Integrated problem-based learning versus lectures: a path analysis modelling of the relationships between educational context and learning approaches.

Students' approaches to learning are central to the process of learning. Previous research has revealed that influencing students' approaches towards deep learning is a complex process and seems much more difficult than expected, even in student-activating learning environments. There is evidence that learning approaches are impacted not only by the learning environment, but also by how students perceive it.

Developmental delay in communication among toddlers and its relationship to caregiving behavior among violence-exposed, posttraumatically stressed mothers.

Objectives: This study aimed to understand if maternal interpersonal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (IPV-PTSD) is associated with delayed language development among very young children ("toddlers").

Methods: Data were collected from 61 mothers and toddlers (ages 12-42 months, mean age = 25.6 months SD = 8.

Acute necrotising gingivitis in young children from villages with and without noma in Niger and its association with sociodemographic factors, nutritional status and oral hygiene practices: results of a population-based survey.

Background: Previous studies have suggested that acute necrotising gingivitis precedes noma disease and that noma clusters in some villages in certain regions of low- and middle-income countries. We sought to assess the prevalence of gingivitis with bleeding in young children from villages with or without a history of noma and to analyse epidemiological differences related to sociodemographic characteristics, nutritional status and oral hygiene practices.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in 440 children aged between 2 and 6 years from four villages in the Zinder region of southeast Niger in Africa.

Self-Observation and Peer Feedback as a Faculty Development Approach for Problem-Based Learning Tutors: A Program Evaluation.

Problem: Good teaching requires spontaneous, immediate, and appropriate action in response to various situations. It is even more crucial in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials, as the tutors, while directing students toward the identification and attainment of learning objectives, must stimulate them to contribute to the process and provide them with constructive feedback. PBL tutors in medicine lack opportunities to receive feedback from their peers on their teaching strategies.

DIEP flap for breast reconstruction: Is abdominal fat thickness associated with post-operative complications?

Introduction: Some surgeons consider a high body mass index (BMI) or important abdominal fat excess as contraindications for breast reconstruction with free deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap. This study aimed to identify factors associated with post-operative complications by using this type of flap, with an emphasis on BMI and abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 105 consecutive patients who underwent DIEP flap breast reconstruction at our institution was performed to assess post-operative complications.

Alcohol policy changes and 22-year trends in individual alcohol consumption in a Swiss adult population: a 1993-2014 cross-sectional population-based study.

Objective: Evidence on the impact of legislative changes on individual alcohol consumption is limited. Using an observational study design, we assessed trends in individual alcohol consumption of a Swiss adult population following the public policy changes that took place between 1993 and 2014, while considering individual characteristics and secular trends.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Mafa Enables Pdx1 to Effectively Convert Pancreatic Islet Progenitors and Committed Islet α-Cells Into β-Cells In Vivo.

Among the therapeutic avenues being explored for replacement of the functional islet β-cell mass lost in type 1 diabetes (T1D), reprogramming of adult cell types into new β-cells has been actively pursued. Notably, mouse islet α-cells will transdifferentiate into β-cells under conditions of near β-cell loss, a condition similar to T1D. Moreover, human islet α-cells also appear to poised for reprogramming into insulin-positive cells.

Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome and Long-Lasting Epigenetic Silencing of Mouse Sperm Genes Involved in the Reproductive System after Prenatal Exposure to DEHP.

The endocrine disruptor bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) has been shown to exert adverse effects on the male animal reproductive system. However, its mode of action is unclear and a systematic analysis of its molecular targets is needed. In the present study, we investigated the effects of prenatal exposure to 300 mg/kg/day DEHP during a critical period for gonads differentiation to testes on male mice offspring reproductive parameters, including the genome-wide RNA expression and associated promoter methylation status in the sperm of the first filial generation.

Use of email, cell phone and text message between patients and primary-care physicians: cross-sectional study in a French-speaking part of Switzerland.

Background: Physicians' daily work is increasingly affected by the use of emails, text messages and cell phone calls with their patients. The aim of this study was to describe their use between primary-care physicians and patients in a French-speaking part of Switzerland.

Methods: A cross-sectional mail survey was conducted among all primary-care physicians of Geneva canton (n = 636).

A Variant of GJD2, Encoding for Connexin 36, Alters the Function of Insulin Producing β-Cells.

