Strong Research Program Research Articles

Preliminary design of the INPE's Solar Vector Magnetograph

AbstractWe describe the preliminary design of a magnetograph and visible-light imager instrument to study the solar dynamo processes through observations of the solar surface magnetic field distribution. The instrument will provide measurements of the vector magnetic field and of the line-of-sight velocity in the solar photosphere. As the magnetic field anchored at the solar surface produces most of the structures and energetic events in the upper solar atmosphere and significantly influences the heliosphere, the development of this instrument plays an important role in reaching the scientific goals of The Atmospheric and Space Science Coordination (CEA) at the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE). In particular, the CEA's space weather program will benefit most from the development of this technology. We expect that this project will be the starting point to establish a strong research program on Solar Physics in Brazil. Our main aim is acquiring progressively the know-how to build state-of-the-art solar vector magnetograph and visible-light imagers for space-based platforms to contribute to the efforts of the solar-terrestrial physics community to address the main unanswered questions on how our nearby Star works.

What Makes a Plastic Surgery Residency Attractive

BACKGROUND: Plastic Surgery is among the most competitive specialties, and although some of the attributes of successful applicants have been described, little is known about the characteristics of programs that are most attractive to successful applicants.1-5 This study aimed to understand program characteristics that are most influential to students when ranking plastic surgery programs and to identify changes that programs may make to improve and to attract the best students. METHODS: An anonymous, 21-question, multiple choice and open response online survey of newly matched plastic surgery residents for the integrated and combined match in the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 academic years was conducted. Subjects were queried regarding their personal qualifications, application experiences, and motivations for residency program selection. RESULTS: A total of 92 out of 245 matched plastic surgery residents responded for a participation rate of 38%. (Table 1) Applicants with Step I scores greater than 245 received significantly more interviews (*p=.001) (Figure 1) and ranked faculty mentorship programs and resident benefits as significantly less important (*p<.05), but geographic location as significantly more important (*p=.005). Applicants who had published more than two manuscripts received significantly more interviews (*p=.001) (Figure 1) and ranked the presence of a strong research infrastructure and program reputation as significantly more important (*p<.05). Forty-two percent of applicants completed an away rotation at the program which they matched, and these applicants were significantly more likely to match at their number one ranked program (*p=.001).Table 1: Demographics of newly matched plastic surgery applicants who responded to the survey.Figure 1: Comparison of number of interviews receives to standard metrics of applicant strength.CONCLUSIONS: Plastic surgery applicants have differing preferences regarding the ideal training program, but some attributes resonate similarly among applicants. These trends can guide programs for improvement. Notably, research infrastructure and support should be encouraged and enhanced. Resident relationships should be fostered within and outside the medical center. Away rotations should receive strong encouragement at all levels, and a commitment to fostering residents to work and train in environments that promotes their well-being and happiness should be a guiding principle.

Вклад Т.И. Заславской в развитие теории социальной структуры

The analysis of scientific contribution, given by T.I. Zaslavskaya into development of theory of social structure and sociological comprehension of structural mechanisms of changes in the Soviet and post-Soviet societies, is submitted. On the basis of the T. Zaslavskaya’s texts the essential ideas about social structure as a basic component of mechanism of social life are stated. The prospects for application of this scientific knowledge in sociological study of social phenomenon and processes are outlined. The theory of social structure, which was logically completed at the end of the 1990s, develops a complex relational approach to interpretation of structure as a system of relations between social groups as well as a system of social inequality. It is argued proximity of T. Zaslavskaya’s theoretical principles to the contemporary way of theoretical synthesis in Sociology which draws together the structural, agency, and cultural strategies in explanation of social life. It is resulted in analytical differentiation of three basic structural parameters which form a social relation network. These parameters are useful for sociological measurement of social structure. The epistemological value of the empirical “vertical” model of social structure is explored that allows the author to detect a deep conflict inside the social structure of the ‘late’ Soviet society as well as to find the main tendencies of structural transformation under the post-Socialism. It is paid attention to the special theoretical and practical value of the conceptual ideas about three levels of complexity of the qualitative societal changes developed by T. Zaslavskaya. These ideas are formed in line with the works on neo-institutional theory by D. Nort. The theory of social structure is been developed and realized by T.I. Zaslavskaya within the strong research program which included: the scaled theoretical and methodological elaboration aimed at explanation of the regularities of social development; application of the theoretical elaboration in empirical investigations; empirically-grounded findings which were proposed for political decision-making and public policy.

