Selected Skill Sets as Building Blocks for High School-to-Medical School Bridge: Longitudinal Study Among Undergraduate Medical Students.

Background: The high school-to-medical school education transition is a significant milestone in the students' academic journey, which is characterized by multiple stressors. Although this crucial transition has been repetitively explored, the concept of proactively intervening to support this transition is still novel.

Objective: In this study, we investigated the efficacy of a web-based multidimensional resilience building intervention in developing selected soft skills that are believed to drive the learner's success in any learning setting.

Epigenetic status of FBXW7 gene and its role in Ovarian cancer pathogenesis.

Background: Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis revealed that the FBXW7 gene and the long non-coding RNA (LINC01588) are potential candidates in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) pathogenesis. However, their exact role in EOC is not yet known. Thus, the present study sheds light on the impact of the mutations/ methylation status of the FBXW7 gene.

Identification and validation of a novel long non-coding RNA (LINC01465) in ovarian cancer.

Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC) is a heterogeneous disease usually diagnosed at advanced stages. Therefore, early detection is crucial for better survival. Despite the advances in ovarian research, mechanisms underlying EOC carcinogenesis are not elucidated.

Assessment as Learning in Medical Education: Feasibility and Perceived Impact of Student-Generated Formative Assessments.

Background: Self-regulated learning (SRL) is gaining widespread recognition as a vital competency that is desirable to sustain lifelong learning, especially relevant to health professions education. Contemporary educational practices emphasize this aspect of undergraduate medical education through innovative designs of teaching and learning, such as the flipped classroom and team-based learning. Assessment practices are less commonly deployed to build capacity for SRL.

Virtual Microscopy in Undergraduate Pathology Education: An early transformative experience in clinical reasoning.

Objectives: Whole-slide imaging and virtual microscopy (VM) have revolutionised teaching, diagnosis and research in histopathology. This study aimed to establish the feasibility of achieving early integration of clinical reasoning with undergraduate pathology teaching on a VM platform and to determine its student-centricity through student feedback.

Methods: This study was conducted at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, between August and December 2017.

Introducing the 4Ps Model of Transitioning to Distance Learning: A convergent mixed methods study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Significant concern has been raised regarding the effect of COVID-19 on medical education. This study aimed to shed light on the distance learning experiences of medical students and their instructors at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A convergent mixed methods approach was utilized.

Taking a Leap of Faith: A Study of Abruptly Transitioning an Undergraduate Medical Education Program to Distance-Learning Owing to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced universities worldwide to immediately transition to distance-learning. Although numerous studies have investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on universities in the Middle East, none have reflected on the process through which medical education programs for health professions underwent this transition. This study aimed to elucidate the rapid transition to distance-learning of an undergraduate medical program at the College of Medicine, Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clinicopathological Features and Outcomes of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours in Oman: A multi-centre study.

Objectives: This study aimed to report the clinicopathological features, management and long-term outcomes of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) in Oman.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on patients treated for GIST between January 2003 and December 2017 at three tertiary referral centres in Muscat, Oman. All patients with confirmed histopathological diagnoses of GIST and followed-up at the centres during this period were included.

Correlation of expression of Akt1 and E2F1 and their phosphorylated forms in breast cancer patients with clinicopathological parameters.

Breast cancer is the leading cancer worldwide among women. Traditional clinicopathological prognostic and predictive markers need refining to improve clinical outcomes. This study explored the association between traditional clinicopathological factors and the expression of Akt1 and E2F1 transduction proteins and their phosphorylated forms in breast cancer, to determine their value as novel biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets.

Promotes the Malignancy of Ovarian Cancer Via the Regulation of Hippo and Wnt Pathways.

is a transcription factor that is overexpressed in the early stages of ovarian cancer and has been suggested as a potential biomarker for early detection. In this study, we aimed to examine the role of in invasion and proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. We performed cell viability, colony formation, and invasion assays using ovarian cancer cells treated with siRNA to knock down the gene.

FAT4 silencing promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and invasion via regulation of YAP and β-catenin activity in ovarian cancer.

Background: The adhesion molecule, FAT4, has a tumor suppressor function with a critical role in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) and anti-malignant growth in several cancers. No study has investigated yet its role in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) progression. In the present study, we examined the role of FAT4 in proliferation and metastasis, and its mechanisms of interaction in these processes.

Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis: Beware of the great masquerade a case report.

Basidiobolomycosis is rare infection caused by the saprophytic fungus . Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis is an infrequent, albeit, increasingly reported, emerging form of the disease and typically affects immunocompetent individuals with potentially grave sequelae if unrecognized. Acquaintance with this exceptionally rare fungus and its potential for presenting as gastrointestinal mass masquerading as colonic malignancy is critical for timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment and successful clinical outcome.

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in Metastatic Breast Cancer in Omani Women.

Breast cancer (BC) in Oman affects younger women and has a more aggressive course. Clinical and biological variables like age, pregnancy, tumor size, type, grade, receptor expression and proliferation predict disease aggression but there is no direct predictor of metastasis except lymphovascular invasion. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is characterized by epithelial cells losing epithelial and acquiring mesenchymal morpho-immunophenotypic characteristics.

'Walk with Us…' Student Peer-Mentoring in Interdisciplinary Cancer Education.

'Walk with us…' reflects on a series of innovative educational journeys that have offered value addition in cancer education of health professions students. It provides an insight into interdisciplinary peer education through extra-curricular pathways. It taps on student creativity and inspirational techniques in health education that stimulate student-centered learning.

Gleason’s Grading of Prostatic Adenocarcinoma: Inter-Observer Variation Among Seven Pathologists at a Tertiary Care Center in Oman.

Prostatic adenocarcinoma is the commonest solid malignancy seen in Omani elderly males 60-80 years of age. The Gleason grade is the most widely used grading system for prostatic carcinoma and is recommended by the World Health Organization. A peer review was carried out at the Pathology Department of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), Oman, to assess the quality of reporting at the center.

Localised Skin Hyperpigmentation as a Presenting Symptom of Vitamin B12 Deficiency Complicating Chronic Atrophic Gastritis.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in developing countries and should be suspected in patients with unexplained anaemia or neurological symptoms. Dermatological manifestations associated with this deficiency include skin hyper- or hypopigmentation, angular stomatitis and hair changes. We report a case of a 28-year-old man who presented to the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Muscat, Oman, in November 2013 with localised hyperpigmentation of the palmar and dorsal aspects of both hands of two months' duration.

Unveiling Cancer.

This article narrates a multifaceted educational journey undertaken by a medical student through a weekly SCRAPS (surgery, clinical disciplines, radiology, anatomy, psychiatry and laboratory sciences) clinico-pathological meeting held in the College of Medicine & Health Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman. Through a presentation titled 'Unveiling Cancer', the multidisciplinary and interprofessional audience witnessed a simulated interaction between a medical student, a technologist peer and tutors in medicine, pathology and radiology. The presentation was based on the complexities of presentation, diagnosis and management of a patient with anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in the aftermath of a bone marrow transplantation.

Diagnostic dilemmas in Intraductal papillomas of the breast - Experience at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in the Sultanate of Oman.

Objectives: The aim of this retrospective study was to correlate the significance and accuracy of the colour of nipple discharge and breast ultrasound imaging in the diagnosis of intraductal papilloma.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 34 patients who underwent 36 microdochectomies in Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) in the Sultanate of Oman, over a 4 year period of January 2009 till December 2012. The confounders considered were patient age, physical examination findings, nipple discharge cytology result, ultrasound results and biopsy report following microdochectomy.