Category Archives: Physiology

Swine it #42 Back to the basics in gilt development – Dr Kara Stewart – The Pig Site

I think for a while the gilt development was a forgotten piece of the sow system and I think it is our greatest potential for improvements in sow reproduction and lifetime performance. We need to start paying more attention there

- Boar exposure in gilt development

- Optimal weight, age, and number of estruses at first breeding

- Acclimation to the breeding crate

- Out-of-feed events in GDUs

- Space requirements and number of gilts per pen

- Have gilt development units and gilt research been forgotten?

Our guest is Dr Kara Stewart. Dr Stewart received her bachelors degree from Purdue University in 2001 and her masters and a doctorate from North Carolina State University in 2004 and 2008, respectively. Dr Stewart taught in the Department of Animal Science at NC State for two years before returning to Indiana to work for Cook Inc., a human medical device company. In 2013, she accepted a faculty position in reproductive physiology in the Department of Animal Science at Purdue University.

Listen to the podcast here: https://podtail.com/en/podcast/swine-it/back-to-the-basics-in-gilt-development-dr-kara-ste/

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Swine it #42 Back to the basics in gilt development - Dr Kara Stewart - The Pig Site

Medical Biosensors Market 2020: Potential Growth, Challenges, and Know the Companies List Could Potentially Benefit or Loose out From the Impact of…

A perfect mix of quantitative & qualitative Medical Biosensorsmarket information highlighting developments, industry challenges that competitors are facing along with gaps and opportunities available and would trend in Medical Biosensors market. The study bridges the historical data from 2014 to 2019 and estimated until 2026.

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Medical Biosensors Market 2020: Potential Growth, Challenges, and Know the Companies List Could Potentially Benefit or Loose out From the Impact of...

Why do some people with COVID-19 get really sick but not others? Wearable sensors might answer that. – WTSP.com

Researchers at the University of South Florida are monitoring skin temperature and other physiological patterns of 150 COVID-19 patients.

TAMPA, Fla. As the number of new coronavirus cases increases in Florida and other states, theres still a lot that researchers are trying to figure out about the novel virus.

One thing they do know is that while the rate of infection is climbing, the percentage of people who get COVID-19 and experience the most severe symptoms remains relatively low.

What they dont know yet is why some otherwise healthy people get really sick from infection but not others.

We definitely have awareness that certain populations have underlying conditions and they are at higher risk of having an adverse reaction to this virus, said Dr. Matthew Mullarkey, the lead investigator on the project.

What were interested in studying, though, is why it sometimes happens to otherwise healthy individuals who suddenly develop blood clots, lungs filled with fluid, a respiratory issue.

Using tiny sensors that can be worn around a persons wrist and chest, University of South Florida researchers hope to figure out how to predict when a patient might be most at-risk for severe symptoms to ultimately be able to prevent it.

The technology will monitor the physiological conditionslike skin temperature, heart rate, blood oxygen levelsof more than 100 people with COVID-19.

Mullarkey says 15 specific biometrics will be monitored non-stop in the patients for between 14 to 21 days.

Its a massive amount of data that, Mullarkey says, could reveal patterns of how different people react to being infected with the virus. Those patterns could help identify early indicatorsan early warning systemsignaling if an otherwise healthy person could be at risk of developing more severe symptoms.

The purpose would be to help physicians diagnose earlier that a particular patient has this certain set of three, four, five variables that are going to go sideways, he said.

So we could get two, to four, to six days in front of the person ending up in an ICU and begin a treatment plan targeted at that particular physiology.

The study is a partnership between the USF MUMA College of Business, Tampa General Hospital-USF Health COVID Clinic and USF College of Nursing.

The wearable monitoring technology is similar to sensors USF MUMA College of Business researchers used in February in a first-of-its-kind experiment to measure how viewers biometrically responded to watching a presidential primary debate. The sensors are manufactured by the same company called Shimmer.

"The vast majority of us are relatively healthy individuals and are still at risk of contracting this virus," Mullarkey said. "All of us could benefit potentially from the information we can learn."

