Impact of COVID-19 on Clinicopathological Spectrum of Pityriasis Rosea in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Pityriasis rosea (PR) is a papulosquamous eruption with generally unknown origin but suspected to be related to viral etiologies. The clinicopathological spectrum of several disorders with viral etiologies has been altered after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The author group could experience coherent histological alterations in PR after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate how the clinicopathological findings of PR were changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Patients (n = 11) diagnosed with PR based on the clinical manifestations and skin biopsies between February 2018 and October 2019 and 11 patients in February 2020 and October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed by investigating the medical records. RESULTS: The patients with PR during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated statistically significant histopathological alterations from classic brisk and dense infiltration pattern to dormant and sparse infiltration and psoriasiform-dominant patterns (P = 0.019). PR was associated with more frequent pruritus during the pandemic period (P = 0.027). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, PR demonstrated a significant histopathological alteration with more frequent pruritus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The comparative results about clinicopathological findings of PR will provide a useful reference for dermatologists in the diagnostic process of PR in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Writing Across Communities: Cultural Rhetorical Ecologies and Transcultural Citizenship in a Climate-Change COVID-19 Global Political Economy What type of face mask should we choose in coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic considering photoprotective effectiveness?

Writing Across Communities (WACommunities) represents a translingual/transcultural model of postsecondary US literacy education. After more than 15 years since the conceptualization and implementation of WACommunities, rapidly shifting socioeconomic, environmental, and geopolitical conditions, further complicated by the COVID-19 public health pandemic in 2020, underscore the relevance and efficacy of WACommunities pedagogies and practices. Growing populations of transnational migrant communities and environmental refugees, navigating limited resources and inequitable access to public education systems, illustrate that linguistic racism remains one of the most insidious and unaddressed obstacles to education for ethnolinguistically diverse student populations. While it is a basic tenet of linguistics that all languages are equal, it is an enduring social reality that not all languages have equal social value. This fact directly impacts student retention, graduation rates, and school placement for ethnolinguistically diverse groups?and, in turn, reproduces social inequality and restricts economic opportunities and political participation. In a climate-change pandemic global climate that most adversely impacts historically colonized socioeconomically vulnerable communities, Writing Across Communities advocates for transliteracy, cross-disciplinary K-16 language arts and writing-across-curriculum education that systemically enacts pedagogical practice engaging the intersections of public health, cultural health, and environmental issues. WACommunities principles and practices advance ethnolinguistic diversity as an integral feature to maintaining healthy human communities and supporting the emergence of new cultural rhetorical ecologies. As an alternative approach to traditional Writing Across the Curriculum/Writing in the Disciplines programs, WACommunities engages language diversity as a reflection of deep cultural connections locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. WACommunities represents the first sustained WAC/WID approach in the United States that foregrounds linguistic diversity in an institution-wide literacy education initiative. WACommunities recognizes the heterogeneity within all linguistic codes and language varieties, including the multiple variations of world Englishes represented globally. WACommunities accepts the notion that the acquisition of academic literacy (and standardized American English) enhances students' communicative resources, yet asserts that academic literacy education should not seek to erase students' vernacular discourses. Finally, it advocates for culturally responsive approaches to literacy education across and beyond the curriculum. WACommunities aligns the intellectual resources of the humanities (rhetoric, critical theory, cultural studies, and sociolinguistics) toward reconfiguring educational spaces and constituting more inclusive teaching practices that press the limits of institutional rhetorical imagination by advocating for linguistic diversity and students' right to their own languages and promoting methods that foreground students' cultural rhetorical ecologies to reshape social environments for greater inclusion and social justice. WACommunities resists the reproduction of hegemonic language practices in English literacy education through the application of principles of translingual/transcultural citizenship in the teaching of writing across the curriculum. This entry considers the underlying support, both theoretical and empirical, for the localized application and institutionalizatio--n of WACommunities approaches to K?16 literacy education. Background Wearing a face mask is one of the most effective personal protective strategies to diminish the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Several dermatological outcomes were reported because of the prolonged use of face masks, especially due to the constant mask-on policy, but the photoprotective effect of face masks has received less attention. Objective To provide guidance in the use of face masks by comparing the photoprotective effects of routinely used masks. Methods A total of 12 frequently used face masks were tested, including certified respirators, Korea filter (KF)94, KF-anti-droplet (KF-AD), and KF80. The amount of light that penetrates each face mask was measured using a light sensor that can quantify Ultraviolet A (UVA), visible light (VL), and infrared A (IR-A) rays. Results Black-colored KF94 masks and surgical masks reduced penetration of UVA, VL, and IR-A by approximately 100%. The UVA penetration decreased on average by 95.51%, 90.97%, 85.06%, and 86.41% with white-colored KF94, KF-AD, KF80, and surgical masks, respectively. The VL and IR-A were blocked by approximately 75.58%, 66.16%, 59.18%, and 64.48% with white-colored KF94, KF-AD, KF80, and surgical masks, respectively. Conclusion In conclusion, the different photoprotective effectiveness of face masks was mainly determined by colors, and therefore, black colored, multi-layered respirators can be recommended in terms of photoprotection in the COVID-19 pandemic. The quantified comparative results will be helpful to the person with pre-existing photo-aggravated dermatosis, especially in the season of the high intensity of sunlight.

