IoT-based smart UV meter for domestic and hospital UV sterilization devices

In the current circumstances, when lakhs of people are dying as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, imposing lockdown and shutdown disrupts the socioeconomic conditions of the entire globe to the point that the country's backbone is compromised. A highly modified, effective sterilizing and disinfection system is essential to improve the country or human civilization. To combat the many adverse effects of radiation, not only on human health but also on the environment, ultra violet technology has been introduced. UV technology is also a source of radiation that has health risks;however, changes in wavelength can make the risk low. UVM-30A sensor module is used in the sanitization to detect UV irradiation in this study effort. An IoT-based system based on Arduino uno microcontroller, GSM A6 WiFi module, and UVM-30A is presented to create an automated implanted UV radiation detection device. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Education of Medical Students

Introduction: the virus is changing the world and human lives;medical education is not an exception for this. Anatomy as a medical subject is the substratum in the medical education, which helps the clinicians to prosper their clinical knowledge. The dissection of cadavers during anatomy teaching is a signature learning experience in medical education system. Whole medical education system including anatomical education been impacted by the Covid-19 because of unexpected sudden nation-wide lockdown. The digital switchover in teaching is the only option at present not only for Indian anatomists but throughout the world and was achieved with least delays. This transformation is not easy for students as well as for faculty. Each faculty was trying to deliver the subject knowledge to the pupils however learning anatomy on virtual platform is not an easy task. It has its own ineluctable glitches. In the present questionnaire based cross-sectional study, 93 out of 100 first year students of MBBS 2020-2021 batch (Institute of medical sciences, Banaras Hindu University) had participated. They reported, that their study been affected for 20 days on average. Out of 93 students, 34 students (37%) were not comfortable with online mode of teaching either due to poor internet connectivity or due to lack of good devices and due to unavailability of books and notes at home during lockdown. According to students, online learning mode of Anatomy is much difficult as compared to physical offline mode learning. Not only in anatomy, 69% students were also facing similar problem in learning the subject in biochemistry and physiology. 70% students reported uncertainty of concepts in online teaching, and fear of failure in exam because of not able to understand the certain topics in online teaching mode. © 2022 Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.. All rights reserved.

Decreased mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 associated mucormycosis with aspirin use: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: Rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis is a rapidly progressive disease with high mortality rates of about 60 per cent. The increasing incidence of rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis in coronavirus disease 2019 patients in India and worldwide has become a matter of concern owing to the case fatality rate. This study explored the use of low dose aspirin in decreasing the mortality rate of coronavirus disease 2019 associated mucormycosis. METHOD: This was a retrospective observational study. Patients suffering from post-coronavirus disease 2019 mucormycosis were included in the study. Each patient was treated with surgical debridement and systemic amphotericin B. Low dose aspirin was added, and mortality rates were compared with the patients who did not receive aspirin. RESULTS: The demographic data and rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis staging between the two groups were not significantly different. There was a statistically significant difference in mortality outcomes between the two groups (p = 0.029) and a 1.77 times higher risk of dying for patients not receiving aspirin. Kaplan-Meier survival indicated that patients receiving aspirin had better survival rates (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Low dose aspirin improves survival rates in coronavirus disease 2019 associated mucormycosis.

Rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis: patient characteristics in pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 period.

BACKGROUND: Rhino-orbito-cerebral-mucormycosis (ROCM), a rare and potentially fatal disease was seen in increasing numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study describes and compares the patient characteristics and outcomes in COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) and non-COVID-19 mucormycosis (non-CAM). METHODOLOGY: CAM patients (24 cases) were recruited from the COVID-19 period and non-CAM (24 controls) from the pre-COVID-19 period. Clinical data of the CAM group was collected retrospectively with 3 month outcomes prospectively. The non-CAM group data was collected retrospectively. Patient characteristics were compared and risk factors for mortality in ROCM were assessed. RESULTS: Orbital symptoms [altered vision, restricted eye movements, ptosis] and intracranial involvement were higher in CAM patients on presentation. Similarly, the radiological involvement of orbit (orbital apex, superior orbital fissure) and intracranial cavity (intracranial thrombosis, cavernous sinus) was also higher in CAM patients. Newly detected diabetes was found only in CAM patients (29.2%). Although univariate analysis suggested an increased mortality risk in ROCM patients with orbital involvement, the multivariate analysis showed no increased risk with any of the parameters assessed, including COVID-19 positivity. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the non-CAM, the disease presentation was severe in CAM with higher frequency of orbital and intracranial involvement. However, with early detection and treatment, the short term survival was comparable in both groups.

