Child sexual abuse prevention involving mothers: A Quasi-experimental study with Protection Motivation Theory-based intervention.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a worldwide problem. The safety of children is everybody's responsibility. Parental and family involvement is crucial in the CSA prevention process. Parental lack of knowledge may increase the risk of abuse among children. Educating parents is crucial as children are mostly dependent on them. The role of mothers in educating children on CSA is of relevance as they are identified as more sensitive and responsible caregivers. The present study aimed to promote knowledge and attitude towards CSA prevention among mothers through a psychoeducation program. A pre- and posttest design (n = 67) was used with an intervention based on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). A CSA knowledge and attitude scale was developed for the assessment of the participants for the study. There were significant changes in knowledge and attitude among the participants after the intervention. The prevention of CSA will be effective with knowledge gains after the PMT-based intervention. The intervention programs that involve mothers in CSA education have benefits. The findings of this study can be helpful to incorporate public health approaches to devise evidence-based parental programs in community settings.

Chronic unpredictable stress-induced inflammation and quantitative analysis of neurons of distinct brain regions in Wistar rat model of comorbid depression.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Depression and anxiety are the most prominent neuropsychiatric disease and have been considered as the most burdensome diseases of society. The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex have a prominent role in stress-induced neurological disorders. Chronic unpredictable stress exposed rats are a perfect model in understanding comorbid depression and anxiety disorders. The inflammatory response occurring in the body has been linked to C-reactive protein (CRP) in many diseased conditions. The present research primarily focus on the possible correlation of Cortisol, CRP level and neuronal assay in different regions of hippocampus, dentate gyrus (DG), and prefrontal cortex. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The control group of rats (n=6) was not exposed to any stress. Whereas, the experimental stress group (n=6) of rats was exposed to various stressors for 15 days. After the experimentation procedures, the blood samples were collected and brain dissection was done. The neurons in the prefrontal cortex, the DG along with various hippocampal regions was counted. Statistical analysis was performed using student's t-test and p<0.05 was expressed as statistically significant. RESULTS: Animals exposed to chronic unpredictable stressors showed a significant (p<0.0001) decrease in the neuronal count in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. A significant rise in the serum cortisol (p<0.0001) and CRP (p<0.001) was witnessed in the stressed group. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that chronic unpredictable stress exposure has affected neurogenesis in prefrontal cortex and hippocampal regions. Decreased neurogenesis was well in coordinance with the increase in cortisol and CRP. The chronic unpredictable stress-induced inflammatory response correlated to various brain regions might provoke insights into a variety of new drugs targeting neurogenesis.

Assessment of monoamine neurotransmitters in the cortex and cerebellum of gamma-irradiated mice: A neuromodulatory role of Cynodon dactylon.

INTRODUCTION: Radiation is an important tool in the diagnostic and curative treatment of many cancers. Ionizing radiation induces many biochemical changes in the cells. The present study was designed to estimate the level of neurotransmitters in the distinct brain tissue of Swiss albino mice before exposing gamma radiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The mice were treated with 0.25 and 1 g/kg body weight of Cynodon dactylon extract (CDE) via oral gavage for 7 days and subjected to 5 Gy of gamma radiation. The estimation of monoamines was performed in the cortex and cerebellum separately. RESULTS: Mice exposed to a sublethal dose 5 Gy of gamma radiation causes a significant decrease in dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and serotonin levels compared to normal. The mice treated with 0.25 and 1 g/kg body weight of CDE via oral gavage for 7 days showed significant improvement in the level of monoamine neurotransmitters in both the cortex and cerebellum homogenate. CONCLUSION: Oral administration of antioxidant-rich C. dactylon has shown a neuromodulatory effect against radiation-induced depletion of neurotransmitters in the brain tissues.

In vitro Evaluation of Shear Bond Strength of Orthodontic Brackets Bonded with Different Adhesives.

BACKGROUND: There is necessary of dry operating field for bonding of orthodontic brackets. The presence of moisture can alter the bond strength. Hence, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets with different adhesives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this in vitro study, a total of 100 orthodontically extracted premolars with sound crown structure were divided into 4 equal groups of different primers. Bonding on the buccal surface of all teeth was done after acid etching with upper premolar brackets using different primers followed by light curing. Shear bond strength was evaluated with or without salivary contamination with both adhesives. A shear force for deboning the bracket was done with universal testing machine. The debonded specimens were examined at ×10 magnification to check site of bond failure and remaining adhesive on tooth using adhesive remnant index (ARI). The obtained data were statistically evaluated using SPSS 20 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) using ANOVA, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and Levene's test at the statistical significance of P < 0.05. RESULTS: Transbond Plus showed higher shear bond strength of 8.92 MPa under dry and 5.65 MPa with saliva contamination over Transbond XT of 7.24 MPa under dry and 2.43 MPa with saliva contamination, respectively. Higher ARI score was found without contamination in both adhesives. CONCLUSION: Transbond Plus hydrophilic resin had good shear bond strength under both dry and contamination condition compared to hydrophobic Transbond XT resin material.

