Detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in tears: Ocular surface immunity to COVID-19.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the presence of SARS-COV-2 specific IgA and IgG antibodies in tears of unvaccinated and anti-COVID-19 vaccinated subjects with previous history of SARS-COV-2 infection. To compare results in tears with those in saliva and serum and correlate with clinical data and vaccination regimens. METHODS: Cross-sectional study including subjects with a previous history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, both unvaccinated and vaccinated against COVID-19. Three samples were collected: tears, saliva and serum. IgA and IgG antibodies against S-1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed with a semi-quantitative ELISA. RESULTS: 30 subjects, mean age 36.4 ±â€¯10, males 13/30 (43.3%) with history of mild SARS-CoV-2 infection were included. 13/30 (43.3%) subjects had received a 2-dose regimen and 13/30 (43.3%) a 3-dose regimen of anti-COVID-19 vaccine, 4/30 (13.3%) subjects were unvaccinated. All the participants with full anti-COVID-19 vaccination (2-or 3-doses) presented detectable anti-S1 specific IgA in all three biofluids, tears, saliva and serum. Among unvaccinated subjects, specific IgA was detected in 3/4 subjects in tears and saliva, whereas IgG was not detected. Considering IgA and IgG antibodies titers, no differences were observed between the 2- and 3-dose vaccination regimen. CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA and IgG antibodies were detected in tears after mild COVID-19, highlighting the role of the ocular surface as a first line of defense against infection. Most naturally infected unvaccinated individuals exhibit long-term specific IgA in tears and saliva. Hybrid immunization (natural infection plus vaccination) appears to enhance mucosal and systemic IgG responses. However, no differences were observed between the 2- and 3-dose vaccination schedule.

[Detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in tears: Ocular surface immunity to COVID-19]. / Detección de anticuerpos anti-SARS-CoV-2 en lágrimas: inmunidad de la superficie ocular frente a COVID-19.

Purpose: To evaluate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgA and IgG antibodies in tears of unvaccinated and anti-COVID-19 vaccinated subjects with previous history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. To compare results in tears with those in saliva and serum and correlate with clinical data and vaccination regimens. Methods: Cross-sectional study including subjects with a previous history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, both unvaccinated and vaccinated against COVID-19. Three samples were collected: tears, saliva and serum. IgA and IgG antibodies against S-1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed with a semi-quantitative ELISA. Results: Thirty subjects, mean age 36.4 ± 10, males 13/30 (43.3%) with history of mild SARS-CoV-2 infection were included. 13/30 (43.3%) subjects had received a 2-dose regimen and 13/30 (43.3%) a 3-dose regimen of anti-COVID-19 vaccine, 4/30 (13.3%) subjects were unvaccinated. All the participants with full anti-COVID-19 vaccination (2-or 3-doses) presented detectable anti-S1 specific IgA in all 3 biofluids, tears, saliva and serum. Among unvaccinated subjects, specific IgA was detected in 3/4 subjects in tears and saliva, whereas IgG was not detected. Considering IgA and IgG antibodies titers, no differences were observed between the 2- and 3-dose vaccination regimen. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA and IgG antibodies were detected in tears after mild COVID-19, highlighting the role of the ocular surface as a first line of defense against infection. Most naturally infected unvaccinated individuals exhibit long-term specific IgA in tears and saliva. Hybrid immunization (natural infection plus vaccination) appears to enhance mucosal and systemic IgG responses. However, no differences were observed between the 2- and 3-dose vaccination schedule.

Lyrics Training: An E-learning Approach to Improve Listening Skills

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational agents have been forced to apply strategies and methodologies and use new technological tools that allow them to continue with the teaching–learning processes. Because of this, the present research implements an innovative methodology to analyze the contribution of the Lyrics Training method in the development of listening skills for English language improvement. The experiment was carried out with high school seniors from an academic unit in the city of Ambato. A sample of 62 students was divided into two groups, an experimental group and a control group, each of 31 learners. When comparing both groups through a t-student test for independent samples, the results showed a p-value lower than 0.05 and a Cohen's d coefficient higher than 0.8, establishing that the teaching process through the Lyrics Training methodology is efficient. Finally, to verify if the Lyrics Training method is suitable for the selected experimental group, the usability scale (SUS) was applied, in which an average acceptance of more than 70 points was obtained, indicating that, in general terms, the Lyrics Training method through a web page is efficient for teaching the English language. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Knowledge About COVID-19 and Perception of Health Safety Among Mexican Dental Students

