Mental health orientation among ASHAs: A study from Karnataka State, India.

INTRODUCTION: The high mental health treatment gap in India, necessitates mental health service delivery through the primary health care system. Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) as frontline community health workers are a key member of the primary health care team. The ASHAs training needs related to mental health, require to be determined in order to accordingly tailor capacity-building programs. In this context, the present study aims to examine the ASHAs mental health orientation utilizing a factorially validated Indian tool. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 91 ASHAs from a taluk of Bengaluru Urban District, responded to the self-administered Orientation towards Mental Illness (OMI) scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics viz. frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. RESULTS: The ASHAs reported an overall unfavourable mental health orientation and the specific OMI factors on which unfavourable orientation was observed were Psychosocial stress, Non-restrained behaviour, Weak cognitive control, Fidgety behaviour, Bizarre behaviour, Psychosocial manipulation, and Hypo-functioning. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study suggest that capacity-building programs for ASHAs will need to first examine their orientation to mental health and collaboratively address an unfavourable orientation when present, as it would have a bearing on ASHAs mental health service delivery in the community.

COVID-19 as an "Infodemic" in Public Health: Critical Role of the Social Media.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as a significant and global public health crisis. Besides the rising number of cases and fatalities, the outbreak has also affected economies, employment and policies alike. As billions are being isolated at their homes to contain the infection, the uncertainty gives rise to mass hysteria and panic. Amidst this, there has been a hidden epidemic of "information" that makes COVID-19 stand out as a "digital infodemic" from the earlier outbreaks. Repeated and detailed content about the virus, geographical statistics, and multiple sources of information can all lead to chronic stress and confusion at times of crisis. Added to this is the plethora of misinformation, rumor and conspiracy theories circulating every day. With increased digitalization, media penetration has increased with a more significant number of people aiding in the "information pollution." In this article, we glance at the unique evolution of COVID-19 as an "infodemic" in the hands of social media and the impact it had on its spread and public reaction. We then look at the ways forward in which the role of social media (as well as other digital platforms) can be integrated into social and public health, for a better symbiosis, "digital balance" and pandemic preparedness for the ongoing crisis and the future.

Molecular docking and antiviral activities of plant derived compounds against zika virus.

Zika virus (ZIKV), a recently emerged pathogen of the genus flavivirus causes Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly in fetus and newborns . Until date, there are no licensed vaccine or approved drug to treat ZIKV infection. Thus, in this study, 5550 phytochemicals retrieved from various databases were subjected for molecular docking in Discovery studio V.4.0 against the ZIKV helicase protein and envelope protein domain III. In addition, in silico ADMET and Density function theory studies were performed to retain the final hit compounds. Further, four of the identified compounds (eleutheroside B, neoandrographolide, apigenin, and madecassic acid) were tested for in vitro cytotoxicity and antiviral activities against ZIKV. Except madecassic acid, the other three compounds reduced ZIKV infection at non-cytotoxic concentrations. Hence, this study encourages the screening of more phytochemicals against druggable targets of ZIKV to identify new promising drug candidates.

Effective use of social media platforms for promotion of mental health awareness.

BACKGROUND: Social media platforms are progressively developing as a rich source of mass communication. Increasing mental health awareness with the help of social media can be a good initiative to reach out to a large number of people in a short time frame. This study was conducted to understand the usefulness of social media platforms for health promotion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a qualitative study to evaluate the effectiveness of social media platforms in hosting health promotion campaigns in the field of mental health, which was observed over 5 months from May to September 2019 to reach more people for effective information dissemination. The campaigns were as follows (1) The Buddies for Suicide Prevention: an online campaign to create awareness about suicide prevention. The campaign included script writing, slogan writing, poster making, and short films making, organized for the general public who were interested to take part; (2) The #Iquitobacco was a 21-day campaign with an idea of tobacco cessation in the community, conducted among social media viewers who were willing to participate; and (3) #Migrainethepainfultruth was yet another campaign conducted among the social media viewers who were interested to participate. All the campaigns were conducted using two famous social media platforms commonly used by young adults. Descriptive statistics such as frequency and proportions were computed for the number of likes and shares. RESULTS: The Facebook and Instagram posts concerning all the campaigns brought about a considerable amount of reach to the targeted population. After the campaigns, the page reached to around 10.3 k people (both fans and nonfans). CONCLUSIONS: Use of social media to conduct mental health campaigns is an effective initiative as one can reach out to several people over a short time period. There is an increasing trend in the awareness of mental health with the effective use of digital media as a platform for disseminating information.