A personal perspective on medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry.

A personal perspective on medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry.

Issues related to institutional animal care and use committees and clinical trials using privately owned animals.

T he importance of comparative medicine and the similarities between diseases in humans and animals are concepts fairly easily understood and accepted by all. Publications in this field aimed at a broad audience are generally well received. The importance of scientific advancement in our own veterinary field is an integral part of our daily activities and is spelled out in the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Veterinarian’s Oath (AVMA Policy 1): Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge. I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics. I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence (emphasis added by the authors). As an extension of these concepts, veterinarians work with their human medical counterparts and others in One Health activities, “the integrative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment” (One Health Initiative, AVMA Policy 2 One Health). With these perspectives in mind, it will come as no surprise that the performance of clinical studies or trials directly for the benefit of animals and/or indirectly for the benefit of humans elicit positive, supportive responses, as should be. However, as with similar studies in humans, ethical aspects need to be addressed to protect both the study subjects and their owners and the study directors. In that context, we will review the laws and regulations pertaining to this field as well as some definitions and practical aspects influencing these activities. The terms clinical trial and clinical study are synonymous (ICH). Clinical trials include participants, whether human or animal, who receive specific therapies according to the research protocol developed by the investigators. Clinical trials may involve comparisons between currently recognized therapies (to determine their relative advantages and disadvantages), between a novel investigational treatment and an existing standard of care treatment, or between an investigational treatment and a placebo control. When a new product or approach is studied, it is not usually known whether it will be helpful, harmful, or no different than available alternatives (including no intervention). The principal purpose of any clinical trial is to provide a conclusive resolution to a clinical problem. Biomedical research, clinical studies, and, ultimately, therapy directed at experimentally induced and spontaneously occurring diseases in animals form the basis for animal models of human and animal disease. Comparative medicine may translate basic science knowledge into applied clinical information (AVMA Policy 3, comparative medicine; see also the link at the University of California at Davis, Veterinary Center for Clinical Trials (UC Davis). The mission of the AVMA includes the improvement of animal and human health; this is one of the fundamental goals of biomedical research. The AVMAhas identified the need for companion animal research: research with specifically targeted deliverables for dogs and cats (with horses and other companion species). There has even been a recent endeavor to create an organization to specifically fund this work: the Institute for Companion Animal and Equine Research (AVMA Policy 4 ICAER). Furthermore, the AVMA supports the notion that veterinary medical research is fundamental and encourages academic institutions to have strong veterinary medical research programs (AVMA Policy 5, vet med research). Additionally, the AVMA supports applying knowledge gained from animals with spontaneously occurring disease to enhance the development of new diagnostic tools, vaccines, and therapies for human beings and animals (AVMA Policy 3, comparative medicine). Although this work would be initiated in the realm of basic science, the Philippe J. R. Baneux, DVM, DipECLAM, is Attending Veterinarian, Director Center for Animal Resources and Education at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Mary E. Martin, DVM, MPH, DACLAM is Chief, Veterinary and Educational Services at Cornell University, Center for Animal Resources and Education in Ithaca, NY. Matthew J. Allen, Vet.M.B., PhD, is Associate Professor, Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine at The Ohio State University in OH. Troy M. Hallman,Md, VMD is Director of AnimalWelfare at Office of Regulatory Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.

The Role of Sustained Mentorship in Grant Success

Funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the Institute on Aging and Social Work played an integral role in the professional development of select faculty members engaged in gerontological research in schools or departments of social work. It offered faculty participants the opportunities to enhance knowledge of research methods, develop a strong program of research, and expand one's scholarly network. This article highlights a personal reflection on the benefits of participating in the NIA-funded institute. Sustained mentorship was arguably the most influential aspect of the institute because it gave participants an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from the initial meeting when writing a draft grant proposal. The source of the sustained mentorship was from both experienced faculty members who led the institute and fellow faculty participants who shared in the grant writing process. The benefits of participating in the institute include increased confidence in the grant writing process, an understanding of common evaluation criteria for grant proposals, and more meaningful student involvement in gerontological research.

