Bhinyo Panijpan

Enhancing nursing students’ skills in vital signs assessment by using multimedia computer-assisted learning with integrated content of anatomy and physiology

Due to constraints of increasing number of nursing students and a disproportionate shortfall of faculty members in nursing schools, it was necessary to supplement traditional lecture or lecture-demonstration with on-line multimedia materials and/or multimedia compact discs for enhancing learning. The authors have developed a computer-assisted learning (CAL) multimedia on vital signs with animation and audio features for teaching in the classroom based on the 5Es inquiry cycle. When the CAL was tried on second-year undergraduates in two comparable schools, all groups of students gained significantly higher performance skills regardless of whether the groups were subjected to CAL/lecture or CAL/lecture/demonstration. However, they did not gain in factual knowledge.

Binding of antimalarial drugs to hemozoin from Plasmodium berghei.

Chloroquine, quinacrine and mefloquine bind toPlasmodium berghei hemozoin, hemin, heme, protoporphyrin IX and protease digested methemoglobin. This binding may be the basis for drug accumulation and action in the parasite.

Molecular and morphological evidence supports the species status of the Mahachai fighter Betta sp. Mahachai and reveals new species of Betta from Thailand

Two regions of mitochondrial (mt) DNA, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and 16S rRNA, were sequenced in nine species of Betta from Thailand and Indonesia. Most species showed little intraspecific COI variation (adjusted mean = 0.48%) including the putative species Betta sp. Mahachai, but one species (Betta smaragdina) included three lineages showing much greater divergence (7.03-13.48%) that probably represent overlooked species. These findings were confirmed by maximum likelihood analysis and Bayesian inference, which revealed well-supported corresponding monophyletic clades. Based on these results and morphological differences, the putative species Betta sp. Mahachai from central Thailand is a species distinct from other members of the B. splendens group and represents a new and hitherto undescribed species. Furthermore, this study also demonstrated the probable existence of two overlooked Betta species found in the Khorat plateau basin, illustrating the utility of mitochondrial genetic markers in the revelation of overlooked diversity.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) in mouse red blood cells infected with Plasmodium berghei.

Four zones were consistently seen after centrifugation. Each zone was removed separately with a pasteur pipet and washed 3 times with KGS by centrifugation (800 g for 10 min). Blood films from each zone were made on coverslips and stained with Leishmans stain. Reported here is a summary of three experiments (Table I). Zone 1 (top) consisted of cellular debris, hemozoin, and degenerate free parasites. Most noteworthy were zones 2 and 3. The greatest concentration of late developmental stages virtually free of uninfected erythrocytes were observed in zone 2. Zone 3 had a somewhat lower parasitemia but a very high percentage of trophozoites and schizonts. The majority of the ring forms were found in zone 4 along with a large number of trophozoites. The trophozoites and schizonts isolated from zones 2 and 3 have been used for immunological and biochemical studies. Parasites from all zones, except zone 1, were put back into culture where the growth and multiplication of the parasites was observed to be normal. Zone 4 was routinely placed back into culture and processed after 24 to 30 hr of incubation to yield an additional harvest of trophozoites and schizonts. Percoll has many advantages over other density gradient media. Its easy handling and exceptional properties make it useful for the concentration and isolation of large numbers of P. falciparum trophozoites and schizonts. The versatility of Percoll should allow for further modifications of this procedure to yield a single zone of trophozoites or schizonts.

Alterations in membrane proteins of mouse erythrocytes infected with different species and strains of malaria parasites.

1. The membrane fraction, prepared by hypotonic lysis, of mouse red cells infected with Plasmodium berghei, P. yoelii YM, P. yoelii 17 X, P. yoelii 33 X, P. vinckei or P. chabaudi shows significant alterations from normal in protein composition as observed by dodecylsulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 2. There is a reduction in intensity of various protein bands, notably bands I and II (spectrin), of membranes prepared from infected red cells. 3. New bands are observed as a result of infection, the intensity and location of which depend on the parasite species and strain. A new band of apparent molecular weight 150,000 appears with a strong intensity in P. yoelii YM infection, with a moderate intensity in P. berghei infection, and with a weak intensity in P. vinckei and P. chabaudi infection. In P. yoelii 17X and 33X infection, multiple weak bands are seen in the molecular weight range 120,000-210,000.

Molecular complexes of quinoline antimalarials with iron-porphyrin components of protease-digested methemoglobin

Chloroquine, quinine, mefloquine and quinacrine have been found by difference spectroscopy to interact with hemozoin from Plasmodium berghei, trypsin and pronase-digested methemoglobin, hemin, heme, protoporphyrin IX and hematoporphyrin. These drugs also compete with one another in their binding to hemin. It is proposed that the iron-porphyrin moiety of digested hemoglobin is a common binding site for the accumulation of the schizontocidal drugs in the autophagosomes of the malarial parasite.

Conjugation in Escherichia coli

Bacterial conjugation is a genetic transfer that involves cell‐to‐cell between donor and recipient cells. With the current method used to teach students in genetic courses at the undergraduate level, the transconjugants are identified using bacterial physiology and/or antibiotic resistance. Using physiology, however, is difficult for both first‐year undergraduates and special science students at the high school levels, who do not have the basic knowledge. We have developed a laboratory exercise that comprises a simple and rapid technique for transferring bacterial DNA by conjugation and examining the transconjuants using only antibiotic resistance on agar. The identity of the right transconjuants is confirmed by agarose gel electrophoresis. This exercise is designed to help students understand how horizontal gene transfer occurs in bacteria by conjugation using Escherichia coli as a hands‐on learning model. Students should be able to draw concept maps of three DNA transfer methods on their own after carrying out the experiment and getting some additional information.

Vanadium-dependent bromoperoxidases from Gracilaria algae

Red algae from the Gulf of Thailand were examined for haloperoxidatic activity. Six species, Gracilaria changii, G. edulis, G. firma, G. fisheri, G. salicornia, and G. tenuistipitata, showed bromoperoxidatic activity. Duplicate polyacrylamide electrophoretic gels showed enzyme activity patterns developed by phenol red staining for bromoperoxidatic activity and by 3,3′-diaminobenzidine staining for peroxidatic activity. All algae gave isoenzymic bromoperoxidatic activity bands and peroxidatic activity bands, but there were peroxidatic and bromoperoxidatic activity bands that did not correspond. The bromoperoxidatic activity of the crude enzyme extracts as well as previously dialyzed enzyme solutions was enhanced significantly by incubation with vanadium pentoxide. The three purified bromoperoxidases from G. fisheri contained vanadium, and their relative activities corresponded to the ratio of vanadium to enzyme. In addition, they were not inhibited by H2O2. These data confirm that the enzymes are vanadium bromoperoxidases.

Chlorpromazine enhances haemolysis induced by haemin

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Beyond textbook illustrations: Hand-held models of ordered DNA and protein structures as 3D supplements to enhance student learning of helical biopolymers

Textbook illustrations of 3D biopolymers on printed paper, regardless of how detailed and colorful, suffer from its two‐dimensionality. For beginners, computer screen display of skeletal models of biopolymers and their animation usually does not provide the at‐a‐glance 3D perception and details, which can be done by good hand‐held models. Here, we report a study on how our students learned more from using our ordered DNA and protein models assembled from colored computer‐printouts on transparency film sheets that have useful structural details. Our models (reported in BAMBED 2009), having certain distinguished features, helped our students to grasp various aspects of these biopolymers that they usually find difficult. Quantitative and qualitative learning data from this study are reported. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education Vol. 38, No. 6, pp. 359‐364, 2010