Monika M. Wahi

Comparison of trait and ability measures of emotional intelligence in medical students

Context  Emotional intelligence (EI), the ability to perceive emotions in the self and others, and to understand, regulate and use such information in productive ways, is believed to be important in health care delivery for both recipients and providers of health care. There are two types of EI measure: ability and trait. Ability and trait measures differ in terms of both the definition of constructs and the methods of assessment. Ability measures conceive of EI as a capacity that spans the border between reason and feeling. Items on such a measure include showing a person a picture of a face and asking what emotion the pictured person is feeling; such items are scored by comparing the test‐taker’s response to a keyed emotion. Trait measures include a very large array of non‐cognitive abilities related to success, such as self‐control. Items on such measures ask individuals to rate themselves on such statements as: ‘I generally know what other people are feeling.’ Items are scored by giving higher scores to greater self‐assessments. We compared one of each type of test with the other for evidence of reliability, convergence and overlap with personality.

Reducing Errors from the Electronic Transcription of Data Collected on Paper Forms: A Research Data Case Study

We conducted a reliability study comparing single data entry (SE) into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to entry using the existing forms (EF) feature of the Teleforms software system, in which optical character recognition is used to capture data off of paper forms designed in non-Teleforms software programs. We compared the transcription of data from multiple paper forms from over 100 research participants representing almost 20,000 data entry fields. Error rates for SE were significantly lower than those for EF, so we chose SE for data entry in our study. Data transcription strategies from paper to electronic format should be chosen based on evidence from formal evaluations, and their design should be contemplated during the paper forms development stage.

Surgical Interest and Surgical Match for Third-Year Students: Results of a Prospective Multivariate Longitudinal Cohort Study

BACKGROUND Numerous factors have been linked to surgical career choice, including the quality of third-year surgical clerkship. The vast majority of studies also selectively evaluate one or only a few variables that link to surgical career choice, so relative impact cannot be assessed. This study simultaneously evaluates the majority of variables linked to surgical career choice in previous research so that the relative contributions of each of these variables with respect to surgical career choice can be determined. STUDY DESIGN Surveys before, during, and after the third-year surgical clerkship included student demographics, background, and values (eg, importance of money, controllable lifestyle), and student reactions to the third-year surgical clerkship. The dependent variables in this study included interest in surgery at the beginning and end of the clerkship and matching into a surgical residency. RESULTS Both univariate and multivariate analyses generally supported findings in the literature, but the strengths of these associations reported previously might not have been accurate. In this study, the surgical resident match odds ratio for students starting the clerkship already knowing they wanted to be a surgeon was 22.46; the next highest associations were 4.65 and 3.37, which corresponded to earlier exposure to a surgical specialty and earlier exposure to general surgery, respectively. Differences in career choice for general surgeons and surgical specialists were also explored. CONCLUSIONS Although the experience of the clerkship is related to career choice, the largest impact of the clerkship is for those already interested in a surgical career. Interest in a surgical career largely develops before the third-year clerkship. Implications of the results for recruiting greater numbers of students into surgical careers are discussed.

Reproductive factors and risk of pancreatic cancer in women: a review of the literature.

PURPOSE Pancreatic cancer (PCA) is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The male-to-female incidence and mortality ratio of PCA is 1.1-2.0. One possible explanation for this difference is that female hormone exposure is protective for the development of PCA. Several hypotheses were investigated in this systematic review: (1) increased exposure to estrogen through early menarche and later menopause is associated with a decreased risk of PCA; (2) increased exposure to pregnancy is associated with decreased risk of PCA; and (3) increased exposure to oral contraceptives and/or hormone replacement therapy is associated with decreased risk of PCA. METHODS Of 371 articles identified, 10 case-control and 5 cohort studies met the criteria for our review. Odds ratios for case-control studies and hazard ratios for cohort studies and their accompanying 95% confidence intervals for analyses relevant to our hypotheses were considered in the review. RESULTS For all 3 hypotheses, studies displayed inconsistent results, and this may have been due to the diversity of study populations, exposure quantification, analysis approach, confounding and other limitations, and biases across studies. CONCLUSIONS As there was no strong support for any of the 3 hypotheses, it appears that reproductive factors are not associated with the development of PCA in women.

