ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a major flaw in the current medical oxygen supply chain and inventory management system. This shortcoming caused the deaths of several patients which could have been avoided by accurate prediction of the oxygen demand and the distribution of oxygen cylinders. To avoid such calamities in the future, this paper proposes an Internet of Everything (IoE) based solution which forecasts the demand for oxygen with 80-85% accuracy. The predicted variable of expected patients enables the system to calculate the requirement of oxygen up to the next 30 days from the initiation of data collection. The system is scalable and if implemented on a city or district level, will help in the fair distribution of medical oxygen resources and will save human lives during extreme load on the supply chain. © 2023 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Digital and smart technologies have been widely used during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to control severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmission, to perform rapid diagnosis, and for monitoring. Although the pandemic has caused economic, social, and diverse health problems, it has spurred developers of digital and smart technologies to fight the disease. Science and technology sectors constituting mainly of data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are contributing toward controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Robots and smart technologies along with IoT (Internet of Things) structures have been digitizing the fight against the pandemic, which has enormous gains in terms of reducing contamination/transmission. This chapter provides a detailed revision about such technologies, describing and discussing their advantages, disadvantages, and limitations. We concluded that some of these innovative solutions, as they require the patient's personal information, are concerning authorities and researchers about ethical issues, such as data safety and personal privacy. Modern technologies have contributed to improving people's lives, presenting a significant advantage in helping people to control this infection. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research is to demonstrate how retailers have used the digital transformation to mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19. As this research aims to understand a real-life phenomenon for which there is very limited knowledge, we created the opportunity to empirically explore the digital transformation in the retail industry during COVID-19 pandemic. In general terms, the research follows a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory case study design. The results have shown that retailers should focus on technological innovations, adapt their business models, manage their distribution channels, and strengthen their customer-centric strategy. Moreover, it is necessary to emphasize that while smart retail is gradually standing out in the sector, there are also some factors that have not been overcome, such as lack of digital culture, training, and digital leadership. Despite these identified difficulties, the adoption of a digital strategy will allow a differentiating, safe and secure shopping experience, which today is one of the decisive factors for the survival of companies. The COVID-19 pandemic had social and economic effects in all industries – retail was no exception. In turn, the digital technologies already used by companies began to contribute to retailers being able to respond more quickly to customer needs, having been fundamental in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this research is one of the first to explore this topic, bringing new contributions to theory and managerial practice. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether colchicine treatment was associated with the inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in patients with COVID-19. METHODS: We present a post hoc analysis from a double-blinded placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) on the effect of colchicine for the treatment of COVID-19. Serum levels of NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome products-active caspase-1 (Casp1p20), IL-1ß, and IL-18-were assessed at enrollment and after 48-72 h of treatment in patients receiving standard-of-care (SOC) plus placebo vs. those receiving SOC plus colchicine. The colchicine regimen was 0.5 mg tid for 5 days, followed by 0.5 mg bid for another 5 days. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients received SOC plus colchicine, and thirty-six received SOC plus placebo. Colchicine reduced the need for supplemental oxygen and the length of hospitalization. On Days 2-3, colchicine lowered the serum levels of Casp1p20 and IL-18, but not IL-1ß. CONCLUSION: Treatment with colchicine inhibited the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, an event triggering the 'cytokine storm' in COVID-19. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: RBR-8jyhxh.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Inflammasomes , Humans , Inflammasomes/metabolism , NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism , Interleukin-18 , NLR Proteins , Colchicine/therapeutic use , Interleukin-1beta/metabolismABSTRACT
