Oxygen flow: How much do we know?

Introduction: Since the advent of Covid, oxygen has been the centre of discussion despite being the most important entity for the survival of human life. As various modes of its delivery has been in practice for a long time, using the non-rebreather mask has been a part of most guidelines for emergencies and hypoxia. This requires a higher flowrate of up to 15 l/min. Most flowmeters can deliver upto 75 l/min over the maximum calibrated mark.1 What may appear as a small rise from the maximum labelled mark can deliver more oxygen than required and result in wastage of oxygen or hide the severity of the patient's condition. Using this audit/ QIP we are trying to determine if the flowrates delivered are as per the prescription/protocol. Aim(s): To find out if the oxygen administration when it is prescribed at 15L/min is at the prescribed value and therefore quantify the amount of oxygen that is being wasted. Method(s): Data was collected randomly, observing the flow rates that the patients were receiving as prescribed or over the prescribed rate for those on non rebreather mask. Result(s): 54 observations were recorded from ED, ITU, AMU and theatre recovery across two hospitals. It was found that 57.4% of the patients were on flowrates more than the prescribed value. Conclusion & Discussion: More than half the patients requiring high flow rate of oxygen were on rates more than prescribed. This is potentially due to the lack of understanding of the calibration of the flowmeter. This results in the wastage of oxygen causing significant financial loss and an increase in the carbon dioxide emission impacting the environmental pollution. We plan to run an educational intervention for staff in these departments to emphasise the importance of administering drugs (including oxygen) as they are prescribed, and how easy it is to over administer oxygen.

First-Year Engineering Students' Experiences and Motivation Amid Emergency Remote Instruction

Contribution: The study provides empirical evidence and a deeper understanding of COVID-19’s impact on first-year engineering (FYE) students’learning experiences and motivation while accounting for gender and race/ethnicity-based variations. Background: In the Spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced campuses to close and shift unexpectedly to emergency remote instruction. These rapid transitions impacted all students, including FYE students. Research Questions: Based on the importance of the first-year experience of engineering students, this study investigated two research questions: 1) How does the rapid transition to emergency remote instruction affect FYE students’learning experiences? and 2) How do students’learning experiences during the pandemic relate to their motivation (self-efficacy and task value)? Methodology: A multimethod approach is used to investigate students’experiences on two dimensions: 1) engagement, learning, effort, concentration, interest, and interactions and 2) time management, study settings, and resources, by using ANOVA, regression models, and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: Students who reported increased value of learning experiences reported higher self-efficacy and task value. Also, the results indicated that international students reported increased learning of new concepts, concentration in the class, interactions with instructors, and higher self-efficacy, while White and Asian students reported higher task value and availability of resources. IEEE

Does Covid-19 vaccination affect menstruation pattern?

Background: As Millions of people are receiving COVID-19 vaccine around the world, a number of side effects are being reported. Menstrual cycle disturbance is also a side effect reported by hundreds of women on social media. The objective of this study was to assess the association of menstrual abnormalities with COVID-19 vaccination. Subjects and methods: This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in Obstetrics and Gynecology OPD of Mufti Mehmood Hospital D.I. Khan from March 2021 to June 2021. The health care workers who received Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine and consented were included. Data was collected about change in menstrual cycle pattern after COVID-19 vaccination. Results: A total of 80 subjects were included in the study with mean age of 32.6 +7.89 years. There were 36 (45.0%) doctors, 33 nurses (41.25%), 6 (7.5%) paramedics and 5 (6.25%) medical students. According to their marital status, 51 (63.75%) were married and 29 (36.25%) were unmarried. Out of 80 subjects, 16 (20%) reported disturbance in menstrual cycle pattern, 13 (81.2%) after first dose and 3 (18.75%) after both first and second dose. Among these 9 (56.25%) reported heavy menstrual bleeding, 4 (25%) had prolonged bleeding days while 3 (18.75%) had irregular bleeding pattern. Conclusion: Menstrual cycle disturbance is a reported side effect of COVID-19 vaccination. It is more commonly reported after first dose and heavy menstrual bleedings is the most common pattern followed by prolonged/irregular bleeding. © 2022 Authors.

