Measuring Network Polarization and Political Sectarianism During the 2020 Pandemic

Online social networks are at the limelight of the public debate, where antagonistic groups compete to impose conflicting narratives and polarize the discussions. This article proposes an approach for measuring network polarization and political sectarianism in Twitter based on user interaction networks. Centrality metrics identify a small group of influential users (polarizers and unpolarizers) who influence a larger group of users (polarizees and unpolarizees) according to their ideological stance (left, right, and undefined). This network polarization is computed by the Bayesian probability using typical actions such as following, tweeting, retweeting, and replying. The measurement of political sectarianism also uses Bayesian probability and words extracted from the tweets to quantify the intensity of othering, aversion, and moralization in the debate. We collected Twitter data from 33 conflicted political events in Brazil during 2020, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our methodology and polarization score, our results reveal that the approach based on user interaction networks leads to an increasing understanding of polarized conflicts in Twitter. Also, a small number of polarizers is enough to represent the polarization and sectarianism of Twitter events. © 2014 IEEE.

Sustainable creative tourism on islands and pandemic: The Creatour Azores project

As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt worldwide, the tourism sector was forced to seek ways of reinventing itself. Two decades prior to this crisis, in varied rural areas and island contexts, small-scale, community-based creative tourism had appeared as a sustainable place-making solution to foster place vitality, competitive distinctiveness, regenerative development and destination resilience. From an island perspective, this article presents the theoretical framework, methodological approaches, and empirical practices of the Creatour Azores project, which was carried out in the North Atlantic archipelago of the Azores from 2019-2022. Given this timeframe, the investigators and pilot projects that implemented this research-practice project were confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, which accentuated the isolation and remoteness that tend to characterize islandscapes, especially peripheral islands such as the Azores. At the same time, however, this devastating global pandemic, which impacted the tourism sector especially, ended up offering unexpected opportunities along with special challenges, seeming to underscore the relevance of studies focused on the isolation and remoteness that characterize islandscapes. After describing the project methodologies and practices, as well as the adjustments adopted due to the pandemic, this article considers future possibilities for creative tourism on islands, in general, and in the Azores.

Immune Responses to Mrna Vaccines against Sars-Cov2 in Patients with Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases

Background/Aims Patients with immune-mediated rheumatic diseases (IMRD) are commonly treated with immunosuppressors and are prone to infections. Recently introduced mRNA SARS-Cov2 vaccines have demonstrated extraordinary efficacy across all ages. Immunosuppressed patients were excluded from phase III trials with SARS-We aim to fully characterize B and T cell immune responses elicited by mRNA SARS-Cov2 vaccines in patients with rheumatic diseases under immunotherapies, and to identify which drugs reduce vaccine's immunogenicity. Methods Humoral, CD4 and CD8 immune responses were investigated in 147 SARS-Cov2-naive patients with selected rheumatic diseases under immunosuppression after a two-dose regimen of SARS-Cov2 mRNA vaccine. Responses were compared with age, gender, and diseasematched IMRD patients not receiving immunosuppressors and with healthy controls Results IMRD patients showed decreased seroconversion rates (63% vs 100%, p=0.04) and cellular immune responses (59% vs 100%, p=0.007). Patients on methotrexate achieved seroconversion in 62% of cases and cellular responses in 80% of cases. Abatacept deeply affected humoral and cellular responses. Rituximab (31% responders) and belimumab (50% responders) showed severely impaired humoral responses but cellular responses were often preserved. Antibody titers were reduced with mycophenolate and azathioprine but preserved with leflunomide. Conclusion IMRD patients exhibit impaired SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-immunogenicity, variably reduced with immunosuppressors. Among commonly used therapies, abatacept and B-cell depleting therapies show the most deleterious effects, while anticytokines preserved immunogenicity. The effects of cumulative methotrexate and glucocorticoid doses on immunogenicity should be considered. Humoral and cellular responses are weakly correlated, but CD4 and CD8 tightly correlate. Seroconversion alone might not reflect the vaccine's immunogenicity.

