Exploring Multicultural Competency in International Art Therapy Student Through Art Journal Inquiry

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the multicultural competency of international art therapy students while working with the BIPOC population in the shelter setting by using the qualitative research study method. The research explores various art therapy tools that can be used to cultivate multicultural awareness among counselors in training and specific adaptations are required to provide a culturally sensitive multicultural curriculum for its successful application worldwide. The data was accumulated with weekly journal entries exploring various topics of multicultural competency areas over the five weeks while working with BIPOC clients. The findings suggest that the continuous reflection on multicultural competence is vital for being effective as a therapist while working with the BIPOC population

Prevalence of self-medication practices in the Maharashtra population: a cross-sectional study

Background: Self-medication is a significant issue in public health, with varying global prevalence. It is one of the major causes of the emergence of antibiotic resistance in India. The study's objective was to identify the pattern, cause, and adverse events of self-medication in Maharashtra's urban and rural areas. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a pre-populated questionnaire; including information on age (18-85 years), non-prescription and prescription medication use. Age, gender, past medical and medication history, social history, and self-medication pattern, frequency, reason, source of information, and adverse events noticed as a result of self-medication are all sociodemographic questions on the questionnaire. A percentage analysis was used to examine the data. Results: Study states that out of 400 sample, 76% of the individuals self-medicate, with painkillers (49.4%), antacids (23.7%), antibiotics (15.3%), being the most often used drugs for ailments like headache, fever, bodily pain, and acidity. The top most medications taken for self-medication are paracetamol (53.1%), pantoprazole (30.43%), ondansetron (13.62%), and azithromycin (12.46%); 66.07% usage of prescription drugs as self-medication was found. The most frequent causes of self-medication were discovered to be mild illnesses, the easy accessibility of medications, and chemist recommendations, 8% of those surveyed had adverse events, and sources of information were chemists, past prescriptions, family members, and acquaintances. Conclusions: In Maharashtra, self-medication is a prevalent practice that primarily utilizes over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. As a result, consumers should be made aware of the hazards of antibiotic resistance and other pharmaceuticals

Enhancing gynaecological care: the obstetrics and gynaecological distress measurement scale

Background: Gynaecological patients are evaluated using a few scales that are not population-targeted, so a targeted tool was required, particularly for the Indian population where these problems are prevalent. Methods: A short interview was done after a top-down survey. Then, from the results of the pilot study, some items were retained after the deletion of others. Results: Using Cronbach's alpha, a reliability coefficient of 0.907 was obtained. With a value of 0.867, the split-half coefficient demonstrated a good degree of internal consistency. Convergent validity was 0.62. Conclusions: The OGDMS is a useful tool for detecting possible psychological distress in pregnant women. OGDMS is a standardised instrument which can be used by psychologists, physicians, and patients to pinpoint probable mental health-related problem areas

The obstetrics and gynaecological distress measurement scale: a promising tool for improving obstetrics care

Background: Screening done on obstetrics patients is based on a few scales which are not targeted towards the population, thus a need for a targeted tool was necessary especially for the Indian population where these issues are high and care provided lacks in quality. Methods: A top down survey was conducted followed by a brief interview. A pilot study was then done out of which specific items were selected. Results: Cronbach's alpha yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.907. Split-half coefficient yielded a high level of internal consistency with a value of 0.867. The convergent validity was 0.62. Conclusions: The OGDMS is a valuable tool for identifying potential psychological distress in women needing obstetrics care. OGDMS is a unified tool for doctors, psychologists, and patients to identify potential problem areas related to mental health

Perceptions and preferences of medical students regarding teaching methods in a Medical College, Mangalore India

