ASSESSING UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ INTERDISCIPLINARY UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Science educators have highlighted the need to develop students to integrate knowledge across science disciplines to address real-world issues. However, there has been little research about the development of interdisciplinary assessment instruments. In this research, the instrument that measures the level of upper-secondary school students’ interdisciplinary understanding of environmental issues was developed and validated based upon Wilson’s Construct Modeling framework. After a pilot testing, the revised assessment instrument of interdisciplinary understanding covering five typical environmental problems comprised 14 multiple-choice questions and four constructed-response questions. Five hundred twenty-three eleventh graders, including 279 boys and 244 girls from mainland China, made up the research sample. The partial credit Rasch analysis has verified the reliability and validity of the interdisciplinary understanding instrument. In addition, the results of cluster analysis revealed that over half of the students could use some partially accurate scientific concepts and principles from two or more disciplinary perspectives to deal with a specific environmental issue. The validated instrument can provide insights for assessing and developing upper-secondary school students’ interdisciplinary understanding in science education. Keywords: Environmental Issues, Interdisciplinary Assessment, Interdisciplinary Understanding, Rasch Measurement Model, Science Education

The Future of Anglican Studies

The papers in this forum offer an interdisciplinary assessment of the state of the field of Anglican Studies and perspectives on future trajectories. The first three papers, on liturgy, history, and world Anglicanism, offer an assessment of the respective state of these areas of Anglican Studies. The second set, on theology, sociology of religion, and biblical studies, stake out positions on how these disciplines inform the work of Anglican Studies. A concluding essay offers a synthesis of these papers, focusing on the themes of local contexts for Anglicanism, a further complexification of decolonizing processes in Anglicanism, and the critical role of conversation in Anglican Studies regarding disciplines, languages, and power dynamics.

Rooftop Gardening a Modern Approach of Production in Urban Areas: A Review

In our urbanizing society, urban horticulture is gaining relevance due to its potential to increase resource efficiency, contribute to city food security and enhance associated ecosystem and social services. In cities, however, spaces available for cultivation are limited, thus leading to the need to explore innovative growing solutions, for instance, plant cultivation on building rooftops. While rooftop horticulture experiences are “sprouting” all over the world, scientific evidence on the most suitable growing solutions, policies and potential benefits is growing. The present review will address the main features of rooftop horticulture, providing an interdisciplinary assessment of different approaches for development and the multi-faceted forms that rooftop horticulture may assume in different contexts, bringing together existing experiences as well as suggestions for planning of future sustainable cities.In some urban rooftop gardens mineral fertilizers and pesticides are used.This article work will help to understand rooftop gardening and to conduct future research work on rooftop gardens.

Toward Interprofessional Education of Pharmacogenomics: An Interdisciplinary Assessment

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Pharmacogenomics, which emerged from disciplines such as pharmacology and genetics, is an increasingly important interdisciplinary field of health research, as indicated by the rapid growth of related literature. The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge among genetics and pharmacology health-care students and to evaluate their exposure to and perceptions of pharmacogenomics. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> An anonymous, 28-item online survey was distributed to medical and pharmacy students enrolled at Yarmouk University, Jordan. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The respondents (<i>n</i> = 300) had an overall moderate level of knowledge regarding genetics and pharmacology. Most respondents recognized the benefits of pharmacogenomics for therapy optimization, but they had insufficient exposure to the topic. Most respondents supported providing pharmacogenetic testing in Jordan. The most preferred educational format in pharmacogenomics was integration in pharmacology courses. <b><i>Discussion/Conclusion:</i></b> Medical and pharmacy students are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of pharmacogenomics in therapy optimization. Challenges such as the complexity of the topic and low retention of previous knowledge should be addressed to promote pharmacogenomics education. More work is needed to increase students’ exposure to pharmacogenomics information. A deeper integration of pharmacogenomics applications into pharmacology courses is proposed to emphasize applications of pharmacogenomics.

Multivariate Modeling to handle Urban Air Pollution Data observed trough Vehicular Sensor Networks

This work presents an interdisciplinary assessment that looks in-depth at the tracking of air quality in urban environments. The proposed application takes advantage of Vehicle Sensor Networks (VSN) by embedding sensor nodes to public transportation, spreading the sampling activity through different places visited during the route. We perform environmental modeling based on real data collected from the city of São Paulo, considering the multivariate spatial behavior of five different air pollutants from fossil-fueled vehicles (CO, O3, PM10, NO2 and SO2) simultaneously while it also varies in time. Finally, our VSN-based approach showed an improvement of 126 times lower error and 11 times higher coverage about conventional monitoring with air quality stations.

Telemedicine for a Multidisciplinary Assessment of Orofacial Pain in a Patient Affected by Eagle’s Syndrome: A Clinical Case Report

Background: Orofacial pain has a broad range of origins and a multidisciplinary approach occupies a relevant role. Objective: The aim of this study was to review the literature regarding the evolution of telemedicine and orofacial pain related to a case report of a patient affected by Eagle's syndrome. Materials and Methods: Two authors (RJM and SG) independently reviewed the literature up to March 2020. A case report was developed by including the interdisciplinary assessment and initial treatment of orofacial pain in a 38-year-old female patient affected by Eagle’s syndrome. The patient was interviewed by two different specialists (from Rome, Italy and Los Angeles, California) through an online meeting platform in order to evaluate her complex situation, demonstrating the possibilities that telemedicine offered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: An interdisciplinary approach can be performed for future follow ups on patients as various advantages were found by the patient and by the clinicians themselves.