Question paper generation through progressive model and difficulty calculation on the Promexa Mobile Application

Education and Information Technologies - Mobile learning has been increased in past years and has attracted the interests of academicians and educators in the past many years especially in higher...     

Evaluation by medical students of the educational value of multi‐material and multi‐colored three‐dimensional printed models of the upper limb for anatomical education

For centuries, cadaveric material has been the cornerstone of anatomical education. For reasons of changes in curriculum emphasis, cost, availability, expertise, and ethical concerns, several medical schools have replaced wet cadaveric specimens with plastinated prosections, plastic models, imaging, and digital models. Discussions about the qualities and limitations of these alternative teaching resources are on‐going. We hypothesize that three‐dimensional printed (3DP) models can replace or indeed enhance existing resources for anatomical education. A novel multi‐colored and multi‐material 3DP model of the upper limb was developed based on a plastinated upper limb prosection, capturing muscles, nerves, arteries and bones with a spatial resolution of ～1 mm. This study aims to examine the educational value of the 3DP model from the learner's point of view. Students (n = 15) compared the developed 3DP models with the plastinated prosections, and provided their views on their learning experience using 3DP models using a survey and focus group discussion. Anatomical features in 3DP models were rated as accurate by all students. Several positive aspects of 3DP models were highlighted, such as the color coding by tissue type, flexibility and that less care was needed in the handling and examination of the specimen than plastinated specimens which facilitated the appreciation of relations between the anatomical structures. However, students reported that anatomical features in 3DP models are less realistic compared to the plastinated specimens. Multi‐colored, multi‐material 3DP models are a valuable resource for anatomical education and an excellent adjunct to wet cadaveric or plastinated prosections. Anat Sci Educ 11: 54–64. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Cardiac troponin-T and CK-MB (mass) levels in cardiac and non cardiac disease

Serum cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and CKMB (mass) were analysed in three groups of patients. The first group (n=32) were patients with acute coronary syndromes including myocardial infarction. The second group (n=35)were patients with hypertension. The third group (n=24) were patients who had succumbed to non cardiac diseases. In all 3 groups, cardiac troponin T was elevated when compared with controls (p<0.001). However, CKMB elevation was not significant in all groups. CKMB levels correlated well with troponin T levels only when CKMB was greater than 50 ng/ml (r=1.00). Small elevations of troponin T identifies minimal cardiac necrosis and patients can benefit from early invasive therapy.     

Immunization with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Wuchereria bancrofti</Emphasis> Glutathione-S-transferase Elicits a Mixed Th1/Th2 Type of Protective Immune Response Against Filarial Infection in Mastomys

Lymphatic filariasis is a mosquito borne parasitic infection and can severely affect the normal working ability of an individual. Currently there is no vaccine available to prevent this infection and the development of a potential vaccine could effectively support the on-going mass drug administration program by World Health Organization (WHO). Filarial parasites have complex mechanisms to modulate the host immune responses against them. The glutathione-S-transferases (GST) are the important enzymes effectively involved to counteract the oxidative free radicals produced by the host. In the present study, we have shown that the mastomys which are fully permissible rodents for Brugia malayi when immunized with Wuchereria bancrofti recombinant GST (rWbGST) could induce 65.5 % in situ cytotoxicity against B. malayi infective (L₃) larvae. There was a balanced Th1/Th2 immune response in the vaccinated animals, characterized by higher levels of WbGST-specific IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies and pronounced IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-4 cytokines production by the spleen cells.     

Diagnostic potential of fractionatedMycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra excretory-secretory (EST-DE1) antigen in pulmonary tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is emerging as a major public health problem in developing and developed world. Early and precise diagnosis is of prime importance in successful control of infection. Indirect ELISA with penicillinase as marker was developed using purifiedM. tuberculosis excretory-secretory (EST-DE₁) antigen for detecting IgG antibodies in pulmonary tuberculosis. The assay System gave a overall sensitivity of 82% for both smear positive and smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis cases with a specificity of 84%. The positive and negative predictive values were 75% and 88% respectivaly. Further studies with EST-DE₁ antigen revealed that, it contains two of the active antigen fractions of Mtb EST antigen i.e. Mtb EST-4 (56–68 KDa) and Mtb EST-6 (37–45 KDa), as demonstrated by inhibition ELISA. Reactivity with monoclonal antibodies HGT 3a showed the presence of 38 KDa molecule in EST-DE₁ antigen.     

