STEM Degrees Research Articles

ALDH1A3 Contributes to Radiation-Induced Inhibition of Self-Renewal and Promotes Proliferative Activity of p53-Deficient Glioblastoma Stem Cells at the Onset of Differentiation

ALDH1A3 is a marker for mesenchymal glioblastomas characterized by a greater degree of aggressiveness compared to other major subtypes. ADH1A3 has been implicated in the regulation of stemness and radioresistance mediated by glioblastoma stem cells. Mechanisms by which ALDH1A3 promotes malignant progression of glioblastoma remain elusive posing a challenge for rationalization of ALDH1A3 targeting in glioblastoma, and it is also unclear how ALDH1A3 regulates glioblastoma cells stemness. Usage of different models with diverse genetic backgrounds and often unknown degree of stemness is one possible reason for discrepant views on the role of ALDH1A3 in glioblastoma stem cells. This study clarifies ALDH1A3 impacts on glioblastoma stem cells by modelling ALDH1A3 expression in an otherwise invariable genetic background with consideration of the impacts of inherent plasticity and proliferative changes associated with transitions between cell states. Our main finding is that ALDH1A3 exerts cell-state dependent impact on proliferation of glioblastoma stem cells. We provide evidence that ALDH1A3 augments radiation-induced inhibition of self-renewal and promotes the proliferation of differentiated GSC progenies. Congruent effects ALDH1A3 and radiation on self-renewal and proliferation provides a framework for promoting glioblastoma growth under radiation treatment.

Using Continuous Online Assessment of Learning Outcomes for Grading: A Case Study

In recent years, the problem of the number of students enrolled in STEM courses falling below the minimum required to carry out the courses has worsened. This situation, which used to occur primarily in degree programs at the end of their life cycle, is increasingly happening in active STEM degree programs as well. The declining attractiveness of traditional STEM degree programs and negative demographic trends are seen as the main causes of this problem. To assist students and their teachers in this situation, a novel approach to grading student work based on the level at which students achieve learning outcomes in an online system was explored. Since the focus was on STEM students, math-based tasks were used to assess student knowledge within the online system. In addition to the accuracy of the final results of the tasks, the accuracy of the intermediate results was also monitored. Each result was linked to the corresponding concepts, which in turn were linked to the corresponding learning outcomes. By entering correct intermediate and final results, the online system was able to monitor student success in mastering concepts and learning outcomes. The implemented online system utilizes fuzzy inference to calculate the levels at which students have achieved the learning outcomes. These levels are continuously recalculated during the semester and presented to the students through generated recommendations after each solved task. The proposed approach has positively impacted students’ motivation to learn during the semester, as confirmed by an anonymous questionnaire. Additionally, the results have shown that the final level at which students have achieved the learning outcomes within the online system, calculated at the end of the semester, can be used for grading and is comparable to the grades students would achieve in traditional midterm and final exams, thus helping teachers with their workload.

Women in Science and Mathematics in Japan and Asia-Oceania

The current landscape of women’s participation in STEM in Japan and the broader Asia-Oceania region still exhibits gender disparities. Despite high academic performance in STEM among Japanese students, a persistently low percentage of women pursue advanced STEM degrees, particularly PhDs in mathematics, where Japan ranks among the lowest globally. To address this gap, Japan and other countries have implemented various initiatives, such as STEM outreach programs, affirmative actions, and policy recommendations from advisory bodies like the Science Council of Japan and for mathematics in particular, associations of women mathematicians in the different continents.. Additionally, the newly established Asian and Oceanian Women in Mathematics (AOWM) organization seeks to support and promote women in mathematics through networking, mentoring, and collaborative events. The AOWM has also encouraged its members to strengthen their organizations and address/resolve the gender bias in their home countries.

