GOOD RESEARCH PRACTICE 2007

Distance learning e-course

Course Manager

Professor Karel HruškaVeterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic

Electronic bulletin CENTAUR NEWSLETTER FLASH INFORMATION

Vol. 11, 2007 Supplementum 3ISSN 1213-368X

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GOOD RESEARCH PRACTICE 2007

Distance learning e-course

Course Manager Professor Karel Hruška

Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic

Electronic bulletin CENTAUR NEWSLETTER FLASH INFORMATION

Vol. 11, 2007 Supplementum 3 ISSN 1213-368X

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CONTENTS

Invitation.................................................................................................................3 List of lessons ........................................................................................................5 The last issue of GRP 2007 Bulletin ......................................................................9

Recommended readings, questions, answers and comments .....................9 Introductions and opinions of the most successful participants ...........................30

E. Kok .........................................................................................................31 S. Wambua .................................................................................................34 P. Janalik ....................................................................................................40 L.N. Lebesa ................................................................................................41 M. M. Islam .................................................................................................46

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INVITATION

Distance learning e-course GOOD RESEARCH PRACTICE 2007

Professor Karel Hruska

Organised by the Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic in collaboration with • Veterinary and Pharmaceutical University, Brno • Veterinary Biotechnology, Epidemiology and Food Safety Network (CENTAUR), • EU 6th Frame Programme SSA PCVD: Towards improved food quality and safety within new

member states and associated candidate countries (NMSACC-PCVD 518432), • International journal for veterinary sciences and biomedicine Veterinarni Medicina, • European Social Fund project CZ.04.1.03/3.2.15.1./0021, • Dr. J. Crowther, IAEA Vienna, Researcher-Training project leader

Who can register? Students and graduate students of biomedical disciplines, research associates regardless to their age. Communication in English (a chance to improve the communication skills), a personal e-mail address and access to the internet are the only requirements. Tasks do not need to be completed in order and participation is free for the first one hundred registered students. How to register? Send an e-mail to the supervisor hruska@vri.cz and indicate your affiliation, current or finished field of education / university / faculty (if graduated, the year of graduation). The registration will be confirmed by e-mail. How to start? Start to write your Working Diary as a WORD document: note your working and studying activities, meetings, participation in lectures, workshops, visits to laboratories, discussions about the project, browsing on the internet, textbooks/monographs studied, journals opened (and read), papers read from the full text etc. Make short comments or notes and evaluate the importance for you (0 to 5, not all at the highest). Start to summarise in EXCEL table your approximate time, in hours, spent for studying the published information, experimental and laboratory work, assistance in clinical examinations and treatment of patients, teaching etc. (in rows) with the days of the month in columns. Use a separate list for each month for this Monthly Activity Record. Both documents will be submitted to the supervisor on request.

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How to proceed with the course? New lessons will be announced by e-mail or posted at http://centaur.vri.cz – Newsletter – Written by/for CENAUR Network members. After finishing the lesson, send an e-mail to the supervisor with the subject GRP 2007–your family name-number of lesson. Attach the required assignment (file name: GRP 2007–your family name-number of lesson). You can write your questions in the e-mail body. Each e-mail must express your evaluation of the lesson importance for yourself and should be signed by your full automatic signature (see lesson 1 -Communication). Do not send empty mail body. How the course will be finished? The assignments from all lessons must be submitted within six months from the registration. The lesson assignments and the activity of participants will be classified. Seventy percent of the full task points will authorise the participant to receive the certificate. Brno, March 2007

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LIST OF LESSONS

Good Research Practice 2007 Professor Karel Hruska

Veterinary Research Institute, Brno

1. Communication: an important way to successful collaboration (10 points). http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril83.htm Read the document and prepare your e-mail signature. Recommended readings: http://www.communicationpractices.org/ http://www.community4me.com/ http://siri.uvm.edu/ppt/comm/comm.ppt ASSIGNMENT 1: Describe in 300 words the main message you consider as important for smooth communication. Were all recommendations known to you or did some of them surprise you?

2. Register yourself in the CENTAUR network (10 points) Visit http://centaur.vri.cz and go through the web page, namely NEWSLETTER, WRITTEN BY/FOR THE CENTAUR NETWORK MEMBERS. Register yourself on-line for your fields of interest (unlimited, but 23 and 27 are obligatory). Note GRP 2007 and your affiliation in the appropriate box.. ASSIGNMENT 2: Describe what information was new and interesting for you, if any. In a case you are already registered, mention it an the beginning of your essay.

3. Microbiology: laboratory safety and skills (web site lecture (30 points). For the basic instruction on laboratory safety, microbiological skills and laboratory equipment using text, photos, simulations and a video, visit the website published by Dr. Alice Wright and Dr. Lynda Harding of California State University, Fresno. http://www.microeguide.com/ The web site is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0088668; by funding provided by College of Science and Mathematics California State University; and by California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB). Your registration is not required. Visit as many chapters as you are interested in. ASSIGNMENT 3: Describe your comments on the lecture, note the most important information and note the main problems to be solved, if some practice you experience differs from the rules described.

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4. Supercourse Epidemiology - Internet - Global Health (40 points). http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/ Visit Supercourse, select and see lectures relating to your major interest. ASSIGNMENT 4: List the selected lectures and add your short (100 words maximum) evaluation or comments.

5. Web of Knowledge (30 points). For participants with an access to the portal ASSIGNMENT 5: List names of the following parts: 4.1 Searchable Database Products 4.2 Analytical Tools 4.3 Other Resources 4.4 More features Use the General Search for papers of anybody who is known to you, select 2000-2006 as the time span: 4.5 Name and initials, affiliation 4.6 Number of results found 4.7 Write a list of the five most frequently cited papers from the results found (use the Reference List format required by the Biological Research journal) 4.8 Impact factor 2005 of the Biological Research journal 4.9 Impact factors for 2004 and 2005 of three journals of your choice. (title, ISSN, IF 2004, IF 2005)

6. PubMed database (25 points). For participants without access to Web of Knowledge Browsing, on the internet learn about ISI Thomson Scientific, the U.S. National Library of Medicine, PubMed and PubMed Central databases. ASSIGNMENT 6: 5.1 Write information (1000 words max.) about different databases, compare the number of journals indexed, the possibilities offered and all you consider as important. 5.2 Search PubMed for papers containing the word “chicken” and write a list of the 10 papers most recently published in the period from 1st January 2000 to 31st December 2005, experiments on animals, male and female. Use the Reference List format required by the Biological Research journal, indicate the total number of papers found. Indicate the total number of publications indexed under the same limits with the key words “chick” and “chicks”. Do you understand the difficulty in the use of key words?

7. How to write a paper in a scientific journal style and format (40 points). John Crowther, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna Writing a Scientific Paper for Publication http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril751.pdf Greg Anderson, Biology Department, Bates College, Lewiston, USA Link to the On-line resources for biology (with the kind permission of the author) http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWtoc.html

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Other important reading is available at http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/ The principal investigator system A painless guide to statistics Experimental design worksheet Tips for making research posters Also see: Instructions for authors of the journal Veterinarni Medicina http://vetmed.vri.cz/default.asp?page=instr_e.asp VMCI special issue 2005-05 http://www.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril288.htm VMCI 2006-08 Instructions for authors supplemented http://www.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril412.htm ASSIGNMENT 7: Did you receive enough information from Lesson 6? Are you now able to deliver a 20 minute lecture to your colleagues summarising the structure of the original paper? Summarise knowledge from this lesson and prepare the PowerPoint presentation for your 20 minute lecture, describing the main sections of the original paper to be published in the peer reviewed journal.

8. Biological research in developing countries: some hotspots (10 points). Harinder P. S. Makkar, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril749.ppt ASSIGNMENT 8: Write a short essay (500 words max.) and indicate which problems described in the presentation concern you and your country, if any, and how you would suggest to solve them.

9. Open learning on enteric pathogens (15 point). http://www.oloep.org/ Register yourself for free, enter to this portal and go through the list of lectures. ASSIGNMENT 9: Write titles of lectures you were interested in directly into the e-mail body. Add at least 10 principles on how to prepare a good PowerPoint presentation, e.g. slides should have at least 40 lines, use as much colours as possible, each slide should be animated by a different way, etc.

10. Subscribe to the BioMail free service. http://biomail.sourceforge.net/biomail/ Look at what the BioMail service offers, open your account and try suitable key words as your search profile.

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ASSIGNMENT 10: Describe your experience with the BioMail service (800 words max.), including a sample of a trial search. List all search profiles you have used.

