ABSTRACT
Broiler chicken eggs are one of the main and strategic foods for the people of Indonesia and contribute to regional and national inflation. Broiler egg production in Indonesia differs between regions. Areas with a surplus of eggs tend to have lower prices than areas with a deficit. This research is to measure the transmission of broiler egg prices between markets in surplus and deficit areas, using weekly price time series data for the period January 2018-December 2021. Areas of surplus broiler eggs, East Java Province (the highest broiler egg production in Indonesia) which become one of the main suppliers to the Province of East Nusa Tenggara as a deficit area. Using the Johannsen cointegration test it is found that there is no cointegration or there is no relationship between the surplus and deficit regions in the long term but not in the short term. Factors of marketing infrastructure, market information systems, and geographical conditions can be obstacles to the absence of cointegration. The VAR (Vector Auto-Regressive) Vector Error Correction model (VECM) test, found that price transmission occurred between surplus and deficit areas, meaning that between the two regions, there was market integration prior to Covid. The transmission has weakened, and due to the Covid situation, there have been restrictions on the movement of people and goods. The government and other market players need to study the response of the broiler egg market, in the short and long term so that market players can make the right policies.
ABSTRACT
During the 2(nd) phase of COVID-19 pandemic, pharmaceutical plant industry is facing lot of production pressure and machine availability plays vital role in maximizing the manufacturing pharmacy product output. In this paper, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) based information processing algorithm has been used to provide a solution to this problem and it has been found suitable to predict machines availability as a prediction function. The considered pharmaceutical plants are dealing with production of medicines related common symptoms in case of COVID-19 (fever, coughing, and breathing problems). The pharmaceutical plant data corresponding to different values of repair and failure rates of different subsystems is collected from plant and analyzed with the help of validated neural network value of availability. This configuration of ANNs approach developed in this research allowed simplifying computational complexities of conventional approaches to solve a large plant machines availability problem. The ANNs methodology in the paper permitted making no assumption, no explicit coding of the problem, no complete knowledge of system configuration, only raw input and clean data found to be sufficient to determine the value of machine availability function for different value of failure and repair rates considered in the paper. The results obtained in the paper are useful for the plant leadership, as the value of failure and repair rates of various subsystems can be fine-tuned at a require clear-cut level to achieve higher availability, and avoid considerably loss of production, loss of man power, and by-pass complete breakdown of concerned system.
ABSTRACT
Conjunctivitis is one of the common and contagious ocular diseases which affects the conjunctiva of the human eye. Both the bacterial and viral types of it can be treated with eye drops and other medicines. It is important to diagnose the disease at its early stage to realise the connection between it and other diseases, especially COVID-19. Mobile applications like iConDet is such a solution that performs well for the initial screening of Conjunctivitis. In this work, we present with iConDet2 which provides an advanced solution than the earlier version of it. It is faster with a higher accuracy level (95%) than the previously released iConDet. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
As the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic, point-of-care detection and diagnostic systems have gained immense importance. Microfluidics has revolutionized the domain of point-of-care (PoC) devices meant for the on-site detection of diseases. Microfluidic platforms provide an integrated, miniaturized, and cost-effective analytical alternative to conventional point-of-care devices with a massive potential for commercialization. These platforms also offer the additional advantage of low sample volume and lesser time for detection. The amalgamation of nanobiotechnology with microfluidics has given rise to highly selective and sensitive stand-alone devices that detect early disease onset and progression biomarkers. Early detection helps to decide the therapeutic strategy for the patient in as little time as possible. These devices are compact, portable, and convenient, hence ideal for PoC applications. The incorporation of nanoscale sensing elements, including nanoprobes, graphene, and magnetic and noble metal nanoparticles (Gold, Silver, and Platinum), further enhances the sensitivity of nanobiosensor-based immunoassays. The future of medical diagnostics heavily relies on these novel sensing platforms, thus helping in proper planning and management of the treatment of any disease. In this chapter, to better understand, we illustrate the fabrication, characterization, and applications of these intelligent point-of-care biosensing platforms. A brief account of challenges and future scope associated with applying such point-of-care nanobiosensors has also been discussed. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.
