Engineering Students’ Perception of Academic Dishonesty at an American University in the Middle East

This study surveys engineering students’ perception of academic integrity at a private American university in the Middle East. The survey included questions on plagiarism, inappropriate collaboration, cheating on exams, copyright violations, and complicity in academic dishonesty. The study showed that more than one-third of the students were not aware that the university has a student academic integrity code. The gender appears to affect the students’ perception of academic dishonesty, as the female students perceived more frequent cheating than males. Also, about 10% of the female students, compared to about 30% of the male students, see no relationship between morality and academic integrity. The main reason why students cheat was because they had little time to do the work without seeking unauthorized help and because they perceive cheating as a form of collaborative work. Students believed that one of the most effective ways in reducing incidences of academic dishonesty is using more proctors during exams

Relief of dysphagia due to advanced achalasia by endoscopic creation of an esophagogastric bypass anastomosis through an epiphrenic diverticulum

An 85-year-old man with long-standing dysphagia and multiple admissions for aspiration pneumonia was referred for evaluation

Faculty perception of engineering student cheating and effective measures to curb it

© 2019 IEEE. Engineering faculty were surveyed on issues related to academic dishonesty by students affiliated with their college at an American university located in the United Arab Emirates. The survey addressed perceived frequency of plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, cheating, copyright violations and complicity in academic integrity. As expected, the majority of the faculty think that dishonesty is more common in-of-class work compared to proctored exams. They think that applying tougher penalties and using more proctors are the most effective methods in decreasing academic dishonesty. The authors believe that it would be helpful if faculty members follow the university\u27s policy on cheating rather than make up their own rules in order to have consistent approach in dealing with academic dishonesty violations across the whole university. Ideally, the best way to combat dishonest acts at an institution is by educating students through seminars and workshops about the virtues of academic integrity and the benefits it brings to society. But until our campuses become free of dishonest behavior by students, some practical measures should be undertaken by the faculty to safeguard the institution against unethical behavior by students. For example, faculty members are recommended to either make their own assignments or modify the end-of-chapter problems from textbooks because students may have access to solution manuals. They are encouraged to give different homework problems and projects from one semester to another since students may have access to graded past work. While test banks provided to faculty by publishers may be used as a guide when creating exams, problems from such sources should not be put verbatim on exams by faculty because they are often available for purchase by students on the internet. Furthermore, the weight of-of-class assignments relative to the total course grade should be a small fraction of the total weight to discourage students from cheating on homework. Wireless signal jamming devices can combat some acts of e-cheating that utilizes the internet by disrupting communication between a smart phone and the cell-phone base station

Povidone-iodine versus normal saline solution in preoperative vaginal cleansing before office hysteroscopy: a randomized controlled trial

Background: Hysteroscopy is well-thought-out the gold standard for assessing the uterine cavity, and now can be done as an office process due to enhanced endoscopic advances with no need to in-patient admission. Objective of the present study was to compare the difference in the rate of postoperative vaginal irritation symptoms and postoperative infections after using povidone iodine (PI) and normal saline (NS) solution in vaginal cleaning before outpatient office hysteroscopy (OH).Methods: Women attended to the hospital for diagnostic OH were included for present study. Eligible women were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to two groups. Group I "PI group" women exposed to PI for vaginal cleansing before hysteroscopy, and group II "NS group” women exposed to the NS solution for vaginal cleansing. The primary outcome of the study was to compare the difference in the rate of postoperative vaginal irritation symptoms and postoperative infections in both groups.Results: The mean age of the study participants was 34.26±4.14 years for NS group compared to 35.22±4.01 years for PI group (p=0.652). The PI group reported higher rate of vaginal irritation than NS group with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p=0.179). Both groups were similar in postoperative fever, urinary tract infection and vaginitis (p>0.05).Conclusions: This study concluded that preoperative vaginal disinfection at the time of OH with a NS solution is less frequently causing postoperative vaginal irritation symptoms. Additionally, it is as effective as the usual agent (PI) in preventing postoperative infections

Single versus bilateral chordo-papillary apparatus preservation in mitral valve replacement: a hemodynamic study

