The Development and Design of a Framework to Match Mentees and Mentors Through a Systematic Review andThematic Analysis of Mentoring Programs Between 2000 and 2015

ABSTRACT

The need for longitudinal and holistic support of medical students throughout their training has led to the development of formal mentoring programs. Whilst success of formal mentoring programs has been attributed to (a) pairing mentees with trained and experienced mentors (matching), (b) the quality of mentoring interactions and (c) the presence of a nurturing environment, little attention has been attributed to establishing an effective matching process in medical school. We sought, in this review, to redress this gap within the context of matching medical students for mentoring. Modified PRISMA guidelines were followed to guide the review process. PubMed, ERIC, Cochrane Database, OVID and ScienceDirect databases were searched for articles on matching in medical schools and in allied health specialities published between 2000 and 2015.     

The Riemann hypothesis

This article introduces one of the outstanding problems of today-a legacy of Bernhard Riemann     

The work of lagrange in number theory and algebra

Joseph Louis Lagrange, a French mathematician, worked on a variety of topics — Algebra (classical and abstract), Number Theory, Dynamics, Functions of several variables, and Astronomy to mention a few. Here we give proofs of four theorems, three in number theory and one in group theory. It is said that post-Newtonian mathematics was dominated by two giants, Lagrange and Euler, in the eighteenth century. While Euler mainly contributed to pure mathematics, Lagrange contributed equally to mathematical physics and pure mathematics. Lagrange had special love for the theory of numbers and theory of polynomials.     

Euclid’s fifth postulate

In this article, we review the fifth postulate of Euclid and trace its long and glorious history. That after two thousand years, it led to so much discussion and new ideas speaks for itself. Renuka Ravindran was on the faculty of the Department of Mathematics, IISc, Bangalore. She was also Dean, Science Faculty at IISc. She has been a visiting Professor at various universities in USA and Germany.     

Hepcidin and Ferritin: Important Mediators in Inflammation Associated Anemia in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is an autoimmune disease with female preponderance. Anemia is found in 50% of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus patients. This is a cross sectional case control study with 30 female Systemic Lupus Erythematosus patients having inflammation associated anemia (Hemoglobin < 10.0 gm/dl) and 30 age matched controls with the aim to measure serum hepcidin and ferritin levels, correlate and study their role as homeostatic regulators of iron metabolism and utility as markers. Serum transferrin, ferritin, iron, total iron binding capacity, hsCRP, liver enzymes and renal parameters were analyzed by using automated analyser. Hepcidin levels were estimated by Sandwich-ELISA method. There was significant decrease in Iron (p < 0.0001), Iron Binding capacity (p < 0.0001), Transferrin (p < 0.0001) in patients, and a significant increase in inflammatory markers: hs-CRP (p < 0.0001), ESR (p < 0.0001) compared to controls. Significant increase in both Hepcidin (p < 0.0001) and Ferritin (p < 0.0001) was observed in patients with significant positive correlation (r = 0.711) with each other. Additionally, ferritin and hepcidin significantly positively correlated with hs-CRP and ESR (r = 0.526, 0.735); (r = 0.427, 0.742) respectively. Negative correlation with hemoglobin, iron, total iron binding capacity and transferrin with hepcidin (r = ? 0.80, ? 0.307, ? 0.553, ? 0.584) and ferritin (r = ?0.722, ? 0.22, ? 0.654, ? 0.728) was observed respectively. On ROC analysis both hepcidin and ferritin has sensitivity of 96.7%, specificity of 100% at cut-off values of 110 and 49 respectively. AUC of hepcidin was 0.993 and ferritin was 0.978. We have established a positive linear correlation between Hepcidin and Ferritin levels in disease activity and the changes correlated with the inflammatory state and anemia in patients, making them important mediators and potential markers of inflammation associated anemia.