COVID-19 Versus Diabetes Mellitus: Whom Affect the Other?

Diabetes is considered as a precipitating factor for the poor outcomes of COVID-19. Patients with diabetes had a 2.5-3.9 times higher odds of being infected. Viral infection in diabetic patients could be harder to treat due to fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Their compromised immune system leads to a longer duration of recovery. Furthermore, poorly controlled diabetes impairs the immune response to viral infections. C-reactive protein, IL-6, and D-dimer are inflammatory biomarkers elevated among diabetic patients infected with COVID-19.Many scenarios could explain;how could COVID-19 induce Type 1 diabetes? and how COVID-19 brings out Type 2 diabetes? There is lack of data regarding pancreatic abnormalities and manifestation in COVID-19 patients. Hence, further investigations are required to stand on the consequences of COVID-19 in subjects with prediabetes and patients with diabetes. Losing at least 15 pounds, regular physical exercise, control diet and regular checkup are the most important measures for prevention of diabetes after COVID-19. Regular monitoring of blood sugar levels after COVID-19 illness and control of hyperglycemia as early as possible are essential to avoid development of severe complications and poor outcome. Appropriate management of comorbidities is of great significance in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Diabetic patients must have priority for vaccination against COVID-19. CDC recommends that people with underlying medical conditions including diabetes should receive a third dose of COVID-19 Vaccine at least 3-6 months after completion of their second dose series.

Knowledge of Antibiotic Use and Antibiotic Resistance During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Healthcare Professionals

Infections can be treated with antibiotics, which have also saved countless lives. But whenever antibiotics are administered, they run the risk of having negative side effects and fueling antibiotic resistance that was a significant public health issue. The current study aimed to describe healthcare workers' knowledge of antibiotic use and resistance during the COVID-19 epidemic in the city of Riyadh and included an online survey that was disseminated on social media. About 78% of the healthcare providers in the present study had an average knowledge score of more than 75%, so most of them had good knowledge. Most of the healthcare professionals in the present study had good knowledge about bacterial resistance and antibiotic use, but there was still a knowledge gap on antibiotic use. Therefore, it is crucial to raise their awareness by attending conferences, lectures, and workshops.

Using Landfill Sites and Marginal Lands for Socio-Economically Sustainable Biomass Production through Cultivation of Non-Food Energy Crops: An Analysis Focused on South Asia and Europe

Food security and energy transition are among the current major global environmental challenges. Although these issues individually are significant in their own right, they are connected to each other in a nexus with different interrelationships and dependencies. In the quest for non-fossil alternatives for energy, cultivation of bioenergy crops has become an important part of the energy policy in many countries. In this regard, the use of fertile agricultural land for growing crops for energy production rather than for food supply affects the global food security. Recent conflicts and the geopolitical crisis in Europe, leading to increased food, fuel, and fertiliser prices, the existing climate crisis, and the crisis caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have further reinforced the understanding of this nexus, with certain countries mulling limiting biofuel production from agricultural land and others banning food grain exports to safeguard food supply. The idea of growing non-food energy crops on marginal lands in general and closed landfill sites in particular is hence ever more relevant, to avoid land-use concurrence between food needs and energy needs. Landfilling has been the dominant waste management strategy until recently in European countries and is still the dominant mode of waste management in low-income regions like South Asia. This paper provides a review of the economic as well as environmental benefits of growing Ricinus communis L., Jatropha curcas L., and Populus deltoides as energy crops on closed landfill sites in the South Asian context. While as the cultivation of Miscanthus X Giganteus, Silphium perfoliatum L., and Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass) is reviewed in the European context. The cultivation of non-food energy crops like these on closed landfill sites and marginal lands is presented as a potential component of an integrated food-energy policy, with an increased relevance in the current times. In the current times of multiple crises, this measure is of increasing relevance as a part of the overall strategy to achieve resilience and environmental sustainability.

INFLUENCE OF DEATH ANXIETY ON THE PREVENTIVE PRACTICES OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS DURING COVID-19 OUTBREAK

