Development and Validation of e-Portfolio for Undergraduate Medical Students in Pediatrics.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate e-portfolios for undergraduate medical students in the subject of Pediatrics. METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted among the second year medical undergraduate students. A core committee validated the E-portfolio created on the Google platform. The students were sensitized, trained on the platform, and encouraged to innovate by designing the e-portfolios themselves, and record their clinical experiences under the mentorship of faculty. The feedback was collected using a validated student and faculty questionnaire with closed and open ended questions. Satisfaction index was calculated based on the responses to closed ended questions using Likert scale. Open ended questions were analyzed using thematic approach. RESULTS: The study enrolled 34 students and 12 faculty members. Students recorded a high satisfaction index on their experience to be interesting (97%), well structured (85%), user-friendly (82%), and on being able to archive their clinical experiences (100%). Faculty members recorded a high satisfaction index (100%) in students' ability to record their clinical knowledge and reflect on their learning and innovation; all were motivated to use e-portfolios in their specialty. The thematic analysis highlighted student satisfaction with accessibility and organized record-keeping, while faculty praised e-portfolios for nurturing creativity and aiding memory retention. Concerns included resource intensiveness, design prioritization, and privacy issues. CONCLUSION: E-portfolios are rated as promising tools to record comprehensive clinical experience in pediatric by undergraduate students and faculty. Addressing identified challenges will further optimize their adoption in medical curriculum, facilitating informed integration decisions.

Pottels Equation for Estimation of Glomerular Filtration Rate.

The retrospective study was carried out to examine performance of Pottels height- independent equation compared to Schwartzs height-dependent equation to estimate glomerular filtration rate in 115 children in Indian setting. The Pottels equation performed well compared to updated Schwartz equation (R2=0.94, mean bias 0.25, 95% LOA=20.4, -19.9). The precision was better at lower range of estimated GFR.

Impacts of quicklime (CaO) on the toxicity of copper (CuSO4, 5H2O) to fish and fish food organisms.

Static bioassays of 96 h duration were conducted in the laboratory using fry of common carp (Cyprinus carpio), adult tubificid worm (Branchiura sowerbyi) and adult copepod plankton (Cyclops viridis) to determine LC50 values of Cu and CaO to these organisms and effects of interaction between Cu and CaO. Ninety-six hour LC(50) values of Cu to fry of common carp, worm and copepod were found to be 1.40 mgl(-1), 0.08 mgl(-1) and 0.03 mgl(-1) respectively. CaO up to 500 mgl(-1) did not produce any mortality of the fry of common carp up to 96 h. But 96 h LC50 values of CaO to worm and copepod were 83.00 mgl(-1) and 27.80 mgl(-1) respectively. When common carp fry, worm and the copepod were exposed to respective LC50 dose of Cu in presence of varying concentration of CaO, mortality of the organisms significantly reduced and was found inversely correlated with the doses of CaO [y = 48.36-0.807x, r = -0.99 (n = 7) for fish; y = 44.46-0.146x, r = -0.97 (n = 7) for worm; y = 49.46-0.66x, r = -0.99 (n = 7) for the copepod]. The present results indicate that CaO is non-toxic to fish and is capable of reducing the toxicity of Cu to fish while CaO and Cu are antagonistic to each other for the worm and the copepod. Potential of using CaO as antitoxic agent for Cu in water is discussed.