High Body Temperature Research Articles

Peculiarities clinical course of influenza in children and modern opportunities for specific prophylactics

Annotation. Timely detection of influenza cases and modern opportunities for prevention of the disease are becoming important in the season of increasing the incidence of respiratory diseases in a pandemic COVID-19.The aim was to study the clinical and laboratory features of influenza in children in the season 2021/2022, who were hospitalized in the departments of Vinnytsia City Hospital “Mother and Child Center” since December 2021 till February 2022, as well as to analyze the current possibilities of specific prevention of the disease. 30 children were examined to clarify the clinical course of influenza. To diagnose influenza A and B, children underwent a smear of the nasal mucosa. Immunochromatographic method was used, namely cito-test of LLC "Pharmaco - Ukraine". To rule out coronavirus infection, a rapid antigen test for the coronavirus "SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test" was performed. An analysis of prophylactic vaccination cards №063/o was performed to study the coverage of influenza vaccination. It was found that preschool children predominated (17 people – 56.7%), while school-age children accounted for 43.3%. A quarter of children (26.6%) sought medical help on the first day of illness, half (56.6%) - on the second day and the rest (16.6%) – on the third day. The children with flu mostly complained of chills, headache, loss of appetite, aches in the joints and muscles, most children suffered from high body temperature, which lasted up to 3±0.8 days. The average temperature figures were 39.52±0.58ºC. Catarrhal phenomena were present in the biggest part of children (86.7%). It was revealed a clear lung sound and vesicular breath sound in a physical examination. There were no significant changes in the blood count in 70% of children. Children were prescribed special and symptomatic therapy. No one of the hospitalized children received specific influenza prophylaxis according to the prophylactic vaccination cards №063/o, although vaccination remains the best way to protect against influenza and is of great importance, especially in a pandemic COVID-19. Inactivated tetravalent vaccines present in Ukraine provide reliable protection against influenza and are completely safe.

Real-World Efficacy of Regdanvimab on Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Mild to Moderate COVID-19.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of regdanvimab on clinical outcomes in patients with mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This retrospective observational study included 152 patients (89 received regdanvimab and 63 did not) diagnosed with mild to moderate COVID-19 between August 2021 and October 2021 and admitted to Armed Forces Goyang Hospital. We collected information on the use of regdanvimab, remdesivir, dexamethasone, and supplemental oxygen; symptom severity score (SSS); and laboratory test results. A linear mixed-effects model was used to test the effectiveness of regdanvimab usage on SSS and the results of laboratory tests. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for additional therapeutic options, such as remdesivir, dexamethasone, and supplemental oxygen. Results: The patients who received regdanvimab were older, showed a higher rate of vaccination, and had a higher Charlson comorbidity index, initial body temperature, and percentages of pneumonia at admission. The use of regdanvimab showed no interactive effects on the SSS and laboratory findings. Older age, male sex, obesity, high initial body temperature, and the presence of pneumonia at admission were associated with increased ORs for the use of these additional treatments. The use of regdanvimab reduced the probability of requiring additional therapies such as remdesivir, dexamethasone, and oxygen supplementation by 90.3% (95% confidence interval (CI), 60.3–97.6), 85.8% (95% CI, 34.2–96.9), and 89.8% (95% CI, 48.3–98), respectively. Conclusions: Regdanvimab usage was well tolerated and was associated with a decreased probability of requiring remdesivir, dexamethasone, and oxygen therapy. However, changes in SSS were not significantly different by the drug usage.

Calibration of Low-Resolution Thermal Imaging for Human Monitoring Applications

Thermal imaging has recently come to light to measure high human body temperature (fever) in responses to the global public health issues. This is normally achieved by very expensive high-resolution thermal cameras. Lately, there has been a new commercial low-resolution thermal sensor array (TSA) that has gained growing interest in indoor human monitoring applications due to their low-cost and human privacy-preserving claims. However, there has not been sufficient independent empirical calibration of low-resolution TSA and high-resolution images for human-centred applications. This letter provides empirical calibration of low- and high-resolution thermal imaging techniques in terms of their visible outputs, accuracy in temperature values, and stability. Besides, this letter assesses the claimed privacy-preserving feature of TSA by experimentally validating the possibility of revoking the human identity from the TSA’s output. Thus, this letter aims to understand better the advantages, limitations, and future trends of using TSA in human monitoring applications.