Successful adjuvant-free vaccination of BALB/c mice with mutated amyloid β peptides

BackgroundA recent human clinical trial of an Alzheimers disease (AD) vaccine using amyloid beta (Aβ) 1–42 plus QS-21 adjuvant produced some positive results, but was halted due to meningoencephalitis in some participants. The development of a vaccine with mutant Aβ peptides that avoids the use of an adjuvant may result in an effective and safer human vaccine.ResultsAll peptides tested showed high antibody responses, were long-lasting, and demonstrated good memory response. Epitope mapping indicated that peptide mutation did not lead to epitope switching. Mutant peptides induced different inflammation responses as evidenced by cytokine profiles. Ig isotyping indicated that adjuvant-free vaccination with peptides drove an adequate Th2 response. All anti-sera from vaccinated mice cross-reacted with human Aβ in APP/PS1 transgenic mouse brain tissue.ConclusionOur study demonstrated that an adjuvant-free vaccine with different Aβ peptides can be an effective and safe vaccination approach against AD. This study represents the first report of adjuvant-free vaccines utilizing Aβ peptides carrying diverse mutations in the T-cell epitope. These largely positive results provide encouragement for the future of the development of human vaccinations for AD.

Sporadically occurring functional pancreatic endocrine tumors: review of recent literature.

Purpose of review Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors are rare neoplasms often associated with a clinical syndrome. Their rarity makes a comprehensive study difficult at any single institution, while their uniqueness makes them desirable for investigation. This review summarizes recent information and advancements concerning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor diagnosis, imaging characteristics, treatment algorithms, and staging. Recent findings Insulinomas and gastrinomas comprise the majority of functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Advances in their identification and diagnostic evaluation, imaging techniques, and treatment algorithms are presented. Furthermore, a new staging classification system has been proposed which may significantly improve the ability to conduct future multi-institutional investigations on pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Summary Although rare, a thorough understanding of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors is essential for all physicians due to the wide variety of symptoms with which patients present. Currently, patients are often misdiagnosed for extended periods of time. This review summarizes the recently published literature about diagnosis, imaging, treatment, and staging of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Psychometrics of Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) Scores:

A sample of 183 medical students completed the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT V2.0). Scores on the test were examined for evidence of reliability and factorial validity. Although Cronbachs alpha for the total scores was adequate (.79), many of the scales had low internal consistency (scale alphas ranged from .34 to .77; median = .48). Previous factor analyses of the MSCEIT are critiqued and the rationale for the current analysis is presented. Both confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses of the MSCEIT item parcels are reported. Pictures and faces items formed separate factors rather than loading on a Perception factor. Emotional Management appeared as a factor, but items from Blends and Facilitation failed to load consistently on any factor, rendering factors for Emotional Understanding and Emotional Facilitation problematic.

Mutant Amyloid-beta-sensitized dendritic cells as Alzheimer's disease vaccine

Vaccines using bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs) sensitized to Abeta 1-42 peptide and other mutant peptides were tested on BALB/c and APP(SW) transgenic mice. Wild type Abeta 1-42-sensitized DC vaccine (DCSV) produced no response, but all peptides with a T-cell epitope mutation induced antibody responses without inflammation. DCSV with Abeta 1-25 peptide with mutated T-cell epitope failed to induce antibody response, while DCSV with Abeta 1-35 with mutated T-cell epitope produced a strong antibody response. The entire T-cell epitope is required in a DC vaccine to induce antibody response. DCSV with Abeta peptide carrying the entire mutant T-cell epitope may be an appropriate vaccine against AD.

Emotional Intelligence and Medical School Performance: A Prospective Multivariate Study

Purpose: Emotional intelligence (EI) tests could prove useful in medical school admissions decisions. The purpose of this study was to determine (a) whether emotional intelligence predicts measures of success in medical school beyond cognitive ability and personality tests, and (b) whether a self-report or an ability-based test of EI would provide superior predictive validity. Methods: Medical students were administered two EI tests, including the Wong & Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT).1,2 Personality was measured by the NEO, and cognitive ability scores from the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) were obtained from admissions records.3 Success criteria were grades in medical school courses, national board examination scores, and clinical performance examination scores. Correlations between EI measures and success criteria were computed. Multiple regression models were computed using EI, MCAT, undergraduate grade-point average and personality scores for each criterion variable. Results: WLEIS scores did not correlate significantly with any of the criteria, but scores from the MSCEIT were correlated with grade point averages in medical school years three and four. Multiple regression results indicated that neither test of emotional intelligence added predictive value beyond cognitive ability and personality. Conclusions: Although the ability test (MSCEIT) was a better predictor than the self-report measure of EI (WLEIS), neither measure provided additional predictive information beyond that of cognitive ability and personality.

A Second Case Report of Lleuprolide Acetate for Depot Suspension-Induced Mania

This is the second published case report of Lleuprolide acetate for depot suspension (LD)-induced mania. Both reports detail a patient with a prior psychiatric history of both depressive and hypomanic episodes. While depression is a predictable and documented side effect of LD and menopause (especially in those with a previoushistory of symptoms), manic reactions are rare and unexplained. Possible causative mechanismsbehind the LD-induced manic episodes are discussed, and we suggest that patients with a single previous hypomanic episode are at risk for LD-induced mania.