Prevalence of Obesity and its Effects in Patients With COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease worldwide. Obesity has been proven to increase the susceptibility of an individual to infections, but the relationship between obesity and COVID-19 is still unclear. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of obesity and its effects in patients with COVID-19. Methods: Web of Science, PubMed and Embase were searched for English language studies up to May 22, 2020. We used a random or fixed-effects model to calculate pooled prevalence rates and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Twelve studies with a total of 14 364 patients met the inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of obesity in patients with COVID-19 was 32.0% (95% CI, 26%-38%, P < .001). The prevalence of obesity in ICU COVID-19 patients were 37.0% (95% CI, 29%-46%, P < .001). Comparing between obese and non-obese patients, the meta-analysis showed that obesity was an important risk factor associated with COVID-19 patients needed for ICU care (OR: 1.36, 95% CI 1.22-1.52, P < .001). Conclusion: Obesity was highly prevalent (32.0%) in patients with COVID-19, especially in ICU patients (37.0%), and was an important risk factor for COVID-19 patients needed for ICU care.

Impact of background colorations on growth, movement behavior, and some body physiological factors of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus.

This study tested the reverence of background color with growth, movement behavior, and some body physiological factors in Nile tilapia. Fish were first acclimatized for two weeks in 80 L glass aquaria. In the experimental design, three groups were maintained separately. In 1st group, glass aquaria were covered with black, 2nd with green charts, and 3rd remained uncovered and maintained as a control group. All groups were in three replicates and fed on a 30% protein diet. All fishes were closely observed for movement behavior and growth-related parameters. On the 28th day, fish were anesthetized and blood was drawn from the caudal fin to determine some hematological parameters, cortisol, and glucose level. The highest weight gain and the greatest number of movements throughout the aquarium were observed in the control group. Furthermore, aquarium color determined the body pigmentation color. Black aquarium had the lowest weight gain, glucose level, FCR, DFI, FCE, and CF, while green aquarium had the highest cortisol level. Histological changes observed in black aquaria fish included reduced lamellar size, deformed blood vessels, and cardiac muscle fascicle in the gills, liver, and heart, respectively, while green aquaria fish showed fused lamellae, necrosis, fibrosis, endomiocardiac hyperplasia, and cardiac muscle fascicle. It was concluded that background coloration has a significant effect on the growth performance, behavior, hematology, body color, histology, cortisol, and glucose levels of Oreochromis niloticus, with green background inducing significant stress while black background causes black pigmentation with less growth.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depressive Symptoms among Pakistani Population during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Regression Analysis.

Over a span of 1 year, with millions infected, COVID-19 has spread to every part of the world and now poses a health threat to each and every one of us. The outbreak has consequently resulted in multiple health problems such as stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, insomnia, panic, and denial globally. Several factors have contributed to this rising number of psychiatric consults all over the world. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Pakistani population during the second wave of the pandemic in this region. We conducted an online web-based cross-sectional survey comprising 500 participants. The questionnaire assessed the demographic information, attitude, and knowledge concerning COVID-19 outbreak in addition to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) utilizing the GAD-7 scale and depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiology Scale for Depression (CES-D) scale. The response rate of the study was 90.9%. The results of the survey indicated a prevalence of 25.4% of GAD, and 18.8% of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, nearly 34.8% of participants feared contracting COVID-19, 62.8% obtained constant critical updates regarding COVID-19, while 17.6% did not understand the knowledge regarding COVID-19. In the multivariate regression models, GAD was significantly associated with gender, age, and checking constantly of critical updates regarding COVID-19. Similarly, participants under 30 years had a higher risk of developing depressive symptoms than those above (> 30 years). Lastly, participants with no formal education were also found to be more prone to developing depression. We identified a potential threat to mental health during the pandemic.

Formulation and Evaluation of Novel Thiolated Intra Pocket Periodontal Composite Membrane of Doxycycline.