Introduction: In the complex setting of a medical school it becomes essential to utilize an approach to teaching and learning that is best suited to the needs of the students. In developing countries like India, where there is an exponential increase of institutions catering to medical students, it becomes a challenge to teach to large number of students per class. Hence, research is needed to identify the needs of students in relation to their day to day learning activities.Objectives: To understand the preferences and perception of medical students about the current methods of teaching, aids used for teaching and also identify barriers in learning as perceived by the students.Method: A Cross-sectional study was carried out at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore during May 2012. Study participants included 2nd and 3rd year medical students. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the information in relation to preferences and perceptions regarding teaching methods utilized for theory and clinical teaching. SPSS version 11.5 was used for analysis of data. The association between variables of interest was tested using Chi-square test.Results: A total of 286 students (56.6 % females and 43.4% males) participated with a dropout rate of 10.6%. The study revealed that 71.3% of the students had an attendance above 75%. The most preferred teaching method was Problem Based Learning (PBL) (71.4%) as students felt that it enhanced lateral thinking while Didactic Lectures was the least preferred (32.8%). The most preferred modality of teaching aid was found to be Black board preferred by 46.9% students. In learning rare signs and cases, students preferred video lectures (41%) and mannequins (75.9%) in learning clinical skills. The main barrier in theory learning identified was inappropriate teaching methods (15%) and being new to clinical posting (38.5%) in case of learning clinical skills.Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that a combination of traditional methods with other methods such as PBL, video lectures and mannequins could be an effective way of teaching theory and clinical skills.Keywords: Perceptions and preferences, teaching methods, medical students, Indi

Palmar dermatoglyphic profile in Jatyaandh - A Pilot Study

Background: Appreciable progress has been made to study and understand the associations between dermatoglyphics and numerous medical disorders, as a result of which dermatoglyphic analysis has been accepted as a useful diagnostic tool in many diseases particularly those are caused by chromosomal aberrations, which are frequently accompanied by distortion of patterns. Materials and Methods: The aim of this present work is to study the association between characteristic dermatoglyphic features in probands with jatyaandh due to congenital glaucoma compared with age sex matched control. Palmar dermatoglyphic analysis on 20 subjects was carried out. Dermatoglyphics prints were taken by ‘Ink method’ described by Cummins and Mildo, examined for Total Finger Ridge Count (TFRC), Absolute Finger Ridge Count (AFRC), (a-b) ridge count, atd, dat and adt angle (quantitative parameter) and Finger ridge patterns and their frequency (qualitative parameter). Further, statistical analysis is done to find the variations in the dermatoglyphic feature in both groups. Result: The mean values of TFRC, AFRC & atd angle were higher in case group than in controls. The mean value of a-b ridge count is lower in cases as compared to controls. The mean values of dat and adt angle of case group were almost same to that of control group. The highest pattern of distribution of whorls was found in cases whereas radial and ulnar loops are found in controls.

Fatty acid profiling of 75 Indian snack samples highlights overall low trans fatty acid content with high polyunsaturated fatty acid content in some samples.

Diet-derived fatty acids have well-proven varying effects on human health. In particular, trans fatty acids (TFA) are associated with high risk of cardiovascular diseases whereas, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are considered to be beneficial to the human health. In this study, we report fatty acid profiling of 75 food samples from India belonging to three broad categories, viz., perishable deep-fried, non-perishable deep-fried and bakery. Lipids were extracted from the snacks and fatty acids converted into methyl esters and analysed by gas chromatography. Thirty-seven detected fatty acids were classified into four categories: saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA), PUFA, and TFA, of which SFA represented the most abundant class in two-third of the samples. The highest average proportions of TFA and SFA of 3.26% and 56.1%, respectively, in total fatty acids were found in the bakery products; whereas, that of PUFA (38%) in the perishable deep-fried products. Principal Component Analysis depicted clustering of many samples according to the above-mentioned categories and helped predict the oil usage. Lower TFA content in all the samples and high proportion of PUFA in a quarter of the samples is suggestive of a better trend as compared to earlier studies

Code Convertor For Portability of Applications For ANDROID & iPHONE

With all the latest technologies and techniques being implemented, Cell phones are no more used for just calling or messaging. They are at a stage where they can be used for doing almost anything and everything. The leading cell phones in today’s tech-race are the Android phones and the iPhones of Apple. These two are leading the market when it comes to phones with latest and leading technology. iPhone applications are developed in Objective C language while Android applications are developed in Java. Due to the current restrictions and differences between iPhone and Android platforms, applications that need to be deployed on both the platforms need to be developed twice. This involves double effort and time. Hence, there is a rise in demand, for Java to Objective C translator. This translator will allow an application to be developed only once but deploying it on both the platforms, i.e. iPhone and Android. Whenever any new application is to be developed, its application code along with the translation details are sent to the translator. If the application to be developed is for an iPhone, then the translator will refer to the Objective C library and generate a respective Objective C code for that application. If it is to be developed for an Android phone, then the translator will refer to the java library and generate java code for that same application. The generated code will then be sent to be implemented on the required platform. This would help in reducing the development time and energy. Languages that will be used to implement this technique are Java, for the translator and Android, and Objective C for the iPhone