A Grand Challenge: Education and Advocacy in the New Energy World

_ This is the final article in a series of six on SPE’s Grand Challenges in Energy, formulated as the output of a 2023 workshop held by the SPE Research and Development Technical Section in Austin, Texas. Described in a JPT article last year, each of the challenges are discussed separately in this series: geothermal energy; net-zero operations; improving recovery from tight/shale resources; digital transformation; carbon capture, utilization, and storage; and education and advocacy. _ We have our work cut out for us… but then, we always have in our industry. Following the crippling effects of the oil embargo in 1973, the price of crude oil climbed high and fast to the top of the charts. That increase in crude oil value brought students to petroleum engineering programs in droves around the world. It was not just the crude; it was the value of the degree program. Students rightly saw an opportunity to work in an industry that fueled the engine of the global economy, lit their homes, warmed their food, and moved people around the continents, all reliably and affordably. The post-embargo peak in enrollment was only topped by the peak following the shale boom of the mid-2000s. After the post-embargo boom in the 1980s came the bust. Similarly, many of us were not left standing when the mid-2000 boom busted. The price of oil is climbing again; natural gas and crude oil use is up and consistently so, but the petroleum engineering enrollments are not (Fig. 1). Depending on where you started along the x-axis in your career (Fig. 1), you may already know this story. What’s different now in an industry known to be cyclical, where we’ve seen this before? If higher crude oil prices and concomitant salaries are not bringing in the students, what will? The demand for STEM graduates is high across industries, and it’s particularly acute in the oil and gas sector. The US faces a significant shortage of STEM graduates to meet the needs of critical industries. This scarcity raises concerns about our ability to fill specialized roles, such as petroleum engineering, which are crucial for the energy sector’s development over the next century. If we struggle to produce enough STEM graduates overall, how can we expect to meet the specific demands of the oil and gas industry in the coming decades? There are a few reasons for this new trend. More than half of Americans say that STEM studies are too hard and nearly a quarter believe that STEM studies are not useful for a career. The National Academies have been sounding the alarm for more than 20 years about where we are going technologically, as a nation, and who is going to get us there. Second, within STEM degrees in general, there are fewer petroleum engineering, or equivalent graduates. While additional energy types in the mix have been growing for years, the sharp move toward renewable energy and simultaneously painting hydrocarbons as undesirable is recent.

Performance Test of Artificial Defoliating Broccoli Conveyor Line and Analysis of Defoliating Broccoli Inflorescences

There is a close relationship between stem and leaf biological characteristics of mature broccoli plants and defoliation technology. Morphological parameters such as the spread degree and diameter of cauliflower stem and leaf and the connection performance of cauliflower stem and leaf were studied. These experiments are helpful to the research of defoliation devices and methods for large-scale manual transportation lines. In this paper, according to the damage forms that may be suffered in the separation process of mature broccoli stems and leaves, “sunny” broccoli varieties were selected. Firstly, the mechanical properties of mature broccoli stems were obtained through different loading methods such as stretching, compression, shearing and bending. Secondly, the stress relaxation characteristics of broccoli were analyzed by static compression of broccoli flower balls. Finally, the separation method of broccoli stems and leaves was simulated by ANSYS. The simulation results showed that shear fracture was more suitable for stem and leaf separation of broccoli than tensile fracture. Then, aiming at the separation of stems and leaves of broccoli, an artificial broccoli assembly line was proposed to ensure the efficiency of leaf removal through man–machine cooperation. The dynamic characteristics of the belt of broccoli leaf removal line were studied to ensure the efficient and stable operation of the conveyor system of broccoli artificial leaf removal line.

Importance of alternative pathways to STEM through analysis of longitudinal student dataset

Using a longitudinal national educational dataset, data science methods were applied to explain students’ educational trajectories and determine the most predictive variables in STEM degree attainment. Challenging the notion of the STEM pipeline, an Alternative Pathways to STEM (APS) model was proposed. Using a foundation of Social Cognitive Career Theory, academic, demographic, and economic variables were selected for analysis and Imbalanced dataset and random forest data analytic techniques were implemented. Results supported the consideration of the Alternate Pathways to STEM model given the varied educational pathways identified throughout STEM matriculation. Additionally, multiple academic variables, except for career interest, were found to be most predictive of STEM graduation, while demographic and economic variables were not significant. These findings have important implications for recruiting STEM students and increasing STEM graduation rates. Additional research is recommended using these data extraction and analysis methodologies on other datasets to further test the efficacy of the Alternative Pathways to STEM model.

Programming Fun(damentals): Using commercial video games to teach basic coding to adult learners

The acquisition of computational thinking and coding skills is of special significance in helping adult learners keep pace with a new context where those skills are required for many parts of the workforce. However, there is an agreement in the scientific literature that important challenges exist, such as keeping student engagement and the requirement of developing problem-solving skills, and not just learning the code syntax. The inclusion of digital Game-Based Learning (GBL) has shown great potential. To better understand how it can be helpful to adult learners in STEM degrees, a study was conducted on the application of two very popular commercial video games in different introductory programming courses at an online university, during the introduction of basic programming topics (CS1). The methods combined a descriptive qualitative and a quantitative approach, using a reflective journals and questionnaires, which helped students consider and express their experiences, how they interacted with the games, how the games helped them better understand the topics, and realize their personal progress and potential. Results showed that the use of these games as educational resources had a positive impact in their engagement and sense of self-efficacy, but only if some important instructional considerations are taken into account.

