scholarly journals Organizing Events in Bioinformatics World: Insights Into Organizing Events in Bioinformatics

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Lima da Silva ◽  
Ana Paula de Abreu ◽  
Diego Mariano ◽  
Felipe Caixeta ◽  
Fenícia Brito Santos ◽  
...  

Bioinformatics is a fast-evolving research field, requiring effective educational initiatives to bring computational knowledge to Life Sciences. Since 2017, an organizing committee composed of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil) promotes a week-long event named Summer Course in Bioinformatics (CVBioinfo). This event aims to diffuse bioinformatic principles, news, and methods mainly focused on audiences of undergraduate students. Furthermore, as the advent of the COVID-19 global pandemic has precluded in-person events, we offered the event in online mode, using free video transmission platforms. Herein, we present and discuss the insights obtained from promoting the Online Workshop in Bioinformatics (WOB) organized in November 2020, comparing it to our experience in previous in-person editions of the same event.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Knutson ◽  
Em Matsuno ◽  
Chloe Goldbach ◽  
Halleh Hashtpari ◽  
Nathan Grant Smith

Nearly 50% of graduate students report experiencing emotional or psychological distress during their enrollment in graduate school. Levels of distress are particularly high for transgender and non-binary graduate students who experience daily discrimination and marginalization. Universities and colleges have yet to address and accommodate the needs and experiences of transgender and non-binary graduate students. Given the multitude of challenges these students may face, educational settings should not present additional barriers to educational success and well-being. In an effort to improve graduate education for transgender and non-binary students, we add to the existing scholarship on affirming work with transgender undergraduate students by addressing the unique concerns of graduate students. We utilize a social-ecological model to identify sources of discrimination in post-secondary education and to provide transgender- and non-binary-affirming recommendations at structural, interpersonal, and individual levels. For practitioners who wish to do personal work, we provide guidance for multicultural identity exploration. A table of recommendations and discussion of ways to implement our recommendations are provided.


Author(s):  
Pierre Taberlet ◽  
Aurélie Bonin ◽  
Lucie Zinger ◽  
Eric Coissac

Environmental DNA (eDNA), i.e. DNA released in the environment by any living form, represents a formidable opportunity to gather high-throughput and standard information on the distribution or feeding habits of species. It has therefore great potential for applications in ecology and biodiversity management. However, this research field is fast-moving, involves different areas of expertise and currently lacks standard approaches, which calls for an up-to-date and comprehensive synthesis. Environmental DNA for biodiversity research and monitoring covers current methods based on eDNA, with a particular focus on “eDNA metabarcoding”. Intended for scientists and managers, it provides the background information to allow the design of sound experiments. It revisits all steps necessary to produce high-quality metabarcoding data such as sampling, metabarcode design, optimization of PCR and sequencing protocols, as well as analysis of large sequencing datasets. All these different steps are presented by discussing the potential and current challenges of eDNA-based approaches to infer parameters on biodiversity or ecological processes. The last chapters of this book review how DNA metabarcoding has been used so far to unravel novel patterns of diversity in space and time, to detect particular species, and to answer new ecological questions in various ecosystems and for various organisms. Environmental DNA for biodiversity research and monitoring constitutes an essential reading for all graduate students, researchers and practitioners who do not have a strong background in molecular genetics and who are willing to use eDNA approaches in ecology and biomonitoring.


Author(s):  
Ken Peach

This chapter discusses the need for cooperation (or collaboration) to be balanced with competition, including between research groups, within a university or laboratory and between the academic research sector and industry. Healthy competition is a great motivator but unhealthy competition can be disastrous. While it is still possible for an individual scientist working alone or with a couple of graduate students or postdocs to make ground-breaking discoveries, today much experimental science requires large teams working collaboratively on a common goal or set of goals. While this trend is most evident in particle physics and astronomy, it is also present in the other physical sciences and the life sciences. Collaboration brings together more resources–physical, financial and intellectual–to address major challenges that would otherwise be beyond the scope of any individual or group. Multidisciplinary research and interdisciplinary research are examples of cooperation between different disciplines.


