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BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the lacunae in the preparedness of healthcare systems across the globe. This preparedness also includes the safety of healthcare providers (HCPs) at various levels. Sudden spread of COVID-19 infection has created threatening and vulnerable conditions for the HCPs. The current pandemic situation has not only affected physical health of HCPs but also their mental health.ObjectiveThis study aims to understand the prevalence and severity of secondary traumatic stress, optimism parameters, along with states of mood experienced by the HCPs, viz., doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals (including Physiotherapist, Lab technicians, Phlebotomist, dieticians, administrative staff and clinical pharmacist), during the COVID-19 lockdown in India.MethodologyThe assessment of level of secondary traumatic stress (STS), optimism/pessimism (via Life Orientation Test-Revised) and current mood states experienced by Indian HCPs in the present COVID-19 pandemic situation was done using a primary data of 2,008 HCPs from India during the first lockdown during April-May 2020. Data was collected through snow-ball sampling technique, reaching out to various medical health care professionals through social media platforms.ResultAmongst the study sample 88.2% of doctors, 79.2 of nurses and 58.6% of allied HCPs were found to have STS in varying severity. There was a female preponderance in the category of Severe STS. Higher optimism on the LOTR scale was observed among doctors at 39.3% followed by nurses at 26.7% and allied health care professionals 22.8%. The mood visual analogue scale which measures the "mood" during the survey indicated moderate mood states without any gender bias in the study sample.ConclusionThe current investigation sheds light on the magnitude of the STSS experienced by the HCPs in the Indian Subcontinent during the pandemic. This hitherto undiagnosed and unaddressed issue, calls for a dire need of creating better and accessible mental health programmes and facilities for the health care providers in India.

Dopant-free and cost-effective sprayed cadmium oxide (CdO) conducting base-electrodes, obtained at different concentrations (0.5, 1 and 1.5 M), characterized for their structures, morphologies and conductivities by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and electrical conductivity measurements, respectively, are employed as base-electrodes for growing cobalt hydroxide (Co(OH)2) nanoplates using a simple electrodeposition method which further are envisaged for electrochemical supercapacitor application. Polycrystalline nature and mushroom-like plane-views are confirmed from the structure and morphology analyses. Both CdO and CdO–Co(OH)2 electrodes reveal specific capacitances as high as 312 F g−1 and 1119 F g−1, respectively, in 0.1 M KOH electrolyte at 10 mV s−1 sweep rate. Optimized Co(OH)2–CdO configuration electrode demonstrates energy density of 98.83 W h kg−1 and power density of 0.75 kW kg−1. In order to investigate the charge transfer kinematics electrochemical impedance measurements are carried out and explored.

Context: Bilateral pediatric cataracts are important cause of visual impairment in children. Aim: To study the outcome of bilateral pediatric cataract surgery in young children. Setting and Design: Retrospective case series in a tertiary center. Materials and Methods: Records of pediatric cataracts operated between January 2001 and December 2003, with a minimum follow-up of 3 months, were reviewed retrospectively. Statistical Methods: Independent sample t-test, Fisher′s exact test, and logistic regression using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science, Chicago, USA) version 12. Results: 215/257 (83.7%) patients had a minimum follow-up of 3 months. The mean age of presentation to the hospital was 53 months (range: 0-168 months). Congenital cataract was present in 107 patients (58.2%) and developmental cataract in 77 patients (41.8%). The mean age at surgery was 55.2 months (range: 1-168 months). Out of 430 eyes, 269 (62.6%) had an intraocular lens implanted. The mean duration of follow-up was 13.1 months (range: 3-38 months). Pre-operatively, 102 patients (47.3%) had visual acuity 6/18. The most common early post-operative complication was fibrinous uveitis in 57 eyes (13.3%) and the most common delayed post-operative complication was posterior capsular opacification in 118 eyes (27.4%). The most important prognostic factor for poor outcome was congenital cataract (odds ratio [OR]: 26.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.4-158.5) and total cataract (OR: 4.8; 95% CI, 1.3-17). Conclusion: Nearly half of the eyes had visual acuity >6/18. The outcome was poorer in congenital cataracts, especially those operated after >1 year of age.