OBJECTIVES: To ascertain the degree of death anxiety in healthcare professionals and their preventive practices during the ongoing pandemic and to find correlations between these two variables. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on healthcare professionals working in Combined Military Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from July 2020 to February 2021. A descriptive online questionnaire was distributed to measure demography, death anxiety using Collette-Lester Fear of Death Scale Revised and preventive practices using the prevention section of WHO European Region COVID-19 survey tool and guidance. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24. RESULTS: Out of 136 subjects, 65 (47.8%) were male and 71 (52.2%) were female. Median (IQR) age of the participants was 28 (26-40) years. Median total degree of death anxiety was 83 (66-107). The four subscales showed Median (IQR) scores as follows: your own death 18 (12-27), your own dying 20 (15-27), the death of others 23 (18-28), and the dying of others 22 (16-29). Death anxiety was mild in 55 (40.4%), moderate in 65 (47.8%) and high in 16 (11.8%) participants. Significant association of female gender (p=0.002), experience of death of a patient (p=0.001) or loved one (p=0.001) was found with death anxiety. Zero participants recorded a high preventive practice score. CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of healthcare professionals suffered from undiagnosed moderate levels of death anxiety. The level of preventive practices amongst healthcare professionals was moderate to low. Death anxiety had no correlation with preventive practices. Further study is required to investigate the reason behind these unconventional findings. © 2022, Khyber Medical University. All rights reserved.

Analysing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health of people using fuzzy MCDM methods

Recently, a large portion of the world's population has experienced an unprecedented devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of its outbreak, not much was known about this disease and therefore, quarantine and social distancing were the only ways suggested to prevent its spread among humans. Although the current situation is much better than before however, strict social distancing norms as well as frequent long-lasting lockdowns with stringent guidelines and actions to control the spread in the early days have affected the physical and psychological health of the people. Consequently, this study was carried out to attain the following major objectives: (i) to identify the potential psychological problems/factors that might have been caused due to COVID-19 led social distancing and lockdowns, and (ii) to determine the ranks of the identified psychological factors to reflect their degree of criticality. The first objective was achieved by gathering information about the potential psychological factors from the experts. Data, in terms of linguistic variables, was collected from the experts and analyzed using two fuzzy-based multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods i.e. Fuzzy Best Worst Method (F-BWM) and Fuzzy TOPSIS (F-TOPSIS) which led to the accomplishment of the second objective. The results of this study revealed that anxiety, stress, panic attacks, frustration, and insomnia were the top five critical psychological factors that might have affected people due to this pandemic. Consistency of the results was ensured by comparing the obtained ranks with the ranks found using the Fuzzy WSM and Fuzzy MABAC methods. In addition, the robustness of the results was ascertained by conducting the sensitivity analysis. Based on the findings of the study, the identified factors were categorized into most, average, and least critical psychological factors. This research might help the relevant authorities to understand the extent of the seriousness of the various psychological factors caused by this pandemic, so that an effective strategy may be developed for better management, control, and safety. © 2022 The Authors

Implementing Infection Control Unit and Antimicrobial Use Committee Policies and Guidelines to Reduce the Incidence of Healthcare-associated Infections

To prevent or reduce the incidence and prevalence of infections, infection prevention and con-trol strategies are utilized. Antibiotic stewardship programs are also utilized to avoid antimicrobial-related toxicity, lower the costs of inappropriate antimicrobial usage, and reduce health-care-associated infections. The present study aimed to describe the effect of implementing infection control unit and antimicrobial use committee policies and guidelines in reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections. Data for all infected cases confirmed by an infection disease specialist between 2019 and 2021 was exported. The informa-tion was gathered from the reports written by the infection control unit. Central line-associated bloodstream infection rate was decreased from 1.15 per 1000 central line days in 2019 to 0 per 1000 central line days in 2021, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections rate decreased from 1.01 per 1000 urinary catheter days in 2019 to 0 per 1000 urinary catheter days in 2021, ventilator-associated pneumonia rate decreased from 2.11 per 1000 ventilator days in 2019 to 0 per 1000 ventilator days in 2019, surgical site infection rate decreased from 0.41% un 2019 to 0.2% in 2021, the rate of MDRO was decreased from 3.95 per 1000 patient days to 2.3 per 1000 patient days in 2021. Infection control unit practices, as well as an antibiotic stewardship program, were highly effective in preventing healthcare-associated infections, with significant decreases in antibiotic resistance.

Modern Diagnostics Processes among New Strains of Coronaviruses: A Review

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes the COVID-19 disease, which is a considerable outbreak that appeared in late 2019, and within a short period, this disease rapidly extended globally. Its prompt airborne transmission and highly infectious pneumonia-like symptoms in patients caused turmoil worldwide. This virus has a relatively high mortality rate compared to previous outbreaks such as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus and SARS-CoV. Therefore, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global health pandemic on January 30, 2020. However, the recent COVID-19 outbreak and newly emerged variants such as Delta and Omicron are having a huge spike in the human population. This rise has been a kind of challenging situation worldwide as perception is still limited in terms of modes of transmission, severity, diagnostics clinical oversight. Therefore, this review highlights the importance of these issues via a Medline search using the terms novel, coronavirus, sources, genetic nature, contagious routes, clinical characteristics, and diagnostic procedures for COVID-19. The authors extensively reviewed the analysis of behavior and impacts of this virus’s activities worldwide. The study reveals that patients’ epidemiology and clinical characteristics in different frames are sensitive toward commanding this virus and its associated diseases. Finally, the parametric data gathered for this study are also presented for use in forecasting models. Along with these searches, the authors have comprehensively discussed the current modern diagnostic processes. © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.

