Peer evaluation skills are not typically taught to students, yet they are expected to provide high-quality feedback to their peers. Gameful learning, a pedagogy supporting student-driven learning, can further reinforce the development of peer evaluation skills, if students are motivated to improve upon them. To better understand the effects of a peer evaluation training on the quality of student-generated peer evaluations, we scored peer evaluations from two cohorts taking a graduate-level nutritional sciences class using gameful learning pedagogy. The intervention group completed a peer evaluation training before engaging in peer reviews, while the control group did not. The training included two readings, a video, and reflection questions. The peer evaluations submitted by both the intervention and control groups were assessed on a validated rubric. The peer evaluation training had a positive effect on the quality of the submitted peer evaluations. The intervention group had a 10.8% higher score on its first submitted peer evaluation compared with controls ( P = 0.003). The intervention group improved the quality of its future submissions by a further 8.9%, whereas the controls did not continue to improve substantially ( P < 0.001). Overall, peer review training enhanced the quality of peer evaluations and allowed students to develop professional skills that they can utilize in any biomedical profession. Our results highlight the importance of peer evaluation training in combination with repeated practice and student-driven learning brought forth by gameful learning pedagogy in improving the quality of evaluations and developing professional skills.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The placenta is the primary organ responsible for deactivating maternal glucocorticoids and reducing fetal exposure. Glucocorticoid use during pregnancy is a common treatment for asthma, allergies, and COVID-19. Several studies have reported adverse effects including intrauterine growth restriction as a result of glucocorticoid exposure, yet little is known about the mechanisms by which short and long-term maternal glucocorticoid exposures affect placental biology and fetal development. To better understand the role of glucocorticoids on placental and fetal outcomes, we used a mouse model exposed to the synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone (Dex), prior to and throughout gestation. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in mice with a treatment arm of Dex exposure and water exposure as control. Virgin C57Bl/6J female mice were single-housed at 11 weeks of age, and Dex was introduced in the drinking water as a 1mg/kg/day dose. After one week of treatment, mice were bred with age-matched virgin males. Dam body composition, food, and water intake were monitored weekly. Maternal insulin sensitivity, pup survival rate, litter size, and pup birth weight at postnatal day (PND) 0.5 were also assessed. Dams treated with Dex lost significant lean mass after one week of treatment. Dex treatment did not appear to affect the dams’ ability to get pregnant, as both groups carried pups to term with similar lengths of gestation (p=0.838). Water and Dex-treated dams gained comparable weight during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, however, the Dex group gained less lean mass than the water group during the third trimester. At PND0.5, Dex dams had fewer pups with a 40% reduction in litter size (p=0.01) and lighter pups with a 37% reduction in offspring weight (p&lt;0.001), indicating substantial intrauterine growth restriction. All pups of Dex-treated dams died by PND1. Attempts to rescue pups of Dex-dams by cross-fostering with water-treated nursing dams or by feeding the pups 10% glucose at PND0.5 failed by PND1. These results demonstrate a novel finding regarding the chronic use of glucocorticoids before and during conception and pregnancy. The reduction in both pup weight and late-pregnancy maternal weight gain suggests potential growth restriction or placental insufficiency. Further molecular studies during multiple time points of gestation will help elucidate the mechanisms at play.