This study aimed: 1) to investigate sources of information used by students to learn about COVID-19, 2) to investigate levels of knowledge about COVID-19 and about conditions for the treatment of patients during the COVID-19 lockdown, and 3) to evaluate students' perceptions of safety regarding their return to in-person activities at the School of Dentistry. Dental students answered a questionnaire (29 items;n=371) that explored the aims of the study, based on a Likert scale (Cronbach's alpha, 0.778). Data were tested with the Mann-Whitney U test and Kendall's Tau-c. Dental students received information about COVID-19 from the Mexican Health Ministry as their first source (45.28%). Students had good knowledge about the main characteristics of COVID-19, and 59.3% of students had excellent knowledge about the factors relevant to dental treatment of patients. Half of the students said they felt safe regarding a possible return to in-person activities at the dental school, while the other half did not. Statistically significant differences were noted between the students' scholar year and their level of knowledge (P<0.001) and between their perception of safety (very unsafe, unsafe, safe, and very safe) and scholar year (P=0.000). Dental students had good knowledge about COVID-19 and about the dental care for patients during the lockdown. Half of the dental students felt unsafe about a possible return to in-person school activities. © 2023, Universidad de Costa Rica. All rights reserved.

Exploring Perceptions of Online Feedback in Teaching EFL Speaking and Writing Skills during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study was to analyze perceptions of how online feedback was provided in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes, particularly to enhance speaking and writing skills, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were 102 teachers, 40 managers, 80 parents and 120 students from junior high school, senior high school, and higher education levels from 40 public and private educational institutions in southern Ecuador. The sample selection was based on purposeful sampling (voluntary participation). The instruments included questionnaires from students, teachers, parents and educational authorities. In addition, an interview was used to ascertain students’ views about the feedback received in speaking and writing activities. The instruments were designed to collect information about perceptions regarding online feedback in EFL remote teaching of speaking and writing skills. The questionnaires were designed to collect information about feedback for productive skills in EFL remote teaching. The collected data were tabulated and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results indicate that online feedback is perceived as an aspect that seems to have a better quality in private institutions, especially in activities related to EFL speaking and writing skills. Another important finding was that technological tools in the EFL classroom are believed to be efficient since teachers in public and private institutions use a variety of technological resources for teaching speaking and writing skills. The fundamental aspects of feedback were time and teacher training. ©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Using pixton for teaching EFL writing in higher education during the Covid-19 pandemic

The study examined the use of Pixton to support the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) writing to students at a private university in southern Ecuador. For this purpose, 52 EFL students (male and female, aged 19–24 years old) who were enrolled in a writing course participated in the study for a period of five months. At the start, most of these students had an A1+ proficiency level, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The study employed an action research design. A diagnostic test was applied at the beginning of the instruction period, and, at the end, a final exam and a perceptions questionnaire were administered. The findings indicate positive perceptions about Pixton, and students’ online writing skills improved due to the pedagogical use of this technological tool. Furthermore, Pixton increased students’ engagement, motivation and dynamic work to a remarkable extent. Finally, an improvement was observed in aspects of students’ writing, such as grammar, vocabulary, coherence and cohesion. © Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Sleep disorders in emergencies and disasters

Sleep disorders are common in the population and are major cause of morbidity. The objective of this review is to assess sleep disturbances in times of emergency and disasters. Throughout history, the biopsychosocial field and sleep have been affected by multiple large-scale events, such as natural disasters, man-caused tragedies, armed conflicts, social crises and pandemics, the experience of which can lead to short, medium and / or long term health problems. In several studies, the negative impact of emergencies and disasters on sleep have been analyzed, emphasizing the importance of the diffusion and promotion of measures that encourage good sleep. The arrival of COVID-19 and consequent home confinement for prolonged periods caused important social consequences. Certain occupational factors and characteristics of disasters are associated with greater comorbidity: a high risk of experiencing physical exhaustion, psychological disorders and insomnia, especially in highly vulnerable groups, such as health professionals, rescuers and first aids-responders. Insomnia is the most frequent sleep disorder in the general population and its worsening in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, represents a new public health problem. It is essential to promote physical and mental health prevention campaigns, aimed at early screening and management of pathologies in the psychosocial sphere, within socioeconomic possibilities.

Réponse immunologique au vaccin à ARNm anti-COVID-19 chez les patients dialysés chroniques

Déclaration de liens d’intérêts: Les auteurs déclarent ne pas avoir de liens d’intérêts.