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Why do some people with COVID-19 get really sick but not others? Wearable sensors might answer that. - WTSP.com

NSF grant to fund digitization of mammal collections at UNM’s Museum of Southwestern Biology – UNM Newsroom

A new National Science Foundation (NSF) grant will fund digitization of museum mammal collections at the Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico (UNM) and University of Michigan through a collaboration with scientists at three other universities and Sandia National Laboratories.

The three-year, $180,000 grant is titled Digitization PEN: Functional Quantitative Characters for Ecology and Evolution (FuncQEE) and the digital data produced will be integral to research in the fields of medicine, physiology, ecology, evolution and biomechanics, among others. This NSF award is part of the Open Vertebrate Thematic Collection Network as a Partner to an Existing Network (PEN).

The project will generate computed tomography (CT) scans as a basis for 3D modeling of structural diversity for some 1,000 specimens of rodents. These data will be made publicly available on the MorphoSource website to the life science community, educators and science-interested public and serve as the basis for many research projects, including the doctoral work of John Korbin, a Sandia scientist,in the Biology Department at UNM.

UNM holds the worlds largest collection of mammalian tissues and is among the three largest mammal collections overall (with the Smithsonian and British Museum) said Joseph Cook, professor and Curator of Mammals at the Museum of Southwestern Biology and has become critical infrastructure for diverse sets of investigations. Applied and theoretical studies of museum specimens range from identifying and characterizing zoonotic pathogens (e.g., hantaviruses in New Mexico and globally) to this new set of investigations aimed at characterizing the anatomical shape of wild mammals to allow us to understand how animals have adapted to diverse environmental conditions.

The resulting 3D modeling will allow researchers to examine and quantify the characters found in the vast diversity throughout the rodent Tree of Life. Many species of rodents are susceptible to extinction in the face of anthropogenic climate and habitat changes, according to Noe de la Sancha of Chicago State University (and originally from southern New Mexico).

This project is an excellent demonstration of the evolution of use and sustained impact of these types of collections. As new technology is developed and new questions arise, we continue to build novel layers of knowledge based on specimens archived for very different reasons in the past, said Jon Dunnum, collection manager for Mammals, Museum of Southwestern Biology.

CT data provide an excellent opportunity to leverage museum collections in a way that was never envisioned 100 years ago, said 'University of Michigan's Cody Thompson.

The physical shapes of todays living organisms are a result of millions of years of countless evolutionary and ecological filters, de la Sancha said. For the vast majority of species, especially in tropical regions, we dont know much at all about where or how they live, eat, or find mates. This project will allow us an initial glimpse into more pieces of this huge puzzle that evolutionary biologists and ecologists have been trying to build. There is a great deal of information we can capture in the small bones and body parts of rodents that we had not been able to access before CT scanning. And this opens up a whole new world of knowledge.

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NSF grant to fund digitization of mammal collections at UNM's Museum of Southwestern Biology - UNM Newsroom

Peaks and valleys lead to gold medal win for UBCO student – UBC Faculty of Medicine

UBC Okanagans Governor General gold medal winner Mike Tymko stands at a landmark called Kala Patthar with Mount Everest in the background.

Although he climbed numerous mountains to conduct high-altitude research, UBC Okanagans Mike Tymko admits the peak of his academic career might have arrived in his inbox a few weeks ago.

Tymko is UBC Okanagans winner of this year's Governor General Gold Medal. The award is presented to the universitys most accomplished doctoral graduate each spring. Tymko, who has published more than 60 research papers, is beyond talented says his supervisor Professor Phil Ainslie. The pair have worked together since 2012, when Tymko, an undergraduate at Mount Royal University, was invited to join one of Ainslies research expeditions to Nepal.

At the time UBC Okanagan was much smaller and Professor Ainslie was relatively new into his appointment, but you could tell the research team he was building was extremely unique even at that time, says Tymko. That was such an amazing trip to me from both a life and scientific perspective.

Within months, he was a student in UBCOs School of Health and Exercise Sciences, working on his masters degree with another colleague from the Nepal project, Associate Professor Glen Foster, also fairly new to the Okanagan. The pair got along during the 2012 Nepal expedition and created a dynamic and busy research team when reunited at the Kelowna campus.

