"Academic service quality and instructional quality"

The text is published here with the permission of the "Journal of the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition." Pages in the published version are identified with the symbols, “[ ].” Additional information is at the end of this document. Keith Greiner is a Drake graduate and can be contacted at [email protected]. Tom Westbrook is a Professor of Education in the Leadership and Adult Development program at Drake University and can be contacted at [email protected] article reports a study of the relationship between academic service quality and instructional quality in higher education. The study included 360 students enrolled in first-year biology course. Eighty-two percent of the participants were in the first semester of their college. Academic service was an adaptation of five business dimensions; instructional quality was measured by nine dimensions. The use of business dimensions suggested that the instructor/student relationship may be seen in the marketing context of an exchange between two parties. The study found a high correlation between academic service and instructional quality. Academic service quality overlapped instructional quality in three dimensions: enthusiasm, organization, and rapport. The findings suggest relationships exist at both an overall level and at subscale levels across a variety of demographic variables. The factor constructs of instructional quality are clearly distinguished from academic service quality, but there is an overlap in constructs describing interpersonal relationships. The study has major significance for the blending of academic and student personnel concerns in the academy. The authors recommend longterm studies of [8] relationships between expected and observed quality, long-term relationships between instruction and service quality, and adaptation of the instruments to distance-learning

"Student perceptions of academic service and instructional quality over a four-year academic experience"

The text is published here with the permission of the Journal of Research in Education Pages in the published version are identified with the symbols, “[ ].” Additional information is at the end of this document. Keith Greiner is a Drake graduate and can be contacted at [email protected]. Tom Westbrook is a Professor of Education in the Leadership and Adult Development program at Drake University and can be contacted at [email protected] article reports the results of a study of student perceptions of expected and experienced academic service and instructional quality across 4 years of college enrollment. Results indicated a pattern of perceived change over 4 years with a significant difference between students’ expectations to experienced quality. The largest pre- to post- assessment change was a negative gap during the first semester in both academic service and instructional quality. Subscale scores revealed both positive and negative variations over the 4-year period. The findings suggested a continued support for linking in-class and out-of-class faculty and student development initiatives

Temporal Changes in Genetic Variation of Boll Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Populations, and Implications for Population Assignment in Eradication Zones

An existing microsatellite genotype database has been used for several years in population genetic assignment analyses of boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), captured in eradication zones. It is important to update it in case of changes in genotype frequency at any of the locations over time. Such changes at neutral loci could be caused by drift, immigration, or population bottlenecks. We examined allele frequency distribution for 10 microsatellite loci to determine genetic differentiation among 10 boll weevil populations sampled from Texas and Mexico in 2009. In addition, temporal changes in genetic composition were examined in the eight populations for which samples were available from previous years. Substantial levels of spatial genetic structure were observed, with the 10 populations clustering as four major groups. Pairwise FST estimates in 2009 samples ranged from 0.001 (College Station-Cameron) to 0.492 (College Station-Ojinaga). There was little change in genetic profiles over time at four of the eight locations. Thus, for those four locations, genotype and allele frequency data can be pooled over the two sample dates, which will provide greater statistical power in future population assignment tests. However, genetic profiles changed substantially at Ojinaga, and to a lesser extent at Uvalde, Cameron, and Rosales, so the 2009 genotype data should be substituted in future analyses. Finally, populations from two new locations, Brownsville and Lockhart, TX, were sampled, genotyped, and added to the database. The addition of Lockhart is particularly important given its surprisingly high differentiation from the relatively nearby populations of Cameron and Uvalde

Haplotype Profile Comparisons Between Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Populations From Mexico With Those From Puerto Rico, South America, and the United States and Their Implications to Migratory Behavior

Fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith)] is a major economic pest throughout the Western Hemisphere of maize, cotton, sorghum, and a variety of agricultural grasses and vegetable crops. Previous studies demonstrated extensive annual migrations occurring as far north as Canada from overwintering locations in southern Florida and Texas. In contrast, migratory behavior in the rest of the hemisphere is largely uncharacterized. Understanding the migration patterns of fall armyworm will facilitate efforts to predict the spread of pesticide resistance traits that repeatedly arise in this species and assess the consequences of changing climatic trends on the infestation range. Four independent fall armyworm colonies derived from widely separated populations in Mexico and two field collections were examined for their mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene haplotypes and compared with other locations. The Mexico populations were most similar in their haplotype profile to those from Texas and South America, but also displayed some distinctive features. The data extend the haplotype distribution map in the Western Hemisphere and confirm that the previously observed regional differences in haplotype frequencies are stable over time. The Mexico collections were associated with haplotypes rarely found elsewhere, suggesting limited migratory interactions with foreign populations, including those in neighboring Texas

Neuroligin-1 knockdown reduces survival of adult-generated newborn hippocampal neurons

Survival of adult-born hippocampal granule cells is modulated by neural activity, and thought to be enhanced by excitatory synaptic signaling. Here, we report that a reduction in the synaptogenic protein neuroligin-1 in adult-born neurons in vivo decreased their survival, but surprisingly, this effect was independent of changes in excitatory synaptic function. Instead, the decreased survival was associated with unexpected changes in dendrite and spine morphology during granule cell maturation, suggesting a link between cell growth and survival

Haplotype profile comparisons cetween Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) populations from Mexico with those from Puerto Rico, South America, and the United States and their implications to migratory behavior

Fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith)] is a major economic pest throughout the Western Hemisphere of maize, cotton, sorghum, and a variety of agricultural grasses and vegetable crops. Previous studies demonstrated extensive annual migrations occurring as far north as Canada from overwintering locations in southern Florida and Texas. In contrast, migratory behavior in the rest of the hemisphere is largely uncharacterized. Understanding the migration patterns of fall armyworm will facilitate efforts to predict the spread of pesticide resistance traits that repeatedly arise in this species and assess the consequences of changing climatic trends on the infestation range. Four independent fall armyworm colonies derived from widely separated populations in Mexico and two field collections were examined for their mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene haplotypes and compared with other locations. The Mexico populations were most similar in their haplotype profile to those from Texas and South America, but also displayed some distinctive features. The data extend the haplotype distribution map in the Western Hemisphere and confirm that the previously observed regional differences in haplotype frequencies are stable over time. The Mexico collections were associated with haplotypes rarely found elsewhere, suggesting limited migratory interactions with foreign populations, including those in neighboring Texas.Fil: Nagoshi, Rodney N.. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Rosas Garcia, Ninfa M.. Instituto Politécnico Nacional; MéxicoFil: Meagher, Robert L.. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Fleischer, Shelby J.. State University Of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Westbrook, John K.. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Sappington, Thomas W.. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Hay Roe, Mirian. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Thomas, Jean M. G.. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Murúa, María Gabriela. Gobierno de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Effect of Energy Input on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Titanium Aluminide Alloy Fabricated by the Additive Manufacturing Process of Electron Beam Melting.

Titanium aluminides qualify adequately for advanced aero-engine applications in place of conventional nickel based superalloys. The combination of high temperature properties and lower density gives an edge to the titanium aluminide alloys. Nevertheless, challenges remain on how to process these essentially intermetallic alloys in to an actual product. Electron Beam Melting (EBM), an Additive Manufacturing Method, can build complex shaped solid parts from a given feedstock powder, thus overcoming the shortcomings of the conventional processing techniques such as machining and forging. The amount of energy supplied by the electron beam has considerable influence on the final build quality in the EBM process. Energy input is decided by the beam voltage, beam scan speed, beam current, and track offset distance. In the current work, beam current and track offset were varied to reflect three levels of energy input. Microstructural and mechanical properties were evaluated for these samples. The microstructure gradually coarsened from top to bottom along the build direction. Whereas higher energy favored lath microstructure, lower energy tended toward equiaxed grains. Computed tomography analysis revealed a greater amount of porosity in low energy samples. In addition, the lack of bonding defects led to premature failure in the tension test of low energy samples. Increase in energy to a medium level largely cancelled out the porosity, thereby increasing the strength. However, this trend did not continue with the high energy samples. Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction investigations were carried out to understand this non-linear behavior of the strength in the three samples. Overall, the results of this work suggest that the input energy should be considered primarily whenever any new alloy system has to be processed through the EBM route