Dual credits and the community college pathway toward STEM degrees

Dual credits and the community college pathway toward STEM degrees

From Formation to Evaluation: Optimising groupwork in STEM Degree Apprenticeships

Engineering degree apprenticeships provide three to six years of job opportunities and training that lead to university qualifications up to and equivalent of a postgraduate degree. Within an apprentice’s time in higher education (HE), many are required to complete groupwork projects which bring several benefits and some challenges. This paper explores the effects and limitations of group work in the context of degree apprenticeships whilst discussing a plethora of group selection and assessment method solutions. This includes student self-selection methods in comparison to teacher-selected and randomisation for group selection; a suitable method of selection should be unbiased and optimise advantages of collaborative working. Through understanding the most effective form of assessment for apprentices, an academic policy can be adapted and influenced – acknowledging the learning differences between undergraduate students and degree apprentices. As part of this work, a comprehensive literature review was carried and a survey was conducted and completed by the Bsc Digital and Technology Solutions students, BEng Applied Professional Engineering Programme students among others at the University of Warwick. The results of the survey provided quantitative and qualitative data surrounding group work. Furthermore, the paper suggests appropriate solutions to group work issues surrounding the effectiveness of group work for degree apprentices, optimal group selection-methods, group performance, ensuring equal contributions and assessment and grading methods. The paper addresses some of the problems encountered by apprentices during their studies such as the free-rider problem and unequal division of work - providing solutions towards minimising such problems, including the integration of web-based tools such as MS Planner.

The Dynamic Relationships between Educational Expectations and Science Learning Performance among Students in Secondary School and Their Later Completion of a STEM Degree.

The educational expectations of students for themselves have been commonly corroborated to directly predict their higher academic performance. Nevertheless, some recent research has reported that the academic performance of students may also contribute to their better development of educational expectations. Moreover, more advanced but limited research has argued that both the educational expectations and academic performance of students are developmental and changeable over time rather than fixed and stable. Due to the importance of students' science learning performance during the years of secondary school in relation to their later STEM development in adulthood, the current study is intended to investigate how the developmental and growth trajectories of students' educational expectations and science learning performance reciprocally affect each other directly and inversely in secondary school and then later contribute to their successful completion of a STEM degree in adulthood. Based on the six-wave panel data containing a nationally representative sample of adolescent students from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), the current study was conducted by parallel-process latent growth curve modeling (PP-LGCM) and found that both the developmental and growth trajectories of students' educational expectations and science learning performance were mutually predictive of each other across the years of secondary school, which then contributed to their later higher likelihood of successful completion of a STEM degree in adulthood. In addition, the conditional direct PP-LGCM model, which is to model the effects of students' educational expectations on their science learning performance, and the conditional inverse PP-LGCM model, which is to model the effects of students' science learning performance on their educational expectations, showed significant within- and cross-domain effects differently. The implications of the study findings related to educational reforms and policy designs are discussed.

Understanding Asians’ Success in Pursuing and Completing STEM Degrees

Understanding Asians’ Success in Pursuing and Completing STEM Degrees

A multi-tiered mentoring community approach to research experiences for local students from disadvantaged and underrepresented minority backgrounds

IntroductionA research and mentoring program was developed to provide local first-generation students, students returning to school after a professional experience, and underrepresented minority students resources and relationships to guide them toward a STEM degree from a four-year university.MethodsA multi-tiered mentoring community was formed including direct mentoring from graduate students and faculty advisors, peer mentoring among undergraduate students from different colleges and universities, and high school students to increase the accessibility of research opportunities for this demographic. Local students were recruited from Northwest Arkansas Community College and Upward Bound to combine community college and high school students in a novel manner. The programs were integrated whenever possible to emphasize peer mentoring, including mentoring lunches, research meetings, presentation sessions, conference presentations, and professional development mentoring sessions.ResultsOn the post-program survey, students indicated the community formed in the program supported their STEM identity development, provided them with quality relationships, and developed skills valuable to completion of a STEM degree. This identity development was further evidenced by the students presenting their work at a conference and obtaining additional research positions after the summer program ended.ConclusionThe post-program scores and continued efforts of different demographics of students to pursue STEM highlight the versatility of the multi-tiered mentoring community model to serve students from different ages, backgrounds, and demographics.