Potential for a comprehensive stroke education: Assessing awareness about stroke among community health workers - A qualitative study from Urban Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

CONTEXT: The incidence of stroke is evolving to be a major public health issue in recent years. The situation is aggravated by the limited public awareness about its risk factors and treatment procedures. It is important to explore the level of awareness of the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) about stroke as they work in the community as part of the public healthcare delivery systems. AIMS: The aim of this study was to explore the awareness about stroke among the ASHAs through a qualitative study. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study was conducted in the institution using a cross-sectional qualitative approach. METHODS AND MATERIAL: A focus group discussion with 12 ASHAs from Bengaluru district of Karnataka was conducted. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were analyzed manually through direct content analysis. RESULTS: It was revealed that the ASHAs did not have adequate general awareness about stroke, its causes, and related treatment procedures. The ASHAs overgeneralized the causes to lifestyle factors, such as smoking, drinking, and so on. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed the level of awareness of stroke among the ASHAs is inadequate at present, and they would benefit from systematic sensitisation programmes. Limited awareness could lead to failure to identify the early warning signs and appropriate, timely help. A need of a comprehensive educational program to increase their awareness is emphasized.

Photodynamic activity and DNA binding studies of Pd@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles in vitro.

Metal-semiconductor core-shell type Pd@SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized by Stober's method and the product was characterized by UV-vis, XRD, FT-IR, SEM, HR-TEM and EDX techniques. In vitro Photodynamic activity and DNA binding studies of Pd@SiO2 core shell nanoparticles were studied. Cell viability of the core-shell nanoparticles against HeLa cell line was screened by MTT assay after exposing at different light doses. The outcome of the present study indicates that the core-shell Pd@SiO2 NPs are highly stable and exhibited strong photodynamic efficiency under LED light illumination in HeLa cells. The results indicated that SiO2 supported on the surface of Pd NPs not only prevented the aggregation in addition exhibited remarkable photodynamic activity.

Video-enabled cue based intervention for relapse prevention.

A major goal of long-term management of substance use disorders is to empower recovering individuals in resisting drug use when confronted with real-world high-risk situations (cues). Since opportunities to reproduce and learn from real-life situations are limited in treatment settings, the key is to bring those real-world drug use cues to the treatment setting through vicarious learning. Cue-exposure approaches achieve this by presenting these cues while the usual drug-use response is prevented. This provides opportunity to practice how to deal with the cues before being discharged from the treatment setting. Videos are one way to present the cues as well as demonstrate how to deal with them successfully. In this article, we discuss our experiences with the use of videos to model relapse prevention strategies for specific cues, and provide some future directions for the use of video-based interventions for relapse prevention in substance use disorders.

Perceptions of Accredited Social Health Activists on Depression: A Qualitative Study from Karnataka, India.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a significant public health concern in India, associated with a large treatment gap. Assessing perceptions of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) on depression can be invaluable as they are selected to work at the interface between their own communities and the health-care delivery system. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at utilizing a qualitative approach to examine the ASHAs' understanding of depression, their mental health-care practices specific to depression, and their capacity-building needs with regard to identification and helping persons with depression. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional qualitative study using two focus group discussions was conducted. The sample comprised 14 ASHAs in the age range of 25-45 years from Bengaluru urban district. The data were analyzed manually by the method of directed content analysis. RESULTS: The ASHAs were found to have inadequate knowledge of the signs and symptoms of depression, its biopsychosocial nature, and its impact on functioning. Causation of depression was narrated in terms of psychosocial stressors. The majority expressed the need for primarily psychosocial interventions for depression. All participants reported their motivation to obtain training in identifying persons with depression and providing simple psychosocial intervention for them. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that ASHAs have poor knowledge of depression, which could be leading to its low recognition and treatment in the communities they work in. They are therefore likely to benefit from capacity building on depression which includes familiar nomenclature, biopsychosocial elucidation of the illness, life-span approach, understanding of its impact on various domains of functioning, and the treatments available.

Pharmacophore modeling, virtual screening and molecular docking of ATPase inhibitors of HSP70.

Heat shock protein 70 is an effective anticancer target as it influences many signaling pathways. Hence the study investigated the important pharmacophore feature required for ATPase inhibitors of HSP70 by generating a ligand based pharmacophore model followed by virtual based screening and subsequent validation by molecular docking in Discovery studio V4.0. The most extrapolative pharmacophore model (hypotheses 8) consisted of four hydrogen bond acceptors. Further validation by external test set prediction identified 200 hits from Mini Maybridge, Drug Diverse, SCPDB compounds and Phytochemicals. Consequently, the screened compounds were refined by rule of five, ADMET and molecular docking to retain the best competitive hits. Finally Phytochemical compounds Muricatetrocin B, Diacetylphiladelphicalactone C, Eleutheroside B and 5-(3-{[1-(benzylsulfonyl)piperidin-4-yl]amino}phenyl)- 4-bromo-3-(carboxymethoxy)thiophene-2-carboxylic acid were obtained as leads to inhibit the ATPase activity of HSP70 in our findings and thus can be proposed for further in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

Study of photodynamic activity of Au@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles in vitro.

