Rh-Catalyzed Annulation of Enaminones with Maleimides for Functionalized Aza-spiro α-Tetralones and Benzo[e]isoindoles via C-H Activation/C═C Bond Cleavage.

An unprecedented strategy for Rh-catalyzed C-H activation/C═C bond cleavage of enaminones is described for the construction of biologically interesting aza-spiro α-tetralones and benzo[e]isoindoles. This protocol provides diversely functionalized aza-spiro α-tetralones and benzo[e]isoindoles in good yields via a [4 + 2] annulation of the exomaleimides and maleimides. This strategy displays a good substrate scope, outstanding functional group tolerance, and excellent regioselectivity.

Robust control of water quality in horizontal sub-surface flow wetlands using decentralized quantitative feedback theory based controller.

This paper addresses the regulation of water quality influencers such as Organic Nitrogen, Ammonia Nitrogen, Nitrate Nitrogen, Dissolved Organic Carbon and Dissolved Oxygen for a sub-surface flow horizontal wetland in a controlled environment. The plant uncertainty is quantified by using measurement data. The robust control of the process is achieved using a decentralized quantitative feedback theory based control strategy. The control structure also employs a feed-forward mechanism to minimize loop interactions and feedback control to ensure stability, tracking and disturbance rejection. The numerical simulations and hardware-in-loop implementation show that the performance specifications are robustly met.

Role of Prospective Memory in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Background: The role of memory in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been an area of research that has yielded mixed results, particularly in prospective memory (PM) functioning. Hence, one objective of the study was to assess PM deficits in patients with OCD. Also, research in this area has been sparse, and most researchers have used questionnaires and people with subclinical symptoms of OCD, which might have impacted the generalizability of the findings. Thus, the second objective was to assess PM functioning using a performance-based task in persons with OCD having clinical symptoms. Methods: This is a cross-sectional comparative study of 30 adults with OCD and 30 adults without psychiatric morbidity. The tools used were Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ 12), and Cambridge Prospective Memory Test (CAMPROMPT). Results: Event-based PM was significantly poor in the OCD group. In time-based PM, no significant difference was found between the groups. Three subgroups in OCD, predominantly obsessions, predominantly compulsions, and mixed types, did not differ significantly with respect to PM. Conclusion: The result suggested a deficit of event-based PM in OCD, which can help understand the psychopathology of memory deficit in the clinical population and bridge the gap with respect to memory research in this domain.

Effectiveness of neurofeedback training, behaviour management including attention enhancement training and medication in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder - A comparative follow up study.

BACKGROUND: Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders of childhood. Treatment of ADHD includes medications and Behavioural interventions. Neurofeedback, a type of biofeedback, has been found to be useful in ADHD. It helps patients to control their brain waves consciously. However, it is not yet conclusive if it is efficacious in comparison to behavioural management training and medication. AIM: To compare the efficacy of neurofeedback training, behaviour management including attention enhancement training and medication in children with ADHD. METHOD: Ninety children between 6 and 12 years with ADHD were taken and randomly divided into 3 treatment groups equally- neurofeedback, behaviour management and medication (methylphenidate). Conners 3-P Short Scale was applied for baseline assessment. The respective interventions were given and follow up was done at the end of 3 months by using Conners 3-P Short scale to assess the improvement in the symptoms. There were 6 dropouts, the final sample size was 84. RESULTS: The medication group showed the greatest reduction of symptoms in inattention, hyperactivity, executive functioning domain (core symptoms of ADHD). No statistically significant difference was observed between Neurofeedback and Behaviour Management in these domains. Learning problems improved in all three groups, neurofeedback being the most effective followed by medication. Both Neurofeedback and Medication groups showed similar effect which was higher than the Behavioural Management group in Peer Relation. CONCLUSION: Improvement in core ADHD symptoms have been observed with all 3 interventions with medication showing the greatest improvement Neurofeedback has been superior for learning problems. Thus, Neurofeedback can be an independent or combined intervention tool for children with ADHD in outpatient department of Psychiatry.

Indole derivative XCR-5a alleviates LPS-induced inflammation in vitro and in vivo.

