Psychometric properties of the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale version 3: the European Portuguese version

Currently, the gold standard measure to assess loneliness is the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness scale version 3 (UCLA v3). Objective. The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of UCLA v3 for the European Portuguese population. Method: A sample of 282 participants was surveyed in Portugal. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a model portraying a global loneliness bifactor solution for positive and negative wording items, which achieved optimal fitness. Multi-group CFA indicates scalar and metric invariance across gender. Loneliness test scores (global score, positive items and negative items) correlated with well-established mental health indicators such as psychological stress, depressive and anxiety symptomatology, or psychological inflexibility. Internal consistency of the loneliness test scores was optimal for the global measure (α =.91;ω =.91) as well as for the positive (α =.87;ω =.87) and the negative factors (α =.86;ω =.88). Conclusions: Results support UCLA v3 as a reliable and valid measure of loneliness for future research studies interested in examining the prevalence of loneliness and impact in health in the context of Covid-19 in the Portuguese population and as a health indicator in health promotion and clinical interventions. © 2023 Sociedad Española para el Estudio de la Ansiedad y el Estrés - SEAS. Colegio de la Psicología de Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

Mathematics education in a pandemic: the effects of distance

The effects that distance had on the teaching and learning of mathematics in Mexico during the almost 250 days of confinement due to the arrival of SARSCov2 are analyzed. From a virtual interview-based study the effects of distance in the teaching and learning processes of mathematics at the primary and secondary level are shown. Modifications in previously established didactic relationships and the strengthening of a normative teaching model, the exclusion of many mathematical contents and the simplification of the worked are identified. The emergence of the shadow-teacher and YouTube tutorials are also identified as co-responsible for the commitment to teach. The efforts of teachers and families deployed to carry out teaching and learning, as well as the assessments made by the actors of the processes experienced are also communicated in the writing. It is observed that a more extensive, timely and relevant teacher training would very likely have led students to "other mathematics”. © 2023 Mexican Society for Research and Dissemination of Mathematics Education. All rights reserved.

Scale to measure resilient capacities in mexican SMEs

The impact caused by COVID-19 and its effects on the national economy revealed the little or no capacity of companies to cope with this situation, causing temporary and, in some cases, permanent closure in various sectors. Given this situation, this paper aims to determine the validity and reliability of an instrument to measure business resilience in small and medium-sized companies based on the perception of their directors, managers and/or owners. The methodology was based in a quantitative approach, exploratory scope, and non-experimental design. The instrument was initially composed of 48 items grouped into three dimensions of resilient capacities: foresight, adaptation, and recovery, which was applied to a sample of 346 companies established in Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, Mexico. According to the results, it is concluded that the analyzed instrument meets the reliability and construct validity criteria, highlighting the reduction to 20 items with factor loads between 0.556 and 0.811 grouped into three factors that explain 66.97% of the total variance. © 2023, Universidad del Zulia. All rights reserved.

Innovation Capabilities in Pandemic Times: Evidence from Resilient Manufacturing Firms in Brazil

COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the firms must prepare themselves to be resilient to survive, or even thrive, in crisis periods. By being resilient, firms are fittest to innovate and adapt to the changes entailed by dynamic environments. Low levels of innovation capabilities reflect in low levels of firm's reacting and adapting their activities to stay in the market. In order to overcome the COVID 19 pandemic, what are the most important innovative capabilities from resilient manufacturing firms? The paper describes the innovation capabilities of manufacturing firms in Brazil, considering if they made any changes to face this crisis, in other words, if they reacted or not with something new. © 2022 IEEE.

New tailwind for rural tourism

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt the tourist industry a devastating blow, although it has been showing clear signs of recovery in 2022. Furthermore, changes in tourist behaviour are opening up new opportunities for the industry which can benefit sustainability, also for rural communities. This article looks at some of these new developments.

