSEES and Oxfam curricula promoted the development of scientific literacy while the NEED curricula suppressed its development. The PreSEES and Oxfam curricula both promoted the development of the critical pedagogy; however, only the Oxfam curricula provided authentic opportunities to enact sociopolitical change. The NEED curricula suppressed the development of critical pedagogy. From these findings, the following conclusions were drawn. When socioscientific issues are presented with the development of scientific literacy and critical pedagogy, the curricula allow students to develop fact-based opinions about the issue. However, curricula that address socioscientific issues without the inclusion of these skills minimize the significance of the issue and normalize the hegemonic worldview promoted by the curricula's authors. Based on these findings, additional research is necessary to confirm the connection between the way curricula address a socioscientific issue and develop or suppress scientific literacy. Additionally, further analysis is necessary to confirm the connection between corporate-sponsored curricula and the suppression of socioscientific issues, scientific literacy, and critical pedagogy. Finally, this study addressed only the intended results of the curricula. Further research is necessary to measure the actual impacts of these curricula on students.

SCIENTIFIC MANPOWER UTILIZATION, HEARINGS ON S. 430, AND S. 467, JANUARY 24-27, MARCH 29-30, 1967.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare.

THE PURPOSE OF BILL S. 430, "SCIENTIFIC MANPOWER UTILIZATION ACT OF 1967," IS TO FACILITATE AND ENCOURAGE THE UTILIZATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNICAL RESOURCES OF THE NATION IN MEETING URGENT NATIONAL AND LOCAL PROBLEMS BY PROMOTING THE APPLICATION OF SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING TO PROBLEMS IN THE AREAS OF EDUCATION,…

Model Based Reasoning by Introductory Students When Analyzing Earth Systems and Societal Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holder, L. N.; Herbert, B. E.

2014-12-01

Understanding how students use their conceptual models to reason about societal challenges involving societal issues such as natural hazard risk assessment, environmental policy and management, and energy resources can improve instructional activity design that directly impacts student motivation and literacy. To address this question, we created four laboratory exercises for an introductory physical geology course at Texas A&M University that engages students in authentic scientific practices by using real world problems and issues that affect societies based on the theory of situated cognition. Our case-study design allows us to investigate the various ways that students utilize model based reasoning to identify and propose solutions to societally relevant issues. In each of the four interventions, approximately 60 students in three sections of introductory physical geology were expected to represent and evaluate scientific data, make evidence-based claims about the data trends, use those claims to express conceptual models, and use their models to analyze societal challenges. Throughout each step of the laboratory exercise students were asked to justify their claims, models, and data representations using evidence and through the use of argumentation with peers. Cognitive apprenticeship was the foundation for instruction used to scaffold students so that in the first exercise they are given a partially completed model and in the last exercise students are asked to generate a conceptual model on their own. Student artifacts, including representation of earth systems, representation of scientific data, verbal and written explanations of models and scientific arguments, and written solutions to specific societal issues or environmental problems surrounding earth systems, were analyzed through the use of a rubric that modeled authentic expertise and students were sorted into three categories. Written artifacts were examined to identify student argumentation and justifications of solutions through the use of evidence and reasoning. Higher scoring students justified their solutions through evidence-based claims, while lower scoring students typically justified their solutions using anecdotal evidence, emotional ideologies, and naive and incomplete conceptions of earth systems.

Environmental Biosciences Program Quarterly Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2007-07-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Environmental Biosciences Program Report for Year 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2007-04-30

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems. Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Environmental Biosciences Report for Year 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2007-10-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Environmental Biosciences Quarterly Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2007-01-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems. Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

International scientific communications in the field of colorectal tumour markers.

PubMed

Ivanov, Krasimir; Donev, Ivan

2017-05-27

To analyze scientometrically the dynamic science internationalization on colorectal tumour markers as reflected in five information portals and to outline the significant journals, scientists and institutions. A retrospective problem-oriented search was performed in Web of Science Core Collection (WoS), MEDLINE, BIOSIS Citation Index (BIOSIS) and Scopus for 1986-2015 as well as in Dervent Innovations Index (Derwent) for 1995-2015. Several specific scientometric parameters of the publication output and citation activity were comparatively analyzed. The following scientometric parameters were analyzed: (1) annual dynamics of publications; (2) scientific institutions; (3) journals; (4) authors; (5) scientific forums; (6) patents - number of patents, names and countries of inventors, and (7) citations (number of citations to publications by single authors received in WoS, BIOSIS Citation Index and Scopus). There is a trend towards increasing publication output on colorectal tumour markers worldwide along with high citation rates. Authors from 70 countries have published their research results in journals and conference proceedings in 21 languages. There is considerable country stratification similar to that in most systematic investigations. The information provided to end users and scientometricians varies between these data-bases in terms of most parameters due to different journal coverage, indexing systems and editorial policy. The lists of the so-called "core" journals and most productive authors in WoS, BIOSIS, MEDLINE and Scopus along with the list of the most productive authors - inventors in Derwent present a particular interest to the beginners in the field, the institutional and national science managers and the journal editorial board members. The role of the purposeful assessment of scientific forums and patents is emphasized. Our results along with this problem-oriented collection containing the researchers' names, addresses and publications could contribute to a more effective international collaboration of the coloproctologists from smaller countries and thus improve their visibility on the world information market.

International scientific communications in the field of colorectal tumour markers

PubMed Central

Ivanov, Krasimir; Donev, Ivan

2017-01-01

AIM To analyze scientometrically the dynamic science internationalization on colorectal tumour markers as reflected in five information portals and to outline the significant journals, scientists and institutions. METHODS A retrospective problem-oriented search was performed in Web of Science Core Collection (WoS), MEDLINE, BIOSIS Citation Index (BIOSIS) and Scopus for 1986-2015 as well as in Dervent Innovations Index (Derwent) for 1995-2015. Several specific scientometric parameters of the publication output and citation activity were comparatively analyzed. The following scientometric parameters were analyzed: (1) annual dynamics of publications; (2) scientific institutions; (3) journals; (4) authors; (5) scientific forums; (6) patents - number of patents, names and countries of inventors, and (7) citations (number of citations to publications by single authors received in WoS, BIOSIS Citation Index and Scopus). RESULTS There is a trend towards increasing publication output on colorectal tumour markers worldwide along with high citation rates. Authors from 70 countries have published their research results in journals and conference proceedings in 21 languages. There is considerable country stratification similar to that in most systematic investigations. The information provided to end users and scientometricians varies between these data-bases in terms of most parameters due to different journal coverage, indexing systems and editorial policy. The lists of the so-called “core” journals and most productive authors in WoS, BIOSIS, MEDLINE and Scopus along with the list of the most productive authors - inventors in Derwent present a particular interest to the beginners in the field, the institutional and national science managers and the journal editorial board members. The role of the purposeful assessment of scientific forums and patents is emphasized. CONCLUSION Our results along with this problem-oriented collection containing the researchers’ names, addresses and publications could contribute to a more effective international collaboration of the coloproctologists from smaller countries and thus improve their visibility on the world information market. PMID:28603585

76 FR 4705 - Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-26

...] Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration.... Name of Committee: Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. General Function of the Committee... nature of the evidence or arguments they wish to present, the names and addresses of proposed...

75 FR 56547 - Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-16

...] Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration... Products Scientific Advisory Committee. General Function of the Committee: To provide advice and... evidence or arguments they wish to present, the names and addresses of proposed participants, and an...

Subsurface Transport Over Multiple Phases Demonstration Software

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2016-01-05

The STOMP simulator is a suite of numerical simulators developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for addressing problems involving coupled multifluid hydrologic, thermal, geochemical, and geomechanical processes in the subsurface. The simulator has been applied to problems concerning environmental remediation, environmental stewardship, carbon sequestration, conventional petroleum production, and the production of unconventional hydrocarbon fuels. The simulator is copyrighted by Battelle Memorial Institute, and is available outside of PNNL via use agreements. To promote the open exchange of scientific ideas the simulator is provided as source code. A demonstration version of the simulator has been developed, which will provide potential newmore » users with an executable (not source code) implementation of the software royalty free. Demonstration versions will be offered via the STOMP website for all currently available operational modes of the simulator. The demonstration versions of the simulator will be configured with the direct banded linear system solver and have a limit of 1,000 active grid cells. This will provide potential new users with an opportunity to apply the code to simple problems, including many of the STOMP short course problems, without having to pay a license fee. Users will be required to register on the STOMP website prior to receiving an executable.« less

Proceedings: Fourth Workshop on Mining Scientific Datasets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kamath, C

Commercial applications of data mining in areas such as e-commerce, market-basket analysis, text-mining, and web-mining have taken on a central focus in the JCDD community. However, there is a significant amount of innovative data mining work taking place in the context of scientific and engineering applications that is not well represented in the mainstream KDD conferences. For example, scientific data mining techniques are being developed and applied to diverse fields such as remote sensing, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, structural mechanics, computational fluid dynamics etc. In these areas, data mining frequently complements and enhances existing analysis methods based on statistics, exploratorymore » data analysis, and domain-specific approaches. On the surface, it may appear that data from one scientific field, say genomics, is very different from another field, such as physics. However, despite their diversity, there is much that is common across the mining of scientific and engineering data. For example, techniques used to identify objects in images are very similar, regardless of whether the images came from a remote sensing application, a physics experiment, an astronomy observation, or a medical study. Further, with data mining being applied to new types of data, such as mesh data from scientific simulations, there is the opportunity to apply and extend data mining to new scientific domains. This one-day workshop brings together data miners analyzing science data and scientists from diverse fields to share their experiences, learn how techniques developed in one field can be applied in another, and better understand some of the newer techniques being developed in the KDD community. This is the fourth workshop on the topic of Mining Scientific Data sets; for information on earlier workshops, see http://www.ahpcrc.org/conferences/. This workshop continues the tradition of addressing challenging problems in a field where the diversity of applications is matched only by the opportunities that await a practitioner.« less

A Multifaceted Mathematical Approach for Complex Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alexander, F.; Anitescu, M.; Bell, J.

