Basic Science Faculty Research Articles

Learning through Translational Research Projects – A Route to Teamwork, Skill Development and Self‐Awareness in Biomedical Sciences Graduate Education

The biomedical sciences graduate program at EVMS is an umbrella graduate program towards PhD and Masters’ of sciences degrees. The reality of much of today's research, whether academic or commercially-oriented, will require our graduates to work in collaborations and/or in multi-disciplinary teams. In addition, despite having the advantage of being part of a medical school, the graduate students get little or no exposure to the clinician's view of the translational aspects required to deliver a new therapeutic or diagnostic. To address these gaps in the training of our graduate students, we have leveraged our local resources to design a highly interactive, inter-professional, project- and team-based translational course: “Methods and Logic in Translational Biology”. Our intended goals for this course are: i) to enable our students to interact with clinicians to recognize and validate unmet clinical needs in human disease; ii) to learn the skills needed to creatively conceptualize a translational project (biology, pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory, commercialization) to address those needs; and, to learn working in a team of diverse personalities, workstyles and backgrounds whilst having communal responsibility to devise and deliver on time a single output (a written and oral presentation of their project proposal). We recruited clinical faculty, biostatisticians, basic science faculty experienced in translational research and adjunct faculty with experience in drug discovery, therapeutics and commercialization. Teams of 3-4 students work under the supervision of a Faculty Mentor to deliver 2 projects over the course. The projects are focused on 2 disease areas. The student teams are assessed based on a project that will be defended as an oral presentation and submitted as a 6-page written proposal. Proposals found particularly meritorious by the examining faculty panel may be recommended for submission for publication as a hypothesis/opinion paper. At the conclusion of the course, the students are also graded on a written personal reflection of their learning experiences of teamwork over their two projects. In addition, each student is evaluated by their team peers for their contribution to teamwork over the two projects. After the fourth iteration, this course successfully met the set goals, based on assessment from students and faculty. Student satisfaction was evaluated using a combination of Likert scale metrics and open-ended questions. The students particularly appreciated the team aspect of the learning, along with the peer feedback summary. Our small enrollment rate of 7-12 students/year and a student/faculty ratio of ~1:3 offers some distinct opportunities for team work and individual mentoring. This course capitalizes on this structure to provide a unique environment for graduate students to acquire skills such as team-work and leadership in addition to the opportunity to interact with clinicians to creatively design and present translational projects under the supervision of expert faculty.

Impact of abolishment of PMDC on Basic Medical & Dental Sciences Faculty Career Path of a Federally Chartered Public Sector Medical University- A Questionnaire Validation Study

Ascertain validity of a questionnaire which measures the impact of abolishment of PM&DC on Basic Medical & Dental Sciences Faculty Career Path of a Federally Chartered Public Sector Medical University. Methods: Cross sectional study conducted on a pre-defined population at a given point in time. Study setting was Army Medical College, Rawalpindi. Target population for pilot testing was basic sciences faculty of Army Medical College, Rawalpindi. 12 items questionnaire was designed using Likert scale with 5 options response set. Content validity was assured by expert opinion.Results: Inter item correlation represented by Cronbach’s alpha was p=0.839.Conclusion: The 12 item questionnaire appropriately measures the attitudes and beliefs of basic sciences faculty regarding their career path after abolishment of PM&DC

Henry Arnstein (12 June 1924 – 2 November 2020)

Henry Arnstein (12 June 1924 – 2 November 2020)

