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Osmosis Magazine, Spring 2017

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

Maximum Engagement, Minimum Distraction, And Knowledge Transference, Jooyoung Kim, Sharmita Lahiri

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

In the Indian academia, at the undergraduate and graduate levels, the focus on teaching “writing” is relatively new; traditional focus has been on teaching the English language or Communication Skills. The novelty of academic writing has called for rigorous efforts in its operation in the Indian context. In addition, the virtual learning environment required by the pandemic posed the serious challenge of adopting the academic writing pedagogy to the new format of the virtual classroom. This article showcases successful strategies adopted for graduate and undergraduate foundation writing courses at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, which ensured maximum engagement and …

Transformative Learning Outcomes: Shifting The Learning Outcome Conversation From Assessment To Design, Mat Duerden, Jamin Rowan

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

What if the focus of learning outcomes shifted from telling students what they will know at the end of a course to who they will become? Learning outcomes have drifted away from informing curriculum design to providing parameters for external assessment. This article reviews this shift along with a proposal to reimagine learning outcomes as transformative learning outcomes. It discusses previous work on transformative learning outcomes and proposes a new conceptual definition: learning outcomes that articulate habits of mind or ways of being that students will develop because of a learning experience or sequence of learning experiences. Such learning outcomes …

Uncertainty As A Catalyst For Growth: Learning Through Dialogue, Questioning, And Reflection, Eric Jennings, Hans Kishel

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Higher education institutions strive to turn out graduates that are well-rounded, engaged, and civic-minded individuals no matter their discipline or major. The authors believe that more can be done to ensure that this goal is attained. To address this issue, two librarians designed a learner-centered course that embraced the uncertainty found in today’s information landscape through the use of dialog, questioning, and reflection. This article will describe the social and educational atmosphere at colleges that necessitates looking deeper into how and why colleges and universities need to build these new types of courses to meet their goals. From there, it …

Examining How The Pandemic Impacted Opinions For Course Formats, Angela Kelling, Nicholas J. Kelling, Leebrian Gaskins

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Previous research has produced mixed results related to online courses with selection often driven by their benefits. However, some students and instructors were avoiding this format because of their drawbacks. Given that the pandemic forced a shift to online education, those reluctant individuals gained experience with online courses. Being forced into a particular format could lead to acceptance because of the experience or resentment because of the lack of choice. Therefore, it is important to examine if the pandemic altered opinions of online courses. The current study was a replication of previous pre-pandemic work (Kelling et al., 2019) and examined …

Academic Honesty During The 2020 Covid-19 Shutdown: Perspectives From Instructors And Students In Higher Education, M'Lyn Spinks, Stacy L. Kluge, Jody L. Langdon, Mike Metzler, Tiffany A. Esmat

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

The higher education Spring semester of 2020 was heavily impacted by stakeholders' calls for a complete shutdown of in-person gatherings. This call to action forced instructors and students to transition from face-to-face education to the virtual, online classroom. Institutions were given a few days to 2 weeks for this transition. During this crisis, 14 faculty from across Georgia formed a research consortium to investigate the perspectives of instructors and students on multiple topics, including academic honesty. As part of a mixed method approach, surveys were distributed via email across the university system, which included both quantitative items and narrative, open-text …

The Use And Functions Of Students’ Personal Stories In Online Discussion Forums, Nicole Albada, Sydney Jawitz, Payton Adams, Pauline Yang

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Personal stories serve learning and socioemotional functions in teaching. Instructors share personal stories with students to promote engagement, foster learning, and create a sense of community. Students may also share personal stories with each other for similar reasons. Thus, the current study explored how often, and why, students (N = 79) shared personal stories as well as responded to other students’ stories in online discussion forums (ODFs) that were part of a remotely taught adult development and aging class. The students ODF posts (f = 1,354) were content-coded for: (i) whether they contained a personal story, (ii) were a direct …

Student Group Work In Widely Interdisciplinary Teams, Emanuel Istrate, Shawn Soobramanie

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Group work is often used in university courses. This article examines group work in a widely interdisciplinary holography course that combines both art and science, for students from the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. In these interdisciplinary teams, how much specialization of labor (dividing work according to students’ pre-existing abilities or personal interests) is acceptable? We present student survey responses regarding their attitudes toward interdisciplinary group work, and their practices in dividing the work, to determine how much specialization of labor is taking place within the interdisciplinary teams. The surveys indicate a mix of approaches among groups concerning the …

