11th Stage Research Articles

Quality of life in medical students who act in PBL methodology

Introduction: The learning takes place, mainly, by the integration of new knowledge acquired to previously existing ones, that is, by the elaboration of new information, in any of its previously analyzed forms. In the Problem Based Learning (PBL) method, constructivism is obtained at the expense of activation of prior knowledge, elaboration of new information, establishment of goals for self-directed study, and increament in the complexity of semantic networks in the final discussion of problem solving. Quality of life (QoL) can be considered as a subject of multiple approaches, contextualizations and applicability of which is used by several areas of knowledge. All the components that make up the quality of life can be measured and evaluated using quantitative instruments, including questionnaires, the main one being the WHOQOL-Bref, developed by the WHO, for having a cross-cultural evaluation methodology that allows uniform results. Objectives: To analyze in a global way the quality of life of medical students who work in the PBL model of the University of Ribeirão Preto (UNAERP). Methodology: A total of 90 students from the UNAERP medical school, aged over 18, enrolled in the 1st, 6th and 11th stages were included in this study. After signing the TCLE approved by the local CEP, the students answered a questionnaire based on the WHOQOL-bref. Results: A total of 55.5% of the women and 44.5% of the men with a mean age varying according to the stages (20 years, 1st stage, 22 years, 6th stage and 26 years in the 11th stage) were evaluated. When analyzing the degree of satisfaction of the students with regard to the PBL methodology, a percentage of 49.1% satisfaction was observed at the beginning of the course (1st stage), followed by 65.4% in the 6th stage and 77% at the end of the course (11th stage). The student’s satisfaction with the ability to perform the activities of his day-to-day recorded that in the first stage, 21.2% can carry out their activities with adequacy; in stage 6, 34.5% and in stage 11, 69.8% feel satisfied or very satisfied in this analysis. Students also had increased satisfaction with their academic performance when compared to the beginning and end of the course; on the other hand, in the intermediate phase, a percentage decrease can be observed as can be observed in the first stage: 42.8%; 6th stage: 33.5%; 11: 77%. Discussion and conclusions of the results: In this study, we measured the quality of life of university students of medicine at UNAERP and then made them reflect on how they deal with their personal, physical, social and mental issues throughout their training course. The PBL methodology enhances the need for independent study and focuses on student-led learning and improvement, which allows the student to evolve with a progressive improvement in the ability to perform day-to-day tasks and academic performance.

Milk yield and milking station visits of primiparous versus multiparous cows on automatic milking system farms in the Upper Midwest United States

The objective of this study was to investigate milk yield and frequency of visits to the milking station of primiparous versus multiparous cows at different stages of lactation on farms with automatic milking systems (AMS) in the Upper Midwest United States. Forty farms were included in the study, and daily AMS software data were collected for 18 mo. For the investigation of milk yield and milking visits, stage of lactation was categorized into 14 periods, 7 d in length for the first 28 d in milk (DIM) and 30 d in length thereafter until 328 DIM. Cow traffic flow to the AMS (free or guided) was included in the model. For the evaluation of failures and refusals, stage of lactation was categorized into 6 periods, 7 d in length each for the first 28 DIM, and 2 periods of 150 d in length each thereafter until 328 DIM. Failures are milking station visits where a cow fails to be milked due to lack of machine attachment although it is time for the cow to be milked. Refusals are milking station visits before adequate time has passed since previous milking, thus the cow leaves the milking station without being milked. Data from lactation days beyond 328 DIM were excluded from the study. Primiparous cows in free-flow systems produced less milk than multiparous cows until the 11th stage of lactation and produced more milk from the 12th stage until the end of the study period. Primiparous cows in guided-flow systems produced less milk than multiparous cows all 14 stages of lactation, but were approaching the milk yield of multiparous cows at the end of the study period. This was a biologically normal lactation curve for primiparous cows. However, estimated peak ratio (primiparous vs. multiparous cows' peak milk yield) was lower than industry standards. Both traffic flow systems had fewer milking visits for primiparous cows compared with multiparous cows in early lactation. This lower milking frequency persisted until the 11th stage of lactation in free-flow systems. In guided-flow systems, primiparous cows were milked less frequently until the 5th stage of lactation, had similar milking frequency in the 6th stage of lactation, and were milked more frequently thereafter. Failures were greater for primiparous cows during all stages of lactation. However, the greatest differences were detected in the early stages of lactation. Primiparous cows had 0.067 more failures/cow per day on average than multiparous cows during wk 1 of lactation. For the remaining lactation stages, differences in failures ranged from 0.003 to 0.039. Refusals were less frequent (0.4 to 0.6/d) for primiparous cows during the first 2 wk of lactation, similar for wk 3 of lactation, and more frequent for the remaining lactation stages (0.10 to 0.14/d). Failures and refusals were only evaluated in free-flow systems. These findings appear to indicate a potential lagging performance for primiparous cows in early lactation as compared with multiparous cows. Additional investigation into improving the adaptation of primiparous cows to AMS in early lactation may be warranted.

