TY - JOUR A1 - Simböck, Elisabeth A1 - Marksteiner, Jessica A1 - Machacek, Thomas A1 - Wiessner, Katharina A1 - Gepp, Barbara A1 - Jesenberger, Veronika A1 - Weihs, Anna A1 - Leitner, Rita T1 - The Power of Problem Based Learning beyond its Didactic Attributes JF - Journal of Problem Based Learning in Higher Education (JPBLHE) N2 - Hybrid courses with a focus on practice-orientated education and self-guided learning phases are on the rise on the higher education sector. Disciplines in Life Sciences implicate a high degree of practical laboratory expertise. The University of Applied Sciences (UAS) in Vienna, Austria, has thus been endeavoured offering students a high qualitative education integrating hybrid courses based on PBL principles, which consist of on-site (including the transmission of necessary background and practical laboratory training) and off-site (including self-study phases) sessions. As practical laboratory units are central in those courses, the restrictive measures, including the transition to a complete online teaching format due to the first Covid-19-pandemic lock-down, had severe effects on the implementation and the quality of the curriculum. According to surveys made specifically to address this problematic situation, it can be concluded that on-site practical units are fundamental for certain disciplines such as Life Sciences. KW - Problem-based Learning KW - Life Science didactics KW - Hybrid PBL-methods KW - COVID-19 KW - Life Science Education Y1 - VL - 9 IS - 1 SP - 109 EP - 130 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Wießner, Katharina A1 - Praher, Daniela A1 - Liousia, Varvara A1 - Gepp, Barbara A1 - Leitner, Rita A1 - Rünzler, Dominik T1 - Testing the acute toxicity of an alternative to Glyphosate - Pelargonic acid T2 - SETAC Europe 30th Annual Meeting - Online N2 - Glyphosate-based herbicides were used as plant protection product globally for several decades. However, glyphosate is discussed as showing genotoxicity and many other side-effects such as inhibiting the mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase, leading to a decreased ATP production. Therefore, finding alternative active substances is necessary. Pelargonic acid (nonanoic acid) and its ammonium salt (saponified form), which are used as alternatives to glyphosate-based herbicides, are biological derived substances considered as environmentally friendly herbicides. To test the effects of pelargonic acid in its acidic form (active substance in TopGun) and its saponified form (in Finalsan Plus) on the aquatic ecosystem, students of the master study program “environmental management and ecotoxicology” compared the toxicity levels of these substances using zebrafish embryos within the scope of a student research course. The project was developed by applying the 7-step problem-based learning method which allowed the students to design their experiments independently with the guidance and feedback of the lecturers. Acute toxicity was determined according to OECD test guideline 236 in D. rerio which revealed a LC50 of 1.55 mg/L of pelargonic acid, a LC50 value of 0.93 mg/L pelargonic acid in TopGun and a LC50 of 36.37 mg/L of Finalsan Plus. Neutral Red Uptake assays were performed on the rainbow trout-derived gill cell-line RTgill-W1 to determine the acute toxicity according to the OECD test guideline 129 which revealed the IC50 value of 12.4 mg/L pelargonic acid in TG. Due to solubility limits, no reliable IC50 could be obtained. The results of the tests indicate differences in the acute toxicity of the pelargonic acid-based formulations TopGun and Finalsan Plus. However, more investigations have to be done in order to analyse if the acidic form is more toxic than the saponified form. Furthermore, detailed ecotoxicological risk assessments and an evaluation of the genotoxicity of both herbicides has to be performed before any conclusion can be drawn. Financial support from the City of Vienna project PBL in Molecular Life Science (21-06) is gratefully acknowledged. KW - Environmental Chemistry KW - Ecotoxicology Y1 - 2020 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Leitner, Rita A1 - Gepp, Barbara A1 - Liousia, Varvara A1 - Rünzler, Dominik T1 - Teaching 3R principles in ecotoxicology by performing a problem-based learning project T2 - ALTEX Proceedings, LINZ 2018 – EUSAAT 2018, Volume 7, No. 2, ISSN 2194-0479 (2018) KW - Problem Based Learning KW - Teaching KW - Ecotoxicology KW - 3R Principles Y1 - ER - TY - GEN A1 - Gepp, Barbara A1 - Liousia, Varvara A1 - Machacek, Thomas A1 - Praher, Daniela A1 - Eisner, Katharina A1 - Limbeck, Sophie A1 - Gamper, Janine A1 - Schwarzl, Elisabeth A1 - Hazod, Till A1 - Landwehr, Renate A1 - Wenger, Charlotte A1 - Olscher, Christoph A1 - Leitner, Rita A1 - Rünzler, Dominik T1 - Pelargonic acid - an alternative to glyphosate-based herbicides? KW - Ecotoxicology KW - Herbicides Y1 - ER - TY - GEN A1 - Eisner, Katharina A1 - Gepp, Barbara A1 - Schnegg, Raimund A1 - Dallinger, Reinhard A1 - Rünzler, Dominik T1 - Investigation of endocrine effects of sublethal cadmium doses on the reproduction system of the freshwater snail B. glabrata KW - Ecotoxicology KW - Endocrine disruptors Y1 - ER - TY - GEN A1 - Stoiber, Stefan A1 - Purtscher, Michaela A1 - Gepp, Barbara A1 - Huber-Gries, Carina T1 - Towards a platform for spatially defined cell characterization of a miniturized heart tissue model KW - Microfluidic KW - Tissue Engineering KW - Heart Y1 - ER - TY - GEN A1 - Friedrich, Robin A1 - Lakic, Nevana A1 - Prähauser, Linda A1 - Schweitzer, Karoline A1 - Olscher, Christoph A1 - Monforte Vila, Xavier A1 - Leitner, Rita A1 - Gepp, Barbara T1 - Effects of Plastic on the Freshwater Snail Biomphalaria Glabrata T2 - SETAC Europe 32nd Annual Meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark from 15 - 19. May 2022 KW - Ecotoxicology KW - Biomphalaria Glabrata Y1 - ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Xu, Yingyang A1 - Gepp, Barbara A1 - Lengger, Nina A1 - Yin, Jia A1 - Breiteneder, Heimo T1 - Identification of probable pectinesterase as a major allergen of pollen of the Asian white birch (Betula platyphylla) in northern China JF - Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol KW - birch pollen allergy KW - betula platyphylla KW - chinese population KW - major allergen KW - pectinesterase Y1 - U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.12932/AP-100722-1409 ER -