First Year Of Study Research Articles

Аналіз фізичного здоров′я студентів закладу вищої медичної освіти

The purpose of the study was to analyze the level of physical health of medical students and assess the factors that affect it. Materials and methods. 230 boys and girls of the first year of the medical faculty were examined in M. I. Pirogov Vinnytsa National Medical University at the age of 17 to 22 years. According to outpatient cards and the results of the survey, all students were classified as "practically healthy" and did not go in for professional sports. Assessment of the level of physical health was carried out according to the method of quantitative express assessment of the level of somatic health (G. L. Apanasenko). The physical activity of students, the nature of their diet, the presence or absence of bad habits were determined by the method of questioning. Results and discussion. According to the results of an express assessment of the level of somatic health, it was found that out of 230 first-year students, a high level of physical health was not recorded at all, 4.3% had above average, 22.6% had an average level, 31.7% had below average and 41.3% of students had a low level of physical health. According to gender, the results of the students were divided as follows: with an above average level of physical health there were 3 (2.1%) girls and 7 (7.8%) boys; with an average level – 30 (21.4%) girls and 22 (24.4%) boys; with below average level – 44 (31.4%) girls and 29 (32.2%) boys and a low level of physical health was observed in 63 (45%) girls and 32 (35.6%) boys. Boys and girls with a level of physical health above average were excluded from the study due to the low representativeness of the sample (3 girls and 7 boys). The rest made up groups with average (30 girls and 22 boys), below average (44 girls and 29 boys) and low (63 girls and 32 boys) levels of physical health. The study of physical activity showed that only 40% of girls and 68.2% of boys with an average level of physical health were engaged in non-professional sports. With a decrease in the level of physical health, the number of girls and boys who wanted to go in for sports decreased (p<0.001). Analyzing the nutrition of young people in the first year of study, we can say that for most students it was irrational. Only 60% of girls and 59.1% of boys with an average level of physical health ate rationally. Deterioration of nutrition had a negative impact on the formation of physical health (p<0.05). 7.9% of girls and 40.6% of boys had bad habits with a low level of physical health; 6.8% of girls and 31% of boys – with below average and 6.7% of girls and 31.8% of boys – with an average level of physical health. Conclusion. The vast majority of students had average, below average and low levels of physical health. Motor activity, quality of nutrition, bad habits influenced the formation of physical health

FORMATION OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCY OF FUTURE NURSES OVER THE COURSE OF MICROBIOLOGY

Currently there is a trend of constant growth in the role of nurses in the healthcare system. The issues of the formation of their professional competencies are in the focus of many academic disciplines, including microbiology, which is an obligatory educational component in the nursing program. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to highlight the formation of professional competencies of future nurses over the studying the academic discipline "Microbiology". According to the requirements of the educational and professional program "Nursing" of the first (bachelor's) level of higher education in the specialty 223 Nursing (22 Health care), the discipline "Microbiology" is taught over the second semester of the first year of study. In order to implement the competency-based approach, we have designed educational and methodological support for training specialists in the specialty "Nursing" using the latest technologies for presenting material; as well as have elaborated the tasks of different types and levels helping master knowledge and motivate students; various forms and methods of the educational process are being improved. Thus, the academic discipline "Microbiology" is aimed providing sound background for further study of theoretical and clinical disciplines during the Bachelor of Nursing program.

Motivacija za učenje matematike kod budućih učitelja razredne nastave

The aim of the study was to explore pre-service primary school teachers' motivational beliefs about mathematics in the light of the expectancy-value theory. We wanted to find out to what extent the motivational beliefs of pre-service teachers are related to their previous experiences in mathematics and to their engagement in learning mathematics and mathematics anxiety. The participants were 237 pre-service primary school teachers in their first year of study. They completed a mathematics exam and a questionnaire on their motivational beliefs (self-efficacy and subjective value), previous experiences in mathematics (level of high school math program, mathematics competencies, epistemic beliefs and achievement goals during high school), engagement and mathematics anxiety. The results of hierarchical regression analyses show that previous experiences with mathematics are important predictors of self-efficacy and subjective value. Furthermore, motivational beliefs are significant predictors of the pre-service teachers' engagement in learning mathematics and mathematics anxiety, along with their previous experiences with mathematics. The results are in line with the expectancy- -value theory and indicate that it is important to foster the development of adaptive beliefs about mathematics during the initial education of pre-service teachers.