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THE LAST ISSUE (20) OF GRP 2007 BULLETIN

Good Research Practice 2007 Bulletin E-course closed in December 2007

No. of registered participants: 95 Countries of affiliation: 29 Bangladesh (1), Cameroon (4), Colombia (1), Czech Republic (15), Denmark (1), Ethiopia (5), Finland (1), Germany (1), Ghana (1), India (1), Iran (1), Japan (1), Kenya (23), Kingdom of Lesotho (1), Lybia (1), Macedonia (1), Morocco (1), Nigeria (11), Pakistan (3), Portugal (2), Rwanda (1), Scotland (1), South Africa (3), Switzerland (1), Tanzania (3), Turkey (1), U.K. (2), Uganda (5), and Zimbabwe (2). GRP 2007 RESULTS 071201: http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril908.xls See frames for recommended readings . Send your comments and evaluation by e-mail with the subject as follows: GRP 2007-RR#-Family name The replies are in blue and highlighted. Congratulations to the participants who have more than 95 % points See their comments and self-introduction on pages 31-46 Kok E, Finland/Australia http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril860.pdf

Wambua SM, Kenya http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril899.mht

Islam MM, Bangladesh http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril885.pdf

Janalik P, Czech Republic http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril900.mht

L. N. Lebesa, The Kingdom of Lesotho http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril911.pdf

QUESTIONS, ANSWERS & COMMENTS UPDATED 2007-12-01 L. Nteletsana Lebesa, Kenya Comment on Lesson 04 Supercourse is indeed super, it gives an insight into so many health related issues. Most lectures are brief but they help one to capture the important details which one can expand elsewhere afterwards. The bonus also is that information is given freely. Being an African in sub-Saharan Africa (most hit by the pandemic) it has been interesting for me to learn about HIV/AIDS, the past and current developments. Supercourse is worthy of visiting if one wants to have a broader knowledge into a number of things, for example, I learnt of Biostatistics, Bioterrorism, Grant Writing and many more I have visited. Supercourse is good for giving outline of what to expect in the courses since most of the lectures are not elaborate. However, I do not think this lesson deserves 40 points though especially with a summary of 100 words.

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Professor Karel Hruska replies It's my trick. The assignments is "easy", but I can distinguish between students, visiting Supercourse for 15 minutes and those, who are able to find an inspiration for their field of interest. Or, possibly, they can express an opinion that some presentations are superficial and without the lecturer's explanation useless. Full points are not awarded to everybody. However, the importance of the e-course is not to collect points as nobody will receive a penny for them. Comment on Lesson 10 Visiting MyNBCI has added more value towards PubMed because I have discovered some features that I did not think are so important such as filters in a search. An opportunity also to save both searches and collections on MyNBCI indefinitely makes it a very useful site. I wish it was possible to even save into this collection the citations from other sites. Comment on RR11 This reading is another useful one which compliments assignment 7. It gives a summary of the important steps that one should observe in order to write well for publication and avoid rejection of their manuscripts. Although the editing costs are on the higher side it is useful to know that San Franscisco Edit exists should one be in need of editors. Comment on RR07 This reading was very useful as it highlights the ethical issues that should be observed for publication of manuscripts. In most cases especially where students are concerned I do not think the students do participate fully in determining the order of authorship in their work. It is however, interesting to know all the ethics that one should observe whether they are peer-reviewers or not. It is also good to know that there are guiding principles somewhere that one should know and abide by no matter what role they play in the manuscripts. What I did not know before reading this though was that the contributors listed in the acknowledgements have to give a written permission in order to be acknowledged. UPDATED 2007-10-08 Sammy Wambua, Kenya Note on RR 02 I see that this recommended reading (02) was inspired by Juan Nustes' comments on Lesson 03 in which he sought storage of microorganism to be addressed. I think the recommended readings cover a wider picture of microorganism storage than Juan had aniticpated! I suspect s/he was interested in a simple SOP-type of material akin to the other procedures contained on Lesson 3. This link - http://www.cabri.org/guidelines/micro-organisms/MCover1.html - might prove useful. It has a wide range of brief guidelines (re Laboratory Procedures for Microorganisms) not only on storage but also GLP etc. That being said, the recommended readings are a great finding for me. I'd never thought of microorganisms being endagered and needing organizations for their conservation! L. Nteletsana Lebesa, Mbita, Kenya Comment on Lesson 05 This assignment is by far the most important I have done, I had heard about web of knowledge but never got to use it at all. The chances of me using this important database any time soon were very slim had I not enrolled in this course. I think web of knowledge/web

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of science is simply the best and every student, researcher, anyone publishing need to know and use it. It is time saving, what I liked more was the ability to search for something and even get the full text and related and even track development through years. This is what has always been at my fingertips because I have access through the university. I must add also that although I have known about the impact factor but I am one of the people who were thinking the journals are solely evaluated by the impact factor alone and not necessarily taking into consideration other factors. I really thank the coordinator of this course for this database and the more exciting discoveries to come with subsequent assignments. Sammy Wambua, Kenya Note on Lesson 03 I think this lesson and probably RR01 were good opportunities to address, even if briefly, GLP issues. is there a chance that this will be included at some point? Professor Karel Hruska replies It’s good idea, GLP should be a lesson in the next course. Thank you. See the Annex to the following document http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril866.pdf See also http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/chemicals/legislation/glp/index_en.htm http://www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/bimo/glp/default.htm http://www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/bimo/7348_808/default.htm http://www.oecd.org/document/63/0,3343,en_2649_34381_2346175_1_1_1_1,00.html http://www.who.int/tdr/publications/publications/glp-trainee.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GxP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Laboratory_Practice http://www.mhra.gov.uk/home/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=614 The GRP e-courses cannot cover all topic. The main task is to encourage the participants of different specialization to seek the answers to their specific problems. UPDATED 2007-09-05 L. Nteletsana Lebesa, Mbita, Kenya Comment on Lesson 02 CENTAUR website is a great site, it has diverse topics to which people of different disciplines can benefit if they make regular visits. I realize that the CENTAUR network is also useful to scientists not only from the CENTAUR region but throughout the world. I am also highly impressed with the dedication towards sending of the newsletters/bulletins to the members. I see commitment to assisting members with gathering of information, exchanging knowledge, improving skills etc. hence why there are courses such as e-course offered through this network. I have already benefited a lot from subscribing to this network through gaining information about for example some of the free sites for accessing journals. These are some of the interesting news for the scientists in developing countries where access to scientific information is usually one of the constraints to undertaking research. I wish to congratulate the editor and the team. CENTAUR website is a highly informative site. Eloise Kok, Finland/Australia Comment on RR01 I never knew of this website, it is imperatively important, as most people learn best from seeing things, rather than just understanding the theory. I will look to this website in the

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future for useful applications. UPDATED 2007-08-20 Sammy Wambua, Kenya General comment My supervisor has been very excited at the existence of the course. Consequently we've discussed the possibility of making it mandatory for students and new staff joining our laboratory. So I thought I should ask, how often will the course be offered? And will participants need to be re-taking GRP training every so often as is the case with GCPs and GLPs training? Professor Karel Hruska replies GRP distance learning course is my personal contribution to the knowledge dissemination connected with my lecturing graduate students (some faculties in the Czech Republic require the participation as a part of curriculum). My position as the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal for veterinary sciences and biomedicine Veterinarni Medicina (to improve research results publications), the international CENTAUR network Veterinary Biotechnology, Epidemiology and Food Safety activity, and some EU research projects in which I am involved in for information dissemination. The participation is voluntary and free of a registration fee, however, as it is obvious from the GRP 2007 RESULTS only a few of those who registered had enough will to start or continue the course. In the previous international course, a similar 25 out of 94 registered participants finished. http://www.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril214.pdf I greatly appreciate the interest of your supervisor and yourself in the course. Every authority (deans, supervisors) can recommend or require the participation of their graduate students or staff members, who should register individually themselves. However, if I would receive from such an authority an e-mail with the decision of mandatory participation and names of candidates, I would prefer them in registration over others. I guess the GRP 2008 course will open sometime in December 2007 or January 2008 with the 6 month length from the date of registration. The Lessons and RR will be similar or the same. The main task of the course is to encourage the participants to be able to hunt down information for themselves, so repeated participation is not necessary for the successful participants. However, they will be informed by the CENTAUR NEWSLETTER FLASH INFO (27) about news, new courses open etc. The successful participants should contribute to the GRP by their suggestions of interesting Lessons or RR or by questions resulting from their academic jobs. Eloise Kok, Finland/Australia Note on RR-05 European Charter for Researchers and a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers I was quite surprised to find such a document exists. Most of what I read within this article is common sense and I thought it would be obvious and not be required to be documented on paper. Nontheless, the content should be very closely followed and adhered to at all times, whilst conducting scientific research. Some things I read are not always carried out however, and these are things related to job security and career planning. Perhaps this is something that has not yet been fully implemented within the EU. Eloise Kok, Finland/Australia Note on RR-01 Quality Management Tools - Standard Operating Procedures I found these websites as further confirmation of the necessity behind having comprehensive and available SOPs. My first job within the scientific industry required me to create and keep

