Cryptic community structure and metabolic interactions among the heritable facultative symbionts of the pea aphid.

Most insects harbour influential, yet non-essential heritable microbes in their hemocoel. Communities of these symbionts exhibit low diversity. But their frequent multi-species nature raises intriguing questions on roles for symbiont-symbiont synergies in host adaptation, and on the stability of the symbiont communities, themselves.

Nosocomial or not? A combined epidemiological and genomic investigation to understand hospital-acquired COVID-19 infection on an elderly care ward.

Background: COVID-19 has the potential to cause outbreaks in hospitals. Given the comorbid and elderly cohort of patients hospitalized, hospital-acquired COVID-19 infection is often fatal. Pathogen genome sequencing is becoming increasingly important in infection prevention and control (IPC).

The effect of lamb carcase weight and GR depth on the production of value-added cuts - A short communication.

Times for the progressive breakdown of 95 lamb carcases were recorded to determine the impact of carcase weight and GR tissue depth on the time and therefore cost to produce value added retail cuts. Further analysis also assessed the potential to use these carcase traits as predictors of fabrication times. Regression modeling demonstrated there was a limited ability to predict the difference in time to fabricate mid value-added (R=0.

A GR/Impedance probe proves unsuitable for measuring GR depth in Australian lamb carcases.

Multiple studies were conducted at 3 abattoirs to determine the potential of a dual function GR/Impedance probe to measure GR soft- tissue depth (depth at the 12th rib, 110mm from the mid line of the carcase) of typical lamb carcases processed in Australia. Lamb carcases (1016) were measured approximately 25min post slaughter with the probe and a GR knife as the most commonly used measurement. Modelling indicated that variation in the measurement using the probe compared to the measurement using the knife occurred with increasing carcase weight and fatness as well as between different abattoirs.

Effects of Temperature and Photoperiod on the Reproductive Biology and Diapause of Oobius agrili (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Emerald Ash Borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae).

Oobius agrili Zhang and Huang (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a solitary egg parasitoid of the invasive emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), and has been introduced to the United States for classical biological control. We characterized the weekly survivorship, fecundity, and diapause patterns of both diapaused and nondiapaused populations of O. agrili under four different temperature-photophase combinations: 30°C (warm) and 20°C (cold) temperatures with both long-day (16 h) and short-day (8 h) photophase.

Application of small angle X-ray scattering synchrotron technology for measuring ovine meat quality.

A small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) synchrotron was used to evaluate 100 ovine m. longissimus lumborum, representing lamb (n=50) and sheep (n=50). The diffraction of X-rays gives information on muscle myofibril structure and fat content.

Optimum number of technical replicates for the measurement of compression of lamb meat.

Up to six (average 4.63) replicate compression values were collected on cooked m. semimembranosus of lambs that had been raised at six sites across southern Australia (n=1817).

Structure-activity relationships of N-substituted 4-(trifluoromethoxy)benzamidines with affinity for GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors.

GluN2B subtype-selective NMDA antagonists represent promising therapeutic targets for the symptomatic treatment of multiple CNS pathologies. A series of N-benzyl substituted benzamidines were synthesised and the benzyl ring was further replaced with various polycyclic moieties. Compounds were evaluated for activity at GluN2B containing NMDA receptors where analogues 9, 12, 16 and 18 were the most potent of the series, replacement of the benzyl ring with polycycles resulted in a complete loss of activity.

How, when, and why do physicians choose careers in academic medicine? A literature review.

Purpose: Medicine has different pathways in which physicians pursue their vocation. Clinical practice, research, and academia are common paths. The authors examined the literature to identify research-based factors influencing physicians to choose a career path in academic medicine.

Dexmedetomidine as sole sedative for awake intubation in management of the critical airway.

We report a series of successful awake fiberoptic intubations in patients with critical (unstable, difficult) airways using the alpha(2)-agonist, dexmedetomidine. Dexmedetomidine has several desirable pharmacologic properties, including sedation, anxiolysis, hypnosis, analgesia, amnesia, antisialagogue effects, and a unique respiratory-sparing effect. Dexmedetomidine appears to be a useful agent for sedation during awake fiberoptic intubation in difficult airway patients.