What type of face mask should we choose in coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic considering photoprotective effectiveness?

BACKGROUND: Wearing a face mask is one of the most effective personal protective strategies to diminish the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Several dermatological outcomes were reported because of the prolonged use of face masks, especially due to the constant mask-on policy, but the photoprotective effect of face masks has received less attention. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to provide guidance in the use of face masks by comparing the photoprotective effects of routinely used masks. METHODS: A total of 12 frequently used face masks were tested, including certified respirators, Korea filter (KF)94, KF-anti-droplet (KF-AD), and KF80. The amount of light that penetrates each face mask was measured using a light sensor that can quantify Ultraviolet A (UVA), visible light (VL), and infrared A (IR-A) rays. RESULTS: Black-colored KF94 masks and surgical masks reduced penetration of UVA, VL, and IR-A by approximately 100%. The UVA penetration decreased on average by 95.51%, 90.97%, 85.06%, and 86.41% with white-colored KF94, KF-AD, KF80, and surgical masks, respectively. The VL and IR-A were blocked by approximately 75.58%, 66.16%, 59.18%, and 64.48% with white-colored KF94, KF-AD, KF80, and surgical masks, respectively. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the different photoprotective effectiveness of face masks was mainly determined by colors, and therefore, black-colored, multi-layered respirators can be recommended in terms of photoprotection in the COVID-19 pandemic. The quantified comparative results will be helpful to the person with pre-existing photo-aggravated dermatosis, especially in the season of the high intensity of sunlight.

Complications of Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Safe Procedures for COVID-19 Testing Based on Anatomical Knowledge.

Nasopharyngeal swabs have been widely to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing is a generally safe and well-tolerated procedure, but numerous complications have been reported in the media. Therefore, the present study aimed to review and document adverse events and suggest procedural references to minimize preventable but often underestimated risks. A total of 27 articles were selected for the review of 842 related documents in PubMed, Embase, and KoreaMed. The complications related to nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing were reported to be rarely happened, ranging from 0.0012 to 0.026%. Frequently documented adverse events were retained swabs, epistaxis, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage, often associated with high-risk factors, including severe septal deviations, pre-existing skull base defects, and previous sinus or transsphenoidal pituitary surgery. Appropriate techniques based on sufficient anatomical knowledge are mandatory for clinicians to perform nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing. The nasal floor can be predicted by the line between the nostril and external ear canal. For safe testing, the angle of swab insertion in the nasal passage should remain within 30° of the nasal floor. The swab was gently inserted along the nasal septum just above the nasal floor to the nasopharynx and remained on the nasopharynx for several seconds before removal. Forceful insertion should be attempted, and alternative examinations should be considered, especially in vulnerable patients. In conclusion, patients and clinicians should be aware of rare but possible complications and associated high-risk factors. The suggested procedural pearls enable more comfortable and safe nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing for both clinicians and patients.