How Business Students Use Online Faculty Evaluations and Business Faculty’s Perception of Their Students’ Usage

Student evaluations are an important aspect of business pedagogy. Social media-based evaluations, such as RateMyProfessors.com, empower students to evaluate faculty anonymously. A perusal of the literature indicates little to no prior research conducted on faculty perceptions of student usage of online evaluations. We posit that business students embody unique characteristics that influence their usage. We examine whether business students use RateMyProfessors.com in an ethical manner (i.e., honestly and without grade-related bias) and moderately (i.e., not only to rant or rave), whether gender differences exist in evaluations, and how confident students are in their evaluative abilities. We also posit that business faculty will understand how their students use online faculty evaluations. We summarize and discuss the empirical analysis of the hypotheses

Intrabodies Binding the Proline-Rich Domains of Mutant Huntingtin Increase Its Turnover and Reduce Neurotoxicity

Although expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) repeats are inherently toxic, causing at least nine neurodegenerative diseases, the protein context determines which neurons are affected. The polyQ expansion that causes Huntington's disease (HD) is in the first exon (HDx-1) of huntingtin (Htt). However, other parts of the protein, including the 17 N-terminal amino acids and two proline (polyP) repeat domains, regulate the toxicity of mutant Htt. The role of the P-rich domain that is flanked by the polyP domains has not been explored. Using highly specific intracellular antibodies (intrabodies), we tested various epitopes for their roles in HDx-1 toxicity, aggregation, localization, and turnover. Three domains in the P-rich region (PRR) of HDx-1 are defined by intrabodies: MW7 binds the two polyP domains, and Happ1 and Happ3, two new intrabodies, bind the unique, P-rich epitope located between the two polyP epitopes. We find that the PRR-binding intrabodies, as well as VL12.3, which binds the N-terminal 17 aa, decrease the toxicity and aggregation of HDx-1, but they do so by different mechanisms. The PRR-binding intrabodies have no effect on Htt localization, but they cause a significant increase in the turnover rate of mutant Htt, which VL12.3 does not change. In contrast, expression of VL12.3 increases nuclear Htt. We propose that the PRR of mutant Htt regulates its stability, and that compromising this pathogenic epitope by intrabody binding represents a novel therapeutic strategy for treating HD. We also note that intrabody binding represents a powerful tool for determining the function of protein epitopes in living cells

Effectiveness of internet information for park, recreation and tourism practitioners

This research is a four-step process. 1) Development of the Park, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) Planning Web site to meet the needs of rural communities, indicated through the Texas Community Futures Forum needs assessment process. 2) Evaluation of the PRT Planning Web site by experts in the field of PRT Sciences. 3) Inspect differences in the information needs and use between rural and urban PRT practitioners. 4) Examine factors contributing to the flow experience while utilizing the PRT Planning Web site. Evaluation information provided insight about strengths, weakness and modifications to be made to the PRT Planning site. Programming was reported as the service provided most by survey participants. Internet information is considered the most effective information resource, with suppliers/manufacturers and libraries being the least effective. When acquiring information on developing and providing PRT services, not knowing where to find information was the problem experienced most, while not understanding the information was the problem encountered the least. Marketing information was deemed the most useful type of information, and increasing community well being is the most important service benefit provided by respondents. No significant differences were reported between groups' perception of Internet information as the most effective information resource, intent to return to the PRT Planning Web site, or education levels. Significant differences were reported between groups' Internet connection speed, use of a dial-up modem, computer experience and Internet experience. Study findings also reported less computer and Internet experience for rural and small communities when compared to large and urban communities. In Skadberg's (2002) proposed model of flow in human-computer interaction, the factors that contribute to the flow experience are, experience, ease of use, response speed, interactivity, vividness, telepresence, knowledge of the information being presented, and challenge of the information being presented. Of these factors, experience was the only variable that did not show a significant or positive relationship with factors in the flow model. Increased learning and change in attitude and behavior are considered outcomes of achieving the flow state; both reflected a positive and significant relationship with the variable flow

Helping Babies Survive Training Programs: Evaluating a Teaching Cascade in Ethiopia

Background: 2.6 million neonates die annually; the vast majority of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Helping Babies Survive (HBS) programs are commonly used in LMICs to reduce neonatal mortality through education. They are typically disseminated using a train-the-trainer cascade. However, there is little published literature on the extent and cost of dissemination. In 2015, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and partner organizations implemented a countrywide HBS training cascade for midwives in 169 hospitals.Methods: We quantified the extent of HBS dissemination, and characterized barriers that impeded successful hospital-based training by surveying a representative from each of the 169 participant hospitals. This occurred from September 2017 to April 2018. We also assessed the cost of the training cascade. To assess acquisition of knowledge and skill in the training cascade, multiple-choice question examinations (MCQE) and objective structured clinical evaluations (OSCE) were conducted.Results: Hospital-based training occurred in 132 participant hospitals (78%). 1,146 midwives, 69% of those employed by participant hospitals, received hospital-based training. Barriers included lack of preparation of hospital-based educators and limited logistical support. The cascade cost an average of 2,105 USD per facility or 197 USD per trainee. Knowledge improved and skills were adequate for regional workshop attendees based on MCQE and OSCE performance.Conclusion: The train-the-trainer strategy is an effective and affordable strategy for widespread dissemination of the HBS programs in LMICs. Future studies should assess knowledge and skill acquisition following the variety of pragmatic training approaches that may be employed at the facility-level

