The K-INBRE symposium: a 10-institution collaboration to improve undergraduate education.

The Kansas-IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE) is an infrastructure-building program funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Undergraduate education, through undergraduate research, is a key component of the program. The K-INBRE network includes 10 higher education institutions in Kansas and northern Oklahoma, with over 1,000 student participants in 16 yr. Since 2003, the K-INBRE has held an annual state-wide research symposium that includes national and regional speakers and provides a forum for undergraduates to give platform and poster presentations. The symposium is well attended by K-INBRE participants and has grown to a size of over 300 participants per year from all 10 K-INBRE schools. Two surveys were distributed to students and mentors to assess the impact of the symposium on student learning. Surveys (153) were distributed to students who participated in K-INBRE from 2013 through 2015 with a 51% response rate. Mentors were surveyed with a response of 111 surveys out of 161. Survey results indicate that students and mentors alike find the symposium to be beneficial and enriching of the student experience. Almost 80% of student respondents indicated that their participation in the symposium fostered appreciation of research. In short, the K-INBRE symposium provides a unique opportunity for students to gain experience in collecting, preparing, and communicating research in a professional environment. The collaborative experience of the annual K-INBRE symposium, the impact it has on student learning, and how it has influenced the research culture at our 10 institutions will be described.

Diagnostic imaging of cerebrovascular injury.

Each year, more than 1.4 million people suffer traumatic brain injury and about 700 000 strokes occur. Consequently, imaging for cerebrovascular injury is an important part of the imaging specialist's job. Computed tomography is accepted widely as the gold standard for imaging intracerebral hemorrhage; however, magnetic resonance imaging can be useful in defining the extent of injury and long-term evaluation of blood flow, water movement and chemical abnormalities that are useful in developing long-term treatment planning. In addition, this Directed Reading uses images of gross specimens to illustrate cerebrovascular injury. This article is a Directed Reading. Your access to Directed Reading quizzes for continuing education credit is determined by your area of interest. For access to other quizzes, go to www.asrt.org/store.

The magic-angle effect of the supraspinatus tendon.

CONTEXT: Rotator cuff injuries are common and result in either a tear or tendinopathy within the distal portion of the supraspinatus tendon. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging shows the injury as a high signal region within the distal tendon. Similarly, a magic-angle effect also appears within healthy patients in this same region on T1- or proton density (PD)-weighted MR sequences. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of the magic-angle effect found with MR imaging within the supraspinatus tendon. METHODS: In this study, 300 consecutive patients were selected from those symptomatic patients referred for MR evaluation of the shoulder using a 1.5T unit and both PD and T2-weighted sequences. To eliminate patients with a real injury, the written reports were reviewed; those with positive findings for injury to the supraspinatus tendon were eliminated from the sample group, leaving 164 patients. Two radiographers independently examined the oblique coronal images nearest the center of the supraspinatus tendon and compared the signal on PD and T2-weighted images. Images found to have a higher signal with the PD sequence were classified as having the magic-angle effect since a real injury would be more likely to have a strong signal on T2-weighted images. RESULTS: Of the 164 patients evaluated, both reviewers found the same 8 patients to have the magic-angle effect. SUMMARY: Based on these results, our study suggests the artifact will appear in 5% of healthy patients and may lead to false-positive results on oblique coronal PD-weighted images through the supraspinatus tendon. In comparison with previous studies that have shown a much greater incidence rate, our findings also suggest that external rotation of the arm greatly reduces the incidence of the magic-angle effect.