Self-Report of the Perception of Stress and Signs of Bruxism Generated during the Pandemic in Student of the Health Area

Bruxism is the repetitive muscle-mandibular behavior characterized by clenching and/or grinding of the teeth, which reflects the presence of one or more underlying conditions or factors. The objective of this descriptive study was to determine the association between bruxism and stress self-perceived during the pandemic, as well as their frequency by gender and academic area. An interrogation and self-perceived stress scale PSS-14 were applied to students from the different areas of the Institute of Health Sciences (ICSa) to determine the presence or absence of stress and bruxism symptom, a Chi-square was used for the comparison between variables, considering a value of p<0.005 as significant, a two-way ANOVA was performed to evaluate the difference between the symptoms before and during the isolation of the pandemic. The total number of participants was 825, a final sample of 420 students was obtained, made up of 297 (70.72%) women and 123 (29.28%) men, with an average age of 20±1.75 years. We found an association between the frequency of bruxism and severe stress generated during the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a high perception of stress in the medicine area and a high frequency of bruxism in the area of nutrition p>0.005. ICSa students between 18 and 24 age perceive symptoms of bruxism and high levels of stress caused during the pandemic. © 2022, Universidad de Costa Rica. All rights reserved.

Mental, physical, and cognitive impairments of COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care during the pandemic in Chile: An observational, multicentre study

Introduction: Mental, physical, and cognitive impairments are common after an intensive care unit (ICU) stay. It remains unknown to what extent the extraordinary increase in bed occupancy during the pandemic could be linked to the severity and frequency of patient's impairments. Objective: To determine the frequency, severity, and risk factors for mental, physical, and cognitive impairments at ICU discharge during high and low bed occupancy periods. Methods: Prospective cohort study in seven Chilean ICUs (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04979897). We included adults, mechanically ventilated >48 hours in the ICU who could walk independently prior to admission. Trained physiotherapists assessed the Medical Research Council Sum-Score (MRC-SS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA-blind), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) at ICU discharge. Pre-admission employment status, educational level, and Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) were also collected. We compared periods of low and high bed-occupancy, defined as less or more than 90% of staffed ICU beds occupied. We used t-test for normally distributed, Mann-Whitney for those not normally distributed, and chi-square for categorical variables. We explored risk factors for mental, physical, and cognitive impairments using logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, educational level, and bed occupancy. Analyses were performed in Stata/SE 16.0. Results: We included 192 patients with COVID-19 of which 126 [66%] were admitted during a high bedoccupancy period (January to April 2021). Majority were male (137 [71%]) and worked full-time (127 [66%]). Median [P25-P75] age was 57 [47-67], length of ICU stay was 15[ 11-27] days, and duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) was 9 [6-16.5] days. Seven (4%) patients were clinically frail, 65 (34%) had ICUacquired weakness (ICU-AW), 134(70%) had cognitive impairment, 122 (64%) had post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), 53 (28%) had depressive symptoms, 106 (55%) had anxiety symptoms, and 148 (77%) had severe disability. Table 1 shows the combined prevalence of physical and mental health problems. Patients admitted during the high-occupancy period were younger (mean 54, 95% confidence interval [47, 61] vs 61 [58, 64]), more likely to have a higher education qualification(HEQ) (OR 1.67 [0.9, 3.06]), and had a shorter duration of MV (8 [6-13] vs 13 [8-34];p<0.001) and ICU stay (13 [10-19] vs 21.5 [13-42];p<0.001). Mental, physical, and cognitive impairments were similar in low and high occupancy periods. Patients with a HEQ were less likely to have ICU-AW (OR 0.23 [0.11, 0.46]), cognitive impairments (OR 0.26 [0.11, 0.6]), symptoms of depression (OR 0.45 [0.22, 0.9]) or anxiety (OR 0.26 [0.13, 0.5]), and severe disability (OR 0.4 [0.18, 0.94]). Females were more likely to have ICU-AW (OR 2.4 [1.13, 4.93]). Older patients were less likely to suffer PTSS (OR 0.97 [0.94, 0.99] per year old). Conclusions: Majority of patients had at least one mental, physical or cognitive impairment being similar by bed occupancy. Having a higher education qualification was the main protective factor for impairments at ICU discharge. Preventative treatments programmes should target patients with <12 years of education.

