Film and television in fishery research at Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake), Wales

A 35 mm Robot Royal camera and an electronic flash unit were used at 20–40 m depth in an attempt to identify fish shown on echo-sounder traces. No photographs were obtained. An 8 mm Eumig automatic electric-drive cine camera system was used with daylight at 2–8 m depth to test if the equipment served as a deterrent to the fish. Fish were filmed and their behaviour was unaffected by the presence of the equipment. A simple closed-circuit television system was used with daylight at 0–3 m depth. Low contrast, inherent in the particular equipment, prevented its use at greater depths. Meaningful observations of perch were possible. The use of television camera tubes sensitive to extremely low levels of daylight, and of infra-red sensitive tubes with an infra-red light source is briefly discussed. It is concluded that such systems might help to identify problems of netting technique and assist with observations of fish behaviour.     

A Web-based course of lectures in respiratory physiology

A complete course of respiratory physiology suitable for first-year medical and graduate students has been placed on the Web for our own students and for other educational institutions. There are several reasons for doing this. The first is that the modern-day student uses a variety of options for acquiring knowledge. These include attending lectures, reading texts, iPod downloads, and surfing the internet. This Web-based course is another option that may be preferable for some students. A second reason is that it is becoming increasingly difficult for some medical schools to find faculty members who are willing and able to teach the principles of respiratory physiology. This is a potentially serious problem because a sound knowledge of respiratory physiology will always be necessary for the intelligent practice of medicine. Schools with limited faculty may find it useful to use these Web-based lectures followed by a discussion session with students. Another reason is that some schools have moved away from systematic lectures to case-based discussions, with the possibility that students will not be exposed to some of the principles of respiratory physiology. The hope is that this comprehensive course of lectures will help students to assimilate this important material as the medical school curriculum continues to expand at a rapid rate.     

Evaluation of a computer-based approach to teaching acid/base physiology

Because acid/base physiology is a difficult subject for most medical and veterinary students, the first author designed a software program, Acid/Base Primer, that would help students with this topic. The Acid/Base Primer was designed and evaluated within a conceptual framework of basic educational principles. Seventy-five first-year veterinary students (of 81; 93% response rate) participated in this study. Students took both a pre- and posttest of content understanding. After completing the Acid/Base Primer in pairs, each student filled out a survey evaluating the features of the program and describing his/her use and experience of it. Four pairs of students participated in interviews that elaborated on the surveys. Scores improved from 53 +/- 2% on the pretest to 74 +/- 1% on an immediate posttest. On surveys and in interviews, students reported that the program helped them construct their own understanding of acid/base physiology and prompted discussions in pairs of students when individual understandings differed. The case-based format provided anchors and a high degree of relevance. Repetition of concepts helped students develop a more complex network of understanding. Questions in the program served to scaffold the learning process by providing direction, accentuating the relevant features of the cases, and provoking discussion. Guidelines for software development were generated on the basis of the findings and relevant educational literature.     

Map reading by chimpanzees

Infant chimpanzees, after watching a small black-and-white closed-circuit television picture of a familiar caretaker walking out into an outdoor field and disappearing from sight, were more successful in finding the person than if they had been given no such cue; and their performance approximated that which obtained after they had seen the same scene normally, via direct perception.     

Challenges in teaching the mechanics of breathing to medical and graduate students

The mechanics of breathing has always been a difficult topic for some medical and graduate students. The subject is very quantitative and contains a number of concepts that some students have trouble with, including physical principles such as pressure, flow, volume, resistance, elasticity, and compliance. Apparently, present-day students find the subject more difficult than students of 20 years ago. A possible reason for this is that the teaching of elementary physics in high school and college is now given less emphasis, whereas other topics, such as molecular biology, receive a great deal of attention. Another factor may be that many of us grew up building radios and other such devices, whereas modern students tend to plug in an electronic unit with little idea of its function. Some examples of misconceptions of present-day students who have taken our course are given. To help the weaker students, we now include a primer at the beginning of our handout for the course that covers simple physical principles. Examples of some of the most difficult concepts for students are given.     