Transforming care through leadership and research alignment

Transforming care through leadership and research alignment

Pathway to Innovation

A lbert Einstein once said, ‘‘Knowledge is important; innovation more so.’’ Research ideas that never leave the laboratory represent a loss to us all in terms of health, welfare, and economy. It is one thing to develop a strong research program, but a clear pathway is needed to transfer the best and most useful ideas from the lab to industry. Completing this pathway is one of the roles of the University of Waterloo’s new Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CBB). CBB, comprised of more than 140 faculty members, explicitly includes companies and health care institutions as members to ensure that the communication of great ideas occurs at the earliest stages of research. When research ideas grow from a strong industry-university partnership, the chances of those ideas being the right ones to commercialize are much better. The University of Waterloo (uWaterloo) is known worldwide for its unique culture of innovation (recognized by Maclean’s magazine as the ‘‘most innovative university in Canada’’ 21 years out of 21 years). At the core of this culture is the university’s ‘‘Inventor-owns’’ intellectual property (IP) policy. This policy means that students and researchers fully own whatever they create at uWaterloo, with no strings attached. Unlike other universities that expect a part ownership in IP, or that impose some form of mandatory revenue sharing models, the uWaterloo policy is fundamental and is the basis for all uWaterloo discoveries. The effects of this policy have, over time, been shown to be dramatic:

Dedication to Dr. Paul Gray

The inaugural issue of 'The STEAM Journal' is dedicated to Dr. Paul Gray, written by Dr. David Drew. Author/Artist Bio David E. Drew holds the Joseph B. Platt Chair. His principal appointment is in the School of Educational Studies, where his teaching focuses on quantitative research methods, statistical analysis, and model building. He also has cross-appointments in Management, Psychology, and Mathematics. For ten years David E. Drew served as dean of the School of Educational Studies. Prior to joining the CGU faculty, he held senior research positions at the Rand Corporation, the National Research Council, and the American Council on Education. Earlier he held a research faculty position at Harvard University, from which he received his PhD, and served as head applications programmer at the Harvard Computing Center. He is the author of more than 150 publications, including 9 books, about a) the improvement of mathematics and science instruction at all levels of education, b) the development and evaluation of effective undergraduate programs, c) building strong university research programs, and d) health education. These publications include, for example, a book reporting an evaluation he directed of a billion dollar National Science Foundation program, a Rand report for the White House about Federal funding of biomedical research, and a book about how to increase research productivity in the nation’s universities. STEM the Tide: Reforming Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education in America, published in October 2011, provides a positive blueprint for strengthening America’s schools, colleges, and universities. Read more here www.davidedrew.com

Dangerous, Disruptive, or Irrelevant? History (of Technology) as an Acquired Taste in Asia

This article is the transcript of a round-table talk delivered at the 2011 annual meeting of the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) in Cleveland, Ohio. It considers the paradox that the close identification of “Asia” with “technology,” globally as well as within Asia, has not been paralleled by a strong research program in the humanities and social sciences to understand this relationship, particularly its cultural ramifications. It outlines reasons for this, particularly in regard to teaching and research in the history of technology, and suggests that the recent rise of interest in STS in Asia represents a path forward.

Return of the “Intimate Outsider”

This article reviews family nursing research published from 1996 to 2011. This is a follow-up to a review published in the Journal of Family Nursing in 1995. Findings from the first review are compared with this one, trends in family nursing scholarship are identified, and predictions and suggestions for future directions are offered. The latest generation of family nursing scholarship is conceptually and methodologically sound, and there is evidence of more multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research conducted by family nursing researchers. Scholars are paying more attention to issues of diversity and family context at present than in the past, although there are still aspects of diversity that need more attention. Strong research programs in family nursing exist worldwide; an international synergism has helped promote rapid expansion of family nursing research and theory development. A vigorous movement to promote research to practice initiatives and greater attention to family interventions are exciting developments.

