Biology and Society: A New Way to Teach Tertiary Science to Non-science Students

Room 9.15, Worsley Building, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9J

Microbiological swabs have no role in the management of acute pilonidal abscesses

Aims: Microbiological swabs are often taken at the time of surgery for the treatment of acute pilonidal abscesses. This audit assessed whether swabs play a role in the management of these patients. Methods: A retrospective audit of electronic records was undertaken over a 2-year period between 1st January 2012 and December 31st 2013. Variables measured included patient sex, episode index, swab results, antibiotic use and recurrences. Results: Over the 2-year period there were 182 operations for acute pilonidal abscesses. Microbiological swabs were taken in 151 cases (83%). The most common culture was anaerobe (36%) followed by no growth (19%) and skin flora (8%). In total, 114 reports (94%) were issued after the patient had been discharged. Post-operative antibiotics were prescribed in 15 cases (8%) and within this group 9 patients (60%) had no growth on swab results. There were 11 recurrences (6%) with no correlation between the initial swab results and recurrent swab results being observed. Conclusions: In this audit, swab results did not alter any patient's treatment and nearly all reports were issued after the patient had been discharged. Recurrent abscesses do not appear to be linked to initial swab results

Removing the fear from teaching Traditional Ways of Knowing in science

Incorporating Traditional Ways of Knowing (TWK) into science education has long been recommended (e.g., Meyer & Crawford, 2011; Rich, 2012; Zidny, Sjöström, & Eilks, 2020). While many students are unaware that alternatives to western knowledge exist (Rich, 2012), cross-cultural education can provide students with the tools for a multiple-knowledge approach to real-world problems and can increase the relevance of science education beyond theories and facts, contextualising learning in everyday life (Zidny et al., 2020). Embedding TWK into science education can also engage under-represented students and assist in the development of academic hospitality toward Indigenous peoples (Meyer & Crawford, 2011; Rich, 2012). However, it is important to not make this approach only a box-ticking exercise (Rich, 2012). While TWK is best done in cooperation with Aboriginal people, the opportunities for this are limited. We have developed TWK with the assistance of Traditional Owners and have implemented cultural awareness training for all science students at Flinders University.  We have also developed a program of TWK embedded across an entire science degree in Conservation Biology.  We will discuss how we can build, facilitate, and embed Indigenous perspectives as non-Indigenous Australian lecturers, and how through experience, we can build confident and competent delivery of material. REFERENCES Meyer, X., & Crawford, B. (2011). Teaching science as a cultural way of knowing: Merging authentic inquiry, nature of science, and multicultural strategies. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 6(3), 525-547. Rich, N. (2012). Introduction: Why link Indigenous ways of knowing with the teaching of environmental studies and sciences? Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2(4), 308-316. Zidny, R., Sjöström, J., & Eilks, I. (2020). A multi-perspective reflection on how Indigenous knowledge and related ideas can improve science education for sustainability. Science & Education, 29(1), 145-185

Optimal management of malignant left-sided large bowel obstruction: do international guidelines agree?

Background Approximately 20% of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer will present with left-sided large bowel obstruction. The optimal management of this cohort of patients remains unclear. We aimed to review international guidelines to see if there was a consensus on the treatment of this surgical emergency. Methods The PubMed and Medline databases were searched for guidelines on the management of left-sided, malignant large bowel obstruction (MBO) between 2010 and 2018. Results Nineteen guidelines were identified spanning a range of continents. There was no clear consensus on the management of potentially resectable disease. Eight guidelines (42%) suggested primary surgery, two guidelines (11%) suggested stenting as a bridge to surgery and nine guidelines (47%) suggested surgery or stenting could be performed. Primary resection with or without anastomosis was the most frequently recommended procedure (n = 6 35%), but over a third of guidelines gave no operative recommendations. There was very limited detail on the stenting procedure and how long elective surgery should be deferred. In the palliative situation, there was general agreement that stents should be offered in preference to surgery. Conclusion International guidelines offer limited and contrasting recommendations on the management of left-sided MBO. There is a lack of high-quality evidence to support whether emergency surgery or stenting as a bridge to surgery is the optimal procedure in terms of morbidity, mortality and long-term oncological outcome

Are the benefits of clickers due to the enforcement of good pedagogy?

