COVID-19-associated psychosis in Indian settings: A retrospective descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected millions of people across the world since early 2020. Besides the large number of case fatalities, this virus has produced significant health-related sequelae involving multiple systems of the body. As with previous coronavirus infections, this was also found to be associated with various neuropsychiatric symptoms. Psychosis has been uncommon, and the few reported cases across the world have forwarded association with either raised inflammatory markers or the consequences of social isolation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective descriptive study of 12 patients, who were admitted with COVID-19 infection and psychosis, between March 2020 and December 2020. Cases of head injury, any neurological or metabolic illnesses, and substance use disorders were excluded. RESULTS: Cases with psychosis formed only 0.19% of all cases of COVID-19 admissions. All of them were young male and employed. Most of them had abrupt onset of psychosis with confusion, delusions, hallucinations, agitation, and sleep disturbances. Investigations including inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein) and computerized tomography scans were largely normal. Medications used were mainly benzodiazepines and antipsychotics. Most of the cases resolved within the second week, and follow-up after a month did not elicit any residual symptoms in majority. Diagnosis was acute and transient psychotic disorder (about 75%), bipolar affective disorder (2 cases), and schizophrenia (one). CONCLUSIONS: The major findings included nonreactive inflammatory markers, quick resolution of symptoms, requirement of low doses of antipsychotic drugs, and no long-term sequelae.

Dust mites population in indoor houses of suspected allergic patients of South assam, India.

Background. In the present study, quality and quantity of indoor dust mites was evaluated at the residence of 150 atopic allergic patients from four different districts of South Assam. Methods. Suspected patients with case history of allergic disease were selected for indoor survey. Dust samples (500 mg) were collected from the selected patient's house and were analyzed using standard methods. Results. About 60% of the selected patients were found suffering from respiratory disorders and rest 40% from skin allergy. The dominant mites recorded from indoor dust samples were Dermatophagoides followed by Blomia, Acarus, and Cheyletus while Caloglyphus was recorded in least number. The distribution of mites on the basis of housing pattern indicates that RCC type of buildings supports maximum dust mite's population followed by Assam type (semi-RCC) buildings, and the lowest count was observed in wooden houses. Environmental factors like temperature, rainfall, and relative humidity are found to determine the indoor mite's population. Severity of allergic attack in some of the typical cases was found to be proportional to the allergen load of mites in the dust samples. Conclusions. The economic status, housing pattern, and local environmental factors determine the diversity and abundance of dust mites in indoor environment.

Investigation of haemorrhagic enteritis in pygmy hogs (Sus salvanius) from India.

The pygmy hog is a representative of the smallest and rarest wild species of known living Suidae. This paper reports the investigation of haemorrhagic enteritis encountered amongst the pygmy hogs at the Research and Breeding Centre of the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme, Guwahati, Assam, India. Three out of 68 pygmy hogs died of enteric infection. Post-mortem examination and bacteriological investigation of two out of the three animals that died revealed clostridial infection. The isolates harboured two plasmids of molecular weight 42.8 kilobases (kb) and 51.9 kb. Clostridium perfringens Type A positive for the beta2 toxin (cpb2) gene was detected by polymerase chain reaction. Sequence analysis of the partial alpha toxin (cpa) gene showed 98% to 100% homology with isolates from different geographical locations.

Active manganese oxide: a novel adsorbent for treatment of wastewater containing azo dye.

A new variety of active manganese oxide was prepared, characterized, and tested for its potential of adsorbing Congo Red, a dis-azo dye, from aqueous solutions. Both equilibrium and kinetics were investigated over different values of process parameters such as temperature (25-45 degrees C), adsorbent loading (0.4-0.6%), initial dye concentration (50-500 mg/L), presence of salts (sodium sulphate, 500 mg/L) and the oxygen content (MnO(x), x=1.2, 1.33 and 2) of the adsorbent. The equilibrium adsorption data were fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Langmuir adsorption capacity of the sorbent (x=1.33) for Congo Red was 38.6 mg/g at room temperature which is substantially higher than those for commercial manganese dioxide, red mud, coir pith, activated carbon, and fly ash. The kinetic data were best interpreted using a pseudo-second order model. The results show that the active manganese oxide used in this work removes the dye by reversible adsorption and has the potential for practical use for remediation of textile industry effluents.

