Assessment of stress, anxiety, and depression among the nursing personnel employed in tertiary care hospital during COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Work related stress is an important occupational hazard among the forefront healthcare workers like nursing personnel. It is their demanding nature of occupation which exposes them to a higher risk of developing negative mental states. Aims and Objectives: Objectives of the study were to assess the stress, anxiety, and depression among the nursing personnel and their potential risk factors for stress, anxiety, and depression. Materials and Methods: A descriptive observational study was conducted among the nursing personnel employed in a tertiary care hospital in Kolkata. The data collection was done with the help of a predesigned pretested semi-structured questionnaire having information regarding socio demographic profile, history and personal history, and the questions from depression, anxiety and stress scale following permission from Institutional Ethics committee. The data were compiled, analyzed, and presented. Results: The present study found that 29.09%, 40% and 33.64% of the study subjects were suffering from depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. Nuclear families, staying at hostel, nonspecific symptoms, COVID-19 exposure, and nonspecific symptoms were significant contributing factors for depression. COVID-19 exposure was significantly associated with anxiety. Nuclear families, presence of nonspecific symptoms were significant contributing factor for stress. No significant association was found with age, educational level, marital status, leisure activity, chronic morbidity, testing, and quarantine. Conclusion: Early assessment of the occupational stress, anxiety, and depression among the nursing personnel can initiate targeted intervention strategies. This would improve their personal and professional quality of life which affects the quality of health-care service

A study to assess the level of knowledge regarding prevention and management of acute respiratory infection among mothers of children 0-5 years in selected hospital in Siliguri

Background: In developing countries like India acute respiratory infection (ARI) contributes in child mortality upto 75% and out of 10, 7 deaths are due to ARI. The knowledge of the mothers towards the disease is a significant determinant of child’s health.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study included 100 mothers of children 0-5 years admitted in pediatric ward and postnatal ward in selected hospital Siliguri during the year 2022 in the month of March. Data was collected using structured interview method.Results: 20% of mothers have good knowledge in prevention and 33% had good knowledge in management of ARI.Conclusions: As the leading cause of death among children, knowledge assessment about ARI among the mothers is very important, which helps for better understanding of the intensity of the problem

A study on alcohol dependence and it’s clinical implications among male patients attending a tertiary care hospital, Kolkata

Background: Alcohol intake is one of the major substance abuses and the problem of alcoholism is present throughout the world. It has been observed that alcohol dependence is associated with development of metabolic syndromes and chronic illnesses. Aims & Objectives: This study was conducted to find out the pattern of alcohol dependence and clinical features associated with different levels of alcohol dependence. Materials & Methods: It was a hospital based cross-sectional & observational study. Screening & assessment of alcohol dependence was done by using scales like AUDIT & ADS. Semi-structured questioner was used for assessing sociodemographic data for the total sample of 100 patients. 65 cases were selected finally after screening by AUDIT scale. Descriptive statistical analysis was done for obtaining results. Results: Findings suggests that among the patients a significant number of cases (41.5%) were in the category of substantial level of alcohol dependence. This study findings suggest that severity of alcohol dependence is directly associated with development of delirium ,physical comorbidities and sexual dysfunction.Conclusion: The burden of alcohol use is growing alarmingly in India and before it turns out to be a giant monster encroaching upon youths, we need to focus our attention in curbing this problem by diagnosing and treating alcohol dependent patients and using preventive measures, to not allow development of dependence at all

ADHD, ODD, and CD: Do They Belong to a Common Psychopathological Spectrum? A Case Series

Purpose of Research. Numerous studies have reported comorbidities, overlapping symptoms, and shared risk factors among cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD). We present three adolescent males aged 13–16 years with conduct disorder having past history of ADHD and ODD. Principal Result. The symptom profile especially in domains of aggression, hostility, and emotionality as well as the manner of progression from ADHD to ODD and CD in the above cases shows a similar pattern. Conclusion. These common developmental pathways and overlapping symptoms suggest the possibility of a common psychopathological spectrum encompassing the three externalizing disorders

GNP confinement at the interface of cationic reverse micelles: influence in improving the lipase activity

The present work reports thiol-assisted confinement of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) at the interface of reverse micelles with the aim to enhance the interfacial area and thereby the efficiency of surface-active Chromobacterium viscosum lipase. The strong gold capping ability of optimally hydrophobic thiols (1-dodecanethiol and 1,6-hexanedithiol) was aptly utilized to pull GNPs (∼3–5 nm) from the water pool to the oil/water interface of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) reverse micelles. These small sized GNPs were fitted at the microscopic interface of CTAB reverse micelles possibly because of the comparable thickness of the interface (∼1–2 nm) to that of the GNP diameter. Lipase solubilized within this augmented interface enjoys a flexible conformation, which resulted in the improvement of its activity (∼2.5 fold) with respect to only CTAB microemulsion. The activity of lipase within CTAB reverse micelles was thoroughly studied in the presence of mono and dithiols with varying chain length, where a greater improvement in activity was observed with dithiols. Bidentate ligand property of dithiols led to firm localization of higher number of GNPs at the interface which enhanced the total space in vicinity of enzyme at the interfacial domain. Fitting fusion of small sized GNPs within CTAB reverse micellar interface was confirmed by microscopic and spectroscopic studies. Smooth localization of lipase at the enhanced interface was also confirmed from the improvement in its secondary structure (α-helical content) in circular dichroism spectroscopic analysis. Interestingly, large sized GNPs (∼8 and 20 nm) were found to be well fitted at the interface of bigger head group-containing surfactants, cetyltriethylammonium bromide (CTEAB) and cetyltripropylammonium bromide (CTPAB). The hydrolytic efficiency of lipase in 1,6-hexanedithiol included GNP (∼20–25 nm)-doped CTPAB reverse micelles improved by ∼3.4 fold compared to that observed in only CTAB

