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Validity in research mainly stands for accuracy of procedures, research instruments, tests, etc. The concept of validity can also be understood by posing a question, ‘Are we measuring or able to measure what we originally intended to measure?’. Validity means that research must be unbiased and free from any systematic error as these may impact the applicability of research. Without validity, research goes in the wrong direction.

External Validity:

• It means that external factors that can affect the study must be controlled.
• For example, the response of a respondent in social sciences surveys may be affected by the mere presence of a non-participant observer.
• It also refers to the extent to which the research outcome can be generalized and applied to other cases that are not under study.
• It is also termed as credibility and external validity is termed as generalizability or transferability.

​Hence, External validity in research refers to The extent of generalizability that the results provide.

The correct answer is 1977.

• Smallpox is a disease caused by a pox virus (also called variola) that is transmitted from person to person that causes high fever, characteristic rash, and may kill about one-third of those infected.
• Smallpox is the only disease that has been completely wiped out throughout the world.

Key Points

• Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by one of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor.
• The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980.
• The risk of death following contracting the disease was about 30%, with higher rates among babies.
• Often those who survived had extensive scarring of their skin, and some were left blind.

Concept:-

• Isolation of a child with measles belongs to the level of prevention known as "secondary prevention."

Additional Information

Secondary prevention aims to detect and treat a disease or condition in its early stages to prevent further progression and minimize its impact. In the case of measles, isolating an infected child helps prevent the spread of the disease to others and reduces the risk of a measles outbreak.

Primary prevention focuses on preventing the disease or condition from occurring in the first place. Examples include vaccination programs to prevent measles or educational campaigns promoting healthy behaviors to prevent various diseases.

Tertiary prevention involves interventions aimed at reducing the complications and disabilities associated with a disease or condition that has already occurred. In the case of measles, tertiary prevention might involve providing supportive care, managing complications, and promoting recovery for children who have contracted the disease.

Therefore, the correct answer to the question is 1) Secondary.

Important Points

• Primordial prevention- It applies only to non-communicable diseases.

Concept:-

• Kerning’s sign: a test used in physical examination to diagnose meningitis and subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Procedure:

1. The patient is positioned supine with hip and knee flexed to 90 degrees.
2. The knee is then slowly extended by the examiner.
3. Resistance or pain and the inability to extend the patient’s knee beyond 135 degrees because of pain.
4. Repeat on the other leg.

Important Points

• The positive sign is shown when the patient claims for the pain.
• The patient may also show opisthotonos- spasm of the whole body that leads to legs and head being bent back and body bowed forward.
• It is caused by the severe stiffness of the hamstrings, so the patient is not able to straighten the leg when the hip is flexed to 90 degrees.

Additional Information

• Chvostek sign:  an indication of tetany in which a unilateral spasm of the iris muscle is initiated by a slight tap over the facial nerve anterior to the external auditory canal.
• Asterixis sign: in asterixis, the patient’s wrists and fingers are observed to flap because of a brief, rapid relaxation of wrist dorsiflexion.
• Brudzinski’s sign: it is positive if the patient's hips and knees flex automatically when the examiner flexes the patient's neck while the patient is supine.

Measles

• A contagious infectious disease caused by the measles virus.
• Symptoms may develop after 10-12 days after exposure.
• The major signs and symptoms include fever, inflammation of the eyes, and Koplik’s spots.
• Measles is a droplet infection.

Mumps

• Viral disease caused by the mumps virus.
• Symptoms usually occur 16 to 18 days after exposure.
• One-third of affected people are asymptomatic.
• The transmission of the virus is through droplets.
• The virus is an RNA virus from the family paramyxoviridiae.

Chickenpox

• Is an infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus? It is also called the human herpes virus. The mode of transmission is Droplet infection. The rash may first show up on the chest, back, and face, and then spread over the entire body.

Learning Disability: It is a neurological disorder that prevents a person from learning a skill and using it effectively. Generally, occurs in childhood and characterized by difficulty with certain skills such as reading, writing, speaking etc.

• Dyslexia: It is a ‘Reading’ disability, which is not due to mental retardation, brain damage, or a lack of intelligence. It is caused by an impairment in the brain’s ability to translate images received from the eyes or ears into understandable language.

Key Points

Characteristics of a Child Suffering from Dyslexia:

• A dyslexic child will read and write slowly, often reversing letters, word or numbers.
• The child may try to guess while reading, omitting or adding words not in the text.
• He/she may have a poor vocabulary and weak comprehension.
• Difficulty in learning or copying from the board or printed book.
• A child may have difficulty remembering or understanding printed words.
• Problems with reading accurately and fluency.

NOTE: Some Other Common Learning Disabilities in Children:

Hence, it becomes clear that certainty as to right or left-handedness is not a characteristic of Dyslexia.

Concept:

• Systematic random sampling: it is a frequently used variant of simple random sampling. When performing systematic sampling, every kth element from the list is selected from a randomly selected starting point.

Method of Systematic random sampling:

• Step 1 – divide the population size by the sample size and round the result down to the nearest whole number, m
• Step 2 – use a random-number table to obtain a number, k, between 1 and m
• Step 3 – select for the sample those members of the population that are numbered k, k+m, k+2m,…., k+(sample size – 1)m

Additional Information

• Snowball sampling:  selecting participants by finding one or two participants and then asking them to refer you to others.
• Stratified random sampling: it is obtained by separating the population units into non-overlapping groups, called strata, and then selecting a random sample from each stratum.
• Simple random sampling: the process of selecting a sample that allows individuals in the defined population to have an equal and independent chance of being selected for the sample.

The correct option is Craniotables.

Key Points

• Rickets is caused due to deficiency of Vitamin D.
• Rickets is a bone disorder.
• Craniotabes is a softening of the bones of the skull that is known to be associated with various pathological conditions and early signs, including rickets, hypervitaminosis A, osteogenesis imperfecta, hydrocephalus, or congenital syphilis.
• Rickets is also caused by a deficiency of calcium, or phosphate.​

Additional Information

• Some Important Source of Vitamin D:
• Fatty fish, like mackerel, salmon, tuna.
• Foods fortified with vitamin D, for example, some dairy products, orange juice.
• Cheese
• Egg yolks

Concept:-

• Opportunistic infection: infections that develop as a result of damage to the immune system are called opportunistic infections.
• These infections take advantage of the opportunity provided by a weakened immune system.
• Infections tend to appear at predictable stages of immune deterioration.

For example:

• Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
• HIV
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Candidiasis of the trachea, bronchi or lungs
• Candidiasis of the esophagus

Additional Information

• Iatrogenic infection:  caused by a physician’s actions, including reactions from prescribed drugs or from medical and surgical procedures.
• Subclinical infection: an infection does not show obvious clinical signs or symptoms.
• Nosocomial infection: it is every infectious process, appearing during a hospital stay, despite its clinical picture, carrier status, and time of manifestation- during hospital treatment or after discharge.

Concept:-

• Mitral region (near the audible apex between the 5^th and 6^th intercostal space in the mid-clavicular line) (top of the heart).

Midclavicular line:

• Medical Definition: midclavicular line is an imaginary line parallel to the long axis of the body and passing through the midpoint of the clavicle on the ventral surface of the body.
• Intercostal space: space between two ribs and their costal cartilage.

Explanation:

• Mitral area: it is the chest wall area over the apex of the heart. Mitral valve sounds can be heard in this area.
• Located: in the left midclavicular line at the level of the 5^th intercostal space.