FORMATION OF SENSE OF SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL SECURITY IN STUDENTS OF ECONOMIC AND LEGAL SPECIALTIES

The article presents the results of an empirical study of the features and factors of formation of socio-psychological security of young people in southern Ukraine. It was conducted a survey of 208 students majoring in Law and Economics (aged 16–26, 67,8% of women). It was used Questionnaire-self-report T.V. Eksakusto which allows to assess the harmony, satisfaction and security of the subject in interpersonal relationships (cognitive, emotional and conative components of the sense of socio-psychological security). The author analyzed the distribution of answers to individual questions concerning means and conditions of maintaining the psychological integrity of the subject of relations. The results of comparative analysis of subsamples of students from different bachelor’s and master’s undergraduate courses showed the rapid dynamics of the formation of all components of socio-psychological security during university studies, which is associated with the acquisition of personal maturity and professional competencies. Significant differences were found, showing the influence of family and gender factors: lower levels of psychological protection in girls compared to boys, as well as numerous benefits sense of security in married people. Conclusions are made about the need for purposeful formation of skills of safe interpersonal interaction of students starting from the first year of study.

Measuring the Effect of Student Loans on College Persistence

Abstract Governments around the world use grant and loan programs to ease the financial constraints that contribute to socioeconomic gaps in college completion. A growing body of research assesses the impact of grants; less is known about how loan programs affect persistence and degree completion. We use detailed administrative data from Chile to provide rigorous regression discontinuity-based evidence on the impacts of loan eligibility for university students who retake the national admission test after their first year of studies. Those who score above a certain threshold become eligible for loans covering around 85 percent of tuition costs for the duration of their program. We find that access to loans increases by 20 percentage points the fraction who return to university for a second year, with two thirds of the effect arising from a reduction in transfers to vocational colleges and one third from a decline in the share who stop postsecondary schooling altogether. The longer-run impacts are smaller but remain highly significant, with a 12 percentage point impact on the fraction of marginally eligible retakers who complete a bachelor's degree.

СОСТОЯНИЕ ЗДОРОВЬЯ ПОДРОСТКОВ, ОБУЧАЮЩИХСЯ В УЧРЕЖДЕНИЯХ НАЧАЛЬНОГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

Introduction. Vocational education institutions are characterized by the impact of a set of diverse risk factors that are potentially dangerous to the health of student adolescents and can lead to illness. And this raises questions of preserving the health of the future labor potential as a priority task and requires the development and implementation of new methodological approaches to improve and organize medical care. Aim. The aim was to study the morbidity of students to assess the dynamics of changes in the state of health of students during the period of initial vocational train- ing with further development of preventive measures. Material and methods. The data of a comprehensive medical examination, questionnaires on the identification and prevalence of complaints about the state of health, indicators of chronic morbidity in students of primary vocational education institutions have been analyzed. Results and discus- sion. In comparison with the first year of study, the incidence of diseases of the nervous system increases by 43,8%, diseases of the digestive system – 41,7%, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue – 29,5%, diseases of the eye and its accessory apparatus – 13,4% and for diseases of the genitourinary system - by 12,8%. In adolescents studying in different working conditions, there is a repeated frequency of complaints of a different nature. Among the trainees of the oil and gas production operator and carpenter, a high frequency of complaints was noted from the urinary system, skin and allergic reactions; carpet weaver - from the nervous, musculoskeletal system, skin and vision; in adolescent seamstresses - from the nervous, cardiovascular system with frequent allergic reactions; adolescents who are trained as chefs have a higher prevalence of complaints related to the cardiovascular system and allergic reactions. Conclusion. Despite the short contact of students with various production factors during labor training, unfavorable occupational and production risk factors can cause disruption of the regulatory mechanisms of physiological adaptation in adolescents.

