Strategies to mitigate student resistance to active learning

Abstract Background Research has shown that active learning promotes student learning and increases retention rates of STEM undergraduates. Yet, instructors are reluctant to change their teaching approaches for several reasons, including a fear of student resistance to active learning. This paper addresses this issue by building on our prior work which demonstrates that certain instructor strategies can positively influence student responses to active learning. We present an analysis of interview data from 17 engineering professors across the USA about the ways they use strategies to reduce student resistance to active learning in their undergraduate engineering courses. Results Our data reveal that instructor strategies for reducing student resistance generally fall within two broad types: explanation and facilitation strategies. Explanation strategies consist of the following: (a) explain the purpose, (b) explain course expectations, and (c) explain activity expectations. Facilitation strategies include the following: (a) approach non-participants, (b) assume an encouraging demeanor, (c) grade on participation, (d) walk around the room, (e) invite questions, (f) develop a routine, (g) design activities for participation, and (h) use incremental steps. Four of the strategies emerged from our analysis and were previously unstudied in the context of student resistance. Conclusions The findings of this study have practical implications for instructors wishing to implement active learning. There is a variety of strategies to reduce student resistance to active learning, and there are multiple successful ways to implement the strategies. Importantly, effective use of strategies requires some degree of intentional course planning. These strategies should be considered as a starting point for instructors seeking to better incorporate the use of active learning strategies into their undergraduate engineering classrooms.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142791/1/40594_2018_Article_102.pd

Evolution of the CD163 family and its relationship to the bovine gamma delta T cell co-receptor WC1

Background: The scavenger receptor cysteine rich (SRCR) domain is an ancient and conserved protein domain. CD163 and WC1 molecules are classed together as group B SRCR superfamily members, along with Spα, CD5 and CD6, all of which are expressed by immune system cells. There are three known types of CD163 molecules in mammals, CD163A (M130, coded for by CD163), CD163b (M160, coded for by CD163L1) and CD163c-α (CD163L1 or SCART), while their nearest relative, WC1, is encoded by a multigene family so far identified in the artiodactyl species of cattle, sheep, and pigs. Results: We annotated the bovine genome and identified genes coding for bovine CD163A and CD163c-α but found no evidence for CD163b. Bovine CD163A is widely expressed in immune cells, whereas CD163c-α transcripts are enriched in the WC1+ γδ T cell population. Phylogenetic analyses of the CD163 family genes and WC1 showed that CD163c-α is most closely related to WC1 and that chicken and platypus have WC1 orthologous genes, previously classified as among their CD163 genes. Conclusion: Since it has been shown that WC1 plays an important role in the regulation of γδ T cell responses in cattle, which, like chickens, have a high percentage of γδ T cells in their peripheral blood, CD163c-α may play a similar role, especially in species lacking WC1 genes. Our results suggest that gene duplications resulted in the expansion of CD163c-α-like and WC1-like molecules. This expanded repertoire was retained by species known as γδ T cell high , but homologous SRCR molecules were maintained by all mammals

Women’s Perceptions of Caesarean Birth: A Roy International Study

The purpose of this Roy adaptation model-based multi-site international mixed method study was to examine the relations of type of caesarean birth (unplanned/planned), number of caesarean births (primary/repeat), and preparation for caesarean birth to women’s perceptions of and responses to caesarean birth. The sample included 488 women from the United States (n = 253), Finland (n = 213), and Australia (n = 22). Path analysis revealed direct effects for type of and preparation for caesarean birth on responses to caesarean birth, and an indirect effect for preparation on responses to caesarean birth through perception of birth the experience

Genome wide association study of passive immunity and disease traits in beef-suckler and dairy calves on Irish farms

peer reviewedCalves with lower concentrations of immunoglobulin G (IgG) in their blood, have a greater risk of developing diseases. There is a lack of knowledge on genetic markers known to be associated with immunological variability or disease resistance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify SNP markers associated with passive immunity measures (serum IgG, serum protein, albumin, globulin and total protein concentrations, total solids Brix percentage, zinc sulphate turbidity units) and disease (pneumonia, diarrhoea, crude illness) traits in Irish commercial beef-suckler and dairy calves through genome wide association studies (GWAS). Genotyping was performed on DNA samples from beef-suckler (n = 698) and dairy (n = 1178) calves, using the IDBv3 chip. Heritability of passive immunity associated traits (range 0.02–0.22) and the disease traits (range 0.03–0.20) were low-to-moderate. Twenty-five and fifteen SNPs approached genome wide significance (P < 5 × 10−5) for the passive immunity and the disease traits, respectively. One SNP “ARS-BFGL-BAC-27914” reached Bonferroni genome wide significance (P < 1.15 × 10−6) for an association with serum IgG concentration in beef calves. Further work will evaluate these SNPs in larger cattle populations and assess their contribution to genomic selection breeding strategies, aimed towards producing more disease resistant livestock.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Irelan

Atm-Dependent Chk2 Activation Induced By Anticancer Agent, Irofulven

Irofulven (6-hydroxymethylacylfulvene, HMAF, MGI 114) is one of a new class of anticancer agents that are semisynthetic derivatives of the mushroom toxin illudin S. Preclinical studies and..