ABSTRACT
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, classroom activities in the primary school, marked by physical distancing between students and teachers, raise some challenges. Thus, this article seeks to document the primary school students' perceptions regarding their socio-pedagogical environment in the context of a socially distanced classroom. For this purpose, responses to the Questionnaire sur l'environnement sociopédagogique au primaire (QESPP) provided by 1,002 students aged from six to 12 in the fall of 2020 were subjected to descriptive quantitative analyses and to some comparative inferential analyses (SPSS 23.0). Results show a strong tendency of students' positive perceptions toward the various climates of their socio-pedagogical environment, although the relational climate seems to be perceived somewhat less positively © 2023 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/Société canadienne pour l'étude de l'éducation
ABSTRACT
An efficient commodity market creates a price relationship between two or more markets. This study provides an overview of the behavior of premium granulated sugar prices and the price relationship between market levels. Time series data for the period January 2018-March 2022, are used in this study. Graphical trend analysis;and cointegration analysis with Vector Autoregression (VAR) approach to find research objectives. The research found that the price behavior of premium quality granulated sugar in the traditional market and the modern market is more dynamic than the price at the wholesaler level. The highest price spike occurred in the early period of covid-19, and several months later it returned to stability. Price behavior in traditional markets does not follow movements at other market levels simultaneously but takes some time to reach equilibrium. There is a long-term rionship (cointegration) between prices at the level of traditional markets, modern markets, and wholesalers, which contribute to the balance in the market. Market players need to take a strategic role in maintaining price balance at every level of the market in order to create an efficient and fair market.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with a heightened inflammatory state, including activated T cells. However, it is unclear whether these PD T cell responses are antigen specific or more indicative of generalized hyperresponsiveness. Our objective was to measure and compare antigen-specific T cell responses directed towards antigens derived from commonly encountered human pathogens/vaccines in patients with PD and age-matched healthy controls (HC). METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 20 PD patients and 19 age-matched HCs were screened. Antigen specific T cell responses were measured by flow cytometry using a combination of the activation induced marker (AIM) assay and intracellular cytokine staining. RESULTS: Here we show that both PD patients and HCs show similar T cell activation levels to several antigens derived from commonly encountered human pathogens/vaccines in the general population. Similarly, we also observed no difference between HC and PD in the levels of CD4 and CD8 T cell derived cytokines produced in response to any of the common antigens tested. These antigens encompassed both viral (coronavirus, rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, cytomegalovirus) and bacterial (pertussis, tetanus) targets. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest the T cell dysfunction observed in PD may not extend itself to abnormal responses to commonly encountered or vaccine-target antigens. Our study supports the notion that the targets of inflammatory T cell responses in PD may be more directed towards autoantigens like α-synuclein (α-syn) rather than common foreign antigens.
Subject(s)
Parkinson Disease , Vaccines , Humans , T-Lymphocytes , Leukocytes, Mononuclear , CytokinesABSTRACT
The study aims to determine the impact of COVID-19 on the livelihood of the local migrant workers. It has been carried out through a structured questionnaire that was designed to collect data from 377 respondents. Simple random sampling method was used to collect the data. In the study, the test of normality has been performed on the collected data and then based on the result of the normality test, appropriate analysis has been made. However, in the study, the Wilcoxon sign rank test has been applied. Analysis has been done through SPSS 23 version. It has been revealed that the local migrant workers, who lost their jobs due to the implementation of nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, have been the worst sufferers. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
ABSTRACT
Background: Patients with red blood cell disorders (RBCD), are likely to be at increased risk of complications from SARS-Co-2 (Coid-19), but eidence in this population is scarce due to its low frequency and heterogeneous distribution. Aims: ERN-EuroBloodNet, the European Reference Network in rare hematological disorders, established a European registry to determine the impact of COVID-19 on RBCD patients and identify risk factors predicting seere outcomes. Methods: The ERN-EuroBloodNet registry was established in March 2020 by VHIR based on Redcap software in accordance with the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on personal data. The local Research Ethics Committee confirmed that the exceptional case of the pandemic justifies the waier of informed consent. Eligible patients had confirmed RBCD and COVID-19. Data collected included demographics, diagnosis, comorbidities, treatments, and COVID-19 symptoms and management. For analysis of COVID-19 seerity, two groups were established 1) Mild: asymptomatic or mild symptoms without clinical pneumonia and 2) Seere: pneumonia requiring oxygen/respiratory support and/or admission to intensie care unit. Continuous ariables were compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test or Kruskall Wallis test, while categorical ariables were analyzed using the Chi-square test or Fisher's Exact test. Releant factors influencing disease or seerity were examined by the logistic regression adjusted for age. Results: As of February 25, 2022, 42 medical centers from 10 EU countries had registered 428 patients: 212 Sickle cell disease (SCD), 186 Thalassemia major and intermedia (THAL). The mean age of SCD was lower (22y) than of THAL (39.4y). Splenectomy and comorbidities were higher in THAL (51.4% and 61,3%) than in SCD (16,3% and 46,8%) (p<0.001, p=0.004). Age and BMI correlated with COVID-19 seerity, as described in the general population (p=0.003, p<0.001). Fig 1 shows age distribution and COVID-19 seerity by disease seerity groups. The mean age for seere COVID-19 was lower in patients with seere SCD (SS/SB0 s SC/SB+: 23y s 67.5y) and THAL (major s intermedia: 43.5 s 51.3y) (p<0.001). Potential risk factors such as eleated ferritin, current chelation or history of splenectomy did not confer additional risk for deeloping seere COVID-19 in any patient group. Only diabetes as a comorbidity correlated with seerity grade in SCD (p=0.01) and hypertension in THAL (p=0.009). While seere COVID-19 infection in SCD was associated with both ACS (p<0.001) and kidney failure requiring treatment (p<0.001), this was not predicted by a history of preious ACS or kidney disease in steady state. Oerall, 14,6% RBC patients needed oxygen/respiratory support, 4% were admitted to ICU with an oerall mortality rate of 1%, much lower than reported in other similar cohorts. Hospital Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca, Spain;54 Clinical Pharmacology Serice, Hospital Uniersitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain;55 Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Barcelona, Spain;56 Diision of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, American Uniersity of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon;57 UOC Pediatric Hematology Oncology, Uniersity of Padoa, Padoa, Italy;58 Department of Haematology, Oxford Uniersity Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom;59 Translational Research in Child and Adolescent Cancer, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Barcelona, Spain Background: Patients with red blood cell disorders (RBCD), are likely to be at increased risk of complications from SARS-Co-2 (Coid-19), but eidence in this population is scarce due to its low frequency and heterogeneous distribution. Aims: ERN-EuroBloodNet, the European Reference Network in rare hematological disorders, established a European registry to determine the impact of COVID-19 on RBCD patients and identify risk factors predicting seere outcomes. Methods: The ERN-EuroBloodNet registry was established in March 2020 by VHIR based on Redcap software in accordance with the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on personal data. The local Research Ethics Committee confirm d that the exceptional case of the pandemic justifies the waier of informed consent. Eligible patients had confirmed RBCD and COVID-19. Data collected included demographics, diagnosis, comorbidities, treatments, and COVID-19 symptoms and management. For analysis of COVID-19 seerity, two groups were established 1) Mild: asymptomatic or mild symptoms without clinical pneumonia and 2) Seere: pneumonia requiring oxygen/respiratory support and/or admission to intensie care unit. Continuous ariables were compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test or Kruskall Wallis test, while categorical ariables were analyzed using the Chi-square test or Fisher's Exact test. Releant factors influencing disease or seerity were examined by the logistic regression adjusted for age. Results: As of February 25, 2022, 42 medical centers from 10 EU countries had registered 428 patients: 212 Sickle cell disease (SCD), 186 Thalassemia major and intermedia (THAL). The mean age of SCD was lower (22y) than of THAL (39.4y). Splenectomy and comorbidities were higher in THAL (51.4% and 61,3%) than in SCD (16,3% and 46,8%) (p<0.001, p=0.004). Age and BMI correlated with COVID-19 seerity, as described in the general population (p=0.003, p<0.001). Fig 1 shows age distribution and COVID-19 seerity by disease seerity groups. The mean age for seere COVID-19 was lower in patients with seere SCD (SS/SB0 s SC/SB+: 23y s 67.5y) and THAL (major s intermedia: 43.5 s 51.3y) (p<0.001). Potential risk factors such as eleated ferritin, current chelation or history of splenectomy did not confer additional risk for deeloping seere COVID-19 in any patient group. Only diabetes as a comorbidity correlated with seerity grade in SCD (p=0.01) and hypertension in THAL (p=0.009). While seere COVID-19 infection in SCD was associated with both ACS (p<0.001) and kidney failure requiring treatment (p<0.001), this was not predicted by a history of preious ACS or kidney disease in steady state. Oerall, 14,6% RBC patients needed oxygen/respiratory support, 4% were admitted to ICU with an oerall mortality rate of 1%, much lower than reported in other similar cohorts. Summary/Conclusion: Results obtained so far show that seere COVID-19 occurs at younger ages in more aggressie forms of SCD and THAL. Current preentie approaches focus on age oer disease seerity. Our data highlights the risk of seere COVID-19 infection in some young patients, particularly those with SS/SB0 SCD, suggesting that immunization should be considered in this pediatric group as well. Results between similar sized cohorts of RBCD patients ary between each other and those presented here, highlighting the importance of collecting all of these small cohorts together to ensure adequate statistical power so that definitie risk factors can be reliably identified and used to guide management of patients with these rare disorders in the light of the ongoing pandemic. (Figure Presented).
