Development and testing of an assessment tool for integrated learning

Objective: Development of integrated questions for undergraduate medical students and assessing students’ capability to retain and apply basic concepts in an integrated way. Method: Multiple choice questions, attempting to probe understanding and application of different concepts, affiliated with different subjects and topics, were developed. As a pilot these were administered to the students of third year and final year at the end of their certifying examinations as a mock test. The following year these questions were introduced in the continuous assessments and subsequently the certifying examinations (in third year) as 33% of the whole examination. Difficult indices, item analysis and internal consistency (alpha) were calculated for all the questions. Results: The difficulty indices of integrated questions indicated that students found the integrated questions difficult. Conclusion: There was a significant change of distribution in terms of scoring for the integrated questions. Students’ power to integrate showed reliable improvement when tested in the certifying examinations (JPMA 51:384,2001)

Sialic Acid Is A Novel Biochemical Marker In Sera Of Iraqi Endometriotic Patients .

Sialic acids are nine carbon acidic sugars typically found as the terminal residue of cell surface sugar chains as well as on secreted glycoproteins and in the extracellular matrix. Structural diversity and unique strategic location of sialic acids (Sias) on the cells make them one of the most important molecules in life and set the challenges for sialoglycobiologist. An important facet of Sia biology is the function of Sia-binding immunoglobulin-like lectins (Siglecs), receptors that are largely expressed across the major leukocyte lineages to mediate important innate and adaptive immune functions. A postulated autoimmune aetiology of endometriosis derives from reports on increased polyclonal B-cell activity, abnormalities in function of B and T cells, ,  high B-cell and T-cell counts, and reduced natural-killer-cell activity.Also, high serum concentrations of Igs autoantibodies . Sialic acid binding immunoglobulins (Ig)-like lectins (siglecs) belong to I-type lectin with a selective expression on the haematopoetic cell lineages. These have amazing structural diversity to recognize and interact with an array of linkage-specific sialic acids on a glycan structure express on host cells as well as pathogen. Fourteen human and nine murine siglecs have already been identified and the list is still increasing. Innate immune system is the first line of defense evolved during the years of evolution. This is responsible for controlling and clearing invading pathogens. The results of the present study indicate that Sialic acid is a novel biochemical marker related to the immune pathological alterations of endometriosis as shown in G1 and G3 . Also, the results showed the role of zoladex in alteration immune responses as shown in G2. Keywords Sialic acid . endometriosis . immunoglobulins . autoimmune diseases

Poor knowledge--predictor of nonadherence to universal precautions for blood borne pathogens at first level care facilities in Pakistan

Background: We conducted an assessment of knowledge about blood borne pathogens (BBP) and use of universal precautions at first level care facilities (FLCF) in two districts of Pakistan.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey and selected three different types of FLCFs ; public, general practitioners and unqualified practitioners through stratified random sampling technique. At each facility, we interviewed a prescriber, a dispenser, and a housekeeper for knowledge of BBPs transmission and preventive practices, risk perception, and use of universal precautions. We performed multiple linear regression to assess the effect of knowledge score (11 items) on the practice of universal precautions score (4 items- use of gloves, gown, needle recapping, and HBV vaccination).Results: We interviewed 239 subjects. Most of the participants 128 (53%) were recruited from general practitioners clinics and 166 (69.5%) of them were dispensers. Mean (SD) knowledge score was 3.8 (2.3) with median of 4. MBBS prescribers had the highest knowledge score while the housekeepers had the lowest. Mean universal precautions use score was 2.7 +/- 2.1. Knowledge about mode of transmission and the work experience alone, significantly predicted universal precaution use in multiple linear regression model (adR2 = 0.093).CONCLUSION: Knowledge about mode of transmission of blood borne pathogens is very low. Use of universal precautions can improve with increase in knowledge

Bearing Capacity of Shallow Footing on Compacted Dune Sand Underlain Iraqi Collapsible Soil

Gypsies Soils are disturbed in many regions in the world including Iraq, which cover about (30 %) of the surface area of the country (Al-Dulaimi, 2004). Existence of these soils, sometimes with high gypsum content, caused difficult problems to the buildings and strategic projects due to dissolution and leaching of gypsum by the action of water flow through soil mass. In this research, a new technique is adopted to investigate the performance of replacement and geosynthetic reinforcement materials to improve the gypseous soils behavior through experimental set up manufactured locally specially for this work. A series of tests including dry and wet tests were carried out using steel container (600×600×500) mm. A square footing (100×100) mm was placed at the center of the top surface of the bed soil. The results showed that the most effective thickness for dune sand layer with geotextile at the interface, within the tested range, was found to be almost equal to the width of foundation. Therefore, under this depth, the soil was reinforced with geogrid and geotextile. The bearing capacity increases to (1.5-2.0) time under concentric loads and (2.5-3.0) under eccentric loads after replacement and reinforcement of gypseous soil

