Background: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is required to safely work with biological agents of bacterial (i.e. Mycobacterium tuberculosis) or viral origin (Ebola and SARS). COVID-19 pandemic especially has created unforeseen public health challenges including a global shortage of PPE needed for the safety of health care workers (HCWs). Although sufficient stocks of PPE are currently available, their critical shortage may develop soon due to increase in demand and depletion of existing supply lines. To empower our HCWs and ensure their continued protection, proactive measures are urgently required to develop procedures to safely decontaminate the PPEs to allow their "selective reuse" during contingency situations. Methods: Herein, we have successfully developed a decontamination method based on vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP). We have used a range of concentration of hydrogen peroxide to disinfect PPE (coveralls, face-shields, and N-95 masks). To ensure a proper disinfection, we have evaluated three biological indicators namely Escherichia coli, Mycobacterium smegmatis and spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus, considered as the gold standard for disinfection processes. We next evaluated the impact of repeated VHP treatment on physical features, permeability, and fabric integrity of coveralls and N-95 masks. Next, we performed Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to evaluate microscopic changes in fiber thickness of N-95 masks, melt blown layer or coverall body suits. Considering the fact that any disinfection procedure should be able to meet local requirements, our study included various regionally procured N-95 masks and coveralls available at our institute All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India. Lastly, the practical utility of VHP method developed herein was ascertained by operationalizing a dedicated research facility disinfecting used PPE during COVID-19. Results: Our prototype studies show that a single VHP cycle (7-8% Hydrogen peroxide) could disinfect PPE and PPE housing room of about 1200 cubic feet (length10 ft × breadth 10 ft × height 12 ft) in less than 10 min, as noted by a complete loss of B. stearothermophilus spore revival. The results are consistent and reproducible as tested in over 10 cycles in our settings. Further, repeated VHP treatment did not result in any physical tear, deformity or other

Introduction Molecular diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 infection characteristically involves the sampling of the throat or nasopharyngeal swab (NPS). However, these procedures are invasive, require necessary skills for sample collection, cause patient discomfort, and are non-conducive for extensive scale testing. Saliva is increasingly being suggested as an alternate diagnostic sample in SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Objectives This scoping review was done with the objective of exploring the evidence on the role of saliva as an alternate diagnostic sample in SARS‐CoV‐2 condition. Methods Thorough search of the literature in major databases was undertaken in June 2020 using free text and MESH terms, followed by PRISMA to identify 17 studies for data extraction. Results and conclusions Evidence was summarised for study characteristics, salivary sampling characteristics, viral load, and longevity of virus in saliva. The literature supports that saliva offers a simple sample collection method compared to technique-sensitive NPS and has the advantage of point-of-care testing for initial screening in community or hospital-based set-up. The additional highlights of this review are heterogeneity in the current literature and the gaps in methodology. Therefore, a robust study design to generate higher levels of evidence has been proposed.

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Silvopasture systems (SPSs) provide an opportunities for efficient use of lands, apportioning risk under adverse climate and giving higher returns than other systems. SPSs improve biomass production; however, yield sustainability, nutrient cycling capability and carbon capture capacity of SPSs have remained unexplored in semiarid India. For these, 10-year old SPS of Ficus infectoria, Morus alba, Acacia nilotica, and Madhuca latifolia comprising of three perennial grasses namely, Cenchrus ciliaris, Chrysopogon fulvus, Panicum maximum, and two perennial legumes namely, Clitoria ternatea and Stylosanthes seabrana in each system were evaluated. Among grasses, Panicum maximum had significantly (p < 0.05) higher mean yield than Chrysopogon fulvus and Cenchrus ciliaris (44% and 153%, respectively). Significantly, Stylosanthes seabrana had 2-times higher mean productivity than Clitoria ternatea. Among the trees, fodder availability from F. infectoria was ~8.65-and 1.07-times greater than M. latifolia and M. alba, respectively and similar to A. nilotica. Total tree carbon stock of A. nilotica was ~1.52-, 5.88-, and 2.16-times greater than F. infectoria, M. latifolia, and M. alba, respectively. Environmental benefits in terms of soil nutrient status and carbon sequestration were significantly greater under A. nilotica based SPS than others.A. nilotica and M. alba based SPSs had a discounted benefit-cost ratio ~2.2 and internal rate of return >12%. Overall, A. nilotica and M. alba based SPSs could augment yield sustainability, economic profitability and environmental benefit over other SPSs in semiarid India. Hence, they can be recommended as nature based solutions to restore degraded lands in semi-arid India.

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Approximately forty-four percent of the global population lives in villages, including 59% in Africa ( https://unhabitat.org/World%20Cities%20Report%202020 ). The fast-evolving nature of SARS-CoV-2 and its extremely contagious nature warrant early and accurate COVID-19 diagnostics across rural and urban population as a key to prevent viral transmission. Unfortunately, lack of adequate infrastructure, including the availability of biosafety-compliant facilities and an end-to-end cold chain availability for COVID-19 molecular diagnosis, limits the accessibility of testing in these countries.

Gene expression studies are critical to develop new diagnostics, therapeutics, and prognostic modalities. However, accurate determination of expression requires data normalization with a reference gene, whose expression does not vary across different disease stages.