Assistant Professor Research Articles

Construction of radiation protection training program for nurses using virtual reality

There are also risks associated with X-rays as they are a form of radiation and although precautions are taken to protect patients, exposure of radiology personnel can be neglected. Senior Assistant Professor Tomihiko Daioku, from Chubu University, has been working to educate nurses about radiation in the workplace as many nurses may not have important knowledge about radiation and correct radiation protection methods and experience fear and anxiety about exposure. Given that nursing training courses are intensive, opportunities to learn about radiation are limited. Daioku believes it is vital to provide nurses with more education on radiology and equip them to stay safer in the workplace and has been developing an education programme to raise awareness of radiation and precautionary measures that can be taken by nurses. He has been using projection mapping and VR as useful educational tools for understanding the characteristics of invisible radiation, ensuring the teachings are fun and experience-based. As Daioku found that clinical experience was essential in recalling situations within the VR environment, he has been focusing on practising nurses, building a programme based on Kolbâ–™s experiential learning model. He has confirmed the efficacy of his teaching materials and wants to determine how to utilise these for nursing students without any clinical experience, with the additional hurdle that they have heavy workloads and therefore little time for lengthy education programmes.

Comprehensive identification of molecules at synapses and non-synaptic cell-adhesion structure

The brain is incredibly complex and there is so much we donâ–™t know about this organ and its mechanisms. Assistant Professor Tetsuya Takano, School of Medicine, Keio University, Japan, is working to better understand neuroscience. One area of interest is neurons and astrocytes; specifically elucidating the protein component functions in each neural circuit. He and his team are working to shed light on the pathological mechanism of psychiatric and neurological disorders and, in doing so, enabling improved treatments and benefiting patients across the globe. The team has developed spatio-temporal proteome technologies: TurboID-surface and Split-TurboID, that can not only explain the formation and operation principle of neural networks, but also provide essential knowledge for research into psychiatric and neurological diseases. To overcome limitations associated with conventional proteome analysis, Takano and the team recently developed a new in vivo proximal-dependent biotin labelling (BioID) method. Using this, the researchers can label and analyse adjacent proteins with biotin, which enables them to comprehensively analyse local protein components within cells with extremely high spatial resolution. The team has used the BioID method to develop the Split-TurboID method and an innovative spatial proteome technique for searching for molecular groups among heterogeneous cells that makes it possible to comprehensively analyse the protein components in the vicinity of the adhesion site. Using the Split-TurboID method, the team has comprehensively searched for functional molecules between astrocytes and neurons and revealed that astrocytes directly control the formation of inhibitory synapses and neuronal activity in neurons via a novel tripartite synaptic molecule known as NRCAM.

Closing the Gender Gap Among Canadian Ophthalmology Societies

ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate gender distribution in Canadian ophthalmology societies’ leadership and to determine associations between gender, academic productivity, and institutional rank. Methods We identified members and assessed their gender composition using publicly available updated webpages. SCOPUS database was used to gather research metrics. Results In this study, data was collected from 12 Canadian ophthalmology societies, which included 277 executive committee members. Of these, 70.5% (196) were male and 29.1% (81) were female (p < .0001). Males were significantly more prevalent in presidential leadership roles (39 males vs. 23 females, p = .02), while females were more represented in other leadership categories (77 females vs. 61 males, p = .03). The Canadian Ophthalmological Society (COS) showed an upward trend in female representation from 19.2% in 2016 to 42.3% in 2021. Research productivity showed a positive correlation with society leadership rank, with a correlation coefficient of 0.732 for the m-index (p < .001) and 0.356 for the h-index (p < .05). Academic rank was also positively correlated with society leadership rank, with a correlation coefficient of 0.536 (p < .001). There was no significant difference in h-index (12.7 ± 1.0 for males vs. 13.8 ± 1.5 for females, p = .85) or number of publications (48.6 ± 5.1 for males vs. 60.0 ± 11.3 for females, p = .83) between male and female executive members, but females had a higher m-index (0.67 ± 0.05) compared to males (0.58 ± 0.03, p < .05). In academic rank, males were more likely to be associate professors (25% vs. 5% for females, p = .0001) or instructors (14.8% vs. 6.3% for females, p = .05), while a higher proportion of females held assistant professor positions (47.5% for females vs. 30.1% for males, p = .006). Conclusion In this study, we found that males were more prevalent in executive positions, particularly in presidential roles among Canadian ophthalmology societies. The gender distribution in leadership reflected the gender composition of practicing ophthalmologists in Canada. There was a positive correlation between research productivity and society rank, as well as academic position and society rank. Male and female executive members had similar h-index and number of publications, but females had a higher m-index. These findings highlight the need for continued efforts to address gender disparities in ophthalmology leadership.