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up to date the SOP within our laboratory. I definitely concur with the importance of these documents, as they allow anyone to come into a job and successfully complete tasks unsupervised, if necessary. I think it is imperative to have SOP in every workplace, no matter what the industry, and will continue to create my own within my work. UPDATED 2007-08-13 Petr Janallík, Czech Republic Comment on RR1 Standard operating procedures have certainly a place in a good laboratory practice. As we know, "when two people do the same, it is not the same". Because of this there should be established some routines to unify common work in the research. This makes the findings comparable even by a distant laboratories. Ibrahim Oreagba, Nigeria Comment on Lesson 02 This exercise was important to me in the sense that it gave me access to new information and new opportunities for research funding for example the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology is a good opportunity for pre and post doctoral students UPDATED 2007-08-07 Sammy Wambua, Kenya Comment on Lesson 10 I have visited and registered for MyNCBI for the first time. Amazingly, despite my regular use of PubMed, I had neither registered nor discovered the utility of MyNCBI. The tutorials are very informative… I particularly enjoyed the video quick tours. They are, in my view, easy to follow than the text! My experience has been that MyNCBI is a very useful, convenient and fairly user-friendly feature of Pubmed. It’s very relieving to know that you can save your searches on the internet without many manipulations – as would be the case if you were to create a database for searches some of which you don’t think highly about. Also, that MyNCBI can send you alerts when there are updates in regards to your key search words is one the exciting features. And that you can regulate how often you are alerted and if the alerts should (or shouldn’t) be send when there is new information or regularly regardless accomplishes at least several things: a) it saves on having to remember to do a search every so often even when no new information has been published b) it saves the nuisance of receiving too many “junk” mails and c) it sees to it that you only get mails when it is necessary – e.g. when there is new information. I searched for the words “Band 3 aggregation malaria”, which yielded 3 results as shown below. I saved this search under the same name. I will set for alerts because this is a field I am getting interested in and might write my PhD on. Reply by KH: I am not a specialist in parasitology or malaria, but I am sure that the search profile “Band 3 aggregation malaria” is too specific and narrow. Although this topic could be a final target of your thesis, I guess you should find interesting information following papers searched by the keyword “malaria”. You should be an expert in malaria, not in the Band 3 aggregation. The basic personal database should be selected from the records published in the last 12

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months, according to the title and abstract, eventually from the full text, sometimes available directly from PubMed records. The selected records should be saved via “send to clipboard” to your “MyNCBI collection” (or other collections). Other records can be added to the database (collection) from the cited papers in articles you will read, related articles etc. Your search profile, e.g. “malaria” will send you about 15 to 20 new records weekly. It is easy to select a few of your interests to be added to your collection. ALL LAST 30 DAYS Band 3 aggregation malaria 3 0 malaria 44492 64 Plasmodium falciparum 19397 32 Plasmodium 30952 45 Alternatively you can order the e-mail alerts both for malaria and plasmodium to see if all records on Plasmodium will appear in malaria searches. This should avoid missing records on Plasmodium if malaria is not in the title or abstract. As soon as you have Reference Manager, records from MyNCBI collection can be imported to the Reference Manager database and new records from e-mail alerts forwarded to Reference Manager directly. UPDATED 2007-07-30 L. Nteletsana Lebesa, Kenya Comment on Lesson 01 I have found the lesson very informative and I can comfortably rate it at 4. There were a lot of things that I did not consider as important for an effective communication but through this lesson I have learned that such mistakes may jeopardize some collaborations. Lately e-mails are the preferred way of communication but there is less care taken in maintaining the desired level of professionalism. I have also gained a lot from the recommended readings in communication. Thus I have noted that effective communication is not only about passing the message and getting feedback but it also plays an important part in team building. Question on Lesson 01 I do not understand how to get rid of the big spaces between words in a justified text. I am also wondering if it is possible or even necessary to use a justify command in the body of the e-mails. KH reply: In e-mails the ‘justify’ command should not be used and is unnecessary. Try to follow the logical structure of the message and use a free line between paragraphs. Justifying the text in the text editor should be done just before printing, at the final stage of the corrected and edited text. See the first word on the next line after the line with a big space and use appropriate hyphenation. Attention for subsequent changes. The hyphens can appear in the words moved to other positions. It is recommended to delete hyphens before changes. Question on recommended readings I have read the recommended readings for Lesson 01. It has not been clear to me which RR to comment on, the ones under the lesson or the ones that appear in the bulletin frameworks. So, I have made my comments about the ones that are in the bulletin. KH reply: The Lessons listed in GRP-2007 LESSONS may have some recommended readings, but the Recommended Readings (RR) published in the GRP 2007 BULLETIN and highlighted in green are specific tasks, occurring as new information or resulting from questions and

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comments of the participants. Certainly some lessons and RR can deal with similar topics. Comments on RR 01 I have found the readings very informative and useful to me. I have not before been exposed to the standard operating procedures despite the fact that they are necessary for every organization. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is the step-by-step set of instructions that an organization prepares for routine activities. Standard Operating procedures (SOPs) are a must have for every organization because they serve as guidelines for the work to be carried out efficiently. They can be use as a tool to ensure quality standards are adhered to in an organization. The management have to ensure that the SOPs are well prepared so that they can be usable even by people who meet the minimum requirements of handling the involved procedures. Preparation by the subject matter specialist/experts gives a SOP a guarantee that it can be used with confidence and produce desired results. Any organization should be aiming at achieving the goal of the organization as the driving force for the preparation of the SOP. This way, care will be taken to produce SOPs that are easier to understand and follow. It is also important to update SOPs if there are major changes in the concerned field so as to have current and acceptable procedures. I must admit that reading these articles on SOPs have actually made me realize how important each organization/laboratory needs to have the SOPs as guidelines for efficient implementation of job. I have just realized how my organization is in need of these documents. For example, while I joined my workplace the organization had just lost the key personnel who could train me on the work. As a result I spent a lot of time idling around and frustrated because I did not know exactly where to start. I believe if there were any SOPs that were prepared well enough to give necessary details of procedures they would have served as a training guide for me. I believe there have been many others before of after me who maybe in the same predicaments that can easily be solved by preparing SOPs for different activities. I am very glad that I have signed up for this course because I will be able to advice that we start preparing SOPs in my organization. With the recommended readings there are already examples that we can use for that exercise. Sammy Wambua, Kenya Comment on RR 12 They say "seeing is believing". This JoVE journal is great. Some of the concepts and experimental designs we read of in articles can only make sense if seen; JoVE has filled that gap. Peter Ngure, Kenya Comment on Lesson 03 The main problems to be solved in our laboratory include: • I have occasionally seen people applying cosmetics while working in the laboratory. This

should be stopped. • Labelling of samples is not consistent. A standard format should be used including:

name, date, and experiment information. • When working with infectious agents we have not been posting a biohazard sign at the

entrance. I doubt if we one. We need to look for one and start posting it when working with infectious agents.

• Our laboratory is open to all staff even when working with infectious agents. This is dangerous and should be discouraged. Limited access to the lab in such times is encouraged. No idle sitting is allowed in the laboratory.

• Although we have no rodents or insects, we need to start a control program for the same.

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• The requirement for immunization has not been followed in the past. This is probably because in Kenya immunization is compulsory. However we need to ascertain that all staff are immunized against infectious diseases.

• On clean up, we have not been autoclaving items contaminated with microorganisms. Rather we have been applying 70% ethanol to them. Since autoclaving is better and safer, we should start doing this.

• Provision of biohazard bags for disposal of potentially infectious agents is urgently required.

