A prospective cross-sectional study on post COVID-19 hair loss at a tertiary care hospital (preprint)

Severe acute respiratory virus syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was responsible for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which resulted in global health care crisis. As patients recovered from COVID-19 infection, hair loss was increasingly observed as a distressing symptom. We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study of patients presenting with post COVID-19 hair loss between July to December 2021 at a tertiary care centre in north India. Detailed history, clinical examination, trichoscopy and biochemical tests were performed and recorded. COVID-19 disease severity was assessed based on the duration of COVID-19 infection and place of management (home or hospitalized). The study included 120 patients with mean age being 39.6 years. There was female preponderance. Majority of the patients (87%) were treated at home and 43.3% had COVID-19 infection for >2 weeks. Mean visual analog scale (VAS) score for stress was 5.25. Vitamin D deficiency was present in 56.7% and low ferritin in 30% of cases. Mean time of onset of hair loss post COVID-19 was 49 days. Patients mainly presented with diffuse (72.4%) and patterned hair loss (31.6%). Trichodynia was present in 15.8% of cases. The degree of hair loss was severe in 55.8% of the subjects, predominantly in older age group and females. Positive hair pull test was seen in 65% of patients. Most common trichoscopic features included single hair follicles’ (81.7%) and vellus hair >10% (60%). Trichoscopy can aid in unmasking co-existing patterned hair loss in patients presenting clinically with diffuse hair loss. Patients with COVID-19 infection for > 2 weeks had significantly more severe hair loss and VAS score. Trichoscopic findings of vellus hair >10% and empty hair follicles were more frequent in patients who were hospitalized for COVID-19 infection.

Impact of Social Media on Student Life

The Internet has changed everyone's life. Social networks may have only been initiated with the help of the Internet. Today's generation is using the internet, which means social media like Snap-chat, Twitter, Facebook, etc., is increasing. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to understand the positive and negative outcomes of social media. In addition, this paper discusses the current situation, the previous situation, and the situation where people do not have social networks. Finally, the influence of social networks on different stages of a person's life is described.

A Study on the Willingness to Use Meditation for Maintaining Psychological Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background and objective Several studies have indicated an escalation in the stress and anxiety levels among all sections of the population at large during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this challenging environment, meditation or yoga can help in maintaining the quality of life. This pilot study aimed to assess the willingness to practice meditation as a tool to manage anxiety, perceived stress levels, and psychological well-being (quality of life) during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Materials and methods Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were employed to characterize the attitude of healthy Indian adults toward meditation as a stress management tool and its impact on psychological well-being. Primary data of 241 participants were collected using Google Forms circulated via email and social media platforms through the snowball sampling technique. The self-reported data on four different psychosocial scales, viz., for anxiety measurement [the Seven-Item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS)], for stress measurement [Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)], and to quantify well-being levels [the Five-Item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5)], along with those on their perception toward meditation were obtained. Results Our findings suggest that the anxiety and perceived stress scores are lower among those practicing some form of relaxation or meditation than those not practicing it, along with those who already report better psychological well-being and perceived stress. The bivariate results indicated that willingness to meditate among those who were practicing some form of meditation and those not mediating significantly differed based on their age, presence of comorbidities, and GAD and PSS levels. The multivariate logistic regression showed that only those individuals aged 35 years and above and those who have some comorbidity symptoms showed a significant level of willingness to opt for meditation. Conclusions In order to attain proper relief from psychological issues during a pandemic situation such as the current one, a more specific remedial module for meditation procedure needs to be devised as an intervention, and it should be kept in mind that age and comorbidity status also play a significant role with respect to individuals' attitude toward meditation as a tool for psychological relief.

