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The Statistics Teaching Inventory (STI) was designed to assess the teaching practices of U.S.-based, college-level introductory statistics instructors in a variety of institutions and departments. This instrument has now been updated to reflect current trends and recommendations in statistics education. In this study, we used the STI to examine the current state of the curricular and instructional practices being used by U.S.-based, college-level introductory statistics instructors. We explore the extent to which instructors report that their introductory statistics courses are aligned with recommended practices as outlined by the 2016 GAISE College Report. Data were collected from a sample of college-level U.S.-based, college-level introductory statistics instructors. Results based on 228 usable responses indicated that instructors, by-and-large, tended to be following the GAISE recommendations, especially related to content. However, courses may not yet be aligned with newer content recommendations (e.g., provide students opportunities to work with multivariate data), and there is still a large percentage of instructors that are not embracing student-oriented pedagogies and assessment methods. for this article are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The third complementary‐determining regions of the heavy‐chain (CDR3H) variable regions (VH) of some cattle antibodies are highly extended, consisting of 48 or more residues. These 'ultralong' CDR3Hs form β‐ribbon stalks that protrude from the surface of the antibody with a disulfide cross‐linked knob region at their apex that dominates antigen interactions over the other CDR loops. The structure of the Fab fragment of a naturally paired bovine ultralong antibody (D08), identified by single B‐cell sequencing, has been determined to 1.6 Å resolution. By swapping the D08 native light chain with that of an unrelated antigen‐unknown ultralong antibody, it is shown that interactions between the CDR3s of the variable domains potentially affect the fine positioning of the ultralong CDR3H; however, comparison with other crystallographic structures shows that crystalline packing is also a major contributor. It is concluded that, on balance, the exact positioning of ultralong CDR3H loops is most likely to be due to the constraints of crystal packing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foot-and-mouth disease vaccination using inactivated virus is suboptimal, as the icosahedral viral capsids often disassemble into antigenically distinct pentameric units during long-term storage, or exposure to elevated temperature or lowered pH, and thus raise a response that is no longer protective. Furthermore, as foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV)'s seven serotypes are antigenically diverse, cross-protection from a single serotype vaccine is limited, and most existing mouse and bovine antibodies and camelid single-domain heavy chain-only antibodies are serotype-specific. For quality control purposes, there is a real need for pan-serotype antibodies that clearly distinguish between pentamer (12S) and protective intact FMDV capsid. To date, few cross-serotype bovine-derived antibodies have been reported in the literature. We identify a bovine antibody with an ultralong CDR-H3, Ab117, whose structural analysis reveals that it binds to a deep, hydrophobic pocket on the interior surface of the capsid via the CDR-H3. Main-chain and hydrophobic interactions provide broad serotype specificity. ELISA analysis confirms that Ab117 is a novel pan-serotype and conformational epitope-specific 12S reagent, suitable for assessing capsid integrity.

Statement of Problem: Limited studies have reported the influence of finish line location on the accuracy of intraoral scanners (IOSs). Focal length is a hardware characteristic of IOSs. Whether there is a relationship between scanning accuracy of tooth preparations with the finish located at different apical positions and focal length and IOS technology or system remains uncertain., Purpose: The purpose of the present in vitro study was to assess the influence of the apical finish line location of tooth preparations on the accuracy of 4 IOSs with various focal lengths and scanning technologies., Material and Methods: A maxillary typodont with a crown preparation on the left first molar was digitized (T710). Afterwards, a removable die was created on the prepared first molar of the virtual cast and duplicated to create 4 dies with different apical finish line locations: 2- or 1-mm supragingival, 0-mm or equigingival, and -0.5-mm or intracrevicular. The cast and die designs were additively fabricated (Asiga Pro 4K with Keystone Model Ultra). Each die was independently scanned by using the same laboratory scanner (reference scans). Four groups were created: TRIOS 5, i700, iTero, and Primescan. Four subgroups were developed depending on the apical position of the finish line (n=15). In each subgroup, the cast was assembled by positioning the corresponding die into the cast. The cast was then scanned by using the corresponding IOS. The reference scans were used as a control to compute the root mean square (RMS) error discrepancies with each experimental scan on the preparation and margin of the preparation areas. Two-way ANOVA and pairwise comparisons were used to analyze trueness (α=.05). The Levene and pairwise comparisons using the Wilcoxon Rank sum test were used to analyze precision (α=.05)., Results: Trueness discrepancies in the preparation area were found among the groups (P=.010) and subgroups (P<.001), with a significant interaction between group×subgroup (P<.001). The -0.5 mm location obtained significantly worse trueness in the preparation area. The TRIOS 5 and i700 obtained the best trueness in the preparation area. Trueness discrepancies in the margin area were found among the groups (P=.002) and subgroups (P<.001), with a significant interaction between group×subgroup (P=.004). The -0.5 mm location obtained the worst trueness in the margin area. The i700 and Primescan obtained the best trueness in the margin area. Precision discrepancies were found in the preparation area (P<.001). The TRIOS 5 obtained the best precision in the preparation area (P=.001). Precision discrepancies in the margin area were obtained (P<.001). The 1-mm subgroup obtained the best precision (P=.001)., Conclusions: The apical position of the finish line of the tooth preparation tested affected the trueness and precision of the IOSs tested., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)