An Inter-Institutional External Peer-Review Process to Evaluate Educators at Schools of Veterinary Medicine.

Despite its fundamental importance, the educational mission of most schools of veterinary medicine receives far less recognition and support than the missions of research and discovery. This disparity is evident in promotion and tenure processes. Despite the frequent assertion that education is every college's core mission, there is a broad consensus that faculty are promoted primarily on the basis of meeting expectations relative to publications and grant funding. This expectation is evident in the promotion packets faculty are expected to produce and the criteria by which those packets are reviewed. Among the outcomes is increasing difficulty in hiring and retaining faculty, including young clinicians and basic scientists who are drawn to academic institutions because of the opportunity to teach. The Regional Teaching Academy (RTA) of the West Region Consortium of Colleges of Veterinary Medicine initiated an inter-institutional collaboration to address the most important obstacles to recognizing and rewarding teaching in its five member colleges. Working from the medical education literature, the RTA developed an Educator's Promotion Dossier, workshops to train promotion applicants, and an external review process. Initial use has shown that the reviews are efficient and complete. Administrators have expressed strong support for the product, a letter of external review that is returned to a promotion applicant's home institution. The overall result is an evidence-based, structured process by which teaching-intensive faculty can more fully document their achievements in teaching and educational leadership and a more rigorous external review process by which member colleges can assess quality, impact, and scholarly approach.

Use of Short Animal-Themed Videos to Enhance Veterinary Students' Mood, Attention, and Understanding of Pharmacology Lectures.

Professional DVM training is inherently stressful and challenging for students. This study evaluated a simple intervention-short breaks during a veterinary pharmacology lecture course in the form of funny/cute animal videos (Mood Induction Procedures, or MIP)-to assess for potential impact on students' mood, interest in material, and perceived understanding of material. Ten YouTube video clips showing cats or dogs were selected to influence students' affective states. The videos were shown in a required pharmacology class offered during the fall semester of the second year of the DVM program at a large, land-grant institution in the western US. The student cohort consisted of 133 students (20 males, 113 females). Twenty days of the course were randomly chosen for the study and ranged from weeks 2 to 13 of the semester. Sessions in which the videos were played were alternated with sessions in which no video was played, for a total of 10 video days and 10 control days. There were significant differences in all three post-class assessment measures between the experimental (video) days and the control days. Results suggest that showing short cute animal videos in the middle of class positively affected students' mood, interest in material, and self-reported understanding of material. While the results of this study are limited to one student cohort at one institution, the ease of implementation of the technique and relatively low stakes support incorporation of the MIP technique across a variety of basic and clinical science courses.

Changing academic culture to improve undergraduate STEM education.

Improving undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education requires faculty with the skills, resources, and time to create active learning environments that foster student engagement. Current faculty hiring, promotion, and tenure practices at many universities do not measure, reward, nor encourage faculty pursuit of these skills. A cultural change is needed to foster improvement.

Rhythms and synchronization patterns in gene expression in the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

BACKGROUND: Aedes aegypti is arguably the most studied of all mosquito species in the laboratory and is the primary vector of both Dengue and Yellow Fever flaviviruses in the field. A large number of transcriptional studies have been made in the species and these usually report transcript quantities observed at a certain age or stage of development. However, circadian oscillation is an important characteristic of gene expression in many animals and plants, modulating both their physiology and behavior. Circadian gene expression in mosquito species has been previously reported but for only a few genes directly involved in the function of the molecular clock. RESULTS: Herein we analyze the transcription profiles of 21,494 messenger RNAs using an Ae. aegypti Agilent® microarray. Transcripts were quantified in adult female heads at 24 hours and then again at 72 hours and eight subsequent time points spaced four hours apart. We document circadian rhythms in multiple molecular pathways essential for growth, development, immune response, detoxification/pesticide resistance. Circadian rhythms were also noted in ribosomal protein genes used for normalization in reverse transcribed PCR (RT-PCR) to determine transcript abundance. We report pervasive oscillations and intricate synchronization patterns relevant to all known biological pathways. CONCLUSION: These results argue strongly that transcriptional analyses either need to be made over time periods rather than confining analyses to a single time point or development stage or exceptional care needs to be made to synchronize all mosquitoes to be analyzed and compared among treatment groups.

A large scale laboratory cage trial of Aedes densonucleosis virus (AeDNV).

Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) the primary vector of dengue viruses (DENV1-4), oviposit in and around human dwellings, including sites difficult to locate, making control of this mosquito challenging. We explored the efficacy and sustainability of Aedes Densonucleosis Virus (AeDNV) as a biocontrol agent for Ae. aegypti in and among oviposition sites in large laboratory cages (> 92 m3) as a prelude to field trials. Select cages were seeded with AeDNV in a single oviposition site (OPS) with unseeded OPSs established at varied distances. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to track dispersal and accumulation of AeDNV among OPSs. All eggs were collected weekly from each cage and counted. We asked: (1) Is AeDNV dispersed over varying distances and can it accumulate and persist in novel OPSs? (2) Are egg densities reduced in AeDNV treated populations? AeDNV was dispersed to and sustained in novel OPSs. Virus accumulation in OPSs was positively correlated with egg densities and proximity to the initial infection source affected the timing of dispersal and maintenance of viral titers. AeDNV did not significantly reduce Ae. aegypti egg densities. The current study documents that adult female Ae. aegypti oviposition behavior leads to successful viral dispersal from treated to novel containers in large-scale cages; however, the AeDNV titers reached were not sufficient to reduce egg densities.

Aedes aegypti densonucleosis virus amplifies, spreads, and reduces host populations in laboratory cage studies.

Aedes densonucleosis virus (family Parcoviridae, genus Brevidensovirus, AeDNV) is a mosquito pathogen that increases Aedes aegypti larval mortality and reduces adult life span. We conducted three laboratory population cage trials, each lasting 16-25 wk. We tested two broad hypotheses. First, Ae. aegypti raised in containers seeded with 10(8) AeDNV genome equivalents/ml (geq/ ml), a concentration feasible for field application, increase AeDNV to concentrations that cause significant adult and larval mortality. Second, infected female mosquitoes disperse AeDNV to uninfected larval habitats. In hypothesis 1, we addressed the rate at which infected larvae secrete virus, how AeDNV titers change in seeded containers over time, whether AeDNV decays over time, and whether AeDNV exposed populations are reduced. In hypothesis 2, we monitored AeDNV concentrations in novel containers after oviposition by infected females. Both hypotheses were supported. Larvae increased AeDNV, secreting virus at a rate of 2.14 x 10(6) geq/larva/d when exposed to 10(8) geq/ml. AeDNV titers reached an asymptote of 10(10) geq/ml by week 10 in seeded containers. AeDNV decayed by 1 log every 4 d as indicated by a reduction in larval mortality. Adult population size was reduced in treated populations. Infected females dispersed AeDNV to novel containers, with titers reaching 10(8) geq/ml. The parameters were used in a Leslie-Lewis matrix model. This model predicted that AeDNV negatively affects Ae. aegypti densities and population structure and thus vectorial capacity.

Densoviruses for control and genetic manipulation of mosquitoes.

Mosquito densoviruses (MDV) are parvoviruses that replicate in the nuclei of mosquito cells and cause the characteristic nuclear hypertrophy (densonucleosis) that gives them their name. Several MDV that differ in pathogenicity both in vitro and in vivo have been isolated. MDV have a number of features that make them potentially attractive as biological control agents for mosquito-borne disease. They are nonenveloped and relatively stable in the environment. They are highly specific for mosquitoes and they infect and kill larvae in a dose dependent manner in the aqueous larval habitat. Infected larvae that survive to become adult mosquitoes exhibit a dose-dependent shortening of lifespan and many do not survive longer than the extrinsic incubation period for arboviruses. Thus they may have a significant impact on transmission of pathogens. Infected females can transmit the virus vertically by laying infected eggs in new oviposition sites. Studies on how MDV affect populations are relatively limited. Population cage studies suggest that they will persist and spread in populations and limited field studies have shown similar preimaginal mortality in wild populations to that seen in laboratory studies. The availability of infectious clones of MDV genomes allows the development of densovirus vectors for expressing genes of interest in mosquito cells and mosquitoes. Recently short hairpin RNA expression cassettes that induce RNA interference have been inserted into densovirus genomes. These expression cassettes should be useful for both research and disease-control applications.

Evaluating the impact of a classroom response system in a microbiology course.

