Development of the Biology Competencies Assessment Series (BCAS)

This project is supporting a workshop to convene biology education researchers to plan out the development and validation of a Biology Competencies Assessment Series (BCAS). The BCAS will consist of several multiple-choice and short-answer questions validated by students and designed to evaluate student progress on learning biology concepts and achieving the competencies recommended in Vision and Change: A Call to Action. In particular, the workshop is bringing together Principal Investigators of both new and established TUES projects related to developing assessment tools to address effectiveness of instruction.Intellectual merit: The project provides the opportunity for experts in biology educational research to work towards the development of assessments that track the progress of students at multiple points in their undergraduate careers. The opportunity to plan also allows participants to share (and not replicate) efforts to standardize the protocols for validating the questions important to the biology community.Broader impacts: The project plans a consensus set of tools to help the larger biology community assess how well students are mastering the concepts and competencies outlined in national initiatives. From an educational perspective, this workshop provides promising advances to standard measurement for student learning that allows biology departments across the country to use data-driven processes to align their teaching practices and curricula with learning goals prescribed in several national reports including Vision and Change. This project is being funded by the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of its efforts toward supporting the goals and objectives of Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Complex regulation and multiple developmental functions of misfire, the Drosophila melanogaster ferlin gene

BACKGROUND: Ferlins are membrane proteins with multiple C2 domains and proposed functions in Ca(2+ )mediated membrane-membrane interactions in animals. Caenorhabditis elegans has two ferlin genes, one of which is required for sperm function. Mammals have several ferlin genes and mutations in the human dysferlin (DYSF) and otoferlin (OTOF) genes result in muscular dystrophy and hearing loss, respectively. Drosophila melanogaster has a single ferlin gene called misfire (mfr). A previous study showed that a mfr mutation caused male sterility because of defects in fertilization. Here we analyze the expression and structure of the mfr gene and the consequences of multiple mutations to better understand the developmental function of ferlins. RESULTS: We show that mfr is expressed in the testis and ovaries of adult flies, has tissue-specific promoters, and expresses alternatively spliced transcripts that are predicted to encode distinct protein isoforms. Studies of 11 male sterile mutations indicate that a predicted Mfr testis isoform with five C2 domains and a transmembrane (TM) domain is required for sperm plasma membrane breakdown (PMBD) and completion of sperm activation during fertilization. We demonstrate that Mfr is not required for localization of Sneaky, another membrane protein necessary for PMBD. The mfr mutations vary in their effects in females, with a subset disrupting egg patterning and causing a maternal effect delay in early embryonic development. Locations of these mutations indicate that a short Mfr protein isoform carries out ferlin activities during oogenesis. CONCLUSION: The mfr gene exhibits complex transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation and functions in three developmental processes: sperm activation, egg patterning, and early embryogenesis. These functions are in part due to the production of protein isoforms that vary in the number of C2 domains. These findings help establish D. melanogaster as model system for understanding ferlin function and dysfunction in animals, including humans

Leading, educating, and inspiring LIS professionals to embrace accessibility for a resilient future

