Search

Online assessments are needed during the prevailing pandemic situation to continue educational activities while ensuring safety. After conducting the online practical assessment (OPrA) in Biochemistry, we analyzed the students' responses. The blueprint of the OPrA was prepared by the faculty, referring to the various levels and domains of Bloom's taxonomy. Four components were chosen for the online assessment: digital spotters, enumerating the steps of objective structured practical examination, interpretation of quantitative estimation, and case discussion. Each faculty assessed about 12-13 students in separate breakout rooms over 15-20 min on all four components. Feedback on the conduct of the examination was collected from the students and faculty anonymously and analyzed. Out of the 200 students who attended the online assessment, only one scored less than 50%, majority of them scored between 71% and 90%. Under the individual exercises, the average score of students in "Spotters" was 9.8 out of 10; in "OSPE," 8.7 out of 10; in "Quantitative experiments," 15.2 out of 20 and in "Case discussion," 22.4 out of 30. Around 20% had previous experience attending the OPrA. They differed in their opinion from the rest of the students on five aspects; time allotted for the assessment (p value = 0.02, X[superscript 2] = 5.07), students using unfair means during the online viva (p value = 0.02, X[superscript 2] = 5.57), their computing skills (p value = 0.001, X[superscript 2] = 19.82), their performance (p value = 0.001, X[superscript 2] = 8.84), and overall conduct of the examination (p value = 0.001, X[superscript 2] = 15.55). OPrA tools may be designed referring to Bloom's taxonomy, and prior exposure to the online tools may benefit the students.

Significant progress has been achieved in understanding Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) mechanisms and developing treatments to slow disease progression. This review article thoroughly assesses primary and secondary DMD therapies, focusing on innovative modalities. The primary therapy addresses the genetic abnormality causing DMD, specifically the absence or reduced expression of dystrophin. Gene replacement therapies, such as exon skipping, readthrough, and gene editing technologies, show promise in restoring dystrophin expression. Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), a recent advancement in viral vector-based gene therapies, have shown encouraging results in preclinical and clinical studies. Secondary therapies aim to maintain muscle function and improve quality of life by mitigating DMD symptoms and complications. Glucocorticoid drugs like prednisone and deflazacort have proven effective in slowing disease progression and delaying loss of ambulation. Supportive treatments targeting calcium dysregulation, histone deacetylase, and redox imbalance are also crucial for preserving overall health and function. Additionally, the review includes a detailed table of ongoing and approved clinical trials for DMD, exploring various therapeutic approaches such as gene therapies, exon skipping drugs, utrophin modulators, anti-inflammatory agents, and novel compounds. This highlights the dynamic research field and ongoing efforts to develop effective DMD treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health issue in India, with high incidence and mortality. The current literature on post-TB sequelae functional defects focuses heavily on spirometry, with conflicting obstruction vs. restriction data, lacks advanced statistical analysis, and has insufficient data on diffusion limitation and functional impairment. Objective: This study aimed to thoroughly evaluate post-tubercular sequelae after treatment, assessing chest radiology, spirometry, diffusing capacity, and exercise capacity. Methods: A total of 85 patients were studied at a university teaching hospital in Mysuru. The data collected included characteristics, comorbidities, smoking history, and respiratory symptoms. The investigations included spirometry, DLCO, chest X-rays with scoring, and 6MWT. Results: Of the patients, 70% had abnormal X-rays post-treatment, correlating with reduced lung function. Additionally, 70% had impaired spirometry with obstructive/restrictive patterns, and 62.2% had reduced DLCO, with females at higher risk. Smoking increased the risk of sequelae. Conclusions: Most patients had residual radiological/lung function abnormalities post-treatment. Advanced analyses provide insights into obstructive vs. restrictive defects. Ongoing research should explore pathogenetic mechanisms and therapeutic modalities to minimize long-term post-TB disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medical education aims to develop clinical competency in students at all levels with the aid of appropriate teaching and assessment methods. While the theory examination assesses the student's cognitive domain, the practical examination should be designed in such a way that it assesses the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains like knowledge, skill, and attitude. Purpose: We compared the performance of students between Traditional Practical Examination (TPE) and Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) in two different batches and analyzed their feedback. Material and Methods: A quasi-experimental type of study design was employed for two batches of the 1st year medical undergraduates who attended both the 1st and 3rd internal assessment (IA). Batch-1 (n=126) had TPE in both IA and Batch-2 (n=164) had TPE in the 1st IA and OSPE in the 3rd IA. The performance of the students was compared using the student 't' test and the feedback was collected on a 5-point Likert scale. The content validity index (CVI), content validity rate (CVR), and the coefficient of reliability of the questionnaire were calculated. Results: The 1st IA marks of both the batches were comparable (p=0.509), however, the 3rd IA marks of batch-2 (p=0.000) were significantly more than that of batch-1. The students and faculty questionnaire had CVR scores >0.96, CVI scores >0.86 and 0.8 with an internal consistency of 0.89 and 1.24 respectively. Both the students and faculty preferred implementing OSPE in biochemistry. Conclusion: Implementation of OSPE in the medical curriculum was well accepted and appreciated by both students and faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have shown that obesity and vitamin D deficiency increase the risk of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) infection and its complications. The levels of cytokines are increased in SARS-CoV-2 infection, obesity, and vitamin D deficiency aggravating the complications related to COVID-19. The Angiotensin-converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2), through which SARS-CoV-2 enters the host cell, is highly expressed in adipose tissue showing the vulnerability to the infection. In this review we have explained how obese individuals are more prone and contagious than lean to COVID-19, the role of adipose tissue as a reservoir of infection, vitamin D sequestration and deficiency in obese, and its association with COVID-19 and the combined release of cytokines in obesity, vitamin D deficiency and SARS-CoV-2 infection leading to cytokine storm both locally and systemically, hence leading to multi-organ failure in elderly and younger generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Prashant. Vishwanath, Akila. Prashant, Suma. Nataraj, Nalini. Kotekar, Parveen. Doddamani Purpose: CD163 is a monocyte/macrophage-associated antigen which has recently been identified as a hemoglobin scavenger receptor and has also [...]

Byline: Prashant. Vishwanath, Devananda. Devegowda, Akila. Prashant, Narendra. Nayak, Vivian. D'souza, Thuppil. Venkatesh, Clark. Scott Background: Urbanization, rapid industrialization, increased vehicular traffic, and consequent increase in the use of petroleum [...]

Byline: Barnamoy. Bhattacharya, Akila. Prashant, Prashant. Vishwanath, M. Suma, B. Nataraj Context: Body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, and C-reactive protein (CRP) appear to be major determinants of hospitalization. Aim: [...]

Byline: Prashant. Vishwanath, Akila. Prashant, D. Devanand, Narendra. Nayak, Vivian. D'souza, T. Venkatesh Context : Lead is a major health hazard, especially in children. Impact of lead poisoning on our [...]