Impacts of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Sleep Pattern

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the third global crisis after two epidemics of severe acute respiratory syndromes. It has affected general public besides health care systems and governments. Confinements and lock downs have changed waking up time and going to bed time, ultimately affecting circadian clocks that can disturb sleep quality which can lead to anxiety, stress, and depression. This puts the most susceptible group -young adults and females at risk of psychological disorders and even inflammatory events. Several kinds of sleep disorders due to COVID-19 including insomnia, sleep apnea, sleepiness during daytime, post-traumatic-like sleep dysfunction, abnormal dreams, and restless legs syndrome have been reported. As sleep deprivation can alter circadian clock and weaken immunity which makes human more susceptible to pulmonary inflammatory process of COVID-19 and even enhance its manifestations, it should be considered as an urgent complication that needs to be treated. Furthermore, longstanding effects of sleep disturbances during COVID-19 pandemic need to be elucidated © 2023 The Korean Society of Sleep Medicine

Impact of COVID-19 on dietary intake, sleeping patterns and physical activity levels among Malaysian University students.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a significant impact on people's behaviour and lifestyles. Limited research has been conducted on the impact of COVID-19 on Malaysian university students' lifestyle modifications. This study aims to identify the impact of COVID-19 on dietary intake, sleeping patterns and physical activity levels among Malaysian university students. METHODS: A total of 261 university students were recruited. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data were collected. Dietary intake was assessed using PLifeCOVID-19 questionnaire, sleep quality was assessed using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Questionnaire (PSQI) while physical activity level was assessed using International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Forms (IPAQ-SF). SPSS was used to perform statistical analysis. RESULTS: 30.7% of the participants adhered to the unhealthy dietary pattern, 48.7% had poor quality of sleep and 59.4% engaged in low physical activity levels during the pandemic. Unhealthy dietary pattern was significantly associated with a lower IPAQ category (p=0.013), and increased time spent sitting (p=0.027) during the pandemic. Participants being underweight before the pandemic (aOR=2.472, 95% CI=1.358-4.499), increased takeaway meal consumption (aOR=1.899, 95% CI=1.042-3.461), increased snacking between meals consumption (aOR=2.989, 95% CI=1.653-5.404) and engaged in a low level of physical activity during pandemic (aOR=1.935, 95% CI=1.028-3.643) were the predictors of unhealthy dietary pattern. CONCLUSIONS: The university students' dietary intake, sleeping patterns, and physical activity levels were impacted in different ways during the pandemic. Strategies and interventions should be developed and implemented to improve the dietary intake and lifestyle of the students.

Health Behaviors and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Stay-at-home and lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on health-related behaviors which in turn posed a risk to mental health, particularly among older people. In this study, we investigated how changes to health behaviors (physical activity, sleeping, eating, and drinking) impacted mental health (depression, quality of life, and life satisfaction) during and beyond the initial phase of the COVID-19 lockdown. Using data from Wave 9 (2018/19) and two COVID-19 sub-studies (June/July 2020; November/December 2020) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (N = 4989), we found that health behaviors changes during lockdown were associated with poorer mental health in June/July 2020. However, in November/December 2020, higher depression, lower quality of life, and lower life satisfaction were more likely only among respondents who reported less physical activity, eating more, changes in sleep patterns, and drinking more alcohol. Public health programs should support healthy behaviors as we emerge from the pandemic.

The impact of COVID-19 quarantine on lifestyle indicators in the United Arab Emirates.

