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Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) of physicians significantly impacts their personal well‐being and professional success with broad implications in health care. A focused training on EI is often lacking in medical curricula. We sought to understand the impact of improvisation training on clinicians' EI. Approach: Four online medical improv workshops were offered to a diverse group of physicians with varied levels of practice experience including medicine‐paediatric residents, paediatric educators, practising paediatricians and internal/family medicine clinicians. The improv training was thoughtfully curated and remained consistent for all four cohorts, lasting 2 h. Self‐reported EI scales (pre and post) were captured using an online survey tool. The overall EI score and the scores of three EI components were compared before and after training. Evaluation: Out of 64 participants, 41 participants (64%) completed both the pre‐ and post‐surveys and were included in the final analysis. Participant's pre‐training score (mean:123.9, range: 121.1–126.7) was compared to their post‐training score (mean:128.9, range: 126.3–131.3). The t tests comparing EI scores showed that compared to pre‐intervention, participants on average scored 4.9 points higher (95% CI: 3.1–6.7; p < 0.01) on the overall scale, 2.2 points higher (95% CI: 1.2–3.2; p < 0.01) on the appraisal score, 1.4 points higher (95% CI: 0.8–2.0; p < 0.01) on the regulation score and 1.2 points higher (95% CI: 0.4–2.1; p = 0.01) on the utilisation score. Implications: Improv training is an innovative method to fill the crucial gap in EI curricula. There was a statistically significant improvement in average score for clinicians' EI after a pilot improv training programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reaction time is a measure of how fast an organism can react to a certain stimulus. As such, it is a measure of an individual's performance and the function of sensory-motor connection. While there are studies evaluating the differences in reaction time with gender and psychiatric illness as independent variables, data are lacking when considering them together. Aims: The aim of the study is to study the gender differences in reaction time in patients suffering from psychiatric illness. Settings and Design: The study involves an observational, longitudinal comparative study in the psychiatric outpatient department (OPD) of a tertiary care facility. Materials and Methods: After institutional ethics approval, 100 patients on psychotropic medications attending psychiatry OPD were included in the study along with at least 100 relatives who were not on psychotropic medications, serving as control. Required data were collected using semi-structured pro forma. The reaction time of patients and the control group was assessed using an application on the mobile phone available online as -- the "Human Benchmark test." Data obtained were entered in the MS Excel sheet and analyzed using the computerized software and a P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In the group of patients, the males showed delayed reaction time as compared to females, while in the control group, males performed better than the female population in reaction time tests. The highest reaction time was found to be in the substance use disorder group of patients at all points of testing, followed by that of patients with schizophrenia. Conclusions: Gender did not significantly affect the reaction time in both patient and control groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a dearth of psychological interventions for self-harm that have been tested and found acceptable by youth in low- and middle income countries. ĀTMAN (Sanskrit word meaning "self" or "self-existent essence") is one such contextually adapted psychological intervention developed in India. It has three key elements; problem-solving, emotion regulation, and social network strengthening skills. We delivered ATMAN in a series of young people who self-harm to optimize the content, structure and delivery mechanisms, and to assess their experiences of therapy and engagement. ATMAN was delivered sequentially by a psychiatrist and non-specialist counselor in 16 participants between 14 to 24 years who presented to a tertiary level public hospital in Mumbai with self-harm. Quantitative measurement tools included Beck's Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSI), the Patient Health Questionnaire −9 (PHQ-9), Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation, and session feedback form. Qualitative tools included PSYCHLOPS and exit interviews. Eight female and four male participants completed therapy with a mean of five sessions and an average duration of 50 min. There were no differences in module wise feedback ratings of the psychiatrist and counselor. There were significant differences in the pre- and post-therapy scores on BSI (mean difference (confidence interval)) (−16.8 (−20.2, −13.3)) and PHQ-9 (−10.8 (−14.5, −7.04)). Various content modifications were undertaken during this phase. ATMAN was acceptable to youth in India who self-harm. Modifications introduced during pilot trial phase make ATMAN better suited to the needs of the youth. ATMAN has the potential to be delivered by non- specialist counselors and to be integrated at all levels of health care settings including primary health care to reduce the burden of suicide in young people. However, an extended randomized controlled trial of ATMAN treatment with multiple counselors will help in identifying key competencies that should be developed during training and supervision, and various quality assurance measures that can be undertaken for effective implementation of ATMAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The growing interest in