Nanotechnology based Pathogen identification through surface marker identification

The demonic progression of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus) worldwide points out the need to develop innovative, rapid, and sensitive detection of microbial pathogens. Conventional molecular diagnostic techniques often require sophisticated, expensive instrumentation in addition to the high cost and shorter shelf life of some reagents. In contrast, the use of fluorescent quantum dots, carbon nanotube, etc., for pathogen detection can be tailored by changing surface charge ratio and particle size, which may provide global accessibility. The operating principle behind pathogen identification is the surface marker recognition of bacterial or viral nucleic acid sequences. Therefore this chapter aims to focus on the comprehensive utilization of nanotechnology in pathogen identification. The emerging technology of nano-based point-of-care detection and its association with the neural network is believed to mark a blueprint for diagnosing infectious diseases and improving human existence. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Experience with Management of COVID-19 Positive Pregnant Patients in a Tertiary Care Institute

Background: The new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a worldwide pandemic. Concerns have been raised about the influence of SARS-CoV-2 infections on pregnant mothers and their fetuses, and patient care in the setting of COVID-19 is difficult. As a result, the current study was conducted to determine the outcomes of pregnant females with COVID-19 infection and their obstetric care of COVID-19. Materials and methods: The study enrolled 8622 pregnant women from April 1st, 2020 to September 30th, 2020 at Lokmanya Tilak Medical College and Sion Hospital, a tertiary care hospital. There were 455 women who tested positive for COVID, whereas the remaining 8167 patients tested negative for COVID. The results obtained were compared in both groups. Results: The percentage of pregnant women who tested positive for COVID was determined to be 5.27%. Most patients were delivered by LSCS in the COVID-positive group (49.45%) than in the COVID-negative group (43.95%) (p >0.05). Among 455 COVID-positive women, 401 were asymptomatic, whereas 54 patients showed COVID-19 symptoms like fever and cough (12%). All patients with mild symptoms were adequately handled with a multivitamin supplement, high-protein diet, fluid-electrolyte balance, regular vitals monitoring, and prophylactic antibiotic therapy. In total, 23 women were admitted to the intensive care unit after developing severe COVID-19 pneumonia with ARDS. The risk of maternal mortality in COVID-positive patients was somewhat higher 16 (3.51%) than in COVID-negative pregnant women 39 (0.47%) (p <0.05). In the majority of neonates in both the COVID-positive and-negative women, Apgar score was normal 7–10, and birth weight between 2.6 and 3 kg. Low Apgar scores (0–3) were seen in 6 (1.43%) of COVID-positive mothers’ neonates and 197 (2.60%) of COVID-negative mothers’ neonates. Overall, the majority of the newborns were healthy. Swabs from seven neonates were first determined to be positive, but were retested on day five and proved to be negative. Conclusions: In times of global pandemic, quick and judicious management of COVID-19 positive pregnant women is a critical notion for safe motherhood and healthy children. However, our findings reveal that COVID infection has no substantial influence on maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancy, and there is no indication of vertical transmission of the COVID-19 infection, but long-term monitoring of these newborns is suggested.

