Eliminating Writer’s Block: Flipped Classroom Meets ThinkSpace

This video interview elaborates the methodology that was presented at a Poster session at the Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo at Chicago, Oct 21 - 24, 2017. Background: Students find writing the personal statement to be a challenging and anxiety-producing aspect of the internship application. We previously implemented Flipped Classroom and small group learning approaches into the Foundations of Dietetics course. While these strategies facilitated peer feedback on personal statements, students lacked a structured system for providing comments and were limited with in-class time to provide feedback. Methods: Using ThinkSpace, a web-based active learning tool, students completed guided reflections in class. Students were not aware that the reflections were components of the first draft of the personal statement, helping create a low-risk writing environment. The peer review feature of ThinkSpace allows students to upload a draft and receive comments from peers. Students then participated in an in-class team Writer’s Workshop to discuss peer critiques. Results: Since the introduction of groups in 2014 and ThinkSpace in 2016, course evaluations have shown improvement. The mean score for “Overall, this course has been effective in advancing my learning” increased significantly from 2014-2015. Additionally, across student evaluation scores in 2015 and 2016, there was statistically more agreement that learning had been improved. Conclusion: ThinkSpace can advance teaching how to write a personal statement by allowing practice and feedback to occur outside the classroom. Improved course evaluations from 2014 to 2015 coincide with the use of small groups, indicating implementation was effective in enhancing student learning. Finally, ThinkSpace, in conjunction with groups, allows faculty to maximize student engagement by increasing the value of peer feedback and facilitate an active learning environment.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/thinkspace_presentations/1005/thumbnail.jp

VLT Spectroscopy of Globular Cluster Systems, I. The Photometric and Spectroscopic Dataset

We present Lick line-index measurements of extragalactic globular clusters in seven early-type galaxies (NGC 1380, 2434, 3115, 3379, 3585, 5846, and 7192) with different morphological types (E-S0) located in field and group/cluster environments. High-quality spectra were taken with the FORS2 instrument at ESO's Very Large Telescope. About 50% of our data allow an age resolution dt/t ~ 0.3 and a metallicity resolution ~0.25-0.4 dex, depending on the absolute metallicity. Globular cluster candidates are selected from deep B, V, R, I, K FORS2/ISAAC photometry with 80-100% success rate inside one effective radius. Using combined optical/near-infrared colour-colour diagrams we present a method to efficiently reduce fore-/background contamination down to <10%. We find clear signs for bi-modality in the globular cluster colour distributions of NGC 1380, 3115, and 3585. The colour distributions of globular clusters in NGC 2434, 3379, 5846, and 7192 are consistent with a broad single-peak distribution. For the analysed globular cluster systems the slopes of projected radial surface density profiles, of the form Sigma(R) ~ R^-Gamma, vary between ~0.8 and 2.6. Using globular clusters as a tracer population we determine total dynamical masses of host galaxies out to large radii (~1.6 - 4.8 Reff). For the sample we find masses in the range ~8.8*10^10 Msolar up to ~1.2*10^12 Msolar. The line index data presented here will be used in accompanying papers of this series to derive ages, metallicities and abundance ratios. A compilation of currently available high-quality Lick index measurements for globular clusters in elliptical, lenticular, and late-type galaxies is provided and will serve to augment the current data set. [abridged]Comment: A&A accepted, 42 page

Konditionalität in der gemeinsamen europäischen Schuldenaufnahme: NGEU: Vorbild für ein verstetigtes Instrument?

Über das Next Generation EU Programm ist eine gemeinsame Schuldenaufnahme unter dem Dach der EU-KOMMISSION erstmals in großem Umfang ermöglicht worden. Auch wenn stets betont worden ist, dass NGEU eine Maßnahme einmaliger Natur ist, so beschreiben einige EU-Amtsträger:innen, wie etwa der EU-Kommissar für Wirtschaft, PAOLO GENTILONI, sowie EMMANUEL MACRON und MARIO DRAGHI, welche fiskalischen Möglichkeiten die Verstetigung eines solchen Programms bieten könnte. Der Beitrag untersucht daher, welche Bedingungen mit der gemeinsamen Schuldenaufnahme verbunden sind und ob diese Konditionalität für eine künftige Schuldenaufnahme aus fiskalpolitischer Sicht adäquat ist. Daraus sollen Bedingungen abgeleitet werden, die bei einer künftigen gemeinsamen Schuldenaufnahme zu beachten sind.Through the Next Generation EU Program, joint borrowing under the umbrella of the EU Commission has been made possible on a large scale for the first time. Although it has always been stressed that NGEU is a one-off measure, some EU officials, such as EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs PAOLO GENTILONI, as well as EMMANUEL MACRON and MARIO DRAGHI, describe the fiscal opportunities that the continuation of such a program could offer. The paper therefore examines the conditions associated with joint debt borrowing and whether this conditionality is adequate for future debt borrowing from a fiscal policy perspective. From this, the paper aims to derive conditions that need to be observed for future joint debt borrowing

Multilevel Mentoring Using Faculty/Graduate Student/Undergraduate Student and Teaching Center Teams