The COVID years (2020-2021) have put the issues of disability and accessibility in the spotlight. Social interactions, employment, studies, and day-to-day activities for some people with disabilities have become increasingly more challenging than before; and yet, others have found opportunity and even relief in working from home, having a chance to avoid the grueling commute and inaccessible physical environments, often associated with workplaces. The pandemic and remote engagements have thus highlighted disparities within the disabled community itself: those with comfortable living conditions, information literacy skills, and stable internet access fared exceedingly better than individuals lacking these conditions. People with disabilities in all LIS constituent groups have been affected: students, librarians, library users, faculty, and academic staff. This has shown the need for building resilience and intensifying discussion on the importance of accessibility. This session will bring together over a dozen educators from American and Canadian LIS programs and include five presentations accompanied by hands-on interactive activities. After a brief introduction (5 min), each group of presenters will introduce their topics (30-35 min) and then engage the audience in a series of activities that they have prepared (40 min). Participants will reconvene for the general discussion (10-15 min). Cahill, Adkins, and Bushman will review the ways in which LIS courses in youth services address programs for young children with disabilities. Following the talk, they will facilitate the collaborative scrutiny of syllabi from LIS youth services courses. They will encourage participants to collectively come up with solutions, changes, and improvements and show their alignments with ALA Core Competences and COA Standards for Accreditation. Copeland, Mallary, and Thompson will focus on the training of LIS professionals that helps them embrace accessibility by using scenarios for inclusive hiring practices. They will offer a lesson plan for preparing future LIS managers and leaders for the equitable handling of job interviews, inclusive job advertising, and onboarding after hiring. Participants will learn to design training scenarios related to teaching students about inclusive communicative practices. Focusing on the potential of libraries to provide “non-pharmacological interventions” that improve the lives of people living with dementia and their care partners, Dickey will help participants explore the ways to prepare LIS students for supporting these user groups. Participants will brainstorm practical suggestions for fostering accessibility when people with dementia are concerned and discover resources for leadership and advocacy. Hill and Wong will zero in on everyday choices made by LIS educators in their course design that can improve accessibility in learning, including policies, learning materials, and considerations of diversity in establishing “norms.” Participants will leave with a checklist of practices for accessibility audit in their courses. Farmer will take up the topic of collaboration with disability support service providers (DSSP). Building off the lived experiences of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), participants will learn several strategies for successful collaboration with DSSP. The SIG session will end with the general discussion of how the aforementioned aspects are affected during world health emergencies and what it means for the future of accessibility

Using Peer Discussion Facilitated by Clicker Questions in an Informal Education Setting : Enhancing Farmer Learning of Science

PLoS ONE, Vol. 7, No. 10Blueberry growers in Maine attend annual Cooperative Extension presentations given by university faculty members. These presentations cover topics, such as, how to prevent plant disease and monitor for insect pests. In 2012, in order to make the sessions more interactive and promote learning, clicker questions and peer discussion were incorporated into the presentations. Similar to what has been shown at the undergraduate level, after peer discussion, more blueberry growers gave correct answers to multiple-choice questions than when answering independently. Furthermore, because blueberry growers are characterized by diverse levels of education, experience in the field etc., we were able to determine whether demographic factors were associated with changes in performance after peer discussion. Taken together, our results suggest that clicker questions and peer discussion work equally well with adults from a variety of demographic backgrounds without disadvantaging a subset of the population and provide an important learning opportunity to the least formally educated members. Our results also indicate that clicker questions with peer discussion were viewed as a positive addition to university-related informal science education sessions

Androgen action via testicular arteriole smooth muscle cells is important for leydig cell function, vasomotion and testicular fluid dynamics

Regulation of blood flow through the testicular microvasculature by vasomotion is thought to be important for normal testis function as it regulates interstitial fluid (IF) dynamics which is an important intra-testicular transport medium. Androgens control vasomotion, but how they exert these effects remains unclear. One possibility is by signalling via androgen receptors (AR) expressed in testicular arteriole smooth muscle cells. To investigate this and determine the overall importance of this mechanism in testis function, we generated a blood vessel smooth muscle cell-specific AR knockout mouse (SMARKO). Gross reproductive development was normal in SMARKO mice but testis weight was reduced in adulthood compared to control littermates; this reduction was not due to any changes in germ cell volume or to deficits in testosterone, LH or FSH concentrations and did not cause infertility. However, seminiferous tubule lumen volume was reduced in adult SMARKO males while interstitial volume was increased, perhaps indicating altered fluid dynamics; this was associated with compensated Leydig cell failure. Vasomotion was impaired in adult SMARKO males, though overall testis blood flow was normal and there was an increase in the overall blood vessel volume per testis in adult SMARKOs. In conclusion, these results indicate that ablating arteriole smooth muscle AR does not grossly alter spermatogenesis or affect male fertility but does subtly impair Leydig cell function and testicular fluid exchange, possibly by locally regulating microvascular blood flow within the testis

Association of Cerebrovascular Stability Index and Head Circumference Between Infants With and Without Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a common birth defect in the United States. CHD infants are more likely to have smaller head circumference and neurodevelopmental delays; however, the cause is unknown. Altered cerebrovascular hemodynamics may contribute to neurologic abnormalities, such as smaller head circumference, thus we created a novel Cerebrovascular Stability Index (CSI), as a surrogate for cerebral autoregulation. We hypothesized that CHD infants would have an association between CSI and head circumference. We performed a prospective, longitudinal study in CHD infants and healthy controls. We measured CSI and head circumference at 4 time points (newborn, 3, 6, 9 months). We calculated CSI by subtracting the average 2-min sitting from supine cerebral oxygenation (rcS

