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Introduction Efficient delivery of medical education (ME) is crucial to improving the standards of future physicians or clinicians. India has been experiencing an enormous increase in medical colleges and student admissions into medicine. This has resulted in overcrowding and compromised the student-to-teacher ratio. Conversely, students and teachers face difficulties with learning and teaching, respectively. Classroom assessment techniques (CATs) offer an egalitarian and productive approach to student learning and evaluation. This study was conducted to understand the role of CATs in improving student learning and motivation during community medicine lectures. Further, this study assessed the classroom teaching and learning (TL) process. Method This study included 100 third-year medical students pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and 12 faculty members working at Great Eastern Medical School and Hospital (GEMS&H), Srikakulam, India. To facilitate learning and boost motivation, this study applied three CATs including a one-minute paper (OMP), muddiest point (MP), and student-generated test questions (SGTQs). After two months of applying CATs, the teachers and students were asked for feedback on their experiences. The data generated from feedback forms were tabulated and analyzed. Results According to 76% (76/100) of students, these strategies have stimulated their interest in learning community medicine. Besides, 64% (64/100) of students believed utilizing these strategies would improve their exam outcomes. Further, 77% (77/100) of students believed these methods must be applied in subsequent lessons. About 68% (68/100) of students thought other subject teachers should also employ these strategies. Of the 12 faculty members included in the study, they mostly liked the OMP (5; 41.66%) and MP technique (5; 41.66%). Conclusions Teachers and students have highly welcomed the utility of CATs to improve learning in community medicine. Of the three CATs applied, the OMP was the most popular with students, and teachers agreed that using OMP in the classroom along with MP would be beneficial. Most students and teachers were enthusiastic about employing additional TL strategies like CATs.
RESUMO
Introduction Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world and unless diagnosed timely has limited options for treatment. Paraoxonase (PON) is a glycosylated protein that has been implicated in antioxidant and other biochemical functions. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is an esterase associated with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles. The present study was carried out to assess the PON1 activity and compare it with the standard liver function tests (LFTs) in assessing the predictability of liver damage among patients diagnosed with HCC. Methods This case-control study was carried out in the Department of Biochemistry attached to Great Eastern Medical School and Hospital, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. Serum PON1 activities and LFTs like total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein, and albumin were estimated in 30 patients diagnosed with HCC and 30 healthy persons. All the parameters were estimated using standard biochemical methods. The data was analyzed using GraphPad Prism version 6.0 (GraphPad Software, Inc). A probability (p) value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was performed to assess the area under the curve (AUC) for accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic efficiency. Results The serum activities of PON1 had identical sensitivity (70%) to albumin (70%) and were superior to other tested parameters. Additionally, PON1 activities showed lower specificity (86.67%) than the other tested parameters. ROC analysis showed increased diagnostic efficacy (DE) of PON1 (DE=78.3%; p<0.0001) when compared with total bilirubin (DE=76.6%; p=0.0039), direct bilirubin (DE=74.9%; p=0.04), ALT (DE=73.30%; p=0.0006), and total protein (DE=71.6%; p=0.0005). However, the DE of PON1 was comparable with AST (DE=81.60%; p<0.0001), ALP (DE=79.9%; p<0.0001), and albumin (DE=83.30%, p<0.0001). Conclusions Serum activities of PON1 could be used as a diagnostic marker for assessing liver damage among HCC patients.
