Dermatology residency selection criteria with an emphasis on program characteristics: a national program director survey.

Background. Dermatology residency programs are relatively diverse in their resident selection process. The authors investigated the importance of 25 dermatology residency selection criteria focusing on differences in program directors' (PDs') perception based on specific program demographics. Methods. This cross-sectional nationwide observational survey utilized a 41-item questionnaire that was developed by literature search, brainstorming sessions, and online expert reviews. The data were analyzed utilizing the reliability test, two-step clustering, and K-means methods as well as other methods. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in PDs' perception regarding the importance of the selection criteria based on program demographics. Results. Ninety-five out of 114 PDs (83.3%) responded to the survey. The top five criteria for dermatology residency selection were interview, letters of recommendation, United States Medical Licensing Examination Step I scores, medical school transcripts, and clinical rotations. The following criteria were preferentially ranked based on different program characteristics: "advanced degrees," "interest in academics," "reputation of undergraduate and medical school," "prior unsuccessful attempts to match," and "number of publications." Conclusions. Our survey provides up-to-date factual data on dermatology PDs' perception in this regard. Dermatology residency programs may find the reported data useful in further optimizing their residency selection process

Exports and Economic Growth Nexus: The Case of Pakistan

This paper re-investigates the exports and economic growth nexus for Pakistan. The paper employs cointegration and multivariate Granger Causality Test [Toda and Yamamoto (1995)] to study the long-run and short-run dynamics among exports, imports, and real output growth over the 1960–2003 period. Results strongly support a long-run relationship among imports, exports, and output growth. Feedback effect between import and output growth and unidirectional causality from export to output growth was found. Nevertheless, the results do not confirm any significant causality between imports and exports.Exports, Economic Growth, Pakistan

Effectiveness of Foreign Aid and Human Development.

Foreign aid has been contributory towards fostering broad-based development and complementing national development initiatives in the recipient countries. This paper analyses the question of aid effectiveness towards the achievement of goals in the special context of a set of social outcomes in Pakistan. More specifically, the paper focuses the core question that ‘how’ and ‘how far’ foreign aid has affected the ‘health’, ‘education’, and overall ‘human development index’ in Pakistan. Our result shows that there is feedback Granger causality between GI and ODA. That is, Economic growth induces ODA and ODA Granger cause economic growth. As far as Education index, Human development index and life expectancy index concerned, there are only unidirectional Granger causality from ODA to Education index, Human development index and life expectancy index. This is consistent with other literature that ODA contribute to human development. JEL classification: O15, P45 Keywords: Effectiveness, Human Development, Foreign Aids, Granger Causalit

Leveraging blockchain in chemical supply chain trading

This diploma thesis focuses on the integration of blockchain technology into supply chain trading. Real-world examples are examined to gain insights into the benefits and challenges of implementing blockchain in supply chain operations. Blockchain is a decentralized technology that utilizes cryptographic techniques and consensus mechanisms to establish a secure and transparent ledger of trans-actions. Each transaction is grouped into blocks and linked together using unique identifiers. Consensus mechanisms validate and add new blocks to the block-chain. This decentralized approach enhances data security, transparency, and immutability. The experimental work conducted in this diploma successfully implemented a digital twin and utilized cloud computing in a small-scale manufacturing facility. By integrating the Heroku cloud platform and establishing a digital twin connected to the cloud, the study demonstrated the potential for real-time monitoring, data analysis, and secure data management within the context of blockchain technology. Measurements were performed on a helical coil heat exchanger to assess its heat transfer efficiency, and a simplified 3D model was created for simulation. The simulation results were compared to the actual measured temperatures, showing a close correspondence with slightly lower temperatures consistently observed. The discussion highlights the practical benefits of digital twin and the potential integration of blockchain in the chemical engineering industry, while addressing the factors contributing to these minor deviations. These findings underscore the significance of leveraging blockchain, digital twin and cloud technologies to improve efficiency, sustainability, and safety in industrial processes. Further research and development in this area has the potential to drive significant advancements in the field of chemical engineering and manufacturing

Aortic atresia with normally developed left ventricle in a young adult

Congenital aortic valve atresia is usually part of a developmental anomaly usually called ‘hypoplastic left-heart syndrome’. To the best of our knowledge, most reported cases of aortic atresia have been associated with hypoplasia of the ascending aorta, of the left ventricle, and of the mitral valve. We report a patient presenting with aortic atresia with a ventricular septal defect and a normally sized left ventricle. (Cardiol J 2011; 18, 3: 304–306

Static Var Compensator with Fractional Order Dynamics for Enhanced Stability and Control

This chapter presents a new theoretical approach for a novel static Var compensator (SVC) system using fractional order calculus. The thyristor-controlled reactor (TCR) and fixed capacitor are assumed to be noninteger. A state space model is derived for the fractional SVC and a novel fractional order sliding surface is proposed, based on which a fractional order controller is derived for bus voltage stabilization with variable loading. Keeping in view the enhanced stability margins of the system, the parameters of the control system are optimized using Simulink response optimization toolbox. The stability and the convergence proof of the control system is verified using fractional order Lyapunov theorem. The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is verified using numerical simulations

Exports and Economic Growth Nexus: The Case of Pakistan

The theoretical association between trade and economic growth has been discussed for over two centuries. However, controversy still persists regarding their real effects. The favourable arguments with respect to trade can be traced back to the classical school of economic thought that started with Adam Smith and subsequently enriched by the work of Ricardo, Torrens, James Mill and John Stuart Mill in the first part of the nineteenth century. Since then the justification for free trade and the various and indisputable benefits that international specialisation brings to the productivity of nations have been widely discussed in the economic literature [Bhagwati (1978) and Krueger (1978)]. The suitability of trade policy-import substitution or export promotion—for growth and development has been also debated in the literature. In 1950s and 1960s, most of the developing countries followed import substitution (IS) policies for the economic growth. The proponents of the IS policy stress upon the need for developing countries (LDCs) to evolve their own style of development and to control their own destiny [Todaro and Smith (2003), p. 556]. Since the mid-1970s, in most developing countries, there has been considerable shift towards export promotion strategy (EP). 1 This approach postulates that export expansion leads to better resource allocation, creating economies of scale and production efficiency through technological development, capital formation, and employment generation

Data on cell growth inhibition induced by anti-VEGF siRNA delivered by Stealth liposomes incorporating G2 PAMAM-cholesterol versus Metafectene® as a function of exposure time and siRNA concentration

AbstractIn this data article, carboxyfluorescein-loaded liposomes were prepared and purified from free carboxyfluorescein using gel filtration chromatography in the first part. In the next part, following preparation of anti-VEGF siRNA loaded liposomes incorporating hydrophobically modified G2 PAMAM dendrimer (G2-Chol40%) (Golkar et al., 2016) [1], the cell growth inhibition induced by the formulations (siRNA/Metafectene complexes and siRNA loaded liposomes incorporating hydrophobic G2) was evaluated at two exposure times through MTT assay in a breast cancer cell (SKBR-3) and compared by two-way ANOVA