When quick response codes didn't do the trick.

Medical education programs in the United States or Canada comply with the Liaison Committee on medical education standards to ensure their graduates provide proficient medical care. One standard includes student development as a lifelong learner. The competency of lifelong learning is developed through self-directed activities such as students evaluating their learning objectives and resources without external help.Quick response (QR) codes were the technological tools introduced in a traditional medical institution to enhance students' self-directed initiative to tap resources. Relevant lecture objectives and other information such as supplemental discipline content, reading assignments and web-based link resources were embedded into codes and 'pasted' onto all pages of their course PDF handouts. It was anticipated that most students had access to smart phones to conveniently scan the codes and retrieve the information.However, an in-class survey conducted showed that only 30% of the students found the QR codes useful. Further questioning revealed that some students just didn't know how to use the codes or didn't think the information embedded was worth the effort to decrypt. Although students were tech-savvy in the social and entertainment realms, they were not adept in the use of technology for educational purposes.QR codes presented several theoretical, pedagogical advantages to enhance experiential and self-directed learning. However, implementation among students, in a traditional classroom, required prior instructions on usage. Student feedback was also imperative when introducing novel, innovative tools like QR codes.

Toward visualization in policy modeling.

This article looks at the current and future roles of information visualization, semantics visualization, and visual analytics in policy modeling. Many experts believe that you can't overestimate visualization's role in this respect.

Stereoisomeric pattern of lilac aldehyde in Silene latifolia, a plant involved in a nursery pollination system.

The monoterpene lilac aldehyde is found in floral scent of several plants species, among them Silene latifolia. This plant is involved in a nursery pollination system, because a noctuid moth, Hadena bicruris, is not only pollinator but also seed predator. Lilac aldehyde is the key floral scent compound of S. latifolia for attracting Hadena. This monoterpene has three stereogenic centers, and eight different isomers are possible. Here, we analysed the ratio of lilac aldehyde isomers from plants originating from 18 different populations of S. latifolia using enantioselective multidimensional GC-MS (enantio-MDGC-MS), and compared resulting variability with variability found in total scent emitted by specimen under study. Though variability in total emitted scent was high, ratio of lilac aldehyde isomers was a more conservative trait. There was no correlation between the ratio of lilac aldehyde isomers and the total emitted floral scent pattern. Both, ratio of stereoisomers and total emitted scent were independent from the geographic origin of the plants. In conclusion, the ratio of lilac aldehyde stereoisomers in S. latifolia is a reliable trait, and may used by the nursery pollinator H. bicruris for host-plant detection.

Intrageneric differences in the four stereoisomers of stenusine in the rove beetle genus, Stenus (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae).

Most species of the rove beetle genus Stenus employ the spreading alkaloid stenusine as an escape mechanism on water surfaces. In the case of danger, they emit stenusine from their pygidial glands, and it propels them over the water very quickly. Stenusine is a chiral molecule with four stereoisomers: (2'R,3R)-, (2'S,3R)-, (2'S,3S)-, and (2'R,3S)-stenusine. The percentile ratio of these four isomers is only known for the most common species of the genus: Stenus comma. With the intention of determining the stereoisomer ratios of five additional species from the two subgenera, Stenus and Hypostenus, we used GC/mass spectrometry measurements with a chiral phase. The results showed that the ratio differs among the genus. These findings can be a basis for chemotaxonomy. It is also possible that the biological function of stenusine, e.g., as antibiotic or fungicide, varies with changing stereoisomer composition.

Linalool and lilac aldehyde/alcohol in flower scents. Electrophysiological detection of lilac aldehyde stereoisomers by a moth.

The stereoisomers of linalool and lilac aldehyde/alcohol were determined in the flower scent of 15 plant species using enantioselective multidimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (enantio-MDGC/MS). Both linalool and all 8 stereoisomers of lilac alcohol and lilac aldehyde were detected, and there was a species-specific pattern. Single stereoisomers were collected by micropreparative-enantio-MDGC and were electrophysiologically tested on antennae of the noctuid moth Hadena bicruris, a species known to rely on lilac aldehyde for finding its host plant. The moth responded to all 8 stereoisomers, though only four stereoisomers were found in the scent of its host plant. The moth was less sensitive to some isomers than to others.

Biogenetic studies in Syringa vulgaris L.: bioconversion of (18)O(2H)-labeled precursors into lilac aldehydes and lilac alcohols.

Syringa vulgaris L. inflorescences, petals, and chloroplasts, isolated from lilac flower petals, were fed with aqueous solutions of (18)O-labeled linalool and [5,5-(2)H(2)]-deoxy-d-xylose (DOX). The chloroplasts of lilac flower petals were isolated after feeding experiments with labeled precursors. Volatiles from the chloroplasts were extracted by stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) and analyzed using enantioselective multidimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (enantio-MDGC-MS). Feeding experiments with DOX indicate that the novel mevalonate-independent 1-deoxy-d-xylose 5-phosphate/2C-methyl-d-erythritol 4-phosphate (DOX/MEP) is the decisive pathway of lilac aldehyde and lilac alcohol, respectively. Bioconversion of [(18)O]linalool into lilac aldehyde and lilac alcohol during in vivo feeding experiments was monitored, and the metabolic pathways are discussed.