I knew that as Professor Foster's first student I would be privy to more one-on-one training. I appreciate everything that he has taught me over the years and I wouldn't be the scientist I am today without his mentorship.

Fosters laboratory studies how the respiratory, cardiovascular and autonomic nervous systems interact to control blood flow and ventilation in health and disease. And Ainslie, a Canada Research Chair in Cerebrovascular Physiology in Health and Disease, studies cerebral blood flow regulation, how that can be influenced by environmental stressheat, altitude, pressureand how exercise can also affect cerebrovascular function. The research teams would work together for a number of years studying basic aspects of helping people under extreme conditionswhether that be where they live, or an illness they havebe able to breathe better.

Tymko explains there are many peoplesuch as those living in Nepal, the Andean mountains and Ethiopiawho live in high-altitude regions. And more than 200 million tourists travel to high-altitude destinations each year. However, his research also impacts millions of people who never get the chance to travel.

From a more clinical standpoint there are many pathologies that are characterized by low oxygen, such as people living with heart failure, obstructive sleep apnea and lung disease, he says. Studying healthy human adaptation to low oxygen in both the laboratory and in the field has implications to better understand the physiological consequences that occur in these clinical states. The findings from these studies are applicable not only to Canadians, but people worldwide.

There were several highlights for Tymko while working on his doctorate, but Ainslie notes he is a natural leader. During his studies, he has trekked to Nepal in 2012 and 2016, as well as White Mountain, California in 2015 and Peru in 2018where Tymko co-led more than 40 scientists at a research station at Cerro de Pasco.

This was undoubtedly Michaels most impressive feat during his doctorate, says Ainslie. So far more than 10 research manuscripts have been published based on data collected during this expedition and many others will come in due course.

Tymko is humbled by the gold medal win, and says, like the expeditions, this is not something you accomplish alone.

These research projects are never led by one person, they are a product of dozens of people working together towards one goal, says Tymko, crediting Ainslie, Foster and dozens of colleagues for years of support. The best part of these trips are the people you meetresearchers from all over the world. But its also a fantastic feeling knowing that your research is meaningful and impactful within the academic community."

Ainslie credits Tymkos diverse interests, skills, leadership and dedication that made him an outstanding doctoral student.

Not only can he operate as a high-level academic but he can also design, implement, build and lead high-level scientific initiatives, he says. His research interests expand those from normal laboratory-based experiments to the translation of the work into Indigenous populations at high altitude. He is a true allrounder and, importantly, also values the importance of scientific teaching and education. As an exceptional young scientist, he is fully worthy of this recognition.

UBC Okanagans Governor General gold medal winner Mike Tymko takes ultrasound measurements of the internal carotid artery and vertebral artery while conducting research on the neural control of blood flow to the brain.

UBCs Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in 2005 in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose territory the campus resides. As part of UBCranked among the worlds top 20 public universitiesthe Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbias stunning Okanagan Valley.

To find out more, visit:ok.ubc.ca

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Peaks and valleys lead to gold medal win for UBCO student - UBC Faculty of Medicine

Why it could be dangerous to exercise with a face mask on – Metro Newspaper UK

Lindsay Bottoms, reader in exercise and health physiology, University of Hertfordshire

THE coronavirus began to affect sporting events as early as January 30, when the Chinese Football Association announced it was delaying the start of the football season. Two months later it was revealed that the Tokyo Olympic Games would be postponed until the summer of 2021 the first postponement in modern Olympic history.

Sporting administrators are only now exploring ways to enable a return to training and competition at both professional and amateur levels. In the absence of a vaccine, though, there are several challenges. One of them is around breathing.

When playing sport, breathing is faster and harder than at rest, which increases the risk of passing the disease on. As a result, premier league football is considering introducing face masks. Others may follow suit.

Yet a mask makes it harder to inhale the quantity of air needed to perform at the highest levels. We know that wearing a surgical mask can increase the resistance to airflow. Exercise invariably leads to faster and harder breaths, so wearing a mask during exercise places a further strain on airflow.

At low to moderate-intensity exercise, effort will feel slightly harder than normal with a mask, but you can still walk comfortably. The challenge appears to be more during heavy exercise (say, rugby or football) taking in air at rates of about 40-100 litres per minute.