Localized intra-pocket, retentive, biodegradable, prolonged release thiolated membrane can provide an improved therapeutic efficacy of doxycycline at the site of action with evading off target side effects. To this end, thiolated chitosan-hyaluronic acid composite polymeric complex next-generation of the periodontal membrane was manufactured by solvent casting method. FTIR spectroscopic analysis displayed successful immobilization of thiol groups on the manufactured thiolated periodontal membrane. Moreover, XRD, DSC, AFM and TGA of the membrane confirmed the compatibility of ingredients and modifications in surface chemistry. The thiolated periodontal film was also investigated in terms of thickness, weight uniformity, water-uptake capacity, drug content, pH, entrapment efficiency, lysozymal degradation and release patterns. Also, mucoadhesion profile was explored on gingival mucosa. The immobilized thiol groups on thiolated chitosan and thiolated hyaluronate were found to be 168 ± 11 µM/g (mean ± SD, n = 3) and 189 ± 8 µM/g (mean ± SD, n = 3) respectively. Swelling capacity of the thiolated periodontal membrane was significantly ∼2-fold higher (p < 0.05) as compared to unmodified membrane. The obtained thiolated membrane depicted 3 -old higher mucoadhesive features as compared to the un-modified membrane. In vitro release kinetics indicated approximately more than 80% prolonged release within 7 days. Mechanical strength of the Thiolated bandage was also significantly ∼2-fold higher (p < 0.05) as compared to unmodified membrane. Ex-vivo retention study revealed enhanced retention of thiolated membrane as compared to unmodified membrane. In-vitro antimicrobial studies demonstrated that thiolated membrane could efficiently kill Porphyromonas gingivalis cells as compared to the native membrane. Moreover, ex-vivo biodegradation results indicated that 90% of the thiolated membrane was biodegradable in 28 days. Based on these findings, thiolated next-generation of the periodontal membrane seems to be promising for periodontitis therapy.

Self-Supporting Hybrid Fiber Mats of Cu3P-Co2P/N-C Endowed with Enhanced Lithium/Sodium Ions Storage Performances.

Recently, Cu3P has been targeted as an alternative anode material for alkali-metal-ion batteries because of their safety potential and high volumetric capacity. However, designing a high-rate Cu3P electrode with long durability is still faced with huge challenges. Here, we report a self-supporting three-dimensional (3D) composite of Cu3P and Co2P interconnected by N-doped C fibers (Cu3P-Co2P/N-C). The advanced 3D structure not only provides fast reaction kinetics but also improves the structural stability, leading to excellent rate capability and long-term cycling stability, and pseudocapacitance behavior is also beneficial to the high rate performance. Additionally, the synergistic effects between Cu3P, Co2P, and N-doped carbon can increase the electrical conductivity and active sites, ensuring more ion storage. The Cu3P-Co2P/N-C anode for lithium-ion batteries delivers high discharge capacity, superior rate performance, and ultralong lifespan over 2000 cycles accompanied by a stable capacity of around 316.9 mAh/g at 5 A/g. When the 3D structured material works in sodium-ion batteries, it also displays improved electrochemical performance. Our method provides a new insight to design advanced metal phosphides anodes for energy storage devices.

Niobium doped zinc oxide nanorods as an electron transport layer for high-performance inverted polymer solar cells.

The wet chemical synthesis, characterization and applications of Nb doped ZnO nanorods in bulk heterojunction inverted polymer solar cells are presented in this paper. Zn1-xNbxO with x ranging from 0.01 to 0.07 were successfully synthesized using a novel facile solution-processed wet chemical method. The structural and optical properties of the undoped and Nb doped ZnO nanorods were investigated by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-visible near infrared, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. A clear red shift was observed in the absorption spectra of Nb doped samples compared to the undoped ZnO nanorods. The defect emission peak in the PL spectrum of the Nb doped nanorods completely disappeared at the highest dopant concentration of x=0.07. These undoped and Nb doped ZnO nanorods, in amalgamation with PTB7-Th:PC71BM, were used in the inverted polymer solar cells as an electron transport layer which gives better power conversion efficiencies compared to the pure nanorods.