Intra-population variation of body temperature of the lizard Sceloporus anahuacus (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) in Sierra del Ajusco, Mexico

We evaluated intra-population variation of body temperature of the Mexican lizard Sceloporus anahuacus (Phrynosomatidae) in Sierra del Ajusco, Mexico. The geographic distribution of this lizard is restricted to the higher parts of the mountains bordering the south of the Mexican Valley in Mexico City. The study of the body temperature of S. anahuacus and its relationship with the environment is important because high elevation taxa are seriously threatened by climate change. For that reason, and compared body temperature between sex, age class, reproductive condition and activity state. Overall, mean body temperature was 26.2 ± 5.5 °C with a range between 9–39 °C. We did not find differences between body temperatures of males and females. However, we found significant differences depending on activity state in both sexes. In females, body temperature did not vary as a function of age class or reproductive status. Instead, we found differences in body temperature between males of different age classes. Juveniles had the highest body temperature, probably due to differential temperature requirements associated with development. On the other hand, body temperature of active and inactive S. anahuacus was strongly associated with environmental temperature, perhaps due to sedentary habits and territorial behavior. Exploring why such variation exists on body temperature regulation may provide information on factors influencing the survivorship of this endemic Mexican lizard.

The Possible Role of Body Temperature in Modulating Brain and Body Sizes in Hominin Evolution.

Many models have posited that the concomitant evolution of large brains and body sizes in hominins was constrained by metabolic costs. In such studies, the impact of body temperature has arguably not been sufficiently addressed despite the well-established fact that the rates of most physiological processes are manifestly temperature-dependent. Hence, the potential role of body temperature in regulating the number of neurons and body size is investigated by means of a heuristic quantitative model. It is suggested that modest deviations in body temperature (i.e., by a couple of degrees Celsius) might allow for substantive changes in brain and body parameters. In particular, a higher body temperature may prove amenable to an increased number of neurons, a higher brain-to-body mass ratio and fewer hours expended on feeding activities, while the converse could apply when the temperature is lowered. Future studies should, therefore, endeavor to explore and incorporate the effects of body temperature in metabolic theories of hominin evolution, while also integrating other factors such as foraging efficiency, diet, and fire control in tandem.

MilliTRACE-IR: Contact Tracing and Temperature Screening via mmWave and Infrared Sensing

Social distancing and temperature screening have been widely employed to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic, sparking great interest from academia, industry and public administrations worldwide. While most solutions have dealt with these aspects separately, their combination would greatly benefit the continuous monitoring of public spaces and help trigger effective countermeasures. This work presents milliTRACE-IR, a joint mmWave radar and infrared imaging sensing system performing unobtrusive and privacy preserving human body temperature screening and contact tracing in indoor spaces. milliTRACE-IR combines, via a robust sensor fusion approach, mmWave radars and infrared thermal cameras. It achieves fully automated measurement of distancing and body temperature, by jointly tracking the subjects's faces in the thermal camera image plane and the human motion in the radar reference system. Moreover, milliTRACE-IR performs contact tracing: a person with high body temperature is reliably detected by the thermal camera sensor and subsequently traced across a large indoor area in a non-invasive way by the radars. When entering a new room, a subject is re-identified among several other individuals by computing gait-related features from the radar reflections through a deep neural network and using a weighted extreme learning machine as the final re-identification tool. Experimental results, obtained from a real implementation of milliTRACE-IR, demonstrate decimeter-level accuracy in distance/trajectory estimation, inter-personal distance estimation (effective for subjects getting as close as 0.2 m), and accurate temperature monitoring (max. errors of 0.5{\deg}C). Furthermore, milliTRACE-IR provides contact tracing through highly accurate (95%) person re-identification, in less than 20 seconds.

