Perceptions and preferences of medical students regarding teaching methods in a Medical College, Mangalore India

Introduction: In the complex setting of a medical school it becomes essential to utilize an approach to teaching and learning that is best suited to the needs of the students. In developing countries like India, where there is an exponential increase of institutions catering to medical students, it becomes a challenge to teach to large number of students per class. Hence, research is needed to identify the needs of students in relation to their day to day learning activities.Objectives: To understand the preferences and perception of medical students about the current methods of teaching, aids used for teaching and also identify barriers in learning as perceived by the students.Method: A Cross-sectional study was carried out at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore during May 2012. Study participants included 2nd and 3rd year medical students. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the information in relation to preferences and perceptions regarding teaching methods utilized for theory and clinical teaching. SPSS version 11.5 was used for analysis of data. The association between variables of interest was tested using Chi-square test.Results: A total of 286 students (56.6 % females and 43.4% males) participated with a dropout rate of 10.6%. The study revealed that 71.3% of the students had an attendance above 75%. The most preferred teaching method was Problem Based Learning (PBL) (71.4%) as students felt that it enhanced lateral thinking while Didactic Lectures was the least preferred (32.8%). The most preferred modality of teaching aid was found to be Black board preferred by 46.9% students. In learning rare signs and cases, students preferred video lectures (41%) and mannequins (75.9%) in learning clinical skills. The main barrier in theory learning identified was inappropriate teaching methods (15%) and being new to clinical posting (38.5%) in case of learning clinical skills.Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that a combination of traditional methods with other methods such as PBL, video lectures and mannequins could be an effective way of teaching theory and clinical skills.Keywords: Perceptions and preferences, teaching methods, medical students, Indi

Warehouse inventory management system using IoT and open source framework

In general, warehouses are used to store goods or products. In the Warehouses, if the user wants to locate any product it is very difficult, because user have to do a detailed search manually in all the available stockrooms this requires a lot of effort. So to avoid this problem the warehouse inventory management system is very helpful because it maintains the detailed product information and tells us in which stockroom the product is present. The warehouse inventory management system is playing a significant aspect in many productions and goods based methodology. Though there are many wireless communication technologies the RFID suits the best for the warehouse inventory management system. The tag information is transferred from the transmitter section to open source hardware via a wireless link with the aid of internet. The warehouse inventory management system built on the architecture of the Internet of Things is developed to track the products attached to the tags with product information and their respective time stamps for further verification. The Raspberry Pi acts as a central server, monitoring all the information. The total system gives an archetype to correspond the information flow and material flow. The web page which is built in accordance to provide convenient and an interface to the user to track the products. The developed system results a very low cost system and works dynamically compared with the existing present warehouse inventory management systems. Keywords: IoT, RFID, Warehouse inventory management system, Wi-Fi module, Open source hardwar

An update on pruritus associated with CKD

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease is increasing worldwide. Despite improvements in dialysis methods, including the development of novel biocompatible membranes and ultrapure dialysate, CKD-associated pruritus remains a common and significant public health issue. Not only does this distressing symptom profoundly impact on quality of life and sleep, recent evidence showed that pruritus also was associated with poor patient outcome. Nonetheless, nephrologists and other health care professionals often fail to recognize and adequately address the pruritus associated with CKD. The pathophysiological mechanism of CKD-associated pruritus is poorly defined, and, as a result, the development of specific therapies has proved to be a challenge. The purpose of this review is to highlight the importance of this neglected topic by providing an overview of recent epidemiological studies, outcomes data, proposed pathophysiological mechanisms, and emerging treatment options

Varied Presentations of Acute Glomerulonephritis in Children: Single centre experience from a developing country

Objectives: The objective of this prospective study, carried out at Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, was to document the various clinical presentations of children with acute glomerulonephritis and compare them with the available biological parameters in Western Nepal. Methods: Clinical and laboratory parameters of children with oedema and microscopic/macroscopic haematuria. Results: For seven years (2000-2007), 92 cases of children were clinically diagnosed with acute glomerulonephritis (AGN). Other clinical and laboratory anaylses were also eventful. Conclusion: The present study highlights the varied presentations of AGN, atypical presentations or complications of glomerulonephritis being more common than the classical presentation in the Western Region of Nepal. 

Cutaneous effects of in utero and lactational exposure of C57BL/6J mice to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

To determine the cutaneous effects of in utero and lactational exposure to the AHR ligand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), pregnant C57BL/6J mice were exposed by gavage to a vehicle or 5 _g TCDD/kg body weight at embryonic day 12 and epidermal barrier formation and function were studied in their offspring from postnatal day 1 (P1) through adulthood. TCDDexposed pups were born with acanthosis. This effect was AHR-dependent and subsided by P6 with no evidence of subsequent inflammatory dermatitis. The challenge of adult mice with MC903 showed similar inflammatory responses in control and treated animals, indicating no long-term immunosuppression to this chemical. Chloracne-like sebaceous gland hypoplasia and cyst formation were observed in TCDD-exposed P21 mice, with concomitant microbiome dysbiosis. These effects were reversed by P35. CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 expression in the skin was increased in the exposed mice until P21, then declined. Both CYP proteins co-localized with LRIG1-expressing progenitor cells at the infundibulum. CYP1B1 protein also co-localized with a second stem cell niche in the isthmus. These results indicate that this exposure to TCDD causes a chloracne-like effect without inflammation. Transient activation of the AhR, due to the shorter half-life of TCDD in mice, likely contributes to the reversibility of these effects

Is intraoperative endoscopy safe in a child with Kasai procedure?

We report a case of venous air embolism which occurred during intraoperative endoscopy in a five-year-old boy who had undergone Kasai procedure in his infancy. The child had a cardiac arrest during the procedure from which he could not be resuscitated. The awareness about this complication would allow rapid diagnosis, which is vital to provide specific treatment and prevent fatal outcome

Sonographic detection of tracheal or esophageal intubation: A cadaver study

Background: The correct position of the endotracheal tube is confirmed by various modalities, most of which are not entirely reliable. Ultrasound is now increasingly available to anesthesiologists in the operating theater and is an attractive alternative. To investigate the usefulness of sonography in identifying the correct tracheal tube position in human cadavers. Materials and Methods: Endotracheal tubes placed randomly into trachea or esophagus was identified with a linear ultrasound probe placed transversely just above the suprasternal notch by a single anesthesiologist. Results: Of the 100 intubations performed at random, 99 were correctly identified to give a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 97.9%. Conclusion: Sonography is a useful technique to identify correct position of the tracheal tube