Diabetes is a primary factor that is accountable for health problems and results in millions of deaths. 4 million deaths approximately occurred due to diabetes every year and about 170 million people ...are suffering universally. For diabetes, no treatment is present that promises to cure this condition. Only blood glucose monitoring is recommended for diabetics. Regular and close monitoring of glucose levels can help to avoid further serious problems. Determining the level of glucose in the blood is an important requirement. This is done by monitoring the levels of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), which is a biomarker for glucose. But HbA1c monitoring is unreliable in the presence of certain medical conditions. In such cases another biomarker glycated albumin (GA) is used for glucose monitoring as it remains unaffected by such conditions. As a result, a bimetallic nanomaterial-based sensitive platform was created. This research focuses on the development of a biosensor that utilizes micro-screen printed electrodes (μSPE). The platform was designed to measure the level of GA and demonstrated the synergistic effects of bi-metallic gold-platinum (Au-Pt) nanomaterial. Additionally, the electrochemical response of mono-metallic and bi-metallic nanoparticles was investigated in order to detect glycated albumin, a diabetes biomarker. The biosensor constructed using bimetallic nanoparticles exhibits a broad range of concentrations, lower limit of detection, heightened sensitivity, and selectivity.
Children and adolescents often present to physicians and pediatricians with a range of medically unexplained symptoms, most common being headache, abdominal, and bone pains. These symptoms can be a ...manifestation of underlying depressive, anxiety or somatoform disorders, and sometimes the only symptom. Hence, it is important to recognize and manage these symptoms. Atypical facial pain (AFP) or atypical trigeminal neuralgia that has variably been described to be of psychological origin is considered to be rare in children. We describe the case of a 13-year-old adolescent girl who presented with AFP, who was finally diagnosed to have a somatoform disorder. We discuss the characteristics of AFP in the index case that justify the diagnosis. We also attempt to describe psychosocial factors related to such a presentation.
Herein, we introduce an eco-friendly electrochemical sensor based on melamine-enriched nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets decorated with gold nanoparticles (Au-CNSm) for arsenic sensing. An extremely ...facile, low-toxicity, biocompatible, and affordable hydrothermal technique was adopted for the synthesis of the Au-CNSm nanocomposite. The Au-CNSm-integrated sensing platform was optimized for electrode composition by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Owing to the synergistic effects of melamine-enriched carbon nanosheets (CNSm) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), the anodic peak current increased in the Au-CNSm-modified sensing electrode as compared to the CNSm-decorated platform. A wide linear range of 0.0001–100 μM and a low detection limit of 0.0001 μM were obtained. The visual signals can be measured at a very minute concentration of 0.0001 μM (0.1 ppb) on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) modified with Au-CNSm. Hence, this electrode system clearly outperformed the previously reported studies in terms of linear range, limit of detection (LOD), and electrocatalytic activity for arsenic sensing. Interestingly, the fabricated biosensor can be developed as a point-of-care device for real-time environmental monitoring for public safety. Henceforth, owing to exceptional attributes such as portability, selectivity, and sensitivity, this device offers great promise in modeling a revolutionary new class of electrochemical sensing platforms for an ultrasensitive and reliable detection strategy for arsenite (As(III)).
BACKGROUNDCoronavirus disease is a highly infectious and fatal disease. It has caused distress in the form of fear, and anxiety among masses including youth. The psychosocial health of youth is ...important to build resilient nations after the pandemic is over.This study aimed to capture the level of COVID-19 fear among youth studying in a northern Indian university and to compare it with demographic variables. MATERIALS AND METHODSThis was a cross-sectional study (April-May 2020) conducted among university students in North India. Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) was used for online survey using Google Forms. FCV-19S is a reliable tool for assessing the fear of COVID-19 among the general population. Descriptive statistics and principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation were used for statistical analysis. RESULTSA total of 521 responses were recorded. The majority (78%) of the participants were in the age group of 18-23 years and more than half (57%) were pursuing graduation. The respondents belonged to 16 states and union territories in the country. A total of 17% reported severe fear, while a few reported moderate (17%) or mild (11%) fear on the FCV-19S. No respondent could be categorized with "no fear" based on the overall FCV-19S score. Approximately, 42% of respondents were nervous after watching news/social media posts about COVID-19. Based on PCA, factor 1 labeled as anxiety toward COVID-19, factor 2 media effect on shaping of fear, and factor 3 thanatophobia as contributing factors for fear among youth. CONCLUSIONSReflection of fear among youth suggests that adequate knowledge about COVID-19, preventive steps, treatment options, etc., may be planned to allay fears among youth.
Diabetes is a global menace, and its severity results in various disorders including cardiovascular, retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy. Recently, diabetic conditions are diagnosed through the ...level of glycated hemoglobin. The level of glycated hemoglobin is determined with enzymatic methodology. Although the system is sensitive, it has various restrictions such as long processing times, expensive equipment required for testing, and complex steps involved in sample preparation. These limitations are a hindrance to faster results. The limitations of the developed methods can be eliminated through biosensors. In this work, an electrochemical platform was fabricated that facilitates the identification of glycated hemoglobin protein in diabetic patients. The working electrode on the integrated circuit was modified with molecularly imprinted polymer decorated with tungsten disulfide nanoparticles to enhance its analytical properties. The analytical properties of the biosensor were studied using electrochemical techniques. The obtained detection limit of the nanoelectronic sensor was 0.01 pM. The calculated sensitivity of the biosensor was observed to be 0.27 μA/pM. Also, the sensor promises to operate in a dynamic working concentration range and provide instant results.
