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Background: The knowledge, attitudes and practices of scientific authorship vary across different regions. We conducted this study to understand this variation among medical researchers in India.Methods: An anonymous web-based researcher-survey invited all faculty, researchers and PhD students at Pacific institute of Medical sciences, Udaipur, India. The study design and the questionnaire were approved by the institutional ethics committee. Basic information on study was given to obtain consent for participation. The 30 questions on authorship experience and related issues were based on the statements in International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and other national and international recommendations on authorship. Participants reported their authorship experiences and answered multiple choice questionnaires.Results: The response rate was 36.36% among the participants, who were post-graduate with up to 10 years of research experience. About 62.5% had not been appropriately acknowledged as authors at some point during their career. Contributors (authorship) and ethical peer review is perceived as the key principle of research integrity. Though, single authorship was regarded as more significant, interdisciplinary management of diseases increases number of co-authors. A platform to challenge authorship, declaration of contribution in authorship and shared responsibility of co-authors in case of fraudulent publication was majority opinion.Conclusions: Almost 50 of the participant medical researchers had knowledge of formal authorship requirements. Majority agreed with the criteria would help in decreasing the authorship dispute in the medical research. There is need for awareness and continuous education on these criteria.
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Introduction: Dengue fever, otherwise called break bonefever, is a mosquito borne tropical illness brought aboutby the dengue virus. In the present study an attempt wasmade to identify the reason for the year wise increase ofdengue incidence in Madurai District .The object of MedicalGeography is to study the geographical environment of humansociety and its influence on the health of man. In this directionthe present study helps to understand how the disease governedby people attitude, behavior and knowledge among dengueMaterial and Methods: To fulfill the objectives Primary andSecondary data were collected. Stratified random samplingmethod was used to collect the primary data.450 respondentswho were interviewed by direct questionnaire method, 20variables were selected. Year wise dengue cases were collectedfrom Deputy Directorate of Health Department Madurai.Results: During the previous ten years dengue cases becomeexpanding significantly in Madurai district. In 2017 thepercentage of dengue infection attains its zenith. Whencompared to 2012 dengue infection is doubled as 51% of casesin 2017. The increasing or decreasing rate of dengue infectiondepends on the knowledge, attitude and practice of peopleamong dengue and it seems low in educated people also.Conclusion: Dengue affected areas not up to the mark evenin educated people also. The initial phase in real life againstthe dengue mosquito is to educate communities about whatdengue is and what measure can be taken to battle it. A reliablewater supply is essential to prevent dengue fever. Watershortage force people to store water, which leads to breedingplaces for dengue mosquitoes.
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Background: Several components of the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) are risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. So, this study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of MetS and its components in patients with CAD.Methods: Author included all patients admitted with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), who had CAD confirmed by coronary angiography. They were divided into two groups according to presence or absence of MetS based on International Diabetes Federation criteria. The prevalence of MetS and its individual components was estimated.Results: It was observed that there is a high prevalence of MetS (66%) in patients admitted with ACS. Metabolic syndrome is more prevalent in female patients (82.4%) than in male patients (57.6%) with ACS. Hypertension is the most prevalent (87.9) component of MetS. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is the 2nd most prevalent (83.3%) component of MetS. About 65.2% patients with MetS had abnormally raised triglyceride levels and 32(48.5%) had abnormally low HDL-cholesterol level. Among the MetS 38(57.6%) had abnormal waist circumference. Among the study group, the most common triad of MetS components was DM + HTN + abnormal TG. There is significant association between MetS and microalbuminuria, with incidence of 22(33.3%) in this study. Similarly, a significant association between DM and microalbuminuria, 23(33.8%) was observed.Conclusions: This study confirms a very high prevalence of MetS in Indian patients with CAD. The prevalence of the risk factors was higher in CAD patients with MetS.
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Background: Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most common diabetic microvascular complication that typically develops after 10 years of diabetes diagnosis. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of obesity and visceral fat in Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) cases with nephropathy and without-nephropathy complication.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, diabetic nephropathy was diagnosed on the basis of biochemical tests of urine albumin, serum creatinine, eGFR, BP, and clinical assessment in patients with T2D. The prevalence of diabetic nephropathy estimated and the association between adiposity and diabetic nephropathy in patients T2D was evaluated. Measures of adiposity included body weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC), body fat percentage, muscle mass percentage and visceral fat percentage. Analysis of variance indicate difference in the various fat analysis parameters in presence and absence of nephropathy. PROC GLM procedure in the SAS Software was used for statistical calculations.Results: A total of 247 patients with type 2 diabetes (mean age 53.46�.62 years; 39.5% females) were enrolled in this study. The participants were grouped as with Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) 41.60% (N=99) and without Diabetic Nephropathy (NDN) 58.40% (N=139). The comparison of DN and Non-DN groups showed no significant difference in the BMI, body and visceral fat, muscle mass percentage. Conclusions: Irrespective of the nephropathy status the body fat and visceral fat percentage is increased, and the muscle mass percentage is decreased in diabetes patients. As both obesity and diabetes contribute to the development and progression of renal disease, measures should to taken to reduce the body fat.
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Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a highly lethal infectious disease causing huge health burden worldwide, commonly involving the respiratory system. Medical students should also be empowered to impart awareness and reduce stigma related to TB. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether educational intervention would affect the level of TB awareness, knowledge, attitude and preventive practice of TB among medical students.Methods: The present study was carried out among the second year medical college students of Pacific Institute of Medical Sciences, Udaipur, India (n=142). A multiple-choice questionnaire of 45 questions was designed in English language, for pre- and post-tests. A 30-minute visual health education was given on TB and the assessment of knowledge, attitude and preventive practice of TB was done by a pre-test and post-test questionnaire.Results: Out of the total 150 student, 142 participated in the study making the response rate 94.66%. The total mean percentage of correct answers for TB knowledge was 48.59 (±20.44) which improved to 69.33 (±17.74) post-training. The total mean percentage of right attitude was 63.036 (±16.46) which improved to 77.06 (±15.58) post-training. The total mean percentage of correct answer for preventive practice were provided by 67.036 (±12.90) which changed to 79.50 (±12.01) post-training. There was significant difference in the knowledge, attitude and preventive practice of students in pre- and post-training tests (p=0.001).Conclusions: Our findings revealed that medical students had poor knowledge. A simple TB education session had a positive influence on knowledge, attitude and preventive practices about TB among them.
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Awareness of ultraviolet radiation-induced skin damage creates the need for the development of broad-spectrum, safe and cosmetically acceptable sunscreens. Being relatively inert, safe, stable and non-irritating, physical sunscreens are particularly useful for patients with sensitive skin who cannot tolerate chemical sunscreens. However, they form a thick visible pigment layer on the skin. To overcome this drawback, microfine oxides have been developed which made the sunscreens virtually transparent when applied on the skin. This article reviews the rationale for the comeback of physical sunscreens by analyzing data from various sources.