Effectiveness of Pranayama upon Depression among Old Age People

“A Quasi Experimental study was conducted to assess the Effectiveness of Pranayama upon Depression among Old Age People in the selected Old Age Homes, Chennai” OBJECTIVES: 1. To find out the prevalence of depression among the old age people in selected old age homes. 2. To assess the level of depression in control and experimental group of old age people. 3. To evaluate the effectiveness of Pranayama by comparing the level of depression in control and experimental group of old age people before and after administration of Pranayama. 4. To determine the level of satisfaction after Pranayama in experimental group of old age people. 5. To find out the association between demographic variables and the level of depression before and after Pranayama in control and experimental group of old age people. 6. To find out the association between clinical variables and the level of depression before and after Pranayama in control and experimental group of old age people. The conceptual framework was derived from Comfort theory developed by Katharine Kolcaba (2007). The study variables were depression and Pranayama and hypothesis were formulated. The level of significance selected was p<0.05. An extensive review of literature were made based on the opinions of the experts. The study was conducted in two phases, survey and Quasi experimental approaches were used in phase I and phase II respectively. The sample size of the study was 125 for phase1 and 60 for the phase II. (30 in control and 30 were in experimental group) respectively. Simple random sampling technique, lottery was used to select the samples for phase II. Quasi experimental research design was adopted. An experimental approach with pretest, post test design was used to achieve the objectives of the study. The study was conducted at S.V Old age home Arumbakkam Chennai (control) Anandham old age home Kallikuppam, Ambattur, Chennai, The sample size was 60 old age people (30 in each group). The data collection was validated and reliability was established through split half technique. The researcher used validated tool for collecting data. Demographic variable proforma, Clinical variable proforma, Geriatric depression scale, and Rating scale on satisfaction of Pranayama were the various tools used by the researcher. The validity was obtained from various experts and reliability was obtained through inter rater evaluation and found to be highly reliable. The main study was conducted after the pilot study. Initially level of depression (before therapy) was assessed for the control and experimental group of old age people. Pranayama was practiced among the experimental group of old age people. Pranayama refers to breathing exercise, breath retention and deliberate methods of inhalation and exhalation for mental and physical benefits. This therapy enhances relaxation. This is done on daily basis for 33 minutes in morning before break fast for a period of six weeks. Techniques of Pranayama were demonstrated by the researcher. The level of depression, (after therapy) were assessed again for both the groups after 6 weeks. The level of satisfaction on Pranayama was assessed among the experimental group of old age people. The data obtained were analyzed using Descriptive and inferential statistics. MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY: ❖ Prevalence of depression among the old age people residing in the selected old age home were normal (12%), mild depression ( 68%), severe depression (20%) and overall as 88% in the control and experimental group of old age people. ❖ Majority of the old age people in the control and experimental group were aged between 66-70 years (83.33%, 63.33%), had duration of stay between 2-3 years in the old age homes (80%, 66.66%) and did not have spouse residing in the same home (86.66%, 96.66%) in control and experimental group of old age people respectively. ❖ Most of them were females (56.66%, 56.66%), educated (60%, 60%), Hindus (60%, 66.66%), pensioners (70%, 60%) and belongs to nuclear family (50%, 56.66%) in control and experimental group of old age people respectively. ❖ Significant percentage of them have one child (33.33%, 40%), with monthly income between 2001-6000 (43.33%, 40%) in control and experimental group of old age people respectively. ❖ None of them had history of hospitalization within last five years (100%, 100%). All of them (100%, 100%) were non-smokers, non-alcoholics and uses only medical facilities for the treatment of any illness in control and experimental group of old age people respectively. ❖ Majority of them had moderate physical activity (80%, 66.66%) in control and experimental group of old age people. ❖ Significant percentage of them had diabetes mellitus (50%, 36.66%), with the duration of medical illness for 1-5years (63.33%, 40%) and practiced relaxation therapy before intervention (40%, 53.33%) in control and experimental group of old age people respectively. ❖ Majority of old age people in the control and experimental group had mild level of depression (76.66%, 73.33%) before Pranayama. However after pranayama it was normal (83.33%) and mild (16.66%) level of depression. Whereas in control group majority of old age people had mild (73.33%) and severe (26.66%) level of depression, before and after Pranayama. ❖ Majority of the old age people were highly satisfied (96.6%) with Pranayama and in aspects of related to researcher (93.4%) respectively. ❖ Mean and standard deviation of old age people before pranayama (M = 15.1, 16.4, SD = 5.2095, 4.309) between the control and experimental group is not significant (p> 0.05), whereas after pranayama there is significant difference in the mean and standard deviation (M =15.7, 7.0, SD = 3.0, 3.53) between the control and experimental group (p<0.001). It can be attributed to the effectiveness of pranayama on reducing depression. Hence the null hypothesis Ho1 was rejected. ❖ There was significant association between the level of depression and the demographic variable number of children (p<0.05) in control group of old age people. Null hypotheses (Ho2) with regard to association between the level of depression and demographic variable number of children was rejected. ❖ There was no significant association between the level of depression and other demographic variables (p>0.05) in control group of old age people. Null Hypotheses (Ho2) with regard to association between the level of depression and demographic variables such as age, gender, religion, educational status, type of family, marital status, monthly income was retained. ❖ There was significant association between the level of depression and the demographic variables such as gender and duration of stay in old age home (p<0.05) in experimental group of old age people. Null hypotheses (Ho2) with regard to association between the level of depression and demographic variables such as gender and duration of stay was rejected. ❖ There was no significant association between the level of depression and other demographic variables (p>0.05) in experimental group of old age people. Null Hypotheses (Ho2) with regard to association between the level of depression and demographic variables such as age, religion, educational status, type of family, marital status, monthly income was retained. ❖ There was a significant association between the level of depression and the clinical variable received any relaxation therapy before intervention (p<0.01) in control group of old age people. Null Hypotheses (Ho3) with regard to association between the level of depression and clinical variable received any relaxation therapy before intervention was rejected. ❖ There was no significant association between the level of depression and other clinical variables (p>0.05) in control group of old age people. Null Hypotheses (Ho3) with regard to association between the level of depression and clinical variables such as history of medical illness, duration of medical illness, history of taking medications, physical activity was retained. ❖ There was no significant association between the level of depression and the clinical variables (p<0.01) in experimental group of old age people. Null Hypothesis (Ho3) with regard to association between the level of depression and clinical variables such as any medical illness, duration of medical illness, history of taking medications for major illness, physical activity, received any relaxation therapy before was retained. ❖ The above finding reveals that Pranayama was effective to reduce the depression among old age people. RECOMMENDATIONS: ❖ The study can be conducted on a large sample to generalize the results. ❖ The study can be conducted in the other settings like the community and the hospitals. ❖ Longitudinal study can be conducted for long term effects of Pranayama on depression. ❖ A study can be conducted on quality of life among old age people. ❖ Study can be conducted to assess the various other psychological problems in old age people. ❖ Experimental study can be conducted with various preventive interventions on prevention of old age depression

