@article{battestilli_bohorquez_khan_meral_2023, title={Exploring Students' Perceptions and Engagement in Hybrid Flexible Courses}, url={https://doi.org/10.1145/3573051.3593383}, DOI={10.1145/3573051.3593383}, abstractNote={The Hybrid Flexible (HyFlex) instruction format provides learners with the flexibility to choose from in-person, online synchronous, or asynchronous learning. However, students' learning experiences with HyFlex has not been studied at scale. The primary goal of this study was to investigate how students' perceptions about the availability of learning resources relates to their course engagement and performance in a HyFlex learning environment. In Spring 2022, we administered an end-of-semester survey to one graduate and five undergraduate courses, each of which utilized the HyFlex instructional model. Courses were selected from three different colleges at a large public university in the United States. We investigated students' perceptions about the effectiveness, importance, and ease of use of all three learning modalities that were offered (in-person, online synchronous, and asynchronous) and the learning support options (instructor access outside of class, learning help resources, and flexibility to choose learning modality without restriction). With a sample size of 537, we found that 30% of surveyed students found in-person and online synchronous learning important for their learning whereas 60% found asynchronous learning and the flexibility to choose their learning modality important for their learning. When asked about their actual use of different modalities, students reported using asynchronous learning the most, followed by online synchronous learning. In-person learning was reportedly the least utilized. We found that non-real-time learning modalities contributed positively to overall student engagement. Students preferred to use asynchronous resources and have the flexibility to choose among learning modalities. Yet, results indicate that students who incorporated some real-time learning not only had higher performance-related engagement (e.g., confidence in their ability to succeed in the course) than those who relied primarily on non-real-time learning, but they also earned higher grades for the course. This suggests that utilizing some in-person or online synchronous modalities in conjunction with the student-preferred asynchronous options leads to improved course outcomes for both student engagement and course performance.}, journal={PROCEEDINGS OF THE TENTH ACM CONFERENCE ON LEARNING @ SCALE, L@S 2023}, author={Battestilli, Lina and Bohorquez, Elaine B. and Khan, Sarah and Meral, Cigdem}, year={2023}, pages={110–119} }
 @article{fulton_arango_ali_bohorquez_lund_ashwell_settar_o'sullivan_koci_2014, title={Genetic Variation within the Mx Gene of Commercially Selected Chicken Lines Reveals Multiple Haplotypes, Recombination and a Protein under Selection Pressure}, volume={9}, ISSN={1932-6203}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108054}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pone.0108054}, abstractNote={The Mx protein is one of the best-characterized interferon-stimulated antiviral mediators. Mx homologs have been identified in most vertebrates examined; however, their location within the cell, their level of activity, and the viruses they inhibit vary widely. Recent studies have demonstrated multiple Mx alleles in chickens and some reports have suggested a specific variant (S631N) within exon 14 confers antiviral activity. In the current study, the complete genome of nine elite egg-layer type lines were sequenced and multiple variants of the Mx gene identified. Within the coding region and upstream putative promoter region 36 SNP variants were identified, producing a total of 12 unique haplotypes. Each elite line contained from one to four haplotypes, with many of these haplotypes being found in only one line. Observation of changes in haplotype frequency over generations, as well as recombination, suggested some unknown selection pressure on the Mx gene. Trait association analysis with either individual SNP or haplotypes showed a significant effect of Mx haplotype on several egg production related traits, and on mortality following Marek's disease virus challenge in some lines. Examination of the location of the various SNP within the protein suggests synonymous SNP tend to be found within structural or enzymatic regions of the protein, while non-synonymous SNP are located in less well defined regions. The putative resistance variant N631 was found in five of the 12 haplotypes with an overall frequency of 47% across the nine lines. Two Mx recombinants were identified within the elite populations, indicating that novel variation can arise and be maintained within intensively selected lines. Collectively, these results suggest the conflicting reports in the literature describing the impact of the different SNP on chicken Mx function may be due to the varying context of haplotypes present in the populations studied.}, number={9}, journal={PLoS ONE}, publisher={Public Library of Science (PLoS)}, author={Fulton, Janet E. and Arango, Jesus and Ali, Rizwana A. and Bohorquez, Elaine B. and Lund, Ashlee R. and Ashwell, Chris M. and Settar, Petek and O'Sullivan, Neil P. and Koci, Matthew D.}, editor={Arez, Ana PaulaEditor}, year={2014}, month={Sep}, pages={e108054} }