Imagenological Evolution of Pulmonary Secuelae after SARS CoV2 Infection

INTRODUCTION: due to the fact that lung disease due to SARS COV 2 infection is of recent appearance and the lack of knowledge about its natural history, it is not clear the moment of adequate follow-up by diagnostic images, this being suggested after 3 months of the onset of the symptoms according to the evolution of the patient. We present the variation of image findings of a patient with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. DESCRIPTION:we present the case of a 56-year-old male patient who required initial hospitalization of 14 days because of symptoms secondary to multilobar severe pneumonia due to SARS-COV-2 infection with initial tomographic findings of classic pattern given by ground glass opacities of subpleural distribution predominantly in the lower lobes. The patient was discharged with low flow oxygen supplementation and attended the pulmonology consultation a month later reporting improvement in dyspnea with medical research council score grade 1 and complete withdrawal of oxygen support. A control chest computed tomography was taken 6 weeks since initial evaluation reporting subpleural bullae of recent appearance in the upper and lower right lobe with diameters of up to 80 mm. It was also described a small residual laminar pneumothorax adjacent to the lingula with pleural effusion with apparent septae. Given these findings, an intervention by thoracic surgery was requested who decided to schedule a surgical procedure and performed a new control image corresponding to 8 weeks from the initial one with findings of complete and spontaneous resolution of the pneumothorax as well as the pleural effusion although persistence of the bullas. It was decided there was not required further interventions and patient was discharged from follow-up.DISCUSSION: SARS-CoV2 infection manifests itself in different patterns of lung damage and can have long term pulmonary sequelae that are only identified with judicious and strict follow-up during the first months after infection. Nevertheless, the British Thoracic Society (BTS) has recommended the first image follow-up to be preformed after 3 months of the initial symptoms because of the high incidence of image alterations in that period of time and lesser probability of occult malignancy. This case described a rare presentation of lung damage with equally spontaneous resolution of the complications confirming the timeframe proposed by the BTS.

Histopathogical Lung Patterns of SARS CoV2 Infection

INTRODUCTION: residual lung injury in patients recovering from COVID-19 information is scarce. Herein, we present a previous confirmed SARS-CoV2 infection case series including five patients, who underwent either open or transbronchial lung biopsy due to no clinical improvement. DESCRIPTION: Case 1: a 73-year-old male patient initially asymptomatic, with positive RT-PCR after transurethral resection of the prostate. Consulted for dyspnea and room air desaturation after 24 days during postoperative. Chest computed tomography reported findings compatible with organizing pneumonia, then a transbronchial biopsy was performed confirming diagnosis. Case 2: a 48-year-old male patient with COVID-19 pneumonia who required 14 days hospitalization. He was readmitted after 25 days since initial symptoms due to dyspnea and room air desaturation with a chest CT that revealed findings suggestive of pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, an open lung biopsy was performed with a probable usual interstitial pneumonia pattern report. Case 3: a 86-year-old male patient, with initial mild COVID-19 infection who later progressed to severe pneumonia requiring high levels of supplemental oxygen. At 18 days of admission, due to persistent clinical compromise, a chest CT was performed with findings of organizing pneumonia. Therefore, he was taken to transbronchial lung biopsy that revealed non-specific interstitial pneumonia in the fibrosing phase. Case 4: a 61-year-old male patient with HIV/AIDS infection presented acute respiratory distress syndrome due to severe COVID-19 pneumonia with inability to withdraw invasive mechanical ventilation after one month. An open lung biopsy was performed with histopathology diagnosis of diffuse alveolar damage in the proliferative phase.Case 5: 41-year-old male patient with severe COVID-19 pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, with persistent use of high levels of supplemental oxygen after 30 days since symptomatic. The chest CT suggested pulmonary fibrosis;therefore, an open lung biopsy was performed and confirmed Non-Specific Interstitial Pneumonia. DISCUSSION: to date, reports of interstitial lung disease due to COVID-19 refer to imaging findings or post-mortem histopathological studies which have been relatively limited given the strict guidelines and restrictions for performing bronchoscopies and lung surgery during the pandemic. The foregoing highlights the importance of tissue analysis under rigorous safety protocols in order to provide an early detection of interstitial lung involvement secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection and then evaluate a prolonged steroid treatment recommendation.

Recommendations for the teams that manage school canteens in the public health emergency of COVID-19 in Argentina

The impact of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 may deepen the situations of malnutrition, where it will be necessary to adapt food programs to this new context. The objective of this work was to present the methodology and the main results of the process of formulating a federal guide based on scientific evidence and adapted to the reality of the child and adolescent population that attend school canteens in the 24 jurisdictions of Argentina. It was observed that the modalities for the implementation of SC during the pandemic were: food modules (the most frequent);food modules delivered at school with regular SC support and, food and/or snacks delivered daily. There was little evidence at the global and regional level on specific recommendations applied to the implementation of SC, although recommendations on hygiene and food handling were found. Based on a participatory process among key actors, specific recommendations were obtained according to the dimensions of food and nutrition security (FNS). It is concluded that it is necessary to increase participatory experiences in the design of recommendations based on evidence, adapted to the territory and that assume a comprehensive approach from the dimensions of FNS. Arch Latinoam Nutr 2020;70(3): 215-234. © 2020 Archivos Latinoamericanos Nutricion. All rights reserved.