Clinical Doctorate in Speech-Language Pathology

Clinical Doctorate in Speech-Language Pathology

Dr. Robert J. (Bob) Parker

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. R. J. (Bob) Parker, Professor Emeritus, on October 30, 2010 at the Victoria Hospital, Winnipeg, surrounded by his wife Margaret and family. Dr. Parker first joined the Department of Animal Science in 1959 as a Research Officer shortly after receiving a B.Sc. Agriculture (1958) from the University of Glasgow, a Scottish Diploma in Dairy from the West of Scotland Agriculture College and a post Graduate Diploma in Agriculture from the University of Reading. In 1961 Dr. Parker enrolled in the M.S.A. (Animal Breeding) program at the University of Toronto (Guelph) receiving his M.S.A. in 1962 followed by a Ph.D. in Animal Genetics from Michigan State University (1967). In 1966 Dr. Parker was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba, and quickly moved through the ranks to Full Professor. As an Academic, Dr. Parker always maintained that the primary function at the University is teaching and that the focus should be on student education; facilitating their learning and developing their problem-solving skills. The quality of education offered to our students in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences was of utmost importance to Dr. Parker and, over an 18 month period (1992/1994), he chaired a curriculum Task Force that revised the curriculum for the Faculty. The new curriculum was applauded from within and outside the University as being forward-looking, offering progressive programs that eliminated Departmental boundaries and focused on desired learning outcomes for the students that would meet both student and employee needs. Dr. Parker maintained a strong research program for most of his academic career, securing funding from NRC/NSERC, Agriculture Canada and other sources, graduating 10 M.Sc. and 7 Ph.D. students and publishing 78 peer-reviewed articles of which many were invited papers. His involvement in training and mentoring graduate students was very much on a one-on-one basis, fostering students’ critical thinking, always pushing the boundary. Dr. Parker was a very active participant in University and community life. During his tenure he served on some 60 University, Faculty, and Departmental committees. As a member of CSAS he served as Western Director and Chair of theMembershipCommittee (1972 1974), Executive Committee for the Canadian Animal Genetics Workshop (1974 1976), Secretary/Treasurer, Western Branch (1983 1987) and two terms asDirector,Western Branch (1987 1992). Concurrently, Bob served on many external research and industry committees. He was always willing to serve, and often accepted a leadership role. From 1986 to his retirement Dr. Parker was active as an administrator: Associate Head of Animal Science (4 years), Acting Head and Head of Animal Science (6 years), AssociateDeanResearch (4 years) and at the same time Director of the Glenlea Research Station (10 years). Dr. Parker’s activities anddecisions as administratorwere based on a set of guiding principles that included openness, integrity, fairness, equity, discretion, and compassion. In times of fiscal constraints, when tough decisions had to bemade, he carefully considered all implications to programs and people and chose the least damaging. He was well respected by his peers and subordinates and received the Administrator of the Year Award in 1995. Although Dr. Parker won numerous recognitions and awards throughout his career, two need special mention. Upon his retirement in 1997 Dr. Parker received the title Professor Emeritus and his colleagues and friends established the Robert J. Parker Graduate Fellowship in Animal Science. Dr. Parker passed away on Saturday October 30, 2010. He will be sadly missed, but dearly remembered by family, friends and colleagues for his sound advice, sense of humor, his warm laughter and his passion for life.

