Due to the Covid‐19 pandemic, National Taiwan University anatomy teachers adopted asynchronous online video teaching and reduced the size of anatomy laboratory groups in April 2020. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of these changes on medical students’ learning. Before Covid‐19, the performance of the 2019–2020 cohort was significantly better than that of the 2018–2019 cohort. However, the implementation of modified teaching strategies significantly lowered the laboratory midterm score of the 2019–2020 cohort in the second semester. Conversely, the final laboratory examination score of the 2019–2020 cohort was significantly higher than that of the 2018–2019 cohort. Through correlation analysis, lecture and laboratory examination scores were highly correlated. Additionally, the difference in lecture and laboratory z‐scores between two cohorts, the Likert scale survey and free‐text feedback of the 2019–2020 cohort, were conducted to show the impact of modified teaching strategies. There were several important findings in this study. First, the change in teaching strategies may temporarily negatively influence medical students to learn anatomy. Besides, analyzing the performance of laboratory assessments could be a complementary strategy to evaluate online assessments. Applying lecture examination scores to predict laboratory performance was a feasible way to identify students who may have difficulty in learning practical dissection. Finally, reducing group size together with reduced peer discussion may have a negative effect on learning cadaver dissection for students with low academic performance. These findings should be taken into consideration when anatomy teachers apply new teaching strategies in anatomy courses.

α-Internexin is a member of the neuronal intermediate filament (nIF) protein family, which also includes peripherin and neurofilament (NF) triplet proteins. Previous studies found that expression of α-internexin precedes that of the NF triplet proteins in mammals and suggested that α-internexin plays a key role in the neuronal cytoskeleton network during development. In this study, we aimed to analyze the expression patterns and function of internexin neuronal intermediate filament protein-alpha a (inaa), the encoding gene of which is a homolog of the mammalian α-internexin, during retinal development in zebrafish. Via in vitro and in vivo studies, we demonstrated that zebrafish inaa is an α-internexin homolog that shares characteristics with nIFs. An immunohistochemical analysis of zebrafish revealed that inaa was distributed dynamically in the developing retina. It was widely localized in retinal neuroepithelial cells at 1 day postfertilization (dpf), and was mainly found in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) and inner part of the inner nuclear layer (INL) from 3-9 dpf; after 14 dpf, it was restricted to the outer nuclear layer (ONL). Moreover, we demonstrated for the first time that inaa acted distinctively from the cytoskeletal scaffold of zebrafish cone photoreceptors during development. In conclusion, we demonstrated the morphological features of a novel nIF, inaa, and illustrated its developmental expression pattern in the zebrafish retina. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:3810-3826, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

BackgroundIt has been reported that some pinealocytes have similar functions to retina photoreceptors in many non-mammalian vertebrates. Two types of pinealocytes, rudimentary-receptor pinealocytes and secretory pinealocytes, have been identified in the pineal gland of juvenile gull, but whether they exist in the chicken pineal gland was unknown. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate chicken α-internexin (chkINA) expression patterns in photoreceptor-like cells of the developing chicken pineal gland. Method In this study, we observed distribution patterns of chkINA in pineal gland at post-hatching day (P) 1, P7, P14, P21, P35, and at young adulthood chicks by using Immunocytologic analysis, and Western blot analysis. The ultrastructure changes were also observed by electron microscope. ResultsWestern blot and immunohistochemistry showed that chkINA expression was high in early developmental stages, but decreased across development. Visinin-immunoreactive cells were also detected during early development, reaching their greatest expression at post-hatching day 7, then gradually reducing over development. Further, confocal imaging revealed that chkINA and visinin were colocalized in photoreceptor-like cells of the chicken pineal gland. Ultrastructural observations revealed rudimentary-receptor pinealocyte morphology with cytoskeletal intermediate filaments in the embryonic chicken pineal gland. Therefore, we suggest that the existence of rudimentary-receptor pinealocytes might be highly relevant for photoreceptor-like cells. Conclusions We conclude that chkINA may be a useful photoreceptor-like cell marker for studying the chicken pineal gland. In particular, it could be a major cytoskeletal intermediate filament in rudimentary-receptor pinealocytes, which are homologous to photoreceptor cells in the chicken pineal gland. From an evolutionary viewpoint, we suggest that chkINA may be located not only in photoreceptor-like cells, but also in rudimentary-receptor pinealocytes.

It has been reported that the neuronal intermediate filament (IF) α‐internexin may plays a role in the formation of the neuronal cytoskeleton during mammalian development. From a phylogenetic viewpoint, zebrafish express inaa and inab as homologs of mammalian α‐internexin. However, the distribution patterns of the inaa and inab proteins throughout zebrafish development have not been well‐characterized. We generated antibodies specific for zebrafish inaa and inab and analyzed the distribution of these two proteins in developing zebrafish. Inaa was identified in the major subdivisions of embryonic and larval brains as early as 1 day postfertilization (dpf), including the telencephalon, optic tectum, and cerebellum, and inab was also detected in the same regions from 3 dpf to the adult stage. Moreover, we demonstrated for the first time that inaa was distinctively expressed in the photoreceptor‐like cells of the pineal gland, where inab was sparsely detected. Besides, the expression of inaa in male adult fish was found to be stable under different photoperiod conditions. Thus, we suggest that inaa is one of useful markers for studies of zebrafish cone photoreceptors not only in the retina but also in the pineal gland. In conclusion, we report that the distribution patterns of inaa and inab are phylogenetically conserved in the telencephalon, optic tectum, and cerebellum. Moreover, inaa and inab had different expression patterns in the pineal gland and retina during zebrafish development. Both inaa and inab are neuronal IFs and their functional roles may be different in various aspects of zebrafish neuronal development.

Background Registered nurses are required for high-quality healthcare. Thus, the anatomy course is essential regarding professional knowledge of the human body during the nursing training process. However, previous studies have indicated that anatomy teaching time and anatomy teachers were reduced and insufficient. Therefore, to improve the learning of practical anatomy in response to these difficulties, a bilingual National Taiwan University web-based anatomy atlas (NTU-WAA) was created as a cross-platform application and its feasibility was evaluated. Methods The comparison of anatomy examination scores between nursing students of two cohorts (66 from the 2018–2019 cohort, whom was without NTU-WAA application; 54 from the 2019–2020 cohort, to whom NTU-WAA was offered) and the evaluation of questionnaires collected from nursing students of the 2019–2020 cohort and 4 anatomy teachers were carried out to define the feasibility of this strategy. Results Results obtained by nursing students for the 2019–2020 cohort showed a significant increase in anatomy learning performance compared with that of the 2018–2019 cohort with reference to the laboratory midterm [2018–2019 cohort vs. 2019–2020 cohort, mean (standard deviation, SD): 77.20 (16.14) vs. 81.80 (12.03); p = 0.043], the laboratory final examination [59.68 (15.28) vs. 80.35 (13.74); p < 0.001] and the theory final examination [80.85 (10.10) vs. 84.33 (6.925); p = 0.017]. Moreover, results of the questionnaires indicated that the new bilingual cross-platform atlas was highly accepted by students and teachers. Conclusions The NTU-WAA, a bilingual web-based atlas, was evaluated as a beneficial anatomy-learning tool that may enhance self-study of nursing students with consequent amelioration of their anatomy-related performance in both theoretical and laboratory examinations. This reflection suggests the future implementation of the bilingual web-based atlas on a large scale.