Progressive development of scientific literacy through assessment in inquiry-based biomedical science curricula

A key outcome of science education is the development of graduates' scientific literacy, defined as "an individual's scientific knowledge, and use of that knowledge to identify questions, to acquire new knowledge, to explain scientific phenomena, and to draw evidence-based conclusions..." (OECD, 2010; pg 137). These skills are reflected throughout the Science Threshold Learning Outcomes (Jones, Yates and Kelder, 2011). To progressively develop such advanced skills within a broad major like biomedical science, it is essential to guide students along critical learning pathways. We have designed a series of inquiry-based classes to scaffold the development of these skills and vertically-integrated these across the curriculum (Zimbardi, Bugarcic, Colthorpe, Good and Lluka 2013), with this design receiving national recognition as best practice (Elliott, Boin, Irving, Johnson and Galea 2010; Kirkup and Johnson 2013). To facilitate skills development within these classes, students undertake increasingly complex assessment tasks as they progress through each course, requiring them to draw on their developing content knowledge to propose and undertake experiments, and to make conclusions based on their findings and evidence from scientific literature. Longitudinal analysis of a variety of assessment tasks from students across four semesters demonstrates the developmental trajectory of these skills. Specifically, they demonstrate increases in their ability to formulate testable hypotheses with measurable outcomes, their appreciation of cutting-edge methodologies and deeper understanding of the contestable nature of increasingly complex areas of scientific knowledge. This article reports on the design and use of these assessment tasks within the series of inquiry-based curricula, and their impact on the progression of student learning

Parkinson disease-linked Vps35 R524W mutation impairs the endosomal association of retromer and induces α-synuclein aggregation

Endosomal sorting is a highly orchestrated cellular process. Retromer is a heterotrimeric complex that associates with endosomal membranes and facilitates the retrograde sorting of multiple receptors, including the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor for lysosomal enzymes. The cycling of retromer on and off the endosomal membrane is regulated by a network of retromer-interacting proteins. Here, we find that Parkinson disease-associated Vps35 variant, R524W, but not P316S, is a loss-of-function mutation as marked by a reduced association with this regulatory network and dysregulation of endosomal receptor sorting. Expression of Vps35 R524W-containing retromer results in the accumulation of intracellular α-synuclein-positive aggregates, a hallmark of Parkinson disease. Overall, the Vps35 R524W-containing retromer has a decreased endosomal association, which can be partially rescued by R55, a small molecule previously shown to stabilize the retromer complex, supporting the potential for future targeting of the retromer complex in the treatment of Parkinson disease

Designing organometallic compounds for catalysis and therapy

Bioorganometallic chemistry is a rapidly developing area of research. In recent years organometallic compounds have provided a rich platform for the design of effective catalysts, e.g. for olefin metathesis and transfer hydrogenation. Electronic and steric effects are used to control both the thermodynamics and kinetics of ligand substitution and redox reactions of metal ions, especially Ru II. Can similar features be incorporated into the design of targeted organometallic drugs? Such complexes offer potential for novel mechanisms of drug action through incorporation of outer-sphere recognition of targets and controlled activation features based on ligand substitution as well as metal- and ligand-based redox processes. We focus here on η 6-arene, η 5-cyclopentadienyl sandwich and half-sandwich complexes of Fe II, Ru II, Os II and Ir III with promising activity towards cancer, malaria, and other conditions. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry

Endocannabinoid levels in female-sexed individuals with diagnosed depression: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent mental health disorder with females experiencing higher rates of depression (11.6%), anxiety (15.7%) and physiological distress (14.5%) than males. Recently, the Endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been proposed to be a key contributing factor in the pathogenesis and symptom severity of MDD due to its role in neurotransmitter production, inflammatory response and even regulation of the female reproductive cycle. This review critically evaluates evidence regarding ECS levels in female-sexed individuals with depressive disorders to further understand ECS role. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic literature review of available research published prior to April 2022 was identified using PubMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), CINAHL (EBSCO), Web of Science, AMED and Scopus (Elsevier). Studies were included if they reported ECS analysis of female-sexed individuals with depression and were excluded if they did not differentiate results between sexes, assessed mental health conditions other than depression, tested efficacy of endocannabinoid/n-acylethanolamine/cannabis or marijuana administration and that were unable to be translated. Critical appraisal of each included study was undertaken using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool for Systematic Reviews. RESULTS: The 894 located citations were screened for duplicates (n = 357) and eligibility by title and abstract (n = 501). The full text of 33 studies were reviewed, and 7 studies were determined eligible for inclusion. These studies indicated that depressed female-sexed individuals have altered levels of ECS however no significant pattern was identified due to variability of study outcomes and measures, limiting overall interpretation. DISCUSSION: This review suggests potential involvement of ECS in underlying mechanisms of MDD in female sexed-individuals, however no pattern was able to be determined. A major contributor to the inability to attain reliable and valid understanding of the ECS levels in female-sexed individuals with depression was the inconsistency of depression screening tools, inclusion criteria's and analysis methods used to measure eCBs. Future studies need to implement more standardised methodology to gain a deeper understanding of ECS in female-sexed individuals with depressive disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION : This review was submitted to PROSPERO for approval in April 2022 (Registration #CRD42022324212)

Binding of Platinum(II) to Some Biologicaly Important Thiols

The reactions between [Pt(terpy)Cl+ and thiols, such as glutathione, L-cysteine, D-penicillamine and thioglycolic acid have been Studied by conventional UV-VIS spectrophotometry and H NMR spectroscopy. The second-ordero rate constants, K2, are similar for these four thiols, varying between 1.06 x 10-2 and 6.10 x 10+3 M-1 s-1 at 25°C. The activation entropies have large negative values between -100 and -200 J mol-1 which are compatible with an associative A mechanism. However, L-methionine, as thioether ligand, is unreactive under the same experimental conditions. The obtained results have been analyzed in relation to the antitumor activity and toxicity of platinum(II) complexes

Ayurvedic formulations: potential COVID-19 therapeutics?