Students’ Mental Models of Evolutionary Causation: Natural Selection and Genetic Drift

In an effort to understand how to improve student learning about evolution, a focus of science education research has been to document and address students?? naive ideas. Less research has investigated how students reason about alternative scientific models that attempt to explain the same phenomenon (e.g., which causal model best accounts for evolutionary change?). Within evolutionary biology, research has yet to explore how non-adaptive factors are situated within students?? conceptual ecologies of evolutionary causation. Do students construct evolutionary explanations that include non-adaptive and adaptive factors? If so, how are non-adaptive factors structured within students?? evolutionary explanations? We used clinical interviews and two paper and pencil instruments (one open-response and one multiple-choice) to investigate the use of non-adaptive and adaptive factors in undergraduate students?? patterns of evolutionary reasoning. After instruction that included non-adaptive causal factors (e.g., genetic drift), we found them to be remarkably uncommon in students?? explanatory models of evolutionary change in both written assessments and clinical interviews. However, consistent with many evolutionary biologists?? explanations, when students used non-adaptive factors they were conceptualized as causal alternatives to selection. Interestingly, use of non-adaptive factors was not associated with greater understanding of natural selection in interviews or written assessments, or with fewer naive ideas of natural selection. Thus, reasoning using non-adaptive factors appears to be a distinct facet of evolutionary thinking. We propose a theoretical framework for an expert?Cnovice continuum of evolutionary reasoning that incorporates both adaptive and non-adaptive factors, and can be used to inform instructional efficacy in evolutionary biology.     

Use of Learning Media by Undergraduate Medical Students in Pharmacology: A Prospective Cohort Study

The ubiquity of the internet and computer-based technologies has an increasing impact on higher education and the way students access information for learning. Moreover, there is a paucity of information about the quantitative and qualitative use of learning media by the current student generation. In this study we systematically analyzed the use of digital and non-digital learning resources by undergraduate medical students. Daily online surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a cohort of 338 third year medical students enrolled in a general pharmacology course. Our data demonstrate a predominant use of digital over non-digital learning resources (69 ± 7% vs. 31 ± 7%; p < 0.01) by students. Most used media for learning were lecture slides (26.8 ± 3.0%), apps (22.0 ± 3.7%) and personal notes (15.5 ± 2.7%), followed by textbooks (> 300 pages) (10.6 ± 3.3%), internet search (7.9 ± 1.6%) and e-learning cases (7.6 ± 3.0%). When comparing learning media use of teaching vs. pre-exam self-study periods, textbooks were used significantly less during self-study (-55%; p < 0.01), while exam questions (+334%; p < 0.01) and e-learning cases (+176%; p < 0.01) were utilized more. Taken together, our study revealed a high prevalence and acceptance of digital learning resources by undergraduate medical students, in particular mobile applications.     

Developing and quantifying indicators of organic farming using analytic hierarchy process

Although regulations and criteria relating to organic farming are clearly defined by the relevant agencies, especially by IFOAM, some have been overshadowed by attention to others and have lost their significance over time. The aim of this study was to develop and quantify organic farming indicators to determine the relative importance of each. The desired indicators were collected during a literature review of scientific resources about the principles of organic farming. These indices were classified into four categories and their weights were determined through interviews with experts on organic agriculture, including university professors, agroecology students, Ministry of Agriculture experts, organic farming inspectors and organic farmers. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used for this purpose. The results showed that pest and disease management, yield, soil nutrient management, water consumption rate, chemical fertilizer consumption rate and the use of transgenic materials having weights of 0.16, 0.098, 0.096, 0.08, 0.071 and 0.059, respectively, and are the most important indicators for development and assessment of organic farming. In this as well as similar studies, the weight of indicators associated with consumption of chemical fertilizers and pesticides were relatively high. This indicates the importance of rules related to the use of chemicals in organic farming; however, each index has a certain weight and none can be overlooked. All indicators should be considered as an inseparable set and all should be used in the development of organic farming. The results of this study can be useful for both inspection bodies and organic farmers. Farmers can reduce the risks associated with transitioning to organic farming and minimize the probability of failure by monitoring these indicators in their fields.     

Phototactic Orientation by the Marine Dinoflagellate Gyrodinium dorsum Kofoid.

SYNOPSIS. The phototactic orientation of the dinoflagellate Gyrodinium dorsum was examined using photomicrographic, cinematographic, and closed-circuit television technics. Particular emphasis was placed on examining the movements and possible roles of the flagella during orientation. The data suggest that the longitudinal flagellum is primarily responsible for phototactic orientation, while the lateral flagellum is involved in forward propulsion and cell rotation. A possible receptor mechanism is proposed by which light direction sensing is accomplished.     

