Intentional Technology For Teaching Practice

In today’s era, where educational technology is in a near-constant state of evolution, the imperative is not just to adopt technology, but to do so with a defined purpose and strategy. As educators within military education there is a growing need to discern which technological tools and practices align best with our mission and the goals we set for our students. Teaching is more than just transferring knowledge—it’s about fostering environments conducive to growth, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. This e-book contains collective insights, experiences, and reflections from faculty participating in a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) a yearlong, structured, community of practice, engaged in the thoughtful exploration of educational technology topics during the academic year of 2022-2023 at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Whether by leveraging social annotation tools to engage students in reading, formulating effective methods to produce and utilize educational content, innovating with game-based learning, or seamlessly integrating multiple applications for meaningful classroom experiences, our aim is to provide you with insights and actionable guidance for use within your own classrooms

The Ecology of a Keystone Seed Disperser, the Ant Rhytidoponera violacea

Rhytidoponera violacea (Forel) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a keystone seed disperser in Kwongan heathl and habitats of southwestern Australia. Like many myrmecochorous ants, little is known about the basic biology of this species. In this study various aspects of the biology of R. violacea were examined and the researchers evaluated how these characteristics may influence seed dispersal. R. violacea nesting habits (relatively shallow nests), foraging behavior (scramble competitor and lax food selection criteria), and other life history characteristics complement their role as a mutualist that interacts with the seeds of many plant species

Biochemical and structural characterization of mycobacterial aspartyl-tRNA synthetase AspS, a promising TB drug target.

The human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the causative agent of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), a disease with high worldwide mortality rates. Current treatment programs are under significant threat from multi-drug and extensively-drug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis, and it is essential to identify new inhibitors and their targets. We generated spontaneous resistant mutants in Mycobacterium bovis BCG in the presence of 10× the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of compound 1, a previously identified potent inhibitor of mycobacterial growth in culture. Whole genome sequencing of two resistant mutants revealed in one case a single nucleotide polymorphism in the gene aspS at 535GAC>535AAC (D179N), while in the second mutant a single nucleotide polymorphism was identified upstream of the aspS promoter region. We probed whole cell target engagement by overexpressing either M. bovis BCG aspS or Mycobacterium smegmatis aspS, which resulted in a ten-fold and greater than ten-fold increase, respectively, of the MIC against compound 1. To analyse the impact of inhibitor 1 on M. tuberculosis AspS (Mt-AspS) activity we over-expressed, purified and characterised the kinetics of this enzyme using a robust tRNA-independent assay adapted to a high-throughput screening format. Finally, to aid hit-to-lead optimization, the crystal structure of apo M. smegmatis AspS was determined to a resolution of 2.4 Å

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Feasibility of Health Literacy Tools for Older Patients in the Emergency Department

Introduction: This study evaluates the feasibility of using a volunteer research associate (RA) to administer two separate health literacy assessment tools in the emergency department (ED), specifically in an older population of patients. The outcomes measured were administration time and interruptions.Methods: Using a prospective, cross-sectional study with a convenience sample, adult patients over the age of 55 presenting between June–August 2018 to one urban, academic ED were evaluated by a volunteer RA using either the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) or the Short Assessment of Health Literacy (SAHL). All patients 55 years of age or older who consented to participate were included. We excluded from this study the following: patients with dementia or other disability involving reading, speech, or cognitive function, as noted in their medical record or by their attending physician; prisoners; and those subjectively deemed in extremis or too ill to participate by their attending physician.Results: Health literacy was assessed in 202 patients using either the NVS or SAHL. Mean time of administration was 214.0 seconds for the NVS, and 206.8 for the SAHL. The maximum time of administration for the NVS was 563 seconds, compared to 607 seconds for the SAHL. We found that 95.2% of NVS and 93.9% of SAHL tests incurred no interruptions during administration.Conclusion: No significant difference was found between the length of time needed to administer the NVS or SAHL to older patients in the ED. Both tools averaged an administration time of around three to four minutes, and neither incurred regular interruptions to its administration by a volunteer RA. Further study is needed to assess validity of these tools in an ED setting

Feasibility of Health Literacy Tools for Older Patients in the Emergency Department

Introduction: This study evaluates the feasibility of using a volunteer research associate (RA) to administer two separate health literacy assessment tools in the emergency department (ED), specifically in an older population of patients. The outcomes measured were administration time and interruptions.Methods: Using a prospective, cross-sectional study with a convenience sample, adult patients over the age of 55 presenting between June–August 2018 to one urban, academic ED were evaluated by a volunteer RA using either the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) or the Short Assessment of Health Literacy (SAHL). All patients 55 years of age or older who consented to participate were included. We excluded from this study the following: patients with dementia or other disability involving reading, speech, or cognitive function, as noted in their medical record or by their attending physician; prisoners; and those subjectively deemed in extremis or too ill to participate by their attending physician.Results: Health literacy was assessed in 202 patients using either the NVS or SAHL. Mean time of administration was 214.0 seconds for the NVS, and 206.8 for the SAHL. The maximum time of administration for the NVS was 563 seconds, compared to 607 seconds for the SAHL. We found that 95.2% of NVS and 93.9% of SAHL tests incurred no interruptions during administration.Conclusion: No significant difference was found between the length of time needed to administer the NVS or SAHL to older patients in the ED. Both tools averaged an administration time of around three to four minutes, and neither incurred regular interruptions to its administration by a volunteer RA. Further study is needed to assess validity of these tools in an ED setting