Covid 19

Social anxiety is characterised by negative self-perception and fear that one's appearance or behaviour will fail to conform with social expectations and norms. Social anxiety disorder is an extreme manifestation that affects up to 13 per cent of the population. The study by researchers from the University of Waterloo also has implications for those who haven't necessarily suffered from social anxiety in the past.

The study found that people who produced a weak immune response signature, obtained at one and six months post infection, failed to show any neutralising antibodies against the Alpha variant, with none mounting a neutralising antibody response against the Beta variant.

The emergence and higher transmission of the evolving variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, has been concerning. The researchers investigated Alpa (B117), the variant first identified in the UK, and Beta (B1351), first identified in South Africa, to evaluate if patients showed higher viral loads, and consequently increased shedding and transmissibility.

A survey led by researchers from the Saint James School of Medicine in Saint Vincent, Caribbeans, found that nearly half of participants exhibited mild to moderate depression, with more than 70 per cent ranging from mild to severe depression. Seventy per cent of participants also experienced mild to severe anxiety, and slightly more than 30 per cent could potentially meet DSM-IV-TR criteria for PTSD.

The study, led by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, and University of Massachusetts, showed that infection with a specific coronavirus strain reactivated dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice. The results, detailed in the The American Journal of Pathology, may pave the way for new vaccines against the infectious disease and avoid a potential global TB epidemic.

Vidya Ramaswamy, a child psychologist at a private hospital in Chennai told IANS: "Children are the most vulnerable as far as mental health is concerned. This are their growing years -- both mentally and physically and one complements the other.

Compared to the first wave, the number of positive cases and their severity has increased among children this time. Why is this concerning? This is in contrast to what was earlier perceived globally that children will not suffer from the severe direct symptoms of the virus, the indirect fallout on their lives and rights is a topic for another discussion.

Metformin is often used as an early therapy for Type-2 diabetes. It works by lowering glucose production in the liver, reducing blood sugar levels that, in turn, improve the body's response to insulin. But scientists have also noted that metformin possesses anti-inflammatory properties, though the basis for this activity was not known.

But, people who are more prone to boredom can find it threatening to their identity and are thus more likely to break public-health rules, according to new psychology research. While previous research demonstrated a connection between being highly prone to boredom and breaking social-distancing rules, this study demonstrated the association was more prominent as participants' social conservatism increased.

The researchers, including Ravindra Kolhe from Augusta University in the US, found that an innovative protocol that processes saliva samples with a bead mill homogeniser before real-time PCR (RT-PCR) testing results in higher sensitivity compared to NPS samples. "Saliva as a sample type for Covid-19 testing was a game-changer in our fight against the pandemic.