The effect of online and in-person team-based learning (TBL) on undergraduate endocrinology teaching during COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Team-based learning (TBL) combines active and collaborative learning, while incorporating aspects of the flipped classroom approach and problem-based learning. The COVID-19 pandemic presented certain challenges in the delivery of TBL in class. In this study, we investigated the impact of TBL on the academic performance of final year Biomedical Sciences' undergraduate students in the context of an "Endocrine Disorders" study block.

Testing the Translational Power of the Zebrafish: An Interspecies Analysis of Responses to Cardiovascular Drugs.

The zebrafish is rapidly emerging as a promising alternative model for the detection of drug-induced cardiovascular effects. Despite its increasing popularity, the ability of this model to inform the drug development process is often limited by the uncertainties around the quantitative relevance of zebrafish responses compared with nonclinical mammalian species and ultimately humans. In this test of concept study, we provide a comparative quantitative analysis of the cardiovascular responses of zebrafish, rat, dog, and human to three model compounds (propranolol, losartan, and captopril), which act as modulators of two key systems (beta-adrenergic and renin-angiotensin systems) involved in the regulation of cardiovascular functions.

Testing the "read-across hypothesis" by investigating the effects of ibuprofen on fish.

Human pharmaceuticals present in the environment have the potential to cause adverse effects on non-target organisms. The "read-across hypothesis" stipulates that pharmaceuticals will exhibit similar biological effects across species (e.g.

Internal exposure dynamics drive the Adverse Outcome Pathways of synthetic glucocorticoids in fish.

The Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) framework represents a valuable conceptual tool to systematically integrate existing toxicological knowledge from a mechanistic perspective to facilitate predictions of chemical-induced effects across species. However, its application for decision-making requires the transition from qualitative to quantitative AOP (qAOP). Here we used a fish model and the synthetic glucocorticoid beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) to investigate the role of chemical-specific properties, pharmacokinetics, and internal exposure dynamics in the development of qAOPs.