Mapping and Making Meaning from Undergraduate Student Engagement in High-Impact Educational Practices

Institutions of higher education often have multiple entry points for first-time and transfer college students to engage in high-impact educational practices (HIPs), well documented to advance student learning outcomes. Some students may seek out repeated opportunities while others engage very little or not at all in activities such as student-faculty research, study abroad, internships, first-year cohort programs, service-learning, and the like. When institutions maintain decentralized data and records on students’ participation, obtaining a true understanding of the who, what, when, and where of HIPs can be difficult. In this paper, we present an institutional strategy for longitudinal collection of data for nearly 5,000 entering students across six years and nine different categories of HIPs, and we discuss the opportunities and implications of performing such a study. Additionally, we provide examples of how disaggregation of student data is crucial for using the results to improve curriculum and resource alignment for institutional research and institutional change purposes, supporting the goal of inclusive and equitable college engagement portfolios for all students

Study of Typical Characteristics of Expansive Subgrade With Geotextiles and Cushion Materials

Well-built and maintained roads play a major role in the development of a nation. Hence considerable attention is required towards the widening of roads, their stability and periodic repair works. Since the beginning of modern highways, engineers have strived continuously to produce better pavement at lower cost. Most state highways in the central part of India have problems of foundation due to presence of expansive soil i.e. black cotton soil. For the improvement of such problematic soil, conventional technique of soil stabilization, use of cushion, use of moisture barriers, etc. has been adopted. The main objective of the research work was to study the typical characteristic of expansive soil and to control the swelling of expansive soil below flexible pavements. To achieve this aim work has been carried out with reinforcing geotextile overlain with cushion material. Effect of cushion material on swelling of expansive soil has been investigated alongwith the ability of geotextiles in locked and unlocked condition with cushion material was scrutinized. Better cushioning due to use of flyash can be attributed to pozzolanic activity forming stable compounds. It is observed that the use of flyash as cushion material provides better swelling control as compared to quarry dust. Unlocked geotextiles did not prove as effective as locked textiles with the use of either of the cushion materials. The unlocked textiles proved advantageous with quarry dust but did not prove as advantageous as only flyash. The most important two functions of geotextiles namely separating and reinforcement have been most effectively used in the locked condition. The study was further extended to stabilize the expansive soil with metakaolin. Swell pressure test and UCS results on samples treated using 1% metakaolin provided its effectiveness in controlling the swelling characteristics of expansive soil as well as strength improvement

EVALUATION OF WOUND HEALING ACTIVITY OF POLYHERBAL FORMULATION

Objective: The present study describes the anti-microbial acivity of Acacia arabica and Butea monosperma bark extract.Methods: For this purpose aqueous extract of bark were prepared by Soxhlet extraction methodâ€. The experimentally induced burn wound model in rats by Excision methodâ€.Results: As a result of this study it was found that the extract of bark generally revealed antimicrobial and wound healing activity.Conclusion: The result of the study suggest that the Acacia arabica and Butea monosperma bark of polyherbal gel effective in accelerating wound healing process

Hepatoprotective Effect Of Allium Sativum And Acarus Calamus Extract In Cisplatin Induced Hepatotoxicity In Experimental Rats

The purpose of this research was to determine whether or not allium sativum and acarus calamus had a protective effect against the hepatotoxic effects of cisplatin when administered to experimental rats. The methods included randomly assigning rats to one of five different groups. Cisplatin was administered at a dosage of 7.5 mg/kg, which resulted in the induction of hepatotoxicity. Serum levels of AST, ALT, total bilirubin, and albumin, as well as hepatic hydroxy proline (HP), reduced glutathione (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA), cytokines, and NO were assessed. The findings of this research demonstrated that therapy with allium sativum and acarus calamus led to normal body and liver weights, but treatment with cisplatin led to reduced body weight and increased liver weight in rats. Cisplatin-treated rats exhibited elevated levels of serum AST, ALT, total bilirubin, HP, GSH, MDA, and cytokines. The administration of allium sativum and acarus calamus to rats resulted in a decrease in the oxidative stress, an inhibition of the production of cytokines in a dose-dependent manner, and protection against hepatotoxicity.  Allium sativum and acarus calamus were shown to have a protective effect against the hepatotoxicity caused by cisplatin, as was concluded by the research

Incremento del IVA a telefonía móvil

El pasado primero de marzo de 2012, el presidente de la Asociación de la Industria Móvil de Colombia Asomóvil, Rodrigo Lara Restrepo, explicó que las empresas que prestan servicios de telefonía móvil en Colombia, permanecen a la espera de la publicación de la sentencia por parte de la Corte Constitucional, la cual reduciría 4 puntos del IVA al servicio de telefonía celular y pasaría del 20% a la tarifa general. Este impuesto había sido incrementado Mediante la Ley No. 788 del 27 de diciembre de 2002, la cual expide normas en materia tributaria y penal del orden nacional y territorial, en su artículo No. 35, parágrafo 2, la cual se incluye un aumento en el impuesto al valor agregado aplicado a la telefonía celular, la cual pasa del 16% al 20% y comienza a regir a partir del 1º de enero de 2003.Pregrad

Do design variations in the artificial disc influence cervical spine biomechanics? A finite element investigation

