Nano-biosensors for Diagnosing Infectious and Lifestyle-Related Disease of Human: An Update

At present time, a variety of infectious and lifestyle diseases are becoming lifethreatening day by day. Development in technology and immergence of nanoscience helped to provide a better health care system. Based on the working mechanism nano-biosensors are of majorly two types: electrochemical nanobiosensor and optical nano-biosensor. Nanomaterials used in the nano-biosensor increased their efficacy, sensitivity, and selectivity of the device. Different diseases have different biomarkers to get detected such as, absorption of cholesterol oxidase detect cholesterol, glaucoma in a diabetes patient is detected by cytokine Interleukin 12 in tear, C-reactive protein is detected for liver inflammation, the SARS virus is detected by N-protein and miRNA is a potential biomarker of cancers, especially colorectal cancer. Hitherto, identification of a biomarker for a specific disease is the major work. The accuracy of nanobiosensor in diagnosing diseases put them in demand in the biomedical field. But the major drawback comes with the cost-effectiveness and use of nanomaterial in health sectors focussing on any toxicological impact of the nano-biosensor on health in long run. In this chapter, we present an overview of the working mechanism of different nano-biosensors in diagnosing different infectious and lifestyle diseases. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.

Evaluation of the Homeless Management Information System for COVID-19 Surveillance Among People Experiencing Homelessness.

BACKGROUND: Variable and incomplete reporting of housing status creates challenges in the surveillance of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among the homeless population in Los Angeles County (LA County) and nationwide. METHODS: We developed standard investigation procedures to assess the housing status of LA County COVID-19 patients. Using data sharing procedures, we matched COVID-19 patients to Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) client profiles and supplemented with additional data sources for contributory data points and to further housing status ascertainment. RESULTS: We identified 10 586 COVID-19 patients among people experiencing homelessness (PEH) between 30 March 2020 and 30 December 2021; 2801 (26.5%) patients were first identified from HMIS profile matches, 1877 (17.7%) from quarantine/isolation housing intake rosters, 573 (5.4%) from hospital records, 749 (7.1%) from case and contact interviews, 3659 (34.6%) directly from PEH medical and service providers, and 927 (8.8%) had unknown sources. Among COVID-19 patients matched to HMIS profiles, 5351 (42.5%) were confirmed to be PEH at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Interoperability between public health data, HMIS, and external partners have been critical components in evaluating the impact of COVID-19 among the LA County homeless population. No one data source was complete for COVID-19 surveillance in this population.

Impact of COVID-19 on transportation in urban India

In this chapter, first, it is found that with the rapid increase in COVID-19 during the wave-1 and wave-2 of the pandemic in India, the overall mobility for various purposes as well as using various modes had decreased, while with decrease in COVID-19, the overall mobility had registered rapid increase. Second, an analysis of the perceptions of public transport commuters with respect to quality of service pre and post COVID-19 highlighted the declining popularity of public transport amongst the commuters post COVID-19. Third, the mode choices of the commuters during COVID-19 and prior to it in some of the Indian cities were investigated. Fourth, various existing contactless technologies were studied considering their inherent advantages and disadvantages and how to overcome those demerits. In summary, the readers are presented with a comprehensive overview of the issues as well as the possible solution towards handling public transportation in urban India post COVID-19.

COVID-19 Mortality Rates in Los Angeles County Among People Experiencing Homelessness, March 2020-February 2021.

OBJECTIVE: Understanding COVID-19-related mortality among the large population of people experiencing homelessness (PEH) in Los Angeles County (LA County) may inform public health policies to protect this vulnerable group. We investigated the impact of COVID-19 on PEH compared with the general population in LA County. METHODS: We calculated crude COVID-19 mortality rates per 100 000 population and mortality rates adjusted for age, race, and sex/gender among PEH and compared them with the general population in LA County from March 1, 2020, through February 28, 2021. RESULTS: Among adults aged ≥18 years, the crude mortality rate per 100 000 population among PEH was 20% higher than among the general LA County population (348.7 vs 287.6). After adjusting for age, the mortality rate among PEH was 570.7 per 100 000 population. PEH had nearly twice the risk of dying from COVID-19 as people in the general LA County population; PEH aged 18-29 years had almost 8 times the risk of dying compared with their peers in the general LA County population. PEH had a higher risk of mortality than the general population after adjusting for race (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.6) and sex/gender (SMR = 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.5). CONCLUSIONS: A higher risk of COVID-19-related death among PEH compared with the general population indicates the need for public health policies and interventions to protect this vulnerable group.

Remote Lactation Support in the COVID-19 Era.

Breast milk provides optimal nourishment for all infants and has special advantages in preterm infants. Breast milk is associated with lower rates of necrotizing enterocolitis and bronchopulmonary dysplasia and improved neurodevelopmental outcomes in the preterm population. Mothers in the NICU may experience multiple psychological, physical, and social/cultural barriers that impede successful breastfeeding. Professional lactation support is of crucial importance in this population. With the social distancing requirements of the pandemic, many clinicians have adopted novel methods of education and communication to ensure continued timely support for NICU mothers.

Impacts of COVID-19 on the Transport Sector and Measures as Well as Recommendations of Policies and Future Research: Report on India (preprint)

This report discusses the implications of various phases of lockdown as well as unlocking phases aimed at the gradual ramp up of the economy during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in India. In this regard, the consequences and changes in the travel behavior of commuters by air, rail and various forms of road based transport are discussed. The report also presents an overview of the impact of the pandemic on freight traffic as well as its impact on road safety. To derive the related findings, the relevant studies carried out across India by different organizations (including CSIR - CRRI) during the ongoing pandemic have been briefly discussed and compared with pre-COVID-19 scenario. This is primarily aimed at improving the transport scenario to a sustainable level post COVID which is expected to be reached earliest by the middle of 2021. In this context, a summary of the applicable guidelines issued by Ministry of Home and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) with the specific emphasis on road based transport has been presented in the concluding section by highlighting the immediate, medium as well as long term strategies. These strategies provide insight into the policies that need to be in place for recuperation of the slumped transport sector due to COVID-19 through the implementation of various forms of sustainable solutions presented in the report.