Pathway MCQs as an Active Learning Strategy for Students in Microbiology: A Preliminary study

Medical curriculum involves many pathways. Understanding and remembering pathways in Microbiology (esp. pathogenesis) is a challenging task for the students.  Pathway MCQ (Dugdale AE, 1998) helps in eliminating this confusion. An effort was made to introduce these Pathway MCQs as a teaching, revising and as an evaluation strategy to enable them to remember the pathways more effectively thereby enhancing understanding of concepts. A total of 106 second year medical students of Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal Campus) were included in this study. Pathway MCQs (PMCQs) on specific topics were prepared by the faculty members. Initially, the students were asked to answer the questions in the form of short answer on few topics prior to administration of PMCQs. These short essay answers were evaluated. Later, each student was given a set of Pathway MCQs on the topic administered earlier. Students had to solve the PMCQs and write a short answer thereafter. The PMCQs and the short answers were evaluated by faculty members who were not involved in the study. A class test was conducted after 4 weeks on topics assigned in the semester including the topics that were administered as PMCQs. After evaluation, the marks scored by the students were tabulated and analyzed. A feedback in the form of a questionnaire was collected from students. PMCQs were found to be simple and interesting, helped to remember and understand pathways, enhanced active learning, employed as a revising strategy and as a formative evaluation strategy. Statistical analysis suggested that students’ overall performance in examinations had been enhanced after administration of PMCQs

Prevalence of depressive symptoms among haemodialysis patients: A cross sectional survey

Background: High prevalence of depression has been reported among patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis. Very few studies have been undertaken in India to assess prevalence of depressive symptoms in this population. The objective of this descriptive cross sectional study was to assess prevalence of depressive symptoms among patients undergoing haemodialysis in tertiary care hospital at Bangalore, Karnataka.Methods: A cross sectional survey design was used to assess prevalence of depressive symptoms among 145(104 male and 41 female) patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis. Beck Depression Inventory –II (BDI-II) was used to assess depressive symptoms.Results: Depressive symptoms were found among 77.2% (112) subjects. Depressive symptoms were found to be mild in 24% (35), moderate in 27% (39) and severe in 26% (38) subjects. : Statistically significant negative correlation was found between depressive symptoms and education (P=0.01), annual income (P=0.05). No significant associations were found between depressive symptoms and gender, marital status, religion employment, presence of other disease, and availability of medical insurance.Conclusion:  There is a high prevalence of depressive symptoms in ESRD patients receiving haemodialysis, particularly among those with low socioeconomic status and lower educatio

EXPRESSION OF TOLL LIKE RECEPTOR 2 AND TOLL LIKE RECEPTOR 4 IN CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS BY INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUROSCENCE

Aim: The aim of the present study was to analyze the expression level and localization of Toll-like receptor 2 and Toll-like receptor 4 in gingival samples of healthy and chronic periodontitis subjects by indirect immunofluorescence technique. Methods: Gingival tissue samples were obtained from 25 healthy individuals and 25 chronic periodontitis patients. The tissues were processed and the initial characterization was done by H&E staining. Indirect immunofluorescence technique was then performed to detect TLR2 and TLR4. Immunofluorescence images were acquired and quantitative expression of TLRs was analyzed by calculating the percentage of cells showing positive results. Results: TLR2 and TLR4 expression in healthy gingival tissues were lower than in the tissues of patients with periodontitis. In patients with periodontitis both TLR2 and TLR4 expression was slightly higher in epithelium as compared to their expression in connective tissue. Conclusions: The results suggest that TLR2 and TLR4 in the gingival cells are stimulated by the bacterial products in the oral cavity and participate in the innate immune response against these organisms. KEYWORDS: Chronic Periodontitis; Gingival tissue; Immunofluorescence; TLR2 & TLR4

EXPRESSION OF TOLL LIKE RECEPTOR 2 AND TOLL LIKE RECEPTOR 4 IN CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS BY INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUROSCENCE

Aim: The aim of the present study was to analyze the expression level and localization of Toll-like receptor 2 and Toll-like receptor 4 in gingival samples of healthy and chronic periodontitis subjects by indirect immunofluorescence technique. Methods: Gingival tissue samples were obtained from 25 healthy individuals and 25 chronic periodontitis patients. The tissues were processed and the initial characterization was done by H&E staining. Indirect immunofluorescence technique was then performed to detect TLR2 and TLR4. Immunofluorescence images were acquired and quantitative expression of TLRs was analyzed by calculating the percentage of cells showing positive results. Results: TLR2 and TLR4 expression in healthy gingival tissues were lower than in the tissues of patients with periodontitis. In patients with periodontitis both TLR2 and TLR4 expression was slightly higher in epithelium as compared to their expression in connective tissue. Conclusions: The results suggest that TLR2 and TLR4 in the gingival cells are stimulated by the bacterial products in the oral cavity and participate in the innate immune response against these organisms. KEYWORDS: Chronic Periodontitis; Gingival tissue; Immunofluorescence; TLR2 & TLR4