Conceptions of Learning and Teaching for Faculty Who Teach Basic Science

IntroductionConceptions of learning and teaching refer to what faculty think about teaching effectiveness. Approaches to teaching refer to the methods they use to teach. Both conceptions and approaches range from student-centered/learning-focused (active learner engagement) to teaching-centered/content-focused (passive learner engagement). This study explored how faculty teaching experience influenced faculty conceptions and their approaches to teaching. The authors hypothesized that more experienced educators appreciate and apply active learning approaches.MethodsThe authors used a cross-sectional survey to collect anonymous data from the Basic Science faculty at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM). The survey included the Conceptions of Learning and Teaching scale (COLT; Jacobs et al. 2012) and demographic information. They assessed instrument reliability with Cronbach’s alpha and examined relationships between variables with correlation and chi-square and group differences with ANOVA.ResultsThirty-eight percent (50/130) of faculty responded to the survey. COLT scores for student-centered (4.06 ± 0.41) were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than teacher-centered (3.12 ± 0.6). Teacher-centered scores were lower (p < 0.05) for younger (30–39, 2.65 ± 0.48) than older faculty (50–59, 3.57 ± 0.71) and were negatively correlated with using multiple teaching methods (p = 0.022). However, 83% (39/50) reported using both traditional lectures and active approaches.DiscussionFaculty conceptions about teaching showed appreciation for active learning, but a tendency to use traditional teaching methods interspersed with student-centered ones. Teaching experience was not related to faculty conceptions but was related to their teaching approaches. The amount of time dedicated to teaching was related to the appreciation of active learning, and young teachers were more student-oriented.

Effect of microbial inoculants on growth and yield of chilli (Capsicum annum L.) under moisture deficit conditions

A pot experiment entitled “Effect of microbial inoculants on growth and yield of chilli (Capsicum annum L.) under moisture deficit conditions.” was carried out in the Division of Basic Sciences & Humanities Faculty of Horticulture SKUAST-K to evaluate the role of individual and combined applications of different microbial strains like AM fungus, PSB, KSB and ZnSB in chilli under moisture deficit conditions (MDC) (60% FC). The results of the study revealed that growth and yield parameters of chilli showed a significant reduction under MDC (T1) as compared to control (T0) (100% FC). Inoculation with different microbial strains significantly improved all the examined parameters in chilli as compared to control as well as MDC. Among the different microbial strains used in the experiment, the combined application of AM, PSB, KSB and ZnSB (T6) proved to be the best in terms of significantly enhancing most of the studied parameters of chilli as compared to control or MDC. Among the parameters that enhanced due to combined inoculation of microbial strains plant height, root biomass, total plant dry weight, total leaf area, number of fruits, fruit weight and yield showed a respective increase of 18.8, 69.6, 77.3, 34.0, 67.0, 48.2, 82.91, as compared to T1.

Relationship between finger print patterns with blood group and genotype among basic medical science, students of Bayero University, Kano

Fingerprint patterns and the blood genotypes of individuals are chiefly determined by genetic factors during in-utero development. Evaluating genotypes requires expertise and facilities which could relatively be difficult to obtain and operate in some setting. The aim of the current study was to determine the correlation between hand finger print patterns and the common blood typing phenotype (genotype and blood group) among agroup of consenting adult population in Nigeria. Four hundred students (217 males and 183 females) of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences in Bayero University Kano had their total hand fingerprints captured using a scanner / computer set up. Data regarding common blood phenotypes was also determined for all participants from the blood phenotype information on their University identification cards. The mean age of theparticipants was 21.86±3.37 years. Loop finger prints patternwas the most common identified in the participants (58.4%), followed by whorls (27.9%), and then the least was arches (13.7%). There was a significant association between the finger print patternon the left thumb (p=0.012) as well as right thumb (p=0.013) withblood groups, while the print in the right index (p=0.042) and left little finger (p= 0.024) were associated with genotypes in the participants respectively. There was a relationship between the finger prints patterns the thumb, index finger and little finger with the common blood typing phenotypes. Thus, finger print patterns on the right index and left little fingercorrelates with blood genotypes.

Assessment of the Factors Responsible For the Use of Illicit Drugs by Medical Students in Sports in a Tertiary Institution in Delta State, Nigeria

