Ready or not? Expectations of faculty and medical students for clinical skills preparation for clerkships

Background: Preclerkship clinical-skills training has received increasing attention as a foundational preparation for clerkships. Expectations among medical students and faculty regarding the clinical skills and level of skill mastery needed for starting clerkships are unknown. Medical students, faculty teaching in the preclinical setting, and clinical clerkship faculty may have differing expectations of students entering clerkships. If students' expectations differ from faculty expectations, students may experience anxiety. Alternately, congruent expectations among students and faculty may facilitate integrated and seamless student transitions to clerkships. Aims: To assess the congruence of expectations among preclerkship faculty, clerkship faculty, and medical students for the clinical skills and appropriate level of clinical-skills preparation needed to begin clerkships. Methods: Investigators surveyed preclinical faculty, clerkship faculty, and medical students early in their basic clerkships at a North American medical school that focuses on preclerkship clinical-skills development. Survey questions assessed expectations for the appropriate level of preparation in basic and advanced clinical skills for students entering clerkships. Results: Preclinical faculty and students had higher expectations than clerkship faculty for degree of preparation in most basic skills. Students had higher expectations than both faculty groups for advanced skills preparation. Conclusions: Preclinical faculty, clerkship faculty, and medical students appear to have different expectations of clinical-skills training needed for clerkships. As American medical schools increasingly introduce clinical-skills training prior to clerkships, more attention to alignment, communication, and integration between preclinical and clerkship faculty will be important to establish common curricular agendas and increase integration of student learning. Clarification of skills expectations may also alleviate student anxiety about clerkships and enhance their learning

Bright Opportunities for Atmospheric Characterization of Small Planets: Masses and Radii of K2-3 b, c, and d and GJ3470 b from Radial Velocity Measurements and Spitzer Transits

We report improved masses, radii, and densities for four planets in two bright M-dwarf systems, K2-3 and GJ3470, derived from a combination of new radial velocity and transit observations. Supplementing K2 photometry with follow-up Spitzer transit observations refined the transit ephemerides of K2-3 b, c, and d by over a factor of 10. We analyze ground-based photometry from the Evryscope and Fairborn Observatory to determine the characteristic stellar activity timescales for our Gaussian Process fit, including the stellar rotation period and activity region decay timescale. The stellar rotation signals for both stars are evident in the radial velocity data and is included in our fit using a Gaussian process trained on the photometry. We find the masses of K2-3 b, K2-3 c, and GJ3470 b to be 6.48{}-0.93+0.99, 2.14{}-1.04+1.08, and 12.58{}-1.28+1.31 M ⊕, respectively. K2-3 d was not significantly detected and has a 3σ upper limit of 2.80 M ⊕. These two systems are training cases for future TESS systems; due to the low planet densities (ρ < 3.7 g cm-3) and bright host stars (K < 9 mag), they are among the best candidates for transmission spectroscopy in order to characterize the atmospheric compositions of small planets

Bright Opportunities for Atmospheric Characterization of Small Planets: Masses and Radii of K2-3 b, c, d and GJ3470 b from Radial Velocity Measurements and Spitzer Transits

We report improved masses, radii, and densities for four planets in two bright M-dwarf systems, K2-3 and GJ3470, derived from a combination of new radial velocity and transit observations. Supplementing K2 photometry with follow-up Spitzer transit observations refined the transit ephemerides of K2-3 b, c, and d by over a factor of 10. We analyze ground-based photometry from the Evryscope and Fairborn Observatory to determine the characteristic stellar activity timescales for our Gaussian Process fit, including the stellar rotation period and activity region decay timescale. The stellar rotation signals for both stars are evident in the radial velocity data and is included in our fit using a Gaussian process trained on the photometry. We find the masses of K2-3 b, K2-3 c, and GJ3470 b to be 6.48^(+0.99)_(-0.93), 2.14^(+1.08)_(-1.04), and 12.58^(+1.31)_(-1.28) M⊕, respectively. K2-3 d was not significantly detected and has a 3σ upper limit of 2.80 M⊕. These two systems are training cases for future TESS systems; due to the low planet densities (ρ < 3.7 g cm^(−3)) and bright host stars (K < 9 mag), they are among the best candidates for transmission spectroscopy in order to characterize the atmospheric compositions of small planets

Characterizing a lethal mitonuclear incompatibility in naturally hybridizing Xiphophorus swordtails