SYMPOSIUM REPORT MALAYSIAN ASSOCIATION OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS (MAAL) SYMPOSIUM ON “PROMOTING INNOVATIVE LEARNING-ORIENTED FEEDBACK PRACTICE”

The authors had the privilege of co-chairing the symposium titled “Promoting Innovative Learning-Oriented Feedback Practice”, which took place online, hosted by the Malaysian Association of Applied Linguistics (MAAL) on 19th August 2023. The event featured distinguished speakers including Lawrence Jun Zhang, a Professor from the University of Auckland; Junjie Gavin Wu, a Lecturer from Macao Polytechnic University; Kayatri Vasu, an Assistant Professor from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman; Orlando Xiao Xie, a PhD Candidate from Universiti Putra Malaysia; Wei Wei, an Associate Professor from Macao Polytechnic University; and Greg Parry, the Co-Founder and CEO of Global Services in Education. With a virtual audience of over 100 participants, the symposium delved into various captivating topics. Lawrence Jun Zhang shared insights on written corrective feedback (WCF) and metacognition, while Junjie Gavin Wu explored the intersection of feedback and technology. Kayatri Vasu’s presentation revolved around self-regulated learning (SRL), whereas Orlando Xiao Xie shed light on evaluative judgement. Wei Wei delved into the realm of mobile applications in vocabulary learning, and Greg Parry discussed authentic quality standards. The symposium provided a platform for dynamic discussions and valuable knowledge exchange, advancing the discourse on effective feedback practices and their impact on learning.

The people behind the papers - Matt Matrongolo and Max Tischfield.

Cortical folding is a highly regulated process involving amplification of neuroprogenitor cells, increased neurogenesis and migration of neurons along the tangential axis. A new paper in Development investigates the signalling processes behind cortical folding in mice, which have a smooth brain surface (lissencephaly) that evolved from the loss of folding present in gyrencephalic (folded cortex) mammals. To hear more about the story behind the paper, we caught up with the first author Matt Matrongolo and his supervisor Max Tischfield, Assistant Professor at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Where Is Utopia in a Time of Disaster and Catastrophe?

In search of new literary voices that might present an answer to Amitav Ghosh’s 2016 lament on the failure of contemporary literary fiction to find forms that adequately express the multiple challenges of the Anthropocene, I came across a review of Allegra Hyde’s debut novel in the Los Angeles Times. The novel’s title, Eleutheria, was suggestive enough to pique my interest: etymologically, it evokes the concepts of liberty and freedom; geographically, it calls to mind the small island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas that was colonized in the late 1640s by a group of English Puritans known as the Eleutheran Adventurers. Add to this that Willa Marks, the novel’s narrator-protagonist, is a twenty-two-year-old member of Generation Z, the same generation as the students we teach these days, and Eleutheria (2022) becomes a worthy candidate for an American Studies syllabus. What kind of narrative tapestry was the author able to weave out of the materials of history, climate change, and a young generation’s growing frustration with the ecological and political state of the world? I was ready to discuss these and similar questions with a group of students in a seminar on Anglophone Literature in the Anthropocene during the summer semester 2023. Serendipitously, the son of an American colleague and long-time friend studied with Allegra Hyde at Oberlin College, where she is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing. He suggested that she might be willing to discuss her novel with a group of German students. When I issued the invitation to join us digitally for one session, she accepted. I interviewed Hyde, who is also the author of two short story collections – Of This New World (2016) and The Last Catastrophe (2023)– a few days later. The following text is the transcript of that conversation. It has been edited for readability.

