Ethics education in pediatrics: Implementation and evaluation of an interactive online course for medical students

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed the development of online learning formats in virtually all areas of medical education. In pediatric ethics, online learning may not only substitute but also offer specific advantages over traditional classroom teaching. Many pediatricians rate their ethics education as poor and medical ethics education lacks evaluation, especially regarding the students’ needs. The aim of this project was to implement and evaluate a novel interactive distance learning approach to engage medical students in pediatric ethics education. Methods: An online ethics course was designed and delivered between May and June 2020. Core item of this course was a moderated, written forum discussion spanning several days. Evaluation was mixed methods. We evaluated the effectiveness of the course in terms of quality of the learning environment with a particular focus on relevance to students as well as interactive learning and reflective thinking. The Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey (COLLES) was used to evaluate six different domains of the course. Data are presented as mean (standard deviation [SD]). The respective score range is 1-5, whereby a score of 4 or 5 means that the participants indicated the corresponding item as frequently or almost always present. Results: Responses were available from 104 (78.3%) of the 133 participating students. “Relevance” yielded a score of 4.17 (0.83), “reflective thinking” a score of 4.22 (0.83). “Interactivity” was scored 3.76 (0.99) and “tutor support” 4.72 (0.53). “Peer support” and “interpretation” scored 3.87 (0.98) and 4.49 (0.60), respectively. In qualitative analysis, students particularly valued the structure of the course, the relevance for their professional practice, their active participation and the incentive to reflective thinking. Students also indicated that this was an innovative and exciting format, which fills a current educational gap and should hence be continued beyond the pandemic. Conclusion: In conclusion, students actively engaged in online learning and perceived this ethics course as highly relevant for their professional practice

Correlation between Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Particulated β-Lactoglobulin and Its Behavior at Air/Water and Oil/Water Interfaces

It is widely accepted that protein-based particles can efficiently stabilize foams and emulsions. However, it is not fully elucidated which particle properties are decisive for the stabilization of air/water and oil/water interfaces. To unravel this correlation, selected properties of nano-sized soluble β-lactoglobulin particles were changed one at a time. Therefore, particles of (1) variable size but similar zeta potential and degree of cross-linking and (2) similar size but different further properties were produced by heat treatment under a specific combination of pH value and NaCl concentration and then analyzed for their interfacial behavior as well as foaming and emulsifying properties. On the one hand, it was found that the initial phase of protein adsorption at both the air/water and the oil/water interface was mainly influenced by the zeta potential, independent of the particle size. On the other hand, foam stability as resolved from the time-dependent evolution of mean bubble area negatively correlated with disulfide cross-linking, whereas emulsion stability in terms of oil droplet flocculation showed a positive correlation with disulfide cross-linking. In addition, flocculation was more pronounced for larger particles. Concluding from this, foam and emulsion stability are not linked to the same particle properties and, thus, explanatory approaches cannot be used interchangeably

Law of remedies : A European perspective.

With the increasing importance of the concept of remedies in European private law, this book focuses on remedies as a distinctive and novel field of European legal research. It considers the common law tradition (England and Wales), as well as the civil law viewpoint (on the example of Germany), making the case for a European law of remedies.Includes bibliographical references and index.With the increasing importance of the concept of remedies in European private law, this book focuses on remedies as a distinctive and novel field of European legal research. It considers the common law tradition (England and Wales), as well as the civil law viewpoint (on the example of Germany), making the case for a European law of remedies

Der Fisch neben mir – der Einfluss von Individualisierung im Unterricht, sozialer und individueller Vergleiche auf das Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept von Fünftklässler*innen in inklusiven Schulen

