Chapter 18- Case Study of the Statewide Faculty-to-Student Mentoring Program at Utah State University

The purpose of this article is to examine an undergraduate mentorship program through Utah State University (USU). The creation of the Faculty-to-Student Mentorship Program originated in an attempt to increase both retention and graduation rates throughout the statewide system. In the first year, a steering committee was formed, and the mentorship program was piloted on one statewide campus—Uintah Basin. During the next year, the program was expanded to all eight statewide campuses. The steering committee examined available literature regarding existing mentorship programs and identified three shortcomings: lack of theoretical framework, operational definition, and methodological rigor. This article discusses the program design for the mentorship program in addressing these shortcomings while providing a step-by-step approach to mentorship. This includes purpose, funding, recruitment, mentoring objectives, and description of measurement instruments. The article concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and recommendations for future mentoring programs

Designing and Implementing a Land-Grant Faculty-to-Student Mentoring Program: Addressing Shortcomings in Academic Mentoring

Mentoring programs at universities have become common because of the perceived benefit to student persistence and retention. Evaluation of the effectiveness of these programs has not kept pace, primarily due to the following three problematic issues: (1) lack of theoretical guidance, (2) lack of an operational definition of mentoring, and (3) lack of methodological rigor. This article describes the evolution of a regional Faculty-to-Student Mentoring program into a statewide program, and how it addressed each of these three problematic issues. Using logic modeling, the intimate connections between theory, operational definitions, and sound methodology are made explicit, thereby addressing many of the shortcomings of previous mentoring programs. By addressing these shortcomings, universities can better evaluate if mentoring programs should be part of the overall strategic plan to help students be successful

Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia

This book, Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia, makes a unique and needed contribution to the mentoring field as it focuses solely on mentoring in academia. This handbook is a collaborative institutional effort between Utah State University’s (USU) Empowering Teaching Open Access Book Series and the Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico (UNM). This book is available through (a) an e-book through Pressbooks, (b) a downloadable PDF version on USU’s Open Access Book Series website), and (c) a print version available for purchase on the USU Empower Teaching Open Access page, and on Amazon

What Should We Agree on about the Repugnant Conclusion?

The Repugnant Conclusion served an important purpose in catalyzing and inspiring the pioneering stage of population ethics research. We believe, however, that the Repugnant Conclusion now receives too much focus. Avoiding the Repugnant Conclusion should no longer be the central goal driving population ethics research, despite its importance to the fundamental accomplishments of the existing literature

DNA methylation profiling to predict recurrence risk in meningioma: development and validation of a nomogram to optimize clinical management

Abstract Background Variability in standard-of-care classifications precludes accurate predictions of early tumor recurrence for individual patients with meningioma, limiting the appropriate selection of patients who would benefit from adjuvant radiotherapy to delay recurrence. We aimed to develop an individualized prediction model of early recurrence risk combining clinical and molecular factors in meningioma. Methods DNA methylation profiles of clinically annotated tumor samples across multiple institutions were used to develop a methylome model of 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS). Subsequently, a 5-year meningioma recurrence score was generated using a nomogram that integrated the methylome model with established prognostic clinical factors. Performance of both models was evaluated and compared with standard-of-care models using multiple independent cohorts. Results The methylome-based predictor of 5-year RFS performed favorably compared with a grade-based predictor when tested using the 3 validation cohorts (ΔAUC = 0.10, 95% CI: 0.03–0.018) and was independently associated with RFS after adjusting for histopathologic grade, extent of resection, and burden of copy number alterations (hazard ratio 3.6, 95% CI: 1.8–7.2, P &lt; 0.001). A nomogram combining the methylome predictor with clinical factors demonstrated greater discrimination than a nomogram using clinical factors alone in 2 independent validation cohorts (ΔAUC = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.22–0.27) and resulted in 2 groups with distinct recurrence patterns (hazard ratio 7.7, 95% CI: 5.3–11.1, P &lt; 0.001) with clinical implications. Conclusions The models developed and validated in this study provide important prognostic information not captured by previously established clinical and molecular factors which could be used to individualize decisions regarding postoperative therapeutic interventions, in particular whether to treat patients with adjuvant radiotherapy versus observation alone. </jats:sec

