Natl Med J India
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Excessive stress may have an adverse effect on learning and memory of students. It was reported that stimulation of the vestibular system enhances memory through its connections with the hippocampus, limbic system and neo cortex. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of vestibular stimulation in the modulation of memory in healthy human subjects. ⋯ Our study provides evidence to support vestibular stimulation as an efficient method to enhance memory and to prevent pre-examination associated stress-induced changes on memory. We recommend vestibular stimulation as a simple approach to improve verbal memory among students to cope with their pre-examination stress.
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Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is a clinical condition, of which the most common cause is Japanese encephalitis (JE). Though there is deficiency of data on AES and JE from Bihar, the state ranks third in the reporting of JE cases after Uttar Pradesh and Assam. We aimed to assess the status and trends of AES and JE cases in Bihar and to know the status of the disease in the districts. ⋯ Since 2009, the incidence of AES and JE cases has been increasing in Bihar.
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We aimed to estimate the total annual funding available for health research in India. We also examined the trends of funding for health research since 2001 by major national and international agencies. ⋯ The total funding available for health research in India is lower than previous estimates, and only a miniscule proportion is available for public health research. The non industry funding for health research in India, which is predominantly from public resources, is extremely small, and had considerable mismatches with the major causes of disease burden. The magnitude of public funding for health research and its appropriate allocation should be addressed at the highest policy level.
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We aimed to develop a teaching-learning and evaluation programme on communication skills for interns. Core competency areas for focused communication skills training and assessment were identified to achieve the obective. We then assessed the identified competencies among interns using objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), before the start of internship. ⋯ We were able to identify core competency areas for focused training and evaluation of communication skills suited to the local context and used OSCE to evaluate the skills before the start of internship.