Various ball and socket-type designs of cervical artificial discs are in use or under investigation. Many artificial disc designs claim to restore the normal kinematics of the cervical spine. What differentiates one type of design from another design is currently not well understood. In this study, authors examined various clinically relevant parameters using a finite element model of C3–C7 cervical spine to study the effects of variations of ball and socket disc designs. Four variations of ball and socket-type artificial disc were placed at the C5–C6 level in an experimentally validated finite element model. Biomechanical effects of the shape (oval vs. spherical ball) and location (inferior vs. superior ball) were studied in detail. Range of motion, facet loading, implant stresses and capsule ligament strains were computed to investigate the influence of disc designs on resulting biomechanics. Motions at the implant level tended to increase following disc replacement. No major kinematic differences were observed among the disc designs tested. However, implant stresses were substantially higher in the spherical designs when compared to the oval designs. For both spherical and oval designs, the facet loads were lower for the designs with an inferior ball component. The capsule ligament strains were lower for the oval design with an inferior ball component. Overall, the oval design with an inferior ball component, produced motion, facet loads, implant stresses and capsule ligament strains closest to the intact spine, which may be key to long-term implant survival

First urology simulation boot camp in the United Kingdom

Objective: Simulation is now firmly established in modern surgical training and is applicable not only to acquiring surgical skills but also to non-surgical skills and professionalism. A 5-day intensive Urology Simulation Boot Camp was run to teach emergency procedural skills, clinical reasoning, and communication skills using clinical scenario simulations, endoscopic and laparoscopic trainers. This paper reports the educational value of this first urology boot camp. Subjects and methods: Sixteen urology UK trainees completed pre-course questionnaires on their operative experience and confidence level in common urological procedures. The course included seven modules covering basic scrotal procedures, laparoscopic skills, ureteroscopy, transurethral resection of the prostate and bladder tumour, green light laser prostatectomy, familiarisation with common endoscopic equipment, bladder washout to remove clots, bladder botox injection, setting up urodynamics. Emergency urological conditions were managed using scenarios on SimMan®. The main focus of the course was hands-on training using animal models, bench-top models and virtual reality simulators. Post-course assessment and feedback on the course structure and utility of knowledge gained together with a global outcome score was collected. Results: Overall all the sections of feedback received score of over 4.5/5, with the hands-on training on simulators getting the best score 4.8/5. When trainees were asked “The training has equipped me with enhanced knowledge, understanding and skills,” the average score was 4.9/5.0. The vast majority of participants felt they would recommend the boot camp to future junior trainees. Conclusion: This first UK Urology Simulation Boot Camp has demonstrated feasibility and effectiveness in enhancing trainee’s experience. Given these positive feedbacks there is a good reason to expect that future courses will improve the overall skills of a new urology trainee

1997 evaluation of tritium removal and mitigation technologies for Hanford Site wastewaters

This report contains results of a biennial assessment of tritium separation technology and tritium nitration techniques for control of tritium bearing wastewaters at the Hanford Site. Tritium in wastewaters at Hanford have resulted from plutonium production, fuel reprocessing, and waste handling operations since 1944. this assessment was conducted in response to the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order

PRESS survey: PREvention of surgical site infection—a global pan-specialty survey of practice protocol

BackgroundSurgical site infections (SSI) complicate up to 40% of surgical procedures, leading to increased patient morbidity and mortality. Previous research identified disparities in SSI prevention guidelines and clinical practices across different institutions. The study aims to identify variations in SSI prevention practices within and between specialties and financial systems and provide a representation of existing SSI preventative measures to help improve the standardization of SSI prevention practices.MethodsThis collaborative cross-sectional survey will be aimed at pan-surgical specialties internationally. The study has been designed and will be reported in line with the CROSS and CHERRIES standards. An international study steering committee will design and internally validate the survey in multiple consensus-based rounds. This will be based on SSI prevention measures outlined in the CDC (2017), WHO (2018), NICE (2019), Wounds UK (2020) and the International Surgical Wound Complications Advisory Panel (ISWCAP) guidelines. The questionnaire will include demographics, SSI surveillance, preoperative, peri-operative and postoperative SSI prevention. Data will be collected on participants' surgical specialty, operative grade, of practice and financial healthcare system of practice. The online survey will be designed and disseminated using Qualtrics XM Platform™ through national and international surgical colleges and societies, in addition to social media and snowballing. Data collection will be open for 3 months with reminders, and raking will be used to ascertain the sample. Responses will be analyzed, and the chi-square test used to evaluate the impact of SSI prevention variables on responses.DiscussionCurrent SSI prevention practice in UK Vascular surgery varies considerably, with little consensus on many measures. Given the inconsistency in guidelines on how to prevent SSIs, there is a need for standardization. This survey will investigate the disparity in SSI preventative measures between different surgical fields and countries

Genome Profiling (GP) Method Based Classification of Insects: Congruence with That of Classical Phenotype-Based One

Ribosomal RNAs have been widely used for identification and classification of species, and have produced data giving new insights into phylogenetic relationships. Recently, multilocus genotyping and even whole genome sequencing-based technologies have been adopted in ambitious comparative biology studies. However, such technologies are still far from routine-use in species classification studies due to their high costs in terms of labor, equipment and consumables.Here, we describe a simple and powerful approach for species classification called genome profiling (GP). The GP method composed of random PCR, temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) and computer-aided gel image processing is highly informative and less laborious. For demonstration, we classified 26 species of insects using GP and 18S rDNA-sequencing approaches. The GP method was found to give a better correspondence to the classical phenotype-based approach than did 18S rDNA sequencing employing a congruence value. To our surprise, use of a single probe in GP was sufficient to identify the relationships between the insect species, making this approach more straightforward.The data gathered here, together with those of previous studies show that GP is a simple and powerful method that can be applied for actually universally identifying and classifying species. The current success supported our previous proposal that GP-based web database can be constructible and effective for the global identification/classification of species