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objectives: Low birth weight is a challenging multifaceted public health problem due to its association with increased risk of morbidity and mortality of infants. Both community and institution based studies are needed to find out the lacunae regarding occurrence of low birth weight babies, so that effective strategies which are relevant to the local conditions can be adopted for its prevention. We conducted this study to estimate the prevalence and determine the factors associated with low birth weight in the live born infants delivered in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional questionnaire-based study done in the Department of Pharmacology and Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics in this tertiary care hospital. Mothers who gave birth to their baby in the Obstetrics Ward were included. The subjects underwent a face-to-face interview using a suitably designed and validated questionnaire and the data were collected. Results: A total of 360 subjects were interviewed. 34.7% of mothers were below 20 yrs of age. Majority of the mother had education up to secondary level (58.33%) and were housewife (82.22%). 58.2% of mothers belonged to family size of 5-10 members. Among the 104 low birth weight infants, 63.46% were small for date and 36.54% were preterm. The mean weight of the newborn was 2.54 kg. Maternal age, number of family members, number of anti natal care visits, anemia maternal weight gain during pregnancy were associated with low birth weight (p<0.05). No significant differences were found among the newborns with and without low birth weight regarding the variables like religion, family type, maternal addiction, pervious abortion and tetanus toxoid taken by the mother. Conclusion: As low birth weight is the major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, every step should be taken for its prevention. In this regard, proper maternal education for antenatal care and regular visit to antenatal care clinic should be done. Field workers may help to impart correct knowledge of diet through proper health education besides providing other advices like delaying the age of first child, birth spacing, and family planning services utilization.     &nbsp

Biotinylated amphiphile-single walled carbon nanotube conjugate for target-specific delivery to cancer cells

The present work reports the specific targeting of cancerous cells using a non-covalently water dispersed nanoconjugate of biotinylated amphiphile-single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT). The fundamental approach involves incorporation of the biotin into the architecture of the carbon nanotube (CNT) dispersing agent to develop a multifaceted delivery vehicle having a high colloidal stability, substantial cell viability and targeted specificity towards cancer cells. A three way functionalization strategy was employed to introduce a C-16 hydrophobic segment, polyethylene glycol hydrophilic fragment and biotin as the target-specific unit at the –OH, –COOH and –NH<SUB>2</SUB> terminals of L-tyrosine, respectively. The newly developed neutral amphiphile exhibited an efficient SWNT dispersion (72%) in water, significant viability of different mammalian cells (Hela, HepG2, CHO and HEK-293) up to 48 h and also media stability. Most importantly, the biotinylated amphiphile-SWNT dispersion successfully transported the fluorescently labelled Cy3-oligoneucleotide (loaded on the surface of CNT) inside the cancerous Hela, HepG2 cells after 3 h of incubation, in contrast to CHO and HEK-293 cells (devoid of overexpressed biotin receptors). The presence of the biotin moiety in the cellular transporters facilitated the internalization of cargo due to the overexpressed biotin receptors in the cancer cells. Importantly, this nanohybrid was also capable of specifically transporting the anticancer drug doxorubicin to cancer cells, which led to the significant killing of Hela cells compared to the normal CHO cells. Thus, the receptor-mediated specific transportation of cargo into cancer cells was possible only due to the biotinylated CNT dispersing agent. To the best of our knowledge this is the first reported amino acid based biotinylated small amphiphilic molecule that non-covalently dispersed SWNTs and the corresponding nanoconjugate showed excellent cell viability, antibiofouling properties and the desired target-specific drug delivery

Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak on Society, Air Quality, and Economy in India: A Study of Three “P”s of Sustainability in India

The outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced affected countries to implement strict lockdown to contain the spread of this disease before the advent of the vaccine. This containment resulted in social and economic crisis globally. This study evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on three “P” s of sustainability (Planet, People, and Profit) in India. A comparative analysis was conducted by evaluating the available secondary data in different sectors during the pre-lockdown and lockdown period. Seven major air quality parameters: particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3) were studied in six states of India to review the ambient air quality status. Stratified random sampling technique was used in this study for collective portrayal of the country’s air quality. A drastic cutback of the level of PM2.5 and PM10 with significant increase of O3 was observed in the lockdown phase for most of the selected monitoring stations. A significant change in level of PM2.5 and PM10 was observed when t-test was performed in between the pre-lockdown and lockdown period. Improvement of ambient air quality was also observed considering the air quality index (AQI) during lockdown. The trend and volatility of two broad Indian stock market indices, SENSEX and NIFTY-50, were analyzed, and results showed that both the indices have recovered during the forty-day lockdown phase. The potential effects of the crisis on various sectors of Indian economy were assessed in this study, and a set of policy recommendations for these sectors were suggested