ABSTRACT
Background: This work presents Com@Rehab, a technological patient-centred activity for individuals needing a physical rehabilitation approach and with a specific loss of functionality. Within this scope, this paper focuses on the description of the activity in virtual reality (VR), its components, design and user profile, and its versatility and future adaptability regarding different ages, pathologies and rehabilitation contexts. Methods: The VR activity has been customised according to the patient's clinical needs while replicating an activity of daily living, namely showering. In addition, to validate and get feedback on the developed system, a validation questionnaire was applied to a group of healthy individuals to test the efficiency of the technology that supports the VR activity. Results: Preliminary results show that 94% of the participants recommended the experience, the performance of the various components of the system was successfully implemented, participants quickly adhered to the VR technology, and the UI assistant’s functionality should be improved. Conclusion: This solution creates a more effective, interactive, humanised rehabilitation approach based on a Virtual Reality (VR) activity. The Com@Rehab Communication Module improves human-human and human-machine communication while contributing to health literacy.
ABSTRACT
The dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases has been a threat to global health and a challenge for health systems. Estimating the prevalence of infection in the population is essential to provide support for action planning. Within this scenario, the aim of the present study was to analyze the seroprevalence and associated factors of COVID-19 Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil. This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 1st to June 19th, 2020. The participants were patients with respiratory symptoms who sought Primary Care Units (UBS) (n = 1,181) and subjects recruited from randomly selected households by probability sampling (n = 3,065), as screening strategy. All participants, in both phases, were submitted to SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests (IgG and IgM) and responded to a questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics based on Behavioural Insights for COVID-19. Total seroprevalence (positive/negative) was the outcome and the independent variables were sociodemographic variables, health behavior and signs/symptoms. The chi-squared test was used for association analysis (p<0.05) and variables with p<0.20 were entered into the logistic regression model (p<0.05). A total of 1,181 subjects from the UBS and 3,065 from the selected households participated in the study. The seroprevalence was 30.8% in the UBS and 3.1% in the households. The adjusted logistic regression identified that lower educational level (OR 2.68;95%CI 1.59–4.54), household member testing positive (OR 1.67;95%CI 1.16–2.39), presence of anosmia (OR 3.68, 95%CI 2.56–5.28) and seeking UBS (OR 3.76;95%CI 2.08–6.82) was risk factors to test positive for SARS-CoV-2. Estimating the seroprevalence in the population was important to know the disease extension that was higher than the notified cases. These results showed socioeconomic aspects associated with COVID-19 even adjusted by symptoms. Populational epidemiologic studies that investigate the associated factors of COVID-19 are relevant to plan strategies to control the pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Children infected with SARS-CoV-2 rarely progress to respiratory failure, but the risk of mortality in infected people over 85 years of age remains high, despite vaccination and improving treatment options. Here, we take a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to investigate differences in the cellular landscape and function of paediatric (<11y), adult (30-50y) and elderly (>70y) nasal epithelial cells experimentally infected with SARS-CoV-2. Our data reveal that nasal epithelial cell subtypes show different tropism to SARS-CoV-2, correlating with age, ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression. Ciliated cells are a viral replication centre across all age groups, but a distinct goblet inflammatory subtype emerges in infected paediatric cultures, identifiable by high expression of interferon stimulated genes and truncated viral genomes. In contrast, infected elderly cultures show a proportional increase in ITGB6hi progenitors, which facilitate viral spread and are associated with dysfunctional epithelial repair pathways. A video explaining this work can be found here - https://youtu.be/uExP4bx6D_A .
Subject(s)
Corneal Dystrophy, Juvenile Epithelial of Meesmann , Infections , Respiratory InsufficiencyABSTRACT
The dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases has been a threat to global health and a challenge for health systems. Estimating the prevalence of infection in the population is essential to provide support for action planning. Within this scenario, the aim of the present study was to analyze the seroprevalence and associated factors of COVID-19 Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil. This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 1st to June 19th, 2020. The participants were patients with respiratory symptoms who sought Primary Care Units (UBS) (n = 1,181) and subjects recruited from randomly selected households by probability sampling (n = 3,065), as screening strategy. All participants, in both phases, were submitted to SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests (IgG and IgM) and responded to a questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics based on Behavioural Insights for COVID-19. Total seroprevalence (positive/negative) was the outcome and the independent variables were sociodemographic variables, health behavior and signs/symptoms. The chi-squared test was used for association analysis (p<0.05) and variables with p<0.20 were entered into the logistic regression model (p<0.05). A total of 1,181 subjects from the UBS and 3,065 from the selected households participated in the study. The seroprevalence was 30.8% in the UBS and 3.1% in the households. The adjusted logistic regression identified that lower educational level (OR 2.68; 95%CI 1.59-4.54), household member testing positive (OR 1.67; 95%CI 1.16-2.39), presence of anosmia (OR 3.68, 95%CI 2.56-5.28) and seeking UBS (OR 3.76; 95%CI 2.08-6.82) was risk factors to test positive for SARS-CoV-2. Estimating the seroprevalence in the population was important to know the disease extension that was higher than the notified cases. These results showed socioeconomic aspects associated with COVID-19 even adjusted by symptoms. Populational epidemiologic studies that investigate the associated factors of COVID-19 are relevant to plan strategies to control the pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Persistent interstitial lung changes with associated symptoms occur in a proportion of individuals that have recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-COV-2) infection through unknown mechanisms. We studied individuals with severe COVID-19 longitudinally following recovery from acute illness. Subjects with interstitial lung changes at 3-6 months post-recovery had an upregulated neutrophil-associated immune signature including increased chemokines, proteases and markers of neutrophil extracellular traps detectable systemically. Similar pathways were enriched in the upper airway with a concomitant augmentation of antiviral type-I interferon signalling. Interaction analysis of the peripheral phosphoproteome identified enriched kinases critical for neutrophil inflammatory pathways. Repeat sampling indicated that full normalisation of radiological and functional changes has not yet been reached in many individuals by 12 months post-recovery. These data provide functional insight into mechanisms driving pulmonary sequelae of COVID-19 and provide a rational basis for development of future targeted approaches to prevent long-term complications.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Coronavirus InfectionsABSTRACT
Lineage B.1.1.7 (Variant of Concern 202012/01) is a new SARS-CoV-2 variant which was first sequenced in the UK in September 2020 before becoming the majority strain in the UK and spreading worldwide. The rapid spread of the B.1.1.7 variant results from increased transmissibility but the virological characteristics which underpin this advantage over other circulating strains remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that there is no difference in viral replication between B.1.1.7 and other contemporaneous SARS-CoV-2 strains in primary human airway epithelial (HAE) cells. However, B.1.1.7 replication is disadvantaged in Vero cells potentially due to increased furin-mediated cleavage of its spike protein as a result of a P681H mutation directly adjacent to the S1/S2 cleavage site. In addition, we show that B.1.1.7 does not escape neutralisation by convalescent or post-vaccination sera. Thus, increased transmission of B.1.1.7 is not caused by increased replication, as measured on HAE cells, or escape from serological immunity.