University of Washington School of Medicine

University of Washington School of Medicine

Special Issue in Honor of Professor Nick Hadjiliadis′ Retirement

We are more than happy to see the completion of this special issue. The idea for this issue came from the recognition that bioinorganic chemistry research in Greece has been tremendously developed over the last three decades or so. The obvious reason is that this period has seen significant changes to the Greek chemistry community. New Laws permitted independent research by all the members of the academic staff, especially at the Lecturer and Assistant Professor positions. Nowadays, all five chemistry departments in greek Universities (Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Ioannina, Crete) have strong research programs in bioinorganic chemistry. Bioinorganic chemistry was also developed in a brilliant way at three institutes in the National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos,” located in Athens. Many appointments by the universities and “Demokritos” created new generations of scientists with their own research ideas and directions, and they are currently helping to shape the future of bioinorganic chemistry in Greece. Another important reason for the progress of bioinorganic chemistry in Greece has been the scientific impact and personality of Professor Nick Hadjiliadis, the scientist who undoubtedly introduced bioinorganic chemistry to and pioneered research in this field in Greece. This special issue is devoted to him. Professor Nick Hadjiliadis retired in September 2008 (he is currently Emeritus Professor) after a brilliant academic career, mainly at the University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece. However, he continues to be involved in research and other academic activities. His scientific and professional achievements are numerous. He has carried out excellent research in at least four interesting areas of contemporary bioinorganic chemistry, holding an outstanding publication record in peer-review journals and thematic books. Many of his former Ph.D. students occupy academic or research positions in Greece. He has received international awards and organized international conferences and meetings in Greece and abroad, including the very successful 5th International Symposium on Applied Bioinorganic Chemistry. He has established and directed for more than 10 years the prestigious interuniversity graduate programme “Bioinorganic Chemistry” in Greece. Finally, he was Editor-in-Chief of Bioinorganic Chemistry and Applications and other bioinorganic chemistry books. His impact on the scientific community goes far beyond the just mentioned aspects. Nick had the ability to inspire many Greek inorganic chemists to try bioinorganic chemistry projects, often giving smart ideas to them. In addition to being an excellent scientist, Nick is also a friendly and broadly educated person (but strict with his collaborators when he was seeing them relaxing and being out of the schedule) with whom it was a privilege for us to be associated for the last 25–30 years. This issue contains 42 papers. There are contributions from some of the scientists with whom Nick has been collaborating and from his old students. However, there are many contributions from researchers who gladly accepted our invitation to participate as a means to show their respect for the scientist and the man. Seventeen (17) papers are entirely from Greece, fifteen (15) contributions come from foreign laboratories, and the rest (10) describe research resulting from collaboration between Greek and foreign universities and institutes. We have attempted as far as possible to have this special issue reflect research activities on currently “hot” topics of bioinorganic chemistry [1] and the respect that Professor Hadjiliadis commands through the scientific community in our country and internationally. The “hot” areas of bioinorganic chemistry covered in the issue include—among others—metal entry into cells and active sites, understanding metalloenzymes, biomimetic chemistry (success in this endeavor has the potential not only to provide insights in the working mechanisms of the enzymes but also to produce new chemical catalysts for promoting difficult reactions under mild conditions), probing metal ions in cells (this topic has been important for therapeutic, toxic, and pathological aspects of medicinal applications of bioinorganic chemistry), and biomaterials. It can be seen from the contributions of this special issue that elucidating the structures and reactivities of metallobiomolecules, mimicking and utilizing molecular and macromolecular systems at the interface of biology and inorganic chemistry continue to be fertile research areas which promise new discoveries. On behalf of all the authors, and indeed the Greek chemical community as a whole, we wish Professor Nick Hadjiliadis a happy retirement, good health, and many more years of scientific success. Last, but not least, we would like to express our gratitude to (i) the reviewers of the papers for their time to study the submitted manuscripts and for their valuable comments, (ii) Dr. Konstantis F. Konidaris for his every day help in many scientific and practical problems concerning our correspondence with the authors, and (iii) the officials, journal developers, and editorial assistants of Bioinorganic Chemistry and Applications (we have met such perfect professionals for the first time in our job!) for their great help during the organization of the special issue. Evy Manessi-Zoupa Spyros P. Perlepes

Inside IG Farben: Hoechst during the Third Reich (review)

Reviewed by: Inside IG Farben: Hoechst during the Third Reich Anthony Stranges (bio) Inside IG Farben: Hoechst during the Third Reich. By Stephan H. Lindner. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Pp. xx+388. $60. Inside IG Farben tells the story of Hoechst’s surrender to the NSDAP, the Gestapo, and other elements of the Nazi regime. Previous studies of IG Farben and its main members, the chemical giants BASF, Bayer, and Hoechst, have provided little insight into the lives and attitudes of their managers and employees because of gaps in the surviving archival records. Stephan Lindner’s examination of Hoechst’s records has filled one of the gaps and enabled him to reveal in a series of well-documented biographical sketches of Hoechst’s employees how broadly and thoroughly Nazi ideology dominated Hoechst’s leadership from 1933 to 1945. Hoechst’s management supported Lindner’s research even though the information he uncovered showed the firm at its worst. The result is the first objective study of Hoechst. Hoechst was established in 1863 in Hoechst-am-Main, near Frankfurt, as a dye manufacturer and later a pharmaceutical company and producer of paints and inorganic and nitrogen compounds. From 1925 to 1945 it was part of IG Farben, whose members in addition to the three chemical giants included five smaller industrial firms. Lindner has focused mainly on Hoechst’s Nazi period. He makes clear that the IG Farben companies did not establish Nazi Germany’s political and economic policies but acted within them. Hoechst’s managers had to choose between adapting to these policies or risking a takeover by its competitors or by the Nazi regime. They chose adaptation. Lindner divides his study into four parts. Part one examines the formation of IG Farben from its beginning in 1925 to the early years of the Great Depression. IG Farben’s formation had ended Hoechst’s two decades of independence, 1904–1925. This led to reduction in quantity and kinds of commercial dyes produced, the forced retirement of the old Hoechst hierarchy, and a reorganization and redesign of Hoechst’s old and new production departments. The second and longest part covers the years 1934–1939 and focuses on Hoechst’s management, its labor force, and the role of the NSDAP. At this time, Hoechst implemented and enforced new codes that redefined the relations between plant management and personnel and made them accountable to the Nazi regime. Lindner discusses the central role of the plant directors, Ludwig Hermann, who joined the Nazi Party in 1935, and his successor Carl Lautenschläger, particularly the principal values that guided their behavior and work, and the relations they cultivated with the Nazis. In the years before the war, Hoechst underwent a nazification, which initiated the persecution of Jewish workers and those the Nazis decreed Jews [End Page 712] and the coercion and harsh treatment of foreign workers. By the beginning of World War II, Hoechst had capitulated to the Nazis. The third part describes Hoechst’s movement from self-sufficiency to war production. Along with Friedrich Jähne, Hoechst’s chief engineer, Hermann worked to make the firm lucrative through new plant construction and a strong research and development program. Research in the Process Engineering Department led to advancements in the development of plastics. Research in the Pharmaceutical Department, which Lautenschläger headed, exemplified both the social benefits and the horrors of drug research, development, and testing. Hoechst’s scientists searched for drugs to relieve human suffering from diseases such as typhus fever while simultaneously conducting inhumane tests and experiments on concentration-camp inmates. Lindner’s final part examines two issues that arose in the immediate postwar years. The first was the removal of politically implicated individuals during the denazification program and the Nuremberg trials of Hoechst and other IG Farben executives. Most of those who were tried received light sentences: Lautenschläger innocent on all counts, Jähne eighteen months; the longest sentences were six and seven years. The second issue was the reinstatement of Hoechst’s officials beginning in the early 1950s. Lindner concludes that Karl Winnacker, Hoechst’s postwar managing director, endeavored to subvert the Nuremberg trials and identified himself with the alleged...

