Fast and Reproducible 96-Well Plate-Based Method for the Evaluation of the Antigerminative Potential of Plant Extracts and Phytotoxic Compounds.

With the aim of evaluating the antigerminative activity of plant extracts, a miniaturized assay using 96-well plates (WP assay) was developed and compared to the long-established assay using Petri dishes (PD assay). The WP assay yielded results comparable to those of the PD assay using an ethanolic extract of the Himalayan balsam and lawsone as a standard. It also allowed the needed volume of the test solution to be cut by half and the number of required cress seeds to be cut by more than 1.5. The WP assay was then successfully applied to various extracts of Himalayan balsam, molecules (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), glyphosate, and 2-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (2-MNQ)) and target seeds (radish, lettuce, and wheat). By being adapted to a 96-well plate format, the antigerminative WP assay is a promising alternative to the PD assay. Besides, its convenience and low resource consumption make it ready for accelerated and high-throughput screening, as well as automation.

Do conventional and innovative medical schools recruit different students?

A mail questionnaire was used to survey the social and demographic characteristics, educational background, attitudinal profiles and expected career choice of 243 first-year students enrolled in three US medical schools. The aim was to determine whether different types of schools selected different types of students. Two schools were considered as conventional whereas one school was considered as innovative both in its admission policies and in its curriculum which emphasizes a biopsychosocial approach to health care. The survey achieved an 84% response rate. The results showed no difference in students' career expectations. Students recruited in the innovative school, however, differed from students recruited in the conventional schools with regard to their social and demographic characteristics, educational background and attitudinal profiles. This study suggests that as some medical schools are innovating in their curriculum and admission policies, new types of medical students are entering medicine. Implications of these results are discussed.