Technologizing Islamic Philanthropy During The Covid-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an economic downturn, bringing about the emergence of new forms of poverty in society. This study examines how Islamic philanthropy organizations in Indonesia that collect, manage, and distribute zakat, sedekah, and waqf have adapted to the global pandemic to continue serving people in need in urban areas by using digital platforms. The use of technology has accelerated philanthropic practices, ranging from fundraising, distributing, and delivering services to coordinating duties and responsibilities during the pandemic, especially in an urban area such as Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. By focusing on the experiences of two leading Islamic philanthropy organizations, Badan Amil Zakat Nasional and Dompet Dhuafa, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, this study reveals that Islamic philanthropic organizations have adopted several changes and innovations by embracing technology. The article also argues that Islamic philanthropy has had a significant role in mitigating the impact of the worldwide pandemic on society's vulnerabilities and economic problems through technological support. © 2022 The authors.

Loyalty and Word of Mouth of Muslim Women who Use Mobile Commerce in Indonesia

The Covid-19 pandemic, which causes social distancing, has an impact on a surge of buying and selling through mobile commerce. On the other hand, customers are at the risk of online service failure in m-commerce. This research tested the quality model of m-commerce service that integrates the justice variable from the Islamic perspective on Muslim women's loyalty and word of mouth with satisfaction as the mediating variable and personal innovation and customer expertise as the moderating variables. This research is survey research involving 323 Muslim women who use the C2C m-commerce platform services in Indonesia. Data analysis is presented in Structural Equation Modeling. The result shows that distributive justice, procedural justice, visual appeal, ease of use, and security influenced satisfaction, while information quality, load speed, and interactional justice did not affect satisfaction. This research proves that the principle of justice in buying and selling process for Muslim women exists in the m-commerce service so that it plays a positive role in satisfaction which has an impact on the loyalty and word of mouth of Muslim women. This research contributes to providing theoretical background as a service standard for m-commerce platforms that are user-friendly for Muslim women. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

The Effect of Macroeconomic Variables on Environment Quality during COVID-19 Pandemic

The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects every part of human life, including the physical world. The measures taken to control the spread of the virus have had a significant impact on slowing economic activity and the quality of the environment. This study discusses the macroeconomic variables on environmental quality during the pandemic. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between economic growth, human quality, poverty, and global trade on the quality of the environment in Indonesia. The data used a cross-sectional study for 34 provinces in Indonesia during 2020, while it analyzed the data using a multiple linear regression approach. The study results found that human quality has a positive effect on environmental quality in Indonesia, while the economic growth, poverty, and global trade variables have a negative effect. Novelty in this study examines the factors in the economy that affect the environment in the pandemic era. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

Remdesivir May Be Associated with Acute Kidney Injury in Covid-10 Patients: A Cohort Study

Objective: To assess the outcomes of coronavirus disease-2019 patients with acute renal damage who received remdesivir against placebo at a private hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Methodology: At the COVID-19 ICU of Hussain Lakhni Hospital, a cohort study was conducted from July 2021 to February 2022. Male and female study participants with COVID-19 and acute renal injury ranged in age from 40 to 80. Remdesivir-treated individuals with COVID-19 acute kidney injury were exposed, but placebo-treated patients with COVID-19 acute kidney injury were not exposed. In-hospital mortality, elevated serum creatinine levels, and prolonged hospital stays were the results. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Result(s): Patients who took remdesivir had a lower mortality rate than those who were placebo (32.2% vs 67.8%, OR=0.38, 95 percent CI=0.27-0.52), with a p-value of 0.001. Remdesivir was also associated with a shorter hospital stay (4.2% versus 95.8%, OR=0.005, 95 percent CI=.003-0.009) with a p-value of 0.001). However, increased serum creatinine revealed statistically insignificant differences between groups. The odds of in-hospital mortality were 0.376 times lower (AOR=0.376, 95 percent CI=0.275-0.514, p=0.0001) and the odds of a prolonged hospital stay were 0.030 times lower (AOR=0.030, 95 percent CI=0.012-0.074, p=0.001) in the remdesivir group than in the placebo group after controlling for covariates. Practical implication: In literature Remdesvir was associated with acute kidney injury (rise in serum creatinine) and in many centres,it was not used in patients with acute kidney injury although it has very beneficial effect in patients of severe covid pneumonia,many centres were not using it in patients of acute renal failure. in our study, rise in serum creatinine was not significant in remdesvir group in patient with acute kidney injury,so remdesvir must not be withheld in this group of patients as it can decrease the severity of covid pneumonia and saves patients lives Conclusion(s): Remdesivir is an effective medicine in COVID-19 patients with acute renal damage in terms of in-hospital mortality and duration of stay. Copyright © 2022 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.

