COVID-19 Effect on Mental Health

CO: corona, VI: virus, D: disease, covid -19 with its first outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019, and was recognised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020. As of 23 March, more than 352,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in over 190 countries and territories, resulting in more than 15,300 deaths and over 100,000 recoveries. India is also among 190 countries, and our UT Jammu and Kashmir is also affected. Covid -19 has high communicability comparison to its mortality.

Gambling Harms: A Dominance Analysis of Cognitions, Motivation and Impulsivity

Explanatory models of substance and behavioral addictions typically emphasize the contributions of three predictor domains: distorted cognitions related to control; motivations related to rewards and stress-reduction; and, failure to regulate emotions. In the present study, 271 (161 females) patrons at a racetrack-slots facility completed a survey comprising standardized measures of gambling-related cognitions, motivations for gambling, trait impulsivity, and problem gambling severity. The purpose was to explore dominance analysis as a statistical procedure to identify the relative importance of the three domains as predictors of the experience of gambling harms. The first step of the analysis isolated the dominant facet within each of the three multi-dimensional domains. The final step computed relative dominance among those facets. The results indicated that the most dominant predictor was the cognition of an inability to stop gambling. Motivation to avoid life stressors was the second most dominant predictor followed by the tendency to act rashly in the presence of negative emotion (negative urgency). The relative dominance of the predictors of gambling harm may provide a framework for scaffolding interventions directed at mitigating gambling harms.

Development of Ethosomal Gel from Withania Somnifera

Novel drug delivery systems are used to increase administration of drugs through transdermal system. Ethosomes has the ability to permeate through the stratum corneum. Ethosomes are the delivery carriers that enable the drugs to reach the deep skin layers as well as the systemic circulation. These vesicles are well known for their importance in cellular communication and in particle transportation for many years. This article reviews various aspects of ethosomes which includes their preparation, characterization, advantages and their applications in drug delivery. Ethosomes has number of important benefits such as, it improves the drug’s efficacy, enhances the patient compliance, comfort and reduces the total cost of treatment.

Assessment of Physicians’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Smoking Cessation Management in the Gaza Strip

Background: Despite its negative effects, approximately 23% of Palestinians (≥ 18 years) smoke cigarettes. Studies have shown physicians to be an important channel for smoking cessation intervention. This investigation examines physicians’ smoking-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in the Gaza strip (Palestinian Territories). Methods and Findings: A convenience sample of 154 physicians in medical and surgical units took part in this investigation (87.7% response rate). The data show that 37.8% of physicians in Gaza smoke, and most of them about 72% smoke in the hospital’s public spaces, thereby implicitly giving public approval for smoking. While 82.4% reported that they advise patients who smoke to stop, the majority (59%) also believe that their own smoking habits negatively influence the impact of that advice. Unfortunately, our survey showed that physicians’ knowledge levels towards smoking addiction and management were lower than expected (e.g. only 34% knew that nicotine dependence is a psychiatric disorder that necessitates treatment). The physicians in this study believed that the primary barriers to failure of their patients’ smoking cessation were the perceived lack of will (81.3%), and the strength of patients’ addiction (67.9%). Moreover, (61%) of physicians did not spend enough time to convince their patients to quit smoking. Conclusion: Smoking is common among Gaza-strip physicians, and unfortunately, most of them smoke in the hospital’s public spaces. Many obstacles face the smoking cessation program that some physicians linked it to patients, and others linked it to the health-care system. Furthermore, smokers in Gaza receive poor care regarding assessment, referral, and management of their smoking habit.

Can Evidence Inform Intervention? Reporting on Research into Auditory Processing Disorders in Children with ASD- Considering Whether Research Into Auditory Integration Training and Filtered Sound Training Has Relevance

Since the 1980’s there has been an acceleration of interest by neuroscientists in the Auditory Problems of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The focus of study has largely shifted from attempting a differential diagnosis between the symptoms of ASD and of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), towards an improved understanding of APD and its impact on the lives and wellness of people with this disorder. A large amount of research data has accumulated, and sheds light on the manner in which auditory brain potentials of children with ASD differ from those of the neurotypical learner. This article will offer a summarised overview of this data, and will discuss how this body of evidence is informing and directing our intervention strategies, both clinical and educational. The author will further summarise the most recently published research papers on the impact of Auditory Integration Training (AIT)– the Bérard Method (also named Filtered Sound Training - FST), The statistical significance and implications of this data for the planning of intervention programmes to remediate auditory problems of children with ASD will be discussed. In conclusion some new insights into the breadth of the impact of auditory processing problems on the social, emotional, learning, language and well-being of children with ASD will be mentioned.

Are Addictions Really that Big Problem?