The use of illicit drugs in recent times in modern sport has become an issue of growing concern. This study assessed the factors responsible for the use of illicit drugs by medical students in sports in Delta State University Abraka The target population included five departments in the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences of Delta State University Abraka. A cross-sectional survey design was conducted among 1,436 medical student athletes of the College of Health Sciences of Delta State University Abraka and random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 143 respondents. A researcher-made confidential questionnaire was the instrument used for the collection of data. A coefficient index score (r) of 0.78 was obtained which ascertained the internal consistency of the instrument was reliable. A total of 120 questionnaires were successfully retrieved and used for data analysis. Mean score and Pearson Product Moment Correlation were adopted as statistical tools for analyzing the obtained data. There was significant (p&lt;0.05) relationship between the age of medical students and their knowledge of illicit drugs used in sports, however, there was no significant (p&gt;0.05) relationship between the gender of the students and their knowledge of illicit drugs used in sports. Similarly, there was no significant (p&gt;0.05) relationship between type of school of medical students and knowledge of illicit drugs used in sports. Findings from the study further equally revealed that there was no significant (p&gt;0.05) relationship between parental background and medical students’ knowledge of use of illicit drugs in sports. Based on the findings of this study, it is obvious age was supported to determine the use of illicit drugs in sports by medical in sports, hence, the need for stringent policies to be censored especially towards the age requirement for medical student participation while adopting adequate measures to curtail the use of illicit drug among medical students.&#x0D; Keywords: Illicit drugs, Sports, Gender, Age, Medical students

Multiple Case Scenarios Based Integrated Teaching among First Year Medical Students- A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Integrated teaching helps the students to understand the concepts well and conceptualise the subject well. Clinical cases introduced in the first year are interesting and stimulative for the student but may overwhelm and confuse the student. Aim: To know the perception and acceptance of integrated teaching among the first year MBBS students which include multiple case scenarios. Materials and Methods: This educational research is a cross-sectional observational study involving first year medical students in Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore. Study was conducted for a period of one year (August 2018 to June 2019). Horizontal integration of a system in the first year MBBS subjects were done. This was followed by an interactive session conducted by a Clinician basically comprising of multiple case scenarios on the particular system. The sessions focussed on integration of basic medical science subjects and their application in the case scenarios. Six organ-systems were similarly covered. The integrated sessions involved in-class discussions of the clinical cases and were designed, implemented and moderated by two faculties (clinicians and basic science faculty). Collected data were entered into MS Excel, and analysis was done using SPSS software. The students’ feedback regarding the perception of integrated teaching was collected on the Five point likerts scale using a validated questionnaire and analysed. Results: The number of students included in the study was 140. About 135 (96.4%) of the students felt that integrated teaching using multiple case scenarios motivates them to learn in a better way. About 133 (95%) of students felt that integrated teaching helps them to understand concepts well, stimulates the critical thinking. About 136 (97.14%) of students felt that integrated teaching helped them to understand the topic in a holistic way. Conclusion: The students felt that the integrated teaching using multiple case scenarios enhanced their perception and comprehension of the diseases and helped them to understand the relevance of application of pre-clinical knowledge in clinicalpractise.

The challenge of Burnout in Public Medical Teachers in Pakistan: A mixed methods study.

Background and Objectives:Burnout is common in healthcare workers and affects multiple domains of functioning. The objective of this study was to assess burnout in medical teachers in a large public medical university in Lahore, Pakistan and explore the factors behind it.Methods:Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, we first sent out the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory (aMBI) to all teaching faculty of basic and clinical science at King Edward Medical University (KEMU) Lahore. Descriptive analysis was performed on the 203 respondents who returned the survey. Of those who scored higher on the aMBI, 10 respondents (8 clinical science faculty and two basic science faculty) were selected for detailed semi-structured interviews exploring possible reasons for burnout. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was performed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Triangulation and member checking was used for validation.Results:About 38.9% of respondents scored high on the Emotional Exhaustion subscale and 31.5% scored high on the Depersonalization subscale. There were statistically significant differences on the mean Emotional Exhaustion scores (p <0.001) between Basic and Clinical Sciences Departments with respondents from the Clinical Departments having higher scores (7.84 ± 4.32). Four main themes and multiple sub-themes emerged around burnout after qualitative analysis of the data. These included 1. Work-related factors 2. Family and social factors including challenges related specifically to women 3. Feelings and emotions and 4. Personal Qualities.Conclusion:A significant proportion of medical faculty experiences burnout related to their professional and personal responsibilities. The reasons are varied. Policy planners and University/College administrators must acknowledge the negative effects of burnout on medical teachers and take steps to ameliorate it in the interests of improving medical education and training.