2012-03-07

Applied mathematics has an important role to play in developing the tools needed for the analysis, simulation, and optimization of complex problems. These efforts require the development of the mathematical foundations for scientific discovery, engineering design, and risk analysis based on a sound integrated approach for the understanding of complex systems. However, maximizing the impact of applied mathematics on these challenges requires a novel perspective on approaching the mathematical enterprise. Previous reports that have surveyed the DOE's research needs in applied mathematics have played a key role in defining research directions with the community. Although these reports have had significantmore » impact, accurately assessing current research needs requires an evaluation of today's challenges against the backdrop of recent advances in applied mathematics and computing. To address these needs, the DOE Applied Mathematics Program sponsored a Workshop for Mathematics for the Analysis, Simulation and Optimization of Complex Systems on September 13-14, 2011. The workshop had approximately 50 participants from both the national labs and academia. The goal of the workshop was to identify new research areas in applied mathematics that will complement and enhance the existing DOE ASCR Applied Mathematics Program efforts that are needed to address problems associated with complex systems. This report describes recommendations from the workshop and subsequent analysis of the workshop findings by the organizing committee.« less

Alternative Test Methods for Developmental Neurotoxicity: A ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Exposure to environmental contaminants is well documented to adversely impact the development of the nervous system. However, the time, animal and resource intensive EPA and OECD testing guideline methods for developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) are not a viable solution to characterizing potential chemical hazards for the thousands of untested chemicals currently in commerce. Thus, research efforts over the past decade have endeavored to develop cost-effective alternative DNT testing methods. These efforts have begun to generate data that can inform regulatory decisions. Yet there are major challenges to both the acceptance and use of this data. Major scientific challenges for DNT include development of new methods and models that are “fit for purpose”, development of a decision-use framework, and regulatory acceptance of the methods. It is critical to understand that use of data from these methods will be driven mainly by the regulatory problems being addressed. Some problems may be addressed with limited datasets, while others may require data for large numbers of chemicals, or require the development and use of new biological and computational models. For example mechanistic information derived from in vitro DNT assays can be used to inform weight of evidence (WoE) or integrated approaches to testing and assessment (IATA) approaches for chemical-specific assessments. Alternatively, in vitro data can be used to prioritize (for further testing) the thousands

Scientific Data Management Center for Enabling Technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vouk, Mladen A.

Managing scientific data has been identified by the scientific community as one of the most important emerging needs because of the sheer volume and increasing complexity of data being collected. Effectively generating, managing, and analyzing this information requires a comprehensive, end-to-end approach to data management that encompasses all of the stages from the initial data acquisition to the final analysis of the data. Fortunately, the data management problems encountered by most scientific domains are common enough to be addressed through shared technology solutions. Based on community input, we have identified three significant requirements. First, more efficient access to storage systemsmore » is needed. In particular, parallel file system and I/O system improvements are needed to write and read large volumes of data without slowing a simulation, analysis, or visualization engine. These processes are complicated by the fact that scientific data are structured differently for specific application domains, and are stored in specialized file formats. Second, scientists require technologies to facilitate better understanding of their data, in particular the ability to effectively perform complex data analysis and searches over extremely large data sets. Specialized feature discovery and statistical analysis techniques are needed before the data can be understood or visualized. Furthermore, interactive analysis requires techniques for efficiently selecting subsets of the data. Finally, generating the data, collecting and storing the results, keeping track of data provenance, data post-processing, and analysis of results is a tedious, fragmented process. Tools for automation of this process in a robust, tractable, and recoverable fashion are required to enhance scientific exploration. The SDM center was established under the SciDAC program to address these issues. The SciDAC-1 Scientific Data Management (SDM) Center succeeded in bringing an initial set of advanced data management technologies to DOE application scientists in astrophysics, climate, fusion, and biology. Equally important, it established collaborations with these scientists to better understand their science as well as their forthcoming data management and data analytics challenges. Building on our early successes, we have greatly enhanced, robustified, and deployed our technology to these communities. In some cases, we identified new needs that have been addressed in order to simplify the use of our technology by scientists. This report summarizes our work so far in SciDAC-2. Our approach is to employ an evolutionary development and deployment process: from research through prototypes to deployment and infrastructure. Accordingly, we have organized our activities in three layers that abstract the end-to-end data flow described above. We labeled the layers (from bottom to top): a) Storage Efficient Access (SEA), b) Data Mining and Analysis (DMA), c) Scientific Process Automation (SPA). The SEA layer is immediately on top of hardware, operating systems, file systems, and mass storage systems, and provides parallel data access technology, and transparent access to archival storage. The DMA layer, which builds on the functionality of the SEA layer, consists of indexing, feature identification, and parallel statistical analysis technology. The SPA layer, which is on top of the DMA layer, provides the ability to compose scientific workflows from the components in the DMA layer as well as application specific modules. NCSU work performed under this contract was primarily at the SPA layer.« less

[SEMERGEN positioning for the treatment of alcohol disorders in primary care].

PubMed

Arbesú, José Ángel; Gual, Antoni; Casquero, Rafael; Bobes, Julio; Ortega, Patricia

2015-12-01

The present manuscript is based on the recommendations of a panel of health care professionals, including several experts in primary health care, psychiatry and addictions. The participants are recognized specialists in the treatment of alcohol use disorder. The panel met in Barcelona on 2015 April 22 with the aims of evaluating the current management of alcohol use disorder in primary health care and developing a strategy to address this problem, basing on the evidence and the recommendations of the scientific societies and national and international organizations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y Sociedad Española de Medicina Rural y Generalista (SEMERGEN). All rights reserved.

Ethics consultation and autonomy.

PubMed

Varelius, Jukka

2008-03-01

Services of ethics consultants are nowadays commonly used in such various spheres of life as engineering, public administration, business, law, health care, journalism, and scientific research. It has however been maintained that use of ethics consultants is incompatible with personal autonomy; in moral matters individuals should be allowed to make their own decisions. The problem this criticism refers to can be conceived of as a conflict between the professional autonomy of ethics experts and the autonomy of the persons they serve. This paper addresses this conflict and maintains that when the nature of both ethics consultation and individual autonomy is properly understood, the professional autonomy of ethics experts is compatible with the autonomy of the persons they assist.

Prototyping Instruments for Chemical Laboratory Using Inexpensive Electronic Modules.

PubMed

Urban, Pawel L

2018-05-15

Open-source electronics and programming can augment chemical and biomedical research. Currently, chemists can choose from a broad range of low-cost universal electronic modules (microcontroller boards and single-board computers) and use them to assemble working prototypes of scientific tools to address specific experimental problems and to support daily research work. The learning time can be as short as a few hours, and the required budget is often as low as 50 USD. Prototyping instruments using low-cost electronic modules gives chemists enormous flexibility to design and construct customized instrumentation, which can reduce the delays caused by limited access to high-end commercial platforms. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Addressing Unconscious Bias: Steps toward an Inclusive Scientific Culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Abigail

2011-01-01

In this talk I will outline the nature of unconscious bias, as it operates to exclude or marginalize some participants in the scientific community. I will show how bias results from non-conscious expectations about certain groups of people, including scientists and astronomers. I will outline scientific research in psychology, sociology and economics that has identified the impact these expectations have on interpersonal judgments that are at the heart of assessment of individuals' qualifications. This research helps us understand not only how bias operates within a single instance of evaluation, but how evaluation bias can accumulate over a career if not checked, creating an appearance of confirmation of biased expectations. Some research has focused on how best to interrupt and mitigate unconscious bias, and many institutions--including the University of Michigan--have identified strategic interventions at key points of institutional decision-making (particularly hiring, annual review, and promotion) that can make a difference. The NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation program encouraged institutions to draw on the social science literature to create experimental approaches to addressing unconscious bias. I will outline four approaches to intervention that have arisen through the ADVANCE program: (1) systematic education that increases awareness among decisionmakers of how evaluation bias operates; (2) development of practices that mitigate the operation of bias even when it is out of conscious awareness; (3) creation of institutional policies that routinize and sanction these practices; and (4) holding leaders accountable for these implementation of these new practices and policies. Although I will focus on ways to address unconscious bias within scientific institutions (colleges and universities, laboratories and research centers, etc.), I will close by considering how scientific organizations can address unconscious bias and contribute to creating an inclusive scientific culture.

Health issues of female foreign domestic workers: a systematic review of the scientific and gray literature.

PubMed

Malhotra, Rahul; Arambepola, Chandima; Tarun, Samiksha; de Silva, Vijitha; Kishore, Jugal; Østbye, Truls

2013-01-01

Although the number of female foreign domestic workers (FDWs) is increasing worldwide, little is known about their health issues. To systematically review the literature on health issues of female FDWs to ascertain the problems studied, identify limitations, and suggest future research and policy implications. A systematic database (PubMed, EBSCO Host, and Google Scholar) and bibliographic search identified the English-language scientific and gray literature published during 1990-2012 addressing health issues of female FDWs living with the family of the employer, using qualitative and/or quantitative research methods. Studies in which female FDWs constituted less than half of the participants were excluded. The health issues studied and identified were adverse work conditions and associated health problems (such as physical, verbal, and sexual abuse at the workplace, caregiving tasks associated with musculoskeletal strain, and chemical exposure associated with respiratory difficulty), mental health (psychotic, neurotic, and mood disorders), infectious diseases (most of the studies were on intestinal parasitic infections), and health knowledge/attitudes/practices (most of the studies were in context of sexual and reproductive health). Most of the studies were medical record reviews or questionnaire-based surveys utilizing convenience sampling or qualitative interviews/focus group discussions. Female FDWs face numerous health problems. Studies on representative, possibly longitudinal, samples of female FDWs focusing on specific health conditions are needed to better understand the epidemiology of such conditions. Concerted efforts through the governments of both labor-sending and host countries are required to improve the health, work conditions, and safety of this vulnerable group of women.

Motivated recall in the service of the economic system: The case of anthropogenic climate change.

PubMed

Hennes, Erin P; Ruisch, Benjamin C; Feygina, Irina; Monteiro, Christopher A; Jost, John T

2016-06-01

The contemporary political landscape is characterized by numerous divisive issues. Unlike many other issues, however, much of the disagreement about climate change centers not on how best to take action to address the problem, but on whether the problem exists at all. Psychological studies indicate that, to the extent that sustainability initiatives are seen as threatening to the socioeconomic system, individuals may downplay environmental problems in order to defend and protect the status quo. In the current research, participants were presented with scientific information about climate change and later asked to recall details of what they had learned. Individuals who were experimentally induced (Study 1) or dispositionally inclined (Studies 2 and 3) to justify the economic system misremembered the evidence to be less serious, and this was associated with increased skepticism. However, when high system justifiers were led to believe that the economy was in a recovery, they recalled climate change information to be more serious than did those assigned to a control condition. When low system justifiers were led to believe that the economy was in recession, they recalled the information to be less serious (Study 3). These findings suggest that because system justification can impact information processing, simply providing the public with scientific evidence may be insufficient to inspire action to mitigate climate change. However, linking environmental information to statements about the strength of the economic system may satiate system justification needs and break the psychological link between proenvironmental initiatives and economic risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethical and Legal Implications of the Methodological Crisis in Neuroimaging.

