The impact of an out‐of‐school STEM education program on students’ attitudes toward STEM and STEM careers

There is an increasing awareness of out‐of‐school program value in enhancing student interest and understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study examined the impact of an out‐of‐school STEM education program on student attitudes toward STEM disciplines and STEM careers. A STEM education program implemented at a public research university was designed to integrate STEM disciplines with hands‐on problem‐based activities. Design features included authentic learning contexts, engineering design processes, and content integration. Data sources included an attitude survey and interviews conducted with forty sixth grade middle school student participants. The analysis revealed significant differences between pre and posttests on student attitudes toward personal and social implications of STEM, science and engineering learning, and their relationship to STEM. Findings showed that the program contributed to students’ developing interest in STEM fields, and helped them make connections between schoolwork and daily lives. Recommendations for future research on out‐of‐school STEM education programs were discussed.     

A One‐Dimensional Pyrazine Bridged Copper(II)‐Saccharinato Coordination Polymer

A one‐dimensional copper(II) complex {[Cu(sac)₂(μ‐pyz)(H₂O)]·H₂O}_n ( 1 ) (pyz = pyrazine, and sac = saccharinate) has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermal and single crystal X‐ray analyses. Complex 1 crystallizes in the triclinic space group . The [Cu(sac)₂(H₂O)] units are bridged by pyz leading to a one‐dimensional alternating chain in which the copper(II) ions exhibit a distorted square–pyramidal coordination of CuN₄O. The intradimer Cu···Cu distance is 6.881Å, while interdimer Cu···Cu distance is 7.066Å. The supramolecular interactions are mainly controlled by the sac anion and water molecules. The individual chains are linked by strong OW–H···O(sac) hydrogen bonds into a two‐dimensional layers, which are further arranged in a three‐dimensional supramolecular network by aromatic π(sac)···π(sac) stacking interactions and CH···π(pyz) interactions. Thermal analysis of complex 1 shows that the decompositions of the aqua, pyz and sac ligands are observed as distinct steps on the DTA and TG curves.     

A New HPLC Method with UV Detection for the Determination of Carnosol in Human Plasma and Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study

Chromatographia - This article aims to present a simple and sensitive, HPLC–UV method, which was developed to determine carnosol in human plasma samples. Chromatographic separation was...     

A robust alternative to the ratio estimator under non-normality

In sampling theory, the traditional ratio estimator is the most common estimator of the population mean when the correlation between study and auxiliary variables is positively high. We introduce a new ratio-type estimator based on the order statistics of a simple random sample. We show that this new estimator is considerably more efficient than the traditional ratio estimator under non-normality, and remarkably robust to data anomalies such as presence of outliers in data sets.     

Goldie Extending Modules

In this article, we define a module M to be 𝒢-extending if and only if for each X ≤ M there exists a direct summand D of M such that X ∩ D is essential in both X and D. We consider the decomposition theory for 𝒢-extending modules and give a characterization of the Abelian groups which are 𝒢-extending. In contrast to the charac-terization of extending Abelian groups, we obtain that all finitely generated Abelian groups are 𝒢-extending. We prove that a minimal cogenerator for 𝒢od-R is 𝒢-extending, but not, in general, extending. It is also shown that if M is (𝒢-) extending, then so is its rational hull. Examples are provided to illustrate and delimit the theory.     

New exploratory clustering tool

This paper describes a clustering method on three‐way arrays making use of an exploratory visualization approach. The aim of this study is to cluster samples in the object mode of a three‐way array, which is done using the scores (sample loadings) of a three‐way factor model, for example, a Tucker3 or a PARAFAC model. Further, tools are developed to explore and identify reasons for particular clusters by visually mining the data using the clustering results as guidance. We introduce a three‐way clustering tool and demonstrate our results on a metabolite profiling dataset. We explore how high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) measurements of commercial extracts of St. John's wort (natural remedies for the treatment of mild to moderate depression) differ and which chemical compounds account for those differences. Using common distance measures, for example, Euclidean or Mahalanobis, on the scores of a three‐way model, we verify that we can capture the underlying clustering structure in the data. Beside this, by making use of the visualization approach, we are able to identify the variables playing a significant role in the extracted cluster structure. The suggested approach generalizes straightforwardly to higher‐order data and also to two‐way data. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of some novel 3,4,5-trisubstituted triazole derivatives bearing quinoline ring and evaluation of their antimicrobial activity

