The school environment and health education for confrontation to the COVID-19

Introduction: at present, one of the world's problems it is the health situation. Cuba is not an exception, and the behavior of infestation due to the new outbreak of COVID-19 that is occurring at national level is a great concern. Background: to provide some didactic and pedagogical reflections as part of an adequate school environment that make possible the correct preparation of faculty to teach students in health knowledge and thus mitigating the progressive spread of COVID-19. Method: It was conducted a research at the Universidad de Guantanamo, Universidad de Ciencias Medicas de Guantanamo, and the Instituto Politecnico Agricola de Yateras, from April 2020 throughout January 2021. A total of 30 professors and 30 students (as universe) were involved in this research (10 of each institution). The main variable used was the level of preparation of faculty in school environment and health education. Results: the indicators obtained made it possible to develop the measurement instruments. A qualitative data analysis was made attending to: data reduction, layout and transformation data, as well as the obtained outcomes and conclusions verified. Conclusions: the didactic and pedagogical reflections offered are materialized in a set of guidelines with a methodological approach that guide faculty staff and help to create a positive school environment to strengthen students' health education, based on an exhaustive analysis of the components in the teaching process.

Population well-being and the COVID-19 vaccination program in Chile: evidence from Google Trends.

OBJECTIVE: We analyze the dynamics of the mental well-being of the Chilean population in response to the progress of the vaccination strategy implemented by the government. STUDY DESIGN: This study aims at investigating the possibility of using Google Trends as an instrument for tracking mental well-being of the Chilean population. METHODS: We use the volume of searches for keywords in Google Trends (GT) related to Anguish, Anxiety, Depression, and Stress as a proxy for population well-being. Using event study methods, we analyze social attention reactions to news about the vaccination program. We implement a Difference-in-Difference-in-Differences estimation to estimate changes in population welfare by socio-economic status induced by the progress of inoculation. RESULTS: We show that social attention to mental health problems is sensitive to news about the vaccination program. Moreover, and most importantly, we find that mental well-being responds positively to the percentage of inoculated people. This phenomenon appear to be permanent and affected by socio-economic status, with the wealthier population experiencing greater improvements than the less wealthy. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 vaccination program in Chile, social attention to mental health problems appears to be sensitive to news about the vaccination program. There is also strong evidence of socio-economic status-induced heterogeneity in population responses to program implementation. The above phenomena appears to be permanent and cannot be attributed to either socio-economic segregation in access to vaccines or to the highly stratified schedule of the vaccination program.

Is Recipient Survival Following Transplantation of Hearts from Substance Abuse Donors Impacted by Regional Variations?

Substance abuse (SA) disproportionately impacts underserved communities, more so in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Though recent studies have demonstrated minimal impact on long-term survival for recipients of hearts from SA donors (SADs), there is a paucity of work on the societal implications of where and in whom such hearts are transplanted. The purpose of this study was to evaluate regional and socioeconomic factors of patients receiving hearts from alcohol and cocaine-using donors. We evaluated the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) registry for adult heart transplant recipients (HTX-R) from 2010 to 2022. Donors were grouped by heavy alcohol use, cocaine use, both, or neither. Survival analysis assessed the effect of donor SA, recipient work status and residence adjusting for demographics. Among 24,445 HTX-R, donor SA was unassociated with mortality, but living in the South increased risk (HR=1.22;1.12-1.33) as did Black race and older age (donors and recipients). Higher education and working at listing were protective. Additional post hoc models found no interaction between HTX-R Black race and donor SA or HTX-R South residence and donor SA. Donor alcohol and cocaine abuse, both separately and used in conjunction, did not impact overall mortality of heart transplant recipients. Though positive indicators of increased socioeconomic status (higher education and work status) did appear protective, and while living in the South did have a negative impact on HTx survival, these factors appear to be independent of receiving hearts from SADs. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Heart & Lung Transplantation is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Mental health and associated factors among undergraduate students during Covid-19 pandemic in Chile

