Increasing Faculty Self-Efficacy in Mentoring through Training in Inclusive Mentoring and Course-based Undergraduate Research.

Encouraging diversity in biomedical fields is especially important and begins at the undergraduate level. Culturally competent mentorship and high impact practices, like involvement in research, play important roles in fostering success among undergraduates from historically underrepresented groups. The current study followed 20 biomedical faculty as they completed two semester-long trainings, one in mentoring and one in course based undergraduate research (CUREs) as part of the NIH Diversity Program Consortium Dissemination and Translation Awards initiative.

Data-Driven Hypothesis Generation in Clinical Research: What We Learned from a Human Subject Study?

Hypothesis generation is an early and critical step in any hypothesis-driven clinical research project. Because it is not yet a well-understood cognitive process, the need to improve the process goes unrecognized. Without an impactful hypothesis, the significance of any research project can be questionable, regardless of the rigor or diligence applied in other steps of the study, e.

The quality of data-driven hypotheses generated by inexperienced clinical researchers: A case study.

Objectives: We invited inexperienced clinical researchers to analyze coded health datasets and develop hypotheses. We recorded and analyzed their hypothesis generation process. All the hypotheses generated in the process were rated by the same group of seven experts by using the same metrics.

Data-driven hypothesis generation among inexperienced clinical researchers: A comparison of secondary data analyses with visualization (VIADS) and other tools.

Objectives: To compare how clinical researchers generate data-driven hypotheses with a visual interactive analytic tool (VIADS, a visual interactive analysis tool for filtering and summarizing large datasets coded with hierarchical terminologies) or other tools.

Methods: We recruited clinical researchers and separated them into "experienced" and "inexperienced" groups. Participants were randomly assigned to a VIADS or control group within the groups.

How do clinical researchers generate data-driven scientific hypotheses? Cognitive events using think-aloud protocol.

Objectives: This study aims to identify the cognitive events related to information use (e.g., "Analyze data", "Seek connection") during hypothesis generation among clinical researchers.

Data-driven hypothesis generation among inexperienced clinical researchers: A comparison of secondary data analyses with visualization (VIADS) and other tools.

Objectives: To compare how clinical researchers generate data-driven hypotheses with a visual interactive analytic tool (VIADS, a visual interactive analysis tool for filtering and summarizing large data sets coded with hierarchical terminologies) or other tools.

Methods: We recruited clinical researchers and separated them into "experienced" and "inexperienced" groups. Participants were randomly assigned to a VIADS or control group within the groups.

A Visual Analytic Tool (VIADS) to Assist the Hypothesis Generation Process in Clinical Research: Mixed Methods Usability Study.

Background: Visualization can be a powerful tool to comprehend data sets, especially when they can be represented via hierarchical structures. Enhanced comprehension can facilitate the development of scientific hypotheses. However, the inclusion of excessive data can make visualizations overwhelming.

Development, validation, and usage of metrics to evaluate the quality of clinical research hypotheses.

Objectives: Metrics and instruments can provide guidance for clinical researchers to assess their potential research projects at an early stage before significant investment. Furthermore, metrics can also provide structured criteria for peer reviewers to assess others' clinical research manuscripts or grant proposals. This study aimed to develop, test, validate, and use evaluation metrics and instruments to accurately, consistently, and conveniently assess the quality of scientific hypotheses for clinical research projects.

The Roles of a Secondary Data Analytics Tool and Experience in Scientific Hypothesis Generation in Clinical Research: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Scientific hypothesis generation is a critical step in scientific research that determines the direction and impact of any investigation. Despite its vital role, we have limited knowledge of the process itself, thus hindering our ability to address some critical questions.

Objective: This study aims to answer the following questions: To what extent can secondary data analytics tools facilitate the generation of scientific hypotheses during clinical research? Are the processes similar in developing clinical diagnoses during clinical practice and developing scientific hypotheses for clinical research projects? Furthermore, this study explores the process of scientific hypothesis generation in the context of clinical research.

Age of Peak Performance Differs by Functional Task in Mice Tracked Over 2 Years.

Mouse models are often used to validate novel interventions prior to human testing, although biological differences between mice and humans limit the translatability of outcomes. A common assumption in animal research is that maximal physical performance will be present at a young age, and that differences in task performance between young and old can be attributed to the aging process. However, this may not be true for all physical function tasks, and leaving out intermediate time points could drastically alter data interpretation.

Sex differences in body composition but not neuromuscular function following long-term, doxycycline-induced reduction in circulating levels of myostatin in mice.

Age-related declines in muscle function result from changes in muscle structure and contractile properties, as well as from neural adaptations. Blocking myostatin to drive muscle growth is one potential therapeutic approach. While the effects of myostatin depletion on muscle characteristics are well established, we have very little understanding of its effects on the neural system.

A visual interactive analytic tool for filtering and summarizing large health data sets coded with hierarchical terminologies (VIADS).

Background: Vast volumes of data, coded through hierarchical terminologies (e.g., International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision-Clinical Modification [ICD10-CM], Medical Subject Headings [MeSH]), are generated routinely in electronic health record systems and medical literature databases.

Relative Contributions of Myostatin and the GH/IGF-1 Axis in Body Composition and Muscle Strength.

Myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth, is considered a potential therapeutic agent for individuals suffering from various muscle wasting and strength declining diseases because inhibiting Mstn signaling leads to muscular hypertrophy. In this study we investigate the interaction between myostatin and the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-1 (GH/IGF-1) axis in muscle function and strength. To this end, we measured hind limb grip strength and myostatin levels in two mouse models of GH gene manipulation; GH receptor knockout ( mice which have reduced GH/IGF-1 action, and bovine GH transgenic (bGH) mice which have excess GH/IGF-1 action.