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic limited health care access for individuals with multiple chronic medical conditions. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and quality of health care in patients with chronic comorbidities such as DM, HTN and CKD. An online survey was sent to patients over the age of 18 years who have been seen at Joslin during the last 24 months. Surveys were sent to participants by Redcap or conducted through telephone. The survey consisted of 92 items that included COVID diagnosis, General Health, Home self-care, Vaccines, Exposure to COVID, Health- care access and delivery, Perceptions of healthcare quality during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Pregnancy, Mental well-being, Diet and lifestyle, and demographics. Anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). As of November 1, 2021, 1189 had completed the survey. The mean age of participants was 54.2 ± 17.3 years. Half were women, and 89.2% were White. One hundred-six reported to have had COVID-19 infection;94% had diabetes, 36% had HTN, and 8% had CKD. An income of < $50,000 was reported in 9% and 39% were college graduates. While half of the CKD participants felt COVID-19 made their quality of healthcare “worse or a lot worse”, 81% of the participants with CKD felt that their doctors were available to meet their healthcare needs. In addition, the majority of the CKD participants reported to have access to all of their medications during the pandemic. About 48% reported COVID-19 outbreak has negatively affected their mental health with 21% and 11% screened positive for anxiety and depression respectively. Results were similar in patients with CKD. Individuals with depression and anxiety were, more likely to be women and obese. Fifteen percent of the participants with depression and 10.6% with anxiety responded that COVID-19 made the quality of healthcare a lot worse compared to 3.6% in individuals with no depression and 3.3% with no anxiety respectively (p<0.001). The COVID-19 pandemic has made an impact on mental health and quality of healthcare in individuals with CKD.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic peaked in New York City in Spring 2020. From March 20-May 4, all elective operations were suspended due to the number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients. In this study, we sought to describe patterns of care for surgical patients during this time. METHODS: An IRB approved retrospective review was performed of patients who presented to our hospital system from March-May 2020, diagnosed with breast cancer or atypia. RESULTS: We identified 75 patients with breast cancer and 19 patients with atypia. According to standard of care, 55/75 (73%) cancer patients would have undergone upfront surgery. 2/55 (4%) instead were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT), 34/55 (62%) with neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET), and 19/55 (34%) had no immediate treatment. 12/19 (63%) with no immediate treatment had DCIS only. 7 had invasive disease, and mean days from diagnosis to surgery was 63 days (range 47-79). One patient had a positive node. A total of 20/75 (27%) patients needed NCT based on advanced stage or molecular profile and had no delay in starting treatment. Of the 34 NET patients, 5 (14.7%) were treated for approximately 6 months and 24 (70.6%) were treated for approximately 6 weeks as a bridge to surgery only. Of the 34 patients who received NET, 5 (14.7%) had an apparent decrease in T stage: 3 patients with clinical T1 disease had no residual disease. 2 had clinical T2 and ultimately had pathological T1 disease. Of the 19 patients with atypia, 6 (31.6%) started chemoprevention preoperatively and 1 patient was already receiving it for a previous LCIS diagnosis. All underwent subsequent surgery and 1/19 (5.3%) patients was upstaged to DCIS. CONCLUSIONS: During the peak of Covid-19, with delay of surgery, we observed an increased utilization of NET when compared to usual treatment patterns, with no apparent adverse effects. While further studies are needed to validate our results, we may see more wide spread use of NET in the future to temporize patients as needed.