Introduction: COVID-19 is a virus that has spread rapidly and brought economic and social crises all around the world. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 quarantine on dietary habits, physical activity, food purchasing, smoking, and sleeping patterns in the United Arab Emirates. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire between November 1st, 2020 and the end of January 2021. Citizens and residents of the UAE aged ≥ 18 years old were asked to complete an anonymous electronic questionnaire created via Google Forms and distributed on various platforms, such as WhatsApp, Twitter, and email. A total of 1682 subjects participated in the study. Results: The results included that during the COVID-19 lockdown, more participants (44.4%) reported an increase in weight. This gain seems to be linked to increased food consumption [(Adjusted Odd Ratio) AOR = 1.68, 95% (Confidence Interval) CI = 1.12, 2.54, p = 0.022], decreased physical activity (AOR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.58, 3.21, p < 0.001), and increased smoking (AOR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.04, 3.50, p = 0.038). The groups that were most likely to gain weight included those who consumed more cereals (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.08, 2.57, p = 0.011), had an increased desire for sweets (AOR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.50, 3.19, p < 0.001), and an increased desire for food (hunger) (AOR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.53, 3.14, p < 0.001). In contrast, those who exercised more were more likely to lose weight (AOR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.44, 0.86, p < 0.001) as well as those who slept over 9 h a day (AOR = 1.90, 95% CI = 0.45, 0.88, p = 0.006). Discussion: Overall, it is essential to promote healthy habits and methods of healthy diet maintenance during stressful and unusual times when people might find it difficult to put effort into their health.

Detection and Spatial Correlation Analysis of Infectious Diseases Using Wireless Body Area Network Under Imperfect Wireless Channel.

The biosensors on a human body form a wireless body area network (WBAN) that can examine various physiological parameters, such as body temperature, electrooculography, electromyography, electroencephalography, and electrocardiography. Deep learning can use health information from the embedded sensors on the human body that can help monitoring diseases and medical disorders, including breathing issues and fever. In the context of communication, the links between the sensors are influenced by fading due to diffraction, reflection, shadowing by the body, clothes, body movement, and the surrounding environment. Hence, the channel between sensors and the central unit (CU), which collects data from sensors, is practically imperfect. Therefore, in this article, we propose a deep learning-based COVID-19 detection scheme using a WBAN setup in the presence of an imperfect channel between the sensors and the CU. Moreover, we also analyze the impact of correlation on WBAN by considering the imperfect channel. Our proposed algorithm shows promising results for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 patients.

Lifestyle changes during the Covid-19 lockdown among young adults in Kerala in terms of physical activity, sleeping habits, and perceived psychological problems: A cross-sectional study

Aim: The aim of this article is to study the lifestyle changes such as physical activity, dietary habits, sleeping patterns, and psychological parameters during the COVID-19 lockdown among young adults. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out by an online web-based survey. The survey was open for 2 weeks and was shared on all social media platforms. It was composed of 20 questions divided into sections, namely, general information and comorbidities, dietary pattern, physical activity, sleeping pattern, and self-reported psychological health. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Results: Out of the 301 participants, majority were female students who belonged to higher socioeconomic status with a mean age of 23.31 years. Only 100 (33.2%) got involved regularly in any type of exercise during the lockdown period. The participants consumed cereals for a median number of 6 days in a week. One-third of the participants slept for 8–10 h daily during the lockdown period. Psychological issues were reported by 44% (132) of the individuals. Conclusion: Our study showed that only one-third of the participants had the habit of exercising regularly during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Almost half of the participants reported a significant change in their diet. There was an increase in the number of hours of sleep in a day. Psychological health problems in the form of stress, anxiety, and depression were reported by a high proportion of individuals.

Increase in the Number and Duration of Sleep Episodes During Class After Reopening of Schools Following Closure due to COVID-19.