Bats avoid overheating through intermittent flying

Bats are remarkably versatile. Not only are they the sole mammal that has mastered the mystery of flight but they also have the ability to lower their body temperature to reduce their metabolic rate and conserve energy when the temperature drops. However, when bats are flying, their metabolic rate is considerably higher, causing their body temperature to rise. Yet, little is known about how bats prevent themselves from overheating during flight. Jinhong Luo from the Central China Normal University, China, Stefan Greif and Yossi Yovel from Tel Aviv University, Israel, and colleagues from Israel and Thailand, decided to monitor the body temperature of wild great roundleaf bats (Hipposideros armiger), which is one of the largest insect-eating bats, taking short intermittent breaks between flights while they hunt at night for moths, butterflies and beetles.The team went out to Satun cave in Thailand and caught 18 bats using hand nets. Then, they attached a small temperature and motion sensor equipped with a GPS tracker to the backs of 10 bats, gently inserting the tiny temperature sensor beneath the skin to simultaneously record their temperature as they flew at night. Ten days later, the team successfully relocated five of the original sensors by following the GPS signal, discovering that four had successfully recorded the bats’ body temperature, although only two of the motion sensors clearly showed their flight manoeuvres. In addition, the team tagged the eight remaining bats with the temperature and motion sensors alone and released the animals in a 3×2×2 m3 room, letting them fly freely to collect more detailed information about the mammal's flight manoeuvres and body temperature. Once the experiments were complete, the team removed the tags, and re-released the bats into the wild.After analysing the movements of the bats that had spent time in the laboratory, the team identified 55 flight bouts that lasted for about 48 s. Between these short flights, the bats would stop flying and take breaks on perches. The researchers then compared their activities with the skin temperature measurements and found that the bats that had experienced the fastest skin temperature rises had the highest skin temperatures, while the bats that had slower temperature rises ended up with cooler skins. The researchers then compared those findings with the situation of the bats in the wild and found a similar skin temperature pattern. Also, when the team checked the highest skin temperatures of both groups of bats, they reached approximately 40°C, fortunately well below the lethal level of 44–45°C.The researchers suspect that the short intermittent flights used by the hunting bats may help the animals to avoid potentially lethally high body temperatures. Additionally, when great roundleaf bats take breaks on a perch between foraging bouts, the bats probably reduce the amount of energy that they use, compared with the amount of energy they would consume if continually flying and searching for prey. Now that Luo, Greif and colleagues have successfully measured the skin temperature of wild flying great roundleaf bats, other researchers could use the same strategy to find out how bats that thrive on different diets, such as fruit or even scorpions, keep their temperature down when performing the most metabolically demanding activity known. Alternatively, scientists could look at the body temperature of smaller bats as they go about catching insects, to find out how body size impacts how they regulate their temperature while on the wing.

Thermal Scanning and Mask Detection Entrance

Abstract: “Covid-19”, a virus has changed the world with a huge impact in the regular lives of people. People are mostly scared to go outside because of this deadly virus. But there are ways to fight and avoid this virus from affecting us, which is regular sanitization of hands and proper wearing of mask. But these days, people are avoiding these basic safety aids. Because of this virus, many public places have forcibly put to shut as people might get affected. Covid-19 can be fought only if people start to keep safe distance and wear proper mask covering their faces. Covid-19 has several symptoms like high body temperature. So, keeping these factors in mind the prototype has been developed as a system that can detect the body temperature of a person as well as it can check if the person is wearing a mask or not. This work has thermal imaging technique that can detect body temperature without any physical contact and uses image processing to check for mask wearablity. If the person fails to wear a mask or his/her body temperature is above normal, then an alarm is generated, and the photo of the person is sent to the control room with an alert message. The data of both people entering as well as people that are not allowed, are stored in the database with the current date and time. Keywords: Mask, Thermal scan, Raspberry Pi, MLX90614, Servo motor, Alarm

Influence of the farrowing process and different sow and piglet traits on uterine involution in a free farrowing system

