Stimulation characteristics that determine arteriolar dilation in skeletal muscle

Murrant, Coral L. Stimulation characteristics that determine arteriolar dilation in skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 289: R505-R513, 2005. doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00571.2004.-To determine the skeletal muscle stimulation parameters that are most important in establishing vasodilation in the microvasculature, I tested whether arteriolar diameter during 2 min of repetitive, short-duration, tetanic skeletal muscle contractions increased with changes in stimulus frequency, stimulation train duration, and contraction frequency. To test this, the diameter of transverse arterioles approximately perpendicular to small bundles of cremaster muscle fibers in situ of anesthetized Golden Syrian hamsters was used as a bioassay system. Arteriolar diameter was measured before and during different stimulation patterns that consisted of a contraction frequency [6, 12, or 24 contractions per minute (cpm)], a stimulation train duration (250, 500, or 750 ms) and a stimulus frequency Skeletal muscle metabolism has been hypothesized to be the source of dilators responsible for the vasodilation and resulting changes in blood flow in response to muscle contraction (for a review, see Refs. 11, In the present study, I sought to determine which stimulation characteristics of skeletal muscle were most influential in determining vasodilation in the microvasculature. To investigate this issue, a small bundle of skeletal muscle fibers in hamster cremaster muscle in situ was repetitively contracted with the chosen stimulation pattern for 2 min. The stimulation pattern was changed by systematically changing the parameters that comprise a tetanic contraction (contraction frequency, train duration and stimulus frequency). Stimulation parameters that are physiologically relevant to movement and locomotion were used where possible; this encompassed a range of stimulus frequencies within a train and short-train durations, under 1,000 ms depending on the nature of the activity METHOD

More integrity and less academic misconduct: The prevalence of academic misconduct during test re-grading of short and long answer tests

Many senior level science courses employ short and long answer testing style whereby students can have their test re-graded if they feel they were inaccurately assessed. The integrity of this type of system has been questioned over reports that students may alter their test before handing it back in for re-grading. We designed a study to objectively quantify the prevalence of this type of academic misconduct. Eleven third and fourth year science courses (class sizes: 63-468 students) that used a written testing style and allowed these tests to be re-graded were chosen for the study. All course midterm tests were graded and scanned before they were returned to the students, and then re-scanned if they were submitted for re-grading. The tests were then compared to determine if the answers had been altered. Ethical approval for this study was obtained to allow the study to be performed without informed consent to ensure the validity of the results. Further analysis will determine if there is a correlation between those that cheat and their test grade, their major, and their sex as well as observing how they are cheating. A comprehensive analysis of the all courses will help elucidate the context that incites students to commit academic misconduct. Understanding the prevalence of this cheating strategy, how students supplement their tests and the circumstances that provoke students to cheat will help us determine the integrity of this testing style, and inform us on how to deter this activity in the future

Promoting higher order thinking skills in biology: evaluation of a newly developed course using Bloom’s taxonomy.

We have recently designed and implemented a unique, large (1800 students/year) first year biological concepts of health course (BIOL*1080) aimed at promoting higher order thinking skills and attributes. Our course served as one of three courses that replaced two more traditional biology courses (BIOL*1030 and BIOL*1040) and incorporates seminar, lab and interdisciplinary assignments in an attempt to foster skills in areas such as oral and written communication, critical thinking, and independent learning. To determine if we were successful in designing a course centered on the teaching and assessment of higher order thinking skills, we ranked the course evaluative materials based on Bloom’s taxonomy (Zheng, A.Y., Science 319:414,2008). Bloom’s taxonomy is a hierarchical categorization of knowledge and thinking skills comprised of 6 levels (from lowest to highest): knowledge - 1, comprehension – 2, application – 3, analysis – 4, synthesis – 5, and evaluation – 6. Briefly, each exam question and assignment was scored by a team of 6 individuals with varying degrees of familiarity with the course. Scores per test/assignment were averaged and a weighted average was calculated for the entire course, with a higher weighted average representing assessment of a higher order of thinking. The average bloom level for our course was 3.28±0.15 which was significantly higher than one of the more traditional biology courses (BIOL*1030 – 1.93±0.08 ) but not the second course (BIOL*1040 – 2.95±0.17). The blooming exercise provided a useful metric to assess the level of higher order thinking required for newly developed courses and allowed for comparisons between courses to be objective

A Large, First-Year, Introductory, Multi-Sectional Biological Concepts of Health Course Designed to Develop Skills and Enhance Deeper Learning

Large first-year biology classes, with their heavy emphasis on factual content, contribute to low student engagement and misrepresent the dynamic, interdisciplinary nature of biological science. We sought to redesign a course to deliver fundamental biology curriculum through the study of health, promote skills development, and encourage a deeper level of learning for a large, multi-section first-year class. We describe the Biological Concepts of Health course designed to encourage higher-order learning and teach oral communication and independent learning skills to large numbers of first-year students. We used the Blooming Biology Tool to determine the cognitive skills level assessed in the newly developed course and the courses it replaced. This evidence-based approach demonstrated that our new course design achieved the goal of encouraging a deeper level of cognition, and further, successfully introduced both oral communication and independent learning skills in large first-year classes.  En mettant l’emphase sur un contenu factuel, les grandes classes de biologie de première année contribuent au faible engagement des élèves et donnent une représentation imprécise de la nature dynamique et interdisciplinaire des sciences de la biologie. Afin d’offrir un programme fondamental en biologie par l’étude de la santé, de promouvoir le perfectionnement des compétences et d’encourager un niveau d’apprentissage marqué, nous avons repensé un cours pour une grande classe de première année contenant plusieurs sous-groupes. Nous décrivons le cours « Biological Concepts of Health » conçu pour encourager l’apprentissage supérieur, ainsi que pour enseigner la communication orale et les habiletés d’apprentissage individualisé à un grand nombre d’étudiants de première année. Pour déterminer le niveau d’habiletés cognitives évalué dans ce cours nouvellement conçu et les cours qu’il remplace, nous avons utilisé le « Blooming Biology Tool ». Cette approche éprouvée démontre que ce nouveau cours a atteint son but d’encourager l’approfondissement des connaissances et, par ailleurs, a réussi à introduire la communication orale, de même que les habiletés d’apprentissage individualisé aux grandes classes de première année