PubMed

Kellmeyer, Philipp

2017-10-01

Currently, many scientific fields such as psychology or biomedicine face a methodological crisis concerning the reproducibility, replicability, and validity of their research. In neuroimaging, similar methodological concerns have taken hold of the field, and researchers are working frantically toward finding solutions for the methodological problems specific to neuroimaging. This article examines some ethical and legal implications of this methodological crisis in neuroimaging. With respect to ethical challenges, the article discusses the impact of flawed methods in neuroimaging research in cognitive and clinical neuroscience, particularly with respect to faulty brain-based models of human cognition, behavior, and personality. Specifically examined is whether such faulty models, when they are applied to neurological or psychiatric diseases, could put patients at risk, and whether this places special obligations on researchers using neuroimaging. In the legal domain, the actual use of neuroimaging as evidence in United States courtrooms is surveyed, followed by an examination of ways that the methodological problems may create challenges for the criminal justice system. Finally, the article reviews and promotes some promising ideas and initiatives from within the neuroimaging community for addressing the methodological problems.

Modern Church Construction in Urals. Problems and Prospects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Surin, D. N.; Tereshina, O. B.

2017-11-01

The article analyzes the problems of the modern Orthodox church architecture in Russia, special attention is paid to the problems of the Ural region. It justifies the importance of addressing to this issue connected with the Orthodox traditions revival in Russia over the last decades and the need to compensate for tens of thousands of the churches destroyed in the Soviet period. The works on the theory and history of the Russian architecture and art, studies of the architectural heritage and the art of building of the Ural craftsmen are used as a scientific and methodological base for the church architecture development. The article discloses the historically formed architectural features of the Russian Orthodox churches the artistic image of which is designed to create a certain religious and aesthetic experience. It is stated that the restoration of the Russian church construction tradition is possible on the background of architectural heritage. It sets the tendencies and vital tasks in church construction and outlines a complex of measures to solve these tasks at the public and regional levels.

[Academician Li Lianda talking about doctors doing scientific research].

PubMed

He, Ping; Li, Yi-kui

2015-09-01

At present, Chinese medical field faces with an important problem of how to correctly handle the relationship between medical and scientific research. Academician Li Lianda advocates doctors doing scientific research under the premise of putting the medical work first. He points out that there are many problems in the process of doctors doing scientific research at present such as paying more attention to scientific research than medical care, excessively promoting building scientific research hospital, only paying attention to training scientific talents, research direction be flashy without substance, the medical evaluation system should be improved and so on. Medical, scientific research and teaching are inseparable because improving medical standards depends on scientific research and personnel training. But not all doctors need to take into account of medical treatment, scientific research and teaching in the same degree while not all hospitals need to turn into three-in-one hospital, scientific research hospital or teaching hospital. It must be treated differently according to the actual situation.

Guide to Scientific Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sommer, Richard G.; Scherago, Earl J.

1977-01-01

Provides a list of scientific laboratory instruments and equipment and the names and addresses of their manufacturers. Instruments appear in alphabetical order with the names of manufactures listed below each. (SL)

A Step Beyond Simple Keyword Searches: Services Enabled by a Full Content Digital Journal Archive

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boccippio, Dennis J.

2003-01-01

The problems of managing and searching large archives of scientific journal articles can potentially be addressed through data mining and statistical techniques matured primarily for quantitative scientific data analysis. A journal paper could be represented by a multivariate descriptor, e.g., the occurrence counts of a number key technical terms or phrases (keywords), perhaps derived from a controlled vocabulary ( e . g . , the American Meteorological Society's Glossary of Meteorology) or bootstrapped from the journal archive itself. With this technique, conventional statistical classification tools can be leveraged to address challenges faced by both scientists and professional societies in knowledge management. For example, cluster analyses can be used to find bundles of "most-related" papers, and address the issue of journal bifurcation (when is a new journal necessary, and what topics should it encompass). Similarly, neural networks can be trained to predict the optimal journal (within a society's collection) in which a newly submitted paper should be published. Comparable techniques could enable very powerful end-user tools for journal searches, all premised on the view of a paper as a data point in a multidimensional descriptor space, e.g.: "find papers most similar to the one I am reading", "build a personalized subscription service, based on the content of the papers I am interested in, rather than preselected keywords", "find suitable reviewers, based on the content of their own published works", etc. Such services may represent the next "quantum leap" beyond the rudimentary search interfaces currently provided to end-users, as well as a compelling value-added component needed to bridge the print-to-digital-medium gap, and help stabilize professional societies' revenue stream during the print-to-digital transition.

Harassment as an Ethics Issue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, Mary Anne; Marin-Spiotta, Erika; Schneider, Blair

2017-04-01

Harassment, sexual and otherwise, including bullying and discrimination, remains an ongoing problem in the science workforce. In response to monthly revelations of harassment in academic science in the U.S. in 2016, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) convened a workshop to discuss strategies for professional societies to address this pernicious practice. Participants included researchers on this topic and members from professional science societies, academia, and U.S. federal government agencies. We agreed on the following principles: - Harassment, discrimination and bullying most often occur between a superior (e.g., an advisor, professor, supervisor) and a student or early career professional, representing a power difference that disadvantages the less-powerful scientist. - Harassment drives excellent potential as well as current scientists from the field who would otherwise contribute to the advancement of science, engineering and technology. - Harassment, therefore, represents a form of scientific misconduct, and should be treated as plagiarism, falsification, and other forms of scientific misconduct are treated, with meaningful consequences. To address harassment and to change the culture of science, professional societies can and should: ensure that their Code of Ethics and/or Code of Conduct addresses harassment with clear definitions of what constitutes this behavior, including in academic, professional, conference and field settings; provide a clear and well-disseminated mechanism for reporting violations to the society; have a response person or team in the society that can assist those who feel affected by harassment; and provide a mechanism to revisit and update Codes on a regular basis. The Code should be disseminated widely to members and apply to all members and staff. A revised Code of Ethics is now being constructed by AGU, and will be ready for adoption in 2017. See http://harassment.agu.org/ for information updates.

An Open Data Platform For Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boulton, G. S.; Hodson, S.

2016-12-01

The International Council for Science's Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) is collaborating with the South African Department of Science and Technology and other African regional players to create an African Open Data Platform, to be launched in December 2016. Its purpose is to coordinate and support moves in Africa to develop national science systems capacities (political, institutional, individual) that will enable them to exploit the opportunities of the digital revolution for scientific discovery, in reducing costs and increasing efficiency in business and public administration, and in new and powerful ways of addressing issues such as agricultural productivity, disease tracking and control, the production of bio-fuels, and in addressing many global problems where global solutions will only be achieved if there is global participation. Success in avoiding yet another "knowledge divide" between rich and poor depends fundamentally on the extent to which national systems of scientific priority setting, funding and institutional research management respond in a concerted way to the challenge. Although many countries are now addressing these opportunities, it is essential that developing and least developed countries, which have much to gain from the data revolution but which typically have poorly resourced national research systems, do not fail to respond to this imperative, which is also vital for the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Platform will be a basis for political commitment and innovative policy developmen, including shared investment in infrastructure. It will harvest and circulate good ideas, spread and support good practice and develop the capacities of individuals and institutions. It will promote key applications of relevance to African economies and societies, but also act as a conduit for links with international open data programmes and standards that will be vital if it is to flourish.

Contributions of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program and the ARM Climate Research Facility to the U.S. Climate Change Science Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

SA Edgerton; LR Roeder

The Earth’s surface temperature is determined by the balance between incoming solar radiation and thermal (or infrared) radiation emitted by the Earth back to space. Changes in atmospheric composition, including greenhouse gases, clouds, and aerosols can alter this balance and produce significant climate change. Global climate models (GCMs) are the primary tool for quantifying future climate change; however, there remain significant uncertainties in the GCM treatment of clouds, aerosol, and their effects on the Earth’s energy balance. The 2007 assessment (AR4) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports a substantial range among GCMs in climate sensitivity to greenhousemore » gas emissions. The largest contributor to this range lies in how different models handle changes in the way clouds absorb or reflect radiative energy in a changing climate (Solomon et al. 2007). In 1989, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science created the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program within the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) to address scientific uncertainties related to global climate change, with a specific focus on the crucial role of clouds and their influence on the transfer of radiation in the atmosphere. To address this problem, BER has adopted a unique two-pronged approach: * The ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF), a scientific user facility for obtaining long-term measurements of radiative fluxes, cloud and aerosol properties, and related atmospheric characteristics in diverse climate regimes. * The ARM Science Program, focused on the analysis of ACRF data to address climate science issues associated with clouds, aerosols, and radiation, and to improve GCMs. This report describes accomplishments of the BER ARM Program toward addressing the primary uncertainties related to climate change prediction as identified by the IPCC.« less

Catalyzing Cross-Disciplinary Research and Education Within and Beyond the Environmental and Geosciences to Address Emerging, Societally-Relevant Issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cak, A. D.; Vigdor, L. J.; Vorosmarty, C. J.; Giebel, B. M.; Santistevan, C.; Chasteau, C.