When invited to submit a paper to this journal on addictions, I thought I would share what I experienced with friends who extensively used alcohol and drugs recreationally.

A Reveille on the Prevalence of Alcohol Use in India: What Does the Epidemiological Literature Say?

There is a piece of classical and voluminous evidence in the literature regarding the use of alcohol from the Hebrew Bible, literary heritage of Greeks and Romans and the Vedas of India. However, the recent evidence suggests that excessive alcohol consumption is a risk factor for a wide range of health and social problems and a major cause of premature illness and death. The present paper explores the findings of the national and regional based epidemiological survey on alcohol use in the Indian setting. Although there is a difference in the technique and screening instrument, it can be assumed that the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in India can vary from 4.6 % to 5.2 %. The studies conducted in various parts of India using AUDIT as a research instrument found a varying prevalence of alcohol dependence ranging from 12.4 to 36.5 %. Furthermore, harmful alcohol use is found to vary from 33.2 to 52.6 %. The recent data suggest that fewer people in India consume alcohol, but a larger proportion is affected by harmful use or dependence on alcohol. Considering the changing trends of alcohol use in India, epidemiological data regarding the patterns of alcohol use forms the mainstay for proper health planning.

Collective digital dependence of employees and the perspective of leaders

Introduction: Human behavior has been changing due to digital technologies and the mobility provided by the integration of the Internet with mobile phones, causing diverse dependences. Organizational collective environments already have symptoms of these dependences. Objective: To evaluate, in an unusual way, the digital dependence of employees, the perception of leaders regarding employee dependence and to compare results between the two groups. Method: Volunteers were informed about the scope of the research. On line data collection started between 03/01 and 04/15/19. The sample had 330 employees with no management positions that answered to the Digital Employee Dependence Scale – EDDE and 96 with leadership positions that answered to the Scale to Evaluate Leaders’ Perception of Digital Dependence Employees - EPLDDE, generating two databases for the analysis. Results: Presented separately, employee and leaders, with percentage by option of answers that indicate low perception of the volunteers on the subject. Convergences and divergences between leaders and employees reinforce possibles unevennesses of knowledge about this subject. Discussion: Three blocks: (a) EDDE; (b) EPLDDE;(c) comparative EDDE x EPLDDE. Highlighting of the convergences and divergences between visions of leaders and employees on similar questions signaling the need for analysis of these differentiated perceptions. Conclusion: There is no general concern of leaders and employees about digital dependence in the organization, although there are signs of existence. There are divergences between them about various elementary aspects of this theme. It is necessary guide them on the characteristics of digital dependence to better understand and correct their digital practices.

The Influence of Virtual Alienation in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Adhd): A Systematic Review

Introduction: Digital technologies have brought about significant changes in all aspects of life and society. It is relevant to research the new habits of people due to the excessive and unconscious use of digital technologies and their interference in their lives from a psychological point of view, due to the changes it can bring. Objective: The objective of this work is to present a systematic review on the influence of Virtual Alienation on the behavior of people with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder - ADHD, influencing the reinforcement of this disorder. Method: The method used was the bibliographic search concentrated in terms of three keywords described below, in the academic bases PubMed, ISI Web of Science and PsycoInfo, purified according to the PRISMA method. Results: It has been demonstrated that the main characteristics of Virtual Alienation are in line with the characteristics of ADHD disseminated by DSM-V, which can influence the support of this phenomenon. This investigation is justified by the contribution it can bring to the studies of Psychology, in particular those related to human behavior. Conclusion: We conclude that the non-conscious use of digital resources can lead to a state of alienation by the Digital Dependence that can cause emotional impacts on people with ADHD.

Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Hormone-Dependent Breast Cancer during Neoadjuvant Endocrinotherapy

The problem of the quality of life of cancer patients, the study of the influence of premorbid psychological states on the course of tumor diseases and the role of cancer in changes in the psychology of patients, the staff of the Department of Oncology, Dnepropetrovsk Medical Academy has been dealing with for almost thirty years [1-3]. The authors showed that most patients, regardless of the location of the tumor, have impaired social adaptation, and almost half of them (48%) have an intra-psychic orientation of maladaptation, more than a third (37.5%) are extra-psychic, and only 14.2% do not pronounced social maladaptation. In the structure of maladaptation, anxiety and depression should play a leading role [4]. Despite the passage of time, the difference in healthcare systems, the achievements of medicine and its modern capabilities, psychological problems remain relevant today [5-7]. Anxiety and depression are perhaps not the most important factors that lead to a deterioration in the quality of life of patients, especially those with breast cancer [8, 9]. Both anxiety and depression have multifactorial causes, but the treatment that the patient receives has a significant effect on their severity [10-12].