ABSTRACT
In 2020, COVID-19 changed how health care was approached both in the United States and globally. In the early phases, the vast majority of energy and attention was devoted to containing the pandemic and treating the infected. Toward the end of 2020, that attention expanded to vaccinating people across the globe. What was not being considered at the time were challenges to future health and clinical trials that power new treatments for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 treatments. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Millions of people have been afflicted by the COVID-19 epidemic, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of fatalities throughout the world. Extracting correct data on patients and facilities with and without COVID-19 with high confidence for medical specialists or the government is extremely difficult. As a result, utilizing blockchain technology, a reliable data extraction methodology for the COVID-19 database is constructed. In this accurate data extraction model development and validation study in blockchain technology for COVID analysis, here a novel Hybrid Deep Belief Lionized Optimization (HDBLO) approach is proposed. The weights of the deep model are optimized by the fitness of lion optimization. The implementation of this work is executed using MATLAB software. The simulation outcomes shows the effective performance of proposed model in blockchain technology in COVID paradigm in terms of Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), accuracy, F-measure, Processing time, precision and error. Consequently, the proposed approach is compared with the conventional strategies for significant validation. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Being highly transmissible, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has affected millions of people causing devastating global impact and has also not slowed down even after vaccination. The emerges of new strains has made more concerns than the original one. We need a new therapeutic approach against the disease. Our comprehensive in silico study investigates dual herbal combinatorial methanolic extracts of W. somnifera (W) alone and with P. emblica (P) (W:P/1:4) , T. sinensis (T) (W:T/1:4), B. monnieri (B) (W:B/1:1), O. basilicum (O) (W:O/1:4), A. racemosus (A) (W:A/4:1) for potential four phytochemicals as ligands docked with eight COVID-19 Nonstructural proteins (nsp)-main protease (PDB ID:6LU7), papain-like protease (6WUU), helicase ADP (2XZL), N7-methyltransferase (5C8S), endoribonuclease (6WLC), 2'O-methyltransferase (6WVN), RNA dependent RNA polymerase (6M71), and 3Cprotease (6YNQ) along with Remdesivir and Hydroxychloroquine. Ligands from W:P/1:4 showed remarkable docking score (-9.01 kcal/mol) 6M71-(8E,11E,14E)-eicosa-8,11,14-trienoicacidmethylester (EIS) and (-9.99 kcal/mol) 6YNQ-N-[(E)-[4-[(2-methoxydibenzofuran-3-yl)amino]-4-oxobutan-2-ylidene]amino] 4nitrobenzamide (MET). Further, MD simulations were studied for 100 ns and showed the complexes were flexible, stable in the binding pockets of the receptors, and MM-PBSA analysis determined high binding energy of -129.673 ± 15.284 and -134.594 ± 7.085 for 6M71-EIS (Asn496, Lys577, Arg569) and 6YNQ-MET (Cys145, His41). Finally, in vitro JURKAT E6.1 cell lines treated with W:P/1:4 and W:O/1:4 methanolic extracts yielded 44.06 and 31.53 ng/mL levels for interferon alpha to counteract an external stimulus by establishing an antiviral state. Thus, nsp is targeted to design effective antiviral drugs for developing an effective therapeutic approach to combat viral RNA synthesis, processing, and suppression of host immunity.
