The Role of Vitamin D Receptors in Gastric epithelial Homeostasis

The gastric epithelium consists of different types of cells, which are involved in gastric homeostasis by balancing cell proliferation and differentiation. This process involves several signaling molecules such as growth factors, hormones and vitamins. Vitamin D3 (VD3) is engaged in several biological activities. It plays a role in cell differentiation, cell proliferation, immune response and also regulates calcium homeostasis. The biological activities of VD3 are mediated by vitamin D receptor (VDR). Target tissues of VD3 in the gastrointestinal tract were identified earlier in intestine, colon and gastric cancer tissues; however, the normal expression of VDR in stomach is poorly studied. So, the main objectives of this thesis are: 1) to investigate the normal expression, distribution and cellular localization of VDR in gastric epithelium and 2) to study possible role of VDR and VD3 in maintaining gastric stem cells proliferation and differentiation by establishing and analyzing mouse model deficient in VD3. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that VDR as well as enzymes involved in VD3 metabolism are expressed in the different region of normal mouse stomach. Co-immunostaining analysis showed specific expression of VDR in the acid secreting parietal cells and the different mucus secreting cells. The results suggested that parietal cells and mucous cells are targets for VD3 signaling. To examine the role of VD3 on gastric homeostasis, wild type mice were put on VD3 deficient diet for 3 months. Using Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (Real-Time PCR), stomachs of mice deficient of vitamin D showed significant decrease in expression of parietal cell specific genes (HKα and HKβ) and increase gastrin gene expression. Moreover, quantification for cells in the S-phase of the cell cycle showed significant increase in their number in vitamin D deficient mice compared to controls. Gene expression analysis of VDR signaling genes showed significant decrease in PTHLH, but not other target genes like TRPV6 and p21. This work will add value to the field of stomach biology by providing better understanding of how VD3 and VDR are involved in maintaining gastric epithelial homeostasis and how that is related to some stomach conditions such as low gastric acidity and gastric cancer

Economic Analysis of Forest Management in Pakistan - A Case Study of Changa Mange and Muree Forest

Increasing demand of timber along with the rising concerns towards environment create a need to analyze the management system of forests in Punjab. Both natural and planted forests are present in province of Punjab. They are different in nature and thus have different management plans. This study is conducted by taking into account major species of Changa Manga and Murree forests. Dalbergia sissoo, Morus alba, Eucalyptus camaldulensis (from Changa Manga), Pinus roxburghii and Pinus wallichiana (from Murree forest) are the species included in this study. Estimation of NPV (Net present value) and IRR (Internal rate of return) is made to determine the financial performance of management plan. Impact of Interest rate variability and one year delay in revenue is also calculated. The results show that NPV decreases with increase in interest rate and delay in revenue whereas the IRR remain same in both cases. Dalbergia sissoo, Morus alba showed most inefficient results whereas Pinus roxburghii and Pinus wallichiana gave most efficient results. Besides that the existing management plan is not efficient and there is a need of Sustainable Management Plan for forests

Economic Analysis of Forest Management in Pakistan - A Case Study of Changa Mange and Muree Forest

Increasing demand of timber along with the rising concerns towards environment create a need to analyze the management system of forests in Punjab. Both natural and planted forests are present in province of Punjab. They are different in nature and thus have different management plans. This study is conducted by taking into account major species of Changa Manga and Murree forests. Dalbergia sissoo, Morus alba, Eucalyptus camaldulensis (from Changa Manga), Pinus roxburghii and Pinus wallichiana (from Murree forest) are the species included in this study. Estimation of NPV (Net present value) and IRR (Internal rate of return) is made to determine the financial performance of management plan. Impact of Interest rate variability and one year delay in revenue is also calculated. The results show that NPV decreases with increase in interest rate and delay in revenue whereas the IRR remain same in both cases. Dalbergia sissoo, Morus alba showed most inefficient results whereas Pinus roxburghii and Pinus wallichiana gave most efficient results. Besides that the existing management plan is not efficient and there is a need of Sustainable Management Plan for forests

Spirituality, moral conviction, and prosocial rule-breaking in healthcare

This study investigated the effect of healthcare professionals’ workplace spirituality (WPS) on moral conviction and prosocial rule-breaking (PSRB). The data were collected from 315 healthcare professionals from three main districts of South Punjab, Pakistan. We determined the measures’ validity using confirmatory factor analysis. We investigated the hypothesized relationships using structural regression modeling. The results demonstrated a significant effect of WPS on PSRB and moral conviction. However, the mediating effect of moral conviction between WPS and PSRB was insignificant. Healthcare professionals may regulate PSRB by screening and promoting individuals with high WPS to positions requiring a high level of PSRB rather than considering health service providers’ personal moral beliefs

Understanding impulse purchased in facebook commerce-does big five matter?