Sleep is important for the well-being of school-aged children. Almost all schools in Hyogo prefecture in Japan were closed from April 7 to May 31, 2020, owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The pandemic restrictions resulted in the disruption of the sleep routines of children. The number of children who experienced sleepiness in class after school closure increased. The number of children who visited our hospital 1 year before and after the closure was 208 (11.73 ± 3.24 years of age) and 155 (11.45 ± 3.30 years), respectively. The number of chief complaints of sleep-related symptoms at the first visits showed no significant difference between the two time periods. The percentage of patients who slept during class increased (but not significantly) after the school closure. However, the mean number and duration of sleep episodes during class significantly increased from 0.31 ± 0.76 to 1.04 ± 1.14 episodes/day and from 15.8 ± 38.6 to 45.7 ± 46.9 min/day (each P < 0.001) before and after school closure, respectively. The total number of patients in our hospital with the primary central disorders of hypersomnolence, i.e., narcolepsy, idiopathic hypersomnia, and Kleine-Levin syndrome, and the number of patients with insufficient sleep syndrome after the school closure significantly increased compared with those before closure (P = 0.034 and 0.048, respectively). School closure was associated with an increased incidence of sleeping during class; therefore, maintaining a stable daily routine for children with sleep disorders could have an alleviating effect.

Regional Difference in the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Domain-Specific Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, Sleeping Time, and Step Count: Web-Based Cross-sectional Nationwide Survey and Accelerometer-Based Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictive environments, such as social distancing and lockdown measures. However, regional differences in the changes in domain-specific PA and SB in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are not clearly understood. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine regional differences in domain-specific PA and SB, as well as sleeping time in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. METHODS: A web-based cross-sectional nationwide survey and an accelerometer-based longitudinal observation were conducted. In the web-based survey, we recruited 150 Japanese men and 150 Japanese women for each of the following age groups: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s (n=1800). A total of 1627 adults provided valid responses to web-based surveillance from June to July 2020. Participants were recruited from urban (Greater Tokyo Area, n=1028), urban-rural (regional core cities, n=459), or rural (regional small and medium cities, n=140) areas. They answered sociodemographic and health-related questions and retrospectively registered the PA data of their average day before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a web-based PA record system. In the accelerometer-based observation, PA and step count data were obtained using a triaxial accelerometer on people living in urban (n=370) and rural (n=308) areas. RESULTS: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no significant differences between these 3 regions in the time spent sleeping, staying at home, working or studying, and exercising (P>.05). By contrast, people living in urban areas had a longer duration of SB and transportation and a shorter duration of moderate-to-vigorous PA and lying or napping time compared with people living in rural areas (P>.05). During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant decrease was observed in transportation time in urban (-7.2 min/day, P<.001) and urban-rural (-2.0 min/day, P=.009) areas but not in rural (-0.4 min/day, P=.52) areas. The moderate-to-vigorous PA was decreased in urban (-31.3 min/day, P<.001) and urban-rural (-30.0 min/day, P<.001) areas but not in rural areas (-17.3 min/day, P=.08). A significant increase was observed in time spent sleeping in urban (+22.4 min/day, P<.001) and urban-rural (+24.2 min/day, P<.001) but not in rural areas (+3.9 min/day, P=.74). Lying or napping was increased in urban (+14.9 min/day, P<.001) but not in rural areas (-6.9 min/day, P=.68). PA and step count obtained using an accelerometer significantly decreased in urban (P<.05) but not in rural areas (P>.05). CONCLUSIONS: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on PA and SB was significantly dependent on living area, even in a single country. The effects of PA and SB were greater in the Greater Tokyo Area and regional core cities but were not observed in regional small and medium cities in Japan.