An inadequate uterine involution can lead to postpartal disorders in sows and thereby negatively affects the reproductive cycle and performance of the animals. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of the farrowing process and different sow and piglet traits on the uterine involution in a free farrowing system. In total three data sets of 48 crossbred sows (Large White x Landrace) from the peripartal period were synthesised and analysed. The uterine diameter of three uterine horns per sow was measured daily during the first two weeks postpartum using ultrasonography and then the uterine regression was calculated. Furthermore, the following sow and piglet traits before and during parturition were assessed: parity, body condition score, backfat thickness, gestation length, number of live born piglets, number of stillborn piglets, farrowing duration, duration of placenta expulsion, litter weight, placenta weight, number of placenta parts, faecal score, and birth induction. In addition, the following parameters were recorded five days after farrowing: body temperature, severity and amount of vaginal discharge, pathological colour of vaginal discharge, and lack of appetite. Spearman's correlation test was used to examine the association between the parameters within the group and uterine regression. In addition, a linear multiple regression was used to model the relationship between the uterine involution and explanatory variables from the peripartal period. The mean diameter of the uterus decreased from 32.5 mm on day 2 post-partum to 11.4 mm on day 12 post-partum, which is a relative regression of 66%. In the linear multiple regression model, a significant influence of the body condition score (p = 0.046) and the presence of high body temperature (p = 0.022) on uterine involution was detected. When the BCS increases by one unit (from BCS 3 to 4), the relative regression of the uterine involution decreases by approximately 8% and when fever is present, uterine involution is almost 6% slower. Furthermore, a significant correlation between the gestation length and the uterine involution (r = 0.31; p = 0.035) was identified. However, no correlation between the farrowing process and piglets' traits on the uterine involution was detected. This study showed that the body condition score, the gestation length and fever in the first five days after farrowing had significant effects on uterine involution in sows in a free farrowing system. Therefore, these parameters should be routinely monitored in the farrowing management to assess reproductive health post-partum and warrant early intervention.

Egg-laying increases body temperature to an annual maximum in a wild bird

Most birds, unlike reptiles, lay eggs successively to form a full clutch. During egg-laying, birds are highly secretive and prone to disturbance and predation. Using multisensor data loggers, we show that average daily body temperature during egg-laying is significantly increased (1 °C) in wild eider ducks (Somateria mollissima). Strikingly, this increase corresponds to the annual maximum body temperature (40.7 °C), representing a severe annual thermogenic challenge. This egg-laying-induced rise in body temperature may prove to be a common feature of wild birds and could be caused by habitat-related thermoregulatory adjustments and hormonal modulation of reproduction. We conclude our findings with new perspectives of the benefits of high body temperature associated with egg-laying of birds and the potential effect of heat stress that may occur with the future advent of heatwaves.

Effect of Active and Passive Heating Methods Used in Different Areas of Perioperative Processes on Thermal Comfort and Anxiety: A Randomized Control Trial

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the effects of active and passive heating methods applied in different parts of the perioperative process on thermal comfort, anxiety, and vital signs.
 Design: This study was conducted with patients admitted for open abdominal surgery between October 1, 2018 and January 10, 2019. Patients were randomly allocated into three groups as follows: Group A (n = 33), Group B (n = 33), and Group C (control group; n = 33).
 Methods: This study is a randomized, pretest–posttest controlled experimental design. Intervention Group A and B gowns blowing warm air were used as intervention tools. Procedural care (Group C) received routine hospital care. Vital signs, thermal comfort, and anxiety levels of the patients were evaluated.
 Findings: Compared to those in Group B, for patients in Group A, the thermal comfort levels were higher and the anxiety levels were lower. The highest body temperature was seen in the patients in Group A. No difference was noted in blood pressure values between the groups. The pulse values of the patients in Groups A and B were significantly lower. 
 Conclusion: The use of gowns blowing warm air had a positive effect on the patients’ anxiety, thermal comfort, and vital signs.