Early impact of COVID on the activity of a clinical research oncology pharmacy unit at a tertiary care hospital

Background and importance The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted notably on clinical care and led to numerous challenges in the conduct of clinical trials (CT). Hospital pharmacies have had to develop new procedures and strategies to ensure pharmaceutical care, availability of treatment and patient safety. Aim and objectives To analyse the activity in a clinical research oncology pharmacy unit during the COVID-19 period. Material and methods We retrospectively collected the number of site initiation visits (SIV) and pharmaceutical care visits (screening visits, cycle 1 day 1 (C1D1) visits, follow-up visits, medical queries or patient's queries) performed in our unit from January to September 2020. Three phases were differentiated: 'pre-state of emergency' from 1 January to 13 March;'state of emergency' from 14 March to 21 June;and 'post-state of emergency' from 22 June to 30 September. Results During the 'pre-state of emergency' phase, 31 SIV and 273 pharmaceutical care visits were performed. Of these 273, 75 were screenings, 67 C1D1 visits, 26 follow-up visits, 28 medical queries and 77 patient queries. In the 'state of emergency' phase, 47 SIV and 206 pharmaceutical care visits were performed. Of these 206, 69 were screenings, 55 C1D1 visits, 10 follow-up visits, 35 medical queries and 37 patient queries. During the first 90 days of this emergency state, citizens were confined, so remote pharmaceutical care and remote SIV were implemented. 34 screenings were performed and 33 queries about interactions or drug instructions for patients were resolved. Medication was delivered to 139 patients. Four chemotherapy regimens were modified, extending in time administrations of pembrolizumab and cetuximab in four patients. 28 SIV were performed remotely (10 phase I CT, 7 phase II CT and 11 phase III CT). During the last phase, 60 SIV and 365 pharmaceutical care visits were performed. Of these 365, 83 were screenings, 79 C1D1 visits, 42 follow-up visits, 95 medical queries and 66 patient queries. Conclusion and relevance The oncohaematological CT pharmacy unit managed to maintain pharmaceutical activity and care during the state of emergency period due to COVID-19, highlighting a considerable increase in activity in the months after the state of emergency.

Covid-19: Telework in times of pandemic

Covid-19 is the penultimate of the pandemics that humanity has suffered throughout its history. It has affected all socio-economic strata and has had an impact on the traditional notion of the labour relations system. On the other hand, the proliferation of disinformation campaigns has been detected, which main, although not exclusive, scenario has been social media, that have generated debates about the beneficiaries of the dissemination of false information, fake news, as well as contributing to the constant questioning of official information. In Spain, an organisational model of service provision underused by companies before the lockdown has been implemented. It has changed the mentality of businesses as it has proven to increase productivity and reduce costs. Telework has just been regulated in Spain and the law leaves sensitive aspects to collective bargaining. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse the elements liable to be negotiated to collective bargaining and to propose guidelines that allow for a good negotiation and improvement of these aspects to make teleworking a quality one.

Ten new insights in climate science 2020- A horizon scan

Non-technical summary We summarize some of the past year's most important findings within climate change-related research. New research has improved our understanding of Earth's sensitivity to carbon dioxide, finds that permafrost thaw could release more carbon emissions than expected and that the uptake of carbon in tropical ecosystems is weakening. Adverse impacts on human society include increasing water shortages and impacts on mental health. Options for solutions emerge from rethinking economic models, rights-based litigation, strengthened governance systems and a new social contract. The disruption caused by COVID-19 could be seized as an opportunity for positive change, directing economic stimulus towards sustainable investments. Technical summary A synthesis is made of ten fields within climate science where there have been significant advances since mid-2019, through an expert elicitation process with broad disciplinary scope. Findings include: (1) a better understanding of equilibrium climate sensitivity;(2) abrupt thaw as an accelerator of carbon release from permafrost;(3) changes to global and regional land carbon sinks;(4) impacts of climate change on water crises, including equity perspectives;(5) adverse effects on mental health from climate change;(6) immediate effects on climate of the COVID-19 pandemic and requirements for recovery packages to deliver on the Paris Agreement;(7) suggested long-term changes to governance and a social contract to address climate change, learning from the current pandemic, (8) updated positive cost-benefit ratio and new perspectives on the potential for green growth in the short- A nd long-term perspective;(9) urban electrification as a strategy to move towards low-carbon energy systems and (10) rights-based litigation as an increasingly important method to address climate change, with recent clarifications on the legal standing and representation of future generations. Social media summary Stronger permafrost thaw, COVID-19 effects and growing mental health impacts among highlights of latest climate science. Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.