ABSTRACT
Background: Frontline health care workers (FLHCW) like doctors and nurses are bound to treat COVID patients being themselves not immune to disease are at a greater risk of COVID infection than the general population. The study was started with objectives to find out the vaccine hesitancy towards the COVID vaccine and to find out the factors associated with vaccine hesitancy among FLHCW working in a designated COVID care center. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study carried out for a period of 6 months from Jan 2021 to June 2021 at a designated COVID care center. FLHCWs who were part of treating COVID patients were our study participants. Among them, FLHCWs who had not received even one dose of COVID vaccine (Covishield) were included in the study. FLHCWs who had been part of the COVID vaccine trial were excluded from the study. The sample size calculated based on a previous study found to be 240. The data collected were entered into a Microsoft office excel sheet, analyzed using SPSS v 22(IBM Corp). Descriptive statistics were applied, and parametric tests were used to compare among the groups with statistically significant P value lesser than 0.05. Results: A total of 121 (52.6%) of FLHCWs were aged more than 30 years, 118 (51.5%) were male participants, 100 (43.5%) were paramedics by occupation, 51 (22.1%) had contracted COVID infection, 202 (87.8%) had received information, education, and communication (IEC) regarding COVID vaccine. FLHCWs more than 30 years, male participants, currently not working in COVIDward, FLHCWs who had not received IEC about COVIDvaccination and paramedics had higher scores of Vaccine hesitancy, and the difference was statistically significant indicating vaccine hesitancy. Conclusion: Vaccine hesitancy remains a persistent global threat. Awareness campaigns can be tailored to specific locales to address identified concerns regarding vaccines.
ABSTRACT
Strategic leaders can effectively impact all business stakeholders and positively actualize critical management systems to the organizations. The strategic leader can decide and foresee an organization's future as per present organizational functioning and the organizational environment. In this time laden with uncertainties amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, everybody is universally experiencing an unusual fright. Present-day leaders can either deal with the business's vulnerabilities effectively by adopting a solution-driven approach or may lose the equilibrium notwithstanding vulnerabilities by performing ineffective management practices. This study discusses strategic leadership and examines its uniqueness among other leadership styles, thereafter, it discusses the usefulness of strategic leadership during the unprecedented and unforeseen times brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is laden with uncertainty. In this paper, we have discussed the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on business organizations, including homecare, and the strategies adopted by strategic leaders to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on business organizations. We present strategic leadership's vitality due to its innate suitability in face of the uncertainties encountered in the organizational environment and therefore indicate how strategic leadership aligns well with the uncertainties. Copyright © 2022, Anka Publishers. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Background: COVID infection is known to cause acute and long-term neuropsychiatric presentations. Coronavirus infections are known to have neuroinvasive potential with consequent neuropsychiatric manifestations. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital, and COVID-19-positive individuals were grouped based on the presence or absence of loss of smell (anosmia) or taste symptoms (ageusia). Group 1 without smell or taste disturbance, and Group 2 with smell or taste disturbance. Both groups were followed up for 6 months to assess the new onset of psychiatric illness. Results: The onset of new psychiatric illness was present in 8 out of 30 (26.66%) cases in group 2 when compared with 2 out of 30 (6.66%) cases in Group 1, with a relative risk of 4 (95% confidence interval 0.9247-17.3023). In 10 cases, the pattern of psychiatric illness was depression (16.66%), anxiety (6.6%), posttraumatic stress disorder (3.33%), acute psychosis (3.33%), and acute stress disorder (3.33%). Both groups were compared in terms of socio-demographic profile, inflammatory markers, and computed tomography severity score, and no significant difference was noted between the two. A relative risk of 4 indicates that COVID-19-infected individuals who lose their sense of smell or taste are more likely to develop new-onset psychiatric illness. Conclusion: Impact of COVID-19 on the central nervous system is very evident, and loss of smell or taste symptoms could be an early marker. Early recognition and prompt treatment with immunotherapy or newer therapies will prevent the emergence of psychiatric disturbance and its disability.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The novel COVID-19 which spread's primarily through oral and nasal passage poses a major threat of spread during dental treatments. It is important for dental practitioners to use minimal aerosol techniques. The aim of this study is to compare the time taken, efficiency and aerosol generated between modified and conventional technique (CT) of bracket bonding. Methods: This study includes 40 patients who required complete orthodontic treatment. In all 40 patients, one of the arches was bonded with modified technique (MT) and the opposing with CT. The time taken to prepare tooth in both the techniques were accessed. The efficiency of bond was seen over a period of 6 months. The amount of aerosol particulate matter generated during CT and MT was observed using a laser air quality monitor. Conclusion: There is no significant difference in the bond failure and time taken between both the techniques. The aerosol generated in MT was minimal or almost negligible when compared to the use of CT.
