In transition: the journey of adult educators from traditional teaching into teaching online.

As adult educators travel the asynchronous, online frontier they face many exciting challenges and opportunities. The realities facing adult educators, new to teaching online, include learning new technologies, adapting pedagogy, understanding the online roles of teachers and students and working collaboratively with their organizations to develop legacies of support and training for colleagues preparing to join them on their online journey. This study explored the question “What are the realities facing adult educators in the initial stages of the role as asynchronous, online teachers? This research utilizes a qualitative case study design. Using a semi-structured interview format, four adult educators that had facilitated a minimum of one online course were interviewed. Additional required characteristics were experience as an adult educator in a traditional classroom setting and, as a group, presented a range of experience in online teaching. Patterns in the data were identified using the constant comparison method, until a picture of similarities and differences emerged. Two sets of key findings emerged. First, four major elements or roles affect the transition to teaching online. These roles are interdependent because each role affects or is influenced by the online teaching and learning process, work together to create the greater e-learning community. The four roles are: the role of the teacher, the role of technology, the role of the learner and the role of the organization. Second, upon further analysis, a pattern of three groups of learners surfaced. These groups are: students as learners, teachers as learners and organizations as learners. It is surmised that how well these learning groups are supported and trained will influence how each learning group is affected by or influenced by the other learning groups. Recommendations for further study include a longitudinal study of a traditional organization transitioning into online teaching and learning to explore how the greater e-learning community is affected by or influences the online teaching and learning process. Adult educators transitioning to teaching online require: personal comfort and competence with related online technologies, an organization knowledgeable and sensitive to distance teaching and learning, initial assessment and training in the knowledge, skills and attitudes required of online teachers, and opportunities to access support and training to meet emerging needs

Model Convolution: A Computational Approach to Digital Image Interpretation

Digital fluorescence microscopy is commonly used to track individual proteins and their dynamics in living cells. However, extracting molecule-specific information from fluorescence images is often limited by the noise and blur intrinsic to the cell and the imaging system. Here we discuss a method called “model-convolution,” which uses experimentally measured noise and blur to simulate the process of imaging fluorescent proteins whose spatial distribution cannot be resolved. We then compare model-convolution to the more standard approach of experimental deconvolution. In some circumstances, standard experimental deconvolution approaches fail to yield the correct underlying fluorophore distribution. In these situations, model-convolution removes the uncertainty associated with deconvolution and therefore allows direct statistical comparison of experimental and theoretical data. Thus, if there are structural constraints on molecular organization, the model-convolution method better utilizes information gathered via fluorescence microscopy, and naturally integrates experiment and theory

Artificial Intelligence, Computational Simulations, and Extended Reality in Cardiovascular Interventions

Artificial intelligence, computational simulations, and extended reality, among other 21st century computational technologies, are changing the health care system. To collectively highlight the most recent advances and benefits of artificial intelligence, computational simulations, and extended reality in cardiovascular therapies, we coined the abbreviation AISER. The review particularly focuses on the following applications of AISER: 1) preprocedural planning and clinical decision making; 2) virtual clinical trials, and cardiovascular device research, development, and regulatory approval; and 3) education and training of interventional health care professionals and medical technology innovators. We also discuss the obstacles and constraints associated with the application of AISER technologies, as well as the proposed solutions. Interventional health care professionals, computer scientists, biomedical engineers, experts in bioinformatics and visualization, the device industry, ethics committees, and regulatory agencies are expected to streamline the use of AISER technologies in cardiovascular interventions and medicine in general

Single Molecule Imaging Reveals Differences in Microtubule Track Selection Between Kinesin Motors

Molecular motors differentially recognize and move cargo along discrete microtubule subpopulations in cells, resulting in preferential transport and targeting of subcellular cargoes

Screening for Youth Firearm Violence Exposure in Primary Care

Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess a modified gun violence exposure tool at a pediatric clinic on the West Side of Chicago to identify youth at high risk of future gun violence. Methods: A modified version of the SaFETy gun violence exposure tool, studied in a community pediatric primary care setting, was implemented from June to August 2021. Patients and pediatric clinicians were surveyed after pilot. Results: Of 508 eligible patients, 341 youth (67.1%) completed the SaFETy tool. None had a SaFETy score ≥6, the threshold for immediate referral. Over a quarter (26.4%) of youth had scores of 1–5, and of those, 7.8% were referred at the clinician's discretion. Youth (n=84) participants randomly selected to complete an anonymous survey provided feedback about the SaFETY tool, reporting that the questions were easy to understand (92%). All 6 pediatric clinicians surveyed agreed that the tool helped to identify youth exposed to gun violence. Conclusions: Screening for gun violence exposure among youth is logistically feasible in the pediatric outpatient setting. A more sensitive validated tool to stratify low-/medium-risk patients in the primary care setting is needed

Cytoplasmic microtubule sliding: An unconventional function of conventional kinesin

There are well known examples in nature of microtubules dramatically changing their function by re-organizing their structure. Most interphase animal cells rely on the radial organization of the microtubule network for precise cargo delivery. Dividing cells re-organize microtubules with the help of motor proteins to form the spindle and drive the segregation of chromosomes into daughter cells. These examples present a kind of dichotomy: microtubules can be utilized as stationary tracks along which motor proteins move, or they can perform work themselves by utilizing the power of motor proteins. While both occur during mitosis, our recent findings demonstrate that both functions may occur simultaneously in interphase cells as well. We find that kinesin-1 (a motor known for its role in transporting cargo along microtubule tracks) powers microtubule sliding in non-dividing cells and this mechanism is used to form cellular protrusions