Molecular and Phenotypic Characteristics of Healthcare- and Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus at a Rural Hospital

BACKGROUND: While methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) originally was associated with healthcare, distinct strains later emerged in patients with no prior hospital contact. The epidemiology of MRSA continues to evolve. METHODS: To characterize the current epidemiology of MRSA-colonized patients entering a hospital serving both rural and urban communities, we interviewed patients with MRSA-positive admission nasal swabs between August 2009 and March 2010. We applied hospitalization risk factor, antimicrobial resistance phenotype, and multi-locus sequence genotype (MLST) classification schemes to 94 case-patients. RESULTS: By MLST analysis, we identified 15 strains with two dominant clonal complexes (CCs)-CC5 (51 isolates), historically associated with hospitals, and CC8 (27 isolates), historically of community origin. Among patients with CC5 isolates, 43% reported no history of hospitalization within the past six months; for CC8, 67% reported the same. Classification by hospitalization risk factor did not correlate strongly with genotypic classification. Sensitivity of isolates to ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, or amikacin was associated with the CC8 genotype; however, among CC8 strains, 59% were resistant to ciprofloxacin, 15% to clindamycin, and 15% to amikacin. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalization history was not a strong surrogate for the CC5 genotype. Conversely, patients with a history of hospitalization were identified with the CC8 genotype. Although ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, and amikacin susceptibility distinguished CC8 strains, the high prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance limited its predictive value. As CC8 strains become established in healthcare settings and CC5 strains disseminate into the community, community-associated MRSA definitions based on case-patient hospitalization history may prove less valuable in tracking community MRSA strains

Deficiency of the two-pore-domain potassium channel TREK-1 promotes hyperoxia-induced lung injury

Copyright © 2014 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Objectives: We previously reported the expression of the twoporedomain K+ channel TREK-1 in lung epithelial cells and proposed a role for this channel in the regulation of alveolar epithelial cytokine secretion. In this study, we focused on investigating the role of TREK-1 in vivo in the development of hyperoxia-induced lung injury. Design: Laboratory animal experiments. Setting: University research laboratory. Subjects: Wild-type and TREK-1-deficient mice. Interventions: Mice were anesthetized and exposed to 1) room air, no mechanical ventilation, 2) 95% hyperoxia for 24 hours, and 3) 95% hyperoxia for 24 hours followed by mechanical ventilation for 4 hours. Measurements and Main Results: Hyperoxia exposure accentuated lung injury in TREK-1-deficient mice but not controls, resulting in increase in lung injury scores, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cell numbers, and cellular apoptosis and a decrease in quasi-static lung compliance. Exposure to a combination of hyperoxia and injurious mechanical ventilation resulted in further morphological lung damage and increased lung injury scores and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cell numbers in control but not TREK-1-deficient mice. At baseline and after hyperoxia exposure, bronchoalveolar lavage cytokine levels were unchanged in TREK-1-deficient mice compared with controls. Exposure to hyperoxia and mechanical ventilation resulted in an increase in bronchoalveolar lavage interleukin-6, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, and tumor necrosis factor-á levels in both mouse types, but the increase in interleukin-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 levels was less prominent in TREK-1-deficient mice than in controls. Lung tissue macrophage inflammatory protein-2, keratinocytederived cytokine, and interleukin-1β gene expression was not altered by hyperoxia in TREK-1-deficient mice compared with controls. Furthermore, we show for the first time TREK-1 expression on alveolar macrophages and unimpaired tumor necrosis factor-á secretion from TREK-1-deficient macrophages. Conclusions: TREK-1 deficiency resulted in increased sensitivity of lungs to hyperoxia, but this effect is less prominent if overwhelming injury is induced by the combination of hyperoxia and injurious mechanical ventilation. TREK-1 may constitute a new potential target for the development of novel treatment strategies against hyperoxiainduced lung injury

Maternal Occupational Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Effects on Gastroschisis among Offspring in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study

Background: Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) occurs in many occupational settings. There is evidence in animal models that maternal exposure to PAHs during pregnancy is associated with gastroschisis in offspring; however, to our knowledge, no human studies examining this association have been conducted

Deep sequencing-based discovery of the Chlamydia trachomatis transcriptome

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogenic bacterium that has been refractory to genetic manipulations. Although the genomes of several strains have been sequenced, very little information is available on the gene structure of these bacteria. We used deep sequencing to define the transcriptome of purified elementary bodies (EB) and reticulate bodies (RB) of C. trachomatis L2b, respectively. Using an RNA-seq approach, we have mapped 363 transcriptional start sites (TSS) of annotated genes. Semi-quantitative analysis of mapped cDNA reads revealed differences in the RNA levels of 84 genes isolated from EB and RB, respectively. We have identified and in part confirmed 42 genome- and 1 plasmid-derived novel non-coding RNAs. The genome encoded non-coding RNA, ctrR0332 was one of the most abundantly and differentially expressed RNA in EB and RB, implying an important role in the developmental cycle of C. trachomatis. The detailed map of TSS in a thus far unprecedented resolution as a complement to the genome sequence will help to understand the organization, control and function of genes of this important pathogen

Policy Recommendations for Meeting the Grand Challenge to Achieve Equal Opportunity and Justice

This brief was created forSocial Innovation for America’s Renewal, a policy conference organized by the Center for Social Development in collaboration with the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare, which is leading theGrand Challenges for Social Work initiative to champion social progress. The conference site includes links to speeches, presentations, and a full list of the policy briefs