The impacts airising from the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains

The global COVID-19 pandemic brought about unimaginable consequences for businesses, with lockdown, quarantine and social isolation causing the closure of borders, factories and stores in several countries, which ultimately locked down the most diverse supply chains, demonstrating an important characteristic of society today: supply chains are highly dependent. Business analysts are citing that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains are unprecedented in recent business history, something that can be visualized with supply chains becoming partially paralyzed as a result of official measures to prevent the pandemic from spreading at a speed that health systems cannot meet. However, some academic works have already warned of the danger of business concentration in specific regions of the planet, where the main focus is the low cost of production, without addressing strategic objectives or focusing on strategic products. This work proposes a reflection on the location of suppliers in certain geographical areas, as this implies the use of long supply chains, proposing an alternative for the creation and planning of shorter supply chains for products that are classified as strategic.

Effect of Early Treatment with Pegylated Interferon Lambda for Covid-19

Background: We assessed the efficacy of a single dose of peginterferon lambda in preventing clinical events among acutely symptomatic COVID-19 outpatients. Method(s): We conducted a placebo-controlled, randomized, adaptive platform trial among predominantly vaccinated SARS-CoV-2-positive adults in Brazil and Canada receiving either one subcutaneous injection of peginterferon lambda or placebo. The primary composite endpoint was medical admission to hospital, defined as either observation in a COVID-19 emergency setting for > 6 hours, or transfer to a tertiary hospital due to symptomatic COVID-19 within 28 days post-randomization. Result(s): For this evaluation, 931 patients received peginterferon lambda and 1018 received placebo. 84% of the population were vaccinated and the trial occurred across multiple COVID-19 variants. In the primary analysis of patients, the primary outcome was reduced by 51% in the peginterferon lambda vs. placebo groups (relative risk 0.49 [25/916 vs 57/1003], 95% Bayesian credible interval 0.30-0.76, posterior probability >99.9%). This effect was maintained in subgroup analyses including COVID-19-related hospitalization alone (relative risk 0.57, 95% Bayesian credible intervals 0.33-0.95, ) and COVID-19-related hospitalization or death (Hazard ratio 0.59, 95% Bayesian credible interval 0.35- 0.97). The effects were consistent across dominant variants and vaccination status. Among individuals with a high viral level at baseline, peginterferon lambda resulted in lower viral loads by Day 7, compared to placebo. The incidence of adverse events was similar in the two groups. Conclusion(s): Among predominantly vaccinated outpatients with COVID-19, single-dose of peginterferon lambda resulted in significantly decreased clinical events.

Incidental tomographic findings in patients with a Confirmed Diagnosis of COVID-19: An Observational Study

Objective: Describe incidental tomographic in the sample, correlating them with risk factors for chest diseases and sociodemographic data. Method(s): This is a retrospective and observational study covering 162 patients admitted to the COVID sector of the HU/UFJF, from April 1, 2020, to July 7, 2021, with a confirmed laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19. The variables were described in absolute and relative frequencies. The comparison of the correlation between the outcome variable (the tomographic findings) for independent samples was performed using Pearson's chi-square test (without correction) or Fisher's test when relevant. Result(s): Of the 162 patients, 15.4% had a solitary pulmonary nodule;14.8% had multiple pulmonary nodules;1.8%, lung mass;3.1%, mediastinal mass, and 9.3% had mediastinal adenomegaly. Findings such as excavations, pleural effusion, emphysema, PTE, pneumothorax, chronic interstitial disease, cavitation, aneurysms, and significant atheromatosis, classified in this study in the "Other" category showed impressive results, with an overall prevalence of 81.5%. This study demonstrated that 34% of patients had two or more types of incidental CT findings and that 88.3% of patients had at least some type of incidental CT finding. Conclusion(s): The pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 infections has brought a series of challenges and lessons learned to healthcare teams around the world. The massive implementation of highly sensitive diagnostic methods, such as chest tomography, ends up bringing an additional challenge, which is to deal with incidental findings, making good clinical reasoning necessary to avoid unnecessary investigations and not leave without diagnosis and treatment of diseases in early and asymptomatic stages.Copyright © 2023 Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto - U.S.P.. All rights reserved.