Acute Macroglossia: The Conspicuous Brunt of Proning

Introduction: Macroglossia is defined as an enlargement of the tongue in the resting position, protruding beyond the teeth. Many cases have been reported secondary to patient positioning while under anesthesia, post oro-pharyngeal packing, trauma or surgery, and allergic or non-allergic angioedema. However, acute macroglossia in the ICU is a rare situation. In COVID-19 related severe ARDS, endotracheal intubation and prolonged proning is an important part of management of hypoxemic respiratory failure Prone positioning also has the potential to independently cause macroglossia. Awareness of this complication of proning could help mitigate morbidity in patients. Case report: A 53-year-old diabetic, hypertensive overweight female with OSA presented with progressive shortness of breath and productive cough. She was mechanically ventilated in ICU in view of respiratory distress secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia. Intubation was minimally traumatic with minimal oral bleeding settling over few minutes. Though managed with medications as per COVID-19 management protocol, she progressed to severe ARDS hence proned on hospital day 1 for 16 hours - PaO2/FiO2 ratio improved. She was not proned further. Acute macroglossia (3 inches outside the oral cavity) with lower facial edema was noted 4 days post proning. Saline moistened gauze was loosely wrapped around the tongue every hour. Circumferential ecchymosis was noticed around her neck on the 6th day. On day 8, macroglossia did not show signs of resolution. Hence, the tongue was pushed in manually every 2 hourly and the position was maintained manually for 10 minutes. The swelling decreased gradually with the tongue staying in a retracted position on treatment day 2. On day 3, there was a complete resolution of the swelling. However, she had persistent swallowing difficulty causing difficulty in weaning from tracheostomy. MRI of neck and chest showed large pre-vertebral collection from the upper border of C2 inferiorly across the thoracic inlet to the posterior mediastinum with thin linear extension up to the lower border of T4. Mass effect with airway compression, displacement, and compression of esophagus and neck vessels was seen. Trans-oral exploration revealed mucosal rent and bulge in the posterior pharyngeal wall. The hematoma was evacuated by ENT specialists. She was discharged on tracheostomy and feeding tube. Tracheostomy decannulation was done after 1 month. Discussion: In our practice of proning patients with ARDS for >10 years, this is the first case of macroglossia as a complication of proning that we encountered. Other factors that could have contributed to this patient are obesity and mildly traumatic intubation. Development of macroglossia 4 days after proning and resolution over a short period of time is rare and suggests lymphatic and vascular compression as the cause. Later development of ecchymosis and dysphagia may be due to the posterior pharyngeal injury. Conclusion: Proning, especially in obese patients, can be a challenge. Positioning of the face and avoidance of injury to any of the structures is vital to the care of the proned patient. Medical staff involved in patient care should be aware and vigilant to pick up this condition early to avoid further injury.

Managing Online Classes in the Post-COVID-19 Era: Choices and Challenges

In the pandemic period, there has been a paradigm shift in the teaching-learning strategies, due to the ever-increasing importance and intervention of technology in the curriculum at all the levels. Both the learners and teachers have been forced to adopt the new strategies and adapt to the changing needs in the transaction of curriculum. However, in a country like ours, where nearly 70% of the population live in the rural or semi-urban with limited or no exposure to ICT-enabled teaching-learning infrastructure and majority of the population cannot afford expensive smartphones, planning, conducting, and managing online classes on a large scale is a great challenge. In the COVID-19 scenario, when the physical congregation of the learners and teachers is either prohibited or constrained with SOPs, the online platform has become the most suitable alternative. As many of the teachers and learners are new to this new mode of teaching and learning, they need to be aware of the skills as well etiquette to make the teaching-learning transactions effective and successful. In spite of the tall claims that institutions and governments make, the internet bandwidth available with learners in most of the rural and inaccessible pockets of the country is often inadequate to support live-streaming of the online classes and the storage facility available with the mobiles is not enough to help the learners download the classes and watch them at their convenience. In a situation like this, the challenges encountered by the teachers while conducting and managing the online classes are more than the choices available. The present paper proposes to discuss the choices available to the teachers, the challenges they are likely to encounter and the innovative pedagogies and skills they need to exhibit to make such online classes effective, engaging and successful. The paper is based upon the findings of a survey conducted during the pandemic period on the effectiveness of online classes for teaching and learning.

Work from home issues due to COVID-19 lockdown in Indian higher education sector and its impact on employee productivity

Purpose: This study focuses on work from home (WFH) issues faced by faculty members of higher education institutes in India during the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic. The study aims to understand the impact of these issues on faculty productivity. The study also analyzes the moderating effect of information technology (IT) training on the relationship between work- from-home issues and faculty productivity. Design/methodology/approach: This study is quantitative. Data were collected from 215 faculty members working in higher education institutes in India. Correlation and hierarchical regression analysis have been used to analyze the data. Findings: The analysis revealed that online teaching, lack of technology acceptance, poor working environment and work–life conflict negatively impacts faculty productivity. Thus, IT training work as a moderator plays an important role in reducing the WFH issues mainly Online Teaching, Lack of Technology acceptance & Poor Working Enviornment by increasing faculty productivity. IT training work does not moderate the relationship between work–life conflict and faculty productivity. Research limitations/implications: This research is limited to the higher education sector;the research limits the generalization of the higher education sector's finding to other sectors. Practical implications: The findings would help policymakers and educational institutes to explore the use of digital technology to break boundaries of workplace and education institutes to disseminate knowledge to a global level. The findings also help to understand how the workplace is essential for the smooth functioning of tasks of the institute. Social implications: The study will also help management, institute, organization, society and individuals to change their mindset that education can be imparted through online mode in a better way with the help of digital technology. Originality/value: There is a scarcity of research work examining WFH issues in conducting mandatory online classes due to COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19's relation to faculty productivity in the higher education sector. This study contributes to the knowledge regarding the impact of COVID-19 on faculty productivity in the education sector. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The mental health of the health care professionals in India during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in dramatic challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. There has been an increased awareness to protect frontline workers from COVID-19 exposure and its consequences. To assess the prevalence of healthcare professionals in India during the COVID-19, a cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted with healthcare professionals from medical colleges and hospitals from different states across the country. The study comprised 772 healthcare professionals aged >= 18 years. The main outcome measures studied were anxiety, depression, and stress. Among the healthcare professionals, 37.17%, 33.68%, and 23.7% were reported to have anxiety, depression, and stress respectively. The physicians, female, aged population, and professionals sleeping less than 7 hours are more prone to psychological problems. The results of this study predict the high levels of anxiety, depression, and stress among healthcare professionals in different states of India. Increased COVID-19 cases, high pressure, workload, and lack of training are the main reasons for the psychological problems in healthcare professionals. Proper strategies must be followed in healthcare settings to reduce the burden of stress.

