ABSTRACT
Introduction: Extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19 must not be neglected during the pandemic. Subacute thyroiditis is one of the possible complications people encounter during post-COVID-19 days. Thyroid scintigraphy and radioiodine uptake test help discriminate hyperthyroidism from destructive thyrotoxicosis. Finding a more precise way to diagnose subacute thyroiditis can help in the early detection and treatment of thyroid-related disorders. Method(s): In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated 69 cases of COVID-19. Patients were divided into moderate and severe groups based on their clinical conditions. A thyroid scintigraphy scan was performed on the discharge day. Imaging was done 15-20 minutes after intravenous administration of 3-5 mCi of [99mTc]TcO4-. Scan findings were compared between moderate and severe groups and other participants' demographic and clinical features. Result(s): In 69 patients, according to thyroid scintigraphy, 25 (36%) cases were reported as thyroiditis, and the rest were normal. There was no significant difference between the normal and subacute thyroiditis groups based on age, gender, past medical history, the severity of COVID-19, laboratory values and clinical signs and symptoms. Patients with subacute thyroiditis experienced palpitation and sore throat significantly higher than the normal group (P=0.002 and P=0.009, respectively). Conclusion(s): We conclude that patients admitted due to acute COVID-19 infection experiencing palpitation and sore throat can develop subacute thyroiditis more than others. Whereas the severity of the disease and laboratory testing were not diagnostic in subacute thyroiditis, thyroid scintigraphy may help in early detection.Copyright © 2023 The Authors.
ABSTRACT
The road transport sector has a direct effect on fossil energy sources, cost, and consumption. Indeed, it has affected the environmental situation reversely with high carbon dioxide emissions. Due to this negative impact, the transition to electric vehicle (EV) technology must be a mandatory target for governments worldwide. To achieve this objective, many countries have developed various policies to promote EV technology buying or retrofitting. Thanks to the adopted policies, the electric technology market share has been growing. Meanwhile, research studies are involved also in this project by studying the benefit of EV technology low total cost of ownership (TCO) to motivate consumers of its utilization. For that purpose, the present paper aims to review the discussed policies, and methods to boost the diffusion of electric technology as a sustainable and reliable solution to overcome the global energy situation despite the different obstacles, barriers, and the pandemic situation (COVID-19), which has affected the consumer economic and social behavior. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
In this study, we investigate the temporal variations in columnar aerosol pollutants and their possible association with the simultaneously measured black carbon (BC) aerosol mass concentration and associated biomass burning (BB) over urban (Delhi) and rural (Panchgaon) sites during the lockdown phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also show the impact of lockdown measures on boundary layer ozone and its primary precursors, NO2, and water vapor (H2O), potent greenhouse gases that destroy protective ozone. For this purpose, we used multiple datasets, namely, black carbon (BC) aerosol mass concentration and biomass burning (BB) aerosols using an aethalometer at Amity University Haryana (AUH), Panchgaon, India, and satellite retrievals from NASA’s MODIS and OMI at both the stations. The analysis was conducted during the pre-lockdown period (1–25 March), lockdown 1st phase (25 March–14 April), lockdown 2nd phase (15 April–3 May), lockdown 3rd phase (4–17 May), lockdown 4th phase (18–31 May), and post-lockdown (1–30 June) period in 2020. Our diagnostic analysis shows a substantial reduction in AOD (Delhi: −20% to −80%, Panchgaon: −20% to −80%) and NO2 (Delhi: −10% to −42.03%, Panchgaon −10% to −46.54%) in comparison with climatology (2010–2019) during all four phases of lockdown. The reduction in AOD is attributed to lockdown measures and less transport of dust from west Asia than climatology. Despite a reduction in NO2, there is an increase in the ozone amount (Delhi: 1% to 8% and Panchgaon: 1% to 10%) during lockdown I, II, and III phases. The observed enhancement in ozone may be resultant from the complex photochemical processes that involve the presence of NO2, CO, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and water vapor. The reduction in AOD and NO2 and enhancement in ozone are stronger at the rural site, Panchgaon than that at the urban site, Delhi. Copyright © 2022 Sonbawne, Fadnavis, Vijayakumar, Devara and Chavan.