Polyaniline composite membranes synthesis in presence of various acid dopants for pressure filtration

Polyaniline is a conductive polymer that is recently used as a material in producing a pressure filtration membrane. Polyaniline can be doped in various acids as dopants of different sizes and shapes to modify its inherent properties to produce membrane with high flux and rejection. This work is aimed to fabricate polyaniline composite membrane in presence of different acids as dopants namely hydrochloric acid, maleic acid, poly(methyl vinylether) acid (PMVEA) and polyacrylic acid (PAA). This polyaniline was coated onto microporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) support by using a specially fabricated two compartment cell. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) results show that the morphology of the coated polyaniline on PVDF membrane support is in globular shapes, which elongates at different sizes depending to the acid used. From the thermal analysis, the melting point of polyaniline coated PVDF membrane remains at 260°C, similar as obtained in the pristine microporous PVDF indicating no thermal change upon polyaniline coating. From all membranes prepared, the doped polyaniline membrane possessed a good conductivity value except for polyaniline-PMVEA membrane, which has the lowest value. In terms of the membrane filtration performance, which was measured based on the flux of pure water and polyethylene glycol (PEG) rejection, polyaniline-PMVEA membrane has a high flux and the highest PEG rejection. This result indicates that the conductivity does not influence much on the membrane filtration performance, but rather due to the physical coating itself. Different acid dopants present during polyaniline coating will lead to different filtration performance

Does academic assessment system type affect levels of academic stress in medical students? A cross-sectional study from Pakistan

Introduction Stress among medical students induced by academic pressures is on the rise among the student population in Pakistan and other parts of the world. Our study examined the relationship between two different systems employed to assess academic performance and the levels of stress among students at two different medical schools in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods A sample consisting of 387 medical students enrolled in pre-clinical years was taken from two universities, one employing the semester examination system with grade point average (GPA) scores (a tiered system) and the other employing an annual examination system with only pass/fail grading. A pre-designed, self-administered questionnaire was distributed. Test anxiety levels were assessed by The Westside Test Anxiety Scale (WTAS). Overall stress was evaluated using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Results There were 82 males and 301 females while four did not respond to the gender question. The mean age of the entire cohort was 19.7±1.0 years. A total of 98 participants were from the pass/fail assessment system while 289 were from the GPA system. There was a higher proportion of females in the GPA system (85% vs. 59%; p \u3c 0.01). Students in the pass/fail assessment system had a lower score on the WTAS (2.4±0.8 vs. 2.8±0.7; p=0.01) and the PSS (17.0±6.7 vs. 20.3±6.8; p \u3c 0.01), indicating lower levels of test anxiety and overall stress than in students enrolled in the GPA assessment system. More students in the pass/fail system were satisfied with their performance than those in the GPA system. Conclusion Based on the present study, we suggest governing bodies to revise and employ a uniform assessment system for all the medical colleges to improve student academic performance and at the same time reduce stress levels. Our results indicate that the pass/fail assessment system accomplishes these objectives

Rare and Low Frequency Genomic Variants Impacting Neuronal Functions Modify the Dup7q11.23 Phenotype

© 2021, The Author(s). Background: 7q11.23 duplication (Dup7) is one of the most frequent recurrent copy number variants (CNVs) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but based on gold-standard assessments, only 19% of Dup7 carriers have ASD, suggesting that additional genetic factors are necessary to manifest the ASD phenotype. To assess the contribution of additional genetic variants to the Dup7 phenotype, we conducted whole-genome sequencing analysis of 20 Dup7 carriers: nine with ASD (Dup7-ASD) and 11 without ASD (Dup7-non-ASD). Results: We identified three rare variants of potential clinical relevance for ASD: a 1q21.1 microdeletion (Dup7-non-ASD) and two deletions which disrupted IMMP2L (one Dup7-ASD, one Dup7-non-ASD). There were no significant differences in gene-set or pathway variant burden between the Dup7-ASD and Dup7-non-ASD groups. However, overall intellectual ability negatively correlated with the number of rare loss-of-function variants present in nervous system development and membrane component pathways, and adaptive behaviour standard scores negatively correlated with the number of low-frequency likely-damaging missense variants found in genes expressed in the prenatal human brain. ASD severity positively correlated with the number of low frequency loss-of-function variants impacting genes expressed at low levels in the brain, and genes with a low level of intolerance. Conclusions: Our study suggests that in the presence of the same pathogenic Dup7 variant, rare and low frequency genetic variants act additively to contribute to components of the overall Dup7 phenotype

Genome-wide Investigation of Rare Genetic Variation in Epilepsy and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are a clinically heterogeneous group of neurological disorders. Despite their known genetic basis, many cases of epilepsy and ASD remain unresolved without a molecular diagnosis. In this thesis, I describe the use of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to conduct a genome-wide investigation of rare genetic variation in two cohorts. In a cohort of unexplained epilepsies, I identified clinically relevant rare variants in 9/28 (32.1%) participants, for whom prior genetic tests were inconclusive. In a cohort of 20 participants with a duplication of the 7q11.23 region (Dup7), I found that in the presence of the same pathogenic Dup7 variant, rare and low frequency genetic variants act additively to contribute to components of the overall Dup7-ASD phenotype. Overall, my findings demonstrate that the use of WGS enables molecular diagnosis, points to the role of multiple contributing variants in the genetic background, and yields insights into epilepsy-ASD genetics.M.Sc

Running a Student Journal: Best Practices for Success and Sustainability

The presentation was given at the Third Annual Student Journal Forum organized by the University of Toronto Libraries in January 2018.The presentation describes the operation of the STEM Fellowship Journal - an open-access peer-reviewed journal that publishes scholarly research by high school and university students in the STEM fields. It also shares findings of a study on Student-Run Academic Journals in STEM: A Growing Trend in Scholarly Communication published in 2017. The survey of North American journals found that the number of student-run journals has grown almost ten-fold from 1995-2015. Most have focused on expanding within local post-secondary institutions, with the goal of promoting student research or encouraging student publication. While there has been steady growth, a large proportion of journals report critical challenges, such as gathering manuscripts, recruiting reviewers, and transitioning managers. The article is available at https://www.csescienceeditor.org/article/student-run-academic-journals-stem-growing-trend-scholarly-communication

Reflections Of A (Former) Student Journal Director

The presentation was given at the Fourth Annual Student Journal Forum organized by the University of Toronto Libraries in January 2019.The presentation describes the operation of the STEM Fellowship Journal - an open-access peer-reviewed journal that publishes scholarly research by high school and university students in the STEM fields