The effects of course format, sex, semester, and institution on student performance in an undergraduate animal science course

The transition of courses from in-person to an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic could have potentially affected overall student performance in lecture-based courses. The objective of this case study was to determine the impact of course format, as well as the effects of student sex, time of year at which the course was taken, and the institution it was taken at on student performance in an undergraduate animal science course. The course used for this study was taught at two institutions (University of Florida; UF and University of Nevada, Reno; UNR) over seven years (2014-2017 at UNR and 2018-2021 at UF). Student performance (n = 911) was evaluated using both quizzes and exams from 2014 through the spring semester 2020 and only exams were used for summer and fall semesters of 2020 and the spring and summer semesters of 2021. The final score (out of 100%) for each student was used to evaluate student performance. In addition, students were classified as high performing students if they scored ≥ 95% and low performing students if they scored ≤ 70%. The variables that were evaluated were the effects of semester (spring, summer, or fall), institution (UF or UNR), sex (male or female), number of teaching assistants (TAs; 0 to 13), and course format (online or in-person). The course was taught in-person at UNR and in-person and online at UF. The spring semester of 2020 was taught in-person until March but was switched to online approximately nine weeks after the semester started and was considered an online semester for this analysis. As the course was only taught online at UF, the variable course format was assessed using UF records only. Data was analyzed using both linear models and logistic regressions. The probability that students were high performing was not affected by sex or institution. Interestingly, both fall semester, and the online format had a positive, desirable effect on the probability that students were high performing. The probability that students were low performing was not affected by sex. However, if a student performed poorly in the class, they were more likely to have taken the course at UNR, or at UF with many TAs. Thus, student performance was impacted by changing the course format, as well as institution, the number of TAs, and the semester in which the course was taken.

Right axis deviation in the canine electrocardiogram for predicting severity of pulmonic stenosis: a retrospective cohort analysis

OBJECTIVE To investigate the predictive value of right axis deviation of the mean electrical axis (MEA) in assessing the severity of pulmonic stenosis (PS) in dogs. ANIMALS Records for 218 client-owned dogs diagnosed between 2014 and 2020 with PS as determined by Doppler echocardiography. PROCEDURES University of Florida Small Animal Clinic medical records were reviewed, and signalment and clinical risk variables (murmur grade and clinical signs) were extracted. MEA was determined from ECG records by use of leads I and III. Predictive potential of MEA and associated risk factors to diagnose PS severity (mild [< 50 mm Hg], moderate, or severe [> 75 mm Hg]) were assessed by receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis and quantile regression. RESULTS Records for 88 dogs were eligible for analysis. Greater PS severity was associated with smaller breeds presenting with ECG abnormalities, overt clinical signs, and high-category murmur grades (IV and V). Mean MEA increased with stenosis severity category, with an average of 62° for mild, 113° for moderate, and 157° for severe. Each 10° increase in MEA corresponded to an approximately 5–mm Hg increase in PG. Increasing PS severity was associated with MEA right axis deviation > 100° and the more severe cases (PG > 75 mm Hg) with MEA right axis deviation > –180°. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Mean electrical axis right axis deviation may be a useful screening metric for dogs with suspected moderate to severe PS.

Claudia Varella – Manuel Barcía, Wage-Earning Slaves. Coartación in Nineteenth-Century Cuba

Book review: Claudia Varella – Manuel Barcía, Wage-Earning Slaves. Coartación in Nineteenth-Century Cuba. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press 2020, 217 p. ISBN 9781683401650.

THE LITTLE iSIM, A STORY ABOUT SATLANTIS: THE ASTROPHYSICS OF LOOKING DOWN

Any birth, any access to life requires determination, coordination of cooperating organs and a remarkable energy threshold to overcome the resistances of this process. In a company as well. Satlantis was born in Florida, in October 2013, after a 3-year pregnancy within the Astrophysics Department of the University of Florida, in a birth captained by the father of the creature himself, Rafael Guzman, director of the department and in the presence of the family, Cristina Garmendia and myself.

Certificates and certification programmes for clinical excellence: A guide to international pharmacists

Pharmacy practice continues to evolve, and knowledge update is necessary to facilitate better and safer patient care. This article provides information about certificates and certification programmes hosted for international pharmacists to support their scope in advanced pharmacy practices. A pilot online survey to 59 pharmacists revealed preferences towards Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS), American Society of Health-system Pharmacists (ASHP) certificate, Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacy (SIDP) Antimicrobial stewardship certificate programmes, University of Florida pharmacy certificate programmes, and Medication therapy management programme (MTM) for their certification programme. Grey literature and authentic websites of each programme were collected to provide information on each programme. This article serves as a guide for international pharmacists to know further information about certificates and certification programmes available to support them in advancing their practice.