This safety and skills lesson should be used in colleges especially in the first year of study to avoid the risk of contamination. How about starting a one-credit course on the same? KH reply: I am not able and competent to organize the safety and skills lessons. However, you and your colleagues could read more about this topics and suggest to the management of your university to put the safety issues to the curricula. Comment on RR 12 The JoVE is a great invention. Do you have access to videos on Leishmania protocols? KH reply: Search results for "leishmania. video" in Google http://www.ggogle.com): http://www.who.int/tdr/diseases/leish/lifecycle.htm http://www.afip.org/leishsurvey.html http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/full/173/11/6521/DC1 http://biomicro.sdstate.edu/hildrethm/zoo467/LabMaterials/lab4/TrypanosomaVideo.htm http://www.pdhealth.mil/leish.asp http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/ddl/streaming/flashsandfly1.asp UPDATED 2007-07-24 GRP 2007 RR11 San Francisco Edit Visit http://www.sfedit.net/, find the NEWSLETTERS, and send e-mail GRP 2007-RR11 with the titles of newspapers, recommending twelve steps ... GRP 2007-RR12 Journal of Visualized Experiments Browse in http://www.jove.com and send the e-mail GRP 2007-RR12 with the titles of the Categories and the number of the video articles in each category. UPDATED 2007-07-15 ATTENTION: As announced recently, BioMail will be closed at the end of 2007 because most of BioMail functionality is now implemented at PubMed. The Lesson 10 has been changed on 15 July 2007: Visit MyNBCI http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/ get a “My NCBI account”, register yourself and follow the instructions “Saving your search & automatic e-mail updates”.

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ASSIGNMENT 10: Describe your experience with the MyNBCI (800 words max.), including a sample of a trial search. List all search profiles you have used. Professor Karel Hruska hruska@vri.cz UPDATED 2007-07-06 Reminder distributed to all registered participants: Please, check carefully the GRP 2007 RESULTS 070706 Table http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril829.xls and let me know if all your assignments arrived to my mailbox and were evaluated. Please, let me know if you are no more interested in the participation in GRP 2007 e-course. The high number of registered participants did not submit a single assignment and only six participants noticed the recommended readings. Professor Karel Hruska hruska@vri.cz UPDATED 2007-06-22 The e-course participants should be more active. Just few assignments and RR arrived. UPDATED 2007-05-30 GRP 2007 RR-08 Book shopping (bonus 15 points) If you are interested in books, software etc., visit http://www.Amazon.com For people living in EU it is easier to buy books at http://www.knowth.com/amazon.de/index.htm As an exercise search for a book written by Kazda on mycobacteria. RR08: Write (1) the title of this book, (2) first and family name of the author and (3) the year of publication. In addition, find the paper written by Kazda et al. in 1990, (4) write the new species name of the mycobacterium found by the authors in New Zealand and (5) who is the last author of this paper? GRP 2007 RR-09: Review articles (20 points) . Read some reviews published in Veterinary Sciences Tomorrow (http://www.vetscite.org/) ARCHIVES – REVIEWS or in the international journal for veterinary sciences and biomedicine Veterinarni Medicina (http://vetmed.vri.cz) FULL PAPERS, different volumes. RR09: Write five of the review articles you were interested in, in the format of a Reference list for the journal Environmental Health Perspectives

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GRP 2007 RR-10 Reference Manager (bonus 5 points) . Visit http://www.refman.com/ PRODUCT INFO and read the description of DATABASE MANAGER. RR10: How many Reference Types does Reference Manager include? Few remarks in relation to the lesson 07 by Sammy Wambua, Kenya a) It would be nice to address the writing of reviews as well. You are right; reviews are very important and should be published time to time by people, carefully following some field of interest. The review should not consist of quotes from results published, but should be critically commented and arranged in a way to make orientation in the problem easy for readers. Reviews are important both for fellows starting in a study of the topic and students, but also for the authors themselves. It is a reason to clean the table and the mind and to demonstrate that research in the author’s lab is done on a sound base. It is recommendable to read review articles, published in the journal where you intent to submit your manuscript. It is also possible to ask in advance, in general, if the submission is possible because some journals publish reviews written by invited authors only. You can see reviews published in Veterinary Sciences Tomorrow (http://www.vetscite.org/) ARCHIVES – REVIEWS or the international journal for veterinary sciences and biomedicine Veterinarni Medicina (http://vetmed.vri.cz) FULL PAPERS, different volumes. RR 09 resulted from this comment. b) In terms of format for a paper, it's crucial to point out that most, if not all, journal websites will have information on their preferred structures for manuscripts which any aspiring author can benefit from. Indeed, the first time I was writing my first paper, my supervisor asked if I knew where I wanted to send the paper. I said I wanted to write it first then decide where to send it. I was nicely shocked when he said, I first needed to know where to send it so as to know how to write it. Your supervisor was right. The journal should be previously selected, not only at the start of writing the manuscript, but writing for a specific journal should begin when starting a research task or a specific experiment. The hypothesis and aims of some research are more theoretical, oriented to basic research, others are more practical, oriented to screening, method development, treatment schedules etc. According to the character of the work, experiments should be designed and methods chosen and described accordingly. These steps together with a review of the published knowledge are closely connected with manuscript preparation and thus, the latter should begin together with the experiments. Even tables for results should be prepared well in advance, proved by hypothetical data and filled in during the experiments with data obtained. Again, the format of tables must follow both the experiment and journal requirements. Of course, no decision is definitive and the target journal can be changed. Changes are easy when REFERENCE MANAGER is used for references and the style required by the journal is used. RR10 resulted from this comment. c) I see one of the texts in the lesson advises against the use of jargon or technical expressions. I probably don't quite understand what is meant by jargon but isn't this advice a little contradictory considering that scientific publications are written for a special population hence convenient to use specialised language (jargon if you like)? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jargon Jargon is not identical with professional terms. Jargon or slang terms are often used in the laboratory, in a surgery team, or in other professional teams for quick and familiar communication. Everybody knows such terms from his/her field. The use of these should be carefully distinguished: some are not quite suitable to be used by a medical doctor speaking with the patient, as well as the written form in the manuscript to be published. d) Finally, What's the rationale behind the advise against writing paper titles as

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questions? Presumably some research work generates more questions than answers... won't it be more apt to have the paper titled as a question then? I suspect I have seen papers with titles that are a question. I guess the recommendation is not strict. However, questions can be more acceptable in the title of a newspaper article than in the original experimental paper. Scientists search databases for new and correctly proved information, not for the questions to be answered by anybody else. UPDATED 2007-05-27 GRP 2007-Azrug-02, North Darfur, Sudan I registered in CENTAUR network in 2004. I heard about CENTAUR network from one of my colleagues who was already a CENTAUR network registered member. As soon as I read about CENTAUR and the related fields of interest, I decided to register in it. I was very happy and lucky to receive an immediate acceptance for my registration from CENTAUR network. In fact, I joined CENTAUR for the purpose of improving both my level of scientific and Professional activity in addition to my language skills. Also one of my main aims for joining CENTAUR was to find an Access to international sources of scientific information and research. I expected that with CENTAUR I will learn skills by following advice and instructions from well experienced scientists and researchers. I was searching for a constant perfect practice to improve my Professional and scientific knowledge and to develop skills for personal effectiveness. Since I registered in CENTAUR network I am constantly receiving all the Electronic flash newsletters and Bulletins on various fields of my interest. I always feel very happy when I receive an Electronic flash newsletter or Bulletin in my Email. CENTAUR network became my best and favourite web site. I always find time to read the newest and most updated scientific information that published on CENTAUR network. CENTAUR learned me how to arrange my time, how to organize my ideas, how to read effectively and how to evaluate my reading and how to improve my skills in the field of specialization. In CENTAUR I found the information that I did not find it during my study and work. CENTAUR is an effective method for both general and Professional practice. In fact, CENTAUR provided me with the newest and the most updated scientific and technical information. CENTAUR learned me how to determine targets and goals in my life. CENTAUR provided me with permanent scientific journals, newsletters and nice scientific book reviews. CENTAUR showed me the weakness of my Scientific level and language skills and I have to work hard to improve it. CENTAUR made me more adaptive and familiar to read, understand and evaluate the scientific information in various fields of my interest. In fact, CENTAUR is a great library that provides the researchers and students with free, available, newest and most updated references. I think the most important factors for research development is the collaborative research team work. CENTAUR is a collection centre for researches from worldwide in various fields involving veterinary biotechnology, epidemiology and food safety. For me, registration in CENTAUR network was a golden chance to have the newest, free and updated scientific information. Since I registered in CENTAUR network, all the scientific information I am receiving is wonderful, updated and very enjoyable for me in all issues of both the CENTAUR Electronic newsletters and Bulletins. This is my first time to join the CENTAUR Distance Learning: e-Course GRP2007. In fact, I joined the course expecting that it is a very nice and rare chance for me to evaluate my scientific level and language skills. It is a golden chance for me to practice more with different researchers and scientists sharing the same targets. I think the most important expected benefit is to join research collaborative team for the purpose of exchanging information in various fields of interest. In fact, the CENTAUR network members did not meet each other

