Models of classroom assessment for course-based research experiences

Course-based research pedagogy involves positioning students as contributors to authentic research projects as part of an engaging educational experience that promotes their learning and persistence in science. To develop a model for assessing and grading students engaged in this type of learning experience, the assessment aims and practices of a community of experienced course-based research instructors were collected and analyzed. This approach defines four aims of course-based research assessment—(1) Assessing Laboratory Work and Scientific Thinking; (2) Evaluating Mastery of Concepts, Quantitative Thinking and Skills; (3) Appraising Forms of Scientific Communication; and (4) Metacognition of Learning—along with a set of practices for each aim. These aims and practices of assessment were then integrated with previously developed models of course-based research instruction to reveal an assessment program in which instructors provide extensive feedback to support productive student engagement in research while grading those aspects of research that are necessary for the student to succeed. Assessment conducted in this way delicately balances the need to facilitate students’ ongoing research with the requirement of a final grade without undercutting the important aims of a CRE education

Texte long argumentaire – CHAMP 5 – Place des compléments nutritionnels oraux en réanimation. Recommandations formalisées d’experts. Nutrition artificielle en réanimation SFAR-SRLF-SFNEP

National audienceIn the context of hypercatabolism and protein-energy deficit observed during the first week of the stay, staying in the intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with increased nutritional risk. In the ICU, early enteral nutrition (EN) is recommended as the first line nutrition support. Protein-energy deficit frequently occurred during the first week of ICU stay. A strong epidemiological link does exist between the protein-energy deficit and the increased risk of infections, complications, and mortality. No study has specifically addressed the question of the potential clinical benefits of the use of oral nutritional supplements in ICU patients. The present paper detailed the arguments upon which were elaborating, according to the GRADE method, the recommendations regarding the field 5 "Oral nutritional supplements (ONS) in the intensive care unit" of the French Societies SFAR-SRLF-SFNEP guidelines "Nutrition support in the intensive care unit": 5.1. When oral food is insufficient, ONS should be added, outside of meals time (weak agreement). The use of ONS must not delay the initiation of EN in the patients who did not cover their energy needs under oral food plus ONS. Specific ONS are useless in the ICU. ONS could be used at the beginning of food reintroduction, in the context of swallowing rehabilitation. Prospectives clinical studies are needed to better define the indications and the clinical benefits of ONS in the ICU. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.Face à l’hypercatabolisme et l’insuffisance d’apports nutritionnels durant la semaine post-admission, l’hospitalisation en réanimation est une situation à très haut risque de dénutrition. Le support nutritionnel recommandé est la nutrition entérale (NE) précoce. Cependant, le déficit énergétique et/ou protéique survenant dès la première semaine du séjour est fréquent. Une relation épidémiologique forte existe entre ce déficit protéino-énergétique et l’augmentation du risque d’infections et de complications, ainsi que de la mortalité. Aucune étude n’a évalué l’intérêt d’administrer des compléments nutritionnels oraux aux patients de réanimation ou de soins intensifs. Cet article détaille les arguments ayant permis l’élaboration, selon la méthode GRADE, des recommandations du champ 5 « Place des compléments nutritionnels oraux (CNO) en réanimation » des Recommandations Formalisées d’Experts Nutrition artificielle en Réanimation SFAR-SRLF-SFNEP : 5.1 Lorsque l’alimentation orale exclusive est insuffisante, il faut probablement ajouter des compléments nutritionnels oraux, en dehors des repas (accord faible). Le recours aux CNO ne doit pas faire retarder la mise en route d’une NE chez les patients ne couvrant pas 100 % de leurs besoins énergétiques sous-alimentation orale et CNO. Il ne faut probablement pas prescrire de CNO spécifiques. L’utilisation des CNO pourrait aussi être envisagée, au début de la reprise alimentaire, dans le cadre de la rééducation à la déglutition. Des études cliniques prospectives sont nécessaires afin de mieux définir les indications et les bénéfices cliniques éventuels de l’utilisation des CNO en réanimation

