How Indian physiologists are contributing to the peer review of scientific literature? An audit of publons profiles

Background: Peer review is one of the cornerstones of sound scientific publication. When a paper is submitted to a journal, after an initial assessment, the editor sends the article to reviewers with similar research experiences for comprehensive comments. Aims and Objectives: In this article, we aimed to analyze the pattern of peer review by the reviewers in the physiology domain from India as found in publons.com. Materials and methods: We searched https://publons.com and clicked on 揃rowse� to search the profile of 揜esearchers.� The research field was selected as 揚hysiology� and the country as 揑ndia.� A total of 158 profiles were found with the search criteria. The number of publications, citations, peer review, H-index, and the editorial record was obtained for further analysis. The number of the peer review was tested with the number of publications and citations for any existing correlation. Results: Among the 158 researchers in the physiology domain, an average verified review was 8.09 � 32.12 and an average number of publications were 15.7 � 31.1. Their number of citations was 359.75 � 1296.24 with an average H-index of 4.15 � 7.85. There was a significant positive correlation with peer review versus number of publication (0.39 [95% CI: 0.24 to 0.51], P < 0.0001) and peer review versus number of citation (0.26 [95% CI: 0.11 to 0.41)], P = 0.0008). Conclusion: Peer reviewers in the physiology domain from India have contributed by reviewing an average of 8 peer reviews. However, many of the profiles showed zero contribution. More publications and more citations would expose the researchers to a wider audience worldwide, including the editors. Hence, they would get peer review requests.

Comparative empathy in male and female medical students: A cross-sectional, online, and survey-based study

Background: Empathy is a capability of a person to observe a subject and recognize and briefly feels the subject抯 emotional state based on visual and aural inputs. Empathy is an important quality for doctors as they are involved in patient care. Aims and Objectives: We aimed to assess the level of empathy in a sample of students studying MBBS and compare the empathy according to gender. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional observational study carried out by an online survey. Medical students of our college were invited to participate in this survey. We collected data from up to 50 males and 50 females for a comparative test. The eight-item form of the empathy quotient-8 was used to assess the level of empathy among students. Scores between male and female students were compared by unpaired t-test. Result: A total of 50 males and 50 females participated in this study. Their mean age was 20.12 � 2.14 years. One-sample t-test showed that overall students have more than average level of empathy. The gender-wise comparison showed that there was no difference in empathy between male and female students. Conclusion: From this study, we can conclude that medical students have more than average level of empathy and there is no gender difference in the level of empathy. However, this was an experience from a single institution. Further studies may be conducted to ascertain the level and comparative level of empathy between males and females with a large sample taken from different Indian states.

Observations of hepatic encephalopathy profile in a tertiary care centre.

A study was conducted among 67 patients presenting with hepatic encephalopathy to establish the aetiological diagnosis and record the incidence of acute and chronic liver diseases. They all had undergone thorough clinical and laboratory evaluation. The factor precipitating encephalopathy was also identified. Among 67 patients 19 (28.4%) had acute liver disease and 48 (71.6%) had chronic liver disease. Majority of patients had grade 2 encephalopathy at presentation. Among the acute cases most common aetiology was acute viral hepatitis due to hepatitis B and E viruses whereas alcoholic liver disease was the most frequent cause of chronic liver disease. The most common precipitating factor was gastro-intestinal haemorrhage.

Estimation of tear glucose level and its role as a prompt indicator of blood sugar level.

Tear glucose level was measured by glucose oxidase method to determine the relationship between tear glucose and corresponding blood glucose levels in 200 patients. It was observed that this test had a definite value in finding the hyperglycaemics semiquantitatively.