Evaluation Of Teacher, Self-Assessment, Versus Combined Feedback To Increase Students’ Behavioral Observation Skills, Jie Zhang, Marcie N. Desrochers, Michael Fensken

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Feedback is an important component of online instruction. Few experiments have examined combined types of feedback (teacher feedback or student self-assessment) compared to extra practice with each on student learning. In this study, the experimental effectiveness of four methods of feedback delivery on students’ acquisition of behavioral observation skills was evaluated—teacher feedback only (TT condition), student self-assessment only (SS condition), teacher-then-student self-assessment (TS condition), or student self-assessment-then-teacher (ST condition). The results, both for a random sample of individual learners as well as at an overall group level, suggest that the SS condition was superior to the TS condition. In the …

Professor Oppressors: College Classrooms As Spaces Of Racist And Sexist Microaggressions, Ellen Halvorson, Jörg Vianden

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

This article describes minoritized college students’ encounters with faculty-generated or -condoned racial and gender microaggressions in college classrooms. The Racial Microaggressions Model (Pérez Huber & Solorzano, 2015) and the Taxonomy of Gender Microaggressions (Capodilupo et al., 2010) were used to inform the experiences of microaggressions of 88 college students with minoritized identities at seven institutions around the U.S. Based on the findings, the authors delivered recommendations for teaching and learning in four areas: faculty awareness and training; classroom management; policy, assessment, and evaluation of teaching; and improved mechanisms for student feedback.

In The Age Of Garcetti: Public Teachers' Free Speech Rights Within The Transgender-Student Debates, Hannah Bradvica

Pepperdine Law Review

A culture war over gender identity is playing out on the school playground, as conservative lawmakers across the country have introduced and implemented various pieces of anti-trans legislation focused on stripping away the privacy and expression of transgender students’ identities. An important question within this legislation remains: may public school teachers be exempt from following these policies? This Comment examines teachers’ free speech rights within two contexts: mandated parental notification of transgender-student policies and guidelines requiring teachers to adhere to students’ preferred pronouns. It considers the viability of compelled-speech claims brought by teachers, applying First Amendment jurisprudence and Garcetti v. …

What We’Ve Done We’Ve Done Together: Collaboration, Agency And Student Partnership, Katy Woolfenden

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

The University of Manchester (UoM) has one of the largest and most diverse student populations in the UK. Since 2013 the UoM Library has led the way within the sector by developing and seamlessly integrating a student team into its ways of working, in order to ensure its resources and services clearly reflect the full range of student voices within the student community. This paper will reflect on how the student team has evolved and grown over the last decade and celebrate the influence the team has had over the development and delivery of awarded winning services, like My Learning …

Improving Research Services In The Academic Library: A Case Study, Fraymon Joy J. Cruz, Marie Antoinette Dp Villaflor

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

This study explored and documented the conduct of library use among the University of the Philippines Diliman, College of Science (CS) faculty members as well as their research needs and activities with the goal of formulating practical, sustainable and adaptable solutions to better support them in their research workflow. And how these results affect the library liaison’s roles and services in their respective libraries. The researchers have arranged group interview with the nine library liaisons to gain a better understanding of how faculty members utilize existing library services in their research activities, what library services best support their research activities, …

Amplifying Underrepresented Voices: Advancing Citation Justice In Scholarly Communication, Heather Cunningham

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

Voices of scholars are raised and amplified through the academic currency of citations. However, not all voices are heard and shared equally. Citation justice is an increasingly recognized issue within academic circles, focusing on the under-citation of women and people of color. This systemic bias, evident across many disciplines, impacts career progression, grant acquisition, and ultimately diversity among decision-makers. Citation practices are pivotal in shaping academic discourse, research, and education. Despite the significant influence of these practices, there is currently no comprehensive method to assess citation biases based on the demographics of authors. Efforts to measure diversity through computational analysis …

Osmosis Magazine, Fall 2016, Alex Long, Kristen Rubenstein, Tony Da Lomba, Mary Burns, Liana Saleh, Nicole D'Ambrosio, Maron Tarekegn, Adrianna Guillard, Maggie Michel, Cassie Gilboy, Annie Scalet, Carew Bartley, Colette Buser, Amanda Focht, Ian Gallagher, Adriana Grimes, Helene Keirns, Miriam Mcbride, Joe Ortolani, Annie Ryan, Danielle Storozynsky, Niamh Sutherburg

