32 research outputs found

    Role of certain bioagents against Guava decline disease and in enhancement of the growth of guava trees

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    Biocontrol agents, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Trichoderma harzianum were evaluated against fungi causing guava (Psidium guajava) decline disease caused by Botryodiplodia theobromae, Fusarium oxysporum, and Rhizoctonia solani. Generally, our results showed high antagonistic effects of tested biocontrol agents against previous pathogens. T. harzianum isolates showed an average of 58% inhibition against all pathogens. T. harzianum T4 was the most prominent isolate in inhibiting the growth of guava pathogenic fungi. Based on the secretion of volatile substances, T4 had the most significant inhibition ability as compared to other Trichoderma isolates. By using B. subtilis, the radial growth of R. solani and F. oxysporum was significantly decreased as compared to B. theobromae. In case of P. fluorescens, the radial growth of R. solani was decreased more than B. theobromae followed by F. oxysporum. Different densities of T4 significantly decreased the disease severity and increased plant height, dry weight of shoots and roots and total pigments (chlorophyll a and b, and carotenoids) in guava trees in comparison with infected trees only. We concluded that the application of biocontrol agents decreased guava decline disease and improved the growth of guava trees

    Tongue metastasis as an initial presentation of renal cell carcinoma: a case report and literature review

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Primary tumour of the kidney metastasizing to the tongue is very unusual and only anecdotal cases have been reported. An exhaustive literature review covering the period from 1911 onwards disclosed 28 cases. Out of those, only 3 cases presented initially with tongue metastases before the diagnosis of primary renal cell carcinoma.</p> <p>The prognosis for patients with lingual metastasis of renal cell carcinoma is poor. Treatment of tongue metastasis is usually palliative and aims to provide patient comfort by means of pain relief and prevention of bleeding and infection. Surgical excision is recommended as the primary treatment with emphasis on preservation of tongue structure and function.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a case of tongue metastasis as an initial presentation of renal cell carcinoma in a 78-year-old man. Initially thought to be primary tongue cancer but on review of his histopathology again, it was diagnosed to be a rare metastasis from kidney cancer.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tongue metastasis from renal cell carcinoma is rare and its diagnosis is a challenge. The prognosis of patients with tongue metastasis is poor. Similar to the primary tumours of the tongue, metastatic lesions may be ulcerated or polypoid. Since the tongue is a rare metastatic site, when a lesion is detected, a thorough evaluation to distinguish between metastasis and primary cancer should be made as the management and prognosis vary.</p

    Management of chronic myeloid leukaemia: current treatment options, challenges, and future strategies.

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    Small molecule therapy is a critical component of targeted anticancer treatment, with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) being the first compounds to treat the clonal Chronic Myelogenous Leukaemia (CML) translocation t (9;22) (q34; q11) effectively since 2001. TKIs, such as imatinib, have improved the 10-year survival rate of CML patients to 80%. They bind the kinase and inhibit downstream signaling pathways. However, therapy failure may be seen in 20-25% of CML patients due to intolerance or inadequacy related to dependent or independent mechanisms. This review aimed to summarize current treatment options involving TKIs, resistance mechanisms and the prospective approaches to overcome TKI resistance. We highlight -dependent mechanisms of TKI resistance by reviewing clinically-documented mutations and their consequences for TKI binding. In addition, we summarize independent pathways, including the relevance of drug efflux, dysregulation of microRNA, and the involvement of alternative signaling pathways. We also discuss future approaches, such as gene-editing techniques in the context of CML, as potential therapeutic strategies

    Exploring UK medical school differences: the MedDifs study of selection, teaching, student and F1 perceptions, postgraduate outcomes and fitness to practise

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    BACKGROUND: Medical schools differ, particularly in their teaching, but it is unclear whether such differences matter, although influential claims are often made. The Medical School Differences (MedDifs) study brings together a wide range of measures of UK medical schools, including postgraduate performance, fitness to practise issues, specialty choice, preparedness, satisfaction, teaching styles, entry criteria and institutional factors. METHOD: Aggregated data were collected for 50 measures across 29 UK medical schools. Data include institutional history (e.g. rate of production of hospital and GP specialists in the past), curricular influences (e.g. PBL schools, spend per student, staff-student ratio), selection measures (e.g. entry grades), teaching and assessment (e.g. traditional vs PBL, specialty teaching, self-regulated learning), student satisfaction, Foundation selection scores, Foundation satisfaction, postgraduate examination performance and fitness to practise (postgraduate progression, GMC sanctions). Six specialties (General Practice, Psychiatry, Anaesthetics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Internal Medicine, Surgery) were examined in more detail. RESULTS: Medical school differences are stable across time (median alpha = 0.835). The 50 measures were highly correlated, 395 (32.2%) of 1225 correlations being significant with p < 0.05, and 201 (16.4%) reached a Tukey-adjusted criterion of p < 0.0025. Problem-based learning (PBL) schools differ on many measures, including lower performance on postgraduate assessments. While these are in part explained by lower entry grades, a surprising finding is that schools such as PBL schools which reported greater student satisfaction with feedback also showed lower performance at postgraduate examinations. More medical school teaching of psychiatry, surgery and anaesthetics did not result in more specialist trainees. Schools that taught more general practice did have more graduates entering GP training, but those graduates performed less well in MRCGP examinations, the negative correlation resulting from numbers of GP trainees and exam outcomes being affected both by non-traditional teaching and by greater historical production of GPs. Postgraduate exam outcomes were also higher in schools with more self-regulated learning, but lower in larger medical schools. A path model for 29 measures found a complex causal nexus, most measures causing or being caused by other measures. Postgraduate exam performance was influenced by earlier attainment, at entry to Foundation and entry to medical school (the so-called academic backbone), and by self-regulated learning. Foundation measures of satisfaction, including preparedness, had no subsequent influence on outcomes. Fitness to practise issues were more frequent in schools producing more male graduates and more GPs. CONCLUSIONS: Medical schools differ in large numbers of ways that are causally interconnected. Differences between schools in postgraduate examination performance, training problems and GMC sanctions have important implications for the quality of patient care and patient safety

    The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey: an analysis of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in 25 UK medical schools relating to timing, duration, teaching formats, teaching content, and problem-based learning

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    BACKGROUND: What subjects UK medical schools teach, what ways they teach subjects, and how much they teach those subjects is unclear. Whether teaching differences matter is a separate, important question. This study provides a detailed picture of timetabled undergraduate teaching activity at 25 UK medical schools, particularly in relation to problem-based learning (PBL). METHOD: The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey used detailed timetables provided by 25 schools with standard 5-year courses. Timetabled teaching events were coded in terms of course year, duration, teaching format, and teaching content. Ten schools used PBL. Teaching times from timetables were validated against two other studies that had assessed GP teaching and lecture, seminar, and tutorial times. RESULTS: A total of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in the academic year 2014/2015 were analysed, including SSCs (student-selected components) and elective studies. A typical UK medical student receives 3960 timetabled hours of teaching during their 5-year course. There was a clear difference between the initial 2 years which mostly contained basic medical science content and the later 3 years which mostly consisted of clinical teaching, although some clinical teaching occurs in the first 2 years. Medical schools differed in duration, format, and content of teaching. Two main factors underlay most of the variation between schools, Traditional vs PBL teaching and Structured vs Unstructured teaching. A curriculum map comparing medical schools was constructed using those factors. PBL schools differed on a number of measures, having more PBL teaching time, fewer lectures, more GP teaching, less surgery, less formal teaching of basic science, and more sessions with unspecified content. DISCUSSION: UK medical schools differ in both format and content of teaching. PBL and non-PBL schools clearly differ, albeit with substantial variation within groups, and overlap in the middle. The important question of whether differences in teaching matter in terms of outcomes is analysed in a companion study (MedDifs) which examines how teaching differences relate to university infrastructure, entry requirements, student perceptions, and outcomes in Foundation Programme and postgraduate training

    The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey: an analysis of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in 25 UK medical schools relating to timing, duration, teaching formats, teaching content, and problem-based learning

    Get PDF
    Background What subjects UK medical schools teach, what ways they teach subjects, and how much they teach those subjects is unclear. Whether teaching differences matter is a separate, important question. This study provides a detailed picture of timetabled undergraduate teaching activity at 25 UK medical schools, particularly in relation to problem-based learning (PBL). Method The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey used detailed timetables provided by 25 schools with standard 5-year courses. Timetabled teaching events were coded in terms of course year, duration, teaching format, and teaching content. Ten schools used PBL. Teaching times from timetables were validated against two other studies that had assessed GP teaching and lecture, seminar, and tutorial times. Results A total of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in the academic year 2014/2015 were analysed, including SSCs (student-selected components) and elective studies. A typical UK medical student receives 3960 timetabled hours of teaching during their 5-year course. There was a clear difference between the initial 2 years which mostly contained basic medical science content and the later 3 years which mostly consisted of clinical teaching, although some clinical teaching occurs in the first 2 years. Medical schools differed in duration, format, and content of teaching. Two main factors underlay most of the variation between schools, Traditional vs PBL teaching and Structured vs Unstructured teaching. A curriculum map comparing medical schools was constructed using those factors. PBL schools differed on a number of measures, having more PBL teaching time, fewer lectures, more GP teaching, less surgery, less formal teaching of basic science, and more sessions with unspecified content. Discussion UK medical schools differ in both format and content of teaching. PBL and non-PBL schools clearly differ, albeit with substantial variation within groups, and overlap in the middle. The important question of whether differences in teaching matter in terms of outcomes is analysed in a companion study (MedDifs) which examines how teaching differences relate to university infrastructure, entry requirements, student perceptions, and outcomes in Foundation Programme and postgraduate training

    Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder : genetic, pharmacogenetic, and metabolomic insights

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    ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects children, adolescents, and adults at a high rate around the globe, resulting in significant impairment. Inattention, impulsivity, restlessness, and hyperactivity are all hallmarks of ADHD. Symptoms may persist into adulthood in 55–66% of all cases. The causes of ADHD remain unclear, but it is believed to be a complex disease with a variety of contributing variables, including heredity, neurodevelopmental problems, severe brain traumas, neuroinflammation, consanguineous marriages, prematurity, and exposure to environmental toxins. Numerous genetic polymorphisms linked with ADHD have been discovered in the twenty-first century. These findings have already given a starting point for the study of ADHD biology and innovative treatment options. Pharmacotherapy using methylphenidate (MPH) seems to be the first-line treatment option for adults with ADHD. Moreover, research has been done on genes that influence the response to MPH among ADHD-affected individuals. Furthermore, a few peripheral biomarkers have been discovered in ADHD adults. In this chapter, the authors summarize current evidence on genetic, pharmacogenetic, and biochemical (metabolomics) investigations in ADHD. Also, the authors address the neurobiology of ADHD, with a focus on functional or structural alterations in the brain of ADHD-affected individuals and their connections with complicated chromosomal variants using imaging genetics methods. In addition, the biological mechanisms involved in ADHD have been summarized. Finally, the scope for additional research for a better understanding of the pathophysiology of ADHD in the context of disrupted signaling pathways is reviewed, which could eventually lead to the discovery of possible therapeutic targets and novel treatment strategies
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