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Introduction: Universities represent important Centers for public health assistance. However, in the context of the COVID- 19 pandemic, most Brazilian universities have suspended their academic activities and outpatient care. Objective(s): Describe how the Teleconsultation Program in Oral Medicine of the School of Dentistry, Brazil, remotely contributes to counseling dentistry on diagnosing oral lesions and providing guidance on treating patients in the North Macro-region of Minas Gerais state. Material(s) and Method(s): Teleconsulting takes place remotely;the professional sends by smartphone, via WhatsApp, the case report, clinical images, and complementary exams, if appropriate. Concerning this, the specialist team analyzes the clinical case and returns it to the professional sender, providing information and suggestions on the oral lesions' diagnostic assessment and clinical management. Result(s): Since the beginning of the program, in 19 months, dentists from 40 municipalities were counseled, which resulted in 287 teleconsultations;from these cases, 103 cases were conducted face-to-face consultations in our Oral Diagnosis Service, and 38 cases were hypothesized as malignant lesions in the oral cavity and had their medical treatment conducted and followed by a multidisciplinary team, when appropriate. Conclusion(s): Teleconsultation Program represents an important tool to strengthen the communication between professionals of public health, improve health work processes, and promote better clinical guidance in Oral Medicine.
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Objectives: Obesity is a condition prone to pose difficulties to a successful extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. Not being a contraindication, it yields significant challenges to physicians and may interfere with patient;s outcome. The number of obese patients supported by ECMO has increased during COVID-19 pandemic due to severe illness in this population. We designed a retrospective study in order to identify prognostic factors for 180-day survival in critical COVID-19 obese patients in venovenous ECMO (VV-ECMO). Method(s): Single-center retrospective cohort of critical COVID-19 adult patients in VV-ECMO, obese and overweight (according to WHO classification), admitted in a tertiary hospital;s ICU from April 1st 2020 to May 31th2022. Univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess 180-day mortality differences. Result(s): The analysis included 41 patients. The median [interquartile range (IQR)] age was 55 (IQR 45-60) years and 70,7% were male. Median body mass index (BMI) was 36 (IQR 31-42,5) Kg/m2 ;39% of patients had a BMI >=40 kg/m2 . The sampling had 3 (IQR 1,5-4) days of invasive ventilation prior to ECMO and 63,4% were weaned from ECMO-VV support after a median of 19 (IQR 10-34) days. The median ICU length of stay was 31,9 (IQR 17,5-44,5) days. The invasive ventilation period was 30 (IQR 19-49,5) days. The 60, 90 and 180-day mortalities were 41,5%. On the univariate logistic regression analysis we found that higher BMI was associated with higher 180-day survival (odds ratio [OR] 1,157 (1,038-1,291), p 0,009). Younger age, female patients, less invasive ventilation time prior to ECMO and fewer complications at time of ECMO cannulation were associated with higher 180-day survival [respectively, OR 0,858 (0,774- 0,953), p 0,004;OR 0,074 (0,008-0,650), p 0,019;OR 0,612 (0,401-0,933), p 0.022;OR 0.13 (0,03-0,740), p 0,022)]. Conclusion(s): In this retrospective cohort of critical COVID-19 obese adult patients supported by VVECMO, a higher BMI, younger age and female patients were associated with higher 180-day survival. A shorter invasive ventilation time prior to ECMO and fewer complications at ECMO cannulation were also associated with increased survival.
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This chapter presents a qualitative case study in Australian universities on the effective strategies for creating a culturally inclusive online learning environment with the use of IT governance. While examining the online learning experiences of the university students, the researchers identified features in synchronous and asynchronous online learning platforms, such as language support and meaningful and structured online activities, are the effective strategies to cater for the learning needs of the linguistically and culturally diverse students and let their voices be heard. The findings of this study are useful for university management, teaching and learning unit, and IT resources auditing and steering committees to utilise IT resources to attain the learning goals of university students and the organisational goals of the universities in maintaining academic excellence and embracing cultural diversity. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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Information Technology (IT) governance has become one of the important topics for many higher education institutions to reform and upgrade their technology management, computer systems, and effectiveness in teaching and learning. Although many studies have indicated that the development of IT governance plans could offer benefits to higher education institutions, many higher education institutions and their senior leaders refuse to upgrade their IT systems. There are two purposes of this study. First, this study aims to investigate and understand the obstacles to proper IT governance in the South Korean university environment, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, the study intends to understand university leaders' motivations and reasons for not wanting to enhance IT governance plans and IT development in their universities. The study collected qualitative data from two groups of participants at three South Korean universities, namely professionals in the IT department and senior leaders. The results of this study may provide a point of reference for IT department leaders, university administrators, and government leaders to understand the challenges and problems facing South Korean universities at the practical level. Although the study only focused on the opinions from the senior leaders, the outcomes of this study will fill the research and practical gaps in the fields, particularly the reasons why rural South Korean colleges and universities refuse the implementation of IT governance. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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We build mobility networks from Chinese commuting data and track network metrics for the two months before the WHO pandemic announcement. The Wuhan travel ban on 23 January imposed changes to the level of importance of some central cities in the commuting patterns. While Beijing was the most important city in both the inflows and outflows, Wuhan and other cities became more relevant after the transition. © 2022 National Institute for Space Research, INPE. All rights reserved.