Introduction: Very few studies have explored mental health among undergraduate students in Chile, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. International studies have estimated the prevalence of depression at around 28%. Objective(s): i) To determine the prevalence of mental health problems among undergraduate students at a private university in Chile;ii) to explore the associated factors in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Method(s): This was a cross-sectional study, approved by the Ethical Committee of the Universidad de los Andes, Santiago Chile (CEC201984). Undergraduate students completed an online survey between August and September 2020. Mental health was assessed using The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21;suicidality, using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale;insomnia using the Insomnia Severity Index;and several individual, family, and university factors. Variables regarding the Covid-19 were also assessed, such as personal and family history of covid-19 contagion and death of family members due to Covid-19. A multivariate logistic analysis was performed. Result(s): 5,037 students responded to the survey. 70.4% were female, mean age, 21 years. 37.1% had depression;38%, anxiety;54.6%, stress;32.6%, insomnia;and 20.5%, suicidal ideation (last month). The most important risk factors were non-medical use of benzodiazepine and fear of contracting Covid-19;the most relevant protective factors were high family functionality and a high sense of university belonging. Conclusion(s): This is one of the first studies that has evaluated mental health among undergraduate students in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic in Chile. The findings showed concerning levels of mental health problems.

Kinetics of the humoral immune response induced by the BNT162b2 against the SARS-CoV-2 variants

Introduction. The circulation of SARS-CoV-2 virus variants raises concerns about their potential evasion of the immune response and associated clinical consequences. Decay in the magnitude of the immune response over time after completion of the vaccination schedule has been evidenced. The aim of this study was to evaluate the kinetics of neutralizing antibodies after vaccination and the impact of circulating variants. Materials and methods. Prospective longitudinal study' with a cohort of 60 Colombian adults' who received the complete BNT162b2 vaccine schedule' and were followed for 6 months to determine the kinetics of antibodies. Plaque reduction neutralization assays were performed with live virus' using the B.1 lineage (D614G)' and the Gamma' Alpha' Delta' Mu and Omicron variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Results. Neutralizing capacity against all variants was observed in all individuals after 1 month of vaccination;however' a progressive decrease in neutralizing capacity was observed after 3 and 6 months. Compared to the B.1 lineage' the neutralizing response against the Delta' Mu and Omicron variants presented the greatest decrease' evidencing their immune escape capacity' followed by the Gamma and Alpha variants. The decrease in antibody titers was more evident in men older than 40 years. Conclusions. Despite the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines' it is important to improve and monitor them in order to improve the protective response they can offer.

Early extubation in COVID-19 pneumonia patients and temporal changes in the lactate dehydrogenase profile

Objective: Since the beginning of the 2019 global pandemic of Coronavirus Disease, using invasive mechanical ventilation as support therapy has been a critical treatment of acute respiratory failure. In the context of a collapsed health system, having an early extubation predictor becomes a useful way of supporting clinical management, by enabling to anticipate the availability of mechanical ventilators. Hence, we assessed the relationship between the progression of lactate dehydrogenase and early extubation in patients with COVID-19. Design: A retrospective study. Setting: A single private hospital in Chile. Patients: Adults aged 18 or older diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia and requiring mechanical ventilation, having been admitted to an ICU during the study period. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Fifty two individuals, 73% males, were included with a median age of 47.1 years old and a median body mass index of 29. Individuals extubated within the first 5 days of mechanical ventilation, early extubation group, amounted to 34.6%. The average decrease in serum lactate dehydrogenase levels was 27.5 UI/L per day (p < 0.01) in the early extubation group compared to 14.7 UI/L per day (p < 0.01) in the late extubation group (individuals extubated after day 5). During the first 48 hours, the average daily decrease was 56.7 UI/L in the early extubation group compared to 13.2 UI/L per day in late extubation group (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Serum lactate dehydrogenase daily level decrease during the first days of mechanical ventilation is associated with earlier patient extubation. © 2022 Sociedad de Anestesiologia de Chile. All rights reserved.

