Entropy generation in magneto couple stress bionanofluid flow containing gyrotactic microorganisms towards a stagnation point on a stretching/shrinking sheet.

The study focuses on the behavior of an electrically conducting non-Newtonian fluid with couple stress properties, using water-based bionanofluid. The fluid is analyzed as it flows across a porous stretching/shrinking sheet within its own plane. This Study also explores the Bejan Number and Entropy Generation. To facilitate this investigation, the governing nonlinear partial differential equations undergo a transformation, wherein they are converted into nonlinear ordinary differential equations through a suitable similarity transformation. An ideal strategy has been employed to achieve the desired results from the modeled challenge. The Homotopy Analysis Method is applied to determine the solution of the system of differential equations. The convergence of the applied method and their comparison with the numerical method are described through graphs and tables. The main features of the different profiles are briefly described. Graphs are used to analyze the impact of the Bejan number, concentration, temperature, velocity profile, and entropy production rate. Tables present the characteristics of skin friction, Nusselt, and Sherwood numbers for various limitations. The stretching and ambient fluid velocities should fluctuate linearly as the distance from the stagnation point increases. A rise in the magnetic and porosity parameters is accompanied by an increase in the velocity profile. While the velocity profile falls off as a Couple of fluid parameters are increased. The phenomenon of temperature boost is observed to be positively correlated with the increase in Brownian motion parameter while exhibiting no significant dependence on other parameters such as Brinkman number, Prandtl number Lewis number and Thermophoresis parameter. Entropy generation increases with the Brinkman number while decreasing with the radiation parameter and diffusion parameter as is plainly demonstrated.

The burden of SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers across 16 hospitals of Kashmir, India-A seroepidemiological study.

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has greatly affected healthcare workers because of the high risk of getting infected. The present cross-sectional study measured SARS-CoV-2 antibody in healthcare workers of Kashmir, India. METHODS: Serological testing to detect antibodies against nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 was performed in 2003 healthcare workers who voluntarily participated in the study. RESULTS: We report relatively high seropositivity of 26.8% (95% CI 24.8-28.8) for SARS-CoV-2in healthcare workers, nine months after the first case was detected in Kashmir. Most of the healthcare workers (71.7%) attributed infection to the workplace environment. Among healthcare workers who neither reported any prior symptom nor were they ever tested for infection by nasopharyngeal swab test, 25.5% were seropositive. CONCLUSION: We advocate interval testing by nasopharyngeal swab test of all healthcare workers regardless of symptoms to limit the transmission of infection within healthcare settings.

SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence Among Healthcare Workers by Workplace Exposure Risk in Kashmir, India.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) poses a tremendous challenge to healthcare systems across the globe. Serologic testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers (HCWs) may quantify the rate of clinically significant exposure in an institutional setting and identify those HCWs who are at greatest risk. METHODS: We conducted a survey and SARS-CoV-2 serologic testing among a convenience sample of HCWs from 79 non-COVID and 3 dedicated COVID hospitals in District Srinagar of Kashmir, India. In addition to testing for the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), we collected information on demographics, occupational group, influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms, nasopharyngeal reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing status, history of close unprotected contacts, and quarantine/travel history. RESULTS: Of 7,346 eligible HCWs, 2,915 (39.7%) participated in the study. The overall prevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies was 2.5% (95% CI, 2.0%-3.1%), while HCWs who had ever worked at a dedicated COVID-19 hospital had a substantially lower seroprevalence of 0.6% (95% CI, 0.2%-1.9%). Higher seroprevalence rates were observed among HCWs who reported a recent ILI (12.2%), a positive RT-PCR (27.6%), a history of being put under quarantine (4.9%), and a history of close unprotected contact with a person with COVID-19 (4.4%). Healthcare workers who ever worked at a dedicated COVID-19 hospital had a lower multivariate-adjusted risk of seropositivity (odds ratio, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.06-0.66). CONCLUSIONS: Our investigation suggests that infection-control practices, including a compliance-maximizing buddy system, are valuable and effective in preventing infection within a high-risk clinical setting. Universal masking, mandatory testing of patients, and residential dormitories for HCWs at COVID-19-dedicated hospitals is an effective multifaceted approach to infection control. Moreover, given that many infections among HCWs are community-acquired, it is likely that the vigilant practices in these hospitals will have spillover effects, creating ingrained behaviors that will continue outside the hospital setting.