Federated Transfer Learning-Based IDS for the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is a set of medical devices and applications that connect to healthcare systems through the Internet. Those devices are equipped with communication technologies that allow them to communicate with each other and the Internet. Reliance on the IoMT is increasing with the increase in epidemics and chronic diseases such as COVID-19 and diabetes;with the increase in the number of IoMT users and the need for electronic data sharing and virtual services, cyberattacks in the healthcare sector for accessing confidential patient data has been increasing in the recent years. The healthcare applications and their infrastructures have special requirements for handling sensitive users' data and the need for high availability. Therefore, securing healthcare applications and data has attracted special attention from both industry and researchers. In this paper, we propose a Federated Transfer Learning-based Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to secure the patient's healthcare-connected devices. The model uses Deep Neural Network (DNN) algorithm for training the network and transferring the knowledge from the connected edge models to build an aggregated global model and customizing it for each one of the connected edge devices without exposing data privacy. CICIDS2017 dataset has been used to evaluate the performance in terms of accuracy, detection rate, and average training time. In addition to preserving data privacy of edge devices and achieving better performance, our comparison indicates that the proposed model can be generalized better and learns incrementally compared to other baseline ML/DL algorithms used in the traditional centralized learning schemes. © 2021 IEEE.

Screening for gestational diabetes:comparing NICE criteria versus RCOG criteria recommended during the COVID pandemic-the role of HbAlc in GDM screening

Aims: To examine the disparity in identification of gestational diabetes (GDM) using the RCOG criteria (HbAc >39 mmol/mol or FBG >5.6 mmol/L) during the COVID-19 pandemic from the conventional NICE guidelines. Methods: Of 40,740 deliveries at our University Hospital from year 2009 (pre-COVID pandemic) in women without pre-existing diabetes, 8,542 were deemed high-risk based on NICE risk stratifica- VOLUME 21 ISSUE 2 • DECEMBER 2021 293 S tion and had an oral gluose tolerance test (OGTT) for GDM screening. Locally, HbA1c is routinely undertaken along with an OGTT. Data were analysed retrospectively to explore variation in GDM diagnosis using the two criteria. Results: Using NICE criteria and RCOG criteria, 11.3% and 15.3% respectively of 'high-risk' women were diagnosed with GDM. HbA1c ≥39 mmol/mol was observed in 13.5%. When RCOG criteria were used, the diagnosis would have been missed in 43.5% of GDM diagnosed with an OGTT (4.9% of the 'high-risk' cohort;χ2=1423, p<0.001). 8.9% with a normal OGTT would have been diagnosed with GDM with the RCOG criteria. The proportion of Asians was higher in the cohort with HbA1c ≥39 mmol/mol compared with those diagnosed with OGTT alone (26% vs 18%, p<0.001). HbA1c ≥39 mmol/mol was associated with significantly higher fetal macrosomia (birthweight ≥4500 g) compared with GDM diagnosed with OGTT (3.5% vs 0.9%;χ2=47.7, p<0.001), although the women with GDM received intensive antenatal management. Conclusions: The RCOG and NICE criteria, when used in isolation for GDM screening, identify different populations with a risk of missing a GDM diagnosis in a proportion of women when RCOG criteria are solely applied. HbA1c could have a supplementary role when used in addition to OGTT in 'high-risk' women to identify and to potentially reduce maternal-fetal complications through intensive antenatal management.