Teleparallel Killing Vectors of Spherically Symmetric Spacetimes

In this paper, Killing vectors of spherically spacetimes have been evaluated in the context of teleparallel theory of gravitation. Further, we investigate the Killing vectors of the Friedmann metrics. It is found that for static spherically spacetimes the number of Killing vectors turn out to be \emph{seven} while for the Friedmann models, we obtain \emph{six} teleparallel Killing vectors. The results are then compared with those of General Relativity. We conclude that both of these descriptions of gravity do not provide the consistent results in general. However, these results may coincide under certain conditions for a particular spacetime.Comment: 14 pages, accepted for publication in Communications in Theoretical Physic

Prediction of Square Footing Settlement under Eccentric Loading on Gypseous Soil through Proposed Surface for Dry and Soaked States

Gypseous soils as any other soils deform under loading, this deformation differs greatly between its dry state and its soaked state. This deformation also differs when the loading is applied with eccentricity.An experimental work was conducted on a square footing model (100 mm 100 mm) above gypseous soil 450 mm thick. Loading was applied at the center of the footing (e/B = 0) and at an eccentricity of (e/B = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2) for its dry state and its soaked state. Settlement was obtained at the center and at the base soil of the footing for each state.The data obtained was normalized and a proposed surface was obtained for each of the two states (dry and soaked) and at two places (center and edge). Four proposed equations were obtained represented four cases of research i) Dry center, ii) Dry edge, iii) Soaked center, and iv) Soaked edge. The four equations showed very good agreement with the data obtained from the experiment.Artificial Neural Network model was also used to obtain a neural network representing the proposed surface for the abovementioned four cases and also a very good agreement was obtained.It is concluded that a proposed surface for the central and eccentric loading on square footing for gypseous soil showed a good agreement with the experimental data and therefore may be used for settlement prediction

Effect of treatments on the physical and morphological properties of SPF/phenolic composites

This study aims at evaluating the physical properties and effects of fiber treatments of natural fiber reinforced polymer composite’s friction applications. Sugar palm fibers (SPFs) were used as fillers (≤ 150 µm) with phenolic resin to fabricate the composites by the hot press technique. The loading of SPFs varied from 0 to 40 vol.% with an interval of 10 vol.% in phenolic composites. The fibers were treated with sea water for 30 days, and with 0.5 M of alkaline solution for 4 hrs. Rockwell hardness, density, voids content, water/oil absorption, and moisture content were studied. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphology and interfacial bonding of the fiber-matrix in composites. With an increase in the SPF loading in the composites, the results indicated a decline in Rockwell hardness, an increase in water/oil absorption, and density. It was also observed that higher the density of the composites, lower was the voids content. In terms of physical properties, sea water treatment showed better improvement than alkaline treatment. The outcome of this research indicated that SPFs can be effectively used in reinforcing polymer composites, such as friction composites

Synthesis of 2-{[5-(aralkyl/aryl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2- yl]sulfanyl}-N-(4-methyl-1,3-thiazol-2-yl)acetamides: Novel bi-heterocycles as potential therapeutic agents

Purpose: To evaluate the therapeutic potential of new bi-heterocycles  containing a 1,3-thiazole and 1,3,4-oxadiazole in the skeleton against Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, supported by in-silico study. Methods: The synthesis was initiated by the reaction of 4-methyl- 1,3-thiazol-2-amine (1) with bromoacetyl bromide (2) in aqueous basic medium to obtain an electrophile,2-bromo-N-(4-methyl-1,3- thiazol- 2-yl)acetamide (3). In parallel reactions, a series of carboxylic acids, 4a-r, were converted through a sequence of three steps, into respective 1,3,4-oxadiazole heterocyclic cores, 7a-r, to utilize as nucleophiles. Finally, the designed molecules, 8a-r, were synthesized by coupling 7a-r individually with 3 in an aprotic polar solvent. The structures of these bi-heterocycles were elucidated by infrared (IR), electron ionization-mass spectrometry (EI-MS), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR). To evaluate their enzyme inhibitory potential, 8a-r were screened against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), but brine shrimp lethality bioassay.Results: The most active compound against AChE was 8l with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 17.25 ± 0.07 μM. Against BChE, the highest inhibitory effect was shown by 8k (56.23 ± 0.09 μM). Compound 8f (161.26 ± 0.23μM) was recognized as a fairly good inhibitor of urease. In view of its inhibition of α-glucosidase, 8o (57.35 ± 0.17μM) was considered a potential therapeutic agent.Conclusion: The results indicate that some of the synthesized products with low toxicity exhibit notable enzyme inhibitory activity against selected enzymes compared with the reference drug, and therefore, are of potential therapeutic interestKeywords: 4-Methyl-1,3-thiazol-2-amine,1,3,4-Oxadiazole,  Cholinesterases, α-Glucosidase, Urease, Brine shrim

