Phytochemical and biological investigations on Centranthus kellereri (Stoj., Stef. & T. Georgiev) Stoj. & Stef. and C. ruber (L.) DC. and their potential as new medicinal and ornamental plants.

Introduction: Centranthus kellereri is a Bulgarian endemic plant species, found only in two locations in the world: The Balkans Mountains (Stara Planina), above the town of Vratsa, and The Pirin Mountains, above the town of Bansko, Bulgaria. Being endemic and endangered species precluded any significant research on it. The hypothesis of this study was that the populations of C.

Depressive disorders in Thai medical students: an exploratory study of institutional, cultural, and individual factors.

Objectives: This exploratory qualitative study conducted among Thai medical students aimed to investigate factors related to the development of medical students' depression and how these factors interact in contributing to depressive disorders.

Methods: Forty-three undergraduate medical students of the six-year Doctor of Medicine program were identified as having moderate to severe depression on an annual depression screening. From these, eighteen students agreed to participate in individual in-depth interviews.

Future doctors' perspectives on health professionals' responsibility regarding nutrition care and why doctors should learn about nutrition: A qualitative study.

Background: Improved dietary and nutrition behavior may help reduce the occurrence of noncommunicable diseases which have become global public health emergencies in recent times. However, doctors do not readily provide nutrition counseling to their patients. We explored medical students' perspectives on health professionals' nutrition care responsibility, and why doctors should learn about nutrition and provide nutrition care in the general practice setting.

Correction to: Exploring burnout and the association with the educational climate in pediatric residents in Thailand.

Following publication of the original article.

Exploring burnout and the association with the educational climate in pediatric residents in Thailand.

Background: This study, undertaken in Bangkok, Thailand, explored the extent to which paediatric residents in a non-Western setting experienced burnout and the potential association with factors in the medical educational climate and work-related quality of life.

Methods: An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was employed in a cross-sectional study. The initial, quantitative phase used the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environmental Measure (PHEEM) and Work-Related Quality of Life scale (WRQoL).

Master of Public Health programmes in South Africa: issues and challenges.

Background: The demand for highly skilled public health personnel in low- and middle-income countries has been recognised globally. In South Africa, the need to train more public health professionals has been acknowledged. The Human Resource for Health (HRH) Strategy for South Africa includes the establishment of public health units at district and provincial levels.

Why nutrition education is inadequate in the medical curriculum: a qualitative study of students' perspectives on barriers and strategies.

Background: The provision of nutrition care by doctors is important in promoting healthy dietary habits, and such interventions can lead to reductions in disease morbidity, mortality, and medical costs. However, medical students and doctors report inadequate nutrition education and preparedness during their training at school. Previous studies investigating the inadequacy of nutrition education have not sufficiently evaluated the perspectives of students.

Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy in Urban Slums: The Aditya Jyot Diabetic Retinopathy in Urban Mumbai Slums Study-Report 2.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to estimate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and enumerate history-based risk factors in the urban slums of Western India.

Methods: The population-based study was conducted in seven wards of Mumbai urban slums, where we screened 6569 subjects of ≥ 40 years age, with a response rate of 98.4%, for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) based on American Diabetes Association criteria.

Realist synthesis of educational interventions to improve nutrition care competencies and delivery by doctors and other healthcare professionals.

Objective: To determine what, how, for whom, why, and in what circumstances educational interventions improve the delivery of nutrition care by doctors and other healthcare professionals work.

Design: Realist synthesis following a published protocol and reported following Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards (RAMESES) guidelines. A multidisciplinary team searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC, EMBASE, PsyINFO, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Science Direct for published and unpublished (grey) literature.

A realist review of educational interventions to improve the delivery of nutrition care by doctors and future doctors.

Background: Dietary interventions are considered an important aspect of clinical practice, more so in the face of the rising prevalence of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases globally. Routinely, most doctors do not provide such intervention to their patients, and several barriers, present during both training and clinical practice, have been identified. Educational interventions to improve nutrition care competencies and delivery have been implemented but with variable success, probably, due to the complex nature of such interventions.

Xanthohumol improved cognitive flexibility in young mice.

The protein palmitoylation cycle has been shown to be important for protein signaling and synaptic plasticity. Data from our lab showed a change in the palmitoylation status of certain proteins with age. A greater percentage of the NMDA receptor subunits GluN2A and GluN2B, along with Fyn and PSD95 proteins, were palmitoylated in the old mice.

Identifying Rates of Meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba) Seed Meal Needed for Suppression of Meloidogyne hapla and Pythium irregulare in Soil.

Meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba) is a commercial oilseed annual crop grown in Oregon. After extracting oil from seed, the remaining seed meal is rich in the secondary plant metabolite glucolimnanthin, which can be converted into pesticidal compounds such as 3-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate (ITC) and 3-methoxyphenylacetonitrile (nitrile) in the presence of the enzyme myrosinase. In previous studies, we demonstrated that ITC and nitrile, produced by mixing freshly ground meadowfoam seed with meadowfoam seed meal, are toxic to the plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne hapla and the plant pathogen Pythium irregulare.

Does community health care require different competencies from physicians and nurses?

Background: Recently competency approach in Health Professionals' Education (HPE) has become quite popular and for an effective competency based HPE, it is important to design the curriculum around the health care needs of the population to be served and on the expected roles of the health care providers. Unfortunately, in community settings roles of health providers tend to be described less clearly, particularly at the Primary Health Care (PHC) level where a multidisciplinary and appropriately prepared health team is generally lacking. Moreover, to tailor the education on community needs there is no substantial evidence on what specific requirements the providers must be prepared for.

Competence, commitment and opportunity: an exploration of faculty views and perceptions on community- based education.

Background: Community-Based Education (CBE) is an instructional approach designed and carried out in a community context and environment in which not only students, but also faculty and Health Professionals' Education (HPE) institutions must be actively engaged throughout the educational experience. Despite the growing evidence of CBE being an effective approach for contemporary HPE, doubts about its successful implementation still exist. This study has explored HPE structure, policies and curriculum from the point of view of faculty members to gain understanding about the prevailing practices and to propose recommendations that nurtures and promotes CBE.

Orchestration of secretory protein folding by ER chaperones.

The endoplasmic reticulum is a major compartment of protein biogenesis in the cell, dedicated to production of secretory, membrane and organelle proteins. The secretome has distinct structural and post-translational characteristics, since folding in the ER occurs in an environment that is distinct in terms of its ionic composition, dynamics and requirements for quality control. The folding machinery in the ER therefore includes chaperones and folding enzymes that introduce, monitor and react to disulfide bonds, glycans, and fluctuations of luminal calcium.

[The globalization of medical education].

With reference to a recently published research article on the applicability and effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) in non-Western medical schools, this commentary explores the assumption that a set of shared values is the common denominator of the globalisation of medical education. The use and effectiveness of PBL are not isolated from the cultural and social structural context in which it is applied; critical differences in values and in views on education underlie what educators and students perceive to be effective locally. The globalisation of medical education is more than the import of instructional designs, and includes Western models of social organisation that require deep reflection and adaptation for success; hence, instead of spreading models for medical education across the globe, more effort should be put into the support of 'home-grown' equivalents and alternatives.

Globalization and the modernization of medical education.

Background: Worldwide, there are essential differences underpinning what educators and students perceive to be effective medical education. Yet, the world looks on for a recipe or easy formula for the globalization of medical education.

Aims: This article examines the assumptions, main beliefs, and impact of globalization on medical education as a carrier of modernity.

Competencies for undergraduate community-based education for the health professions--a systematic review.

Background: Community-based education (CBE) along with competency approach is increasingly becoming popular. However, there appears to be lack of evidence on CBE competencies for undergraduate curriculum, therefore this systematic review attempted to identify and categorize CBE competencies to determine the ones used frequently.

Aims: The systematic review aimed at identifying and categorizing CBE competencies implemented in nursing and medical schools to inform all stakeholders of health professional's education.

Rational decision-making about treatment and care in dementia: a contradiction in terms?

Objective: To gain caregivers' insights into the decision-making process in dementia patients with regard to treatment and care.

Methods: Four focus group interviews (n=29).

Results: The decision-making process consists of three elementary components: (1) identifying an individual's needs; (2) exploring options; and (3) making a choice.

Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs from underserved, Native American reservations in the United States.

Blood samples from 1,822 dogs residing on Native American reservations in 10 states were collected between February 2004 and August 2007. Samples were examined using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) antigen capture test. All ELISA-positive samples were subsequently examined for microfilaremia.

Warfare-related craniectomy defect reconstruction: early success using custom alloplast implants.

Background: Cranial bone defects secondary to decompression craniectomy associated with the Global War on Terror pose a unique reconstructive challenge. The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcome of alloplastic reconstruction using custom-designed implants for large craniectomy defects from warfare-related cranial trauma.

Methods: A review of injured personnel who underwent decompression craniectomy reconstruction and subsequent alloplastic cranial reconstruction in the National Capital Region was performed from 2003 to 2008 (n = 99).

"For most of us Africans, we don't just speak": a qualitative investigation into collaborative heterogeneous PBL group learning.

Collaborative approaches such as Problem Based Learning (PBL) may provide the opportunity to bring together diverse students but their efficacy in practice and the complications that arise due to the mixed ethnicity needs further investigation. This study explores the key advantages and problems of heterogeneous PBL groups from the students' and teachers' opinions. Focus groups were conducted with a stratified sample of second year medical students and their PBL teachers.