ABSTRACT
The impact of online courses on students' motivation, academic engagement, and satisfaction of psychological needs during the first waves of COVID-19 was examined with a questionnaire administered to a sample of teachers in training (n = 272) of a French-speaking university in Montreal (Canada). Analysis of the data reveals that participants were less motivated, less engaged and had more problems meeting their psychological needs in online courses than in traditional face-to-face classes. These results are discussed from the perspective of literature currently available on the subject and future developments in online training.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Telehealth has been widely adopted in providing Parkinson's disease care during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to survey people living with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) about their attitudes toward and utilization of telehealth services. METHODS: A survey was administered to PwPD via Parkinson's Foundation and Columbia University mailing lists. RESULTS: Of 1,163 responses, 944 complete responses were analyzed. Telehealth awareness was 90.2% (850/942), and utilization was 82.8% (780/942). More than 40% of PwPD were equally or more satisfied with telehealth compared with in-person visits in all types of services used. The highest satisfaction was observed in speech-language pathology appointments (78.8%, 52/66) followed by mental health services (69.2%, 95/137). CONCLUSIONS: In selected circumstances and indications, such as speech-language pathology and mental health services, telehealth may be a useful tool in the care of PwPD beyond the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson Movement Disorder Society.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Parkinson Disease , Telemedicine , Attitude , Humans , Parkinson Disease/psychology , Parkinson Disease/therapy , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a devastating impact on human health across the globe, and people are still observing face-masking as a preventive measure to contain the spread of COVID-19. Coughing is one of the major transmission mediums of COVID-19, and early cough detection could play a significant r ole i n p reventing t he s pread o f t his life-threatening virus. Many approaches have been proposed for developing systems to detect coughing and other respiratory symptoms in literature, but earable devices are not well-studied and investigated for respiratory symptom detection. In this work, we posited an acoustic research prototype (earable device) - eSense that has acoustic and IMU sensors embedded into user-convenient earbuds to address the following issues: (i) feasibility of the earables in detecting respiratory symptoms, and (ii) scalability of trained machine learning models in the presence of unseen data samples. We performed experimentation with both shallow and deep learning models on the eSense collected data samples. We observed that the deep learning model outperforms the shallow learning models achieving 97% accuracy. Furthermore, we investigated the scalability of the deep learning model on unseen datasets and noticed that the performance of the deep learning model deteriorates when trained on a particular dataset and tested on an unseen dataset. To mitigate such challenges, we postulated an adversarial domain adaptation technique that helps improve the performance of our respiratory symptoms detection framework by a substantial margin. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
[Formula presented] PV, NR and MMP contributed equally Introduction Patients with red blood cell disorders (RBCD), chronic life threating multisystemic disorders in their severe forms, are likely to be at increased risk of complications from SARS-Cov-2 (Covid-19), but evidence in this population is scarce due to its low frequency and heterogeneous distribution. ERN-EuroBloodNet, the European Reference Network in rare hematological disorders, established a European registry to determine the impact of COVID-19 on RBCD patients and identify risk factors predicting severe outcomes. Methods The ERN-EuroBloodNet registry was established in March 2020 by Vall d'Hebron Research Institute based on REDcap software in accordance with the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on personal data. The local Research Ethics Committee confirmed that the exceptional case of the pandemic justifies the waiver of informed consent. The ERN-EuroBloodNet registry on RBCD and COVID-19 is endorsed by the European Hematology Association (EHA). Eligible patients had confirmed RBCD and COVID-19. Data collected included demographics, diagnosis, comorbidities, treatments, and COVID-19 (severity grade, clinical manifestations, acute events, treatments, hospitalization, intensive care unit, death). For analysis of COVID-19 severity, two groups were established 1) Mild: asymptomatic or mild symptoms without clinical pneumonia and 2) Severe: pneumonia requiring oxygen/respiratory support and/or admission to intensive care unit. Continuous variables were compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test or Kruskall Wallis test, while categorical variables were analyzed using the Chi-square test or Fisher's Exact test. Relevant factors influencing disease or severity were examined by the logistic regression adjusted for age. Results As of June 