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In 2019, a pandemic of the so-called new coronavirus (SARS-COV-II) began, which causes the disease COVID-19. In a short time after the first case appeared, hundreds of countries began to register new cases every day. Mapping and analyzing the flow of people, regardless of the mode of transport, can help us to understand and prevent several phenomena that can affect our society in different ways. Graphs are complex networks made up of points and edges. The (geo)graphs are graphs with known spatial location and, in the case of our study, the edges represent the flow between them. The (geo)graphs proved to be a promising tool for such analyses. In the study region, municipalities that first registered their COVID-19 cases are also municipalities that have the highest mobility indices analyzed: degree, betweenness and weight of edges. © 2022 National Institute for Space Research, INPE. All rights reserved.
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Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in numerous restrictions on daily life, including social distancing and home isolation, affecting the population's eating habits and physical activity level. Objective: Addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating habits and physical activity. Materials and Methods: This is a narrative-type bibliographic review carried out in the Pubmed and ScienceDirect databases, using the associations of the descriptors (DeCS/MeSH): "COVID-19 AND Feeding Behavior ";"COVID- 19 AND Lifestyle " and "COVID-19 AND Exercise ". Results: 14 scientific articles were selected on eating habits and the level of physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion: Evidence has shown that the of COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to an increase in the intake of foods rich in sugars, fats and sodium and a reduction in the consumption of fresh foods, such as fruits, vegetables and fish, and an increase in sedentary lifestyle among the population, favoring a worrying gain in weight, a risk factor for COVID-19 mortality. Regarding physical activity, it was found that the daily sitting time increased from 5 to 8 hours a day and that the practice of physical activity reduced by 24% during home confinement. Conclusion: Although isolation is a necessary measure to protect public health, the results indicate that it changes physical activity and eating habits, as despite families having more time to cook, there was no improvement in the general quality of the diet and an increase in physical inactivity among them.
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Objective: Identify lung sequelae of COVID-19 through radiological and pulmonary function assessment. Design(s): Prospective, longitudinal, cohort study from March 2020 to March 2021. Setting(s): Intensive Care Units (ICU) in a tertiary hospital in Portugal. Patient(s): 254 patients with COVID-19 admitted to ICU due to respiratory illness. Intervention(s): A chest computed tomography (CT) scan and pulmonary function tests (PFT) were performed at 3 to 6 months. Main variables of interest: CT-scan;PFT;decreased diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide (DLCO). Result(s): All CT scans revealed improvement in the follow-up, with 72% of patients still showing abnormalities, 58% with ground glass opacities and 62% with evidence of fibrosis. PFT had abnormalities in 94 patients (46%): thirteen patients (7%) had an obstructive pattern, 35 (18%) had a restrictive pattern, and 58 (30%) had decreased DLCO. There was a statistically significant association between abnormalities in the follow-up CT scan and older age, more extended hospital and ICU stay, higher SAPS II and APACHE scores and invasive ventilation. Mechanical ventilation, especially with no lung protective parameters, was associated with abnormalities in PFT. Multivariate regression showed more abnormalities in lung function with more extended ICU hospitalization, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic kidney disease, invasive mechanical ventilation, and ventilation with higher plateau pressure, and more abnormalities in CT-scan with older age, more extended ICU stay, organ solid transplants and ventilation with higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). Conclusion(s): Most patients with severe COVID-19 still exhibit abnormalities in CT scans or lung function tests three to six months after discharge.Copyright © 2023
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COVID-19 is an infectious disease with respiratory transmission caused by the new coronavirus. Due to the high viral transmissibility, sports activities were severely impacted all over the world and in Brazil football was paralyzed for about four months. The objective of this study was to identify the activities with the highest risk of Covid-19 transmission in a professional soccer club in Rio de Janeiro based on a cross-sectional study with a semi-quantitative emphasis. The results showed that physical training showed a greater number of touches (105) with a high prevalence of hand on the ball (94%). The antibody search found that 24,2% tested positive for IgG during the study. During the training phase, no cases of SARS-CoV-2 transmission between players and staff were identified. It is believed that biosafety measures and the individual and collective commitment of everyone to social isolation and hygiene measures are an important strategy for the viability of sports activities.
