Background: COVID-19-driven pandemic has caused panic, fear, and stress among all strata of society. The study aimed to assess stress and the factors that influence it in a representative population in the state of Tamil Nadu (TN)—a state in the southern India where the levels of stress have not been measured yet. Methods: From April 13 to April 25, 2020, we conducted an online survey among the TN population using the snowball sampling technique, collecting basic demographic data. COVID-19-perceived stress was collected through COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI). Binomial regression analysis was used to identify the extent of the relationship between CPDI and sociodemographic factors by estimating the odds of having significant stress. P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 2,317 valid responses were received. Of the respondents, 830 (35.82%) were males, 1,084 (46.79%) were below 25 years of age, and 2,297 (99.14%) were native residents of TN. The mean(±SD) CPDI was 20.66±12.03. While 1,830 (77.2%) respondents had low or no stress, 478 (20.2%) had mild to moderate stress, and 63 (2.7%) had severe stress. The bivariate model included marital status, age, nativity, and income. The odds of having significant stress (mild–moderate or severe) for a 25–34 year age group as compared to >55 years group was 2.38 (P < 0.001). As compared to widowed, the married had higher odds ratio (3.41, P = 0.05). Compared to those with >10 lakh annual income, those with 2.5–5 lakhs annual income had odds ratio of 1.65 (95% CI = 1.01 to 2.7, P = 0.05). Conclusions: During the lockdown due to COVID-19, every 1 in 5 TN population had some form of stress, as measured by CPDI. Our model identified certain factors driving the stress, which would help policy framers to initiate an appropriate response.

Proper tooth brushing is a seemingly simple motor activity that can promote oral health. Applying health theories, such as the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model, Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Integrated Health Coaching (IHC), may help optimize tooth brushing technique in those with suboptimal skills. Some motor activities, including tooth brushing, may over time become rote and unconscious actions, such that an existing habit can inhibit new learning, i.e., exert proactive interference on learning the new skill. Proactive interference may impede the acquisition of new tooth brushing skills; thus, in this report, we: (1) Review how the habit of tooth brushing is formed; (2) Postulate how proactive interference could impede the establishment of proper tooth brushing retraining; (3) Discuss the merits of this hypothesis; and (4) Provide guidance for future work in this topic within the context of an approach to behavior change that integrates IMB, MI and IHC methodology.

Background: Salivary flow alteration (SA), is a known unwarranted effect of schizophrenic medications. It manifest either as reduced (xerostomia) or increased (sialorrhea) SA, among treated schizophrenic patients. It is believed that the SA is due to action of the drugs/disease process involving the muscarinic receptor-3 to process acetyl choline, the common neurotransmitter. The genetic mediation behind the SA in such patients remains largely unexplored. We aimed to address the same by using curated literary databases to identify such relationship, if any existed. Material and methods: Curated databases of Gene-Disease Association, www.DisGeNet.org and www. networkanalyst.ca were effectively used to identify the probable genes, strength of association and the druggenes pathway that could be possibly be involved. The genes associated with schizophrenia and SA were analyzed in detail. Protein-Protein interaction (PPI) network proven experimentally in humans were used to identify the missing or unreported links. Results: In all 28 genes associated with schizophrenia were linked to SA. The genetic network of schizophrenia and xerostomia involved FGFR2 gene prominently and network module was statistically significant (P = 9.87*10 −8 ) was achieved that had xerostomia as a node, while schizophrenia (P = 0.025) had statistical significance. Sialorrhea had no statistical significance (P = 0.555). When schizophrenia and sialorrhea connections were analyzed for genetic interaction, only gene GCH1 emerged. On combining the three disease entities, the association of TAC1 gene with sialorrhea was also identified. Using PPI, the coordination of CHRM3, TAC1 and GPRASP1 gene were identified. This network involved several genes that has significant influence on calcium signaling pathway (P = 7.74*10 −16 ), cholingeric synapse(P = 6 × 10 −4 ), salivary secretion (P = 4.38*10-3 ), endocytosis(P = 8.23*10 −4 ), TGFβ signaling pathway(P = 0.0031), gap junction (P = 4.08*10-3 ) and glutamergic synapse(P = 6.4*10 −3 ). The involvement of G-receptor signaling protein product, GNAQ was established. Discussion and conclusion: The possible genetic pathway of SA in schizophrenic patients are discussed in light of pharmacotherapeutics. Using the knowledge effectively would help to increase the quality of life of schizophrenic besides increasing the understanding to use saliva as a biomarker of prognosis of schizophrenia and its drug effects.

Introduction:Contribution of Indian Psychiatrists as publications in peer-reviewed journals listed with PubMed and their impact has not been studied. The aim of this manuscript is to assess such contribution using a new article level metric measure. The relative citation ratio (RCR) has been used to assess the quality, quantity, and impact of research output of Indian Psychiatrists.Materials and Methods:Publications by Indian psychiatrists in PubMed during 1995–2013 were collected, their RCR and associated factors estimated. The nationality of the journals, type of manuscripts, PubMed Central (PMC) visibility and the type of the journals were factored in. The data collected was analyzed. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, correlations, and linear regression were performed. P ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant.Results:Using the criteria set, 1914 manuscripts were identified. Of the 1914 manuscripts, 1007 were cited at least once and among this, 40.7% were listed with PubMed while of the 907 non-PMC listed manuscripts, only 180 were never cited (P = 0.000). Of the 1032 manuscripts published in Indian journals, 474 were never cited while 214 of the manuscripts published with non-India based journals were never cited even once (P = 0.000).Discussion:The difference in terms of manuscripts visibility in PMC, nationality of journals and article type in analysis indicate that there exists an innate difference between the cited and noncited manuscripts. The probable explanation behind this and its associated phenomenon are discussed.

Background Attempts to refine toothbrushing (TB) technique, an ingrained habit in adults, can meet with some challenges. Recently, the role of proactive interference as a barrier to improving the learning of proper brushing has been proposed. This pilot feasibility study was designed to investigate TB behavior and to see how it changes after training. Smartphone video “selfies” (SPVSs) are increasingly being used in the medical field to assess, monitor, and determine the progression of diseases. Materials and Methods We used SPVS to study TB skills in a small sample of volunteers. Over a period of 14 days, after a one-time group training session, we observed TB behavior of volunteers using self-captured SPVS. Results Following the brief intervention, we observed an 8% of improvement in TB skills. Discussion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report using SPVS to study TB behavior. We demonstrated initial feasibility of using SPVS in the dental setting. We observed modest improvements in toothbrushing accuracy and quality, and we generated important experiences about the use of Selfies for TB monitoring and intervention, and some interesting insights about where in the toothbrushing is more or less effective. Conclusion Further investigation using a larger sample size is needed to thoroughly assess the effectiveness of this approach to improve TB skills and better understand the role of proactive interference.