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

The Role Of The Female Reproductive Cycle In Social Communication And Relevance To Mental Health, Julissa Amaro Castillo, Fernando Dominguez, Ariana Hinojosa, Giselle Padilla, Mario Gil

Research Symposium

The female reproductive cycle is characterized by fluctuating hormones, including estrogens and progesterone, that are involved in reproductive health; however, they have also been linked to disorders like Premenstrual syndrome (PMS), Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), mood swings, depression and others. The goal of this study is to use the Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) as an animal model to examine the influence of the reproductive cycle and hormones on behavior. Scent-marking activity known as flank marking is exhibited by territorial or sociable animals. In essence, animals mark their territory or convey information such as reproductive status by rubbing their flanks or …

Exploring The Mechanisms Of Varicella-Zoster Virus Pathogenesis And Its Potential Role In Oncogenesis, Fernando Cisneros, Blake Martin

Research Symposium

Background: Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a highly prevalent pathogen primarily recognized for causing chickenpox during primary infection and herpes zoster (HZ), also known as shingles, upon reactivation. While post-infectious complications of VZV, such as encephalitis, pneumonia, and post-herpetic neuralgia, are well-established, recent large population-based studies suggest that HZ may increase the risk of occult cancers. Emerging evidence suggests that VZV may modulate key oncogenic pathways, such as the inhibition of apoptosis, alteration of cell cycle regulatory enzymes, and interference with immunosurveillance, which could potentially promote cancer development. These findings indicate that VZV’s role in cancer biology may involve direct cellular …

Antifungal Drugs As Emerging Candidates For Prostate Cancer Treatment, Eswara Nhk Ghali, Rahul Tiwari, Ryan Jisoo Chang, Sung Yun Jung, Vivek Kumar Kashyap, Anupam Dhasmana, Neeraj Chauhan, Subhash Chauhan, Murali Yallapu

Research Symposium

Background: Prostate cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in men, with approximately 299,010 new cases and 35,250 deaths projected in the United States in 2024. Despite advances in therapeutic options, including radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and biologics, significant long-term side effects challenge patient quality of life. Repurposing FDA-approved antifungal agents offers a novel approach to overcoming these limitations and can serve as a source of potential therapeutics against prostate cancer.

Methods: This study evaluated the anticancer potential of antifungal drugs, such as natamycin, terbinafine, ketoconazole, clotrimazole, and miconazole, against prostate cancer cell lines. Cytotoxicity, colony formation, invasion, and …

Effects Of Arginine-Vasopressin In The Brain On Cardiovascular Function In A Psychosocial Stress Animal Model, Esmeralda Lopez-Garcia, Ariana V. Hinojosa, Esperanza I. Alaniz, Fernando Dominguez, Giselle Padilla, Mario Gil

Research Symposium

Background: Psychosocial stress impacts cardiovascular health, increasing the risk of events like myocardial infarction (MI), stress cardiomyopathy, and neuropsychiatric disorders, including Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Anxiety. However, our understanding of the biological mechanisms that connect psychosocial stress with negative cardiovascular and psychological outcomes remains incomplete. Arginine-vasopressin (AVP) is linked to both mental and physical health by regulating social behavior, blood pressure, and anxiety-related behaviors. This study investigates the potential cardioprotective effects of the neuropeptide AVP, in an effort to generate evidence that it may strengthen heart function and lessen the severity of adverse cardiovascular events caused by stress, brain …

Biocomposite Adsorbent Of Grafted Chitosan-Benzaldehyde/Lactobacillus Casei Bacteria For Removal Of Acid Red 88 Dye: Box-Benken Design Optimization And Mechanism Approach, Hasan M. Aghaa, Salis A. Musa, Ahmad Hapiz, Ruihong Wu, Khansaa Al-Essa, Ali Mohammed Saleh, Abdallah Reghioua

AUIQ Complementary Biological System

Herein, biohybrid biosorbent material was produced from grafting chitosan benzaldehyde/Lactobacillus casei (CHS-BZ/LAC) for the removal of anionic dye acid red 88 (AR88). CHS-BZ/LAC was fabricated using a hydrothermal process under the condition of 100 °C in an oven for 6 h. The optimization of AR88 dye adsorption by CHS-BZ/LAC was conducted by employing Box Bahnken design (BBD). The code and value of parameters used in this study were CHS-BZ/LAC dosage (A: 0.02-0.1 g/L), dye solution pH (B: 4-10), and contact time (C: 10-40 min). The BBD design shows that the highest removal of …

The Antelope, University Of Nebraska At Kearney

The Antelope

No abstract provided.

