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Background: Global trends indicate a rise in mental health disorders among youth, prompting need for effective interventions. Mental health literacy interventions have demonstrated benefits such as improved knowledge, treatment understanding, help-seeking behaviors, and stigma reduction. This study aimed to assess the impact of a comprehensive mental health literacy program on knowledge, attitudes, and stigma related to mental health among secondary school students in Chennai., Methods: Cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted among students from four secondary schools. Randomization was at cluster level to minimize contamination. Participating schools provided consent, and all ninth-grade students were invited to participate. Written informed consent was obtained from parents/guardians, and assent was obtained from students. There were no specific exclusion criteria, except for students who declined to participate. Analyses were performed using intention-to-treat principles, with multiple imputation for missing outcome data., Results: After adjusting for cluster effects, the intervention group showed a significant improvement in attitude scores compared to the control group (mean difference 0.85, 95 % CI: 0.32-1.39, p = 0.002). However, no significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of knowledge and stigma., Conclusion: The findings suggest that delivering a mental health literacy curriculum alongside contact-based education involving individuals with lived experiences of mental disorders positively influences students' attitudes toward mental health. Although no significant changes were observed in knowledge and stigma levels, the integration of mental health literacy programs with personal narratives from those with lived experiences holds promise for addressing mental health stigma and promoting positive attitudes among school students., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Investigations about the remediation of Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), a persistent organic pollutant of global concern, have been extensively reported to treat the HCH contaminated soil. The difficulty arising due to desorption and long ageing procedures of this hydrophobic organic compound in the soil, make it necessary to exploit techniques like soil washing or addition of surfactants, for enhancing the mass transfer rate of hydrophobic compounds. However, this technique gives rise to the generation of a large quantity of waste solution containing the pollutant and various other toxic substances. Moreover, it is challenging to deal with the complex soil washing solution, and thus a follow-up treatment of such washing solution is essentially required before its discharge. This follow-up treatment could be the bioreactor system to efficiently treat the pollutant in the wash solution, thereby reducing the amount of contaminated soil that has to be treated. Among many suggested remediation methods and treatment technologies, integrated soil washing and post-treatment with the bioreactor system could be an environmentally viable method for the remediation of HCH contaminated sites. This review focuses on the soil washing procedures applied so far for the HCH contaminated soil and various factors affecting the efficiency of separation of the target pollutant. Furthermore, the environmental and reactor design-related factors are also discussed for degradation of HCH in the reactor system. Finally, advantages and environmental feasibility of this proposed combined technology and the challenges that need to be encountered are envisaged., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Numerous researches have been conducted to study the impact of Port activities on water quality. However, investigation on the response of the inhabiting biota to Port related extrinsic factors is extremely limited. Using Canonical Correspondence Analysis, comprehensive assessment of plankton population dynamics and distribution corresponding to the spatial heterogeneity in physico-chemical characteristics of harbour and adjacent coastal water is conducted. The results revealed resource competition for nitrate, predator mediated co-existence of species favoured by active switching and Port influenced environmental filtering due to suspended solids, and oil and grease as the predominant factor to modulate the plankton community structure and succession in harbour. The higher heterogeneity in the measured environmental variables at coast revealed dispersion of nutrient and other pollutants from harbour into the adjacent coastal water during ebb tide. Our results indicate reengineering of Port infrastructures and efficient management policies including water quality standards to facilitate proper water circulation and minimize pollution with a long term goal to reconcile economic interest with ecosystem conservation., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Production of biochar from sewage sludge (SS) is consistent with the goal of sustainable resource recovery and promotes a wastewater-based circular economy. Thermochemical conversion of SS to biochar resolves two major issues simultaneously as it minimizes the cost of disposal and acts as a resource to eliminate the toxic contaminants from water and wastewater. The reusability and ready availability of the biochar, irrespective of the season, makes it an economically viable material for wastewater treatment. In this review, explicit insights into the production, modification and usage of SS derived biochar are provided including (i) the production yield, (ii) characteristic features such as physical, chemical, electrochemical and morphological aspects, and (iii) impact on contaminant removal through adsorption, catalytic and electrochemical processes. Particular attention is given to the use of SS derived biochar as an adsorbent for contaminants present in wastewaters, the potential use of biochar as a catalyst and support material in advanced oxidation processes and the use of biochars as an electrode material. The effect of pyrolysis conditions and co-pyrolysis with other materials on biochar properties is explored and insight is provided into the toxicity of biochar components present at different process conditions., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Little is known regarding barriers to hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment among people who inject drugs (PWID) in low-resource settings, particularly in the era of direct-acting antiviral therapies., Methods: Between March, 2015-August, 2016, a