The Benefits of Peer-Lead Mock Focused Exam Workshops

Context: Mock examinations are commonplace in many academic settings and are offered as a study aid to students with the hope of lowering stress levels and increasing their preparedness for the actual exam. In contrast, mock exams are rarely offered by faculty in clinical training due to their expense and administrative burden (1). Students taking objective structured clinical examinations, (OSCEs), have been proven to benefit from participating in mock exams (2). However, this is something that has not been explored in the context of the Focused Exam Workshop (FEW). While OSCEs focus solely on biomechanical skills, the FEW allows students to choose which physical exams are important for gathering information pertinent to creating a diagnosis and writing a SOAP note. In this study, we assess the efficacy of providing first year medical students with a mock exam prior to taking their FEW. This will stress the importance of implementing peer-organized mock examinations. Objective: Our study objective is to draw correlations between mock Focused Exam Workshop participation and overall performance on the course examination including final score, student stress levels, and biomechanical performance. This study will create a fundamental basis for understanding the effectiveness of participating in mock exams as preparation for all physical and clinically based skill examinations. Methods: The students were offered a SOAP note workshop and provided with complete exams specific to PCOM-GA curriculum as preparatory work prior to testing. Mock exams were then performed virtually with second year students acting as standardized patients (SP) with prepared case presentations. Thirty first year students acting as the doctor were asked to join the virtual rooms at different times and then perform a History and Physical with their SP focusing around a specific chief complaint that the students were unaware of before beginning the exam. Instructions were given on how the mock exam process will be conducted but no other hints were given to students regarding the context of the exam. Following the history and physical exam, the students were asked to create a SOAP note within the 9 minute limit offered by the COMLEX Level 2 PE exam (3). These SOAP notes were graded based on course description and COMLEX Level - 2 PE guideline by the student’s respective SP before the data was compiled. We also asked students to provide us with feedback through a Google Form that was sent out after the actual FEW was completed, so that they could provide us with extra information regarding their state of mind and chief complaint preferences among other things. All of this data was compiled and analyzed before being compared to student’s actual FEW scores which were provided to us without any identifying information, as to preserve student anonymity. IRB approval was obtained through the committee at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia Campus. Results & Conclusions: Results are pending further stud

Dynamics of Davydov Ansatze

Following the Dirac-Frenkel time-dependent variational principle, dynamics of a one-dimensional Holstein polaron is probed by employing the Davydov D2 Ansatz with two sets of variational parameters, one for each constituting particle in the exciton-phonon system, and a simplified variant of the Davydov D1 Ansatz, also known as the $\tilde{D}$ Ansatz, with an additional set of phonon displacement parameters. A close examination of variational outputs from the two trial states reveals fine details of the polaron structure and intricacies of dynamic exciton-phonon interactions. Superradiance coherence sizes, speeds of exciton-induced phonon wave packets, linear optical absorption, and polaron energy compositions are also included in the study.Comment: 14 pages and 11 figue

Collective Modes and Raman Scattering in One Dimensional Electron Systems

In this paper, we review recent development in the theory of resonant inelastic light (Raman) scattering in one-dimensional electron systems. The particular systems we have in mind are electron doped GaAs based semiconductor quantum wire nanostructures, although the theory can be easily modified to apply to other one-dimensional systems. We compare the traditional conduction-band-based non-resonant theories with the full resonant theories including the effects of interband transitions. We find that resonance is essential in explaining the experimental data in which the single particle excitations have finite spectral weights comparable to the collective charge density excitations. Using several different theoretical models (Fermi liquid model, Luttinger liquid model, and Hubbard model) and reasonable approximations, we further demonstrate that the ubiquitously observed strong single particle excitations in the experimental Raman spectra cannot be explained by the spinless multi-spinon excitations in the Luttinger liquid description. The observability of distinct Luttinger liquid features in the Raman scattering spectroscopy is critically discussed.Comment: A review to be published in the special issue of Solid State Communications on one-dimensional system

Antiangiogenic properties of Averrhoa bilimbi Linn, and Syzygium polycephaloides using chick chorioallantoic membrane assay

