Group Work Assessment: Assessing Peer Assessment at Global College of Engineering and Technology

Students learning and autonomy can be improved by involving them in teaching and learning, especially in group work assessments, this can also greatly help cut down the amount of time spent by teachers on marking and providing feedback. Although peer assessment of student work can also accomplish these goals, but its application is frequently restricted to evaluating each participant's input or participation to a cooperative effort. This paper reports the considerations and lesson learnt to successfully develop a group work assessment and marked based on the individual’s contribution to avoid conflicts. It’s worth mentioning that the peer-assessed marks are not significantly different from those allocated by faculty based on evaluative criteria, quality definitions, and a scoring strategy

Facile synthesis of N- (4-bromophenyl)-1- (3-bromothiophen-2-yl)methanimine derivatives via Suzuki cross-coupling reaction: their characterization and DFT studies

A variety of imine derivatives have been synthesized via Suzuki cross coupling of N-(4-bromophenyl)-1-(3-bromothiophen-2-yl)methanimine with various arylboronic acids in moderate to good yields (58–72%). A wide range of electron donating and withdrawing functional groups were well tolerated in reaction conditions. To explore the structural properties, Density functional theory (DFT) investigations on all synthesized molecules (3a–3i) were performed. Conceptual DFT reactivity descriptors and molecular electrostatic potential analyses were performed by using B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) method to explore the reactivity and reacting sites of all derivatives (3a–3i)

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Global variation in anastomosis and end colostomy formation following left-sided colorectal resection

Background End colostomy rates following colorectal resection vary across institutions in high-income settings, being influenced by patient, disease, surgeon and system factors. This study aimed to assess global variation in end colostomy rates after left-sided colorectal resection. Methods This study comprised an analysis of GlobalSurg-1 and -2 international, prospective, observational cohort studies (2014, 2016), including consecutive adult patients undergoing elective or emergency left-sided colorectal resection within discrete 2-week windows. Countries were grouped into high-, middle- and low-income tertiles according to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). Factors associated with colostomy formation versus primary anastomosis were explored using a multilevel, multivariable logistic regression model. Results In total, 1635 patients from 242 hospitals in 57 countries undergoing left-sided colorectal resection were included: 113 (6·9 per cent) from low-HDI, 254 (15·5 per cent) from middle-HDI and 1268 (77·6 per cent) from high-HDI countries. There was a higher proportion of patients with perforated disease (57·5, 40·9 and 35·4 per cent; P < 0·001) and subsequent use of end colostomy (52·2, 24·8 and 18·9 per cent; P < 0·001) in low- compared with middle- and high-HDI settings. The association with colostomy use in low-HDI settings persisted (odds ratio (OR) 3·20, 95 per cent c.i. 1·35 to 7·57; P = 0·008) after risk adjustment for malignant disease (OR 2·34, 1·65 to 3·32; P < 0·001), emergency surgery (OR 4·08, 2·73 to 6·10; P < 0·001), time to operation at least 48 h (OR 1·99, 1·28 to 3·09; P = 0·002) and disease perforation (OR 4·00, 2·81 to 5·69; P < 0·001). Conclusion Global differences existed in the proportion of patients receiving end stomas after left-sided colorectal resection based on income, which went beyond case mix alone

Evaluation of database search programs for accurate detection of neuropeptides in tandem mass spectrometry experiments

