Developing a Peer Review Process for Web-based Curricula

The World Wide Web creates new challenges and opportunities for medical educators. Prominent among these are the lack of consistent standards by which to evaluate web-based educational tools. We present the instrument that was used to review web-based innovations in medical education submissions to the 2003 Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) national meeting, and discuss the process used by the SGIM web-based clinical curriculum interest group to develop the instrument. The 5 highest-ranked submissions are summarized with commentary from the reviewers.     

Increased response of renal perfusion to the antioxidant vitamin C in type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Reactive oxygen species play a major role in the development of endothelial dysfunction. It is as yet unspecified whether increased oxidative stress contributes to endothelial dysfunction of the renal vasculature in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Renal haemodynamics were studied in 20 patients with type 2 diabetes and arterial hypertension (age 62 +/- 5 years) and 20 non-diabetic hypertensive patients at baseline and following infusions of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA; 4.25 mg/kg); the substrate of nitric oxide synthase, L-arginine (100 mg/kg); and the antioxidant, vitamin C (3 g, co-infused with L-arginine 100 mg/kg). RESULTS: The response of renal plasma flow (RPF) to L-NMMA (-54 +/- 62 and -45 +/- 42 ml/min/1.73 m(2); P = NS) and L-arginine (+46 +/- 36 and +49 +/- 25 ml/min/1.73 m(2); P = NS) was not different between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. In contrast, vitamin C induced a more pronounced increase in RPF in diabetic than in non-diabetic patients when co-infused with L-arginine (+71+/-47 and +43+/-33 ml/min/1.73 m(2); P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The difference in the response of renal perfusion to an antioxidant suggests increased formation of reactive oxygen species and thereby reduced nitric oxide bioavailability in the renal vasculature of patients with type 2 diabetes.     

Use of the SADP for measurement of attitudes of Chinese dental students and dental surgery assistants toward disabled persons

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of Chinese dental students and dental surgery assistants toward disabled persons using the Scale to Determine Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons, the SADP. A group of 99 Hong Kong University psychology students, 50 male and 49 female, was used as the control and to determine the internal consistency and reliability of the Chinese version of the scale. A group of 4th year (n = 25) and a group of 3rd year (n = 46) dental students and a group of in-house dental surgery assistants (n = 86) at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital, Hong Kong, were asked to complete a Chinese translation of the SADP. Results showed that there was no significant difference between attitude scores of 3rd and 4th year dental students (p = 0.06). There was a significant difference in attitude scores between dental students and the dental surgery assistants (p < O.OOl), with those of dental students being lower. In the control group, there was no significant difference between female control and dental surgery assistant scores (p = 0.289). There was a significant difference between dental students and male control scores (p < 10⁶). Not only did the dental students score lower than the dental surgery assistants, but they also scored significantly lower than a group of non-dental students of the same University.