COVID-19-associated psychosis in Indian settings: A retrospective descriptive study

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected millions of people across the world since early 2020. Besides the large number of case fatalities, this virus has produced significant health-related sequelae involving multiple systems of the body. As with previous coronavirus infections, this was also found to be associated with various neuropsychiatric symptoms. Psychosis has been uncommon, and the few reported cases across the world have forwarded association with either raised inflammatory markers or the consequences of social isolation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a retrospective descriptive study of 12 patients, who were admitted with COVID-19 infection and psychosis, between March 2020 and December 2020. Cases of head injury, any neurological or metabolic illnesses, and substance use disorders were excluded.

RESULTS

Cases with psychosis formed only 0.19% of all cases of COVID-19 admissions. All of them were young male and employed. Most of them had abrupt onset of psychosis with confusion, delusions, hallucinations, agitation, and sleep disturbances. Investigations including inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein) and computerized tomography scans were largely normal. Medications used were mainly benzodiazepines and antipsychotics. Most of the cases resolved within the second week, and follow-up after a month did not elicit any residual symptoms in majority. Diagnosis was acute and transient psychotic disorder (about 75%), bipolar affective disorder (2 cases), and schizophrenia (one).

CONCLUSIONS

The major findings included nonreactive inflammatory markers, quick resolution of symptoms, requirement of low doses of antipsychotic drugs, and no long-term sequelae.

Sustainability, productivity, profitability and soil health with conservation agriculture based sustainable intensification of oilseed brassica production system

Conservation agriculture (CA) practices are getting space world-wide to answer many emerging challenges like; declining factor productivity, deteriorating soil health, water scarcity, climate change, and farm profitability and sustainability. Oilseed brassica (Indian mustard, Brassica juncea L.), a winter oilseed grown under rainfed agro-ecosystem is vulnerable to low yields, high production cost, degrading soil and water quality, and climatic vagaries. The present study was undertaken on CA-based sustainable intensification of Indian mustard for enhancing inputs efficiencies, farm profitability and sustainability. Permanent beds with residue retention (PB + R) improved mustard equivalent yield (11.4%) and system grain yield (10.6%) compared with conventional tillage without residue (CT − R). Maize–mustard rotation (Mz–M) increased system grain yield (142.9%) as well as mustard equivalent yield (60.7%) compared with fallow-mustard (F-M). Mz–M system under PB + R increased sustainable yield index (376.5%), production efficiency (177.2%), economic efficiency (94%) and irrigation water productivity (66%) compared with F-M under CT − R. PB + R increased soil organic carbon (SOC) stock at 0–15 cm (17.7%) and 15–30 cm (29.5%) soil depth compared with CT − R. Addition of green gram in rotation with mustard improved SOC at 0–15 cm (27.4%) and 15–30 cm (20.5%) compared with F-M system. CA-based cluster bean-mustard/GG-M system increased N productivity, whereas, P and K productivity improved with Mz–M system compared with F-M under CT − R. Thus, CA-based Mz–M system should be out-scaled in the traditional rainfed fallow-mustard system to improve the farm production and income on holistic basis to make the country self-sufficient in edible oils.

Performance assessment of the complex repairable system with n-identical units under (k-out-of-n: G) scheme and copula linguistic repair approach

Purpose

This paper analyzed a complex system consisting n-identical units under a k-out-of-n: G; configuration via a new method which has not been studied by previous researchers. The computed results are more supportable for repairable system performability analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors have analyzed a complex system consisting n-identical units under a k-out-of-n: G; configuration via a new method which has not been studied by previous researchers. The supplementary variable technique has employed for analyzing the performance of the system.

Findings

Reliability measures have been computed for different types of configuration. It generalized the results for purely series and purely parallel configurations.

Research limitations/implications

This research may be beneficial for industrial system performances whereas a k-out-of-n-type configuration exists.

Practical implications

Not sure as it is a theoretical assessment.

Social implications

This research may not have social implications.

Originality/value

This work is the sole work of authors that have not been communicated to any other journal before.

Marine plastic litter in certain trawl grounds along the peninsular coasts of India

Non-biodegradable marine debris such as derelict fishing gears and their parts, polythene covers, carry bags, synthetic packaging materials etc., cause serious damages to the benthic ecosystem including the marine biota. We report here the monthly variation in the marine plastic litter (MPL) and its relative percentage to the quantity of fish caught from the trawling grounds off Cochin, Ratnagiri, Mumbai and Veraval along the west coast as well as Visakhapatnam from the east coast of India. The mean values of MPL from the fishing grounds registered the maximum of 55.2 ± 16.52 kg/km² off Veraval and the minimum of 2.11 ± 0.55 kg/km² off Visakhapatnam, registering a national average of 10.95 ± 3.05 kg/km². The relative percentage of MPL over the fish catch remained highest (3.83%) at Veraval and lowest from Visakhapatnam (0.33%) while, the national average was 1.89 ± 0.28. Monsoon season registered maximum MPL in the fishing grounds of all the coastal regions we studied. Depth of the trawling grounds also influenced the quantity of MPL that 20 m depth registered quantity (24.25 ± 9.16 kg/km²) and the overall mean at 10 m and 40 m depth zone are significantly different from that of 20 m. The database created through this study are discussed in the light of increasing deleterious effects of plastic pollution in the active fishing areas in coastal region and the urgent need to save the sea for sustainable use of its resources.

Redescription of the rare and endangered Broadfin Shark Lamiopsis temminckii (Müller & Henle, 1839) (Carcharhiniformes:Carcharhinidae) from the northeastern Arabian Sea

The genus Lamiopsis (Carcharhinidae) was previously considered to be monotypic, containing only the Broadfin Shark Lamiopsis temminckii (Müller & Henle, 1839) widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific. However, a recent taxonomic study revealed that the Western Central Pacific populations were a separate species and that L. temminckii was restricted to the northern Indian Ocean. In this study, the paucity of data available for the true L. temminckii was highlighted. Recently collected specimens of L. temminckii has allowed for a detailed redescription of this species from the northern Arabian Sea to complement the previous taxonomic work on this genus.

Histoid Leprosy in Varanasi

Seventeen cases of histoid leprosy were found in skin out patients department of Institute of Medical Sciences in one year out of a total of 1394 cases of leprosy registered. The histoid leprosy rate is thus 1.2 %. The total lepromitous leprosy cases were 194 with which lepromatous index works out to be 13.9% About half of the histoid leprosy cases had no antileprosy treatment. Bacteriological index was high (4 to 6 + ) and morphological index renged from 20 to 70%. In this study there does not appear to be any correlation between histoid leprosy and DDS resistant strains of mycobacterium leprae.