A Comparative Study of Mean Platelet Volume in Diabetic Population With and Without Vascular Complication

Diabetes mellitus leads to long-term complications involving multiple organs and systems of the human body. Among the list of complications, a relatively vascular complication increases the morbidity of the condition. Patients with diabetes mellitus are influenced by various factors like hyperglycaemic state, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and metabolic condition like obesity, and all the mentioned conditions also present with platelet hyperactivity.  Mean platelet volume (MPV) can be used as one of the laboratory parameters to know the function and activation of the platelets, which reflects the vascular profile of the patient. So, the present study compares the values of mean platelet volume among the diabetic groups to determine the relation between the vascular complication and the mean platelet volume. This study was conducted with 90 participants, who were divided into three groups. Group A  is non-diabetics, group B is type 2 Diabetics, and Group C is type 2 Diabetics with vascular complications and MPV.  On analyzing the statistical mean value of mean platelet volume, group B's (type 2 diabetics) value was higher than group A's (non-diabetics) and statistically significant with a p – value of 0.001. Similarly, the mean value of group C (type 2 diabetes with complications) was higher than group B (type 2 diabetics) and statistically significant with a p – value of 0.049 in the diabetics with and without vascular complications. On comparing the MPV of different study groups, the MPV is higher in the diabetic group with complicatiosn compared with the diabetics without complications

COVID-19 infection across workplace settings in Qatar: a comparison of COVID-19 positivity rates of screened workers from March 1st until July 31st, 2020

Abstract Introduction COVID-19 transmission was significant amongst Qatar’s working population during the March–July 2020 outbreak. The study aimed to estimate the risk of exposure for COVID-19 across various workplace settings and demographics in the State of Qatar. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing surveillance data of all workplaces with 10 or more laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19. These workplaces were categorized using a mapping table adapted from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, 2017 version. The data was then analyzed to estimate and compare the positivity rate as an indicator of the risk of developing COVID-19 infection across various workplace settings in the State of Qatar. Results The highest positivity rate was reported amongst the Construction & Related (40.0%) and the Retail & Wholesale Trade sectors (40.0%), whereas, the lowest positivity rate was attributed to the healthcare workplace setting (11.0%). The highest incidence of COVID-19 infections occurred in South Asian nationalities and in the male gender. The private funded sector employees have seen higher positivity rate than employees of the governmental funded sector. Conclusion The elevated risk of infection in Construction and Retail & Wholesale Trade is probably due to environmental and educational vulnerabilities. The predominant labor force of those workplace categories is South Asian craft and male manual workers. Alternatively, the better containment of the healthcare workplace setting can be attributed to the enforcement of infection control and occupational safety measures. These findings imply the importance of using preventive and surveillance strategies for high-risk workplace settings appropriately

Sleep And The Pandemic:Evaluation Of Sleep Patterns During The Covid -19 Pandemic

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has come to a standstill, with enforcement of the lockdown, several regulations, and restrictions that brought significant change to people's lifestyles, and induced waves of panic and delirium in individuals everywhere. This unfunded cross-sectional survey-based study aims to evaluate the pandemic's impact on sleep patterns in a sample of the general population worldwide. An online survey was constructed , composing of 31 questions. The Athens scale was used to estimate nocturnal sleep dysfunction and daytime dysfunction. The survey's target population was 13 years and above. 300 responses were received .A majority of the participants reported that they sleep late, have an increased screen time , and used electronics . 45% of the participants said they have insomnia and 55% of the participants claimed they did not have insomnia. Despite the majority claiming to not have insomnia, on employing the Athens scale to calculate individuals' insomnia scores, the results were quite contradictory .Nighttime routines and alarm usage were also monitored. .Therefore, this study has enabled to observe that there has been a definite impact in the sleep cycles of certain individuals since the beginning of the pandemic. Limitations of this study include sample size, random sampling and lack of additional profound dat