Will Stub1 Be The Next Target For Pulmonary Hypertension Therapy Development?, Yuanjun Shen

Pharmacy Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Take The Fear Away: Effective Management Of Traumatic Dental Injuries, Dr. Anne O'Connell

Metro Denver Dental Society Articulator Magazine

The International Association of Dental Traumatology (IADT) guidelines provide valuable, evidence-based recommendations for dental teams treating traumatic dental injuries (TDI) in children in adolescents. This article highlights key principles for emergency care, injury stabilization, pulp therapy, and patient communication, emphasizing the importance of staying informed on evolving best practices to improve outcomes for young patients.

Biophysical Insights Into Immunoglobulin Interactions With Influenza Viral Proteins, Yuanyuan He

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Influenza viruses cause a significant burden across the globe leading to thousands of mortalities annually. It remains challenging to acquire long-lasting immunity against influenza viruses due to the rapid rate of mutation within circulating strains and limited protection provided by seasonal flu vaccines. While the generation of influenza-specific antibodies provides a major source of protection against viral infection, our understanding of how biophysical properties of antibody-antigen interaction influence antibody protection against influenza viruses remains elusive. To address these challenges, we first developed imaging-based approaches in combination with computational models to elucidate the extent and mechanism of antibody inhibition of influenza …

Biophysical Insights Into Immunoglobulin Interactions With Influenza Viral Proteins, Yuanyuan He

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Influenza viruses cause a significant burden across the globe leading to thousands of mortalities annually. It remains challenging to acquire long-lasting immunity against influenza viruses due to the rapid rate of mutation within circulating strains and limited protection provided by seasonal flu vaccines. While the generation of influenza-specific antibodies provides a major source of protection against viral infection, our understanding of how biophysical properties of antibody-antigen interaction influence antibody protection against influenza viruses remains elusive. To address these challenges, we first developed imaging-based approaches in combination with computational models to elucidate the extent and mechanism of antibody inhibition of influenza …

Insights On Avian Life History And Physiological Traits In Central Africa: Ant-Following Species Have Young-Dominated Age Ratios In Secondary Forest, Panagiotis Nikolaou, Billi A. Krochuk, Patricia F. Rodrigues, Kristin E. Brzeski, Susana L. Mufumu, Silvestre E. Malanza, Et. Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

The Congo Basin rainforest and adjacent Lower Guinea Forest constitute the second largest tract of lowland tropical rainforest in the world. As with the rest of the continent, human population is increasing rapidly and forest degradation is ubiquitous. Forest degradation through logging has pervasive negative effects on ecosystems, but selective logging is considered less impactful than clearcutting. Recent research in Afrotropical forest shows that certain avian species and guilds are more affected by selective logging than others (e.g., specialist insectivores such as followers of Dorylus driver ants); however, the mechanisms behind these patterns are poorly known. In an eight-year mist-netting …

Coastal Environments: Lidar Mapping Of Copper Tailings Impacts, Particle Retention Of Copper, Leaching, And Toxicity, W. Charles Kerfoot, Gary Swain, Robert Regis, Varsha K. Raman, Colin N. Brooks, Chris Cook, Et. Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

Tailings generated by mining account for the largest world-wide waste from industrial activities. As an element, copper is relatively uncommon, with low concentrations in sediments and waters, yet is very elevated around mining operations. On the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, USA, jutting out into Lake Superior, 140 mines extracted native copper from the Portage Lake Volcanic Series, part of an intercontinental rift system. Between 1901 and 1932, two mills at Gay (Mohawk, Wolverine) sluiced 22.7 million metric tonnes (MMT) of copper-rich tailings (stamp sands) into Grand (Big) Traverse Bay. About 10 MMT formed a beach that has migrated 7 km …

March 5, 2025 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Fostering & Understanding Diversity Within The Ant Microbiome & Research Group, Manuela O. Ramalho

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Dr. Manu Ramalho of the Biology Department presents: Fostering and understanding diversity: within the ant microbiome and our research group.

2025-03-05 Muslim Students Open Up About Ramadan Experience At Seattle U, Hadia Noor Ahmed

The Spectator Online

No abstract provided.