Organometallic iridium(III) anticancer complexes with new mechanisms of action: NCI-60 screening, mitochondrial targeting, and apoptosis

Platinum complexes related to cisplatin, cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2], are successful anticancer drugs; however, other transition metal complexes offer potential for combating cisplatin resistance, decreasing side effects, and widening the spectrum of activity. Organometallic half-sandwich iridium (IrIII) complexes [Ir(Cpx)(XY)Cl]+/0 (Cpx = biphenyltetramethylcyclopentadienyl and XY = phenanthroline (1), bipyridine (2), or phenylpyridine (3)) all hydrolyze rapidly, forming monofunctional G adducts on DNA with additional intercalation of the phenyl substituents on the Cpx ring. In comparison, highly potent complex 4 (Cpx = phenyltetramethylcyclopentadienyl and XY = N,N-dimethylphenylazopyridine) does not hydrolyze. All show higher potency toward A2780 human ovarian cancer cells compared to cisplatin, with 1, 3, and 4 also demonstrating higher potency in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) NCI-60 cell-line screen. Use of the NCI COMPARE algorithm (which predicts mechanisms of action (MoAs) for emerging anticancer compounds by correlating NCI-60 patterns of sensitivity) shows that the MoA of these IrIII complexes has no correlation to cisplatin (or oxaliplatin), with 3 and 4 emerging as particularly novel compounds. Those findings by COMPARE were experimentally probed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of A2780 cells exposed to 1, showing mitochondrial swelling and activation of apoptosis after 24 h. Significant changes in mitochondrial membrane polarization were detected by flow cytometry, and the potency of the complexes was enhanced ca. 5× by co-administration with a low concentration (5 μM) of the γ-glutamyl cysteine synthetase inhibitor L-buthionine sulfoximine (L-BSO). These studies reveal potential polypharmacology of organometallic IrIII complexes, with MoA and cell selectivity governed by structural changes in the chelating ligands

Anti-hyperalgesic properties of a flavanone derivative Poncirin in acute and chronic inflammatory pain models in mice

Background Poncirin is flavanone derivative (isolated from Poncirus trifoliata) with known pharmacological activities such as anti-tumor, anti-osteoporotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-colitic. The present study aimed to explore the anti-allodynic and anti-hyperalgesic potentials of poncirin in murine models of inflammatory pain. Methods The analgesic potential of poncirin was evaluated in formalin-, acetic acid-, carrageenan- and Complete Freunds Adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammatory pain models in mice. Anti-allodynic and anti-hyperalgesic activities were measured using Von Frey filaments, Randall Selitto, hotplate and cold acetone tests. The serum nitrite levels were determined using Griess reagent. The Quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to assess the effect of poncirin on mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cytokines and anti-oxidant enzymes. Results Intraperitoneal administration of poncirin (30 mg/kg) markedly reduced the pain behavior in both acetic acid-induced visceral pain and formalin-induced tonic pain models used as preliminary screening tools. The poncirin (30 mg/kg) treatment considerably inhibited the mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia as well as thermal hyperalgesia and cold allodynia. The qRT-PCR analysis showed noticeable inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines (mRNA expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) (p < 0.05) in poncirin treated group. Similarly, poncirin treatment also enhanced the mRNA expressions levels of anti-oxidant enzymes such as transcription factor such as nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) (p < 0.05), heme oxygenase (HO-1) (p < 0.05) and superoxide dismutase (SOD2) (p < 0.05). Chronic treatment of poncirin for 6 days did not confer any significant hepatic and renal toxicity. Furthermore, poncirin treatment did not altered the motor coordination and muscle strength in CFA-induced chronic inflammatory pain model. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that poncirin treatment significantly reduced pain behaviors in all experimental models of inflammatory pain, suggesting the promising analgesic potential of poncirin in inflammatory pain conditions.The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan (under the SRGP funding No. 357SRGP/HEC/2014) supported the study only financially and was not involved in the designing of the project. The authors are grateful to the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), Seoul National University, grant funded by the Korean Government (MSIP) (No. 2009–0083533). The Proff: Yeong Shik Kim (National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), Seoul National University) was actively involved in the designing of the experiment and analysis of the results