Rahul Garg

BackgroundPre-medical admission factors, such as undergraduate science grade point average (GPA) and the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), have been extensively studied to predict success in medical school and improve admissions processes. However, the first semester of medical school is critical for student retention and success and is often overlooked by studies that focus on end-of-program success. We analyzed several pre-admission factors to predict student performance on the challenging courses of anatomical sciences and molecular medicine in the first fall semester at an osteopathic medical school.Materials and methodsThis is a retrospective cohort study of 795 doctors of osteopathic medicine (DO) graduates from the 2019-2023 class cohorts. We analyzed the association between pre-medical admission criteria, such as science GPA, MCAT, and undergraduate majors, and performance in anatomy and molecular medicine courses.ResultsStudents who met or exceeded the defined scores for competitive admission criteria for undergraduate GPA (p=0.006 and p=0.002), science GPA (both p<0.001), and MCAT total score (p=0.009 and p<0.001) achieved significantly higher grades for both anatomy and molecular medicine courses. Students with biological science majors performed better than those with non-science majors (p=0.002) in the molecular medicine course. Undergraduate majors did not have an association with the performance in the anatomy course.ConclusionsOur data suggest that GPA, science GPA, MCAT score, and a biology undergraduate degree are significant correlates of improved performance in the challenging first semester of medical school. These findings can help schools identify and support at-risk students during the early, decisive phase of medical education.

Animals can use cues to initiate task preparation and amplify relevant sensory input, but the underlying circuits are poorly understood. This study describes a circuit whereby an attentional cue triggers cholinergic forebrain activity, enhancing olfactory responses, which is deactivated as animals become task-proficient.

Discriminative learning enhances sensory contrast for rapid, accurate decisions, yet the neural basis for this remains unclear. This study describes a sensory-forebrain circuit centered on dopaminergic short axon cells in the mouse olfactory bulb, which refines sensory input during learning.

As digitalization advances across industries, data is increasingly becoming the lifeblood of modern manufacturing.

These shifts are not driven by a single factor but by the combined influence of policy changes, supply chain lessons from recent years, and the evolving priorities of businesses and governments.

Prostate and testicular cancers represent major health concerns for men, yet public knowledge, awareness of how to perform self-examinations, and comfort discussing male reproductive health are often poor, with stigma further limiting early detection and prevention. This study compared the effectiveness of two educational modalities, poster-based instruction and prosthetic model-based instruction, in an effort to address these shortcomings among adult participants. Using a pre-, post-, and two-week follow-up survey design, we measured knowledge gains, retention, and comfort discussing male cancers with healthcare providers across different education levels and age groups. Prosthetic-based instruction consistently outperformed posters, producing greater immediate knowledge gains, stronger retention at two weeks, and larger improvements in confidence, particularly among participants with lower educational levels. By engaging learners through multisensory teaching methods and experiential practice, prosthetic models hold promise for reducing educational disparities, improving early-detection behaviors, and ultimately decreasing mortality from male reproductive cancers.