Factors influencing first-year medical students' perceptions of stress

This preliminary report from an ongoing longitudinal study of students at both Tufts and Harvard medical schools examined the relationship between premedical school demographic and stress variables and the numbers and types of stresses reported by students in open-ended interviews conducted during their first year of medical school. Analyses showed that the general categories of "medical school stresses" and "social stresses related to medical school" accounted for about two-thirds of the total number of stresses mentioned. The overall distributions of stresses across general categories were remarkably similar in all student groups studied, although significant differences were found between students from different background groups on a number of the specific types of stress. No significant differences were found between groups as to those reporting a high total number of stresses. There did appear to be differences in the degree to which students felt affected by the stresses they reported, suggesting the need for additional data on the meanings of different stresses for different students and the ways in which they cope with them.     

Acceptability of Male Circumcision among College Students in Medical Universities in Western China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Male circumcision (MC) has been shown to reduce the risk of female to male transmission of HIV. The goal of this survey was to explore MC’s acceptability and the factors associated with MC among college students in medical universities in western China.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out in three provinces in western China (Guangxi, Chongqing and Xinjiang) to assess the acceptability of MC as well as to discover factors associated with the acceptability among college students in medical universities. A total of 1,790 uncircumcised male students from three medical universities were enrolled in this study. In addition, 150 students who had undergone MC were also enrolled in the survey, and they participated in in-depth interviews.

Results

Of all the uncircumcised participants (n = 1,790), 55.2% (n = 988) were willing to accept MC. Among those who accepted MC, 67.3% thought that MC could improve their sexual partners’ hygiene, 46.3% believed that HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) could be partially prevented by MC. The multivariable logistic regression indicates that MC’s acceptability was associated with three factors: the redundant foreskin (OR = 10.171, 95% CI = 7.629–13.559), knowing the hazard of having a redundant foreskin (OR = 1.597, 95% CI = 1.097–2.323), and enhancing sexual pleasure (OR = 1.628, 95% CI = 1.312–2.021). The in-depth interviews for subjects who had undergone MC showed that the major reason for having MC was the redundant foreskin (87.3%), followed by the benefits and the fewer complications of having MC done. In addition, most of these participants (65.3%) said that the MC could enhance sexual satisfaction.

Conclusions

MC’s acceptance among college students in medical universities is higher than it is among other populations in western China. An implementation of an MC programme among this population is feasible in the future.     

Skin Temperature Recording with Phosphors: A New Technique

New knowledge of temperature irregularities associated with various disease states has resulted in increasing interest in the recording of heat radiation from the human body. Infrared radiation from the skin is a surface phenomenon and the amount of such radiation increases with temperature. Previous recording techniques have been not only crude but difficult and expensive. An unconventional thermal imaging system is described which gives superior temperature patterns and is also simpler and cheaper than any of the other available procedures. This system is based on the employment of thermally sensitive phosphors which glow when exposed to ultraviolet illumination, in inverse proportion to the underlying temperature. The thermal image can be directly observed or more critically analyzed and photographed on a simple closed-circuit television monitor.     

Medical records vs. interview responses: a comparative analysis of selected variables for linked birth defect cases

BACKGROUND: Data pertaining to birth defects are subject to certain limitations depending on the collection method. This study compares the agreement of data from medical records and maternal interviews. METHODS: The medical records and maternal interviews were linked for 1017 deliveries. Prevalence, concordance and kappa coefficients were calculated for maternal gestational and non-gestational diabetes, insulin use, seizures/epilepsy, Hispanic ethnicity, and infant/fetus sex. RESULTS: The prevalence of non-gestational diabetes was 4.3% in the medical records and 3.4% in the maternal interviews, with 98.1% agreement. The prevalence of gestational diabetes was 7.9% in medical records and 9.2% in maternal interviews, with 94.3% agreement. Similar prevalences and high levels of agreement were observed between the two systems for infant/fetus sex and mother's Hispanic ethnicity. Although high concordance was observed for seizures/epilepsy, kappa value was moderate. CONCLUSIONS: The availability of two distinct sources of data provides an exceptional opportunity to compare and validate both data sources. We found that the data for certain variables from maternal interviews strongly agreed with information from medical records. However, the extent of that agreement depended on the type of variable measured. Our results suggest that for some variables such as demographic variables, researchers can use either of the two data sources.     

