The COVID-19 pandemic: The importance of physical activity among faculty members

Observational study on obesity: Insights from middle-aged and elderly college staff in Beijing

Obesity poses a serious global public health challenge, particularly among middle-aged, and elderly college staff. This study aims to explore the associated factors of obesity by analyzing the metabolic indicators of 1756 university staff from Minzu University of China, Beijing. Venous blood samples were collected, and blood metabolic indicators were analyzed. The results indicate that middle-aged faculty members are more susceptible to obesity compared to their younger counterparts. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that BMI values increase with age (B = 0.074, P < .001), uric acid (B = 0.008, P < .001), alanine transaminase (B = 0.043, P < .001), low-density lipoprotein (B = 1.941, P < .001), triglycerides (B = 0.544, P < .001), total cholesterol (TC, B = -1.582, P < .001), and other factors, while decreasing with the increase of high-density lipoprotein (B = -1.493, P < .001). In light of these findings, it is recommended that middle-aged and elderly college staff undergo regular blood indicator checks and enhance weight management to mitigate the risk of obesity and promote their overall health.

Beliefs, mental health, healthy lifestyle behaviors and coping strategies of college faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: To assess faculty and staff beliefs about returning to campus as well as their mental health and healthy lifestyle behaviors. Participants: Faculty and staff at a large Mid-west public land-grant university. Methods: A survey was emailed to a random sample of faculty and staff (N = 6,000 faculty; N = 6,000 staff). Results: Response rate was 35.6% for faculty (n = 2,138) and 37.8% (n = 2,226) for staff. Participants who were working from home (>60%) had less confidence about returning to campus safely than those who had been working on campus. Eighteen to 27% of faculty and 25%-31% of staff met the cutoff for clinical anxiety and the rates of depression were 4.4%-8.3% and 9.7%-10.0% respectively. Conclusion: Institutions of higher education must build wellness cultures and accelerate access to mental health services, which should be evidence-based and include a focus on promoting and maintaining overall wellness.

Assessment of well-being using Fitbit technology in college students, faculty and staff completing breathing meditation during COVID-19: A pilot study

This pilot study aimed to explore the intersection of mindfulness, physical activity, and mental well-being within higher education populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. College students, faculty, and staff (n = 34) from a public university participated in the study during spring, summer, and fall 2021. All participants wore a Fitbit for two weeks and were assigned to a treatment group (n = 17), who completed a daily five-minute breathing meditation during the second week, and a control group (n = 17), who did not complete breathing meditation. Amount of sleep and physical activity were measured with the Fitbit. Surveys assessed feasibility and acceptability of the intervention, along with perceived anxiety, depression, well-being, worry, and mindfulness at baseline and after the two-week study. Results demonstrated that the intervention was feasible, and that daily breathing meditation may help reduce anxiety and may lead to greater physical activity and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This pilot study lays the foundation for further research into mindfulness, physical activity, and mental health, which may have important implications for promoting mental well-being in college populations following the COVID-19 pandemic.

DFT and docking studies of designed conjugates of noscapines & repurposing drugs: promising inhibitors of main protease of SARS-CoV-2 and falcipan-2

First case of the present epidemic, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is reported in the Wuhan, a city of the China and all the countries throughout the world are being affected. COVID-19 is named by World Health Organization and it stands for coronavirus disease-19. As on 27^th October, 2020, 73,776,588 people around the world are infected. It is also known as SARS-CoV-2 infection. Till date, there is no promising drug or vaccine available in market to cure from this lethal infection. As the literature reported that noscapine a promising candidate to cure from malaria as well reported to be cough suppressant and anti-cancerous. In our previous work, a derivative of noscapine has shown potential behavior against the main protease of novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2. Based on the previous study, hybrid molecules based on noscapine and repurposing (antiviral) drugs were designed to target the main protease of novel coronavirus and falcipan-2 using molecular docking. It is proposed that the designed hydrids or conjugates may have promising antiviral property i.e. against the main protease of novel coronavirus and falcipan-2. The designed molecules were thoroughly studied by DFT and different thermodynamic parameters were determined. Further, infrared and Raman spectra of the designed hybrid molecules were determined and studied.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.