When we do heavy exercise, our muscles produce lactic acid, which causes that burning sensation. It is then converted to carbon dioxide and exhaled. But what happens if the carbon dioxide is trapped by the mask? As you move from moderate to heavy exercise, you may be re-breathing carbon dioxide, which can reduce cognitive function and increase breathing rate.

There may also be less oxygen in the recycled air, which could imitate exercising at higher altitudes. So it is important we gain a better understanding of the limitations of heavy exercise with a face mask.

The need for this understanding is growing, given the story reported on an Australian News Channel of two teenage boys in China dying within a week of each other during compulsory physical education examinations while wearing face masks. Autopsies have not been performed, so its impossible to know whether the masks played a role in the boys deaths. But it raises the question, is it safe to exercise with a face mask on during Covid-19?

A supplier of fencing equipment approached the University of Hertfordshire with just this question.

To gain a rough understanding of the problem, I experimented on myself. I ran on a treadmill at 10kph for three minutes to reflect the intensity and duration of fencing. I did this with full fencing kit, with and without a cloth face mask under my fencing mask. I used a portable gas analyser and adapted it to measure the concentration of gases being breathed in and out.

The concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere is around 21 per cent at sea level. When running on the treadmill with only the fencing mask, the concentration of oxygen was around 19.5 per cent. This would be equivalent to exercising at 600m above sea level.

But wearing a face mask under the fencing mask reduced my oxygen level to around 17 per cent the equivalent of exercising at 1,500m. Any further decreases in oxygen concentration by exercising longer or harder would have a large effect on the physiological responses to exercise, causing altitude-sickness symptoms such as dizziness or headache.

There are negligible levels of carbon dioxide in atmospheric air, and when exercising with only the fencing mask this remains below one per cent. With the face mask on, it trebled to three per cent. Bear in mind that the UK Health and Safety Executive the government agency responsible for regulation and enforcement of workplace safety advises that employees should not be exposed to 1.5 per cent carbon dioxide for more than 15 minutes.

Fencing has been part of the Olympics since 1896 and is unique in that we already have a mask on when exercising. So, before any recommendations are made for wearing a face mask for fencing, it is important that further research is undertaken on more than one person to explore the high carbon dioxide levels and low oxygen levels. There could be similar issues of wearing a face mask with other high-intensity sports.

With gyms looking to reopen and sports clubs wanting to resume, before anyone recommends wearing a face mask, research urgently needs to be undertaken to ensure the safety of the sporting community, regardless of any underlying conditions.

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Why it could be dangerous to exercise with a face mask on - Metro Newspaper UK

7 benefits of walking and how it can improve your health – Insider – INSIDER

Walking is a form of exercise that can significantly improve your physical and mental health. Not only can it extend your life and prevent disease, but it can also boost your energy and mood.

In addition, studies show that if you walk regularly and quickly enough, it could be the only aerobic exercise you need to keep your heart and lungs healthy.

It's also accessible, easy, and free. So if you're one of the 47% of adults in the US who don't meet the CDC's Physical Activity Guidelines for aerobic activity, then walking is a habit worth pursuing and keeping.

Here's seven research-backed health benefits of walking, as well as how fast, long, and regularly you should walk to reap them.

Walking increases your heart rate, causing you to expend energy and burn calories just like other forms of physical activity such as running, swimming, or cycling. How many calories you burn depends on how fast you walk, for how long, the terrain, and your weight.

A 2020 study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research found that participants burned an average of 89 calories walking 1,600 meters (about 1 mile). That was only around 20% less than the 113 calories other participants burned running the same distance.

And across the results of nine different walking studies in this 2008 review published in the Annals of Family Medicine, participants lost an average of 0.05 kilograms (0.1 pounds) per week as a result of increasing their step count by between 1,827 and 4,556 steps per day. Overall, that translated to a weight loss of about 5 pounds a year on average across all studies.

The American College of Sports Medicine offers recommendations for how much time people who are overweight or obese should dedicate to physical activity each week to prevent and promote weight loss. It goes as follows:

It's important to note that, if you consume more calories than you burn every day, no amount of walking or any other physical activity will help you lose weight.

