In the context of the recent pandemic, the necessity of inexpensive and easily accessible rapid-test kits is well understood and need not be stressed further. In light of this, we report a multinucleotide probe-based diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 using a bioelectronics platform, comprising low-cost chemiresistive biochips, a portable electronic readout, and an Android application for data acquisition with machine-learning-based decision making. The platform performs the desired diagnosis from standard nasopharyngeal and/or oral swabs (both on extracted and non-extracted RNA samples) without amplifying the viral load. Being a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction-free hybridization assay, the proposed approach offers inexpensive, fast (time-to-result: ≤ 30 min), and early diagnosis, as opposed to most of the existing SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis protocols recommended by the WHO. For the extracted RNA samples, the assay accounts for 87 and 95.2% test accuracies, using a heuristic approach and a machine-learning-based classification method, respectively. In case of the non-extracted RNA samples, 95.6% decision accuracy is achieved using the heuristic approach, with the machine-learning-based best-fit model producing 100% accuracy. Furthermore, the availability of the handheld readout and the Android application-based simple user interface facilitates easy accessibility and portable applications. Besides, by eliminating viral RNA extraction from samples as a pre-requisite for specific detection, the proposed approach presents itself as an ideal candidate for point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis.

Objectives: Health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Materials and Methods: Humans have settled in both urban and rural areas, which might have influenced people and their physiology in different ways. Results: Cardiovascular fitness as a marker of proper functioning of the whole body is associated with many health-related outcomes, with poor fitness leading to development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Conclusion: This study aimed to perform a comparative study of the physiological parameters’ indicative of cardiovascular fitness in urban and rural adolescent girls.

Objectives: Blood pressure recording from the peripheral artery is subject to variations. While blood pressure is said to a modifiable risk factor for many cardiovascular and neurological diseases, the diagnosis of hypertension using Sphygmomanometry must be complemented with other tests to find central blood pressures. A newer, non-invasive method to indirectly record the aortic pressures is required. Aim of the study is to record surface aortic pressure waves (SAP) from aortic area of auscultation during breath holding and to compare the wave characteristics in hypertensive and normotensive women at rest and after mild exercise. Materials and Methods: 128 women were recruited in the study. Piezoelectric sensor placed in the aortic area was used for getting the SAP waves during breath holding for 30 seconds. ECG was taken to show temporal association of these waves to R waves. Mean arterial pressures from arm (map-a) and from SAP waves (map-s) were calculated. Powerlab 8/35 and Labchart Pro software by AD Instruments were used in the study. Results: R waves were followed by the SAP waves by about 31±2.2 ms at rest and 11±2.4 ms after mild exercise in all subjects. In hypertensive women, the map-s values were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in magnitude than in normotensive women both at rest and after exercise. There was no significant correlation between the map-a and map-s in any of the groups at rest or after exercise. Conclusion: This new method, with some refinement could prove as a better alternative to blood pressure recording.

Objectives: The medical college curriculum in India has not seen a change for the past several years. An initiative has been taken by the Medical Council of India (MCI) in the Graduate Medical Regulation 2018 to bring a uniform change in teaching-learning methods. This change is necessary in all fields of medical education. Restructuring the physiology laboratories to teach practical procedures using digital computerised equipment and techniques could bring about deeper learning. The past several years have made physiology merely imaginative rather than experiential. Materials and Methods: A qualitative study was done using a questionnaire to obtain the perceptions of medical teachers of both genders engaged in teaching medical physiology. Desires and opinions of physiology teachers in changing the way physiology is taught were obtained. Results: Medical teachers felt that a change is necessary to provide better learning experience. More than 80% opined that computerised equipment provide better practical experience with wider understanding of the concepts which students can relate to theoretical concepts. About 85% of teachers supported the move to suggest to MCI on restructuring the laboratories with computerised equipment. More importantly, many teachers expressed that the digital laboratories would make learning very interesting, autonomous and self-directed. The study is not just a platform for opinions but is intended to prompt reflection and bring clarity to the regulatory bodies showing a way forward to change the laboratory setup urgently. Conclusion: Most of the medical teachers in India are finding it appropriate to employ digital ways in teaching Physiology to have better learning outcomes.

Background and Aim Cardiovascular disease is more prevalent in women after menopause and particularly in those aged > 60 years. Obesity during menopause has become a growing cause of concern as the source of estrogen during this period is extragonadal. Autonomic function tests serve as effective markers of autonomic activity. Any derangement of autonomic functions in obese postmenopausal women would serve as an early marker for the detection of cardiovascular disease. The aims and objectives of this study were to measure autonomic functions tests in obese postmenopausal women and to correlate the autonomic activity with anthropometric parameters and serum estrogen levels. Material and Methods A cross-sectional study of 101 postmenopausal women aged > 45 years was undertaken. Women with heart disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and respiratory disorders were excluded from this study. A digital data acquisition system, Lab Chart Pro 8.0 was used to perform the autonomic function tests. Results Parasympathetic activity decreased significantly with higher body mass index (BMI). Sympathetic activity that includes diastolic blood pressure and blood pressure measured after isometric handgrip test significantly increased with BMI. A strong negative correlation existed between BMI and parasympathetic high-frequency (HF) domain index. There was a strong positive correlation between BMI and serum estradiol levels. Conclusion Measuring the autonomic activity in obese postmenopausal women along with anthropometric indices and estrogen levels would provide strong evidence of a potential target for existing as well as future heart disease. Any autonomic dysfunction, if detected early, would enable early interventions to prevent heart disease. AbstractKeywords ► cardiovascular disease ► autonomic functions ► postmenopausal women ► estrogen

