Biomonitoring of pesticide exposure and its health implications in agricultural areas of Telangana, India: A brief data report.

The dataset represent the results of a cross-sectional study conducted in Telangana, India, to investigate the effects of pesticide exposure in agricultural regions. This study includes 341 pesticides exposed participants and 152 controls in three districts of Telangana including 15 farming villages. Blood and urine samples were analysed to determine various pesticide concentrations present in blood including organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids group of pesticides, and six dialkyl phosphate (DAP) metabolites, including dimethyl phosphate (DMP), diethyl phosphate (DEP), dimethyl thiophosphate (DMTP), dimethyldithiophosphate (DMDTP), diethylthiophosphate (DETP) and diethyldithiophosphate (DEDTP) were analysed in urine samples.

A Single Wisconsin High School Students' Projected Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccines at the Onset of Its Emergency Use Authorization.

Introduction: This study assessed high-school students' anticipated COVID-19 vaccine uptake following the US Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization - before its availability to adolescents - and compared it to current national vaccination rates in similar age groups.

Methods: A web-based survey was conducted in January 2021. Data were analyzed using SurveyMonkey and SPSS.

Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health-Care Career Interests Among High School Students.

Purpose: This study investigates the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on high school students' interest in health-care careers.

Methods: A voluntary web-based survey, approved by the Medical College of Wisconsin's Institutional Review Board, was administered across eight high schools in Milwaukee and its suburbs in Wisconsin. The survey collected students' demographic details, opinions on the health-care system's pandemic response, and their interest in health-care careers before and after the pandemic.

Development and Validation of a New UFLC-MS/MS Method for the Detection of Organophosphate Pesticide Metabolites in Urine.

To monitor human exposure to pesticides, experts commonly measure their metabolites in urine, particularly dialkyl phosphates (DAPs), which include diethyl phosphate (DEP), Diethyl thiophosphate (DETP), diethyl dithiophosphate (DEDTP), dimethyl phosphate (DMP), dimethyl thiophosphate (DMTP) and dimethyl dithiophosphate (DMDTP)to monitor the metabolites of organophosphates. These DAP metabolites are a urinary biomarker for assessing pesticide exposure and potential health risks. This study presented a new screening method combining ultrafast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) to detect six DAP metabolites in human urine.

Scholarly Curriculum at a Psychiatry Residency Program in Canada: 10-Year Outcomes.

Problem: For research in medicine to address needed interventions and produce outcomes relevant to patient care, it is important for physicians to gain hands-on experience in scientific methods during their training. However, the results of recent studies in the United States and Canada indicate low interest in research among residents.

Approach: In 2011, involvement in a scholarly activity was made mandatory for all residents joining the Western University psychiatry residency program (WUPRP).

Point of Care Ultrasound Training in Nephrology: Twitter Poll as a Modern Tool for Development of an Effective Curriculum.

Introduction: Point of care ultrasonography (POCUS) is being increasingly recognized as an adjunct to physical examination in the field of nephrology. However, paucity of trained faculty and standardized curricula remain key barriers to widespread adoption of this skill as well as development of reliable quality assessment programs at the institutional level. Herein, we sought to explore the utility of Twitter polls to gain insights into knowledge deficits of the learners for making curricular improvements while simultaneously disseminating POCUS pearls and pitfalls.

Student-Designed Cross-Sectional Pandemic Knowledge Survey of 8th-12th Grade Students, Milwaukee, WI, April 2020.

The novel coronavirus and its effect on our society are unprecedented. Given the recent pandemic, numerous measures have been taken to protect our communities. We sought to understand our school community's knowledge and the measures that were taken by our school for our safety.

Impact of COVID-19 on oncology education and training in India.

Coronavirus disease-19 was declared a pandemic and global emergency in March 2020. Oncology education and training has been on a rollercoaster ride ever since. Despite major changes in the work environment, training for postgraduates in oncology has continued with various challenges.

Sudarshan Kriya Yoga Program in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Feasibility Study.

Background: Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), a breath-based yoga intervention, has demonstrated safety and efficacy in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients subsequent to natural disaster or war, but has not been explored in civilians with PTSD from a wider range of trauma. We hypothesized that it would be feasible to conduct a clinical trial of SKY in PTSD resulting from a wide range of trauma.

Methods: Outcomes were feasibility measures including rates of enrollment and retention, adherence to study protocol; as well as changes in PTSD symptoms, other mood symptoms, and physiological measures.

Can We Improve Physical Health Monitoring for Patients Taking Antipsychotics on a Mental Health Inpatient Unit?

Background: Patients with severe mental illness are at risk of medical complications, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. Given this vulnerability, combined with metabolic risks of antipsychotics, physical health monitoring is critical. Inpatient admission is an opportunity to screen for medical comorbidities.

Quality Review in Psychiatry.

