Alcohol brief interventions in Scottish antenatal care:a qualitative study of midwives' attitudes and practices

Background: Infants exposed to alcohol in the womb are at increased risk of experiencing health problems. However, mixed messages about the consequences of prenatal alcohol consumption have resulted in inconsistent attitudes and practices amongst some healthcare practitioners. Screening and alcohol brief interventions (ABIs) can reduce risky drinking in various clinical settings. Recently, a program of screening and ABIs have been implemented in antenatal care settings in Scotland. However, current evidence suggests that midwives' involvement in alcohol brief interventions activities is patchy. This study explored midwives' attitudes and practices regarding alcohol screening and ABIs in order to understand why they are relatively underutilized in antenatal care settings compared to other clinical settings. Methods: This was a qualitative study, involving semi-structured interviews with 15 midwives and a focus group with a further six midwifery team leaders (21 participants in total) in Scotland. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Midwives were positive about their involvement in the screening and ABI program. However, they were not completely convinced about the purpose and value of the screening and ABIs in antenatal care. In the midst of competing priorities, the program was seen as having a low priority in their workload. Midwives felt that the rapport between them and pregnant women was not sufficiently established at the first antenatal appointment to allow them to discuss alcohol issues appropriately. They reported that many women had already given up drinking or were drinking minimal amounts prior to the first antenatal appointment. Conclusions: Midwives recognised the important role they could play in alcohol intervention activities in antenatal care. As the majority of women stop consuming alcohol in pregnancy, many will not need an ABI. Those who have not stopped are likely to need an ABI, but midwives were concerned that it was this group that they were most likely to alienate by discussing such concerns. Further consideration should be given to pre-pregnancy preventative measures as they are more likely to reduce alcohol-exposed pregnancies

Sophora interruptaBedd. root-derived flavonoids as prominent antiviral agents against Newcastle disease virus

The discovery and development of novel antiviral drugs from natural sources is continuously increasing due to limitations of currently available drugs such as toxic side effects, drug residue risk factors, high costs, and poor therapeutic strategies. Also, there are very few known antiviral drugs that are effective against only specific viruses. Hence, the present study is intended to isolate and characterize potent antiviral compounds from the methanolic root extract ofSophora interruptaBedd. against avian paramyxovirus, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and to distinguish the molecular basis of antiviral compounds. The two isolated flavonoids, maackiain (SR-1) and echinoisoflavanone (SR-2) exhibited the best antiviral activities against NDV infection in chicken embryo fibroblast cell lines compared to the standard antiviral drug, Ribavirin. Further, thein vitrostudies and quantitative PCR analysis suggests that these flavonoids inhibit the viral entry, replication, and transcription, which may be beneficial as a promising strategy for the treatment of viral infections. Besides, the molecular docking studies ofSR-1andSR-2exhibited high binding affinities of −7.6 and −8.0 kcal mol−1, respectively, and marked interactions with the NDV surface glycoprotein, hemagglutinin neuraminidase (HN). Also, thein silicotoxicity properties as well pharmacokinetic studies of isolates revealed them as pharmacologically potent antiviral compounds. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2020.Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India, CSIRThe author WR thanks the Council of Scientic and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi and the authors CB, AR, and PR are grateful to UGC-BSR, New Delhi for nancial assistance under CSIR-MRP and UGC-RFSMS (BSR) programs. Furthermore, all the authors are thankful to National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), Hyderabad for providing laboratory facilities to carry out the viral studies

Tween 20-/H₂O Promoted Green Synthesis, Computational and Antibacterial Activity of Amino Acid Substituted Methylene Bisphosphonates

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