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of Big Five Model (BFM), the urge to purchase (UP) and urgency (UR) on impulse purchase (IP) in Facebook commerce (F-commerce), with the F-commerce purchase as control variable. So, the research purpose is explanatory as there is an existing model. Probability sampling technique was used in our research and data collection was done through Questionnaires. The sample size was 500 university students of Karachi. So, questionnaires are filled by the students of the different Universities of Karachi. The determination of the study was to classify the relationship of an impulse purchase in Face book commerce and the big five personality traits. In this research we are using correlation research design. Exploration of data was done through PLS (SEM) by performing reliability test, factor analysis and regression analysis test. The study presented that BFM, UP, UR and F-commerce purchase are important predictors of the F-commerce IP. UP is subjective by BFM and UR. BFM has a significant positive relationship with UR. The study confirms that consumer’s personality has great impact towards online buying the really most important factor in order to grab the consumer’s positive attitude towards online buying. In future researchers we can add moderating variables like age, gender and income in the same framework

Prognostic variables and scores identifying the end of life in COPD: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: COPD is a major cause of mortality, and the unpredictable trajectory of the disease can bring challenges to end-of-life care. We aimed to investigate known prognostic variables and scores that predict prognosis in COPD in a systematic literature review, specifically including variables that contribute to risk assessment of patients for death within 12 months. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review on prognostic variables, multivariate score or models for COPD. Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane database, Cochrane CENTRAL, DARE and CINAHL were searched up to May 1, 2016. RESULTS: A total of 5,276 abstracts were screened, leading to 516 full-text reviews, and 10 met the inclusion criteria. No multivariable indices were developed with the specific aim of predicting all-cause mortality in stable COPD within 12 months. Only nine indices were identified from four studies, which had been validated for this time period. Tools developed using expert knowledge were also identified, including the Gold Standards Framework Prognostic Indicator Guidance, the RADboud Indicators of Palliative Care Needs, the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool and the Necesidades Paliativas program tool. CONCLUSION: A number of variables contributing to the prediction of all-cause mortality in COPD were identified. However, there are very few studies that are designed to assess, or report, the prediction of mortality at or less than 12 months. The quality of evidence remains low, such that no single variable or multivariable score can currently be recommended

The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey: an analysis of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in 25 UK medical schools relating to timing, duration, teaching formats, teaching content, and problem-based learning.

BACKGROUND: What subjects UK medical schools teach, what ways they teach subjects, and how much they teach those subjects is unclear. Whether teaching differences matter is a separate, important question. This study provides a detailed picture of timetabled undergraduate teaching activity at 25 UK medical schools, particularly in relation to problem-based learning (PBL). METHOD: The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey used detailed timetables provided by 25 schools with standard 5-year courses. Timetabled teaching events were coded in terms of course year, duration, teaching format, and teaching content. Ten schools used PBL. Teaching times from timetables were validated against two other studies that had assessed GP teaching and lecture, seminar, and tutorial times. RESULTS: A total of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in the academic year 2014/2015 were analysed, including SSCs (student-selected components) and elective studies. A typical UK medical student receives 3960 timetabled hours of teaching during their 5-year course. There was a clear difference between the initial 2 years which mostly contained basic medical science content and the later 3 years which mostly consisted of clinical teaching, although some clinical teaching occurs in the first 2 years. Medical schools differed in duration, format, and content of teaching. Two main factors underlay most of the variation between schools, Traditional vs PBL teaching and Structured vs Unstructured teaching. A curriculum map comparing medical schools was constructed using those factors. PBL schools differed on a number of measures, having more PBL teaching time, fewer lectures, more GP teaching, less surgery, less formal teaching of basic science, and more sessions with unspecified content. DISCUSSION: UK medical schools differ in both format and content of teaching. PBL and non-PBL schools clearly differ, albeit with substantial variation within groups, and overlap in the middle. The important question of whether differences in teaching matter in terms of outcomes is analysed in a companion study (MedDifs) which examines how teaching differences relate to university infrastructure, entry requirements, student perceptions, and outcomes in Foundation Programme and postgraduate training

Exploring UK medical school differences: the MedDifs study of selection, teaching, student and F1 perceptions, postgraduate outcomes and fitness to practise.