Investigating the risk factors for academic difficulties in the medical programme at a South African university

BackgroundThe National Benchmark Test (NBT) that determines academic readiness is widely used by Faculties as an additional measure to select students for the study of medicine. Despite this, many students continue to experience academic challenges that culminate in delayed graduation and sometimes academic exclusion or discontinuation of studies.AimThis study aimed to understand academic and non-academic variables linked with academic difficulties in the first three years of medical education.MethodsThe study sample consisted of six cohorts of medical students for the period 2011 to 2016 (n = 1392). Only the first three of the six-year medical programme were selected for analysis. Survival analysis and Cox Proportional Hazard (CPH) was used to identify academic and non-academic variables associated with academic difficulties.ResultsA total of 475 students (34%) experienced academic difficulty; 221 (16%) in the first year of study, 192 (14%) in the second year and 62 (5%) in the third year of study. The results show that Intermediate Upper, Lower and Basic levels for all NBT domains, living in university residence, rurality and male gender were risk factors for academic difficulty.ConclusionIn mitigating these factors, the NBT must inform the type of support programmes to augment the students' skills and promote academic success. Additionally, existing support programmes should be evaluated to ascertain if they reach students at risk and whether participating in these programmes yield positive academic outcomes.

Assessment of the motivations of the professional activity of doctors at the initial stage of studying at the Institute of Osteopathy (Moscow)

Introduction. Motivational factors are determinants of well-being and quality of life in professional activity. Motivation of medical workers is mainly determined by such factors as the possibility of self-realization, achievement of respect and interest in the content of work.The aim to assess the motives of professional activity of future osteopathic physicians.Materials and methods. A questionnaire was administered to 62 physicians of various specialties during their first year of study according to the Educational Program for Additional Professional Education of Professional Retraining for 3 504 hours in the specialty «Osteopathy» at the Institute of Osteopathy (Moscow). The average age of those surveyed was about 37,8±7,4 years, of whom 27 individuals were male and 35 — female. And they were split into two age groups: 38 people under 40 years old and 24 people over 40 years old. All surveyed people were also divided into two groups according to their medical specialty: therapists (42 people) and surgeons (20 people). We also formed two groups based on the place of residence: those from Moscow and St. Petersburg (33 people) and those arriving from other regions (29 people). Motivational interviewing was performed using a software psychodiagnostic complex APC Multipsychometer. The «Motivational Profile» psychological questionnaire was used to assess professionally significant motives of professional activity. The assessed indicators were: money, career, relationships with management, relationships with colleagues, intrinsic (inner) motivation, recognition, success, responsibility and interesting work. Mathematical processing of the obtained research materials was carried out on a PC using Statistica 6.0 application software packages. In psychophysiology, it is generally accepted to translate «raw» grades (scores) into standard «sten» (sn) grades using tables. Linear conversion of «raw» scores into standardized scales (stens) was carried out using Statistica 6.0 and Excel.Results. The highest values of the indicators were noted on the scales of interesting work and intrinsic motivation (over 7 sn). Success and responsibility scales also showed high values (6,3–6,8 sn). The career and relations with management values (4,3 sn) were below the average alongside with the relations with colleagues scales (3,6 sn). The results of factor analysis showed that in 68,4 % cases the linear combination of initial attributes of surveyed doctors was determined by 3 main factors: responsibility (35,2 %), attitude to recognition and career (17 %) and the level of relationships with colleagues (16,2 %). Responsibility for professional performance was more pronounced for men (19,3 %; p<0,03) than for women. For women, however, the motif of relations with colleagues had greater value by 28,1 % (p<0,03). In the age group up to 40 years old, the values of the career indicator were greater by 33,3 % (p<0,05), compared to those aged 41 and over, where the expression of the management relation motif was 25,6 % greater (p<0,05). The correlation of expression of professional motives with the region of doctors′ residence has been revealed. The money motive was 20,4 % higher for those living in peripheral regions of Russia (Altai, Siberia, Ural, South of Russia) in comparison with those living in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It was also found that doctors with up to 20 years of medical experience had a greater importance of motives regarding career and responsibility (43,3 %; p<0,05) than those with more than 20 years of experience (36,2 %; p<0,05). The importance of money as a motive was 24 % greater (p<0,05) if the duration of work experience was 20 years or more. The comparative characteristic of the indicators of motives in connection with the medical specialty (therapeutic, surgical) before admission to study did not reveal any significant differences.Conclusion. There has been established leading role of internal motivation and high responsibility factors, not related to monetary reward. The indicators varied depending on the gender, length of service and the region of residence of the doctors.