A Comparison of the Accuracy of Impression Materials with Immediate and Delayed Pouring for Long Span Implant Supported Prosthesis: An Invitro study

INTRODUCTION: The use of Dental Implants to replace missing teeth in partially dentate and edentulous patients is associated with a high success rate from esthetics, functional and psychological point of view. However, biomechanical failure does occur in longspan prosthesis, which may be attributed to lack of passive fit of the Implant superstructure. Various Impression materials are used in Implant dentistry and various studies have been conducted to provide the information about accuracy of Impression materials. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim and objective of this study was to compare the accuracy of different impression materials with immediate and delayed pouring of casts by analyzing inter implant distance between the master model and casts using calibrated coordinate measuring machine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The impression materials used in this study are Poly Ether, Monophase, Poly Vinyl siloxane, Condensation Silicone and Irreversible Hydrocolloid. Twelve impressions of each impression materials were made. Six impressions of each impression materials were poured immediately and another six impressions was poured after one hour. The cast was poured with type IV Dental stone. Inter-implant distance (1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 2-3, 2-4, 3-4) of the implant analog master model and the casts was calculated using Calibrated portable Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM). RESULTS: Comparing the results of average inter-implant distance between impression casts and the master model, even though there is distortion but in the light of absolute values there was no statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION: On concluding from the results obtained from impression casts by immediate pouring, the Monophase impression material reproduced the master model most accurately followed by Poly Ether, Addition Silicone, Condensation Silicone and Irreversible hydrocolloid respectively. On concluding from the results obtained by delayed pouring of impression cast after one hour there was no significant difference within the impression materials used

THREE-DIMENSIONAL QUANTITATIVE STRUCTURE–ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS MODELING STUDIES OF PHYTOCHEMICALS FROM BRASSICACEAE AS POTENT INHIBITORS AGAINST TUMOR INFLAMMATION

