How Well Prepared are Students for Undergraduate Engineering Mathematics?

1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 352-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan A. Lawson

Many universities admit students to degree courses in mechanical engineering from a wide variety of backgrounds. The majority enter with a study of A level mathematics. An increasing proportion enter having previously studied for BTEC qualifications. The conventional rule of thumb which is used is that BTEC level 3 is equivalent to A level. In this paper this rule of thumb is examined by comparing the performance of A level and BTEC students in a diagnostic test, taken at the start of their course, and the results of the end-of-year examination. The results of students entering the mechanical engineering stream of degree courses at Coventry University in 1991 and 1992 are used to provide the data for this study. The diagnostic test results also show the key areas of weakness in the level of mathematical competence of many students on entry to universities.

Author(s):  
Ozge Yilmaz Topal ◽  
Ilknur Kulhas Celik ◽  
Irem Turgay Yagmur ◽  
Muge Toyran ◽  
Ersoy Civelek ◽  
...  

Introduction: Beta-lactams (BLs) are one of the most frequent causes of drug hypersensitivity reactions (HRs), and cephalosporins are a widely used subclass of BLs, especially in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical features and diagnostic test results of pediatric patients evaluated for suspected cephalosporin allergy. Methods: This study included patients who presented to our pediatric allergy clinic with a history of reactions attributed to cephalosporins between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2019, and whose diagnostic tests were completed for the diagnosis. Results: This study included 120 pediatric patients and 69 (57.5%) of them were girls. The median age was 38.63 (interquartile range 10.5–85.7) months. Reactions occurring within 1 h of drug intake were reported in 33 patients (27.5%). Reactions were maculopapular rash in 55 (45.8%) patients, urticaria and/or angioedema in 49 (40.8%), anaphylaxis in 11 (9.2%), severe cutaneous drug reaction in 4 (3.3%), and fixed drug reaction in 1 patient (0.83%). The most frequently suspected agent was cefixime in 41 patients (34.2%). In total, 30 (25%) patients were diagnosed as having cephalosporin hypersensitivity. Confirmation of HRs was also significantly more frequent among patients who were older (p: 0.000), who had taken the drug parenterally (p: 0.000) and with immediate reactions (p: 0.000). Conclusion: Cephalosporin allergy has been confirmed in approximately one-fourth of the patients evaluated for suspected cephalosporin allergy. Confirmation of HRs was significantly more common among patients who were older, had immediate reactions, and had taken the drug parenterally.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. e1004901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustaf Rydevik ◽  
Giles T. Innocent ◽  
Glenn Marion ◽  
Ross S. Davidson ◽  
Piran C. L. White ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 15-17
Author(s):  
Stuti Kansra Arora ◽  
Mala Chhabra ◽  
Anuradha Anuradha ◽  
Arvind Achra ◽  
Nandini Duggal

Introduction:Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has emerged as one of the major global health challenge affecting about 2 - 3% of the world population. Epidemiological studies have shown that HCV infection is a major risk factor for development of Acute hepatitis,chronic liver disease,cirrhosis and Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Early diagnosis of HCV is important to link hepatitis testing to care and treatment initiation. Aim:To compare sensitivity and specificity of rapid diagnostic test (RDT) with fourth generation ELISA Material and Method: This study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences (formerly Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital from January 2018 to December 2018.Blood samples of patients suspected with hepatitis were tested using ELISA and rapid diagnostic test Results: In our study 26378 blood samples were tested for HCV,using fourth generation ELISA.Of these,581(2.20%) samples were found to be positive by ELISA.These HCV positive samples along with equal number of ELISA negative samples were tested by rapid diagnostic test. Sensitivity and specificity of the rapid diagnostic test was found to be 72.98 % and 100% respectively. Discussion:Rapid diagnostic test can be used during emergency hours but their results must be followed by ELISA test results in a tertiary care hospital.Reporting of false negative results should be minimized for rapid linkage to treatment initiation and to avoid silent transmission of infection.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 364 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Tan Geok Shim ◽  
Abang Mohammad Hudzaifah Abang Shakawi ◽  
Farah Liyana Azizan

Educators have always highlighted the importance of mathematics mastery in education for many years. With the current emphasis of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEMs) education, mathematics mastery is even more vital because it supports the learning and mastery of science fields such as engineering and science. Furthermore, in higher education, mathematics is essential because majority of the courses require the use of mathematical concepts in their learning. In recent years, many countries including Malaysia have seen an increase in the enrolment number of tertiary students. The increase in student enrolment has resulted in a population of students with diverse abilities, and this creates challenges for educators in providing instruction to the students. Educators need to detect students’ mathematical ability at an early stage before teaching them new content. One way to gather information about students’ basic mathematics skill is through the use of diagnostic test. Diagnostic test in education is a preliminary assessment mainly used to detect students’ strengths and weaknesses in learning. It allows educators to cater their teaching style and content to suit to the students’ basic knowledge. With researches indicating the importance and benefits of using diagnostic test in various subjects, it is important to further examine the use of diagnostic test in the local context of pre-university studies. This study investigated the relationship between students’ mathematics diagnostic test results and final mathematics examination performances at a public pre-university programme. The samples of the study consisted of 250 pre-university students and the data of the study were collected through a mathematics diagnostic test paper, a questionnaire and a final mathematics examination. The outcomes of the study show that there was a strong positive correlation between mathematics diagnostic test results and students’ mathematics achievement in pre-university.


2018 ◽  
Vol 252 (8) ◽  
pp. 995-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Constant ◽  
Sylvain Nichols ◽  
André Desrochers ◽  
Marie Babkine ◽  
Gilles Fecteau ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Breanna Wright ◽  
Alyse Lennox ◽  
Mark L. Graber ◽  
Peter Bragge

Abstract Background Communication failures involving test results contribute to issues of patient harm and sentinel events. This article aims to synthesise review evidence, practice insights and patient perspectives addressing problems encountered in the communication of diagnostic test results. Methods The rapid review identified ten systematic reviews and four narrative reviews. Five practitioner interviews identified insights into interventions and implementation, and a citizen panel with 15 participants explored the patient viewpoint. Results The rapid review provided support for the role of technology to ensure effective communication; behavioural interventions such as audit and feedback could be effective in changing clinician behaviour; and point-of-care tests (bedside testing) eliminate the communication breakdown problem altogether. The practice interviews highlighted transparency, and clarifying the lines of responsibility as central to improving test result communication. Enabling better information sharing, implementing adequate planning and utilising technology were also identified in the practice interviews as viable strategies to improve test result communication. The citizen panel highlighted technology as critical to improving communication of test results to both health professionals and patients. Patients also highlighted the importance of having different ways of accessing test results, which is particularly pertinent when ensuring suitability for vulnerable populations. Conclusions This paper draws together multiple perspectives on the problem of failures in diagnostic test results communication to inform appropriate interventions. Across the three studies, technology was identified as the most feasible option for closing the loop on test result communication. However, the importance of clear, consistent communication and more streamlined processes were also key elements that emerged. Review registration The protocol for the rapid review was registered with PROSPERO CRD42018093316.


2018 ◽  
Vol 252 (11) ◽  
pp. 1362-1366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edouard Timsit ◽  
Renaud Léguillette ◽  
Brad J. White ◽  
Robert L. Larson ◽  
Sébastien Buczinski

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