Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan最新文献

In rodents, exposure to predator odors such as cat urine acts as a severe stressor that engages innate defensive behaviors critical for survival in the wild. The neurotransmitters norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) modulate anxiety and predator odor responses, and we have shown previously that dopamine β-hydroxylase knockout (Dbh -/-), which reduces NE and increases DA in mouse noradrenergic neurons, disrupts innate behaviors in response to mild stressors such as novelty. We examined the consequences of Dbh knockout (Dbh -/-) on responses to predator odor (bobcat urine) and compared them to Dbh-competent littermate controls. Over the first 10 min of predator odor exposure, controls exhibited robust defensive burying behavior, whereas Dbh -/- mice showed high levels of grooming. Defensive burying was potently suppressed in controls by drugs that reduce NE transmission, while excessive grooming in Dbh -/- mice was blocked by DA receptor antagonism. In response to a cotton square scented with a novel "neutral" odor (lavender), most control mice shredded the material, built a nest, and fell asleep within 90 min. Dbh -/- mice failed to shred the lavender-scented nestlet, but still fell asleep. In contrast, controls sustained high levels of arousal throughout the predator odor test and did not build nests, while Dbh -/- mice were asleep by the 90-min time point, often in shredded bobcat urine-soaked nesting material. Compared with controls exposed to predator odor, Dbh -/- mice demonstrated decreased c-fos induction in the anterior cingulate cortex, lateral septum, periaqueductal gray, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, but increased c-fos in the locus coeruleus and medial amygdala. These data indicate that relative ratios of central NE and DA signaling coordinate the type and valence of responses to predator odor.

Introduction: Technology has changed the dynamics of teaching and learning any subject. More emphasis is being laid on e-learning and self-directed learning. In this scenario, there is a rising doubt whether the physical attendance of students in theory lectures and clinical postings is at all important. Various studies have been conducted in different subjects to find a relation between outcome and attendance. However, we could not find any study done in Otorhinolaryngology. Hence, this study was conducted with the aim to know the correlation between attendance and performance for Otorhinolaryngology undergraduate students.

Methodology: This is a retrospective cohort study carried out in the Otorhinolaryngology Department of a tertiary care teaching hospital of western Gujarat. The attendance (theory and clinics, biometrically fetched), internal theory examination marks (out of 40), and internal practical examination marks (out of 40) of a single batch students were obtained from the academic records and analyzed using Microsoft Excel sheet.

Results: Out of 158 students, data of 151 students was analyzed in this study (7 students were absent on the day of examination). 76 students were boys and 75 girls. The combined (theory and clinics) average attendance of girls was 88.37%, as compared to 78.37% for boys (p < 0.0001). Out of 80 (40 for theory and 40 for clinics), girls got an average of 37.12 marks as compared to 30.89 for boys (p < 0.0001). There was a positive and significant correlation between marks obtained and attendance percentage for total students as well as for boys and girls separately.

Conclusion: There is a positive and significant correlation between attendance percentage and marks obtained, both for theory and clinics, for Otorhinolaryngology undergraduate medical students.