Planets move in circles!

The orbits of planets, or any other bodies moving under an inverse square law force, can be understood with fresh insight using the idea of velocity space. Surprisingly, a particle moving on an ellipse or even a hyperbola still moves on a circle in this space. Other aspects of orbits such as conservation laws are discussed.     

Platelet factor 3 availability time,plasma phenol and phenolic acids in patients with uremia

Platelet factor 3 availability time (PF3 AT), Prothrombin time (PT), Plasma phenol, phenolic acids, blood urea and serum creatinine were estimated in 31 uremic patients. Significant increase (P<0.01) in PF3 AT and plasma phenolic acid was seen in 100 per cent of cases, while the increase in plasma phenol was seen in 90.3% of cases. The increase in PF3 AT was not uniformly proportional to the increase in plasma phenol or phenolic acids in all cases. Increase in PF3 AT was significant in cases of uremia with bleeding diathesis compared to the cases without bleeding diathesis. Increase in PF3 AT after addition of phenol and urea together to normal platelet rich plasma (PRP) in vitro was greater than the increase in PF3 AT after the addition of phenol or urea alone. Significant decrease (P<0.01) in PF3 AT, plasma phenol, plasma phenolic acids, blood urea and serum creatinine was seen in uremic patients after haemodialysis indicating that the retained toxic metabolites which increase PF3 AT are dializable substances.     

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.     

Levels of plasma soluble complement receptor 1 (sCR1) in normal Indian adult population

A decrease in the membrane anchored erythrocyte complement receptor 1 (CR1) is reported as an acquired phenomenon in a number of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases with concomitant rise in soluble CR1 (sCR1) levels in plasma. There is a need to establish the normal range of sCR1 in Indian adults to assess the function and disease association of this protein. The plasma sCR1 levels of 50 healthy individuals have been estimated by an indigenously developed sandwich ELISA. sCR1 levels from 26 patients suffering from nephropathies had also been assayed which was much higher than the normal controls. This observation suggests sCR1 as a potential market for the assessment of disease activity in nephropathies.     

Exploring the Impact of Assessment on Medical Students’ Learning

Abstract

What and how students learn depend largely on how they think they will be assessed. This study aimed to explore medical students’ perception of the value of assessment and feedback on their learning, and how this relates to their examination performance. A mixed methods research design was adopted in which a questionnaire was developed and administered to the students to gain their perceptions of assessments. Perceptions were further explored in focus group discussions. Survey findings were correlated with students’ performance data and academic coordinators’ perceptions. Students’ perceptions of the level of difficulty of different assessments mirrored their performance in examinations, with an improvement observed in clinical assessments as students progressed through their degree. Students recognised that feedback is important to allow improvements and seek more timely, better quality and personalised feedback. Academic coordinators identified that some of the students’ suggestions are more realistic than others. Students had a positive attitude towards assessment, but emphasised the need for educators to highlight the relevance of assessment to clinical practice.     

Dawn of science

Of vacuum, air pressure and some showmanship.