Un processus d'admission aux programmes de médecine basé sur la localisation géographique n'influence pas les résultats académiques avant l'externat ni ceux à l'examen menant à l’obtention du permis d'exercice

Background: Students are selected for admission to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University (NOSM U) MD degree program using criteria aiming to maximize access of persons thought most likely to practice in the region, including use of a geographic context score (GCS) which ranks those with lived experience in northern Ontario and/or rurality most highly. This study investigates the effect of this admissions process upon medical school academic performance.  Methods: We used a retrospective cohort design combined with multiple linear regression analysis to investigate the relationship between admission scores and performance on pre-clerkship courses, and the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam Part 1 (MCCQE1). The GCS did not significantly explain performance variance on any pre-clerkship course, nor on the MCCQE1, while the undergraduate Grade Point Average correlated with most assessment scores.  The number of prior undergraduate biomedical courses predicted science and clinical skills performance, particularly in Year 1, but not with MCCQE1 scores. Performance on Year 2 courses, particularly foundational sciences and clinical skills, significantly predicted MCCQE1 scores. Results: Our data suggest that admission geographic context scoring is unrelated to future academic performance. Further, students with fewer prior undergraduate biomedical courses may benefit from increased support and/or a modified program during the early years. Contexte : La sélection étudiants à l'École de médecine du Nord de l'Ontario est fondée sur des critères visant à faciliter l’admission de candidats qu’on estime susceptibles de pratiquer dans la région. Un de ces critères est le score de contexte géographique (SCG) qui classe au premier rang les personnes ayant déjà vécu dans le Nord de l'Ontario ou en milieu rural. Cette étude examine l'effet de ce processus d'admission sur les résultats académiques des étudiants en médecine. Méthodes : Nous avons utilisé un modèle de cohorte rétrospective et une analyse par régression linéaire multiple pour étudier la relation entre les scores d'admission et les résultats obtenus aux cours avant l’externat et à l'examen d'aptitude du Conseil médical du Canada (EACMC), partie 1. Le SCG n'explique pas de manière significative la variance des résultats dans les cours pré-cliniques, ni à l'EACMC1, tandis que la moyenne pondérée cumulative au premier cycle est en corrélation avec la plupart des scores d'évaluation. Le nombre de cours en sciences biomédicales suivis dans un programme de premier cycle ont permis de prédire les résultats en sciences et en compétences cliniques, en particulier en première année, mais pas les résultats à l'EACMC1. Les résultats aux cours de deuxième année, en particulier de sciences fondamentales et de compétences cliniques, ont permis de prédire de manière significative les résultats à l'EACMC1. Résultats : Nos données portent à croire que le score de contexte géographique au moment de l'admission est sans lien avec les résultats académiques subséquents. En outre, les étudiants ayant suivi moins de cours en sciences biomédicales au premier cycle pourraient bénéficier d’un soutien plus important ou d'un programme adapté au cours des premières années

What children know about the source of their knowledge without reporting it as the source

We argue that, amongst 3- to 5- year-olds, failure to report the source of knowledge recently acquired in answer to “How do you know…?” is due to a specific failure to make a causal inference, in line with source monitoring theory but not fuzzy trace theory. In three Experiments, children (N = 37; 30; 59) identified a hidden toy by seeing, feeling, or by being told, having had two modes of access on each trial, one informative (e.g. seeing a toy identified by colour) and the other uninformative (e.g. being told the toy’s colour by the Experimenter who had only felt it). Children who answered the know question wrongly nevertheless reported accurately who saw and who felt the toy, and what the well-informed player had said. They also realised when the Experimenter’s uninformative access implied their own knowledge was unreliable, suggesting precocious working understanding of knowledge sources

Children's suggestibility in relation to their understanding about sources of knowledge

In the experiments reported here, children chose either to maintain their initial belief about an object's identity or to accept the experimenter's contradicting suggestion. Both 3– to 4–year–olds and 4– to 5–year–olds were good at accepting the suggestion only when the experimenter was better informed than they were (implicit source monitoring). They were less accurate at recalling both their own and the experimenter's information access (explicit recall of experience), though they performed well above chance. Children were least accurate at reporting whether their final belief was based on what they were told or on what they experienced directly (explicit source monitoring). Contrasting results emerged when children decided between contradictory suggestions from two differentially informed adults: Three– to 4–year–olds were more accurate at reporting the knowledge source of the adult they believed than at deciding which suggestion was reliable. Decision making in this observation task may require reflective understanding akin to that required for explicit source judgments when the child participates in the task

Nicotianamine, a Novel Enhancer of Rice Iron Bioavailability to Humans

Background: Polished rice is a staple food for over 50 % of the world’s population, but contains little bioavailable iron (Fe) to meet human needs. Thus, biofortifying the rice grain with novel promoters or enhancers of Fe utilization would be one of the most effective strategies to prevent the high prevalence of Fe deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in the developing world. Methodology/Principal Findings: We transformed an elite rice line cultivated in Southern China with the rice nicotianamine synthase gene (OsNAS1) fused to a rice glutelin promoter. Endosperm overexpression of OsNAS1 resulted in a significant increase in nicotianamine (NA) concentrations in both unpolished and polished grain. Bioavailability of Fe from the high NA grain, as measured by ferritin synthesis in an in vitro Caco-2 cell model that simulates the human digestive system, was twice as much as that of the control line. When added at 1:1 molar ratio to ferrous Fe in the cell system, NA was twice as effective when compared to ascorbic acid (one of the most potent known enhancers of Fe bioavailability) in promoting more ferritin synthesis. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that NA is a novel and effective promoter of iron utilization. Biofortifying polished rice with this compound has great potential in combating global human iron deficiency in people dependent on rice for thei

Case study on the efficacy of a lanthanum-enriched clay (Phoslock®) in controlling eutrophication in Lake Het Groene Eiland (The Netherlands)

Lake Het Groene Eiland was created in the beginning of 2008 by construction of dikes for isolating it from the surrounding 220-ha water body. This so-called claustrum of 5 ha was treated using lanthanum-modified clay (Phoslock®) to control eutrophication and mitigate cyanobacterial nuisance. Cyanobacteria chlorophyll-a were significantly lower in the claustrum than those in the reference water body, where a massive bloom developed in summer, 2008. However, PO4-P and TP did not statistically differ in these two waters. TN and NO3-N were significantly lower in the claustrum, where dense submerged macrophytes beds developed. Lanthanum concentrations were elevated after the applications of the modified clay in the claustrum, but filterable lanthanum dropped rapidly below the Dutch standard of 10.1 μg l−1. During winter, dozens of Canada geese resided at the claustrum. Geese droppings contained an average of 2 mg PO4-P g−1 dry weight and 12 mg NH3-N g−1 dry weight and might present a growing source of nutrients to the water. Constructing the claustrum enabled unrestricted bathing in subsequent three summers, as no swimming bans had to be issued due to cyanobacteria blooms. However, the role of the modified clay in this positive outcome remains unclear, and longevity of the measures questionable.

Full Spectrum Archaeology

Full Spectrum Archaeology (FSA) is an aspiration stemming from the convergence of archaeology’s fundamental principles with international heritage policies and community preferences. FSA encompasses study and stewardship of the full range of heritage resources in accord with the full range of associated values and through the application of treatments selected from the full range of appropriate options. Late modern states, including British Columbia, Canada, nominally embrace de jure heritage policies consonant with international standards yet also resist de facto heritage management practice grounded in professional ethics and local values and preferences. In response, inheritor communities and their allies in archaeology are demonstrating the benefits of FSA and reclaiming control over cultural heritage. Archaeology and heritage management driven by altruistic articulation of communal, educational, scientific and other values further expose shortcomings and vulnerabilities of late modern states as well as public goods in and from FSA

Food biofortification : reaping the benefits of science to overcome hidden hunger

Biofortification is a process of increasing the density of minerals and vitamins in a food crop through conventional plant breeding, genetic engineering, or agronomic practices (primarily use of fertilizers and foliar sprays). Biofortified staple food crops, when substituted consistently for non-biofortified staple food crops, can generate measurable improvements in human nutrition and health. This monograph describes the progress made in developing, testing, and disseminating biofortified staple food crops, primarily through the use of conventional plant breeding, summarizing the activities of two consortiums of inter-disciplinary collaborating institutions led the HarvestPlus program and the International Potato Center (CIP). We focus on laying out the evidence base proving the effectiveness and impact to date of biofortified crops. Results of a large number of nutritional bioavailability and efficacy trials are summarized (Chapter 2), crop development techniques and activities are presented and variety releases documented for a dozen staple food crops in low and middle income countries (LMICs) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America (Chapter 3), and strategies for promoting the uptake of specific biofortified crops are discussed, concurrent with policy advocacy to encourage key institutions to mainstream the promotion, and use of biofortified crops in their core activities (Chapters 4 and 5). Statistics will be presented on numbers of farm households adopting biofortified crops (Chapters 3 and 4), now available to farmers in 40 low and middle income countries (LMICs). Each section will outline the way forward on additional future activities required to enhance the development and impact the biofortification through conventional plant breeding. No biofortified staple food crop developed through transgenic techniques has been fully de-regulated for release to farmers in LMICs. Yet transgenic techniques hold the potential for a several-fold increase in the impact/benefits of biofortified crops. This potential is described in Chapter 6 which discusses developmental research already completed, including achieving higher densities of single nutrients than is possible with conventional breeding, combining multiple nutrient traits in single events, slowing down/reducing the level of degradation of vitamins after harvesting, and combining superior agronomic traits with nutrient traits in single events. A final chapter summarizes and discusses key questions and issues that will influence the ultimate mainstreaming of biofortified crops in food systems in LMICs and will allow maximization of the benefits of biofortification