COVID-19 and Cardiomyopathy in African Americans: An Early Single-Center Experience.

Introduction The 2019 coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on our society. Although most patients report minimal symptoms, a small proportion of patients have reported significant respiratory symptoms that led to admission to the inpatient medical ward or even the intensive care unit. Complications and long-term sequela of COVID-19 are still being reported and studied. The presence of cardiomyopathy, whether established or new-onset and its effect on inpatient mortality, admission to the intensive care unit or length of stay hasn't been studied.  Methods All inpatient hospitalizations in our database between March 1, 2020, and April 30, 2020, due to COVID-19 were reviewed. Patients who had at least a limited echocardiogram during this time were included in the study if they were above the age of 18. Patients were then assigned to three groups. The first group had patients with normal left ventricular systolic function. The second group had established cardiomyopathy that persisted throughout admission. The third group had patients who were found to have new-onset cardiomyopathy during admission.  Results The inpatient mortality, although high and variable, wasn't significantly different between the three groups. Also, there was no significant difference between admission to the intensive care unit, disposition at discharge, or oxygenation status at 24 hours between the three groups. The length of stay in the established cardiomyopathy group was markedly lower, and we suspect that could be due to more aggressive discussions about end-of-life care.  Conclusion Early COVID-19 experience at our center revealed a relatively high mortality rate that was primarily due to respiratory failure. The presence of established or new cardiomyopathy didn't appear to alter the outcomes significantly early in the pandemic.

The indelible marks on dermatology: Impacts of COVID-19 on dermatology residency Match using the Texas STAR database.

With changes to interview format and away rotations, the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the residency application process. In this retrospective cohort study of data from the nationwide Texas Seeking Transparency in Applications to Residency (STAR) survey, we sought to understand how the pandemic has affected applicants in the 2021 dermatology Match. We compared applicants in the post-COVID-19 Match year (2021) with those in pre-COVID-19 Match years (2018-2020) regarding match rates, interview costs, residency geographic connections, and number of interviews attended. A total of 439 dermatology applicants who completed the Texas STAR survey were included. There was no difference in percentage of applicants with a geographic connection to their matched program (43.88% vs 47.20%). Compared with prior cycles, applicants in the 2021 Match had a higher percentage of interview offers (96% vs 90%, P < .0001), and more applicants attended 16 or more interviews (P = .0489). Applicants in the 2021 Match reported an average savings of $5,000 compared with prior cycles. Virtual interviews offer savings for applicants but may encourage interview hoarding. Though applicants did not perform away rotations, there was no increase in geographic connection for matched applicants. Stakeholders should consider these data when evaluating the pros and cons of virtual interviewing postpandemic.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Impending Global Mental Health Implications.

The increase in organisms transference and infectious pandemics across the globe have been accelerated by an increase in travel, international exchange and global changes in earth's climate. COVID-19, a virus caused by the novel coronavirus that was initially identified on December 2019, in Wuhan city of China is currently affecting 146 territories, states and countries raising distress, panic and increasing anxiety in individuals exposed to the (actual or supposed) peril of the virus across the globe. Fundamentally, these concerns ascend with all infections, including those of flu and other agents, and the same worldwide safeguards are compulsory and suggested for protection and the prevention of further diffusion. However, media has underlined COVID-19 as rather an exclusive threat, which has added to panic and stress in masses which can lead to several mental health issues like anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder which should be contained immediately in its initial phases.

Additively manufactured nano-mechanical energy harvesting systems: advancements, potential applications, challenges and future perspectives.

Additively manufactured nano-MEH systems are widely used to harvest energy from renewable and sustainable energy sources such as wind, ocean, sunlight, raindrops, and ambient vibrations. A comprehensive study focusing on in-depth technology evolution, applications, problems, and future trends of specifically 3D printed nano-MEH systems with an energy point of view is rarely conducted. Therefore, this paper looks into the state-of-the-art technologies, energy harvesting sources/methods, performance, implementations, emerging applications, potential challenges, and future perspectives of additively manufactured nano-mechanical energy harvesting (3DP-NMEH) systems. The prevailing challenges concerning renewable energy harvesting capacities, optimal energy scavenging, power management, material functionalization, sustainable prototyping strategies, new materials, commercialization, and hybridization are discussed. A novel solution is proposed for renewable energy generation and medicinal purposes based on the sustainable utilization of recyclable municipal and medical waste generated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, recommendations for future research are presented concerning the cutting-edge issues hurdling the optimal exploitation of renewable energy resources through NMEHs. China and the USA are the most significant leading forces in enhancing 3DP-NMEH technology, with more than 75% contributions collectively. The reported output energy capacities of additively manufactured nano-MEH systems were 0.5-32 mW, 0.0002-45.6 mW, and 0.3-4.67 mW for electromagnetic, piezoelectric, and triboelectric nanogenerators, respectively. The optimal strategies and techniques to enhance these energy capacities are compiled in this paper.

Psychiatric and post-traumatic stress disorders among COVID-19 survivors.

