ABSTRACT
Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has imposed significant burden on Brazil's health system. The present study aims to describe patients' demographic and clinical characteristics, vaccine uptake and assess healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs associated with acute COVID-19 in Brazil during the Omicron predominant period. Method(s): A population-based retrospective study was conducted using the National Health Data Network (RNDS), National Vaccination Campaign against COVID-19 data and surveillance data in public setting. Individuals with positive COVID-19 test results between January-April 2022 were identified. Patients' demographics, comorbidities, vaccination status, HCRU for those who were admitted to hospitals and their associated costs were described by age groups. Result(s): A total of 8,160,715 COVID-19 cases were identified and 2.7% were aged <5 years, 11.6% were 5-19 years, 76.9% were 20-64 years and 8.7% were >= 65 years. The presence of comorbidity was 23.1% with a higher prevalence of comorbidities in the elderly (61.8% for 65-74 years and 71.2% for >=75 years). Regarding COVID -19 vaccination uptake, among those aged <=19 years, 20-64 years and >=65 years, 40.6%, 86.5% and 92.2% had primary series, respectively. Among adults, the booster uptake was 47.3% and 75.8% for those aged 20-64 years and >= 65 years, respectively. Among those with confirmed COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, 87% were being symptomatic and 1.7% were hospitalized (3.8% in aged <5 years, 4.2% in 5-19 years, 34.3% in 20-64 years and 57.6% in >= 65 years). Among hospitalized patients, 32,6% were admitted to ICU and 80% required mechanical ventilation support. The average cost per day in normal wards and ICU without ventilation was R$291,89 and R$923,90, respectively. Conclusion(s): Our results quantify the public health and economic burden of COVID-19 in Brazil, suggesting substantial healthcare resources required to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.Copyright © 2023
ABSTRACT
Research on natural products has investigated and employed many (bio)technologies to find out plant active fractions and optimize extraction and isolation of molecules looking for innovative clinical therapies for several clinical conditions, as well as immune-related diseases. Indeed, the world incidence and prevalence of autoimmune diseases have increased over the last years, while immune therapy has arisen as a new promising tool for cancer treatment. Also, in the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, immunomodulation has been proved effective to reduce the "cytokine storm” and avoid worsening the clinical condition of patients in the acute stage of respiratory syndrome. These health issues have also driven the search for new immunomodulatory compounds. In this context, prospective analysis is an important tool to identify the most relevant opportunities and demands in research and development (R&D) of pharmaceutical medicines, including substances able to modulate immune and inflammatory responses. In addition, prospection allows understanding the landscape of immunomodulatory plant-derived drugs and the associated technologies described in patents. This chapter employed the descriptors "Immunomodulator*” and "drug” and "plant” in search strategy to map the technological potential of immunomodulatory herbal drugs, using the software VantagePoint, Cortellis Competitive Intelligence, and Orbit Intelligence, respectively. The results provided quantitative data and technological indicators to drive future strategies for the development of these drugs. In conclusion, the most cited plant species in patents expressing molecules with immunomodulatory properties were Curcuma longa, Moringa oleifera, Remirea maritima, Maytenus ssp., Angelica sp., Fagopyrum esculentum, as well as plants from the families Leguminosae, Rosaceae, Iridaceae, Moraceae, and Amaranthaceae, among others. The main chemical classes implicated in immunomodulation were xanthones, coumarins, flavonoids, and (tri)terpenes. The technological mapping also showed that in the year 2002, there was an increased deposit of patents, reaching the highest peak in 2009 with 56 patents. Nowadays, the United States is the country with the biggest number of patents, followed by Canada, Australia, and Korea. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Scientific production has experienced an unprecedented increase with the COVID-19 pandemic in a short period of time. Objective: To identify and characterize the Latin American scientific production on nanotechnology-based products with potential applications in the areas of diagnosis, vaccine, pharmacological treatment, theranostics and non-pharmacological intervention to fight COVID-19. Method: A scoping review was conducted based on the framework of Arksey and O'Malley and sought to incorporate recommendations from the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewer's Manual and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The bibliographic search took place in PubMed, Science Direct, LILACS and SciELO. Studies that reported nanotechnology-based products with potential applications in the areas of interest referenced previously were included. A simple quantitative analysis was conducted to provide numerical summaries of characteristics of interest from the studies added to the review. Results: 26 (3.4%) articles published in 14 international and regional journals were included. Authors from five countries (Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Mexico) were responsible for the total number of articles that made up the review. The production of 6 (23.1%) articles included international collaboration, involving institutions from 10 countries. The median time from submission to publication of articles was 126 days (interquartile range: 58-200). Most of the Latin American scientific production consisted of narrative reviews (n = 19;73.1%). The five areas defined as of interest for this study were addressed by one of the scientific articles, especially the products intended for pharmacological treatment of COVID-19 (n = 14;53.8%). Conclusions: This is the first scoping review to provide a map of Latin American scientific production on nanotechnology-based products with potential applications in areas of interest to fight COVID-19. There are deficiencies related to the publication of basic research, representativeness of Latin American countries in the region, studies with greater strength of evidence and to international collaboration to produce scientific articles that merit to be reduced.
ABSTRACT
The implementation of video as an educational resource has become widespread in recent years, driven by highly accessible platforms such as YouTube. The objective of our research is to study the use that is being given, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to audiovisual resources in higher education and to demonstrate the satisfaction with their use by teachers and students. Also, show the existence of variables that improve said satisfaction or that have a significant impact on a greater use of educational videos informally. For this, a descriptive-inferential study based on an online survey with a total sample of 684 responses from the University of Porto is provided. The results are discussed with the most recent literature on the subject. A regular use of the video by half of the sample and a significant use of informal videos by the students is concluded, obtaining, in both groups, a positive satisfaction with their use. The variables that influence satisfaction in the implementation of videos in the formal education stand out: technological competence, economic level and disciplinary area. In addition, those that condition the use of informal videos among students: gender, economic level and disciplinary area.
ABSTRACT
After the economic shock caused by COVID-19, with relevant effects on both the supply and demand for energy assets, there was greater interest in understanding the relationships between key energy prices. In order to contribute to a deeper understanding of energy price relationships, this paper analyzes the dynamics between the weekly spot prices of oil, natural gas and benchmark ethanol in the US markets. The analysis period started on 23 June 2006 and ended on 10 June 2022. This study used the DMCA cross-correlation coefficient in a dynamic way, using sliding windows. Among the main results, it was found that: (i) in the post-pandemic period, oil and natural gas were not correlated, in both short- and long-term timescales;and (ii) ethanol was negatively associated with natural gas in the most recent post-pandemic period, especially in short-term scales. The results of the present study are potentially relevant for both market and public agents regarding investment diversification strategies and can aid public policies due to the understanding of the interrelationship between energy prices. © 2023 by the authors.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the research is to explore the dynamic multiscale linkage between economic policy uncertainty, equity market volatility, energy and sustainable cryptocurrencies during the COVID-19 period. We use a multiscale TVP-VAR model considering level (EPUs and IDEMV) and returns series (cryptocurrencies) from 1 December 2019 to 30 September 2022. The data are then decomposed into six wavelet components, based on the wavelet MODWT method. The TVP-VAR connectedness approach is used to uncover the dynamic connectedness among EPUs, energy and sustainable cryptocurrency returns. Our findings reveal that CNEPU (USEPU) is the strongest (weakest) NET volatility transmitter. IDEMV is the most consistent volatility NET transmitter among all uncertainty indices across the original returns and wavelet scales (D1~D6). Energy cryptocurrencies, i.e., GRID, POW and SNC, are more likely to receive volatility spillovers than sustainable cryptocurrencies during a turbulent period (COVID-19). XLM (XNO) is least (most) affected by volatility spillover in system-wide connectedness, and XLM (ADA and MIOTA) showed a consistent (heterogeneous) non-recipient behavior across the six wavelet (D1~D6) scales and original return series. This study uncovers the dynamic connectedness across multiscale, which will support investors considering different investment horizons (D1~D6). © 2023 by the authors.