Tourism promoting sustainable regional development: focusing on rural and creative tourism in low-density and remote regions

This study, based on the analysis of the existing bibliography, as well as the result of the appreciation of a low-density and remote case studies located in the Azores Archipelago, seeks to identify a theoretical nexus regarding rural and creative tourism and regional sustainable development in the post-COVID-19 scenario. In this regard, the authors applied analytical descriptive and inductive deductive methods. Contextually, the study aims not only to understand the subject in more prominent detail but also to clarify new tendencies, approaches, and potential guidelines that allow the actors implicated to design and drive sustainable regional development in the long term. The remote and low-density territories are the most appealing destination for this new tourism dynamics. Also, the paper shows that it is possible to establish that in this ultra-peripheral territory, the tourism sector was already presuming relevance in 2019, benefiting from a large sample of entrepreneurs and actors in the tourism sector in the Portuguese Autonomous Region of the Azores. Some potential implications may include the following: (i) Increased economic benefits: Creative tourism can bring in additional revenue for local businesses and organizations and individual artists and craftspeople;(ii) Preservation of cultural heritage: Creative tourism can help to support and preserve traditional cultural practices and crafts, which can be an essential aspect of island communities' identity;(iii) Job creation: Creative tourism can create new job opportunities for locals, such as tour guides, workshop instructors, and artists.

Good practices in food handling: online training during COVID-19 pandemic period

Good Practices in Food Manipulation are procedures applied in food services to guarantee the consumer the quality and safety of food following current health legislation. Good practices are essential to reduce the risk of contamination from Foodborne Diseases (FDAs) and, therefore, the training of food handlers must be an ongoing process. Considering the current context resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, alternatives in the offer model for training these professionals should be proposed so that the process is not interrupted. The "Good Manufacturing Practices in Food Handling" course, offered annually by the IFPR - Campus Colombo since 2015, was remodeled to remotely guide food handlers about good hygiene practices and procedures in the workplace. The training was carried out through a free platform and made available on a Youtube channel. The meetings took place weekly for five weeks, totaling a workload of twenty hours. Each meeting lasted three hours, plus one hour for asynchronous activities. Forty students completed the course and thirty-two answered the satisfaction questionnaire. All responded that they would use the knowledge obtained from the course in their professional routine, indicating that, with training, it is possible to improve to ensure the production of food with more quality, safety and with less risk of contamination for consumers.

Children's Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross Cultural Comparison Between Portugal, Brazil and Italy.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced governments to implement measures that disrupted the daily routines of many families worldwide. We studied how the COVID-19 lockdown affected children's routines in Portugal (PT), Brazil (BR), and Italy (IT) to determine if children's age and country impacted their physical activity (PA) and sedentary time. We launched an anonymous online survey to assess how 3-12 years old children adjusted their daily routines to this situation. Parents reported the times each child was engaged in different activities throughout the day, and we used these data to calculate separately overall sedentary and physical activity time. We conducted separate analyses of variance for age and country on the percentage of time spent in the different activities. Results, based on the data from 3045 children in these three countries (PT n = 2044; BR n = 836; IT n = 165), showed that, during lockdown, most children spent most of their awake daily hours in sedentary activities. There was a clear age effect on the way their routines were organized. Percentages of time spent in intellectual activity, playful screen activity, and overall sedentary time were greater in the older age groups, whereas percentages of time spent in play (with and without PA) and in overall PA were greater in the younger groups. We found a main effect of country for all variables except play without PA. The country effect was mainly due to the difference between the routines in BR when compared to PT and IT. Values of playful screen time and overall sedentary activity were higher in BR than in the two European countries. Conversely, values for play with PA, PA, and overall PA (except in the older group) were lower in BR. Patterns of time spent in these activities were similar in IT and PT, but PA and overall PA times were higher in the two younger age groups in IT. In summary, percentage of PA time of confined children was low and decreased with age across all three countries and was particularly low for children in BR relative to those in PT and IT.

