Assessing Faculty and Student Interpretations of AACP Survey Items with Cognitive Interviewing

Objective. To use cognitive interviewing techniques to determine faculty and student interpretation of a subset of items from the AACP faculty and graduating student surveys. Methods. Students and faculty were interviewed individually in a private room. The interviewer asked each respondent for his/her interpretation of 15 randomly selected items from the graduating student survey or 20 items from the faculty survey. Results. While many items were interpreted consistently by respondents, the researchers identified several items that were either difficult to interpret or produced differing interpretations. Conclusion. Several interpretational inconsistencies and ambiguities were discovered that could compromise the usefulness of certain survey items

A glutathione-dependent formaldehyde-activating enzyme (Gfa) from Paracoccus denitrificans detected and purified via two- dimensional proton exchange NMR spectroscopy

The formation of S-hydroxymethylglutathione from formaldehyde and glutathione is a central reaction in the consumption of the cytotoxin formaldehyde in some methylotrophic bacteria as well as in many other organisms. We describe here the discovery of an enzyme from Paracoccus denitrificans that accelerates this spontaneous condensation reaction. The rates of S- hydroxymethylglutathione formation and cleavage were determined under equilibrium conditions via two-dimensional proton exchange NMR spectroscopy. The pseudo first order rate constants k(1)* were estimated from the temperature dependence of the reaction and the signal to noise ratio of the uncatalyzed reaction. At 303 K and pH 6.0 k(1)* was found to be 0.02 s(-1) for the spontaneous reaction. A 10-fold increase of the rate constant was observed upon addition of cell extract from P. denitrificans grown in the presence of methanol corresponding to a specific activity of 35 units mg(-1). Extracts of cells grown in the presence of succinate revealed a lower specific activity of 11 units mg(-1). The enzyme catalyzing the conversion of formaldehyde and glutathione was purified and named glutathione-dependent formaldehyde- activating enzyme (Gfa). The gene gfa is located directly upstream of the gene for glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the subsequent oxidation of S- hydroxymethylglutathione. Putative proteins with sequence identity to Gfa from P. denitrificans are present also in Rhodobacter sphaeroides, Sinorhizobium meliloti, and Mesorhizobium loti

Simple and Complex Diets for Early Weaned Pigs

During recent years many swine producers have adopted the practice of weaning pigs between 21 and 28 days of age. This allows for a shorter interval between farrowings, resulting in more litters per sow per year. Most research has indicated early weaned pigs perform better when fed complex diets containing some milk product, sugar, fat, oats or other ingredients compared to simple corn-soybean meal fortified diets. However, the economics of cost of feed per unit of gain has often favored the simple diets. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate pig starter diets equalized in lysine content but varying in protein content and source of ingredients when fed to pigs of approximately 28 days of age

Effects of Excess Arginine on Lysine Utilization in Weaned Pigs

This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of excess arginine on the growth, feed efficiency, and plasma and arginine levels of weanling pigs

A Subgroup Analysis of the Impact of Self-testing Frequency on Examination Scores in a Pathophysiology Course

Objective: To determine if the frequency of self-testing of course material prior to actual examination improves examination scores, regardless of the actual scores on the self-testing. Methods: Practice quizzes were randomly generated from a total of 1342 multiple-choice questions in pathophysiology and made available online for student self-testing. Intercorrelations, 2-way repeated measures ANOVA with post hoc tests, and 2-group comparisons following rank ordering, were conducted. Results: During each of 4 testing blocks, more than 85% of students took advantage of the self-testing process for a total of 7042 attempts. A consistent significant correlation (p≤0.05) existed between the number of practice quiz attempts and the subsequent examination scores. No difference in the number of quiz attempts was demonstrated compared to the first testing block. Exam scores for the first and second testing blocks were both higher than those for third and fourth blocks. Conclusion: Although self-testing strategies increase retrieval and retention, they are uncommon in pharmacy education. The results suggested that the number of self-testing attempts alone improved subsequent examination scores, regardless of the score for self-tests

Deterministic nano-assembly of a coupled quantum emitter - photonic crystal cavity system

