Australian and New Zealand universities commenced a new academic year in February/March 2020 largely with “business as usual.” The subsequent Covid‐19 pandemic imposed unexpected disruptions to anatomical educational practice. Rapid change occurred due to government‐imposed physical distancing regulations from March 2020 that increasingly restricted anatomy laboratory teaching practices. Anatomy educators in both these countries were mobilized to adjust their teaching approaches. This study on anatomy education disruption at pandemic onset within Australia and New Zealand adopts a social constructivist lens. The research question was “What are the perceived disruptions and changes made to anatomy education in Australia and New Zealand during the initial period of the Covid‐19 pandemic, as reflected on by anatomy educators?.” Thematic analysis to elucidate “the what and why” of anatomy education was applied to these reflections. About 18 anatomy academics from ten institutions participated in this exercise. The analysis revealed loss of integrated “hands‐on” experiences, and impacts on workload, traditional roles, students, pedagogy, and anatomists' personal educational philosophies. The key opportunities recognized for anatomy education included: enabling synchronous teaching across remote sites, expanding offerings into the remote learning space, and embracing new pedagogies. In managing anatomy education's transition in response to the pandemic, six critical elements were identified: community care, clear communications, clarified expectations, constructive alignment, community of practice, ability to compromise, and adapt and continuity planning. There is no doubt that anatomy education has stepped into a yet unknown future in the island countries of Australia and New Zealand.

This review provides evidence in support of the use of alternatives to traditional teaching methods in anatomy, in particular, the use of CAI/CAL with a number of high quality, low risk of bias studies supporting this.

Muscle and yeast actins display distinct behavioral characteristics. To better understand the allosteric interactions that regulate actin function, we created a muscle/yeast hybrid actin containing a muscle-specific outer domain (subdomains 1 and 2) and a yeast inner domain (subdomains 3 and 4). Actin with muscle subdomain 1 and the two yeast N-terminal negative charges supported viability. The four negative charge muscle N terminus in a muscle subdomain 1 background caused death, but in the same background actin with three N-terminal acidic residues (3Ac/Sub1) led to sick but viable cells. Addition of three muscle subdomain 2 residues (3Ac/Sub12) produced no further deleterious effects. These hybrid actins caused depolarized cytoskeletons, abnormal vacuoles, and mitochondrial and endocytosis defects. 3Ac/Sub1 G-actin exchanged bound ⑀ATP more slowly than wild type actin, and the exchange rate for 3Ac/Sub12 was even slower, similar to that for muscle actin. The mutant actins polymerized faster and produced less stable and shorter filaments than yeast actin, the opposite of that expected for muscle actin. Unlike wild type actin, in the absence of unbound ATP, polymerization led to ADP-F-actin, which rapidly depolymerized. Like yeast actin, the hybrid actins activated muscle myosin S1 ATPase activity only about one-eighth as well as muscle actin, despite having essentially a muscle actin-specific myosinbinding site. Finally, the hybrid actins behaved abnormally in a yeast Arp2/3-dependent polymerization assay. Our results demonstrate a unique sensitivity of yeast to actin N-terminal negative charge density. They also provide insight into the role of each domain in the control of the various functions of actin.The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has one essential actin gene (1, 2), ACT1, that encodes a protein 87% homologous to skeletal muscle actin. This system has been used widely in the study of actin structure and function because of the ease with which site-specific mutations can be introduced and mutant proteins purified. Because of the high degree of homology between these actins and the ability to genetically manipulate yeast, we and others have used yeast actin to investigate the role of many amino acid residues in various actin functions such as filament formation, nucleotide binding and exchange, and interactions with various actin-binding proteins. There are, however, limitations to this model based on some striking differences in their behavior. Yeast actin polymerizes faster (3, 4), has a faster nucleotide exchange rate (5, 6), a faster P i release rate (7,8), and it activates myosin S1 ATPase activity only onetenth as well as muscle actin (9).Muscle actin is incompatible with yeast viability, 3 even though yeast and muscle actins differ by only 50 of 375 residues, and most of these differences involve similar replacements (1). These differences may be in binding regions for species-specific actin-binding proteins. Alternatively, they may affect overall filament conformation and dynamics resulting in l...

