Introduction: Forensic medicine is a cornerstone in ensuring the delivery of justice through medical evidence. The Compulsory Rotatory Medical Internship (CRMI) is designed in such a way so that intersect with almost every clinical discipline—consent, documentation, MLC registration, sexual assault examination, injury certification, chain of custody, and death certification. Aim: This study aims to assess the value of compulsory forensic postings through a comparative analysis between two groups of medical interns Methods: Two study groups were made for comparison where 50 students who completed their internship in forensic medicine (Group A) and 50 students who were yet not posted (Group B) for internship to FMT department in over 5 months at our Chirayu Medical College & Hospital. which is a tertiary‑care teaching hospital in central India region, Bhopal, M.P. Results: The mean knowledge score was significantly higher in Group A (3.8 ± 1.22) compared to Group B (2.28 ± 1.25). Majority of interns in Group A (81%) reported adequate exposure-based skills in handling cases compared to only 43% in Group B. Confidence levels in handling the medicolegal cases was markedly higher among Group A interns (75.6%) than Group B interns (20.4%). Positive attitude toward the relevance of forensic medicine was significantly greater in Group A (89.2%) in comparison to Group B (9.6%). Conclusion: The outcomes of the study are vital, as doctors frequently encounter medico-legal issues in practice, and inadequate training could result in errors with legal consequences. A Structured orientation for each day, casualty duties, supervised hands‑on tasks, daily case‑based discussions, feedback, mandatory logbook and autopsy visits in FMT internship posting can significantly enhance interns’ readiness for medicolegal tasks.
Background: Cancer is a major global health problem and is frequently associated with anxiety and depression that remain unrecognized and adversely affecting treatment outcome. So, the present study aims to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression among cancer patients. Methods: A hospital-based mixed-method cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 adult cancer patients attending the Oncology Department of a tertiary care hospital in Bhopal for 01 year. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to collect quantitative data and in - depth interview for qualitative data. Chi square test was applied to test the association between quantitative variables and thematic analysis for qualitative data. Results: The mean age of participants was predominantly above 40 years, with males constituting 53.3%. Breast cancer (23.3%) was commonly reported cancer. The prevalence of anxiety and depression was 37% and 29%, respectively. Anxiety showed a significant association with gender (p=0.032) and cancer stage (p=0.002), while depression was significantly associated with marital status (p=0.049), socioeconomic status (p=0.033), and cancer stage (p=0.022). A strong positive correlation was observed between anxiety and depression scores (r=0.8524). Qualitative analysis showed varied perception, financial insecurity and social stigma. Conclusion: A substantial proportion of cancer patients experienced anxiety and depression, particularly those with advanced-stage disease. Participaants commonly reported fear, hopelessness, financial insecurity, social withdrawal, and concerns regarding the future. It highlights the need for routine mental health screening as a part of comprehensive cancer care.
Embryo culture is a critical determinant of success in assisted reproductive technology (ART). Conventional incubation (CI) systems have long been the standard for supporting embryo development. Still, their reliance on periodic morphological assessments disrupts stable culture conditions and limits embryo evaluation to static observations. The introduction of time-lapse incubation (TLI) has addressed these challenges by enabling uninterrupted monitoring, providing continuous morphokinetic data, and supporting algorithm-driven embryo selection. This narrative review compares CI and TLI approaches, examining their principles, strengths, limitations, and reported clinical outcomes. While TLI has demonstrated advantages in laboratory workflow efficiency and embryo assessment, evidence regarding its impact on live birth rates remains inconsistent. Moreover, challenges related to high costs, accessibility in resource-limited settings, and ethical considerations warrant careful evaluation. Future directions point toward integrating artificial intelligence, non-invasive molecular profiling, and personalized embryo culture strategies to further enhance reproductive outcomes. A balanced appraisal of current evidence is essential to guide the responsible adoption of TLI within clinical practice.
Background: Disaster victim identification (DVI) is a humanitarian, legal, and scientific process that seeks to restore identity to the deceased and provide families with timely, reliable answers after mass fatality incidents Rapid DNA testing has emerged as a promising operational advance because it can generate short tandem repeat (STR) profiles at or near the point of need in roughly 90 minutes. Aim: The present paper aims to examine how rapid DNA can be utilized in DVI, to analyze the scientific and practical role of forensic DNA phenotyping, and to discuss how both methods can be integrated within a structured forensic response to disasters. Materials and Methods: This paper is a narrative review and analytical synthesis based on published forensic literature, guidance-oriented sources, and peer-reviewed reports concerning rapid DNA deployment in mass fatality contexts and forensic DNA phenotyping in degraded human remains. Information was organized under major forensic workflow domains: scene recovery, postmortem sampling, antemortem reference collection, phenotypic inference, statistical interpretation, ethical considerations, and operational implementation. A descriptive statistical section was added using the published phenotyping accuracies and case counts reported in the reviewed study to illustrate how forensic data may be interpreted in an academic DVI context. Result: The reviewed evidence indicates that rapid DNA offers substantial operational value in DVI because it can produce actionable STR profiles in less than two hours and has already been used successfully in the field to aid disaster victim identification, including wildfire-related fatalities. Its main advantages are speed, reduced transport delays, simpler workflow, and the possibility of colocating DNA testing. The forensic DNA phenotyping literature reviewed here shows that HIrisPlex-S can provide useful probabilistic estimates of pigmentation traits from degraded bone-derived DNA, with reported overall prediction accuracies above 90% for iris, hair, and skin colour at a probability threshold of 0.7. Conclusion Rapid DNA testing is not a replacement for the entire DVI system, but it is a powerful operational enhancer when used within validated forensic protocols. Forensic DNA phenotyping adds another layer of value by helping infer likely physical appearance from degraded remains, particularly when comparison references are absent, delayed, or incomplete.
BACKGROUND:The educational environment significantly influences medical students' academic success and well-being. Assessing perceptions of this environment is crucial for improving educational quality. This study was designed to evaluate students' perceptions of their learning environment in a medical college in Mangalore, Karnataka, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS:A mixed-methods study was conducted among medical students in 2023. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire, which assesses domains including Students' Perception of Learning (SPL), Students' Perception of Teachers (SPT), Students' Academic Self-Perception (SASP), Students' Perception of Atmosphere (SPA), and Students' Social Self-Perception (SSSP), along with focus group discussions, was used. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States), employing t-tests, ANOVA, and thematic analysis (p < 0.05). RESULTS:The DREEM score was 122.53/200 (61.26%), indicating a positive environment. The SPT domain had the highest scores, with significant differences observed across academic years (p = 0.006), and SSSP was the lowest (55.50%, p=0.006). Batch differences were significant for SPL, SPT, SPA, and SSSP (p<0.050). Thematic analysis revealed concerns about rote memorization, stress, and limited clinical integration, highlighting needs for interactive teaching and support systems. CONCLUSION:The educational environment was generally positive, but social support and stress management need improvement. Enhancing interactive teaching and support systems is essential to optimizing the learning experience and preparing students for professional roles.