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face to face, but we keep the names of our professors, scientists and participants in mind and hearts forever! Although we may not meet others anywhere, but whenever we read or hear a name from CENTAUR GRP group, we will say: Oh! This is my friend at CENTAUR GRP2007! When I started to write my second assignment on the topic: Evaluation for registration in CENTAUR network, I remembered my nice life with CENTAUR. In fact, it seemed to me very difficult to find suitable words for my appreciation to CENTAUR, because it is my best library. So my Evaluation for the second assignment about Evaluation for registration in CENTAUR network is (GRP2007-Azrug-02) is 5. UPDATED 2007-05-21 Benjamin Kagina, Cape Town, South Africa Comment on Lesson 05 The Web of Knowledge database was completely new to me. I must say I found the database extremely useful, resourceful and well done. The Web of Science database is a tool that should be recommended as a must visit for research students in sciences. It is fantastic. For the first time through the web of science, I was able to comprehensively understand the terminologies; Journal Citation Record and Journal Impact Factor, and their importance. This, arguably to me, was the most informative lesson, so far. Sammy M. Wambua, Kenya The text on Ethics in Scientific Research says in part, "Every research institution should have a policy on the length of period during which primary laboratory records (e.g., printouts from instruments, protocols of individual experiments, and immediate written comments made at the end of experimental runs) must be preserved safe and accessible for sufficient period of time, to allow examination in case of later accusation." Is there a recommended/acceptable period of time over which data might be stored? The period of five years is required by a law and the Czech Science Foundation Rules for keeping laboratory protocols and project documentation including invoices and personal records in the Czech Republic. Seven years period is required by some foundations in Germany. I guess five years should be the shortest period. Dr. Md. Mazharul Islam There are some assignments and RRs that are not published on result sheet. Send only ONE recommended reading in one e-mail using the subject as required (GRP 2007-RR05-Islam). Inform me if the result is not registered and the assignment has been e-mailed BEFORE the date of updating the GRP RESULTS. Use the repeated transmission of the e-mail missed with RESULTS MISSING-REPEATED TRANSMISSION in the first line. The original message including the lines FROM, TO, SENT ON and SUBJECT should follow as automatically generated. For this reason you MUST SAVE the e-mails sent and keep them in your files till the e-course will be finished. Benjamin Kagina, Cape Town, South Africa Is it acceptable to repeat an assignment in the course? If you want to resubmit the assignment, add R or RR both to the subject and to the file name (GRP 2007-Kagina-05R if you are sending the first revision, GRP 2007-Kagina-05RR if you are sending the second revision). See also this GRP 2007 BULLETIN updated 2007-05-09 (Marija Kaevska, Skopje, Macedonia: If some of the assignments is improper, do we get a second chance to do it again?)

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UPDATED 2007-05-13 Note on RR05 by Marija Kaevska, Skopje, Macedonia I was not aware that there are regulations on a European level, for the researchers and their employers. Most of them are ensuring the position of the researchers in society, like having social security in case of changing place of work or even country. Is this also, case with the PhD students? However, some of the points really surprised me, for example, the rule for having a career advisor. If something similar could be used for establishing R&D companies and institutes also in developing countries, a charter and code like this would definitely place the researchers in better position and also would ensure the benefits to the society from their work. The documents are not obligatory, but you should be aware of the recommended principles. Supervisors should be carrier advisors for PhD students. Note on Lesson 05 by Marija Kaevska, Skopje, Macedonia I was surprised from the extent of the ISI web of knowledge databases, and all the options available. It provides information necessary for any research work. Thus, it is a very important lesson, and I will try to learn more about it and to use it as it is important benefit that I have here at the institute. The analysis of search results should be mentioned as a unique tool offered. See what can be achieved using a few clicks of the mouse: http://www.vri.cz/docs/vetmed/51-5-161.pdf Sammy Wambua, Kisumu, Kenya Dear Sir, My sincere gratitude for the great service you're doing young and upcoming scientists as myself. And particularly for the inclusion of the communication lesson in this course; a very invaluable information yet disregarded in most science training settings. The lesson has done a great deal teaching me new things while endowing me with rationale and confidence in employing the recommendations previously known to me. Its interesting how unwritten rules (such as using titles being considered lack of modesty and avoiding indentation in starting paragraphs) have become universally accepted. I have a few comments/questions to make in connection with the lesson: 1. Manuscript preparation for publication and journalism (mass communication) are some of the most important ways in which a modern scientist communicates with the populace or even peers. I thought adding a paragraph on these would make a great addition to the lesson - besides, science journalism is emerging as an important and lucrative alternative science career. see LESSON 7: How to write a paper in scientific journal style and format 2. About signatures on emails... since a signature has name, function etc, should one put their name after an email in which a signature is to be appended (that will mean the name appears twice) or should one just leave it at sincerely/regards etc and then append the signature? I prefer to save signature/signatures without the name. It gives me the possibility to use different formats of my name and to append an appropriate signature line, e.g.: Karel AND no signature at all if it was a notice to my colleague in another office.

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OR at the end of official letters: Professor Karel Hruska AND a different signature e.g. Editor-in-Chief, Veterinarni Medicina Veterinary Research Institute Hudcova 70 621 00 Brno Czech Republic http://vetmed.vri.cz vetmed@vri.cz OR Coordinator of the International Collaboration Veterinary Research Institute Hudcova 70 621 00 Brno Czech Republic http://www.vri.cz hruska@vri.cz 3. I have seen texts where there are two spaces after a full stop and the text editor doesn't flag that as wrong... is that the correct way to punctuate? You are right, it is possible and you are a careful observer. Sometimes different requirements can be required or the double spacing can be the result of some text editors... 4. In which cases should the Bcc (blind carbon copy) command on email be used? If the addressee need not know who receives a copy, e.g. if you are authorised by your boss to discuss something with anybody and you want to inform the boss that the e-mail was delivered. Sometimes this information could be quite delicate. In other cases it may be some other situation. The addressee should know that you are informing your boss about particular matters. However, the open approach is recommended if possible. Sammy Wambua GRP 2007-Wambua-01 In regards to my earlier question, for which you needed clarification, please refer to lesson 1 (communication). The start of paragraph 6 of the said lesson reads, "Paragraphs should begin without indentation and should be separated by missing a line. Tables should be ordered, and text should be centred or aligned to the right using the appropriate text editor commands, not by repeatedly pressing the space bar or tab key. Common errors include two spaces between words, a space missing after a comma, colon or a full stop. Texts should be checked using a programme for spelling and grammatical errors. Before printing, the carefully checked text will be aligned using the justify command..." My understanding therefore is that texts first are written centred or aligned to the right and its only later (before printing) that they should be aligned using the justify command. My question was, what's the rationale for this? 1. Separation of paragraphs by the END OF LINE and ‘free line’ functions is now preferred instead of the three or five character indentation, because it creates less problems in reformatting in other files or text editors. It is also better if the last line is long. 2. Tables should be ordered, usually at the end. Their position in the text can be marked in

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an appropriate position by TABLE number or by the Table Title. It makes it possible to justify the whole text and not just the separate paragraphs. 3. Text should be aligned to the left or justified: only the specific lines have text aligned to the right (date and reference in letter, information in the headers and footers etc.). 4. Positioning should not be achieved by repeatedly pressing the space bar or tab key: positioning of titles in the centre by spaces or several tab keys often brings a lot of problems with further editing. 5. Text for further editing (manuscripts submitted to the publishers, parts of reports to be edited by anybody else) should usually be submitted as non-formatted files. The final edition, e.g. separation of long words by hyphens to improve the length of lines in the justified text is recommended after saving the corrected version, just before printing. The final edited version should be saved separately under another name. UPDATED 2007-05-09 Comments, Questions and Answers Marija Kaevska, Skopje, Macedonia Because is really difficult to go through a large number of Supercourse lectures in Lesson 04, I would suggest a pre-selection. With a selection of the best quality ones, maybe they could be recommended for the students and they would not miss the most important information. Participants in the e-course are of different interests and background: medical doctors, veterinarians, dentists, public health officers, entomologists, biochemists, economists, pre-graduate students, PhD students, postdocs, research associates, lecturers etc. Thus the selection of Supercourse lecturers is not possible. Moreover, the course is designed to increase self-motivation of the participants and their ability to find information important to them. Sammy Wambua, Kisumu, Kenya Could you kindly clarify what the "Working dairy" is about. Am I to list down activities that pertain to the GRP course or all my daily activities? The working diary is an important tool for recording complete activities. It can be returned to after weeks, months, or sometimes even years, to remind what happened, with whom you met, where you were and what you saw. It is dependent on the individual as to whether records are brief or more comprehensive. The diary should not substitute experimental protocols or patient's records by following the good laboratory/clinical practice requirement. It is not necessary to duplicate records. If data can be found in any protocol, a note in the diary is sufficient. You should only record that ‘you spent seven hours in ambulance’ or in ‘surgery room’. Links to files with duty trip reports, submitted as required in your department or institution, are also useful. You should learn how to record important professional data from your working day and it is up to you if you will continue after finishing the e-course. It should not take more than five minutes a day. The importance increases with your professional position. Marija Kaevska, Skopje, Macedonia If some of the assignments is improper, do we get a second chance to do it again? Everybody is free to re-submit the assignments if he/she is not satisfied with the resultant points. However the entire course should result in a participant's extension of knowledge and the assignments provide only a superficial mark that you completed the lesson. GRP 2007 is designed for you to develop self-motivation, responsibility, systematic ability, endurance, curiosity, and the ability to find answers to any question (if it exists). It is all in your hands, regardless of the results in the table.