We study the impact of COVID-19 school closures on differences in online learning usage by regional academic performance. Using data from Google Trends in Italy, we find that during the first lockdown, regions with a previously lower academic performance increased their searches for e-learning tools more than higher-performing regions. Analysing school administrative and survey data before the pandemic, we find that both teachers and students in lower performing regions were using no less e-learning tools than higher performing ones. These two findings suggest that the COVID-19 shock widened the e-learning usage gap between academically lower and higher-performing regions. Exploiting the regional variation in school closure mandates during the 2020–2021 academic year, we report that the patterns detected after the first lockdown were no longer present. Regions with different previous academic performance had the same response in terms of online learning usage when faced with stricter school closures. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
ABSTRACT
The present chapter seeks to present a new initiative in public policies in its historical, legal, conceptual, methodological and strategic aspects. It is aimed at demonstrating the execution and results reached in a Brazilian experiment with information and communication technologies (ICTs). For the first time, social assistance was identified in the Federal Constitution (1988) as a state public policy, along with the rights to citizenship and state obligations, which must be offered to every Brazilian who needs it. Since 2004, the National Policy of Social Assistance has been organised in a unified system called the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS), which is decentralised, regulated and present in every Brazilian state and municipality. The system offers benefits and services of social assistance and is carried out by a network of governmental and non-governmental services fulfilling three strategic functions: Social protection, safety and access to rights, and a social-assistance monitoring service. All of this is carried out from the perspective of the development of territorial social technologies that reach the entire Brazilian population, which demands social protection and the ability to exercise the basic rights of citizenship. The chapter highlights the basis, guidelines and functioning structure of the SUAS, presenting the characteristics of the social services and benefits of the system, the conception and processes of management of the social-assistance monitoring service, and the technology and communication networking present in the SUAS. In addition, the chapter presents a successful case study, which demonstrates how a computerised system can contribute to the inclusion of the population in social policies. And finally, the results reached in the deployment of the social-assistance monitoring service and how this function responds to the needs of the population in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil are presented. © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Antonio López Peláez, Sang-Mok Suh and Sergei Zelenev;individual chapters, the contributors.
ABSTRACT
In thispaper, we present a brief study on the fractional derivative of Caputo in the space of linearly correlated fuzzy numbers (R-F(A)), with a non-symmetric fuzzy number A. This space is interesting since it has a Banach space structure. The use of the Caputo derivative gives the advantage of including memory effect in the dynamics of mathematical models, allowing a better description of real phenomena. To illustrate the proposed concepts, we study the curve of cumulative cases of COVID-19 in China through a fractional logistic model in space R-F(A).
ABSTRACT
In this manuscript we use triangular norms to model contact between susceptible and infected individuals in the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) epidemiological model. In the classical SIR model, the encounter between susceptible and infected individuals is traditionally modelled by the product of their densities (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$SI$</tex-math></inline-formula>). That is, the encounter is modelled by the product t-norm. We use the COVID-19 data and extended versions of the SIR model whose encounters are modelled by four triangular norms, namely, product, minimum, Frank and Hamacher t-norms, to analyze the scenario in three countries: Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. We compare all versions of the SIR model based on these triangular norms, and we analyze their effectiveness in fitting data and determining important parameters for the pandemic, such as the basic and effective reproduction number. In addition, Frank and Hamacher triangular norms present an auxiliary parameter that can be interpreted as an indicator of control measure, which we show to be important in the current pandemic scenario. IEEE
ABSTRACT
