Mucormycosis in post-COVID patients: loose cannon waiting to fire at the anaesthesiologist

Background Recently, several cases of mucormycosis in people with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been increasingly reported worldwide, in particular from India. As an increasing number of post-COVID patients with mucormycosis are presenting for surgical management, the onus is on the anaesthesiologists to adequately evaluate and optimise such patients.Case presentationWe present three cases to highlight the anaesthetic challenges in patients undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) with debridement surgery for mucormycosis through a series of three cases. In our manuscript, two cases had comorbidities as a challenge uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension. The third case had difficult intubation due to a small mouth opening which was probably due to swelling and tenderness as a result of rhino orbital mucormycosis.ConclusionsProper anticipation, optimization and timed promptness to deal with the anaesthetic challenges pertaining to the multisystemic involvement and sequelae of mucormycosis should be done.

COVID-19 Fear in Eastern Europe: Validation of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale.

COVID-19 is a major source of fear, stress, and anxiety as well as a major factor impacting the health and wellbeing of people worldwide. The present study builds on the recently developed "Fear of COVID-19 Scale" (Ahorsu et al., In International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8, 2020). The sample comprised of 850 participants, male and female young adults from Russia and Belarus. The majority of survey participants are university students and graduates. Females, students, and others from Russia report higher levels of COVID-19-related fear than those from Belarus. Respondents from Russia and Belarus report less fear than people from Iran who were surveyed earlier. The scale used for the present survey evidenced a good Cronbach's Alpha measure of internal consistency or reliability (0.809). Clearly, further research is needed across locations and over time about the nature and extent of fear caused by COVID 19. Overall, the FCV-19S appears to be a valuable and brief instrument that may provide useful information for intervention and policy purposes to migrate fear and problem behavior linked to infectious disease outbreaks.

"Changing our teaching": first grade reading instruction and before and during COVID-19.

By April 2020 public schools throughout the country closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the brink of these turbulent times, we concluded a larger survey study describing first grade literacy instruction in February 2020. Having documented a year of pre-pandemic literacy instruction, we then reached out to the same participants to report on their experiences teaching first grade during the 2020-2021 academic year impacted by COVID-19. In this exploratory study we surveyed first grade teachers (n = 36) to better understand the context, the amount of time allocated, and the materials and resources used by teachers for and during literacy instruction and how these variables differed before and during the COVID 19 pandemic. Our data indicated teachers had increased responsibility as they had reduced access to collaborative planning (t35 = - 2.092, p = .004, d = - 0.507), and the support of paraprofessionals (t35 = - 2.256, p = .030, d = 0.457). This increase in responsibility was amplified by the challenges of virtual and hybrid instruction, and the changes in instructional formats experienced by teachers. Concurrently, students experienced less instructional time (Z35 = - 3.704, p < .001, r = - 0.437), particularly in the areas of writing, vocabulary, and fluency. The consequences of these tumultuous experiences for teachers and students are likely to be long-lasting and complex to reconcile.

Sameul Beckett's Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting For Godot as the Representation of Humanity in the Time of the Covid-19 Pandemic

The current study attempts to show how Vladimir and Estragon, who are two of Samuel Beckett's main characters in his play, Waiting for Godot (1952) are meant to represent humanity during the time after World War II. That is, Vladimir and Estragon's waiting for Godot is much like all of humanity's waiting for the pandemic to fade away or disappear. The similarity between the two characters and humanity is studied and analyzed through the lens of postmodernism, and more specifically, existential theories. The study posits how the main aim of the two characters in the play is simply to wait for Godot. Their wait is justified by the relief, safety, and the hope that the best is yet to come displayed by both characters. Thus, the two characters resemble all of humanity waiting for the end of the pandemic, or even for the perfect vaccine to come along that helps prevent people from dying from such a pandemic. The common absurdity in the way these two characters behave while waiting is very much like the absurdity that can also be seen in the everyday life of people who are uncertain of what will happen or what this horrifying pandemic will lead them to. However, this study is different as it highlights how Samuel Beckett's two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, represent humanity during the pandemic and could be seen the same as the people today waiting for a miracle to happen and the hopes of finding a solution for COVID-19.