LEARNING ONLINE: REMOTE TEACHING AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on many dimensions of living and working conditions, and uncertainties about the developments that we shall still face in the near future. This paper analyses the implications of a forced overnight push to online teaching. Drawing upon an online survey conducted during the 2020 lockdown by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, this article describes students’ living and studying conditions revealed by a large set of open and closed questions. The survey provides significant information on the students’ real off-campus conditions, crucial data for the multidimensional analysis by combining non-parametric multivariate analysis of closed questions with textual analyses. It offers important indications about the most useful tools for inclusive teaching across thematic areas and highlights the main difficulties that emerged during the lockdown. Reflections on advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses in the innovative learning environment set up overnight are offered at a policy level. © 2022, ASA Associazione per la Statistica Applicata. All rights reserved.

HEAD AND NECK CANCER: THE NEW SCENARIO IN THE PANDEMIC COVID-19 PERIOD

Objective: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a disruption of the routine clinical and surgical activities of the national health system, resulting in the accumulation of clinical cases and consequent delay in the management of the cancer patient. The prolongation of patient management processes due to the infectious risk collided with the inevitable progression of the disease from untimely interventions. Through this study, we offer our experience gained during the COVID-19 era in the management of oncological pathology through useful action plans and services for head and neck cancer. Materials and Methods: A multicenter retrospective study through the analysis of the Otorhinolaryngology Units oncological databases of the University of Catania (Catania, Italy) and the Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital of Forli (Forli, Italy), was performed. We evaluated the oncological rates identified from April to September 2020 and compared with the precedents of the previous year. Results: The surgical percentage reported for malignant oncological diseases went from 10.46% and 11.37% in 2019 to 32.7% and 34.01% in 2020 for the Hospitals of Catania and Forli, respectively, despite the reduction of about 50% of general anesthesia for both health facilities. Conclusions: In light of the critical care issues, a reassessment of the oncological treatment paradigms in use, provided by evidence medicine and guidelines, and the development of new strategies to reshape operational protocols for head and neck cancer would be necessary.

Liver infection and COVID-19: the electron microscopy proof and revision of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19, the newly emerging infectious disease, has been associated with acute liver injury, often related to progression to severe pneumonia. The association between moderate-severe liver injury and more severe clinical course of COVID-19 has suggested that liver injury is prevalent in severe than in mild cases of COVID-19, while no difference in liver involvement has been reported between survivors and non-survivors. The spectrum of liver involvement during COVID-19 ranges from an asymptomatic elevation of liver enzymes to severe hepatitis. Only rarely, cases with acute hepatitis have been reported in the absence of respiratory symptoms. Both epithelial and biliary cells possess the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 receptors that SARS-CoV-2 uses to be internalized. However, to our knowledge, no ultrastructural identification of the virus in liver cells has been reported to date. Here we provide evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in the liver of two patients, a 34-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man with COVID-19. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigated two patients with COVID-19 showing several virions within cytoplasmic vacuoles of cholangiocytes and in endothelial cells of hepatic sinusoids. In both patients, we performed histological and ultrastructural examinations by liver biopsy. After two months, both patients were free of symptoms, and the SARS-CoV-2 infection had resolved. RESULTS: Liver biopsy histological and ultrastructural examination showed liver injury and several virions within cytoplasmic vacuoles of cholangiocytes and in endothelial cells of hepatic sinusoids. CONCLUSIONS: Although most studies in COVID-19 have been focused on the lungs, recently, cholestatic liver pathology has been introduced in the spectrum of pathological changes related to COVID-19. To the best of our knowledge, those presented in this paper are the first images of hepatic SARS-CoV-2 infected liver cells. Our findings suggest a role for cholangiocytes and biliary structures in the COVID-19.

Outbreak of COVID-19 infection in children: fear and serenity.

OBJECTIVE: The recent outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 greatly involves the resources of the global healthcare system, as it affects newborns, adults, and elders. This infection runs in three major stages: a mild cold-like illness, a moderate respiratory syndrome and a severe acute interstitial pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2 infection seems to have a more benign evolution in children. As a matter of fact, low susceptibility and minor aggressivity have been highlighted in most cases. There are currently no effective antiviral drugs treatment for the affected children. No sufficient results have been reached by the use of interferon (IFN), lopinavir/ritonavir, orbidol, and oseltamivir in the treatment of the coronaviruses infection. The aim of this short review is to highlight the differences existing between COVID-19 cases in adults and children.