The Impact of Online Learning on Student\u27s Academic Performance

The spread of online learning has grown exponentially at every academic level and in many countries in our COVID-19 world. Due to the relatively new nature of such widespread use of online learning, little analysis or studies have been conducted on whether student performance takes a toll through this different medium. This paper aims to propose a research project targeted to study the impact of online learning on the academic performance of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) students, as compared to an in-person medium. The research will be conducted over a period of 2 years for 3 modules that are common for students across all courses. Data utilized in the study will be obtained through a survey, as well as academic performance data sourced from ERAU. The analysis will be conducted using T-test and Regression techniques to identify statistically significant impacts of student performance in online versus in-person classes. The results obtained can be an estimated general trend of student performance in various other universities which conduct a mix of in-class and online learning in this COVID-19 era. The results obtained will also serve as a framework, and as possible preliminary results for future academic research with regards to the proposed topic. The observed trend will benefit institutions in identifying the method of instruction in which they would need to refine, to raise the standards of different instructional methods to a parity

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Erratum to: Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition) (Autophagy, 12, 1, 1-222, 10.1080/15548627.2015.1100356

non present