Terpene volatiles mediates the chemical basis of blueberry aroma and consumer acceptability

Among the main features treasured by blueberry consumers, flavor is the most important. Human perception of food flavors can primarily be divided into two main sensory inputs, taste and aroma. Through retronasal olfaction, a group of metabolites called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the fruit are able to produce the sensation of aroma, creating the myriad of flavors experienced during our life. In blueberry, breeders have noticed some genotypes with unique floral and sweet flavor notes that, ultimately, enhance human aroma perception. Despite the importance, both the understanding of which chemicals are mediating this variation across phenotypes and the potential impact on consumer acceptability remains largely unknown. In this study we dissected the main components underlying blueberry aroma and associated it with consumer predilections by paring metabolomics with sensory analysis. Our contribution in this study is four-fold: (i) first, based on a representative blueberry germplasm cultivated at the University of Florida, we differentiated genotypes with floral and sweet aromatic notes and confirmed that such unique characteristics are preferred by consumers; (ii) at the chemical level, we showed that a group of eight terpene volatiles constitute the primary metabolic group associated with aroma sensation; (iii) we demonstrated that aromatic genotypes can be classified using information from a group of a few key volatiles; and finally, (iv) we combined pedigree and metabolomic information in a single predictive framework and showed the importance of metabolomic data for flavor-assisted selection. For the blueberry community, our findings open new venues to explore flavor. Broadly, we present an emerging view about flavor and provide a detailed blueprint of how this target could be addressed in fruits and vegetables.

Developing a Minimalist Multilingual Full-text Digital Library Solution for Disconnected Remote Library Partners

The University of Florida (UF) George A. Smathers Libraries have been involved in a wide range of partnered digital collection projects throughout the years with a focus on collaborating with institutions across the Caribbean region. One of the countries that we have a number of digitization projects within is Cuba. One of these partnerships is with the library of the Temple Beth Shalom (Gran Sinagoga Bet Shalom) in Havana, Cuba. As part of this partnership, we have sent personnel over to Cuba to do onsite scanning and digitization of selected materials found within the institution. The digitized content from this project was brought back to UF and loaded into our University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) system. Because internet availability and low bandwidth are issues in Cuba, the Synagogue’s ability to access the full-text digitized content residing on UFDC was an issue. The Synagogue also did not have a local digital library system to load the newly digitized content. To respond to this need we focused on providing a minimalist technology solution that was highly portable to meet their desire to conduct full-text searches within their library on their digitized content. This article will explore the solution that was developed using a USB flash drive loaded with a PortableApps version of Zotero loaded with multilingual OCR’s documents.

Species complex of mosquitos captured by mechanical traps and an equine host

Field studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of commercially available mosquito traps to capture suspected West Nile Virus (WNV) vectors and compare the relative abundance, and species composition of mosquitoes captured by traps. Traps included the Mosquito Magnet (MM) Pro, MM-Liberty, MM-X, the CDC-1012, and the Home and Garden (HGM) prototype trap. In the first study, conducted at the University of Florida Horse Teaching Unit (HTU), Gainesville, FL, from May 17 to September 30, 2002, the CDC-1012 caught significantly more mosquitoes than the other traps. The HGM trap did not catch any mosquitoes and was replaced with a horse on July 17. Percentages of WNV vector species captured in traps and vacuumed from the horse, respectively, were Culex nigripalpus Theobald 85-91% and 27%, and Mansonia titillans (Walker) 2-5% and 40%. In the second study, performed for 5 days in April 2003, the MM-Pro, MM-X, and CDC-1012 traps caught significantly more mosquitoes than did the MM-Liberty trap. All traps captured primarily Cx. salinarius Coquillett, Cx. erraticus (Dyar and Knab), and Anopheles crucians Wiedemann. The horse attracted a greater percentage of Ma. titillans and less Cx. erraticus than did the mechanical traps. The mechanical traps may offer horses some degree of protection from suspected WNV species, however, a large number of Ma. titillans were recovered from the horse but the traps captured very few.

Preface

This year, Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development (JESSD) is proud to hold its second international virtual symposium, featuring world-class speakers and editors worldwide. We were incredibly honored to have invited Prof. Christopher Silver, Ph.D., FAICP from College of Design, Construction, and Planning, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA; Mari E. Mulyani, D.Phil. from University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Prof. Rotimi Williams Olatunji from School of Communication, Lagos State University, Nigeria; Prof. Svetlana Drobyazko from Open International University of Human Development, Kyiv, Ukraine; Prof. Marinela Panayotova from Departement. of Chemistry, University of Mining and Geology, Bulgaria; Anita Bernardus from APRIL Group; Ir. Maya Tamimi, M.Sc. from Unilever Indonesia; Dr. Yuki M. A. Wardhana from PT Penjaminan Infrastruktur Indonesia; and Dr. Taufan Madiasworo, ST, MT from Deputy Director of Integration on Settlements Infrastructure Management, Directorate General of Human Settlements, Ministry of Public Works and Housing. The symposium was held in virtual format due to related restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic. I appreciate everyone’s participation in the second JESSD Symposium: International Symposium of Earth, Energy, Environmental Science, and Sustainable Development, despite the restrictive situation caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of being postponed, this symposium was conducted virtually to response to emerging issues mainly related to earth science, energy, environmental science, and sustainability. Moreover, this symposium also facilitates the publications of qualified research on COVID-19 to contribute to the global response towards the pandemic situation. This symposium is slightly different with previous symposium and conference held last year. By making the best use of development in telecommunication platforms, we are able to gather virtually to share our insights and progresses covering numerous subjects ranging from: the broad earth science, energy, and environmental science, to more specific topics on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the special issues of COVID-19 Research as well as Community Engagement for Better Environment. This symposium utilized Zoom and Youtube, a widely known cloud-based video conferencing tool, as its telecommunication platform.