bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multiple Choice Questions to Assess Content‐Specific Critical Thinking in Second‐Year Medical Students
Authors: Yarbrough Tracy L. , Ceryak Susan 
Published: June 2021

BackgroundThe need for development of critical thinking skills within future medical practitioners is uniformly appreciated among medical educators, as clinical decision‐making represents a somewhat unique and high‐level application of critical reasoning. Therefore, recent efforts have focused on ways to incorporate critical thinking skill‐building into medical curricula. However, the availability of effective and easily translatable methods to assess content‐specific critical thinking skills, particularly in preclinical curricula, have lagged behind; use of observational assessments such as structured observations of performance is limited by the need for significant faculty time and effort. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate written assessments (in particular, multiple choice questions) designed to assess students' critical thinking in the context of an organ systems‐based preclinical course. Secondarily, we sought to characterize in‐house questions with regard to their correlation with student performance on a norm‐referenced assessment of critical thinking.MethodsStudents (n=183) enrolled in a second‐year medical school course were recruited for participation. Of these, 19 consented. Student performance on three locally developed multiple choice assessments (CTAs, total of 31 items) was evaluated. In addition, participants completed a pre‐ and post‐course administration of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test for healthcare students (HSRT‐N). Results of multiple choice assessments, HSRT‐N, and overall student performance in the course were analyzed.ResultsOf the eight critical thinking skill components assessed by the HSRT‐N, student performance on CTAs correlated strongly with the analysis component score of the HSRT‐N only (r=0.601). Those questions on the CTAs specifically designed to test critical thinking (n=13) correlated weakly with overall HSRT‐N score, while CTA questions not designed to assess critical thinking (n=18) did not correlate with HSRT‐N score (r=0.298 and 0.097, respectively). Student past course performance and overall CTA score predicted global performance in the course (p<0.001, R^2=0.908), though HSRT‐N score did not.ConclusionWhile critical reasoning can be appraised through observational assessments, its evaluation with written selected response (multiple choice) exams has proven difficult for medical educators; in particular, the development of exams locally to assess specific content and skills. Herein we demonstrate early success with developing multiple choice questions aimed at assessing critical thinking, with correlation to a norm‐referenced assessment. Future efforts may focus on outlining a method for generalizable question development that can predictably assess reasoning as related to medical and biomedical content.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
A Byzantine Tarsal Coalition From A Byzantine Monastery
Authors: Throckmorton Zach , Sheridan Susan G. 
Published: June 2021

First described by Buffon in 1796, tarsal coalitions encompass any abnormal fibrous, cartilaginous, or bony coalition of any adjacent tarsal bones. Tarsal coalition results from developmental error or injury. Congenital tarsal coalitions arise early in gestation when fibrocartilaginous precursor tarsals fail to completely separate, with more extreme cases rarely occurring when the coalesced cartilage ossifies into fused bones during skeletal maturation (Cowell and Elener 1983). Milder, more common forms are subclinical and are often detected only as an incidental finding of medical imaging ordered for unrelated reasons, therefore the prevalence of tarsal coalition is unknown (Zaw and Calder 2010). However, large‐scale skeletal surveys of recent European‐Americans, recent South Africans of variable ancestry, and medieval Danes all yielded frequencies less than 4% (Case and Burnett 2012). More severe forms can entirely compromise normal mid‐ and rearfoot function and therefore disrupt gait and other locomotor behaviors (Zaw and Calder 2010, Case and Burnett 2012). We report here specimen EBND 6122, a nearly complete and totally, intricately synostotically fused left tarsus and metatarsals I–III recovered from the Byzantine monastery of St. Stephen's in Jerusalem (now the École Biblique et Archéologique Française and Couvent‐Saint Étienne), dating to the Fifth and Sixth Centuries CE. Because of the commingled skeletal deposition at this site, no other skeletal elements can be confidently associated with this individual's foot. We describe how this remarkable pathology affected the individual's gait; succinctly, lack of rear‐ and mid‐foot flexibility likely compromised the normal heel strike and midstance phases of the gait cycle. This specimen adds to the existing archaeological record of tarsal coalitions and is one of the most extreme examples of osseous tarsal coalition in either the clinical or archaeological literature.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by the University of Notre Dame and the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
Comparative anatomy and development of zebrafish fin muscles: basis for functional, developmental, and macroevolutionary studies
Authors: Siomava Natalia , Shkil Fedor , Voronezhskaya Elena , Diogo Rui 
Published: June 2021