cross-sectional survey was administered to community-based PWID in Chennai, India to examine the HCV care continuum and associated barriers. Adjusted prevalence ratios (APR) were estimated by multivariable Poisson regression with robust variance., Results: All participants were male (n = 541); 152 participants had HCV mono-infection and 61 participants had HIV/HCV co-infection. Only one HCV mono-infected and one HIV/HCV co-infected participant was linked to HCV care. Overall, there was moderate knowledge of HCV disease but poor knowledge of HCV treatment. Higher total knowledge scores were negatively associated with HIV/HCV co-infection (vs. HCV mono-infection), though this was not statistically significant in adjusted analysis (APR = 0.71 [95%CI = 0.47-1.06]). Participants ≥45 years (APR = 0.73 [95%CI = 0.58-0.92]) and participants with HIV/HCV co-infection (APR = 0.64 [95%CI = 0.47-0.87]) were less willing to take weekly interferon injections for 12 weeks. Willingness to undergo HCV treatment improved with decreasing duration of therapy, higher perceived efficacy, and use of pills vs. interferon, though willingness to use interferon improved with decreasing duration of therapy. Most participants preferred daily visits to a clinic for HCV treatment versus receiving a month's supply. Participants ≥45 years (vs. <45 years; APR = 0.70 [95%CI = 0.56-0.88]) and participants with HIV/HCV co-infection (APR = 0.75 [95%CI = 0.57-0.98]) were less likely to intend on seeking HCV care. Common reasons for not having already seen a provider for HCV treatment differed by HIV status, and included low perceived need for treatment (HCV-mono-infected), competing money/health priorities and costs/fears about treatment (HIV/HCV-co-infected)., Conclusion: Residual gaps in HCV knowledge and continuing negative perceptions related to interferon-based therapy highlight the need to scale-up educational initiatives. Readiness for HCV treatment was particularly low among HIV/HCV co-infected and older PWID, emphasizing the importance of tailored treatment strategies., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: In some regions, HIV incidence is rising among people who inject drugs (PWID). Combination prevention approaches are well suited to PWID who face multiple sources of HIV risk. This analysis investigates patterns of utilisation to basic HIV services (HIV counselling and testing [HCT], antiretroviral therapy [ART]) as well as harm reduction programs (needle and syringe exchange programs [NSEP] and opioid agonist therapy [OAT]) among PWID and how utilisation of harm reduction services is associated with HIV-related care seeking behaviours., Methods: Respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit 14,481 PWID across 15 cities in India. Sampling-weighted multilevel logistic regression models assessed associations between utilisation of harm reduction service and HCT and ART use among those indicated (90.3% and 5.0% of full sample, respectively). We considered both recent (prior year) and ever use of services., Results: Overall, 42.3% reported prior HIV testing and 57.9% of eligible persons reported ART initiation, but overlap with NSEP and OAT use was limited. In adjusted models, recent and ever use of both NSEP and OAT were significantly associated with recent and ever HCT utilisation, respectively; however, harm reduction utilisation was not associated with ART initiation among eligible participants., Conclusions: Harm reduction services may play a key role in linking PWID with HIV testing; however, they were not associated with ART initiation among eligible individuals. Moreover, a large majority who utilised NSEP and OAT were not engaged in optimal HIV care or prevention, highlighting missed opportunities and a need for stronger linkages between NSEP/OAT and HIV care and treatment, particularly among those actively injecting. These findings provide key insights to better understand how services can be linked or combined to optimise service utilisation among PWID., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Little is known regarding the epidemiology of drug injection and risk behaviors among injection drug users (IDUs) across India. In particular, there is limited data on the prevalence of stimulant injection., Methods: We sampled 801 HIV positive IDUs from 14 locations throughout India to represent the geography of India as well as the diversity in IDU epidemic stage (established epidemics, emerging epidemics and large cities). All participants underwent a behavioral survey and blood draw. Given prior associations with stimulant injection and HIV risk, we compared stimulant injectors (cocaine and/or methamphetamine) to those who injected opiates and/or pharmaceuticals only., Results: The median age was 33; 86% were male. The primary drugs injected were heroin, buprenorphine and other pharmaceuticals. In all but four sites, >50% of those actively injecting reported needle sharing. Stimulant injection was most common in emerging epidemics. Compared to exclusive opiate injectors, stimulant injectors were significantly younger, more likely to be educated and employed, more likely to report non-injection use of heroin, crack/cocaine and amphetamines, heavy alcohol use, recent needle sharing (71% vs. 57%), sex with a casual partner (57% vs. 31%) and men having sex with other men (33% vs. 9%; p<0.01 for all)., Conclusions: Emerging IDU epidemics have a drug/sexual risk profile not previously been observed in India. Given the high prevalence of stimulant injection in these populations, HIV prevention/treatment programs may need to be redesigned to maximize effectiveness. The high levels of injection sharing overall reinforce the need to ensure access to harm-reduction services for all., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Hyaluronidase inhibitors have immense applications in pathophysiological conditions associated with hyaluronan-hyaluronidase system. The present study demonstrates the inhibitory efficacy of clinically accepted antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) against hyaluronidase of serum, testis, and snake and bee venoms. The experimental and molecular dynamic simulation data suggest the non-competitive inhibition and involvement of thiol groups of both NAC and glutathione in exertion of inhibition. The bioavailability, less-toxic and antioxidant nature of NAC and glutathione could become valuable in the management of pathologies triggered by extracellular matrix degradation and to increase the endurance of hyaluronan based biomaterials/supplements, which are highly exciting aspects., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The