Small molecules containing chalcogen elements (S, Se, Te) as new warhead to fight neglected tropical diseases.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) encompass a group of infectious diseases with a protozoan etiology, high incidence, and prevalence in developing countries. As a result, economic factors constitute one of the main obstacles to their management. Endemic countries have high levels of poverty, deprivation and marginalization which affect patients and limit their access to proper medical care. As a matter of fact, statistics remain uncollected in some affected areas due to non-reporting cases. World Health Organization and other organizations proposed a plan for the eradication and control of the vector, although many of these plans were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite of the available drugs to treat these pathologies, it exists a lack of effectiveness against several parasite strains. Treatment protocols for diseases such as American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease), leishmaniasis, and human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) have not achieved the desired results. Unfortunately, these drugs present limitations such as side effects, toxicity, teratogenicity, renal, and hepatic impairment, as well as high costs that have hindered the control and eradication of these diseases. This review focuses on the analysis of a collection of scientific shreds of evidence with the aim of identifying novel chalcogen-derived molecules with biological activity against Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and HAT. Compounds illustrated in each figure share the distinction of containing at least one chalcogen element. Sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te) have been grouped and analyzed in accordance with their design strategy, chemical synthesis process and biological activity. After an exhaustive revision of the related literature on S, Se, and Te compounds, 183 compounds presenting excellent biological performance were gathered against the different causative agents of CD, leishmaniasis and HAT.

Sleeping Habits among School Children and Their Effects on Sleep Pattern

Children's mental and physical development are directly influenced by the amount of sleep they get, making it very necessary for them to get enough of it. Despite this, the prevalence of chronic sleep loss throughout the nation is on the rise. In this regard, the purpose of the current research was to shed light on the sleeping patterns of school-going children as well as the behaviours they engage in before going to bed. The objectives of the present study are to determine the pre sleep habits, duration and pattern of sleep among school children and to investigate the effects of the improper sleep on the performance. The study is made to know the sleeping habit of the school students and the effect of improper sleep on their performance health related issues. The study has been carried out in Chennai city. The school going children are the targeted respondents. 600 sample respondents are selected from the study area using simple random technique. The data were collected using the interview schedule. The parents of the children respondents who are aged upto 10 years were asked to fill the interview schedule as the parents are aware and reliable for collecting the information. The findings of our research, it is concluded that the children studying 9th standard and above (aged more than 15 years) are not having proper sleep due to sleeping in day time, use of electronic gadgets, academic commitments, family problems and health problems. Along with proper nutrition and regular exercise, should also take into account how much time is spent sleeping.

Using the Sleeping Beauty (SB) Transposon to Generate Stable Cells Producing Enveloped Virus-Like Particles (eVLPs) Pseudotyped with SARS-CoV-2 Proteins for Vaccination.

The Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system is an efficient non-viral tool for gene transfer into a variety of cells, including human cells. Through a cut-and-paste mechanism, your favorite gene (YFG) is integrated into AT-rich regions within the genome, providing stable long-term expression of the transfected gene. The SB system is evolving and has become a powerful tool for gene therapy. There are no safety concerns using this system, the handling is easy, and the time required to obtain a stable cell line is significantly reduced compared to other systems currently available. Here, we present a novel application of this system to generate, within 8 days, a stable producer HEK293T cell line capable of constitutively delivering enveloped virus-like particles (eVLPs) for vaccination. We provide step-by-step protocols for generation of the SB transposon constructs, transfection procedures, and validation of the produced eVLPs. We next describe a method to pseudotype the constitutively produced eVLPs using the Spike protein derived from the SARS-CoV-2 virus (by coating the eVLP capsid with the heterologous antigen). We also describe optimization methods to scale up the production of pseudotyped eVLPs in a laboratory setting (from 100 µg to 5 mg). © Published 2022. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Basic Protocol 1: Generation of the SB plasmids Basic Protocol 2: Generation of a stable HEK293T cell line constitutively secreting MLV-based eVLPs Basic Protocol 3: Evaluation of the SB constructs by immunofluorescence assay Basic Protocol 4: Validation of eVLPs by denaturing PAGE and western blot Alternate Protocol 1: Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein oligomerization using blue native gel electrophoresis and western blot Alternate Protocol 2: Evaluation of eVLP quality by electron microscopy (negative staining) Basic Protocol 5: Small-scale production of eVLPs Alternate Protocol 3: Large-scale production of eVLPs (up to about 1 to 3 mg VLPs) Alternate Protocol 4: Large-scale production of eVLPs (up to about 3 to 5 mg VLPs) Support Protocol: Quantification of total protein concentration by Bradford assay.

