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Molecular Biology of the Cell Apr 2021In science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, disabled people remain a significantly underrepresented part of the workforce. Recent data suggests...
In science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, disabled people remain a significantly underrepresented part of the workforce. Recent data suggests that about 20% of undergraduates in the United States have disabilities, but representation in STEM fields is consistently lower than in the general population. Of those earning STEM degrees, only about 10% of undergraduates, 6% of graduate students, and 2% of doctoral students identify as disabled. This suggests that STEM fields have difficulty recruiting and retaining disabled students, which ultimately hurts the field, because disabled scientists bring unique problem-solving perspectives and input. This essay briefly explores the ways in which ableism-prejudice against disabled people based on the assumption that they are "less than" their nondisabled peers-in research contributes to the exclusion of disabled scientists and suggests ways in which the scientific community can improve accessibility and promote the inclusion of disabled scientists in academic science.
Topics: Engineering; Humans; Mathematics; Prejudice; Science; Students; Technology; United States
PubMed: 33793322
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E20-09-0616 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Nov 2013
Topics: Mathematics; Models, Theoretical
PubMed: 24277829
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1320388110 -
Science and Engineering Ethics Oct 2022While the consequences of mathematically-based software, algorithms and strategies have become ever wider and better appreciated, ethical reflection on mathematics has... (Review)
Review
While the consequences of mathematically-based software, algorithms and strategies have become ever wider and better appreciated, ethical reflection on mathematics has remained primitive. We review the somewhat disconnected suggestions of commentators in recent decades with a view to piecing together a coherent approach to ethics in mathematics. Calls for a Hippocratic Oath for mathematicians are examined and it is concluded that while lessons can be learned from the medical profession, the relation of mathematicians to those affected by their work is significantly different. There is something to be learned also from the codes of conduct of cognate but professionalised quantitative disciplines such as engineering and accountancy, as well as from legal principles bearing on professional work. We conclude with recommendations that professional societies in mathematics should sponsor an (international) code of ethics, institutional mission statements for mathematicians and syllabuses of ethics courses for incorporation into mathematics degrees.
Topics: Codes of Ethics; Ethics, Medical; Hippocratic Oath; Mathematics; Morals
PubMed: 36042113
DOI: 10.1007/s11948-022-00389-y -
Advances in Physiology Education Dec 2012The goal of this report is to discuss educational approaches for bridging the different perspectives of the physiological and mathematical disciplines. These approaches... (Review)
Review
The goal of this report is to discuss educational approaches for bridging the different perspectives of the physiological and mathematical disciplines. These approaches can enhance the learning experience for physiology, medical, and mathematics students and simultaneously act to stimulate mathematical/physiological/clinical interdisciplinary research. While physiology education incorporates mathematics, via equations and formulas, it does not typically provide a foundation for interdisciplinary research linking mathematics and physiology. Here, we provide insights and ideas derived from interdisciplinary seminars involving mathematicians and physiologists that have been conducted over the last decade. The approaches described here can be used as templates for giving physiology and medical students insights into how sophisticated tools from mathematics can be applied and how the disciplines of mathematics and physiology can be integrated in research, thereby fostering a foundation for interdisciplinary collaboration. These templates are equally applicable to linking mathematical methods with other life and health sciences in the educational process.
Topics: Curriculum; Humans; Interdisciplinary Studies; Mathematics; Physiology; Students, Medical
PubMed: 23209007
DOI: 10.1152/advan.00074.2012 -
Annual Review of Biophysics May 2022In stark contrast to foldable proteins with a unique folded state, intrinsically disordered proteins and regions (IDPs) persist in perpetually disordered ensembles. Yet... (Review)
Review
In stark contrast to foldable proteins with a unique folded state, intrinsically disordered proteins and regions (IDPs) persist in perpetually disordered ensembles. Yet an IDP ensemble has conformational features-even when averaged-that are specific to its sequence. In fact, subtle changes in an IDP sequence can modulate its conformational features and its function. Recent advances in theoretical physics reveal a set of elegant mathematical expressions that describe the intricate relationships among IDP sequences, their ensemble conformations, and the regulation of their biological functions. These equations also describe the molecular properties of IDP sequences that predict similarities and dissimilarities in their functions and facilitate classification of sequences by function, an unmet challenge to traditional bioinformatics. These physical sequence-patterning metrics offer a promising new avenue for advancing synthetic biology at a time when multiple novel functional modes mediated by IDPs are emerging.