This position paper has been substantially revised by the Canadian Psychiatric Association's Professional Standards and Practice Committee and approved for republication by the CPA's Board of Directors on August 31, 2016. The original position paper was developed by the Professional Standards and Practice Council and approved by the Board of Directors on April 9, 1994.

Academic detailing among psychiatrists - feasibility and acceptability.

Purpose Research has shown that academic detailing (AD), which includes repeated in-person educational messages in an interactive format in a physician's office, is among the most effective continuing medical education (CME) forms for improving prescribing practices and reducing drug costs. The purpose of this paper is to investigate AD's feasibility and acceptability as an educational tool among psychiatrists and its ability to facilitate positive changes in antipsychotic prescribing. Design/methodology/approach All psychiatrists practicing in Southwestern Ontario, Canada were invited to participate.

Genetic Determinants of Clozapine-Induced Metabolic Side Effects.

Objective: Atypical antipychotics are linked to a higher incidence of metabolic side effects, including weight gain, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. In this study, we examined the prevalence and potential genetic predictors of metabolic side effects in 60 adult patients on clozapine.

Method: Genetic variants of relevance to clozapine metabolism, clearance, and response were assessed through targeted genotyping of cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP1A2 and CYP2C19, the efflux transporter ABCB1, the serotonin receptor (HTR2C), leptin (LEP), and leptin receptor (LEPR).

Topiramate for acute affective episodes in bipolar disorder in adults.

Background: Bipolar disorder is a common recurrent illness with high levels of chronicity. Previous trials have suggested that the anticonvulsant topiramate may be efficacious in bipolar disorder. This is an update of a previous Cochrane review (last published 2006) on the role of topiramate in bipolar disorder.

Asenapine for the Treatment of Psychotic Disorders.

Objective: A systematic review was conducted to examine the efficacy, tolerability, and acceptability of asenapine compared with other antipsychotics in the treatment of psychotic disorders.

Methods: Four databases, 8 trial registries, and conference presentations were searched for randomized clinical trials of asenapine versus any comparator for the treatment of any psychotic illness. Primary outcome measures were changes in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score and the incidence of withdrawal due to adverse effects.

Accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls in fish and assessment of dietary exposure: a study in Hyderabad City, India.

The objective of this study is to determine the concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in different fish species collected from fish outlets in the south Indian city of Hyderabad. The samples of fish extracted by using Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) and concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, 45 congeners) were determined by gas chromatography-microelectron capture detection (GC-μECD) method. The intake of individual PCB congeners through fish, toxicity equivalence factors (TEFs), hazardous quotient, quantitative assessment, and risk evaluations was estimated in the Indian population.

Is Valproate Depressogenic in Patients Remitting from Acute Mania? Case Series.

Valproate is an effective antimanic agent and is recommended as a first-line medication in the treatment of acute mania. Current evidence based guidelines recommend that valproate should be given as a loading dose as it produces a rapid antimanic and antipsychotic response with minimal side-effects. However, no clear guidelines are available on the appropriate dosing or serum levels of valproate in the continuation or maintenance phase of bipolar disorder.

Periventricular white matter integrity and cortisol levels in healthy controls and in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder: an exploratory analysis.

Background: Bipolar disorder is associated with both white matter abnormalities and hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction. In a post-hoc analysis of diffusion tensor data, the relationship between cortisol levels and white matter structural integrity was explored in healthy controls and in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder.

Methods: Healthy control subjects and patients with bipolar disorder, prospectively verified as euthymic, underwent diffusion tensor MRI: fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity data in fifteen regions of interest were obtained.

Physical health of patients with severe mental illness: an intervention on medium secure forensic unit.

Purpose: Patients with severe mental illness (SMI) treated with antipsychotic medication are at increased risk of metabolic side-effects like weight gain, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidaemia. This study aims to examine the feasibility of maintaining a physical health monitoring sheet in patients' records and its impact on physical health of patients with SMI, over a period of one year.

Design/methodology/approach: A physical health monitoring sheet was introduced in all the patients' records on a 15-bedded male medium secure forensic psychiatric rehabilitation unit, as a prompt to regularly monitor physical health parameters.

Quantification of organophosphate insecticides and herbicides in vegetable samples using the "Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe" (QuEChERS) method and a high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technique.

A Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe (QuEchERS) extraction was developed and followed by selective analysis using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the quantification of eighteen pesticides in vegetable samples. This method was accurate (⩾99.5%), and it exhibited limits of detection and quantification values in the 0.

Valproate in acute mania: is our practice evidence based?

Purpose: This audit was conducted on acute psychiatric in-patient wards with the aim of establishing if valproate prescribing in acute mania followed evidence-based guidelines with particular emphasis on formulations used and whether accelerated valproate dosing was employed.

Design/methodology/approach: Case notes from 43 (42 percent male) patients admitted with mania and subsequently discharged on valproate were reviewed. Valproate formulation, weight measurement (necessary for dose-calculation in accelerated dosing), initial valproate dose and increments, serum valproate monitoring and other prescribed psychotropic agents were noted.