Biology curriculum for the senior secondary level in Victoria, Australia

In Victoria, the Victorian Certificate of Education(VCE) is most common among certificates required to apply any tertiary institute in the Victoria State. Thus, the number of students who take the VCE course is larger than other courses in senior secondary schools. VCE Biology is one of the subjects in natural science area. The subject consists of 4 units: Unit 1 is ecology oriented, Unit 2 is cell biology oriented, Unit 3 is physiology and developmental biology oriented, and Unit 4 is systematics, genetics and evolution oriented. One of the distinctive features of the VCE Biology is its assignment. Three or four tasks are prepared in each unit of the subject. In order to complete the assignment, students should carry out some laboratory work, field studies and investigations to collect data and information from a number of sources. They also need to analyze data to write some reports. In Unit 3 and 4, Common Assessment Tasks(CATs), which include writing report and paper test, and prepared. Another distinctive feature of the curriculum is that there are some applied biological aspects in the contents of each unit. <br /

Factors contributing to left atrial enlargement in adults with normal left ventricular systolic function

AbstractBackgroundCauses of left atrial (LA) enlargement and its gender difference in patients with normal left ventricular (LV) systolic function have not been clarified. We investigated the factors contributing to LA enlargement in patients with normal LV systolic function, addressing its gender difference.MethodsWe enrolled 380 patients (175 males and 205 females; mean age: 63±15 years) with LV ejection fraction ≥50% who underwent Doppler echocardiography and blood tests at the same time as echocardiography. Patients with arrhythmias, significant valvular heart disease, and LV asynergy were excluded. The LA volume was measured by Simpson's method from apical 2- and 4-chamber views, and LA volume index (LAVI) was calculated as LA volume/body surface area. All patients, male and female were assigned to a group with a low or a high LAVI based on the median LAVI value, respectively.ResultsAge, female gender, hypertension, diabetes, hemoglobin concentration, LV mass index, Doppler parameters of LA contraction, and the ratio of mitral early diastolic velocity to early diastolic velocity of the mitral annulus (E/E′) were significantly associated with a high LAVI in all patients. Multivariate analysis showed that LV mass index [odds ratio (OR) 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03–1.06, P<0.0001], hemoglobin concentration (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.64–0.90, P<0.01), and female gender (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.12–3.30, P<0.05) independently contributed to a high LAVI in all patients. In addition, LV mass index and hemoglobin concentration independently contributed to a high LAVI in both genders despite the absence of overt LV hypertrophy or anemia.ConclusionIncreased LV wall thickness and decreased hemoglobin concentration might contribute to LA enlargement in patients with normal LV systolic function irrespective of gender

Current situation of practical work in secondary school biology (VCE biology) in Victoria state, Australia

In secondary school biology in Victoria State, Australia, practical work including laboratory exercises, fieldwork and other research activities is carried out more frequently than in Japanese senior high school biology. The authors examined the contents of the practical work and how often such practical work is carried out in some urban and rural secondary schools in Victoria. The topics of biology practical work were based on the VCE Biology Study Design which was published by the Victorian Board of Studies. Some of the activities continued for some weeks. Sometimes students went out from their school for fieldwork for a few days. The average number of practical work per credit was about 4. This number is consider ably larger than the value (2.3 per credit) which was reported on senior high schools in Osaka Prefecture. Why so often can the practical work be carried out? The main reason is that as well as the scores of ordinary paper tests, the evaluation of each practical work is taken into consideration at the entrance examination of universities and other tertiary education institutes in Victoria State. <br /

In vivo effects of a recombinant molt-inhibiting hormone on molt interval and hemolymph ecdysteroid level in the kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus

In order to determine the function of molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH) in vivo, we examined the effects of injecting of a recombinant MIH on the molt interval and hemolymph ecdysteroid level in the kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus. The injection of recombinant MIH significantly prolonged the molt interval (9.0 ±0.4 days in the control group, 9.5±0.5 days in the 2500 ng/g-body weight/injection-group, meanSD), and significantly decreased the hemolymph ecdysteroid level (ratio of levels between after and before injection: 1.94±1.09 in the control and 1.28±0.39 in the 3000 ng/g-body weight/injection-group, mean±SD). These results conclusively show the inhibitory effects of MIH on molting in vivo

11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 specific inhibitor increased dermal collagen content and promotes fibroblast proliferation.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are one of the most effective anti-inflammatory drugs for treating acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. However, several studies have shown that GCs alter collagen metabolism in the skin and induce skin atrophy. Cortisol is the endogenous GC that is released in response to various stressors. Over the last decade, extraadrenal cortisol production in various tissues has been reported. Skin also synthesizes cortisol through a de novo pathway and through an activating enzyme. 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1) is the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of hormonally inactive cortisone to active cortisol in cells. We previously found that 11β-HSD1 negatively regulates proliferation of keratinocytes. To determine the function of 11β-HSD1 in dermal fibroblasts and collagen metabolism, the effect of a selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor was studied in mouse tissues and dermal fibroblasts. The expression of 11β-HSD1 increased with age in mouse skin. Subcutaneous injection of a selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor increased dermal thickness and collagen content in the mouse skin. In vitro, proliferation of dermal fibroblasts derived from 11β-HSD1 null mice (Hsd11b1(-/-) mice) was significantly increased compared with fibroblasts from wild-type mice. However, in vivo, dermal thickness of Hsd11b1(-/-) mice was not altered in 3-month-old and 1-year-old mouse skin compared with wild-type mouse skin. These in vivo findings suggest the presence of compensatory mechanisms in Hsd11b1(-/-) mice. Our findings suggest that 11β-HSD1 inhibition may reverse the decreased collagen content observed in intrinsically and extrinsically aged skin and in skin atrophy that is induced by GC treatment