PCA-induced respiratory depression simulating stroke following endoluminal repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>To report a case of severe respiratory depression with PCA fentanyl use simulating stroke in a patient who underwent routine elective endoluminal graft repair for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 78-year-old obese lady underwent routine endoluminal graft repair for AAA that was progressively increasing in size. Following an uneventful operation postoperative analgesia was managed with a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device with fentanyl. On the morning following operation the patient was found to be unusually drowsy and unresponsive to stimuli. Her GCS level was 11 with plantars upgoing bilaterally. A provisional diagnosis of stroke was made. Urgent transfer to a high-dependency unit (HDU) was arranged and she was given ventilatory support with a BiPap device. CT was performed and found to be normal. Arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis showed respiratory acidosis with PaCO₂81 mmHg, PaO₂140 mmHg, pH 7.17 and base excess -2 mmol/l. A total dose of 600 mcg of fentanyl was self-administered in the 16 hours following emergence from general anaesthesia. Naloxone was given with good effect. There was an increase in the creatinine level from 90 μmol/L preoperatively to 167 μmol/L on the first postoperative day. The patient remained on BiPap for two days that resulted in marked improvement in gas exchange. Recovery was complete.</p

Differential expression of synaptophysin and synaptoporin during pre- and postnatal development of the hippocampal network

The closely related synaptic vesicle membrane proteins synaptophysin and synaptoporin are abundant in the hippocampal formation of the adult rat. But the prenatal hippocampal formation contains only synaptophysin, which is first detected at embryonic day 17 (E17) in perikarya and axons of the pyramidal neurons. At E21 synaptophysin immunoreactivity extends into the apical dendrites of these cells and in newly formed terminals contacting these dendrites. The transient presence of synaptophysin in axons and dendrites suggests a functional involvement of synaptophysin in fibre outgrowth of developing pyramidal neurons. Synaptoporin expression parallels the formation of dentate granule cell synaptic contacts with pyramidal neurons: the amount of hippocampal synaptoporin, determined in immunoblots and by synaptoporin immunostaining of developing mossy fibre terminals, increases during the first postnatal week. Moreover, in the adult, synaptoporin is found exclusively in the mossy fibre terminals present in the hilar region of the dentate gyrus and the regio inferior of the cornu ammonis. In contrast, synaptophysin is present in all synaptic fields of the hippocampal formation, including the mossy fibre terminals, where it colocalizes with synaptoporin in the same boutons. Our data indicate that granule neuron terminals differ from all other terminals of the hippocampal formation by the presence of both synaptoporin and synaptophysin. This difference, observed in the earliest synaptic contacts in the postnatal hippocampus and persisting into adult life, suggests distinct functions of synaptoporin in these nerve terminals

A time study of physicians' work in a German university eye hospital to estimate unit costs.

BACKGROUND: Technical efficiency of hospital services is debated since performance has been heterogeneous. Staff time represents the main resource in patient care and its inappropriate allocation has been identified as a key factor of inefficiency. The aim of this study was to analyse the utilisation of physicians' work time stratified by staff groups, tasks and places of work. A further aim was to use these data to estimate resource use per unit of output. METHODS: A self-reporting work-sampling study was carried during 14-days at a University Eye Hospital. Staff costs of physicians per unit of output were calculated at the wards, the operating rooms and the outpatient unit. RESULTS: Forty per cent of total work time was spent in contact with the patient. Thirty per cent was spent with documentation tasks. Time spent with documentation tasks declined monotonically with increasing seniority of staff. Unit costs were 56 € per patient day at the wards, 77 € and 20 € per intervention at the operating rooms for inpatients and outpatients, respectively, and 33 € per contact at the outpatient unit. Substantial differences in resources directly dedicated to the patient were found between these locations. CONCLUSION: The presented data provide unprecedented units costs in inpatient Ophthalmology. Future research should focus on analysing factors that influence differences in time allocation, such as types of patients, organisation of care processes and composition of staff