Public Opinions, Preparedness and Perspectives Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic Future in India

COVID-19 pandemic has globally affected the health, economy, psychology and socio-economic status of the society. This pandemic demands a great deal of preparedness by public at many fronts. To control this pandemic India implemented a complete lockdown in the whole country. Post unlock there are rapidly rising number of cases, therefore we planned to conduct an online survey on general public regarding their thoughts on COVID-19 in the coming times. We planned to ask them few questions regarding their take on pandemic in coming months, their economic status, stigma regarding health of their family and their suggestions regarding control of pandemic, if lockdown should be implemented or not despite fall in business and economy. It was circulated through messages to various groups and people and they were requested to fill it. On analyzing the survey responses, majority of the people mentioned that pandemic is going to increase and most of the people were concerned about their family’s health. More than 50% admitted that they will change their lifestyle and reduce their expenses. Though loss of economy is there, many people favored reimplementation of lockdown to stop spread of the virus. We concluded with this survey that besides effect on physical and mental health of people, there is significant effect on social health and economic aspects of people. With time people are getting clear about their futuristic approaches to handle this pandemic

Cultivation of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) from Agro-waste and Dry Leaf Litter in used Plastic Bottles: Community Waste Management Model Targeting Stubble and Dry Leaf Burning

In recent years, solid waste management has developed from early approaches of burning or dumping to reuse, recycle, regain, and retain various alternative technologies. The present study aims at developing an effective community waste management model with a solution to multiple issues. It aims to provide an alternative to widespread stubble burning, burning dry leaf litter and promoting plastic reuse. The present novel technology involved the cultivation of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) in used plastic bottles to convert agricultural and urban waste into a highly nutritional end product. In this direction, the effect of different wheat straw and dry leaves’ ratios was assessed on the spawn run time, primordial formation, final harvesting time, mean yield per plastic bottle, and the % biological efficiency per gram of the substrate. Both the combinations of L30:WS70 and L50:WS50 represented ideal options for using the two waste substrates to cultivate the mushroom species. This model will help recycle agro-waste and serve as an effective method of generating nutritious food for fighting food security while decreasing the plastic load and trash thrown for disposal

Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background The effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease who are at risk for disease progression are not well understood. The EMPA-KIDNEY trial was designed to assess the effects of treatment with empagliflozin in a broad range of such patients. Methods We enrolled patients with chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 20 but less than 45 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area, or who had an eGFR of at least 45 but less than 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (with albumin measured in milligrams and creatinine measured in grams) of at least 200. Patients were randomly assigned to receive empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or matching placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of progression of kidney disease (defined as end-stage kidney disease, a sustained decrease in eGFR to < 10 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2), a sustained decrease in eGFR of & GE;40% from baseline, or death from renal causes) or death from cardiovascular causes. Results A total of 6609 patients underwent randomization. During a median of 2.0 years of follow-up, progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 432 of 3304 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 of 3305 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.82; P < 0.001). Results were consistent among patients with or without diabetes and across subgroups defined according to eGFR ranges. The rate of hospitalization from any cause was lower in the empagliflozin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95; P=0.003), but there were no significant between-group differences with respect to the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes (which occurred in 4.0% in the empagliflozin group and 4.6% in the placebo group) or death from any cause (in 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively). The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Among a wide range of patients with chronic kidney disease who were at risk for disease progression, empagliflozin therapy led to a lower risk of progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes than placebo