An Experimental Education Project for Consultations of Older Adults during the Pandemic and Healthcare Lockdown

Objective: To develop a mentor-supervised, interprofessional, geriatric telemedicine experiential education project in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Medical and pharmacy students collaborated via remote consultations to address the coexistence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy in geriatric patients. In-depth interviews of students and patients as well as Likert scale-based telephonic survey were performed for a comprehensive evaluation of the project’s significance. Results: To date, 49 consultations have been conducted. Remote consultations performed by medical and pharmacy students working collaboratively were beneficial for both students, participants. Conclusions and Practice Implications: This experimental education project provided students with authentic challenges while simultaneously delivering care to the older adults who are susceptible to disruption of care associated with the pandemic. Further development and expanded implementation of such approaches may be a post-pandemic practice to provide more accessible care for senior patients while incorporating interprofessional education

Localization of DIR1 at the tissue, cellular and subcellular levels during Systemic Acquired Resistance in Arabidopsis using DIR1:GUS and DIR1:EGFP reporters

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR) is an induced resistance response to pathogens, characterized by the translocation of a long-distance signal from induced leaves to distant tissues to prime them for increased resistance to future infection. DEFECTIVE in INDUCED RESISTANCE 1 (DIR1) has been hypothesized to chaperone a small signaling molecule to distant tissues during SAR in <it>Arabidopsis</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>DIR1 promoter:DIR1-GUS/<it>dir1-1 </it>lines were constructed to examine DIR1 expression. DIR1 is expressed in seedlings, flowers and ubiquitously in untreated or mock-inoculated mature leaf cells, including phloem sieve elements and companion cells. Inoculation of leaves with SAR-inducing avirulent or virulent <it>Pseudomonas syringae </it>pv <it>tomato </it>(<it>Pst</it>) resulted in Type III Secretion System-dependent suppression of DIR1 expression in leaf cells. Transient expression of fluorescent fusion proteins in tobacco and intercellular washing fluid experiments indicated that DIR1's ER signal sequence targets it for secretion to the cell wall. However, DIR1 expressed without a signal sequence rescued the <it>dir1-1 </it>SAR defect, suggesting that a cytosolic pool of DIR1 is important for the SAR response.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although expression of DIR1 decreases during SAR induction, the protein localizes to all living cell types of the vasculature, including companion cells and sieve elements, and therefore DIR1 is well situated to participate in long-distance signaling during SAR.</p

Serial team teaching and the evolving scholarship of learning: Students’ perspective

Faculty and students at the University of Toronto were surveyed and interviewed to form a case study of serial team teaching, in which multiple instructors take turns teaching a segment of the same course in sequence. Student opinions ranged from slightly opposed to slightly in favour of team teaching overall. When asked about specific aspects of team teaching, students who liked it overall tended to like all aspects of it, and did not identify those disadvantages in student experience anticipated by the faculty. In general, students in upper years were less supportive of team teaching than were students in their first and second years

An Intermittent Live Cell Imaging Screen for siRNA Enhancers and Suppressors of a Kinesin-5 Inhibitor

Kinesin-5 (also known as Eg5, KSP and Kif11) is required for assembly of a bipolar mitotic spindle. Small molecule inhibitors of Kinesin-5, developed as potential anti-cancer drugs, arrest cell in mitosis and promote apoptosis of cancer cells. We performed a genome-wide siRNA screen for enhancers and suppressors of a Kinesin-5 inhibitor in human cells to elucidate cellular responses, and thus identify factors that might predict drug sensitivity in cancers. Because the drug's actions play out over several days, we developed an intermittent imaging screen. Live HeLa cells expressing GFP-tagged histone H2B were imaged at 0, 24 and 48 hours after drug addition, and images were analyzed using open-source software that incorporates machine learning. This screen effectively identified siRNAs that caused increased mitotic arrest at low drug concentrations (enhancers), and vice versa (suppressors), and we report siRNAs that caused both effects. We then classified the effect of siRNAs for 15 genes where 3 or 4 out of 4 siRNA oligos tested were suppressors as assessed by time lapse imaging, and by testing for suppression of mitotic arrest in taxol and nocodazole. This identified 4 phenotypic classes of drug suppressors, which included known and novel genes. Our methodology should be applicable to other screens, and the suppressor and enhancer genes we identified may open new lines of research into mitosis and checkpoint biology

Seedborne fusarium and root colonization of container-grown douglas-fir seedlings

The role of seedborne Fusarium in root colonization of container-grown Douglas-fir seedlings was studied in two coastal Douglas-fir seedlots; one contaminated with Fusarium and the other with minimal Fusarium. Seedlots were treated using either a standing water imbibition, or a running water imbibition with a post-stratification hydrogen peroxide sanitation treatment. The sanitation treatment significantly reduced the number of Fusarium-contaminated seeds. Seedlings were grown in an operational conifer nursery and seedling infection and root colonization by Fusarium was assessed throughout the growing season. The number of seedlings with Fusarium root infections increased throughout the season, and remained highest for the standing water imbibition treatment of the contaminated seedlot. Seedborne Fusarium was an important source of inoculum in one of the two years of the study. Other sources of inoculum may have been pallets or debris, but planting mix and irrigation water used in the study did not appear to contain Fusarium. Seed sanitation was associated with a significant increase in average height, root collar diameter, and shoot and root dry weight for the seedlings from the contaminated seedlot but not for the uncontaminated seedlot. Contamination of seed by Fusarium during cone and seed processing was also investigated.Forestry, Faculty ofGraduat

Knowledge mobilization across boundaries with the use of novel organizational structures, conferencing strategies, and technological tools: The Ontario Consortium of Undergraduate Biology Educators (oCUBE) Model

The Ontario Consortium of Undergraduate Biology Educators (oCUBE) bringstogether over 50 biology educators from 18 Ontario universities with the commongoal to improve the biology undergraduate experience for both students andeducators. This goal is achieved through an innovative mix of highlyinteractive face-to-face meetings, online conferencing platforms (wiki andvideo conferencing), monthly online newsletters, and other activities. The beautyof the oCUBE model is that it meshes with the active learning methods that itsmembers use in their own teaching. It also creates a community of practice withintra- and inter-institutional collaborations that assist in resolving educationalissues of both common and immediate importance to oCUBE members. oCUBE membersreport that oCUBE activities and resources are very effective in helping themlearn new teaching strategies and in developing professionally

5. Serial Team Teaching and the Evolving Scholarship of Learning: Students’ Perspective

Faculty and students at the University of Toronto were surveyed and interviewed to form a case study of serial team teaching, in which multiple instructors take turns teaching a segment of the same course in sequence. Student opinions ranged from slightly opposed to slightly in favour of team teaching overall. When asked about specific aspects of team teaching, students who liked it overall tended to like all aspects of it, and did not identify those disadvantages in student experience anticipated by the faculty. In general, students in upper years were less supportive of team teaching than were students in their first and second years