A comparative study of mental health of medical students in two countries

Results from many studies indicate that throughout medical education students experience high levels of stress and depression. The aim of the current study was to assess and compare Bulgarian and Turkish medical students' levels of stress and depression. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 546 students (276 foreign students from Medical University – Sofia and 270 medical students from several medical universities in Ankara). The study instrument included basic socio-demographic questions, Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ-40 items) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Turkish medical students showed higher levels of stress and depression than foreign students from Bulgaria. We found that all types of stressors in medical students had a relationship with depression. Results of our study imply that medical students need access to psychological support throughout their education

Exact density profiles for fully asymmetric exclusion process with discrete-time dynamics

Exact density profiles in the steady state of the one-dimensional fully asymmetric simple exclusion process on semi-infinite chains are obtained in the case of forward-ordered sequential dynamics by taking the thermodynamic limit in our recent exact results for a finite chain with open boundaries. The corresponding results for sublattice parallel dynamics follow from the relationship obtained by Rajewsky and Schreckenberg [Physica A 245, 139 (1997)] and for parallel dynamics from the mapping found by Evans, Rajewsky and Speer [J. Stat. Phys. 95, 45 (1999)]. By comparing the asymptotic results appropriate for parallel update with those published in the latter paper, we correct some technical errors in the final results given there.Comment: About 10 pages and 3 figures, new references are added and a comparison is made with the results by de Gier and Nienhuis [Phys. Rev. E 59, 4899(1999)

Flow properties of driven-diffusive lattice gases: theory and computer simulation

We develop n-cluster mean-field theories (0 < n < 5) for calculating the flow properties of the non-equilibrium steady-states of the Katz-Lebowitz-Spohn model of the driven diffusive lattice gas, with attractive and repulsive inter-particle interactions, in both one and two dimensions for arbitrary particle densities, temperature as well as the driving field. We compare our theoretical results with the corresponding numerical data we have obtained from the computer simulations to demonstrate the level of accuracy of our theoretical predictions. We also compare our results with those for some other prototype models, notably particle-hopping models of vehicular traffic, to demonstrate the novel qualitative features we have observed in the Katz-Lebowitz-Spohn model, emphasizing, in particular, the consequences of repulsive inter-particle interactions.Comment: 12 RevTex page

A Spontaneous Mutation in Contactin 1 in the Mouse

Mutations in the gene encoding the immunoglobulin-superfamily member cell adhesion molecule contactin1 (CNTN1) cause lethal congenital myopathy in human patients and neurodevelopmental phenotypes in knockout mice. Whether the mutant mice provide an accurate model of the human disease is unclear; resolving this will require additional functional tests of the neuromuscular system and examination of Cntn1 mutations on different genetic backgrounds that may influence the phenotype. Toward these ends, we have analyzed a new, spontaneous mutation in the mouse Cntn1 gene that arose in a BALB/c genetic background. The overt phenotype is very similar to the knockout of Cntn1, with affected animals having reduced body weight, a failure to thrive, locomotor abnormalities, and a lifespan of 2–3 weeks. Mice homozygous for the new allele have CNTN1 protein undetectable by western blotting, suggesting that it is a null or very severe hypomorph. In an analysis of neuromuscular function, neuromuscular junctions had normal morphology, consistent with previous studies in knockout mice, and the muscles were able to generate appropriate force when normalized for their reduced size in late stage animals. Therefore, the Cntn1 mutant mice do not show evidence for a myopathy, but instead the phenotype is likely to be caused by dysfunction in the nervous system. Given the similarity of CNTN1 to other Ig-superfamily proteins such as DSCAMs, we also characterized the expression and localization of Cntn1 in the retinas of mutant mice for developmental defects. Despite widespread expression, no anomalies in retinal anatomy were detected histologically or using a battery of cell-type specific antibodies. We therefore conclude that the phenotype of the Cntn1 mice arises from dysfunction in the brain, spinal cord or peripheral nervous system, and is similar in either a BALB/c or B6;129;Black Swiss background, raising a possible discordance between the mouse and human phenotypes resulting from Cntn1 mutations

Interactome Analyses Identify Ties of PrPC and Its Mammalian Paralogs to Oligomannosidic N-Glycans and Endoplasmic Reticulum-Derived Chaperones

The physiological environment which hosts the conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) to disease-associated isoforms has remained enigmatic. A quantitative investigation of the PrPC interactome was conducted in a cell culture model permissive to prion replication. To facilitate recognition of relevant interactors, the study was extended to Doppel (Prnd) and Shadoo (Sprn), two mammalian PrPC paralogs. Interestingly, this work not only established a similar physiological environment for the three prion protein family members in neuroblastoma cells, but also suggested direct interactions amongst them. Furthermore, multiple interactions between PrPC and the neural cell adhesion molecule, the laminin receptor precursor, Na/K ATPases and protein disulfide isomerases (PDI) were confirmed, thereby reconciling previously separate findings. Subsequent validation experiments established that interactions of PrPC with PDIs may extend beyond the endoplasmic reticulum and may play a hitherto unrecognized role in the accumulation of PrPSc. A simple hypothesis is presented which accounts for the majority of interactions observed in uninfected cells and suggests that PrPC organizes its molecular environment on account of its ability to bind to adhesion molecules harboring immunoglobulin-like domains, which in turn recognize oligomannose-bearing membrane proteins