What is ‘research-led teaching’ and how can we deliver it in University STEM degrees?

ABSTRACT Universities advertise STEM degrees as being delivered via ‘research-led teaching’. We worked with students at the University of Liverpool to ascertain what students understood ‘research-led teaching’ to mean , and how it could be improved. We found that most students considered it important to be taught by active researchers and expected that their lecturers be experts in their fields. We found that students craved a more practical, research-based curriculum. Students believed that a research-heavy degree would better prepare them for future employment and provide skills that are more difficult to attain through lecture-based courses, but those who had commitments outside of the University were more hesitant. Our findings highlight the importance of considering underserved communities such as carers and single parents in course design. Overall, we found that the way in which teaching is delivered has a critical impact on students’ confidence and future career choices. We also report that students’ confidence and perceived learning opportunities have been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose that this is something that needs to be factored in when recruiting for postgraduate degrees and graduate jobs to protect future opportunities for students whose degrees were completed during the pandemic.

“I come from a poor family”: deciphering how working-class young men aspire to and experience their journeys in STEM higher education

AbstractWorking-class young men are often pathologised for their perceived lack of white-collar career aspirations. Historically, and in our present context, only a select minority of working-class males pursue higher education. Of those who attend, few choose to study STEM, which is often associated with academic rigour, competition and prestige. As a result, we know little about the motivations and experiences of working-class men pursuing STEM degrees. The aim of this paper is to decipher some of the complex interweaving of masculinities, social class and learner identities in STEM through focusing on three key themes from a longitudinal study focused on first-in-family males: (1) desire for financial stability and fulfilment; (2) internalising pressure; (3) struggles with social acclimatisation to university. The research provides some insight into how we can better support males from non-traditional backgrounds who aspire to pathways that contrast greatly with their socio-economic background.

Effects of workload allocation per course on students’ academic outcomes: Evidence from STEM degrees

We investigate how the allocation of workload across university courses affects students’ outcomes. Using a difference-in-differences design, we provide novel evidence that reducing the number of courses in a degree, while keeping the total course work unchanged, strongly reduces students’ performance and increases first-year dropout rates. We show procrastination accounts for these effects, suggesting that students struggle to adjust their study time to handle the intensified courses. We also show that the adverse impacts on dropouts are significantly stronger for students from less affluent families, indicating that the reform likely increases inequality. On the other hand, post-reform graduates exhibit better labor market outcomes. The discussion on potential mechanisms suggests that the reform enhanced the skills of the graduates who successfully navigated the unified exams.

Meeting the Needs of Underrepresented Female Students Using Innovative Molecular Models

The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields is of national concern. Research shows that females begin to lose confidence in their math and science abilities in middle school and it worsens in high school. Developing and leveraging young women’s interest in these topics via active learning activities and hands on models can encourage pursuit of STEM degrees in college. The MIT Edgerton Center Models and Curriculum was incorporated into the EMPOWER Program, a four-week program engaging female research scholars in 10th-12th grade in a summer fellowship that provided hands-on research experience focused on in-depth understanding of how exposures to toxic environmental insults in the urban environment impact health and alter biologic processes. The models were used to teach about DNA/RNA and protein synthesis. The models are designed to teach processes, in addition to structure. They are made to be manipulated so learners can perform cellular functions with their own hands. We hypothesized that using a hands on activity would increase engagement and learning about the Central Dogma of Life. Methods: Participants were guided through exercises using the models. Students (n=5) and teachers (n=2) utilized the MIT Edgerton Center Models of DNA/RNA and protein synthesis. Results/Discussion: Surveys were completed at the end of the program to determine student’s perceived impact on their learning and overall experience using the hands-on models. A Likert scale was used to assess student learning. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing strongly agree, all participants strongly agreed the models helped them learn more about DNA/RNA and proteins. Conclusion: Innovative molecular models increased student engagement and learning creating an environment for student centered learning. NIEHS Project Number: 5R25ES030240-03. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Residential versus Online? Experimental Evidence on Diversifying the STEM Pipeline

Prior research has shown that most educational interventions boost student outcomes to a greater extent when delivered in person as opposed to online. However, we know little about whether this is true for enrichment programs targeted to highly motivated populations. By using a randomized controlled trial to study a suite of such programs intended to increase diversity in the STEM pipeline, we reveal that all experiences increase college six-year graduation, especially from competitive universities, but increases in STEM degree production come only from in-person experiences.