2021, 42 medical centers from 10 EU countries had registered 373 patients: 191 Sickle cell disease (SCD), 156 Thalassemia major and intermedia (THAL) and 26 other RBCD. 84% of the SCD patients were reported by Spain, Belgium, Italy and The Netherlands and 92% of the THAL patients by Italy and Greece. The mean age of SCD was lower (22.5y) than of THAL (39.6y) with pediatric population accounting for 50.5% in SCD and 9% in THAL (p <0.001). Splenectomy and comorbidities were higher in THAL (51.3% and 65.8%) than in SCD (16% and 48.1%) (p<0.001, p=0.002). Age and BMI correlated with COVID-19 severity, as described in the general population (p=0.002, p<0.001). Fig 1 shows age distribution and COVID-19 severity by disease severity groups. The mean age for severe COVID-19 was lower in patients with severe SCD (SS/SB0 vs SC/SB+: 23.3y vs 67.5y) and THAL (major vs intermedia: 43.5 vs 51.3y) (p<0.001). Potential risk factors such as elevated ferritin, current chelation or history of splenectomy did not confer additional risk for developing severe COVID-19 in any patient group. Only diabetes as a comorbidity correlated with severity grade in SCD (p=0.011) and hypertension in THAL (p=0.014). While severe COVID-19 infection in SCD was associated with both ACS (p<0.001) and kidney failure requiring treatment (p=0.001), this was not predicted by a history of previous ACS or kidney disease in steady state. Overall, 14.8% RBC patients needed oxygen/respiratory support, 4.4% were admitted to ICU with an overall mortality rate of 0.8% (no deaths were registered in pediatric age), much lower than reported in other similar cohorts. Discussion Results obtained so far show that severe COVID-19 occurs at younger ages in more aggressive forms of SCD and THAL. Current preventive approaches (shielding, vaccinations) focus on age over disease severity. Our data highlights the risk of severe COVID-19 infection in some young patients, particularly those with SS/SB0 SCD, suggesting that immunization should be considered in this pediatric group as well. Results between similar sized cohorts of RBCD patients vary between each other and those presented here, highlighting the importance of collecting all of these small cohorts together to ensure adequate statistical p wer so that definitive risk factors (eg. age, genotype, comorbidities) can be reliably identified and used to guide management of patients with these rare disorders in the light of the ongoing pandemic. [Formula presented] Disclosures: Longo: Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria;BlueBird Bio: Honoraria. Bardón-Cancho: Novartis Oncology Spain: Research Funding. Flevari: PROTAGONIST COMPANY: Research Funding;ADDMEDICA: Consultancy, Research Funding;BMS: Research Funding;IMARA COMPANY: Research Funding;NOVARTIS COMPANY: Research Funding. Voskaridou: BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding;IMARA: Research Funding;NOVARTIS: Research Funding;ADDMEDICA: Consultancy, Research Funding;GENESIS: Consultancy, Research Funding;PROTAGONIST: Research Funding. Biemond: GBT: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Novo Nordisk: Honoraria;Celgene: Honoraria;Sanquin: Research Funding. Nur: Celgene: Speakers Bureau;Roche: Speakers Bureau;Novartis: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Beneitez-Pastor: Agios: Honoraria;Alexion: Honoraria;Novartis: Honoraria;Forma Therapeutics: Honoraria. Pepe: Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A: Other: no profit support;Bayer S.p.A.: Other: no profit support. de Montalembert: Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Addmedica: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;BlueBirdBio: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Vertex: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Glenthøj: Agios: Consultancy;Novo Nordisk: Honoraria;Novartis: Consultancy;Alexion: Research Funding;Bluebird Bio: Consultancy;Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy;Saniona: Research Funding;Sanofi: Research Funding. Benghiat: Novartis: Consultancy;BMS: Consultancy. Labarque: Novartis: Consultancy;Bayer: Consultancy;Sobi: Consultancy;NovoNordisk: Consultancy;Octapharma: Consultancy. Diamantidis: Genesis Pharma: Honoraria;Uni-Pharma: Honoraria;Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy;IONIS Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding;NOVARTIS, Genesis Pharma SA: Research Funding. Kerkhoffs: Sanofi: Research Funding;Terumo BCT: Research Funding. Iolascon: Celgene: Other: Advisory Board;Bluebird Bio: Other: Advisory Board. Taher: Vifor Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding;Agios Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy;Ionis Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding;Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding;Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding. Colombatti: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Global Blood Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding;Novonordisk: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Forma Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Addmedica: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;BlueBirdBio: Research Funding. Mañú Pereira: Novartis: Research Funding;Agios Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The anaesthetic management for surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic has posed unique challenges. Safety