Anatomical education is becoming modernized, not only in its teaching and learning, but also in its assessment formats. Traditional "steeplechase" examinations are being replaced with online gross anatomy examinations. The aims of this study were to: (1) determine if online anatomy practical examinations are equivalent to traditional anatomy practical examinations; and (2) to examine if students' perceptions of the online or laboratory testing environments influenced their performance on the examinations. In phase one, 10 third-year students were interviewed to generate perception items to which five anatomy lecturers assigned content validity. In phase two, students' gross anatomical knowledge was assessed by examinations in two modes and their perceptions were examined using the devised survey instrument. Forty-five second-year chiropractic students voluntarily participated in Phase Two. The two randomly allocated groups completed the examinations in a sequential cross-over manner. Student performance on the gross anatomy examination was not different between traditional "steeplechase" (mean ± standard deviation (SD): 69 ± 11%) and online (68 ± 15%) modes. The majority of students (87%) agreed that they felt comfortable using computers for gross anatomy examinations. However, fewer students found it easy to orientate images of cadaver specimens online. The majority of students (85%) agreed that they felt comfortable working with cadavers but there was less agreement on the effect of moving around the laboratory during practical examinations. This data will allow anatomists to confidently implement online assessments without fear of jeopardizing academic rigor or student performance.

BackgroundIntroduction of GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) assay has constituted a major breakthrough for tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics. Several patient factors may influence diagnostic performance of Xpert including sputum quality.ObjectiveWe carried out a prospective, observational, cross-sectional study to determine the effect of sputum quality on diagnostic performance of Xpert among presumed TB patients in Uganda.MethodsWe collected clinical and demographic information and two sputum samples from participants. Staff recorded sputum quality and performed LED fluorescence microscopy and mycobacterial culture on each sample. If both smear examinations were negative, Xpert testing was performed. We calculated diagnostic yield, sensitivity, specificity, and other indicators for Xpert for each stratum of sputum quality in reference to a standard of mycobacterial culture.ResultsPatients with salivary sputum showed a trend towards a substantially higher proportion of samples that were Xpert-positive (54/286, 19%, 95% CI 15–24) compared with those with all other sputum sample types (221/1496, 15%, 95% CI 13–17). Blood-stained sputum produced the lowest sensitivity (28%; 95% CI 12–49) and salivary sputum the highest (66%; 95% CI 53–77). Specificity didn’t vary meaningfully by sample types. Salivary sputum was significantly more sensitive than mucoid sputum (+13%, 95% CI +1 to +26), while blood-stained sputum was significantly less sensitive (-24%, 95% CI -42 to -5).ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate the need to exercise caution in collecting sputum for Xpert and in interpreting results because sputum quality may impact test yield and sensitivity. In particular, it may be wise to pursue additional testing should blood-stained sputum test negative while salivary sputum should be readily accepted for Xpert testing given its higher sensitivity and potentially higher yield than other sample types. These findings challenge conventional recommendations against collecting salivary sputum for TB diagnosis and could inform new standards for sputum quality.

The substrate profiles for two proteins from Caulobacter crescentus CB15 (Cc2672 and Cc3125) and one protein (Sgx9359b) derived from a DNA sequence (gi| 44368820) isolated from the Sargasso Sea were determined using combinatorial libraries of dipeptides and N-acyl derivatives of amino acids. These proteins are members of the amidohydrolase superfamily and are currently misannotated in NCBI as catalyzing the hydrolysis of L-Xaa-L-Pro dipeptides. Cc2672 was shown to catalyze the hydrolysis of L-Xaa-L-Arg/Lys dipeptides and the N-acetyl and N-formyl derivatives of lysine and arginine. This enzyme will also hydrolyze longer peptides that terminate in either lysine or arginine. The N-methyl phosphonate derivative of L-lysine was a potent competitive inhibitor of Cc2672 with a K i value of 120 nM. Cc3125 was shown to catalyze the hydrolysis of L-Xaa-L-Arg/Lys dipeptides but will not hydrolyze tripeptides or the N-formyl and N-acetyl derivatives of lysine or arginine. The substrate profile for Sgx9359b is similar to that of Cc2672 except that compounds with a C-terminal lysine are not recognized as substrates. The x-ray structure of Sgx9359b was determined to a resolution of 2.3 Å. The protein folds as a (β/α) 8 -barrel and self associates to form a homo-octamer. The active site is composed of a binuclear metal center similar to that found in phosphotriesterase and dihydroorotase. In one crystal form, arginine was bound adventitiously to the eight active sites within the octamer. The orientation of the arginine in the active site identified the structural determinants for recognition of the α-carboxylate and the positively charged side chains of arginine containing substrates. This information was used to identify 18 other bacterial sequences that possess identical or similar substrate profiles.In 2008 there were nearly 800 completely sequenced bacterial genomes reported in the NCBI website. A critical assessment of the annotations for the more than 4 million genes contained within these organisms indicates that a significant fraction of the derived enzymes and proteins have an uncertain, incorrect, or ambiguous catalytic function. This observation suggests that substantial parts of the metabolic landscape remain to be identified and that the rules for deciphering catalytic activity from protein sequences and three dimensional structures are quite challenging. Our approach to a limited portion of this difficult problem has been to combine three-dimensional structure determination, computational docking, high throughput screening, and genomic context toward the assignment of function to members of the amidohydrolase superfamily (1-3). † This work was supported in part by the NIH (GM071790 and GM074945). The X-ray coordinates and structure factors for Sgx9359b have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB accession codes: 3BE7 and 3DUG).

