A representative feed sample of White Silica Sand was wet-sieved in order to recover the desired fractions for glass making. BIS specification shows that (-600, +300) μm] fraction [A] should not be more than 50% and (-300, +125) μm fraction [B] should be 50% minimum. The mass percentage of A and B is found to be 29.9 and 70.1% (ratio =1:3.34) which satisfies the size specifications for glass making sand. Hence, this ratio was maintained for all the down stream processing studies. 'Wet Sieved desired Fraction for White sand' (WSDFw) was subjected to attrition followed by magnetic separation. Tests at optimum conditions gave a non-magnetic fraction (Silica sand product) which analysed 98.1% silica with 0.09% Fe 2 O 3, 0.13% TiO 2 and 0.17 LOI. This is found to be matching with IS specifications for Grade III sand.

Introduction: In India, laboratory diagnosis of SARS - CoV-2 infection has been mostly based on real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Studies have shown that Viral titres peak within the first week of symptoms, but may decline post this time frame, thereby hampering RT-PCR based diagnostic strategies. These reasons have prompted the call for adoption of antibody testing as a potential source of data to address the gap in data and inform public health and governance policies oriented towards COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A Cross-sectional study with a sample size of 9000 was conducted for 11 days (Dec 11-21, 2020) including all the 79 wards under Jabalpur Municipal Corporation. Serum samples were tested for the presence of specific antibodies to COVID19 using ICMR-Kavach IgG ELISA kits. The data collected was compiled on Microsoft Excel and data analysis was carried out using STATA 15E statistical software. Result: Overall seroprevalence of the study population was found to be 28.70% (weighted). Wards of the city of Jabalpur were classified into three categories based on the case prevalence - High (27 wards), Medium (26 wards) and Low (26 wards). Based on the overall seroprevalence, the estimated number of total infections were calculated to be 3, 54,870 for the study population. Overall Case Infection Ratio was 31.41. Conclusion: The current seroprevalence study rightly provides information on proportion of the population exposed, however, the correlation between presence and absence of antibodies is not a marker of total or partial immunity. Hence, the golden rule of Social distancing, sanitization, personal protective equipment and public health measures have to be continued.

Background: Doctors are supposed to lead healthier lifestyles and are usually assumed to have lower morbidity and mortality rates than general population due to their medical knowledge. However, recently a study conducted by the research cell of Indian Medical Association (IMA) concluded that doctors die younger and mostly due to cardiovascular diseases.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 100 doctors in a medical college for duration of 3 months. Questionnaires were distributed, they were personally interviewed and required clinical examination was done. Data obtained was tabulated in MS Excel and analyzed using SPSS software. Risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke and obesity was estimated and its association with various determinants was seen.Results: Odds of having central obesity increases 10 times with BMI ≥25 kg/m2 as compared to <25 kg/m2. With risk ratio of 1.96, doctors are twice at risk of having BMI ≥25 as compared to general population. Number of people with higher risk of CVD increased after 45 years of age. People with at least one NCD outnumbered the people without any NCD, in the age group of 45-54 years and above. Insufficient physical activity is prevalent among 37% in this age group.Conclusions: This study gives an idea on impact of medical profession on lifestyle, outlook and attitude towards personal health among professional doctors. Initiatives must be taken to identify the causes of professional stress among doctors and measures must be taken to prevent them.

Background: Adolescent girls often lack knowledge regarding menstruation which may be associated with taboos and myths existing in our traditional society which has a negative implication for women’s health, particularly their menstrual hygiene. Aim of the current study is to investigate existing knowledge, attitude and practices regarding menstruation and to assess the source of information, beliefs, misconceptions and restrictions related to menstruation among adolescent school girls.Methods: The study was undertaken among all adolescent girls of 7th to 10th standard of ashram school in September 2018 to Oct 2018 by pre-designed, close ended questionnaire and the data was analysed.Results: Out of the 100 girls who had attained menarche, all participants used sanitary pads as it was provided by school. Maximum girls had positive attitude towards menstruation, 58% girls got information about menstruation from their teacher. For cleaning of genitals during menstruation 58% girls used water and soap, 7% used water and antiseptic and 35% used water only. Method of adsorbent disposal was reported as burn (51%) and burial (44%). 42% and 49% of girls were not allowed to do household activities and kitchen work respectively. 95% and 63% of girls weren’t allowed to go to temple and do sport activities respectively.Conclusions: In the study, it was observed that among the adolescent ashram school girls, the knowledge of menstruation was good and the practices were optimal for proper hygiene but superstitious beliefs and taboos affect their day to day activity during menstruation.