ABSTRACT
According to the World Health Organization(WHO), the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global hazard to the healthcare sector, with developing and highly populated countries like India influencing the country's rising economy. In this situation, early detection and diagnosis ofCOVID-19 are critical for mitigating the pandemic's impactCOVID-19 is critical for mitigating the damage induced by the pandemic disease;consequently, alternate methods for detecting COVID-19 other than manual lab-testing are necessary. This work aims to build and deploy deep Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN) image classification models to a python-flask based web app which is hosted onAWS-EC2 Linux based virtual server to predict if a person isCOVID-19 positive or negative just by uploading chest X-rayor computed tomography(CT)-scan image. Therefore, this method investigates the potential of Deep Transfer Learning algorithms such as Res Net 50,Inception V3, Xception, and VGG16 to act as an alternative for manual lab-based testing like reverse-transcription polymerase-chain-reaction(RT-PCR)tests, Rapid tests, and other various types of Antigen tests which, on average, takes 1-2 days to acquire the results, which is unbearable because the affected person can spread the disease to many more members of the population. The CNN models employed in this work are trained on chest X-rays and CT-scan image datasets obtained from verified radiologists' sources, then these datasets are pre-processed and normalized to achieve higher efficiency. Finally, these trained models are integrated with web-scripting files to create user-friendly web platform, allowing users to upload the sample of the chest X-ray or CT-scan image to refer and compare the predictions made by all four types of models on a single web plat form within a few minutes.
ABSTRACT
Academicians across the globe due to Covid 19 shifted to online teaching as a mainstream method by replacing the chalk and talk method. The main objective of this study is to find the impact of different sizes of digital boards used for online teaching on muscle activity and muscle fatigue, and then results are compared with conventional writing. Initially, a questionnaire survey is conducted among 100 college professors about the issue they faced while using online teaching methods. Experimental analysis are then conducted using electromyography sensor (sEMG) among ten college professors and their muscle activity on the dominant hand and neck while writing on two commercially available digital boards namely Type 1 (small writing area) and Type 2 (large writing area). Four muscles namely Flexor carpi radialis, Extensor carpi radialis, Biceps brachii, and Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) are chosen for the study. The results are then compared with muscle activity while writing on conventional A4 sheets. Normalized root mean square (RMS) is used to assess the muscle activity and the trend line of MPF value is utilized to assess the muscle fatigue. The results show that SCM muscle has more muscle activation compared to other selected muscles followed by flexor carpi radialis. Subjective analysis is carried out using the Borg scale, which has reported that Type 2 digital board having larger working area was preferred by the participants as it reduces muscle fatigue.
ABSTRACT
The advent of new augmented reality applications in workplaces and education centers will greatly enhance the productivity exponentially. As the world moves toward online workspace because of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, it is vital that we increase the productivity at home without compromising on the collaboration aspect. We focus on a Collaborative Interactive Workspace Environment (CIWE) as an almost ideal alternative to current office workspace setting. In CIWE, multiple users can influence a shared virtual workspace environment through an Optical Transparent Head-Mounted Device. CIWE utilizing augmented reality allows better approaches for cooperation and perception and helps to build client engagement and commitment. Furthermore, we also present a hybrid workspace solution which uses both the PC and a OTHD in sync to extend the display capabilities of the PC from conventional monitors to the digitally augmented workspace, thus reducing the need of large tables and also cutting the cost by giving the at most conveyances. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
The widespread outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in the need for efficient face mask detection. This study is focused on achieving real time face mask detection using methods which are not computationally expensive. A dataset which contains images captured in real time was selected for this application. The subjects in the dataset belonged to three different categories consisting of mask worn correctly, mask worn incorrectly and no mask. Two pretrained Convolutional Neural Network models, MobileNetV2 and InceptionV3 were fine-tuned using the transfer learning approach. This paper presents a simple approach in which the Region of Interest is extracted using a pretrained Multi-task Cascaded Convolutional Neural Network, whose output is fed into the classifier model. It was observed that the InceptionV3 model performs better when compared with MobileNetV2 model. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
[Figure: see text].