Perceptions of Nursing Graduates regarding the Bachelor of Nursing Science Curriculum Offered by the University of Namibia

The curriculum forms the vital foundation for ensuring the success of a nursing programme. The theoretical content imparted to students and their practical competence rely on the curriculum offered by the institution. Accordingly, curriculum weaknesses and challenges do not only affect the institution, but also graduates’ competence. Nursing students’ perceptions of the curriculum can be used to align it to meet its intended outcomes and goals. Nursing graduates’ perceptions of the Bachelor of Nursing Science curriculum offered by the University of Namibia have not been extensively researched. This study sought to explore and describe the perceptions of nursing graduates regarding the Bachelor of Nursing Science curriculum offered by the University of Namibia, using a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design. Purposive sampling was used where a total of 18 fourth-year nursing graduates at the University of Namibia were approached individually to participate in the study. Data were collected using individual, semi-structured interviews and were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. The following themes subsequently emerged from the study, namely: personal understanding of the curriculum; mode of delivery; challenges regarding theory and clinical competence; competence in readiness to start practising; and mechanisms for improvement. The findings of this study call for well-articulated plans from faculty management teams to use these study findings to inform future curriculum review processes. It is recommended that the first-aid module be offered as a core module in the first year of study. In addition, the existing two-week block system should be extended into a four-week system to enable theory to be integrated into practice.

A Comparison Study of Students Performance for Vector Calculus Subject

The research objective was to compare the performance of Engineering students in a pretest and post-test of Vector Calculus subject between programmes during their first year of study at the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment (FKAB), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). This paper also aims to investigate the student's knowledge in Vector Calculus, particularly in main topics including partial derivatives, vector functions, line integrals, double integrals, triple integrals, Green's Theorem, Stokes' theorem, Gauss' theorem, and basic differentiation and integration of complex functions. Each topic is included in Course learning outcomes to analyze either the students show a good or bad performance for Vector calculus subject. 412 first year engineering students from different programmes JKAS, JKMB, JKKP and JKEES were needed to seat for pretest and post-test (Test 1, 2 and 3). The pretest was performed in early of the semester, while the post-test was held afterwards. The analysis results revealed that the performance of students in the post-test was outstanding to their pretest performance. Data analysis of student performance indicated that most students did not seem to understand the basic ideas in each chapter prior to the beginning of the semester.

Exploring College Adjustment in First-Year Gen Z Medical Students and Its Contributing Factors

First-year medical students need to adjust to university life to achieve optimal education. Notably, generation Z (Gen Z) students recently admitted to medical school possess unique characteristics that may affect their adjustment. However, limited studies have evaluated the adjustment of Gen Z medical students. In line with this, the present study explores the adjustment process of Gen Z medical students in their first year of study. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological study was held from January 2020 to October 2020. The respondents comprised first-year students from two medical institutions. Maximum variation sampling was applied to select the respondents. Moreover, 11 focus group discussions (FGDs) with students and 10 in-depth interviews with lecturers were conducted. Curriculum documents were examined, and then the data were analysed thematically. Results: Three themes were identified: i) domain; ii) process and iii) contributing factors to college adjustment. Academic, social and personal-emotional components of adjustment were included in the domain theme. The process theme consisted of transition, transitiontransformation and transformation phases. Meanwhile, the contributing factors consisted of existing and supportive factors. Student characteristics, including demographics, mentality, prior educational experiences and social support, were considered the existing factors, while technology, learning system and well-being constituted the supporting factors. Conclusion: College adjustment involves various domains, processes and contributing factors that are unique to Gen Z characteristics, technology dependence and culture. Therefore, well-prepared faculties are needed to support the adjustment of Gen Z students.