Introduction: In Portugal, in 2020, 5415 new lung cancer patients were diagnosed and 4797 deaths were caused by lung cancer. Lung cancer ranks third in terms of cancer incidence and is the leading cause of cancer mortality. Early diagnosis, complete and fast patient assessment and staging, multidisciplinary approach, access to personalized medicine, new treatment options and research are essential to improve survival and quality of life. Access to clinical trials is critical for this improvement.The aim of this study is to assess the techniques available to the diagnostic work-up, treatments, the waiting time and the needs perceived by physicians. Methods: The Portuguese Lung Cancer Study Group launched a survey in order to study the diagnostic approach and treatment of lung cancer patients in Portugal. An online survey with 47 questions was sent to all Portuguese hospitals that treat lung cancer, referring to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic experience. Results: Responses from 31 Portuguese hospitals were collected, between May and September 2020. Availability to bronchoscopy, image-guided transthoracic needle biopsy (TNB), endobronchial ultrasound- transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TNBA), PET/CT, molecular biology testing is presented in table I. In 58% (n=18) the molecular biology test was performed as a "reflex test". About 68% (n=21) of hospitals used next generation sequencing. Two hospitals (7%) reported not having access to liquid biopsies.Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was the main surgical technique (61%;n=19). The waiting time for the first radiation oncology consultation was less than 15 days in 71% (n=26). About 61% (n=19) of hospitals had clinical trials. A wide majority of doctors (77%) would like to have more clinical trials. In 71% (n=22) of the hospitals, it was possible to refer patients to Palliative Care receiving systemic anticancer therapy. [Formula presented] Conclusions: Despite the limitations of the methods, this study allowed us to deepen our knowledge about the work-up technologies and treatments available for lung cancer patients in Portugal. It has also identified future opportunities, such as increasing accessibility to some diagnostic tools and clinical trials. Keywords: Diagnosis and treatment approach, Lung Cancer in Portugal, Health Services Research - Portugal
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit everyone in the world in the last two years. All areas of life were affected, including football. Brazilian football, as it could not fail to be, had to be reformulated in a matter of months and the athletes were the hardest hit. We saw championships starting in one year and ending in another and requiring even more from football athletes. Characterized as quantitative analysis, based on the calendars provided by the State Football Federations, Brazilian Football Confederations and South American (CONMEBOL), the aim of this study was to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the calendar and the accumulation of games to which the teams were submitted. When analyzing the numbers, we saw teams reaching more than 130 games in a row, with just over three and a half days of recovery between matches which, physiologically, is absurd. We conclude, then, that there was a huge demand on the athletes of Brazilian football. Teams seeking to improve their financial issues, being submitted to four, five championships in parallel, without bringing adequate rest to players and committees, who see their training plans being exchanged for a model without any preparation for athletes, disregarding what is studied in terms of excess load, detraining and recovery. Finally, this season, there would be the opportunity for a valuation of smaller teams in terms of winning titles, giving more visibility to players and more time for the main teams to prepare for the main competitions of the calendar.
ABSTRACT
The confinement caused by the spread of the disease COVID-19 transformed the way of teaching in the education sector during confinement, leading to the intensification of the development of virtual learning. This includes the use of many educational tools, applications, and Websites at zero cost for its users, the emergence of the STEM (STEAM education is a revolutionary approach that respects the particularities of students allowing them to develop different skills simultaneously, streamlining and optimizing teaching to make it much more complete) lockdown digital school and the emergence of remote education. Although knowledge and use and information and communication technologies (ICT) are considered a premise for the good performance of students in working life, complete knowledge is only achieved with active participation and accompanied by the pedagogical aspect that teachers are capable of impute to the teaching/learning process, which does not always happen because not all students and teachers are equipped with these technological tools, or even due to social and cultural reasons. Regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using technology to teach and learn, we will see that the use of technologies is a competitive advantage for students while they are in the education system and for those who need those same technologies in the performance of their profession. Still and in order to analyze the technologies at the service of education, as well as the goals foreseen for the coming years, we verified that action plans must be introduced that, covering a significant number of the active population, provide external and independent training from the education system. Compulsory education that makes contact with ICT by interested parties a reality. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
