A simple and inexpensive enteric-coated capsule for delivery of acid-labile macromolecules to the small intestine

Understanding the ecology of the gastrointestinal tract and the impact of the contents on the host mucosa is emerging as an important area for defining both wellness and susceptibility to disease. Targeted delivery of drugs to treat specific small intestinal disorders such as small bowel bacterial overgrowth and targeting molecules to interrogate or to deliver vaccines to the remote regions of the small intestine has proven difficult. There is an unmet need for methodologies to release probes/drugs to remote regions of the gastrointestinal tract in furthering our understanding of gut health and pathogenesis. In order to address this concern, we need to know how the regional delivery of a surrogate labeled test compound is handled and in turn, if delivered locally as a liquid or powder, the dynamics of its subsequent handling and metabolism. In the studies we report on in this paper, we chose ¹³C sodium acetate (¹³C-acetate), which is a stable isotope probe that once absorbed in the small intestine can be readily measured non-invasively by collection and analysis of ¹³CO₂ in the breath. This would provide information of gastric emptying rates and an indication of the site of release and absorptive capacity. In a series of in vitro and in vivo pig experiments, we assessed the enteric-protective properties of a commercially available polymer EUDRAGIT®L100-55 on gelatin capsules and also on DRcaps®. Test results demonstrated that DRcaps®coated with EUDRAGIT®L100-55 possessed enhanced enteric-protective properties, particularly in vivo. These studies add to the body of knowledge regarding gastric emptying in pigs and also begin the process of gathering specifications for the design of a simple and cost-effective enteric-coated capsule for delivery of acid-labile macromolecules to the small intestine.     

Beyond member-checking: a dialogic approach to the research interview

This article presents a dialogic qualitative interview design for a narrative study of six international UK university students' motivation for learning English. Based on the work of Mikhail Bakhtin, this design was developed in order to address the limitations of member-checking [Lincoln, Y. S., and E. G. Guba. 1985. Naturalistic Inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage] as a means by which participants' responses to data and interpretation might be gathered. Through a personalized reflection on my design and consideration of attitudes to member-checking, I demonstrate that a more explicit co-constructedness is evident in both the design and the data generated, and I offer this design as a more collaborative, more ethical alternative to member-checking in particular, and as an approach to qualitative research interviews in general.     

Preparing Biology Graduate Teaching Assistants for Their Roles as Instructors: An Assessment of Institutional Approaches

The inconsistency of professional development (PD) in teaching for graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) is a widespread problem in higher education. Although GTAs serve an important role in retention of undergraduate science majors and in promotion of scientific literacy in nonmajors, they often lack preparation and ongoing support for teaching. Given the recent national focus on instructional quality in introductory courses, our goal was to use an online survey to identify current practices of teaching PD for biology GTAs and compare these results with the last national survey on this topic. In responses from 71 participant institutions, 96% reported some mandatory teaching preparation for biology GTAs; however, 52% of these programs required 10 or fewer hours per year. Respondents wanted to change their programs to include more pedagogical information and teaching observations with feedback to their GTAs. Programmatic self-ratings of satisfaction with GTA PD were positively correlated with the number of topics discussed during PD. Although more schools are requiring GTA PD for teaching compared with the last national survey, the lack of program breadth at many schools warrants a national conversation with regard to recent calls for improving undergraduate instruction.     

Science in the early Athenaeum: a mirror of crystallization

The Athenaeum, one of the most influential weekly magazines of Victorian Britain, was launched in 1828, towards the end of the period which saw the crystallization of science out of eighteenth-century natural philosophy and the differentiation of the individual sciences one from another. We examine the magazine's coverage of specific scientific areas in the year from May 1828 to April 1829, looking at what it defined as science and how it arrived at its definitions. The picture that emerges is complex, influenzed by editorial preferences as well as more clearly discernible objective criteria. But, at this stage, The Athenaeum appears to be opposed to opening up a gulf between the scientifically literate and the rest of its readership, reminding science of its debt to earlier endeavours.     

Designing asynchronous online fermentation science materials including using a home fermented foods project to engage online learners

The number of online courses offered by universities in America continues to increase. Due to limited direct interactions with students, these courses can struggle to promote student engagement. Food science is uniquely situated for implementation of hands‐on project‐based learning opportunities since basic experiments can be performed in a kitchen with minimal supplies and equipment. The purpose of this teaching and learning tip is to share materials designed for an asynchronous online course, instructional fermentation vignettes, and the Home Fermented Foods Project assignment, which tasks students with creating two fermented foods with two accompanying documents explaining the science of each employed steps. Students are engaged with the projects while connecting the lecture material to familiar products that they create such as sauerkraut, yogurt, and bread. Overall, based on student evaluations and our interactions with the students, our implementation of this project has been positive. Downloadable handouts containing assignment details are available as Supporting Information.     

Effects of simple and regressed discrepancy models and cutoffs on severe discrepancy determination

Concern over the growing number of students identified as learning disabled has led school districts to examine the criteria for determination and the means by which they are operationalized. Two frequently used methods for determining a severe discrepancy between ability and achievement, a key criterion in LD determination, were applied to a sample of 344 students to determine how a change in method might influence the rates and characteristics of students meeting this criterion. The results indicate an increase in numbers when a regression method is used over a simple difference score method. When the change proposed included moving to a more severe cutoff score, the pattern reversed and a 20% decrease was observed. Although IQ correlated with the discrepancies when the simple difference score method was used, no correlation was observed when regression was employed, indicating that regression may be a more equitable method for calculating severe discrepancies. Neither method resulted in disproportionate racial representation among those meeting the severe discrepancy criterion.     

Intellectual assessment of hispanic children

This review examines the issue of whether individual intelligence tests such as the WISC-R are biased against Hispanic school-aged children. Three common but faulty notions of test bias are discussed, and a psychometric definition of bias is advanced. Evidence regarding external and internal validity is analyzed. Guidelines for the intellectual assessment of bilingual students are presented, following a discussion of possible language bias.