Comparing Na/K-ATPase activity of Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man) larvae at specific developmental stages, using different sodium vs potassium and calcium vs magnesium concentrations, and sodium potassium adsorption ratio (SPAR) mediums

The present study analyzed the Na/K-ATPase activity (μmolADP/mgprotein/h) of Macrobrachium rosenbergii larvae at specific developmental stages using different environmental concentrations of sodium vs potassium and calcium vs magnesium, for pairwise comparison. In addition, we also compared the effect of various sodium potassium adsorption ratio (SPAR) mediums to Na/K-ATPase activity. The first experiment compared the effect of sodium concentrations (4000 and 5000ppm) vs potassium concentrations (150 and 200ppm), while the second experiment compared the effect of calcium concentrations (180 and 240ppm) vs magnesium concentrations (300 and 400ppm), as in pairwise combination on the Na/K-ATPase activity. The third experiment compared Na/K-ATPase activity for various SPAR mediums (20, 30, 40 and 50). Larval condition index (LCI), larval dry weight and percent survival were determined at the 1st, 4th, 7th and 11th stages for each experiment. For each experimental treatment, triplicate 80-l closed-loop RAS systems were used. Initial larvae stocking density was 300 larvae l−1. For each container, a 40mg batch of larvae was collected at each of the 4 larval stages to analyze Na/K-ATPase activity and LCI. These results revealed that at the 1st and 4th larval stages both sodium and potassium independently and in combination, affected (P<0.05) Na/K-ATPase activity. However, at the 7th stage, enzyme activity was confirmed only among the treatments, independently. At the 11th stage, enzyme activity was demonstrated among the combined treatments, in addition to potassium, alone. Calcium and magnesium only showed larval Na/K-ATPase activity independently at the 1st and 4th larval stages. Results also showed that at the 1st and 4th larval stages, Na/K-ATPase activity was significantly higher for SPAR 20 but, at the 7th and 11th stages the enzyme activity was significantly higher at both SPAR 20 and 30. Accordingly, our findings have demonstrated that, Na/K-ATPase activity is highly variable during M. rosenbergii larval development and that it is mainly affected by interactions of common environmental macro-elements involved in larval osmoregulation. As such, we recommend M. rosenbergii hatcheries to operate as close as possible to SPAR 30 for early larval development and SPAR 40 for later larval development.

The benefits of powdered activated carbon recirculation for micropollutant removal in advanced wastewater treatment