Background: IBD is a chronic immune-mediated disease that requires continuous patient care. The frequent contact and the good relationship with the multidisciplinary team (MDT) are essential for improving quality of life (QoL) and medication adherence aiming at treatment success. The aim of the study was to assess the importance of MDT in the view of patients with IBD and its impact on QoL and in medication adherence. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out, including 114 patients from an IBD reference center in Brazil. The relevance of MDT was assessed through a questionnaire that included the importance of physicians, nurses, nutritionists and psychologists in the patient care. QoL was assessed by IBDQ. Treatment adherence and knowledge about the disease were assessed using the Morisky and CCKNOW questionnaires, respectively. Results: In total, 69 (60.53%) patients with CD and 45 (39.47%) patients with UC were included. The mean age was 39.16 (±13.50) years and 58.77% were female. The disease duration was 9.88 (±7.35) years. Presence of comorbidities was observed in 52.63% patients. About 57 (82.61%) patients with CD use biological therapy, with a statistical difference (p <0.0001) when compared to patients with UC (37.78%). The gastroenterologist was considered very important by 91.23% of patients, coloproctologist by 62.07% of patients, nurse by 65.05% of patients, nutritionist by 50% of patients and psychologist by 47.25% of patients. In the analysis of QoL, 24 (21.05%) patients had excellent QoL, 52 (45.61%) had good QoL, 29 (25.44%) had regular QoL and 9 (7.89%) had poor QoL, with no difference between patients who followed with nurses or other MDT professionals (Table 1). Medication adherence was low in 58.88% of patients. Knowledge about the disease was low (6.21 ± 3.99 points), being higher among patients with CD (p = 0.01). Patients identify the doctor as the main provider of care for their health, but about 10% leave with doubts from their appointments. 10% of patients think that more care with the nurse is necessary and less than 10% of patients are clarified by the nurse about QoL, ostomies, fecal incontinence, disease activity, biological therapy and sexuality. Conclusion: Patients considered doctors as the most important professionals in their care. Although the service has a multidisciplinary team, not all patients had the opportunity to consult with all professionals, mainly do the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The lack of contact with the entire team, especially with the nurse, may have contributed to low medication adherence and low knowledge of the disease, impacting disease control and QoL.
ABSTRACT
Regarding the current social state and the benefits of social distancing, this paper intends to use technology, namely mobile and web applications, to control the flow of people in institutional spaces, namely the management of students at Polytechnic Institute of Viseu. The idea is to use QR codes distributed in spaces (classrooms, libraries) so that it is possible to carry out monitoring in real-time. When a professor or student attends a specific room, information about the number of people in that location will be updated in the app. Thus, it will be possible to count the number of students present in each space and carry out the automatic registration of students’ attendance per class, removing the professor’s concern about registering them. The application will also be able to effectively control the sanitation of each space since alerts will be issued at the end of each class to the administrator of the web application. As for the web part, the responsible institution will be able to make the schedules of the different shifts available to students via the website to enroll in these shifts and access information regarding the number of people who intend to attend a specific class. In this way, it will possibly be better to manage academic sites in terms of social distance. © 2021, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected sleep health. Students' sleep health is essential for the performance of neuro-cognitive processes, as well as mental and physical balance. We assume the COVID19 pandemic has modified some sleep habits by prompting environmental and social interaction changes. In this study we surveyed a sample of 300 Brazilian students, with internet access, resident in the Federal District. They completed a questionnaire over two weeks in March 2020, i.e. the second and third week of the social isolation policy enacted in the Federal District due to COVID19. Valid responses from students aged18-24 years were analyzed. The sample was mostly female; 76,3% reported somnolence during the day, 70,2% anxiety and 87,8% worse sleep associated with stress and/or anxiety, which indicated the variables for an educational health intervention design in this context. Further, 53.2% made no effort to avoid screens before sleeping; 73.9% to avoid using the bed for work or watching television and 83.1% to avoid consuming heavy foods before sleeping. We then created an Instagram profile, @comodormimos, which focused on the main sleep issues revealed by participants in the survey. Posts on the profile were based on sleep-related subjects: sleep processes, sleep hygiene practices for students; sleep stages, function and regulation; and sleep-wake circadian rhythms. The profile gained 307 followers, mostly women (61,7%), 18-24 years old. We concluded that the Covid-10 pandemic period increased harmful sleep behavior in students. Further studies are needed to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student sleep health.