Peer Review Publication Skills Matter for Academicians

Dear EditorOn July 21 (Sunday) and 23 (Tuesday) 2019, I had an opportunity to hold another workshop titled “How to write a scientific paper?” for Ph.D. students in Microbiology Department, Basic Sciences Faculty, the Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Tehran, Iran. I received brilliant feedback from the participants encouraging me to publish this letter to the editor.The difficult work of writing is an art like rasping and grinding a rough diamond to have a polished and smooth diamond (1) or like making a film (2). Publishing peer-reviewed papers is a criterion for evaluating academic professionals and is an effective means of forming an academic career and resume (3).As we know since the ancient era, the published texts are used as public official means to communicate with diverse people and populations. According to the latest archeological studies, the first handwriting belongs to 10400 years ago discovered in Baluchestan Province, the southeast of Iran (4).The primitive means of scripts have evolved and now we have high-tech tools to publish different types of scripts as softcopies and hardcopies, as well as traditional and online publications (4, 5). English as an international language may connect all people around the world. Therefore, publishing scholarly papers in English language journals promotes the visibility and citation of the papers (5, 6).A strong scientific paper needs a clear roadmap, a well-designed study, and an up-to-date quality proposal. Blurry hypothesis, poor-designed study, biases, inappropriate sample size (e.g., very small and limited populations or samples), and wrong or insufficient statistical analyses are the most common reasons for the rejection of papers (6-8).I as a non-native English-speaking author and reviewer believe that the non-native English-speaking authors should think, imagine, and write their manuscripts in English. Many young non-native English-speaking authors write their manuscripts in their native language and then translate into English. This is very harmful because it makes your manuscript of poor quality in academic English language, results in more probability of rejection (7). Consequently, in this challenge, the authors should prepare a well-planned manuscript with a strong and clear hypothesis (it goes back to the proposal) and relevant aims. Moreover, proper statistical analyses and calculations, correspondent methodology, appropriate and precise conclusion, sharp and clear figures, and well-designed and self-explanatory tables augment the opportunity of a manuscript for acceptance (Figure 1) (4, 6, 7, 9, 10). AcknowledgementsI have special thanks to Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Tehran, Iran for approving the perfomance of the workshop on “How to write a scientific paper?”. Conflict of InterestThe authors confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication, and there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.

Impact of Covid-19 on the Mental Health of Delta State University students, Nigeria.

Background and aim of the work:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a substantial psychological burden among students. This study aimed at evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of University Students and determining the prevalence of anxiety and depression.Methods:This cross-sectional descriptive study utilized an online questionnaire sent to students in the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Delta State University after ethical approval. The Generalized Anxiety and Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores were analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences and expressed using descriptive statistics and percentages. An independent t-test was used to determine the gender differences in the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores while Pearson’s correlation test was used to evaluate the association between these scores with age.Results:The 259 respondents comprised 118, 45.6% males and 141, 54.4% females with an average age of 21.50±2.04 years. The majority (149, 57.5%) were aged 21-25 years. The GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores did not show significant differences in age and gender. Moderate to severe anxiety and depression was established in 22.4% and 28.2% of the respondents respectively.Conclusion:This study has shown that the prevalence of anxiety and depression due to the pandemic bears no relationship with age and gender. This is however, different from previous reports perhaps due to the differences in the sample size, resource setting, timing of the study, and the courses the students studied.

Effects of Dacryodes edulis Leaf Extract on Pain and Inflammation

Background: Dacryodes edulis leaf extract is used in traditional settings in management of many disease conditions including pain and inflammation. However, these empirical claims have not been evaluated scientifically. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of ethanol leaf extract of Dacryodes edulis on pain and inflammation using rodents. Materials and Methods: Writhing test using acetic acid for induction of pain and tail-immersion in temperature controlled water were used to study the effect on pain sensation while xylene-induced ear oedema and carrageenan-induced paw oedema were used for the effect of Dacryodes edulis on inflammation. Male mice divided into seven groups and three different doses of extract viz,100mg/kg, 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg based on the results of the acute toxicity study and the mean effective dose study, ED50 were used for the study. Ethical approval was obtained from the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Calabar Animal Research Ethics Committee with number: 012PA31116. Results: 400mg/kg extract showed significant analgesic activity having 75% inhibition of pain in the writhing test while aspirin showed 80% inhibition of pain. The extract also significantly (p&lt;0.05) prolonged flick latency period comparable to morphine in tail immersion test. The extract caused 72% inhibition of xylene induced ear oedema compared to 91% of dexamethasone. Similarly it showed comparable activity (p&lt;0.05) with aspirin in the carrageenan-induced paw oedema. Conclusion: Dacryodes edulis leaf extract has activity against pain and inflammation. This validates its application in management of inflammation and pain in local settings.