Programs to identify proteins in tandem mass spectrometry experiments are not optimized to identify neuropeptides and other peptides resulting from the processing of prohormones. This is due to the unique characteristics of neuropeptides including release after complex processing of prohormones, potentially intense post-translational modifications and their small size. The aims of this study were: (1) to evaluate the strengths and limitations of different tandem mass spectra search algorithms to detect neuropeptides and other peptides resulting from prohormone processing; (2) to evaluate the impact of mass spectrometry factors such as charge on the identification of these peptides; and (3) to offer guidelines to obtain the most comprehensive and accurate survey of the prohormone peptides of a sample. Three software database search programs, OMSSA, X!Tandem and Crux, were applied to identify neuropeptides from in silico produced mass spectra. The spectra were simulated from a database of 7850 mouse peptides from 92 prohormones. For each peptide, spectra were simulated with either +1, +2 and +3 precursor charge states, and +1 charged b and y product ions including single water and/or ammonia loss depending on amino acid composition. The spectra were searched against the mouse database and a rat database including 7647 neuropeptides. OMSSA, X!Tandem and Crux correctly detected 98.9%, 93.9% and 88.7% of the peptides, respectively, at the comparable significance E- or p-value < 1 x 10-6. Scoring only b- or y-ion series significantly reduced peptide identification for both OMSSA and X!Tandem. At E-value < 1 x 10-6, 50.8% and 55.3% of peptides were correctly identified by both algorithms using b- and y-ion series, respectively. Furthermore, availability of only b-ion, y-ion series and 50% random ions for peptide identification had in general minor influence on the scoring functions of OMSSA and Crux. The comparatively weaker performance of X!Tandem suggests that the corresponding scoring function favors continuity of ions. The charge state had minor effect on the detection of neuropeptides. Unlike Crux and X!Tandem, OMSSA was negatively influenced by the presence of additional peaks in the spectra at higher precursor charge states. The sensitivity of either program to detect small neuropeptides (< 10 amino acids in length) was limited. This is particularly troublesome given the large number of neuropeptides that are small. Peptide identification by X!Tandem across species suggests that the position of the mismatch in the sequence is critical when using non-specific species databases. These results indicate that alternative algorithmic specifications and implementations must be developed to optimize the detection of neuropeptides

Evaluation and assignment of significance levels to peptide identifications from the database search programs using resampling approach

A novel application of Monte Carlo permutation testing that improves the calculation of the peptide match significance levels and detection rate in database search programs is demonstrated. Novel k-permuted decoy databases (where k denotes the type and number of permutations) were evaluated for accurate computation of match significance levels. K-permuted decoy databases were generated by: (a) complete permutations of peptide sequences (Whole), (b) permutation of terminal positions of peptide sequences (End), and (c) permuted peptides that fall within a certain mass tolerance of the tandem mass spectra (Mass-based). The ‘Whole’ and ‘End’ based permutation tests were performed using various indicators of peptide match quality in OMSSA, Crux, and X! Tandem on manually annotated neuropeptide tandem mass spectrometry spectra. Permutation p-values were calculated as the fraction of the permutations in the k-permuted databases with match indicator score as extreme as the original spectra match in the target database. The ‘Whole’ k-permuted decoy databases identified most (up to 100%) neuropeptides, while the ‘End’ k-permuted decoy databases provided better discrimination of the performance between the match indicators. The permutation test based p-values using the hyperscore (X! Tandem), E-value (OMSSA) and Sp score (Crux) match indicators outperformed the other match indicators in the database search programs. The simple indicator of match “the number of matched ions” provided performance comparable to the best match indicators in the OMSSA, X! Tandem, and Crux. Databases of least 10^5 k-permuted decoy peptides per spectra provided accurate p-values. Overall, the ‘Whole’ and ‘End’ k-permuted decoy databases improved the consensus among the database search programs. The ability of the k-permuted decoy databases to improve the classifications among correct and incorrect peptide matches was evaluated with ‘Mass-based’ k-permuted decoy database using best match indicator in the OMSSA (i.e., E-value). The evaluation was performed by searching 5806 tryptic tandem mass spectra (671 with annotated peptide entries) against the standard target and combined target-decoy databases. False discovery rate estimates based on the target-decoy approach and known identities of the annotated spectra were used to filter the peptide-spectrum matches. The k-permuted decoy database approach enabled the detection of up to 89% and 87% annotated peptides relative to the OMSSA’s E-value with 82% and 84% identifications in the target database and target-decoy database, respectively. Improvements in performance was due to better performance of the k-permutation decoy database on small and large peptides with less than 13 matched fragment ions and large (insignificant) OMSSA E-values