It has been demonstrated that a positive correlation exists between clinical knowledge and retained concepts in basic sciences. Studies have demonstrated a modest attrition of anatomy knowledge over time, which may be influenced by students' perceived importance of the basic sciences and the learning styles adopted. The aims of this study were to: (1) conduct a cross-sectional evaluation of the retention of anatomical knowledge in preclinical (second-year) and clinical (fifth-year) chiropractic students at Murdoch University; and (2) examine students' perceptions of factors that may influence their anatomy knowledge retention. Second- and fifth-year chiropractic students at Murdoch University were invited to participate in the study. Ninety-one students voluntarily participated. The Carpal Bone Test, previously utilized to determine the retention of anatomical knowledge, was utilized to determine the extent to which participants retained gross anatomy knowledge. Participants also completed a questionnaire specifically designed to identify the factors that may have influenced their retention of gross anatomy knowledge. A two-sided Pearson chi-square test of association was used to ascertain statistically significant differences in carpal bone retention and students' responses between the two cohorts. Seventy percent of the fifth-year (clinical) chiropractic students correctly identified all eight carpal bones compared to only six percent of second-year chiropractic students. The majority of participants in both cohorts believed that gross anatomy knowledge is of clinical importance. The use of mnemonics and the clinical application of anatomy knowledge were identified as factors that significantly influenced participants' gross anatomy knowledge retention within this study.

TNF-like 1A (TL1A) is a newly described member of the TNF superfamily that is directly implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. We report the crystal structure of the human TL1A extracellular domain at a resolution of 2.5 Å, which reveals a jelly-roll fold typical of the TNF superfamily. This structural information, in combination with complementary mutagenesis and biochemical characterization, provides insights into the binding interface and the specificity of the interactions between TL1A and the DcR3 and DR3 receptors. These studies suggest that the mode of interaction between TL1A and DcR3 differs from other characterized TNF ligand/receptor complexes. In addition, we have generated functional TL1A mutants with altered disulfide bonding capability that exhibit enhanced solution properties, which will facilitate the production of materials for future cell-based and whole animal studies. In summary, these studies provide insights into the structure and function of TL1A and provide the basis for the rational manipulation of its interactions with cognate receptors. KeywordsTL1A; DcR3; TNF superfamily; Cytokine; Crystal structure TNF-like 1A (TL1A), also known as vascular endothelial growth inhibitor (VEGI), is a newly described member of the TNF superfamily involved in a wide range of human pathologies, including autoimmunity and tumor progression (1). The functional receptor of TL1A is death receptor 3 (DR3), a TNF receptor family member that contains a cytoplasmic death domain. TL1A is expressed by endothelial and dendritic cells, and expression in human umbilical vein † This work was supported by NIH grants AI07289 (to S.G.N. and S.C.A.), the Albert Einstein Cancer Center (P30CA13330) and the Albert Einstein Macromolecular Therapeutics Development Facility. ¶ The structure of the wild type TL1A protein and two mutant proteins, C95S and C95S/C135S, have been deposited to the PDB as entries 2QE3, 2RJK and 2RJL, respectively. *To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: (718) 430-2746. Fax: (718) . E-mail: almo@aecom.yu.edu. Supporting Information Available Protocols for DcR3 expression and purification, and structural comparison. Illustrations for structural superimposition of TL1A with conventional TNF ligands, highly conserved residues in TL1A and TNF receptor sequence alignment. Kinetics analysis of the interaction between immobilized DcR3-Ig fusion protein and TL1A mutants. Thermal stability of TL1A mutants. This information is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptBiochemistry. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 August 18. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript endothelial cells (HUVEC) is significantly enhanced by treatments with TNF-α or IL-1, but reduced by . DR3 is predominantly expressed by activated T-cells and to a lesser extent by endothelial cells (2,3). Engagement of DR3 by TL1A express...