SCHOOL-WIDE STRATEGIES FOR ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Institutes of higher learning (IHL's) face unprecedented, restricted movement challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper describes how the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of Singapore Polytechnic undertook the re-design of teaching and learning practices and remote e-proctoring of assessments, in such an environment. The pandemic accelerated the switch to blended flipped learning, with all face-to-face lectures, replaced with asynchronous e-learning contents. A structured school-wide approach for teaching and learning to help both staff and students to adapt to the new learning environment was implemented. For Academic Year 2020/21, the School mounted large-scale e-proctored remote online assessments, with carefully considered measures to preserve academic integrity and rigour, to satisfy various stakeholders' needs. Semester 1 saw more than 100 staff, 2400 full-time and part-time students, and over 100 modules involved. In Semester 2, more than 400 full-time students and 31 modules were involved. Communication and training of the staff were carried out to prepare for the new way of assessment, and also to guide them to help their students for this. The use of a student response system (SRS) for diagnosing student learning of the asynchronous learning contents in-class was introduced. Survey findings show positive results generally, and these included real-time performance data analysis and immediate feedback, checking understanding, and appropriate learning interventions. Similarly, survey findings on the online assessments to engage students in their learning and progress are also shared. A comparison of the overall academic performance of students, pre-pandemic, against those conducted under the remote e-proctored conditions in the changed learning environment, suggests minimal impact. This paper concludes that SEEE's school-wide strategy supports the learning engagement of the students in the new teaching and learning practices, with the total switch to flipped learning for the diploma engineering courses it offers. © CDIO 2022.All rights reserved.

Third International Conference on Medical Education and Medical writing, University of Karbala College of Medicine, Karbala, Iraq

University of Karbala College of Medicine (UKCM), Iraq, conducted a three days' workshop on Medical Education and medical writing. The UKCM is now transforming to conform with the latest trends of modern education. This will help to re-shape the future of medical education and produce capable doctors. This requires a strong faculty, which is sound in teaching, training, learning improvement, research capacity building, and leadership development. The capacity building of faculty at UKCM has been initiated in collaboration with Medics International at a local and government level and includes a series of workshops and online symposia. This educational activity was conducted after a delay of three years due to COVID-19. A three-day refresher course was conducted in the first week of August, 2022. Medical writing is another important feature which has been continuously covered by UKMM since many years with the collaboration of Al-Sadiq International Virtual University (SIVU) and Imamia Medics International (IMI).

Covid-19 and Intensive Care Unit: Infection, Contact Time & Procedures Performed

Background: Safety of front-line health care workers dealing with critically ill patients is of prime importance during COVID-19 pandemic. We have limited skilled workforce and intensive care units (ICU). Aim(s): To determine the frequency of COVID 19 among ICU staff and find association with contact time and procedure performed. Method(s): A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 95 subjects working in ICU settings of tertiary care hospitals of Lahore. Data was collected about COVID-19 infection, prevention practices, contact time & procedures performed through google forms. Data was entered & analyzed by SPSS v23 while performing descriptive statistics, T Test, Chi square test & binary logistic regression. Result(s): Among 95(100%) subjects 25(26.31%) had covid-19 infection whereas 70(73.68%) did not had infection. Age> 30(p=.041), female gender (p=.022), use of re-useable personal protective equipment PPE(p=.009), contact time (p=.020), performing procedures: Nebulization(p=.023) & non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (p=.011) were significantly associated with COVID-19 infection among ICU staff. Conclusion(s): There was high frequency of COVID-19 infection among ICU staff. Age> 30, female gender, re-useable PPE, contact time, performing procedures: Nebulization & non-invasive positive pressure ventilation were significantly associated with COVID-19 infection among ICU staff. Copyright © 2022 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.

