Systematic reviews in medical education: a practical approach: AMEE guide 94.

The twentieth century saw a paradigm shift in medical education, with acceptance that 'knowledge' and 'truth' are contextual, in flux and always evolving. The twenty-first century has seen a greater explosion in computer technology leading to a massive increase in information and an ease of availability, both offering great potential to future research. However, for many decades, there have been voices within the health care system raising an alarm at the lack of evidence to support widespread clinical practice; from these voices, the concept of and need for evidence-based health-care has grown.

Gain beyond cosmesis: demonstration of psychosocial and functional gains following successful strabismus surgery using the adult strabismus questionnaire adult strabismus 20.

Background: Strabismus adversely affects psychosocial and functional aspects; while its correction impacts positively.

Aim: The aim was to evaluate the gains in scores: Overall scores (OASs), psychosocial subscale scores (PSSs) and functional subscale scores (FSSs) following successful surgical alignment.

Settings And Design: We evaluated changed scores in the adult strabismus 20 (AS-20) questionnaire, administered before and after successful surgery.

Identification, characterization and analysis of expression of gene encoding carboxypeptidase A in Anopheles culicifacies A (Diptera: culicidae).

Carboxypeptidases are the digestive enzymes which cleave single amino acid residue from c-terminus of the protein. Digestive carboxypeptidase A gene regulatory elements in insects have shown their efficiency to drive midgut specific expression in transgenic mosquitoes. However no endogenous promoter has been reported for Indian malaria vector Anopheles culicifacies which is major vector in Indian subcontinent.

Facile synthesis of gold-silver alloy nanoparticles for application in metal enhanced bioluminescence.

In the present study we explored metal enhanced bioluminescence in luciferase enzymes for the first time. For this purpose a simple and reproducible one pot synthesis of gold-silver alloy nanoparticles was developed. By changing the molar ratio of tri-sodium citrate and silver nitrate we could synthesize spherical Au-Ag colloids of sizes ranging from 10 to 50 nm with a wide range of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peaks (450-550 nm).

Pre-transplant visualization of combined images for predictive medical analysis.

It is sometimes required to shift and/or merge the sampled images for complex perception development in medical and engineering applications. In most cases, for such requirements images are merged at the intensity level. This paper presents a study which shows that intensity level merge is not sufficient enough to analyse certain cases where sharp precision is needed to take a crucial decision.

Collapse pressure analysis of transversely isotropic thick-walled cylinder using Lebesgue strain measure and transition theory.

The objective of this paper is to provide guidance for the design of the thick-walled cylinder made up of transversely isotropic material so that collapse of cylinder due to influence of internal and external pressure can be avoided. The concept of transition theory based on Lebesgue strain measure has been used to simplify the constitutive equations. Results have been analyzed theoretically and discussed numerically.

Synthesis and synergistic, additive inhibitory effects of novel spiro derivatives against ringworm infections.

An environmentally benign solvent free synthesis of various spiro-1,4-dihydropyridines (1,4-DHPs) incorporating 2-oxindole/piperidines is performed in 5-8 min with reasonable purity in 80-90% yield under microwave irradiation using montmorillonite KSF as an inorganic solid support. The reaction is found to be general with respect to various cyclic carbonyl compounds, e.g.

Organ-specific phenotypic and functional features of NK cells in humans.

Natural killer (NK) cells kill virus-infected and tumor target cells without prior sensitization. Each NK cell expresses a multitude of activating and inhibitory receptors, and the interplay of signals determines the outcome of NK cell activity. NK cell-mediated cytolysis of target cell involves polarized degranulation at effector-target interface.

Beyond photography: evaluation of the consumer digital camera to identify strabismus and anisometropia by analyzing the Bruckner's reflex.

Amblyopia screening is often either costly or laborious. We evaluated the Canon Powershot TX1 (CPTX1) digital camera as an efficient screener for amblyogenic risk factors (ARF). We included 138 subjects: 84-amblyopes and 54-normal.

Population genetic structure of malaria vector Anopheles stephensi Liston (Diptera: Culicidae).

Malaria is a complex disease that afflicts human today. Malaria epidemiology is associated with drug resistance in parasite and differential distribution and insecticide resistance in vector. Efforts are being made to eradicate malaria but burden of malaria is still increasing.

Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of Syzygium jambos L. (Alston) and isolated compounds on acne vulgaris.

Background: Acne vulgaris is a chronic skin disorder leading to inflammation as a result of the production of reactive oxygen species due to the active involvement of Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) in the infection site of the skin. The current study was designed to assess the potential of the leaf extract of Syzygium jambos L.

Biotechnological applications and prospective market of microbial keratinases.

Keratinases are well-recognized enzymes with the unique ability to attack highly cross-linked, recalcitrant structural proteins such as keratin. Their potential in environmental clean-up of huge amount of feather waste has been well established since long. Today, they have gained importance in various other biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications.

A blood-based biomarker panel to detect acute stroke.