Walking increases blood flow around the body so that more blood containing oxygen and nutrients for fuel can reach the large muscles in the legs as well as the brain. This is what makes you feel energized, according to Pete McCall CSCS, exercise physiologist, personal trainer, and author.

In addition, walking and other types of physical exercise have been shown to increase the amount of a type of protein found in the brain, called brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF may be responsible for how well you can think, learn, and memorize amongst other functions in the brain.

"There is a correlation between a brisk walk and elevated levels of BDNF, which can help improve overall cognition, or thought processing," says McCall.

A 2008 study published in the Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic journal found that previously sedentary adults reported feeling more energetic and less fatigued after just 20 minutes of low to moderate aerobic exercise including walking for three days a week over a six week period.

And this 2017 study conducted on sleep deprived women aged 18 to 23, published in the journal of Physiology & Behavior, found that walking up and down the stairs for just 10 minutes at a low to moderate intensity was more energizing than consuming 50mg of caffeine, or about half a cup of coffee.

Walking briskly and regularly can also help protect you from getting a cold, the flu, or other immune-related illnesses.

That's because physical exercise like walking increases the amount of white blood cells circulating in your blood. These cells fight infection and other diseases as part of the body's immune system.

A 2013 study of 800 young adults over six years published in the World Journal of Experimental Medicine showed that white blood cell count increased significantly after just five minutes of exercise.

And this 2005 study published the American College of Sports Medicine's flagship journal measured the white blood cell count of 15 adults immediately after a 30 minute walk as well as after sitting down for the same amount of time. It also found a significant increase in white blood cells.

Walking has also been linked to a lower number of sick days taken. A 2011 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine tracked 1000 adults during flu season. Those who walked at a moderate pace for 30 to 45 minutes a day had 43% fewer sick days and fewer upper respiratory tract infections overall.

Their symptoms were also less severe if they did get sick. That was compared to adults in the study who were sedentary.

Walking can also help relieve pain from stiffness in your body by warming up your muscles, making it easier to move, according to McCall.

"The motion can elevate tissue temperature making it easier for muscles to lengthen and shorten as temperature increases, muscles move more easily," says McCall.

In addition, walking can increase levels of certain types of chemicals in your brain known scientifically as neurotransmitters which help your nervous system work effectively. This can include a type of neurotransmitter that reduces pain.

"The first few minutes of walking might be uncomfortable but after five to seven minutes the body warms up, blood is flowing, and neurotransmitter production increases helping reduce pain," says McCall.

For this reason, walking is often recommended to alleviate pain and reduce disability in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions that is, pain that affects the bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves such as lower back pain.

There is also evidence of patients who are hospitalized with chronic musculoskeletal pain in the spine or limbs reporting less pain the more they walked.

Walking has been found to reduce your risk of cardiovascular events that's any incident which causes damage to your heart, such as a heart attack by 31%.

This was evident even at a moderate pace of about 2 miles per hour and at distances of just over one mile a day for five days a week, or 5.5 miles per week.

But the longer and faster you walk, the greater the benefits and protection of your heart. A 2017 study of more than 50,000 adults in the UK, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that people who walked at an average or quick pace between five and 10 hours a week were about 24% less likely to die from heart disease compared to slow walkers.

Aerobic exercise including walking can help you feel more relaxed, reduce stress, and fight depression.

The reason aerobic workouts lift our spirits seems related to their ability to reduce levels of natural stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, according to this 2015 study in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science.

Just a 30-minute walk is enough to lift the mood of someone suffering from major depressive disorder, according to a 2005 study published in the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.

And a 2019 study published in the official journal of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) found that three hours of exercise a week, no matter the type of activity, decreased the risk of depression in people who had already experienced feeling depressed.

Walking has also been linked to a decreased risk of mortality, or a longer life expectancy. And the longer and faster you walk, the more it increases your life expectancy.

This 2011 study published by the British Medical Association followed 27,738 participants aged 40 to 79years for a 13 year period and found that participants who walked for more than one hour a day had a longer life expectancy than participants who walked for less than one hour a day.

Following 50,225 walkers over 14 years, another 2018 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine looked at the association of walking at a faster pace with factors like overall causes of death, cardiovascular disease, and death from cancer.