identifying the mode of action of traditional medicines has strengthened its research. Syzygium jambolanum (Syzyg) is commonly prescribed in homeopathy and is a rich source of phytochemicals. Objective The present study aims to shed light on the anti-glycation molecular mechanism of Syzyg mother tincture (MT), 30c, and 200c on glycated human serum albumin (HSA) by multi-spectroscopic and microscopic approaches. Methods The phytochemicals and antioxidant potential of the Syzyg formulations were estimated by the high-performance liquid chromatography and spectroscopic technique, respectively. Glycation was initiated by incubating HSA with methylglyoxal, three Syzyg formulations, and the known inhibitor aminoguanidine in separate tubes at 37°C for 48 hours. The formation of glycation adducts was assessed by spectrofluorometer and affinity chromatography. The structural modifications were analyzed through circular dichroism, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, turbidity, 8-anilinonapthalene-1-sulfonic acid fluorescence, and nuclear magnetic resonance. Further, the formation of the aggregates was examined by thioflavin T, native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and transmission electron microscopy. Additionally, the functional modifications of glycated HSA were determined by esterase-like activity and antioxidant capacity. The binding analysis of Syzyg formulations with glycated HSA was evaluated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Results Syzyg formulations MT, 30c, and 200c contained gallic acid and ellagic acid as major phytochemicals, with concentrations of 16.02, 0.86, and 0.52 µg/mL, and 227.35, 1.35, and 0.84 µg/mL, respectively. Additionally, all three formulations had remarkable radical scavenging ability and could significantly inhibit glycation compared with aminoguanidine. Further, Syzyg formulations inhibited albumin's structural and functional modifications. SPR data showed that Syzyg formulations bind to glycated HSA with an equilibrium dissociation constant of 1.10 nM. Conclusion Syzyg formulations inhibited the glycation process while maintaining the structural and functional integrity of HSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Uma. Sundar, Ameeta. Mukhopadhyay, Nilesh. Shah, Balkrishna. Adsul Indian ethnic and educational diversities make it necessary to obtain normative cognitive data in different populations. We present the findings of [...]

Mauriac syndrome is a rare complication of poorly controlled type 1 diabetes mellitus and is characterized by hepatomegaly with altered liver enzymes, delayed puberty, growth retardation, and cushingoid features, seen in children. Being a chronic condition, warranting frequent hospitalization, and invasive testing and management, one should always look out for the possibility of comorbid depression, enabling timely diagnosis and treatment. Here, we report the case of 14-year-old male with Mauriac Syndrome having comorbid major depressive disorder being well maintained on escitalopram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective : Assess cephalometric parameters and the need for orthognathic surgery (OS) and its relationship with compliance in protraction headgear (PHG). Design : Retrospective case series. Setting : Hospital cleft-craniofacial center. Patients : 23 patients with nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate and history of lip and palate repair. Interventions: Patients received PHG and orthodontic treatment. Compliant patients were compared to patients that were not. Protraction was applied with 170-gram elastics and patients were instructed to wear for at least 12 hours daily. Main outcome measures : Cephalometric measurements at initial (T1), post-PHG (T2), and pre-surgical or post-orthodontic treatment (T3) of at least age 15 for females and 17 for males and the presence of OS were compared. Results : 83% (19) of patients reported compliance with therapy. Of those compliant, 68% (13) had OS and 32% (6) did not (P =.99). Inter-group comparisons at T1 between compliant and noncompliant showed no significant differences and the non-OS patients started with larger nasolabial angles (P <.05). At T2, there were no significant cephalometric differences between groups. At T3, compliant patients showed significantly more upper incisor proclination than noncompliant patients. Between OS and non-OS, OS patients had significantly decreased ANB, Wits, convexity, overjet, and FMA and larger nasolabial angles (P <.05). Conclusions : Patients compliant with PHG showed no difference in the need for OS. However, after orthodontic treatment, compliant patients showed more upper incisor proclination and OS patients with decreased ANB, Wits, convexity, overjet, FMA, and larger nasolabial angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: International medical graduates (IMGs), by definition, move from the country in which they received their training to another country in which to train and/or settle down. This process of migration and subsequent adjustment can lead to a number of issues that affect personal functioning and response to the new country. Method: The authors carried out a literature review to ascertain which factors may cause stress and which factors may contribute to successful adjustment by the IMGs. Results: The reasons for migration by IMGs can be political, educational, or economic. Each reason brings with it a series of difficulties, both for the individual and the society to which they move, as well as the society they leave behind. It is inevitable that acculturation and settling down will raise specific issues in the functioning of the IMGs. Conclusions: In this article, the authors highlight some of the factors related to migration by IMGs and make suggestions on how to support them and help reduce their stress. (Contains 2 tables.)