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UPDATED 2007-05-01 A researcher can be successful if he/she is able to abide by the following principles: • to be informed • to make decisions • to manage himself/herself to keep to plans • to finish tasks Have you been informed about the GRP 2007 e-course? Yes. Did you make a decision to participate? Yes. But: Have you managed to keep to the plan? Have you already started? How many assignments have you submitted already? Do you really wish to start and finish the course? Do you know that you should not only follow lessons, but the recommended readings as well? GRP 2007 RR-05 European Charter for Researchers and a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (bonus: 5 points http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril786.pdf Open, print and read the document. As assignment GRP 2007-RR05 list the titles of Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Annex. GRP 2007 RR-06 Falsifications in Research and Science (bonus: 5 points) . http://centaur.vri.cz/default.asp?page=news/prilohy/pril440.htm Read the book review “Falsifiers, Confidence Men, Charlatans, Falsifications in Research and Science” and answer the following question: When and where was Sir Charles Babbage born and died? Information in the review is not correct – you have to find the data yourself. GRP 2007 RR-07 Requirements for Manuscripts (bonus: 15 points) . http://www.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril526.pdf Supplement to Lesson 07 Print, read carefully, and permanently keep in touch with the 35 pp document “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication”, issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. As an assignment for GRP 2007-RR07 list the Ethical Considerations in the Conduct and Reporting of Research mentioned in the document under A to F. Remember: It is not necessary to learn by heart all information but to know it exists and to be able to find it if necessary. UPDATED 2007-04-24 Comments, Questions and Answers What is the meaning of the numbers in the columns next to the personal codes? The number in the grey column represents the date when the assignment was received. Yellow boxes mean the correct answers with points ascribed, the blue boxes mean improper answers. The meaning of columns is explained in row 2. I read GRP2007 BULLETIN with the questions, answers and comments, so I found answers for the most of my questions. I will continue following the BULLETIN for further information. The bulletin substitutes the discussion in the classroom. Readers can follow all Q&A and thus be in touch with the classmates from 24 countries of five continents. Everybody can address the questions not only to the e-course manager, myself but to other classmates as

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well. I received my assignment that you have read, corrected, controlled and sent it back to me with the corrected options. Is it necessary for me to rewrite the assignment correcting the mistakes and send it back to you or only I will know my mistakes and try to avoid such mistakes in the next assignments? Try to follow the latter if the re-submission of the assignment would not be required. Can the participants know that their assignments are acceptable or can be rejected? Follow the GRP 2007 results table. You will see if the assignment arrived and how it has been evaluated. A yellow box = my congratulations. UPDATED 2007-04-21 Abdalla Fadlalla Azrug, Sudan/Turkey I had read the attached instructions, but I would like to ask more information how to send the written assignments? Is it needed to be sent as a normal E-mail message or an attached word document? The assignment should be attached as a word file named as required, e.g. GRP 2007-Azrug-01. Comments and questions can be in the e-mail body. Do not forget: • Each e-mail must express your evaluation of the lesson importance for yourself. Make short comments or notes and evaluate the importance for you (0 to 5, not all at the highest). • Each e-mail should be signed by your full automatic signature. I will start sending my Working Diary and various activities every month beginning from 1st May 2007. You can send it if you want, but you can wait for the requirement. Finally, I would like to thank you much for your kind help. I know that you are so busy, but I will send some questions and comments to be answered. Your questions and comments are welcome. Follow the bulletin where Q&A are published for the attention of all course mates. GRP 2007 RR-04 Microsoft WORD text Editor (bonus: 3 points) . Reply the following questions: Do you know how to count the words? Do you know how to use the spell checker? Alternatives: Yes, I was aware already. No, but now I am able to us it. UPDATED 2007-04-18 Questions and Answers How will I know if I have been successfully registered? The registration was confirmed by e-mail and your name code is in the GRP 2007 RESULTS table. The users of public mail services (yahoo, hotmail, gmail, atlas, seznam etc.) must follow their mail boxes regularly. Their capacity is limited and some e-mails can be lost. A problem can occur with the limited size of attachments, too. The mail servers of the university or institute should be preferred, if possible. Where will I use my code? The code is indicating your row in GRP 2007 RESULTS. The link for downloading is available in the GRP 2007 BULLETIN at http://centaur.vri.cz

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Is it necessary to read all material mentioned in the Lessons and bulletin? All information available in the Lessons and Bulletin are recommended for your study. The decision to read them, to comment on the content and to evaluate the importance for you is in your hands. I should be informed by e-mail and your assignment will imply how you got on with the lesson. How do we get the assignment? You will not get any assignment: you have to follow the instructions in the lesson plan and send the completed assignment to me. Comment to Lesson 02 by Petr Janalik, Czech Republic I was surprised, when I first saw the CENTAUR web – I didn’t know, that there is such an activity in the Czech Republic. But it is a logical offspring of the technical progress around us. Communication is a key point of the research and nobody wants to stand away. So we have to adapt and try to keep our methods up to date. It doesn’t matter, if we talk about a scientist or a vet - everybody has to follow modern trends to be successful in his branch. Few additional facts (KH): GRP 2007-RR 03 (bonus: 5 points) . The Veterinary Biotechnology, Epidemiology and Food Safety network CENTAUR has more than 1200 registered members from the whole world, who receive pre-selected information from different fields of their interest. Some contributions, articles and reports are available at the CENTAUR web page http://centaur.vri.cz. Perhaps you will be surprised by the number

of countries from where the visitors are. Click the icon under the left menu and then select Geo tracking. As a result, you can send me an e-mail (GRP 2007-RR03-Family name) with the number of countries. Do not count the countries: mark the contents of the table, copy (CTRL-C) and paste to the EXCEL table (CTRL-V). You’ll know the number of countries in seconds. Eloise Kok, Finland/Autralia: I do have one further question about the bonus point recommended readings - what are the criteria for assessment of these extra projects? KH reply: E-mail information that the RR was studied and a comment on its significance for the reader. Question by Ganesh Selvaraj, India: I saw the advertisement about "International Food Laws Distance Education Certificate Program" in the CENTAUR NEWS. For taking part of this course I have to pay or I no need to pay for the registration to start this course. Could you please help me how to enrol my registration to this course? KH reply: I am sorry I can't help you. The Institute for Food Laws and Regulations (IFLR) at Michigan State University http://www.iflr.msu.edu/ requires "Tuition for semester under the Lifelong Education Program (US) $1,037.25 per course ($345.75 per credit hour x 3 credits). International Lifelong Education Students living outside the United States are exempt from matriculation fees, international student fees, and international health insurance [If you are enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at MSU, the particular tuition rate and fees for

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that program would apply.]" Note on Lesson 02 by Eloise Kok, Finland/Australia As an already registered member of the CENTAUR Network, I regularly receive updates and emails regarding newly published/released work and notifications. It is a very informative website, with a lot of information that is easily attainable. Unfortunately, my current work does not related to veterinary research, however I do still find it interesting to receive updates in all fields of science that I am interested in. In the same way that I subscribe to the NewScientist email updates, I like learning about new techniques that are developed and how other fields within science progress. Perhaps one day I hope that I may be able to use the information that I learn about on such websites for use in my own research, in some novel procedure combining the knowledge from a number of fields. Nothing in particular draws my attention to receiving these email updates; I just enjoy learning about new things. ISSUED 2007-04-16 When are we expected to complete the first lesson? Carefully read the GRP 2007 and GRP 2007 LESSONS 1-10. You can start immediately with the working diary and lessons. After finishing any lesson, send an e-mail to the supervisor with the subject as GRP 2007–your family name-number of lesson. Attach the required assignment (file name: GRP 2007–your family name-number of lesson). The assignments from all lessons must be submitted within six months from the registration. Lessons 11 to 20 will be announced. Subject and file name: Read carefully GRP 2007 INFO “After finishing the lesson, send an e-mail to the supervisor with the subject as GRP 2007–your family name-number of lesson. Attach the required assignment (file name: GRP 2007–your family name-number of lesson).” The subject in your e-mail and the file name must be identical as follows: GRP 2007-Gates-01 Not one space or character more, no forenames or initials. It is crucial for the orientation among thousands of e-mails in the file. One to two hundred e-mails are expected to be exchanged with every student. Thus, one e-course with 100 students represents a file with 10 to 20 thousand e-mails! There is no reason to repeat the transmission unless you do not receive the automatic reply within three days (don't forget to select the reading confirmation). The pre-defined full signature should be appended to your e-mails. Take care even for the minute formal details • No double space between the words. • No spaces before the first word in paragraphs. • One empty line between the paragraphs. • No spaces before full stop, comma, semicolon, or the left/right bracket. • Spaces after full stop, comma, semicolon, the right bracket or before the left bracket. • No spaces used for the position of words (learn the right use of tabulator. • Use spell-check to avoid the typing errors. The attachment should be submitted as a WORD file (not PDF). General recommendation: the file name must be as short as possible. Long names often

