Teaching Nurse Practitioner Students Advanced Health Assessment Skills During COVID-19.

The purpose of this project was to evaluate student outcomes before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in an advanced health assessment course that was offered in the summer semesters to nurse practitioner (NP) students as a hybrid course with online didactic and in-person lab components. Due to COVID-19, the summer 2020 course offering transitioned to being 100% online and innovative strategies replaced the in-person labs. Student outcomes from summer 2019, when the course was hybrid, were compared to summer 2020, when the course was changed to being 100% online. The findings of this project showed somewhat similar learning outcomes on both knowledge and skill acquisition in the 100% online course despite the change to 100% online during COVID-19. In teaching advanced health assessment to NP students, use of videography for skills demonstration, the virtual classroom, and unfolding case studies provided a robust and flexible pedagogy approach for 100% online teaching during a pandemic. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2022;53(2):83-89.].

Hormonal Modulation of Pheromone Detection Enhances Male Courtship Success.

During the lifespans of most animals, reproductive maturity and mating activity are highly coordinated. In Drosophila melanogaster, for instance, male fertility increases with age, and older males are known to have a copulation advantage over young ones. The molecular and neural basis of this age-related disparity in mating behavior is unknown. Here, we show that the Or47b odorant receptor is required for the copulation advantage of older males. Notably, the sensitivity of Or47b neurons to a stimulatory pheromone, palmitoleic acid, is low in young males but high in older ones, which accounts for older males' higher courtship intensity. Mechanistically, this age-related sensitization of Or47b neurons requires a reproductive hormone, juvenile hormone, as well as its binding protein Methoprene-tolerant in Or47b neurons. Together, our study identifies a direct neural substrate for juvenile hormone that permits coordination of courtship activity with reproductive maturity to maximize male reproductive fitness.