Principles and methods for the quantitative determination of feulgen stained DNA with the television texture analysis system (TAS)

Summary The television texture analysis system (TAS, Leitz) has been applied to determination of the relative DNA content of Feulgen stained nuclei. The principles of the method are described and comparative measurements are presented. The determination is based on the measurement of areas at preset intervals of transmittance, taking into consideration the necessary correction of extinction values in relation to area and applying a correction for background. The data obtained can be used for the quantitative determination of DNA, and to provide analytical information for quantitation of structure.Comparison of the mean of extinctions as recorded with the scanning photometric method and those recorded with the television texture analysis method, with which 43 nuclei were investigated in transmittance steps of 0.01, revealed a coefficient of correlation of 0.9938.     

Principles and methods for the quantitative determination of Feulegen stained DNA with the television texture analysis system (TAS).

The television texture analysis system (TAS, Leitz) has been applied to determination of the relative DNA content of Feulgen stained nuclei. The principles of the method are described and comparative measurements are presented. The determination is based on the measurement of areas at preset intervals of transmittance, taking into consideration the necessary correction of extinction values in relation to area and applying a correction for background. The data obtained can be used for the quantitative determination of DNA, and to provide analytical information for quantitation of structure. Comparison of the mean of extinctions as recorded with the scanning photometric method and those recorded with the television texture analysis method, with which 43 nuclei were investigated in transmittance steps of 0.01, revealed a coefficient of correlation of 0.9938.     

Teaching medical students basic neurotransmitter pharmacology using primary research resources

Teaching pharmacology to medical students has long been seen as a challenge, and one to which a number of innovative approaches have been taken. In this article, we describe and evaluate the use of primary research articles in teaching second-year medical students both in terms of the information learned and the use of the papers themselves. We designed a seminar where small groups of students worked on different neurotransmitters before contributing information to a plenary session. Student feedback suggested that when the information was largely novel, students learned considerably more. Crucially, this improvement in knowledge was seen even when they had not directly studied a particular transmitter in their work groups, suggesting a shared learning experience. Moreover, the majority of students reported that using primary research papers was easy and useful, with over half stating that they would use them in future study.     

Style in medical journals.

A study of medical journals from 1962 showed a constant preoccupation with style. Editors and contributors on both sides of the Atlantic revile unnecessary obscurity and complexity and the use of jargon, barbarisms, vogue words, and weak impersonal constructions. They bewail the pompous use of verbiage and the "medspeak" typified by acronyms and neologisms created by affixation. Suggestions for possible causes of poor medical style range from editorial demands for compression and a general ignorance of the principles of good writing to faulty logic and the subordination of communication to status seeking. The consequences of bad writing may include the fragmentation of knowledge, an increase in the importance of abstracting services, a trend towards free glossy medical newspapers, and, as remedial measures, workshops and courses in medical writing. Some implications for English language teachers working with foreign medical graduates and preclinical students are discussed.     

Placebo medication use in patient care: a survey of medical interns

The use of placebo medication, long recognized by clinicians, often has serious practical implications, such as patient deception. Past evidence has suggested that resident physicians tend to misuse placebo medication. Interns from two consecutive years of a residency program were surveyed anonymously to assess their knowledge and use of placebos. Of the 74 interns surveyed, 44 (59%) were familiar with placebo use in patient care. Fifty percent of these interns familiar with placebo use had learned about placebos from another physician. All interns who had learned about placebos during their internships had learned from another physician, whereas interns who had gained their knowledge of placebos as medical students were as likely to have learned from the medical literature as they were to have learned from a physician (P = 0.027). Interns aware of placebo use were more likely to consider placebo administration for suspected, factitious pain (P = 0.022). The present study uncovered no relationship between interns' estimations of placebo efficacy and the utility they attributed to placebos in assessing a complaint of pain. This suggests that conceptual inconsistencies underlie their use of placebos. Interns often learn of placebos as medical students and are influenced by physician-mentors. Placebo use in patient care is an area of attention for medical educators.