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result in transmission failure and orientation in the files is either more difficult or impossible. Comment by Mary Frances Nakamya, Kenya I am interested in the e-course and I am very certain that the knowledge I will acquire will greatly enhance my studies and work as a whole. I have always applied to attend similar courses but all in vain, so let me hope this time I will be considered because, such opportunities are very rare in our developing countries. Comment by Benjamin Kagina, South Africa Lesson 02: This is my first time to register with CENTAUR network. Coming from a human sciences/ medicine, I find it interesting that the principle approach of achieving health related challenges in veterinary medicine is the same as with human medicine: for infectious diseases, vaccine is the most effective approach Finally, it could be useful to mention on how to develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for a microbiology laboratory and their uses. From my little understanding on laboratory work, it is out of SOP that the other activities will ride on. Based on this central role of SOP in laboratories, the lecture can be greatly enriched if it had a section dealing with SOP. KH REPLY: GRP 2007-RR 01 (bonus: 15 points) . Recommended readings: EPA Quality System: Quality Management Tools - Standard Operating Procedures Standard Operating Procedures are written documents that describe, in great detail, the routine procedures to be followed for a specific operation, analysis or action. Consistent use of an approved Standard Operating Procedure ensures conformance with organisational practices, reduced work effort, reduction in error occurrences and improved data comparability, credibility and defensibility. Standard Operating Procedures also serve as resources for training and for ready reference and documentation of proper procedures. http://www.epa.gov/quality/sops.html EPA Guidance for Preparing Standard Operating Procedures http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril769.pdf Laboratory Specific Standard Operating Procedures: Development Information and Directions http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril770.pdf Dairy Farm Business: STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES: A Writing Guide http://centaur.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril771.pdf For the examples of SOP see http://pcvd-ssa.vri.cz/news/prilohy/pril462.pdf Comment by Benjamin Kagina, South Africa I find the Lesson 03 Microbiology: laboratory safety and skills to be in tune with what is stipulated in most laboratories but what, unfortunately, is ignored by most of us, researchers in our daily activities in laboratories. Comment by Catherine Murdoch, Scotland I was already aware of most of the information on the microbiology safety website. However, there were some new details. I was not aware that ear protection is required for a sonicator or that pipette tips should be pre-wet for calibration checks on small volumes. I was also unaware that some labs do pipette by mouth. The website is similar to Scotland for this case (as far as I am aware). I like the quizzes and diagrams present on the website and they also have some good links to other websites.

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Comment by Juan Nustes, Colombia Another important comment not include is about the storage of microorganism for long period of time. I consider is necessary added some information related especially when you have to continue using the microorganisms for more time in the same purpose. KH REPLY: GRP 2007-RR 02 (bonus: 10 points) . The Collections of Microorganisms play an important role in collection, maintaining and preserving living cultures of bacteria and viruses. Recommended readings: World Federation for Culture Collections http://wdcm.nig.ac.jp/wfcc/ European Culture Collections' Organisation (ECCO) http://www.eccosite.org/ As an example see: http://www.vri.cz/labs/patogen/default.htm

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INTRODUCTIONS AND OPINIONS OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PARTICIPANTS

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Distance Learning: e-Course GOOD RESEARCH PRACTICE 2007

Student: Eloise Kok, Finland

I found this e-course extremely valuable in opening my eyes to the endless resources that are available on the internet for scientists in this day and age. I hope that I will be able to continually use the sites I was exposed to within the course and that it will develop my professional skills as a researcher. I will definitely reřer back to the lessons and recommended readings in order to obtain the full benefit of what some of these resources are capable of providing. I will definitely recommend this course to others, and although it took time and effort, it was undeniably worth it. I will endeavour to continue to evaluate further information portals that I discover myself and those that are referred to me by other scientists. A big congratulations to Professor Hruska for taking the initiative to design and develop such an online course and hope that through the continuous support of collaborators, this course can recurrently be offered to researchers throughout the world.

I have attached some pictures below of my study group within the department of Forensic Medicine at the University of Tampere in Southern Finland. We are only a small group, consisting of two temporary laboratory assisants, a laboratory technician, 2 PhD students (including myself), two medical examiners, a secretary and the head of the department. lam currently nearing the end of the first year of my PhD studies inta Alzheimer's disease and have found this course extremely invaluable in my expansion as a young scientist.

Some of the Department of Forensic Medicine out to dinner.

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Me.

Tampere Town Hall on a beautiful May day.

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The view out of my window at school on a frosty February morning.

The old paper mill factory that lines the rapids that flow through Tampere.

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Good Research Practice 2007 e-course: my opinion My name is Sammy Wambua and I come from a beautiful country called Kenya in the East of Africa. As you will probably already know, it is summer everyday here. At the moment I work and live in Kisumu, the country’s third city situated right at the shores of Lake Victoria, the largest Lake in Africa. I promise you fish doesn’t come any fresher or tastier than you get here. And it’s impossible to get anywhere else in the world the fish varieties you get here… add that to the fact that its under 2 hour’s drive to the Great Rift Valley and you have a complete paradise! Invaluable. Resourceful. Informative. Indispensable. For lack of better adjectives, I consistently used these terms during my correspondence with Prof. Karel Hruška to describe the course material. And I still don’t think words would be enough to describe neither the course nor my gratitude for the free opportunity I had to participate in this. When the year comes to an end and I have to do an evaluation, this course will be listed together with the best things that happened to me this year… I have learned, grown and assumed more responsibility at work – thanks to the course! There was always something new to learn in every topic encountered even if banal-seeming! I guess I was too excited about the course and went about telling everyone about it. My supervisor was equally excited that a course like this actually existed and as I speak plan are underway to make the course mandatory for everyone joining our laboratory. In regards to improving the course, I guess I gave my contributions over the period of the course and must mention how impressed I was at the speed with which the good Professor implemented my suggestions. Having said that, I still think an open forum where participants can discuss and exchange notes would be a great addition to the course. I can’t recommend this course highly enough. I enclose here some photos of me et al., Sammy M. Wambua, Research Assistant, KEMRI/Walter Reed Project, P.O. Box 54, Kisumu - Kenya. Cell phone #: +254 (0) 722656396

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E-mail: sammywambua@gmail.com

Me, in the background is a view of the Great Rift Valley at Iten – Kenya

My wife and I when we both worked for Wellcome Trust Research Labs at Kilifi – Kenya

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An Ostrich couple at an orphanage, The Poa Place at Eldoret – Kenya

A Crane couple at The Poa Place

A human couple (my wife and I!) at The Poa Place

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For the uninitiated, roasted maize is one of the irresistible delicacies this end of the world; even if driving!

