Evaluation with Collaboration

Collaboration is a technique used to promote deep learning but it is not often associated with evaluation. An article in “The Teaching Professor” newsletter led me to a study using a collaborative evaluation technique1. I’ve adapted this technique for use in a first year biochemistry tutorial for nursing students, with much success. The exercise allows students to answer a multiple choice quiz on their own, then discuss the questions in a group with the opportunity to change their answers after the discussion. Along with individual answers, students are able to assign a confidence value to their answers. Their final grade, marked by switching papers with another group, reflects the confidence they assigned to their answer. Papers are returned to their owners after marking and teaching assistants give immediate feedback on rationale behind both correct and incorrect answers. Anecdotal evidence (via personal conversations with students) highlights that the exercise allows students to identify learning gaps/misconceptions, promotes integration of content and provides a high level of student satisfaction. This short session will discuss the technique along with the pedagogical theories behind its development and adaption. Under 140 character conclusion: Collaborative testing exercise promotes integration, deep learning and student satisfaction 1Erica J. Sainsbury & Richard A. Walker (2008): Assessment as a vehicle for learning: extending collaboration into testing, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33:2,103-11

Enhancing Two-stage Collaborative Exams by Incorporating Immediate Feedback

Collaborative testing is becoming a widely used method of assessment in science education, as well as many other disciplines. While performance gains have been consistently reported, learning gains have not been quite as clearly documented. Learning gains are often measured by assessing the retention of tested concepts. We designed and conducted a study to assess whether retention was greater in a two-stage collaborative exam where students received immediate feedback rather than multiple-choice with no feedback during the collaborative stage. All students first wrote the multiple-choice test individually before re-writing the exam in small groups and receiving feedback via scratch cards based on either the first or second half of the test, with no feedback for the other half. Two weeks later, students were given a retention quiz with five questions concept-matched to each half of the original test. There was no significant difference in retention found between the randomized groups. Interestingly, however, we observed that those who received feedback on the first half of the collaborative stage of the exam performed better on the collaborative exam overall, despite there being no difference in individual marks between the two groups. This effect remained even when the test component with feedback was marked dichotomously, without part marks awarded for correctness on the second or third attempt

In Vivo Clearance of Alpha-1 Acid Glycoprotein Is Influenced by the Extent of Its N-Linked Glycosylation and by Its Interaction with the Vessel Wall

Alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) is a highly glycosylated plasma protein that exerts vasoprotective effects. We hypothesized that AGP's N-linked glycans govern its rate of clearance from the circulation, and followed the disappearance of different forms of radiolabeled human AGP from the plasma of rabbits and mice. Enzymatic deglycosylation of human plasma-derived AGP (pdAGP) by Peptide: N-Glycosidase F yielded a mixture of differentially deglycosylated forms (PNGase-AGP), while the introduction of five Asn to Gln mutations in recombinant Pichia pastoris-derived AGP (rAGP-N(5)Q) eliminated N-linked glycosylation. PNGase-AGP was cleared from the rabbit circulation 9-fold, and rAGP-N(5)Q, 46-fold more rapidly than pdAGP, primarily via a renal route. Pichia pastoris-derived wild-type rAGP differed from pdAGP in expressing mannose-terminated glycans, and, like neuraminidase-treated pdAGP, was more rapidly removed from the rabbit circulation than rAGP-N(5)Q. Systemic hyaluronidase treatment of mice transiently decreased pdAGP clearance. AGP administration to mice reduced vascular binding of hyaluronic acid binding protein in the liver microcirculation and increased its plasma levels. Our results support a critical role of N-linked glycosylation of AGP in regulating its in vivo clearance and an influence of a hyaluronidase-sensitive component of the vessel wall on its transendothelial passage

Comparison of Methods for the Purification of Alpha-1 Acid Glycoprotein from Human Plasma

Alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) is a highly glycosylated, negatively charged plasma protein suggested to have anti-inflammatory and/or immunomodulatory activities. Purification of AGP could be simplified if methods that exploit its high solubility under chemically harsh conditions could be demonstrated to leave the protein in its native conformation. Procedures involving exposure of AGP to hot phenol or sulphosalicylic acid (SSA) were compared to solely chromatographic methods. Hot phenol-purified AGP was more rapidly cleared from mice in vivo following intravenous injection than chromatographically purified AGP. In contrast, SSA-purified AGP demonstrated an identical in vivo clearance profile and circular dichroism spectrum to chromatographically purified AGP. Similarly, no differences in susceptibility to enzymatic deglycosylation or reactivity with Sambucus nigra lectin were detected between AGP purified via the two methods. Incorporation of the SSA step in the purification scheme for AGP eliminated the need for a large (4 mL resin/mL of plasma) initial chromatographic step and simplified its purification without causing any detectable distortion in the conformation of the protein. Confirmation that this procedure is nondenaturing will simplify AGP purification and investigation of its possible biological roles in laboratory animals

Software for the frontiers of quantum chemistry:An overview of developments in the Q-Chem 5 package

This article summarizes technical advances contained in the fifth major release of the Q-Chem quantum chemistry program package, covering developments since 2015. A comprehensive library of exchange–correlation functionals, along with a suite of correlated many-body methods, continues to be a hallmark of the Q-Chem software. The many-body methods include novel variants of both coupled-cluster and configuration-interaction approaches along with methods based on the algebraic diagrammatic construction and variational reduced density-matrix methods. Methods highlighted in Q-Chem 5 include a suite of tools for modeling core-level spectroscopy, methods for describing metastable resonances, methods for computing vibronic spectra, the nuclear–electronic orbital method, and several different energy decomposition analysis techniques. High-performance capabilities including multithreaded parallelism and support for calculations on graphics processing units are described. Q-Chem boasts a community of well over 100 active academic developers, and the continuing evolution of the software is supported by an “open teamware” model and an increasingly modular design

