Assessing And Interpreting Health- Science Evidence

This question is associated with your study of Topics 1–3. It assesses the module learning outcome CS2 and your progress towards PPS1–3.
Assessing and interpreting health-science evidence and data has been a central theme of Topics 1–3 of S290. Fundamental to this has been consideration of the types and distribution of data from human participant-derived measurements and the assessment of the significance of differences within human participant and experimental model datasets. This is key to the interpretation of experimental investigations and clinical trials.
• a.Consider the data shown in Figure 2 and answer the questions that follow.

Figure 2 Histogram showing the frequency distribution of serum albumin levels in a sample of 481 men over 20 years of age with a mean of 46.14 g l−1 and a standard deviation of 3.08 g l−1.
Long description
o i.Given the type of graph shown in Figure 2, what type of data is being presented here?
(1 mark)
o ii.Looking at the shape of the graph shown in Figure 2, what type of distribution does this dataset follow?
(1 mark)
o iii.Looking at the graph shown in Figure 2, what is the modal value of serum albumin level for this dataset?
(2 marks)
o iv.Assuming that this sample is representative of the entire male population, calculate the values of serum albumin level between which you would expect 95% of measurements in this population to fall. Explain how you derived this range.
(3 marks)
o v.If a study were performed to test the experimental hypothesis that a drug will lead to a measureable increase in the serum albumin concentration, what minimum threshold of statistical significance would be used? Explain your answer.
(3 marks)
(10 marks in total for part (a))
• b.Suppose that you have been working with a research team focused on lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs). The team has recently completed an experiment in which fibroblasts taken from participants who have a lysosomal storage disease were used to evaluate two new potential drug treatments.
The experiment consisted of growing the cells in the laboratory for 24 hours, at which point the growth media was modified by addition of either saline (a solution of sterile water mixed with a low concentration of salts that should have no physiological effect) or one of the two new drug treatments (drug A or drug B, both of which were administered by being dissolved in an identical saline solution) for another 24 hours. Following the treatment phase and loading of the cells with TMRE, the fluorescence intensity of the cells was measured.
Based on the description of this experiment, answer the following questions.
o i.What is the purpose of exposing cells to saline in this experiment?
(2 marks)
o ii.Identify the dependent variable in this experiment.
(2 marks)
o iii.Identify the independent variable in this experiment and specify the number of levels that it has.
(2 marks)
After the data were collected, a statistical analysis was performed. In this case, the researchers chose to perform an ANOVA.
o iv.Why would it have been incorrect for these data to be analysed using independent samples t-tests?
(4 marks)
The ANOVA produced the following information: a P-value of 0.0035, a degrees of freedom parameter of (2,6) and an F statistic value of 16.67.
o v.Express this information in the standard ANOVA notation.
(2 marks)
o vi.Based on the result of the ANOVA, what is the next stage of analysis that the researchers would have performed? Briefly explain your answer.
(3 marks)
The data generated by this experiment are plotted in Figure 3:

Figure 3 Bar graph showing mean TMRE fluorescence intensity measurements obtained from cells from participants who have a lysosomal storage disease (LSD). The shading of the bars indicates the drug treatment applied to the cells (saline, drug A or drug B). The symbols * and ** above a square bracket on the graph indicate a statistically significant difference between the bars at either end of the square bracket for two different probability thresholds (* means P < 0.05; ** means P < 0.01). The letters ns above a square bracket indicate no statistically significant difference between the bars at either end of the square bracket.
Long description
o vii. Using no more than 150 words, describe the results of the experiment presented in Figure 2 using relative terms (not just reading off values from the bar chart). You should include the key relationships between the variables, and statements on the effectiveness of the two drugs.
(5 marks)
(20 marks in total for part (b))
Question 9 (20 marks)
From your study of Topics 1–3, reflect on your progress towards the S290 Practical and professional skills learning outcomes.
You will be able to:
• PPS1 design, conduct and report on investigations with human participants and with analytical techniques.
• PPS2 demonstrate an awareness of relevant ethical, privacy, safety and legal aspects related to investigative health sciences.
• PPS3 demonstrate an awareness of the health-sciences sector, examples of relevant business and commercial issues, and of the professional skills and behaviors of health scientists.
• a .For the Practical and professional skills learning outcome PPS1, describe in up to 150 words how you have achieved this learning outcome, referring to the module materials and your own work in the TMAs (including TMA 03). Your answer should focus on either your Stroop investigation or your study of mitochondrial fluorescence.
(5 marks)
• b .For the Practical and professional skills learning outcome PPS2, describe in up to 150 words how one aspect of the module materials has raised your awareness of the ethical or the legal (regulatory) aspects of investigative health science.
(5 marks)
• c .For the Practical and professional skills learning outcome PPS3, state how the module materials have raised your awareness of the health-sciences sector, for which examples have been presented in the module materials.
State whether your reflection is related to changes in your awareness of:
o the health-science sector
o business or commercial issues
o professional skills or behaviors.
Your answers for part (c) should focus on what you have studied and what you have gained from that study. Your response to this question should be a personal reflection based on your own unique background and experiences. Rather than just stating that particular things were good or bad, or simply describing what you did, focus on what personal progression you have made in awareness of the health-sciences sector. Give reasons for your views – how your awareness has changed having studied specific module components. Marks will be awarded according to the quality of the insights you have gained from studying S290.