bio reduction of chloro auric acid (HAuCl(4)) and silver nitrate (AgNO(3)) is achieved extracellularly by using the aqueous extract of Solanum torvum (S. torvum) fruit. The nanoparticle formation was screened by UV-visible spectroscopy through color conversion due to surface plasma resonance bands at 560 nm and 430 nm for gold and silver nanoparticles respectively. The spherical shapes with smooth surface of gold and silver nanoparticles were analyzed through scanning electron microscope and its presence was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX). The functional groups in the gold and silver salts and the bio interactive functional groups present in the S. torvum extract were characterized by employing Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR). The biomedical properties of gold and silver nanoparticles were premeditated as free radical scavenging activity and antibacterial static agents. Gold and silver nanoparticles serve as strong hydroxyl, superoxide, nitric oxide and DPPH radical scavengers in contrast to their corresponding metal oxides. The radical quenching properties of gold and silver nanoparticles were found to correlate with in vitro DNA protective effect. The silver nanoparticles show strong zone of inhibition against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas and Bacillus whereas, gold nanoparticles exhibit fair zone of inhibition. To our knowledge this is the first report that S. torvum extract can reduce metal acids to nano materials., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Malnutrition is a strong predictor of poor outcomes in people living with HIV (PLHIV). Drug users are at increased risk of malnutrition regardless of whether or not they are infected with HIV. Little data exists on the nutritional status of drug users (with or without HIV infection) in India., Methods: We describe and compare the nutrition and metabolic status of 107 HIV-positive and 193 HIV-negative male clients of a community-based drop-in center for injection drug users in Chennai, India. Measures of nutrition and metabolic status include body composition, dietary intake, food insecurity, and serum lipid levels., Results: We found poor overall nutritional status in both the HIV-positive and HIV-negative clients, with HIV-positive men faring worse on some parameters. Both groups had extremely low percent body fat, but levels in HIV-positive participants were significantly lower (6.5% versus 7.9%, p=.01). HIV-positive men also had significantly lower total caloric and fat intakes compared to HIV-negative men. A considerable proportion (70%) of both HIV-positive and HIV-negative drug users were food insecure. HDL cholesterol levels were significantly lower and below normal range in the HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative men., Conclusions: The high levels of food insecurity and poor nutritional status in this population, regardless of HIV status, indicates critical need for intervention. Improving nutritional status in those who are infected with HIV prior to initiation of antiretroviral treatment may help patients to reap the full benefits of therapy., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: We carried out a rapid assessment among the female regular sex partners of drug users/injecting drug users recruited from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka with the objective of designing appropriate responses targeting them. We examined the correlates of condom use among them., Methods: Data was collected from 4612 female regular sex partners recruited by different NGO partners spread across the five countries in the region. We carried out univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine variables associated with condom use during their last sexual intercourse., Results: Of the total sample, 22% admitted to using drugs ever in their life and 21% reported condom use during the last sexual act. A fourth of the participants have not heard of HIV/AIDS and only 17% have been tested for HIV. In a multivariate model, women engaged in sex work, from Nepal, used drugs before last sexual intercourse, heard of HIV/AIDS, ever used drugs and approached by someone with information on HIV were likely to have used condoms during the last sexual intercourse about twice or more: (AOR=4, 95% CI: 3, 5.3; AOR=3.4, 95% CI: 2.4, 4.9; AOR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.9, 3.3; AOR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.5, 3; AOR=2, 95% CI: 1.5, 2.6; AOR=1.7, 95% CI: 1.4, 2 respectively). Condom use was negatively associated with women with a single sex partner (AOR=0.6, 95% CI: 0.5, 0.7)., Conclusions: Condom use is low among the female regular sex partners and is primarily associated with women exhibiting risky practices. Apart from sustaining and expanding HIV prevention programmes that aim to increase the HIV/AIDS related knowledge and scale-up HIV testing among the drug users and their regular sex partners, there is an urgent need to reach out to the women in stable marital relationship with drug users. This study has demonstrated that it is feasible to access this population and the priority is to design and implement individual, couple and group level interventions that ensure consistent condom use with their primary partners.

Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) is a broad spectrum insecticide still used in some of the developing countries, though developed countries have banned or curtailed its use. Even in those countries where the use of t-HCH has been discontinued for a number of years, the problem of residues of all isomers of t-HCH remains because of its high persistence. These insecticides in the soil disturb the delicate equilibrium between microorganisms and their environment. Few reports on the degradation of t-HCH isomers in soil are present in literature, and very little information is available on the effect of these t-HCH isomers on soil microflora. In the present study, an attempt has been made to see the microbial diversity in the uncontaminated soils and the effect of application of t-HCH on the soil microflora. The soil was spiked with t-HCH and incubated, at regular time intervals the soil samples were analyzed for microbial diversity as well as t-HCH isomers residues. The results show that at higher concentrations of t-HCH, microbial populations were inhibited and the inhibited populations did not reappear even after prolonged incubation. Potential t-HCH degrading cultures were isolated and subjected to further acclimation in order to enhance their degradation capacity. The results are presented and discussed in this paper.