COVID -19 Predictions using Transfer Learning based Deep Learning Model with Medical Internet of Things

Early detection of COVID-19 may help medical expert for proper treatment plan and infection control. Internet of Things (IoT) has vital improvement in many areas including medical field. Deep learning also provide tremendous improvement in the field of medical. We have proposed a Transfer learning based deep learning model with medical Internet of Things for predicting COVID-19 from X-ray images. In the proposed method, the X ray images of patient are stored in cloud storage using internet for wide access. Then, the images are retrieved from cloud and Transfer learning based deep learning models namely VGG-16, Inception, Alexnet, Googlenet and Convolution neural Network models are applied on the X-rays images for predicting COVID 19, Normal and pneumonia classes. The pre-trained models helps to the effectiveness of deep learning accuracy and reduced the training time. The experimental analysis show that VGG -16 model gives accuracy of 99% for detecting COVID19 than other models. © 2023 Sunarno Basuki and Perdinanto.

Assessment of compliance with the therapeutic regimen and risk for diabetic foot ulcers among patients with diabetes mellitus during COVID-19 pandemic

Background: According to the data from the World Health Organization (2011), over three million people die worldwide from diabetes and its related complications every year because of non-compliance. Aim: The present study aimed to assess the compliance with the therapeutic regimen and risk for diabetic foot ulcers during the COVID-19 pandemic among patients with diabetes mellitus. Method: The research approach was quantitative and descriptive research design was used. The study was conducted among 100 patients with diabetes mellitus in selected hospitals, Chennai. The samples were selected by the non-probability purposive sampling technique. A structured 3-point rating scale was used to assess the compliance with the therapeutic regimen and a checklist was used to assess the risk for diabetic foot ulcers. Results: The study findings revealed that 60% of the patients were in poor compliance and 39% of them were in fair compliance with the therapeutic regimen during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the patients were at low risk for diabetic foot ulcers in both right foot (93%) and left foot (92%). There was a low negative correlation found between compliance with the therapeutic regimen and risk for diabetic foot ulcers during the COVID-19 pandemic at a 5% level of significance. Conclusion: Most of the patients were in poor compliance with the therapeutic regimen during the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk for diabetic foot ulcers was low in both feet among the patients. Compliance with the therapeutic regimen during the COVID-19 pandemic can be challenging to patients due to restrictive measures that compromise the health care delivery system. Nurses play a pivotal role in creating awareness among patients with diabetes about the importance of compliance with the therapeutic regimen in maintaining glycaemic control and in preventing complications.

Formulation of stirred probiotic fruit yogurt to boost immunity

The food we eat plays a key aspect in determining our overall health and immunity. Improving our immunity during the Covid-19 pandemic is challenging for all age groups. So this study focused on formulating a ready to drink called probiotic fruit yogurt from less utilized passion fruits (Passiflora edulis), as a good option to build resilience in the body against infections and also to help the planters of Thandikudi hills, Tamil Nadu to promote their harvest into a valuable product. Passion fruits were procured and handled in a very hygienic manner. The formulation of stirred fruit yogurts was carried out in three different ratios (10%, 15%, and 20% pulp). These samples were standardized by sensory evaluation (9 points hedonic scale) and physicochemical parameters (pH). Fruit yogurt made from 20% passion fruit pulp scored the highest value in the mean score (8.5+or-0.17) for sensory evaluation except for texture. The pH value of the passion fruit yogurt was 3.5 found and it was more acidic compared to the plain yogurt value of 3.7 because of the addition of fruit pulp which was balanced by the addition of sugar/stevia. The acceptability of the stirred probiotic fruit yogurt with 20% pulp was mainly because of the flavoring compounds of the yellow passion fruit (P. edulis Sims f. flavicarpa Deg).

Molecular insights of hyaluronic acid-hydroxychloroquine conjugate as a promising drug in targeting SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins.

In-silico anti-viral activity of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and its Hyaluronic Acid-derivative (HA-HCQ) towards different SARS-CoV-2 protein molecular targets were studied. Four different SARS-CoV-2 proteins molecular target i.e., three different main proteases and one helicase were chosen for In-silico anti-viral analysis. The HA-HCQ conjugates exhibited superior binding affinity and interactions with all the screened SAR-CoV-2 molecular target proteins with the exception of a few targets. The study also revealed that the HA-HCQ conjugate has multiple advantages of efficient drug delivery to its CD44 variant isoform receptors of the lower respiratory tract, highest interactive binding affinity with SARS-CoV-2 protein target. Moreover, the HA-HCQ drug conjugate possesses added advantages of good biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity and non-immunogenicity. The prominent binding ability of HA-HCQ conjugate towards Mpro (PDB ID 5R82) and Helicase (PDB ID 6ZSL) target protein as compared with HCQ alone was proven through MD simulation analysis. In conclusion, our study suggested that further in-vitro and in-vivo examination of HA-HCQ drug conjugate will be useful to establish a promising early stage antiviral drug for the novel treatment of COVID-19.