Instructions for Article Review

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ARTICLE REVIEW L.A. Mission College Angela C. Echeverri

You will select, read, and evaluate an report on research in microbiology published in a peer-reviewed journal within the last two years.

1. Selection: The article must be from an original or primary source of information; in other words it must contain the evidence for the author's conclusions and represent the first report of the work. The article must be at least three (3) pages long and must contain description of an experiment performed by the authors. Review articles, editorials, and case studies are not acceptable. If you are not sure whether the article you choose is appropriate, check with me before you start. Examples of primary sources include: New England Journal of Medicine, Science, JAMA, Lancet, Nature, Ecology, Journal of Bacteriology, Journal of Applied Nutrition, Cell, Blood, Journal of Virology, and others.

In contrast, a secondary source of information refers to a summary of the work written by others to reach a wider audience. Secondary sources usually do not give detailed information on experiments performed and results obtained by the researchers who did the work. Examples of secondary publications are: Scientific American, Nutrition Today, New York Times, Science News, Discover, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, EPA Journal, Sierra Club Bulletin, Health, etc. It is important to select an article on a topic that you find interesting. You can write your written report on the same topic if you choose to.

Where to go for your articles? There are several possibilities: • Mission College Library provides students access to an on-line database EBSCOhost Academic Search, which has abstracts and indexing for over 3,100 scholarly journals and full text for over 1,000 journals. You can search for any topic that may interest you by using keywords or other search options. You can access the database on campus computers or from your computers at home (http://www.ebscohost.com/). If you access the database from your home you will need a User ID (mission) and a password (la). The database will indicate which journals are found in the Mission College Library.

• The Microbiology 20 website at Mission College contains links to different journal websites, including Science, Nature, Cell, and a site published by the American Society of Microbiology, with 10 journals. Most of these sites will have an abstract or summary of the article that can help your selection process.

• Your local college, city, or university libraries have print and/or microfilm copies of many journals.

• Finally, the Life Sciences Department at L.A. Mission College has recent issues of JAMA and New England Journal of Medicine.

2. Evaluation: After carefully reading the article you select, briefly describe and analyze the research described. Try to answer all or most of the following questions: What was the hypothesis of the researchers? What were the dependent and independent variables? What variables were standardized? What were the treatment levels, if any? How many subjects were in the study? Outline the experimental design used by the researchers. What were the most important experiments and results of the paper? Were the experiments performed appropriate to answer the researchers' questions? Did the results support their hypothesis? What conclusions did the researchers reach from their results? Can you think of alternative explanations for the results obtained?_ Why was the work important or relevant? Are there important ethical, legal, or social implications of this work? How do you think the work could be improved upon or expanded?

3. Writing the Report Your written report should be 1 to 2 pages long. The report must be stated in your own words! Do not copy text from the article. Include the following information: 1. Name of authors. 2. Title of Article. 3. Name of Journal, Date of Publication, and page numbers.

Submit a photocopy of the entire article along with your report.

SAMPLE ARTICLE REVIEW

CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS INFECTIONS IN FEMALE MILITARY RECRUITS

Authors: Gaydos, C.A., Howell, M.R., Pare, B., Clark, K.L., Ellis, D.A., Hendrix, R.M., Gaydos, J.C., McKee, K.T., and T.C. Quinn.

Published September 10, 1998 in the New England Journal of Medicine, Vol 339: pp.739-744.

Introduction: Clamydia trachomatis is an important sexually transmitted disease that affects over 4 million people in the U.S., every year. It is an important cause of infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease, and ectopic pregnancies in women. It is believed that anywhere from 5 to 20% of sexually active individuals may be infected. However, over 80% of infected individuals are asymptomatic, which greatly hinders prompt treatment. A new, cost-effective, and highly sensitive urine test is now available to screen for infections, without the need for a clinic visit or pelvic exam.

Hypothesis: The incidence of chlamydial infections in females in the U.S. military population is probably high, based on the data on the general population.

Dependent variable: Chlamydial infection as determined by urine test.

Independent variables: Age, race, sexual activity, state of origin, condom use, previous infection with gonorrhea, trichomonas, or any other STD (sexually transmitted disease).

Standardized variables: All females, new military (army) recruits from 50 states, between the ages of 17-39 years, tested within three days of starting basic training, who volunteered to participate in the study and were present at the Physical Examination Section in Fort Jackson, South Carolina between January 1996 and December 1997. All urine specimens were analyzed at the same laboratory (John Hopkins University chlamydia lab).

Number of subjects: 13,204. Experimental Design: All subjects filled out a consent form and questionnaire that asked them about their sexual history and the other independent variables listed above. Subjects collected 20 to 30 ml of urine, which were analyzed within 48 hours. Samples were also tested for other STDs. Statistical analysis was used to determine important risk factors associated with chlamydial infection. Infected subjects were contacted and treated.

Results: Overall prevalence of chlamydial infection among recruits was 9.2%. Relative risk refers to how many times an individual with a given risk factor was more likely to have a chlamydia infection than an individual without that particular risk factor. Infection rates were significantly higher in recruits from several southern states. Several important risk factors were associated with high rates of chlamydial infection including: young age [less than 25 years] (relative risk 3.0), black race (3.0) nonwhite race (1.5), history of vaginal sex (7.5), having more than 1 sex partner (1.9) or a new partner (1.7) in the previous 90 days, not using a condom during intercourse (1.2) , and having had an STD previously (1.2-1.4).

Importance of the work: This study helped confirm that chlamydia is an important STD among women in the U.S. and that many infected women are not aware that they are infected. Several important risk factors were identified that may assist with prevention, treatment, education, public health policy and outreach.

Ethical Implications: Confidentiality of subjects is a concern, particularly because they belong to the military.

Limitations/Criticisms of the study: Prevalence of infection in male recruits was not studied. It is not known whether military recruits have a similar infection rate than nonmilitary recruits. Military populations typically have a higher rate of minority recruits and those with lower socio-economic status. In this study 51% of the subjects were white, 36% were black, and 13% were of other races. Finally, the urine test is not 100% accurate. Strengths of the study: Large sample size, from diverse backgrounds and geographical origin.