ABSTRACT
Since the emergence of the Covid-19 outbreak, the world has faced profound changes, with different levels of impact on human experience. Besides immediate health, economic, and political issues, psychological and existential impacts have also emerged. It is no exaggeration to say that even our taken-for-granted, embodied being in the world has profoundly changed, with collectively felt impacts. In this paper, I argue for a general description of the Covid-19 experience. I suggest that loss of trust emerges as a pervasive dimension of these strange times, de-structuring the whole web of human relations since then. As an essentially affective category, trust can be described at the most basic level as a pre-intentional bodily orientation towards ourselves, others, and the world in general. A critical point is that loss of trust cannot be described as an internal and individual emotion, but rather, as an essentially relational and socially extended affective phenomenon. Another critical point is that, due to social distancing measures, loss of trust has to be understood mostly as a technologically scaffolded form of emotional sharing. I end by calling attention to the potential and present mental health impacts of losing trust. © 2021 by Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The objective of this research is to discuss the possible impacts and mitigation measures that emerged in the retail sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a qualitative and exploratory case study of a Portuguese logistic operator, we explored the effects of the pandemic on employeeś daily work. To that end, we used several sources of data collection, such as semi-structured interviews, analysis of official documents and direct observation. The results showed that the logistic operator is adopting several measures and practices to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, such as: 1) use of telework;2) protection and hygiene measures for employees and customers;3) tools to respond to growing demand for non-perishable goods, hygiene/cleaning products and tobacco;4) policies that enhance digital transformation;and, 5) the use of active and preventive communication strategies. Of all the adopted measures, we highlight the digital transformation, due to its potential positive impact in allowing the return of a new normal. This normality is largely achieved by the use of innovative technologies that allowed remote work in practically all departments of the organization. This organizational change improved the paradigm we were used to, as it allowed to build new beliefs regarding the positive impact of teleworking and other opportunities for remote work, without significantly changing the expected service levels. In short, this article contributes to the dissemination of measures and practices adopted by retailers in Portugal, without neglecting the safety and competitiveness of labor practices. © 2021 AISTI.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic affected sleep health. Students' sleep health requires cognitive processes, mental and physical balance. We assume that the pandemic COVID-19 has modified some sleep habits by eliciting environmental and social interaction changes. According to the perspective that the students need health education interventions on sleep hygiene, we aimed to promote sleep health education based on social media in students using Instagram. Methods: Students participated by answering an online questionnaire in Instagram platform. The sample was 300 students with internet access between two weeks of March/2020. This period refers to the second and third week of the social isolation policy enacted due COVID-19. The Snowball strategy was the dissemination method, a non-probabilistic sampling technique in which the participants invited new participants from their network of acquaintances. Results: The valid responses were from students among 18-24 y.o. The sample was mostly female (61,7%), between 18 and 22 y.o., and they sleeped less than 8 hours. Also, 76,3% of the surveyed reported somnolence during the day, 70,2% anxiety and 87,8% worse sleep associated to stress and/or anxiety, which indicated the variables for an educational health intervention design in this context. Most of the sample did stipulate a schedule to wake up on the weekdays (96,6%), and 24,4% of the sample didn't stipulate a fixed schedule for bedtime during the weekdays. More than 150 people (53,2%) didn't make any effort to avoid screens before sleeping. The responses' distribution showed that an average number of people (73,9%) try to avoid using the bed for work or watch television, and 83,1% seek to avoid heavy foods before sleeping. Conclusion: The Instagram profile focused on the main sleep issues seen in the survey. The posts were created using subjects about sleep process, sleep hygiene practices for students;sleep stages, function and regulation;sleep-wake circadian rhythms. The creation of the @ comodormimos profile on Instagram was based on the need for a subject understanding by the researched public. Coronavirus' pandemic increased the harmful sleep behavior of students. Further studies should be done to understand the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the student's sleep health.