Using Drosophila Oogenesis in the Classroom to Increase Student Participation in Biomedical Research

Students that participate in undergraduate research benefit in multiple ways, including improved learning outcomes, increased enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and increased likelihood of continuation into a STEM career. These benefits are even more pronounced for students that are traditionally under-represented in STEM, although these students often face barriers to participation in traditional apprenticeship-style research experiences. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are a promising and increasingly popular approach to increase undergraduate participation in research in a way that is inclusive of all students. Here, we describe how Drosophila oogenesis can be used as the basis for CUREs in a wide variety of courses. We provide an overview of our own oogenesis-based CURE, as well as suggestions for how this CURE could be adapted to accommodate a variety of schedules, course sizes, and institution types. Our goal is to simplify the process for CURE implementation in the hopes that a greater number of instructors choose to implement a CURE in their own courses.

Comparing in vitro activity of tigecycline by using the disk diffusion test, the manual microdilution method, and the VITEK 2 automated system

Tigecycline is a broad spectrum antibiotic having activity against multiresistant isolates. In vitro susceptibility testing is difficult to perform with the use of traditional microbiological techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate the disk diffusion test with three different Mueller-Hinton agar brands, and the Vitek 2 automated system in comparison with the standard broth microdilution method against 200 gram-negative isolates (Escherichia coil, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens and Acinetobacter baumannii). Among Enterobacteriaceae, the Becton Dickinson agar had the lowest rate of minor (32.5%) and major errors (3.8%). No very major errors were found. For A. baumanni, the rate of minor and major errors was lower. A high rate of agreement (94%) was found between the broth microdilution method and the Vitek 2 system. Our results show that there are important differences between agars used for the disk diffusion test, and that Vitek 2 is a valid tool for susceptibility testing in clinical laboratories.