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Fulltext A pilot project to introduce the multiple mini interview (MMI) at a Borneo medical school: The universiti Malaysia Sabah experience- a cross-sectional study

Pang N, Kadir F, Kamu A, Mun HC, Loo JL, Ahmedy F, et al.

Ann Med Surg (Lond), 2021 Nov;71:103019.
PMID: 34840767 DOI: 10.1016/j.amsu.2021.103019

Introduction: The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) demonstrates efficacy and superiority over traditional medical interviews in assessing non-cognitive domains during the recruitment of medical undergraduates. At Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), a five-station MMI was piloted in 2019, featuring a mix of three examiner-driven stations (assessing professionalism, ethics, and motivation to study medicine), and two roleplayer-driven stations (assessing empathy and science communication specifically, and communication skills in general).
Methods: 260 candidates were grouped into two separate geographical groups - urban and suburban/rural. Descriptive analysis, skewness and kurtosis were performed for normality assessment, whereas Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, and Greatest lower bound assessed internal consistency. For validity measures, correlations were calculated between scores for separate stations, overall scores, urban and suburban/rural status. Also, exploratory factor analysis was performed on the five stations as validity measures. Difficulty and discrimination indices were calculated as quality measures. Qualitative analysis was performed on "red flag" comments detailing grossly unsuitable candidates.
Results: Roleplayer-driven stations yielded more red flags than examiner-driven stations. The three examiner-driven stations were significantly and moderately correlated (rho between 0.602 and 0.609, p 0.530), whereas the stations were distributed equally in difficulty index.
Conclusion: The UMS MMI has identified specific skillsets that may be in short supply in our incoming medical students. Also, it illustrates the yawning gap between academic knowledge and 'translational' scientific knowledge and communication skills.
Pathophysiologic Changes in Extracellular pH Modulate Parathyroid Calcium-Sensing Receptor Activity and Secretion via a Histidine-Independent Mechanism

Campion KL, McCormick WD, Warwicker J, Khayat ME, Atkinson-Dell R, Steward MC, et al.

J Am Soc Nephrol, 2015 Sep;26(9):2163-71.
PMID: 25556167 DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2014070653

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) modulates renal calcium reabsorption and parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion and is involved in the etiology of secondary hyperparathyroidism in CKD. Supraphysiologic changes in extracellular pH (pHo) modulate CaR responsiveness in HEK-293 (CaR-HEK) cells. Therefore, because acidosis and alkalosis are associated with altered PTH secretion in vivo, we examined whether pathophysiologic changes in pHo can significantly alter CaR responsiveness in both heterologous and endogenous expression systems and whether this affects PTH secretion. In both CaR-HEK and isolated bovine parathyroid cells, decreasing pHo from 7.4 to 7.2 rapidly inhibited CaR-induced intracellular calcium (Ca(2+)i) mobilization, whereas raising pHo to 7.6 potentiated responsiveness to extracellular calcium (Ca(2+)o). Similar pHo effects were observed for Ca(2+)o-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation and actin polymerization and for L-Phe-induced Ca(2+)i mobilization. Intracellular pH was unaffected by acute 0.4-unit pHo changes, and the presence of physiologic albumin concentrations failed to attenuate the pHo-mediated effects. None of the individual point mutations created at histidine or cysteine residues in the extracellular domain of CaR attenuated pHo sensitivity. Finally, pathophysiologic pHo elevation reversibly suppressed PTH secretion from perifused human parathyroid cells, and acidosis transiently increased PTH secretion. Therefore, pathophysiologic pHo changes can modulate CaR responsiveness in HEK-293 and parathyroid cells independently of extracellular histidine residues. Specifically, pathophysiologic acidification inhibits CaR activity, thus permitting PTH secretion, whereas alkalinization potentiates CaR activity to suppress PTH secretion. These findings suggest that acid-base disturbances may affect the CaR-mediated control of parathyroid function and calcium metabolism in vivo.
Fulltext Malay Version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Validity and Reliability

Pang NTP, Kamu A, Hambali NLB, Mun HC, Kassim MA, Mohamed NH, et al.

Int J Ment Health Addict, 2022;20(1):263-272.
PMID: 32837437 DOI: 10.1007/s11469-020-00355-4

The newly developed Persian Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a seven-item uni-dimensional scale that assesses the severity of fear of COVID-19. A translation and validation of the FCV-19S in the Malay language was expedited due to the severe psychological sequelae of COVID-19 in Malaysia. Formal WHO forward and backward translation sequences were employed in translating the English version into Malay. Malaysian university participants were recruited via convenience sampling online using snowball methods. The reliability and validity properties of the Malay FCV-19S were rigorously psychometrically evaluated (utilising both confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis) in relation to socio-demographic variables and response to the depression, anxiety and stress subscales of the Malay validation of the DASS-21. The sample comprised 228 Malaysian participants. The Cronbach α value for the Malay FCV-19S was 0.893 indicating very good internal reliability. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the uni-dimensional factor structure of the FCV19S fitted well with the data. The FCV-19S-M was significantly correlated with anxiety (r = 0.481, p
Fulltext Correction to: Malay Version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Validity and Reliability

Pang NTP, Kamu A, Hambali NLB, Mun HC, Kassim MA, Mohamed NH, et al.

Int J Ment Health Addict, 2023;21(1):684.
PMID: 32840246 DOI: 10.1007/s11469-020-00373-2

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s11469-020-00355-4.].