Orthopedic Sub-Specialties Vary in Representation of Female Fellowship Program Directors

Background Female representation varies among subspecialities as far as existing surgeons and entry of female candidates. Mentorship has been identified as a factor affecting women’s decision to choose a sub-specialty. Orthopaedic fellowship program director gender is an important factor for female applicants in choosing a subspecialty has not been analyzed. Purpose To report on fellowship program director (PD) genders within orthopedic subspecialties and quantify the number of training positions represented by female PDs. Also, to compare the academic ranks and h-indices, of male and female PDs within each specialty. Methods Data was collected by utilizing the San Francisco Match program data, subspecialty program lists, and specific fellowship pages. For each subspecialty, we calculated the percentage of fellowship program and fellowship positions led by female program directors. We compared academic ranks and h-indices between male and female program directors. Statistical significance was defined as a P-value of &lt;0.05. Results Female program directors led 4.7% of programs and 3.4% of fellowship positions. Female leadership varied by subspecialties, highest in orthopedic oncology (20% programs, 18.5% positions) and pediatric orthopedics (13.3% program, 9.6% positions). Lowest female representation in sports (2.2% programs, 1.2% positions) and joints (0.9% programs, 0.5% positions). Female fellowship PDs were more likely to be assistant professors than their male counterparts (39% vs. 22%), and less likely to be full professors (17% vs, 33%), but these differences were not statistically significant (P=0.13). In the 6 subspecialities for which an H-indices was calculated, 5/6 subspecialties there was not significant difference in h-indices. Conclusion Women remain underrepresented in the roles as orthopedic fellowship program directors there is significant variation amongst the subspecialities. Female program directors did not have a significantly different academic rank and H-indices did not differ significantly by program director gender in 5/6 subspecialities.

Analysis of Gender and Race in Pharmacy Faculty and Administrators

ObjectiveThe objective of this report is to identify and characterize the relative likelihood of women and racially minoritized pharmacy faculty being promoted, advancing within leadership roles, and earning comparable salaries. MethodsData from the 2010–2021 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Profile of Pharmacy Faculty surveys were analyzed to compare odds ratios for promotion, leadership roles, and salary gaps of pharmacy faculty according to race and gender. Changes in the odds ratios over time were characterized by linear regression and predictions about when and if equality would be achieved according to current trends were calculated. ResultsCompared to White male counterparts, faculty identifying as women, Black, Hispanic, or Asian had a significantly lower odds ratio of promotion to associate or full professor. Women and Asian faculty also had a lower likelihood of promotion from assistant to associate or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) dean. No demographics studied were more likely than White men to advance in rank or attain associate or CEO dean leadership positions. Furthermore, negative salary gaps for women emerge after promotion from assistant professor, becoming significant and continuing to widen at the associate (−$20,419) and CEO dean (−$37,495) level. ConclusionDespite attention to matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion, female and racially minoritized faculty continue to experience lower rates of promotion, leadership advancement, and wages compared to White male colleagues. These results have negative consequences for recruiting and retaining talented faculty and students, and compromise the benefits that a diverse faculty is known to provide on student learning outcomes.