Biochemical and immunological studies on eight pollen types from South Assam, India.

A total of 65 pollen types were identified from two years atmospheric pollen survey in the environmental conditions of South Assam. Out of them, eight pollen types viz., Acacia auriculiformis, Amaranthus spinosus, Cassia alata, Cleome gynandra, Cocos nucifera, Imperata cylindrica, Ricinus communis and Trewia nudiflora, were selected for biochemical studies on the basis of their dominance in the study sites. Among the sample extract tested, Ricinus communis was found to contain the highest amount of soluble protein, free amino acid and total carbohydrate, per gram of dry weight followed by Imperata cylindrica and Cassia alata. Maximum numbers of protein polypeptide bands were detected in the sample extract of Cassia alata by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis method followed by Acacia auriculiformis, Imperata cylindrica and Cocos nucifera. IgE binding protein fractions were maximum in Cassia alata and minimum in Trewia nudiflora.

Anticandidial activity of some essential oils of a mega biodiversity hotspot in India.

Six essential oils viz. Eucalyptus citriodora, Cymbopogon citratus, Callistemon lanceolatus, Cinnamomum camphora, Citrus limon, Tagetes petula, as well as two standard antibiotics, miconazole and clotrimazole, were tested in vitro for their anticandidial activity. All these essential oils exhibited higher activity than the two synthetic antibiotics. Highest zone of inhibition was recorded in E. citriodora (8.50 mm microl-1) followed by C. lanceolatus (5.63 mm microl-1) establishing their promising anticandidial potential.

In vitro lethal efficacy of leaf extract of Cannabis sativa Linn on the larvae of Chironomous samoensis Edward: an insect of public health concern.

Leaf extract of C. sativa causes paralysis leading to death in larvae of C. samoensis. The extract brought a drastic change in the morphology of sensilla trichoidea and the general body cuticle. The larvae exposed to the leaf extract also showed a significant reduction in the concentration of Mg and Fe, while Mn showed only slight average increase. Since the sensilla trichoidea has nerve connection, it is expected that the toxic principle of the leaf extract has affected the central nervous system. The significant reduction of the level of Fe indicates that the extract could cause the reduction in oxygen binding capacity of the haemolymph, thereby acting as a respiratory poison in addition to its known role as a neurotoxic substance.

Estimation of .OH radical reaction rate constants for phenol and chlorinated phenols using UV/H2O2 photo-oxidation.

A detailed investigation on UV/H2O2 photooxidation has been carried out in order to determine the kinetics of the oxidative degradation of phenol and 2- and 4-chlorophenols in dilute aqueous solutions. Effects of different process parameters, such as initial substrate and H2O2 concentrations, substrate to H2O2 ratio on the degradation kinetics of the phenolic substrates, have been studied. Degradation rates of phenol and chlorophenols are insignificantly small with ultraviolet radiation only and also with hydrogen peroxide (in the absence of UV radiation), but the synergistic effect of UV/H2O2 results in a marked enhancement of the rates of degradation. A mechanistic model for UV/H2O2 photooxidation has been developed. Room temperature (27 degrees C) rate constants for the reaction of .OH radical (formed by absorption of photons) with the substrates have been estimated by using the model equation. The calculated rate constants are of the same order of magnitude as reported for other similar aromatic compounds.

Antifungal activity of Indian plant extracts.

In vitro studies of water extracts of plants such as Terminalia chebula, Punica granatum, Delonix regia and Emblica officinalis were found to be detrimental to test dermatophytes.

Subtrochanteric fractures of the femur.

A consecutive series of 103 patients with a subtrochanteric fracture were prospectively studied. Ten patients were treated non-operatively, whilst the other 93 had operative treatment. The overall fixation failure rate was 12 per cent with a re-operation rate of 6 per cent by 1 year. There were six (8 per cent) failures of fixation for the 74 fractures treated with the sliding hip screw. No method of fracture classification was demonstrated to be of value in predicting either the choice of treatment or the risk of fracture healing complications. Either intramedullary nailing or extramedullary fixation with a dynamic hip screw appear to give the best results for subtrochanteric fractures.