36 research outputs found
The final examination in medicine : time for change?
No full textMost medical programmes culminate in a final assessment, in order that participants may be tested and graded. In June 1995, at the University of Malta, a group of 53 medical students sat for their final examination; medicine was one of the three co-equal component subjects of this statutory qualifying examination. The scope of this paper is to analyze the results obtained in the final examination in medicine and to use this data to address such issues as aims of this examination, method and quality assurance of assessment. The result obtained by candidates in the final examination in medicine was correlated with their university entry qualifications. The composite mark for each candidate was split into its components and analysis took the form of description, correlation and clustering. Computation of Cronbach’s alpha facilitated anlaysis of reliability of each of the three parts of the examination. The findings of this paper suggest that there is room for improving the quality of assessment methods. A review of methods and procedures, with the dual purpose of decreasing bias and increasing specificity and sensitivity of this statutory examination will not only benefit candidates, but ultimately also the University of Malta. The final qualifying examination in medicine should have clearly defined objectives and methods of assessment should be aimed specifically at reaching them. It needs to be able to assess the ability to think critically about diagnosis and management and to ensure that the candidate has a satisfactory base of factual knowledge. It also needs to assess objectively the adequacy of basic clinical skills and candidates’ facility of communication.peer-reviewe
P2‐169: DOES HYPERTENSION CONTRIBUTE TO CEREBRAL MICROBLEEDS IN ALZHEIMER TRANSGENIC MICE?
No full textDiurnal variation in the proinflammatory activity of urban fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by in vitro assays
No full textBackground: Ambient particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) undergoes diurnal changes in chemical composition due to photochemical oxidation. In this study we examine the relationships between oxidative activity and inflammatory responses associated with these diurnal chemical changes. Because secondary PM contains a higher fraction of oxidized PM species, we hypothesized that PM2.5 collected during afternoon hours would induce a greater inflammatory response than primary, morning PM2.5. Methods: Time-integrated aqueous slurry samples of ambient PM2.5 were collected using a direct aerosol-into-liquid collection system during defined morning and afternoon time periods. PM2.5 samples were collected for 5 weeks in the late summer (August-September) of 2016 at a central Los Angeles site. Morning samples, largely consisting of fresh primary traffic emissions (primary PM), were collected from 6-9am (am-PM2.5), and afternoon samples were collected from 12-4pm (pm-PM2.5), when PM composition is dominated by products of photochemical oxidation (secondary PM). The two diurnally phased PM2.5 slurries (am- and pm-PM2.5) were characterized for chemical composition and BV-2 microglia were assayed in vitro for oxidative and inflammatory gene responses. Results: Contrary to expectations, the am-PM2.5 slurry had more proinflammatory activity than the pm-PM2.5 slurry as revealed by nitric oxide (NO) induction, as well as the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and CCL2 (MCP-1), as assessed by messenger RNA production. Conclusions: The diurnal differences observed in this study may be in part attributed to the greater content of transition metals and water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) of am-PM2.5 (primary PM) vs. pm-PM2.5 (secondary PM), as these two classes of compounds can increase PM2.5 toxicity.</ns4:p
Diurnal variation in the proinflammatory activity of urban fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by in vitro assays [version 3; referees: 2 approved]
No full textBackground: Ambient particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) undergoes diurnal changes in chemical composition due to photochemical oxidation. In this study we examine the relationships between oxidative activity and inflammatory responses associated with these diurnal chemical changes. Because secondary PM contains a higher fraction of oxidized PM species, we hypothesized that PM2.5 collected during afternoon hours would induce a greater inflammatory response than primary, morning PM2.5. Methods: Time-integrated aqueous slurry samples of ambient PM2.5 were collected using a direct aerosol-into-liquid collection system during defined morning and afternoon time periods. PM2.5 samples were collected for 5 weeks in the late summer (August-September) of 2016 at a central Los Angeles site. Morning samples, largely consisting of fresh primary traffic emissions (primary PM), were collected from 6-9am (am-PM2.5), and afternoon samples were collected from 12-4pm (pm-PM2.5), when PM composition is dominated by products of photochemical oxidation (secondary PM). The two diurnally phased PM2.5 slurries (am- and pm-PM2.5) were characterized for chemical composition and BV-2 microglia were assayed in vitro for oxidative and inflammatory gene responses. Results: Contrary to expectations, the am-PM2.5 slurry had more proinflammatory activity than the pm-PM2.5 slurry as revealed by nitric oxide (NO) induction, as well as the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and CCL2 (MCP-1), as assessed by messenger RNA production. Conclusions: The diurnal differences observed in this study may be in part attributed to the greater content of transition metals and water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) of am-PM2.5 (primary PM) vs. pm-PM2.5 (secondary PM), as these two classes of compounds can increase PM2.5 toxicity
Abnormalities of NBR1, a novel autophagy-associated protein, in muscle fibers of sporadic inclusion-body myositis
No full textP3‐148: OXIDATIVE STRESS FROM TRAFFIC‐RELATED AIR POLLUTANTS (TRAP) INDUCES PRO‐AMYLOIDOGENIC LIPID RAFT ALTERATION IN AD MODELS
No full textP4‐092: ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON GENE NETWORKS OF COGNITIVE AGING: HOW SEX AND APOE INTERACT WITH AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION (AAP) AND CIGARETTE SMOKE (CS)
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