Preparing foundation-year students for medical studies in a problem-based learning environment:Students' perceptions

Purpose: To contribute to the field of preparing new students for their medical studies and to investigate how foundation-year medical students perceive the progression of appropriate learning skills for studying in a PBL medical curriculum via the support of a course aiming at facilitating students with these skills. Methods: A 10-point scale online questionnaire consisting of 20 questions was used for data collection. 50 out of the 59 (19 males and 31 females) students responded and self-evaluated a list of learning skills according to the course objectives before and after the course. Cronbach׳s alpha was used to test for internal consistency and reliability of the collected data and Principal Component Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed. Paired t-test was used to examine differences between pre- and post-analysis data. Results: The internal consistency of the questionnaire was sufficient. Factor analysis identified four factors: 1) Ability to search for, share, and present information, 2) Ability to develop learning tools and express opinions, 3) Ability to use diverse learning sources, and 4) Ability to participate in discussion and reflect. Overall improvement between pre- and post-test was high (2.38). Paired t-tests showed significant improvements (p<.001) for each of the 4 factors. The four factors together explained 60.7% percent of variance in the data. Discussion: Students reported large improvements among learning skills required in a problem-based medical curriculum, and suggests that students in a premedical foundation year can benefit from a course aiming at preparing students for their future learning in a PBL environment. A shortcoming was considered the retrospective nature of the pretest, possibly biasing the results of the comparisons

Failed immune responses across multiple pathologies share pan-tumor and circulating lymphocytic targets

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are widely associated with positive outcomes, yet carry key indicators of a systemic failed immune response against unresolved cancer. Cancer immunotherapies can reverse their tolerance phenotypes while preserving tumor reactivity and neoantigen specificity shared with circulating immune cells. We performed comprehensive transcriptomic analyses to identify gene signatures common to circulating and TILs in the context of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Modulated genes also associated with disease outcome were validated in other cancer types. Through comprehensive bioinformatics analyses, we identified practical diagnostic markers and actionable targets of the failed immune response. On circulating lymphocytes, 3 genes (LEF1, FASLG, and MMP9) could efficiently stratify patients from healthy control donors. From their associations with resistance to cancer immunotherapies and microbial infections, we uncovered not only pan-cancer, but pan-pathology, failed immune response profiles. A prominent lymphocytic matrix metallopeptidase cell migration pathway is central to a panoply of diseases and tumor immunogenicity, correlates with multi-cancer recurrence, and identifies a feasible noninvasive approach to pan-pathology diagnoses. The differentially expressed genes we have identified warrant future investigation into the development of their potential in noninvasive precision diagnostics and precision pan-disease immunotherapeutics. - 2019, American Society for Clinical Investigation.We thank all study participants and patients; The Cancer Genome Atlas; Mathieu Latour and Roula Albadine and supporting staff of the CHUM pathology department; Manon de Ladurantaye and Anne-Marie Mes-Masson from the CRCHUM for RNA quality profiling, Geneviève Cormier and Fred Saad from the CRCHUM for drawing blood from control donors; Gilles Corbeil of the CRCHUM genomics department for RNA quality testing and microarray profiling; Francois Harvey of the CRCHUM bioinformatics department; Peter Graf and Patrick Sabourin from Affymetrix for providing reagents and technical assistance; Zeeshan Farroq and Ofir Goldberger from Fluidigm; Erika Diaz from StemCell; Andrew Mouland from McGill University; Simon Turcotte from University of Montreal; and Sascha Ring from Biostars for their advice. This work was partially performed at the Institut du Cancer de Montréal CRCHUM and University of Montreal, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This work was supported by a Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute grant (CCSRI) (702036, to RL and IJ) and a Biomedical Research Grant from the Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFOC130019 to RL). RL is supported by the Quebec Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy Network—ThéCell (a thematic network supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec–Santé [FRQS]), the FRQS, and the Immunotherapy Network (iTNT) from the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI), A. Monette is supported by Mitacs, Merck, l’Institut du cancer de Montréal (ICM), the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, and the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research. NAB is supported by the FRQS post-doctoral award and Qatar University. JBL is supported by l’Institut du Cancer de Montréal. JPR holds the Louis Lowenstein Chair, McGill University. DEK is supported by an FRQS Research Scholar Award (grant 31035), CIHR 377124, NHLBI RO1-HL-092565, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) (grant 31756). IJ and computational analysis were supported by the Canada Research Chair Program (CRC) (grant 225404), Ontario Research Fund (grant 34876), the Natural Sciences Research Council (NSERC) (grant 203475), the CFI (grants 203373 and 30865), the Krembil Foundation, and IBM.Scopu

Le musée, un lieu éducatif

This anthology contains essays on various aspects of museum education, by 35 members of the Special Interest Group on Education and Museums (SIGEM). Originally presented at a conference held in Montreal in 1995, the essays in this book address a wide range of issues related to the educational function of museums. Topics discussed include: educational, scientific and museological research; the value of guided tours and visual arts workshops; the question of evaluation; and relationships between museums and schools. 21 diagrams and 19 charts. 4 texts in English 31 texts in French. Circa 480 bibl. ref

