Iron deficiency and risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma Iron expression in oral carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma caused by excessive substance abuse like alcohol, tobacco etc.  Objectives: Aim of the present study was to evaluate the iron expression in different grades of OSCC and potential of iron staining as a prognostic marker and its importance as an essential nutrient in diet. Methods and Patients: It was a cross sectional study.A total of 40 oral biopsies were evaluated and the mean age of patients was 53.5 years with age range 23-80 years. 14 cases were well differentiated, 14 moderately differentiated and there were 12 poorly differentiated case. Iron staining was performed for all these cases. Results: Iron positivity was observed in 11 (27.5%) of OSCC patients with maximum iron positivity in well differentiated group (64.28%) of age range 20-40 years (70%). More patients had tongue as site of cancer. There was no genderwise difference in iron expression. Iron deficiency was associated with poor prognosis indicating iron as an important nutrient which can prevent OSCC if adequately present in our routine diet. Conclusions: Prevalence of iron positivity in young patients and initial stage of OSCC, indicates the protective effect of iron against oral squamous cell carcinoma

A Design Based Research for Integration of Online Animation Videos for Teaching Cell Cycle in Biology

This study follows a design based research approach for the integration of biology online animation videos as instructional material with enhanced interactivity for class IX biology students. The traditionally used instructional material was re-designed into an interactive instructional material aimed to promote student centered instructional design for active engagement by using freely available web based technological affordance. The instructional design used in this study is informed by theories like cognitive theory of multimedia and technological pedagogical content knowledge. The design based research approach offered a theory grounded technology integration, in which online instructional material was designed, implemented, reflected and re-designed to refine iteratively towards enhancement of instructional design for use by other practitioners and researchers. The study employed a qualitative method, including interview from biology practitioner, focus group discussions from students, classroom observations, reflective journals by researcher and practitioner and students’ progress report available on website. Data was analyzed by using qualitative data analysis technique. Three key findings stood out; integration of online interactive animation videos as an innovative pedagogy, design based principles for using online animation videos with enhanced interactivity and collaborative reflective practices for enhancing pedagogy and instructional design. Furthermore, the pragmatic outcomes of this study signify the value of the educational design-research approach as a realistic and effective method for reflective researchers and practitioners. The study concludes by offering implications for online animation instructional designers, practitioners, and researchers and sharing recommendations for further research. Key words: Design-based research, innovative pedagogy, interactive animation videos