A Touchscreen Assay to Probe the Role of the Serotonergic System in Learning and Visual Information Processing

The neurotransmitter serotonin is involved in numerous processes in the brain such as behavior, learning, memory, mood, and neurodevelopment. Serotonin signaling is regulated by the serotonin transporter protein (SERT), which maintains normal serotonin levels. Mutations in the SERT gene are known to correlate with cognitive and behavioral deficits seen in psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders, depression, and autism spectrum disorder. Researchers study these deficits using SERT knockout (KO) mice, a model that lacks functional SERT and displays changes in anxiety, learning, and motivation. We are interested in how the absence of SERT affects visual processing and learning. A popular method of evaluating learning in mice is a touchscreen-based learning paradigm, similar to tests used with both humans and primate models. We have applied this paradigm in our laboratory to study the effect of SERT KO on learning and the visual discrimination of global motion. Mice were first taught to select a visual stimulus for a food reward, then trained to discriminate between left and right coherent dot motion. Our results demonstrate that mice can learn to discriminate between different types of visual stimuli, giving us an experimental platform for future studies of learning and perception in SERT KO mice

A Framework for Benchmarking in the Public Sector Literature Review and Directions for Future Research

The literature related to benchmarking since the year 1986 is examined, classified, and analyzed. A total of 415 articles, abstracts, and books are considered for this investigation. The status of benchmarking processes, activities, practices, and developments is examined for the manufacturing, service, and public sectors, while conclusions related to the state of benchmarking are drawn, gaps are identified, and recommendations are made. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of benchmarking in the public sector, with both an example that illustrates the utility of applying benchmarking to the public sector and a set of conceptual frameworks provided

Review of Benchmarking Literature: A Proposed Model for Implementation

This paper presents a generic conceptual benchmarking model which can be applied in manufacturing and service operational environments. The literature dealing with benchmarking was investigated and integrated in the form of a practical model for the implementation of benchmarking. The proposed model and associated framework have both strategic and operational implications for managers as they attempt to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace

A Framework for the Establishment of an Optimal Service Quality Level in a Hospitality Operational Setting

The hospitality industry is a customer-driven, people-oriented business. As such, the customer is the cornerstone of the service delivery system. Decision makers, in managing hospitality service delivery systems, are thus facing a managerial dilemma. On one hand, they want to satisfy customers’ demands in the form of improved quality service that ensures a customer orientation. Yet, they are under increasing pressure to ensure operational efficiency. This article offers a step forward toward resolving this dilemma by addressing this apparent conflict. A framework is presented that facilitates the implementation of a new approach to determining the optimal cost of service quality. The proposed approach integrates the operational and strategic views of optimal service quality with root cause analysis (RCA) in search of the optimal service quality level

In Search of an Optimal Cost of Quality: An Integrated Framework of Operational Efficiency and Strategic Effectiveness

The literature related to the cost of quality (COQ) and optimal quality level was reviewed and critiqued. The authors have proposed a framework for addressing the optimal COQ within the context of operational efficiency and strategic effectiveness. This proposed framework presents a first step toward providing scholars and practicing managers with a conceptual view of the behavior of the COQ and the interaction between cost categories from both operational and strategic perspectives. The proposed approach is realistic, as it utilizes an open system view of today\u27s modern business organization and the competitive environment in which it operates

Divergent encoding of active avoidance behavior in corticostriatal and corticolimbic projections.

Active avoidance behavior, in which an animal performs an action to avoid a stressor, is crucial for survival and may provide insight into avoidance behaviors seen in anxiety disorders. Active avoidance requires the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), which is thought to regulate avoidance via downstream projections to the striatum and amygdala. However, the endogenous activity of dmPFC projections during active avoidance learning has never been recorded. Here we utilized fiber photometry to record from the dmPFC and its axonal projections to the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) during active avoidance learning in both male and female mice. We examined neural activity during conditioned stimulus (CS) presentations and during clinically relevant behaviors such as active avoidance or cued freezing. Both prefrontal projections showed learning-related increases in activity during CS onset throughout active avoidance training. The dmPFC as a whole showed increased and decreased patterns of activity during avoidance and cued freezing, respectively. Finally, dmPFC-DMS and dmPFC-BLA projections show divergent encoding of active avoidance behavior, with the dmPFC-DMS projection showing increased activity and the dmPFC-BLA projection showing decreased activity during active avoidance. Our results demonstrate task-relevant encoding of active avoidance in projection-specific dmPFC subpopulations that play distinct but complementary roles in active avoidance learning

A Randomized Crossover Comparison between Team-Based Learning and Lecture Format on Long-Term Learning Outcomes

There are limited data evaluating the effectiveness of different teaching pedagogies to maintain gains in learning achieved over the short term. The purpose of this study is to compare long-term learning outcomes between two different teaching pedagogies, team-based learning (TBL) and lecture. Within a therapeutic elective course a randomized crossover study was conducted with 30 students divided into two sections. Each section was taught six therapeutic topics (three TBL and three lecture). Six months following completion of the course, 47 assessment questions (application and recall multiple-choice questions) were re-administered to 16 students from the class with no prior announcement of the assessment. The results showed no significant difference in long-term assessment scores between TBL and lecture formats (67 ± 14% vs. 63 ± 16%, p = 0.2, respectively). In addition, there was a significant (p < 0.0001) and similar decline in short-term gains for TBL (90 ± 9% vs. 67 ± 14%) and lecture (86 ± 11% vs. 63 ± 16%) in assessment scores. In conclusion, there was no advantage gained by employing an active-learning pedagogy when assessing multiple-choice questions six months following end of a therapeutics course in a limited sample size. Neither pedagogy was able to maintain short-term gains in learning outcomes as assessed by multiple-choice questions