A Phenomenological Approach to Understand the Challenges Faced by Medical Students

Life in a medical school is more challenging, when compared to other disciplines like arts and engineering. The innate nature of the medical curriculum and the demands of the profession have created extensive pressure on its students, leading to the prevalence of high stress levels and stress related disorders in them. The mental health of future doctors is very important for quality patient care. Hence it is high time for medical institutions to design interventions to mitigate this situation. A significant amount of research has gone into identifying the predominant stressors of medical education and the prevailing stress levels amongst medical students. However, there is dearth in research efforts that explicitly explain: the manifestation of stressors in different stages of medical education; coping strategies of students; and the kind of support required by the students to cope up with these challenges. Hence this study uses a phenomenological approach to understand the phenomenon of stress amongst medical students of a private medical college in South India. The study found that academic pressure, homesickness, faculty and institution related factors challenge the students. It was also found that the students require support to handle these challenges. These findings have interesting and important implications for institutions and policy makers, with respect to designing interventions to provide a congenial learning environment for our future doctors

Comparison of the spatial QRS-T angle derived from digital ECGs recorded using conventional electrode placement with that derived from Mason-Likar electrode position

Background: The spatial QRS-T angle is ideally derived from orthogonal leads. We compared the spatial QRS-T angle derived from orthogonal leads reconstructed from digital 12-lead ECGs and from digital Holter ECGs recorded with the Mason-Likar (M-L) electrode positions. Methods and results: Orthogonal leads were constructed by the inverse Dower method and used to calculate spatial QRS-T angle by (1) a vector method and (2) a net amplitude method, in 100 volunteers. Spatial QRS-T angles from standard and M-L ECGs differed significantly (57° ± 18° vs 48° ± 20° respectively using net amplitude method and 53° ± 28° vs 48° ± 23° respectively by vector method; p < 0.001). Difference in amplitudes in leads V4–V6 was also observed between Holter and standard ECGs, probably due to a difference in electrical potential at the central terminal. Conclusion: Mean spatial QRS-T angles derived from standard and M-L lead systems differed by 5°–9°. Though statistically significant, these differences may not be clinically significant

COVID-19 and fear processing

The world faces a global crisis that encompasses health, financial, and psychological aspects as a result of the coronavirus disease. While the health crisis is significant, it is important to recognize that the human and social crises that have emerged are equally impactful. These crises have resulted in various negative outcomes, such as social rejection, economic disparity, unemployment, and mental distress. Fear is a significant psychological barrier that can impede recovery from any disease process, and thus, it plays a critical role in determining the mortality and morbidity of any given disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a pervasive fear of infection that has further exacerbated the situation. This study explored the mechanisms by which humans may have elicited conditional fear, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a specific case study. Our goal was to examine the process of fear in humans by exploring our knowledge of neuroanatomy and the systemic response regulated by the autonomic nervous system

A Method to Identify and Isolate Pluripotent Human Stem Cells and Mouse Epiblast Stem Cells Using Lipid Body-Associated Retinyl Ester Fluorescence.

We describe the use of a characteristic blue fluorescence to identify and isolate pluripotent human embryonic stem cells and human-induced pluripotent stem cells. The blue fluorescence emission (450–500 nm) is readily observed by fluorescence microscopy and correlates with the expression of pluripotency markers (OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG). It allows easy identification and isolation of undifferentiated human pluripotent stem cells, high-throughput fluorescence sorting and subsequent propagation. The fluorescence appears early during somatic reprogramming. We show that the blue fluorescence arises from the sequestration of retinyl esters in cytoplasmic lipid bodies. The retinoid-sequestering lipid bodies are specific to human and mouse pluripotent stem cells of the primed or epiblast-like state and absent in naive mouse embryonic stem cells. Retinol, present in widely used stem cell culture media, is sequestered as retinyl ester specifically by primed pluripotent cells and also can induce the formation of these lipid bodies

Identification and sequence analysis of Tapasin gene in guinea fowl

Abstract Aim: An attempt has been made to identify and study the nucleotide sequence variability in exon 5 -exon 6 regions of guinea fowl Tapasin gene. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from randomly selected birds (12 guinea fowl birds) and Tapasin gene amplified using chicken specific primers designed from GenBank submitted sequences. Polymerase chain reaction conditions were standardized so as get only single amplicons. Obtained products were then cloned and sequenced; sequences were then analyzed using suitable software. Results: Amplicon size of the Tapasin gene in guinea fowl was same as reported in chicken with areas of transitions and transversions. The sequence variations reported in these coding sequences might have influence in the protein structure, which may be correlated with the increased immune status of the bird when compared with chicken breeds

Neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction: evaluation and management

The lower urinary tract (LUT) in health is regulated by coordinated multi-level neurological inputs which require an intact central and peripheral nervous system. Lower urinary tract dysfunction is, therefore, a common sequelae of neurological disease and the patterns of bladder storage and voiding dysfunction depend upon the level of neurological lesion. Evaluation includes history taking, bladder diary, urological examination when relevant, ultrasonography and urodynamic testing when indicated. Antimuscarinic agents are the first line treatment for patients with storage dysfunction. Alternative treatments include intradetrusor injection of onabotulinumtoxinA, which has been shown to be of benefit in patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO), and neuromodulation. Intermittent catheterization remains the option of choice in patients with significant voiding dysfunction resulting in high post-void residual volumes

Characterization of polyphenol oxidase in ginger (Zingiber officinale R.)

A polyphenol oxidase (PPO) isoform that showed expression at all developmental stages of rhizomes in 13 ginger (Zingiber officinale R.) accessions and the only one observed at full maturity of rhizome was characterized. The isoform is a non-covalent homo-dimeric protein of 66 kDa subunits. The native molecular mass was estimated at ~127 kDa using non- reducing SDS–PAGE (10%). Its activity after purification was confirmed by substrate staining both in native gel (7%) and non-reducing SDS gel (10%). The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the subunit of ginger rhizome polyphenol oxidase is ‘Glu-Gln-Gly-Val-Gly-Gly-Asp-Asp-Gly-Leu-.’ The enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 4.5 and 60°C. The PPO is thermo-tolerant and active in a broad pH range (pH 3.5 to 8). Heat inactivation studies showed a decrease in enzyme activity at 75°C and above. Lower concentrations of MgCl2 (1 mM) and CaCl2 (0.5 mM) activated the enzyme whereas higher concentrations (10 mM) reduced the activity. L- Cysteine HCl, L-ascorbic acid, potassium metabisulfite and NaCl inhibited PPO strongly. Western blot analysis of crude leaf extracts with polyclonal antiserum raised against purified PPO confirmed absence of its expression in leaves at different stages of development. Polyclonal anti-PPO antiserum cross reacted with Solanum tuberosum, Raphanus sativus and Dioscorea esculenta tuber extracts and Solanum melongena, Malus sylvestris and Musa paradisiaca fruit extracts but no cross reactivity was observed with Curcuma amada and Ipomoea batatas extracts. &nbsp

Characterization of polyphenol oxidase in ginger (Zingiber officinale R.)

A polyphenol oxidase (PPO) isoform that showed expression at all developmental stages of rhizomes in 13 ginger (Zingiber officinale R.) accessions and the only one observed at full maturity of rhizome was characterized. The isoform is a non-covalent homo-dimeric protein of 66 kDa subunits. The native molecular mass was estimated at ~127 kDa using non- reducing SDS–PAGE (10%). Its activity after purification was confirmed by substrate staining both in native gel (7%) and non-reducing SDS gel (10%). The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the subunit of ginger rhizome polyphenol oxidase is ‘Glu-Gln-Gly-Val-Gly-Gly-Asp-Asp-Gly-Leu-.’ The enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 4.5 and 60°C. The PPO is thermo-tolerant and active in a broad pH range (pH 3.5 to 8). Heat inactivation studies showed a decrease in enzyme activity at 75°C and above. Lower concentrations of MgCl2 (1 mM) and CaCl2 (0.5 mM) activated the enzyme whereas higher concentrations (10 mM) reduced the activity. L- Cysteine HCl, L-ascorbic acid, potassium metabisulfite and NaCl inhibited PPO strongly. Western blot analysis of crude leaf extracts with polyclonal antiserum raised against purified PPO confirmed absence of its expression in leaves at different stages of development. Polyclonal anti-PPO antiserum cross reacted with Solanum tuberosum, Raphanus sativus and Dioscorea esculenta tuber extracts and Solanum melongena, Malus sylvestris and Musa paradisiaca fruit extracts but no cross reactivity was observed with Curcuma amada and Ipomoea batatas extracts. &nbsp