The efficacy of Zafirlukast as a SARS-CoV-2 helicase inhibitor in adult patients with moderate COVID-19 Pneumonia (pilot randomized clinical trial).

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of Zafirlukast as a SARS-CoV-2 Helicase Inhibitor in adult patients with moderate COVID-19 symptoms (hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who were not admitted to an intensive care unit). METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, pilot trial with adult patients with moderate COVID-19 pneumonia. The sample was randomized to Zafirlukast 10 mg BD for 10 days plus standard care vs placebo plus standard care. The primary outcome was the complete resolution of all symptoms. The secondary outcomes were the duration of oxygen therapy, and length of hospital stay (LOS). RESULTS: In total, 40 patients were randomized (20 to Zafirlukast and 20 to the control). The time to the resolution of clinical symptoms in both groups was not significantly different. Regarding the fever, 0.3 days [95 % CI, - 1.19, 0.69], p = 0.76, for shortness of breath, the difference was 0.4 days [95 % CI, - 2.67, 3.46], p = 0.68, for cough the difference was 0.2 days [95 % CI, - 1.45, 1.95], p = 0.98, for sputum the difference was 0.5 days [95 % CI, - 0.75, 1.85], p = 0.09, for vomiting the difference was 0.1 days [95 % CI, - 0.50, 0.30], p = 0.93, for fatigue the difference was 0.3 days [95 % CI, - 4.32, 3.62], p = 0.64. The LOS per day for the two groups was not significantly different, 1.1 days [95 % CI,- 2.03, 4.28], p = 0.94, nor was the duration of oxygen therapy per days, 1.3 days [95 % CI, - 1.79, 4.49], p = 0.49. Regarding the 7 category ordinary scale, there was no significant difference between the two groups at day 7 (p-value = 0.62), day 14 (p-value = 0.60) and day 28 (p-value = 0.48). CONCLUSION: Among adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia, the treatment with Zafirlukast, compared to placebo, did not significantly improve symptoms resolution.

Evaluation of L-platelet-rich fibrin in non- and post-COVID-19 patients and its role in periodontal regeneration - A microscopic analysis

Introduction: Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a term for autologous platelet concentrates generated from the patient's own blood (PRF). PRF and its derivatives (L-PRF, A-PRF, i-PRF) have been used for delicate tissue restoration in a variety of dental procedures. The quantity of leucocytes and other growth factors in PRF of healthy and post-COVID-19 people differs, according to the literature, and these influence wound tissue healing. Materials and Methods: Thirty healthy volunteers and 30 post-COVID-19 volunteers (age range 24-60 years). For PRF preparation, a REMI PR-23 table centrifuge and a blood collection kit consisting of a 19G needle and 10 ml blood collection tubes were used. The analysis was performed by dividing the subject groups into three test groups (Group 1 - post-COVID-19, 0-30 days;Group 2 - post-COVID-19, 31-90 days;Group 3 - normal patients). Group 1, 2 and 3 consisted of 23, 7 and 30 patients, respectively. Results: The result was statistically significant between the normal and posted COVID-19 patient groups (P = 0.00). Not much statistical significance was found between post-COVID-19 patients from 0-30 days to 31-90 days (P = 0.370). Considering the limitations of the study, our findings imply that typical patients' PRF clots or membranes comprise the majority of platelets and half of the leucocytes present in the first blood collection. Conclusion: Within the fibrin network, platelet growth factors are stuck, but the PRF clot or membrane of the post-COVID-19 patients contains a reduced/negligible number of leucocytes. Thus, the growth factors which is released are also less. Therefore, usage of PRF in post-COVID-19 patients for periodontal regenerative therapies should be avoided, at least for the first 60 days, to replenish the reduced leucocyte count and growth factors in the blood.

Knowledge and practice on infection prevention among medical doctors working at a COVID-19 unit of a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh

Background: IPC knowledge and practice can shield HCWs from being infected or even worse.