International Practices on COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for Transplant Candidates

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created unprecedented challenges and there are practice differences for solid organ transplant programs worldwide. We sought to assess an international perspective on COVID-19 vaccine mandates and rationales for or against a mandate policy. Method(s): We administered an electronic survey instrument to staff at transplant programs outside the United States (October-November 2021) that comprised of 23 questions addressing the reasons cited by centers for or against implementing a vaccine mandate. Each responding transplant program was represented once in the analysis. Result(s): Respondents (n=63) represented 19 countries on 5 continents. More than half (52.6%) of centers reported implementing a vaccine mandate, however 37.2% reported that their center has not considered (27.1%) or unsure (10.2%) on vaccination requirement. The main rationale for centers not implementing a vaccine mandate were concerns for undue pressure to transplant candidates, equity and legal considerations. (Fig. 1) The main rationale for centers with a vaccine mandate were efficacy of pre-transplant vaccination then post-transplant, importance for public health and minimizing exposure of other patients. (Fig. 2) The majority (79%) of the centers mandate vaccine regardless of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection status, and regardless of pre-vaccination spike-protein antibody titer or other markers or prior infection. Only 24.4% of centers with a vaccine mandate for transplant candidates also extended a vaccine requirement to potential living donors. Conclusion(s): The approach to pre-transplant COVID-19 vaccination mandate is heterogeneous across different countries and centers. More than one third of centers are reluctant to consider vaccine mandates for a varies of reasons including ethical, legal and equity concerns. (Figure Presented).

Relationship of Students' Engagement with Learning Management System and their Performance- An Undergraduate Programming Course Perspective

The Covid-19 pandemic forced the closures of universities across the United States, resulting in multiple modes of instruction. These transitions required both students and instructors to adequately use educational technology tools and applications. Most instructors used a learning management system (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard) and an online conference tool (e.g., Zoom, Teams) to ensure students' access to course material, class participation, and engagement. In the new normal time, although the in-person classes started in many universities, the hybrid of Hyflex mode (i.e., students in both in-person and on zoom sessions) is more prevalent. Students and instructors find educational technology tools as an easier way to disseminate the course information (e.g., videos), material (e.g., course videos, study guides, and notes), and assessments (e.g., quizzes). Considering the reliance on technology tools, it is crucial to understand the relationships between students' application engagement and performance. This paper examined the relationship between students' engagement with an educational Learning Management System (LMS) and their performance. In addition, we also evaluated the way students' engagement with the LMS changed over time during a semester (15 weeks). For this purpose, we collected the data from two sections, 84 students of the introductory engineering programming (MATLAB) course. For students' engagement with the LMS (Canvas in this case), we collected the timestamps each week, indicating the number of hours spent by each student on the LMS. As the timestamps were cumulative, we collected the data at the end of each week at the same time and calculated the weekly time spent by each student on the LMS. We used students' performance scores in two exams for students' performance. We used Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis for this semester-long study to understand the relationship between students' engagement with the LMS and students' performance. We also conducted the repeated measures ANOVA to understand the trends of students' engagement with the LMS. The study results bring an interesting perspective indicating a significant relationship between students' app engagement in three weeks and programming parts of exam1 and four weeks on the programming part of exam2. Although instructor-based variations were significant in PartII of both exams, app engagement significantly predicted exam2 and PartII of exam1. The paper discusses these results with course content, limitations, and future directions. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

The impact of different modes of instruction and its impact on students' performance during Covid-19 in an AutoCAD Design Course

In this Work in progress (WIP) study, we discuss the impact of the comprehensive shift in the modes of instruction since the onset of Covid-19. The need for variant modes required the instructors to be creative and flexible in their teaching methods. The designers of the engineering courses had to be creative to retain student attention and add flexibility based on changing needs. This research study was a timely need as it identifies the impact of various modes of instruction, i.e., emergency remote instruction (ERI), online instruction, and HyFlex (Hybrid+flexible) through a technical design course. The evaluation of varying methods of instruction and their impact on learning and student performance is a timely necessity. This study statistically analyzes the implication of the changes in instruction modalities, which happened to make imparting education a possibility. In this paper, we have studied the relationship between student performances and the modes of instruction. For this purpose, data has been collected throughout different semesters from 236 students in an AutoCAD design course. For this year-long study, we have used regression analysis to understand the impact of the different modes of instruction on students' performances. We also conducted ANOVA to compare the mean difference in students' performance during different modalities. The results indicate that students in emergency remote instruction (ERI) outperform students in online instruction and HyFlex (Hybrid+flexible) modality. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Understanding mental stress and skin aging connection among dermatologists and psychologists through real world evidence