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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.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a public health pandemic state due to the trans-mission of the new coronavirus on March 11th, 2020. COVID-19, that is caused by SARS-CoV-2, has a very broad clinical spectrum, with predominantly respiratory symptoms developments. The role of the health professionals in fighting the pandemic requires the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). PFF2 / N95 masks are suitable PPEs for this purpose. Due to the high demand for PFF2 / N95 masks to fight the pandemic, there was a shortage of this PPE world-wide. This work aims to present a characterization of the device called DELUX, utilized for UVC (ultra-violet C light spectra) sterilization of PFF2 / N95 masks, and allowing to extend the time of safe use of this PPE in emergency conditions. The photometric validation of the device resulted in the verification of the emission spectrum of the lamps used in the device, and the measurement of the optical power, demonstrating the adequacy of irradiation with UVC light, with a 15-minute cycle, and safely. Biological validation showed that DELUX is capable of inacti-vating SARS-CoV-2 present on the surface of PFF2 / N95 masks, thus being efficient for their sterilization. The safety offered by the sterilization cycle allows to extend the safe use of those masks. © 2022, Universidad Politecnica Salesiana. All rights reserved.
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Due to an unprecedented threat from COVID-19, the World Health Organization recommended the introduction of physical distancing measures, such as quarantine and social isolation. These measures have severely affected some sectors of the economy, hampering the development of many economic activities, especially retail. In this context, this article investigated strategies for the dissemination, commercialisation and distribution of goods during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly related to small companies that were not yet fully integrated with digital technologies. We perceived a forced digital transformation, disclosure on social networks, negotiating sales through text messaging applications, electronic payments and motorcycle and bicycle delivery service. The combination of different technologies has supported small businesses in times of pandemic, since commercialisation in digital media has been one of the main solutions for the prevention of bankruptcy, particularly for physical companies. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
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Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) on March 11th, 2020, the world has faced a health crisis that includes challenges such as its diagnosis, treatment and prevention, resulting in more than 595 million confirmed cases worldwide and more than 6.4 million deaths (August 25th, 2022). The infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) leads to the suppression of the immune system, particularly due to the storm of inflammatory cytokines (e.g., TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-2 and IL-1) and the reduction of anti-inflammatory cells (e.g., CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes). These factors, when associated with the use of steroids, prolonged stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), older age, diabetes, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases as well as inherited and acquired immunodeficiency, contribute to the colonization of other infectious agents, such as respiratory viruses, gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi. The incidence of opportunistic fungal infections has increased significantly in patients with COVID-19, especially in individuals with critical medical conditions and presenting comorbidities, such as the ones cited above. The main fungal agents causing coinfections in these particular patients are Aspergillus spp., Candida spp. and fungi belonging to the order Mucorales. The similarity of clinical symptoms between COVID-19 and fungal infections, such as fever, dry cough, dyspnea, myalgia and headache, makes it harder to get a conclusive laboratory identification and diagnosis, which represents a challenge for treatment. To worsen this bad scenario, the available antifungals are substantially limited and some fungal species are intrinsically resistant to classical chemotherapeutic drugs used in the clinical settings. In parallel, the antifungals can also present drug interactions besides serious and severe side effects, such as hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity, which can greatly aggravate the patients' clinical condition. All these facts highlight the urgent need for early diagnosis of the fungal pathogens for the proper choice of antifungal treatment in order to combat these relevant yet still neglected diseases on a global scale. The present chapter focused on summarizing the main fungal infections reported in COVID-19-positive patients. © 2023 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that affect the Nonprofit Organization's (NPO) competencies and leadership in a crisis situation, specifically in the Portuguese NPOs during COVID-19. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, this article integrates crisis management literature with leadership literature. Highlighting the leadership perspective of both intermediate employees (technical director) and top management (executive director), this research aims to advance knowledge on the main organizational leadership competencies that NPOs need to have to better cope with crises. One hundred and seventy-four (174) NPOs representatives voluntarily participated in the study which involved a survey questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale for 23 items included in the questionnaire. Principal component analysis using varimax rotation was applied to reduce the number of variables. Reliability tests were performed to assess the items included in the questionnaire. Tests included test-retest reliability, Cronbach alpha, and split-half reliability coefficients. Results show that the most important factors that improve the capability of a NPO to cope with a crisis are: respond to all stakeholders through accountability, plan based on identification of vulnerabilities, and build a foundation of trust through communication. Additionally, it is possible to suggest that staff and top management perceive crisis and leadership competencies differently. It is possible to conclude, that these factors can be used as important lines of action to structure the sustainable development and planning of NPOs' strategies of other similar crisis to come in the future. Findings, the implications of this work, and avenues for future NPOs crisis management and leadership research are addressed. © 2023, The Author(s).
