Recent Advances in Nanomaterials‐Based FETs for SARS‐CoV‐2 (COVID‐19 Virus) Diagnosis

The emergence of infectious diseases that are quickly spreading, like the coronavirus (COVID‐19), necessitates the development of efficient biosensors that can quickly detect and identify pathogens. It is essential to create sensitive virus detection methods in order to stop a virus from spreading throughout the world. It is determined that field‐effect transistors (FETs) made of nanomaterials are potential candidates for rapid virus identification due to how easily the electronic transport characteristics of such an atomically thin nanomaterial can be affected by perturbations. Various FETs in this review article are investigated that are based on nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes (CNT), graphene, graphene‐oxide, and semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) WSe2 in order to show that they are promising biosensors in regards to quickly and precisely detect COVID‐19. The conjugation of nanomaterials with proteins enables the direct delivery of antiviral agents to the host cells. This method also minimizes the off‐target effects and enables the targeted interactions. This mechanism has produced encouraging results in regards to sensing or treating COVID‐19. The high surface area and extremely small size of nanomaterials make them crucial in regards to the development of new detection methods. The point‐of‐care test method of detection is quick, simple, and user‐friendly, and it only requires a small amount of a patient's blood. It does not require a laboratory or trained professionals. This overview of the current research that is conducted on nanomaterials will prove to be useful in the process of formulating strategies for the diagnosis, treatment, and vaccination of viruses in opinion. Finally, the conclusion of this review provides a summary of the current challenges and the future prospects. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Advanced Functional Materials is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Using space-time scan statistic for studying the effects of COVID-19 in Punjab, Pakistan: a guideline for policy measures in regional agriculture.

Pakistan is included in top 50 countries which are estimated to face serious agriculture and food deficiency related challenges due to the worldwide pandemic coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on food supply chain and agriculture in Punjab, Pakistan, by using space-time scan statistic (STSS). A survey was conducted at 720 points in different districts of the province. The STSS detected "active" and emerging clusters that are current at the end of our study area-particularly, 17 clusters were formed while adding the updated case data. Software ArcGIS 10.3 was used to find relative risk (RR) values; the maximum RR value was found to be 42.19 and maximum observed cases 53,265 during June 15-July 1, 2020. It was not always necessary that if the number of active cases in Punjab increased, there should be higher relative risk for more number of districts and vice versa. Due to the highest number of cases of COVID-19 and RR values during July, mostly farmers faced many difficulties during the cultivation of cotton and rice. Mostly farmers (72%) observed increase in prices of inputs (fertilizers and pesticides) during lockdown. If the supply chain of agriculture related inputs is disturbed, farmers may find it quite difficult to access markets, which could result in a decline in production and sales of crops and livestock in study area. It is suggested that to protect the food security and to decrease the effect of the lockdown, Punjab government needs to review food policy and analyse how market forces will respond to the imbalanced storage facilities and capacity, supply and demand and price control of products. The findings of this study can also help policy-makers to formulate an effective food security and agriculture adaptation strategy.

Synthesis, characterization, and computational study of copper bipyridine complex [Cu (C18H24N2) (NO3)2] to explore its functional properties.

In the present study, copper (II) complex of 4, 4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine [Cu (C18H24N2) (NO3)2], 1 is investigated through its synthesis and characterization using elemental analysis technique, infra-red spectroscopy, and single-crystal analysis. The compound 1 crystallizes in orthorhombic space group P212121. The copper atom in the mononuclear complex is hexa coordinated through two nitrogen and four oxygen atoms from bipyridine ligand and nitrate ligands. The thermal analysis depicts the stability of the entitled compound up to 170 °C, and the decomposition takes place in different steps between 170 and 1000 °C. Furthermore, quantum chemical techniques are used to study optoelectronic, nonlinear optical, and therapeutic bioactivity. The values of isotropic and anisotropic linear polarizabilities of compound 1 are calculated as 41.65 × 10-24 and 23.02 × 10-24 esu, respectively. Likewise, the static hyperpolarizability is calculated as 47.92 × 10-36 esu using M06 functional compared with para-nitroaniline (p-NA) and found several times larger than p-NA. Furthermore, the antiviral potential of compound 1 is studied using molecular docking technique where intermolecular interactions are checked between the entitled compound and two crucial proteins of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Our investigation indicated that compound 1 interacts more vigorously to spike protein than main protease (MPro) due to its better binding energy of -9.60 kcal/mol compared with -9.10 kcal/mol of MPro. Our current study anticipated that the above-entitled coordination complexes could be potential candidates for optoelectronic properties and their biological activity.

Mental health crisis in pregnant women during current COVID-19 pandemic

Even though for majority of women pregnancy period is a blessed period of their life but a few expecting women encountered a range of negative emotions in those ninth months which lead to depression and anxiety. Maternal mental health issues are interlinked with both short- and long-term health risks for the affected female parent and as well as for the child. The entire health and functional performance of the mother along with the children's mental, physiological and cognitive development is affected by the disrupting mental health situation of the mother. The risks of morbidities which are caused by the psychological problems such as intense stress, natural disasters and accidents and conflict situation could be increased among the perinatal mothers. As a result, it is possible that obstetric women are more exposed to mental health related issues during the pandemic of COVID-19. It is concluded that development of appropriate strategies is important to reduce stress by diagnosing and managing mental health diseases in new mothers without delay at the time of pandemic. Screening techniques based on internet, online counseling and web-related psychological assistance and therapeutic interventions might produce a significant role in this regard. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)