Trajectories of Resilience in University Inductees following Outdoor Adventure (OA) Residential Programmes

Even before COVID-19, university inductees were vulnerable to transitional stressors, which impact upon their psychological well-being and ability to complete their studies. Resilience, as a psychological construct, may be analogous to holding the functioning that supports higher-level academic performance in twenty-first century higher education (HE). Given the significant investment HE requires, coupled with students’ capacity to develop their resilience, universities may be expected to promote psychological resilience in new students. Linking HE to resilience, outdoor adventure (OA) residential programmes have enabled inductees to build components of resilience (i.e., increased self-perception, feelings of control, and intrapersonal relationships) that may heighten their immediate and longer-term academic performance. Yet, few studies have examined the sustainability of these effects. Across five annual cohorts, the self-perceived resilience of 2500 inductees was profiled across three time-point trajectories: (i) pre-OA programme, (ii) post-OA programme, and (iii) three months post-OA programme. Further, the functionality of inductees’ enduring resilience was evaluated for predicting their prospective academic performance at the end of their first year of study. Students’ self-perceived resilience, well-being, and positive recollection of OA experiences reflected their bounce-back ability and a healthy trajectory of productive functioning. Students reporting higher levels of resilience after three months of following the programme were more likely to achieve better prospective academic outcomes. The large sample size ensured that a powerful detection of change was established across time. However, given the absence of a comparison condition across all time points, any lasting improvements in students’ resilience was unable to be attributed to the OA programme. Nonetheless, the results give significant grounds for further research in this direction, including the study of more distinct narrative enquiries at follow-up. In this way, pedagogical practices, supporting effective interventions, may be deployed with incoming students, with the aim of building and maintaining students’ on-going resilience across different learning contexts.

How to Smooth International University Students’ Adaptation in Ukraine

The article is devoted to an important problem of international students’ adaptation in host countries. They face a lot of cross-cultural adaptation problems, especially in their first year of study. The problem concerns Ukraine, as well, for an increasing number of international students come to get higher education. Hence, the purpose of the research is to reveal major difficulties of international students in Ukraine and to design a programme of activities aimed at assisting them in their cross-cultural adaptation in this country. The research procedure involved 5 stages. In the first stage theoretical background for the research was prepared: international and national scientific literature review on the problem. The second stage included the identification of target groups, pedagogical observation and working out a self-designed questionnaire. The respondent group consisted of 60 international students of the first year of study in Ukraine, namely on the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels from 3 Kyiv universities. Next, after receiving the students’ consent to participate in the research, they were handed the designed questionnaire. The fourth stage was aimed at collecting the quantitative data and their analyzing. It resulted in identification of challenges, problems and difficulties of the international students’ cross-cultural adaptation in Ukraine. In the final stage a special programme of activities was worked out to make cross-cultural adaptation of international university students in Ukraine smoother and less stressful. This methodology allowed to identify, evaluate and systemize the most typical challenges, problems and difficulties. Thanks to the analysis, 3 categories of them were distinguished: linguistic, academic and socio-cultural. On their basis a special cross-cultural programme of activities and recommendations in different environments (linguistic, academic, socio-cultural) which correlate with the identified problems was designed for university staff (teachers and administration), campus staff, students’ councils and host country students. It is planned to introduce the research results and the designed programme in the educational process of the universities. Their implementation is believed to facilitate cross-cultural adaptation process of international students and to make it less painful.