To STEM or not to STEM: A cross-national analysis of gender and tertiary graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math, 1998–2018

The comparative literature on gender and higher education has increasingly focused on differences in access to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). We contribute to this literature through a cross-national analysis of STEM graduates by gender between 1998 and 2018 across 90 countries. Many earlier studies emphasize the positive influence of a global liberal culture on women. More recent scholarship contends that women may be steered away from attaining a STEM degree in more liberal and individualistic societies. Our study shows a lower percentage of women graduates in STEM in countries that are more liberal. However, we find that the opposite is the case for men. Our findings are consistent with the idea that individuals in more liberal cultural contexts are more likely to make degree decisions based on individual preferences that are influenced by gendered societal norms. Both women and men are more likely to “indulge in their gendered selves” in these cultural contexts. Our findings are inconsistent with the idea that liberal modernity influences men and women in STEM in a gender-neutral mode.

Family Matters: The Culture of STEM at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

In this article, we explore the experiences of students at HBCUs as they traverse their STEM courses and STEM majors and demonstrate how their paths in STEM are positively shaped by a “culture of family.” Our research questions include: What are the experiences of students attending HBCUs and pursuing degrees in STEM? And how do their experiences with faculty, staff and students support their learning process? We use a multi-case study approach and validation theory to explore these research questions across 10 HBCUs. The findings from our research offer important insights on the type of education, learning, culture, curriculum, and student experiences offered at the HBCUs in our study. But more importantly, these insights help us understand how validation—through a culture of family—manifests to influence and support student achievement.

Effectiveness analysis of revision surgery after total hip arthroplasty assisted by artificial intelligence preoperative planning system

To explore the short-term effectiveness of hip revision surgery guided by artificial intelligence preoperative planning (AIHIP) system. The clinical data of 22 patients (23 hips) who were admitted between June 2019 and March 2023 and met the selection criteria were retrospectively analyzed. There were 12 males and 10 females with an average age of 69.7 years (range, 44-90 years). There were 19 hips in the first revision, 3 hips in the second revision, and 1 hip in the third revision. The causes of revision included 12 hips with prosthesis loosening, 4 hips with acetabular cup loosening, 3 hips with osteolysis, 2 hips with acetabular dislocation, 1 hip with postoperative infection, and 1 hip with prosthesis wear. There were 6 hips in stage ⅡA, 9 hips in stage ⅡB, 4 hips in stage ⅡC, 3 hips in stage ⅢA, and 1 hip in stage ⅢB according to Paprosky staging of acetabular bone defect. The replacement of prosthesis type, operation time, hospitalization stay, ground active condition, and postoperative infection, fracture, prosthesis loosening, and other adverse events were recorded. The function of the affected limb was evaluated by Harris score before operation, at 1 week and 6 months after operation, and the range of motion of the hip joint was compared before operation and at 6 months after operation. The operation time was 85-510 minutes, with an average of 241.8 minutes; the hospitalization stay was 7-35 days, with an average of 15.2 days; the time of disassociation from the walker was 2-108 days, with an average of 42.2 days. All the 22 patients were followed up 8-53 months (mean, 21.7 months). No adverse events such as prosthesis loosening or infection occurred in the rest of the patients, except for postoperative hematoma of the thigh in 1 patient and dislocation of the hip in 1 hip. The matching degree of acetabular cup was completely matched in 22 hips and mismatched in 1 hip (+2), the matching rate was 95.65%. The matching degree of femoral stem was completely matched in 22 hips and generally matched in 1 hip (-1), and the matching rate was 100%. The Harris scores were 55.3±9.8 and 89.6±7.2 at 1 week and 6 months after operation, respectively, which significantly improved when compared with before operation (33.0±8.6, P<0.05), and further improved at 6 months after operation than at 1 week after operation ( P<0.05). The function of hip joint was evaluated by Harris score at 6 months after operation, and 21 hips were good and 2 hips were moderate, which could meet the needs of daily life. The range of motion of hip joint was (111.09±10.11)° at 6 months after operation, which was significantly different from (79.13±18.50)° before operation ( t=-7.269, P<0.001). AIHIP system can improve the accuracy of revision surgery, reduce the difficulty of surgery, and achieve good postoperative recovery and satisfactory short-term effectiveness.