Signalling through gap junctions contributes to control insulin secretion and, thus, blood glucose levels. Gap junctions of the insulin-producing β-cells are made of connexin 36 (Cx36), which is encoded by the GJD2 gene. Cx36-null mice feature alterations mimicking those observed in type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Rhinoviruses and Respiratory Enteroviruses: Not as Simple as ABC.

Rhinoviruses (RVs) and respiratory enteroviruses (EVs) are leading causes of upper respiratory tract infections and among the most frequent infectious agents in humans worldwide. Both are classified in the Enterovirus genus within the Picornaviridae family and they have been assigned to seven distinct species, RV-A, B, C and EV-A, B, C, D. As viral infections of public health significance, they represent an important financial burden on health systems worldwide.

Population differences and the effect of vaginal progesterone on preterm birth in women with threatened preterm labor (.).

Objective: Threatened preterm labor (tPTL) is a complication of pregnancy. Identification of women and clinical definition differs between countries. This study investigated differences in tPTL and effectiveness of vaginal progesterone to prevent preterm birth (PTB) between two countries.

How Many Responses Do We Need? Using Generalizability Analysis to Estimate Minimum Necessary Response Rates for Online Student Evaluations.

Unlabelled: CONSTRUCT: The study compares paper and online ratings of instructional units and analyses, with the G-study using the symmetry principle, the response rates needed to ensure acceptable precision of the measure when compliance is low.

Background: Students' ratings of teaching contribute to the quality of medical training programs. To date, many schools have replaced pen-and-paper questionnaires with electronic forms, despite the lower response rates consistently reported with the latter.

Teaching communication skills: beyond wishful thinking.

Communication skills tend to decline with time unless they are regularly recalled and practiced. However, most medical schools still deliver clinical communication training only during pre-clinical years although the clinical environment is considered to be ideal for acquiring and teaching clinical communication. The aim of this article is to review the barriers that prevent communication skills teaching and training from occurring in clinical practice and describe strategies that may help enhance such activities.

Risk factors for noma disease: a 6-year, prospective, matched case-control study in Niger.

Background: Noma is a poorly studied disease that leads to severe facial tissue destruction in children in developing countries, but the cause remains unknown. We aimed to identify the epidemiological and microbiological risk factors associated with noma disease.

Methods: We did a prospective, matched, case-control study in Niger between Aug 1, 2001, and Oct 31, 2006, in children younger than 12 years to assess risk factors for acute noma.

Osteoarticular infections in young children: what has changed over the last years?

Osteoarticular infections remain a significant cause of morbidity worldwide in young children. They can have a devastating impact with a high rate of serious and long-lasting sequelae, especially on remaining growth. Depending on the localisation of infection, they manifest as osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, a combination of both (i.

Validation of the disease risk index for outcome of patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation after T cell depletion.

Identification of pretransplantation risk factors is important in evaluating patient outcomes after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Current scoring schemes, such as the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation risk score or the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-Specific Comorbidity Index, may under-rate disease and disease status at the time of transplantation. The recently published Disease Risk Index (DRI) specifically investigates these aspects by defining 4 risk groups (low, intermediate, high, very high) with significant differences in overall survival (OS).

Targeted mutation of zebrafish fga models human congenital afibrinogenemia.

Mutations in the human fibrinogen genes can lead to the absence of circulating fibrinogen and cause congenital afibrinogenemia. This rare bleeding disorder is associated with a variable phenotype, which may be influenced by environment and genotype. Here, we present a zebrafish model of afibrinogenemia.

Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in Swiss teenagers with appendicular fractures: a prospective study of 100 cases.

Background: The significance of subclinical vitamin D deficiency in the pathogenesis of fractures in children and adolescents currently remains unclear.

Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and its effect on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) values in a collective of Swiss Caucasian children with a first episode of appendicular fracture.

Design And Methods: One hundred teenagers with a first episode of appendicular fracture [50 upper limb fractures (group 1) and 50 lower limb fractures (group 2)] and 50 healthy controls (group 3) were recruited into a cross-sectional study.

Autonomic functioning in mothers with interpersonal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder in response to separation-reunion.

This study characterizes autonomic nervous system activity reactive to separation-reunion among mothers with Interpersonal Violence-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (IPV-PTSD). Heart-rate (HR) and high frequency heart-rate-variability (HF-HRV) were measured in 17 IPV-PTSD-mothers, 22 sub-threshold-mothers, and 15 non-PTSD mother-controls while interacting with their toddlers (12-48 months). Analyses showed IPV-PTSD-mothers having generally lower HR than other groups.