Changes in Obstacles to Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic for University Students and Recommended Solutions

Access the online Pressbooks version of this article here. The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions to student learning from K–12 to universities and continues to manifest negative effects on students. To better understand the challenges our students face and how those obstacles have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we surveyed our undergraduate ecology students who ranked obstacles to learning they experience in technology, learning environment, and economic security. The majority of respondents report conditions have worsened since the onset of the pandemic. Surveys identified the largest challenges on average were being unfamiliar with technology, using a smartphone or tablet for coursework, balancing work and employment, and having trouble focusing and retaining information. A principal components analysis (PCA) identified that not having reliable internet, having children and other dependents in the home to care for, and not having a safe or private place to study were also common challenges. The PCA also indicated that food and housing insecurity outweighed job insecurity, which may indicate that our students are underemployed or poorly paid. Non-white females and first-generation college students face more obstacles than other groups. Surprisingly, the frequency of obstacles faced did not influence academic normalized learning gains (NLGs). Nor did students with a higher number of demographic markers that indicate historically underserved groups show lower NLGs. Mitigating obstacles to learning as the pandemic continues and new virus variants emerge will take a multi-faceted approach and understanding of each individual student’s challenges. Recommendations to mitigate the burden include students’ self-identified preferred solutions of having more flexible assignment dates, study zones with good wifi, and more asynchronous material. Access to updated computers would also be beneficial. Given that housing and food security scored highly in obstacles experienced, food banks on campus could assist in relieving some of this economic burden. Finally, strategies such as dividing online material into small chunks (\u3c 15 minutes), followed by formative assessment opportunities for student metacognition (quizzes, reflections, discussions), then followed by synchronous sessions focused on active learning provided a strong support for learning for all students pre-pandemic and these strategies continue to transcend the pandemic and lessen its short- and long-term impacts

Deep Search For Molecular Oxygen in TW Hya

The dominant form of oxygen in cold molecular clouds is gas-phase carbon monoxide (CO) and ice-phase water (H$_2$O). Yet, in planet-forming disks around young stars, gas-phase CO and H$_2$O are less abundant relative to their ISM values, and no other major oxygen-carrying molecules have been detected. Some astrochemical models predict that gas-phase molecular oxygen (O$_2$) should be a major carrier of volatile oxygen in disks. We report a deep search for emission from the isotopologue $^{16}$O$^{18}$O ($N_J=2_1-0_1$ line at 233.946 GHz) in the nearby protoplanetary disk around TW Hya. We used imaging techniques and matched filtering to search for weak emission but do not detect $^{16}$O$^{18}$O. Based on our results, we calculate upper limits on the gas-phase O$_2$ abundance in TW Hya of $(6.4-70)\times10^{-7}$ relative to H, which is $2-3$ orders of magnitude below solar oxygen abundance. We conclude that gas-phase O$_2$ is not a major oxygen-carrier in TW Hya. Two other potential oxygen-carrying molecules, SO and SO$_2$, were covered in our observations, which we also do not detect. Additionally, we report a serendipitous detection of the C$^{15}$N $N_J = 2_{5/2}-1_{3/2}$ hyperfine transitions, $F = 3 - 2$ and $F = 2 - 1$, at 219.9 GHz, which we found via matched filtering and confirm through imaging.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

An improved competitive inhibition enzymatic immunoassay method for tetrodotoxin quantification

Quantifying tetrodotoxin (TTX) has been a challenge in both ecological and medical research due to the cost, time and training required of most quantification techniques. Here we present a modified Competitive Inhibition Enzymatic Immunoassay for the quantification of TTX, and to aid researchers in the optimization of this technique for widespread use with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability

Repurposing FDA approved drugs as radiosensitizers for treating hypoxic prostate cancer