2017-12-01

Tackling emergent, societally-relevant problems in the environmental sciences is hardly confined to a single research discipline, but rather requires collaborations that bridge diverse domains and perspectives. While new technologies (e.g., Skype) can in theory unite otherwise geographically distributed participation in collaborative research, physical distance nevertheless raises the bar on intellectual dialogue. Such barriers may reveal perceptions of or real differences across disciplines, reflecting particular traditions in their histories and academic cultures. Individual disciplines are self-defined by their scientific, epistemologic, methodologic, or philosophical traditions (e.g., difficulties in understanding processes occurring at different scales, insufficient research funding for interdisciplinary work), or cultural and discursive hurdles (e.g., navigating a new field's jargon). Coupled with these challenges is a considerable deficiency in educating the next generation of scientists to help them develop a sufficient comfort level with thinking critically across multiple disciplinary domains and conceptual frameworks. To address these issues, the City University of New York (CUNY), the largest public urban university in the U.S., made a significant investment in advancing cross-disciplinary research and education, culminating in the opening of the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) in New York City (NYC) in late 2014. We report here on our experiences incubating new collaborative efforts to address environmental science-related research as it is interwoven with the ASRC's five research initiatives (Environmental Sciences, Neuroscience, Structural Biology, Photonics, and Nanoscience). We describe the ASRC's overall structure and function as both a stand-alone interdisciplinary center and one that collaborates more broadly with CUNY's network of twenty-four campuses distributed across NYC's five boroughs. We identify challenges we have faced so far, particularly in attempting to overcome traditional scientific, discursive, and cultural barriers, and how we are addressing them. We also describe several outreach and educational programming efforts designed to promote cross-disciplinarity, including informal science education.

LifeSat - A satellite for space biological research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halstead, Thora W.; Morey-Holton, Emily R.

1990-01-01

The LifeSat Program addresses the need for continuing access by biological scientists to space experimentation by accommodating a wide range of experiments involving animals and plants for durations up to 60 days in an unmanned satellite. The program will encourage interdisciplinary and international cooperation at both the agency and scientist levels, and will provide a recoverable, reusable facility for low-cost missions addressing key scientific issues that can only be answered by space experimentation. It will provide opportunities for research in gravitational biology and on the effects of cosmic radiation on life systems. The scientific aspects of LifeSat are addressed here.

Complexity and Innovation: Army Transformation and the Reality of War

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-05-26

necessary to instill confidence among all members of the interested community that the causal relationships...continues to gain momentum and general acceptance within the scientific community . The topic is addressed in numerous books, studies and scientific journals...scientific community has steadily grown. Since the time of Galileo and Newton, scientific endeavor has been characterized by reductionism (the process

Perceived Problem Solving Skills: As a Predictor of Prospective Teachers' Scientific Epistemological Beliefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Temel, Senar

2016-01-01

This study aims to determine the level of perceived problem solving skills of prospective teachers and the relations between these skills and their scientific epistemological beliefs. The study was conducted in the fall semester of 2015-2016 academic year. Prospective teachers were applied Problem Solving Inventory which was developed by Heppner…

Authorized Course of Instruction for the Quinmester Program. Science: Scientific Approach to Solving Problems; Who's Who; and What in the World's Going On.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL.

Performance objectives are stated for each of the three secondary school units included in this package prepared for the Dade County Florida Quinmester Program. The units all concern some aspect of instruction in scientific method. "The Scientific Approach to Solving Problems" introduces students to the use of experimental testing of…

El problema de la barrera linguistica en el desarrollo cientifico y tecnologico (The Problem of the Language Barrier in Scientific and Technological Development).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zierer, Ernesto

This monograph discusses the problem of the language barrier in scientific and technological development in terms of several parameters describing the flow of scientific information from one language to another. The numerical values of the language barrier parameters of the model are calculated in the field of information on second language…

The persistent sampling bias in developmental psychology: A call to action.

PubMed

Nielsen, Mark; Haun, Daniel; Kärtner, Joscha; Legare, Cristine H

2017-10-01

Psychology must confront the bias in its broad literature toward the study of participants developing in environments unrepresentative of the vast majority of the world's population. Here, we focus on the implications of addressing this challenge, highlight the need to address overreliance on a narrow participant pool, and emphasize the value and necessity of conducting research with diverse populations. We show that high-impact-factor developmental journals are heavily skewed toward publishing articles with data from WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) populations. Most critically, despite calls for change and supposed widespread awareness of this problem, there is a habitual dependence on convenience sampling and little evidence that the discipline is making any meaningful movement toward drawing from diverse samples. Failure to confront the possibility that culturally specific findings are being misattributed as universal traits has broad implications for the construction of scientifically defensible theories and for the reliable public dissemination of study findings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Addressing NCDs through research and capacity building in LMICs: lessons learned from tobacco control.

PubMed

Sturke, Rachel; Vorkoper, Susan; Duncan, Kalina; Levintova, Marya; Parascondola, Mark

2016-01-01

Confronting the global non-communicable diseases (NCDs) crisis requires a critical mass of scientists who are well versed in regional health problems and understand the cultural, social, economic, and political contexts that influence the effectiveness of interventions. Investments in global NCD research must be accompanied by contributions to local research capacity. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Fogarty International Center have a long-standing commitment to supporting research capacity building and addressing the growing burden of NCDs in low- and middle-income countries. One program in particular, the NIH International Tobacco and Health Research and Capacity Building Program (TOBAC program), offers an important model for conducting research and building research capacity simultaneously. This article describes the lessons learned from this unique funding model and demonstrates how a relatively modest investment can make important contributions to scientific evidence and capacity building that could inform ongoing and future efforts to tackle the global burden of NCDs.

Addressing NCDs through research and capacity building in LMICs: lessons learned from tobacco control

PubMed Central

Sturke, Rachel; Vorkoper, Susan; Duncan, Kalina; Levintova, Marya; Parascondola, Mark

2016-01-01

Confronting the global non-communicable diseases (NCDs) crisis requires a critical mass of scientists who are well versed in regional health problems and understand the cultural, social, economic, and political contexts that influence the effectiveness of interventions. Investments in global NCD research must be accompanied by contributions to local research capacity. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Fogarty International Center have a long-standing commitment to supporting research capacity building and addressing the growing burden of NCDs in low- and middle-income countries. One program in particular, the NIH International Tobacco and Health Research and Capacity Building Program (TOBAC program), offers an important model for conducting research and building research capacity simultaneously. This article describes the lessons learned from this unique funding model and demonstrates how a relatively modest investment can make important contributions to scientific evidence and capacity building that could inform ongoing and future efforts to tackle the global burden of NCDs. PMID:27545455

Challenges, solutions, and recommendations for Alzheimer's disease combination therapy.

PubMed

Hendrix, James A; Bateman, Randall J; Brashear, H Robert; Duggan, Cynthia; Carrillo, Maria C; Bain, Lisa J; DeMattos, Ronald; Katz, Russell G; Ostrowitzki, Susanne; Siemers, Eric; Sperling, Reisa; Vitolo, Ottavio V

2016-05-01

Given the complex neuropathology Alzheimer's disease (AD), combination therapy may be necessary for effective treatment. However, scientific, pragmatic, regulatory, and business challenges need to be addressed before combination therapy for AD can become a reality. Leaders from academia and industry, along with a former member of the Food and Drug Administration and the Alzheimer's Association, have explored these challenges and here propose a strategy to facilitate proof-of-concept combination therapy trials in the near future. First, a more integrated understanding of the complex pathophysiology and progression of AD is needed to identify the appropriate pathways and the disease stage to target. Once drug candidates are identified, novel clinical trial designs and selection of appropriate outcome assessments will be needed to enable definition and evaluation of the appropriate dose and dosing regimen and determination of efficacy. Success in addressing this urgent problem will only be achieved through collaboration among multiple stakeholders. Copyright © 2016 Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Key opinion leaders and the corruption of medical knowledge: what the Sunshine Act will and won't cast light on.

PubMed

Sismondo, Sergio

2013-01-01

The pharmaceutical industry, in its marketing efforts, often turns to "key opinion leaders" or "KOLs" to disseminate scientific information. Drawing on the author's fieldwork, this article documents and examines the use of KOLs in pharmaceutical companies' marketing efforts. Partly due to the use of KOLs, a small number of companies with well-defined and narrow interests have inordinate influence over how medical knowledge is produced, circulated, and consumed. The issue here, as in many other cases of institutional corruption, is that a few actors have accumulated the power to shape the information on which many others base their decisions. Efforts to address this corruption should focus on correcting large imbalances in the current political economy of medical knowledge. A sequestration of pharmaceutical research and development on one hand from pharmaceutical marketing on the other, though difficult to achieve, would address this and many other problems. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Unique geologic insights from "non-unique" gravity and magnetic interpretation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Saltus, R.W.; Blakely, R.J.

2011-01-01

Interpretation of gravity and magnetic anomalies is mathematically non-unique because multiple theoretical solutions are always possible. The rigorous mathematical label of "nonuniqueness" can lead to the erroneous impression that no single interpretation is better in a geologic sense than any other. The purpose of this article is to present a practical perspective on the theoretical non-uniqueness of potential-field interpretation in geology. There are multiple ways to approach and constrain potential-field studies to produce significant, robust, and definitive results. The "non-uniqueness" of potential-field studies is closely related to the more general topic of scientific uncertainty in the Earth sciences and beyond. Nearly all results in the Earth sciences are subject to significant uncertainty because problems are generally addressed with incomplete and imprecise data. The increasing need to combine results from multiple disciplines into integrated solutions in order to address complex global issues requires special attention to the appreciation and communication of uncertainty in geologic interpretation.

Radiation protection of people and the environment: developing a common approach.

PubMed

Pentreath, R J

2002-03-01

The problem with the current ICRP system of radiation protection, particularly for regulators, is that it fails to differentiate between the application of justification and optimisation to people in the circumstances of medical care or as part of a workforce, compared with their application to members of the general public in an environmental setting; plus the fact that it also fails to address the issue of potential impacts on the rest of the environment in any meaningful way. But if these deficiencies are to be addressed, it will be essential to consider how protection of both people and the living environment can be achieved within a broad philosophical framework, using complementary approaches, based on the same underlying scientific knowledge. This paper briefly examines some of these issues, and offers some suggestions for developing a common, or even a combined, approach. It draws upon recent suggestions made by the ICRP itself with regard to radiological protection, plus current activities-on several fronts-to provide an explicit basis for environmental protection.

Exploring Local Approaches to Communicating Global Climate Change Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevermer, A. J.

2002-12-01

Expected future climate changes are often presented as a global problem, requiring a global solution. Although this statement is accurate, communicating climate change science and prospective solutions must begin at local levels, each with its own subset of complexities to be addressed. Scientific evaluation of local changes can be complicated by large variability occurring over small spatial scales; this variability hinders efforts both to analyze past local changes and to project future ones. The situation is further encumbered by challenges associated with scientific literacy in the U.S., as well as by pressing economic difficulties. For people facing real-life financial and other uncertainties, a projected ``1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius'' rise in global temperature is likely to remain only an abstract concept. Despite this lack of concreteness, recent surveys have found that most U.S. residents believe current global warming science, and an even greater number view the prospect of increased warming as at least a ``somewhat serious'' problem. People will often be able to speak of long-term climate changes in their area, whether observed changes in the amount of snow cover in winter, or in the duration of extreme heat periods in summer. This work will explore the benefits and difficulties of communicating climate change from a local, rather than global, perspective, and seek out possible strategies for making less abstract, more concrete, and most importantly, more understandable information available to the public.

