Effects of Formative Assessment on Medical Students’ Learning Outcomes in Anatomy and Histology Courses in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Research has shown that formative assessment along with summative assessment improves quality of education, motivation to study, and self-directed learning among students. This study aimed to examine the effects of formative assessment as well as summative assessment on medical students’ learning outcomes in anatomy and histology courses in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study all medical students who took anatomy and histology courses in 2012 (control group) and 2013 (experimental group) were selected through available sampling. The formative assessment was used as an educational intervention along with the summative assessment. The number of anatomy students was 54 in the experimental group and 64 in the control group. The number of histology students was 60 in both the experimental and control groups. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics (independent t test). Results: The mean scores of the anatomy course tests were 11.89±2.01 in the experimental group and 13. 32±2.73 in the control group which indicated a significant difference in these groups (p=0.012, t=2.605). The mean scores of the histology course tests were 13.50±2.27 in the experimental group and 13.82±2.58 in the control group which showed no significant difference between mean scores of the two groups (p=0.447, t=0.765). Conclusion: Not only did the use of formative assessment in the form of multiple-choice tests not enhance students’ scores as an indication of their learning, it also significantly reduced students’ scores and learning in the anatomy course

Assessment of TGF-β3 on production of aggrecan by human articular chondrocytes in pellet culture system

Background: The Autologous Chondrocytes Transplantation (ACT) method is being studied for repair of cartilage diseases. As the chondrocytes dedifferentiated during monolayer culture, three‑dimensional cultures are suggested to redifferentiate them. The aim of this study was investigation of the effect of TGF‑β3 growth factor on chondrocytes in pellet culture system. Materials and Methods: The chondrocytes were isolated from three human articular cartilages by enzymatic digestion. The cells of the second passage were transferred to pellet culture system. We determined the chondrogenic medium with TGF‑β3 as the experimental group and without it as the control group. After 2 weeks, the aggrecan production was investigated using histological and immunohistochemical (IHC) methods. Results: The presence of glycosaminoglycans was proved through Toluiden blue staining. Comparison of IHC results using MATLAB software showed that aggrecan in the experimental group was significantly higher than in the control group (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: The presence of TGF‑β3 in the chondrogenic medium could lead to the production of more aggrecan in chondrocytes cultivated in pellet culture system

Comparison of cartilage specific markers in articular and differentiated chondrocytes in pellet system.

Abstract Autologous cartilage replacement has the inherent advantage that the transplanted tissue is immunogenically neutral. However, chondrocyte isolation, proliferation, and dedifferentiation limitations resulted in the search for a cell type that would overcome the aforementioned limitations. Here we investigated if adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), which are easy to isolate in large quantities, in combination with a three dimensional culture system and growth factor would be a suitable alternative for autologous cartilage ..