Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a complete shut-down of the entire world and almost all the countries are presently in a "lockdown" mode. While the lockdown strategy is an essential step ...to curb the exponential rise of COVID-19 cases, the impact of the same on mental health is not well known.
Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the psychological impact of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic on the general public with an objective to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, well-being, and other psychological issues.
Materials and Methods: It was an online survey conducted under the aegis of the Indian Psychiatry Society. Using the Survey Monkey platform, a survey link was circulated using the Whatsapp. The survey questionnaire included perceived stress scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale to assess perceived stress, anxiety, depression, and mental well-being, respectively. The survey link was circulated starting from April 6, 2020 and was closed on April 24, 2020.
Results: During the survey, a total of 1871 responses were collected, of which 1685 (90.05%) responses were analyzed. About two-fifth (38.2%) had anxiety and 10.5% of the participants had depression. Overall, 40.5% of the participants had either anxiety or depression. Moderate level of stress was reported by about three-fourth (74.1%) of the participants and 71.7% reported poor well-being.
Conclusions: The present survey suggests that more than two-fifths of the people are experiencing common mental disorders, due to lockdown and the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. This finding suggests that there is a need for expanding mental health services to everyone in the society during this pandemic situation.
The volatile constituents of
Curcuma caesia
Roxb. rhizome were obtained by hydro-distillation and investigated using gas chromatography–flame ionization detector (GC–FID) and gas chromatography–mass ...spectrometry (GC–MS). Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of crude oil has been assessed by agar well diffusion method against five bacterial pathogens causing respiratory diseases. Forty-eight constituents representing 99.28% of the total oil were identified. The major constituents were cycloisolongifolene, 8,9-dehydro-9-formyl (11.67%), camphor (6.05%), eucalyptol (5.96), β-germacrene (5.23%), 2,4,6-cycloheptatrien-1-one, 2-hydroxy-5-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-4-(1-methylethenyl) (5.18%) and isoborneol (5.05%), while others were present in relatively small amounts. The antibacterial assay showed significant results against selected bacterial strains.
Addressing the pressing issues of increased food demand, declining crop productivity under varying agroclimatic conditions, and the deteriorating soil health resulting from the overuse of ...agricultural chemicals, requires innovative and effective strategies for the present era. Microbial bioformulation technology is a revolutionary, and eco-friendly alternative to agrochemicals that paves the way for sustainable agriculture. This technology harnesses the power of potential microbial strains and their cell-free filtrate possessing specific properties, such as phosphorus, potassium, and zinc solubilization, nitrogen fixation, siderophore production, and pathogen protection. The application of microbial bioformulations offers several remarkable advantages, including its sustainable nature, plant probiotic properties, and long-term viability, positioning it as a promising technology for the future of agriculture. To maintain the survival and viability of microbial strains, diverse carrier materials are employed to provide essential nourishment and support. Various carrier materials with their unique pros and cons are available, and choosing the most appropriate one is a key consideration, as it substantially extends the shelf life of microbial cells and maintains the overall quality of the bioinoculants. An exemplary modern bioformulation technology involves immobilizing microbial cells and utilizing cell-free filters to preserve the efficacy of bioinoculants, showcasing cutting-edge progress in this field. Moreover, the effective delivery of bioformulations in agricultural fields is another critical aspect to improve their overall efficiency. Proper and suitable application of microbial formulations is essential to boost soil fertility, preserve the soil's microbial ecology, enhance soil nutrition, and support crop physiological and biochemical processes, leading to increased yields in a sustainable manner while reducing reliance on expensive and toxic agrochemicals. This manuscript centers on exploring microbial bioformulations and their carrier materials, providing insights into the selection criteria, the development process of bioformulations, precautions, and best practices for various agricultural lands. The potential of bioformulations in promoting plant growth and defense against pathogens and diseases, while addressing biosafety concerns, is also a focal point of this study.
The Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) initiative was designed to encourage the development of cognitive enhancing agents for schizophrenia. For a ...medication to receive this indication, regulatory agencies require evidence of improvement in both cognition and functional outcome. Functional capacity measures typically used in clinical trials as intermediate measures of functional outcome must be adapted to fit different cultural contexts for use internationally. We examined the psychometric properties of the MATRICS Functional Assessment Battery (MFAB), comprised of 2 subtests from the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment (UPSA) and one from the Test of Adaptive Behavior in Schizophrenia (TABS) that were rated by experts in a previous study to be the most appropriate functional capacity assessments across different cultural contexts.
Four sites in India administered the MFAB, a brief version of the UPSA, the MATRICS Cognitive Consensus Battery, measures of symptomatology, and a measure of global functional outcome to 141 individuals with schizophrenia at a baseline assessment and at 4 weeks later.
Test-retest reliability based on the intraclass correlation coefficient was significantly better for the UCSD Performance-Based Skills Assessment-Brief (UPSA-B). Pearson correlation coefficients over time were not significantly different for the 2 measures. Only the MFAB was significantly correlated with functional outcome as measured by the Specific Levels of Functioning Scale.
The psychometric properties of the MFAB and UPSA-B were similar. The MATRICS scientific board chose to translate the MFAB into multiple languages for potential use in studies of novel medications seeking an indication for improving cognition in schizophrenia.
The volatile constituents of
Nepeta ciliaris
Benth. roots were obtained by hydro-distillation and identified using Gas chromatography–Flame ionization detector (GC–FID) and Gas chromatography–Mass ...spectrometry (GC–MS) technique. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of crude oil has been carried out by using agar well diffusion method against five bacteria causing respiratory infections. Twenty compounds from essential oil of
N. ciliaris
were identified which represents 99.7 % of the total oil, consisting of oxygenated monoterpenoids (15.5 %), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (77.4 %), oxygenated sesquiterpenoids (3.5 %) and diterpene hydrocarbons (3.3 %). The major constituents are α-ylangene (32.1 %), β-caryophyllene (16.1 %), guaiacol (11.3 %), α-humulene (8.1 %), isolongifolene (8.0 %), trans-α-bergamotene (4.5 %), and β-cyclocitral (3.0 %) while others were present in relatively small amounts. The antibacterial assay showed significant results against test bacterial strains.
Schizophrenia, is a common psychiatric illness associated with a broad range of neurodevelopment, structural and behavioural abnormalities, which may result from genetic, environmental and lifestyle ...factors. Experimentally, these factors have been found to cause the cellular metabolic stress that often results in oxidative stress increasing cellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), over the antioxidant capacity. The present study investigates the effect of oral antioxidant supplementation along with antipsychotic treatment in limiting oxidative damage in schizophrenia. 90 schizophrenic patients were divided equally into three groups. Group-1:Newly diagnosed patients, without any medication or supplementation. Group-2: Patients on antipsychotic treatment since three months Group-3: Patients with oral supplementation with antipsychotic treatment since three months. Control group had 30 healthy individuals. Level of oxidative stress and antioxidants (enzymes, vitamins and endogenous substances) was assessed in whole blood and plasma as per standard methods. Baseline psychiatric symptoms were accessed by Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Level of oxidative stress increased in Group 1 and Group 2 with a relative decrease in levels of antioxidants as compared to controls. In Group 3 oxidative stress reduced and level of antioxidants improved. A parallel improvement in the psychopathology indicated prevention of the oxidative damage contributing to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. This study supports the augmentation of antipsychotic treatment by oral supplementation with a combination of antioxidants from the very onset of psychosis to reduce the oxidative injury and improve the clinical outcome of the illness.
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