Comparison among plaque assay, tissue culture infectious dose (TCID) 50 and real-time RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 variants quantification

Background and Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) and interest (VOI) pose a significant threat to public health because the rapid change in the SARS-CoV-2 genome can alter viral phenotypes such as virulence, transmissi-bility and the ability to evade the host response. Hence, SARS-CoV-2 quantification techniques are essential for timely diagnosis and follow-up. Besides, they are vital to understanding viral pathogenesis, antiviral evaluation, and vaccine de-velopment. Materials and Methods: Five isolates of SARS-CoV-2: D614G strain (B.1), three VOC (Alpha, Gamma and Delta), and one VOI (Mu) were used to compare three techniques for viral quantification, plaque assay, median tissue culture infectious dose (TCID) and real-time RT-PCR. 50 Results: Plaque assay showed viral titers between 0.15 ± 0.01×107 and 1.95 ± 0.09×107 PFU/mL while viral titer by TCID 50 assay was between 0.71 ± 0.01×106 to 4.94 ± 0.80×106 TCID /mL for the five SARS-CoV-2 isolates. The PFU/mL titer 50 obtained by plaque and the calculated from TCID assays differed by 0.61 log10, 0.59 log10, 0.59 log10 and 0.96 log10 50 for Alfa, Gamma, Delta, and Mu variants (p≤0.0007), respectively. No differences were observed for the D614G strain. Real-time PCR assay exhibited titers ranging from 0.39 ± 0.001×108 to 3.38 ± 0.04×108 RNA copies/µL for all variants. The relation between PFU/mL and RNA copies/mL was 1:29800 for D614G strain, 1:11700 for Alpha, 1:8930 for Gamma, 1:12500 for Delta, and 1:2950 for Mu. Conclusion: TCID assay was comparable to plaque assay for D614G but not for others SARS-CoV-2 variants. Our data 50 demonstrated a correlation among PFU/mL and E gene RNA copies/µL, units of measure commonly used to quantify the viral load in diagnostic and research fields. The results suggest that the proportion of infectious virions in vitro changes de-pending on the SARS-CoV-2 variant, being Mu, the variant reaching a higher viral titer with fewer viral copies.

Reflection and Proposal on Social Governance: Case of Violence against Women and Children after 320 Days of Social Isolation in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Peru

The general objective was to argue the proposal to implement a program in social governance: case of violence against women and children;after 320 days of quarantine had elapsed. The research approach was qualitative;the method, the literature review;the design, case study. 320 days after implementing the health emergency measures in Peru, attention to the parapandemic was neglected, fueled by the social confinement strategy. In adidition, the demands of various groups in society have not been answered through the establishment of coherent public programs that seek to change the various negative actions towards women and children as a group;and the violence worsened during the quarantine state: the statistics confirm the robustness to reduce it. The program consists of establishing special attention in the emotional part of women and children, product of family violence. The accompaniment will allow the socio-emotional problem to be encapsulated and compensated.

Natural infection of SARS-CoV-2 in domestic cats and dogs of humans diagnosed with COVID-19 in Valle de Aburra, Antioquia

Introduction: The severe acute respiratory syndrome of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is the causal agent of the health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although humans are the main susceptible host, experimental studies and reported cases of natural infection have evidenced scenarios of SARS-CoV-2 reverse zoonosis in animals. Objective: To evaluate the natural infection of SARS-CoV-2 in cats and dogs of owners diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Aburra Valley, Antioquia, Colombia. Materials and methods: The circulation of SARS-CoV-2 was evaluated by RT-qPCR and RT-PCR in samples of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal smears from cats and dogs whose owners had latency due to COVID-19 infection. The positive cases were verified by amplifying fragments of the RdRp, N and E genes;and the RdRp amplicon was sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. Results: Six cats and three dogs were confirmed cases of natural infection for SARS-CoV-2 from 80 tested animals. The animals did not show clinical signs;and their owners, who suffered from the infection, reported only mild signs of the disease without clinical complications. In the analysis of one of the sequences, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was found with a change in position 647 substituting the amino acid serine (S) for an isoleucine (I). The cases occurred in the municipalities of Caldas, Medellin and Envigado. Conclusions: It is inferred that natural infection in cats and dogs is associated with direct contact with a COVID-19 patient.

Predictive analysis of macroeconomic indicators of the tourism sector post Covid-19, Peru 2019-2023

The objective of this work is to predictively analyze the macroeconomic indicators of the post-Covid-19 tourism sector for Peru during the 2019-2023 period with data corresponding to the 2007-2018 macroeconomic indicators with a projection to 2023. The methodology consisted of documentary research and descriptive using as a sample the tourists who enter Peru. The results indicate estimating through double exponential smoothing the per capita income from tourism at 1137 US$ by the end of 2020. At the end of 2021 it will be 1136 dollars and in 2023 it will be 1133 dollars. Foreign exchange earnings are 5,161 million dollars in 2021 and 5,508 million in 2023. The Gross Domestic Product for the Accommodation and Restoration sector explains the exponential growth, registering 18,398 million 307 thousand dollars for 2021. The conclusions show that the A key factor in the surplus in the tourism sector is the use of delivery in the restaurant subsector and the adaptation of hotel chains to the post-Covid-19 context. © 2022, Universidad del Zulia. All rights reserved.