It\u2019s how we practice that matters: professional identity formation and legitimate peripheral participation in medical students: a qualitative study

BackgroundThe process of Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) within a community of practice framework (CoP) was used to explore graduate entry medical students’ professional identity formation (PIF) during their first year of study. A conceptual model has been developed that can be used by medical educators to better understand PIF and to aid the explicit incorporation of PIF activity within the undergraduate curriculum.MethodsTen students from one UK medical school participated in the longitudinal study and were interviewed at three points during the first year. Semi-structured group interviews were used to explore students’ experience of the clinical environment and the nature of their interactions with both clinicians and patients in a community-based medicine practice. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to identify overarching themes which are represented as facets in the model of PIF.ResultsResults demonstrate that students are legitimately peripherally participating within both medical student CoPs and wider medical CoPs. Themes identified within the narratives have allowed the development of a new model to understand PIF within the context of LPP in a CoP. This has five facets: Awareness, Collaboration, Negotiation, Evaluation and Realisation. Sophisticated reflection-in-action is shown to be an important aspect of PIF and enables a more conscious understanding of the change that is occurring in our students.ConclusionPIF is a complex, non-linear process that is supported by reflection-in-action and early student introduction to clinical practice. It can be recognised in students’ narratives in their changing use of language, their understanding of the medical COP, and their evolving relational participation with those around them. This study adds to those that have previously explored PIF. The model of PIF developed in this study illustrates how experiences in the clinical environment support PIF. Medical educators may find this model helpful when considering how PIF can be explicitly encouraged in the medical curriculum and how reflection may be used for the purpose of identity change.

Drivers of iPad use by undergraduate medical students: the Technology Acceptance Model perspective

BackgroundMedical students need to acquire a continuously growing body of knowledge during their training and throughout their practice. Medical training programs should aim to provide students with the skills to manage this knowledge. Mobile technology, for example, could be a strategy used through training and practice. The objective of this study was to identify drivers of using mobile technology (an iPad) in a UGME preclinical settings and to study the evolution of those drivers over time.MethodsWe solicited all students from two cohorts of a preclinical component of a Canadian UGME program. They were asked to answer two online surveys: one on their first year of study and another on the second year. Surveys were built based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to which other factors were also added. Data from the two cohorts were combined and analysed with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to test two measurement models, one for each year.ResultsWe tested fifteen hypotheses on both data sets (first year and second year). Factors that explained the use of an iPad the first year were knowledge, preferences, perceived usefulness and anticipation. In the second year, perceived usefulness, knowledge and satisfaction explained the use of an iPad. Other factors have also significantly, but indirectly influenced the use of the iPad.ConclusionsWe identified factors that influenced the use of an iPad in a preclinical medical program. These factors differed from the first year to the second year in the program. Our results suggest that interventions should be tailored for different point in time to foster the use of an iPad. Further study should investigate how interventions based on these factors may influence implementation of mobile technology to help students acquire ability to navigate efficiently through medical knowledge.

Honoring Student “Voice” in Investigating Student Identity Development in a Narrative Study: A Methodological and Analytical Example

Multiple, interrelated narrative methods were employed in a doctoral study purposed to investigate the student identity development of seven first-year participants. This approach provided them with multiple opportunities to convey their unique first-year experiences and revealed rich understandings of how they constructed their identities at a private higher education provider in Johannesburg, South Africa. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that fostering the trust of participants ensured the formation of rich biographical narrative portraits through multiple narrative-type collection methods and forms of analyses, resulting in rich tapestries of personal experience, which were constitutive of their identity formation. Each participant’s narratives revealed their particularities, complexities, and unique experiences of their first year. Although each participant experienced their first year of study very differently, this article weaves in the first-year experiences of one person into its fabric. The narrations of Kondwani (pseudonym), a Zambian student, are used to illustrate how her voice emerged and was held in a trustful research relationship. Her case is representative of all the participants in that it is an exemplar to illustrate the richness of the individual narratives gleaned from carefully chosen methods and forms of analysis that were employed in the study.