The use of a Classroom Response System (CRS) was evaluated in two sections, A and B, of a large lecture microbiology course. In Section B the instructor used the CRS technology at the beginning of the class period posing a question on content from the previous class. Students could earn extra credit if they answered the question correctly. In Section A, the class also began with an extra credit CRS question. However, CRS questions were integrated into the lecture during the entire class period. We compared the two classes to see if augmenting lectures with this technology increased student learning, confidence, attendance, and the instructor's ability to respond to student's misconceptions, over simply using the CRS as a quizzing tool. Student performance was compared using shared examination questions. The questions were categorized by how the content had been presented in class. All questions came from instructors' common lecture content, some without CRS use, and some questions where Instructor A used both lecture and CRS questions. Although Section A students scored significantly better on both types of examination questions, there was no demonstrable difference in learning based on CRS question participation. However, student survey data showed that students in Section A expressed higher confidence levels in their learning and knowledge and indicated that they interacted more with other students than did the students in Section B. In addition, Instructor A recorded more modifications to lecture content and recorded more student interaction in the course than did Instructor B.

Mosquito densonucleosis viruses cause dramatically different infection phenotypes in the C6/36 Aedes albopictus cell line.

Mosquito densoviruses generally establish persistent infections in mosquito cell lines including the C6/36 Aedes albopictus cell line. In contrast, the closely related Haemagogus equinus densovirus (HeDNV) causes dramatic cytopathic effects in the C6/36 Aedes albopictus cell line. Infection of C6/36 cells by HeDNV causes internucleosomal fragmentation of host chromosomal DNA, changes in cellular morphology (membrane budding, apoptotic bodies), caspase activation and exposure of phosphatidylserine on the cellular membrane. This is accompanied by a higher rate of infection and more vigorous production of virus in these cells. These observations are consistent with the induction of apoptosis during infection. In contrast, expression of AeDNV proteins in C6/36 cells does not cause obvious cytopathic effects although NS1 expression causes accumulation of cells in G2 phase. C6/36 cells persistently infected with AeDNV were not protected from superinfection with HeDNV. Thus, there does not seem to be an antiviral state induced by AeDNV persistent infection.

Production of mosquito densonucleosis viruses by Aedes albopictus C6/36 cells adapted to suspension culture in serum-free protein-free media.

Mosquito densonucleosis viruses (MDVs) have the potential for use as biocontrol agents. To facilitate densovirus production, the Aedes albopictus mosquito cell line C6/36 was adapted to two commercially available serum-free protein-free media (SFPFM), Sf-900 II and Drosophila-SFM. Cells adapted more slowly to growth in Sf-900 II medium, but once adapted, they grew more rapidly and appeared healthier than cells growing in Drosophila-SFM. Cells that were adapted to growth in each of these SFPFM were tested for their ability to be transfected and infected with MDVs. The Sf-900 II-adapted cell line survived transfection and showed infection rates comparable with cells growing in L15 supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. Cells adapted to Drosophila-SFM were less infectable and did not survive transfection. Cells adapted to each of these SFPFM were adapted to growth in spinner flasks. Cells in Sf-900 II grew substantially better in spinner flasks than cells in Drosophila-SFM media. Cells grown in Sf-900 II could be frozen and, when thawed, could support the production of densonucleosis viruses in spinner flasks.

Infection and pathogenicity of the mosquito densoviruses AeDNV, HeDNV, and APeDNV in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae).

These studies compared three genetically distinct mosquito densoviruses Aedes aegypti (AeDNV), Hemagogus equinus (HeDNV), and Aedes Peruvian (APeDNV) densoviruses in a laboratory investigation to begin to evaluate their potential as mosquito control agents. A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for quantification of viral genomes and a standardized mosquito infection protocol were developed. Mortality associated with exposure to AeDNV increased in a dose-dependent manner, with the maximum mortality of 75.1% occurring in those organisms exposed to the highest dose of virus. The majority of death occurred as larvae. Similar results were observed with AeDNV produced from ground larvae and AeDNV produced from cell culture. Exposure of mosquitoes to HeDNV and APeDNV resulted in lower mortality, with values peaking at 33.5% for HeDNV and 27.8% for APeDNV. AeDNV-exposed larvae develop at a slower rate than nonexposed and HeDNV- and APeDNV-exposed larvae. Decreased virulence does not reflect a decrease in virus replication. PCR analysis of infectivity rates and titers in adults revealed reproduction of all three viruses, with an average viral titer of approximately 10 logs/mosquito after exposure to the highest dose of each virus. Accumulation of virus in the larval-rearing water was also observed with values approaching 10-11 logs/ml for each virus. These data indicate that there are dramatic differences in the pathogenicity among mosquito densoviruses.