Students Perception toward Effectiveness of Online Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic among University Dental Students in India and United Arab Emirates: A Multi Centric Study.

Objectives: The rationale of this study was to compare the efficiency of online learning and the differences in outcome between the two universities in India and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a validated questionnaire among dental students of a dental college in India and a dental college in the UAE. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 22, and comparison was done using the Chi-square test, ANOVA, correlation, and regression analysis. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: A total of 491 students responded to the questionnaire, of which 314 were from India and 177 from UAE. The awareness of online learning among students had increased after COVID-19, and Zoom was the most common platform (30.9%). The satisfaction ratio was 78.4%, and smartphones were commonly used by students. Based on the satisfaction of online learning, study participants from UAE had a higher mean attitude score (2.72 ± 0.98) as compared to Indian students (2.47 ± 0.77) (P < 0.027*). Conclusion: The study results show that online learning was comparable to traditional method of learning. Although poor network connectivity was a deterrent for online learning among students from India and UAE, future teaching methods could inculcate online teaching methods and hence encourage blended learning as part of the teaching curriculum.

Immediate Psychological Impact of Dental Students on COVID-19 Epidemic in India – A Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic is a global health threat and is by far the largest outbreak of atypical pneumonia since after SARS over the past few decades. Within weeks of the initial outbreak the total number of cases and deaths exceeded those of SARS. Such mass Casualties often trigger waves of heightened fear and anxiety in many population. Aim: To assess the psychological impact and mental health status among the dental students studying in the Vinayaka Mission's Sankarachariyar Dental College, Salem, India. Materials and Method: A total of 21 psychological state questionnaires along with demographic aspects were distributed to 460 under graduate dental students from Vinayaka Mission's Sankarachariyar Dental College, Salem, Tamilnadu. The Psychological state was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). Results: 404 questionnaires were taken for our study as they responded all questions. The results were calculated based on the responses obtained year wise, gender, Place of residence, Living with family, Steady family income and Acquaintance affected with covid and compared among the three psychological assessments Depression, Anxiety and stress. The results of the study were done using SPSS (V21.0IBM, Chicago) Software. Conclusion: We attempted to correlate the socio demographic datas with psychological status of the dental students' in our university using the DAS scale. This study focused on the need for treating the psychological impact of the society at this outbreak as the mental health is the most important to deal with.

Clinical Characterization and Genomic Analysis of Samples from COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections during the Second Wave among the Various States of India.

From March to June 2021, India experienced a deadly second wave of COVID-19, with an increased number of post-vaccination breakthrough infections reported across the country. To understand the possible reason for these breakthroughs, we collected 677 clinical samples (throat swab/nasal swabs) of individuals from 17 states/Union Territories of the country who had received two doses (n = 592) and one dose (n = 85) of vaccines and tested positive for COVID-19. These cases were telephonically interviewed and clinical data were analyzed. A total of 511 SARS-CoV-2 genomes were recovered with genome coverage of higher than 98% from both groups. Analysis of both groups determined that 86.69% (n = 443) of them belonged to the Delta variant, along with Alpha, Kappa, Delta AY.1, and Delta AY.2. The Delta variant clustered into four distinct sub-lineages. Sub-lineage I had mutations in ORF1ab A1306S, P2046L, P2287S, V2930L, T3255I, T3446A, G5063S, P5401L, and A6319V, and in N G215C; Sub-lineage II had mutations in ORF1ab P309L, A3209V, V3718A, G5063S, P5401L, and ORF7a L116F; Sub-lineage III had mutations in ORF1ab A3209V, V3718A, T3750I, G5063S, and P5401L and in spike A222V; Sub-lineage IV had mutations in ORF1ab P309L, D2980N, and F3138S and spike K77T. This study indicates that majority of the breakthrough COVID-19 clinical cases were infected with the Delta variant, and only 9.8% cases required hospitalization, while fatality was observed in only 0.4% cases. This clearly suggests that the vaccination does provide reduction in hospital admission and mortality.

Human tear fluid analysis for clinical applications: progress and prospects.

Introduction: Human blood and saliva are increasingly under investigation for the detection of biomarkers for early diagnosis of non-communicable (e.g.cancers) and communicable diseases like COVID-19. Exploring the potential application of human tears, an easily accessible body fluid, for the diagnosis of various diseases is the need of the hour.Areas covered: This review deals with a comprehensive account of applications of tear analysis using different techniques, their comparison and overall progress achieved till now. The techniques used for tear fluid analysis are HPLC/UPLC/SDS-PAGE, CE, etc., together with ELISA, Mass Spectrometry, etc. But, with advances in instrumentation and data processing methods, it has become easy to couple the various separation methods with highly sensitive optical techniques for the analysis of body fluids.Expert opinion: Tear analysis can provide valuable information about the health condition of the eyes since it contains several molecular constituents, and their relative concentrations may alter under abnormal conditions. Tear analysis has the advantage that it is totally non-invasive. This study recommends tear fluid as a reliable clinical sample to be probed by highly sensitive optical techniques to diagnose different health conditions, with special emphasis on eye diseases.

Impact of Lockdown on the Attitude of University Students in South India-A Cross-Sectional Observational Study.

INTRODUCTION: The whole world is under the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which has put all nations in a unique lockdown situation to contain the disease. Though the environment got ameliorated with low pollution levels, this unexpected lockdown has taken a toll on humans' mental health. As the effects of lockdown can affect college students due to fear, anxiety and stress, this study intends to assess the attitude of the university students. METHODOLOGY: An online questionnaire survey comprising 15 questions was conducted among four South Indian state university students. Their responses were recorded through Google Forms. The submitted responses were analysed using SPSS software version 17. RESULTS: In total, 1241 responses were recorded from university students belonging to various faculties. Though 43% considered this lockdown as a convenient break, 60% could not focus on their studies. The importance of renewing relationships was felt by 47%, and 83% tried to learn a new skill. Students from Tamil Nadu were looking forward towards a brighter future after the lockdown. CONCLUSION: This survey conducted in the early days of lockdown indicated that the university students were not anxious about the long-term effects of the pandemic but showed a decline in their academic performance.

A review on human body fluids for the diagnosis of viral infections: scope for rapid detection of COVID-19.

Introduction: The unprecedented outbreaks of corona virus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) have highlighted the necessity of readily available, reliable, precise, and faster techniques for its detection. Nasopharyngeal swab has been the gold standard for the diagnosis of COVID-19. However, it is not an ideal screening procedure for massive screening as it implicates the patient's stay in the hospital or at home until diagnosis, thus causing crowding of the specimen at the diagnostic centers. Present study deal with the exploration of potential application of different body fluids using certain highly objective techniques (Optical and e-Nose) for faster detection of molecular markers thereby diagnosing viral infections.Areas covered: This report presents an evaluation of different body fluids, and their advantages for the rapid detection of COVID-19, coupled with highly sensitive optical techniques for the detection of molecular biomarkers.Expert opinion: Tears, saliva, and breath samples can provide valuable information about viral infections. Our brief review strongly recommends the application of saliva/tears and exhaled breath as clinical samples using technics such as high-performance liquid chromatography-laser-induced fluorescence, photoacoustic spectroscopy, and e-Nose, respectively, for the fast diagnosis of viral infections.