Cationic arginine-rich and poly-arginine peptides (referred to as CARPs) have potent neuroprotective properties in in vitro excitotoxicity and in vivo models of stroke. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) shares many pathophysiological processes as stroke, including excitotoxicity. Therefore, we evaluated our lead peptide, poly-arginine R18, with the COG1410 and APP96-110 peptides, which have neuroprotective actions following TBI. In an in vitro cortical neuronal glutamic acid excitotoxicity injury model, R18 was highly neuroprotective and reduced neuronal calcium influx, while COG1410 and APP96-110 displayed modest neuroprotection and were less effective at reducing calcium influx. In an impact-acceleration closed-head injury model (Marmarou model), R18, COG1410, and APP96-110 were administered intravenously (300 nmol/kg) at 30 minutes after injury in male Sprague-Dawley rats. When compared to vehicle, no peptide significantly improved functional outcomes, however the R18 and COG1410 treatment groups displayed positive trends in the adhesive tape test and rotarod assessments. Similarly, no peptide had a significant effect on hippocampal neuronal loss, however a significant reduction in axonal injury was observed for R18 and COG1410. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that R18 is significantly more effective than COG1410 and APP96-110 at reducing neuronal injury and calcium influx following excitotoxicity, and that both R18 and COG1410 reduce axonal injury following TBI. Additional dose response and treatment time course studies are required to further assess the efficacy of R18 in TBI.

Anatomy and physiology teaching has undergone significant changes to keep up with advances in technology and to cater for a wide array of student specific learning approaches. This paper examines perceptions towards a variety of teaching instruments, techniques, and innovations used in the delivery and teaching of anatomy and physiology for health science students, and asks whether active learning through more progressive methods of teaching is beneficial for students across health science disciplines. In total, 138 health science students consisting of 32 biomedical science students, 52 exercise and sports science students, and 54 health and physical education students completed the retrospective study. Biomedical science students were least receptive to progressive teaching modalities, preferring anatomical dissections to laboratory workbooks (p <0.05) and body painting (p <0.05). In comparison, students from health and sport related degrees responded significantly better to anatomical models and laboratory workbooks than anatomical dissections (p <0.001). While gender differences were subtle, males responded positively to online multiple-choice question resources (p < 0.05) in comparison to females. Following a multimodal delivery of anatomy and physiology, students from all cohorts reported feeling significantly more confident (p < 0.005) when discussing all material in the course. The results obtained demonstrate differences amongst cohorts, which indicate that student perceptions to learning anatomy and physiology are dependent on individual course expectations. Moreover, these results support "hands on" practical teaching, and the use of a variety of teaching tools to foster learning and enjoyment of anatomy and physiology in health sciences.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be a devastating and debilitating disease to endure. Due to improvements in clinical practice, declining mortality rates have led to research into the long-term consequences of TBI. For example, the incidence and severity of TBI have been associated with an increased suscepti-