Background: COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world leading to major disruptions globally. Due to its highly contagious nature and associated mortality, a wide array of emotional and behavioral reactions ...were seen which indirectly reflected the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of individuals. Understanding the KAP of individuals is fundamental when it comes to decreasing future COVID cases. Aim: The study aimed to develop a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Questionnaire regarding COVID-19 (COVID-KAPQ) among patients attending screening outpatient department (OPD) in a tertiary care hospital in North India and evaluate its psychometric properties. Materials and Methods: The study procedure consisted of step-wise procedure starting with item generation, expert evaluation for categorization of items into domains of KAP and testing for psychometric properties. The items were generated and evaluated by the Delphi method based on 8 experts. Reliability and validity were assessed using data from 200 patients attending COVID screening OPD. Content validity was evaluated using content validity index (CVI); construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was computed for internal consistency. Results: The final COVID-KAPQ consisted of three domains and 29 items. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the entire questionnaire was 0.734, 0.710 for knowledge domain, 0.614 for attitudes domain, and 0.759 for practice domain. CVI ranged from 0.86 to 1. Five factors each for knowledge and attitudes domain and two factors for practice domain were extracted by principal factor analysis and varimax rotation, with a cumulative contribution of 70.19%, 71.54%, and 66.77% variance in KAP domain. Conclusions: A questionnaire COVID-KAPQ (KAP regarding COVID-19) was developed. Psychometric testing indicated that it had adequate validity and reliability for use in COVID research in the general population. This questionnaire might help the public health researchers to map the level of KAP in the population and plan awareness and prevention strategies accordingly.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neuro-behavioral disorder characterized by a classical triad of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention prevalent in 5% of ...school-going children, mostly in boys. It is a chronic disorder with persistent of symptoms in a significant proportion of children diagnosed in childhood and impairing in most domains of socio-occupational functioning. Challenges in diagnosis occur due to symptoms domains of ADHD representing extremes of developmental processes of hyperactivity and inattention. Temperament is another construct that is important while evaluating a child with ADHD to avoid misdiagnosis and/or overdiagnosis. There is literature to support that the presentation of ADHD is not just limited to the triad of symptoms described in DSM 5, but it manifests a plethora of symptoms which, in the majority of cases, often go unnoticed. These symptoms may be a result of executive function deficits, emotion dysregulation, the presence of comorbid disorders, and/or psychosocial issues. Impairments of ADHD continue into adolescence and adulthood. However, ADHD in adults is still an under-researched area. The article aims to provide a bird’s eye view of the various hidden difficulties inherent in ADHD but which often is missed in clinical practice.
Nitrate monitoring of environmental samples is essential to safeguard human and environmental health. Various non-enzymatic methods such as Griess reaction-based chemical method; Fourier transform ...infrared spectroscopy; chromatographic, electrochemical and optical sensors yield reproducible results but suffer from drawbacks such as use of hazardous chemicals, interference from coexistent anions, and bulky and expensive instrumentation and hence are not favored for routine analysis. On the other hand, nitrate reductase (NR)-based methods are simple, sensitive, specific, environment friendly, easy to carry out, and, therefore, suitable for routine analysis. NR in these methods is employed in both free (in commercially available kits) and immobilized form. In comparison to the native NR, immobilized NR shows better activity and stability accompanied by overall reduction in the cost of the method. The review gives a brief account of non-enzymatic nitrate quantification, whereas recent advances in enzyme-based determination have been explored in more detail.
Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the maternal and fetal outcomes of currently preferred tenofovir-based regimen with previous zidovudine-based regimen and also to determine ...whether the time of starting antiretroviral therapy (ART), whether it can affect the pregnancy and fetal outcome.
Materials and Methods: Pregnant patients prescribed any of the above regimens were followed up every month till delivery and newborns for initial 6 months. Maternal endpoints were body weight, hemoglobin, and CD4 count, whereas fetal endpoints were birth weight, Apgar score, body weight, and HIV status at 6 months. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and unpaired t-test.P <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: A significant increase in CD4 count was observed in patients treated with both the regimens at 12 months as compared to baseline (P < 0.001 and 0.05). Moreover, a significant increase in CD4 count was observed at 12 months as compared to baseline, whether treatment was started before or after the diagnosis of pregnancy (P < 0.05 and 0.001). A significant difference in mean body weight at the end of 9 months was observed in patients wherein ART was started before or after the diagnosis of pregnancy (P < 0.005). Majority of patients had a favorable maternal outcome, while fetal birth weight, Apgar score, body weight, and HIV status were comparable at 6 months irrespective of treatment and time of starting ART.
Conclusion: All ART regimens are equally effective in terms of increase in CD4 count, gestational gain in body weight, and pregnancy and fetal outcome. Furthermore, there is no significant difference in efficacy, pregnancy, and fetal outcome in women who were already on ART when diagnosed pregnancy or who were started ART later in antenatal period.
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