The importance of teacher awareness of student mental health in the EFL classroom

The primary goal of this paper is to present, examine and exemplify the versatility and inclusiveness of the term ‘mental health’, i.e. the role of mental health as an integral component and affective factor in learning English as a foreign language. The most common mental health disorders and their early signs and symptoms are listed and described. Furthermore, the importance of teacher awareness of student mental health in the EFL classroom is elaborated as well as what and how much teachers should know about mental health and bullying so as to recognize and address them if need arises. It can even be said that the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures exacerbated this issue, and a suggestion to move forward could be building student resilience. Not only do teachers but also parents and guardians play a crucial role in their children's education, so how they can help protect their children's mental health has been additionally discussed. This paper will enrich the existing pool of theory on student mental health with the results and discussion from research conducted via interviews among 50 EFL teachers from various high schools in Skopje (North Macedonia), concerning their views on teacher awareness in respect to student mental health in the EFL classroom. The interview responses show an optimistic trend of increase of teacher interest in student mental health and empathy for students, albeit lack of institutional support. It is hoped that this paper will open avenues of thought for EFL teachers to probe even more into mental health in the EFL classroom. It is also important to acknowledge that while the overarching objective is to foster and promote mental health awareness among all educators across the board, this paper distinctly accentuates the significance within the domain of teaching EFL. This emphasis stems from the authors’ perspective: one being an aspiring EFL teacher, and the other currently holding the position of an Assistant Professor (tertiary education). The aspiration is to highlight EFL teachers as influential figures capable of catalyzing transformative change for the future. / Keywords: mental health, bullying, resilience, students, awareness, EFL classroom

Finding the Potholes in Academic Career Pathways for Underrepresented Groups in Otolaryngology.

To assess inequities in representation among ranks and odds of promotion by race in academic otolaryngology. Cross-sectional study. USacademic medical centers. Demographic data was collected for medical students, residents, and faculty in the Association of American Medical Colleges and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education databases for the academic year 2020 to 2021. The rank equity index (REI) was used to make pairwise comparisons between ranks to determine groups' representation between levels. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) demonstrating the likelihood that an individual of a particular rank/race would advance in their academic career were determined. Representation comparing medical students with full professors for black, Latine, and Asian otolaryngologists was below parity (REI: 0.27, 0.85, 0.85, respectively). Black (OR: 0.20, CI: 0.15, 0.26), Latine (OR: 0.61, CI: 0.50, 0.75), and Asian (OR: 0.62, CI: 0.55, 0.71) medical students all faced lower odds of becoming otolaryngology residents compared to their white counterparts. Similar findings occurred when comparing resident and assistant professor representation. American Indian/Alaskan Native (AIAN) and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NHPI) REIs and ORs could not be assessed as only 1 self-reported AIAN and no NHPI faculty are present in the studied data. Underrepresented in Medicine and Asian physicians faced worsening representation at each rung of the academic otolaryngology ladder. The greatest losses occurred when medical students transitioned to residents and residents transitioned to assistant professors. AIAN and NH faculty were absent in otolaryngology, indicating vital targets for recruitment efforts.

Characteristics of school psychology faculty in 2021.

Although racial, ethnic, and linguistically minoritized school-aged students within the United States are increasing in population, school psychologists have historically been predominantly white, monolingual females. Diversity within the field of school psychology is important for improving students' achievement and postsecondary success, particularly as it relates to underrepresented students. Research shows that the diversity of school psychology faculty is important for the recruitment and retention of minoritized graduate students. However, demographic information within school psychology has only been calculated within the context of memberships to psychological organizations (e.g., the National Association of School Psychologists), which could underestimate the actual diversity of school psychology faculty currently in the profession. The purpose of this study was to collect information on the demographic characteristics of school psychology faculty as of 2021. A total of 429 school psychology trainers completed a brief web-based survey in which they self-identified their employment characteristics, gender identity, sexual orientation, racial-ethnic identity, (dis)ability status, and languages spoken. At the time of the survey, most of the sample were employed as full professors (30.5%) or assistant professors (29.4%). Results demonstrated that majority of the sample identified as white (78.6%), cisgender female (66.2%), heterosexual (87.2%), non(dis)abled (95.1%), and monolingual English speaking (83.9%). Faculty of color were more likely to report a higher percentage of time spent teaching as compared to white faculty. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Robert Letsinger and the Evolution of Oligonucleotide Synthesis.

This retrospective summarizes a presentation given at the symposium "Bob Letsinger, PhD-100 Years of History" on September 28, 2021 as part of the 17th annual meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (OTS). In it I look back at my encounters with Robert Lewis Letsinger (1921-2014) while at Northwestern University as Assistant Professor between 1995 and 2000.

Preface

International Conference on Sustainable Practices in Engineering & Technology (IC-SPET’23) is the AICTE sponsored first international Conference organised by Department of Civil Engineering of Sree Buddha College of Engineering, Pattoor, from 14th to 16th June, 2023 with a focal theme on Sustainability in Civil Engineering. The sub themes were Structural Engineering & Sustainable Construction Technology, Water Resource & Environmental Engineering, & Transportation Engineering, Modelling & Computational Techniques in Civil Engineering and GIS application in Civil Engineering. The conference is planned and organized with an objective of providing a platform and conducive environment for the participants to share innovations in Engineering and Technology and to form international relationships among the researchers involved in Engineering and Technology.The three-day international conference was conducted from 14th June, 2023 to 16th June, 2023 in hybrid mode. The conference was inaugurated by the chief guest Dr. N.P. Rajamane, Professor, Scientist, Founder & Former Head (a) Centre for Advanced Concrete Research (CACR), SRM IST (b) Advanced Materials Lab (AML), CSIR-SERC. Renowned national and international speakers such as Dr. N. P. Rajamane (Scientist, Founder & Former Head - (a)CACR, SRM IST (b) AML, CSIR-SERC), Dr. Kamal Laksiri (Governor, Region 10, ASCE), Dr. Sumi Siddiqua (Associate Professor, The University of British Columbia, Canada), Dr. Tanmay Basak (Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Madras) and Dr. Vinu Unnikrishnan (Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, West Texas, USA) has delivered keynote address on sustainable practices in diverse fields of engineering.To IC-SPET’23, 103 technical papers from various institutions within and outside the state were submitted, out of which 65 papers accepted for presentation. And 17 papers were selected to include in this proceeding of conference through meticulous review process performed by experts in the field.We would like to greatly acknowledge the active contribution of keynote speakers, session chairs, reviewers, authors and participants towards the success of the conference. We express our indebted gratitude to Prof. K. Sasikumar, Hon'ble Chairman of the Sree Buddha Group of Institutions, Prof. V. Prasad (Secretary) and Sri. A. Sunil Kumar (Treasurer) of the Sree Buddha Educational Society, Dr. K. Krishnakumar, the Principal of Sree Buddha College of Engineering and all members of Sree Buddha Educational Society for their invaluable guidance and support for the successful coordination of the event. We appreciate the efforts of the faculty members, staff, and student volunteers of the Department of Civil Engineering, who worked as a team and shared responsibilities for the successful coordination.We would like to acknowledge the financial assistance received from AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) for organizing the conference. We express our sincere gratitude to all the associating organisations and institutions such as ASCE, IEI Kollam local center, ICI Kochi center, Habilete learning solutions, Indian Institute of Infrastructure and Construction, Qcrete and T. R. Associates for their timely assistance. Finally, we express our sincere thanks to the team of IOP Conference series lead by Cat Leyland and Rachelle Morris for bringing out this proceedings.

Naturalism in the Christian Imagination: Providence and Causality in Early Modern England

Naturalism in the Christian Imagination: Providence and Causality in Early Modern England

Positive Psychology in Christian Perspective: Foundations, Concepts, and Application

Positive Psychology in Christian Perspective: Foundations, Concepts, and Application

Navigating Faith and Science

Navigating Faith and Science

The 2023 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award

This year’s Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award recipient is Dmitry Kurouski, an assistant professor of chemistry at the Texas A&amp;M University in College Station, Texas. From his early research days as a graduate student at State University of New York in Albany, Kurouski’s research has emphasized the development and application of innovative Raman spectroscopy methods for noninvasive, nondestructive analyses of biological materials.