Evaluation of sevafilachek immunoassays and rapid ICT-filariasis test for detection of bancroftian filariasis

A comparative analysis was made on the utility of SEVAFILACHEK-stick based immunoassays and commercially available ICT-filariasis test to detect active infection in different groups of bancroftian filariasis. The SEVAFILACHEK immunoassays were found to be useful to detect filarial infection in microfilaraemia and in a significant number of clinical filarial cases with acute, chronic and occult clinical manifestations. In the clinical cases, microfilariae are not usually detected in peripheral circulation. Employing SEVAFILACHEK assays 6 and 5 of the 7 samples of patients with chronic filarial disease, and 6 and 5 of 6 microfilaraemic cases gave positivity for filarial IgG antibodies and antigen respectively. Four of the 6 occult filarial samples were positive for antibodies and antigen. Filarial antigen was detected by ICT-filariasis test in blood samples of all the 6 microfilariaemic cases, 1 chronic filarial and 2 occult filarial samples. The main advantage of ICT assay is its rapid format and convenience for field use.     

Detection ofAspergillus Fumigatus based on Asp fl gene in clinical specimens

Oligonucleotide primers were synthesised based on the gene sequence of an 18 kDa allergen/antigen ofA. fumigatus isolated from a pathogenic strain. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out using the forward and reverse primers and genomic DNA ofA. fumigatus, A. flavus andA. niger as template. This resulted in a PCR product of 480 bp with onlyA. fumigatus. The absence of PCR product inA. flavus andA. niger with the primers of Asp fl facilitated use of these primers for detection ofA. fumigatus in clinical specimens of patients. The results were compared with microscopy, culture and serology. Application of PCR test to clinical samples of aspergillosis patients is discussed.     

Effect of nutritional supplements and protease inhibitor on the yield of es antigens ofBrugia malayi microfilariaein vitro

Brugia malayi microfilarial excretory-secretory (mf ES) antigens obtained byin vitro maintenance of mf are important tools in the immunodiagnosis of bancroftian filariasis. To increase the yield of mf ES products, the effect of nutritional supplements on the culture medium (RPMI 1640) and the maintenance temperature were studied. Supplementation of RPMI 1640 medium with organic acids and sugars of Grace's insect culture medium forin vitro maintenance of 10 lakhs of mf in 40 ml medium increased the yield of mf ES antigen from 152 μg to 364 μg of mean protein, content and the mean antigen titre from 200 to 400. Supplementation with phenyl methyl sulphonyl fluoride (PMSF) and shift in the culture temperature resulted in a further increase in the yield of mf ES antigen to 502 μg of mean total protein with an antigen titre of 800. The modification resulted in a net increase of 3 fold in the protein content and 4 fold in the antigen titre of ES products. The above modifications in thein vitro maintenance of mf did not affect the diagnostic quality of mf ES antigen, which gave a sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 90% respectively in detection of filarial IgG antibodies inWuchereria bancrofti infected cases.     

Scan and Learn: Quick Response Code Enabled Museum for Mobile Learning of Anatomy and Pathology

In the past, medical museums played a significant role in anatomy and pathology training. The attraction of medical museums has declined recently due to the emergence of information technology and innovative medical curricula. An innovative mobile learning platform has been developed using quick response (QR) codes for the museum specimens at the Lee Kong Chain School of Medicine, Singapore. High-quality images of the potted specimens were captured and combined into an album and a video using Adobe Acrobat Pro 9 and Windows Movie Maker, respectively. Subsequently, QR codes were generated linking to PDF documents with annotations, pathology, and clinical history concerning the specimens. Quick response codes were piloted in gastrointestinal teaching module for Year 2 medical students. Survey responses were obtained from students to verify the efficacy of QR as a learning tool. The majority of students either agreed or strongly agreed that it was easy to access the information about the specimen with QR codes (4.47 ± 0.84), while 96% of students agreed that they are able to correlate the specimen with the annotated images (4.56 ± 0.56). The majority of students (78%) agreed that QR codes are useful for their learning (4.22 ± 0.87), while 75% of students felt QR codes motivate them to visit Anatomy Resource Centre. Most of the students agreed that QR codes are useful for revision of materials (4.13 ± 1.07) and independent learning (4.38 ± 0.87). These findings suggest that QR codes are not only effective for students learning but also enhance their exploration experience with the museum specimens.     

Concurrent Validity of the Classroom Strategies Scale–Teacher Form: A Preliminary Investigation

The present study investigated the concurrent validity of the Classroom Strategies Scale–Teacher Form (CSS-T), a multidimensional teacher formative assessment of instructional and behavioral management practices. The CSS-T is compared with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), a well-known teacher assessment of overall classroom quality. A sample of 126 kindergarten through 5th-grade general education teachers self-reported on their usage of empirically supported instructional and behavioral management strategies as measured by the CSS-T while a certified independent observer completed the CLASS. Correlational analyses were used to compare CSS-T frequency and discrepancy scores and the CLASS scores. As hypothesized, results demonstrated significant positive (CSS-T frequency scale scores) and negative (CSS-T discrepancy scale scores) correlations between specific CLASS domains and dimensions, thus providing initial evidence for the concurrent and discriminant validity of the CSS-T. Implications of findings are discussed.