Dario rerio is a model organism extensively used in numerous evo‐devo studies devoted to the fin skeletal anatomy and fin‐limb transition. While the skeleton of the paired and median fins of the zebrafish have been described in great detail, little is known about the anatomy and development of the appendicular musculature of this fish. In order to provide a basis for myological, comparative and evolutionary studies, we described for the first time the development, identity, overall configuration, and attachments of all appendicular muscles of D. rerio. We show that the muscle pattern of the caudal fin differs from patterns seen in other zebrafish fins but it is very similar among teleosts in general. This finding supports the idea that developmentally and evolutionary this fin is very peculiar. We describe for the first time interhypural muscles present in the caudal fin of young fishes and absent in adults. The musculature of the adult zebrafish pectoral and pelvic fins is very similar in general, but we note marked differences concerning the development of these muscles. We therefore discuss whether the pectoral appendage might be evolutionary closer to the head than to the pelvic appendage. We provide the anatomical and developmental description of the dorsal and anal fin muscles in zebrafish and describe homologies between the appendicular structures of zebrafish and other fish taxa. We discuss evolutionary trends within these clades to investigate whether the zebrafish is a good model for teleosts in particular and actinopterygians in general. Lastly, we discuss examples of phylo‐devo parallelism that links evolution and development. Our data on the adult phenotype and myogenesis in the zebrafish provide a basis for more integrative developmental, functional, evolutionary, and pathological studies.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project nos. 14‐04‐00590 and 17‐04‐01617. The research was done using equipment of the Core Centrum of Insitute of Developmental Biology RAS.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
Abnormal development of the paired and median fins in the hyperthyroidism case series of the zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Authors: Siomava Natalia , Shkil Fedor , Voronezhskaya Elena , Diogo Rui 
Published: June 2021

Hypo‐ and hyperthyroidism are severe medical conditions frequently found in humans living all over the globe. These diseases are caused by the dysfunction of the thyroid gland and lead to the abnormal embryonic development, various neurological problems, and brain damage. In order to better understand these two conditions in humans, we used zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model to study the variability of effects of thyroid hormones. We compared normal development of zebrafish fins with pathological series of fishes extensively treated with triiodothyronine (T3) hormone.Analysis of the fish hyperthyroidism case series revealed certain symptoms similar to those present in human patients. Namely, we observed malformations of the appendicular skeleton and fusion of bones, likely occurred due to the late ossification, as well as significant underdevelopment of the appendicular musculature. Surprisingly, T3 hormone treatment induced excessive myogenesis in the dorsal and anal fin folds where muscles do not normally develop. In addition to various anatomical defects, hyperthyroidism resulted into accelerated growth of fishes in general and led to heterochrony. Interestingly, defects found in our pathological series seem to be similar to defects caused in zebrafishes by stress of the environmental change. These similarities between defects caused by completely different conditions support Pere Alberch's idea of ‘logic of monsters', according to which evolution is so constrained that even when it goes ‘wrong’ ‐ e.g. in cases of severe defects ‐ the resulting phenotypes mirror those seen in other abnormal conditions as well as those seen in the natural variations and/or normal phenotype of other taxa.These results have crucial implications for both Evo‐Devo research and evolutionary developmental medicine, or ‘Evo‐Devo‐Path’. Specifically, because hyper‐ and hypothyroidism are two disorders frequently found in humans, and because such conditions are deeply connected with heterochrony and thus with micro‐ and macroevolution.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project nos. 14‐04‐00590 and 17‐04‐01617. The research was done using equipment of the Core Centrum of Institute of Developmental Biology RAS.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
Six2 paralogs are required for proximal tubule development in the Zebrafish pronephros
Authors: Camarata Troy , Hall Corbett , Weyer Alyssa , Drummond Iain , Vasilyev Alexandr 
Published: June 2021