Milperra NS

AZD1775 Induces Toxicity Through Double-Stranded DNA Breaks Independently of Chemotherapeutic Agents in p53-Mutated Colorectal Cancer Cells

AZD1775 is a small molecule WEE1 inhibitor used in combination with DNA-damaging agents to cause premature mitosis and cell death in p53-mutated cancer cells. Here we sought to determine the mechanism of action of AZD1775 in combination with chemotherapeutic agents in light of recent findings that AZD1775 can cause double-stranded DNA (DS-DNA) breaks. AZD1775 significantly improved the cytotoxicity of 5-FU in a p53-mutated colorectal cancer cell line (HT29 cells), decreasing the IC50 from 9.3 μM to 3.5 μM. Flow cytometry showed a significant increase in the mitotic marker pHH3 (3.4% vs. 56.2%) and DS-DNA break marker γH2AX (5.1% vs. 50.7%) for combination therapy compared to 5-FU alone. Combination therapy also increased the amount of caspase-3 dependent apoptosis compared to 5-FU alone (4% vs. 13%). The addition of exogenous nucleosides to combination therapy significantly rescued the increased DS-DNA breaks and caspase-3 dependent apoptosis almost to the levels of 5-FU monotherapy. In conclusion, AZD1775 enhances 5-FU cytotoxicity through increased DS-DNA breaks, not premature mitosis, in p53-mutated colorectal cancer cells. This finding is important for designers of future clinical trials when considering the optimal timing and duration of AZD1775 treatment

Developing Scientific Literacy for all University Graduates

University educated students should possess at least a basic level of scientific literacy so as not to be disadvantaged in a highly technological global environment. Most, if not all Australian Universities, list the graduate attribute of “being knowledgeable” yet many graduates are potentially unable to make decisions based on scientific understanding. Without a basic knowledge of science, graduates will find it difficult to make informed choices about their health care, their environment and the society in which they live. The ability to critically analyse the validity of a given argument or media presentation in order to come to a logical conclusion should be considered highly valuable in terms of graduate qualities and consequently an important requirement of all university degrees. A course to teach scientific literacy needs to be carefully structured to maintain student engagement and to provide understanding without the focus on creating scientists

Biological Fieldwork in Australian Higher Education: Is The Cost Worth The Effort?

Student engagement in fieldwork and other field-based activities are crucial elements of an undergraduate biology degree. Fieldwork and other field-based activities, however, are under threat as funding declines and regulations and approval processes in Australian universities increase. The consequence of this is that in some universities, field work has disappeared from the curriculum. The reasons for the decline in field work include an increasing number of student enrolments and the high cost of running field-based activities. Students are very often attracted to programs because of the fieldwork element. Additionally, student evaluations from units with field work repeatedly report fieldwork and field activities are their favorite components of the course, and moreover, of their undergraduate experience. Re-engaging universities administrators with the value of field work may take some creative thinking. This review reports on the current state of fieldwork and field-based learning activities within tertiary biology education in Australia. It investigates reasons for the decline of fieldwork, provides ways to integrated fieldwork into the curriculum, including assessment, and examines the future role of fieldwork in higher education

The development of model of teaching focused on engagement and retention in large first year science courses

Our objective was to produce a model to transform the way in which large first year science courses are delivered. We did this by researching the problem, directly implementing a series of changes and carefully evaluating the changes that were made. We compared student exam grades before and after the redevelopment, and found a clear improvement across each passing grade level (average 3.5%), in addition, failure and withdrawal rate dropped by 14%. More specifically, students without a biology background, who traditionally fail at twice the rate as those with a background, succeeded at the same rate after the changes were made. This clearly indicates that the initiatives introduced, such as the introduction of PASS (peer assisted study sessions) and prelectures (giving year 12 background), were especially important in giving this group of students the opportunity to perform on an even level. Most notably for the School of Biological Sciences and the Faculty of Science, the increased engagement of our students has led to significantly more students enrolling in second year topics, an increase of 21%. These data clearly detail how the overall student experience in first year biology must have improved. The student perspective on the value of our changes actually demonstrates this quite clearly. A comparison of Student Evaluation of teaching was overwhelming positive toward the redeveloped course structure with mean responses on a 7 point Likert scale up by at least one point in all categories. We are therefore able to say with confidence that not only did students do better academically, but they also enjoyed the course more and were consequently more likely to continue in Biology in their second year of university study