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Table 3 Case materials and guiding questions

From: Modified task-based learning program promotes problem-solving capacity among Chinese medical postgraduates: a mixed quantitative survey

Case

Questions

Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst. ES cells are able to differentiate to generate primitive ectoderm, which ultimately differentiates into all derivatives of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm, which differentiate more than 220 cell types in the adult body. Because of their plasticity and potentially unlimited capacity for self-renewal, ES cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease. They are also models for drug screening, gene research and so on.

1. How to observe the development structures of three germ layers? (HE staining)

2. How many neuroectoderm cells were obtained in ES cell differentiation? (flow cytometry)

3. How to observe characteristic protein expression of neuroectoderm? (Immunoperoxidase immunohistochemistry, Immunofluorescence histochemistry, In situ hybridization)

4. How to observe the microstructure of neurons? (Electron microscope, Immunoelectron microscopy)

5. How to quantify the morphological images? (Stereology)