Ethical issues at the university-industry interface: a way forward?

PubMed

Evans, G R; Packham, D E

2003-01-01

This paper forms an introduction to this issue, the contents of which arose directly or indirectly from a conference in May 2001 on Corruption of scientific integrity?--The commercialisation of academic science. The introduction, in recent decades, of business culture and values into universities and research institutions is incompatible with the openness which scientific and all academic pursuit traditionally require. It has given rise to a web of problems over intellectual property and conflict of interest which has even led to corporate sponsors' suppressing unfavourable results of clinical trials, to the detriment of patients' health. Although there are those who see the norms of science developing to recognise the importance of instrumental science aiming at specific goals and of knowledge judged by its value in a context of application, none justifies the covert manipulation of results by vested interest. Public awareness of these problems is growing and creating a climate of opinion where they may be addressed. We suggest a way forward by the introduction of nationally and internationally-accepted guidelines for industrial collaboration which contain proper protections of the core purposes of universities and of the independence of their research. Some codes suggested for this purpose are discussed. We note that some universities are moving to adopt such codes of conduct, but argue the need for strong support from the government through its funding bodies.

Using Microsoft PowerPoint as an Astronomical Image Analysis Tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beck-Winchatz, Bernhard

2006-12-01

Engaging students in the analysis of authentic scientific data is an effective way to teach them about the scientific process and to develop their problem solving, teamwork and communication skills. In astronomy several image processing and analysis software tools have been developed for use in school environments. However, the practical implementation in the classroom is often difficult because the teachers may not have the comfort level with computers necessary to install and use these tools, they may not have adequate computer privileges and/or support, and they may not have the time to learn how to use specialized astronomy software. To address this problem, we have developed a set of activities in which students analyze astronomical images using basic tools provided in PowerPoint. These include measuring sizes, distances, and angles, and blinking images. In contrast to specialized software, PowerPoint is broadly available on school computers. Many teachers are already familiar with PowerPoint, and the skills developed while learning how to analyze astronomical images are highly transferable. We will discuss several practical examples of measurements, including the following: -Variations in the distances to the sun and moon from their angular sizes -Magnetic declination from images of shadows -Diameter of the moon from lunar eclipse images -Sizes of lunar craters -Orbital radii of the Jovian moons and mass of Jupiter -Supernova and comet searches -Expansion rate of the universe from images of distant galaxies

Scientific millenarianism

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weinberg, A.M.

Today, for the first time, scientific concerns are seriously being addressed that span future times--hundreds, even thousands, or more years in the future. One is witnessing what the author calls scientific millenarianism. Are such concerns for the distant future exercises in futility, or are they real issues that, to the everlasting gratitude of future generations, this generation has identified, warned about and even suggested how to cope with in the distant future? Can the four potential catastrophes--bolide impact, CO{sub 2} warming, radioactive wastes and thermonuclear war--be avoided by technical fixes, institutional responses, religion, or by doing nothing? These are themore » questions addressed in this paper.« less

75 FR 4043 - Endangered Species; File No. 14396

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-26

... scientific research. ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review upon written..., notice was published in the Federal Register (74 FR 42861) that a request for a scientific research... scientific study of shortnose sturgeon in the Delaware River where primary study objectives are to locate and...

Searching for a Common Ground--A Literature Review of Empirical Research on Scientific Inquiry Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rönnebeck, Silke; Bernholt, Sascha; Ropohl, Mathias

2016-01-01

Despite the importance of scientific inquiry in science education, researchers and educators disagree considerably regarding what features define this instructional approach. While a large body of literature addresses theoretical considerations, numerous empirical studies investigate scientific inquiry on quite different levels of detail and also…

78 FR 6056 - Smokeless Tobacco Product Warning Statements; Request for Comments and Scientific Evidence

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-29

... by scientific evidence, regarding what changes to the smokeless tobacco product warnings, if any... scientific evidence, regarding what changes, if any, to the smokeless tobacco product warnings would promote... supporting evidence should address how any changes in the warnings would affect both users' and nonusers...

77 FR 21158 - VA Directive 0005 on Scientific Integrity: Availability for Review and Comment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-09

... the Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy's Memorandum of December 17, 2010, on scientific integrity. It addresses how VA ensures quality science in its methods, review, policy application, and...: Background The Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity and the Office of Science and Technology...

Analogy and Intersubjectivity: Political Oratory, Scholarly Argument and Scientific Reports.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gross, Alan G.

1983-01-01

Focuses on the different ways political oratory, scholarly argument, and scientific reports use analogy. Specifically, analyzes intersubjective agreement in Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural address, the scholarly argument between Sir Karl Popper and Thomas S. Kuhn, and the scientific reports of various mathematicians and scientists. (PD)

How desertification research is addressed in Argentina? Land versus Soil approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres, Laura; Abraham, Elena M.; Barbero, Celia; Marques, Maria J.; Ruiz, Manuel; Escadafal, Richard; Exbrayat, Williams

2013-04-01

Recommendations are not enough to solve problems of desertification. In certain areas, soil degradation and poverty establish a vicious circle that may be broken if political, social, economic and natural visions are considered as a whole. Nevertheless, usually the scientific framework to combat land degradation is only associated with the protection of natural resources - the "soil approach"-, and weak attention is paid on the social sciences - the "land approach". The success in the adoption of mitigation measures to combat dryland degradation depends on the dialogue between research institutes, policy makers, land users and funding agencies. The structure of desertification research and its implementation in Argentina is addressed in this study. It is one part of a wider framework of analysis that is simultaneously carried out in other different regions under the umbrella of a Task Force on Land and Soil promoted by DesertNet International. The ultimate goal of this Task Force is the achievement of an informed analysis to support the need of a scientific panel to answer the needs of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. The features and orientation of such a panel to be truly effective may be established from the results of the analysis of the different ways to meet the challenge of combating desertification in different regions of the world and their success or failure. The method is based on the analysis of scientific journals indexed in the Web of Science using different searching criteria with different groups of keywords. The analysis of papers addresses three main criteria: the disciplines involved, the type of study and finally the range of the study in order to know the level of applicability. In order to compute and visualise clusters of elements bibliometric methods will be used. Positive signs have been recognised in Argentina in recent years trough the increase of governmental and non governmental organisation that are involved in the adoption of measures to solve natural and social issues. This paper seeks to examine the current structure of the research conducted in the area to acknowledge the results of these changes.

AGU, Science and Engagement with the Energy Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leinen, M.; Davidson, E. A.

2016-12-01

The relationship between science and society evolves over time and the social, political, and economic factors shaping this relationship are complex. When problems facing society become more challenging, the public, NGOs, and policy makers call for science to more directly inform solutions, to assure accountability for the use of funds and to address conflicts of interest. But when policy solutions for such challenges require significant economic and societal tradeoffs, discussion of the science can become polarized and politicized. When this occurs, AGU's policies that uphold the highest standards of scientific integrity, address conflicts of interests and promote independence for members are even more important. These policies are implemented through processes for: a) control of science presented at meeting and in publications; b) requirements for data cited in publications to be publicly accessible, and c) an organizational support policy that prohibits sponsors from influencing science presented in AGU programs. The private sector wields vast influence on human behavior and governmental policy through commerce and lobbying. These actions can be controversial when the profit motive appears incongruent with other societal opinions of what is in the public interest. Climate change is an example of this tension, where the economic exploitation of fossil fuels has complex effects on food and energy security as well as on the environment. Nonetheless, the AGU Board unanimously agreed that given our mission to advance science to create a more sustainable earth, engagement of the private sector rather than disengagement is the best way to influence decision makers on all sides because we believe that the private sector needs to be part of any solutions. We plan to use our convening power and scientific authority to bring together diverse views on climate change solutions from the private, NGO, policy, decision-maker and scientific sectors to begin a substantial, responsible and on-going dialogue. We want this dialogue to inform issues of energy, environment, security and the associated economic and societal benefits and tradeoffs in addressing climate change. AGU will share our initial ideas for convening such engagement and in the future will inform our membership on the successes and the on-going challenges.

Built To Last: Using Iterative Development Models for Sustainable Scientific Software Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jasiak, M. E.; Truslove, I.; Savoie, M.

2013-12-01

In scientific research, software development exists fundamentally for the results they create. The core research must take focus. It seems natural to researchers, driven by grant deadlines, that every dollar invested in software development should be used to push the boundaries of problem solving. This system of values is frequently misaligned with those of the software being created in a sustainable fashion; short-term optimizations create longer-term sustainability issues. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has taken bold cultural steps in using agile and lean development and management methodologies to help its researchers meet critical deadlines, while building in the necessary support structure for the code to live far beyond its original milestones. Agile and lean software development and methodologies including Scrum, Kanban, Continuous Delivery and Test-Driven Development have seen widespread adoption within NSIDC. This focus on development methods is combined with an emphasis on explaining to researchers why these methods produce more desirable results for everyone, as well as promoting developers interacting with researchers. This presentation will describe NSIDC's current scientific software development model, how this addresses the short-term versus sustainability dichotomy, the lessons learned and successes realized by transitioning to this agile and lean-influenced model, and the current challenges faced by the organization.

New global communication process in thermodynamics: impact on quality of published experimental data.

PubMed

Frenkel, M; Chirico, R D; Diky, V; Muzny, C; Dong, Q; Marsh, K N; Dymond, J H; Wakeham, W A; Stein, S E; Königsberger, E; Goodwin, A R H; Magee, J W; Thijssen, M; Haynes, W M; Watanasiri, S; Satyro, M; Schmidt, M; Johns, A I; Hardin, G R

2006-01-01

Thermodynamic data are a key resource in the search for new relationships between properties of chemical systems that constitutes the basis of the scientific discovery process. In addition, thermodynamic information is critical for development and improvement of all chemical process technologies. Historically, peer-reviewed journals are the major source of this information obtained by experimental measurement or prediction. Technological advances in measurement science have propelled enormous growth in the scale of published thermodynamic data (almost doubling every 10 years). This expansion has created new challenges in data validation at all stages of the data delivery process. Despite the peer-review process, problems in data validation have led, in many instances, to publication of data that are grossly erroneous and, at times, inconsistent with the fundamental laws of nature. This article describes a new global data communication process in thermodynamics and its impact in addressing these challenges as well as in streamlining the delivery of the thermodynamic data from "data producers" to "data users". We believe that the prolific growth of scientific data in numerous and diverse fields outside thermodynamics, together with the demonstrated effectiveness and versatility of the process described in this article, will foster development of such processes in other scientific fields.