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: COVID-19 evolved from a local health crisis to a pandemic and affected countries worldwide accordingly. Similarly, the impacts of the pandemic on the performance of global stock markets could be time-varying. This study applies a dynamic network analysis approaches to evaluate the evolution over time of the impact of COVID-19 on the stock markets' network. Design/methodology/approach: Daily closing prices of 55 global stock markets from August 1, 2019 to September 10, 2020 were retrieved. This sample period was further divided into nine subsample periods for dynamic analysis purpose. Distance matrix based on long-range correlations was calculated, using rolling window's length of 100 trading days, rolled forward at an interval of one month's working days. These distance matrices than used to construct nine minimum spanning trees (MSTs). Network characteristics were figured out, community detection and network rewiring techniques were also used for extracting meaningful from these MSTs. Findings: The findings are, with the evolution of COVID-19, a change in co-movements amongst stock markets' indices occurred. On the 100th day from the date of reporting of the first cluster of cases, the co-movement amongst the stock markets become 100% positively correlated. However, the international investor can still get better portfolio performance with such temporal correlation structure either avoiding risk or pursuing profits. A little change is observed in the importance of authoritative node;however, this central node changed multiple times with change of epicenters. During COVID-19 substantial clustering and less stable network structure is observed. Originality/value: It is confirmed that this work is original and has been neither published elsewhere, nor it is currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
Online and hybrid education have expanded in recent years due, on the one hand, to technical advances and a growing demand from society, and, on the other hand, to the COVID-19 pandemic in which universities had to transform their face-to-face models out of necessity. The objective of our research is to evaluate the perceptions and preferences towards the various types of current education (face-to-face, online and hybrid). For this, a validated quantitative study is provided based on an online survey distributed among teachers and students at the University of Porto, obtaining a total of 684 responses. The instrument collects data on the preference for the various educational typologies and on the following dimensions: technological competence, enhancers and feelings. The results show their perceptions towards certain aspects within the formative process that originate tendencies of preference towards the different types of education. The topics of analysis are discussed with the most recent literature on the implementation in education of the various methodological typologies. The conclusions of the study show a good relative perception of the online education that both groups currently teach or receive, the preference for face-to-face education (teachers) and for face-to-face and hybrid education (students), some factors that significantly affect their inclinations towards the various types of education and three variables that generate significant differences in terms of groups within the student body: gender (women prefer online education), age (the youngest choose face-to-face training) and compatibility with a job (those who study and work choose online education). A close relationship is evidenced between the dimensions of the study and the preference for the different types of education. © 2023, Universidad Compultense Madrid. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic had severe implications in different economic sectors, among them tourism, with countries where tourism has a relevant economic role, such as Portugal, being greatly affected. However, the impact was different in the various regions of the country, which could be related to some tourism units, being more isolated or with fewer rooms, being seen as more attractive and safer. Based on data from Portuguese firms, and distinguishing their location between coastal and inland, it is possible to conclude that inland tourism units were less affected than coastal ones, which could be related to tourists seeking less densely populated areas, a relevant conclusion for the different agents.