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationships (3D-QSARs) model for studying theinteraction of different phytochemicals with nuclear factor kappa B (NF-ĸB) inducing kinase, a major regulator in tumor inflammation.Methods: Different phytochemicals (ligands) from Brassicaceae were selected and tested for Lipinski's rule of five and further analyzed using interaction studies (docking) to identify the binding site in the target protein. Ligands with best fit were made to pass through ADMET filter, and the nontoxic ligands were selected based on the pIC50 values.Results: The 3D-QSARs of the ligands were designed using comparative molecular field analysis, and glucoraphanin was found to be stable and fit after subjecting for molecular dynamics simulation with annealing studies.Conclusion: Thus, the model may be prospectively used in drug design to find possible inhibitors of NF-ĸB, which plays a key prominent role in cancer inflammation.Keywords: Three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationships, Brassica oleracea, Simulation, Annealing, Nuclear factor kappa B kinase

A review on motivational nudges for enhancing building energy conservation behavior

This paper explores energy use interventions and their influence on human behavior in commercial and institutional buildings. The main objectives of this paper are to identify the importance of nudges in reducing building energy usage and the implementation methods that can influence users to conserve energy in buildings through context specific interventions. A qualitative research method is used to elicit existing energy saving techniques, and a rigorous literature review is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of nudges. The investigation shows that combining multiple influencing options and interactive technological interventions can result in an effective nudging mechanism at a larger scale. Widely adopted technological tools identified in energy conservation in buildings included eco-feedback systems, IoT engagement systems, and recommendation systems that shared clear information to enable users to change their behavior. Besides, non-technological tools, such as posters and moral appeal by word of mouth, are highlighted as influencing user behavior to conserve energy in buildings. The use of nudges in commercial and institutional buildings has been studied in this review, and it has been demonstrated that the combination of influencing techniques is more effective than deploying a particular technique. It is concluded that energy conservation can be predicated in agent-based environments by modeling integrated nudges in future work

Investigating the impact of actual and modeled occupant behavior information input to building performance simulation

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Occupant behaviors are one of the most dominant factors that influence building energy use. Understanding the influences from building occupants can promote the development of energy- efficient buildings. This paper quantifies the impact of different occupant behavior information on building energy model (BEM) from multiple perspectives. For this purpose, an occupant behavior model that uses agent-based modeling (ABM) approach is implemented via co-simulation with a BEM of an existing commercial building. Then, actual occupant behavior data in correspondence to ABM output, including operations on window, door, and blinds in selected thermal zones of the building are recorded using survey logs. A simulation experiment is conducted by creating three BEMs with constant, actual, and modeled occupant behavioral inputs. The analysis of the simulation results among these scenarios helps us gain an in-depth understanding of how occupant behaviors influence building performance. This study aims to facilitate robust building design and operation with human-in-the-loop system optimization

Cyberbullying detection: Hybrid models based on machine learning and natural language processing techniques

The rise in web and social media interactions has resulted in the efortless proliferation of offensive language and hate speech. Such online harassment, insults, and attacks are commonly termed cyberbullying. The sheer volume of user‐generated content has made it challenging to iden-tify such illicit content. Machine learning has wide applications in text classification, and researchers are shifting towards using deep neural networks in detecting cyberbullying due to the several ad-vantages they have over traditional machine learning algorithms. This paper proposes a novel neural network framework with parameter optimization and an algorithmic comparative study of eleven classification methods: four traditional machine learning and seven shallow neural networks on two real world cyberbullying datasets. In addition, this paper also examines the effect of feature extraction and word‐embedding‐techniques‐based natural language processing on algorithmic per-formance. Key observations from this study show that bidirectional neural networks and attention models provide high classification results. Logistic Regression was observed to be the best among the traditional machine learning classifiers used. Term Frequency‐Inverse Document Frequency (TF‐IDF) demonstrates consistently high accuracies with traditional machine learning techniques. Global Vectors (GloVe) perform better with neural network models. Bi‐GRU and Bi‐LSTM worked best amongst the neural networks used. The extensive experiments performed on the two datasets establish the importance of this work by comparing eleven classification methods and seven feature extraction techniques. Our proposed shallow neural networks outperform existing state‐of‐the‐art approaches for cyberbullying detection, with accuracy and F1‐scores as high as ~95% and ~98%, respectively