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This work in progress research-to-practice paper presents the initial results of a study carried out at our university among lecturers, aimed at determining how the perception of training needs have changed due to the pandemic, and if this change can be used to increase enrollment in the university training program. Pedagogical training of university lecturers has usually been a self-training process guided by their own beliefs about what good teaching is, and the self-perception of one's own strengths and weaknesses with respect to teaching. The COVID-19 pandemic shook the world in many ways, but it also challenged lecturers about their own convictions regarding educational methodologies, evaluation and their own approach to teaching, so it is a great opportunity for change.
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This study was carried out, between March and May 2021, in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, to: (a) collect information and analyse the opinions, values, experiences and behaviours of rural youth in these three countries of the SICA region in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact at different levels: education, work, health, violence, gender relations, citizen/political participation and associativism, environment, climate change and natural disasters;(b) investigate, in particular, how this pandemic influences the expectations and future projects of young people at a personal, educational and work level;and (c) analyse the information gathered from a gender and intersectional analysis that allows identifying and systematizing the differences and inequalities between the genders in all the selected aspects. The study also inquired about the opinions and explanations of rural youth about different aspects of the COVID 19 pandemic, among others, ideas about its "origin", the consequences at the social and environmental levels, and prioritized means of obtaining information, with the purpose of highlighting the frameworks of meaning that are built on this stage.
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The COVID-19 pandemic not only generated real shocks affect- ing economic activity severely, but also a broad uncertainty that un-leashed an extreme shock to financial markets. In this paper, we focus on the financial dimension of the pandemic from the view- point of an emerging market economy. Accordingly, we estimate a financial conditions index for Mexico since 1993 and find that the acute turmoil generated by the pandemic stands among the four largest episodes of financial distress experienced by the country. In addition, we find evidence suggesting that real variables have re- sponded differently to shocks that worsen financial conditions than to shocks that improve them.
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Introduction: COVID-19 infection has been characterized by respiratory manifestations. After the experience of the current pandemic, it has been shown that the profile of manifestations of this infection is not limited exclusively to the respiratory system. Purpose: To analyze the hepatobiliopancreatic manifestations of COVID-19 infection in patients admitted to the ICU. Methods: We carried out a retrospective observational study in a polyvalent ICU of a second level hospital. We collected demographic variables, severity scales at admission, comorbidities, analytical data, treatment received and mortality. Statistical analysis was performed with IBM.SPSS Statistics 25. Results: 101 patients were admitted, 26 requiring transfer due to the absence of beds in our Unit, which have been excluded from the present study. Of the 75 patients in our sample, 67.6% were male with a mean age of 59.66 years. 80.3% were obese, 43.4% had a history of arterial hypertension, 22.4% were diabetic, 48.7% were dyslipidemic, and 29.9% were bronchopathic. The average score on the APACHE II was 16.83 and on the SOFA 6.8. All were admitted with the diagnosis of severe respiratory failure secondary to atypical pneumonia without any clear hepatobiliopancreatic manifestation. 67.6% had a cytolic pattern (elevation of GOT and / or GPT), 64.9% had a cholestatic pattern (elevation of alkaline phosphatase, GGT and / or bilirubin). 5.4% suffered from ischemic hepatitis. None of the patients admitted to the unit had cholecystitis or acute pancreatitis. The multivariate analysis shows a statistically significant relationship between obesity (BMI> 30) and elevation of enzymes with a cytolytic pattern (P 0.04). None of the treatments administered to patients with COVID-19 infection (Kaletra, Rezolsta, Tocilizumab, Interferon, Chloroquine) is statistically significantly associated with any hepatobiliopancreatic manifestations. Among all the variables analyzed, no significant relationship with liver ischemia was observed. Conclusion: Despite the fact that the reason for admission of our patients was pulmonary involvement due to SARS-CoV-2, throughout their admission they developed alterations in the hepatobiliary profile, probably related to viral infection. In our cohort, it is evidenced that obesity could be a risk factor for increased cytolysis in COVID-19 infection, regardless of the drugs used.
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In 2015, YouTube was the first online platform to enable the option of uploading and playing 360-degree videos on the Internet. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the consumption of these videos rebounded. To conclude this, we performed a quantitative analysis with the data from searches for ‘360 video’ on YouTube from the four countries most affected by COVID-19 during the first months of the pandemic: the USA, the UK, Spain and Italy. Even though the analysis of variance (ANOVA), according to Fisher’s F (0.48 < 2.62), shows there is a correlation between searches in the USA, the UK, Spain and Italy for the past 10 years, the tendency changes when the first months of the pandemic are analysed. We conclude that each country’s restrictions, by which citizens were forced to stay at home during different dates, depending on the country, may have influenced the consumption of 360-degree videos on YouTube. © 2021 Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, India.
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: On January 7th, 2020, a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was identified, as responsible for a new human disease: COVID-19. Given its recent appearance, our current knowledge about the possible influence that this disease can exert on pregnancy is very limited. One of the unknowns to be solved is whether there is a vertical transmission of the infection during pregnancy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using the Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction techniques for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acids, the possible presence of this germ in vaginal discharge and amniotic fluid was investigated in four pregnant Caucasian patients affected by mild acute symptoms of COVID-19 during the second trimester of pregnancy. RESULTS: There is no laboratory evidence to suggest a possible passage of SARS-CoV-2 from the infected mother to the amniotic fluid. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to expand the investigation of COVID-19 cases diagnosed during pregnancy to clarify the real influence that SARS-CoV-2 has on pregnant women and their offspring, as well as those factors that modulate the disease.
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BACKGROUND AND OBJETIVE: On January 7th, 2020, a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was identified, as responsible for a new human disease: COVID-19. Given its recent appearance, our current knowledge about the possible influence that this disease can exert on pregnancy is very limited. One of the unknowns to be solved is whether there is a vertical transmission of the infection during pregnancy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using the Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction techniques for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acids, the possible presence of this germ in vaginal discharge and amniotic fluid was investigated in four pregnant Caucasian patients affected by mild acute symptoms of COVID-19 during the second trimester of pregnancy. RESULTS: There is no laboratory evidence to suggest a possible passage of SARS-CoV-2 from the infected mother to the amniotic fluid. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to expand the investigation of COVID-19 cases diagnosed during pregnancy to clarify the real influence that SARS-CoV-2 has on pregnant women and their offspring, as well as those factors that modulate the disease.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/transmission , Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious , Adult , Amniotic Fluid/virology , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/diagnosis , Pregnancy Trimester, Second , Vaginal Discharge/virologyABSTRACT
Background: The social and health impact generated by the COVID-19 pandemic allows us to re-think aspects of epidemiological surveillance and communication in struggle-times.