Background: Non-Pharmacological Interventions (NPIs) have proven to be effective in controlling and reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the population. During the year 2020, before vaccine introduction, India has been through various phases of COVID-19 pandemic response such as nationwide lockdown phase 1 to 4 and unlock phases 1-8. Although India’s vaccination program against COVID-19 has started, it is still in the initial phases and considering the humongous population of India, coverage of entire population with vaccine needs time. Methodology: We designed a model showing the projections of expected incident cases of COVID-19 under two scenarios for the month of February 2021. In the first scenario, Rt value expected to be observed during February 2021 if all the NPIs are removed was considered. In the second scenario, Rt value projected as per the current trend with NPIs in place was considered. Model projections of both these scenarios were done for India and also for Delhi. Result: Our simulation model quantifies the effect of Non-pharmacological interventions on the current pandemic situation in India and Delhi, which concludes that relaxation in preventive measures or COVID-19 appropriate behaviors or ceasing of NPIs shall see an exponential rise in the daily incident cases. Comparing the trajectories for India and Delhi, it can be deduced that if NPIs cease to exist for one month, the daily incident cases can be many times higher of normal in India and also in Delhi by the end of February 2021. Conclusion: NPIs remain to play a major role in containing the spread and minimizing the effects of COVID-19 pandemic. Any kind of relaxation in NPIs can lead to sudden surge of incident cases and correspondingly may increase the death toll.

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Background: In India, laboratory diagnosis of SARS – CoV-2 infection has been mostly based on real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Studies have shown that Viral titres peak within the first week of symptoms but may decline later hampering RT-PCR-based diagnostic strategies. Exact estimate is difficult under high-risk screening strategy with evidences of having large number of asymptomatic cases. This has prompted a call for adoption of antibody testing as potential source of data. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study with a sample size of 7000 was conducted for 15 days including all the 85 wards under Indore Municipal Corporation. Stratified Random Sampling was used to collect the samples. Trained teams collected basic sociodemographic information and serum samples which were tested for the presence of specific antibodies to COVID-19 using ICMR-Kavach IgG ELISA kits. The data collected was compiled and analysed using appropriate statistical software. Results: Overall weighted seroprevalence of the study population was found to be 7.75%. The prevalence in males and females was comparable (7.91% vs 7.57%). Highest seropositivity (10.04%) was seen among individuals aged more than 60 years. Total number of infections in the population were estimated to be 2,03,160. Overall Case Infection Ratio was found to be 27.43. Conclusion: The current seroprevalence study provides information on proportion of the population exposed, but the correlation between presence and absence of antibodies is not a marker of total or partial immunity. It must also be noted that more than 90 percent of the population is still susceptible for COVID-19 infection. Hence, non-pharmaceutical interventions like respiratory hygiene, physical distancing, hand sanitization, usage of personal protective equipment such as masks and implementation of public health measures need to be continued.

Air contamination continues to be the leading environmental risk factor for all causes of death, leading to substantial years of lives and economic decline adapted to incapacity increased deaths in air pollution in past pandemics, in 1918, Spanish Flu and in 2003 with SARS-CoV-1. The host susceptibility and respiratory virulence are increased and viral clearance is decreased. Therefore, there is a question about the effect of air contamination on the current 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). History and research have until now been concerned with the huge potential consequences of the COVID-19 air pollution pandemic. In order to validate this correlation, more epidemiological and environmental research is necessary. Moreover, countries must leverage air emissions reduction funds to benefit their wellbeing and enhance their possible impact on future pandemics.