Background and Aims Vaccinations are now open to all adults in India. However, spread of COVID19 infection continues unabated. We aimed to ascertain number of breakthrough infections after vaccinations in a chronic care, diabetes-centric healthcare facility. Methods We received rigorously maintained data of vaccinations, health status, symptoms of COVID19 & RT-PCR testing of all staff (doctors, nurses, paramedical workers, other staff) in our health care facility from January 16, 2021 till date. Results Out of 123 employees, 110 were vaccinated (Covaxin, 28, Covishield, 85). Second dose was completed in 107 (94.7%) and first dose in 6 persons (5.3%). Breakthrough infections occurred in 18 persons (15.9%), 17 of them had incurred it after the second dose. Except one (required hospitalization), all (94.5%) had mild COVID19 disease. Conclusions High prevalence of mild breakthrough infection is seen in our health care facility. Research in breakthrough infections in India should be extended to other institutions and community to obtain larger data.

No abstract

No abstract

Background Post COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) has emerged as a major roadblock in the recovery of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Amongst many symptoms like myalgia, headache, cough, breathless; fatigue is one of the major symptoms which makes the patient severely debilitated. Research on PCS, in particular fatigue, in patients with diabetes has not been done. Methodology In this prospective study, we included patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who had COVID-19 infection (mild to moderate severity), and matched T2D patients who did not suffer from COVID-19 infection. Demography, anthropometry, glycemic measures, treatment, COVID-19 infection details were recorded. Symptoms were scored using Chalder Fatigue Scale (reported as fatigue score, FS) and handgrip strength (in kg) was recorded by Jamar Hydraulic Hand Dynamometer. Results A total of 108 patients were included (cases, 52, controls, 56). Both groups were matched for age, duration of diabetes, BMI, TSH and vitamin D levels. T2D patients with COVID-19 infection had significant more fatigue when compared with patients without COVID-19 infection but comparable handgrip strength. Furthermore, patients with T2D with previous COVID-19 infection and who had FS >4 have had significant higher inflammation markers during acute illness, and post COVID-19, had increased post prandial blood glucose levels, lost more weight, had reduced physical activity and significantly lower handgrip strength as compared to those with FS <4. Conclusion Patients with T2D who had COVID-19 infection as compared to those without had significantly more fatigue after the acute illness, and those with higher fatigue score had reduced handgrip strength indicating sarcopenia. Rehabilitation of those with FS >4 after acute infection would require careful attention to nutrition, glycemic control and graduated physical activity protocol.

No abstract

The colossal increase in environmental pollution and degradation, resulting in ecological imbalance, is an eye-catching concern in the contemporary era. Moreover, the proliferation in the development of smart cities across the globe necessitates the emergence of a robust smart waste management system for proper waste segregation based on its biodegradability. The present work investigates a novel approach for waste segregation for its effective recycling and disposal by utilizing a deep learning strategy. The YOLOv3 algorithm has been utilized in the Darknet neural network framework to train a self-made dataset. The network has been trained for 6 object classes (namely: cardboard, glass, metal, paper, plastic and organic waste). Moreover, for comparative assessment, the detection task has also been performed using YOLOv3-tiny to validate the competence of the YOLOv3 algorithm. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed YOLOv3 methodology yields satisfactory generalization capability for all the classes with a variety of waste items.

No abstract

No abstract