Metal-semiconductor core-shell type Au@SiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by Stober's method. They were characterized by absorption, XRD, HR-TEM and EDAX techniques. The resulting modified core-shell nanoparticles shows that the formation of singlet oxygen, which was confirmed by ESR technique. The photohemolysis studies were carried out under two different experimental conditions. It is observed that the photohemolysis increases with concentration as well as light dose. Cell viability of the core-shell nanoparticles against HeLa cell lines were studied by MTT assay method. The outcomes of the present study indicate that, the Au@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles are extremely stable with a very high photodynamic efficiency under visible light illumination.

DNA intercalation studies and antimicrobial activity of Ag@ZrO2 core-shell nanoparticles in vitro.

Ag@ZrO2 core-shell nanoparticles were prepared by one pot simultaneous reduction of AgNO3 and hydrolysis of zirconium (IV) isopropoxide. The formation of core-shell nanoparticles was confirmed by absorption, XRD, and HR-TEM techniques. The antibacterial activity of Ag@ZrO2 core-shell nanoparticles against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and the antifungal properties against Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus were examined by the agar diffusion method. DNA intercalation studies were carried out in CT-DNA. As a result ZrO2 supported on the surface of AgNPs not only prevented aggregation, but also proved to have enhanced antimicrobial activity and DNA intercalation than the Ag nanoparticles.

Crystal structure of [(2S,3R)-3-hy-droxy-3-phenyl-butan-2-yl]pyrrolidinium chloride.

In the title mol-ecular salt, C14H22NO(+)·Cl(-), the pyrrolidinium ring adopts a twisted conformation about one of the N-C bonds. It is oriented at a dihedral angle of 42.0 (1)° with respect to the benzene ring. The torsion angle for the central N-C-C-Car (ar = aromatic) linkage is 163.74 (15)°. In the crystal, the components are linked via N-H⋯Cl and O-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, forming zigzig chains along the b-axis direction. These chains are connected along the c axis by very weak C-H⋯π inter-actions, forming a two-dimensional supra-molecular network.

Comparison of antibacterial activities of Ag@TiO2 and Ag@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles.

Core-shell type Ag@TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by one pot simultaneous reduction of AgNO3 and hydrolysis of Ti (IV) isopropoxide and Ag@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles were prepared by Stober's method. They were characterized by absorption, XRD, and HR-TEM techniques. XRD patterns show the presence of anatase form of TiO2 and amorphous form of SiO2 and the noble metal (Ag). High resolution transmission electron microscopy measurements revealed that their size is below 50 nm. The antibacterial properties of Ag@TiO2 and Ag@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were examined by the agar diffusion method. As a result E. coli and S. aureus were shown to be substantially inhibited by Ag@TiO2 and Ag@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles. These results demonstrated that TiO2 and SiO2 supported on the surface of Ag NPs without aggregation was proved to have enhanced antibacterial activity.

Comparative study of psychiatric morbidity among the displaced and non-displaced populations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands following the tsunami.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the psychiatric morbidity between the displaced and non-displaced populations of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during the first three months following the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. METHODS: The study was conducted at the 74 relief camps in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Port Blair had 12 camps, which provided shelter to 4,684 displaced survivors. There were 62 camps on Car-Nicobar Island, which provided shelter to approximately 8,100 survivors who continued to stay in their habitat (non-displaced population). The study sample included all of the survivors who sought mental health assistance inside the camp. A psychiatrist diagnosed the patients using the ICD-10 criteria. RESULTS: Psychiatric morbidity was 5.2% in the displaced population and 2.8% in the non-displaced population. The overall psychiatric morbidity was 3.7%. The displaced survivors had significantly higher psychiatric morbidity than did the non-displaced population. The disorders included panic disorder, anxiety disorders not otherwise specified, and somatic complaints. The existence of an adjustment disorder was significantly higher in the non-displaced survivors. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were distributed equally in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatric morbidity was found to be highest in the displaced population. However, the incidence of depression and PTSD were distributed equally in both groups. Involvement of community leaders and survivors in shared decision-making processes and culturally acceptable interventions improved the community participation. Cohesive community, family systems, social support, altruistic behavior of the community leaders, and religious faith and spirituality were factors that helped survivors cope during the early phase of the disaster.