Gorges J, Kurz K, Neumann P, Hesse F, Lütje-Klose B, Wild E. Der Fisch neben mir – der Einfluss von Individualisierung im Unterricht, sozialer und individueller Vergleiche auf das Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept von Fünftklässler*innen in inklusiven Schulen. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft. In Press.In inklusiven Schulen wird zunehmend ein stärker individualisierter Unterricht verfolgt. Dieser sollte dem negativen Effekt der mittleren Leistung der Bezugsgruppe (z. B. Klasse, Schule) auf das Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept (FSK) von Schüler*innen aufgrund sozialer Vergleiche (Big-Fish-Little-Pond-Effekt [BFLPE]) entgegenwirken. Auch Vergleiche mit individuell gewählten Vergleichstargets könnten sich positiv auf das FSK auswirken. Auf Basis von N = 752 Fünftklässler*innen aus 28 inklusiven Schulen (Alter: M(SD) = 10.28(0.53), 48 % weiblich) wurde der Effekt der mittleren Gruppenleistung (BFLPE), der Individualisierung im Unterricht und der Vergleich mit individuell ausgewählten Vergleichspartner*innen – operationalisiert über die Leistungsdifferenz – auf das mathematische FSK geprüft. Die Ergebnisse von Mehrebenen-Regressionsanalysen zeigen einen BFLPE sowie einen signifikant positiven Effekt der Individualisierung im Unterricht. Der Effekt der Leistungsdifferenz zum individuellen Vergleichstarget wurde nicht signifikant. Die Ergebnisse werden bezüglich weiterführender Forschung und praktischer Implikationen zur Förderung eines positiven FSK von Schüler*innen diskutiert.Inclusive schools are increasingly pursuing more individualised instruction, which may counteract the negative effect of the mean performance of the reference group (e.g. class, school) on students’ self-concept of ability (SCA) based on social comparisons (Big-FishLittle-Pond-Effect [BFLPE]). In addition, comparisons with individually selected comparison targets could also have a positive effect on the SCA. Drawing in a sample of N = 752 fifth graders from 28 inclusive schools (age: M(SD) = 10.28(0.53), 48 % female), the effect of mean group performance (BFLPE), individualized instruction and comparisons with individually selected comparison targets - operationalized via the performance difference - on students’ mathematical SCA was examined. The results of multi-level regression analyses show a BFLPE and a significant positive effect of individualised instruction on students’ SCA. The effect of the performance difference to the individual comparison target was not significant. The results are discussed with respect to further research and practical implications for the promotion of a positive SCA in student

Influence of Spacer Design and Module Geometry on the Filtration Performance during Skim Milk Microfiltration with Flat Sheet and Spiral-Wound Membranes

Spacer design in spiral-wound membranes (SWMs) significantly affects the axial pressure drop in the flow channel but also the deposit layer removal. However, the effects of the spacer design and feed flow distribution in the module on the filtration performance have not yet been investigated during the highly fouling-susceptible fractionation of proteins from skim milk by SWMs. Therefore, a parallel spacer with no turbulence promotion and a less homogeneous feed flow distribution in the SWM was compared to a diamond spacer with regard to its impact on deposit formation and filtration performance. The experiments were conducted in a flat sheet test cell and in SWMs. The parallel spacer induced a more homogeneous deposit layer formation. However, no difference in filtration performance could be observed in the experiments with the test cell. Even though deposit layer formation dominates the microfiltration, its amount and spatial distribution could not be directly linked to the filtration performance. Furthermore, both spacers were assessed in SWM. Despite the higher crossflow velocity applicable in the more open channels of the parallel spacer, the performance of the parallel spacer was inferior to the diamond spacer. This was independent of the viscosity of the feed. Due to the high curvature of the membrane sheets close to the permeate collection tube, the cross-section of the flow channels in the SWM equipped with the parallel spacer was reduced. This resulted in a distinctly lower deposit layer control and performance, which could not be compensated by the resulting higher crossflow velocity far from the permeate collection tube

Vertebrate Left-Right Asymmetry: What Can Nodal Cascade Gene Expression Patterns Tell Us?