Healthfusion team challenge: annual report the year in review 2010

Based at the University of Queensland, HealthFusion is a team of health academics committed to inspiring and motivating health sciences students to learn together for better patient outcomes. We do this through the creation and development of innovative interprofessional educational activities. Our flagship program, the HealthFusion Team Challenge (HFTC) is a fun and dynamic competition that promotes interprofessional collaboration and client-centred care

Intradermal Delivery of Plasmid VEGF165 by Electroporation Promotes Wound Healing

Skin flaps are extensively used in reconstructive surgeries to repair large defects and deep wounds, but severe ischemia and necrosis often results in loss of the transplanted tissue. Thus, skin flap models are often used to study the biology of healing and necrosis of acute ischemic wounds. Delivery of exogenous vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to areas of ischemia has shown promise for promoting therapeutic angiogenesis, but its expression must be tightly regulated to avoid adverse effects. In this study, plasmid DNA encoding VEGF165 (pVEGF) was delivered to the ischemic skin of a rat skin flap model by intradermal injection followed by electroporation (EP) (pVEGFE+). Treatment with pVEGFE+ significantly increased VEGF expression for 5 days after delivery compared to injection of pVEGF without EP (pVEGFE−). The short-term increase in VEGF was sufficient to mediate an upregulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase, an angiogenic factor that increases vascular permeability. pVEGFE+ significantly increased skin flap perfusion at both days 10 and 14 postoperatively. The observed increase in perfusion with pVEGFE+ correlated with an increase in skin flap healing and survival. Our results demonstrate that pVEGFE+ is a potential nonviral noninvasive therapy to increase perfusion and healing of skin flaps and ischemic wounds

Oxytocin, vasopressin, and human social behavior

There is substantial evidence from animal research indicating a key role of the neuropeptides oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in the regulation of complex social cognition and behavior. As social interaction permeates the whole of human society, and the fundamental ability to form attachment is indispensable for social relationships, studies are beginning to dissect the roles of OT and AVP in human social behavior. New experimental paradigms and technologies in human research allow a more nuanced investigation of the molecular basis of social behavior. In addition, a better understanding of the neurobiology and neurogenetics of human social cognition and behavior has important implications for the current development of novel clinical approaches for mental disorders that are associated with social deficits (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, social anxiety disorder, and borderline personality disorder). This review focuses on our recent knowledge of the behavioral, endocrine, genetic, and neural effects of OT and AVP in humans and provides a synthesis of recent advances made in the effort to implicate the oxytocinergic system in the treatment of psychopathological states

Phenolic chemistry of the seagrass Zostera noltei Hornem. Part 1: First evidence of three infraspecific flavonoid chemotypes in three distinctive geographical regions

The flavonoid content of Zostera noltei leaves was investigated over a broad spatial scale using chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques (HPLC-DAD, LC/MS and NMR). Samples were collected at fifteen localities covering Mediterranean Sea and NE Atlantic coast, and representative of three types of coastal ecosystems: mesotidal bays, coastal lagoons, and open-sea. Three geographically distinct flavonoid chemotypes were identified on the basis of their respective major compound. One is characterized by apigenin 7-sulfate (Eastern part of Gulf of Cadiz), one by diosmetin 7-sulfate (French Atlantic coast and Mediterranean Sea), and the third contained similar quantities of the above two compounds (Mauritania and South Portugal). Our results show that metabolomic profiling using a combination of analytical techniques is a tool of choice to characterize chemical phenotype accurately. This work emphasizes for the first time the spatial variability in the flavonoid chemistry of Z. noltei throughout Atlantic and Mediterranean range, and constitutes the first report of chemical races in the Zosteraceae family. This infraspecific chemical differentiation should be considered when dealing with the role of Z. noltei in coastal ecosystems or in the selection of the best population donor for Z. noltei beds restoration. Combined with molecular identification, phenolic fingerprinting might be helpful to elucidate the evolutionary history of Z. noltei