Toward an Intelligent Computing Solution for Endotracheal Obstruction Prediction in COVID-19 Patients in ICU

Nowadays there is a world pandemic of a challenging respiratory illness, COVID-19. A large part of COVID-19 patients evolves to severe or fatal complications and require an ICU admission. COVID-19 mortality rate approaches 30% due to complications such as obstruction of the trachea and bronchi of patients during the ICU stay. An endotracheal obstruction occurring during any moment in a COVID-19 patient ICU stay is one of the most complicated situations that clinicians must face and solve. Therefore, it is very important to know in advance when a COVID-19 patient could enter in the pre-obstruction zone. In this work we present an intelligent computing solution to predict endotracheal obstruction for COVID-19 patients in ICU. It is called the Binomial Gate LSTM (BigLSTM), a new and innovative deep modular neural architecture based on the recurrent neural network LSTM. Its main feature is its ability to handle missing data and to deal with time series with no regular sample frequency. These are the main characteristics of the BigLSTM information environment. This ability is implemented in BigLSTM by an information redundancy injection mechanism and how it copes with time control. We applied BigLSTM with first wave COVID-19 patients in ICU of Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Insular Materno Infantil. Encouraging results, even while working with a very small data set, indicate that our developed computing solution is going forwards towards an efficient intelligent prediction system which is very appropriate for this kind of problem. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

A Bayesian Classifier Combination Methodology for Early Detection of Endotracheal Obstruction of COVID-19 Patients in ICU

Due to COVID-19 related complications, many of the diagnosed patients end up needing intensive care. Complications are often severe, to such an extent that mortality rates in these patients may be high. Among the wide variety of complications, we find necrotizing tracheobronchitis, which appears suddenly with the obstruction of the endotracheal tube. This complication can cause severe damage to the patient or even death. In order to help clinicians with the management of this situation, we propose a Machine Learning-based methodology for detecting and anticipating the obstruction phenomenon. Through the use of Bayesian classifiers, classifier combination, morphological filtering and a track-while-scan detection mode we are able to establish an indicator function that serves as a reference to clinicians. Our experiments show promising results and lay the foundations of an intelligent system for early detection of endotracheal obstruction. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The association between sleep and psychological distress among New York healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: Healthcare workers (HCWs) treating patients with COVID-19 report high rates of acute stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms. We examined whether sleep disturbances were associated with psychological distress in New York City (NYC) HCWs during the initial peak of COVID-19 in-patient admissions (April 9 - May 11, 2020). Methods: HCWs (physicians, nurses, and advanced practice providers) completed a web-based survey which screened for acute stress (4-item Primary Care PTSD screen), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-2), and anxiety (2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale). Past week insomnia symptoms were assessed with a modified item from the Insomnia Severity Index (5-point Likert Scale: none, mild, moderate, severe, very severe). Insomnia was defined as having “moderate, severe, or very severe” symptoms. Short sleep (SS) was defined as self-reported sleep duration <6 hours per day. Poisson regression analyses predicting psychological distress from SS and, separately insomnia. adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, clinical setting (COVID-focused or not COVID-focused), physician vs. nonphysician status, and redeployment status, were performed. Results: Data included 813 HCWs (80.6% female, 59.0% White, 75.6% worked in a COVID-focused setting). Mean sleep duration was 5.79 ± 1.22 hours/night. The prevalence of SS and insomnia were 38.8% and 72.8%;the prevalence of acute stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety were 57.9%, 33.8% and 48.2%, respectively. Having SS, vs. not was associated with acute stress (adjusted prevalence ratio [PR]: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.31), depressive symptoms (PR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.02), and anxiety (PR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.30, 1.74). Presence of insomnia symptoms vs. “none or mild” was associated with acute stress (PR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.57, 2.34), depressive symptoms (PR: 3.13, 95% CI: 2.16, 4.52), and anxiety (PR: 2.40, 95% CI: 1.86, 3.11). Conclusion: Among NYC HCWs, sleep disturbances, including SS and insomnia symptoms during COVID-19 are common. In our study, SS and insomnia were associated with acute stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety in HCWs, however further research on whether a bidirectional relationship exists between sleep and psychological distress during the COVID19 pandemic are still needed.

