The wildfire-like spread of COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus-2, has resulted in a pandemic that has put unprecedented stress on the world’s healthcare systems and caused varying severities of socio-economic damage. As there are no specific treatments to combat the virus, current approaches to overcome the crisis have mainly revolved around vaccination efforts, preventing human-to-human transmission through enforcement of lockdowns and repurposing of drugs. To efficiently facilitate the measures implemented by governments, rapid and accurate diagnosis of the disease is vital. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and computed tomography have been the standard procedures to diagnose and evaluate COVID-19. However, disadvantages, including the necessity of specialized equipment and trained personnel, the high financial cost of operation and the emergence of false negatives, have hindered their application in high-demand and resource-limited sites. Nanoparticle-based methods of diagnosis have been previously reported to provide precise results within short periods of time. Such methods have been studied in previous outbreaks of coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Given the need for rapid diagnostic techniques, this review discusses nanoparticle use in detecting the aforementioned coronaviruses and the recent severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus-2 to highlight approaches that could potentially be used during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study reports the physical activity (PA) levels among medical and nursing students at a university in Bahrain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through self-selection sampling of an online survey, participants' data on general demographics, PA levels before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and reasons for PA changes were collected. From the 110 valid responses, 70 participants (63%) experienced a decrease in PA during the COVID-19 lockdown. Fear of contracting COVID-19 and lack of motivation were two significant reasons for reduced PA levels (p < 0.001) compared to those who did not experience a decrease in PA. Other factors significantly associated with reduced PA levels include living alone (p < 0.018) or with roommates (p < 0.006) compared to living with family. Having more time available was associated with positive changes to PA levels (p < 0.001). Significant differences in MET-min/week were seen between students who experienced increased PA (median of 1605 MET-min/week) compared to those who experienced a decrease (424 MET-min/week) or no change (1070 MET-min/week) in PA levels (p < 0.001). In conclusion, low PA levels are prevalent within medical and nursing students in Bahrain (51% reported < 600 MET-min/week), with ~2 in 3 students reporting a decrease in PA levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Support programs and strategies to increase engagement in PA within this population are warranted.
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