Social Media During the COVID-19 and Vaccine Hesitancy Among People

COVID-19 has made a big impact worldwide due to its tendency to rapidly spread. All nations across the world have taken all possible measures to minimize its effect and to bring life back to normal. Vaccine for COVID-19 has come into the market but the hunt for a better vaccine is still going on. The community is showing mixed responses towards the acceptance of the vaccine despite the unprecedented efforts that are being taken globally to develop a vaccine against COVID-19. Since the advent of COVID-19 and till the vaccine is being given to the people, social media has been on the forefront of spreading news related to COVID-19 and vaccination. Social media has created the perception among people related to every situation during the pandemic, therefore the current study reveals the impact of social media on people and their reaction to the situation. The objective of the study was to assess the influence of social media with respect to the awareness and behavioural change among people and also examining the influence on acceptance of the vaccine. The data was collected from social media platforms and using quantitative methods. It was suggested that social media can encourage positive behavioural changes and it can also be used as powerful media tool to address social concern and to remove social dogma among people with regards to vaccination. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

THE INFLUENCE FACTORS TO USE VIDEO CONFERENCING APPLICATIONS DURING WORK FROM HOME (WFH)

This research aims to evaluate factors that could influence the intention of using video conferencing applications during the COVID-19 pandemic as a means for workers to work from home. The research model used in this study is the UTAUT model, with perceived risk and trust as extended variables. Data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires. A total of 212 samples were then collected and analyzed using SEM-PLS. The results show that risk perception negatively affects intention to use but is not significant enough to inhibit actual use. It was also revealed that the influence of behavioral intention on the user behavior variable is the most positive and significant. © 2022 ICIC International. All rights reserved.

Gender differences in knowledge, attitudes and preparedness to respond to COVID-19 among adults in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION Effective pandemic management requires understanding the level of community knowledge, attitudes of people, and preparedness towards COVID-19. This study aimed to assess gender differences regarding knowledge, attitudes and preparedness toward the COVID-19, among Bangladeshi adults. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted March– April 2020 among 1050 Bangladeshi adults. A convenience sampling strategy was utilized, and the data were collected online through a self-administered questionnaire. Chisquared tests were used to identify the gender differences regarding knowledge, attitudes and preparedness towards COVID-19. RESULTS Respondents predominately used social media to inform themselves about COVID-19 (68.1%), and females used social media more than males (p<0.001). Females had higher levels of correct knowledge about staying home with sickness and symptoms to prevent the COVID-19 transmission (p=0.02). Males had a more negative attitude about staying out during the pandemic than females (p<0.001);men were less likely to take preventative measures than their female counterparts. Some people believed in misinformation like ‘COVID-19 can transmit via mosquitos’ (9.1%), and males had more incorrect knowledge regarding this (p<0.001). Moreover, 17.8% of the respondents thought that COVID-19 could spread in warm weather. CONCLUSIONS Males showed a higher tendency to believe the myths about COVID-19 than their female counterparts, which is alarming. Awareness programs should be emphasized, focusing on gender-specific pertinent information to ensure effective preventative measures. © 2022 Sultana M. S. et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International License. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0)

Vitamin-D Supplementation in COVID-19: Existing Evidence and Gap in Literature

Review of literature on effectiveness of vitamin D in COVID-19 infection demonstrated a positive effect in COVID-19 patients. However, the studies are limited either due to small sample size or are conducted in a select subset of patients. Gaps on proofof-concept or a cause-effect relationship related to the use of vitamin D in COVID-19 infection still exist. COVID-19 related benefits of vitamin D have not been validated and are still hypothetical. Administration of high amounts of vitamin D, without clinical indication, could result in toxicity and harmful consequences. Large, multi-centre, placebo-controlled clinical trials in patients with varying severity of COVID-19 infection are needed to establish the role of vitamin D supplementation as an inexpensive therapeutic tool to fight the ongoing pandemic. Administration of vitamin D in already sufficient population should be held until concrete evidence is being established.