Psychosocial factors and mental health in Mexican healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction. The World Health Organization has estimated a significant increase in mental disorders due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has identified healthcare workers as a vulnerable group. In Mexico, the impact of this pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers and the psychosocial factors associated with it remain unknown. Objective. To identify levels of stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression and their relationship with negative psychosocial stressors and positive psychosocial resources in healthcare workers in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method. As a part of a larger project in certain Latin American countries, 269 health workers from various Mexican clinics and hospital centers initially participated in a non -experimental, cross-sectional correlational design. Participants were recruited by targeted sampling. Various ultra-brief measures were used to measure symptoms of depression, anxiety, burnout, and stress and a mixed-methods exploration technique was used to identify associated psychosocial factors, which were also explored with cluster analysis. Results. We found high levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms (56.9% and 74.7%), as well as burnout and stress (49.8% and 46.8%). Although the stressors "infection of self" and "family infection" (38.3% and 30.9%) and the resources "family" and "personal protective equipment" (34.6% and 24.5%) were the most frequent, there were more than 20 factors in each category differentially associated with mental health. Cluster analysis made it possible to identify representative sets of psychosocial variables. Discussion and conclusion. The increased risk in mental health for health care workers is confirmed in a preliminary way and the stressors and resources to be considered in preventive strategies to address COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico are identified.

Cardiovascular, hematological and renal implications of COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Even though currently the cornerstone of research and treatment of COVID-19 patients has been the respiratory system, it is essential to consider that COVID-19 has multiple extrapulmonary manifestations, some severe enough to be fatal. For this reason this review focuses on three intimately related systems: cadiovascular, renal and hematological systems. SARS-CoV-2 enters cells through angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a key regulator of the renin-angiotensinaldosterone system (RAAS), which has been characterized in multiple cardiovascular and renal diseases. The hyperinflammatory state in COVID-19 leads to microvascular dysfunction, hypercoagulability, arrhythmias, and acute kidney injury. The importance of diverse multisystemic markers should be highlighted, they have been shown to be predictors of severity and highly useful in the management of patients with COVID-19 to avoid future complications related to the disease.

COVID-19 pneumonia worse prognosis related to lupus anticoagulant transient positive test

Background : Lupus anticoagulant (LAC) has been reported in almost 50% of patients with COVID-19 disease, but its significance is not clear yet. Aims : To evaluate prospectively the presence of LAC test in hospitalized symptomatic COVID-19 pneumonia patients and to report clinical evolution, thromboembolism (VTE), bleeding events, and persistence of the LAC positive (LAC+) 1-3 months after discharge. Methods : 278 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 symptomatic disease (August-November 2020). LAC was performed according to ISTH guidelines. Heparin must be <0.35antiXaU/mL. D-dimer (immunoturbidimetic) was performed with initial laboratory. Patients were followed for any thrombotic/hemorrhagic events for three months. Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression (statistix 7.0) were used for the statistical analysis. Results : From 278 patients with COVID-19 admitted at the hospital, 149 (54%) had LAC+ in the first 48 h. Most of them were dRVVT positive, only 12/149 had both dRVVT/SCT positive. Average age 59 (range18-92) 103 males and this wasn't different from LAC(-). 46/278 (17%) patients required intensive care admission for ventilatory support, 9 (3%) had clinical VTE, 5 (2%) had major bleeding and 16 (6%) died. LAC+ patients had significantly more severe COVID-19 pneumonia as they required more intensive care support (34 vs 12 patients P = 0.002) and died more (13 vs 3 deaths P = 0.003) They also had more VTE (7vs2). Five patients had major bleeding (three LAC+, two LAC(-) but 4/5 were under full dose anticoagulation (three AF, one VTE). D-dimer was nor different between LAC+/LAC(-) patients (average 1104 ng/FEU LAC+, 1249 ng/FEU LAC(-). A new LAC was performed 1-3 months after discharge in 63/137 (46%) patients. No one had thrombosis and 43/63 (68%) had LAC(-) when COVID-19 resolved. Conclusions : LAC+ seems to be related to worse prognosis as they required more intensive care support and died more in patients with COVID-19 disease, although this pro thrombotic condition is transitory in most of them.