Laterality of inner organs is a wide-spread characteristic of vertebrates and beyond. It is ultimately controlled by the left-asymmetric activation of the Nodal signaling cascade in the lateral plate mesoderm of the neurula stage embryo, which results from a cilia-driven leftward flow of extracellular fluids at the left-right organizer. This scenario is widely accepted for laterality determination in wildtype specimens. Deviations from this norm come in different flavors. At the level of organ morphogenesis, laterality may be inverted (situs inversus) or non-concordant with respect to the main body axis (situs ambiguus or heterotaxia). At the level of Nodal cascade gene activation, expression may be inverted, bilaterally induced, or absent. In a given genetic situation, patterns may be randomized or predominantly lacking laterality (absence or bilateral activation). We propose that the distributions of patterns observed may be indicative of the underlying molecular defects, with randomizations being primarily caused by defects in the flow-generating ciliary set-up, and symmetrical patterns being the result of impaired flow sensing, on the left, the right, or both sides. This prediction, the reasoning of which is detailed in this review, pinpoints functions of genes whose role in laterality determination have remained obscure

Oekologische Steuerreform Argumente Pro und Contra

IAB / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

A Conserved Role of the Unconventional Myosin 1d in Laterality Determination

Anatomical and functional asymmetries are widespread in the animal kingdom [ 1, 2 ]. In vertebrates, many visceral organs are asymmetrically placed [ 3 ]. In snails, shells and inner organs coil asymmetrically, and in Drosophila, genitalia and hindgut undergo a chiral rotation during development. The evolutionary origin of these asymmetries remains an open question [ 1 ]. Nodal signaling is widely used [ 4 ], and many, but not all, vertebrates use cilia for symmetry breaking [ 5 ]. In Drosophila, which lacks both cilia and Nodal, the unconventional myosin ID (myo1d) gene controls dextral rotation of chiral organs [ 6, 7 ]. Here, we studied the role of myo1d in left-right (LR) axis formation in Xenopus. Morpholino oligomer-mediated myo1d downregulation affected organ placement in \u3e50% of morphant tadpoles. Induction of the left-asymmetric Nodal cascade was aberrant in \u3e70% of cases. Expression of the flow-target gene dand5 was compromised, as was flow itself, due to shorter, fewer, and non-polarized cilia at the LR organizer. Additional phenotypes pinpointed Wnt/planar cell polarity signaling and suggested that myo1d, like in Drosophila [ 8 ], acted in the context of the planar cell polarity pathway. Indeed, convergent extension of gastrula explant cultures was inhibited in myo1d morphants, and the ATF2 reporter gene for non-canonical Wnt signaling was downregulated. Finally, genetic interference experiments demonstrated a functional interaction between the core planar cell polarity signaling gene vangl2 and myo1d in LR axis formation. Thus, our data identified myo1d as a common denominator of arthropod and chordate asymmetry, in agreement with a monophyletic origin of animal asymmetry

survival data

data used for survival analyses in pape

Data from: Experience buffers extrinsic mortality in a group-living bird species

Extrinsic mortality has a strong impact on the evolution of life-histories, prey morphology and behavioural adaptations, but for many animals the causes of mortality are poorly understood. Predation is an important driver of extrinsic mortality and mobile animals form groups in response to increased predation risk. Furthermore, in many species juveniles suffer higher mortality than older individuals, which may reflect a lower phenotypic quality, lower competitiveness, or a lack of antipredator or foraging skills. Here we assessed the causes of mortality for 372 radio tagged Siberian jays. This sedentary bird species lives in family groups that contain a breeding pair as well as related and unrelated non-breeders. Ninety-five percent of death were due to predation (N=59 out of 62 individuals) and most individuals were killed by Accipiter hawks. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models showed that non-breeders had a lower survival than breeders, but only in territories in managed forest with little visual cover. Examining breeders, only sex influenced survival with males having a lower survival than females. For non-breeders, juveniles had lower survival than older non-breeders, and those on managed territories had lower survival than those on unmanaged territories. Additionally, a low feather quality reduced the survival probability of non-breeders only. Thus, living on managed territories and having a low feature quality only affected non-breeders, particularly juveniles. These findings add to previous research demonstrating that juvenile Siberian jays acquire critical antipredator skills from experienced group members. Thus, experience can buffer extrinsic mortality, highlighting that group living not only provides safety in numbers, but also provide social opportunities to learn critical life-skills