Image Quality Assessment Using a Convolutional Neural Network for Clinical Skin Images

Background The quality of the images received for teledermatology evaluation is often suboptimal, with up to 50% of patients providing images that are poorly lit, off-center, or blurry. To ensure a similar level of care to in-person consultations, high-quality images are essential. Objective The aim of this study is to develop an image quality analysis tool to assess patient- and primary care physician (PCP)–derived images using a deep learning model leveraging multiple instance learning and ordinal regression for model predictions. Methods The data set used for this study was acquired from patient-derived images submitted to the Department of Dermatology, Duke University, between August 21, 2018, and December 31, 2019, and PCP-derived images between March 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. Seven dermatology faculty members with a designation of professor, associate professor, and assistant professor evaluated 400 images each, and 2 dermatology residents evaluated 400 images, assuring that each image had 4 different quality labels. We used a pretrained model VGG16 architecture, further fine-tuned by updating weights based on the input data. The images were taken with cell phones (patients) or cameras (PCPs) in RGB scale, with the resolution being 76 pixels per inch for both height and width, and the average pixel size of the image being 2840×2793 (SD 986×983; 1471 inch2, SD 707 inch2). The optimal threshold was determined using the Youden index, which represents the best trade-off between sensitivity and specificity and balance the number of true positives and true negatives in the classification results. Once the model predicts the rank, the ordinal labels are transformed to binary labels by using a majority vote as the goal is to distinguish between 2 distinct categories (good vs bad quality) and not predict quality as a continuous variable. Results Based on the Youden index, we achieved a positive predicted value of 0.906, implying that the model will predict 90% of the good-quality images as such, while 10% of the poor-quality images are predicted as being of good quality to enhance clinical utility, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the test set at 0.885 (95% CI 0.838-0.933) and sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value (NPV) of 0.829, 0.784, and 0.645, respectively. Further evaluation on independent validation consisting of 300 images from patients and 150 images from PCPs revealed AUCs of 0.864 (95% CI 0.818-0.909) and 0.902 (95% CI 0.85-0.95), respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predicted value, and NPV for the 300 images were 0.827, 0.800, 0.959, and 0.450, respectively. Conclusions This study shows a practical approach to improve image quality for clinical decision-making. While patients and PCPs may have to capture additional images (due to lower NPV), this is offset by the reduced workload and improved efficiency of clinical teams due to the receipt of higher-quality images. Additional images can also be useful if all images (good or poor) are transmitted to medical records. Future studies need to focus on real-time clinical validation of our results. Conflicts of Interest None declared.

Assistant Professor of Food Sciences in Department of Food and Nutrition Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya Indore Madhya Pradesh India.

Assistant Professor of Food Sciences in Department of Food and Nutrition Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya Indore Madhya Pradesh India.

Gender Differences in Academic Rank, Leadership, and Awards Among NIH Grant Recipients in Diagnostic Radiology.

Objective: Females have been traditionally underrepresented in academia across multiple medical specialties, including radiology. The present study investigated primary investigators (PIs) who received National Institutes of Health (NIH) radiology funding between 2016 and 2019 to establish if there was a correlation between NIH grants, gender, academic rank, first and second tier leadership positions, geographic location, and professional awards. Materials and Methods: Funding information was obtained from the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditure and Results (RePORTER) website for 2016-2019. Information for each PI was obtained from academic institutional websites, LinkedIn, and Doximity. Mann-Whitney U tests and chi-square analyses were performed to compare and determine associations between gender and the stated variables of interest. Results: Of the 805 radiology PIs included in this study, 78% were male. There was a significant association of gender with the attainment of the highest academic rank (p = 0.026), with females occupied more of the assistant professor ranks (M:F = 1:1.5) and less of the professor ranks (F:M = 1:1.2). Between genders, there was no significant difference in first and second tier leadership positions (p = 0.497, p = 0.116), and postgraduate honors and awards (p = 0.149). The greatest proportion of grants was awarded in the setting of sole male PIs (55%) and the least proportion of grants were awarded when the contact PI and other project leader were female (1%). Conclusion: Despite having similar academic credentials, including number of leadership positions and postgraduate honors and awards, female radiology PIs who have received NIH grants continue to be underrepresented in higher academic ranks.