Efficacy of cognitive pragmatic treatment on theory of mind functioning, quality of life and reduction of symptom severity in adults with schizophrenia

Objective: Schizophrenia is a severely debilitating disorder characterized by heterogeneous psychopathology, it impacts an individual’s subjective well-being, pragmatic communication skills, and cognitive functioning. The primary aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive pragmatic treatment (CPT), an evidence-based group intervention program, on theory of mind (ToM) functioning, quality of life (QoL), and symptom severity of disorder in adults with schizophrenia. Methods: One hundred individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia were chosen and randomly split into two groups, as control group (n=25) and experimental group (n=75). Experimental group received CPT for 3 months, while the control group got only routine psychiatric care. The individuals were assessed for symptom severity of the disorder, ToM functioning and QoL before and after the intervention. 3-months post-intervention, a follow-up evaluation was carried out. The data were analysed using both parametric as well as nonparametric statistics. Results: The results of two-way Repeated Measure ANOVA found statistically significant differences between groups as well as tests (p<0.001) and between groups and their interaction with the tests (p<0.001). Experimental post-test as well as follow-up evaluation showed significant improvement in reducing the symptom severity of the disorder, improvement in ToM functioning and QoL compared to control group Conclusion: The current study demonstrates that cognitive pragmatic treatment as evidence-based intervention can improve theory of mind functioning, as well as QoL of individuals with schizophrenia, by reducing the symptom severity

Mutations in Hepatitis B virus polymerase gene/partial surface gene among Chronic HBV carriers as markers for anti-viral drug resistance and escape mutants

Resistance to anti-viral drugs is a global problem in the treatment of HBV. Around 350 million people are infected with HBV worldwide. In India there are 50 million chronic HBV carriers [1]. HBV is double stranded DNA virus, it replicates by reverse transcription process. The error rate of HBV reverse transcriptase is of 4.6x10-5/nucloetide/site/year [1]. This results in the emergence of mutations in HBV genome. There are 10 genotypes and 4 subtypes [2, 4]. The treatment and disease progression is genotype specific [3]. The objective of the study was to identify mutations in HBV pol gene and HBs gene and their impact on disease and diagnosis. Individuals positive for HBsAg by ELISA with HBV viral load more than 2000 IU/ml were recruited in the study (n=32). Blood samples were collected from 32 individuals after obtaining written informed consent. DNA was extracted from the plasma samples (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany).  Conventional PCR targeting reverse transcriptase and surface gene (partial) was performed [4]. DNA sequencing (1300 bp) was performed on ABI 3730 GA platform (Applied Biosystems, USA). The sequences were analyzed for drug resistance using HBV geno2pheno drug resistance tool [1, 6] (http:// hbv. geno2pheno.org/). Mean age of the study subjects was 46.8 ± 14.1. Males (n=22) were predominant than female (n=10). The median ALT level was 45 U/L.  HBe Antigen was found to be positive in 65% (n=21) and negative in 35% (n=11). Genotype D (68.7%) was most predominant followed by genotype A (18.7%) and genotype C (15.6%). The rtL180M and rtM204V lamivudine, entecavir and telbivudine refractory mutation was noticed in one individual. Compensatory mutation rt169V was found in one individual. Several minor mutations were detected in which 5 participants belonged to genotype D had substitutions in p gene hotspots including rt169, rt173, rt180, rt184, rt202, rt204, rt236, rt250. Recently, there are changes in the treatment of chronic HBV disease. However, emergence of mutations in HBV is increasingly documented. Understanding the viral mutations and their associations with clinical presentations will assist in the customized patient care

Expanded spectrum of varicella disease and the need for vaccination in India

ABSTRACTVaricella vaccine was first licensed in Japan and South Korea in 1989 for use in healthy children and was introduced in US in 1995. So far, 29 countries have adopted varicella vaccine in their universal immunization program (UIP). No Asian country, India included, has adopted the varicella vaccine as part of their UIP. The extra-cutaneous sites for VZV diseases are central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, the expanded disease spectrum includes vasculopathy, myelitis, inflammatory bowel disease, perforated ulcers, and gastritis. The actual disease burden of varicella is not known as most of the infected individuals may not visit the physician. The amplifiable VZV DNA will not always be detectable in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples in protracted illnesses such as vasculopathies, but demonstrable anti-VZV IgG in CSF has diagnostic value. The World Health Organization (WHO) position paper 2014 recommends two doses of varicella and zoster vaccines in targeted population. In India, varicella vaccine is not included in the UIP due to the cost and the belief that lifelong immunity occurs following primary infection. The expanded spectrum of VZV disease and the mounting body of evidence, however, suggest the need for both varicella and zoster vaccines in routine immunization schedule

Nanocomposites based on crosslinked polyacrylic latex/silver nanoparticles for waterborne high-performance antibacterial coatings

WOS: 000333678300009Functional polymer/AgNPs nanocomposites have been prepared. Silver nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized to which polyacrylamide, PAAm, was covalently bound. PAAm was synthesized via a RAFT reaction and carried thiol and carboxylic acid end groups. Thiol was used to bind the polymer to the metal surface and carboxyl for further reactions. The AgNPs were used in a post-crosslinking reaction with a separately synthesized poly(butyl acrylate-co-methyl methacrylate)/polyglycidyl methacrylate core/shell latex bearing epoxy functional groups. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the functional AgNPs effectively crosslinked the latex polymer, and that the final product had excellent mechanical strength. Antibacterial tests revealed that the nanocomposite films had strong antibacterial activity against all types of the bacteria and the immobilization of silver NPs by crosslinking retarded the release of silver in comparison to the uncrosslinked ones. With the presented method, it is possible to obtain ductile antibacterial nanocomposites to be used as waterborne functional coatings. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014, 52, 1435-1447Council of Higher Education (YOK) of TurkeyMinistry of National Education - TurkeyThe authors thank to the Council of Higher Education (YOK) of Turkey for the support to the research