The mammalian metanephric kidney develops from reciprocal interactions between the metanephric mesenchyme and ureteric bud (UB) to give rise to a variety of cell types and structures including interstitial cells, vasculature, and epithelial tubules. Progenitor cells adjacent to the UB, termed cap mesenchyme (CM), undergo mesenchymal‐to‐epithelial transition (MET) to form epithelial structures called renal vesicles before elongating and differentiating into nephrons, the functional unit of the kidney. Several genes are expressed in the CM that are required for proper kidney development. One gene encodes the transcription factor Six2, which is known to play a role in self‐renewal of the CM and is turned off in differentiated nephron epithelium. Loss of Six2 in mammals results in renal hypodysplasia due to premature loss of CM. However, Six2 expression persists as cells undergo MET from the CM to form renal vesicles, a structural precursor to differentiated nephrons. Currently, it is not known what role Six2 may play in the differentiation program required to form new nephron epithelium. The zebrafish embryonic pronephros shares features with mammalian nephrons including a similar developmental genetic program and conserved segmentation of the epithelial tubule. Unlike mammals however, the zebrafish pronephros develops directly from the intermediate mesoderm without the need for a continuous population of progenitor cells. This allows the functional study of genes which play a role in CM self‐renewal but also may have roles in cellular differentiation during nephron development. Here we have cloned and characterized the zebrafish Six2 homologs during pronephric development. The zebrafish six2a and six2b genes show conserved expression in the intermediate mesoderm, although with slight differences between the two paralogs. Gene knock‐down, by injection of specific anti‐sense morpholino oligonucleotides (MO) results in kidney cysts and aberrant expression of glomerular and proximal tubule markers, such as wt1a and slc20a1a. Interestingly, distal segments remain intact suggesting Six2 plays a role in cell differentiation of proximal elements of the pronephric nephron.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
Comparative Neuroanatomical Study of the Amygdala and Fear Conditioning in Nigerian Breeds of Artiodactyla: Sheep (Uda) and Goats (Red Sokoto)
Authors: Alawa Judith Nkiruka , George Itoro , Hamman Wilson O. , Iliya Ibrahim , Akpulu Peter , Alawa Clement Barikuma 
Published: June 2021

Fear conditioning is a behavioural paradigm controlled by the amygdala, in which animals learn to distinguish safety cues from threats and thereby eliciting a range of defensive responses aimed at escaping from the threat. Defensive response to threat occurs either as an active coping strategy involving fight‐or‐flight response or a passive coping strategy involving immobilization‐or‐freezing response. Type of response elicited depends on the repertoire of the specie. This study hypothesized that there will be differences in the defensive response of goats and sheep to threat and these may be related to differences in the neuroarchitecture of the amygdala in these classes of artiodactyla. Fear conditioning was induced by associating the tone of a car horn (neutral stimuli) with water spray (aversive stimuli) and the response to the threat was determined by observation and measuring the flight distances. Furthermore, morphology and morphometry of the neurons in the amygdala was analysed using Toluidine blue and Golgi techniques. Results demonstrated that differences exist in their defensive responses and goats showed stronger active coping strategy with concomitant intense flight distances (p<0.001) compared to the sheep. Histologically, goats showed significantly more densely distributed spiny neurons and packed neuropil in the central amygdala while sheep showed more aspiny neurons in the basolateral complex. Morphometrically, sheep showed greater soma sizes of the pyramidal neurons than goats. These neuroanatomical differences in the amygdala were positively correlated with the defensive responses. This may be the basis for the higher incidence of the sheep in automobile accidents than goats in developing countries especially Africa.Support or Funding InformationStudy was supported by Ahmadu Bello Univesity.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
Saphenous nerve morphometry and aging: experimental study in rats.
Authors: Campos Stella Andrade Rodrigues , Neri Letícia Oliveira , Sanada Luciana Sayuri , Fazan Valéria Paula Sassoli 
Published: June 2021