Abstract

Some new 3,4,5-trisubstituted 1,2,4-triazole derivatives were synthesized and studied for their antimicrobial activity. The lead compounds were obtained starting from 8-hydroxyquinoline and ethyl 2-chloroacetate. The obtained ester compound (1) first reacted with hydrazine hydrate (2) then with phenyl isothiocyanate (3). Ring closure by KOH led to 3-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole derivative (4). Lastly, it reacted with 2-chloro-N-(substituted (benzo)/thiazole)acetamide derivatives to obtain the final compounds (5a–j). The structural elucidation of the compounds was performed by ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and high resolution mass spectrometry techniques and elemental analysis. The synthesized compounds were investigated for their antimicrobial activities against seven bacteria and four fungi. As a result of the activity studies, it was observed that compounds N-(6-nitrobenzothiazol-2-yl)-2-[[4-phenyl-5-((quinolin-8-yloxy)methyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl]thio]acetamide (5a) and N-(6-fluorobenzothiazol-2-yl)-2-[[4-phenyl-5-((quinolin-8-yloxy)methyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl]thio]acetamide (5d) were the most active molecules. Also, the antifungal activity of the compounds was found to be higher than their antibacterial activity although lower than the standard drug’s potential. Additionally, the physicochemical properties of the compounds were calculated which were evaluated to be at a suitable range for oral administration.     

Core–Shell Structured Chitosan-Polyethylenimine Nanoparticles for Gene Delivery: Improved Stability,Cellular Uptake,and Transfection Efficiency

The delivery of nucleic acids relies on vectors that condense and encapsulate their cargo. Especially nonviral gene delivery systems are of increasing interest. However, low transgene expression levels and limited tolerability of these systems remain a challenge. The improvement of nucleic acid delivery using depolymerized chitosan–polyethylenimine DNA complexes (dCS-PEI/DNA) is investigated. The secore complexes are further combined with chitosan-based shells and functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and cell penetrating peptides. This modular approach allows to evaluate the effect of functional shell components on physicochemical particle characteristics and biological effects. The optimized ternary complex combines a core-dCS-linear PEI/DNA complex with a shell consisting of dCS-PEG-COOH, which results in improved nucleic acid encapsulation, cellular uptake and transfection potency in human hepatoma HuH-7cells and murine primary hepatocytes. Effects on transgene expression are confirmed in wild-type mice following retrograde intrabiliary infusion. After administration of only 100 ng complexed DNA, ternary complexes induced a high reporter gene signal for three days. It is concluded that ternary coreshell structured nanoparticles comprising functionalized chitosan can be used for in vitro andin vivo gene delivery.     

Poly(1,5-diaminonaphthalene) films for supercapacitor electrode materials: effect of electropolymerization technique on specific capacitance

Poly(1,5-diaminonaphthalane) (1,5-PDAN) films have been successfully synthesized on pencil graphite electrode (PGE) from aqueous solution of 0.1 M monomer and 1.0 M perchloric acid (HClO₄) by different electrochemical techniques which are cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). The field emission scanning electron microscopy has been used to analyze the surface morphologies of 1,5-PDAN-coated PGE by CV (PGE/1,5-PDAN(CV)) and CA (PGE/1,5-PDAN(CA)). Electrochemical measurements have been performed to evaluate usability of the electrodes for supercapacitors using CV, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), galvanostatic charge–discharge and repeating chronopotentiometry (RCP) methods in 1.0 M HClO₄. When compared the results of electrochemical measurements, it is concluded that PGE/1,5-PDAN(CA) has higher specific capacitance than PGE/1,5-PDAN(CV). Despite having high specific capacitance, long-term charge–discharge cycling stability of PGE/1,5-PDAN(CA) is lower than that of PGE/1,5-PDAN(CV). Additionally, electrodes exhibit high power and energy density, according to galvanostatic charge–discharge measurements. In conclusion, it can be said that PGE/1,5-PDAN(CV) and PGE/1,5-PDAN(CA) are promising materials for supercapacitor applications.     

1H relaxation and dynamics of triphenylbismuth in deuterated solvents

ABSTRACT

¹H spin–lattice relaxation experiments have been performed for triphenylbismuth dissolved in fully deuterated glycerol and tetrahydrofuran. The experiments have been carried out in a broad frequency range, from 10?kHz to 40?MHz, versus temperature. The data have been analysed in terms of a relaxation model including two relaxation pathways: ¹H-¹H dipole–dipole interactions between intrinsic protons of triphenylbismuth molecule and ¹H-²H dipole–dipole interactions between the solvent and solute molecules. As a result of the analysis, rotational correlation times of triphenylbismuth molecules in the solutions and relative translational diffusion coefficient between the solvent and solute molecules have been determined. Moreover, the role of the intramolecular ¹H-¹H relaxation contribution has been revealed, depending on the motional parameters, as a result of decomposing the overall relaxation dispersion profile into contributions associated with the ¹H-¹H and ¹H-²H relaxation pathways. The possibility of accessing the contribution of the relaxation of the intrinsic protons is important from the perspective of exploiting Quadrupole Relaxation Enhancement effects as possible contrast mechanisms for Magnetic Resonance Imaging.