Evaluation of Aedes aegypti densonucleosis (AeDNV) infection in adult mosquito mortality

Aedes aegypti densonucleosis virus (AeDNV) has long been considered a likely agent in biologic control against arthropod-borne diseases. Extensive studies have been done to evaluate infection and pathogeneses in Aedes aegypti larvae and pupae, but only primary studies have been preformed in adults. The primary studies on adult mortality produced a two part mortality curve that showed high levels of early mortality, low levels of intermediate mortality and high levels of late mortality. It was hypothesized that the high levels of early mortality were due to high levels of virus infection, whereas the high levels late mortality were due to old age. In this study we analyzed the mosquitoes that died early and late in the mortality assay with quantitative PCR to determine virus titers in individual mosquitoes. We found that there is no significant difference between titer level of mosquitoes that died in the early part of the curve (Day 17-29), which had an average of 1.264 x 1011 genome equivalents per ml and those that died in the late part of the curve (Day 45-54), which had an average of 2.255 x 1011 genome equivalents per ml.Highest Honors

Medical and molecular virology

Includes bibliographical references.This book was created for upper division microbiology students studying virology. It will describe the molecular biology and major diseases of virus families that cause significant disease in animals and humans. This book is by no means meant to be exhaustive. In fact, because virology can be so overwhelming, the author has tried to keep the book as simple as possible, while still giving the reader a solid understanding of the molecular mechanisms of viral replication and pathogenesis. This book is different than other virology textbooks in that it is laid out grouping viruses by how they replicate. This should hopefully allow you, the reader, to think about why these viruses replicate similarly, and why replication strategies may be different than those used by other viruses.Funded by the Colorado Open Educational Resources (OER) Grant 2018-2019

Using Magnets and Classroom Flipping to Promote Student Engagement and Learning about Protein Translation in a Large Microbiology Class

It is generally accepted within the education community that active learning is superior to traditional lecturing alone. Many science educators, however, are reluctant to give up classroom time for activities because they fear that they will not have time to cover as much content. Classroom flipping has been gaining momentum in higher education as one way to engage students in the classroom while still exposing students to the same volume of course content. The activity presented here demonstrates how flipping one lecture period can be used in conjunction with an engaging in-class activity to teach a concept that is often difficult for students to learn through lecture alone. Specifically, we asked students to view a lecture video on bacterial protein translation before coming to class. We then used the classroom period to conduct a hands-on activity that allowed students to interact with magnetic pieces representing the components of protein translation to generate a protein from a given piece of DNA. Survey data showed that students liked the flipped classroom format associated with this activity, but they would not want every class flipped, and they perceived that the hands-on protein translation activity helped them to learn the material. Preliminary summative assessment data showed that this activity may have been useful in helping students to achieve the fundamental learning outcome that students will be able to translate a protein from a given piece of bacterial DNA

Video Lecture Capture Technology Helps Students Study without Affecting Attendance in Large Microbiology Lecture Courses

Recording lectures using video lecture capture software and making them available for students to watch anytime, from anywhere, has become a common practice in many universities across many disciplines. The software has become increasingly easy to use and is commonly provided and maintained by higher education institutions. Several studies have reported that students use lecture capture to enhance their learning and study for assessments, as well as to catch up on material they miss when they cannot attend class due to extenuating circumstances. Furthermore, students with disabilities and students from non-English Speaking Backgrounds (NESB) may benefit from being able to watch the video lecture captures at their own pace. Yet, the effect of this technology on class attendance remains a controversial topic and largely unexplored in undergraduate microbiology education. Here, we show that when video lecture captures were available in our large enrollment general microbiology courses, attendance did not decrease. In fact, the majority of students reported that having the videos available did not encourage them to skip class, but rather they used them as a study tool. When we surveyed NESB students and nontraditional students about their attitudes toward this technology, they found it helpful for their learning and for keeping up with the material

VOLUME SEVEN Evaluating the Impact of a Classroom Response System in a Microbiology Course

The use of a Classroom Response System (CRS) was evaluated in two sections, A and B, of a large lecture microbiology course. In Section B the instructor used the CRS technology at the beginning of the class period posing a question on content from the previous class. Students could earn extra credit if they answered the question correctly. In Section A, the class also began with an extra credit CRS question. However, CRS questions were integrated into the lecture during the entire class period. We compared the two classes to see if augmenting lectures with this technology increased student learning, confidence, attendance, and the instructor’s ability to respond to student’s misconceptions, over simply using the CRS as a quizzing tool. Student performance was compared using shared examination questions. The questions were categorized by how the content had been presented in class. All questions came from instructors ’ common lecture content, some without CRS use, and some questions where Instructor A used both lecture and CRS questions. Although Section A students scored significantly better on both types of examination questions, there was no demonstrable difference in learning based on CRS question participation. However, student survey data showed that students in Section A expressed higher confidence levels in their learning and knowledge and indicated that they interacted more with other students than did the students in Section B. In addition, Instructor A recorded more modifications to lecture content and recorded more student interaction in the course than did Instructor B. Because of increasing enrollments and tighter budgets

Analyzing fast and slow: Combining traditional and rapid qualitative analysis to meet multiple objectives of a complex transnational study.

Much of the methodological literature on rapid qualitative analysis describes processes used by a relatively small number of researchers focusing on one study site and using rapid analysis to replace a traditional analytical approach. In this paper, we describe the experiences of a transnational research consortium integrating both rapid and traditional qualitative analysis approaches to develop social theory while also informing program design. Research was conducted by the Innovations for Choice and Autonomy (ICAN) consortium, which seeks to understand how self-injection of the contraceptive subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-SC) can be implemented in a way that best meets women's needs, as defined by women themselves. Consortium members are based in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, and the United States. Data for the ICAN study was collected in all four countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In order to both illuminate social phenomena across study sites and inform the program design component of the study, researchers developed tools meant to gather both in-depth information about women's contraceptive decision-making and data targeted specifically to program design during the formative qualitative phase of the study. Using these two bodies of data, researchers then simultaneously conducted both a traditional qualitative and rapid analysis to meet multiple study objectives. To complete the traditional analysis, researchers coded interview transcripts and kept analytical memos, while also drawing on data collected by tools developed for the rapid analysis. Rapid analysis consisted of simultaneously collecting data and reviewing notes developed specifically for this analysis. We conclude that integrating traditional and rapid qualitative analysis enabled us to meet the needs of a complex transnational study with the added benefit of grounding our program design work in more robust primary data than normally is available for studies using a human-centered design approach to intervention development. However, the realities of conducting a multi-faceted study across multiple countries and contexts made truly "rapid" analysis challenging