ABSTRACT
Distributed teams are a reality for several companies nowadays, many authors covered their benefits and problems, and the rate of adoption of such team's structure by companies is growing fast. Since these teams are more present in companies, a performance measurement system must get adapted to fulfill the gap of not having a vast theory about the subject. To fill that gap, this paper brings results from previous steps in the research (Systematic Literature Review and Qualitative analysis of the data). It presents to a group of experts to reach a consensus on which capabilities are essential to managing/developing distributed teams' performance. The experts were exposed to the information following a Delphi Panel format and provided output that reached consensus and refined the list. The experts indicated that a group of six capabilities (engagement, development of a culture of performance measurement, organizational learning, alignment between planning and execution, accurate information and consistency) are essential to have their performance measurement system working correctly and reaching all functions. The work also identified the success factors for virtual teams, providing directions for the adoption and the monitoring of this kind of team that gained importance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Aims: COVID-19 pandemic place unprecedented pressure on societies and healthcare systems around the world. Over the last year, measures imposed in almost all countries dealing with the pandemic are sending the entire world into an extensive crisis and thus into a deep global recession.Since the outbreak began, many European countries have faced three/four waves of pandemic. Portugal has dealt with three waves (March/April'2020;October/November'2020;January/February'2021), the third being the deadliest one. The purpose of this article is to provide evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 on HRQoL and well being(W-B) of Portuguese citizens. It aims to (i) characterize these outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic;(ii) compare them to pre-COVID-19 Portuguese population;and (iii) identify the social determinants that may affect these outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method(s): This study used data from a survey that collected data on HRQoL, W-B, satisfaction with life, economic and labour impacts, access to healthcare, mental and physical health, amongst others. The survey was implemented by telephone to a representative random sample of 1255 respondents from the general adult Portuguese population, stratified by gender, age group and region. Data was collected during the end of the second national lockdown. Result(s): Looking at health and access to healthcare, 4% of citizens had their surgeries postponed or cancelled because of COVID-19, more than a quarter had medical appointments or complementary exams postponed or cancelled with 7% over 65 years old with surgeries cancelled or postponed and 32% medical appointments.COVID-19 pandemic also impacted negatively the HRQoL of citizens, especially in the first lockdown. Half of the respondents reported feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge, about 45% of citizens felt sad or depressed. sleeping problems were reported for almost 39% of citizens, and loneliness is reported by 29.3% of citizens. For about 70-85% of citizens, these feelings were more so than before the pandemic. Citizens with fair/strong economic stability were the most economically affected by the pandemic. Conclusion(s): We provided evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on health and W-B of Portuguese citizens. Their health was worse than before the pandemic and the access to healthcare was highly affected.
ABSTRACT
Early evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic may have reduced the proportion of individuals submitted to cervical, colorectal and breast cancer screening. However, the recovery from the pandemic impact was very heterogeneous. We aim to explore the impact of the pandemic on cancer screening and estimate the time to recover lost screening opportunities in Portugal. We used an interrupted time series to analyze the impact of the pandemic on the implementation of cancer screening. The study population was the eligible individuals screened for cervical, colorectal and breast cancer by month and health region between 2018 and 2021. We used Poisson regression with health region random effects to estimate the trend before and after the first lockdown (March 2020) and the impact of the first lockdown. We predicted the counterfactual evolution without a pandemic to estimate lost screening opportunities. The first lockdown resulted in 93,1% (95%CI 92,9-93,2), 89,4% (95%CI 89,2-89,5) and 84,1% (95%CI 83,8-84,3) decrease in the proportion of expected cervical, colorectal and breast cancer screening tests. Nonetheless, we document an increased trend difference between pre and post lockdown of 6,0% (95%CI 5,9-6,0) and 5,3% (95%CI 5,3-5,4), 3,7% (95%CI 3,6-3,7) per month. However, by December 2021, there are still many lost screening opportunities due to the pandemic - 293k cervical cytology tests (42,2% less than expected), 247k fecal occult blood tests (28,7%) and 388k mammograms (38,4%). The first lockdown resulted in an abrupt decrease in cancer screening. However, we document an increase in the cancer screening trend after the pandemic. Nevertheless, there are still considerable lost screening opportunities after 2 years. Key messages • The pandemic caused a massive disruption in cancer screening. Although there was an increase in screening trends after the first lockdown, 2 years later, many lost screening opportunities remain. • Population-based screenings need to increase the outputs to account for lost screening opportunities due to the pandemic.
