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  Financial Instability

  Bustamante, Araceli; Chavez, Anita; Liebman, Maddy; Reynolds, Leah (The University of Arizona., 2022)
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  T-cell cellular stress and reticulocyte signatures, but not loss of naïve T lymphocytes, characterize severe COVID-19 in older adults

  Jergović, Mladen; Watanabe, Makiko; Bhat, Ruchika; Coplen, Christopher P; Sonar, Sandip A; Wong, Rachel; Castaneda, Yvonne; Davidson, Lisa; Kala, Mrinalini; Wilson, Rachel C; et al. (Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2023-01-12)

  In children and younger adults up to 39 years of age, SARS-CoV-2 usually elicits mild symptoms that resemble the common cold. Disease severity increases with age starting at 30 and reaches astounding mortality rates that are ~330 fold higher in persons above 85 years of age compared to those 18–39 years old. To understand age-specific immune pathobiology of COVID-19, we have analyzed soluble mediators, cellular phenotypes, and transcriptome from over 80 COVID-19 patients of varying ages and disease severity, carefully controlling for age as a variable. We found that reticulocyte numbers and peripheral blood transcriptional signatures robustly correlated with disease severity. By contrast, decreased numbers and proportion of naïve T-cells, reported previously as a COVID-19 severity risk factor, were found to be general features of aging and not of COVID-19 severity, as they readily occurred in older participants experiencing only mild or no disease at all. Single-cell transcriptional signatures across age and severity groups showed that severe but not moderate/mild COVID-19 causes cell stress response in different T-cell populations, and some of that stress was unique to old severe participants, suggesting that in severe disease of older adults, these defenders of the organism may be disabled from performing immune protection. These findings shed new light on interactions between age and disease severity in COVID-19.
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  Non-reciprocal acoustoelectric microwave amplifiers with net gain and low noise in continuous operation

  Hackett, Lisa; Miller, Michael; Weatherred, Scott; Arterburn, Shawn; Storey, Matthew J.; Peake, Greg; Dominguez, Daniel; Finnegan, Patrick S.; Friedmann, Thomas A.; Eichenfield, Matt; et al. (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2023-01-16)

  Piezoelectric acoustic devices that are integrated with semiconductors can leverage the acoustoelectric effect, allowing functionalities such as gain and isolation to be achieved in the acoustic domain. This could lead to performance improvements and miniaturization of radio-frequency electronic systems. However, acoustoelectric amplifiers that offer a large acoustic gain with low power consumption and noise figure at microwave frequencies in continuous operation have not yet been developed. Here we report non-reciprocal acoustoelectric amplifiers that are based on a three-layer heterostructure consisting of an indium gallium arsenide (In0.53Ga0.47As) semiconducting film, a lithium niobate (LiNbO3) piezoelectric film, and a silicon substrate. The heterostructure can continuously generate 28.0 dB of acoustic gain (4.0 dB net radio-frequency gain) for 1 GHz phonons with an acoustic noise figure of 2.8 dB, while dissipating 40.5 mW of d.c. power. We also create a device with an acoustic gain of 37.0 dB (11.3 dB net gain) at 1 GHz with 19.6 mW of d.c. power dissipation and a non-reciprocal transmission of over 55 dB.
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  Student Feedback Regarding Online Course Production Value: A Case Study from Classics

  Stephan, Robert P.; University of Arizona, Department of Religious Studies and Classics (IEEE, 2022-09)

  This paper employs a data-driven approach to understanding the relationship between online course production quality, instructional effectiveness, and student satisfaction. To accomplish this, it assesses data from six years of student evaluations for online courses and compares it to the production style and quality present in those courses. The quantitative multiple choice course evaluation questions speak to issues of overall quality and satisfaction, student learning, and content and lesson clarity. Qualitative student comments are also assessed to understand the degree to which production quality is highlighted as a driving factor in both student enjoyment and instructional effectiveness. Finally, trends in evaluation data are analyzed in conjunction with the quality and style of each course to provide a better understanding of how students perceive the value of production quality. This project serves as an important step in furthering evidence-based online pedagogy and provides valuable insights for how to best allocate time and resources with regard to online course production.
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  The Cost of High Production Quality: A Preliminary Discussion of the Value of Production in Asynchronous Online Modalities

  Simmons, Caleb; University of Arizona, Online Education (IEEE, 2022-09)

  What would happen if online course content was produced at television-or even cinematic-level quality? Would students become more engaged? Would they learn more and more deeply? If so, would the gains be worth the expenditure of time and funds that higher video production quality requires? To put it another way: Do investments in video production quality result in measurable increases in students' achievement of learning outcomes and objectives? Questions such as these are at the heart of this preliminary discussion of production value for online content creation, which investigates a grand challenge facing higher education and society generally, as we navigate the spectrum of modalities in a post-pandemic world. This questions that this paper proposes stands at the intersection of educational scholarship, course content creation, student retention and persistence, and the achievement of learning outcomes and objectives. It, therefore, seeks to push forward a model for change and improvement in university education and teaching and learning on our campuses.

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