Cluster analysis integrating age and body temperature for mortality in patients with sepsis: a multicenter retrospective study

It is not clear whether mortality is associated with body temperature (BT) in older sepsis patients. This study aimed to evaluate the mortality rates in sepsis patients according to age and BT and identify the risk factors for mortality. We investigated the clusters using a machine learning method based on a combination of age and BT, and identified the mortality rates according to these clusters. This retrospective multicenter study was conducted at five hospitals in Korea. Data of sepsis patients aged ≥ 18 years who were admitted to the intensive care unit between January 1, 2011 and April 30, 2021 were collected. BT was divided into three groups (hypothermia < 36 °C, normothermia 36‒38 °C, and hyperthermia > 38 °C), and age groups were divided using a 75-year age threshold. Kaplan‒Meier analysis was performed to assess the cumulative mortality over 90 days. A K-means clustering algorithm using age and BT was used to characterize phenotypes. During the study period, 15,574 sepsis patients were enrolled. Overall, 90-day mortality was 20.5%. Kaplan‒Meier survival analyses demonstrated that 90-day mortality rates were 27.4%, 19.6%, and 11.9% in the hypothermia, normothermia, and hyperthermia groups, respectively, in those ≥ 75 years old (Log-rank p < 0.001). Cluster analysis demonstrated three groups: Cluster A (relatively older age and lower BT), Cluster B (relatively younger age and wide range of BT), and Cluster C (relatively higher BT than Cluster A). Kaplan‒Meier curve analysis showed that the 90-day mortality rates of Cluster A was significantly higher than those of Clusters B and C (24.2%, 17.1%, and 17.0%, respectively; Log-rank p < 0.001). The 90-day mortality rate correlated inversely with BT groups among sepsis patients in either age group (< 75 and ≥ 75 years). Clustering analysis revealed that the mortality rate was higher in the cluster of patients with relatively older age and lower BT.

Smart COVID-shield: an IoT driven reliable and automated prototype model for COVID-19 symptoms tracking

IoT technology is revolutionizing healthcare and is transforming it into more personalized healthcare. In the context of COVID-19 pandemic, IoT`s intervention can help to detect its spread. This research proposes an effective “Smart COVID-Shield” that is capable of automatically detecting prevalent symptoms like fever and coughing along with ensuring social distancing norms are properly followed. It comprises three modules which include Cough Detect Module (CDM) for dry cough detection, Temperature Detect module (TDM) for high-temperature monitoring, and Distance Compute Module (DCM) to track social distancing norm violator. The device comprises a combination of a lightweight fabric suspender worn around shoulders and a flexible belt wrapped around the waist. The suspender is equipped with a passive infrared (PIR) sensor and temperature sensor to monitor persistent coughing patterns and high body temperature and the ultra-sonic sensor verify 6 feet distance for tracking an individual's social distancing norms. The developed model is implemented in an aluminum factory to verify its effectiveness. Results obtained were promising and reliable when compared to conventional manual procedures. The model accurately reported when body temperature rises. It outperformed thermal gun as it accurately recorded a mean of only 4.65 candidates with higher body temperature as compared to 8.59% with the thermal gun. A significant reduction of 3.61% on social distance violators was observed. Besides this, the latency delay of 10.32 s was manageable with the participant count of over 800 which makes it scalable.

Perceived causes and diagnosis of febrile convulsion in selected rural contexts in Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

BackgroundFebrile convulsion (FC) is a common seizure disorder among children aged 9 months to 5 years. It is usually benign and self-limiting with favourable prognosis. However, in Ghana, FC is commonly perceived as “not for hospital” and widely diagnosed and managed at home based on several beliefs and practices which are limited in related literature.ObjectiveThis study explored the perceived causes and diagnosis of FC in selected rural communities in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana.MethodsA descriptive phenomenological study design underpinned the study at five selected communities located not more than 2 Kilometres from the University of Cape Coast Hospital. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to interview 42 participants made up of 27 parents, two grandmothers, seven registered traditional health practitioners, four herbalists, and two faith healers in the communities. The data was analysed using QSR NVivo 12.ResultsThree perceived causes of FC were identified – biological, social/behavioural, and spiritual. Biological causes include genetic abnormalities and other underlying health conditions. The behavioural factors include poor childcare practices and nutrition. Spiritual causes include harm caused by evil spirits. The diagnosis of FC were observed prior, during and after FC attack, and these includes high body temperature, extreme body jerking, and disability outcomes respectively.ConclusionThe perceived causes of FC are interplay of complex natural, social and spiritual factors that were deep-rooted in local socio-cultural beliefs and FC experiences. Unlike the attack stage, pre-attack diagnosis were usually missed, or misconstrued to mean other health conditions. These findings indicate the need to intensify maternal and child health (MCH) education programmes on FC in the study area through improved primary healthcare.