Measles Virus Infection in a Transgenic Model Virus-Induced Immunosuppression and Central Nervous System Disease

AbstractMeasles virus (MV) infects 40 million persons and kills one million per year primarily by suppressing the immune system and afflicting the central nervous system (CNS). The lack of a suitable small animal model has impeded progress of understanding how MV causes disease and the development of novel therapies and improved vaccines. We tested a transgenic mouse line in which expression of the MV receptor CD46 closely mimicked the location and amount of CD46 found in humans. Virus replicated in and was recovered from these animals' immune systems and was associated with suppression of humoral and cellular immune responses. Infectious virus was recovered from the CNS, replicated primarily in neurons, and spread to distal sites presumably by fast axonal transport. Thus, a small animal model is available for analysis of MV pathogenesis

Going Multimodal: Programmatic, Curricular, and Classroom Change

AS THE STUDENTS NOTE IN this epigraph, we do not live in a monomodal world. Rather, we experience the world and communicate through multiple modalities. To confine students to learning in only one mode, typically the textual mode in first-year writing courses, indeed limits, students\u27 understanding and creative potential-a point that has reemerged in considerations of education and the teaching of writing..

Dietary Supplementation with a Magnesium-Rich Marine Mineral Blend Enhances the Diversity of Gastrointestinal Microbiota

peer-reviewedAccumulating evidence demonstrates that dietary supplementation with functional food ingredients play a role in systemic and brain health as well as in healthy ageing. Conversely, deficiencies in calcium and magnesium as a result of the increasing prevalence of a high fat/high sugar “Western diet” have been associated with health problems such as obesity, inflammatory bowel diseases, and cardiovascular diseases, as well as metabolic, immune, and psychiatric disorders. It is now recognized that modulating the diversity of gut microbiota, the population of intestinal bacteria, through dietary intervention can significantly impact upon gut health as well as systemic and brain health. In the current study, we show that supplementation with a seaweed and seawater-derived functional food ingredient rich in bioactive calcium and magnesium (0.1% supplementation) as well as 70 other trace elements, significantly enhanced the gut microbial diversity in adult male rats. Given the significant impact of gut microbiota on health, these results position this marine multi-mineral blend (MMB) as a promising digestive-health promoting functional food ingredient

Perturbation with Intrabodies Reveals That Calpain Cleavage Is Required for Degradation of Huntingtin Exon 1

Background: Proteolytic processing of mutant huntingtin (mHtt), the protein that causes Huntington's disease (HD), is critical for mHtt toxicity and disease progression. mHtt contains several caspase and calpain cleavage sites that generate N-terminal fragments that are more toxic than full-length mHtt. Further processing is then required for the degradation of these fragments, which in turn, reduces toxicity. This unknown, secondary degradative process represents a promising therapeutic target for HD. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have used intrabodies, intracellularly expressed antibody fragments, to gain insight into the mechanism of mutant huntingtin exon 1 (mHDx-1) clearance. Happ1, an intrabody recognizing the proline-rich region of mHDx-1, reduces the level of soluble mHDx-1 by increasing clearance. While proteasome and macroautophagy inhibitors reduce turnover of mHDx-1, Happ1 is still able to reduce mHDx-1 under these conditions, indicating Happ1-accelerated mHDx-1 clearance does not rely on these processes. In contrast, a calpain inhibitor or an inhibitor of lysosomal pH block Happ1-mediated acceleration of mHDx-1 clearance. These results suggest that mHDx-1 is cleaved by calpain, likely followed by lysosomal degradation and this process regulates the turnover rate of mHDx-1. Sequence analysis identifies amino acid (AA) 15 as a potential calpain cleavage site. Calpain cleavage of recombinant mHDx-1 in vitro yields fragments of sizes corresponding to this prediction. Moreover, when the site is blocked by binding of another intrabody, V_L12.3, turnover of soluble mHDx-1 in living cells is blocked. Conclusions/Significance: These results indicate that calpain-mediated removal of the 15 N-terminal AAs is required for the degradation of mHDx-1, a finding that may have therapeutic implications

Climate-controlled submarine landslides on the Antarctic continental margin

Antarctica’s continental margins pose an unknown submarine landslidegenerated tsunami risk to Southern Hemisphere populations and infrastructure. Understanding the factors driving slope failure is essential to assessing future geohazards. Here, we present a multidisciplinary study of a major submarine landslide complex along the eastern Ross Sea continental slope (Antarctica) that identifies preconditioning factors and failure mechanisms. Weak layers, identified beneath three submarine landslides, consist of distinct packages of interbedded Miocene- to Pliocene-age diatom oozes and glaciomarine diamicts. The observed lithological differences, which arise from glacial to interglacial variations in biological productivity, ice proximity, and ocean circulation, caused changes in sediment deposition that inherently preconditioned slope failure. These recurrent Antarctic submarine landslides were likely triggered by seismicity associated with glacioisostatic readjustment, leading to failure within the preconditioned weak layers. Ongoing climate warming and ice retreat may increase regional glacioisostatic seismicity, triggering Antarctic submarine landslides