An overlooked source of physician-scientists.

PubMed

Puljak, Livia

2007-12-01

A shortage of physician-scientists in the United States is an ongoing problem. Various recommendations have been made to address this issue; however, none of them have ameliorated the situation. Foreign medical school graduates with postdoctoral training in the United States are an overlooked and untapped resource for combating the dearth of physician-scientists. Evaluation of the scientific staff at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center revealed that 11% of all postdoctoral fellows were international medical graduates. Interestingly, a survey taken by these individuals revealed a lack of institutional and/or mentor support for career development and preparation for becoming physician-scientists. Foreign postdoctoral fellows with medical degrees are not even eligible for physician-scientist grants and awards since they are not US citizens. Although physicians educated in the United States usually matriculate from medical school with high educational debt that prevents most of them from entering into scientific careers, doctors trained outside the United States generally have minimal, if any, debt. Furthermore, many of them have a keen interest in remaining in the United States once they complete their postdoctoral training. Thus, foreign-trained medical professionals who have pursued scientific training in the United States can be one of the solutions for the current dearth of physician-scientists.

Exploration on the reform of the science and engineering experiment teaching based on the combination with teaching and scientific research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Peng

2017-08-01

The existing problems of the experiment education in colleges and universities are analyzed. Take the science and engineering specialty as example, the idea of the combination with teaching and scientific research is discussed. The key problems are how the scientific research and scientific research achievements are used effectively in the experiment education, how to effectively use scientific research laboratories and scientific researchers. Then, a specialty experiment education system is established which is good for the teaching in accordance of all students' aptitude. The research in this paper can give the construction of the experiment teaching methods and the experiment system reform for the science and engineering specialties in colleges and universities.

Multidrug-Resistant TB: Implementing the Right to Health through the Right to Enjoy the Benefits of Scientific Progress.

PubMed

London, Leslie; Cox, Helen; Coomans, Fons

2016-06-01

The right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress (REBSP) is a little-known but potentially valuable right that can contribute to rights-based approaches to addressing multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). We argue that better understanding of the REBSP may help to advance legal and civil society action for health rights. While the REBSP does not provide an individual entitlement to have a new drug developed for MDR-TB, it sets up entitlements to expect a state to establish a legislative and policy framework aimed at developing scientific capacity to address the most important health issues and at disseminating the outcomes of scientific research. By making scientific findings available and accessible, people can be enabled to claim the use of science for social benefits. Inasmuch as the market fails to address neglected diseases such as MDR-TB, the REBSP provides a potential counterbalance to frame a positive obligation on states to both marshal their own resources and to coordinate the actions of multiple other actors towards this goal, including non-state actors. While the latter do not hold the same level of accountability as states, the REBSP can still enable the recognition of obligations at a level of "soft law" responsibilities.

Fostering Students’ and Teachers’ Understanding of the Nature of Science: Where We Need the Broadest of Broader Impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laursen, S. L.; Dauber, R.; Molnar, P. H.; Smith, L. K.

2009-12-01

Making wise decisions about daunting societal and environmental problems requires understanding of both scientific concepts and the limits of scientific knowledge. While K-12 school standards now include topics on scientific inquiry and the nature of science, few science teachers have personal knowledge of these ideas through conducting science research first-hand. In their own education, most have experienced primarily fact-packed lecture courses rather than deep engagement with gathering, interpreting and communicating about scientific evidence. Teachers are thus at a disadvantage in teaching about the nature of science. Moreover, few curriculum materials directly address these ideas. Instead, instructors at all levels tend to rely on students gleaning ideas from their lab work, without ever making them explicit. The result is a poor understanding of the nature of science among many students and citizens. Thus the nature of science is an important and fruitful area for “broader impacts” efforts by NSF-funded projects across the entire spectrum of science. To address this gap, we have created a 20-minute educational documentary film focused on the nature and processes of science. The film is a broader impacts effort for a large, NSF-funded, multidisciplinary, collaborative research project to study the uplift of the Tibetan plateau and its impact on atmospheric and climate processes. The film, Upward and Outward: Scientific Inquiry on the Tibetan Plateau, focuses on the process of science, as seen through the lens of a specific project. Viewers follow an international team of scientists as they work in the laboratory and in the field, build new instruments and computer models, travel to exotic locales, argue about their findings, and enjoy collaboration and conversation. By gaining an insider’s glimpse into both the intellectual process of scientific inquiry and the everyday social and professional activities of science, students learn how science is a human process for building knowledge, not just a body of fact. While originally targeted to students in grades 8-12, the film has also proven effective with undergraduates in introductory science courses, and with teachers in professional development courses. The 20-minute length ensures that the film can be readily screened and discussed within a single class session, and teachers are supported with suggested pre/post writing prompts, discussion questions, teaching tips, and background materials on the film's scientific content. The presentation will describe the making of the film, its relationship to the scientific project, its use with students and teachers, and some data on their responses. We will show a short clip and make copies of the DVD available to educators and professional developers who attend the session. More information about the film, a short clip, and supporting information for educators can be found at our web site.

Science & Technology Review October/November 2016

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vogt, R. L.; Meissner, C. N.; Kotta, P. R.

At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, we focus on science and technology research to ensure our nation’s security. We also apply that expertise to solve other important national problems in energy, bioscience, and the environment. Science & Technology Review is published eight times a year to communicate, to a broad audience, the Laboratory’s scientific and technological accomplishments in fulfilling its primary missions. The publication’s goal is to help readers understand these accomplishments and appreciate their value to the individual citizen, the nation, and the world. The Laboratory is operated by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), for the Department of Energy’smore » National Nuclear Security Administration. LLNS is a partnership involving Bechtel National, University of California, Babcock & Wilcox, Washington Division of URS Corporation, and Battelle in affiliation with Texas A&M University. More information about LLNS is available online at www.llnsllc.com. Please address any correspondence (including name and address changes) to S&TR, Mail Stop L-664, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551, or telephone (925) 423-3893. Our e-mail address is str-mail@llnl.gov. S&TR is available on the Web at str.llnl.gov.« less

Morbidity and Mortality Conference in Obstetrics and Gynecology: A Tool for Addressing the 6 Core Competencies

PubMed Central

Bevis, Kerri S; Straughn, J. Michael; Kendrick, James E; Walsh-Covarrubias, Julie; Kilgore, Larry C

2011-01-01

Background Residency program directors are challenged to effectively teach and assess the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) 6 competencies. The purpose of this study was to characterize the morbidity and mortality (M&M) conference as a cost-effective and efficient approach for addressing the ACGME competencies through evaluation of resident participation and case diversity. Methods In our modified M&M conference, senior residents submit a weekly list of cases to the conference proctors. The resident presents the case, including a critique of management, using the medical literature. The resident submits a case summary evaluating patient care practices, integrating scientific evidence, and evaluating systemic barriers to care. Completed case summaries are distributed and archived for reference. Results During a 3-year period, 30 residents presented 196 cases. Of these, 37 (19%) directly related to systems-based practice, 20 (10%) involved problems with inadequate communication, and 11 (6%) included issues of professionalism or ethics. All cases involved practice-based learning and medical knowledge. Conclusions The M&M conference addresses the core competencies through resident participation as well as directed analysis of diverse cases. PMID:22379530

A Commentary on Innovation and Emerging Scientific Careers: Is Social Work Prepared to Compete in Today's Scientific Marketplace?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craddock, Jaih B.

2017-01-01

The aim of this article is to address some of the questions Dr. Paula S. Nurius presents in her article, "Innovation and Emerging Scientific Careers: Is Social Work Prepared to Compete in Today?s Scientific Marketplace?" Specifically, this article will focus on what we can do to better prepare our emerging research scholars to be…

FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel Minutes No. 21015-04. A set of scientific issues being considered by the Environmental Protection Agency regarding integrated endocrine bioactivity and exposure-based prioritization & screening

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

On December 2-4, 2014, the US Environmental Protection Agency convened a public meeting of the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) to address scientific issues associated with the agency’s “Integrated Endocrine Bioactivity and Exposure-Based Prioritization and Screening” methods. EPA is proposing ...

Illustrating the practice of statistics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hamada, Christina A; Hamada, Michael S

2009-01-01

The practice of statistics involves analyzing data and planning data collection schemes to answer scientific questions. Issues often arise with the data that must be dealt with and can lead to new procedures. In analyzing data, these issues can sometimes be addressed through the statistical models that are developed. Simulation can also be helpful in evaluating a new procedure. Moreover, simulation coupled with optimization can be used to plan a data collection scheme. The practice of statistics as just described is much more than just using a statistical package. In analyzing the data, it involves understanding the scientific problem andmore » incorporating the scientist's knowledge. In modeling the data, it involves understanding how the data were collected and accounting for limitations of the data where possible. Moreover, the modeling is likely to be iterative by considering a series of models and evaluating the fit of these models. Designing a data collection scheme involves understanding the scientist's goal and staying within hislher budget in terms of time and the available resources. Consequently, a practicing statistician is faced with such tasks and requires skills and tools to do them quickly. We have written this article for students to provide a glimpse of the practice of statistics. To illustrate the practice of statistics, we consider a problem motivated by some precipitation data that our relative, Masaru Hamada, collected some years ago. We describe his rain gauge observational study in Section 2. We describe modeling and an initial analysis of the precipitation data in Section 3. In Section 4, we consider alternative analyses that address potential issues with the precipitation data. In Section 5, we consider the impact of incorporating additional infonnation. We design a data collection scheme to illustrate the use of simulation and optimization in Section 6. We conclude this article in Section 7 with a discussion.« less

Let us keep observing and play in sand boxes (Henry Darcy Medal Lecture)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Illangasekare, T. H.

