ABSTRACT
Introduction. At various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, face coverings have been recommended and encouraged as one of the interventions to reduce transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, in the earlier stages of the pandemic, decisions on face coverings relied primarily on evidence based on other viral respiratory infections. More direct evidence on the use of face coverings with COVID-19 developed in tandem with the pandemic. Health Technology Wales undertook an ultra-rapid review to inform national guidelines, the work assessed the evidence on the effectiveness of face coverings to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission. We also reviewed evidence on the efficacy of different types of face coverings. Methods.Weconducted a systematic literature search for evidence to address (i) the effectiveness of face coverings to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community, and (ii) the efficacy of different types of face coverings designed for use in community settings. We identified a rapid review in 2021 by Public Health England that closely aligned with our review questions. This provided the main source for identifying relevant studies, supplemented by a search for publications following their search date. Results. We identified two evidence reviews (including the Public Health England review) that examined the effectiveness of face coverings on reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2;reporting on 31 and 39 studies, respectively. Two further primary studies were published after the two evidence review searches were included. Overall, the evidence suggested that face coverings may provide benefits in preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, although the higher-quality studies suggested that these benefits may be modest. Medical masks appeared to have higher efficacy than fabric masks, although the evidence was mixed. Conclusions. At the time of this review, evidence on the effectiveness of face coverings remains limited and conclusions rely on low-quality sources of evidence with high risk of bias, although higher-quality evidence points to some benefit. Face coverings may play a role in preventing transmission of SARS-CoV-2, particularly as part of a bundle of other preventative measures.
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Introduction: Repurposed drugs are not eligible for patent protection in India vide Sec 3 (d) of the Indian Patent Act, 1970. The data generated to establish the therapeutic efficacy of the repurposed drugs for the new indication are not eligible for data exclusivity under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940. However, repurposed drugs possess immense advantages, especially when compared to the traditional route of drug discovery. Marketing repurposed drugs is fraught with challenges, and means to overcome them need to be facilitated. Methodology: A review of literature regarding provisions available to protect repurposed candidates through various routes globally were studied including policies, special committee reports as well as case laws. Result(s): A brief tenure of data exclusivity for repurposed candidates as provided in statutes in the US and EU appears to be an attractive route of protection of such inventions. This will encourage and incentivize drug research by this route and eventually lead to a fulfillment of India being a preferred destination for not only pharma manufacturing, but also research. Copyright © Author (s) 2023.
ABSTRACT
In this research seeks to implement a prevention system that measures CO2 levels in closed environments, in order to reduce the probability of contagion of SARS-COV-2. This system interacts with a microcontroller (ESP32) which will obtain the CO2 concentrations in ppm from a gas sensor (MQ-135) which in the first instance will proceed to calibrate the sensor using established formulas so that it gives exact data and can convert them to ppm. Finally, the system based on IoT technology will sfhow the concentration levels obtained in real time and thus, with already established ranges, it will indicate to the user the level of probability of contagion to which they will be exposed, making the stay in a closed environment safer. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Financial security is considered a subsystem of the economic security system. The financial security of the Republic of Armenia is one of the most urgent issues of study and analysis. Covid-19 and the 2020 war in Armenia harmed all sectors of the Armenian economy, especially economic and financial security. At this moment, the research of the chosen topic becomes more than necessary and urgent. In the current post-crisis period, financial security is more than possible in Armenia. In this article, we tried to define and analyze the elements affecting the security of the Armenian financial system and evaluate the current effectiveness of financial security. For that purpose, we have formulated the following research questions: How are countries' financial security assessed? What elements ensure financial security in Armenia? Is the current system of financial security effective in Armenia? The applied methodologies are quantitative and qualitative. In particular, we used index analysis, graphical analysis, comparison, and expert evaluation analysis to answer the research questions. The analysis results showed that the change of isolated factors significantly impacts indicators of the country's economy, particularly the financial system;moreover, the factors indirectly impact the country's social, political, and public life.
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenge for all countries of the world. Although the most negative impact was on public health, the pandemic also caused damage to the economic, social and energy sectors. The research puts forward a hypothesis about the differentiation of countries due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economic, social and energy parameters of sustainable development. A negative impact on indicators such as GDP, the number of unemployed, electricity generation was identified. The following methods were used in the article to analyze the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economic, social and energy parameters of sustainable development: systems analysis, deductive approach, regression and correlation analysis and extrapolation. Theoretical and empirical research show that the economies of countries were not ready for the negative transformation processes caused by the quarantine restrictions. The after-effects of the pandemic will manifest themselves for the long period without concerted action of governments, businesses and the international community. It will negatively affect the social and economic development of countries and undermine the progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals until 2030. This article will be useful for researchers, political elite and international organizations while developing the anti-crisis programs and programs for the social and economic development of the countries. © 2022 River Publishers.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in national lockdowns in several countries. Previous global epidemics led to an increase in the number of psychiatric patients presenting symptoms of anxiety or depression. Knowledge about the impact of early lockdown initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of healthcare interactions is sparse. Objective(s): To investigate both the impact of the Danish lockdown event on psychiatric patients' contact with the healthcare system, stratified by type of contact (face-to-face (FTF) or virtual) and ICD-10 diagnosis, and how acute contacts were impacted in the five regions in Denmark. Method(s): Contacts in this study include all recorded FTF and virtual treatment interactions between patients and healthcare systems. An interrupted time series analysis was applied to determine the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown event on the number of contacts with psychiatric hospitals in Denmark, from February 25, 2019 to May 3, 2020. The analyses took a Box-Jenkins approach to fit an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. Result(s): Virtual contacts replaced most FTF contacts during the lockdown. For most patient groups, the total number of contacts did not decrease significantly. However, for child and adolescent patients diagnosed with F 10-19, 70-79, and 80-89, the number of contacts decreased during lockdown. The number of acute contacts with the psychiatric system decreased significantly during lockdown. Conclusion(s): The Danish healthcare system was forced to introduce innovative tele-psychiatry to mental health care during the lockdown. Disruption to service delivery was minimized because the resources were in place to sustain the transition from FTF to virtual contacts.
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus outbreak emphasizes the potential crisis of traditional agriculture, weak resilience to natural disasters and natural resources, and highly relies on the human workforce. 5G is the fifth generation of the mobile network with higher speed and bigger capacity. GPS is the position and timing operation system. Based on secondary research and content analysis, this review paper concluded that it is possible for a sustainable agriculture era by implementing 5G and GPS and other related sophisticated technologies. The smart agriculture scheme can maximize the economic benefits of agriculture, maximize agricultural production, and minimize the cost and environmental effects. However, the threats and security risks of 5G and GPS performing in agriculture are also important topics left for future researchers. © 2022 IEEE.