15,533 research outputs found
PeerWise - The Marmite of Veterinary Student Learning
PeerWise is a free online student-centred collaborative learning tool with which students anonymously
author, answer, and evaluate multiple choice questions (MCQs). Features such as commenting on questions,
rating questions and comments, and appearing on leaderboards, can encourage healthy competition, engage
students in reflection and debate, and enhance their communication skills. PeerWise has been used in diverse
subject areas but never previously in Veterinary Medicine. The Veterinary undergraduates at the University of
Glasgow are a distinct cohort; academically gifted and often highly strategic in their learning due to time
pressures and volume of course material. In 2010-11 we introduced PeerWise into 1st year Veterinary
Biomolecular Sciences in the Glasgow Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery programme. To scaffold
PeerWise use, a short interactive session introduced students to the tool and to the basic principles of good MCQ
authorship. Students were asked to author four and answer forty MCQs throughout the academic year.
Participation was encouraged by an allocation of up to 5% of the final year mark and inclusion of studentauthored
questions in the first summative examination. Our analysis focuses on engagement of the class with the\ud
tool and their perceptions of its use. All 141 students in the class engaged with PeerWise and the majority
contributed beyond that which was stipulated. Student engagement with PeerWise prior to a summative exam
was positively correlated to exam score, yielding a relationship that was highly significant (p<0.001). Student
perceptions of PeerWise were predominantly positive with explicit recognition of its value as a learning and
revision tool, and more than two thirds of the class in agreement that question authoring and answering
reinforced their learning. There was clear polarisation of views, however, and those students who did not like
PeerWise were vociferous in their dislike, the biggest criticism being lack of moderation by staff
Enhanced Operational Semantics in Systems Biology
We are faced with a great challenge: the cross-fertilization between the fields of formal methods for concurrency, in the computer science domain, and systems biology in the biological realm
Improvements to the APBS biomolecular solvation software suite
The Adaptive Poisson-Boltzmann Solver (APBS) software was developed to solve
the equations of continuum electrostatics for large biomolecular assemblages
that has provided impact in the study of a broad range of chemical, biological,
and biomedical applications. APBS addresses three key technology challenges for
understanding solvation and electrostatics in biomedical applications: accurate
and efficient models for biomolecular solvation and electrostatics, robust and
scalable software for applying those theories to biomolecular systems, and
mechanisms for sharing and analyzing biomolecular electrostatics data in the
scientific community. To address new research applications and advancing
computational capabilities, we have continually updated APBS and its suite of
accompanying software since its release in 2001. In this manuscript, we discuss
the models and capabilities that have recently been implemented within the APBS
software package including: a Poisson-Boltzmann analytical and a
semi-analytical solver, an optimized boundary element solver, a geometry-based
geometric flow solvation model, a graph theory based algorithm for determining
p values, and an improved web-based visualization tool for viewing
electrostatics
Process algebra modelling styles for biomolecular processes
We investigate how biomolecular processes are modelled in process algebras, focussing on chemical reactions. We consider various modelling styles and how design decisions made in the definition of the process algebra have an impact on how a modelling style can be applied. Our goal is to highlight the often implicit choices that modellers make in choosing a formalism, and illustrate, through the use of examples, how this can affect expressability as well as the type and complexity of the analysis that can be performed
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