Perinatal fluoxetine has enduring sexually differentiated effects on neurobehavioral outcomes related to social behaviors.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications (SSRIs) are prescribed to up to 10% of pregnant women to treat maternal mood disorders. Exposure to these medications in-utero has raised concerns about altered neurobehavioral outcomes; most recently those related to peer-to-peer social interactions and play. While clinical data show that both perinatal SSRIs (pSSRI) and maternal stress can contribute to social behavioral changes in children, minimal animal work has investigated the effects of pSSRIs in relevant models of maternal stress or the long-term implications of these effects.

Perinatal fluoxetine effects on social play, the HPA system, and hippocampal plasticity in pre-adolescent male and female rats: Interactions with pre-gestational maternal stress.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications (SSRIs) are the first lines of treatment for maternal affective disorders, and are prescribed to up to 10% of pregnant women. Concern has been raised about how perinatal exposure to these medications affect offspring neurobehavioral outcomes, particularly those related to social interactions, as recent research has reported conflicting results related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk in children prenatally exposed to SSRIs. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the effects of perinatal exposure to the SSRI fluoxetine on social play behaviors and the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal system, using a model of pre-gestational maternal stress.

Developmental fluoxetine and prenatal stress effects on serotonin, dopamine, and synaptophysin density in the PFC and hippocampus of offspring at weaning.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication exposure during the perinatal period can have a long term impact in adult offspring on neuroplasticity and the serotonergic system, but the impact of these medications during early development is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of developmental exposure to the SSRI, fluoxetine, on the serotonergic system, dopaminergic system, and synaptophysin density in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, as well as number of immature neurons in the dentate gyrus, in juvenile rat offspring at weaning. To model aspects of maternal depression, prenatal restraint stress was used.

Effect of Postnatal Myostatin Inhibition on Bite Mechanics in Mice.

As a negative regulator of muscle size, myostatin (Mstn) impacts the force-production capabilities of skeletal muscles. In the masticatory system, measures of temporalis-stimulated bite forces in constitutive myostatin KOs suggest an absolute, but not relative, increase in jaw-muscle force. Here, we assess the phenotypic and physiologic impact of postnatal myostatin inhibition on bite mechanics using an inducible conditional KO mouse in which myostatin is inhibited with doxycycline (DOX).

The value of partnerships in science education: a win-win situation.

An editorial in Science (Alberts, 2012) has expressed the need to teach "real science," firmly based on hands-on and inquiry methodology. Also in a recent article, Stevens (2011) highlighted the contrast between the emphasis that federal agencies and professional associations place on science outreach, and the scarcity of support for such activities at the classroom level. To bridge this gap, we have developed a way to redefine science education by involving college students and faculty in "real science" outreach.

Astrocytic reaction to a lesion, under hormonal deprivation.

Gonadal hormones can influence the morphology and function of glial cells, particularly astrocytes. Here we explore the hypothesis that 17beta-estradiol (E2) exerts a positive effect on astrocytes within the region of the cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain, an area heavily implicated in memory and attentional processes. Female rats were ovariectomized at 3 months of age and lesioned with the immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin before receiving a subcutaneous pellet containing 0.

Estrogen effects on neuronal morphology.

This review focuses on the effects of estrogen on neuronal morphology. Over the last decade neuroscientists have accumulated a wealth of information confirming the trophic effects of 17beta-estradiol on a variety of brain regions, including changes of hippocampal spine density and axonal outgrowth and retraction in hypothalamic nuclei, as well as other measures of structural reorganization that could underlie some of the cognitive benefits attributed to this hormone. Overall, results from a variety of investigators suggest that 17beta-estradiol is a potent structural signal that can drive developmental as well as adult plastic events in a variety of brain regions, not only those implicated in reproduction, but also in a diversity of functions.

Estrogen contributes to structural recovery after a lesion.

Over the last decade neuroscientists have accumulated a wealth of information confirming the trophic effects of 17beta-estradiol (E2) on a variety of brain regions, such as the effects on hippocampal spine density, as well as other measures of structural reorganization. Here, we explore the hypothesis that E2 exerts a positive trophic effect on the cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain, an area heavily implicated in memory and attentional processes. Female rats were ovariectomized at 3 months of age and lesioned with the immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin before receiving a subcutaneous pellet containing .

Compensatory changes in cortical cholinergic innervation in the rat following an immunotoxic lesion.

Purpose: To investigate the plastic capacity of the cholinergic system in a partial animal model of Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: Rats received unilateral lesions of the horizontal diagonal band of Broca (HDB) using a cholinergic-specific toxin, 192 IgG-saporin. After the appropriate survival time (2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 weeks post-lesion) rats were sacrificed and the brains were prepared for histology.

Galanin in Alzheimer disease.

Galanin (GAL) and GAL receptors (GALR) are overexpressed in limbic brain regions associated with cognition in Alzheimer disease (AD). The functional consequences of this overexpression are unclear. Because GAL inhibits cholinergic transmission and restricts long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, GAL overexpression may exacerbate clinical features of AD.

Morphological effects of estrogen on cholinergic neurons in vitro involves activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases.

In the present study, we examined the ability of estrogen to enhance cholinergic neurite arborization in vitro and identified the signal transduction cascade associated with this effect. Basal forebrain primordia collected from rat pups on postnatal day 1 were cultured for 2 weeks and then treated with 5 nm 17beta-estradiol for 24 hr. Cholinergic neurons were identified immunocytochemically with an antibody against the vesicular acetylcholine transporter and digitally photographed.