Background: The aim of this study was to develop an adjunctive, peripheral biomarker test to differentiate ischemic strokes, intracranial hemorrhages (ICHs), and stroke mimics in the acute setting.

Methods: Serum samples were collected from 167 patients who presented with an acute neurologic deficit within 24 hours of symptom onset. Patients were adjudicated to ischemic stroke, ICH, and mimic pathology groups based on clinical and radiographic findings.

Gene regulatory network of renal primordium development.

Animal development progresses through the stepwise deployment of gene regulatory networks (GRN) encoded in the genome. Comparative analyses in different species and organ systems have revealed that GRN blueprints are composed of subcircuits with stereotypical architectures that are often reused as modular units. In this review, we report the evidence for the GRN underlying renal primordium development.

Safety analysis using Lebesgue strain measure of thick-walled cylinder for functionally graded material under internal and external pressure.

Safety analysis has been done for thick-walled circular cylinder under internal and external pressure using transition theory which is based on the concept of generalized principal Lebesgue strain measure. Results have been analyzed theoretically and discussed numerically. From the analysis, it can be concluded that circular cylinder made of functionally graded material is on the safer side of the design as compared to homogeneous cylinder with internal and external pressure, which leads to the idea of "stress saving" that minimizes the possibility of fracture of cylinder.

Minimally invasive strabismus surgery versus paralimbal approach: a randomized, parallel design study is minimally invasive strabismus surgery worth the effort?

Introduction: Minimal access surgery is common in all fields of medicine. We compared a new minimally invasive strabismus surgery (MISS) approach with a standard paralimbal strabismus surgery (SPSS) approach in terms of post-operative course.

Materials And Methods: This parallel design study was done on 28 eyes of 14 patients, in which one eye was randomized to MISS and the other to SPSS.

Primary Sjogren's syndrome presenting as acute cerebellitis.

A 64-year-old previously healthy man presented with acute ataxia. He was diagnosed with acute cerebellitis on the basis of clinical features, negative MRI of the head and lymphocytic pleocytosis in cerebrospinal fluid. A detailed work up for etiology revealed auto-antibodies for Sjogren's syndrome.

Association of genetic variants of ghrelin, leptin and UCP2 with malnutrition inflammation syndrome and survival in end-stage renal disease patients.

Malnutrition inflammation syndrome (MIS) is common among ESRD patients. In the present study, we have investigated the association of genetic markers associated with appetite and energy regulation with malnutrition inflammation syndrome among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Two hundred and fifty-seven patients on maintenance hemodialysis and 200 normal healthy controls were included in the study.

A core transcriptional network composed of Pax2/8, Gata3 and Lim1 regulates key players of pro/mesonephros morphogenesis.

Translating the developmental program encoded in the genome into cellular and morphogenetic functions requires the deployment of elaborate gene regulatory networks (GRNs). GRNs are especially crucial at the onset of organ development where a few regulatory signals establish the different programs required for tissue organization. In the renal system primordium (the pro/mesonephros), important regulators have been identified but their hierarchical and regulatory organization is still elusive.

Hyperactive Ras/MAPK signaling is critical for tibial nonunion fracture in neurofibromin-deficient mice.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common genetic disorder affecting 1 in 3500 individuals. Patients with NF1 are predisposed to debilitating skeletal manifestations, including osteopenia/osteoporosis and long bone pseudarthrosis (nonunion fracture). Hyperactivation of the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in NF1 is known to underlie aberrant proliferation and differentiation in cell lineages, including osteoclast progenitors and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) also known as osteoblast progenitors (pro-OBLs).

Association of IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α gene polymorphism with malnutrition inflammation syndrome and survival among end stage renal disease patients.

During end stage renal disease (ESRD) inflammatory pathways are activated which may lead to malnutrition inflammation syndrome (MIS). In the present study, 257 ESRD patients and 200 controls were included. Cytokine levels and genotyping was done by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Profile of dermatophytic and other fungal infections in jaipur.

The common cause of skin infections are dermatophytes and opportunistic fungi. Aim of present study is to find predominant etiological agent of dermatophytoses and to isolate various fungal agents from clinical samples of patients with different mycoses and Clinical samples from 260 patients were subjected to potassium hydroxide (KOH) examination and culture isolation; causative agents were identified macroscopically and microscopically. One hundred sixty three (62.

Outcome and prognostic factors in adult cerebellar glioblastoma.

Cerebellar glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) occurs rarely in adults, accounting for 0.4-3.4% of all GBM.

Role of fine needle aspiration cytology in diagnosing filarial arm cysts.

Filariasis is prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas and is endemic in regions of India. Lymphatic filariasis in India is caused mainly by two species of nematodes: Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi, which invade the human lymphatic system. We report two cases of superficial cystic lesions of the upper limb revealed on fine needle aspiration (FNA) to be clinically unsuspected filariasis.

Multi-use of single use unims: Does economic burden outweigh contamination risk?

Aim: To assess if residual drops of unims can be used after single use to cut down economic load. Setting: Laboratory setting. Materials and Methods: This study was done to determine the possibility of multi-use of such unims.