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

More Engagement, Less Lecturing, with Breakout Groups

To underscore nutritional issues that are prevalent in healthcare, I encouraged students to interact and draw from their own diet or nutritional preferences in order to reiterate important concepts and aid in retention of course content, as well as to illustrate the generalizable nature of the problem. Aligning with the less is more theme, less lecturing and more time spent discussing and engaging with a topic, my aim was to promote deeper learning and student satisfaction. A series of breakout group exercises1 were inserted in between lecturing in a third year health science nutrition course for nursing students last fall. These exercises were designed in collaboration with a dietitian, who is part of a family health team, to highlight the issues that are frequently seen in the clinic. Various amounts of time were given to calculate nutrient quantities from a diet log or published nutritional data, depending on the exercise. When the allotted time had elapsed, the students reported their results using i\u3eClickers. At the end of the course, students were asked to complete a survey about the utility of and their satisfaction with the exercises. This presentation will include an example of one of the exercises, “What’s in Your Drink?”, to engage session participants and illustrate the technique. The talk will also discuss the preliminary findings from the survey and the implications for the use of these exercises in the future. 1 Justan Lougheed, James Kirkland & Genevieve Newton (2012). Using Breakout Groups as an Active Learning Technique in a Large Undergraduate Nutrition Classroom at the University of Guelph, The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Volume 3, Issue 2

Creating and Solidifying Knowledge by Incorporating Feedback into Group-Based, Two-Stage Collaborative Exams

Individual testing, often via multiple choice questions, tends to be the norm in post secondary education. Collaborative testing has been proposed as an alternative and the benefits have been widely documented (Lusk & Conklin, 2003; Sandahl, 2009, Cortright et al, 2003). In the first stage of collaborative testing, students write the exam individually. In the second stage students write the same exam in groups (ideally 4) where they are required to come to consensus. Our own experience with these 2-stage collaborative midterm exams in very different programs (Nursing and Engineering) resulted in improved performance and overwhelmingly positive student review, consistent with the results of Gilley & Clarkston (2014), whose 2-stage model we followed. Using the Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF-AT) scratch cards (Epstein, 2001), we created the opportunity to dispel misconceptions, allow students to discover correct answers during testing, and provide partial credit for multiple-choice questions. In addition to the improved self-confidence and metacognitive skill development promoted by collaboration (Carvalho, 2010), we hypothesize that delivering the guided answers using IF-AT cards, at a time when students are most receptive, aids in retention of the tested concepts. We will present preliminary data providing some support for this hypothesis from our recent study to assess whether collaboration with immediate feedback or collaboration alone is superior in encouraging retention. A hands-on simulation of this procedure will be included, along with tips for implementing this form of testing in other science (and non-science) classrooms. Carvalho, M. K. F. (2010). Assessing changes in performance and monitoring processes in individual and collaborative tests according to students\u27 metacognitive skills. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 22(7), 1107-1136. Cortright, R.N., Collins, H.L., Rodenbaugh, D.W. & Di Carlo, S.E. (2003). Student Retention of Course Content Is Improved By Collaborative-Group Testing. Advances in Physiology Education, 27: 102-108 Epstein, M.L., Epstein B.B., and Brosvic, G.M. (2001). Immediate Feedback During Academic Testing. Psychological Reports, 88(3 Pt 1), 889-894. Gilley, B. H. & Clarkston, B. (2014). Collaborative Testing: Evidence of Learning in a Controlled In-Class study of Undergraduate Students. Journal of College Science Teaching, 43(3), 83-91. Lusk, M., & Conklin, L. (2003). Collaborative testing to promote learning. The Journal of nursing education, 42(3), 121-124. Sandahl, S. S. (2009). Collaborative testing as a learning strategy in nursing education: A review of the literature. Nursing education perspectives, 30(3), 171-175

Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara Immunization Protects against Lethal Challenge with Recombinant Vaccinia Virus Expressing Murine Interleukin-4

Recent events have raised concern over the use of pathogens, including variola virus, as biological weapons. Vaccination with Dryvax is associated with serious side effects and is contraindicated for many people, and the development of a safer effective smallpox vaccine is necessary. We evaluated an attenuated vaccinia virus, modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA), by use of a murine model to determine its efficacy against an intradermal (i.d.) or intranasal (i.n.) challenge with vaccinia virus (vSC8) or a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing murine interleukin-4 that exhibits enhanced virulence (vSC8-mIL4). After an i.d. challenge, 15 of 16 mice who were inoculated with phosphate-buffered saline developed lesions, one dose of intramuscularly administered MVA was partially protective (3 of 16 mice developed lesions), and the administration of two or three doses of MVA was completely protective (0 of 16 mice developed lesions). In unimmunized mice, an i.n. challenge with vSC8 caused a significant but self-limited illness, while vSC8-mIL4 resulted in lethal infections. Immunization with one or two doses of MVA prevented illness and reduced virus titers in mice who were challenged with either vSC8 or vSC8-mIL4. MVA induced a dose-related neutralizing antibody and vaccinia virus-specific CD8(+)-T-cell response. Mice immunized with MVA were fully protected from a low-dose vSC8-mIL4 challenge despite a depletion of CD4(+) cells, CD8(+) cells, or both T-cell subsets or an antibody deficiency. CD4(+)- or CD8(+)-T-cell depletion reduced the protection against a high-dose vSC8-mIL4 challenge, and the depletion of both T-cell subsets was associated with severe illness and higher vaccinia virus titers. Thus, MVA induces broad humoral and cellular immune responses that can independently protect against a molecularly modified lethal poxvirus challenge in mice. These data support the continued development of MVA as an alternative candidate vaccine for smallpox