Effects of subsoiling tillage on structure, permeability, and crop yields on compacted Solonetzic and Chernozemic dryland soils in Western Canada

Compaction induced by field wheel traffic and dense layers in the subsoil may adversely alter soil structure, impede soil aeration, restrict water infiltration and nutrient uptake, and inhibit plant root development, negatively affecting plant yields. Reclaiming compacted Chernozemic and Solonetzic soils with hardpan B horizons may be possible through subsoiling operations to loosen the soil to depth, e.g. ~0.30 m. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of subsoiling on soil physical properties and plant yield in wheel traffic compacted and non-compacted Chernozemic and Solonetzic soils in southern Saskatchewan Canada. Subsoiling increased air permeability in the compacted Chernozemic soil from 4.5x10-7 m sec-1 to 2.9x10-6 m sec-1. In the compacted Solonetzic soil, subsoiling significantly decreased soil cone index to 1579 kPa compared to 2376 kPa in the non-subsoiled treatment. Crop yields (hard red spring wheat, dry peas) in the two years following the treatment were similar among tillage and compaction treatments in the Chernozemic soil. However, subsoiling of the compacted Solonetzic soil resulted in a seed yield increase of canola of ~ 1000 kg ha-1 in the first year of study and no treatment effect in the second year when wheat was grown. Overall, subsoiling of the compacted soils tended to improve soil physical properties, especially in the Solonetzic soils.

Composition and Distribution on a Host of Avian Lice of White Storks in North-Eastern Algeria

The diversity and spatial distribution of ectoparasites of a large colony of white stork Ciconia ciconia at Dréan, in north-eastern Algeria, were investigated during two consecutive breeding seasons. The results indicated that nestlings were infested by the following four louse species: Colpocephalum zebra (Burmeister, 1838), Neophilopterus incompletus (Denny, 1842), Ardeicola ciconiae (Linnaeus, 1758), and Ciconiphilus quadripustulatus (Burmeister, 1838). Overall, the distribution of chewing lice exhibited a clustered distribution, with C. zebra being the most frequent species, with a prevalence of 39.6% and 41.0% in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Our results also suggested niche partitioning among the four louse species within the host’s body parts. A generalized additive model indicated that size, sex, and year influenced the abundance of ectoparasites; the abundance of chewing lice increased with the size of the host and was greater in females, as well as in the first year of study. Further studies are needed to explore the spatio-temporal variability in white storks’ lice infestations.

MATERIALS FOR TEACHING THE TERMINOLOGY OF BODY SYSTEMS IN ENGLISH FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES. A SAMPLE COURSE

Teaching the terminology of body systems in medical English is a priority for the language lecturer, because in Romania body systems are included in the medical curriculum from the first year of study. This article forwards a sample of an English course for medical students structured around the topic “The Cardiovascular System. Anatomy, Physiology and Semiology”, whose aim is to develop different language skills, by means of original, home-grown exercises.

Adaptation to university studies affects on functional state of freshmen

According to different researches, 30% of university graduates have a low level of health, and studying at university is one of the factors of its deterioration, besides the first year is considered critical. The purpose of research is to study the dynamics of physical development, physical fitness and functional state of young men during the first year of university studies. For the survey we used standard measurements and index calculations for 11 indicators of physical development, 9 indicators of physical fitness and 15 indicators of functional status. We calculated the arithmetic mean (M), the standard error of the mean (m), then evaluated differences by the Student criterion (t) for independent samples and considered them as reliable atр < 0.05. It is shown that during the first year of studies, young men have an increase in the Erismann index, the corpulence (Rohrer’s) index, the body mass index and a decrease in the Pignet index. There is also an increase in the coefficient of endurance, adaptive capacity and diastolic pressure, while vital capacity of the lungs, the vital index, time of hanging on the bar and the speed of running 1000 m decrease. The dynamics of physical development is expressed in a change in mass-growth indices and indicates an increase in body weight. The dynamics of physical fitness is expressed in a decrease of the time of hanging on the bar and the speed of running 1000 m. The dynamics of the functional state is expressed in a decrease of vital capacity of the lungs, vital index, increase in the coefficient of endurance, adaptive capacity and diastolic blood pressure.