Evidences related to neuropsychological impact of COVID-19 and its long-term side effects are beginning to emerge that may take years to catalogue the number of diseases and their treatments. Nonetheless, as neuropsychologists are evaluating COVID-19 survivors, a debate related to the psychiatric and neurocognitive sequels of past outbreaks, along with the recurrent co-occurrence of PTSD and acquired brain injuries, may be enlightening. This paper is highlighting the emergence of mental health issues that can be addressed and treatments can be provided according to the need of time. Technology has also been increasing day by day according to the current needs of public. COVID-19 crisis has now shifted the focus towards the role of digital health care. For ensuring the best and right use of tele-health and app tools in such crises, it is suggested that there is a need for training of mental health professionals to ensure proper protocols for improved efficacy.

Applications of additive manufacturing (AM) in sustainable energy generation and battle against COVID-19 pandemic: The knowledge evolution of 3D printing.

Sustainable and cleaner manufacturing systems have found broad applications in industrial processes, especially aerospace, automotive and power generation. Conventional manufacturing methods are highly unsustainable regarding carbon emissions, energy consumption, material wastage, costly shipment and complex supply management. Besides, during global COVID-19 pandemic, advanced fabrication and management strategies were extremely required to fulfill the shortfall of basic and medical emergency supplies. Three-dimensional printing (3DP) reduces global energy consumption and CO2 emissions related to industrial manufacturing. Various renewable energy harvesting mechanisms utilizing solar, wind, tidal and human potential have been fabricated through additive manufacturing. 3D printing aided the manufacturing companies in combating the deficiencies of medical healthcare devices for patients and professionals globally. In this regard, 3D printed medical face shields, respiratory masks, personal protective equipment, PLA-based recyclable air filtration masks, additively manufactured ideal tissue models and new information technology (IT) based rapid manufacturing are some significant contributions of 3DP. Furthermore, a bibliometric study of 3D printing research was conducted in CiteSpace. The most influential keywords and latest research frontiers were found and the 3DP knowledge was categorized into 10 diverse research themes. The potential challenges incurred by AM industry during the pandemic were categorized in terms of design, safety, manufacturing, certification and legal issues. Significantly, this study highlights the versatile role of 3DP in battle against COVID-19 pandemic and provides up-to-date research frontiers, leading the readers to focus on the current hurdles encountered by AM industry, henceforth conduct further investigations to enhance 3DP technology.

Discovering the technology evolution pathways for 3D printing (3DP) using bibliometric investigation and emerging applications of 3DP during COVID-19

Additive manufacturing (AM) is advantageous in terms of lower carbon emissions, less material-wastage, mobility of digital design, product customization and simpler supply chain management. Moreover, during the global COVID-19 crisis, a robust and IT-driven manufacturing technology was highly required to cope with the peak demands of medical and basic emergency supplies. 3D printing (3DP) enabled the manufacturers to fulfill the deficiencies of healthcare equipment for medical professionals and patients throughout the world. In this paper, some emerging applications and challenges incurred by 3D printing during COVID-19 were briefly summarized. 3D printed PLA-based biodegradable mask filters, medical face shields, respiratory protective equipment and 3D bioprinted tissue models for COVID research are some significant contributions of AM. In this paper, a CiteSpace based bibliometric investigation of 3DP-related literature was conducted, to identify the technology evolution pathways for 3D printing, using the data retrieved from Web of Science and published between 1986 and 2021. The main contributing forces including countries, journals, institutions and subject areas were determined. Knowledge clusters were established to identify networks of the most prolific keywords and documents. In addition, a hierarchical knowledge foundation and hotspots of 3DP were recommended for future research. It was revealed that the policy support of the USA, China, England and Germany was significantly favorable for the development of 3DP research. This article provides insights into the COVID-based applications of 3DP and the research dynamics of this field, which can help in the decision-making process to incorporate innovative and emerging technologies in the AM industry.

Knowledge structure and research progress in wind power generation (WPG) from 2005 to 2020 using CiteSpace based scientometric analysis

Renewable energy resources have enabled the mitigation of global environmental pollution and sustainable energy generation. Due to renewability, cleanliness, and vast sustainability aspects of wind energy, wind power generation (WPG) systems have recently found rapid development. In this study, the sustainability aspects of WPG systems are briefly summarized by comparing the sustainability parameters for various sources of WPG. The techno-socio-economic, aesthetic, and cultural impacts of conventional wind farms and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the accomplishment of new wind energy projects were also discussed. The study aims to visualize the intellectual background, current research status and state-of-the-art knowledge structure of WPG-related literature using CiteSpace based scientometric investigation. The WPG-related original articles, published from 2005 to 2020, were retrieved from the Web of Science core collection. The most prolific publications, countries and journals involved in the flourishment of WPG research were identified. Moreover, visualization methods were employed to determine the highly productive articles, keywords, hotspots, and research frontiers in the WPG domain. Furthermore, the classification of WPG knowledge was performed in the form of clusters and knowledge structure to achieve ten distinct sub-domains. It was revealed that China was the most prominent country among others in the research of WPG, holding 29% of the total publications;the most probable reason is the more assertive funding support policy from the Chinese government and research institutions, compared to other countries. This study can help the researchers to spot the new research frontiers and distinguish among the most critical sub-domains of WPG based knowledge.