WHY DO STUDENTS ACCESS BIOSCIENCE LECTURE RECORDINGS? IS ACCESSING RECORDINGS ASSOCIATED WITH ACADEMIC OUTCOMES?

When face-to-face lectures are available, there have been limited studies of why students access lecture recordings, and even fewer studies of any association between accessing lecture recordings and academic outcomes. In a bioscience course, a survey was used (i) to determine why the students use lecture recordings and (ii) to test whether there was any association between accessing lecture recordings and academic outcomes. Consenting students undertook an online survey about accessing lecture recordings. Of 288 enrolled students, 131 consented to undertake the survey. For the 84 students who accessed lecture recordings, they were used to clarify, revise or catch up on content, or as an alternative to attending lectures. One-third of students provided additional feedback on accessing lecture recordings, and the most common themes were ‘flexibility’ and ‘useful’. Academic outcomes and accessing lecture recordings were higher for nursing than for non-nursing students. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to determine whether there was an association between accessing lecture recordings and academic outcomes. There were no associations between accessing lecture recordings and academic outcomes. In conclusion, although many students were accessing lecture recordings, accessing recordings alone does not seem to be a major determinant of academic outcomes

Does the proportion of marks for wet laboratories affect overall performance? Results from a biochemistry course

BACKGROUND Students have higher marks in programs/courses with higher, rather than lower, proportions of marks allocated to coursework.  Coursework can take many forms, and the aim of the present study was to determine whether this generalisation applied when the coursework was wet laboratories. METHODS AND RESULTS (i) The marks for the laboratories and exams were compared, (ii) any association between these marks was determined by regression line analysis, and (iii) modelling was undertaken to determine the effects of changing the allocation of marks on passing/failing rates. Students who completed the course had higher marks in the laboratories than the exams. Regression line analysis of the marks in the laboratories versus exam showed (a) a poor line fit and (b) the correlation coefficient was moderate.  A high percentage of students passed the course (90%).  Modelling showed that increasing the marks for the exam decreased the number of students passing the course to as few as 51%.  DISCUSSION The allocation of marks to wet laboratories/exams can have a major effect on the percentage of students who pass courses.  The question as to whether students who pass wet laboratories but fail exams should pass courses/programs needs to be given further consideration

Lyprinol—Is It a Useful Anti-Inflammatory Agent?

The New Zealand green lipped mussel preparation Lyprinol is available without a prescription from a supermarket, pharmacy or Web. The Food and Drug Administration have recently warned Lyprinol USA about their extravagant anti-inflammatory claims for Lyprinol appearing on the web. These claims are put to thorough review. Lyprinol does have anti-inflammatory mechanisms, and has anti-inflammatory effects in some animal models of inflammation. Lyprinol may have benefits in dogs with arthritis. There are design problems with the clinical trials of Lyprinol in humans as an anti-inflammatory agent in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, making it difficult to give a definite answer to how effective Lyprinol is in these conditions, but any benefit is small. Lyprinol also has a small benefit in atopic allergy. As anti-inflammatory agents, there is little to choose between Lyprinol and fish oil. No adverse effects have been reported with Lyprinol. Thus, although it is difficult to conclude whether Lyprinol does much good, it can be concluded that Lyprinol probably does no major harm

Clinical efficacy and safety of zoledronic acid in prostate and breast cancer

The anti-estrogen treatment for hormone-sensitive breast cancer and the androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer can lead to the development of osteoporosis and bone fractures. Metastases associated with prostate and breast cancer can also occur in bone. Bisphosphonates are used in these types of bone dysfunction. Zoledronic acid is the most potent bisphosphonate. In osteoporosis, zoledronic acid inhibits bone reabsorption and increases bone mineral density for at least a year after intravenous administration. The efficacy and safety of zoledronic acid in osteoporosis secondary to hormone-sensitive cancers (prostate and breast), and in the bone metastases associated with these cancers are reviewed

Which accelerated nursing students withdraw and fail in their first year of a Bachelor of Nursing (BN)?

Accelerated students in nursing have their first experience of university entering into second year subjects such as pharmacology. These accelerated students may have a Diploma of Nursing or equivalent experience or may be domestic or international graduates in any subject area. We have previously shown that the withdrawal rates are higher for accelerated than traditional students. We now show that of the accelerated students, it is only the diploma students that have difficulty transitioning to a BN

ACE inhibitors and AT-1-receptor antagonists COOPERATE in non-diabetic renal disease

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system has an important role in the progression of both diabetic and non-diabetic nephropathy. COOPERATE was set up to determine whether dual blockade of angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) and the AT-1 receptor was more efficacious than either ACE inhibition or AT-1 antagonism alone in non-diabetic renal disease. The combined primary end point was of time to doubling of serum creatinine concentration or end stage renal disease. By year 3, 10 of 85 (11%) of the combination patients had reached the primary end point. This was significantly less than the 20 of 86 (23%) and 20 of 85 (23%) in the losartan and trandolapril groups, respectively. Combination treatment should be considered in non-diabetic renal disease especially if the disease is progressing with ACE treatment alone

Recurrent hope for the treatment of preterm delivery

Preterm delivery is the major determinant of infant mortality and there is a lack of treatments for this condition. Women presenting for prenatal care with a history of a spontaneous preterm delivery were assigned 17α-progesterone caproate (17P) 250 mg/week i.m. between 16 and 20 weeks of gestation or placebo until 36 weeks of gestation or delivery, whichever came first. The primary outcome was preterm delivery before 37 weeks of gestation and this occurred less often in the 17P group than in the placebo group (36.3 versus 54.9%, respectively; p < 0.001). Among the infants, there was a reduction in the risk of a birth weight of < 2500 g in the 17P compared to the placebo group (27.2 versus 41%, respectively). As a result of this clinical trial, 17P should be routinely used as a preventative in women with a history of spontaneous preterm delivery.</p

Parathyroid hormone (1-34): A major advance in the treatment of osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem for older women and men. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) (1-34), which produces similar biological activity to the parent hormone, was tested in postmenopausal women with prior vertebral fractures. In 18 months, PTH (1-34) caused a dramatic 65% decrease in the risk of new vertebral fractures with a 10% increase in bone mineral density with few side effects. PTH (1-34) represents an exciting new therapy for this high risk group

Alpha-lipoic acid, an anti-obesity agent?

Obesity shortens life expectancy and is a risk factor for hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. When added to the standard chow of Sprague-Dawley or Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats, alpha-lipoic acid (0.5% weight/weight) reduced body weight and food intake. Alpha-lipoic acid also increased whole-body energy expenditure. It exerts its effects by suppressing hypothalamic AMP-activated protein kinase. Long-term studies to determine whether these anti-obesity effects are maintained in animals are required before alpha-lipoic acid is considered for clinical trial in human obesity

Targets to trials in diabetic complications

Diabetes is now the leading cause of end-stage renal disease, blindness, lower-extremity amputations and impotence. In addition, the risk of death from cardiovascular disease such as myocardial infarction and stroke is more than doubled in diabetics. In September 2001, scientists from around the world met in Melbourne to discuss the mechanisms underlying neuronal and vascular changes in diabetic complications. This report summarizes the meeting and attempts to identify potential targets for drug intervention in diabetic complications. (C) 2001 Prous Science. All rights reserved