Determination of Internal Temperature by Measuring the Temperature of the Body Surface Due to Environmental Physical Factors-First Study of Fever Screening in the COVID Pandemic.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic has shown that the use of a contact thermometer to verify the elevated body temperature of a suspected person carries a risk of spreading disease. The perfect solution seems to be the use of thermal imaging as a diagnostic method in fever evaluation. The aim of the research is to develop an algorithm for thermovision measurements in fever screening standards in the context of the impact of various weather conditions on the temperature of people entering the public institution. Each examined person had two thermal images of the face-AP and lateral projection. Using a T1020 FLIR thermal camera with a resolution of 1024 × 768 pixels; the mean temperature was measured from the area of the forehead, the maximum forehead, the corners of the eyes, the inside of the mouth and the external auditory canal temperature. On the other hand, using classic contact thermometers, the temperature in the armpit and ear was measured. The obtained preliminary results showed very strong and positive correlations between the temperature in the ear measured with an ear thermometer and the maximum, minimum and average forehead temperature. These correlations oscillate at approximately r = 0.6, but the highest value of Spearman coefficient was obtained for the mean temperature of the forehead. Moreover, high correlations were also obtained between the temperature in the ear, measured with an ear thermometer, and the maximum temperature in the corners of the eyes and in the ear, measured with a thermal imaging camera. These values were, respectively, r = 0.54, r = 0.65. In summarizing, remote body temperature measurement taken with a thermal camera can be useful in the assessment of the body's core temperature.

Current and Future Perspectives on the COVID-19 Vaccine: A Scientometric Review.

This study attempted to draw the present and future perspective of the COVID-19 vaccine by identifying the most important scientists and their scientific contexts, trends of research topics, and relationships between different entities. METHODS: To achieve this purpose, bibliometric and scientometric techniques were used to analyze 6288 scientific documents contributing to COVID-19 vaccines from the beginning of 2019 to 13 December 2021, indexed in the Web of Science. RESULTS: The United States (US) had the greatest impact by publishing 2104 documents and receiving 32,958 citations. The US and the UK countries had the highest level of scientific collaborations with 192 collaborative studies. The University of Oxford and the Harvard Medical School were the most active institutions, and the University of Oxford and Emory University were the most influential institutions. Pollard AJ and Lambe T had the most publications and the highest citations and h-index. T Lambe, SC Gilbert, M Voysey, and AJ Pollard from the University of Oxford had the highest number of co-authorships. More than 19% of the research was conducted in the field of immunology. The Vaccines journal had the most publications, with 425 articles. The US Department of Health & Human Services granted the most research. In 2019, studies were focused on the topics of COVID-19 virus identification and ways to deal with it; in 2020, studies focused on the topics of COVID-19 and vaccines, whereas in 2021, they focused on the topics of COVID-19 vaccines and their effects, vaccines hesitancy, the role of healthcare workers in COVID-19, as well as discussions about these vaccines in the social media. CONCLUSIONS: Recognition of the most important actors (countries, institutes, researchers, and channels for the release of COVID-19 vaccine studies), research trends, and fields of study on the COVID-19 vaccine can be useful for researchers, countries, and policy makers in the field of science and health to make decisions and better understand these vaccines.

Infection of Human Cells by SARS-CoV-2 and Molecular Overview of Gastrointestinal, Neurological, and Hepatic Problems in COVID-19 Patients.

The gastrointestinal tract is the body's largest interface between the host and the external environment. People infected with SARS-CoV-2 are at higher risk of microbiome alterations and severe diseases. Recent evidence has suggested that the pathophysiological and molecular mechanisms associated with gastrointestinal complicity in SARS-CoV-2 infection could be explained by the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) cell receptors. These receptors are overexpressed in the gut lining, leading to a high intestinal permeability to foreign pathogens. It is believed that SARS-CoV-2 has a lesser likelihood of causing liver infection because of the diminished expression of ACE2 in liver cells. Interestingly, an interconnection between the lungs, brain, and gastrointestinal tract during severe COVID-19 has been mentioned. We hope that this review on the molecular mechanisms related to the gastrointestinal disorders as well as neurological and hepatic manifestations experienced by COVID-19 patients will help scientists to find a convenient solution for this and other pandemic events.