2012-04-01

Henry Darcy was a civil engineer recognized for a number of technical achievements and scientific discoveries. The sand column experiments for which he is known revealed the linear relationship that exists between fluid motion and driving forces at low velocities. Freeze and Back (1983) stated, ''The experiments carried out by Darcy with the help of his assistant, Ritter, in Dijon, France in 1855 and 1856 represent the beginning of groundwater hydrology as a quantitative science." Because of the prominence given to this experiment, two important facts behind Darcy's contributions to subsurface hydrology have not received much attention. First, Darcy was not only a good engineer, but he was also a highly respected scientist whose knowledge of both the fundamentals of fluid mechanics and the natural world of geology led to better conceptualizing and quantifying of groundwater processes at relevant scales to solve practical problems. The experiments for which he is known may have already been conceived, based on his theoretical understanding, and the results were anticipated (Brown 2002). Second, Darcy, through his contributions with Dupuit, showed that they understood hydrologeology at a regional scale and developed methods for quantification at the scale of geologic stratum (Ritz and Bobek, 2008). The primary thesis of this talk is that scientific contributions such as the one Darcy made require appreciation and a thorough understanding of fundamental theory coupled with observation and recording of phenomena both in nature and in the laboratory. Along with all of the significant theoretical, mathematical modeling, and computational advances we have made in the last several decades, laboratory experiments designed to observe phenomena and processes for better insight, accurate data generation, and hypothesis development are critically important to make scientific and engineering advances to address some of the emerging and societally important problems in hydrology and water resources engineering. Kleinhans et al. (2010) convincingly argued the same point, noting, "Many major issues of hydrology are open to experimental investigation." Current and emerging problems with water supply and their hydrologic implications are associated with sustainability of water as a resource for global food production, clean water for potable use, protection of human health, and impacts and implications of global warming and climate change on water resources. This talk will address the subsurface hydrologic science issues that are central to these problems and the role laboratory experimentation can play in helping to advance the basic knowledge. Improved understanding of fundamental flow, transport, reactive, and biological processes that occur at the pore-scale and their manifestation at different modeling and observational scales will continue to advance the subsurface science. Challenges also come from the need to integrate porous media systems with bio-geochemical and atmospheric systems, requiring observing and quantifying complex phenomena across interfaces (e.g., fluid/fluid in pores to land/atmospheric in the field). This talk will discuss how carefully designed and theory driven experiments at various test scales can play a central role in providing answers to critical scientific questions and how they will help to fill knowledge gaps. It will also be shown that careful observations will lead to the refinement of existing theories or the development of new ones. Focusing on the subsurface, the need to keep observing through controlled laboratory experimentation in various test scales from small cells to large sand boxes will be emphasized. How the insights obtained from such experiments will complement modeling and field investigations are highlighted through examples.

Assessing and Addressing Students' Scientific Literacy Needs in Physical Geology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell-Stone, E. A.; Myers, J. D.

2005-12-01

Exacting excellence equally from university students around the globe can be accomplished by providing all students with necessary background tools to achieve mastery of their courses, even if those tools are not part of normal content. As instructors we hope to see our students grasp the substance of our courses, make mental connections between course material and practical applications, and use this knowledge to make informed decisions as citizens. Yet many educators have found that students enter university-level introductory courses in mathematics, science and engineering without adequate academic preparation. As part of a FIPSE-funded project at the University of Wyoming, the instructors of the Physical Geology course have taken a new approach to tackling the problem of lack of scientific/mathematic skills in incoming students. Instead of assuming that students should already know or will learn these skills on their own, they assess students' needs and provide them the opportunity to master scientific literacies as they learn geologic content. In the introductory geology course, instructors identified two categories of literacies, or basic skills that are necessary for academic success and citizen participation. Fundamental literacies include performing simple quantitative calculations, making qualitative assessments, and reading and analyzing tables and graphs. Technical literacies are those specific to understanding geology, and comprise the ability to read maps, visualize changes through time, and conceptualize in three dimensions. Because these skills are most easily taught in lab, the in-house lab manual was rewritten to be both literacy- and content-based. Early labs include simple exercises addressing literacies in the context of geological science, and each subsequent lab repeats exposure to literacies, but at increasing levels of difficulty. Resources available to assist students with literacy mastery include individual instruction, a detailed appendix to the lab manual explaining simple tasks such as converting units, and web-based resources. To document the progress of this program, students take pre- and post-course surveys assessing their grasp of the literacies. The surveys gather data on demographics, background, level of interest, level of confidence, understanding, and willingness to complete additional problem sets. This information has been integral in identifying areas of greatest weakness, least interest, and in gauging how backgrounds, expectations, and students' confidence affect their performance.

Exploring Challenges and Opportunities of Coproduction: USDA Climate Hub Efforts to Integrate Coproduction with Applied Research and Decision Support Tool Development in the Northwest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roesch-McNally, G.; Prendeville, H. R.

2017-12-01

A lack of coproduction, the joint production of new technologies or knowledge among technical experts and other groups, is arguably one of the reasons why much scientific information and resulting decision support systems are not very usable. Increasingly, public agencies and academic institutions are emphasizing the importance of coproduction of scientific knowledge and decision support systems in order to facilitate greater engagement between the scientific community and key stakeholder groups. Coproduction has been embraced as a way for the scientific community to develop actionable scientific information that will assist end users in solving real-world problems. Increasing the level of engagement and stakeholder buy-in to the scientific process is increasingly necessary, particularly in the context of growing politicization of science and the scientific process. Coproduction can be an effective way to build trust and can build-on and integrate local and traditional knowledge. Employing coproduction strategies may enable the development of more relevant and useful information and decision support tools that address stakeholder challenges at relevant scales. The USDA Northwest Climate Hub has increasingly sought ways to integrate coproduction in the development of both applied research projects and the development of decision support systems. Integrating coproduction, however, within existing institutions is not always simple, given that coproduction is often more focused on process than products and products are, for better or worse, often the primary focus of applied research and tool development projects. The USDA Northwest Climate Hub sought to integrate coproduction into our FY2017 call for proposal process. As a result we have a set of proposals and fledgling projects that fall along the engagement continuum (see Figure 1- attached). We will share the challenges and opportunities that emerged from this purposeful integration of coproduction into the work that we prioritized for funding. This effort highlights strategies for how federal agencies might consider how and whether to codify coproduction tenets into their collaborations and agenda setting.

From the desktop to the grid: scalable bioinformatics via workflow conversion.

PubMed

de la Garza, Luis; Veit, Johannes; Szolek, Andras; Röttig, Marc; Aiche, Stephan; Gesing, Sandra; Reinert, Knut; Kohlbacher, Oliver

2016-03-12

Reproducibility is one of the tenets of the scientific method. Scientific experiments often comprise complex data flows, selection of adequate parameters, and analysis and visualization of intermediate and end results. Breaking down the complexity of such experiments into the joint collaboration of small, repeatable, well defined tasks, each with well defined inputs, parameters, and outputs, offers the immediate benefit of identifying bottlenecks, pinpoint sections which could benefit from parallelization, among others. Workflows rest upon the notion of splitting complex work into the joint effort of several manageable tasks. There are several engines that give users the ability to design and execute workflows. Each engine was created to address certain problems of a specific community, therefore each one has its advantages and shortcomings. Furthermore, not all features of all workflow engines are royalty-free -an aspect that could potentially drive away members of the scientific community. We have developed a set of tools that enables the scientific community to benefit from workflow interoperability. We developed a platform-free structured representation of parameters, inputs, outputs of command-line tools in so-called Common Tool Descriptor documents. We have also overcome the shortcomings and combined the features of two royalty-free workflow engines with a substantial user community: the Konstanz Information Miner, an engine which we see as a formidable workflow editor, and the Grid and User Support Environment, a web-based framework able to interact with several high-performance computing resources. We have thus created a free and highly accessible way to design workflows on a desktop computer and execute them on high-performance computing resources. Our work will not only reduce time spent on designing scientific workflows, but also make executing workflows on remote high-performance computing resources more accessible to technically inexperienced users. We strongly believe that our efforts not only decrease the turnaround time to obtain scientific results but also have a positive impact on reproducibility, thus elevating the quality of obtained scientific results.

Testing Scientific Software: A Systematic Literature Review.

PubMed

Kanewala, Upulee; Bieman, James M

2014-10-01

Scientific software plays an important role in critical decision making, for example making weather predictions based on climate models, and computation of evidence for research publications. Recently, scientists have had to retract publications due to errors caused by software faults. Systematic testing can identify such faults in code. This study aims to identify specific challenges, proposed solutions, and unsolved problems faced when testing scientific software. We conducted a systematic literature survey to identify and analyze relevant literature. We identified 62 studies that provided relevant information about testing scientific software. We found that challenges faced when testing scientific software fall into two main categories: (1) testing challenges that occur due to characteristics of scientific software such as oracle problems and (2) testing challenges that occur due to cultural differences between scientists and the software engineering community such as viewing the code and the model that it implements as inseparable entities. In addition, we identified methods to potentially overcome these challenges and their limitations. Finally we describe unsolved challenges and how software engineering researchers and practitioners can help to overcome them. Scientific software presents special challenges for testing. Specifically, cultural differences between scientist developers and software engineers, along with the characteristics of the scientific software make testing more difficult. Existing techniques such as code clone detection can help to improve the testing process. Software engineers should consider special challenges posed by scientific software such as oracle problems when developing testing techniques.

A Comparative Study on Scientific Misconduct between Korean and Japanese Science Gifted Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Jiwon; Kim, Jung Bog; Isozaki, Tetsuo

2017-01-01

The scientific integrity, perceptions of scientific misconduct, and students' needs in the research ethics education of Korean and Japanese gifted students were analyzed to address three questions. First, how well do students practice research ethics in their research? Second, how do students perceive scientists' misconduct? Third, do students…

77 FR 3781 - Pediatric Medical Devices; Public Workshop; Reopening of Comment Period

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-25

... discussion of how to determine when it is appropriate to use, and how to use, existing scientific research... use of scientific research data to support pediatric medical device efficacy claims. This is part of an on-going effort to address the ways scientific research data can be used to support pediatric...

Public Understanding of Climate Change in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Elke U.; Stern, Paul C.