Waterfalls on the escarpments seen from down the Rift Valley at Tambach – Kenya

A nicely manicured tea plantation on Nandi Hills – Kenya

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The comment on Sammy’s opinion by K. Hruska: Sammy has already performed valuable research and should be congratulated on this. He is working as part of a successful team and his name can be found among the co-authors of eight papers published in prestigious journals (total impact factor 79,845):

Wambua, S., Mwangi, T.W., Kortok, M., Uyoga, S.M. , Macharia, A.W., Mwacharo, J.K., Weatherall,

D.J., Snow, R.W., Marsh, K., Williams, T.N. (2006)

The effect of alpha(+)-thalassaemia on the incidence of malaria and other diseases in

children living on the coast of Kenya

Plos Medicine, 3, 643-651

Impact factor 13,758

Wambua, S., Mwacharo, J., Uyoga, S., Macharia, A. , Williams, T.N. (2006)

Co-inheritance of alpha(+)-thalassaemia and sickle trait results in specific effects on

haematological parameters

British Journal of Haematology, 133, 206-209

Impact factor 4,498

Williams, T.N., Mwangi, T.W., Wambua, S., Peto, T.E.A., Weatherall, D.J., Gupta, S. , Recker, M.,

Penman, B.S., Uyoga, S., Macharia, A., Mwacharo, J.K., Snow, R.W., Marsh, K. (2005)

Negative epistasis between the malaria-protective effects of alpha(+)-thalassemia and

the sickle cell trait

Nature Genetics, 37, 1253-1257

Impact factor 24,176

Nyakeriga, A.M., Troye-Blomber, M., Mwacharo, J.K., Wambua, S., Williams, T.N. (2005)

Nutritional iron status in children with alpha(+) thalassemia and the sickle cell trait in a

malaria endemic area on the coast of Kenya

Haematologica-the Hematology Journal, 90 , 552-554

Impact factor 5,832

Williams, T.N., Wambua, S., Uyoga, S., Macharia, A. , Mwacharo, J.K., Newton, C.R.J.C. , Maitland,

K. (2005)

Both heterozygous and homozygous alpha(+) thalassemias protect against severe and

fatal Plasmodium falciparum malaria on the coast of Kenya

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Blood, 106, 368-371

Impact factor 10,370

Williams, T.N., Mwangi, T.W., Roberts, D.J., Alexander, N.D., Weatherall, D.J., Wambua, S., Kortok,

M., Snow, R.W., Marsh, K. (2005)

An immune basis for malaria protection by the sickle cell trait

Plos Medicine, 2, 441- 445

Impact factor 13,758

Williams, T.N., Mwangi, T.W., Wambua, S., Alexander, N.D., Kortok, M., Snow, R.W., Marsh, K.

(2005)

Sickle cell trait and the risk of Plasmodium falciparum malaria and other childhood

diseases

Journal of Infectious Diseases, 192, 178-186

Impact factor 5,363

Nyakeriga, A.M., Williams, T.N., Marsh, K., Wambua, S., Perlmann, H., Perlmann, P., Grandien, A.,

Troye-Blomberg, M. (2005)

Cytokine mRNA expression and iron status in children living in a malaria endemic area

Scandinavian Journal of Immunology, 61, 370-375

Impact factor 2,090

I am very happy that my minute contribution to the dissemination of knowledge was so much appreciated by a researcher living and working in a country so far from the Czech Republic. The photo of Sammy with the Great Rift Valley in the background brought back memories of my visit to Kenya. It reminded me of the beauty of its nature and of the national parks at Aberdare, Nairobi, Nakuru, Naivashi, Fourteen Waterfalls in Thika, the Coral Reef in Mombasa and other wonderful places I had the privilege of visiting twelve years ago. Professor K. Hruska

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Good research practice 2007 e-course My opinion

Short time after completing the last assignment, I’d like look back and try to write a small resume of

the course. I appreciate Professor Hruska’s energy, which he put in this project. I find the whole

course contributing, every participant has an opportunity to gain new skills, which can (and should) be

lately used in his work. I think the course is very helpful especially for the beginners in research, and

for students writing a diploma or dissertation thesis. But not only researchers or students can absolve

the course. I took part in it as a selectable subject of my university; lots of our graduates don’t want to

get a job in research, most of them would like to find a practice job. Even these can find the course

useful – e.g. when they solve a non-common case, it is good to know where to find almost infinite

sources of information.

The e-mail communication was a little surprise for me, but not unpleasant. We have to get used with

new trends, if we want success. And, in addition, it is more comfortable to work at home on my

personal computer according to my personal timetable than to sit in the school and work in a hurry that

we must do the work in a changeless time limit.

Petr Janalik

Student

University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno

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Good Research Practice 2007 Lefulesele Nteletsana Lebesa, Kingdom of Lesotho

Thanks to one of my supervisors, Professor Ahmed Hassanali who sent out the GRP advert to all scientists at icipe. I thought, aah, if it is free what do I have to lose if I try. Indeed I had nothing to lose but everything to gain. However, getting started was not easy. I procrastinated until when a reminder was sent out to all participants. Through procrastination, I almost lost the most important and rare opportunity of discovering best ways of finding information, getting advices and recommendations that are going to be forever useful in my lifetime as a researcher. I am grateful to the course because I became very careful with writing especially after going through the readings for assignment 7 and this has not only rewarded me with understanding and knowledge that I intent to apply for writing my manuscripts but it is already having a positive impact on my writing abilities. This is an incredible course. I cannot think of even a single assignment that has been less useful to me, with this course every assignment meant discovering something new. But of all my wonderful experiences Web of Knowledge was the best. I want to thank and congratulate Professor Hruška for putting together such an informative course and his dedication for reading all assignments and give useful comments and guidance to us. I am already encouraging my colleagues to join GRP 2008. I am also urging them to be self disciplined, to start in time, manage their time well to indeed carry out all assignments if they want to reap full benefits of this course.

Below are my pictures and background information about me.

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Background information about me

My name is Lefulesele Nteletsana Lebesa aka Lefu to friends and colleagues. I was born and raised in a small beautiful mountain Kingdom of Lesotho (we call it a kingdom in the sky, the lowest elevation point is 1500 m.a.s.l.) in Southern Africa. You can be sure to come for your summer holidays (winter of course in Lesotho), to have time for skiing, what a wonderful experience, snow in Africa!!!!!!!!

this is me

I work as researcher in the Crop Protection Division of the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR), Maseru, Lesotho although I am currently on study leave till 2009. When going through this course, I realized how much is needed to be done at DAR and hope to mobilize my colleagues that we use our experiences, acquired skills and knowledge to put it at an internationally recognizable research organization.

I am doing my PhD in Entomology with icipe – African Insect Science for Food & Health at Mbita Point (at the shores of Lake Victoria), Kenya. My study investigates how blister beetles (Meloidae, Hycleus spp.) use olfactory and visual cues for host location in nature, the knowledge I will use for developing the prototype trap that farmers may for control blister beetles on Desmodium spp.

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The mountainous country. Katse Dam a reservoir for water sold to South Africa.

My colleague and I on horses, the reliable means of transport up the mountains. Oops, I almost forgot, mountain hiking is also possible as you can see on left pic.

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Left: My friends blister beetles (enemies of Desmodium seed producers), that take about 85% of my time, they are feeding onDesmodium flowers. Right: me, explaining to colleagues

the use of an olfactometer to evaluate blister beetle response towards odours.

Push-pull field; maize intercropped with Desmodium sp. Lefu at the centre, giving a brief description of her work on blister beetles.

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Lefu & her hubby, anything in common? Maybe, after all they say laughter relieves stress.

Snowy mountains of Lesotho, July 2006. Going for skiing after world cup 2010 wouldn’t be a bad idea.

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•

GOOD RESEARCH PRACTICE 2007 Distance Learning: e-Course

My opinion:

Firstly I like to thank my teacher Dr. Md. Siddiqul Rahman, Associate Professor, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh who informed me about the course. Dr. Rahman completed the GRP course at 2003-04. I have to say that this was my first e-course I participated. The e-course is very essential for the beginning research workers. I think all universities/institutes should have such a course for their post graduate students. The course is helpful to develop professional knowledge as well as mental support for a good sincerity and devotion is research work. Many of the information given in this workshop were new and were very much useful to me. The workshop helped me to find many interesting web sites, databases and information I never heard about before. They will be very important for me, even in my future research practice.

I like to appreciate the adding of a separate lesson on Good Laboratory Practice in GRP 2008. Separate lessons on supervisor selection and molecular biology can also be added in future. The focus of the course can also be extended to support various fields of veterinary science. AII research should be for human welfare. Assignment 8 can be extended by adding more lessons on ethics and themes of scientific research.

I hope this workshop will reach to more number of peoples in the scientific community of the world. I would like to participate on similar workshop again, to improve my skills and to learn something new again.

Finally, I would like to thank Professor Hruska to organize and to allow me participating in this course.

Dr. Md. Mazharul lslam Scientific Officer (AI & ET Project) Byre Section Central Cattle Breeding and Dairy Farm Savar, Dhaka Bangladesh.

attached some pictures of my working place and natural features of

Me.

I am working in our laboratory.

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•

MR 7 2001

The Central Cattle Breeding Station, Bangladesh.

Bull Station of Central Artificial Insemination Laboratory, Bangladesh

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The Sundarbans. It is the largest mangrove forest in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site •

The Cox's Bazar sea beach. It is the longest natural sea beach of the world.

Published byVýzkumný ústav veterinárního lékaøství, v.v.i.Veterinary Research InstituteHudcova 70621 00 BrnoCzech RepublicTel. +4205 3333 2501e-mail: vri@vri.czhttp://www.vri.cz