The researchers found that the quicker you walk, the lower your risk of overall death. For example, walking at an average pace resulted in a 20% reduced risk of overall death when compared to walking at a slow pace. And walking at a brisk or fast pace at least 4 miles per hour reduced the risk by 24% compared to walking at a slow pace.

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7 benefits of walking and how it can improve your health - Insider - INSIDER

Scientists and economists from Honoris United Universities in global selection for Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings – Rising Sun Overport

Honoris United Universities, the first and largest pan-African network of private higher education institutions, announced that five science and three economics students from across the network have been selected among 1,034 young scientists and economists from over 100 countries to participate in the 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting and the seventh Lindau Meeting on Economic Sciences in 2021.

The meetings, which will bring together young scientists and economists alongside Nobel Laureates in physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, as well as economic sciences from across the world, form part of a partnership established between Honoris United Universities and Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, last year, to increase participation and research in the natural sciences and in economics across Africa.

The selected Honoris scientists and economists successfully completed a multi-stage selection process, which involved 144 academic partners of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and German universities in the field of economics- including the Wirtschafts und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakulttentag (WISOFT- Association of Economics and Social Sciences Faculties).

The successful students were selected from leading African universities within the Honoris network including Universit Mundiapolis in Morocco, Universit Centrale in Tunisia, and Regent Business School in South Africa.

CEO of Honoris United Universities, Luis Lopez, said, As an academic partner to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, we are extremely proud to support and promote the development of world-class African talent as evidenced by our exemplary students, selected to participate in this extremely competitive and prestigious event. They are a testament to the learning being undertaken in our institutions and to the faculty members focused on student success and institutional research. This is a superb opportunity for our students to represent research in economics and in natural sciences from Africa as part of a landmark global event.

ALSO READ: Care e-book to help youth cope with Covid-19 Lockdown

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the onsite interdisciplinary 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting and the Lindau Meeting on Economic Sciences, originally planned for 2020, are postponed to 2021. The 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting will now take place from June 27 to July 2, 2021 and seventh Lindau Meeting on Economic Sciences will take place from August 24 to 28, 2021.

For 2020, the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings will be introducing two exciting online forums, bringing together some 40 Nobel Laureates, Lindau alumni and the selected young scientists and economists from across the world to exchange knowledge, ideas and questions via a series of interactive and high level activities.

This will include the Online Sciathon 2020 (June 19 to June), a 48-hour hackathon-style event involving Lindau alumni and the young scientists and economists on topics relating to global, sustainable and cooperative open science, climate change and capitalism after COVID-19.

The Sciathon will be followed by the Online Science Days 2020 (June 28 to July 1) for Nobel Laureates, Lindau alumni and the young scientists and economists invited for 2021. They will participate in debates, conversations, talks and next gen science sessions with each comprising live Q&A sessions.

Invited guests as well as media representatives will be able to follow the whole programme online and interested parties may register for access, including future young scientists or economists, prospective academic partners or benefactors.

Since its foundation in 1951, around 400 Nobel Laureates have attended the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, held each year as a forum for scientists of different generations, cultures and disciplines to convene and exchange knowledge, ideas and experiences.

The theme is alternated each year and is based on the three natural science Nobel Prize disciplines- physics, chemistry and physiology and medicine. An interdisciplinary meeting based around all three natural sciences is held every five years and a Lindau Meeting on economic sciences is held every three years.

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Scientists and economists from Honoris United Universities in global selection for Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings - Rising Sun Overport

What Does Virtual Learning Mean For The Future Of Higher Education? – Forbes

Michael P. Toothman, 15 years in higher education.

As an educator for U.C. Riverside, Michael P. Toothman, PMP, has worked in higher education for the past 15 years.

In that time, he's developed more than 4,000 project managers from 1,000 companies, and 40 countries and led global collaborations for multi-cultural teams andwon awardsin the process.

But for Toothman, and for the rest of the States, his world has turned on a dime in the advent of COVID.

As U.C. Riverside had already begun moving several courses online, the transition was somewhat underway before California, and national mandates in mid-March required all education to jump online and most communities to shelter in place.

