Increasing Student Engagement to Impact Achievement

This presentation will cover two different strategies for engaging students in course content with the intent of improving academic achievement. One example will discuss the use of video to explain assignments prior to the due date in graduate coursework. The second will promote using online assessment to engage students in required course readings at any level

Multidimensional Risk Analysis: MRISK

Multidimensional Risk (MRISK) calculates the combined multidimensional score using Mahalanobis distance. MRISK accounts for covariance between consequence dimensions, which de-conflicts the interdependencies of consequence dimensions, providing a clearer depiction of risks. Additionally, in the event the dimensions are not correlated, Mahalanobis distance reduces to Euclidean distance normalized by the variance and, therefore, represents the most flexible and optimal method to combine dimensions. MRISK is currently being used in NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project o assess risk and prioritize scarce resources

Glial and neuronal isoforms of Neurofascin have distinct roles in the assembly of nodes of Ranvier in the central nervous system

Rapid nerve impulse conduction in myelinated axons requires the concentration of voltage-gated sodium channels at nodes of Ranvier. Myelin-forming oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) induce the clustering of sodium channels into nodal complexes flanked by paranodal axoglial junctions. However, the molecular mechanisms for nodal complex assembly in the CNS are unknown. Two isoforms of Neurofascin, neuronal Nfasc186 and glial Nfasc155, are components of the nodal and paranodal complexes, respectively. Neurofascin-null mice have disrupted nodal and paranodal complexes. We show that transgenic Nfasc186 can rescue the nodal complex when expressed in Nfasc−/− mice in the absence of the Nfasc155–Caspr–Contactin adhesion complex. Reconstitution of the axoglial adhesion complex by expressing transgenic Nfasc155 in oligodendrocytes also rescues the nodal complex independently of Nfasc186. Furthermore, the Nfasc155 adhesion complex has an additional function in promoting the migration of myelinating processes along CNS axons. We propose that glial and neuronal Neurofascins have distinct functions in the assembly of the CNS node of Ranvier

2-Acetyl­pyridinium bromanilate

In the crystal of the title mol­ecular salt (systematic name: 2-acetyl­pyridinium 2,5-dibromo-4-hydr­oxy-3,6-dioxocyclo­hexa-1,4-dienolate), C7H8NO+·C6HBr2O4 −, centrosymmetric rings consisting of two cations and two anions are formed, with the components linked by alternating O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Short O⋯Br contacts [3.243 (2) and 3.359 (2) Å] may help to consolidate the packing

2018 Research & Innovation Day Program

A one day showcase of applied research, social innovation, scholarship projects and activities.https://first.fanshawec.ca/cri_cripublications/1005/thumbnail.jp

Evaluation of whole blood collection methods using the og4c3 ELISA in bancroftian filariasis

Venous blood samples were collected as part of the Papua New Guinean Filariasis Elimination Programme and the serum tested by the Trop-Ag W. bancrofti test kit for antigen. Before the blood clotted, whole blood was tested by the ICT and also added to filter paper where it was dried, transported back to Townsville, Australia and tested by the TropBio ELISA.\ud \ud The positive percent agreements (PPA), with the TropBio serum assay, of the ICT and filter paper technique were 63.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 58.6%-68.4%) and 67.2% (95% CI, 62.1%-72.1%). The negative percent agreements were (NPA) 97.6% (95% CI, 95.7%-98.9%) and 99.2% (95% CI, 97.8%-99.8%) respectively. The sensitivity was 88.6%(95% CI, 82.0%-93.5%) and 88.4% (95% CI, 81.4%-93.5%) compared to microfilaraemia as determined by a 60 ul blood film. A sample of ICT tests had the filter paper removed and tested by the Trop-Ag W. bancrofti filter paper test. There was no significant difference (P=0.23) in the PPA between the ICT, blood collected onto filter paper and using filter \ud paper from the ICT for this sample set. A fast friendly field (FFF) version of the Trop-Ag W. bancrofti test kit was trialled in Bougainville after it was shown that the boiling step was unnecessary in the procedure. The positive percentage agreement using 250 serum specimens compared to the boiled supernatant was 94.6% (CI, 88.7-98.0) and negative percentage agreement (NPA) 97.1% (CI, 92.8-99.2) with a significant correlation between optical densities (r=0.97, P<0.001). For the FFF assay, whole blood was added to an ELISA plate, incubated overnight and then \ud processed in the field using reagents supplied in dropper bottles. Reactions were read by eye and compared to the TropBio assay. The PPA was 96.0% (95% CI, 79.7%-99.9%) and the NPA 98.4% (95% CI, 94.2%-99.8%). \ud The FFF is suitable for use with capillary collection and is simple to perform unlike the filter paper collection which is labour intensive. The FFF could be a suitable field alternative for the ICT.\u

Cortical signatures of cognition and their relationship to Alzheimer’s disease

Recent changes in diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) state that biomarkers can enhance certainty in a diagnosis of AD. In the present study, we combined cognitive function and brain morphology, a potential imaging biomarker, to predict conversion from mild cognitive impairment to AD. We identified four biomarkers, or cortical signatures of cognition (CSC), from regressions of cortical thickness on neuropsychological factors representing memory, executive function/processing speed, language, and visuospatial function among participants in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Neuropsychological factor scores were created from a previously validated multidimensional factor structure of the neuropsychological battery in ADNI. Mean thickness of each CSC at the baseline study visit was used to evaluate risk of conversion to clinical AD among participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and rate of decline on the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) score. Of 307 MCI participants, 119 converted to AD. For all domain-specific CSC, a one standard deviation thinner cortical thickness was associated with an approximately 50 % higher hazard of conversion and an increase of approximately 0.30 points annually on the CDR-SB. In combined models with a domain-specific CSC and neuropsychological factor score, both CSC and factor scores predicted conversion to AD and increasing clinical severity. The present study indicated that factor scores and CSCs for memory and language both significantly predicted risk of conversion to AD and accelerated deterioration in dementia severity. We conclude that predictive models are best when they utilize both neuropsychological measures and imaging biomarkers