Food insecurity in schoolchildren and their families in a vulnerable region of Sao Paulo coast, in times of pandemic by COVID-19

This study aimed to analyze food (in)security and its associated factors, in families of schoolchildren from Kindergarten and Preschooler of a Public School located in a social vulnerability in the municipality of Santos(Sao Paulo/SP), Brazil, in the scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a cross-sectional study, carried out in a full-time school from March to April 2022, with convenience sample. Sociodemographic, economic and food insecurity variables were analyzed. Food Insecurity (FI) was measured by the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA). To verify the association between food insecurity (FI) and other variables it was used the Chi-square Test and Fisher's Exact Test. It was observed that of the 78 participating families, half experienced mild (33.3%) or moderate (16.7%) FI. Food insecurity was associated with: presence of brown/black heads of households, single (p=0.019), beneficiaries of cash transfer programs (p0.001), with monthly family income of up to 1 minimum wage (p0.001), with three or more people in the household (p=0.049), with two or more children (p=0.047). In conclusion, the high proportions of Food Insecurity in half of the families investigated, could reflect the current scenario of dismantling of public policies, combined with health and economic and crisis, which has generated hunger throughout the Brazilian territory. Although it is a vulnerable region, the absence of severe FI could suggest that the National School Feeding Program -PNAE was an important ally in protecting these families against hunger, by providing four meals a day to schoolchildren.

PNAE and actions in the State of Rio de Janeiro during the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought impacts of several types, among them it affected the execution of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE), demanding adaptations of strategies and regulations for the continuity of food supply to Brazilian students enrolled in the public school network. This study aimed to recognize the strategies for implementing the PNAE in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), its limits and contributions to the promotion of Food and Nutritional Security for students from Rio de Janeiro, and to analyze the regulations related to the management of the program in the pandemic. A cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out, with an online questionnaire being applied to the executing entities (EEx) of the PNAE in the state of RJ from March to July 2020. Most of the EEx continued the PNAE, adopting as a priority the delivery of food kits and the transfer of financial resources, carried out through intersectoral partnerships and with the participation of nutritionists, education workers and School Feeding Councils;however, sometimes violating the PNAE guidelines, regarding universality, equity and purchase of foodstuffs from family farming. It was concluded that many implementing entities did not fulfill or partially fulfilled the PNAE objectives in the first half of 2020, enhancing the high prevalence of food insecurity observed in the country.

Factors associated with disability in patients after discharge from Intensive Care Units COVID-19

Objective: to evaluate factors associated with disability of patients after hospital discharge in COVID-19intensive care units. Methods: cross-sectional analytical research with sociodemographic, clinical, self-perception of health and WHODAS 2.0 scale data of patients discharged from a teaching hospital. Patients admitted to an intensive care unit for COVID-19 for more than eight days, discharged from the hospital at least 365 days before data collection and older than 18 years were included. Information analysis was performed using data mining. Results: 32 individuals were eligible, 25% were disabled. These individuals presented low cognition, mobility, self-care, limitation in daily activities, justified by biological and clinical parameters. Still, 37% by obesity and polymedication, 75%, impaired concentration and 50%, neurological developments. The length of hospitalization and the therapeutic resources demanded in this period were also associated with the disability observed. Conclusion: the COVID-19 virus added to the length of hospitalization and clinical factors ware related to disability 12 months after hospital discharge with strong presence of neurological symptoms. Contributions to practice: it is expected to contribute to the understanding of the long-term impacts of COVID-19, enabling to offer better assistance and quality of life to patients affected by the disease.

In flammatory Representation of COVID-19 at the Time of Hospitalization: An Insight into the Mild, Moderate, Severe and Critical COVID-19 Disease

Background. The ongoing state of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates the characterization of the biological basis of disease severity. We aimed to correlate the clinical severity of illness upon hospitalization with inflammatory sero-biomarker levels. Methods. A single-center prospective cohort study was conducted at a 776-bed tertiary care urban academic medical center in Detroit, Michigan. Adults with con-firmed reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction assay for COVID-19 were recruited in equal numbers into four disease severity categories, as defined by the WHO, upon hospital admission from January 8th, 2021 to September 1st, 2021. Electronic medical charts were reviewed. In addition to clinical markers, cytokines and chemokines were assessed to gain detailed understanding of COVID-19 pathology. Results. We included 200 patients with 50 patients each in the mild, moderate, severe and critical illness. The mean age of the cohort was 58.6. +/-15.9 yrs, 104 (52%) were males, and 135(67.5%) were blacks. The common comorbidities were hypertension (67.5%), diabetes (37%) and chronic lung diseases (26.5%). At the time of admission, oxygen therapy was needed in 49.5% but intubation in only 0.5%. Conclusion. We noted COVID-19 severity dependent changes in the clinical representation as well as the biomarker profiles. Clinical markers such as CRP, LDH, D-dimer and Ferritin were relatable to COVID-19 severity. Inflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as CCL-2, CXCL-10, IL-1ra, IL-6 and TNF-alpha also varied with the severity of disease. Our results provide a system level insight into the inflammatory state of COVID-19 at the time of hospital representation.

DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, STRESS, AND HEADACHE IN BRAZILIAN OLDER PEOPLE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 INFODEMIC

Objective: The aim of the present study was to analyze the prevalence and factors associated with headaches in Brazilian older people in the context of COVID-19 Infodemic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out with 3,307 older Brazilians through a virtual questionnaire, self-completed using a cell phone, tablet, or computer with internet access. The questionnaire was composed of the Geriatric Depression Scale(GDS), Geriatric Anxiety Inventory(GAI), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Data collection was developed between June 2020 and January 2021. The analysis model consisted of variables distributed into four blocks: exogenous variables, primary determinants, health behaviors, and health conditions. It was used the Goodness-of-fit test to assess the quality of fit of the final model. Poisson regression with robust variance was used to estimate the associations. Results: The prevalence of headache was 31.7% (CI 95%: 30 – 33). This outcome was associated with the use of psychotropic drugs (p < 0,001), concern with information about COVID-19(p < 0,001), symptoms of depression and anxiety(p < 0,001), and perception of stress(p < 0,001). Conclusion: Anxiety, depression, and stress are thought to be associated with headaches in older adults who are exposed to excess information and fake news about COVID-19. It is considered that in the COVID-19 Infodemic scenario, headache in older people who have access to information is an important marker of mental health associated with suggestions of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Associacao Dos Sistemas De Grupos Sanguineos Abo Com a Covid-19 Em Sergipe

Objetivos: Em 2019 foi descoberto o novo coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), a doenca causada por esse virus foi denominada de COVID-19 e se espalhou rapidamente chegando ao status de pandemia. Algumas hipoteses relacionando a COVID-19 com os sistemas de grupos sanguineos foram aventadas, e apesar do desenvolvimento de diversos estudos acerca dessa relacao, ainda nao se comprovou de forma clara, a influencia do grupo sanguineo na sintomatologia desta doenca. Neste trabalho, objetivou-secorrelacionaros sistemas dos grupos sanguineos ABO durante a pesquisa da soroprevalencia da COVID-19 em Sergipe. Material e Metodos: Foram selecionados individuos participantes do projeto de avaliacao da soroprevalencia do SARS-CoV-2 em Sergipe - EPISERGIPE, no qual todos os individuos responderam a um questionario semiestruturado com a informacao sobre o grupo sanguineo.Apos triagem positiva no teste rapido (Wondfo-IgG/IgM), foram coletadas amostras de sangue periferico para analise sorologica de anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG e IgM porimunoensaio fluorescente (FIA) utilizando o kit comercial IchromaTM COVID-19 Ab. Resultados: Foram analisados 6.305 questionarios, dos quais 2.155 participantes informaram o grupo sanguineo (ABO). Dos 2.155 participantes 1.382 (64,1%) eramdo sexo feminino, e 773 (35,9%)do sexo masculino. Deste total, 1.869 (86,73%) testaram negativo para COVID-19 e 286 (13,27%) testaram positivo. A grupo sanguineo "O" apresentou maior frequencia 1.164 (54%), seguido do grupo "A" com 725 (33,6%), grupo "B" 198 (9,2%) e "AB" 68 (3,1%). A frequencia de individuos negativospor grupo sanguineo, apresentou 88,2% (60) do grupo "AB";seguido de 88,1% (639) do grupo "A";87,4% (173) do grupo "B" e 85,6% (997) do grupo "O". Em relacao aos individuos positivos, 14,3% (167) eram do grupo "O", seguido de 12,6% (25) do grupo "B", 11,9% (86) do grupo "A"e 11,8% (8) do grupo "AB". Discussao: De acordo com este estudo, o grupo "AB" apresentou maior frequencia nos individuos com testes negativos e o grupo "O" nos individuos com testes positivos, sendo estes sintomaticos leves e assintomaticos. Estes resultados discordam daqueles obtidos por outros estudos realizados com objetivos semelhantes que demonstravam um menor risco de infeccao para pessoas do tipo sanguineo "O", e maior risco de infeccao para os grupos "A" e "AB". Conclusao: Este estudo sugere maior protecao a infeccao pelo SARS-CoV-2 em individuos dos grupos sanguineos "AB"e "B". Copyright © 2022