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has affected mankind globally. After the three waves since March 2020, the threat continues instilling fear in the minds. Vital parameter monitoring through remote health monitoring system (RHMS) becomes critical for effective disease management and manpower safety and confidence. In a low resource setting like India, a comprehensive, wearable, and remotely operable device that is economical was required to be introduced for COVID-19 care. Present study validated the remote health monitoring device named COVIDBEEP with gold standard equipment. Materials and Methods: Six parameters, namely heart rate, SpO2, respiratory rate, temperature, blood pressure, and ECG were acquired in the supine position using the devices. Result: Analysis was performed using Graph Pad Prism. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to measure concurrent validity. Bland–Altman graphs were plotted to know the agreement for each vital parameter. Confidence limits were set at 95%. All the parameters recorded from the devices showed a significant correlation with an “r” value between 0.5 and 0.9 with P value between 0.001 and 0.0002. Bland–Altman plots showed a minimum bias of 0.033 for heart rate and maximum of 3.5 for systolic blood pressure and respiratory rate. Conclusion: The association between the parameters recorded by the devices strengthened as the time of collection of data increased. Agreement between the two methods in 95% confidence interval was also proven to be significant for the parameters. Therefore, the indigenously developed COVIDBEEP has shown good validity in comparison to standard monitoring device.

Objective: Bipedalism in humans demanded robust postural control systems to maintain balance and equilibrium during variety of volitional activities. Adaptive learning is a key characteristic of these control systems. Postural control and balance are associated with autonomic changes trying to maintain cardiovascular homeostasis during postural imbalances, which are specifically important in conditions like flat foot. Yoga training could help such cases to achieve better postural balance and autonomic state. Young adolescent girls with flat foot were studied in comparison to normal girls and flat foot boys. Materials and Methods: Sixteen girls and 11 boys with flat foot were subjected to posturography on Wii Balance Board connected wirelessly to PowerLab 15T. Wireless heart rate belt was used to acquire RR intervals. Vrikshasana was chosen as the suitable asana for 4-week training. Displacement of center of pressure (COP) and heart rate variability was analyzed using LabChart pro software before and after yoga training. Results: COP displacement in flat foot subjects is away from the center during erect stance and sway toward sides. Flat foot girls showed significant greater displacements and lesser correction after yoga compared to flat foot boys (P < 0.05). Flat foot girls also showed lesser recovery in LF% and RMSSD after 4-week yoga training. Conclusion: Studying the autonomic changes during voluntary postural imbalance on balance board provide real-time picture of internal state in flat foot individuals. The sympathetic dominance would account for preparedness and adaptation in postural control systems. This state improved with yoga training toward better cardiac vagal tone.

Background: Hypertension is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is responsible for major deaths due to stroke and coronary heart disease. Several pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for reducing blood pressure have been tried earlier. Modulating brain regions such as prefrontal cortex (PFC) to channelize activities is an effective tool to target blood pressure. Purpose: Prefrontal cortex (PFC) exerts inhibitory control over sympathoexcitatory circuits, which was explored using a novel reaction time paradigm. Methods: Thirty participants of both genders in the age group 40–70 years with established hypertension were included. A structured reaction time paradigm was designed to include psychomotor and visuomotor elements with integrated sensory attention and motor performance tasks. Blood pressure, Lead II ECG, and EEG from F3 and F4 were recorded. A paired t-test was used to examine the variations in these parameters across tasks. Results: A significant reduction in mean arterial pressure by 4.04 mmHg ( p = .0232) during the visuomotor task and a reduction of 3.38 mmHg during the auditory cue task ( p = .0446) were observed. Analysis of the difference in heart rate has shown a profound decrease after passive listening tasks by 3.7 beats ( p < .0001*). Spectral analysis from F3 and F4 shows high power in low-frequency zone of EEG indicating a relaxed state during auditory cues and passive listening. Conclusion: The reaction time paradigm, when applied to hypertensives, helped decrease blood pressure and heart rate and improved the high frequency (HF) component of heart rate variability, indicating parasympathetic dominance. Such reward-oriented paradigms may act as biofeedback modules that cause hyperactivity of the PFC to suppress the sympathoexcitatory circuit with increased parasympathetic activity beneficial to hypertensive individuals.