ENVR 4442/TOXC 442/BIOC 442 Final Exam Guidelines Spring 2007Final Exam GuidelinesDue on or before 10 AM, Tuesday, May 8, 2007. Send via campus mail to Ivan Rusyn0031 MHRCCB#7431or e-mail as an attachment to [email protected] research papers for the final exam (available in PDF format on the course website):TOXICOLOGICAL SCIENCES 95(2), 495–510 (2007)Effects of Brief Cutaneous JP-8 Jet Fuel Exposures on Time Course of Gene Expression in the EpidermisJames N. McDouga, Carol M. Garrett, Carol M. Amato, and Steven J. BerberichEnviron Health Perspect 114:1542–1546 (2006)Organophosphate Insecticides Target the Serotonergic System in Developing Rat Brain Regions: Disparate Effects of Diazinon and Parathion at Doses Spanning the Threshold for Cholinesterase InhibitionTheodore A. Slotkin, Charlotte A. Tate, Ian T. Ryde, Edward D. Levin, and Frederic J. SeidlerToxicologic Pathology, 34:776–784, 2006Characterization of ANIT-Induced Toxicity using Precision-Cut Rat and Dog Liver SlicesCultured in a Dynamic Organ Roller SystemK. AMIN, C. IP, B. SATO, T. LE, C. E. GREEN, C. A. TYSON, AND H. P. BEHRSINGFree Radical Biology & Medicine 42 (2007) 228–235Increased hepatic telomerase activity in a rat model of iron overload: A role for alteredthiol redox state?Kyle E. Brown, M. Meleah Mathahs, Kimberly A. Broadhurst, Mitchell C. Coleman, Lisa A.Ridnour, Warren N. Schmidt, Douglas R. SpitzFor the final exam you are asked to select ONE published manuscript from 4 listed above,carefully read the paper, and prepare a 3-4 page (double-spaced) review/critique of this studyusing the guidelines provided below. The use of textbooks, lecture notes and other appropriatematerial is encouraged. Feel free to engage in discussion with your peers/advisors. However, thisis not a collective work! Each student must submit an independent answer. The maximum scorefor this exam is 105 points, or 35% of the total course grade. Each review will be graded by twofaculty teaching in the course and the average grade will be used to calculate the final coursegrade.1ENVR 4442/TOXC 442/BIOC 442 Final Exam Guidelines Spring 2007Guidelines for preparation of the final exam:I suggest the following strategy: read the paper once, or several times to understand the generalconcept(s), study design, results and conclusions. Go to PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgiand search by keywords going back 3-5 years. Review the abstracts (or if necessary the full-textversions) of papers that are related to the topic of your selected publication. Try to understandwhat others have done in this area, what prior knowledge led the authors to this particular study,and how does this study move the field forward. It might be also helpful to review recent (last 3-5 years) papers by this group of authors to understand how they came to a particular researchquestion that was addressed in this manuscript.Please use the sample questions that one might ask him(her)self while reading a(ny) researchpaper that are provided below. The list below is not inclusive and feel free to add to it as you seeother issues that get your attention. Do not simply try to answer each and every question. Theformat of your answers should read as a cohesive essay. It is expected that your essay willcontain at least three paragraphs (sections) that address each of the following:1. Summary of the paper (5-7 sentences that capture the highlights of this study).2. General comments/critique:What is the knowledge base for this study?What was the hypothesis of this study?Does this paper address a novel question and/or uses novel experimental approach?What was the experimental approach?Is the paper clear and well organized?Is the study focused?Is the experimental model appropriate to address the hypothesis?Is the experimental design sound?Does this paper contain new findings/ideas?Are conclusions supported by the data?How this paper advances our existing knowledge (i.e., why is it important)?How does this study compare with other papers that you have read?Is this manuscript appropriate for this journal?3. Comments/critique to specific sections of the manuscript:Abstract:Is it concise and clear? Is information provided sufficient to provide general understanding of thework?Introduction:Is it concise and clear? Does it contain enough background information for a reader who is not an expert in this line ofresearch? Are references useful and contain additional more extensive information? 2ENVR 4442/TOXC 442/BIOC 442 Final Exam Guidelines Spring 2007After reading the Introduction do you feel ready to understand what are the critical gaps in ourknowledge that this study will address?Methods:Contains sufficient experimental detail? Would you be able to repeat the experiments in yourown lab by following described experimental procedures?Results:Clarity of presentation?Are Figures easy to understand?Figure legends provide necessary details to understand what is shown and what the experimentwas?Are there inconsistencies in data presentation?Is data repetitive?Is some of the “data not shown” essential for understanding the study and should have beenshown?Is there an assay/endpoint that you wish have been looked at in this study?Discussion:Does it repeat the results?Are conclusions supported by the actual data?Does it address the importance of this study for the advancement of science in this area?Did authors think of yet unanswered questions/ future directions?References:Too many/too few? Are references appropriate/helpful? Are there any additional key papers that you feel should have been included? Do the authors cite their own work too often (is there an obvious bias
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