Intentional Classroom Humor in Nursing : a Multiple Case Study

Problem. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived connections between the intentional use of humor in the nursing classroom and student learning in the cognitive and affective domains while seeking to understand student and teacher perceptions and responses to humor. Method. This study used a case study approach and the end result is a multiple case study of three associate degree nursing instructors in the Midwest. The data collection methods included observations, interviews, and surveys. Data from the different sources were examined within and across cases for commonality or difference of experience. Connections were made between humor and cognitive and affective learning. Results. This study portrayed the successful use of intentional humor in three nursing classrooms. Teachers and the students at all stages of their education expressed benefits they believed were received from humor. The students of all three classes observed were remarkably homogeneous and there were no obvious differences among the student responses to classroom humor that could be attributed to demographic factors. Nursing faculty members incorporated relevant humor to support educational points. All three teachers in the study used cartoons and spontaneous humor, inserting a humorous event about every 10 to 15 minutes. They included other humor forms; each teacher favored certain forms. The teacher in Illinois used song and dance routines, role-playing was preferred by the teacher of freshmen in Ohio, and the Indiana teacher specialized in puns and funny stories. Conclusions. Humor can be an effective, multi-purpose teaching tool for nursing educators to convey course content, hold students’ attention, relieve anxiety, establish rapport with their students, and make learning fun. Guidelines are included to help faculty learn to incorporate humor in their classrooms

Elevated Non-Esterified Fatty Acid Concentrations during Bovine Oocyte Maturation Compromise Early Embryo Physiology

Elevated concentrations of serum non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), associated with maternal disorders such as obesity and type II diabetes, alter the ovarian follicular micro-environment and have been associated with subfertility arising from reduced oocyte developmental competence. We have asked whether elevated NEFA concentrations during oocyte maturation affect the development and physiology of zygotes formed from such oocytes, using the cow as a model. The zygotes were grown to blastocysts, which were evaluated for their quality in terms of cell number, apoptosis, expression of key genes, amino acid turnover and oxidative metabolism. Oocyte maturation under elevated NEFA concentrations resulted in blastocysts with significantly lower cell number, increased apoptotic cell ratio and altered mRNA abundance of DNMT3A, IGF2R and SLC2A1. In addition, the blastocysts displayed reduced oxygen, pyruvate and glucose consumption, up-regulated lactate consumption and higher amino acid metabolism. These data indicate that exposure of maturing oocytes to elevated NEFA concentrations has a negative impact on fertility not only through a reduction in oocyte developmental capacity but through compromised early embryo quality, viability and metabolism

Cholinergic receptor pathways involved in apoptosis, cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation

Acetylcholine (ACh) has been shown to modulate neuronal differentiation during early development. Both muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) regulate a wide variety of physiological responses, including apoptosis, cellular proliferation and neuronal differentiation. However, the intracellular mechanisms underlying these effects of AChR signaling are not fully understood. It is known that activation of AChRs increase cellular proliferation and neurogenesis and that regulation of intracellular calcium through AChRs may underlie the many functions of ACh. Intriguingly, activation of diverse signaling molecules such as Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt, protein kinase C and c-Src is modulated by AChRs. Here we discuss the roles of ACh in neuronal differentiation, cell proliferation and apoptosis. We also discuss the pathways involved in these processes, as well as the effects of novel endogenous AChRs agonists and strategies to enhance neuronal-differentiation of stem and neural progenitor cells. Further understanding of the intracellular mechanisms underlying AChR signaling may provide insights for novel therapeutic strategies, as abnormal AChR activity is present in many diseases

Public Speaking: an Experiential Approach/ Ulloth

XXIII, 352 hal: ill; 25,5 c

Public Speaking: an Experiential Approach/ Ulloth

XXIII, 352 hal: ill; 25,5 c