Background: It has been postulated that disruption of the mitral valve apparatus at the time of mitral valve replacement (MVR) is a risk factor for postoperative ventricular dysfunction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of single versus bilateral chordo-papillary preservation on the left ventricular function in comparison to no preservation. Methods: This study was conducted from 2015 to 2018 on sixty patients who had MVR. The patients were classified into group I included 20 patients who underwent MVR with complete excision of the subvalvular chordae and tips of papillary muscles, group II: included 20 patients who underwent MVR with preservation of posterior chordo-papillary apparatus, and group III: included 20 patients who underwent MVR with preservation of both posterior and anterior chordo-papillary apparatus. Results: There were 20 males (33.3%), and the mean age was 48.76± 8.91 years. Patients in group III were significantly older (37.15 ±4.92, 39.8 ± 5.49, and 57.25 ± 6.93 years in groups I, II, and III, respectively; p< 0.001). The left ventricular end-diastolic (5.40 ±0.34, 4.96 ± 0.43, and 4.44 ± 0.55 mm in group I, II and III, respectively, p<0.001) and end-systolic diameter (4.33 ±0.48, 3.58 ±0.43 and 3.20 ±0.43 mm in group I, II and III; respectively, p<0.001) were significantly reduced in partial and complete preservation groups after 6 months. Left ventricular ejection fraction improved in the bilateral preservation and partial preservation groups after 6 months (45.32 ±9.78, 56.79 ±10.14, and 56.60 ±11.68 % in groups I, II and III respectively, p<0.001). Mechanical ventilation was significantly longer in group I (24.10 ± 6.6, 16.80 ± 5.97, and 15.80 ± 5.24 hours in groups I, II and III, respectively, p<0.001) and the duration of ICU stay was significantly longer in group I (78.65 ± 15.32, 65.40 ± 14.21, and 60.20 ± 12.58 hours in groups I, II and III, respectively, p<0.001). Conclusion: Preservation of the annulo-papillary continuity may preserve left ventricular geometry and performance. Total preservation of chordae could be superior to partial preservation with better left ventricular remodeling and improvement in the left ventricular functions

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Development of DFSI using Fuzzy Logic to Analyze Risk Levels of Driving Activity

The objective of this study is to develop a Driving Fatigue Strain Index using fuzzy logic to analyze the risk levels of driving activity among road users. Driving fatigue is always related to the driving activity and has been identified as one of the vital contributors to the road accidents and fatalities in Malaysia. Therefore, the present paper introduces the use of fuzzy logic for the development of strain index to provide the systematic analysis and propose an appropriate solution in minimizing the number of road accidents and fatalities. The development of strain index is based on the six risk factors associated with driving fatigue; muscle activity, heart rate, hand grip pressure force, seat pressure distribution, whole-body vibration, and driving duration. The data is collected for all the risk factors and consequently, the three conditions or risk levels are defined as “safe”, “slightly unsafe”, and “unsafe”. A membership function is defined for each fuzzy conditions. IF-THEN rules were used to define the input and output variables which correspond to physical measures. This index is a reliable advisory tool for providing analysis and solutions to driving fatigue problem, which constitutes the first effort toward the minimization of road accidents and fatalities

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Inhibition of Dengue Virus Entry and Multiplication into Monocytes Using RNA Interference

Prevention and treatment of dengue infection remain a serious global public health priority. Extensive efforts are required toward the development of vaccines and discovery of potential therapeutic compounds against the dengue viruses. Dengue virus entry is a critical step for virus reproduction and establishes the infection. Hence, the blockade of dengue virus entry into the host cell is an interesting antiviral strategy as it represents a barrier to suppress the onset of infection. This study was achieved by using RNA interference to silence the cellular receptor, and the clathrin mediated endocytosis that enhances the entry of dengue virus in monocytes. Results showed a marked reduction of infected monocytes by flow cytometry. In addition, both intracellular and extracellular viral RNA load was shown to be reduced in treated monocytes when compared to untreated monocytes. Based on these findings, this study concludes that this therapeutic strategy of blocking the virus replication at the first stage of multiplication might serve as a hopeful drug to mitigate the dengue symptoms, and reduction the disease severity