A Bayesian measure of association that utilizes the underlying distributions of noise and information.

We propose a new approach, Bayesian Probability of Association (BPA) which takes into account the probability distributions of information and noise in the variables and uses Bayesian statistics to predict associations better than existing approaches. Our approach overcomes the limitations of linearity of the relationship and normality of the data, assumed by the Pearson correlation coefficient. It is different from the current measures of association because considering information separately from noise helps identify the association in information more accurately, makes the approach less sensitive to noise and also helps identify causal directions. We tested the approach on 15 datasets with no underlying association and on 75 datasets with known causal relationships and compared the results with other measures of association. No false associations were detected and true associations were predicted in more than 90% cases whereas the Pearson correlation coefficient and mutual information content predicted associations for less than half of the datasets

Complete Comparison Display (CCD) evaluation of ethanol extracts of <i>Centella asiatica</i> and <i>Withania somnifera</i> shows that they can non-synergistically ameliorate biochemical and behavioural damages in MPTP induced Parkinson's model of mice

<div><p>Parkinson’s disease remains as one of the most common debilitating neurodegenerative disorders. With the hopes of finding agents that can cure or reduce the pace of progression of the disease, we studied two traditional medicinal plants: <i>Centella asiatica</i> and <i>Withania somnifera</i> that have been explored in some recent studies. In agreement with the previous work on ethanol extracts of these two plants in mice model, we saw an improvement in oxidative stress profile as well as behavioral performance in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induced Parkinson-like symptoms in Balb/c mice. Given the known potential of both the herbal extracts in improving Parkinson-like symptoms, we expected the combination of the two to show better results than either of the two but surprisingly there was no additivity in either oxidative stress or behavioural recovery. In fact, in some assays, the combination performed worse than either of the two individual constituents. This effect of mixtures highlights the need of testing mixtures in supplements market using enthomedicine. The necessity of comparing multiple groups in this study to get most information from the experiments motivated us to design a ladder-like visualization to show comparison with different groups that we call complete comparison display (CCD). In summary, we show the potential of <i>Centella asiatica</i> and <i>Withania somnifera</i> to ameliorate Parkinson’s disorder.</p></div

MPTP increases catalepsy scores and decreases swimming scores. All herbal extracts are able to show improvement in MPTP treated groups.

<p>Left: Bar graph shows mean akinesia activity of all groups. Right: CCD of different groups. Labelling scheme is similar to other bar graphs.</p

MPTP reduces SOD activity, while all herbal extracts improve it.

<p>Left: Bar graph shows mean SOD activity of all groups, where error bars depict standard deviation, horizontal bars data points. Black line show only saline treated groups and blue line shows MPTP treated groups. Dotted line shows groups that are treated with herbal extracts. Right: CCD of different groups. The three values under each branch, from top to bottom are student’s T test, Tukey’s honest significant difference and Dunnett’s two tailed T test scores. Dotted right lines reflect p values similar or lower to 0.05 in Tukey’s honest significant difference test.</p

MPTP reduces catalase activity, while all herbal extracts improve it.

<p>Left: Bar graph shows mean catalase activity of all groups. Right: CCD of different groups. Labelling scheme is similar to other bar graphs.</p

Study design.

<p>Study design showing treatments and assays.</p

Microscopic confirmation of MPTP induced damage of Substantia Nigra.

<p>A. Light microscopic images show lower count of dopaminergic neurons in Substantia Nigra as shown by tyrosine hydroxylase staining. Left is brain slice from saline only treated animal and right is from MPTP treated animal. Scale is 100 μm. B. Electron microscopy shows damage induced in the nucleus of remaining SN dopaminergic neurons. Left is from saline treated animal and right is from MPTP treated animal. N label stands for nucleus. Scale is 1 μm.</p

MPTP reduces both GPX and GSH levels, while all herbal extracts improve them. Herbal extracts also reduce GSH levels in saline only treated animals.

<p>Left: Bar graph shows mean GPX and GSH activity of all groups. Right: CCD of different groups. Labeling scheme is similar to other bar graphs.</p

MPTP increases lipid peroxidation (LPO) and none of the herbal extracts are able to improve lipid peroxidation levels.

<p>Left: Bar graph shows mean LPO activity of all groups. Right: CCD of different groups. Labelling scheme is similar to other bar graphs.</p

Acceptability of Mental Health Facilities and De-addiction Centers in India

Not much is known about disease prevalence, treatment outcomes, trained manpower, programs, and patients’ awareness of diseases from South Asia, compared with the Western world. While other aspects are improving, the quantitative evaluation of awareness of diseases is lagging. Compared with other diseases, the situation for mental health disorders and addiction is worse. While no single study can fully quantify all aspects of awareness, a good starting point is to understand if increasing the number of mental health facilities is beneficial by understanding people’s perception toward the likelihood of contracting various diseases, their preferred approach to treatment, and their perception of whether there are enough current facilities. We surveyed over 8000 families across several states of India and asked if they would treat a particular problem at home, visit a local healer, seek religious council, or go to a modern hospital for treatment. Our questions also included non-medical options to assess how likely people are to avoid trained medical help. We also asked people about their perceived likelihood of a family member ever suffering from (1) diarrhea, (2) high fever, (3) alcoholism, and (4) schizophrenia and other mental health problems. We reversed the order of diseases in our questions for a fraction of the population to evaluate the effect of order of questioning. Finally, we asked, if people feel they have enough local healers, religious places, general hospitals, de-addiction centers, and mental health facilities. Despite the taboo around mental health, many people claimed that their family members were unlikely to contract mental health or addiction problems, people recognized the severe paucity of mental health facilities and de-addiction centers. This raises hope for improving the mental health situation in India. We also found a significant relation between education levels and choices people make, underscoring the positive role education has in improving mental health