Visualization Design Practices in a Crisis: Behind the Scenes with COVID-19 Dashboard Creators (preprint)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of data visualizations were created to inform the public about the rapidly evolving crisis. Data dashboards, a form of information dissemination used during the pandemic, have facilitated this process by visualizing statistics regarding the number of COVID-19 cases over time. In this research, we conducted a qualitative interview study among dashboard creators from federal agencies, state health departments, mainstream news media outlets, and other organizations that created (often widely-used) COVID-19 dashboards to answer the following questions: how did visualization creators engage in COVID-19 dashboard design, and what tensions, conflicts, and challenges arose during this process? Our findings detail the trajectory of design practices -- from creation to expansion, maintenance, and termination -- that are shaped by the complex interplay between design goals, tools and technologies, labor, emerging crisis contexts, and public engagement. We particularly examined the tensions between designers and the general public involved in these processes. These conflicts, which often materialized due to a divergence between public demands and standing policies, centered around the type and amount of information to be visualized, how public perceptions shape and are shaped by visualization design, and the strategies utilized to deal with (potential) misinterpretations and misuse of visualizations. Our findings and lessons learned shed light on new ways of thinking in visualization design, focusing on the bundled activities that are invariably involved in human and nonhuman participation throughout the entire trajectory of design practice.

The impact of COVID-19 on food security and income of women farmers in South and Southeast Asia

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted and adversely affected all sectors of the economy and society. This essay provides an overview of the impact of the pandemic (and associated lockdowns) on the food security and income of women farmers in South and Southeast Asia. It also lists the coping strategies applied by them to reduce the impact.

A Role for Extracellular Vesicles in SARS-CoV-2 Therapeutics and Prevention

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are the common designation for ectosomes, microparticles and microvesicles serving dominant roles in intercellular communication. Both viable and dying cells release EVs to the extracellular environment for transfer of cell, immune and infectious materials. Defined morphologically as lipid bi-layered structures EVs show molecular, biochemical, distribution, and entry mechanisms similar to viruses within cells and tissues. In recent years their functional capacities have been harnessed to deliver biomolecules and drugs and immunological agents to specific cells and organs of interest or disease. Interest in EVs as putative vaccines or drug delivery vehicles are substantial. The vesicles have properties of receptors nanoassembly on their surface. EVs can interact with specific immunocytes that include antigen presenting cells (dendritic cells and other mononuclear phagocytes) to elicit immune responses or affect tissue and cellular homeostasis or disease. Due to potential advantages like biocompatibility, biodegradation and efficient immune activation, EVs have gained attraction for the development of treatment or a vaccine system against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) infection. In this review efforts to use EVs to contain SARS CoV-2 and affect the current viral pandemic are discussed. An emphasis is made on mesenchymal stem cell derived EVs’ as a vaccine candidate delivery system.

An Association between Mental Health & Life Satisfaction During COVID-19: A Study on College Students (preprint)

Background: In order to contain the spread of the COVID-19, Government of India imposed lockdown measures shutting down the corporates, businesses, schools, colleges and whole economy. Like earlier pandemics, this is also likely to cause a severe impact on the mental health of the people. This study has been taken up with the objective to firstly analyse the impact of the pandemic on mental health of college students in Delhi-NCR, India. Secondly, to investigate the impact of COVID-19 induced depression, anxiety and stress on the student’s satisfaction with life during this time.Methods: The mental health of the students has been assessed using DASS-21 scale of depression, anxiety, and stress. A structured questionnaire with DASS 21 items and demographic related to age, gender and educational level has been sent via email and other social media platforms.Findings: The results concluded 38%, 26.3% and 21% of the respondents having moderate, severe and extremely severe depression symptoms respectively. Around 47.3% students in Delhi/NCR have been experiencing extremely severe anxiety, while 25.7% of the students’ have been experiencing moderate to severe anxiety. The 45.6% of the students has shown moderate symptoms of stress, whereas, 28.7% has been experiencing severe stress. The depression, anxiety and stress due to COVID-19 has been negatively impacting the life satisfaction of the college studentsInterpretation: The anxiety, stress and depression levels varied with the age of the respondent. It has also been found that DASS-21 sub scales negatively impact the student’s satisfaction with life. As the depression, anxiety and stress increases the life satisfaction reduces for students.Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.Declaration of Interests: None to declare.Ethics Approval Statement: Ethics Committee approval has been duly obtained.