COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown: what has changed in common home accidents such as foreign bodies and corrosive injuries?

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected our lives in all areas. Due to the social isolation policies implemented during this period, the majority of parents and all school-age children spent their lives at home. This study aims to investigate the effects of pandemic and isolation on home accidents treated in our center. METHODS: Foreign body ingestion (gastric foreign bodies: G.FB), foreign body aspiration (respiratory foreign bodies: R.FB), and corrosive substance (CS) ingestion cases admitted to our hospital between March 11, 2019, and March 10, 2021, were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic data, type and cause of home accidents, the time of the accident and the admission to the hospital, the location of the foreign body, and the follow-up data were recorded. The patients were divided into two groups: the pre-pandemic period (11 March 2019-10 March 2020) and the COVID pandemic period (11 March 2020-10 March 2021), and the data were evaluated between two groups as < 6 years old and 6-18 years old. RESULTS: During the 2 years, a total of 982 patients were admitted to our hospital for G.FB, R.FB, or CS. Four hundred and eighty-three of them (49.2%) were in the pre-pandemic period and 499 (50.8%) were in the pandemic period (p = 0.206). The mean age of the patients was 3.63 ± 3.32 years; 82.4% of the patients in the pre-pandemic group and 85.4% of the patients in the pandemic group were children < 6 years old. While the F/M ratio was 1/1.5 during the pre-pandemic period, it was 1/1.1 during the pandemic period. Of the cases, 73.3% were G.FB, 4.6% were R.FB, and 22.1% were CS. Almost half of the accidents occurred between the hours of 16 and 24. During the pandemic period, the accidents increased to occur between 0 and 8 am in children < 6 years old, and between 8 am and 4 pm in children 6-18 years old (p = 0.003). All of the home accidents in the 6-18 age group between 0 and 8 o'clock were girls (p < 0.0001). During the pandemic period, the frequency of button batteries and food products increased in G.FB. Also, the frequency of R.FB increased significantly (p = 0.006) and the most common R.FB was the food products. The frequency of CS increased in girls during the pandemic period, and CSs were brought to the hospital in a shorter time after the accident during the pandemic period (p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: It can be thought that the main reason why home accidents are common in the 0-6 age group is due to the developmental characteristics of the child rather than the longer time spent at home. The pandemic and isolation increase the frequency of foreign body aspirations and home accidents in girls.

Computational Approach for Covalent Lead Identification against Spike Glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 (preprint)

Background: A global outbreak of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) led researchers to investigate various active compounds that can inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). The present work targets to evaluate small covalent synthetic molecules through a virtual screening and docking approach that can efficiently inhibit Spike Glycoprotein of SARS CoV2. Methods: We retrieved around 50,000 small covalent synthetic molecules through the American chemical society (CAS) database. The initial evaluation of these synthetic molecules depends on the ADMET screening. A Lipinski's Rule of Five (RO5) was also applied to find whether the drug met the criteria of good bioavailability. Then, the further selection was made through virtual screening using BIOVIA Discovery Studio. Further, comparison among top hits was performed via a docking approach based on the binding energy (kcal/mol) calculated using the AutoDock Vina plugin and Patch Dock-like docking engines. Finally, the selected top five molecules were compared for their binding efficiency with reference drugs like Favipiravir, Chloroquine, Ribavirin, Hydroxychloroquine (approved by the FDA), and molecules with better binding affinity than reference drugs was selected. Results: In the first tier of selection, 215 molecules were screened out, satisfying all the necessary conditions of RO5 and ADMET. Among 215 molecules screened, only 203 molecules were stable in structure to undergo the second tier of target-based virtual screening. Further, based upon the LibDock score generated by virtual screening, the top five molecules with the highest LibD score were selected. Molecular docking of these five selected compounds reveals compound2 (3-ethyl-5-propyladamantan-1-amine) with the best binding energy. Furthermore, we compared the binding affinity of 3-ethyl-5-propyladamantan-1-amine with reported drugs that show 3-ethyl-5-propyladamantan-1-amine as the most promising ligand efficient hydrogen bond interactions with amino acid residues of protein which provides more excellent stability in the docked region of the protein with efficient binding energy as compared to the reference molecule. Moreover, Compound2 also has a high oral bioavailability, non-mutagenicity, non-toxicity and follows all RO5 criteria. Conclusion: Thus, it has potential as an antiviral covalent synthetic molecule that may prevent the replication of spike protein. These findings are just preliminary selection to facilitate the upcoming tests from in vivo and in vitro studies.

Chemical Anthropomorphism: Acting Out General Chemistry Concepts in Social Media Videos Facilitates Student-Centered Learning and Public Engagement (preprint)

This Article describes the educational and public engagement outcomes of an activity called the “ChemClout Challenge” that was implemented in a general chemistry course at UC Riverside. Students worked in groups to make chemistry-themed videos, posted them to social media platforms, then voted on their favorite videos. The majority of students elected to make videos where they anthropomorphized general chemistry concepts, physically acting out principles such as ideal gas law relationships and electrolyte solubility. Students reported enjoying these anthropomorphized videos most. These types of videos received over one million views worldwide within the first month of posting on the social media platform, TikTok. After the course was over, 75 students completed voluntary Likert scale surveys to assess the educational and outreach impact of the ChemClout Challenge. 88% of students reported that the activity made chemistry more relatable, whereas 76% of students noted that the activity helped them retain course concepts two months after the course was completed, indicating the activity benefitted student learning. Moreover, 84% of students reported that their friends and family members outside of UC Riverside watched the videos, with 72% of students reporting that they explained the chemical concepts of their videos to their friends. These studies indicate that student-created social media videos that anthropomorphize chemistry are highly effective vectors for student-centered learning and public engagement in chemical concepts. This activity may find particular utility for educators during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it is compatible with distance learning.