Caracterizacao Das Hemotransfusoes Em Uma Unidade De Terapia Intensiva Covid

Objetivo: Caracterizar o perfil das transfusoes nos pacientes internados na Unidade de Terapia Tntensiva (UTI) COVID de um hospital universitario. Material e metodo: Estudo descritivo, exploratorio de abordagem quantitativa, realizadas no periodo entre 2020 e 2021, em uma Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI) destinada ao atendimento de pacientes COVID do Hospital Universitario da Universidade Federal de Sergipe (HU-UFS). A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio da Solicitacao Nacional de Hemocomponentes (SNH). Resultados: Foram solicitadas 231 de unidades de hemocomponentes para os pacientes internados na UTI COVID, destas 85,28% (197) foram transfundidas, sendo 62,44% (123) Concentrados de Hemacias (CH), 11,67% (23) CH filtradas, 19,80% (39) Plasma Fresco Congelado (PFC) e 6,09% (12) plaquetas. ABO-Rh do receptor a maior prevalencia foi O(+) com 35,53% (70) das transfusoes, A(+) com 26,90% (53) seguida do B(+) com 26,39% (52). Alem do diagnostico de COVID, em 53,33% (109) dos casos foi sinalizado outras condicoes associadas, dentre estes 11,17% choque septico;7,61% cirrose hepatica;6,60% hemorragia digestiva;3,04% lupus eritematoso sistemico e neoplasias cada uma com 3,55% anemia hemolitica autoimune e 2,54% Insuficiencia cardiaca congestiva;2,03% SIDA, 1,52% Tromboembolismo pulmonar, Linfoma e anemia falciforme, cada uma. Foi identificada uma incidencia de 1,52% de reacoes transfusionais imediatas, sendo uma suspeita de reacao febril nao hemolitica e dois casos de lesao pulmonar aguda relacionada a transfusao (TRALI). Discussao: O estudo realizado por Bandeira et al. (2021) identificou que nas duas ondas de COVID, o hemocomponente mais transfundido foi o CH seguido do PFC, como comorbidades associadas foi identificada HAS e DM sendo a anemia a principal indicacao, os tipos sanguineos prevalentes foram O(+) e A(+), sem registros de reacoes transfusionais nestes pacientes. Machado et al. (2020) tambem analisou os grupos sanguineos mais prevalentes em pacientes COVID identificando o O(+) e A(+). Conclusao: Os pacientes internados na UTI COVID que necessitaram de hemotranfusao em 62,44% foram CH, o tipo sanguineo prevalente foi O(+) seguido do A(+), cerca de 53% dos pacientes transfundidos tinham outra condicao clinica associada, dentre as quais prevaleceram o choque septico, cirrose hepatica e hemorragia digestiva. A incidencia de reacoes transfusionais nessa populacao foi de 1,52%, sendo a reacao febril nao hemolitica e TRALI, as suspeitas notificadas. Copyright © 2022

Effects of the Sars CoV-2 Pandemic on the Quality of Work: Relations of Effects on Worker Health

