A creative approach for undergraduate nursing students to learn anatomy and physiology : a qualitative exploratory study

Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) courses in undergraduate nursing programs are often considered challenging for students. Typically, a wide variety of teaching strategies, including dissection, experiments, illustrations and photographs are used to engage students. This study aimed to explore and describe the learning experiences of an open creative assessment task on undergraduate nursing students of learning A&P. A total of eight students participated in semi-structured interviews. Two major themes emerged from the data, this included 'Bringing A&P to life' which included two sub-themes of 'Learning through peer teaching' and 'An easy way to learn', with the second major theme, 'Custom made learning' which included four sub-themes, 'To grade or not to grade', 'Catering for different learning styles', 'Logistics of group work', and 'Effect of group dynamics'. This qualitative exploratory study contributes to further pedagogical insights into art and/or creative approaches to teaching. © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Enhanced Locomotion Caused by Loss of the Drosophila DEG/ENaC Protein Pickpocket1

AbstractCoordination of rhythmic locomotion depends upon a precisely balanced interplay between central and peripheral control mechanisms [1]. Although poorly understood, peripheral proprioceptive mechanosensory input is thought to provide information about body position for moment-to-moment modifications of central mechanisms mediating rhythmic motor output [2]. Pickpocket1 (PPK1) is a Drosophila subunit of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) family displaying limited expression in multiple dendritic (md) sensory neurons tiling the larval body wall and a small number of bipolar neurons in the upper brain [3]. ppk1 null mutant larvae had normal external touch sensation and md neuron morphology but displayed striking alterations in crawling behavior. Loss of PPK1 function caused an increase in crawling speed and an unusual straight path with decreased stops and turns relative to wild-type. This enhanced locomotion resulted from sustained peristaltic contraction wave cycling at higher frequency with a significant decrease in pause period between contraction cycles. The mutant phenotype was rescued by a wild-type PPK1 transgene and duplicated by expressing a ppk1RNAi transgene or a dominant-negative PPK1 isoform. These results demonstrate that the PPK1 channel plays an essential role in controlling rhythmic locomotion and provide a powerful genetic model system for further analysis of central and peripheral control mechanisms and their role in movement disorders

A Statistical Model for Assessing Genetic Susceptibility as a Risk Factor in Multifactorial Diseases: Lessons from Occupational Asthma

BACKGROUND: Incorporating the influence of genetic variation in the risk assessment process is often considered, but no generalized approach exists. Many common human diseases such as asthma, cancer, and cardiovascular disease are complex in nature, as they are influenced variably by environmental, physiologic, and genetic factors. The genetic components most responsible for differences in individual disease risk are thought to be DNA variants (polymorphisms) that influence the expression or function of mediators involved in the pathological processes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to estimate the combinatorial contribution of multiple genetic variants to disease risk. METHODS: We used a logistic regression model to help estimate the joint contribution that multiple genetic variants would have on disease risk. This model was developed using data collected from molecular epidemiology studies of allergic asthma that examined variants in 16 susceptibility genes. RESULTS: Based on the product of single gene variant odds ratios, the risk of developing asthma was assigned to genotype profiles, and the frequency of each profile was estimated for the general population. Our model predicts that multiple disease variants broaden the risk distribution, facilitating the identification of susceptible populations. This model also allows for incorporation of exposure information as an independent variable, which will be important for risk variants associated with specific exposures. CONCLUSION: The present model provided an opportunity to estimate the relative change in risk associated with multiple genetic variants. This will facilitate identification of susceptible populations and help provide a framework to model the genetic contribution in probabilistic risk assessment

Two-Fermion Production in Electron-Positron Collisions

This report summarizes the results of the two-fermion working group of the LEP2-MC workshop, held at CERN from 1999 to 2000. Recent developments in the theoretical calculations of the two fermion production process in the electron-positron collision at LEP2 center of the mass energies are reported. The Bhabha process and the production of muon, tau, neutrino and quark pairs is covered. On the basis of comparison of various calculations, theoretical uncertainties are estimated and compared with those needed for the final LEP2 data analysis. The subjects for the further studies are identified.Comment: 2-fermion working group report of the LEP2 Monte Carlo Workshop 1999/2000, 113 pages, 24 figures, 35 table

Standardized Competencies for Parenteral Nutrition Prescribing: The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Model

Parenteral nutrition (PN) provision is complex, as it is a high-alert medication and prone to a variety of potential errors. With changes in clinical practice models and recent federal rulings, the number of PN prescribers may be increasing. Safe prescribing of this therapy requires that competency for prescribers from all disciplines be demonstrated using a standardized process. A standardized model for PN prescribing competency is proposed based on a competency framework, the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.)–published interdisciplinary core competencies, safe practice recommendations, and clinical guidelines. This framework will guide institutions and agencies in developing and maintaining competency for safe PN prescription by their staff

Applying new biotechnologies to the study of occupational cancer--a workshop summary.

As high-throughput technologies in genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics evolve, questions arise about their use in the assessment of occupational cancers. To address these questions, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the American Chemistry Council sponsored a workshop 8-9 May 2002 in Washington, DC. The workshop brought together 80 international specialists whose objective was to identify the means for best exploiting new technologies to enhance methods for laboratory investigation, epidemiologic evaluation, risk assessment, and prevention of occupational cancer. The workshop focused on identifying and interpreting markers for early biologic effect and inherited modifiers of risk

Positional Cues in the Drosophila Nerve Cord: Semaphorins Pattern the Dorso-Ventral Axis

Positional cues target sensory axons to appropriate volumes of the developing nervous system independently of their synaptic partners

Key challenges in bringing CRISPR-mediated somatic cell therapy into the clinic.

Genome editing using clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated proteins offers the potential to facilitate safe and effective treatment of genetic diseases refractory to other types of intervention. Here, we identify some of the major challenges for clinicians, regulators, and human research ethics committees in the clinical translation of CRISPR-mediated somatic cell therapy

Nfkb2 variants reveal a p100-degradation threshold that defines autoimmune susceptibility

NF-κB2/p100 (p100) is an inhibitor of κB (IκB) protein that is partially degraded to produce the NF-κB2/p52 (p52) transcription factor. Heterozygous NFKB2 mutations cause a human syndrome of immunodeficiency and autoimmunity, but whether autoimmunity arises from insufficiency of p52 or IκB function of mutated p100 is unclear. Here, we studied mice bearing mutations in the p100 degron, a domain that harbors most of the clinically recognized mutations and is required for signal-dependent p100 degradation. Distinct mutations caused graded increases in p100-degradation resistance. Severe p100-degradation resistance, due to inheritance of one highly degradation-resistant allele or two subclinical alleles, caused thymic medullary hypoplasia and autoimmune disease, whereas the absence of p100 and p52 did not. We inferred a similar mechanism occurs in humans, as the T cell receptor repertoires of affected humans and mice contained a hydrophobic signature of increased self-reactivity. Autoimmunity in autosomal dominant NFKB2 syndrome arises largely from defects in nonhematopoietic cells caused by the IκB function of degradation-resistant p100