Build up of soil phosphorus in coffee plantations of Karnataka overthree decades

Karnataka is the largest coffee producing State in India contributing 72.3 per cent of the total production of the country. ArabicaCoffee is being cultivated in Karnatakain an area of 1.1 lakh ha and Robusta coffee in 1.2 lakh ha. Coffee growing soils are deep,friable, rich in organic matter, high in potassium content, well drained and slightly acidic in reaction. These soils contain largequantities of aluminium and iron oxides. Hence, phosphorus (P) availability in the Indian coffee growing soils is a constraint asthe aluminium and iron oxides fix the appliedphosphorus. Soil testing laboratories(STLs) of Coffee Board are rendering advisoryservice to the growers based on soil analysis and classify the data into low, medium and high category. In order to know the impactof the lime and fertilizer management on the soil available P status of the coffee growing soils of Karnataka, the soil-P data werecompiled and classified into different categories for the 3 districts, viz., Chikmagalur, Hassan and Kodagu for a period from 1980-81 to 2015-16. The decade-wise data set on soil available phosphorus so obtained was analyzed and the changes occurred over aperiod of time were assessed.The results indicated that over a period of thirty six years clear cut shift has taken place from low tohigh category in the available P status of soils cropped to coffee. About 50per cent of the samples were low during 1980s whilethis has reduced to 42 per cent during 1990s and further reduced to 23per cent during 2016. On the other hand the percentage ofsamples under high category has gradually increased from 24 to 51

Face processing in Williams syndrome is already atypical in infancy

Face processing is a crucial socio-cognitive ability. Is it acquired progressively or does it constitute an innately-specified, face-processing module? The latter would be supported if some individuals with seriously impaired intelligence nonetheless showed intact face processing abilities. Some theorists claim that Williams syndrome (WS) provides such evidence since, despite IQs in the 50s, adolescents/adults with WS score in the normal range on standardized face-processing tests. Others argue that atypical neural and cognitive processes underlie WS face-processing proficiencies. But what about infants with WS? Do they start with typical face processing abilities, with atypicality developing later, or are atypicalities already evident in infancy? We used an infant familiarization/novelty design and compared infants with WS to typically developing controls as well as to a group of infants with Down syndrome matched on both mental and chronological age. Participants were familiarized with a schematic face, after which they saw a novel face in which either the features (eye shape) were changed or just the configuration of the original features. Configural changes were processed successfully by controls, but not by infants with WS who were only sensitive to featural changes and who showed syndrome-specific profiles different from infants with the other neurodevelopmental disorder. Our findings indicate that theorists can no longer use the case of WS to support claims that evolution has endowed the human brain with an independent face-processing module

Understanding individual resilience in the workplace: The international collaboration of workforce resilience model

When not managed effectively, high levels of workplace stress can lead to several negative personal and performance outcomes. Some professional groups work in highly stressful settings and are therefore particularly at risk of conditions such as anxiety, depression, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout. However, some individuals are less affected by workplace stress and the associated negative outcomes. Such individuals have been described as "resilient." A number of studies have found relationships between levels of individual resilience and specific negative outcomes such as burnout and compassion fatigue. However, because psychological resilience is a multi-dimensional construct it is necessary to more clearly delineate it from other related and overlapping constructs. The creation of a testable theoretical model of individual workforce resilience, which includes both stable traits (e.g., neuroticism) as well as more malleable intrapersonal factors (e.g., coping style), enables information to be derived that can eventually inform interventions aimed at enhancing individual resilience in the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new theoretical model of individual workforce resilience that includes several intrapersonal constructs known to be central in the appraisal of and response to stressors and that also overlap with the construct of psychological resilience. We propose a model in which psychological resilience is hypothesized to mediate the relationship between neuroticism, mindfulness, self-efficacy, coping, and psychological adjustment

Review of micro/nanotechnologies for microbial biosensors

A microbial biosensor is an analytical device with a biologically integrated transducer that generates a measurable signal indicating the analyte concentration. This method is ideally suited for the analysis of extracellular chemicals and the environment, and for metabolic sensory regulation. Although microbial biosensors show promise for application in various detection fields, some limitations still remain such as poor selectivity, low sensitivity, and impractical portability. To overcome such limitations, microbial biosensors have been integrated with many recently developed micro/nanotechnologies and applied to a wide range of detection purposes. This review article discusses micro/nanotechnologies that have been integrated with microbial biosensors and summarizes recent advances and the applications achieved through such novel integration. Future perspectives on the combination of micro/nanotechnologies and microbial biosensors will be discussed, and the necessary developments and improvements will be strategically deliberated.clos