Challenges in Modeling of an Outbreak’s Prediction, Forecasting and Decision Making for Policy Makers

In this work an attempt has been made to review the current state of arts in epidemiological modeling, assessment of predictive models as well as forecasting of new pathogen. The primary concern is the containment of the outbreak from wide spread of the disease among the whole population. This article also focuses for the development of management tools and techniques in decision making for policy makers that are based on scientific evidence. Moreover, the identification, detection and reporting for outbreak of an infectious disease particularly a new pathogen in timely manner is quite challenging and tedious. Apparently understanding and reporting of such events are commonly rely on statistical and mathematical tools and both these approaches commonly depend upon a priory estimates as well as some reliable data. For example: statistical models requires a sizable number of events to develop predictive models, which is impossible at the outset of an outbreak of the disease to collate enough number of samples. Whereas, the mathematical models are reliable as well as have better predictive behavior, but they also require better initial guess apart from some rigid constraints to fully satisfy the model’s assumptions. Apart from these issues, the other important features to study in epidemiology of the disease is how fast and quickly the scientific community promptly can pinpoint and able to address any causal factor which may suffice to account for the magnitude and severity of the epidemics of new pathogen that may have been taken place to any geographic locations. Hence in this work, first of all the SIR model (susceptible: S, infected: I, and recovered: R) will be outlined, as it is the most commonly used model in epidemiology of infectious diseases. Moreover, the applicability and utilization of R0 in public health domain especially adaptive policy with management tools will be developed for the healthcare workers as well as the higher management of healthcare facility. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Coronavirus disease-2019: Knowledge and practices behaviour of healthcare workers at a university teaching hospital in malaysia

Introduction: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic in March 2020, with 15 million people have been infected worldwide, and this number is increasing. Our study sought to assess the knowledge and practice of healthcare workers (HCWs) in a teaching hospital in Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was undertaken using online Google form links among HCWs. Knowledge and practice were assessed using a validated questionnaire. The analysis was performed with SPSS version 26. Factors associated with poor knowledge were analysed using multivariate analysis. Results: A total of 193 HCW responded to our online survey. Majority of our HCWs were female (74.1%) with a mean age of 32.5 years. We found 53 (27.5%) and 134 (69.4%) of our HCWs had good knowledge and good practice on COVID-19, respectively. Knowledge gap was identified in the symptomatology, investigation methods and management. Based on multiple logistic regression, determinants of poor knowledge scores were those work as medical attendants (aOR = 3.626;95% CI = 1.489, 8.834) and nurses (aOR = 4.107;95% CI = 1.175, 14.358). Conclusion: Around one-third and 70% of our HCWs have good knowledge and practice of COVID-19 infection respectively. Continuous, specifically targeted and updated medical education, need to be carried out to improve the knowledge and practice among our HCWs in order to keep abreast of the fast-moving pace of COVID-19 knowledge development. © 2021 UPM Press. All rights reserved.

Speculative Design for Education: Using Participatory Methods to Map Design Challenges and Opportunities in Pakistan

The global education landscape continues to be disrupted by COVID-19. The unique circumstances created by this crisis has led to unexpected opportunities to leverage innovative uses of technologies that can radically innovate education service delivery. We map out the context of Pakistan - a country where challenges pertaining to both access to education and quality learning predate the pandemic. A context largely under explored in design and HCI research. This paper presents insights from conversations with 21 stakeholders across 15 design activities, that were structured around speculative design proposals to collaboratively envision the future of education in Pakistan. The paper offers directions for the design of EdTech through a plural, and culturally rooted speculative discussion, highlighting (1) opportunities and considerations for localising design for education, and (2) reframing the value of education in Pakistan. © 2021 ACM.

Covid-19 and malaria co-infection management in post liver transplant- a case report

The current pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posted unprecedented challenges to the community of clinicians in various aspects, ranging from prompt and early diagnosis to preventing complications. What makes the challenge even tougher is to be able to distinguish between diseases presenting with similar complaints, especially in tropical regions, and yet be able to treat judiciously and give a targeted treatment. The level of difficulty escalates when a patient with Solid-Organ Transplant (SOT) on immunosuppressive therapy presents to the clinician as suspected COVID-19 along with a co-infection. Incidences like these carry an increased burden of higher morbidity and mortality, with or without immunosuppression, if not timely diagnosed and judiciously treated, thus heralding the need to be vigilant in the current pandemic. Thus, to the best of our knowledge, this was the first documented and successfully treated case of a patient with past history of Liver Transplant (LT) with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia with co-existing Plasmodium vivax (P.vivax) malaria.

Favipiravir Induced Acute Pancreatitis in a COVID-19 Patient

There are a number of gastrointestinal symptoms and complications of COVID-19. Asymptomatic increase in pancreatic enzymes and rarely symptomatic pancreatitis are observed in this disease. This article describes a 37-year-old male suffering from mildly symptomatic COVID-19 infection, who received tablet favipiravir for his management. His condition was improving, when he developed acute pancreatitis, diagnosed clinically, biochemically and also with help of abdominal ultrasound. When he developed this, all typical symptoms of COVID-19 were improved. As a result, role of favipiravir in the development of this pancreatitis was suspected.