Assessment of an International Virtual Exchange Project with Civil Engineering Students from the US and Palestine: Global Competencies, Perceived Value, and Teamwork

This paper presents the results of a study conducted to assess the value of two iterations of an international virtual exchange (IVE) experience between universities in the US (Clemson University and Bucknell University) and Palestine (An-Najah National University) in 2021 and 2022. The focus of this study was a five-week collaborative project where civil engineering students enrolled in pavement design or environmental engineering courses at three universities were tasked to develop innovative solutions to a pavement related problem in one of five general areas. Based on the course enrollments at each institution (i.e., 50 US and 19 Palestinian students in 2021 and 35 US and 51 Palestinian students in 2022), there were two treatment groups: IVE and non-IVE. In 2021 there were nine bi-national IVE teams and eight non-IVE teams composed only of students from Clemson University (US). In 2022, there were nine bi-national IVE teams, five US non-IVE teams from Clemson, and seven Palestinian non-IVE teams from An-Najah. The evaluation in this study focused on (1) global competencies, (2) value of the experience, and (3) team dynamics. The influence of the experience on the global competencies of the students in IVE and non-IVE teams was assessed quantitatively and qualitatively using pre- and post-program surveys based on the Stevens Initiative and RTI International’s Common Survey Items as well as survey items developed for this IVE to measure whether the program promotes gender equity. The value of the project experience for all students (i.e., IVE and non-IVE) was evaluated using a mixed methods assessment based on the “value-creation framework” of Wenger-Trayner et al. Four cycles of the value-creation framework were included in this assessment: (1) immediate value, (2) potential value, (3) applied value, and (4) realized value. Finally, teamwork was evaluated using the Individual and Team Performance (ITP) Metrics Peer Feedback and Team Dynamics survey. Results showed that modifications made between the first and second project iterations, specifically cross-cultural dialogue modules, had positive impacts on the overall outcomes. The IVE teams exhibited greater improvement in team dynamics measures over the project duration compared to the non-IVE teams. The students on IVE teams also showed greater gains in all aspects of the global competencies assessment than their non-IVE peers. Finally, all students expressed that they found value in the experience. However, there were no differences in perceived value between the IVE and non-IVE teams. The differences came from students from different countries as the Palestinian students perceived greater value in the experience than their US peers regardless of whether they were on an IVE team or not

Access and utilisation of primary health care services comparing urban and rural areas of Riyadh Providence, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has seen an increase in chronic diseases. International evidence suggests that early intervention is the best approach to reduce the burden of chronic disease. However, the limited research available suggests that health care access remains unequal, with rural populations having the poorest access to and utilisation of primary health care centres and, consequently, the poorest health outcomes. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing the access to and utilisation of primary health care centres in urban and rural areas of Riyadh province of the KSA

Résolution parallèle appliquée à des grands systèmes linéaires creux pour le calcul de la matrice de souplesse d'une structure mécanique

La résolution de systèmes linéaires creux constitue une base essentielle pour le traitement numérique de nombreux problèmes de calcul scientifique, notamment les problèmes liés aux calculs des structures mécaniques. Ces systèmes, qui apparaissent en particulier dans le cadre de la discrétisation par éléments ou volumes finis, et normalement sont de très grande taille. Les coûts opératoires et en mémoire induits sont tels que le parallélisme est alors une technique incontournable pour résoudre ces très grands systèmes (qui peuvent atteindre dans certains cas plusieurs millions d'inconnues)

The SiaABC threonine phosphorylation pathway controls biofilm formation in response to carbon availability in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The critical role of bacterial biofilms in chronic human infections calls for novel anti-biofilm strategies targeting the regulation of biofilm development. However, the regulation of biofilm development is very complex and can include multiple, highly interconnected signal transduction/response pathways, which are incompletely understood. We demonstrated previously that in the opportunistic, human pathogen P. aeruginosa, the PP2C-like protein phosphatase SiaA and the di-guanylate cyclase SiaD control the formation of macroscopic cellular aggregates, a type of suspended biofilms, in response to surfactant stress. In this study, we demonstrate that the SiaABC proteins represent a signal response pathway that functions through a partner switch mechanism to control biofilm formation. We also demonstrate that SiaABCD functionality is dependent on carbon substrate availability for a variety of substrates, and that upon carbon starvation, SiaB mutants show impaired dispersal, in particular with the primary fermentation product ethanol. This suggests that carbon availability is at least one of the key environmental cues integrated by the SiaABCD system. Further, our biochemical, physiological and crystallographic data reveals that the phosphatase SiaA and its kinase counterpart SiaB balance the phosphorylation status of their target protein SiaC at threonine 68 (T68). Crystallographic analysis of the SiaA-PP2C domain shows that SiaA is present as a dimer. Dynamic modelling of SiaA with SiaC suggested that SiaA interacts strongly with phosphorylated SiaC and dissociates rapidly upon dephosphorylation of SiaC. Further, we show that the known phosphatase inhibitor fumonisin inhibits SiaA mediated phosphatase activity in vitro. In conclusion, the present work improves our understanding of how P. aeuruginosa integrates specific environmental conditions, such as carbon availability and surfactant stress, to regulate cellular aggregation and biofilm formation. With the biochemical and structural characterization of SiaA, initial data on the catalytic inhibition of SiaA, and the interaction between SiaA and SiaC, our study identifies promising targets for the development of biofilm-interference drugs to combat infections of this aggressive opportunistic pathogen

The protein kinase CK2 catalytic domain from Plasmodium falciparum: Crystal structure, tyrosine kinase activity and inhibition

10.1038/s41598-018-25738-5Scientific Reports81736

Potent Allosteric Dengue Virus NS5 Polymerase Inhibitors: Mechanism of Action and Resistance Profiling

10.1371/journal.ppat.1005737PLoS Pathogens128e100573