The role of glass ceiling in women's promotion to managerial positions from the perspective of faculty members at Iran University of Medical Sciences.

BACKGROUND:In recent years, many changes have been observed in women's roles in organizations. In Iran, women face challenges to be promoted to high-level organizational positions. The present study aimed to examine the role of glass ceiling in promoting women to managerial positions from the perspective of the faculty members at Iran University of Medical Sciences.MATERIALS AND METHODS:This research was an applied study in terms of objectives and a descriptive-survey study in terms of data collection, variable monitoring and control, and generalizability. The statistical population of the study encompassed all clinical and basic sciences faculty members at Iran University of Medical Sciences in 2019–2020. The simple random sampling method was adopted, and the study instrument was the standard questionnaire of women's beliefs about glass ceiling developed by Smith (2012). To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential (namely paired-sample t-test and one-sample t-test) statistics were run in the SPSS software.RESULTS:The results revealed that glass ceiling dimensions could predict 48% of the variance of women's promotion to managerial positions. Furthermore, a significant difference was noticed between men and women's perspectives toward glass ceiling (P < 0.001); however, there was no significant difference between the two groups of clinical and basic sciences (P > 0.001).CONCLUSIONS:Failure to provide appropriate opportunities for qualified women to be promoted to managerial positions would result in nonexploitation of about half of the available capacities and talents. Women have unique abilities and soft skills in the human resource management. At the macro-level, policy-makers and planners to review the plans and delegation of organizational-managerial positions and also to further consider the role of women in managerial positions by observing gender justice and meeting criteria such as capability and expertise.

Influence of COVID-19 confinement on physics learning in engineering and science students

Due to the global alert about the risk of contagion and propagation of Covid-19, a situation that has changed in the educational processes, this has forced the system to migrate towards a more dynamic and connected model of teaching and learning, which has allowed not to interrupt and to continue with the training processes, in a remote and assisted way. In this research, the profile of the engineering and science student is analyzed, and its relationship with the learning of physics in this crisis. For this purpose, the technique of simple random sampling of a certain population was applied, a research instrument was designed and validated by pairs of experts, its reliability was established based on Cronbach’s Alpha test, and the instrument was applied to 354 students of the faculty of engineering and basic sciences, of the Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander, located in the city of Cúcuta, Colombia, during a 15-day time window, the analysis of the data and variables is carried out from the design of a mathematical model of logistic regression, where the dependent variable represents the feeling of emotional affect by the obligatory social isolation. The results indicated that the students feel emotionally affected in 88.56% generating implications in the learning of physics and in their academic performance, especially those who comply the profile: being female, single, not having received training in the use of digital platforms, without academic difficulties but who feel that their academic performance has been affected.

Efficiency Measurement for Hierarchical Network Systems Using Network DEA and Intuitionistic Fuzzy ANP

According to the high importance of the university in the growth and development of the country, the evaluation performance of educational and research groups in universities is very important. The black-box Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model is mathematical programming for measuring the relative efficiency of a set of DMUs, without considering the operations of the component processes that may have misleading results. To overcome this defect, network models are recommended. This paper intends to propose a hybrid Intuitionistic Fuzzy Analysis Network Process (IFANP) and Network DEA (NDEA) technique to evaluate the efficiency of the faculty of basic sciences of Islamic Azad University. The IFANP method is used to evaluate the overall weights among all the criteria and sub-criteria and these weights are used in the NDEA model to measure the relative efficiency of a system. The hypothetical example shows that the efficiency of all DMUs is equal to 1 by using the DEA, and there is no ranking between DMUs. The results of the IFANP-NDEA are more meaningful because of the full ranking of DMUs, considering component process operations. Also, it can prioritize efficient DMUs, provide the efficiencies of the DMU’s functions which enables managers to identify areas of weakness.

Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans.

Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans.

Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine.

East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine.

New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

New York University Grossman School of Medicine.