2011-01-01

This article considers scientific and public understandings of climate change and addresses the following question: Why is it that while scientific evidence has accumulated to document global climate change and scientific opinion has solidified about its existence and causes, U.S. public opinion has not and has instead become more polarized? Our…

Addressing the Dynamics of Science in Curricular Reform for Scientific Literacy: The Case of Genomics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Eijck, Michiel

2010-01-01

Science education reform must anticipate the scientific literacy required by the next generation of citizens. Particularly, this counts for rapidly emerging and evolving scientific disciplines such as genomics. Taking this discipline as a case, such anticipation is becoming increasingly problematic in today's knowledge societies in which the…

A set of scientific issues being considered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency regarding pollinator risk assessment framework.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

On September 11-14, 2012, the US Environmental Protection Agency convened a public meeting of the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) to address scientific issues associated with the Office of Pesticides Program’s (OPP) proposed “Pollinator Risk Assessment Framework”. Several sources have reporte...

Teaching Argumentation and Scientific Discourse Using the Ribosomal Peptidyl Transferase Reaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, R. Jeremy

2011-01-01

Argumentation and discourse are two integral parts of scientific investigation that are often overlooked in undergraduate science education. To address this limitation, the story of peptide bond formation by the ribosome can be used to illustrate the importance of evidence, claims, arguments, and counterarguments in scientific discourse. With the…

Nanomedicine: Problem Solving to Treat Cancer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemling, Melissa A.; Sammel, Lauren M.; Zenner, Greta; Payne, Amy C.; Crone, Wendy C.

2006-01-01

Many traditional classroom science and technology activities often ask students to complete prepackaged labs that ensure that everyone arrives at the same "scientifically accurate" solution or theory, which ignores the important problem-solving and creative aspects of scientific research and technological design. Students rarely have the…

Overview and Scientific Agenda of Global Precipitation Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Eric A.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This paper addresses the status of the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) currently planned for launch in the 2007-2008 time frame. The GPM notional design involves a 9-member satellite constellation, one of which wilt be an advanced TRMM-like "core" satellite carrying a dual-frequency Ku-Ka band radar (DFPR) and a TMI-like radiometer. The other eight members of the constellation will be considered daughters of the core satellite, each carrying some type of passive microwave radiometer measuring across the 10.7 - 85 GHz ,frequency range - likely to include a combination of lightweight satellites and co-existing operational/Experimental satellites carrying passive microwave radiometers (i.e., SSM/I and AMSR-E & -F). The constellation is designed to provide no worse than 3-hour sampling at any spot on the globe using sun-synchronous orbit architecture for the daughter satellites, with the core satellite providing relevant measurements on internal cloud-precipitation microphysical processes and the "training-calibrating" information for retrieval algorithms used on daughter satellite measurements. The GPM is organized internationally, currently involving a partnership between NASA in the US, NASDA in Japan, and ESA in Europe (representing the European community nations). The mission is expected to involve additional international participants, sister agencies to the mainstream space agencies, and a diverse collection scientists from academia, government, and the private sector, A critical element in understanding the scientific thinking which has motivated the GPM project is an understanding of what scientific problems TRMM has and has not been able to address and at what scales. The TRMM satellite broke important scientific ground because it carried to space an array of rain-sensitive instruments, two of which were specifically designed for physical precipitation retrieval. These were the 9-channel TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) and the 13.8 GHz Precipitation Radar (PR). By the same token, because TRMM is a single satellite in a low inclination, low altitude, non-sun-synchronous orbit, it cannot provide global coverage or regular diurnal sampling. These features are essential for many current scientific inquiries involving physical processes of climate and the global water cycle, the modeling of hydrometeorological-biogeochemical cycling, and coupled land-atmosphere/ocean-atmosphere exchanges. Moreover, TRMM has not been able to retrieve explicit properties of the drop size distribution (DSD), a final major barrier to making accurate rain measurements, because the single frequency TRMM radar cannot measure differential reflectivity. which is a minimal requirement for attacking rain retrieval within the framework of extinction cross-section-dependency. GPM is expected to surmount much of the DSD retrieval problem because its core satellite wilt have the capacity to make differential reflectivity measurements with its Ku-Ka band radar (13.6 - 35 GHz) called DFPR - being developed by NASDA/CRL in Japan. This paper will provide an overview of the above issues as well as present a discussion on the expected measurement improvements.

Pure science and the problem of progress.

PubMed

Douglas, Heather

2014-06-01

How should we understand scientific progress? Kuhn famously discussed science as its own internally driven venture, structured by paradigms. He also famously had a problem describing progress in science, as problem-solving ability failed to provide a clear rubric across paradigm change--paradigm changes tossed out problems as well as solving them. I argue here that much of Kuhn's inability to articulate a clear view of scientific progress stems from his focus on pure science and a neglect of applied science. I trace the history of the distinction between pure and applied science, showing how the distinction came about, the rhetorical uses to which the distinction has been put, and how pure science came to be both more valued by scientists and philosophers. I argue that the distinction between pure and applied science does not stand up to philosophical scrutiny, and that once we relinquish it, we can provide Kuhn with a clear sense of scientific progress. It is not one, though, that will ultimately prove acceptable. For that, societal evaluations of scientific work are needed.

Time for a change: addressing R&D and commercialization challenges for antibacterials.

PubMed

Payne, David J; Miller, Linda Federici; Findlay, David; Anderson, James; Marks, Lynn

2015-06-05

The antibacterial therapeutic area has been described as the perfect storm. Resistance is increasing to the point that our hospitals encounter patients infected with untreatable pathogens, the overall industry pipeline is described as dry and most multinational pharmaceutical companies have withdrawn from the area. Major contributing factors to the declining antibacterial industry pipeline include scientific challenges, clinical/regulatory hurdles and low return on investment. This paper examines these challenges and proposes approaches to address them. There is a need for a broader scientific agenda to explore new approaches to discover and develop antibacterial agents. Additionally, ideas of how industry and academia could be better integrated will be presented. While promising progress in the regulatory environment has been made, more streamlined regulatory paths are still required and the solutions will lie in global harmonization and clearly defined guidance. Creating the right incentives for antibacterial research and development is critical and a new commercial model for antibacterial agents will be proposed. One key solution to help resolve both the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and lack of new drug development are rapid, cost-effective, accurate point of care diagnostics that will transform antibacterial prescribing and enable more cost-effective and efficient antibacterial clinical trials. The challenges of AMR are too great for any one group to resolve and success will require leadership and partnerships among academia, industry and governments globally. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Spatially explicit decision support for selecting translocation areas for Mojave desert tortoises

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heaton, Jill S.; Nussear, Kenneth E.; Esque, Todd C.; Inman, Richard D.; Davenport, Frank; Leuteritz, Thomas E.; Medica, Philip A.; Strout, Nathan W.; Burgess, Paul A.; Benvenuti, Lisa

2008-01-01

Spatially explicit decision support systems are assuming an increasing role in natural resource and conservation management. In order for these systems to be successful, however, they must address real-world management problems with input from both the scientific and management communities. The National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, has expanded its training area, encroaching U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service critical habitat set aside for the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), a federally threatened species. Of all the mitigation measures proposed to offset expansion, the most challenging to implement was the selection of areas most feasible for tortoise translocation. We developed an objective, open, scientifically defensible spatially explicit decision support system to evaluate translocation potential within the Western Mojave Recovery Unit for tortoise populations under imminent threat from military expansion. Using up to a total of 10 biological, anthropogenic, and/or logistical criteria, seven alternative translocation scenarios were developed. The final translocation model was a consensus model between the seven scenarios. Within the final model, six potential translocation areas were identified.

Joined-up Planetary Information, in the Cloud and on Devices.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. J.; Emmott, S.; Purves, D. W.; Joppa, L. N.; Lyutsarev, V.

2014-12-01

In scientific research and development, emphasis is placed on research over development. A significant cost is that the two-way interaction between scientific insights and societal needs does not function effectively to lead to impacts in the wider world. We simply must embrace new software and hardware approaches if we are to provide timely predictive information to address global problems, support businesses and inform governments and citizens. The Microsoft Research Computational Science Lab has been pioneering research into software and methodologies to provide useful and usable new environmental information. Our approach has been very joined-up: from accellerating data acquisition from the field with remote sensor technology, targetted data collection and citizen science, to enabling proces based modelling-using multiple heterogeneous data-sets in the cloud and enabling the resulting planetary information to be accessed from any device. This talk will demonstrate some of the specific research and development we are doing to accerate the pace in which important science has impact on the wider world and will emphasise the important insights gained from advancing the research and develoment together.

Understanding factors that influence stakeholder trust of natural resource science and institutions.

PubMed

Gray, Steven; Shwom, Rachael; Jordan, Rebecca

2012-03-01

Building trust between resource users and natural resource institutions is essential when creating conservation policies that rely on stakeholders to be effective. Trust can enable the public and agencies to engage in cooperative behaviors toward shared goals and address shared problems. Despite the increasing attention that trust has received recently in the environmental management literature, the influence that individual cognitive and behavioral factors may play in influencing levels of trust in resource management institutions, and their associated scientific assessments, remains unclear. This paper uses the case of fisheries management in the northeast to explore the relationships between an individual's knowledge of the resource, perceptions of resource health, and participatory experience on levels of trust. Using survey data collected from 244 avid recreational anglers in the Northeast U.S., we test these relationships using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that participation in fisheries management is associated with increased trust across all aspects of fisheries management. In addition, higher ratings of resource health by anglers are associated with higher levels of trust of state and regional institutions, but not federal institutions or scientific methods.

Lunar polar ice deposits: scientific and utilization objectives of the Lunar Ice Discovery Mission proposal.

PubMed

Duke, Michael B

2002-03-01

The Clementine mission has revived interest in the possibility that ice exists in shadowed craters near the lunar poles. Theoretically, the problem is complex, with several possible sources of water (meteoroid, asteroid, comet impact), several possible loss mechanisms (impact vaporization, sputtering, photoionization), and burial by meteorite impact. Opinions of modelers have ranged from no ice to several times 10(16) g of ice in the cold traps. Clementine bistatic radar data have been interpreted in favor of the presence of ice, while Arecibo radar data do not confirm its presence. The Lunar Prospector mission, planned to be flown in the fall of 1997, could gather new evidence for the existence of ice. If ice is present, both scientific and utilitarian objectives would be addressed by a lunar polar rover, such as that proposed to the NASA Discovery program, but not selected. The lunar polar rover remains the best way to understand the distribution and characteristics of lunar polar ice. c2002 International Astronautical Federation. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.