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Student-centered learning of biology concepts through hands-on tactile approaches is one of the important themes in inclusive and equitable STEM teaching. In our article, we describe the development of clay Velcro origami models for students to explore the molecular and cellular process of muscle fiber formation. We repurposed dollar store items and recyclable items used to construct a variety of textures in the clay Velcro model of early and late stages of muscle fiber formation. These hands-on activities are linked to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) on using a model to explore the cell and structure changes to form a multinucleated muscle fiber or the formation of a syncytium. Finally, we also illustrate how students can utilize the clay Velcro model to make predictions if key molecules in cell fusion do not work during the process of syncytial formation during muscle fiber development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The study was designed to assess the level of utilization of authentic assessment as personal method among basic education teachers and to determine whether their level of utilization of authentic assessment as influenced by teacher’s gender and teaching interest. The study was a survey, with questionnaire as instrument for data collection. Basic education teachers in Cross River State were sampled for the study using stratified sampling technique to select 722 teachers. Three hypotheses were tested using t-test and Pearson correlation analysis. The findings were as follows: (i) Nigerian basic education teachers sampled displayed a significant high utilization of authentic assessment method, (ii) Gender had no influence on utilization of authentic assessment and (iii) There was a significant positive relationship between teaching interest and utilization of authentic assessment. Based on the findings some important recommendations were made. It is therefore recommended that administrators of Nigerian Universal Basic Education and State governments should be bold enough to give the teaching profession its pride of place, and significantly motivate the workforce at that foundation level of our educational system, if the secondary and tertiary levels are to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed analysis of the unique broadband millimeter-wave (70–360 GHz) collision-induced absorption spectra in pure CO2 and in its mixture with Ar is presented. The nature of the observed continuum absorption is examined using classical trajectory simulation along with statistical physics consideration. Bimolecular continuum is decomposed in the phase space into separate contributions from the so-called free, quasibound, and true bound molecular pairs, the proportions of which greatly vary with temperature. This partitioning is supported by consideration of the second virial coefficient and excluded volume in pure CO2, Ar, and CO2–Ar. Close similarity between collision-induced absorption in the CO2 containing gases and the water vapor continuum in the subterahertz spectral range is demonstrated. This similarity suggests that the physical principles underlying both continuum absorption phenomena have much in common and, therefore, can be used for continuum modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of Substances Hazard to Health (COSHH) Essentials is a simple, user-friendly matrix that provides risk-control solutions. Considering a large number of small enterprises under 25 workers in Iran and the lack of a suitable control banding tool, the COSHH Essentials can be considered an appropriate option. The purpose of the present experimental semi qualitative study was to evaluate the validity of the COSHH Essentials tool. Six processes were selected from a chemical products industry, including the production of silicone glue, polishing, PVC glue, Grease, Twin glue filling, and quality control. Amorphous silica and toluene concentrations were monitored using NIOSH 0600 and NIOSH 1501 in the ambient air of operators. The predicted exposure range (PER) was obtained by combining the control strategies available at the sampling time with exposure predictor (EP) bands in the COSHH Essentials, then compared to silica and toluene concentrations in the air. All exposure data were within the PER for amorphous silica dust and lower or within the PER for toluene. Compared to the acceptable concentration range in hazard bands, the threshold limit value (TLV) for respirable dust is within the acceptable concentration range, while toluene TLV exceeded it. COSHH Essentials is a conservative and safe tool, especially in liquids. Due to its simplicity, employers and health center experts can use the COSHH tool successfully for small enterprises or as a screening tool before a comprehensive risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioelectricity is the electrical activity that occurs within living cells and tissues. This activity is critical for regulating homeostatic cellular function and communication, and disruptions of the same can lead to a variety of conditions, including cancer. Cancer cells are known to exhibit abnormal electrical properties compared to their healthy counterparts, and this has driven researchers to investigate the potential of harnessing bioelectricity as a tool in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. In parallel, bioelectricity represents one of the means to gain fundamental insights on how electrical signals and charges play a role in cancer insurgence, growth, and progression. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the literature in this field, addressing the fundamentals of bioelectricity in single cancer cells, cancer cell cohorts, and cancerous tissues. The emerging role of bioelectricity in cancer proliferation and metastasis is introduced. Based on the acknowledgement that this biological information is still hard to access due to the existing gap between biological findings and translational medicine, the latest advancements in the field of nanotechnologies for cellular electrophysiology are examined, as well as the most recent developments in micro‐ and nano‐devices for cancer diagnostics and therapy targeting bioelectricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A distance education Diploma and Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Science programs are faced with low enrollment and graduation rate as well as high attrition of students. The aforementioned challenges are attributed to students' satisfaction and continuance intention. However, students' satisfaction and continuance intention toward distance education programs are as a result of certain antecedents. This modeled the determinants of satisfaction and program continuance intention by the distance education students on the math and science programs. Based on this, a quantitative approach based on a census survey was adopted and data collected from 113 students through a questionnaire and analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach based on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results of the study showed that two key antecedents: student-instructor interaction, and study center physical facilities determine program satisfaction of mathematics and science distance students. However, administrative support of the program determined instructional modules; facilitation quality was predicted by both instructional modules and laboratory facilities. Finally, students program continuance intention was predicted by satisfaction of the program. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for policy and practice toward improving students' satisfaction and promote positive intention in pursuant of mathematics and science education program by distance mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored science teachers' views of the nature of science (NOS) and the implications on their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The study follows a qualitative approach and uses a single case study design that followed 11 science teachers. The study uses PCK for science teaching as a framework, where the participants were requested to complete the views of NOS questionnaire (VNOS-D+) and each was observed two times in their science classrooms. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of teachers' PCK in teaching science. The study found that the majority of the participants reflected informed views of NOS. Although the majority of the teachers had a good understanding of the goals and objectives of science education and their solid content knowledge. They had poor knowledge of learners' understanding of science, choice of instructional strategies, and choice of assessment techniques for scientific literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Wall Shear Stress (WSS) is the component tangential to the boundary of the normal stress tensor in an incompressible fluid, and it has been recognized as a quantity of primary importance in predicting possible adverse events in cardiovascular diseases, in general, and in coronary diseases, in particular. The quantification of the WSS in patient-specific settings can be achieved by performing a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis based on patient geometry, or it can be retrieved by a numerical approximation based on blood flow velocity data, e.g., ultrasound (US) Doppler measurements. This paper presents a novel method for WSS quantification from 2D vector Doppler measurements., Methods: Images were obtained through unfocused plane waves and transverse oscillation to acquire both in-plane velocity components. These velocity components were processed using pseudo-spectral differentiation techniques based on Fourier approximations of the derivatives to compute the WSS., Results: Our Pseudo-Spectral Method (PSM) is tested in two vessel phantoms, straight and stenotic, where a steady flow of 15 mL/min is applied. The method is successfully validated against CFD simulations and compared against current techniques based on the assumption of a parabolic velocity profile. The PSM accurately detected Wall Shear Stress (WSS) variations in geometries differing from straight cylinders, and is less sensitive to measurement noise. In particular, when using synthetic data (noise free, e.g., generated by CFD) on cylindrical geometries, the Poiseuille-based methods and PSM have comparable accuracy; on the contrary, when using the data retrieved from US measures, the average error of the WSS obtained with the PSM turned out to be 3 to 9 times smaller than that obtained by state-of-the-art methods., Conclusion: The pseudo-spectral approach allows controlling the approximation errors in the presence of noisy data. This gives a more accurate alternative to the present standard and a less computationally expensive choice compared to CFD, which also requires high-quality data to reconstruct the vessel geometry., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Biomedical Engineering Society.)