In this study, a catalyst composite of Co–Cu was prepared from chloride-containing precursor of Co(II) and Cu(II) metals using the milky latex of the Euphorbia neriifolia plant following green principles of synthesis. The catalyst composite was characterized using XRD, EDAX, SEM, HR-TEM, FTIR, XPS and TOF-MS. The crystallinity of the mixed-oxide composite with a distorted octahedral nature was confirmed from analysis. Chemical charge analysis of the Co–Cu mixed phase based on XPS revealed Co2+ and Cu2+ oxidation states. This material was used for synthesizing 2,4,5-triaryl-1H-imidazole (TIMDZOL) derivatives. Analysis of reaction conditions revealed that EtOH : PEG at 8 : 2 ratio under microwave conditions showed better yields with less time and better reusability of the Co–Cu catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentil shell (LS) on modification with sulfuric acid (LSAC), formaldehyde (LSFM), and on calcination (LSCL) were used for the adsorption of methylene blue dye in the present study. The sulfuric acid treated LS adsorbent has shown maximum adsorption. The batch adsorption experiments were studied with the effect of adsorbent dose (10–60 mg), pH (4–10), dye concentration (10–80 mg/L), contact time (10–60 minutes), and temperature (303–333 K). The maximum removal of methylene blue was found at pH 10 with adsorption time 60 minutes. The maximum adsorption capacity is measured for LSAC, LSCL, LSFM, and LS untreated (LSUN) are 49.56, 45.79, 42.24, and 42.09 mg/g respectively for 60 mg adsorbent dose with 60 mg/L of initial methylene blue dye concentration. The biosorbents were characterized with Fourier Transform Infrared spectra, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, BET-N2 adsorption, and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis. The adsorption isotherm was studied at the temperature of 303, 313, 323, and 333 K. It was found that the higher temperature suitable for maximum adsorption. Langmuir model and Freundlich model were studied from the obtained results for adsorption mechanism. The pseudo second order kinetic model was found suitable for the present adsorption study in comparison with pseudo first order model and intraparticle diffusion model. The data obtained from the present work showed that LS could be employed as an efficient adsorbent for the adsorption of the dye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This pooled analysis was conducted to assess the clinical safety and performance of the Supra family (Sahajanand Medical Technologies Ltd., Surat, India) of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) including ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) from two real-world all-comers Indian registries at 1 year. Methods: We evaluated 1,824 patients with ACS who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with the Supra family of SES from two real-world Indian registries (891 patients from T-Flex registry and 933 patients from Tetriflex real-world registry). The primary endpoint was the incidence of target lesion failure (TLF) defined as a composite of cardiac death, target-vessel myocardial infarction (TV-MI), and target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 1-year follow-up. The safety endpoint was stent thrombosis at 1-year follow-up. Results: Among a total of 1,824 patients with ACS, 689 (37.8%) patients presented with STEMI. In ACS and STEMI groups, 47.6% and 41.8% patients had multivessel disease, respectively. Of 2,128 lesions in ACS group, 76.7% lesions were type B2/C and 16.2% lesions were totally occluded. In the STEMI group, out of 784 treated lesions, 76.7% were type B2/C lesions and 21.9% were totally occluded. At 1-year follow-up, incidence of TLF was 5.3% (cardiac death: 0.9%, TV-MI: 2.5%, TLR: 1.9%) in patients with ACS and 6.2% (cardiac death: 1.4%, TV-MI: 2.1%, TLR: 2.7%) in patients with STEMI. The 1-year rate of definite/probable stent thrombosis was 0.3% and 0.7% in patients with ACS and STEMI, respectively. Conclusion: This patient-level pooled analysis provides evidence for the safe and effective use of the Supra family of SES in complex patient populations such as ACS and even in STEMI with favorable rates of TLF and stent thrombosis at 1-year follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]