California State University, Chico Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences NFSC 642 Topics in Vitamins and Minerals Fall 2015 Instructor: Lauren L. Atwell, Ph.D., R.D. Office Location: Holt Hall 106 Telephone: 530-898-4762 Email: Office Hours: Prerequisites: Course Location: latwell@csuchico.edu Tuesday/Thursday 2:00-3:00 pm, or by appointment NFSC 440 Advanced Human Nutrition and a course in biochemistry THMA 107 Course Description Review of current scientific literature in contemporary issues of selected micronutrients. Student Learning Objectives Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Explain in detail information on the structure, function, digestion, transport, storage, and utilization of key vitamins and minerals. Distinguish the metabolic pathways in which the key vitamins and minerals are required and to explain the interrelationships among these nutrients. Deduce the physiological basis of key vitamin and mineral deficiencies and excesses. Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate and analyze the scientific literature by organizing and presenting oral seminars to a group of one's peers in a logical, sequential and professional manner using scholarly publications. Interpret data and to assess the "scientific worth" of nutrition-related research articles in scholarly scientific publications. Demonstrate proficient oral skills by delivering two presentations. Page 1 of 5
Recommended Texts Biochemical, Physiological, and Molecular Aspects of Human Nutrition, by Martha H. Stipanuk, Marie A. Caudill Elsevier Health Sciences ISBN 0323266959 or other appropriate advanced human nutrition text and a Biochemistry Text Recommended Web Link Please use the following URL to access all the DRI documents: http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/dietary-guidance/dietary-reference-intakes Requirement, assignments and grading policy Requirement Each student will be expected to: 1. Attend and participate in all class discussions. 2. Be an active participant by coming to class well-prepared. 3. Organize and present two research article presentations. Article presentations or Seminars Students will find two original research articles related to micronutrients of the students choice. The presentation is limited to about 35 minutes. Students must use PowerPoint for their presentations. The instructor will provide information in class in order to choose an appropriate article for discussion in class. Reference citation style is the students choice, but the format should be consistent for all references. Please include reference citations on presentation slides throughout the presentation. The student can additionally select to include references at the end of the presentation, but it is not required. A PDF of the main article presented for each presentation must be sent to the instructor via email no later than 12 pm (noon) on the Monday prior to the presentation. The instructor will upload the article on Blackboard Learn. Students must also send the powerpoint presentation to the instructor no later than 12 pm (noon) on the day of the presentation. All students are expected to read the article prior to coming to class on the day the article is presented. Students in the audience will provide brief, anonymous peer reviews for each article presentation. The peer evaluation form is available on Blackboard Learn. Unless completing the review electronically, students should print the peer evaluation form, and bring it to each class period when an article presentation/seminar is scheduled (bring 1 per presentation). Peer reviews are to be handed in at the end of each class or before the following class period. Emailed evaluations are also accepted (please put F2015 in subject header along with PeerEval- NutrientName). These reviews are not graded but will be excellent sources of feedback for each of you on ways to improve presentation skills. Completing these reviews will be necessary to receive full participation points for the course, so do not forget to put your name on the review. The instructor will anonymize the comments before giving them to presenters. Peer evaluations will not be considered when determining a student s presentation grade. The instructor will provide specific instructions on the content of the student seminar in class. Guidelines will be distributed. Page 2 of 5
Research Article Challenges Students will be assigned a primary research article and will answer the questions below. Specific questions or discussion points may be added at the instructor s discretion depending on the article assigned. Assignments can be handed in on the due date as a paper copy or emailed to the professor before the start of class on the day it is due. What are the independent and dependent variables? What is the study design? What are the major research questions the authors are asking? What is(are) the hypothesis(es)? What are the strengths of weaknesses of this particular study? What are the major conclusions the authors state? Are these conclusions supported by the data presented in the article? If not, either write what you think is an appropriate conclusion based on the data presented OR tell me what other data you would need to see to support the authors conclusions. Is the title misleading? Does the title inform the reader of the study s outcome? What is the most relevant next step or research question? If more than 1, choose the most important one, and others can be listed after that. Grading Assignment Percent Quizzes (4) 20% Take-home research article challenges (2) 20% Article presentations (2) 50% Participation 10% TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE Subject to Change 1 Aug 24 Overview of the class and introductions; Selection of topics/papers for student seminars; Review of research design; Activity 2 Aug 31 Example article presentation by instructor Energy Nutrients the B vitamins (Thiamin) Paper/Presentation discussion 3 Sept 7 No class! Labor Day 4 Sept 14 Energy Nutrients the B vitamins (Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin) - Reference 2 Riboflavin Page 3 of 5
Biotin Pantothenic acid 5 Sept 21 Blood Nutrients: B-6, Folate Vitamin B-6 Vitamin B-6 Folate Folate 6 Sept 28 Research Article Challenge DUE Quiz #1: Energy Nutrients 7 Oct 5 Blood Nutrients (cont.); B-12, Choline SAM cycle and homocysteine Vitamin B-12 Vitamin B-12 Choline 8 Oct 12 Blood Nutrients (cont) Vitamin K, Iron Vitamin K Iron Iron 9 Oct 19 Blood Nutrients/Antioxidant Nutrients Zinc, Copper Zinc Zinc Copper 10 Oct 26 Quiz #2: Blood Nutrients 11 Nov 2 Research Article Challenge is DUE Antioxidant Nutrients Vitamin C, E, Carotenoids Vitamin C Vitamin E Carotenoids 12 Nov 9 Bone Nutrients Vitamin A + D Student presentation: Vitamin A Vitamin A Vitamin D Vitamin D 13 Nov 16 Quiz #3: Blood Nutrients and Antioxidants Page 4 of 5
14 Nov 23 No class! Thanksgiving Break 15 Nov 30 Calcium, Selenium, Chromium Calcium Selenium Chromium 16 Dec 7 Potassium, Magnesium, Fluoride, Iodine Potassium Magnesium Fluoride Iodine 17 Dec 14 Quiz #4 Page 5 of 5