The impact and effectiveness of faculty development program in fostering the faculty’s knowledge,skills, and professional competence: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundFaculty vitality is the main ingredient to enhance professional education and competence. Enriching the faculty vitality in key domains of teaching, assessing, research, professionalism, and administration is perceived to improve educational environment significantly and enhances the academic performance of learners. Faculty development program (FDP) has been considered as a stand-alone educational pedagogy in fostering knowledge and professional skills of faculty. However, few studies have provided objective reports about the impact of such programs in a healthcare system.MethodsThis research was conducted by selecting data sources of PubMed-Medline, Wiley online library, Cochrane library, Taylor & Francis Online, CINAHL, Springer link, Proquest, ISI Web of knowledge, ScienceDirect, EJS, EBSCO, Blackwell, Emerald and ABI Inform. This search followed a step-wise approach defined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). A total of 37 studies that explored the impact of FDPs on medical and allied health faculty’s professional development were selected.ResultsThis meta-analysis reported a mean effect size of 0.73 that reflects a significant and positive impact of FDPs in enhancing faculty’s knowledge and professional competence (z-statistics of 4.46 significant at p-value < 0.05) using the random effects model and forest plot.ConclusionThis article reiterates the incorporation of FDPs in all healthcare institutions for improving the academic performance of faculty with resultant enrichment of learners’ knowledge and skills.     

A Biofeedback System of Baroreceptor Cardiac Reflex Sensitivity

The evidence presently available suggests that the parasympathetic nervous system and sympathetic-parasympathetic interactions could play a role in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disorders and, specifically, in hypertension. A loss of sensitivity of the baroreceptor reflex is one of the fundamental mechanisms underlying the deficits found in parasympathetic cardiac control. The baroreceptor reflex is a basic mechanism for the regulation of blood pressure, a powerful source of vagal afferent input to the central nervous system, and one of the most important physiological mechanisms affecting efferent cardiac vagal activity. This paper describes a computerized system for the on-line analysis of the baroreceptor cardiac reflex function using the noninvasive spontaneous sequence method in the time domain. The system provides feedback of the baroreceptor reflex sensitivity (the change in heart period per unit change in systolic blood pressure) differentially both when the systolic blood pressure is increasing and when it is decreasing. The accuracy of the described system has been tested against the conventional off-line procedure. None of the parameters supplied by the analysis show a significant difference between the on-line and off-line methods. These results confirm the accuracy of the on-line system to analyze baroreceptor cardiac reflex function.     

Trace elements in coronary heart disease

Concentrations of 14 trace elements (Bi, Cd, Co, Cs, Cu, Hg, Mn, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sn, Sr, Tl, and Zn) were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in 120 whole-blood and 121 plasma samples of 56 patients with angiographically documented coronary heart disease (CHD). One serum and two wholeblood reference materials were analyzed for quality control. At baseline, patients had elevated Co plasma as well as diminished Cu blood concentrations compared to healthy adults. The Zn concentrations in whole blood were below or at the lower end of the normal range, but the concentrations in plasma were elevated. All other trace elements were within the normal concentration ranges for healthy adults. After initial investigations, patients were randomly assigned to an experimental group (N = 27) and to a usual care group (N = 29). Experimental group patients were prescribed a lifestyle program that included a low-fat diet and a weekly moderate exercise. Patients were examined at baseline, after 6 and 12 mo for clinical assessment and fasting venous blood samples. No significant time-course changes in concentrations of trace elements in blood and plasma during the clinical treatment in both groups of patients could be observed. The experimental group patients lost weight and had lower blood pressure after 12 mo compared to baseline. The interventional therapy reduced the need for further revascularization procedures.     

微生物絮凝剂产生菌的筛选和发酵条件研究

设计了微生物絮凝剂产生菌菌种筛选模型,并从土壤和活性污泥中筛选到５１株絮凝剂产生菌,经复筛获得两株絮凝活性较高的菌株,分别定名为Ｎｏｃａｒｄｉａ,ＪＩＭ－８９和ＪＩＭ－１２７。对两株菌的发酵条件,特别是培养基组成,进行了初步研究。两株菌所产生的絮凝剂,对大肠杆菌悬液２０ｍｉｎ的絮凝活性在１０００ｕ／ｍｌ,最高可达１２４８ｕ／ｍｌ。     

Cytology is useful in breast screening: results and long-term follow-up of the Singapore Breast Screening Pilot Project

OBJECTIVE: The Singapore Breast Screening Pilot Project (SBSPP) was embarked upon (1994-1997) to determine if mammography was useful in early breast cancer detection among Asian women. PATIENTS AND MEASUREMENTS: Of 28 231 women screened, fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was performed in 232 individuals as part of the triple assessment. RESULTS: Absolute and complete sensitivities for the diagnosis of carcinoma were 46.7% and 82.2%, respectively, based on the results of FNAC. Specificity was 63.3%. The inadequate rate was 31%. Five women who were considered cancer-free on triple assessment and, in two cases open diagnostic biopsy during the SBSPP, subsequently developed breast cancer after a median follow-up of 6 years. CONCLUSION: Although our FNAC results compared relatively well with international standards, they reflect a small cohort, and may face additional difficulties in a larger programme.     

Coordination of wing motion and walking suggests common control of zigzag motor program in a male silkworm moth

The male silkworm moth, Bombyx mori, exhibits a zigzagging pattern as it walks upwind to pheromones. This species usually does not fly, but obvious wing-beating accompanies the pheromone-mediated walking. Males supported by a `sled', after having their legs removed, also moved upwind in a pheromone plume along zigzagging tracks, indicating that wing-generated thrust and torque result in locomotory paths similar to those observed from walking moths. Using a high-speed video system we investigated the correlation between the wing movements and zigzag walking. The wing ipsilateral to the direction of the turn showed a greater degree of retraction with respect to the contralateral wing. The timing of the wing retraction pattern was synchronized with changes of direction in the walking track. Coordination of wing movements and walking pattern was not dependent on visual feedback or sensory feedback generated from neck movements associated with turning. The results presented here, taken together with our previous studies of descending interneurons suggest that the coordination of wing movements with the walking pattern may result from the activity of a set of identified interneurons descending from the brain to the thoracic ganglia and/or may be coordinated by coupling of oscillating circuits for walking and wing beating. Accepted: 15 May 1997     

Boosting protein stability with the computational design of β‐sheet surfaces

β‐sheets often have one face packed against the core of the protein and the other facing solvent. Mutational studies have indicated that the solvent‐facing residues can contribute significantly to protein stability, and that the preferred amino acid at each sequence position is dependent on the precise structure of the protein backbone and the identity of the neighboring amino acids. This suggests that the most advantageous methods for designing β‐sheet surfaces will be approaches that take into account the multiple energetic factors at play including side chain rotamer preferences, van der Waals forces, electrostatics, and desolvation effects. Here, we show that the protein design software Rosetta, which models these energetic factors, can be used to dramatically increase protein stability by optimizing interactions on the surfaces of small β‐sheet proteins. Two design variants of the β‐sandwich protein from tenascin were made with 7 and 14 mutations respectively on its β‐sheet surfaces. These changes raised the thermal midpoint for unfolding from 45°C to 64°C and 74°C. Additionally, we tested an empirical approach based on increasing the number of potential salt bridges on the surfaces of the β‐sheets. This was not a robust strategy for increasing stability, as three of the four variants tested were unfolded.