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Background: The emergence of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) as a novel zoonotic disease has been of international concern, with recent studies highlighting the potential association of COVID-19 with placental vascular dysfunction.1,2 Because the increased incidence of histopathological lesions could imply an aetiologic relationship with SARS-CoV-2 infection, this study aims to audit the spectrum of subacute placental disease occurring in COVID-19 positive mothers. Method(s): Histopathological reports were obtained from Liverpool Hospital from 18 March 2020 to 18 March 2022 and subjected to retrospective histopathological report audit. Three hundred and five placentas from mothers with history of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy were compared with 305 randomly selected controls with no reported COVID-19 infection. Information obtained included maternal age, fetal gestation at delivery, macroscopic measurements and 12 histopathological variables. Missing data was imputed using a random forest algorithm, with downstream multivariate statistical analysis. Validation of findings was performed via non-linear principal component analysis (NLPCA). Result(s): A significant increase in mean placental weight was observed in mothers with a history of COVID-19 (COVID-19 cohort 480g, control cohort 423g, p < 0.0001). Median gestation was significantly increased within the COVID-19 cohort at 38.2 weeks compared to 36.5 weeks in controls (p <0.0001). Surprisingly, there was no increase in histopathological lesions within the COVID-19 cohort. Similar findings were confirmed with NLPCA. These findings highlight the possible resistance of the placental disc to COVID-19 infection and the utility of utilising imputation and NLPCA in the study of potential new pathological entities. References 1. Wong YP, Khong TY, Tan GC. The Effects of COVID-19 on placenta and pregnancy: what do we know so far? Diagnostics 2021;11: 94. 2. Boyraz B, James K, Hornick J, et al. Placental pathology from COVID-19 recovered (nonacute) patients. Human Pathology 2022;125: 18-22.
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Objective: It discusses the cartoon as a document from a neodocumentalist perspective that examines the social, economic and political effects of Brazilian reality, especially in the speeches of President Jair Bolsonaro and Covid-19. Method: Qualitative in nature, the research combines documentary and bibliographic research, from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis (ACD) in which the cartoons in the newspapers were analyzed in Gazeta, O Liberal and Diário Catarinense and also sites such as Dom Total, Blog do Brito dos chargistas Carlos Britto, Jota Bosco, Amarildo, Duke and Zé Dassilva. Result: The cartoon was analyzed as a catalyst element of information that works with the conception of sharing visual and imagery information, as interdisciplinary forms that can be analyzed from the meanings attributed to them, therefore, an important source of social information to be thought of in IC. In the literature on IC, the cartoon is still considered as a material document and reduced to the technical treatment of information, which contributes greatly to the field of IC. Conclusions: In short, our analysis concluded that the cartoon is also a neodocument documentary evidence that represents information and that needs to be treated and stored for future research, as a type of symbolic information, which raises critical dialogues about time and memory. © 2023, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. All rights reserved.
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Anecdotal reports suggest that the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (COVID-19) has increased overweight and obesity prevalence in dogs and cats. The present report aimed to perform a retrospective overweight/obesity survey on 1,001 consecutive cases attended in the Veterinary Clinics Hospital from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul during its reopening to the public after months closed due to the pandemic. The overall overweight or obesity observed prevalence was 36.63%;being the frequency in cats slightly greater (38.37%) than compared to dogs (35.76%). No local increase in these frequencies was detected. Neutering (dogs and cats), age greater than 10 years (dogs), and male gender (cats) were factors associated with overweight/obesity. Bodyweight was not registered in about 30% of the medical records, while the body condition score was not registered in about 50% of the cases. These flaws were more often observed in feline medical records and efforts to improve these data records are warranted. Copyright © 2022,Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinaria e Zootecnia. All Rights Reserved.
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The imposition of COVID-19 lockdown restricted the daily activities of many people, including athletes. This study investigated the training practices of athletes in the Philippines during the early COVID-19 lockdown. A total of 442 athletes answered an online survey (May-July 2020), with questions pertaining to training practices, such as training frequency and duration. Data were analyzed according to: athlete classification (world-class, international, national, state, or recreational), sport category (individual or team), and sex (male or female). During lockdown, significant reductions in training frequency (except recreational, i.e., lower pre-lockdown training) and duration were observed for all athletic classifications. Similarly, training frequency and duration decreased significantly irrespective of sport category and sex. World class athletes appeared to be less affected by lockdown (types of exercise and specific training) as compared to lower-classification athletes. Athletes grouped in accordance with sex and sport category demonstrated little to no difference in training practices during the COVID-19 lockdown. The findings of the current study highlight the challenges experienced by athletes during lockdown, which may aid policy makers in the development of guidelines related to lockdown or lockdown-like situations to establish appropriate support for affected athletes. © 2022, University of Zagreb - Faculty of Kinesiology. All rights reserved.