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This is a comparative study of the examination stress assessed either as test anxiety or in terms of its worry and emotionality components in 7,679 high school students (males and females) from four Asian (Indian, Jordanian, Chinese and Korean) and five Euro-American (Hungarian, Turkish, Indian, German and American) cultures. These comparisons have been made on the basis of data reported in the studies which used the English Test Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1980), or its psychometrically equivalent versions in languages of the other eight cultures. The major conclusions are: (a) There are differences with respect to the levels and patterns of test anxiety in terms of its worry and emotionality components not only within Asian or Euro-American but also among Asian and Euro-American cultures. As such, higher test anxiety is a phenomenon not peculiar to the western cultures. Such findings can be explained not only in terms of the differences in the socio-cultural premises, but also in terms of the differences in material conditions; (b) Females, across nine cultures, have higher test anxiety, worry and emotionality than their male counterparts. Greater role expectation conflict in females seems to be the major factor for such a consistent gender difference. Methodological issues relevant to such a research across cultures have also been discussed.

The twentieth century has been called "the age of anxiety". However, the concern with anxiety phenomena is as old as the history of humanity. For many years, theories of anxiety were rooted primarily in the experiences of clinical workers and the insight of the sensitive observers of the West The nebulous character of the phenomena, prompted many researchers to focus their attention on the sperific sources of anxiety in social, public speaking and test situations. The 1950s saw the spawning of test anxiety research in earnest, which began at Yale University in 1952. Almost two decades after this initiation, the first attempt to understand the antecedent of test anxiety of schoolchildren was made by Nijbawan (1972). Almost 12 years after this, a first comprehensive review of research on test anxiety was reported by Sharma and Rao (1984). This article is another attempt, scanning the brief overview of research on test anxiety in India during the twentieth century. Implications for future research in the twenty-first century have also been put forth.

Background Idiopathic chronic constrictive pericarditis is an uncommon yet very important clinical entity as prompt diagnosis and early treatment are affiliated with improved outcomes. We describe an uncommon case of constrictive pericarditis with a series of textbook findings and received successful treatment with surgical pericardiectomy. Case Summary A 58-year-old male presented to the emergency department with exertional dyspnea and anasarca. The past medical history was negative for infections like tuberculosis, viral etc, connective tissue disease, prior cardiac surgery, human immunodeficiency virus or any radiation therapy. The vital signs were within normal limits except mild hypoxia while the physical examination was consistent with congestive heart failure. Further investigations with laboratory testing, imaging with chest Xray, computed tomography, echocardiogram, and invasive study with right heart catheterization were all consistent with idiopathic chronic constrictive pericarditis. The patient underwent successful surgical pericardiectomy with significant improvement in clinical condition. Discussion This case highlights the classical signs and symptoms along with important diagnostic features of constrictive pericarditis. It is uncommon to see all the classical features of constrictive pericarditis in one patient as described in the above case. Familiarity with these findings is crucial to make the diagnosis as early treatment is affiliated with improved outcomes.