Oxidized LDL and LOX-1 in Experimental Sepsis

Oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL) and the lectin-like oxLDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) are upregulated in inflammation. Because of the importance of inflammation and capillary leakage in the impairment of the microcirculation, which in turn contributes to the development of sepsis and multiorgan failure, the role of oxidized LDL and LOX-1 as players of intestinal inflammation is of great interest. In fact, the blockade of LOX-1 during experimental endotoxemia was effective in reducing leukocyte activation. There are several mechanisms by which oxLDL can participate in local and systemic inflammation, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, capillary perfusion, leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions, and endothelial activation. This review highlights the evidence relating oxLDL and LOX-1 to proinflammatory disease mechanisms. We also indicate situations when oxLDL, because of exposure time, dose, or degree of oxidization, is involved in disease resolution. Modulation of LOX-1 response could be utilized for the treatment of local and systemic inflammation, but the successful use of this target requires further understanding of its broad effects

Correlation of Proinflammatory and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokine Levels with Histopathological Changes in an Adult Mouse Lung Model of Campylobacter jejuni Infection▿

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of diarrhea in humans. A mouse lung model of infection was previously established for C. jejuni. We used this model to study cytokine production in the lungs and correlated it with pathological changes. C. jejuni strain 81-176 or sterile phosphate-buffered saline was intranasally inoculated into adult BALB/c mice. The levels of proinflammatory cytokines (gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1β [IL-1β], IL-2) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10), in addition to those of IL-6, were assessed on days 1, 3, and 5 postinfection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the ratios of proinflammatory cytokines to anti-inflammatory cytokines were calculated. Since IL-6 is unique in that it is both a proinflammatory cytokine and a TH2 cytokine, it was considered to be both in the determination of these ratios. The significance of the cytokine levels and ratios were determined by the Mann-Whitney U test (P ≤ 0.05). The induction of proinflammatory cytokines in the lungs of infected mice, as indicated by the cytokine levels and ratios, coincided with the accumulation of neutrophils and activated macrophages, in addition to the clearance of the bacterial load and bacteriumlike structures that we have previously shown in the same groups of mice. This was followed by increased levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines and the resolution of inflammation and pathology in the lungs. This study demonstrates the dynamics of cytokine production and their correlation with tissue inflammation and the resolution of infection. This model is useful for further studies of the pathogenesis of C. jejuni infection and vaccine evaluation

Prevalence of Virulence/Stress Genes in Campylobacter jejuni from Chicken Meat Sold in Qatari Retail Outlets.

Chicken meat from the shelves of supermarkets in Qatar was tested for the presence of Campylobacter spp. and the presence of five virulence genes (htrB, cdtB, clpP, cadF and ciaB) was assessed in isolates. Forty eight percent of the chickens provided for supermarkets by Saudi (53%) and Qatari (45.9%) producers were found to be contaminated and the most important factor affecting the overall prevalence of contaminated chickens was the store from which chicken samples originated. Variation in prevalence of Campylobacter in chicken meat from different stores was evident even when the same producer supplied the three stores in our survey. Differences in the prevalence and in the combinations of virulence genes in isolates that can and cannot grow in a classic maintenance medium (Karmali) were identified, providing a starting point for linking presence/absence of particular virulence genes with actual in vivo virulence and pathogenicity. Because of the relatively low infective doses of Campylobacter that are required to initiate infection in humans, it will be important to explore further the relationships we identified between certain Campylobacter virulence genes and their capacity for survival in poultry meat, and hence their contribution to the incidence of campylobacteriosis

Prevalence of Virulence/Stress Genes in <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> from Chicken Meat Sold in Qatari Retail Outlets

<div><p>Chicken meat from the shelves of supermarkets in Qatar was tested for the presence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp. and the presence of five virulence genes (<i>htrB</i>, <i>cdtB</i>, <i>clpP</i>, <i>cadF</i> and <i>ciaB</i>) was assessed in isolates. Forty eight percent of the chickens provided for supermarkets by Saudi (53%) and Qatari (45.9%) producers were found to be contaminated and the most important factor affecting the overall prevalence of contaminated chickens was the store from which chicken samples originated. Variation in prevalence of <i>Campylobacter</i> in chicken meat from different stores was evident even when the same producer supplied the three stores in our survey. Differences in the prevalence and in the combinations of virulence genes in isolates that can and cannot grow in a classic maintenance medium (Karmali) were identified, providing a starting point for linking presence/absence of particular virulence genes with actual <i>in vivo</i> virulence and pathogenicity. Because of the relatively low infective doses of <i>Campylobacter</i> that are required to initiate infection in humans, it will be important to explore further the relationships we identified between certain <i>Campylobacter</i> virulence genes and their capacity for survival in poultry meat, and hence their contribution to the incidence of campylobacteriosis.</p></div