CONTEXT: Few studies on anti-inflammatory drugs with indole groups have been published. This is the first study that demonstrates the anti-inflammatory effects of indole derivative XCR-5a in vitro and in vivo. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to discover more anti-inflammatory drugs with indole groups and investigate their anti-inflammatory mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: First, a series of indole derivatives was synthesized, then screened for XCR-5a, a compound with anti-inflammatory effects. Second, the in vitro production of IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced primary cells of mice pretreated with XCR-5a was determined using qPCR and ELISA. Finally, the effect of XCR-5a on LPS-induced NF-κB signaling activation was determined by Western blotting. An in vivo mouse sepsis model was established. In mouse lung tissue, the production of IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α was determined and H&E staining was performed. RESULTS: Our findings showed that XCR-5a could suppress the production of LPS-induced IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α, as well as mRNA expression of iNOS and COX-2. Pretreatment with XCR-5a inhibited the LPS-induced inflammatory response in septic mice in vivo by decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokines production in serum and reducing immune cell infiltration. Mechanistically, XCR-5a suppressed LPS-induced activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: XCR-5a has anti-inflammatory effects in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, XCR-5a could be a potential drug candidate for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Synthesis compound XCR-7a ameliorates LPS-induced inflammatory response by inhibiting the phosphorylation of c-Fos.

Inflammation is a biological process closely related to different kinds of diseases, such as cancer and metabolic diseases. Therefore, effective control of the occurrence and development of inflammation is of great significance for disease prevention and control. Recently, 2-substituted indoles have gradually become a research hotspot because of their stability and pharmacological activity. Here we synthesized a series of compound containing 2-substituted indoles and investigated XCR-7a's role in inflammatory response. Our data show that XCR-7a can inhibit the production of inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and inflammatory mediator cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mouse peritoneal macrophages. Also, XCR-7a has a protective effect on LPS-induced inflammatory response in mice. Mechanically, we found that XCR-7a could inhibit the phosphorylation of c-Fos induced by LPS, which suggested that the protective effect of XCR-7a on inflammation was related to its negative regulation to phosphorylation of c-Fos. Briefly, our results demonstrated that XCR-7a could be expected to be a potential drug for controlling inflammation.

Arousability, Personality, and Decision-Making Ability in Dissociative Disorder.

BACKGROUND: There is a gap in understanding the pathogenesis of dissociative conversion disorder (DCD), despite the disorder having a strong historical root. The role of personality and neurocognitive factors are now highlighted; however, inconsistencies are reported. This study explores the personality disposition, arousability, and decision-making ability of patients with DCD, in reference to a healthy control group (HCG). METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the sample comprised ten adult psychiatric patients with DCD. Ten participants of the HCG were matched according to age, gender, education, economic status, domicile, religious background, and handedness. The study assessed personality disposition with Temperament and Character Inventory, arousability with reaction time task, and decision-making ability with the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT PEBL version). RESULTS: The DCD group differed significantly on personality disposition related to both temperament and character. There was also evidence of easy arousability and frustration along with deficit in executive function related to decision-making ability. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the presence of both temperamental and characterological factors associated with DCD. Moreover, this study identifies the role of cognitive arousability and decision-making or feedback utilization ability in the psychopathology of DCD.

Development of a Battery to Assess Perceptual-Motor, Cognition, Language, and Scholastic Skills among Bengali Children with Neuro Developmental Disorders.

BACKGROUND: School failure or poor academic performance is often found in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD); however, there is a dearth of a comprehensive assessment tool to evaluate various underlying deficits, including perceptual-motor, cognitive, language, and scholastic skills of those who have NDD. The study aimed to develop a test to fill-up this gap. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study followed three phases: the construction of an assessment battery in both Bengali and English languages, separately, incorporating tasks on perceptual-motor, cognitive, language, and scholastic skills; doing a pilot study, and finally, standardization. Standardization was done on 91 normal children (NC) aged 4.5 to 9.5 years, from four districts of West Bengal. The test was applied to 57 children with poor school performance across various NDD, including specific learning disorder, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and communication disorder. Binet Kamat Test (BKT) of intelligence, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) Index for specific learning disability (SLD), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Conner's Abbreviated Rating Scale- Parent Report, Linguistic Profile Test, and Test of Pragmatic Language were used as screening tools to identify children with various NDD. The psychometric properties of the tool were assessed. RESULTS: The factor analysis suggested four-factor solution named scholastic-cognitive-motor, attention, auditory-verbal, and perceptual skill. The internal consistency of the test was found to be higher (Cronbach's α >0.70 for most tests), indicating high reliability. Discriminant validity revealed significant score differences between NC and children with NDD (P <.01), suggesting that the new tool can differentiate children with NDD from healthy NC. CONCLUSION: The results favor the new tool as a psychometrically strong tool to assess the scholastic backwardness of children with NDD. It may be further used to create specific profiles for different categories of NDD.