Infant behavioral problems in the first year of life and maternal stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the "CoviFam" online survey

(German) Theoretischer Hintergrund: Die COVID-19-Pandemie stellte in vielen Bereichen eine Belastung fur Familien dar, insbesondere durch die einschneidenden Beschrankungen zu Beginn. Fragestellung: Wie wirkte sich dies auf die Belastung von Muttern mit Kindern im ersten Lebensjahr und auf die kindliche Verhaltensregulation aus? Methode: In einer Online-Befragung schatzten 577 Mutter das Schrei-, Schlaf- und Futter-/Essverhalten ihrer Kinder (M = 7.3;0-12 Mon., SD = 3.25) und ihre eigene Belastung ein, zudem Stresserleben, depressive Symptomatik, Partnerschaftszufriedenheit und Bonding. Ergebnisse: Schlafprobleme traten bei 21.7%, schwer trostbares und haufiges Schreien bei 12.3% und exzessives Schreien bei 1.6% der Kinder auf. Mindestens jede funfte Mutter fuhlte sich durch Schreien oder Schlafprobleme belastet. Mehr Stress, beeintrachtigtes Bonding und weniger Partnerschaftszufriedenheit erklarten 17-21% der Varianz der mutterlichen Belastung durch Schrei- und Schlafverhalten. In der Zeit der starksten Beschrankungen zeigte sich signifikant mehr Belastung in der Gruppe von Muttern, die von vermehrtem Schreien und verlangerter Einschlaflatenz berichteten, sowie mit mindestens einem weiteren Kind im Haushalt (MANOVA). Diskussion und Schlussfolgerung: Pandemiebedingt belastend fur Mutter im ersten Jahr scheinen eingeschrankter Zugang zum Versorgungssystem, die Betreuung von mehr als einem Kind sowie das Alter des Kindes zu sein, wahrend eine gute Beziehung zum Kind (Bonding) und/oder zum Partner (Partnerschaftszufriedenheit) abmildernd wirken. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Effect of Seat Angle when Sleeping in a Car on Quality of Sleep and Its Impact on Calculation Performance the Following Day.

The number of occasions to stay in a car overnight is increasing during disasters; however, the effects on sleep and the impact on daytime functioning are not well understood. We investigated the effect of seat angle when sleeping in a car and its impact on calculation performance the following day. Fifteen healthy males participated in three trials (sleeping in a car with the front seat angled at 45° and 60° in a laboratory and sleeping at home); sleep and calculation performance the following day were compared. Increased wake after sleep onset and decreased slow-wave sleep were observed in the 60° trial, that is, near-vertical, compared with the others. Subjective sleep quality and calculation performance in the 45° and 60° trials were poorer than those in the home trial. The effect of seat angle on sleep was confirmed objectively, but not subjectively, suggesting that a large seat angle might cause sleep impairment.

Isolation insult during COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological status of medical students.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a newly discovered infectious disease that spread and caused a global health problem. Medical students, especially those in clinical stages are among groups exposed to the disease. The study aimed to show the impact of social distancing on the mental health of Iraqi medical students. METHOD: A convenient sampling technique involved 105 participants was obtained through a questionnaire. The participants were from all stages of College Of Medicine. Questions were regarding the mental health status of the students, which included sleeping hours, nightmares, eating habits, weight problems, relationship with the family, starting to have bad habits, memory loss, attention problems, irritability, and study rank affect. RESULTS: Of about 105 participants, 64 (60.9%) of them were females and 41 (39.1%) were males. The mean age of the participants was (21.26 ± 1.065) ranging from 19 to 24 years. Feeling stressful when hearing news about COVID-19″ found in 82 (78.1%) of the participants. A high statistical significant difference (p = 0.035) among feeling isolated. About 77 (73.3%) of the participants had become easily irritable and angry. About 82 (78.1%) student started for having calculation problems. The stress with sleeping hours (p = 0.019), sleeping disturbance (p = 0.022), eating habit (p = 0.015), weight problems (p = 0.002), fear of familiar places (p = 0.004), recent memory loss (p = 0.034) and being easily irritable or angry (p = 0.0001), revealed a statistical significant association, respectively. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 news and social distancing had made medical students more stressed and irritable, affecting their sleeping hours and pattern with a general tendency for weight gain and recent memory loss in stressful students.