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;The evolution of reproductive barriers is the first step in the formation of new species and can help us understand the diversification of life on Earth. These reproductive barriers often take the form of "hybrid incompatibilities," where alleles derived from two different species no longer interact properly in hybrids&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;. Theory predicts that hybrid incompatibilities may be more likely to arise at rapidly evolving genes&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; and that incompatibilities involving multiple genes should be common&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, but there has been sparse empirical data to evaluate these predictions. Here, we describe a mitonuclear incompatibility involving three genes in physical contact within respiratory Complex I &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;naturally hybridizing swordtail fish species. Individuals homozygous for mismatched protein combinations fail to complete embryonic development or die as juveniles, while those heterozygous for the incompatibility have reduced &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Complex I &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;function and unbalanced representation of parental alleles in the mitochondrial proteome. We find that the impacts of different genetic interactions on survival are non-additive, highlighting subtle complexity in the genetic architecture of hybrid incompatibilities. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Finally, we&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; document the evolutionary history of the genes involved, showing &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;signals of accelerated&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;evolution and the first&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;case of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;an incompatibility transferred between species via hybridization. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Funding provided by: National Science Foundation&lt;br&gt;Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/021nxhr62&lt;br&gt;Award Number: 2019273798&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Funding provided by: National Science Foundation&lt;br&gt;Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/021nxhr62&lt;br&gt;Award Number: 2010950&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Funding provided by: National Cancer Institute&lt;br&gt;Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/040gcmg81&lt;br&gt;Award Number: CA124435&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Funding provided by: National Institute of General Medical Sciences&lt;br&gt;Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/04q48ey07&lt;br&gt;Award Number: 1R35GM142836&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Funding provided by: National Institute of General Medical Sciences&lt;br&gt;Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/04q48ey07&lt;br&gt;Award Number: 1R35GM133774&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This project was based genomic DNA samples collected from live fish in Hidalgo, Mexico and lab populations in Stanford, California, followed by low-coverage sequencing and local ancestry inference using an HMM-based approach. The resulting ancestry information was used for QTL and admixture mapping to identify mito-nuclear associations, and estimation of selection on particular genotype combinations. We also genotyped embryos dissected from in utero after performing developmental staging, respirometry measurements, and morphometrics. We isolated mitochondria from adult heterozygotes, then used these samples to perform respirometry using an Oroboros O2K respirometer, and a Parallel Reaction Monitoring proteomics experiment. Using inferred protein sequences from the relevant species, we performed in silico modeling in RaptorX and MODELLER of Complex I genes of interest, analyses of evolutionary rates using codeml, and tested for historical introgression using a combination of phylogentics on PacBio mitochondrial genomes and simulations of ILS vs. gene flow. Further details are available in the online-only methods and supplemental information of the associated manuscript.&lt;/p&gt

Transposon-mediated transgenesis, transgenic rescue, and tissue-specific gene expression in rodents and rabbits.

Germline transgenesis is an important procedure for functional investigation of biological pathways, as well as for animal biotechnology. We have established a simple, nonviral protocol in three important biomedical model organisms frequently used in physiological studies. The protocol is based on the hyperactive Sleeping Beauty transposon system, SB100X, which reproducibly promoted generation of transgenic founders at frequencies of 50-64, 14-72, and 15% in mice, rats, and rabbits, respectively. The SB100X-mediated transgene integrations are less prone to genetic mosaicism and gene silencing as compared to either the classical pronuclear injection or to lentivirus-mediated transgenesis. The method was successfully applied to a variety of transgenes and animal models, and can be used to generate founders with single-copy integrations. The transposon vector also allows the generation of transgenic lines with tissue-specific expression patterns specified by promoter elements of choice, exemplified by a rat reporter strain useful for tracking serotonergic neurons. As a proof of principle, we rescued an inborn genetic defect in the fawn-hooded hypertensive rat by SB100X transgenesis. A side-by-side comparison of the SB100X- and piggyBac-based protocols revealed that the two systems are complementary, offering new opportunities in genome manipulation.-Katter, K., Geurts, A. M., Hoffmann, O., Mates, L., Landa,V., Hiripi, L., Moreno, C., Lazar, J., Bashir, S., Zidek, V., Popova, E., Jerchow, B., Becker, K., Devaraj, A., Walter, I., Grzybowksi, M., Corbett, M., Rangel Filho, A., Hodges, M. R., Bader, M., Ivics, Z., Jacob, H. J., Pravenec, M., Bosze, Z., Rulicke, T., Izsvak, Z. Transposon-mediated transgenesis, transgenic rescue, and tissue-specific gene expression in rodents and rabbits

