Neck Pain Disability and Smartphone Addiction Among College Students Before and During COVID-19 Confinement: A Pilot Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in the use of smartphone technology, which can be associated with several negative health effects such as neck pain disability. The present study explored the association between smartphone addiction and disability associated with neck pain among female health science students before and 2 months after the start of COVID-19 confinement. Data were obtained for this pilot study from 39 students before the pandemic and 2 months after the start of confinement using two self-administered questionnaires, the Neck Disability Index and Smartphone Addiction Scale Short Version. The results showed that while there was an increase in smartphone use after the start of confinement, the before and after confinement difference was negligible. Surprisingly, smartphone addiction and neck pain disability seemed to decrease after the start of the confinement. Further, while there was a moderate but significant correlation between smartphone addiction and neck pain disability before the COVID-19 confinement, this correlation was insignificant after the start of confinement. These findings could be explained by other factors, such as the position in which the devices were used, but they need to be investigated further through larger multicenter cohorts with long-term follow-up.

Chitosan-based films blended with moringa leaves and MgO nanoparticles for application in active food packaging.

This study aims to address the issue of environmental pollution caused by non-biodegradable petroleum-based food packaging by exploring the application of biodegradable films. Film casting was employed to fabricate food packaging films from chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymers blended with moringa extract (MoE) and various concentrations of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs). The films were characterized through multiple techniques, including UV spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The study investigated the physicomechanical properties, water solubility, water vapor transmission rate, oxygen permeability, migration test, biodegradability, contact angle, anti-fogging, antibacterial and antifungal activity, and application of the films for food packaging. The results showed that blending CS/PVA films with MoE and MgO NPs significantly improved their mechanical properties. The highest tensile strength of 98 MPa was observed in the CPMMgO-0.5 film. The solubility of the films was low, with CPMMgO-0 and CPMMgO-0.25 demonstrating the lowest solubility as weight decreased by 3.41 % and 3.47 %, respectively. The water vapor transmission rate and oxygen permeability decreased with increasing MgO NP concentrations, with the CPMMgO-0.5 film exhibiting the lowest values. The films also demonstrated good biodegradability, anti-fogging ability, antibacterial and antifungal activity, and low water solubility, enabling bead encapsulation over 14 days in good condition. Moreover, the thermal stability of the films was improved, extending the shelf life of bread. Therefore, the fabricated films provide a promising alternative to non-degradable plastic packaging, which heavily contributes to environmental pollution.