1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (6) ◽  
pp. S21 ◽  
Author(s):  
P K Rangachari ◽  
S Mierson

Because critical analysis of published information is an essential component of scientific life, it is important that students be trained in its practice. Undergraduate students who are more accustomed to reading textbooks and taking lecture notes find it difficult to appreciate primary publications. To help such students, we have developed a checklist that helps them analyze different components of a research article in basic biomedical sciences. Students used the checklist to analyze critically a published article. The students were assigned an article and asked to write a paper (maximum 2 pages of single-spaced type) assessing it. This assignment has been found useful to both undergraduate and graduate students in pharmacology and physiology. Student responses to a questionnaire were highly favorable; students thought the exercise provided them with some of the essential skills for life-long learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-460
Author(s):  
M. Leslie Santana

One moment from the much-discussed 2017 curriculum reform in the Music Department at Harvard University has stuck with me and transformed the way I approach teaching music in higher education. In one of the meetings leading up to the revision, graduate students in the department led an activity in which attendees—who included undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty alike—got into small groups and discussed the relative merits of three hypothetical models for the new undergraduate curriculum. Each of the models involved decentering to some extent the existing curriculum's emphasis on the history of Western European music and dominant music theoretical approaches to it. After a short while, we all gathered back together and one person from each group shared a bit about what had transpired. From the circle of desks nearest the door, an undergraduate student rose to speak and expressed enthusiasm for a broadening of curricular coverages. But, they said, their group also had some reservations about jettisoning the overall focus on Western European concert music altogether. “We still need to learn about our history,” they said, while a faculty member nodded behind them.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mr. Awin A. Akolkar

The present study is conducted to measure religiosity and stress of graduate students belonging to gender living in Marathwada. The investigators employed one independent variables, gender can influence the religiosity and stress of students. The study was carried out on the sample of graduate students. To measure the religiosity and stress the researcher used the standardized scale of Bhusan and Bisht Battery of stress. The sample consisted of 100 students, out of which, 50 were males and 50 females. The findings of the study revealed that there is significant difference in the religiosity and stress of undergraduate students. Correlation between religiosity and stress is not significant found.


Author(s):  
Jana Grekul ◽  
Wendy Aujla ◽  
Greg Eklics ◽  
Terra Manca ◽  
Ashley Elaine York ◽  
...  

This paper reports on a pilot project that involved the incorporation of Community Service-Learning (CSL) into a large Introductory Sociology class by drawing on the critical reflections of the six graduate student instructors and the primary instructor who taught the course. Graduate student instructors individually facilitated weekly seminars for about 30 undergraduate students, half of which participated in CSL, completing 20 hours of volunteer work with a local non-profit community organization. We discuss the benefits of incorporating CSL into a large Introductory Sociology class and speculate on the value of our particular course format for the professional development of graduate student instructors. A main finding was the critical importance to graduate students of formal and informal training and collaboration prior to and during the delivery of the course. Graduate students found useful exposure to CSL as pedagogical theory and practice, and appreciated the hands-on teaching experience. Challenges with this course structure include the difficulty of seamlessly incorporating CSL student experiences into the class, dealing with the “CSL”/ “non CSL” student division, and the nature of some of the CSL placements. We conclude by discussing possible methods for dealing with these challenges.  


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 116-130
Author(s):  
K. Fuchs ◽  
S. Karrila

Introduction. Online learning is a well-established pedagogical paradigm that has been researched and discussed from a number of perspectives. Educators associate a variety of opportunities and challenges with online education, and recently an unprecedented global pandemic, COVID-19, made traditional classroom teaching temporarily impossible. Emergency remote teaching (ERT) is a newly emerging sub-paradigm that possesses characteristics and challenges that differ from traditional online learning.Methodology and research methods. This study quantitatively examined undergraduate students' (n = 219) perspectives on the most important attributes that are associated with ERT. Moreover, the students' satisfaction with ERT was assessed, and the relationships between socio-demographic factors were analysed.Results and scientific novelty. A descriptive analysis revealed that most students preferred a traditional on-site classroom arrangement, while they were satisfied with the alternative ERT having fully virtual delivery. Also, the study highlighted that the students rated being knowledgeable, friendly, and patient as the most important characteristics of their lecturer in these unusual circumstances.Practical significance. The current research informs educators about student perceptions and preferences during these extraordinary circumstances of uncertain duration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Liliam Rosany Medeiros Fonseca Barcellos ◽  
Natalia Lujan Ferraz ◽  
Érica Midori Ikegami ◽  
Lislei Jorge Patrizzi ◽  
Isabel Aparecida Porcatti de Walsh ◽  
...  

O presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar o preparo para atuação na Atenção Básica (AB), por parte de graduandos do último ano e docentes do curso de Fisioterapia de Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) pública e privadas de uma cidade de médio porte de Minas Gerais. Pesquisa transversal realizada por meio de entrevistas individuais com 64 graduandos e 28 docentes que responderam um questionário semiestruturado com aspectos sobre a atuação do fisioterapeuta para a AB. Os resultados revelaram que os graduandos acreditam que as disciplinas cursadas relacionadas a AB foram suficientes para atuar nesse nível de atenção, ao contrário dos docentes, que acreditam que seus discentes não estão aptos para intervir. A opinião dos graduandos que julgam o tempo de estágio na AB adequado foi bem próxima daqueles que não. Referente as atividades extraclasse relacionadas a AB, essas ainda são escassas. Os docentes conseguem fazer associações entre as disciplinas que ministra com a AB e durante sua formação tiveram disciplinas relacionadas, mas essas não forneceram bases para a prática. Espera-se que os achados contribuam para o direcionamento de ações no campo acadêmico, visando a proposição de mudanças nos currículos dos cursos, ampliação do conhecimento sobre esse nível de atenção e auxílio na formação de um profissional em consonância com os princípios do SUS e da AB, rompendo com o caráter estritamente reabilitador da profissão.PHYSIOTHERAPIST FORMATION FOR PRIMARY CAREABSTRACTThe present study had as objective to analyze the preparation for action in Primary Care (PC) by undergraduate students of the last year and professors of the physiotherapy course of Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) of public and private sectors of a medium-sized city of Minas Gerais. Cross-sectional research was carried out through individual interviews with 64 undergraduates and 28 teachers who answered a semi-structured questionnaire with aspects about the physiotherapist’s performance for PC. The results showed that undergraduates believe that the disciplines studied related to PC were sufficient to act at this level of attention, unlike the teachers, who believe that their students they are not able to intervene. The opinion of graduates judging the appropriate internship time in PC was very close to those who did not. Regarding extraclass activities related to PC, these are still scarce. Teachers are able to make associations between the disciplines that they minister with PC and during their formation had related disciplines, but these did not provide bases for the practice. It is hoped that the findings contribute to the direction of actions in the academic field, aiming at proposing changes in the curricula of the courses, expanding knowledge about this level of attention and assisting in the formation of a professional in harmony with the principles of the Single System of Health (SSH) and PC, breaking with the strictly rehabilitatingcharacter of the profession.KEYWORDS: Physical therapists. Health human resource raining. Primary health care


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL3) ◽  
pp. 1069-1076
Author(s):  
Sundar R ◽  
Yuvaraj Babu K ◽  
Gayathri R

Oral health status is directly proportional to a person's oral health behaviour. Oral health of a person can be determined by their regular oral habits like brushing, flossing, smoking and regular dental check-up. Maintenance of poor oral health can lead to severe dental problems. The aim of the study is to create awareness about oral health and behaviour among the dental and engineering undergraduate students. The self-administered questionnaire prepared about oral health behaviour, distributed to 100 dental and engineering graduate students through online google link and data is collected and analysed. From the collected data, 87.18% of dental students brush daily, and 84.62% of engineering students use dental floss to clean the gap between the teeth. This survey helps to bring knowledge on the awareness of oral health behaviour among the dental and engineering students. From this survey, we have concluded that dental students have good oral hygiene when compared to engineering students.


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