Remote patient monitoring service for sleeping human postures in a WBAN

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) provide wireless remote patient monitoring services where doctors get patients' health records without physically visiting them. In WBANs, biosensors are placed on the patient's body that sense and transmit physiological data to the paired medical personnel. Such medical setups are appropriate for COVID-19 patient monitoring, where the patient remains isolated for an extended period. Sometimes, human body parts impede the signals transmitted by biosensors to the coordinator and this type of occlusion lasts for a longer duration during sleeping human postures. In such circumstances, an intermediate biosensor forwards the signals of the occluded biosensor node. The forwarding of messages results in quick depletion of energy resources at the intermediate biosensor, affecting the overall WBAN services. To resolve this, first, we propose an adaptive Relay-Node Centric (RNC) relay-based communication protocol for WBANs, which reduces energy used in relaying and improves the stability period of the network. Second, we design a novel simulation model using an existing real-life experimental dataset to simulate a WBAN placed on the sleeping patient's body. We derive a Discrete Markov Chain (DTMC) model from real-life data and use human biomechanisms to simulate biosensors' connectivity status in four human sleeping positions. Lastly, we evaluate the performance of RNC against the existing cost-function-based and Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) based relay selection protocols. Results obtained on the real-life dataset and designed simulation model show that RNC outperforms the existing methods in terms of network stability period and packet success ratio.

The UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and diet, physical activity, and sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from eight longitudinal population surveys.

BACKGROUND: In March 2020, the UK implemented the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) to minimise job losses. Our aim was to investigate associations between furlough and diet, physical activity, and sleep during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We analysed data on 25,092 participants aged 16-66 years from eight UK longitudinal studies. Changes in employment, including being furloughed, were based on employment status before and during the first lockdown. Health behaviours included fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and sleep. Study-specific estimates obtained using modified Poisson regression, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and pre-pandemic health and health behaviours, were statistically pooled using random effects meta-analysis. Associations were also stratified by sex, age, and education. RESULTS: Across studies, between 8 and 25% of participants were furloughed. Compared to those who remained working, furloughed workers were slightly less likely to be physically inactive (RR = 0.85; [95% CI 0.75-0.97]; I 2 = 59%) and did not differ overall with respect to low fruit and vegetable consumption or atypical sleep, although findings for sleep were heterogenous (I 2 = 85%). In stratified analyses, furlough was associated with lower fruit and vegetable consumption among males (RR = 1.11; [1.01-1.22]; I 2 = 0%) but not females (RR = 0.84; [0.68-1.04]; I 2 = 65%). Considering changes in quantity, furloughed workers were more likely than those who remained working to report increases in fruit and vegetable consumption, exercise, and hours of sleep. CONCLUSIONS: Those furloughed exhibited similar health behaviours to those who remained in employment during the initial stages of the pandemic. There was little evidence to suggest that adoption of such social protection policies in the post-pandemic recovery period and during future economic crises had adverse effects on population health behaviours.

Self-Reported Mental Health and Lifestyle Behaviour During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Czech Population: Evidence From Two Cross-Sectional Surveys.