Bright Opportunities for Atmospheric Characterization of Small Planets: Masses and Radii of K2-3 b, c, and d and GJ3470 b from Radial Velocity Measurements and Spitzer Transits

International audienceWe report improved masses, radii, and densities for four planets in two bright M-dwarf systems, K2-3 and GJ3470, derived from a combination of new radial velocity and transit observations. Supplementing K2 photometry with follow-up Spitzer transit observations refined the transit ephemerides of K2-3 b, c, and d by over a factor of 10. We analyze ground-based photometry from the Evryscope and Fairborn Observatory to determine the characteristic stellar activity timescales for our Gaussian Process fit, including the stellar rotation period and activity region decay timescale. The stellar rotation signals for both stars are evident in the radial velocity data and is included in our fit using a Gaussian process trained on the photometry. We find the masses of K2-3 b, K2-3 c, and GJ3470 b to be 6.48${}_{-0.93}^{+0.99}$, 2.14${}_{-1.04}^{+1.08}$, and 12.58${}_{-1.28}^{+1.31}$ M ⊕, respectively. K2-3 d was not significantly detected and has a 3σ upper limit of 2.80 M ⊕. These two systems are training cases for future TESS systems; due to the low planet densities (ρ < 3.7 g cm−3) and bright host stars (K < 9 mag), they are among the best candidates for transmission spectroscopy in order to characterize the atmospheric compositions of small planets

Bright Opportunities for Atmospheric Characterization of Small Planets: Masses and Radii of K2-3 b, c, and d and GJ3470 b from Radial Velocity Measurements and Spitzer Transits

International audienceWe report improved masses, radii, and densities for four planets in two bright M-dwarf systems, K2-3 and GJ3470, derived from a combination of new radial velocity and transit observations. Supplementing K2 photometry with follow-up Spitzer transit observations refined the transit ephemerides of K2-3 b, c, and d by over a factor of 10. We analyze ground-based photometry from the Evryscope and Fairborn Observatory to determine the characteristic stellar activity timescales for our Gaussian Process fit, including the stellar rotation period and activity region decay timescale. The stellar rotation signals for both stars are evident in the radial velocity data and is included in our fit using a Gaussian process trained on the photometry. We find the masses of K2-3 b, K2-3 c, and GJ3470 b to be 6.48{}-0.93+0.99, 2.14{}-1.04+1.08, and 12.58{}-1.28+1.31 M ⊕, respectively. K2-3 d was not significantly detected and has a 3σ upper limit of 2.80 M ⊕. These two systems are training cases for future TESS systems; due to the low planet densities (ρ < 3.7 g cm-3) and bright host stars (K < 9 mag), they are among the best candidates for transmission spectroscopy in order to characterize the atmospheric compositions of small planets

Bright Opportunities for Atmospheric Characterization of Small Planets: Masses and Radii of K2-3 b, c, and d and GJ3470 b from Radial Velocity Measurements and Spitzer Transits

We report improved masses, radii, and densities for four planets in two bright M-dwarf systems, K2-3 and GJ3470, derived from a combination of new radial velocity and transit observations. Supplementing K2 photometry with follow-up Spitzer transit observations refined the transit ephemerides of K2-3 b, c, and d by over a factor of 10. We analyze ground-based photometry from the Evryscope and Fairborn Observatory to determine the characteristic stellar activity timescales for our Gaussian Process fit, including the stellar rotation period and activity region decay timescale. The stellar rotation signals for both stars are evident in the radial velocity data and is included in our fit using a Gaussian process trained on the photometry. We find the masses of K2-3 b, K2-3 c, and GJ3470 b to be 6.48${}_{-0.93}^{+0.99}$, 2.14${}_{-1.04}^{+1.08}$, and 12.58${}_{-1.28}^{+1.31}$ M⊕, respectively. K2-3 d was not significantly detected and has a 3σ upper limit of 2.80 M⊕. These two systems are training cases for future TESS systems; due to the low planet densities (ρ \u3c 3.7 g cm−3) and bright host stars (K \u3c 9 mag), they are among the best candidates for transmission spectroscopy in order to characterize the atmospheric compositions of small planets