Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Persistence Of Blue Ash In The Aftermath Of Emerald Ash Borer May Be Due To Adult Oviposition Preferences And Reduced Larval Performance, Don Cipollini, Emily Morton

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

1. We examined the health of mature blue ash, Fraxinus quadrangulata, in two forests in southwestern Ohio in relation to that of mature white ash, F. americana, and examined the potential importance of oviposition preferences and larval resistance in the persistence of blue ash.
2. Both blue ash and white ash were largely unaffected by emerald ash borer in 2012. By 2018, nearly 90% of the blue ash trees observed in these forests had full or nearly full canopies, as opposed to less than 20% of the white ash encountered in our studies. In 2021, blue ash maintained a …

Homeostatic Synaptic Plasticity Of Miniature Excitatory Postsynaptic Currents In Mouse Cortical Cultures Requires Neuronal Rab3a, Andrew G. Koesters, Mark M. Rich, Kathrin L. Engisch

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Following prolonged activity blockade, amplitudes of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) increase, a form of homeostatic plasticity termed “synaptic scaling.” We previously showed that a presynaptic protein, the small GTPase Rab3A, is required for full expression of the increase in miniature endplate current amplitudes following prolonged blockade of action potential activity at the mouse neuromuscular junction in vivo (Wang et al., 2011), but it is unknown whether this form of Rab3A-dependent homeostatic plasticity shares any characteristics with central synapses. We show here that synaptic scaling of mEPSCs is impaired in mouse cortical neuron cultures prepared from Rab3A-/- and Rab3A Earlybird …

Radiographic Measurements Correlate To Isolated Posterolateral Corner (Plc) Injury In A Novel Cadaveric Model, Joseph D. Henningsen, Scott Huff, Andrew Reichard, Andrew W. Froehle, Anil Krishnamurthy

Kinesiology and Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: Injury to the posterolateral corner (PLC) of the knee often requires surgical reconstruction. There remains no consensus on treatment for PLC injury, and, therefore, it is imperative to have a reproducible injury model to improve the general knowledge of PLC injuries. A novel cadaveric model of isolated PLC injury is proposed and evaluated using radiographic parameters as well as gross dissection.

Material and methods: All protocols were reviewed by the Human Investigation and Research Committee of the home institution and were approved. Translational force in a defined posterior and lateral direction was applied to cadaveric native knees to induce …

Novel Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Pathway Reduces Length Of Stay And Postoperative Opioid Usage In Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Patients Undergoing Posterior Spinal Fusion, Kristen Spisak, Matthew Thomas, Zachary J. Sirois, Alvin Jones, Lucinda M. Brown, Andrew W. Froehle, Michael Albert

Kinesiology and Health Faculty Publications

Purpose: The goal of this study was to compare our institution’s recently implemented enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol to previous post-operative management for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion, specifically assessing length of stay, opioid consumption, and pain scores.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis that compares the length of stay, opioid consumption, and pain scores of patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Patients were analyzed prior to the implementation of our ERAS protocol, deemed the traditional pain pathway (TPP), to those who underwent the ERAS pathway. All patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion for …

Gabaergic Synaptic Scaling Is Triggered By Changes In Spiking Activity Rather Than Transmitter Receptor Activation, Carlos Gonzalez-Islas, Zahraa Sabra, Ming-Fai Fong, Pernille Bülow, Nicholas Au Yong, Kathrin Engisch, Peter Wenner

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Homeostatic plasticity represents a set of mechanisms that are thought to recover some aspect of neural function. One such mechanism called AMPAergic scaling was thought to be a likely candidate to homeostatically control spiking activity. However, recent findings have forced us to reconsider this idea as several studies suggest AMPAergic scaling is not directly triggered by changes in spiking. Moreover, studies examining homeostatic perturbations in vivo have suggested that GABAergic synapses may be more critical in terms of spiking homeostasis. Here we show results that GABAergic scaling can act to homeostatically control spiking levels. We find that increased or decreased …

Effects Of Pubertal Growth Variation On Knee Mechanics During Walking In Female And Male Adolescents, Andrew W. Froehle, Brian A. Edwards, Matthew Peterson, Brian Meyerson, Dana Duren

Kinesiology and Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: Puberty substantially alters the body's mechanical properties, neuromuscular control, and sex differences therein, likely contributing to increased, sex-biased knee injury risk during adolescence. Female adolescents have higher risk for knee injuries than male adolescents of similar age engaging in similar physical activities, and much research has investigated sex differences in mechanical risk factors. However, few studies address the considerable variation in pubertal growth (timing, pace), knee mechanics, and injury susceptibility within sexes, or the impact of such growth variation on mechanical injury risk.

Objectives: The present study tested for effects of variation in pubertal growth on established mechanical …

Linking Science And Literacy Through Multimodal Text Sets: Student Perspectives, Heba Abdelnaby, William L. Romine, Delinda Van Garderen, Tracey Milarsky, Ankita Agarwal, Qingli Lei, Cassandra Smith, Amy Lannin, William Folk, Rachel Juergensen

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We present findings of a mixed methods study examining the perceptions of students’ (with and without disabilities) understanding and engagement with multimodal STEM text sets. Exit slip and survey data were used to identify areas for improvement in the development of the multimodal STEM text sets for middle school students. Data were collected from 434 middle school students, 86 of whom had a disability, from six teachers’ classrooms in Spring 2021. Significant differences in perceptions of understanding of argumentation were reported between students with and without disabilities. However, ratings of the lessons and the quality of learning, as well as …

The Impact Of Study Strategies On Knowledge Growth And Summative Exam Performance In The First Year Of Medical School, Markia Black, William L. Romine, Molly Simonis, Jeffrey L. Peters, Volker Bahn, Amber Todd

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Although the distinction between deep and surface processing strategies, their potential to differentially impact learning, and data supporting the superiority of deep processing strategies on summative exam scores are well supported by the literature, more work is needed to understand: (1) how medical students combine study strategies into learning practices, and (2) the effectiveness of these learning practices in facilitating knowledge gains as measured by standardized test scores.

Measuring Claim-Evidence-Reasoning Using Scenario-Based Assessments Grounded In Real-World Issues, William L. Romine, Amy Lannin, Ankita Agarwal, Maha Kareem, Emily Burwell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Improving students’ use of argumentation is front and center in the increasing emphasis on scientific practice in K-12 Science and STEM programs. We explore the construct validity of scenario-based assessments of claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) and the structure of the CER construct with respect to a learning progression framework. We also seek to understand how middle school students progress. Establishing the purpose of an argument is a competency that a majority of middle school students meet, whereas quantitative reasoning is the most difficult, and the Rasch model indicates that the competencies form a unidimensional hierarchy of skills. We also find no evidence …