The new coronavirus pandemic has brought changes in the lives of the world population. The perception of the need for social isolation became a determining factor for creating new work models with known characteristics, such as the home office and mixed work (face-to-face and telework). There was a significant increase in illnesses caused by abrupt introduction of these models in the context to pandemic. There was a strong relationship of the working model with 4 variables: area of work (p = 0.000), work equipment used during quarantine (p = 0.000), illnesses found during the pandemic (p = 0.001), problems reported during the pandemic like sleep, stress, etc. (p = 0.010) and future expectations regarding the work performed and the pandemic (p = 0.022). There were also relationships between illnesses before the pandemic and those perceived reported during the pandemic period studied (p = 0.000) and the sleep profile before and during (p = 0.010). The study results added physical and psychological aspects, which have as premises the worker's perception of the dynamics of companies, as well as their social structures and conditions of work execution. These events interfered with the quality of work of the interviewees and may lead to further studies in the clinical, ergometric or productivity areas. The results presented can help companies make more informed decisions when changing work processes and guide workers in labor operations. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The use of residual serum samples to perform serological surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Dili and regional areas of Timor-Leste

BACKGROUND: Lack of access to diagnostic testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can limit disease surveillance in remote areas. Serological surveillance can indicate the true extent and distribution of infections in such settings. METHODS: This study monitored SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in residual serum samples salvaged from laboratories at five healthcare facilities across Timor-Leste from March to October 2021. RESULTS: Seroprevalence increased from 8.3% to 87.0% during the study period. Potential immunity gaps were identified among children aged 0-15 y (who had not been eligible for vaccination) and individuals aged >60 y. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to vaccinate vulnerable individuals including older people should be maintained. Residual serum samples can be analysed to give local, contemporary information about the extent and distribution of antibodies to infections, especially SARS-CoV-2, in areas where epidemiological information is limited.

PROTEÔMICA PLASMÁTICA QUANTITATIVA DE PACIENTES SOBREVIVENTES E NÃO SOBREVIVENTES DE COVID-19 INTERNADOS NO HOSPITAL REVELA POTENCIAIS BIOMARCADORES PROGNÓSTICOS E ALVOS TERAPÊUTICOS

O desenvolvimento de novas abordagens que permitam a avaliação precoce de quais casos de COVID-19 provavelmente se tornarão críticos e a descoberta de novos alvos terapêuticos são importantes. Neste estudo de coorte, foi avaliado o perfil proteômico e laboratorial do plasma de 163 pacientes internados no Hospital Estadual de Bauru (Bauru, SP, Brasil) entre 4 de maio e 4 de julho de 2020, que foram diagnosticados com COVID-19 por RT-PCR a partir de amostras de swab nasofaríngeo amostras. Amostras de plasma foram coletadas na admissão para análises laboratoriais de rotina e análise proteômica quantitativa shotgun livre de marcadores. De acordo com o curso da doença, os pacientes foram divididos em 3 grupos: a) Sintomas leves, com alta sem internação em unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI) (n=76);b) Sintomas graves, alta após admissão em UTI (n=56);c) Críticos, faleceram após admissão em UTI (n=31). Os glóbulos brancos e os neutrófilos foram significativamente maiores em pacientes graves e críticos em comparação com os leves. Os linfócitos foram significativamente menores nos pacientes críticos em relação aos leves e as plaquetas foram significativamente menores nos pacientes críticos em relação aos leves e graves. Ferritina, TGO, uréia e creatinina foram significativamente maiores nos pacientes críticos em relação aos leves e graves. Albumina, CPK, LDH e dímero D foram significativamente maiores nos pacientes graves e críticos em comparação aos leves. A PCR foi significativamente maior em pacientes graves em comparação com os leves. A análise proteômica revelou mudanças marcantes entre os grupos nas proteínas plasmáticas relacionadas à ativação do complemento, coagulação sanguínea, resposta inflamatória aguda e resposta imune. Pacientes críticos apresentaram níveis mais elevados de proteínas associadas CLEC4, CCL24, SAA1, SAA2, 2-M, PCR e níveis reduzidos de proteínas associadas ao sistema imune e complemento, como CD5L e VDBP, AHSG e PGLYRP2. Pacientes com sintomas leves apresentaram maiores níveis de proteínas protetoras, como PGLYRP2, APOH e PON-1. Nossos resultados indicam várias proteínas plasmáticas envolvidas na patogênese da COVID-19 que podem ser úteis para predizer o prognóstico da doença quando analisadas na admissão dos pacientes no hospital. A validação de algumas destas. Confirmando-se o seu papel, as vias envolvendo estas proteínas podem ainda ser novos alvos terapêuticos em potencial para a COVID-19.