Preaging is an emerging concept in China whereby young women are looking for skin aging solutions. Among the intrinsic and extrinsic causes of skin aging, mental stress was highlighted as a possible cause of preaging in young women. The COVID-19 pandemic has further impacted the mental well-being of the younger generation, with 44% of Asian women aged 18 to 34 under poor mental well-being based on WHO-5. While 76.5% of dermatologists agreed that there is a strong connection between stress and skin aging, there is limited evidence on the pathophysiology. The aim of this research is to explore how clinicians understand the impact of stress and the biologic pathways connecting stress and skin aging. A quantitative survey with 60 dermatologists and 60 psychologists from China and Japan was conducted to assess the link between stress and skin aging. Overall, 69.2% of both health care professionals agree that psychological stress has a significant link to skin aging. Three meta-themes were perceived by clinician as possible pathways connecting psychological stress and skin aging, including stress hormone, inflammation, and overactive immune system. While all health care professionals have heard of inflammaging, only 52% are very familiar with the concept. Both groups agree that unresolved acute inflammatory response can accelerate skin aging. Surprisingly, a significant difference was observed in that psychologists believe more strongly than dermatologists that chronic low-grade inflammation accelerates skin aging. This study highlights the need for further fundamental research, which could help clinicians provide appropriate recommendations for patients under psychological stress.

Evaluation of an ENT hybrid internship by medical students

Introduction With the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic, there was a need to reduce contacts in the clinic in order to minimise the risk of infection for patients, staff and students. Therefore, a hybrid block practical (virtual with short face-to-face phase) was created to maintain teaching for medical students. The aim of this study was to evaluate student evaluation results for this new form of teaching. Method Student evaluation results for the ENT internship of 2018-2020 (faceto- face teaching) were compared with those from 2020-2021 (hybrid internship). In addition, the evaluation and acceptance of the hybrid internship was statistically compared over the course of the pandemic. The survey of the students was conducted in anonymised form (evasys analysis) following the internship. Results The hybrid internships showed constant, very good evaluation results, which were significantly better in several categories (punctuality of lecturers, structure, knowledge gain and learning atmosphere) than in the previously conducted face-to-face internship. However, over the course of the pandemic, student comments in the evaluation indicated a decrease in acceptance of virtual teaching and an increasing desire for face-to-face hours at the bedside, in the outpatient clinic and in the operating rooms. Conclusion The conversion of the internship to virtual teaching did not mean a reduction in teaching quality for the students. A permanent virtualisation of teaching is not to be aimed at, since manual-practical skills as well as doctor-patient interactions can only be learned and trained in the clinic. However, the establishment of an internship with virtual parts seems to be useful even after the pandemic.

Blockchain for content protection in E-healthcare: A case study for COVID-19

In the present scenario of globalization, technology advancement has changed the concept of data sharing drastically giving it an altogether new dimension. Availability of data online is susceptible to misuse if not secured. Hence, content protection has become a major issue and is a challenging task for researcher to attain a balance between availability and protection. Keeping in view this challenge, the paper aims at providing an insight into the emerging blockchain technology and its application in various sectors such as finance, data management, commercial and particularly healthcare. This paper further highlights COVID-19 pandemic disease management using blockchain technology with a brief discussion of the solution to resist coronavirus infection and its major challenges with solutions in implementing inherent key features of the blockchain. © 2022 IEEE.

HRCT Pattern in COVID-19 Patients

Background: In December 2019, a group of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause was found in Wuhan, China, now known as coronavirus disease 2019, and the coronavirus was named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). High-resolution computed1tomography (HRCT) is currently regarded as a significant imaging technique for aiding in the diagnosis & management of COVID-19 patients. Objective: To find the different patterns of1manifestation in HRCT chest in COVID-19 patients. Study Design: Descriptive Cross-Sectional Setting: University of Lahore Teaching Hospital, Lahore Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Radiology Department in University of teaching hospital, Lahore. 240 participants' medical histories were thoroughly reviewed, both directly from them and on case sheets. All patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 pneumonia were admitted to the hospital and received a chest HRCT. Three follow-up HRCT chest scans were performed on one patient. The distribution and patterns of lung involvement were studied. Each of the five lung lobes was evaluated visually for degree of involvement and categorized as mild (26-50 percent), moderate (51-75 percent), or severe (75 percent) (76-100 percent). Data was analyzing in SPSS. Age was presented as mean + SD. Gender and other HRCT patterns were presented as frequency & percentage. Result: Total 240 COVID-19 patients included. There were 142(59.4%) male and 97(40.6%) female. The mean age was 54.0+15.71 with age range of 4 to 84 years. Large number of patients 114(47.7%) were in the age group 45-64 years. Ground glass opacity was the most common CT abnormality, with 236(99.2%) cases. Among them 49(20.5%) cases had GGO plus consolidations. Crazy paving pattern was seen in 136(56.9%) cases. Only 10(4.2%) patients with GGO pulmonary nodules and pleural effusion were involved. The majority of the patients had a fever 114(47.5%), while the least frequent symptom was a runny nose (7(2.9%). Conclusion: Pure GGO pneumonia is the most prevalent pattern of COVID-19 pneumonia seen on HRCT scans, GGO consolidation, with crazy paving with prominent distribution in the lung posterior & peripheral area.