Objectives: Evidence of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental and physical health behaviours is limited. This study presents results of two cross-sectional surveys on mental health changes and its consequences on healthy and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours. Methods: An online survey was distributed during Spring 2020 (N = 9,168) and Autumn 2020 (N = 1,042) in the Czech Republic. Differences in mental health observed in both surveys were evaluated using Mann-Whitney test and logistic regressions were used to examine demographic and socio-economic determinants of COVID-19-related mental health issues and resulting healthy and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours. Results: In multivariable models, the youngest individuals, females, people with increased work demands and participants with a reduced personal income due to the COVID-19 pandemic were all negatively associated with self-reported mental health issues (p < 0.05). A worsened quality of sleep, dietary habits, physical activity and unhealthy behaviours were highly associated with affected mental health in the models adjusted for potential covariates (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Taken together, these findings suggest that health promotion strategies directed to individuals who are at risk should be encouraged to adopt and/or maintain positive health-related behaviours.

Engineered Sleeping Beauty Transposon as Efficient System to Optimize Chimp Adenoviral Production.

Sleeping Beauty (SB) is the first DNA transposon employed for efficient transposition in vertebrate cells, opening new applications for genetic engineering and gene therapies. A transposon-based gene delivery system holds the favourable features of non-viral vectors and an attractive safety profile. Here, we employed SB to engineer HEK293 cells for optimizing the production of a chimpanzee Adenovector (chAd) belonging to the Human Mastadenovirus C species. To date, chAd vectors are employed in several clinical settings for infectious diseases, last but not least COVID-19. A robust, efficient and quick viral vector production could advance the clinical application of chAd vectors. To this aim, we firstly swapped the hAd5 E1 with chAd-C E1 gene by using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. We demonstrated that in the absence of human Ad5 E1, chimp Ad-C E1 gene did not support HEK293 survival. To improve chAd-C vector production, we engineered HEK293 cells to stably express the chAd-C precursor terminal protein (ch.pTP), which plays a crucial role in chimpanzee Adenoviral DNA replication. The results indicate that exogenous ch.pTP expression significantly ameliorate the packaging and amplification of recombinant chAd-C vectors thus, the engineered HEK293ch.pTP cells could represent a superior packaging cell line for the production of these vectors.

Factors That Influence the Use of Dietary Supplements among the Students of Wroclaw Medical University in Poland during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The use of dietary supplements (DS) and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs is increasing every year. The COVID-19 pandemic might additionally influence the use of such preparations. The study aimed to investigate factors influencing the use of dietary supplements (DS), including stress-relieving supplements, by the students. METHODS: In the cross-sectional study, 624 students of the Wroclaw Medical University in Poland, from the second to the last year of studies, completed the anonymous questionnaire, consisting of 22 items, about the use of DS/OTC drugs during the academic year 2020/2021. Obtained data were analyzed using Pearson's chi-square test, the U-Mann Whitney test, the Kruskal-Wallis test with the post-hoc analysis, and with logistic regression. RESULTS: About 70% of students declared the use of any DS, 33% used DS for stress, anxiety, depression, or sleeping problems, and 59% used other DS. The most important factors influencing the decision to take any kind of DS were Division (p = 0.0001, odds ratio [OR]: 0.35, and confidence interval [CI]: 0.21-0.59), a self-estimated level of stress (p = 0.014, OR: 1.13, CI: 1.03-1.25), and self-estimated level of knowledge about DS (p = 0.0000, OR: 1.31, CI: 1.19-1.36). In the case of students taking DS for stress, anxiety, depression, or sleeping problems, the level of stress and the declared knowledge had the greatest impact on the decision for such a use of DS (p = 0.0001, OD: 1.24, CI: 1.11-1.39 and p = 0.0000, OD: 1.35, CI: 1.22-1.5, respectively). The COVID-19 pandemic did not change the pattern of DS/OTC drug usage in about 33% of students. Those who started taking DS during the pandemic accounted for 19% of all students. CONCLUSIONS: The use of DS is common among Wroclaw Medical University students with some differences between subgroups of respondents. Additionally, despite declared good knowledge about DS, most students declare the need to learn more about them.