Gait instability and estimated core temperature predict exertional heat stroke

ObjectiveExertional heat stroke (EHS), characterised by a high core body temperature (Tcr) and central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction, is a concern for athletes, workers and military personnel who must train...

PglB function and glycosylation efficiency is temperature dependent when the pgl locus is integrated in the Escherichia coli chromosome

BackgroundCampylobacter is an animal and zoonotic pathogen of global importance, and a pressing need exists for effective vaccines, including those that make use of conserved polysaccharide antigens. To this end, we adapted Protein Glycan Coupling Technology (PGCT) to develop a versatile Escherichia coli strain capable of generating multiple glycoconjugate vaccine candidates against Campylobacter jejuni.ResultsWe generated a glycoengineering E. coli strain containing the conserved C. jejuni heptasaccharide coding region integrated in its chromosome as a model glycan. This methodology confers three advantages: (i) reduction of plasmids and antibiotic markers used for PGCT, (ii) swift generation of many glycan-protein combinations and consequent rapid identification of the most antigenic proteins or peptides, and (iii) increased genetic stability of the polysaccharide coding-region. In this study, by using the model glycan expressing strain, we were able to test proteins from C. jejuni, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (both Gram-negative), and Clostridium perfringens (Gram-positive) as acceptors. Using this pgl integrant E. coli strain, four glycoconjugates were readily generated. Two glycoconjugates, where both protein and glycan are from C. jejuni (double-hit vaccines), and two glycoconjugates, where the glycan antigen is conjugated to a detoxified toxin from a different pathogen (single-hit vaccines). Because the downstream application of Live Attenuated Vaccine Strains (LAVS) against C. jejuni is to be used in poultry, which have a higher body temperature of 42 °C, we investigated the effect of temperature on protein expression and glycosylation in the E. coli pgl integrant strain.ConclusionsWe determined that glycosylation is temperature dependent and that for the combination of heptasaccharide and carriers used in this study, the level of PglB available for glycosylation is a step limiting factor in the glycosylation reaction. We also demonstrated that temperature affects the ability of PglB to glycosylate its substrates in an in vitro glycosylation assay independent of its transcriptional level.

Are olfactory and gustatory symptoms useful at predicting disease severity markers in COVID-19 infection?

The relationship between olfactory and gustatory dysfunction (OGD) and COVID-19 infection severity is still unclear. To investigate the correlation between OGD in COVID-19-infected individuals and RT-PCR results, chest CT scan abnormality, lymphocyte counts, hospital admission units, age, body temperature, and blood oxygen saturation. Case-control study. The sample was composed of laboratory and chest X-ray confirmed COVID-19-infected patients from four hospitals. The patients were divided into case and control groups based on the presence of OGD symptoms. The predictor variable was OGD. The outcome variable was gender, hospital admission unit, chest CT scan abnormality, PCR, lymphocyte counts, age, body temperature, and blood oxygen saturation. Bivariate statistics were computed and the P value was set at 0.05. The sample consisted of 189 patients. Smell and taste disorders were found in 31.7% and 24.3% of patients, respectively. OGD was significantly correlated with positive PCR results (P < 0.001) and general unit admission (P < 0.05) during hospitalization. Additionally, patients with OGD had significantly lower mean age (P < 0.001), higher body temperature (P < 0.01), and blood oxygen saturation (P < 0.01). However, OGD was not correlated with gender, chest CT scan abnormality, or lymphocyte counts (P > 0.05). OGD symptoms can be used to detect COVID-19-infected patients. OGD can be used to predict less severe disease mainly by its correlation with the less amount of hospital care, more negative PCR results, higher body temperature, and higher blood oxygen saturation.

Incidence and association of ocular manifestations with the disease severity in COVID-19 patients of northern region of India.