OntoCOVID: Ontology for Semantic Modeling of COVID19 Statistical Data

Several COVID19 statistical datasets are provided to support stakeholders for better planning and decision making in healthcare. However, the datasets are in heterogeneous proprietary formats that create data silos and compatibility issues and make data discovery and reuse difficult. Further, the data integration for analysis is difficult and is performed by the domain experts manually which is time consuming and error prone. Therefore, an explicit, flexible, and widely acceptable methodology is needed to represent, store, query, and visualize COVID19 statistical data in the datasets. In this paper, we have presented the design and development of OntoCOVID ontology for representing, organizing, sharing, and reusing COVID19 statistical data in the datasets. The OntoCOVID is a lightweight ontology providing definitions of classes, properties, and axioms to semantically represent and relate information in the COVID19 statistical datasets. The OntoCOVID is evaluated to demonstrate its completeness and information retrieval for different use-case scenarios. The results obtained are promising and advocate for the improved ontological design and applications of the OntoCOVID. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

The effectiveness of an integrated STEM curriculum unit on middle school students' life science learning

Recent calls for reform in K-12 science education and the National Academy of Engineering's Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century emphasize improving science teaching, students' engagement, and learning. In this study, we designed and implemented a curriculum unit for sixth-grade students (i = 1305). The curriculum unit integrated science and engineering content and practices to teach ecology, water pollution, and engineering design. We investigated the designed integrated STEM unit's effectiveness in students' science learning outcomes on pre-, post-, and delayed post-assessments. We collected pre-and post-assessment data of students' science learning outcomes for both the baseline group (taught via existing district-adopted curriculum) and an intervention group (taught with integrated life science and engineering curriculum). We used a quasi-experimental research design and examined differences between baseline and intervention groups. We used ANCOVA to explore differences in students' learning in baseline and intervention groups. Furthermore, for students in the intervention group, we conducted repeated-measures ANOVA to investigate knowledge retention. Our analyses also accounted for students' gender and People of Color (POC) status. We conducted multiple regression analyses to explore the relationship between students' gender, POC status, and their learning outcomes. The results indicated that the intervention group students performed significantly better than the students in the baseline group. The repeated measures ANOVA showed that students in the intervention group retained science knowledge after 8 weeks of instruction. Finally, the regression analysis for the baseline group showed that gender and POC status were not significant predictors of their post-assessment scores. However, POC status was a significant predictor of post-assessment scores and knowledge retention for the intervention group. Overall, this study provides valuable findings on how an integrated STEM curriculum designed with engineering design and practices improves students' science learning outcomes.

Impact of Lockdown Due to COVID 19 Pandemic on Air Quality of Global Environment

In present time countries all over the world are facing lockdown to slow down the transmission of COVID 19, an infectious respiratory disease with human to human transmission. The name COVID 19 represents the disease Corona Virus Disease 2019. The outbreak took place in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is known to be accountable for occurrence of this disease. As per the latest report of World Health Organization, a total of 3,588,773 cases has been reported worldwide. It is believed that the number of total cases will increase in coming days which will force countries worldwide to extend lockdown. Due to this throughout the world are following work from home culture, schools and colleges have been shut down. Malls, shopping complexes, amusement parks, multiplexes and all other places of social gatherings are facing closure;peoples worldwide are not allowed to come out of their homes. On road vehicular movements, flights, cruises are at halt. In this research paper an attempt has been made to compare the air quality index during lock down and prelock down period. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.