The process of angiogenesis has a major contribution to the development of tumor which supplies the tumor several growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Angiopoietin-1 and 2. In this study, the antiangiogenic properties of Averrhoa bilimbi Linn. and Syzgium polycephaloides were studied using chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. Averrhoa bilimbi Linn. methanolic leaf extract was subjected to partial fractionation using column chromatography. The collected ten fractions were tested for their antiangiogenic activity using CAM assay. Only fractions 1 and 10 gave a significant antiangiogenic activity. The two fractions were partially characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The gas chromatogram showed 16 and 9 major peaks for fractions 1 and 10 respectively. The major components found in the aforementioned fractions are n-hexadecenoic acid, phytol, vitamin E, oleic acid, choleste-5-en-3-one, (2R, 3S)-2, 3-Dimethylmalate and cis-9, 12, 15-octadecatrienoic acid methyl ester

Towards Plasma-Driven Free-Electron Lasers

Plasma-based accelerators are promising candidates to drive next-generation compact freeelectronlasers (FEL) with unique X-ray properties. The correct modelling of the physics in thelaser-plasma accelerator and of the FEL amplification from plasma-generated electron bunchesthereby forms the basis for any application driven by these beams. Both problems are, however,extremely challenging. They heavily rely on computer simulations and, in fact, act as sciencedrivers for the development of the latest generation of high-performance, highly parallel andefficient simulation codes. Here, we present our work towards a plasma-driven FEL, based onthe particle-in-cell (PIC) codes VSIM and WARP, and the non-averaging 3D FEL code PUFFIN

Ready-To-Use Single-Strip Paper Based Sensor For Multiplex Ion Detection

Ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) are an efficient and versatile tool for ion detection. However, portability and applicability for field applications are often limited by the need of a conditioning step, and high cost of the needed bulky reference electrode. Herein, the traditional conditioning protocol of ISEs has been eliminated and a paper-based solid-contact ISE (PBSC-ISE) has been integrated with a paper-based solid-contact reference electrode (PBSC-RE) in a single strip format for on-site analysis. The PBSC-RE is based on the copolymer methyl methacrylate-co-decyl methacrylate (MMA-DMA) (support matrix), combined with ionic liquids (ILs) to create and maintain a stable potential that is un-affected by a change in ionic activity. This single-strip ready-to-use sensor yields a Nernstian response towards Na+, K+, and I− ions with submicromolar limits of detection, and is able to be used for multiplex analysis

Hydroxytyrosol Promotes the Mitochondrial Function through Activating Mitophagy

Emerging evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction mediates the pathogenesis for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is a key component of extra virgin olive oil which can exert beneficial effects on NAFLD through modulating mitochondria. However, the mechanism of the impacts of HT still remains elusive. Thus, an in vivo and a series of in vitro experiments were carried out to examine the impacts of hydroxytyrosol (HT) on lipid metabolism and mitochondrial function in fish. For the in vivo experiment, two diets were produced to contain 10% and 16% fat as normal-fat and high-fat diets (NFD and HFD) and two additional diets were prepared by supplementing 200 mg/kg of HT to the NFD and HFD. The test diets were fed to triplicate groups of spotted seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus) juveniles for 8 weeks. The results showed that feeding HFD leads to increased fat deposition in the liver and induces oxidative stress, both of which were ameliorated by HT application. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy revealed that HFD destroyed mitochondrial cristae and matrix and induced severe hydropic phenotype, while HT administration relieved these alterations. The results of in vitro studies using zebrafish liver cell line (ZFL) showed that HT promotes mitochondrial function and activates PINK1-mediated mitophagy. These beneficial effects of HT disappeared when the cells were treated with cyclosporin A (Csa) as a mitophagy inhibitor. Moreover, the PINK1-mediated mitophagy activation by HT was blocked when compound C (CC) was used as an AMPK inhibitor. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that HT alleviates fat accumulation, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, and its effects are deemed to be mediated via activating mitophagy through the AMPK/PINK1 pathway