Cross-sectional study of the prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome in rural and urban populations.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and risk factor profile of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in Haryana, India. METHODS: A large-scale cross-sectional study was conducted among women of reproductive age in Haryana between December 2015 and May 2017. A random multi-stage stratified sampling method was adopted. PCOS screening was based on questionnaires. Blood samples for hormonal analysis were collected from those with probable and definitive PCOS cases. Women with menstrual irregularities (MI), hyperandrogenism (HA), and polycystic ovaries (PCO) (Rotterdam criteria) were included. Females with thyroid disease, hyperprolactinemia, and adrenal hyperplasia were excluded. RESULTS: Among total 2400 women screened, 94 (4.21%) had PCOS. The PCOS phenotypes were 30% clinical HA (hirsutism, H), 64% biochemical HA, 35% PCO, 16% H+MI, 10% MI+PCO, 52% MI+HA, 14% PCO+H, and 19% PCO+H+HA. Overall, 67 (71%) of the women with PCOS resided in urban regions and 27 (29%) in rural regions. CONCLUSION: Among the women with PCOS, a considerably higher proportion resided in urban regions of Haryana. The difference may be attributed to lifestyle and dietary factors. Ignoring PCOS may put women at risk of serious long-term health consequences that are difficult to manage. Lifestyle changes and continuous surveys should be promoted for better management.

Efficacy of PASS Reading Enhancement Programme on Neuropsychological Functions of a Child with Mild Vascular Neurocognitive Disorder and Comorbid Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Case Study.

BACKGROUND: PASS Reading Enhancement Programme (PREP), a reading enhancement tool focusing on successive and simultaneous processing tasks, has been used successfully to improve the information processing strategies that underlie reading. The study explored the effects of training with successive processing task of PREP on various cognitive and neuropsychological functioning of an 8-year-old child with mild vascular neurocognitive disorder with comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A pre-post intervention single case design was used. AIIMS Comprehensive Neuropsychological Battery in Hindi, Children's Form was used to assess the baseline performance on various neuropsychological domains. After 25 sessions of weekly outpatient-based training with PREP, reassessment was done using the same test battery. RESULTS: Results indicated posttraining global improvement in the neuropsychological functioning like receptive and expressive speech, intellectual processes, memory, and reading and writing abilities. CONCLUSION: Cognitive remediation programs focusing on training in successive processing could be used in the enhancement of overall neuropsychological functioning in children with neurocognitive disorder.

A psychological study of male, female related and unexplained infertility in Indian urban couples.

OBJECTIVE: The study intended to see the impact of infertility on experience of emotional trauma, belief pattern and formation of psychopathology and also to explore the psychopathology with respect to degree of infertility related stress impact among male, female and unexplained factor infertility in couples suffering from primary infertility. DESIGN: This was a clinic-based, cross-sectional comparative study based on a consecutive sampling method. SUBJECTS: Sixty couples were studied of whom 10 couples had male-related infertility (MF), 10 had female-related infertility (FF) and 10 unexplained infertility (UF). Another 30 fertile couples were also included as comparative group (CG) after matching on certain sociodemographic variables with the clinical groups. MEASURES: Impact of Event Scale, Symptom Checklist-90 Revised and Irrational Belief Scale were used. RESULTS: The impact of emotional trauma and irrational belief was greatest in the male-related infertility couples, and somatisation in the unexplained group, whereas depression and interpersonal sensitivity were higher in the female-related infertility couples. An impact of moderate to severe infertility-related stress on depression and irrational beliefs was also observed. Gender difference was evident with respect to psychopathology and types of infertility. CONCLUSION: The impact of infertility is evident with respect to psychopathology with differential impact of various types of infertility groups among Indian couples.

Dual mode adaptive fractional order PI controller with feedforward controller based on variable parameter model for quadruple tank process.

The Quadruple Tank Process (QTP) is a well-known benchmark of a nonlinear coupled complex MIMO process having both minimum and nonminimum phase characteristics. This paper presents a novel self tuning type Dual Mode Adaptive Fractional Order PI controller along with an Adaptive Feedforward controller for the QTP. The controllers are designed based on a novel Variable Parameter Transfer Function model. The effectiveness of the proposed model and controllers is tested through numerical simulation and experimentation. Results reveal that the proposed controllers work successfully to track the reference signals in all ranges of output. A brief comparison with some of the earlier reported similar works is presented to show that the proposed control scheme has some advantages and better performances than several other similar works.

