Search

Universities use prerequisites to regulate the path of students through a program or major. However, the impact of prerequisites on follow-up courses in anatomy and physiology is not well understood. If success in follow-up courses depends on completion of prerequisite courses, then students should earn higher grades on exam questions that assess prerequisite knowledge. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the potential impact of a required prerequisite human physiology lecture course on a followup human physiology laboratory course and a follow-up molecular pharmacology course. We also investigated the potential impact of a recommended prerequisite human physiology laboratory course on a follow-up human anatomy course. We assessed student exam performance in the follow-up courses based on their familiarity with the material from the required prerequisite course or the recommended prerequisite course. Our results were mixed and demonstrated limited performance gains in the follow-up courses despite overlap of material among the courses. These results suggest that prerequisite courses may not have a significant impact on the outcome of future related courses and that individual academic programs should evaluate the effectiveness of prerequisite courses in a local context.

OBJECTIVES:: The purpose of this study was to obtain input and feedback on a proposed intervention to reduce stress and enhance the health of Vietnamese dementia caregivers. METHODS:: Sixteen semi-structured, in-depth interviews and two focus groups were conducted with a total of 21 key stakeholders (i.e., family caregivers, professionals, and community leaders). RESULTS:: Several themes emerged from the data, and these themes fell into two major domains: the first domain was recruitment and engagement into the intervention: (1) importance of faith-based institutions, (2) inclusion of multiple family members in the intervention, (3) community empowerment/ownership, and (4) importance of credibility and trust. The second domain included themes on intervention content: (1) education about Alzheimer’s disease and dementias and (2) tailoring the intervention to caregivers’ needs. CONCLUSIONS:: Findings indicate that the proposed intervention could be very beneficial to caregivers, but slight modifications needed to be made.

Despite the ubiquity of prerequisites in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula, there has been minimal effort to assess their value in a data-driven manner. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we examined the impact of prerequisites in the context of a microbiology lecture and lab course pairing. Through interviews and an online survey, students highlighted a number of positive attributes of prerequisites, including their role in knowledge acquisition, along with negative impacts, such as perhaps needlessly increasing time to degree and adding to the cost of education. We also identified a number of reasons why individuals do or do not enroll in prerequisite courses, many of which were not related to student learning. In our particular curriculum, students did not believe the microbiology lecture course impacted success in the lab, which agrees with our analysis of lab course performance using a previously established "familiarity" scale. These conclusions highlight the importance of soliciting and analyzing student feedback, and triangulating these data with quantitative performance metrics to assess the state of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is becoming a standard for genetic analyses of clinical samples. DNAs retrieved from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue specimens are commonly degraded, and specimens such as core biopsies are sometimes too small to obtain enough DNA for NGS applications. Thus, it is important to measure both the DNA quantity and quality accurately from clinical samples. However, there is no standard method for DNA quantity and quality analyses for NGS library preparation. We tested four different methods (PicoGreen, Qubit® fluorometry, TaqMan and SYBR-Green-based qPCR assay) and compared each to RNase P TaqMan as a reference control. We found that SYBR-Green-based qPCR assay provides a consistent and accurate DNA quantification while keeping its cost relatively low and the throughput high. We designed a dual-probe SYBR-Green qPCR assay for DNA quantity and quality assessment for targeted NGS library preparation. This assay provides a Dscore (degradation score) of the interrogated DNA by analyzing two different sizes of amplicons. We show an example of a clinical sample with a very high Dscore (high degradation). With a regular DNA quantification, without considering the degradation status, no correct NGS libraries were obtained. However, after optimizing the library condition by considering its poor DNA quality, a reasonably good library and sequencing results were obtained. In summary, we developed and presented a new DNA quantity and quality analysis qPCR assay for the targeted NGS library preparation. This assay may be mostly efficient for the clinical samples with high degradation and poor DNA quality.

Prerequisites are embedded in most STEM curricula. However, the assumption that the content presented in these courses will improve learning in later courses has not been verified. Because a direct comparison of performance between students with and without required prerequisites is logistically difficult to arrange in a randomized fashion, we developed a novel familiarity scale, and used this to determine whether concepts introduced in a prerequisite course improved student learning in a later course (in two biology disciplines). Exam questions in the latter courses were classified into three categories, based on the degree to which the tested concept had been taught in the prerequisite course. If content familiarity mattered, it would be expected that exam scores on topics covered in the prerequisite would be higher than scores on novel topics. We found this to be partially true for "Very Familiar" questions (concepts covered in depth in the prerequisite). However, scores for concepts only briefly discussed in the prerequisite ("Familiar") were indistinguishable from performance on topics that were "Not Familiar" (concepts only taught in the later course). These results imply that merely "covering" topics in a prerequisite course does not result in improved future performance, and that some topics may be able to removed from a course thereby freeing up class time. Our results may therefore support the implementation of student-centered teaching methods such as active learning, as the time-intensive nature of active learning has been cited as a barrier to its adoption. In addition, we propose that our familiarity system could be broadly utilized to aid in the assessment of the effectiveness of prerequisites.