Discuss ways to use TBL to create multi-level mentoring between graduate students, undergraduates, faculty, teaching center and other campus resources

Late Holocene (0–6 ka) sea-level changes in the Makassar Strait, Indonesia

The Spermonde Archipelago, off the coast of southwest Sulawesi, consists of more than 100 small islands and hundreds of shallow-water reef areas. Most of the islands are bordered by coral reefs that grew in the past in response to paleo relative sea-level changes. Remnants of these reefs are preserved today in the form of fossil microatolls. In this study, we report the elevation, age, and paleo relative sea-level estimates derived from fossil microatolls surveyed in five islands of the Spermonde Archipelago. We describe 24 new sea-level index points, and we compare our dataset with both previously published proxies and with relative sea-level predictions from a set of 54 glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models, using different assumptions on both ice melting histories and mantle structure and viscosity. We use our new data and models to discuss Late Holocene (0–6 ka) relative sea-level changes in our study area and their implications in terms of modern relative sea-level estimates in the broader South and Southeast Asia region

Thousands of cold-water coral mounds along the Moroccan Atlantic continental margin : distribution and morphometry

Coral mounds formed by framework-forming cold-water corals pierce the seabed along most continental margins of the Atlantic Ocean and new sites are continuously being discovered. Here, we describe an extremely high accumulation of coral mounds at the NW Moroccan Atlantic margin between 35 degrees N and 35.5 degrees N. Within an area of only 1440 km(2), > 3400 mounds were found exposed at the seabed. The coral mounds are nowadays characterized by an almost complete lack of living cold-water corals. In addition, numerous buried mounds were identified in hydroacoustic sub-bottom profiles, and are estimated to be similar to 3.7 times more frequent than the exposed mounds. Consequently, a total of similar to 16,000 buried and exposed mounds is estimated for the entire study area. The exposed mounds are rather small with a mean height of 18 m and show a conspicuous arrangement in two slope-parallel belts that centre in water depths between 720 and 870 m and 890-980 m, respectively, putting them among the deepest mound occurrences discovered so far in the Atlantic. The mostly elongated mounds largely stretch downslope pointing to a significant influence of internal waves in the mound formation process. Moreover, based on their average dimensions, the entire coral mound volume can be estimated as 1.3 km(3), which means the mounds store a considerable amount of coral carbonate highlighting their potentially important role as regional carbonate factories. In combination with further occurrences of coral mounds along the Moroccan margin, both in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic Ocean, these new findings underline Morocco's role as a hotspot for the occurrence of cold-water coral mounds

Sketchnoting A Methodology: Fostering Team Based Learning Conversations

Sketchnoting is a methodology that uses simple shapes, frames, and connectors to visualize complex information, concepts, and physical objects, thus it has a low barrier entry for skilled and non-skilled drawers, as well as for designers or non-designers alike. It is situated at the lower end of the visualization fidelity spectrum, which ranges from napkin style sketches to photo-realistic renderings or high fidelity info-graphics

Multilevel Mentoring Using TBL

Produce an action plan for using TBL in existing classroom applications, training programs, training faculty and future faculty, research teams, capstone projects, faculty learning community, scholarship using TBL

Evidence for Microchimerism in Baboon Recipients of Pig Hearts

Xenotransplantation, like allotransplantation, is usually associated with microchimerism, i.e., the presence of cells from the donor in the recipient. Microchimerism was reported in first xenotransplantation trials in humans, as well as in most preclinical trials in nonhuman primates (for review, see Denner, Viruses 2023, 15, 190). When using pigs as xenotransplantation donors, their cells contain porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) in their genome. This makes it difficult to discriminate between microchimerism and PERV infection of the recipient. Here, we demonstrate the appropriate virological methods to be used for the identification of microchimerism, first by screening for porcine cellular genes, and then how to detect infection of the host. Using porcine short interspersed nuclear sequences (SINEs), which have hundreds of thousands of copies in the pig genome, significantly increased the sensitivity of the screening for pig cells. Second, absence of PERV RNA demonstrated an absence of viral genomic RNA or expression as mRNA. Lastly, absence of antibodies against PERV proteins conclusively demonstrated an absence of a PERV infection. When applying these methods for analyzing baboons after pig heart transplantation, microchimerism could be demonstrated and infection excluded in all animals. These methods can be used in future clinical trials

Glycocalyx dynamics and the inflammatory response of genetically modified porcine endothelial cells.

Xenotransplantation is a promising approach to reduce organ shortage, while genetic modification of donor pigs has significantly decreased the immunogenic burden of xenotransplants, organ rejection is still a hurdle. Genetically modified pig organs are used in xenotransplantation research, and the first clinical pig-to-human heart transplantation was performed in 2022. However, the impact of genetic modification has not been investigated on a cellular level yet. Endothelial cells (EC) and their sugar-rich surface known as the glycocalyx are the first barrier encountering the recipient's immune system, making them a target for rejection. We have previously shown that wild type venous but not arterial EC were protected against heparan sulfate (HS) shedding after activation with human serum or human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TN