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Introduction: To mitigate the spread of the pandemic coronavirus infection (COVID-19), governments across the world have adopted “lockdowns” which have confined many individuals to their homes. This disrupts normal life routines, elements of which are important circadian cues. The pandemic is also associated with new stressors, altered roles, and uncertainties about health and economic security, which are also likely to affect sleep. The current study is an online survey of sleep experience, routines, physical activity, and symptoms of anxiety and depression, to study the alterations associated with the lockdown. Materials and Methods: The survey was conducted in early May 2020 using a questionnaire circulated through social media platforms. Questions related to demographic characteristics, current and previous sleep schedules, routine, and working patterns. Insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index - 4), Stress (Perceived Stress Scale - 4), anxiety and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire - 4) and physical activity (International Physical Activities Questionnaire) were assessed using standardized instruments. Results: A total of 958 valid responses were received. Compared to the prelockdown period, there was a shift to a later bedtime and waking time, with a reduction in night-time sleep and an increase in day-time napping. These effects were visible across occupational groups, but mostly affected working individuals except health professionals. Sleep quality deteriorated across groups. Reductions in sleep duration were associated with depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The COVID-19 lockdown is associated with changes in sleep schedule and in the quantity and quality of night-time sleep. Although these changes are associated with elevated rates of emotional symptoms, it is unclear from these cross-sectional results, whether sleep deterioration produces psychological distress, or vice versa.

Apophysomyces elegans was considered a rare but medically important zygomycete. We analyzed the clinical records of eight patients from a single center in whom zygomycosis due to A. elegans was diagnosed over a span of 25 months. We also attempted a DNA-based method for rapid identification of the fungi and looked for interstrain polymorphism using microsattelite primers. Three patients had cutaneous and subcutaneous infections, three had isolated renal involvement, one had rhino-orbital tissue infection, and the final patient had a disseminated infection involving the spleen and kidney. Underlying illnesses were found in two patients, one with diabetes mellitus and the other with chronic alcoholism. A history of traumatic implantation was available for three patients. All except two of the patients responded to surgical and/or medical therapy; the diagnosis for the two exceptions was made at the terminal stage of infection. Restriction enzyme (MboI, MspI, HinfI) digestion of the PCR-amplified internal transcribed spacer region helped with the rapid and specific identification of A. elegans. The strains could be divided into two groups according to their patterns, with clustering into one pattern obtained by using microsatellite [(GTG) 5 and (GAC) 5 ] PCR fingerprinting. The study highlights the epidemiology, clinical spectrum, and diagnosis of emerging A. elegans infections.Zygomycosis is a serious and often rapidly fatal infection especially in immunocompromised patients. It is caused by sparsely septate filamentous, saprophytic fungi belonging to the class Zygomycetes and the order Mucorales.

ATP as a group has a differential pattern of risk of illness compared to schizophrenia. Further, the subtypes subsumed under ICD-10 ATP may be genetically heterogeneous, those with schizophrenia-like symptomatology being possibly more akin to schizophrenia itself or forming an interface between ATP and schizophrenia.

The findings support the stress-vulnerability hypothesis in the aetiology of ATPD.

This is a comparative study of patients with acute-onset, non-affective, non-organic, remitting psychoses and with non-remitting or schizophrenic psychoses in India. Two groups of patients with acute remitting and non-remitting or schizophrenic psychoses were compared with regard to the following variables: month of onset of psychosis; presence of stress, particularly fever, within 4 weeks preceding the onset of psychosis; childbirth within 12 weeks preceding the onset of psychosis; gender differences. It was found that the acute remitting psychoses showed an overrepresentation of females, a higher frequency of associated stress preceding the onset of psychosis, more often had onset during the summer months, i.e. between May and September, and had fever and childbirth preceding the onset of psychosis in a significantly higher proportion of patients, compared to acute non-remitting psychoses or schizophrenia. The implications of the findings which point towards biological factors in the aetiology of acute remitting psychoses are discussed.

As an integral part of plastic waste, large amounts of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), and solid waste have led to serious environmental problems. In order to identify critical barriers to the reuse of plastic across a wide range of plastic values all over the world, we need to go through PET and PHB in terms of volume. This is a significant factor for the world and our global warming. The current uses of plastic through PET and PHB are significant. Through the recycling process of PET and PHB, the total volume of plastic uses will be decreased and reuse rate will be high by economic, social, and environmental factors. Key areas are identified by low demand due to price considerations, insufficient tracking and transparency of pricing transactions, and lack of common design. Integration of value chains is considered to be the most important intervention for respondents, following the need for increased investment and technology development. Recycling helps the environment and creates new economic opportunities. Reuse of plastics encourages businesses to develop new and innovative products. Recycling reduces through extraction (mining, quarrying, and logging), refining, and processing of raw materials which create significant air and water pollution. As renewable energy saving also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which help to cope with climate change. This paper aims to raise awareness that increase the demand of recycling process of PET and PHB and to identify critical barriers of recycling throughout a series of plastic prices with the volume.

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