Toothman seemingly dodged a bullet in March when one of his students, who'd just returned from China, abruptly cancelled a brunch appointment last minute as she was not feeling well.

Sure enough, she was diagnosed with COVID, and immediately hospitalized, and fortunately has survived.Regardless of the pandemic, Toothman sees the future of higher education and professional training believes education is forever changedespecially at the college level. He also states many schools are running a hybrid teaching model in the fall, and many universities are moving entirely online.

As a former Air Force Staff Sergeant, Toothman knows he's at a higher risk. Already isolated, he put his time toward working on an in-depth experiment regarding how to make online education work well.

As we might have anticipated, the first iteration of online-only education was not good.

Toothman said, "I experienced some level of student dissatisfaction, at first, as many students were expecting the dynamic interaction of a live course. Additionally, some had poor experiences with online courses in the past and this drove their inherent dislike for online learning. It was vital that I set the tone early. To keep students engaged, an instructor must be visible and active, and exhibit care, empathy, and trust for students.

My students were joining my online class discussions from all over the world; many balancing the competing demands of newly remote positions, homeschooling, and self-care. So, it was vital that I create a learning environment which added real value to their lives.

Toothman realized he had two choices to make when it comes to teaching today.

Here's what he stated:

With time on his hands, he's chosen the latter.

Knowing it would be most difficult to replace the energy of the live interactions with instructors and other students, Toothman turned his attention to what an online platform could provide that other mediums can't. He realized the medium allows room for students to shape their own adventures in ways that a live and static lesson plan can't provide.

For example, in teaching courses on Project Management, Toothman can build in video resources on the aspects that might interest students mostsuch as Future Proof Technologies, Soft Skills, or Critical Thinking. If students are most interested in A.I., robotics, and data science, they can build a pathway to lead them to additional resources in those channelssimilar to a choose your own adventure scenario. He is currently working on integrating Flipboard magazines to dynamically curate course content.

All participants complete the same core work to meet and demonstrate the required capabilities. Still, the full shape and extent of the adventure can be their own to decide, with the addition of vibrant and visual supplements that can capture and hold their attention.

Likewise, Toothman has learned and maximized the ways to replicate the robustness of face to face discussions online through tools like Zoom, although it has made for a certain amount of personal sacrifice.

Toothman said, "Imagine that 20% of your enrollment is outside of the United States. They didn't plan to attend remotely; they enrolled to attend live, but due to the pandemic restrictions, the university has sent many students back home."

He has also made the intrepid choice to hold live Zoom sessions for for international students. He knows that most instructors will not do this, and it may not be a workable solution forever. Still, as the world adjusts, it is vital to ensure first and foremost that students are met with the most exceptional experience possible as they navigate the move to learning online.

You can learn more from Toothman in a recent T.V. interview with C.G.T.N.here.

STEAM artist

An organization led by a scientist in visualization and simulation, Bryan Brandenburg has similarly made a pivot in prioritization of the physiology visualization platform he's brought forward in his newest company,Zenerchi L.L.C.

Brandenburg's visuals from previous organizations D.A.S. 3D and Zygote Media Group, continue to populate medical journals and press.

His new company, Zenerchi L.L.C., is taking the technology further through integration with V.R. and A.I. to create visualizations so distinct participants can view the human heart or lungs with detail that can take them down to the level of atoms and quarks.

The technology touches sectors including health, wellness, medical education, and, interestingly, edutainment with the ability to transition museum and event realms into full immersion experiences.

Online learning about the medical field.

This strategy can make those avenues of education self-funded while also bringing in new streams of revenue.Listening to the younger populace has shown increasingly less interest in traditional museums.Additionally, the technology holds high appeal for online education.

Launched in 2019, Zenerchi L.L.C. has successfully achieved early funding, but in Q1 enacted a pivot of its priorities in the realm of COVID.

They went with online education as their first commercially available product. This choice was partly due to the need to provide deep visualization and a more profound education on the pandemic issue.

To that end, the company partnered with Carrus, a leading provider of online healthcare training and professional development, to take online medical education to a higher level with new online courses that use the Zenerchi physiology simulation and visualization platform.

