Learning Gains from a Recurring "Teach and Question" Homework Assignment in a General Biology Course: Using Reciprocal Peer Tutoring Outside Class.

Providing students with one-on-one interaction with instructors is a big challenge in large courses. One solution is to have students interact with their peers during class. Reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) is a more involved interaction that requires peers to alternate the roles of "teacher" and "student.

The challenge of patients' unmet palliative care needs in the final stages of chronic illness.

Background: There is consensus in the literature that the end of life care for patients with chronic illness is suboptimal, but research on the specific needs of this population is limited.

Aim: This study aimed to use a mixed methodology and case study approach to explore the palliative care needs of patients with a non-cancer diagnosis from the perspectives of the patient, their significant other and the clinical team responsible for their care. Patients (n = 18) had a diagnosis of either end-stage heart failure, renal failure or respiratory disease.

Aspergillosis and other causes of mortality in the stitchbird in New Zealand.

Necropsy findings from natural deaths in free living and captive stitchbirds (Notiomystis cincta) were examined over a 3 yr period (November 1991-94) to establish whether disease was an important factor in translocation failures and captive breeding programs undertaken by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Fresh and fixed material from seven free-living birds and 11 captive birds were examined and were compared with those of a retrospective study of archival material from captive and wild birds collected over a 13 yr period (1979-91). The causes of death in both the present and retrospective study showed a similar pattern with aspergillosis and aspiration pneumonia being the most significant cause of mortality in captive birds.

A quantitative assessment of haemosiderosis in wild and captive birds using image analysis.

An experimental model of haemosiderosis, using the chicken, was developed to examine the distribution of iron in the liver following an injection of iron dextran and to allow calibration of image analysis readings. Image analysis was used as a tool to quantify the stainable iron present in hepatic tissue obtained from wild and captive birds presented for necropsy. A retrospective study of 180 necropsy cases, representing 40 different species of bird, is described.