BACKGROUND: Medical schools differ, particularly in their teaching, but it is unclear whether such differences matter, although influential claims are often made. The Medical School Differences (MedDifs) study brings together a wide range of measures of UK medical schools, including postgraduate performance, fitness to practise issues, specialty choice, preparedness, satisfaction, teaching styles, entry criteria and institutional factors. METHOD: Aggregated data were collected for 50 measures across 29 UK medical schools. Data include institutional history (e.g. rate of production of hospital and GP specialists in the past), curricular influences (e.g. PBL schools, spend per student, staff-student ratio), selection measures (e.g. entry grades), teaching and assessment (e.g. traditional vs PBL, specialty teaching, self-regulated learning), student satisfaction, Foundation selection scores, Foundation satisfaction, postgraduate examination performance and fitness to practise (postgraduate progression, GMC sanctions). Six specialties (General Practice, Psychiatry, Anaesthetics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Internal Medicine, Surgery) were examined in more detail. RESULTS: Medical school differences are stable across time (median alpha = 0.835). The 50 measures were highly correlated, 395 (32.2%) of 1225 correlations being significant with p < 0.05, and 201 (16.4%) reached a Tukey-adjusted criterion of p < 0.0025. Problem-based learning (PBL) schools differ on many measures, including lower performance on postgraduate assessments. While these are in part explained by lower entry grades, a surprising finding is that schools such as PBL schools which reported greater student satisfaction with feedback also showed lower performance at postgraduate examinations. More medical school teaching of psychiatry, surgery and anaesthetics did not result in more specialist trainees. Schools that taught more general practice did have more graduates entering GP training, but those graduates performed less well in MRCGP examinations, the negative correlation resulting from numbers of GP trainees and exam outcomes being affected both by non-traditional teaching and by greater historical production of GPs. Postgraduate exam outcomes were also higher in schools with more self-regulated learning, but lower in larger medical schools. A path model for 29 measures found a complex causal nexus, most measures causing or being caused by other measures. Postgraduate exam performance was influenced by earlier attainment, at entry to Foundation and entry to medical school (the so-called academic backbone), and by self-regulated learning. Foundation measures of satisfaction, including preparedness, had no subsequent influence on outcomes. Fitness to practise issues were more frequent in schools producing more male graduates and more GPs. CONCLUSIONS: Medical schools differ in large numbers of ways that are causally interconnected. Differences between schools in postgraduate examination performance, training problems and GMC sanctions have important implications for the quality of patient care and patient safety

Adropin&rsquo;s Role in Energy Homeostasis and Metabolic Disorders

Adropin is a novel 76-amino acid-peptide that is expressed in different tissues and cells including the liver, pancreas, heart and vascular tissues, kidney, milk, serum, plasma and many parts of the brain. Adropin, encoded by the Enho gene, plays a crucial role in energy homeostasis. The literature review indicates that adropin alleviates the degree of insulin resistance by reducing endogenous hepatic glucose production. Adropin improves glucose metabolism by enhancing glucose utilization in mice, including the sensitization of insulin signaling pathways such as Akt phosphorylation and the activation of the glucose transporter 4 receptor. Several studies have also demonstrated that adropin improves cardiac function, cardiac efficiency and coronary blood flow in mice. Adropin can also reduce the levels of serum triglycerides, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. In contrast, it increases the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, often referred to as the beneficial cholesterol. Adropin inhibits inflammation by reducing the tissue level of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6. The protective effect of adropin on the vascular endothelium is through an increase in the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase. This article provides an overview of the existing literature about the role of adropin in different pathological conditions