Abstract Background The presence of hypoxia is a poor prognostic factor in prostate cancer and the hypoxic tumor microenvironment promotes radioresistance. There is potential for drug radiotherapy combinations to improve the therapeutic ratio. We aimed to investigate whether hypoxia-associated genes could be used to identify FDA approved drugs for repurposing for the treatment of hypoxic prostate cancer. Methods Hypoxia associated genes were identified and used in the connectivity mapping software QUADrATIC to identify FDA approved drugs as candidates for repurposing. Drugs identified were tested in vitro in prostate cancer cell lines (DU145, PC3, LNCAP). Cytotoxicity was investigated using the sulforhodamine B assay and radiosensitization using a clonogenic assay in normoxia and hypoxia. Results Menadione and gemcitabine had similar cytotoxicity in normoxia and hypoxia in all three cell lines. In DU145 cells, the radiation sensitizer enhancement ratio (SER) of menadione was 1.02 in normoxia and 1.15 in hypoxia. The SER of gemcitabine was 1.27 in normoxia and 1.09 in hypoxia. No radiosensitization was seen in PC3 cells. Conclusion Connectivity mapping can identify FDA approved drugs for potential repurposing that are linked to a radiobiologically relevant phenotype. Gemcitabine and menadione could be further investigated as potential radiosensitizers in prostate cancer

ATTITUDES AND SOCIAL COGNITION An Eye for the I: Preferential Attention to the Eyes of Ingroup Members

Human faces, and more specifically the eyes, play a crucial role in social and nonverbal communication because they signal valuable information about others. It is therefore surprising that few studies have investigated the impact of intergroup contexts and motivations on attention to the eyes of ingroup and outgroup members. Four experiments investigated differences in eye gaze to racial and novel ingroups using eye tracker technology. Whereas Studies 1 and 3 demonstrated that White participants attended more to the eyes of White compared to Black targets, Study 2 showed a similar pattern of attention to the eyes of novel ingroup and outgroup faces. Studies 3 and 4 also provided new evidence that eye gaze is flexible and can be meaningfully influenced by current motivations. Specifically, instructions to individuate specific social categories increased attention to the eyes of target group members. Furthermore, the latter experiments demonstrated that preferential attention to the eyes of ingroup members predicted important intergroup biases such as recognition of ingroup over outgroup faces (i.e., the own-race bias; Study 3) and willingness to interact with outgroup members (Study 4). The implication of these findings for general theorizing on face perception, individuation processes, and intergroup relations are discussed

The Total Syntheses of JBIR-94 and Two Synthetic Analogs and Their Cytotoxicities Against A549 (CCL-185) Human Small Lung Cancer Cells

We here disclose the total syntheses of the natural polyphenol JBIR-94 and two nonnatural analogs, whose structures are of interest for their bioactivity potential as radical scavengers. Although we initially attempted this by dually acylating both of putrecine’s amine nitrogens in a single pot, our endeavors with this method (which has been successfully reported by other groups) proved ineffectual. We accordingly opted for the lengthier approach of acylating each amine individually, which gratuitously prevailed and also aligns with separate literature precedent. Moreover, we here share our analysis of these target compounds’ cytotoxicities and IC50 values against A549 (CCL-185) human small lung cancer cells

The Total Syntheses of JBIR-94 and Two Synthetic Analogs and Their Cytotoxicities Against A549 (CCL-185) Human Small Lung Cancer Cells

We here disclose the total syntheses of the natural polyphenol JBIR-94 and two nonnatural analogs, whose structures are of interest for their bioactivity potential as radical scavengers. Although we initially attempted this by dually acylating both of putrecine’s amine nitrogens in a single pot, our endeavors with this method (which has been successfully reported by other groups) proved ineffectual. We accordingly opted for the lengthier approach of acylating each amine individually, which gratuitously prevailed and also aligns with separate literature precedent. Moreover, we here share our analysis of these target compounds’ cytotoxicities and IC50 values against A549 (CCL-185) human small lung cancer cells

An improved competitive inhibition enzymatic immunoassay method for tetrodotoxin quantification

Quantifying tetrodotoxin (TTX) has been a challenge in both ecological and medical research due to the cost, time and training required of most quantification techniques. Here we present a modified Competitive Inhibition Enzymatic Immunoassay for the quantification of TTX, and to aid researchers in the optimization of this technique for widespread use with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability

Behavioral and Chemical Ecology of Marine Organisms with Respect to Tetrodotoxin

The behavioral and chemical ecology of marine organisms that possess tetrodotoxin (TTX) has not been comprehensively reviewed in one work to date. The evidence for TTX as an antipredator defense, as venom, as a sex pheromone, and as an attractant for TTX-sequestering organisms is discussed. Little is known about the adaptive value of TTX in microbial producers; thus, I focus on what is known about metazoans that are purported to accumulate TTX through diet or symbioses. Much of what has been proposed is inferred based on the anatomical distribution of TTX. Direct empirical tests of these hypotheses are absent in most cases

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy