Perception of Medical Students Regarding Case Based Learning

oai:supp:article/14Background: To determine perception of first yearmedical students about Case Based Learning (CBL)in a modular curriculum.Methods: In this cross sectional quantitative studyconvenient method of sampling was used to collectdata from seventy-nine participants on a reliablesurvey tool (Cronbach alpha reliability=.87). Ethicalapproval was obtained and consent for the study wastaken from study participants. The data wasanalyzed on SPSS version 22.Results: The eight questions asked in the surveyyielded a statistically significant result withFriedman’s chi square=85.84 (df=7) p=.000<0.5, forperception of students in CBL session. We acceptedthe alternate hypothesis.Conclusion: Most of the students agree that CBL isuseful. It promotes group discussions, interpersonalskills, feedback by students and teachers and helpsthem to correlate clinical data

Flipping the Training in Health Professions Education

Background: To study the flipping  or inverted method of teaching in health professionals involved in medical education  Method: A cross sectional study was conducted to collect data about perception of faculty regarding flipped method as a faculty training method. Convenient method of sampling was done to collect data from 31 participants. Specific objective for this purpose was to determine if there was a significant difference from the normal in perception of faculty trained by flipping the classroom? We hypothesized that there will be a significant difference in perception of faculty trained in a flipped classroom as compared to normal. The average score on the questionnaire was taken as a reference for normal. Results: The results of the study were statistically significant at 95% confidence interval, t (30) = 7.43, p = 0.000<0.05. Conclusion: Faculty had a positive perception about flipped method of training. This method is useful and feasible for faculty trainin

Frequency-dependent response of neurons to oscillating electric fields

Neuronal interactions with electric fields depend on the biophysical properties of the neuronal membrane as well as the geometry of the cell relative to the field vector. Biophysically detailed modeling of these spatial effects is central to understanding neuron-to-neuron electrical (ephaptic) interactions as well as how externally applied electrical fields, such as radio-frequency radiation from wireless devices or therapeutic Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), interact with neurons. Here we examine in detail the shape-dependent response properties of cells in oscillating electrical fields by solving Maxwell's equations for geometrically extended neurons. Early modeling for compact (spherical) cells in alternating fields predicts a smaller effective membrane time constant for the field-cell system compared to direct current injection via whole-cell patch clamp. This result, predicting that cells should respond strongly to field oscillations in the kHz range, was verified later in vitro for murine myeloma cells. However, recent experiments on CA3 pyramidal cells (highly elongated neurons) in the hippocampus do not exhibit this high frequency response. In this thesis we examine the implications of modeling full two-way coupling between three-dimensional cylindrical neurons and the extracellular field utilizing three different methodologies, namely: cable equation, finite-difference and finite-element. Our modeling demonstrates that the electrotonic length and orientation of the cell to the field are key determinants of the neuronal response to oscillating fields. This explains the experimentally observed absence of the high frequency response for pyramidal neurons when the applied field direction is oriented along their dendritic axis. Additionally, we developed biophysically detailed models of neuronal membranes with quasi-active electrical properties stemming from voltage-gated currents. These are known to lead to resonances at characteristic frequencies in the case of current injection via whole-cell patch clamp. Interestingly, in the field-cell system, the resonance was masked in compact, spherical neurons but recovered in elongated neurons. Utilizing our cable and finite-element models, we investigate the effect of point-source stimulation on cylindrical neurons and find a novel type of "passive resonance" not reported before in the literature. We further extend our modeling by incorporating Hodgkin Huxley channels in to the membrane and construct a fully active, spiking model of a neuron, fully coupled to the applied electric fields. We then go on to embed the neuron in to an array of cells to validate our results at the tissue-level. These findings delineate the relationship between neuron shape, orientation and susceptibility to high frequency electric fields, with implications for DBS efficacy, ephaptic coupling in networks and the filtering properties of cortical tissue

Improving Construction Process through Integration and Concurrent Engineering

In an increasingly competitive business environment, improvedtime-to-market, reduced production cost, quality of the productand customer involvement are rapidly becoming the key successfactors for any product development process. Consequently, mostorganisations are moving towards the adoption of latest technologyand new management concepts and philosophies such as totalquality management and concurrent engineering (CE) to bringimprovement in their product development process. This paperdiscusses the adoption of integrated processes and CE withinthe construction industry to enable construction organisations toimprove their project development process. It also discusses aproposed integrated database model for the construction projects,which should enable the construction process to improve, becomemore effective and more efficient

Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of Stimulus-Responsive Enhancers in the Nervous System

During development, intrinsic genetic programs give rise to distinct cellular lineages through the establishment of cell type specific chromatin states. These distinct chromatin states instruct gene expression primarily through the genome-wide demarcation of enhancers. In addition to maintaining cellular identity, the chromatin state of a cell provides a platform for transcriptional responses to environmental signals. However, relatively little is known about the influence of extracellular stimuli on chromatin state at enhancers, and it is not clear which enhancers among the tens of thousands that have been recently identified function to drive stimulus-responsive transcription. In the nervous system, the chromatin state of terminally differentiated neurons not only maintains neuronal identity but also provides a platform for sensory experience-dependent gene expression, which plays a critical role in the development and refinement of neural circuits and in long-lasting changes in neuronal function that underlie learning, memory, and behavior. Using chromatin-immunoprecipitation followed by high through put sequencing (ChIP-Seq), we determined the effects of neuronal stimuli on the active chromatin landscape of mouse cortical neurons. We discover that stimulation with neuronal activity and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) cause rapid, widespread, and distinct changes in the acetylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27Ac) at thousands of enhancers throughout the neuronal genome. We find that functional stimulus-responsive enhancers can be identified by stimulus- inducible H3K27Ac, and we use this dynamic chromatin signature to discover neuronal enhancers that respond to neuronal activity, BDNF, or both stimuli. Finally, we investigate the transcriptional mechanisms underlying the function of stimulus responsive enhancers. We show that a subset of stimulus-responsive enhancers in the nervous system require the coordinated action of the stimulus-general transcription factor activator protein 1 (AP1) with additional stimulus-specific factors. Our studies reveal the genome-wide basis for transcriptional specificity in response to distinct neuronal stimuli. Furthermore, the comprehensive identification of neuronal activity and BDNF-dependent enhancers in cortical neurons provides a critical resource for elucidating the role of stimulus-responsive transcription in synaptic plasticity, learning and memory, behavior, and disease. Finally, the epigenetic signature of stimulus-inducible H3K27Ac may aid in the identification and study of stimulus- regulated enhancers in other tissues

Development and analysis of CTG repeat expansion cell lines to understand molecular events in myotonic dystrophy type 1

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a dominant human neuromuscular disorder caused by a CTG repeat expansion at the 3’ end of the DMPK gene. Pathogenesis of DM1 is linked to a toxic gain of function due to mutant RNA and is manifested by nuclear retention of expanded CUG repeats and aberrant splicing. The development of an inducible model for DM1 with uninterrupted CTG repeats could help us to better understand early pathogenic changes in DM1 due to CUG repeat expansion. In the first part of this thesis, I report an inducible C2C12 mouse myoblast cell line in which the pTetOne inducible system was used to express 174 CTG repeats. This resulted in the production of RNA foci in 26% of cells. Efforts to make larger un-interrupted CTG repeats were unsuccessful due to their instability in the E.coli plasmid. In the second part of the thesis, I used the CRISPR/Cas9-induced genome-editing technique to knock-in an inducible promoter into the endogenous DMPK gene in a DM1 fibroblast cell line. For this, I employed two different CRISPR/Cas9 based strategies which exploit homology-directed repair (HDR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). Our results suggest that CRISPR/Cas9 induced knock-in is enabled by non-homologous end joining more efficiently as compared to homology-directed repair. In the last part of the thesis, TruSeq RNA Sequencing was used to quantify the number of mutant DMPK transcripts and other molecular markers of DM1 pathogenesis that could be a valuable tool for the evaluation of the efficacy of therapeutic compounds. The sequencing results reveal the significant low abundance of mutant DMPK transcripts in the cytoplasmic fraction of DM1 lines and confirm the previously reported nuclear retention of mutant DMPK transcripts. We identify six potential genes which are dysregulated in DM1 fibroblasts and the absolute quantification of mutant DMPK transcripts along with these six reported dysregulated genes can be suitable biomarkers for disease severity and therapeutic response in DM1 fibroblasts. Additionally, these assays could be further refined to provide valuable tools to assess therapeutic compounds

Preferred Leadership Style of Civil Services Officers of Pakistan

The main objectives of this study were to investigate the "preferred leadership style of CSP officers". Moreover to find the leadership style on the basis of province of origin and gender and besides to find the relationship of province of origin and leadership style and the relationship of gender and leadership style. The study applied a survey technique to probe into the attitude of the CSP officers. The data for study was collected through personal administration of questionnaire from 174 trainees of the 40th batch in Civil Services Academy. Out of 174 trainees 71 returned the questionnaires in usable form. The respondents includes 30 from Punjab, 13 from Sindh, 13 from KPK, 3 from Baluchistan, 6 from AJK, 2 from FATA and 4 from Gilgit Biltistan where in 19 were male and 52 female.Bass (1985) Multifactor-Leadership-Questionnaire was submitted to the respondents to investigate the leadership style of the respondents after consultation with the supervisor.The data was collected tabulated and t-test was applied in order to check the preferred leadership style of the respondents. The chi-square, regression and ANNOVA used to find the relationship between the province of origin and leadership style, on the basis of gender and leadership style.It has been found from the study that overall highly preferred leadership style is management by expectation on the basis of province of origin and gender. Punjab trainees highly preferred intellectual stimulation, Sindh trainees highly preferred management by expectation, KPK trainees highly preferred laiseez-faire, Baluchistan trainees highly preferred contingent reward, where as the trainees from AJK highly preferred leadership dimension is laiseez-faire, trainees from the FATA highly preferred leadership style is management-by-exception while the trainees belonging to Gilgit Biltistan highly preferred intellectual stimulation dimension of leadership.The study found no significance differences in preferred leadership style on the basis of province of origin and gender. However, the study record needs further research to explore in depth the various aspects of the issue. Keywords; Leadership, MLQ, Civil Service Officers, Gender, Ledaership styles

Negligence of Today is Darkening Our Tomorrow (A Case Study of Private Schools in KPK)

This research attempts to investigate the awareness and implementation of newly formed laws for the benefits of the private school teachers at their schools. Descriptive statistics is used to investigate the implementation and awareness about labour laws among teachers and owners of private schools. It is also attempted to test the impact of awareness regarding labour laws and its working conditions and implementation of labour laws in private schools on job satisfaction of a private school teacher. Data was collected from 21 private schools located in Peshawar (Pakistan). The target respondent in this research was teachers of private schools and owners of the schools. Sample comprises of 122 private school teachers and owners of 21 schools. A survey method was adopted and data was collected through a questionnaire. For data analysis SPSS 16 version was used. Hypotheses were tested in twenty one schools. The reliability of construct is validated by Cronbach’s Alpha value. Regression is used to the test the hypothesis.Results of study showed that application of labour rights and awareness about labour laws has positive significant impact on job satisfaction of a private school teacher. Study results provide support to role of application of labour laws in the private education institutes and awareness about labor laws among the different stakeholders as and when  achieved can bring more job satisfaction among the private school teachers which can result in better quality of education. Keywords: Education,  Labor, Private Schools, Regression, Quality of education

Passive vibration control of plate using nodal patterns of mode shape

Passive constrained layer damping (PCLD) is nowadays a general method for reducing vibrations. Constrained layer damping (CLD) is a very good technology in terms of reducing vibration energy. This paper deals with optimal damping of first three modes of a thin square cantilever plate by constrained viscoelastic layers which are positioned according to the nodal patterns of the mode. In essence, the CLD patches are cut according to the nodal patterns and then applied on to the bare plate. Thus, this approach uses prior information of the deformation patterns of the plate. The ABAQUS finite element analysis software was used to create viscoelastically damped plate models subjected to forced vibration. The direct steady-state dynamic analysis was used to obtain the frequency response functions from which the resonance frequencies of the models were derived. Vibration control using nodal pattern CLD patches is a better way to apply CLD treatment to a plate. This is because the mode shapes give good predictions of where the maximum strains are in the plate as well as the design and size of the damping patches required. It is believed that the methodology proposed in this research work is capable of providing good results

Preferred Leadership Style of Civil Services Officers ( CSO’s ) of Pakistan

The main objectives of this study were to investigate the "preferred leadership style of CSP officers". Moreover to find the leadership style on the basis of province of origin and gender and besides to find the relationship of province of origin and leadership style and the relationship of gender and leadership style. The study applied a survey technique to probe into the attitude of the CSP officers. The data for study was collected through personal administration of questionnaire from 174 trainees of the 40th batch in Civil Services Academy. Out of 174 trainees 71 returned the questionnaires in usable form. The respondents includes 30 from Punjab, 13 from Sindh, 13 from KPK, 3 from Baluchistan, 6 from AJK, 2 from FATA and 4 from Gilgit Biltistan where in 19 were male and 52 female.Bass (1985) Multifactor-Leadership-Questionnaire was submitted to the respondents to investigate the leadership style of the respondents after consultation with the supervisor.The data was collected tabulated and t-test was applied in order to check the preferred leadership style of the respondents. The chi-square, regression and ANNOVA used to find the relationship between the province of origin and leadership style, on the basis of gender and leadership style.It has been found from the study that overall highly preferred leadership style is management by expectation on the basis of province of origin and gender. Punjab trainees highly preferred intellectual stimulation, Sindh trainees highly preferred management by expectation, KPK trainees highly preferred laiseez-faire, Baluchistan trainees highly preferred contingent reward, where as the trainees from AJK highly preferred leadership dimension is laiseez-faire, trainees from the FATA highly preferred leadership style is management-by-exception while the trainees belonging to Gilgit Biltistan highly preferred intellectual stimulation dimension of leadership.The study found no significance differences in preferred leadership style on the basis of province of origin and gender. However, the study record needs further research to explore in depth the various aspects of the issue. Keywords:Leadership, MLQ, Civil Service Officers, Gender, Ledaership style