Topics: Intrinsically Disordered Proteins; Mathematics; Protein Conformation
PubMed: 35119946
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biophys-120221-095357 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jul 2020This study aimed to investigate secondary students' mathematics achievement emotions and their mediating effects on the relationships between classroom environmental...
This study aimed to investigate secondary students' mathematics achievement emotions and their mediating effects on the relationships between classroom environmental characteristics, namely, teacher-student interactional styles (i.e., teacher leadership and student freedom styles), and students' mathematics learning outcomes in mainland China. A sample of 1423 Grade 7 to 9 junior secondary students responded to a questionnaire that comprised three sets of scales for assessing students' perceived teacher-student interactional styles, mathematics achievement emotions, and cognitive and affective learning outcomes. The results indicated that students' mathematics learning outcomes were positively associated with both teacher leadership and student freedom styles. Moreover, students' mathematics achievement emotions mediated the relationships between these two interactional styles and their mathematics learning outcomes. These results highlight the importance of mathematics achievement emotions in student learning, and provide implications for the improvement of mathematics classroom environments.
Topics: Achievement; Adolescent; Child; China; Emotions; Humans; Mathematics; Students
PubMed: 32630336
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17134742 -
Bulletin of Mathematical Biology Jul 2020With advances in computing, agent-based models (ABMs) have become a feasible and appealing tool to study biological systems. ABMs are seeing increased incorporation into...
With advances in computing, agent-based models (ABMs) have become a feasible and appealing tool to study biological systems. ABMs are seeing increased incorporation into both the biology and mathematics classrooms as powerful modeling tools to study processes involving substantial amounts of stochasticity, nonlinear interactions, and/or heterogeneous spatial structures. Here we present a brief synopsis of the agent-based modeling approach with an emphasis on its use to simulate biological systems, and provide a discussion of its role and limitations in both the biology and mathematics classrooms.
Topics: Biology; Computer Simulation; Humans; Mathematics; Models, Biological; Systems Analysis
PubMed: 32725363
DOI: 10.1007/s11538-020-00778-z -
Advances in Wound Care Jun 2021For over 30 years, there has been sustained interest in the development of mathematical models for investigating the complex mechanisms underlying each stage of the... (Review)
Review
For over 30 years, there has been sustained interest in the development of mathematical models for investigating the complex mechanisms underlying each stage of the wound healing process. Despite the immense associated challenges, such models have helped usher in a paradigm shift in wound healing research. In this article, we review contributions in the field that span epidermal, dermal, and corneal wound healing, and treatments of nonhealing wounds. The recent influence of mathematical models on biological experiments is detailed, with a focus on wound healing assays and fibroblast-populated collagen lattices. We provide an overview of the field of mathematical modeling of wound healing, highlighting key advances made in recent decades, and discuss how such models have contributed to the development of improved treatment strategies and/or an enhanced understanding of the tightly regulated steps that comprise the healing process. We detail some of the open problems in the field that could be addressed through a combination of theoretical and/or experimental approaches. To move the field forward, we need to have a common language between scientists to facilitate cross-collaboration, which we hope this review can support by highlighting progress to date.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Mathematics; Models, Theoretical; Wound Healing
PubMed: 32634070
DOI: 10.1089/wound.2019.1132 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2022A long-standing human lifespan debate is revival, and the consensus is yet to come on whether the maximum human lifespan is reaching a limit or not. This study discusses...
A long-standing human lifespan debate is revival, and the consensus is yet to come on whether the maximum human lifespan is reaching a limit or not. This study discusses how mathematical constraints inherent in survival curves indicate a limit on maximum lifespans, implying that humans would have inevitable limits to lifespan growth.
Topics: Humans; Longevity; Mathematics
PubMed: 36684960
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1037544 -
Computational and Mathematical Methods... 2017
Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Computational Biology; Humans; Mathematics
PubMed: 28408946
DOI: 10.1155/2017/4205735