Can't Touch This: Rethinking Public Technology in a COVID-19 Era

What do pedestrian crossings, ATMs, elevators and ticket machines have in common? These are just a few of the ubiquitous yet essential elements of public-space infrastructure that rely on physical buttons or touchscreens;common interactions that, until recently, were considered perfectly safe to perform. This work investigates how we might integrate touchless technologies into public-space infrastructure in order to minimise physical interaction with shared devices in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on an ethnographic exploration into how public utilities are being used, adapted or avoided, we developed and evaluated a suite of technology probes that can be either retrofitted into, or replace, these services. In-situ community deployments of our probes demonstrate strong uptake and provide insight into how hands-free technologies can be adapted and utilised for the public domain;and, in turn, used to inform the future of walk-up-and use public technologies.

Students' perceptions on the effect of COVID 19 on agricultural higher education in India

The study analysed the temporal changes in the perceptions of students of agricultural higher education due to disruption of the COVID 19 pandemic and recommends strategies to deal with it. An online survey was conducted involving students of agricultural higher education at two intervals to capture their perceptions on the academic, physical, and psychological disruptions due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Among these three aspects, changes in behavioural aspects are significant over time, which is reflected in terms of viz., attitude, frustration, anxiety, depression, uncertainty, desire for cocooning and boredom. Students showed a positive response towards continuing educational activities through online and e-learning modes. Adapting to new normal necessitated extensive use of digital technologies in education that challenged the face to face instructions, approaches to learning and assessment. Counselling and mentoring of students are found mandatory in pandemics. The development of a sustainable digital ecosystem of learning with equal weightage on students' physical and psychological well-being is needed. New approaches of learning are to evolve due to the COVID19 pandemic.

Design, synthesis and docking study of Vortioxetine derivatives as a SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor.

PURPOSE: Vortioxetine an anti-depressant FDA-drug recently reported showing better in vitro efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: In this study, we have synthesized ten new derivatives having alkenes, alkynes, benzyl, aryl, and mixed carbamate at the N-terminal of vortioxetine. Then the binding energy and interactions with the crucial amino acid residues in the binding pocket of main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2, of reported and ten newly synthesized vortioxetine derivatives (total thirty-one) in comparison with remdesivir are analyzed and presented in this paper. RESULTS: Based on the docking scores predicted by ADV and AD, most vortioxetine derivatives showed better binding efficiency towards Mpro of SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with remdesivir (an EUA approved drug against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro) and vortioxetine. CONCLUSION: This study shows that some vortioxetine derivatives can be developed into promising drugs for COVID-19 treatment.

Designing and Embedding a Tangible Public Interface in the COVID Era

Due to public concerns over touch-based disease transmission, tangible and embedded interfaces are perhaps the most unsuited technology during a pandemic. Even so, this case study documents the development and evaluation of such a system from early 2020 when people were told to avoid actions that might spread the virus (e.g., touch). Adding to the challenge, the Lookout was installed outside in a city centre for widespread public use. Despite these challenges, a COVID-safe touchable device was embedded and extensively used. This Case Study reports the co-creation of the device noting COVID restriction adaptations over a nine-month deployment. Our contributions are twofold: the study acts as a case-point of the impact of the unique COVID design context, with lessons for future pandemic scenarios;and, given we had over 10,000 users at a time when people were cautious about using shared devices or services, we surface some design characteristics that can promote the use of public technology. © 2022 Owner/Author.

COVID-19 related worries and sleep disturbances in patients previously hospitalized with COVID-19 illness

Introduction: In patients hospitalized for COVID-19 illness, sleep disturbances after discharge may impact quality of life and prognosis. We examined the relationship of COVID-19-related worries with sleep disturbances in patients three months after COVID-19 hospitalization. Methods: Patients hospitalized for COVID-19 illness completed a survey three months post-discharge (n=153). We measured COVID- 19-related worry along two domains: worry directly related to the disease (COVID-illness worry) and worry related to the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic (COVID-impact worry). COVID-illness worry included worry regarding: 1) getting COVID again, 2) dying from COVID, 3) family members getting COVID, 4) losing a loved one to COVID, 5) unknowingly infecting others with COVID, 6) having significant financial burdens because of COVID. COVID-impact included worry regarding: 1) employment loss, 2) not having enough food, 3) not having access to medical care/medications, 4) not having access to mental health care/medications, 5) reduction in interactions with other people, 6) separation from family members, 7) being lonely. Patients rated how much they worried about each item on a 4-point scale (not at all, a little, moderately, extremely). Scores on each domain were summed to reflect overall severity. Past month sleep was assessed for insomnia symptoms (none, mild, moderate, severe, very severe) and self-reported sleep duration. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of COVID-illness worry and COVID-impact worry, separately, with sleep measures, adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and presence of persistent COVID-related symptoms. Results: The prevalence of insomnia (moderate, severe, or very severe symptoms) and short sleep duration (<6 h/day) was 47.0% and 39.2%, respectively. COVID-illness worry severity was significantly associated with presence of insomnia (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.13-3.23, p=0.016) and short sleep (OR: 2.20, 95% CI: 1.25-3.86, p=0.006). In a separate model, COVID-impact worry severity was significantly associated with presence of insomnia (OR: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.23-3.19, p=0.005) and short sleep (OR: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.26-3.55, p=0.005). Conclusion: Sleep disturbances are common among patients previously hospitalized with COVID-19 illness, and COVID-19 related worries are associated with insomnia and short sleep. Additional research is needed to determine whether addressing COVID-19 related worries reduces sleep disturbance, which in turn may promote post- COVID recovery.

Public opinion on COVID-19 and Ayurveda remedies with reference to Tumkur District, Karnataka State, India

Covid-19 i.e Corona Virus is well aware to the world every corner. It is pandemic, epidemic. People are panic. Educational Institutes like schools, colleges , roads, businesses, transport, companies almost all closed except necessary things like Medical shops, Vegetables. Changing lock down and sealdown rules by central and state Governments according to the situation in their areas, geographical restrictions, movement restrictions done based on the spread of COVID-19 in that area. Government is order to stay at home safely. This paper tries to assess the level of awareness on COVID-19, its spread, precautions taken by people, social distance and few inputs;by that it is possible to understand the ground realities of people for taking action and making policies and strategies for removal of COVID-19. © 2020 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.