Ecological analysis of the temporal trends in the association of social vulnerability and race/ethnicity with county-level covid-19 incidence and outcomes in the United States

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected socially vulnerable and minority communities in the US initially, but the temporal trends during the year-long pandemic remain unknown. Objective: We examined temporal association between county-level Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), a percentile-based measure of social vulnerability to disasters, its subcomponents and race/ethnic composition with COVID-19 incidence and mortality in US in the year starting in March 2020. Methods: Counties (n=3091) with > 50 COVID-19 cases by March 6th, 2021 were included. Associations between SVI (and its subcomponents) and county level racial composition with incidence and death per capita were assessed using a negative-binomial mixed-effects model. This model was used to examine potential time varying associations between weekly number of cases/deaths and SVI or racial composition. Data was adjusted for percentage of population aged ≥65 years, state level testing rate, county-level comorbidities, and environmental factors. Results: Higher SVI, indicative of greater social vulnerability, was independently associated with higher COVID-19 incidence (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR] per-10 percentile increase:1.02, (95% CI 1.02, 1.03, p<0.001), and death per capita (1.04, (95% CI 1.04, 1.05, p<0.001). SVI became an independent predictor of incidence starting from March 2020, but this association became weak or insignificant by winter, a period that coincided with sharp increase in infection rates and mortality, and when counties with higher proportion of White residents were disproportionately represented (“third wave”). By Spring 2021, SVI was again a predictor of COVID-19 outcomes. Counties with greater proportion of Blacks also observed similar temporal trends in COVID-19-related adverse outcomes. Counties with greater proportion of Hispanics had worse outcomes throughout the duration of the analysis. Conclusion: Except for winter “third wave” when majority White communities had highest incidence of cases, counties with greater social vulnerability and higher minority populations, experienced worse COVID-19 outcomes.

Neighborhood social vulnerability is associated with major adverse cardiovascular events and deaths among patients hospitalized with covid-19: An analysis of the aha covid-19 cardiovascular disease registry

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations in the US. However, it remains unclear whether hospitalized COVID-19 patients who live in socially vulnerable neighborhoods are more likely to experience major adverse cardiovascular events and/or death. We evaluated the association between neighborhood social vulnerability and in-hospital outcomes in a national cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Hypothesis: Among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, residence in socially vulnerable neighborhoods is associated with worse in-hospital outcomes. Methods: The American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry includes patients hospitalized with COVID-19 across 107 hospitals in the US between January 14, 2020 to November 30, 2020. The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), a composite measure of community vulnerability developed by Center for Disease Control was used to classify the social vulnerability of patients' place of residence defined by zip codes. We fit multivariable logistic regression models to evaluate the association between patient's SVI and in-hospital death or major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE, defined as composite of all-cause death, MI, stroke, new onset heart failure, or cardiogenic shock). Results: Among 20,925 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the registry, 6083 (29.1%) resided in the most vulnerable communities (highest national quartile of SVI). Compared with those in lowest quartile of SVI, patients in the highest quartile were younger (mean age 59.8±17.7 versus 62.0±17.9), more likely to be women (47.1% vs. 43.2%), Black patients (36.1% vs. 13.3%), and less likely to have private insurance (29.0% vs. 39.1%). After adjusting for demographics (age, sex, race/ethnicity), insurance status, and comorbidities, the highest quartile of SVI (compared to lowest) was associated with higher likelihood of in-hospital MACE (OR [95% CI] 1.28 [1.12, 1.46], p<0.001) as well as in-hospital death (OR 1.37 [1.21, 1.54], p<0.001). Conclusion: Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who reside in more socially vulnerable neighborhoods experience higher rates of in-hospital MACE and death, independent of race and ethnicity.

Outcome of COVID 19 Infection in Bone Marrow Transplant Recipients-A Single Centre Experience

