Search

Vaccines are important component of public health programs worldwide and are considered as essential tools for the control, prevention and/or eradication of infectious diseases. The continuous spread of Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses severe threat to the global economy and human health. To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the large-scale production and availability of mRNA-based vaccinations remains a major challenge, particularly when recurrent mutations take place on the virus. This review study compares the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines with regard to their pharmacology, side effects, indications and contraindications. The data for this literature review were collected from various databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, EMBASE, and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) using the key words: Coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination, Moderna vaccine and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Published literature showed that both the vaccines are useful in terms of protection from SARS-CoV-2 infections. People aged 16 years or older were recommended to get vaccinated with 30 μg (0.3 m) dose of Pfizer/ BioNTech Vaccine. It is 95% effective for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, Moderna vaccine has been recommended with 50 μg (0.5 mL) dose having 94.5% effectiveness for 18 years and older individuals. Both the vaccines after first dose provide immunogenicity for at least 119 days. Published studies reported less frequent side effects in the Pfizer/BioNTech as compared to the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19. However, Moderna vaccine is less sensitive to temperature and can easily be transported compared to Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional pedagogy is often critiqued for conventional teaching methods that prevent students from developing their problem-solving skills. Therefore, this study focused on investigating the effect of a STAD approach on the problemsolving skills of secondary level students in physics. Quasi Experiment was conducted to compare the STAD method (experimental group) with traditional teaching methods (control group). Experiment was performed in a selected school having at least two sections of tenth grade. There were 30 students in each section and sections were randomly assigned as experimental and control groups. A test constructed by researchers was used to measure problem-solving skills before and after the experiment. Materials such as work sheets, lesson plans, quizzes, and rewarding certificates were designed to implement STAD methodology in the physics classroom. The dependent variable, physics problem-solving skills, was measured using researcher constructed ten items test consisted of physics numerical. The same tool was used as both pre and post measurement of problem-solving skills. The statistics indicated that the students taught through STAD improved their problem-solving skills in numerical problems of physics compared to those who were taught through traditional method. Additionally, post-test performance of students in groups was significantly different and experimental group outperformed the control group in problem-solving skills. This study demonstrated that the STAD is an effective teaching strategy for enhancing problem-solving skills of students at secondary level while using content of physics numerical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-cost, vanadium-based mixed metal oxides mostly have a layered crystal structure with excellent kinetics for lithium-ion batteries, providing high energy density. The existence of multiple oxidation states and the coordination chemistry of vanadium require cost-effective, robust techniques to synthesize the scaling up of their morphology and surface properties. Hydrothermal synthesis is one of the most suitable techniques to achieve pure phase and multiple morphologies under various conditions of temperature and pressure. We attained a simple one-step hydrothermal approach to synthesize the reduced graphene oxide coated Nickel Vanadate (rGO@Ni3V2O8) composite with interconnected hollow microspheres. The self-assembly route produced microspheres, which were interconnected under hydrothermal treatment. Cyclic performance determined the initial discharge/charge capacities of 1209.76/839.85 mAh g−1 at the current density of 200 mA g−1 with a columbic efficiency of 69.42%, which improved to 99.64% after 100 cycles. High electrochemical performance was observed due to high surface area, the porous nature of the interconnected hollow microspheres, and rGO induction. These properties increased the contact area between electrode and electrolyte, the active surface of the electrodes, and enhanced electrolyte penetration, which improved Li-ion diffusivity and electronic conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]