A Fishy Way to Discuss Multiple Genes Affecting the Same Trait

Developing interactive ways to teach about concepts such as complementation can be difficult. This approach, supported by learning data, uses blind cavefish as an example

Investigation of ward fidelity to a multicomponent delirium prevention intervention during a multicentre, pragmatic, cluster randomised, controlled feasibility trial

Background delirium is a frequent complication of hospital admission for older people and can be reduced by multicomponent interventions, but implementation and delivery of such interventions is challenging. Objective to investigate fidelity to the prevention of delirium system of care within a multicentre, pragmatic, cluster randomised, controlled feasibility trial. Setting five care of older people and three orthopaedic trauma wards in eight hospitals in England and Wales. Data collection research nurse observations of ward practice; case note reviews and examination of documentation. Assessment 10 health care professionals with experience in older people’s care assessed the fidelity to 21 essential implementation components within four domains: intervention installation (five items; maximum score = 5); intervention delivery (12 items; maximum score = 48); intervention coverage (three items; maximum score = 16); and duration of delivery (one item; maximum score = 1). Results the mean score (range) for each domain was: installation 4.5 (3.5–5); delivery 32.6 (range 27.3–38.3); coverage 7.9 (range 4.2–10.1); and duration 0.38 (0–1). Of the 10 delirium risk factors, infection, nutrition, hypoxia and pain were the most and cognitive impairment, sensory impairment and multiple medications the least consistently addressed. Overall fidelity to the intervention was assessed as high (≥80%) in two wards, medium (51–79%) in five wards and low (≤50%) in one ward. Conclusion the trial was designed as a pragmatic evaluation, and the findings of medium intervention fidelity are likely to be generalisable to delirium prevention in routine care and provide an important context to interpret the trial outcomes

Correction: Farnfield, M.M., et al. Whey Protein Ingestion Activates mTOR-dependent Signalling after Resistance Exercise in Young Men: A Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients 2009, 1, 263-275.

We found an error in our paper recently published in Nutrients [1]

Distinct Bacterial Pathways Influence the Efficacy of Antibiotics against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Effective tuberculosis treatment requires at least 6 months of combination therapy. Alterations in the physiological state of the bacterium during infection are thought to reduce drug efficacy and prolong the necessary treatment period, but the nature of these adaptations remain incompletely defined. To identify specific bacterial functions that limit drug effects during infection, we employed a comprehensive genetic screening approach to identify mutants with altered susceptibility to the first-line antibiotics in the mouse model. We identified many mutations that increase the rate of bacterial clearance, suggesting new strategies for accelerating therapy. In addition, the drug-specific effects of these mutations suggested that different antibiotics are limited by distinct factors. Rifampin efficacy is inferred to be limited by cellular permeability, whereas isoniazid is preferentially affected by replication rate. Many mutations that altered bacterial clearance in the mouse model did not have an obvious effect on drug susceptibility using in vitro assays, indicating that these chemical-genetic interactions tend to be specific to the in vivo environment. This observation suggested that a wide variety of natural genetic variants could influence drug efficacy in vivo without altering behavior in standard drug-susceptibility tests. Indeed, mutations in a number of the genes identified in our study are enriched in drug-resistant clinical isolates, identifying genetic variants that may influence treatment outcome. Together, these observations suggest new avenues for improving therapy, as well as the mechanisms of genetic adaptations that limit it. IMPORTANCE Understanding how Mycobacterium tuberculosis survives during antibiotic treatment is necessary to rationally devise more effective tuberculosis (TB) chemotherapy regimens. Using genome-wide mutant fitness profiling and the mouse model of TB, we identified genes that alter antibiotic efficacy specifically in the infection environment and associated several of these genes with natural genetic variants found in drug-resistant clinical isolates. These data suggest strategies for synergistic therapies that accelerate bacterial clearance, and they identify mechanisms of adaptation to drug exposure that could influence treatment outcome