Professional development in geriatrics for community-based generalist faculty.

Generalist physicians provide most primary care for older people. Increasingly, undergraduate clinical education occurs in community sites. Hence, community-based generalist faculty members need continuing education in geriatrics to support clinical practice and teaching.

Study of Selected Outcomes of Medical Students Who Fail USMLE Step 1.

Purpose: Passage of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) is required to obtain a medical license in the United States. Currently the majority of US medical schools require passage of USMLE Step 1 for either promotion to the third year or graduation from medical school. Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (VCUSOM) requires that students take the USMLE but does not require passing of USMLE Step 1 for promotion or graduation.

The Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale: a factor analysis study.

Background: The practice of medicine demands that its physician practitioners are self-directed, life-long learners. The Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) intends to measure adults' readiness to engage in self-directed learning.

Purpose: The present study assesses the underlying factor structure of the SDLRS for a sample of entering medical students.

Understanding primary care residency choices: a test of selected variables in the Bland-Meurer model.

Purpose: This study tested the predictive validity of variables related to student characteristics of the Bland-Meurer Model of Career Decision-Making.

Method: A study was conducted using Association of American Medical Colleges' Graduate Student Questionnaire and career data from one medical school. Logistic regression analyses generated predictive models of primary care residency choice, including family medicine, general internal medicine, and pediatrics for 555 medical school graduates over five years.

Predicting career decisions in primary care medicine: a theoretical analysis.

Entering the 1960s, more than half of the medical doctors in the United States were family physicians, pediatricians, or general internists. Today, about one-third of all U.S.

Electrifying a medical school course: a case study.

Background: At Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, the Dean charged the curriculum office to "electrify the curriculum." An instructional development team chose a 2nd-year course to serve as a model e-course and to provide evaluation data for a 2-year study.

Description: The instructional development process used instructional and Web design principles.

Expression measurement of many genes simultaneously by quantitative RT-PCR using standardized mixtures of competitive templates.

Progress toward complete sequencing of all human genes through the Human Genome Project has already resulted in a need for methods that allow quantitative expression measurement of multiple genes simultaneously. It is increasingly recognized that relative measurement of multiple genes will provide more mechanistic information regarding cell pathophysiology than measurement of individual genes one by one or by methods that do not allow direct intergene comparison. In this study, previously described quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction methods were modified in an effort to provide a rapid, simple method for this purpose.

The effects of acute test anxiety on NBME Part I performance.

This study examined the associated effects of acute test-taking anxiety on the performance of a class of second-year medical students who took Part I of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Examination. The study is a follow-up of a previous study that examined the related effects of chronic anxiety on NBME Part I performance. The purpose of this study was to observe whether there was a relationship between acute anxiety and NBME performance and, further, if there were distinguishable differences in the effects of acute and chronic test anxiety on NBME performance.

Simultaneous conditioning in honeybees (Apis mellifera).

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) were classically conditioned with odor as conditioned stimulus (CS), sucrose as unconditioned stimulus (US), and proboscis extension as response. The purpose of Experiment 1 (Ns = 26 and 27) was to look for facilitation of forward conditioning by CS-US overlap, but rapid conditioning without overlap left little room for improvement. In 2 further experiments, CS and US were simultaneous, and response to odor alone was measured in subsequent tests.

Evaluation of an oncology curriculum.

This report describes and presents an evaluation of the undergraduate component of the Cancer Education Program at The Bowman Gray School of Medicine. New learning objectives on cancer were introduced into the second and third year of the Medical School curriculum. A twenty-five question multiple choice examination measured the accomplishment of the new objectives.

A course on teaching for house officers.

A pilot course on clinical teaching methods was given to 11 volunteer third-year medical residents. The course consisted of four weekly two-hour sessions designed to cover the areas in which house officers do the most teaching. Both clinical and nonclinical educators participated as faculty members in an attempt to create balance in perspective.

Teaching peer review at Michigan State University.

Two groups of students at Michigan State University participated in an exercise intended to teach them the process of peer review. Neither group of students completed the exercise beyond the initial steps. The authors discuss the concerns of the students and make suggestions for implementing a program of peer review in undergraduate medical school curricula.