Counterproductive use of technology at work: Information & communications technologies and cyberdeviancy

The misuse of information and communications technology (ICTs) in the workplace is a growing problem that is expected to continue to trend upward. The consequences of this form of behaviour range from minor outcomes with little impact, to more serious outcomes with significant negative impacts to individuals, groups, and even for entire organizations. Research into technologically mediated counterproductive behaviour has lagged behind the phenomena, remains limited in scope, and is conducted in disciplinary and theoretical isolation. Conceptual clarity and theoretical synthesis are viewed as critical steps for enabling a strong program of research into this new counterproductive domain. This article proposes a potential approach for fostering conceptual clarity and identifies the necessity for a theoretical model to facilitate future investigation.

Diminishing the Gap Between University and High School Research Programs: Computational Physics

There are many schools (grades K-12) around the country that offer some sort of science research option for students to pursue. Often this option is a local science fair, where students do smaller projects that are then presented at poster sessions. Many times the top local projects can advance to some type of regional and, possibly, state science fair. However, the projects students tend to do for a fair are “lower-level” research; that is, a project where the answer is at least known by the teacher and is often a lab activity from a standard experiment booklet. If there is a smaller subset of students who are more interested and motivated in science and who would like to take on more of a challenge with their research project, to the point where there is some element of originality and a truly unknown result being investigated (particularly in high school), most teachers do not have the means, or at least do not believe they have the means, of allowing them to do so unless there is a possibility of working in a university or professional laboratory outside of school. This more advanced level of research could be defined as the type that yields papers for major national science competitions.1 While the widespread belief among many high school teachers is that high-end research requires professional facilities, it is not always necessary to work outside of school in order to have a strong physics research program,2 especially when the research is computer based. This article offers suggestions for and examples of computational research projects for high school students, as well as students in introductory college physics classes.

Pharmacy Is a Science-based Profession

Pharmacy Is a Science-based Profession

Challenges of Primate Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Embryonic stem (ES) cells hold great promise for treating degenerative diseases, including diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, neural degeneration, and cardiomyopathies. This research is controversial to some because producing ES cells requires destroying embryos, which generally means human embryos. However, some of the surplus human embryos available from in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics may have a high rate of genetic errors and therefore would be unsuitable for ES cell research. Although gross chromosome errors can readily be detected in ES cells, other anomalies such as mitochondrial DNA defects may have gone unrecognized. An insurmountable problem is that there are no human ES cells derived from in vivo-produced embryos to provide normal comparative data. In contrast, some monkey ES cell lines have been produced using in vivo-generated, normal embryos obtained from fertile animals; these can represent a "gold standard" for primate ES cells. In this review, we argue a need for strong research programs using rhesus monkey ES cells, conducted in parallel with studies on human ES and adult stem cells, to derive the maximum information about the biology of normal stem cells and to produce technical protocols for their directed differentiation into safe and functional replacement cells, tissues, and organs. In contrast, ES cell research using only human cell lines is likely to be incomplete, which could hinder research progress, and delay or diminish the effective application of ES cell technology to the treatment of human diseases.