Introduction: Bone marrow transplant recipients (BMTRs) are at ahigher risk for severe disease and death following COVID-19. Herewe detail the experience from a tertiary care centre in southern India.Aims &Objectives: To assess mortality rates and outcomes inBMTRs who contracted COVID 19 infection.Materials &Methods: Case files of BMTRs who contracted COVID19 infection from June 2020 to June 2021 were reviewed to assess foroutcomes and mortality rates.Result: 12 BMTRs had contracted COVID 19 in the study period,including 10 allogenic transplant recipients and 2 autologous recipients. 2 patients had relapsed disease at the time of COVID 19infection. Out of the 12 patients, 6 (50%) had mild, 3 (25%) hadmoderate and 3 (25%) had severe disease. 10 patients were onimmunosuppression at the time of COVID 19 with steroids being themost common (n = 7) followed by MMF (n = 5) and cyclosporine(n = 3). 3 (25%) patients required ventilatory support out of whichonly one survived. The overall 30-day mortality rate was 25%(n = 3). One patient expired later due to unrelated cause (PTLD). 6(50%) patients had developed secondary infection after COVID 19.The median D dimer and CRP values were 209 ng/ml and 30.9 mg/Lrespectively. The median ferritin values for mild and severe diseasewere 1457 ng/ml and 3260 ng/ml respectively.Conclusions: COVID 19 infection in post-transplant setting is ahighly fatal disease with overall mortality of 25% comparable toavailable western studies. There is also increased incidence of secondary infections with 50% of them developing various infectionspost COVID 19.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the developing nations: emerging mental health challenges and interventions

The world is facing an unprecedented challenge of the 21st century in the form of COVID-19 outbreak. People across the culture, race, ethnicity, socio-economic background are being affected by the rippling effects of this pandemic. The aim of this narrative review is to briefly describe the impact of the pandemic on mental health, the vicious cycle of social issues and psychological health caused and aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. We also aim to highlight certain interventions to overcome the mental health challenges posed by the pandemic. For this purpose, a thorough search of all databases was done to gather articles relevant to the objective of this narrative review. Keywords were used in combination and separately to identify the articles on the various psychosocial issues caused by the pandemic. Published articles in various databases like Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed etc., related to psychosocial effects due to COVID-19 were searched and summarized to justify and support the objective of this paper. The coming months will reveal the extent of damage this pandemic has caused to the socio-economic and health sectors across the globe. It is crucial to recognize the psychosocial impact of this pandemic and necessitate the measures to overcome them by mobilizing the resources we have at hand.

Study of anxiety, fear and depression associated with breastfeeding in covid-positive mothers

Aim and objective: To study anxiety, fear and depression associated with breastfeeding in coronavirus disease (COVID)-positive mothers. Materials and methods: The following three standard scales were used to measure fear anxiety, and depression namely fear of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) scale (FCV-19S), corona disease anxiety scale (CDAS), and Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) among postpartum women along with a self-made breastfeeding questionnaire by the author to assess the association with breastfeeding. Results: Among the total of 62 respondents, a mean of 17 was obtained on the EPDS which is more than the cutoff value. FCV-19S and CDAS did not show extreme results except for few cases. The breastfeeding questionnaire suggested that most women are afraid of transmitting the infection to their newborns and they lack the knowledge about the importance of breast milk in warding off other infections. Also, women found it difficult to take care of their newborns on their own. Conclusion: With this study, we could determine the effects of this pandemic on anxiety levels, depression, and fear of COVID infection in postpartum women. In the current scenario with the possibility of the next pandemic wave in India, there is an urgent need to provide emotional and psychosocial support to this group of the population during the crisis. Otherwise, the adverse outcome is possible involving both mother and newborn. Clinical significance: The COVID-19 outbreak that began in China has turned into a pandemic that affects global health, thereby prompting the concentration of studies and clinical routines on treating and preventing the disease with measures like vaccination. Still, the clinical data regarding psychological manifestations of the ongoing pandemic among the general public, especially postpartum women and breastfeeding mothers, are inadequate. In this study, we analyzed experiences of breastfeeding mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically concerning how COVID-positive status affected their infant’s feeding decisions. It clearly showed that being COVID positive created, affected, and exacerbated mental health issues for mothers.

Autonomous drone for social distancing surveillance

Drones being capable of doing things that are not even remotely possible for a human have a major role to play in our society. These unmanned aerial vehicles have endless applications in various fields such as photography, surveillance, farming and communication systems. These drones due to such extraordinary capabilities pose a serious threat to privacy of the general population. However in desperate situations privacy is overtaken by safety and security in terms of priority. In this project the application of unmanned aerial vehicles in the surveillance field are explored while walking the thin line between invasion of privacy and safety concerns. An autonomous drone with a camera module with an intelligent scene analysis model is used to automate the surveillance of vast areas in a single go while keeping maintenance cheap and operability easy. The primary focus would be to surveil the overall population for honouring the 'social distancing protocols' and then based on the results, a tool with a wider application in human behaviour analysis is to be developed. © 2021 IEEE.