Protective Role of Co-administration of Vitamin D in Monosodium Glutamate Induced Obesity in Female Rats.

PURPOSE: Obesity in females is an emerging health problem. The consumption of MSG has been considered as a risk factor for obesity. The tastemakers in Chinese and fast foods, such as fish sauce and soy sauce, contain very high levels of glutamate. The deficiency of Vitamin D is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effect of co-administration of Vitamin D on body weight control in MSG-induced obese rats. METHODS: Eighteen adult female Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups equally. The first group (Group I) was treated with saline served as the control; the second group (Group II) received a daily oral dose of 5 g/kg Body weight of MSG; the third group (Group III) received the same dose of MSG along with calcitriol (0.2 mcg/kg BW) for 15 days. RESULTS: The body weight, food, and water intake were measured. MSG treated rats showed a significant increase (P < 0.001) in the body weight, food, and water intake but significant decrease (P < 0.001) was observed in the rats treated with MSG along with Vitamin D. CONCLUSION: Ingestion of Vitamin D suppresses body weight gain in MSG-induced obese rats. Active agents in Vitamin D are useful for the prevention and treatment of obesity. Foods tested with high glutamate levels can be fortified with minute quantities of calcitriol to combat the adverse effects without compromising on the taste of the food processed. The fortification of junk foods might also combat largely prevalent Vitamin D deficiency in India.

Electro therapy facial and laser skin whitening: Clients' perspective.

There are so many beauty salons in Metropolis who provide services to women exclusively [1]. These beauty salons depend mostly on electricity for their services to customers, without it there is no effective means of operation [2]. These beauty salons are definitely leading to women empowerment. The beauty salons are run by the women for women. Since they fall under the category of micro and small enterprises, these salons may avail so many financial and non- financial advantages from the Government of India. They also provide employment opportunities to the women employees. The development of such beauty salons rests on the clients' satisfaction on the provision of their services. Hence it is essential to measure the clients attitude towards the services offered by the beauty salons, especially electro therapy facial, laser skin whitening and laser hair removal treatments, which are coming under micro current treatment as a cosmetic tool.

A model of Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS) for promoting and controlling health and safety in textile industry.

BACKGROUND: The development of Occupational Safety and Health Management System in textile industry will rejuvenate the workers and energize the economy as a whole. In India, especially in Tamil Nadu, approximately 1371 textile business is running with the help of 38,461 workers under Ginning, Spinning, Weaving, Garment and Dyeing sectors. Textile industry of contributes to the growth of Indian economy but it fails to foster education and health as key components of human development and help new democracies. PURPOSE: The present work attempts to measure and develop OSHMS which reduce the hazards and risk involved in textile industry. Among all other industries textile industry is affected by enormous hazards and risk because of negligence by management and Government. It is evident that managements are not abiding by law when an accident has occurred. Managements are easily deceiving workers and least bothered about the Quality of Work Life (QWL). METHODOLOGY: A detailed analysis of factors promoting safety and health to the workers has been done by performing confirmatory factor analysis, evaluating Risk Priority Number and the framework of OHMS has been conceptualized using Structural Equation Model. The data have been collected using questionnaire and interview method. RESULT: The study finds occupation health for worker in Textile industry is affected not only by safety measure but also by technology and management. CONCLUSION: The work shows that difficulty in identifying the cause and effect of hazards, the influence of management in controlling and promoting OSHMS under various dimensions. One startling fact is existence of very low and insignificance correlation between health factors and outcome.

Simple, rapid, and portable chromatographic tetrazolium reduction method for detection of potassium cyanide in medicinal drugs and confectionery.

A simple, rapid, and portable paper chromatographic method for detection of potassium cyanide in medicinal drugs and a few confectionery samples is described. Potassium cyanide is extracted in methanol and concentrated. Acetone-water-1.5% EDTA (4 + 5.5 + 0.5) mixture is used as the solvent system for paper chromatography. The KCN chromatograms appear as pink spots on paper due to reduction of the chromogenic salt 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl tetrazolium chloride; phenazonium methosulfate is a catalyst. Microgram amounts of KCN can be separated and detected in the laboratory or the marketplace because of the simplicity of the method.