Assessment of Muscular Fatigue with Electromyography on Lower Back and Leg Muscles during Continuous Uphill and Downhill Load Carriage Task

Soldiers of Indian Army need to carry moderate to heavy load in complex terrain conditions as their routine activity, which may prove to be highly tiring for leg and back muscles. Soldiers’ regular movement at hilly area was simulated in a study consisting of a continuous uphill (UH) and downhill (DH) load carriage task to monitor state of fatigue at back and lower limb muscles. Twelve Indian soldiers walked at a fixed speed on five UH and five DH gradients with three loads (0, 10.7 kg and 21.4 kg). Electromyographic (EMG) recording was carried out throughout the experimentation on four groups of muscles- left and right Erector spinae (ESR and ESL), Vastus medialis (VMR and VML), Gastrocnemius medialis (GMR and GML), and Soleus (SOR and SOL) muscles. Median frequency (MDF) responses of tested muscles were derived from raw (EMG) data. Higher level of muscle fatigue was observed at highest UH inclination as the MDF response in GMR, GML and VMR was lowest at this point. The MDF response were found to be lower at DH gradients as the physical demand of that stage is less than the UH gradients

Behavioural and psychiatric phenotypes in female carriers of genetic mutations associated with X-linked ichthyosis

X-linked ichthyosis (XLI) is a rare X-linked dermatological condition arising from deficiency for the enzyme steroid sulfatase (STS). STS is normally expressed in the brain, and males with XLI exhibit personality differences from males in the general population, and are at increased risk of developmental and mood disorders. As the STS gene escapes X-inactivation, female carriers of XLI-associated genetic mutations have reduced STS expression/activity relative to non-carrier females, and could manifest similar behavioural phenotypes to males with XLI. Additionally, as STS activity normally increases in female tissues towards late pregnancy and into the puerperium, carrier females could theoretically present with increased rates of postpartum psychopathology. Using a worldwide online survey comprising custom-designed demographic questionnaires and multiple validated psychological questionnaires, we collected detailed self-reported information on non-postpartum and postpartum behaviour in confirmed adult (>16yrs) female carriers of genetic mutations associated with XLI (n = 94) for statistical comparison to demographically-matched previously-published normative data from female controls (seven independent studies, 98≤n≤2562), adult males with XLI (n = 58), and to newly-obtained online survey data from a general population sample of mothers from the United Kingdom and United States of America (n = 263). The pattern of results in carrier females relative to controls was remarkably similar to that previously observed in males with XLI, with evidence for increased rates of developmental and mood disorders, and elevated levels of inattention, impulsivity, autism-related traits and general psychological distress. Carrier females exhibited a significantly elevated rate of postpartum mental health conditions (notably mild depression) relative to controls which could not be accounted for by social factors. Our data confirm the psychological profile associated with XLI-associated mutations, and suggest that female carriers may be at increased risk of psychopathology, including in the postpartum period. These findings are relevant to families affected by XLI, to clinicians involved in the care of these families, and to genetic counsellors

HISTOARCHITECTURAL ANOMALIES INDUCED BY ANTIBIOTIC FLORFENICOL IN COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT CATFISH PANGASIANODON HYPOPHTHALMUS

Antibiotics are widely used to prevent and treat bacterial infections, increasing aquaculture productivity. However, their imprudent use can lead to unintended consequences, including pathological alterations in vital organs of aquatic organisms. The safety of florfenicol following in-feed administration at 10 times the recommended dose and three times the recommended period in Pangasianodon hypophthalmus was studied. Florfenicol induced significant histoarchitectural anomalies as observed from the photomicrographs of double-stained sections of various tissues, including gills, liver, and kidneys of P. hypophthalmus, following in-feed administration at graded doses, viz., 0mg, 10mg, 30mg, 50mg and 100 mg/kg biomass–1 day–1 for 30 days, i.e., three times the recommended therapeutic duration. Gills exhibited lamellar fusion, epithelial lifting, and hyperplasia indicative of respiratory distress. There were hepatocellular vacuolation, degeneration, and congestion, suggesting impaired hepatic integrity. The kidney sections demonstrated tubular degeneration, necrosis, and interstitial inflammation implying renal dysfunction. These changes were prominent at higher doses, mostly in 50 mg and 100 mg groups, and in the extended duration of the treatment, underscoring the potential adverse effects of florfenicol on the histological integrity and physiological homeostasis of P. hypophthalmus. As the catfish species holds significant economic value in Asian aquaculture, understanding the impacts of antibiotic exposure is crucial for sustainable fish farming practices. Implementing appropriate antibiotic usage protocols and monitoring strategies can mitigate the risks associated with antibiotic-induced pathological alterations in commercially important aquatic species

Teachers’ professional learning during and after Covid: A role for open digital badges

This report examines how open digital badges could support successful Teacher Professional Development (TPD) at scale. We present insight from two one-day events attended by practitioners and senior educational leaders in India and two pilot interventions that integrated digital badges into courses developed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. TPD gives teachers the opportunity to improve, adapt and innovate their classroom practice and never has it been more critical than in helping shape the educational and societal response to recent global disruptions. In many countries, such as India where our study is based, digital badges are little used in TPD, so this study makes an important contribution to understanding the perception and value attached to digital badges and in supporting discussions that frame emerging narratives and practice. A knowledge exchange partnership of academics from The Open University, UK (OU) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India (TISS) supported by GCRF funding has been instrumental in delivering the activities and findings discussed

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.

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

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

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