Psychosocial factors and mental health in Mexican healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic Arturo Juárez-García,1 Anabel Camacho-Ávila,2 Javier García-Rivas,3 Oniria Gutiérrez-Ramos4

Introduction. The World Health Organization has estimated a significant increase in mental disorders due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has identified healthcare workers as a vulnerable group. In Mexico, the impact of this pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers and the psychosocial factors associated with it remain unknown. Objective. To identify levels of stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression and their relationship with negative psychosocial stressors and positive psychosocial resources in healthcare workers in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method. As a part of a larger project in certain Latin American countries, 269 health workers from various Mexican clinics and hospital centers initially participated in a non-experimental, cross-sectional correlational design. Participants were recruited by targeted sampling. Various ultra-brief measures were used to measure symptoms of depression, anxiety, burnout, and stress and a mixed-methods exploration technique was used to identify associated psychosocial factors, which were also explored with cluster analysis. Results. We found high levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms (56.9% and 74.7%), as well as burnout and stress (49.8% and 46.8%). Although the stressors “infection of self” and “family infection” (38.3% and 30.9%) and the resources “family” and “personal protective equipment” (34.6% and 24.5%) were the most frequent, there were more than 20 factors in each category differentially associated with mental health. Cluster analysis made it possible to identify representative sets of psychosocial variables. Discussion and conclusion. The increased risk in mental health for health care workers is confirmed in a preliminary way and the stressors and resources to be considered in preventive strategies to address COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico are identified © 2021. Salud Mental. All Rights Reserved.

COVID-19 and subjectivity in the context of environmental changes

The article presents a reflection regarding the linearity of causal relationships that involve environmental changes and their impact on (human) subjectivity. The environmental changes are here identified as transformations of natural, climatic, and socio-cultural systems resulting from contemporary lifestyle, and the impacts as the dimension of feelings and sensations related to these changes. The authors carried out conceptual theoretical debates to situate the covid-19 pandemic as a disaster associated with the contemporary way of life present in the urbanization process of cities. In moments of intense environmental change, such as the dystopian scenario represented by the advent of COVID-19, the more daily life is reconstituted at the confluence between the local and the global, the more individuals suffer, develop fears, and are challenged to develop survival strategies. Thus, subjectivity is more than a consequence of the pandemic disaster, it is conceptualized as a transformative potential - a dynamic continuum - expanding its scope as a perspective for action facing disaster. Future uncertainties may trigger processes to constitute new realities through political opportunities that favor creativity, seen as a coping strategy. The resumption of adaptive paths in the face of ongoing transformations may be possible, whether the "poetics of existence" finds its emergency and performance space.

SARS-CoV-2: A bibliographic review of the most relevant topics and evolution of medical knowledge about the disease

Since December 2019 the world has been affected by a pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which belongs to the β-coronavirus family. This group of viruses are known for their great infectious capacity, rapid transmission and clinical manifestation as a respiratory syndrome, which has caused the death of more than 300,000 people worldwide. This document was written from March to May 2020 in order to report of the most relevant issues of the disease;historical background, viral morphology, pathophysiology, transmission, clinical manifestations, clinical characteristics of infected patients and asymptomatic patients, incubation period, diagnostic tests, expected results in laboratory and imaging tests, main complications of infection, status of vaccine development and the use of convalescent plasma in treatment, development of a vaccine, prevention and personal care to avoid infection and, at last, possible reinfection. In addition, this article compares and verifies the information between various articles on each subtopic, to have a broad and complete perspective of the different results, findings and opinions about COVID-19.