ABSTRACT
The widespread adoption of home-schooling around the world precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic has brought afloat the inequalities in household environment and parental support to early childhood education and care (ECEC) that, according to research, much contribute to uneven childhood education and future social mobility opportunities. With new trends of remote work emerging and predictively prevailing beyond the compulsory confinements, and extended learning delays to recover by children, it is expected that increasingly flexible childcare arrangements are to be demanded by society to fit this new reality - addressing simultaneously long-time concerns from academia and society about the importance of parental involvement and individualized, and child-led, informal learning practices in ECEC. It is proposed the study, co-design and early impact assessment of (1) a nursery- and primary- school-home digital communication platform to facilitate the reveal and setup of relevant informal education activities based on children's own formal education goals and their household's resources - human, spatial and material -, and (2) a serious game, mounted on top of this platform, to motivate and empower young children to be the drivers of their own informal education programs, by leveraging storytelling and role-play over an interface that is accessible and intelligible to them. © 2022 Owner/Author.
ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular diseases have been associated with higher risk of COVID infection, severity of its clinical presentation and a significant increase in overall mortality. We reported the case of a 77-year-old patient who recovered from a severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2(SARS-CoV-2) after a complex treatment approach that included mechanical ventilation for 26 days and high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy for 17 days. Relevant ST-segment elevations in inferior leads were documented, with mild troponin elevation and without relevant ultrasound alterations. A Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was then requested. We emphasize the relevance of postponing invasive tests until significant recovery. The real incidence of acute myocardial injury related to COVID-19 requires a standardized definition beyond surveillance of future complications.
ABSTRACT
A new Coronavirus disease 2019 has spread globally since 2019. Consequently, businesses from different sectors were forced to work remotely. At the same time, research in this area has seen a rise in studying and emerging technologies that allow and promote such a remote working style;not every sector is equipped for such a transition. The manufacturing sector especially, has faced challenges in this respect. This paper investigates the mental workload (MWL) of two groups of participants through a human-machine interaction task. Participants were required to bring a robotised cell to full production by tuning system and dispensing process parameters. Following the experiment, a self-assessment of the participants' perceived MWL using the raw NASA Task Load Index (RTLX) was collected. The results reveal that remote participants tend to have a lower perceived workload compared to the local participants, but mental demand was deemed higher while performance was rated lower.
ABSTRACT
By the end of 2019, a new coronavirus was identified in China, in patients with severe pneumonia. Since its discovery, the SARS-CoV-2 has quickly spread thoroughout the world. This literature review was conducted to define the role of dogs and cats in the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2. The coronavirus belongs to the Coronaviridae family, Betacoronavirus genera, is the causative agent of the human COVID-19 and shows spike glycotproteins which allow the virus to enter in the host cell through the binding the spike protein with the receptors of the angiotensin-converting enzyme type 2. There is no reports that companion animals are a source of infection for human beings, however, evidences show that infected humans can transmit viral particles to the animals in a natural way. Infected animals may show mild and self-limiting clinical signs. Thus, dogs and cats can acquire SARS-CoV-2 from their tutors and may transmit to other animals, but not to humans and that is important the understanding about the susceptibility of dogs and cats due their close contact with human beings.
ABSTRACT
The numbers of COVID-19 increase daily, both confirmed cases and deaths. All over the world, shock waves are felt with impacts on economies in general and the financial sector in particular. Aiming to assess the relationship between confirmed cases and deaths and the behaviour of stock markets, the authors perform a dynamic analysis, based on the Pearson correlation coefficient, for 10 of the most affected countries in the world. As expected, they find evidence that the number of COVID-19 cases had a negative effect on stock markets, and that the current second wave is penalizing them. They also find that deaths have a more relevant impact than the number of confirmed cases. © 2021, IGI Global.