Background: While Molnupiravir and Paxlovid have recently been approved for use in some countries, there are no widely available treatments for COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Herbal extracts have been used to treat respiratory clinical indications by Ayurvedic medicine practitioners with minimal adverse reactions and intense research efforts are currently under way to develop some of these formulations for COVID-19 treatment. Methods: Literature search for in silico, in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies on the topic of Ayurvedic formulations for potential COVID-19 treatment, in order to present the current state of current knowledge by integrating information across all systems. Results: The search yielded 20 peer reviewed articles on in silico studies examining the interaction of phytoconstituents of popular Ayurvedic formulations with SARS-CoV-2 components and its receptors; five articles on preclinical investigations of the ability of selected Ayurvedic formulations to inhibit functions of SARS-CoV-2 proteins; and 51 completed clinical trials on the efficacy of using Ayurvedic formulations for treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19. Clinical data was available from 17 of the 51 trials. There was a considerable overlap between formulations used in the in silico studies and the clinical trials. This finding was unexpected as there is no clearly stated alignment between studies and the traditional pathway to drug discovery– basic discovery leading to in vitro and in vivo proof of concept, followed by validation in clinical trials. This was further demonstrated in the majority of the in silico studies where focus was on potential antiviral mechanisms, while the clinical trials were focused on patient recovery using oral treatments. In all 17 clinical trials where data was available, Ayurvedic treatments lead to a shorter period to recovery in participants with COVID-19. Conclusion: The most commonly used Ayurvedic treatments for management of respiratory symptoms associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection appear to have prophylactic and/or therapeutic properties. It would be of particular interest to assess synergistic and concomitant systemic effects and antiviral activities of individual phytoconstituents and their combinations in the Ayurvedic treatments

Criteria for the selection, evaluation and application of traditional knowledge in contemporary health practice, education, research and policy: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) is highly utilised and draws on traditional knowledge (TK) as evidence, raising a need to explore how TK is currently used. OBJECTIVES: Examine criteria used to select, evaluate and apply TK in contemporary health contexts. METHODS: Systematic search utilising academic databases (AMED, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, SSCI, ProQuest Dissertations Theses Global), Trip clinical database and Google search engine. Citations and reference lists of included articles were searched. Reported use of TK in contemporary settings was mapped against a modified 'Exploration-Preparation-Implementation-Sustainment' (EPIS) implementation framework. RESULTS: From the 54 included articles, EPIS mapping found TK is primarily used in the Exploration phase of implementation (n = 54), with little reporting on Preparation (n = 16), Implementation process (n = 6) or Sustainment (n = 4) of TK implementation. Criteria used in selection, evaluation and application of TK commonly involved validation with other scientific/traditional evidence sources, or assessment of factors influencing knowledge translation. DISCUSSION: One of the difficulties in validation of TK (as a co-opted treatment) against other evidence sources is comparing like with like as TK often takes a holistic approach. This complicates further planning and evaluation of implementation. CONCLUSION: This review identifies important criteria for evaluating current and potential contemporary use of TK, identifying gaps in research and practice for finding, appraising and applying relevant TK studies for clinical care

Based catalyzed phenylselenoetherification of 6-methyl- hept-5-en-2-ol

The mechanism of phenylselenoetherification of 6-methylhept-5-en-2-ol in the presence of some bases (pyridine, triethylamine, quinoline, 2,2'-bipyridine) as catalysts was examined through kinetic study of the cyclization under pseudo-first order conditions, by UV-VIS spectrophotometry. The obtained values for the rate constants show that there is a good agreement between those constants and the basicity of the catalyst. The fastest reaction is the one using the strongest base (triethylamine) and the smallest rate constant corresponded to the use of the weakest base as catalyst (2, 2'-bipyridine).Publishe

Development and analysis of scientific argument in oral presentations of undergraduate science students

An essential goal of science education is to help students develop effective scientific thinking, which is characterised by rigorous, evidence-based reasoning. However science graduates must also be able to effectively communicate that reasoning through scientific argument, via the process of developing and communicating claims, evidence and reasoning in the context of science (Sampson, Grooms & Walker, 2009). This study developed and validated a method for analysing the quality of scientific arguments in oral presentations of 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate biomedical science students. Our findings suggest that students make a lot of unfounded claims and struggle to provide the evidence and theoretical backing to support these claims, let alone the reasoning that links this support to the claims. These findings led to an intervention to increase the focus on scientific reasoning in assessment of oral presentations, through revised assessment criteria and the provision of specific guidelines for students. Subjectively, this has led to an increase in the quality and quantity of each element of scientific reasoning being presented. This project has modelled the use of evidence-based assessments to inform teaching improvements to ultimately facilitate the development of highly qualified scientists, skilled in scientific argument and communication. References Sampson, V., Grooms, J. & Walker, J. P. (2009) Argument-Driven Inquiry. Science Teacher, 76, 42-47