of all healthcare workers is an additional concern along with heightened risk to patients during General Anesthesia (GA). COVID-19 pneumonia and aerosol generation may be exacerbated during airway intervention and GA. We aimed to assess the change in the mode of anaesthesia due to the pandemic. Methods: A research consortium led by WHO Collaboration Centre for Research in Surgical Care Delivery in Low and Middle Income countries, India, conducted this retrospective cross-sectional study in 12 hospitals across the country.We compared the anaesthesia preferences during pandemic (April 2020) to a corresponding pre pandemic period (April 2019) Results: A total of 636 out of 2,162 (29.4%) and 156 out of 927 (16.8%) surgeries were performed under GA in April 2019 and April 2020 respectively, leading to a fall of 13% in usage of GA. A 5% reduction in GA and a 12% increase in the usage of regional anaesthesia was observed for cesarean sections. There was no significant change in anesthesia for laparotomies and fracture surgeries. However, 14% increase in GA usage was observed in surgeries for local soft tissue infections and necrotic tissues. Conclusion: Though overall usage of GA reduced marginally, the change was mainly contributed by anesthesia for caesarean births. The insignificant change in anaesthesia for other surgeries may be attributed to the lack of facilities for spinal anaesthesia and may reflect the risk taking behaviour of healthcare professionals in COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Background: COVID-19 patients are at increased risk of coagulopathy. This coagulopathy may be due to a severe pro-inflammatory state (cytokine storm) and/or by viral sepsis. This can sometimes lead to consumption coagulopathy and decreased platelet count, leading to increased risk of bleeding and may manifest like hematomas in atypical locations. These bleeding manifestations may be spontaneous or can be induced by even minor trauma. Cases: It is a single-center retrospective analysis. Four patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 depicting increased risk of bleeding manifestations were included. Patients in our study were managed as per guidelines recommended by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Directorate General of Health Services, Government of India. Results: All patients were male. The mean age was 56 +/- 18.64 years. One patient was managed conservatively with discontinuation of anticoagulants, volume resuscitation, and transfusion of blood products. Drainage with incision was done for 2 patients. One was managed with pigtail drainage. Conclusion: The effect of anticoagulants given in therapy and their varied presentations are discussed in this article. The article concludes that we need vigilant observation to identify this complication in the early period, resulting in successful management.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: With the explosion of COVID-19 globally, it was unclear if people with Parkinson's disease (PD) were at increased risk for severe manifestations or negative outcomes. OBJECTIVES: To report on people with PD who had suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to understand how COVID-19 manifested in PD patients. METHODS: We surveyed PD patients who reported COVID-19 to their Movement Disorders specialists at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and respondents from an online survey administered by the Parkinson's Foundation that assessed COVID-19 symptoms, general clinical outcomes and changes in motor and non-motor PD symptoms. RESULTS: Forty-six participants with PD and COVID-19 were enrolled. Similar to the general population, the manifestations of COVID-19 among people with PD were heterogeneous ranging from asymptomatic carriers (1/46) to death (6/46). The most commonly reported COVID-19 symptoms were fever/chills, fatigue, cough, weight loss, and muscle pain. Worsening and new onset of motor and non-motor PD symptoms during COVID-19 illness were also reported, including dyskinesia, rigidity, balance disturbances, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. CONCLUSION: We did not find sufficient evidence that PD is an independent risk factor for severe COVID-19 and death. Larger studies with controls are required to understand this further. Longitudinal follow-up of these participants will allow for observation of possible long-term effects of COVID-19 in PD patients.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Parkinson Disease , Anxiety/diagnosis , Humans , Parkinson Disease/complications , Parkinson Disease/diagnosis , Parkinson Disease/epidemiology , SARS-CoV-2 , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Conjunctivitis is a common ocular disease characterized by infection or swelling in the outer membrane of human eye. This contagious ocular disease could be controlled and well treated by medicines depending upon it’s category. To realize the connection between Conjunctivitis and other viral diseases, even for COVID-19, timely detection plays an important role. In this study, we have designed a mobile healthcare application (iConDet) through which initial level of Conjunctivitis detection is possible. Deep learning techniques have been used upon the Conjunctivitis dataset prepared by us in support of the claim and to achieve the desired accuracy of 84%. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.