"We wanted to make this technology available at the highest level and to the largest audience possible," Brandenburg said, as to the decision to approach online learning first.

Zenerchi will shortly release a library of stock images and AR/VR simulations of human physiology under the trade name S.T.E.A.M. for use by educators and developers. This format ensures readers get what they need on the fly and to surmount the barriers of storage and internet bandwidth.These will be vital steps in the future of learning.

The shift to virtual learning has significant implications for the future of education.

Arecent articleby researchersVijay GovindarajanandAnup Srivastavafor Harvard Business Review underscores the experiences of Toothman and Brandenburg.

Their current experiments indicate the traditional model of a four-year face-to-face college education can no longer rest on its laurels.

A variety of factors, most notably, the continuously increasing cost of tuition, already makes higher education out of reach for most students and families. It makes the post-secondary education market ripe for change.

Day by day, we see further evidence that the pandemic crisis may force this change in higher education.

The ways we respond and react to the need for better methods of virtual learning will have a significant impact on whether and how online education develops as an opportunity for the future.

It may change the impact of education on our economy at large, and its viability and availability to a broader set of participants. Likewise, the time and geographic flexibility of online learning may serve to make it available to a more comprehensive set of participants.

As Govindarajan and Srivastava note, some politicians are pressing or have promised the concept of a free college education but what if the newest developments prove that a college education doesn't have to bankrupt a person? The implications are tremendous for all.

Govindarajan and Srivastava suggested, "After the crisis subsides, is it best for all students to return to the classroom, and continue the status quo, or will we have found a better alternative?"

Toothman is excited to continue his quest to forge forward in all of these developments.In the interim, he continues to teach his courses.

Follow this link:
What Does Virtual Learning Mean For The Future Of Higher Education? - Forbes

Letter To The Editor: Love Overcomes Hate – Los Alamos Daily Post

By BEATRICE N. ODEZULU, MBALos Alamos

I am writing as an African American woman with four kids and a husband trying to process the tragic death of Mr. George Floyd. We have mourned and now are trying to heal.

My children are asking me questions which I do not have any answer to. However, a Scripture popped up in my heart, Love overcomes hate. Love your neighbor means treat them the way you would want to be treated.

The community has a huge role to play in creating an environment where love prevails. When you see a person, see them as a human being first. We all bleed, hurt, and want good things in life. The color of my skin does not take away my humanity. It is deep ignorance to think that the quantity of melanin (pigment that determines skin tone) that someone has, makes them less human. When donating blood or signing up to be an organ donor, nobody cares what your skin color is. Yet, skin color has resulted in untold hardship for thousands.

Some may not understand the term white privilege because they have never been on the other side of the fence. It means the hurdles and glass ceilings you dont have to constantly deal with in the ordinary course of living, because you have the right skin color. If you have not been followed around while shopping, you are enjoying that privilege. [Thats the reason I dont like shopping. My husband does all the shopping].

In 2012, I went with my then 7-year-old girl to our beloved CB Fox to shop. A clerk kept following us so that my daughter innocently asked why the woman was following us. I told her she wanted to make sure we were not having any problems. My daughter pointed out that she was not following other shoppers and then I had to tell her the bitter truth: There are things people will do to you and not to others, just because of your skin color.

People that act that way will not consider themselves racists. It is just ingrained in our society and people do it without giving thought to why they are doing it.

The African American male suffers the consequences of racial profiling in a proportion that is heart-breaking. Even with education and civility, it does not erase how they are being viewed and treated. My husband has a Ph.D. in Physiology and Anatomy, yet he cannot get a job to provide for his family. His job as a professor in Northern New Mexico College was terminated 6 years ago because of racial injustice. His students protested because they loved him, and he was a wonderful teacher that made the most difficult course easy to understand.

Peaceful protest of racial injustice is one way to overcome this evil. I was touched when I saw the variety of people protesting: white, black, yellow, red, young, old etc. It shows there is hope for humanity. Love is the way to extend it to our homes. What and how we talk, at our dinner tables, about other people different from us matter. Choose the love way. Explain to your family that even if people are different from you, they are humans and have the same basic needs you have.

The rest is here:
Letter To The Editor: Love Overcomes Hate - Los Alamos Daily Post