A 12‐week longitudinal study with 247 US menopausal women was undertaken to investigate the perceptual efficacy of a tablet formulated with an extract of Siberian rhubarb to provide relief from menopausal symptoms. The 5‐point menopause rating scale (MRS) (0 = none; 1 = mild; 2 = moderate; 3 = severe; 4 = extremely severe) was used to measure symptom intensity. The MRS scale, an ordinal categorical scale, was transformed into an R‐index, a ratio scale, using the frequencies of the MRS categories. Symptom relief was compared to an initial week baseline measure; defined as R‐index = 0.5. An index, A.RDEX, which is based on area under the R‐index curve (AUC) in the range of 0–84 days was used to measure percentage efficacy of symptom relief. Results show that symptom relief occurs through the first 17 days in terms of R‐index = 0.64 for the total score and improves with continued use, reaching an A.RDEX = 0.42 by 84 days, suggesting about 42% relief considering all 11 MRS attributes. Practical Applications: MRS ratings data can be transformed into an R‐index using MRS category frequencies at an initial week and a subsequent week. Functional data analysis for R‐index values provides an advanced statistical model for analysis of perceptual differences throughout longitudinal studies that can examine MRS attribute effects over time. R codes are developed and provided in the paper to transform MRS data into R‐index measures and to conduct functional data analysis for R‐index measures obtained from different time points (weeks or days). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the ubiquity of prerequisites in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula, there has been minimal effort to assess their value in a data-driven manner. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we examined the impact of prerequisites in the context of a microbiology lecture and lab course pairing. Through interviews and an online survey, students highlighted a number of positive attributes of prerequisites, including their role in knowledge acquisition, along with negative impacts, such as perhaps needlessly increasing time to degree and adding to the cost of education. We also identified a number of reasons why individuals do or do not enroll in prerequisite courses, many of which were not related to student learning. In our particular curriculum, students did not believe the microbiology lecture course impacted success in the lab, which agrees with our analysis of lab course performance using a previously established "familiarity" scale. These conclusions highlight the importance of soliciting and analyzing student feedback, and triangulating these data with quantitative performance metrics to assess the state of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula.

BackgroundThe purpose of this research was to evaluate the factors affecting the outcome of localized laser pulp surgery in the canine model.Study design/materials and methodsPulpal exposures 2 mm and 5 mm in diameter were prepared in eight healthy teeth in each of five dogs. The total of 40 teeth were left open to infection from the oral cavity for 3 hours or 72 hours; 2-3 mm of surface pulpal tissue were then removed using a fresh diamond bur or a CO2 laser emitting@9.3 microns, at 3.5 W average power in the Superpulse mode. Teeth were monitored clinically and radiographically by one blinded, pre-standardized clinician for 3 months.ResultsChi-square test and Fisher's Exact test (2-tail) results associated laser treatment with significantly better clinical and radiographic outcome (P < 0.001). Using regression analysis, duration of pulpal exposure to contamination by the oral environment was identified as primary determinant for treatment outcome within the laser-treated and control groups (P = 0.0018).ConclusionClinical preconditions significantly affect the outcome of pulp surgery treatments.

These investigations were performed to determine histologic and incisional consequences of varying pulse duration, duty cycle, and average powers during laser incision at 9.3 microns in soft tissue. In 19 fresh pigs' jaws six standardized incisions 3 cm long were made per parameter with a template and motorized jig. Laser parameters investigated were average power: 1 to 9 W, duty cycle: 10% to 80%, and pulse duration: 1 to 200 msec. The gated Cw mode was used. Incision width and depth and collateral tissue effects were assessed statistically with general linear procedures. Multiple factors were found to influence the outcome of laser irradiation. Depth of incision correlated positively with average power. Tissue damage correlated strongly and negatively with all three variables. These results demonstrate that a wide range of surgical and collateral effects can be achieved with one specific laser device depending on the parameter configuration selected.

These investigations were performed to determine thermal, histological and incisional effects in soft tissue of laser irradiation at 9.3 um. Specifically, the consequences of varying pulse duration, interval and frequency, peak and average powers and energy densities were studied. In fresh pig's jaws, 6 standardized incisions, 3 cm in length, were made per parameter using a template and motorized jig. Incisions were made at various standardized anatomical sites, and surface thermal events monitored using an IR camera. Laser parameters investigated: power: 1 - 11 W, duty cycle: 10 - 90%, Pulse duration: 1 - 200 ms, at gated continuous wave. Superpulse and OptiPulse TM modes with 300 us pulses were also investigated. Incision width and depth as well as collateral tissue effects were assessed statistically. They were directly related to the parameters used. Ease of incision and effects on underlying bone were also parameter-related.