PAC adsorption is a widespread option for the removal of organic micropollutants (OMP) from secondary effluent. For an optimal exploitation of the adsorption capacity, PAC recirculation is nowadays a common practice, although the mechanistic interrelations of the complex recirculation process are not fully resolved. In this work, extensive multi-stage batch adsorption testing with repeated PAC and coagulant dosage was performed to evaluate the continuous-flow recirculation system. Partly loaded PAC showed a distinct amount of remaining capacity, as OMP and DOC removals considerably increased with each additional adsorption stage. At a low PAC dose of 10 mg PAC L−1, removals of benzotriazole and carbamazepine were shown to rise from <40% in the first stage up to >80% in the 11th stage at 30 min adsorption time per stage. At a high PAC dose of 30 mg PAC L−1, OMP and DOC removals were significantly higher and reached 98% (for benzotriazole and carbamazepine) after 11 stages. Coagulant dosage showed no influence on OMP removal, whereas a major part of DOC removal can be attributed to coagulation. Multi-stage adsorption is particularly beneficial for small PAC doses and significant PAC savings are feasible. A new model approach for predicting multi-stage OMP adsorption on the basis of a single-stage adsorption experiment was developed. It proved to predict OMP removals and PAC loadings accurately and thus contributes towards understanding the PAC recirculation process.

Study of embryonic development and histological structure of the eye in white mouse Mus musculus

The present study aims to investigate the morphological,anatomical and histological eye development of the swiss albino micemus musculus. The eye development initiated at early stage of pregnancyand continued and represented for twelve stages, each stage per one day.At full term delivery, the eye was closed and incomplete indifferentjation. The first signal of optic vesicle primordium appeared inthe first stage at th day of pregnancy and continued with enlargement inthe second stage. The optic vesicles was invaginated, at the 3 rd stage toform the optic cup. At the same time, the lens primordium (Lensplacodes) appeared. In the 4th stage, the two layers of optic cupdifferentiated and the lens disc involuted to form, The lens vesicle thefirst retinal signal appeared at the 5th stage were ganglion cells. At the 6thstage, several features appeared which include bruche 's· membrane,choroid fissure, optic nerve primordium and spherical lens with lens fiber.Then inner plexiform layer of the retina differentiated at the th stage. Thechoroid and scleral tunics as well as the retinal nerve fiber layer appearedat the gth stage. The cornea and iris primordia as well as the pigmentepithelial cells of the retina appeared at the 9th stage. At the 1oth stage theoptic nerve emerged from the ventral side of the eye ball. The distinctfeatures of the 11th stage were the appearance of the outer neural retina assyncitiallayer with the differentiation of inner nerve fiber layers. On theother hand, the eye chambers, and the differentiation of inner nuclearretinal layer and the outer plexiform layer were developed at the laststage.

The developmental sequence ofArgulus foliaceus(Crustacea: Branchiura)

We describe and illustrate the complete development of Argulus foliaceus L. A metanauplius is followed by nine juvenile stages. Eggs were detected in the thorax of the female at the 11th stage. Comparisons are made between the development of A. foliaceus and the other freshwater species of Argulus currently found in the UK.

A contribution to Runge-Kutta formulas of the 7th order with rational coefficients for systems of differential equations of the first order

The purpose of this article is to find the 7th order formulas with rational parameters. The formulas are of the 11th stage. If we compare the coefficients of the development $\sum^\infty_{i=1} \frac {h^i} {i!} \frac {d^{i-1}} {dx^{i-1}} \bold f\left[x,\bold y(x)\right]$ up to $h^7$ with the development given by successive insertion into the formula $h.f_i(k_0,k_1,\ldots, k_{i-1})$ for $i=1,2,\ldots, 10$ and $k=\sum^{10}_{i=0} p_i, k_i$ we obtain a system of 59 condition equations with 65 unknowns (except, the 1st one, all equations are nonlinear). As the solution of this system we get the parameters of the 7th order Runge-Kutta formulas as rational numbers.

Comparative study of electrical resistivity of metal trichloride intercalated graphite

We have studied the T and n dependence of ϱ a from 4.2 to 300 K for a variety of metal trichloride-graphite intercalation compounds. The most complete work deals with the gallium trichloride family, for which 1st to 11th stage samples were examined. The results are compared with those concerning intercalated AlCl 3, FeCl 3 and TlCl 3. The minimum room temperature ϱ a value for GaCl 3 materials is slightly greater than 3 μω cm at stage 5, consistent with results on other families. The thermal variation of ϱ a has been examined, particularly in the temperature ranges in which DTA and X-ray analyses reveal transitions.