Teaching physiology online: successful use of case studies in a graduate course.

To address the need for greater flexibility in access to higher education, an online graduate course in physiology using case studies was developed and offered in summer 2012. Topics in both animal and human physiology were organized as modules that contained a case study with questions, a prerecorded online lecture, and three research journal articles. We followed best practices for teaching and learning in distance education, including the preparation of materials before the course starting date, a discussion board for responding to pre- and postcase discussion questions, and prompt reply to student queries.

Death roll of the alligator: mechanics of twist feeding in water.

Crocodilians, including the alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), perform a spinning maneuver to subdue and dismember prey. The spinning maneuver, which is referred to as the ;death roll', involves rapid rotation about the longitudinal axis of the body. High-speed videos were taken of juvenile alligators (mean length=0.

Passive cambering and flexible propulsors: cetacean flukes.

The flukes are the primary locomotor structure in cetaceans, which produce hydrodynamic thrust as the caudal vertebrae are oscillated dorso-ventrally. Effective thrust generation is a function of the kinematics of the flukes, the angle of attack between the flukes and the incident water flow, and the shape of the flukes. We investigated the effect of bending within the caudal region of odontocete cetaceans to determine how changes in angular displacement between caudal vertebrae could effect passive shape change of the flukes.

Examination of the three-dimensional geometry of cetacean flukes using computed tomography scans: hydrodynamic implications.

The flukes of cetaceans function in the hydrodynamic generation of forces for thrust, stability, and maneuverability. The three-dimensional geometry of flukes is associated with production of lift and drag. Data on fluke geometry were collected from 19 cetacean specimens representing eight odontocete genera (Delphinus, Globicephala, Grampus, Kogia, Lagenorhynchus, Phocoena, Stenella, Tursiops).

Class I alcohol dehydrogenase is highly expressed in normal human mammary epithelium but not in invasive breast cancer: implications for breast carcinogenesis.

Detoxification of ethanol can contribute to oxidative cellular and DNA damage and, thereby, to carcinogenesis. The potential relevance of this to breast carcinogenesis is suggested by evidence that alcohol consumption is a risk factor for breast cancer. It is, however, not known whether ethanol can be metabolized in breast parenchyma.

Structure and function of the hyolingual system in Hynobius and its bearing on the evolution of prey capture in terrestrial salamanders.

The Hynobiidae is generally regarded as the most phylogenetically basal and least derived extant family of terrestrial salamanders. As in the other families of terrestrial salamanders, prey capture in the Hynobiidae is accomplished by lingual prehension. In Hynobius, the prey capture system appears to be a mosaic of derived and primitive features.

Ontogenetic alterations in the gross tooth morphology of Dicamptodon and Rhyacotriton (amphibia, urodela, and dicamptodontidae).

During ontogeny, the apical and basal components of dicamptodontid teeth exhibit three major developmental stages: nonpedicellate, subpedicellate, and pedicellate. Premetamorphic larvae tend to have nonpedicellate teeth, incompletely or recently metamorphosed individuals tend to have subpedicellate teeth, and fully transformed adults usually have pedicellate teeth. In concert with this transition, cusp morphology is modified from a larval monocuspid, to an incipiently bicuspid, to definitive adult bicuspid, and finally to an adult monocuspid condition.

Interspecific, ontogenetic, and life history variation in the tooth morphology of mole salamanders (Amphibia, Urodela, and Ambystomatidae).

As revealed by scanning electron microscopy, three basic cusp shapes are found on the premaxillary teeth of mole salamanders: disc, cone, and club. In fully metamorphosed adults, tooth crowns are subdivided into labial and lingual cusps. Except for species of Linguaelapsus, the labial cusps of all adult bifid teeth are disc shaped; lingual cusp shape is more variable, but the taxonomic distribution of the various configurations is generally consistent within the subgroups Rhycosiredon, Ambystoma, and Linguaelapsus.