Enhancing scientific communication skills: a real-world simulation in a tertiary-level life science class using e-learning technology in biomedical literature perception, reflective review writing on a clinical issue, and self and peer assessments

This educational study aimed to explore the feasibility and acceptance of a literacy exercise adopted from the realworld of scientific publishing in a cell and tissue biology course. For that purpose, a tertiary-level multimodality science course, which integrated a blended learning faculty and student lectures, journal club, and wet laboratory sessions including a research project as well as examinations, was complemented by essaywriting of a review and peerreviewing of five manuscripts. All tasks contributed to the final course mark. Special emphasis was laid on the usability of different E-Learning applications for scientific writing and teacher- and peerassessment procedures. Further, potential influences of student characteristics on their peerand self-assessments as well as their acceptance of the feedback from their peers were evaluated. Seventy-five undergraduate students from different Bachelor programs were included in the study. Plagiarism check and double-blind assessments of the essays were performed using “Turnitin.com.” Students self- assessed their paper and received feedback from five peers and the teacher. Peer assessment was more severe than the teacher- or self-assessment, and the peer mark correlated best with the final course mark. Students with better marks assessed more generously, and there had moderate tendencies for influences of gender and background on peer feedback behavior. The students perceived the writing and assessment exercises, especially being peer-assessed, as demanding, but rewarding and a great learning experience. The additional tasks were feasible using E-Learning technology, which should foster future biomedical courses to train writing skills and the ability to cope with different roles in the scientific community

Stent-assisted coiling of broad-necked intracranial aneurysms with a new braided microstent (Accero) : procedural results and long-term follow-up

Intracranial stents have expanded endovascular therapy options for intracranial aneurysms. The braided Accero stent is available for clinical use since May 2015. To date, no clinical reports on the stent are available. Purpose of this study was the evaluation of the safety and efficacy of the Accero stent in stent-assisted coiling. All patients, in whom implantation of the stent was performed, were included. Primary endpoints were good clinical outcome (mRS ≤ 2) and aneurysm occlusion grades 1 and 2 (Raymond Roy Occlusion Classification). Secondary endpoints were procedural and device-related complications with permanent disability or death, complications in the course, and the recanalization rate. Between September 2015 and August 2018, thirty-four aneurysms were treated with stentassisted coiling using the Accero. Sixteen aneurysms were untreated, four of these were ruptured. Mild neurological complications occurred in 2/34 (5.9%) treatments. Two stent occlusions occurred during follow-up. No patient had a poor procedure- or device-related outcome. After an average of 15 months of follow-up, 28/30 aneurysms were completely or near-completely occluded. The Accero stent proved to be safe and effective in the treatment of broad-based intracranial aneurysms. The complication rate and the rate of successful aneurysm occlusions are similar to those of other stents.DFG-Publikationsfonds 202

Enhancing Scientific Communication Skills: a Real-World Simulation in a Tertiary-Level Life Science Class Using E-Learning Technology in Biomedical Literature Perception, Reflective Review Writing on a Clinical Issue, and Self and Peer Assessments

This educational study aimed to explore the feasibility and acceptance of a literacy exercise adopted from the realworld of scientific publishing in a cell and tissue biology course. For that purpose, a tertiary-level multimodality science course, which integrated a blended learning faculty and student lectures, journal club, and wet laboratory sessions including a research project as well as examinations, was complemented by essaywriting of a review and peerreviewing of five manuscripts. All tasks contributed to the final course mark. Special emphasis was laid on the usability of different E-Learning applications for scientific writing and teacher- and peerassessment procedures. Further, potential influences of student characteristics on their peer- and self-assessments as well as their acceptance of the feedback from their peers were evaluated. Seventy-five undergraduate students from different Bachelor programs were included in the study. Plagiarism check and double-blind assessments of the essays were performed using “Turnitin.com.” Students self-assessed their paper and received feedback from five peers and the teacher. Peer assessment was more severe than the teacher- or self-assessment, and the peer mark correlated best with the final course mark. Students with better marks assessed more generously, and there had moderate tendencies for influences of gender and background on peer feedback behavior. The students perceived the writing and assessment exercises, especially being peer-assessed, as demanding, but rewarding and a great learning experience. The additional tasks were feasible using E-Learning technology, which should foster future biomedical courses to train writing skills and the ability to cope with different roles in the scientific community

From imaging to hemodynamics – how reconstruction kernels influence the blood flow predictions in intracranial aneurysms

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is increasingly used by biomedical engineering groups to understand and predict the blood flow within intracranial aneurysms and support the physician during therapy planning. However, due to various simplifications, its acceptance remains limited within the medical community. To quantify the influence of the reconstruction kernels employed for reconstructing 3D images from rotational angiography data, different kernels are applied to four datasets with patient-specific intracranial aneurysms. Sharp, normal and smooth reconstructions were evaluated. Differences of the resulting 24 segmentations and the impact on the hemodynamic predictions are quantified to provide insights into the expected error ranges. A comparison of the segmentations yields strong differences regarding vessel branches and diameters. Further, sharp kernels lead to smaller ostium areas than smooth ones. Analyses of hemodynamic predictions reveal a clear time and space dependency, while mean velocity deviations range from 3.9 to 8%. The results reveal a strong influence of reconstruction kernels on geometrical aneurysm models and the subsequent hemodynamic parameters. Thus, patient-specific blood flow predictions require a carefully selected reconstruction kernel and appropriate recommendations need to be formulated

Structural Proton Diffusion along Lipid Bilayers

For H(+) transport between protein pumps, lateral diffusion along membrane surfaces represents the most efficient pathway. Along lipid bilayers, we measured a diffusion coefficient of 5.8 × 10(−5) cm(2) s(−1). It is too large to be accounted for by vehicle diffusion, considering proton transport by acid carriers. Such a speed of migration is accomplished only by the Grotthuss mechanism involving the chemical exchange of hydrogen nuclei between hydrogen-bonded water molecules on the membrane surface, and the subsequent reorganization of the hydrogen-bonded network. Reconstitution of H(+)-binding sites on the membrane surface decreased the velocity of H(+) diffusion. In the absence of immobile buffers, structural (Grotthuss) diffusion occurred over a distance of 100 μm as shown by microelectrode aided measurements of the spatial proton distribution in the immediate membrane vicinity and spatially resolved fluorescence measurements of interfacial pH. The efficiency of the anomalously fast lateral diffusion decreased gradually with an increase in mobile buffer concentration suggesting that structural diffusion is physiologically important for distances of ∼10 nm

Structural Proton Diffusion along Lipid Bilayers

For H+ transport between protein pumps, lateral diffusion along membrane surfaces represents the most efficient pathway. Along lipid bilayers, we measured a diffusion coefficient of 5.8 × 10−5 cm2 s−1. It is too large to be accounted for by vehicle diffusion, considering proton transport by acid carriers. Such a speed of migration is accomplished only by the Grotthuss mechanism involving the chemical exchange of hydrogen nuclei between hydrogen-bonded water molecules on the membrane surface, and the subsequent reorganization of the hydrogen-bonded network. Reconstitution of H+-binding sites on the membrane surface decreased the velocity of H+ diffusion. In the absence of immobile buffers, structural (Grotthuss) diffusion occurred over a distance of 100 μm as shown by microelectrode aided measurements of the spatial proton distribution in the immediate membrane vicinity and spatially resolved fluorescence measurements of interfacial pH. The efficiency of the anomalously fast lateral diffusion decreased gradually with an increase in mobile buffer concentration suggesting that structural diffusion is physiologically important for distances of ∼10 nm