A SIR Epidemiological Model for the Analysis of COVID-19 in Peru

The purpose of this research work was to analyze the behavior of the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) in Peru, using the SIR epidemiological model. Using the data, from its inception on March 6, 2020, to June 10, 2020. In our case, in Peru, It has been forecast that the disease will peak, on the contagion curve, at 160-day from the first case. The total duration of the disease is approximately 15 months (450 days), the number of deceases will be approximately 1% of the entire population, and the total number of infected will reach approximately 85% of the population. The evolution of the parameters β, γ and μ show that the disease always tends to disappear, since they are directly related to the population and the condition of the individuals (Susceptible, Infected or Recovered). These parameters control the model, however, it is not trivial to be able to establish adequate values over time, since it will largely depend on the culture of the population mainly, and the policies that the government proposes, and in which way the population will comply with these policies to control the evolution of the pandemic. For example, one way to control the parameter β is compulsory social isolation with a strict epidemiological stratified fence by cities, thereby reducing the value of the contagion rate to zero and allowing the pandemic to be effectively controlled. However, in Peru, this control has not been achieved, since the population is very varied in its culture and quite reluctant to comply with the government's recommendations. © 2020 IEEE.

THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19 ON LABOR RELATIONS: AN APPROACH TO THE PREVENTION OF OCCUPATIONAL RISKS IN REMOTE WORKINGABSTRACT

The pandemic motivated by Covid-19 has had important repercussions in the workplace, highlighting the rapid generalization of teleworking that has led to an organizational transformation in many companies and that has been justified both as a means of containing the pandemic and as a formula to keep employment. The increase in this modality is directly related to a series of extraordinary measures adopted by the State and the Autonomous Administrations that have made it possible to use telework as a model for the development of work activity. However, the promotion of this model of work activity requires a response from the legislator and social agents to balance rights and obligations, including occupational health and safety. In particular, Royal Decree-Law 8/2020 and Royal Decree-Law 28/2020 refer to the prevention of occupational risks. In this context, this study addresses how the business response should be to comply with its obligation of safety and health at work.

Airway Management of Critically Ill Pediatric Patients with Suspected or Proven Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection: An Intensivist Point of View

Advanced airway management of critically ill children is crucial for novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) management in the pediatric intensive care unit, whether due to shock and hemodynamic collapse or acute respiratory failure. In this article, intubation is challenging due to the particularities of children's physiology and the underlying disease's pathophysiology, especially when an airborne pathogen, like COVID-19, is present. Unfortunately, published recommendations and guidelines for COVID-19 in pediatrics do not address in-depth endotracheal intubation in acutely ill children. We discussed the caveats and pitfalls of intubation in critically ill children.

Analysis of Quality of Backyard Compost and Its Potential Utilization as a Circular Bio-Waste Source

The use and quality analysis of household compost have become very important issues in recent years due to the increasing interest in local food production and safe, self-produced food. The phenomenon was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine period, which gave new impetus to the growth of small home gardens. However, the knowledge associated with making high-quality compost is often lacking in home gardeners. Therefore, the objective of this research was to find answers to the following questions: can the quality of backyard compost be considered safe in terms of toxicity and nutrient content? Can weed seed dispersion affect the usability of backyard compost? In general, can the circulation of organic matter be increased with the spread of home composting? In this study, 16 different house composts were analysed for stability, weed seed contamination, toxic elements, and nutrient content using analysis of variance. The results of the research showed that the quality properties of the composts (including their weed seed dispersion effect) were greatly influenced by the different techniques and raw materials used. The toxicity levels, as well as the content of macro and microelements, were within the parameters of safe-quality compost. The specific macronutrient (Ca, Mg) and micronutrient (Fe, Mn) contents of the tested composts have a similar and, in some cases, more favorable nutrient supply capacity in crop production than the frequently-used cow manure-based composts. With a plan of basic education on composting, there is potential to encourage farmyard composting.