Efficacy of combined cognitive-behavior therapy and hypnotherapy in anorexia nervosa: a case study.

A 22-year-old female diagnosed with anorexia nervosa received brief psychotherapy within a span of 1.5 months. Detailed cognitive-behavioral assessment was done and eating attitude was rated. Intervention of eating behavior and cognitive restructuring were initiated along with regular practice of self-hypnosis with ego-strengthening suggestions. Age regression was done to identify conflicts. Significant improvement in eating attitude was noted after 8 sessions without relapse at 3 months. Details of the psychotherapy are discussed.

Heart rate variability and its correlation with pulmonary function test of smokers.

CONTEXT: Though many studies have been conducted on the effect of chronic smoking on pulmonary function test (PFT) and heart rate variability (HRV), no study has found a correlation between the pulmonary function test and heart rate variability parameters so far. AIM: The aim was to study if there was a correlation, if any, between PFT and HRV. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Thirty male subjects who were chronic smokers of at least 10 pack years and another 30 nonsmoking healthy males were included in the study and were matched for age, height, weight, and body surface area. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PFT and HRV were performed on these subjects and a correlation was statistically derived. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Spearman's correlation coefficient was used for the analysis of HRV and PFT. Multiple stepwise regression analysis was used subsequently. RESULTS: HF and LF showed correlation coefficients of 0.378 and-0.383 with forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV 1) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), respectively. It was found that only FEV 1/FVC was having a statistically significant regression coefficient with HF the R-value was found to be 0.425 while with other parameters, it was not significant. CONCLUSION: We conclude that smoking affects all the parameters of PFT and HRV. Since there is a correlation between PFT parameters (PEFR and FEV1) and HRV parameter (LF and HF), this can help us in predicting cardiac morbidity in chronic smokers. So HRV should be included as a routine test along with PFT in chronic smokers for early diagnosis of cardiac involvement.

To Study the Effect of Vitamin D and E on Sodium-Fluoride-induced Toxicity in Reproductive Functions of Male Rabbits.

OBJECTIVES: Fluorosis is an endemic problem in many countries of world. This study was designed to see the effect of fluoride on the reproductive system and to see the role if any of vitamin D or E supplementation on it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty rabbits were divided into six equal groups. Group I was fed on standard diet, Group II vehicle treated control, Group III on sodium fluoride (NaF) 20 mg/kg body weight, Group IV on NaF + Vitamin D, Group V on NaF + vitamin E, and Group VI on NaF + vitamin D + vitamin E. RESULTS: In Group III (fed on sodium fluoride) significant decrease in sperm count (P<0.001), motility (P<0.001), progressive motility (P<0.01), and epididymal weight (P<0.05) compared to control was seen that was also evident on testicular histology. With vitamin D supplementation, there was a significant improvement in the sperm count (P<0.001), motility (P<0.01), and progressive motility (P<0.05) but remained significantly lower than the control values. With vitamin E supplementation there was significant improvement in the sperm count near normal. With vitamin D and E combined supplementation there was significant improvement in both sperm count and motility near to normal. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that combined vitamin D and E treatment showed a significant improvement in reproductive functions affected by fluoride.

Effect of acute moderate exercise on cognitive P300 in persons having sedentary lifestyles.

BACKGROUND: There are conflicting reports regarding the effect of exercise on cognition. We therefore planned to assess the acute effect of moderate exercise on cognition, studied by event-related brain potential P300, in subjects having sedentary lifestyles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty adults (40 males and 20 females) in the age-group of 18-30 years having sedentary lifestyles were included in the study. Baseline P300 was first measured and after that the subjects were divided into two equal age- and sex-matched groups. The test group was subjected to moderate exercise (that is, to achieve 60%-80% of maximum heart rate during exercise, where 100%=200-age) on a bicycle ergometer for 5 minutes, following which postexposure P300 was measured. In the control group P300 was re-recorded 15 minutes after baseline recording, without any intervening exercise. RESULTS: The latency of P300 was found to be significantly reduced after acute moderate exercise in the test group. CONCLUSION: It appears that acute moderate exercise improves the cognitive brain functions of adults with sedentary lifestyles.