PURPOSE:Our study aims to find the incidence of ocular manifestations and to investigate the relation of ocular manifestations with the disease severity among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.MATERIAL AND METHODS:Our study is a cross-sectional study done between May 15, 2020, and April 15, 2021, at Hind Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India. All COVID-19 patients who got admitted to our center between May 15, 2020, and April 15, 2021, were included in our study. We included 261 patients in our study. Diagnosis of COVID-19 was made by testing the nasal and pharyngeal swabs by (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR]). An RT-PCR test positive was the criteria for admission in the COVID ward. Statistical analyses were performed using the Mann–Whitney U-test, Chi-square test, and Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. P < 0.01 was considered statistically significant.RESULTS:We included 261 patients in our study. Out of 261 patients, ocular manifestations were found in 43 (16.4%) patients. The patients with ocular manifestations had higher neutrophil counts, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and D-dimer values (P < 0.001). Patients with ocular manifestations were relatively more symptomatic concerning fever and myalgia.CONCLUSION:The incidence of ocular manifestations in COVID-19 patients was 16.4%. Ocular manifestation was significantly associated with raised neutrophil counts, CRP, ESR, PCT, and D-dimer values. Ocular manifestation was also significantly associated with higher body temperature and higher mean age. The findings of the study are suggestive of more severe disease in patients of COVID-19 with ocular manifestations.

Insect thermal limits in warm and perturbed habitats: Dragonflies and damselflies as study cases.

Disturbance (e.g. loss of plant cover) increases ambient temperature which can be lethal for ectotherm insects especially in hot places. We compared the thorax temperatures of 26 odonate species as a function of body size, habitat quality ("conserved" and cooler vs "perturbed" and warmer) and suborder (Anisoptera vs Zygoptera), as well as critical thermal maximum (CTmax) and as a function of habitat quality in Argia pulla (Zygoptera) and Orthemis ferruginea (Anisoptera). We expected thorax temperatures to differ between suborders based on their differences in body size and habitat quality status, and that populations in perturbed sites would have higher critical thermal maxima compared to those in conserved sites. This study was done in a tropical region with high ambient temperatures. Anisopterans had a higher body temperature than zygopterans, with no difference between habitats. Thoracic and air temperature were positively related, yet body temperatures were higher than the ambient temperature. A. pulla had higher CTmax in the perturbed sites, while O. ferruginea showed the opposite trend. Microenvironmental changes increase the ambient temperature, perhaps filtering insect species. The apparent resilience of odonates to disturbance should be examined more closely (using more species), especially in small species like the zygopterans which appear to be more strongly affected by ambient temperature.

Antioxidant defense mechanisms and fatty acid catabolism in Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea) exposed to high temperatures

Extreme hot weather is occurring more frequently due to global warming, posing a significant threat to species survival. Birds in particular are more likely to overheat in hot weather because they have a higher body temperature. This study used a heat stress model to investigate the antioxidant defense mechanisms and changes in fatty acid catabolism in Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea) to gain an understanding of how birds adapt to high temperatures. The birds were divided into five groups: a control group (30 ​°C for 0 days), 1 D group (40 ​°C for 1 day), 3 D group (40 ​°C for 3 days), 14 D group (40 ​°C for 14 days) and recovery group (40 ​°C for 14 days, then 30 ​°C for 14 days). Our results indicated that when Red-billed Leiothrix are subjected to heat stress, malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the liver significantly increased, as did the enzyme activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione–SH–peroxidase (GSH-PX) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in the liver. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression in the liver, while avian uncoupling protein (avUCP) expression in muscle was significantly reduced. Additionally, there was a significant reduction in fatty acid catabolism enzyme activity such as 3-hydroxyacyl-CoAdehydrogenase (HOAD) activity in the heart, and carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 (CPT-1) and citrate synthase (CS) activity in the heart and liver. Furthermore, fatty acid translocase (FAT/CD36) in the heart, heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) and fatty acid binding protein (FABP-pm) in the liver and heart were also significantly decreased. These changes reverted after treatment, but not to the same level as the control group. Our results indicated that when Red-billed Leiothrix are exposed to heat stress their internal antioxidant defense system is activated to counteract the damage caused by high temperatures. However, even with high antioxidant levels, prolonged high temperature exposure still caused some degree of oxidative damage possibly requiring a longer recovery time. Additionally, Red-billed Leiothrix may be able to resist heat stress by reducing fatty acid transport and catabolism.