The saphenous nerve is a sensory nerve of the leg and foot, being the terminal branch of the femoral nerve, from the lumbar plexus. Because it is long and constant and presents a superficial pathway, it becomes a good experimental model for investigations of neuropathies. We know that the peripheral nerves undergo morphological and functional changes with aging. However, changes in the saphenous nerve as a consequence of aging have not been widely investigated. We investigated the probable changes in saphenous nerve morphology and morphometry in Wistar rats with different ages: 180 (n = 6), 360 (n = 6) and 720 (n = 6) days of life. Semithin cross sections (0.5 μm) of the nerves, stained with toluidine blue, were observed with a light microscope and the morphometry of fascicles and myelin fibers was performed through a computer program, taking into account the area and diameter of the fascicles, myelin fibers and their respective axons, number of myelin fibers and their density, and the myelin sheath area and G ratio of myelinated fibers. Statistical comparisons were performed between proximal and distal segments on the same side and between sides for segments of the same level at the same age, and between ages. Differences were considered significant when p <0.05. The presence of morphological changes in the myelin fibers (loss of circularity, demyelination, presence of myelin folds and balls) and in the endoneural capillaries (basement membrane thickening and endothelial hyperplasia) were visually detected in the nerves of 720 days old animals. Morphometry showed a reduction in the size of the axon and the G ratio, with a shift to the left of the G rate distribution histograms in animals with 720 days of life. Our results suggest the presence of axonal neuropathy due to aging.Support or Funding InformationFAEPA, CAPES and CNPqThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
Decreased Density of Cholinergic Interneurons in the Medial Caudate Nucleus in Humans with Williams Syndrome
Authors: Hanson Kari L. , Cuevas Deion L. , Groeniger Kimberly M. , Lew Caroline H. , Hrvoj‐Mihic Branka L. , Raghanti Mary Ann , Bellugi Ursula , Halgren Eric , Semendeferi Katerina 
Published: June 2021

Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by the hemideletion of approximately 25–28 genes at 7q11.23. Its unusual social and cognitive phenotype is most strikingly characterized by the disinhibition of social behavior, in addition to reduced global IQ, with a relative sparing of language ability. Hypersociality and increased social approach behavior in WS may represent a unique inability to inhibit responses to specifically social stimuli, and is likely rooted in part in abnormalities of frontostriatal circuitry. Recent research has demonstrated that selective ablation of striatal cholinergic interneurons (SCINs) results in significant increases in compulsive conspecific‐directed, but not object‐focused, exploratory behavior in mice, indicating a role for SCINs in social approach behavior. Here, we examined the density of SCINs and parvalbumin‐positive interneurons in the striatum of five postmortem specimens from subjects with WS and five typically‐developing (TD) subjects. We found a significant reduction in the density of SCINs in the medial caudate nucleus, an important region receiving cortical projections from the orbitofrontal and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in circuitry involved in language and reward systems. This pattern of decreased SCIN density in WS is contrasted by anatomical findings in other disorders, including Tourette syndrome and schizophrenia, where differing patterns of SCIN depletion are found. Taken together with findings from neuroimaging, differences in the brains of individuals with WS at both the macro‐ and microstructural level further indicate a role for frontostriatal circuitry in the disorder's distinctive behavioral phenotype.Support or Funding InformationThis research is supported in part by NIH #P01NICHD033113, #1R03MH103697‐01(KS), and a Wenner Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (KLH).This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
The relationship between radial optic flow perception and neurodegeneration in Parkinson's Disease: A voxel‐based morphometric MRI analysis
Authors: Maskalo Guttu , Thompson John A. , Kleptiskaya Olga , Pelak Victoria S. 
Published: June 2021

Symptomatic navigational veering in Parkinson's disease (PD) is related to abnormal processing of radial optic flow, or the motion patterns perceived during foreword self‐movement. Previous studies indicate an important role of the parietal cortex in the perception of radial optic flow. However, the link between radial optic flow perception, cortical degeneration, and disease severity in PD has not been explored. The aim of this study is to better understand the correlation between three‐dimensional radial optic flow perception in PD and cortical degeneration in area V6 of the parietal lobe. The V6 region is important for the analysis of visual motion patterns during self‐motion, and therefore navigation. We hypothesized that evidence for degeneration in area V6 correlates with radial optic flow measures in PD patients. Voxel‐based volumetric MRI data analyses using FreeSurfer, focusing on area V6 as the region of interest, was performed on MR brain images from 19 PD patients. Results correlated to radial optic flow measures and PD disease severity measured by Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), part 3. Correlation analyses were also conducted between the visual pathway and the basal ganglia, since both are linked to PD pathology.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.