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Objective: A simulated conversation between a physician and a family member, i.e., a medical conversation, was changed from a conventional face-to-face conversation (SS 2019) to a telehealth conversation (SS 2020) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The medical education conversation is part of the biochemistry seminar "From Genes to Proteins" which second semester human medicine students take. The objective of this study was to analyze to what extent the switch from face-to-face to telehealth conversations affected student satisfaction and motivation., Methodology: In the seminar, students study biochemical as well as competency-oriented content, such as how to talk to family members. In the summer semester of 2019, students were trained how to talk to their patients' family members in a traditional conversation setting with the help of lay actors in a classroom format. In the summer semester of 2020, this conversation took place under comparable conditions, but in the form of an online telehealth conversation instead. Student satisfaction and motivation were surveyed by means of an evaluation questionnaire following the seminar in both semesters., Results: Both conversation formats achieved a high level of satisfaction from students (school grade A-B). For some evaluation items, such as "realistic conversation simulation", the face-to-face conversation was perceived as more satisfying ( Md=5.0, IQR=1.0 ) than the telehealth conversation ( Md=5.0, IQR=2.0 ). In addition, the face-to-face conversation resulted in higher subjective motivation from students ( Md=5.0, IQR=1.0 ) than that of the telehealth conversation ( Md=4.0, IQR=2.0 )., Conclusion: The high student satisfaction and acceptance of both didactic concepts leads to the conclusion that the simulated telehealth conversation is an adequate substitute for the simulation of a traditional face-to-face conversation with regard to the parameters that were studied., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Dahmen et al.)

Current test strategies to identify thyroid hormone (TH) system disruptors are inadequate for conducting robust chemical risk assessment required for regulation. The tests rely heavily on histopathological changes in rodent thyroid glands or measuring changes in systemic TH levels, but they lack specific new approach methodologies (NAMs) that can adequately detect TH-mediated effects. Such alternative test methods are needed to infer a causal relationship between molecular initiating events and adverse outcomes such as perturbed brain development. Although some NAMs that are relevant for TH system disruption are available-and are currently in the process of regulatory validation-there is still a need to develop more extensive alternative test batteries to cover the range of potential key events along the causal pathway between initial chemical disruption and adverse outcomes in humans. This project, funded under the Partnership for the Assessment of Risk from Chemicals (PARC) initiative, aims to facilitate the development of NAMs that are specific for TH system disruption by characterizing in vivo mechanisms of action that can be targeted by in embryo/in vitro/in silico/in chemico testing strategies. We will develop and improve human-relevant in vitro test systems to capture effects on important areas of the TH system. Furthermore, we will elaborate on important species differences in TH system disruption by incorporating non-mammalian vertebrate test species alongside classical laboratory rat species and human-derived in vitro assays., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Ramhøj, Axelstad, Baert, Cañas-Portilla, Chalmel, Dahmen, De La Vieja, Evrard, Haigis, Hamers, Heikamp, Holbech, Iglesias-Hernandez, Knapen, Marchandise, Morthorst, Nikolov, Nissen, Oelgeschlaeger, Renko, Rogiers, Schüürmann, Stinckens, Stub, Torres-Ruiz, Van Duursen, Vanhaecke, Vergauwen, Wedebye and Svingen.)

Background: Determination of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a simple diagnostic tool for estimating systemic inflammation. It remains unclear whether ESR is influenced by renal disease or renal replacement therapy (RRT)., Objective: To report the incidence and extent of ESR elevations in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the possible impact of RRT., Methods: We performed a single-center, retrospective study in inpatients with or without renal disease and in those with RRT, comparing ESR levels and other laboratory and clinical information., Results: A total of 203 patients were included. On average, ESR was elevated (mean [SD], 51.7 [34.6] mm/h), with no statistically significant difference between the patient groups. Only those receiving PD showed significantly higher ESR (78.3 [33.1] mm/h; P < .001)., Conclusions: ESR testing can be used without restriction in patients with CKD and in patients undergoing hemodialysis and who have received kidney transplantation; however, this measurement should be monitored carefully in patients with PD., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pathology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

On-site teaching at Ulm University was restricted in the summer semester (SS) 2020 due to the Corona pandemic. The biochemistry seminar "From gene to protein" in the 2nd preclinical semester, which had been successfully conducted as an Inverted Classroom (IC), had to be changed to an online concept. The aim of this study was to analyze the concept conversion in terms of students' satisfaction and knowledge acquisition. In the seminar, human medical students of the 2nd semester acquired biochemical and competency-oriented learning content. In SS2019, the course was taught using the IC concept. For the conversion to the online format in the SS2020, alternative teaching materials were developed and used. Students' satisfaction was assessed by an evaluation questionnaire and knowledge acquisition was tested by a written biochemistry exam. For both teaching concepts a high level of satisfaction was detected. Individual evaluation criteria were evaluated similarly by the students for both concepts. The online concept led up to significantly higher biochemistry exam scores. Due to the high levels of students' satisfaction in both concepts and the results of the biochemistry exam, it can be concluded that online teaching offers a suitable substitute. Based on these results, it is worth to undertake further research on digitization of studies., (© 2022 The Authors. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.)

Background | The »Clinical Trials Academy for Junior Researchers« is a strategic funding instrument of the German Research Foundation (GRF). In clinical research, this program responds to an increasing lack of qualified clinician scientists. Application for participation in the workshop is based on a self-proposed academy project; participants can furthermore apply for a GRF grant to implement this academy project. This evaluation should quantify publication and third-party-funding profiles after participation in one of the previous GRF junior researchers workshops on clinical trials. Methods | Participants of all four GRF workshops were addressed by a standardized questionnaire to consider the project related number of publications and the cumulative impact factor, as well as the cumulative project-related consequential third-party-funding. Results | 64 of 92 former participants took part in the survey. From 41 implemented projects, 32 were granted with initial financial support by the GRF. 27 publications with a cumulative impact factor of 130 impact factor points (IP) were published by 13 authors. Of the 21 persons who submitted a grant application for subsequent third-party-funding a cumulative total grant volume of 5 223 000 € was reported by 13 participants. Conclusion | Although only 13 out of 64 participants reported impact publications or third-party-funding, respectively, these junior researchers' output can be considered encouraging., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Purpose: To identify novel mechanisms of resistance to third-generation EGFR inhibitors in patients with lung adenocarcinoma that progressed under therapy with either AZD9291 or rociletinib (CO-1686)., Experimental Design: We analyzed tumor biopsies from seven patients obtained before, during, and/or after treatment with AZD9291 or rociletinib (CO-1686). Targeted sequencing and FISH analyses were performed, and the relevance of candidate genes was functionally assessed in in vitro models., Results: We found recurrent amplification of either MET or ERBB2 in tumors that were resistant or developed resistance to third-generation EGFR inhibitors and show that ERBB2 and MET activation can confer resistance to these compounds. Furthermore, we identified a KRAS G12S mutation in a patient with acquired resistance to AZD9291 as a potential driver of acquired resistance. Finally, we show that dual inhibition of EGFR/MEK might be a viable strategy to overcome resistance in EGFR-mutant cells expressing mutant KRAS CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that heterogeneous mechanisms of resistance can drive primary and acquired resistance to third-generation EGFR inhibitors and provide a rationale for potential combination strategies. Clin Cancer Res; 22(19); 4837-47. ©2016 AACR., (©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.)