Getting Reluctant Students to Engage With Critical Topics: The Power of Literary Learning Circles

Presenters will discuss their efforts to develop and implement an innovative small group, literary learning circle assignment in a graduate level Social Policy course. This new assignment was based on and adapted from the ETE Faculty Learning Circle model and was specifically designed to improve student engagement with challenging course material in a high resistance topic area. Based on preliminary data from a formal and comprehensive evaluation of students\u27 experience with this pedagogical approach, the learning circle assignment was exceptionally popular with students and extremely effective in increasing student engagement with, and understanding of critical, but previously unpopular course material

Static tank depuration and chronic short-term experimental contamination of Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) with Giardia duodenalis cysts

Cysts of the protozoan parasite Giardia have been detected in many bivalve shellfish species worldwide. The detection of zoonotic Giardia duodenalis assemblages A and B is of public health concern, yet there is limited data available demonstrating the bioaccumulation and elimination of Giardia cysts in bivalve shellfish.. This study quantified G. duodenalis cysts that were filtered and retained by oysters (Crassostrea virginica) over a one week chronic exposure period, or 24 hour exposure followed by a 6 day depuration period, using static tank systems containing 10 L of 29 ppt water inoculated with 1,000 or 10,000 cysts. Under chronic exposure, each oyster retained a mean of 13.4 and 87.4 cysts during the first 24 hours of exposure at low and high doses, respectively, and cysts bioaccumulated at a rate of 1.2 and 6.8 cysts/oyster/day, respectively, for the remaining duration of the trials. In acute exposure trials, oysters retained 13.8 cysts or 78.9 cysts at low and high dose, respectively, during the initial 24 hour exposure and naturally depurated cysts at a rate of –0.92 cysts/oyster/day and -2.2 cysts/oyster/day, respectively, after transfer. Although most G. duodenalis cysts were eliminated within the first 24 hours via pseudofeces and feces, detection of some cysts in the fecal material on day 7 of acute exposure trials was indicative of cysts which passed through the digestive tract and released in feces. Only 48-53 % of the initial tank inocula was recovered and may indicate that some cysts were selectively filtered by oysters but degraded through digestion

Bioaccumulation and elimination of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in experimentally exposed Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) held in static tank aquaria

A variety of human enteropathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites, have been shown to bioaccumulate in suspension-feeding bivalve shellfish. Cryptosporidium parvum is a zoonotic protozoan parasite that has been detected in many shellfish species within both fecally contaminated and clean oyster growing areas across the globe. For this study, C. parvum oocysts (1000 and 10,000) were spiked into 10 L of water in static tank systems housing Crassostrea virginica. Oysters were either held in the contaminated aquaria for 7 days of exposure or were exposed for 24 h and subsequently placed in a clean static tank system for the remainder of the trial. Individual oysters, fecal material, and tank water were analyzed for oocysts up to 7 days post-exposure via direct immunofluorescence. Oysters held under chronic exposure conditions gradually accumulated oocysts (1.5 or 34.4 oocysts/oyster/day for low or high dose exposure groups, respectively) between days 1 and 7, with an exponential uptake in oocysts observed within the first 24 h post-exposure (mean uptake of 29.6 or 241.9 oocysts/oyster, respectively). Oysters that were transferred to clean water after 24 h were capable of slowly depurating oocysts, following a linear trend. During chronic exposure trials 48–49% of the total spiked inoculum was recovered from oyster tissue, whereas 4.8–5.9% and 38–40% was recovered from tank water and from fecal material at day 7, respectively. In acute exposure trials, 30–31% of the total tank inoculum was found in oysters, suggesting that chronically exposed oysters were likely re-filtering some oocysts. Examinations of oyster fecal material from acute exposures revealed that 72–82% of oocysts recovered were already excreted at the time of oyster transfer (day 1), with only 18–28% being excreted during the static depuration phase. These data support that although most C. parvum oocysts are removed by C. virginica oysters within 24 h, elimination after this point occurs slowly. Additionally, chronic exposures demonstrate that wild or cultured oysters in saline environments that are frequently exposed to sources of Cryptosporidium may be unable to eliminate the parasites at a rate that balances initial uptake