ABSTRACT
The mouse is one of the wonderful inventions of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) technology. Currently, wireless mouse or a Bluetooth mouse still uses devices and is not free of devices completely since it uses a battery for power and a dongle to connect it to the PC. In the proposed AI virtual mouse system, this limitation can be overcome by employing webcam or a built-in camera for capturing of hand gestures and hand tip detection using computer vision. The algorithm used in the system makes use of the machine learning algorithm. Based on the hand gestures, the computer can be controlled virtually and can perform left click, right click, scrolling functions, and computer cursor function without the use of the physical mouse. The algorithm is based on deep learning for detecting the hands. Hence, the proposed system will avoid COVID-19 spread by eliminating the human intervention and dependency of devices to control the computer.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Deep Learning , Equipment Contamination , Algorithms , Computers , Gestures , Hand , Humans , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
TOPIC: Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases TYPE: Medical Student/Resident Case Reports INTRODUCTION: E-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) encompass a host of pulmonary complications including diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, lipoid pneumonia, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and rarely, acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) [1]. AEP presents as an acute febrile illness with hypoxemia, diffuse pulmonary infiltrates, and eosinophilia on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) without evidence of prior infection or atopic illness [2]. Presented is a young adult patient with a history of continuous vaping and extended exposure to kitchen smoke who developed acute hypoxemic respiratory failure later diagnosed as AEP. CASE PRESENTATION: An 18-year-old male with no significant past medical history presented to the emergency department with acute onset malaise, fever, non-productive cough, and shortness of breath over 12 hours. Social history revealed 3-week workplace exposure to smoke as a barbeque cook and a 5-year history of daily vaping with reported cessation 3 weeks prior. Vitals were notable for hypoxemia which was corrected with administration of 8L of oxygen via nasal cannula. Quickly after admission, he had worsening respiratory status: tachypnea, increased oxygen requirement, use of accessory muscles, and bilaterally diminished breath sounds. He was transferred to the medical intensive care unit for emergent endotracheal intubation. Laboratory testing revealed a neutrophil predominant leukocytosis of 19.3x109/L. COVID-19, rapid influenza A and B, and urine antigens for streptococcus and legionella were negative as were autoimmune serologies. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest revealed diffuse bilateral consolidative opacities [Figure 1] with worsening over the next 24 hours [Figure 2]. Further investigation was undertaken with bronchoscopy. A BAL was obtained, and cell count and cultures were sent. BAL cell count was remarkable for 33% eosinophilia. The diagnosis of AEP was made, and the patient was started on systemic glucocorticoids, with significant improvement within 24 hours. DISCUSSION: The modified Philit criteria is used to make the diagnosis of AEP, which the patient satisfied [3]. Although a 5-year vaping history was present, no previous significant respiratory symptoms were reported. Prior studies have demonstrated a relationship between workplace smoke exposure and AEP [3]. Based on the modified Philit criteria, we suspect that the patient had acute respiratory failure from AEP as a result of chronic EVALI acutely exacerbated by workplace smoke exposure. The treatment of AEP treatment involves high-dose intravenous glucocorticoids followed by a prolonged oral steroid taper. CONCLUSIONS: Obtaining occupation history as well as smoke exposure is as important as obtaining vaping history in an otherwise healthy young patient who presents with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure with bilateral diffuse opacities on imaging. REFERENCE #1: Winnicka L, Shenoy MA. EVALI and the Pulmonary Toxicity of Electronic Cigarettes: A Review. J Gen Intern Med. 2020;35(7):2130-2135. doi:10.1007/s11606-020-05813-2 REFERENCE #2: Allen JN, Pacht ER, Gadek JE, Davis WB. Acute Eosinophilic Pneumonia as a Reversible Cause of Noninfectious Respiratory Failure. N Engl J Med. 1989;321(9):569-574. doi:10.1056/nejm198908313210903 REFERENCE #3: Philit F, Etienne-Mastroïanni B, Parrot A, Guérin C, Robert D, Cordier JF. Idiopathic acute eosinophilic pneumonia: A study of 22 patients. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002;166(9):1235-1239. doi:10.1164/rccm.2112056 DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Nurjahan Khatun, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Parth Patel, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Naleen Patel, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Tarang Patel, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by SACHIN PATIL, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Shyam Shankar, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Rodger Wilhite, source=Web Response
ABSTRACT
TOPIC: Critical Care TYPE: Fellow Case Reports INTRODUCTION: Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is increasingly used in the management of respiratory failure failing to respond to conventional methods. This case highlights the importance of identifying and rectifying complications of ECMO. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a 56-year-old male who presented after being diagnosed with COVID-19. His past medical history included diabetes mellitus and hypertension. He was admitted to the intensive care unit for rapidly worsening hypoxic respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Despite trials of paralysis and prone positioning for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), the patient did not improve and was cannulated with a 21 French right internal jugular (IJ) and 25 French right femoral cannulas under fluoroscopic guidance for VV-ECMO.On initiation, flow was suboptimal despite revolutions per minute (RPM) as high as 5000 generating flows of 2.1 liters per minute (LPM). Post oxygenator pressures were 500-520 mmHg. Rectifying this problem was delayed by 12 hours. A new left IJ vein return cannula was placed and the prior return cannula removed which had a kink on its distal end that was not seen on imaging. Flows improved significantly after this change.The return cannula blood was noted to be dark red, which prompted evaluation of membrane lung function which was normal. A co-oximetry demonstrated significantly elevated methemoglobinemia of 15%. Medications were reviewed and none were noted to cause methemoglobinemia. Patient was treated with repeated doses of methylene blue.The patient developed multi-organ failure as well as refractory vasoplegic shock on multiple vasopressors. The family made the decision to transition patient's care to comfort care on day 5 of VV-ECMO. DISCUSSION: This case demonstrates the grave consequences of late identification and correction of flow limitation in VV-ECMO and how a kinked cannula led to severe hemolysis causing methemoglobinemia. In literature, cooxyhemoglobin correlated with increasing hemolysis, however there is indirect evidence that with increased hemolysis, increase oxygen radicals can lead to the formation of methemoglobin. Methemoglobinemia is a known cause of renal failure, as well as multi-organ failure. Monitoring levels of methemoglobin have both diagnostic and therapeutic advantages.This case also highlights a rather atypical cause of dark blood in return cannula, other than membrane lung dysfunction. Methemoglobin in classic teaching causes "chocolate-red" blood, with a low spO2 and a relatively high PaO2, as noted in our patient. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to be well versed with the possible complications of ECMO. Common differential diagnoses for flow limitation include hypovolemia, shock, increased abdominal/thoracic pressures, kinked cannula, thrombus formation or obstructed drainage from the return cannula. REFERENCE #1: Hemolysis in pediatric patients receiving centrifugal-pump extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes. Lou S., MacLaren G., Best D., Delzoppo C., Butt W. Crit Care Med. 2014 May;42(5):1213-20. REFERENCE #2: Methemoglobinemia: A Diagnosis Not to Be Missed. Lata K., Janardhanan., R. AJM ONLINE CLINICAL COMMUNICATION TO THE EDITOR. 2015 Oct;128(10): E45-6. REFERENCE #3: The Complex Relationship of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Acute Kidney Injury: Causation or Association? Kilburn D. J., Shekar K., Fraser J. F., Biomed Res Int. 2016 Feb. 2016;2016:1094296. DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Anna Abbasi, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Cliff Chen, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Ethan Karle, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Shyam Shankar, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Blaine Winterton, source=Web Response