The interaction of a single quantum emitter with its environment is a central theme in quantum optics. When placed in highly confined optical fields, such as those created in optical cavities or plasmonic structures, the optical properties of the emitter can change drastically. In particular, photonic crystal (PC) cavities show high quality factors combined with an extremely small mode volume. Efficiently coupling a single quantum emitter to a PC cavity is challenging because of the required positioning accuracy. Here, we demonstrate deterministic coupling of single Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centers to high-quality gallium phosphide PC cavities, by deterministically positioning their 50 nm-sized host nanocrystals into the cavity mode maximum with few-nanometer accuracy. The coupling results in a 25-fold enhancement of NV center emission at the cavity wavelength. With this technique, the NV center photoluminescence spectrum can be reshaped allowing for efficient generation of coherent photons, providing new opportunities for quantum science.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Disentangling the effects of environmental conditions on wintering and breeding grounds on age-specific survival rates in a trans-Saharan migratory raptor

International audienceMigratory species are subject to environmental variability occurring on breeding and wintering grounds. Estimating the relative contribution of environmental factors experienced sequentially during breeding and wintering, and their potential interaction, to the variation of survival is crucial to predict population viability of migratory species. Here we investigated this issue for the Montagu's harrier Circus pygargus, a trans‐Saharan migrant. We analysed capture‐recapture data from a 29‐yr long monitoring of wing‐tagged offspring and adults at two study sites in France (Rochefort‐RO & Maine‐et‐Loire‐ML). The study period covers a climatic shift occurring in the Sahel with increasing rainfall following a period of droughts (Sahel greening). We found that harriers’ adult survival in RO (between 1988 and 2005) varied over time and was sensitive to the interaction between the amount of rainfall in the Sahel and the annual mean breeding success, two proxies of prey availability. The occurrence of adverse conditions on breeding and wintering grounds in the same year decreased survival from 0.70‐0.77 to 0.48 ± 0.05. Juvenile survival in RO was slightly more sensitive to conditions in Europe than in the Sahel. Unexpectedly, lower survival rates were found in years with higher mean breeding success, suggesting compensatory density feedbacks may operate. By contrast, adult survival in ML, monitored between 1999 and 2017, was higher compared to RO (0.76 ± 0.03 vs. 0.66 ± 0.02), remained constant and unaffected by any proxy of prey availability. This difference seems consistent with the fact that harriers in ML experienced better and especially less variable environmental conditions during breeding and wintering seasons compared to RO. Overall, we showed that survival of a migratory bird is sensitive to the level of variability in environmental conditions and that adverse conditions on wintering grounds can amplify the negative effects of conditions during the previous breeding season on birds’ survival

Student Pharmacists’ Personal Finance Perceptions, Projected Indebtedness upon Graduation, and Career Decision-Making

Objectives: To evaluate the extent to which students’ personal finance perceptions, projected student loan indebtedness, and demographic characteristics predict post-PharmD career intentions. Methods: Students at three pharmacy colleges completed a 31-item survey instrument that assessed personal finance perceptions, self-efficacy beliefs, anticipated student loan debt upon graduation, postgraduate intentions, anticipated practice setting upon graduation, and demographic characteristics. Logistic regression models were used to examine the extent to which personal finance perceptions, student loan indebtedness, and demographic characteristics predicted postgraduate intentions and anticipated practice setting. Results: A total of 763 usable responses were obtained (response rate=90.3%). Students reported an anticipated personal student loan debt mean at graduation of $162,747±87,093 and an estimated 7.4±5.8 years to pay off non-mortgage debt post-graduation. Fifty-three percent of students reported planning to practice in a community pharmacy setting post-graduation, and 54% indicated intentions to enter practice directly. Student loan indebtedness was not a significant predictor of planning to pursue postgraduate training. There was a significant association between debt influence and pressure perceptions and pursuance of postgraduate training (aOR=0.78;p=0.009). The odds of indicating hospital (vs. chain community) pharmacy as the anticipated setting decreased 36% with every 1-point increase in debt influence and pressure perceptions (aOR=0.64;p\u3c0.001 Conclusions: Perceived debt pressure and influence predicted intention to enter practice directly (vs. pursuing postgraduate training) and selection of chain community pharmacy (vs. hospital pharmacy). Student loan indebtedness was not a significant predictor of postgraduate training intentions. Interventions that equip students to manage pressure associated with student loan debt should be explored

Engineered arrays of NV color centers in diamond based on implantation of CN- molecules through nanoapertures

We report a versatile method to engineer arrays of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in dia- mond at the nanoscale. The defects were produced in parallel by ion implantation through 80 nm diameter apertures patterned using electron beam lithography in a PMMA layer deposited on a diamond surface. The implantation was performed with CN- molecules which increased the NV defect formation yield. This method could enable the realization of a solid-state coupled-spin array and could be used for positioning an optically active NV center on a photonic microstructure.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure