Establishment of Reference Interval for Liver Specific Biochemical Parameters in Apparently Healthy North Indian Population

Reference intervals (RI) are the most common decision support tool used for interpretation of numerical laboratory reports. The quality of the RI can play as large a role in result interpretation as the quality of the result itself. As such there is hardly any study examining RI for liver specific biochemical parameters in Indian population especially north Indians having drastically different food habits as compared to rest of the India. So there is a need to establish the RI for north Indian population. Present study was conducted on 2,021 apparently healthy individuals of north Indian origin ranging in age from 15–60 years, were selected randomly using defined criteria. Lipemic, hemolysed, icteric and stored samples were also excluded adopting preanalytical criteria for rejection of sample. Non parametric methodology for determination of RI was adopted as most of the biochemical parameters included revealed non Gaussian distribution. Data were analyzed for middle 95 percentile (2.5th–97.5th percentile), median and 95 % confidence interval using SPSS software package version 10.0. The upper and the lower limit of RI (reported Vs observed) for bilirubin (0–1.2 Vs 0.30–1.30 mg/dL), serum glutamate oxaloacetate transferase (SGOT) (0–41 Vs 13–52.80 IU/L), serum glutamate pyruvate transferase (SGPT) (0–50 Vs 10–68 IU/L) showed wide variation as compared to reported standard RI however Gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) (0–50 Vs 5.00–50.60 IU/L) remained within the reported standard RI. Further gender wise evaluation revealed higher cutoff in males (AST 14–55, ALT 11–70.35, GGT 6.76–51.09 in IU/L, bilirubin (0.40–1.34 mg/dL) as compared to females (SGOT 13–50.43, SGPT 9–63.43, GGT 3.92–48.70 in IU/L, Bilirubin 0.30–1.20 mg/dL) for both enzymatic and non enzymatic biochemical parameters. The variations may be attributed to dietary pattern smoking and alcoholism.     

Expanding computer science education in schools: understanding teacher experiences and challenges

The increased push for teaching computer science (CS) in schools in the United States requires training a large number of new K-12 teachers. The current efforts to increase the number of CS teachers have predominantly focused on training teachers from other content areas. In order to support these beginning CS teachers, we need to better understand their experiences and challenges encountered in the classroom. This study investigated U.S. CS teachers’ perspectives on the demands of teaching computer science and support needed to ensure quality teaching. Results suggested that teachers face a number of challenges, including isolation, lack of adequate computer science background, and limited professional development resources.     

Effects of multimedia story reading and questioning on preschoolers’ vocabulary learning,story comprehension and reading engagement

The use of multimedia story applications on touch-interactive mobile devices has become prevalent in early education settings. However, despite the promise of multimedia story applications for early learning outcomes, there has been a dearth of research on the educational benefits of such tools, and whether their effects can be strengthened with the integration of questioning strategies. This study investigated the effects of multimedia story reading and questioning on children’s literacy skills, including vocabulary learning, story comprehension and reading engagement. Using a 2 (multimedia vs. paper) × 2 (question vs. no question) design, a total of 72 participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: multimedia story reading, multimedia story reading with questioning, paper story reading, and paper story with questioning. To identify the effects of Media and Questioning on children’s vocabulary learning, story comprehension, and reading engagement, we conducted a series of two-way ANCOVAs, controlling for different covariates as appropriate. The results showed significant interaction of media and questioning on target vocabulary and significant main effect of media for engagement, but the results showed no significant main effects of either media or questioning for comprehension. This study demonstrated research tools to examine children’s learning and engagement with interactive mobile devices, and suggested potential benefits of multimedia story reading and questioning for learning. We discuss implications of these findings for the design and use of multimedia storybooks.     

Metabolic Syndrome in Childhood: Rare Case of Alstrom Syndrome with Blindness

Alstrom’s syndrome (AS) is a rare autosomal recessive ciliopathic condition affecting 1:10,00,000 children. It’s a single gene disorder of ALMS1 on chromosome 2 with multisystem involvement with cone-rod retinal dystrophy causing juvenile blindness, obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 Diabetes mellitus, hypogonadism and sensorineural hearing loss. Till now only 800 patients with this disorder has been identified so far. In this report, we describe the case of a 9-year old male boy from south India. He had been initially referred for polyphagia, polyuria, polydipsia, generalized weakness from 1 weeks. On examination he was demonstrated features suggestive of AS, including blindness, obesity, type 2 diabetes, altered lipid profile, hypogonadism, acanthosis nigricans, seborrheic dermatitis, right ear discharge and episodes of respiratory tract infections. So, diagnosis of AS is critical as it can easily be overlooked because of the many features associated with metabolic syndrome starting at age 7, a relatively early age.     

Effect of antioxidants and antibiotics on levels of seminal oxidative stress in leukocytospermic infertile men

Defective sperm function is the most common cause of infertility. A prospective study was carried out to correlate the concentration of nitrite (the stable metabolite of nitric oxide) in seminal plasma with leukocytospermia, and sperm membrane integrity. Total Fifty-seven normozoospermic subjects with and without leukocytospermia visiting the Infertility clinic at KH and MRC, Karad, were included in the present study. Semen samples were checked for sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm motility, seminal leukocyte concentration and sperm membrane integrity as Hypoosmotic Swelling Test. Similarly the concentration of nitrite in seminal plasma was measured by Griess reaction and total antioxidant power measured as ferric reducing ability of plasma. The concentration of nitrite in seminal plasma was found to be raised with significantly increased leukocyte concentration in semen. Also significantly lowered levels of total antioxidant power along with defective sperm function was observed. Our results suggest that supplementary treatment of antioxidants with antibiotic for leukocytospermic infertile male patients may improve the sperm membrane integrity.     

Serum adenosine deaminase in carcinoma breast

Serum Adenosine Deaminase (ADA) activity was studied in 20 control cases and 32 patients with carcinoma breast. In control group the ADA activity ranged from 13–94 IU/L with a mean of 43.75±21.55 IU/L while in patients of carcinoma breast it was 16–95 IU/L with a mean of 47.46±22.54 IU/L, but these values were not statistically different. The ADA activity was also compared with other parameters in patients of carcinoma breast but the difference was not statistically significant in the various parameters like duration of disease, menopausal status, tumor size, hemoglobin level, total leucocyte count, absolute lymphocyte count, total serum proteins, serum albumin, histological grade of tumor and lymphocytic infiltration. The only significant difference in ADA activity was when N1 status of lymph node was compared with N2 status of lymph node.     

Evaluation of reference intervals of serum lipid profile from healthy population in Western Maharashtra

Fasting samples of 914 subjects from healthy population were analyzed for total cholesterol, triglyceride and three major fractions of lipoproteins i.e. high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low lipoprotein cholesterol and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The values obtained were (in mg/dl) 165.7±30.2,88.36±31.2, 44.86±10.68, 101.66±29.8 and 18.11±7.35 respectively. When these subjects were grouped according to the age and sex, no appropriate differences were observed between most of the groups. Triglycerides were found to be low and HDL cholesterol was high in female when compared with male of similar age. Beyond age 40 years cholesterol level and low density lipoprotein cholesterol was found to be gradually increased in case of women. Minor difference was observed with dietary pattern. Present study suggests that clinical evaluation of patient should be made on the basis of these reference values for Western Maharashtra population.     

Using Hypermedia for Learning Complex Concepts in Chemistry: A Qualitative Study on the Relationship Between Prior Knowledge, Beliefs, and Motivation

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study on the process of learning complex concepts in chemistry by four students as they worked with FLiPS (Flexible Learning in the Periodic System), a cognitive flexibility multi-media hypertext for learning about the periodic system of elements. A wide range of probes (think-alouds; navigation logs; observational notes, interviews; pre- and post-tests; epistemic beliefs survey; and background questionnaire) produced a rich data set for analysis. This data was analyzed to construct rich narrative case- and cross-case narratives of the participants' process of working and learning in this complex hypertext environment. This multi-level analysis offers insight both into the fine-grained process of use as well as the larger issues of the pedagogical significance of FLiPS. Our analysis reveals a complex relationship between epistemic beliefs, student motivation, prior knowledge, and process of learning from hypertext. We offer implications for future research, design and the application of pedagogical hypertexts. Requests for reprints should be sent to Punya Mishra, Learning, Technology, and Culture Program, Michigan State University, 509A Erickson Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824. E-mail: punya@msu.edu