Coronavirus COVID-19

On 29 April 2021, the European Platform tackling undeclared work (hereafter the ‘Platform’) held a webinar on ‘COVID 19: combating fraud in short-term financial support schemes’.

The event brought together 31 participants from 20 countries, representing labour inspectorates and other enforcement authorities, as well as European level social partners, and representatives from Eurofound, the European Commission and the European Labour Authority (ELA).

Based on the our October paper "A Generalized Viral Infection Mathematical Model Derived from Covid-19 Simulation", at a conceptual level higher than the classic SIR/SEIR model, we have established the 6 laws of infection regarding the final infection ratio within any given population without any artificial intervention and have shown the final infection ratio in a natural, non-interfered pandemic must fall within a specified lower and upper bound as 1 − 1 R 2 0 ≤ F R ≤ 2 (1 − 1 R 0). Whereas R 0 is the intrinsic R 0 value of the disease. In this paper, we show how human intervention strategies alter the previous assumptions based on 2 factors. First, artificial intervention with cycles of restricting measures and relaxations. Based on our May paper "The Predictions on Worldwide Covid-19 Pandemic Cases Based on Historical Data", we have already demonstrated the dynamic falling R 0 (t) curve during lock down measures. With more historical data and observation, we now expand the scope to include a dynamic rising R 0 (t) curve following the relaxation of measures, completing the cycle of restriction and relaxation. Second, the introduction of vaccination at a steady rate introduced a new variable into the existing infection model, we denote it as function V (t). We demonstrate the optimal strategies of vaccination interpreted within our existing established framework.

Given the on-going nature of this crisis, it’s too early for the full implications to be realized. However, it’s clear that the news industry which emerges on the other side will look very different from the one that went into it.

Nonetheless, what this report shows is that we can start to identify the key characteristics inherent in those outlets who look best placed to navigate this situation.

Tl;DR think “audience first.”

“Businesses that focus on the audience first and advertising second will be better equipped to handle the consequences of the pandemic,” argues Curtis Huber, Senior Director of Circulation and Audience Revenue at the Seattle Times.

What does that mean in practice? Here’s a topline six-point playbook.

In many ways Russia is an unlucky country. Throughout its history it has had political and dynastic problems, like many other nations, but Russia has regularly had these problems compounded and intensified by the freakish nature of its weather.

The COVID-19 pandemic forces frontline health-care workers to make difficult medical decisions that may result in moral injury. Understanding the extent to which physicians, nurses, and other health-care workers experience moral injury while working in a pandemic is of critical importance to establish preventative measures and trauma-informed treatment. A national sample of health-care workers (n 
109) participated in the study. The results of a multiple regression analysis indicated secondary traumatic stress was significantly associated with moral injury. Contrary to existing literature, the role of burnout
and compassion fatigue in this study was nonsignificant. Mental health professionals may reduce treatment barriers by offering flexible sessions, nontraditional hours, and short-term interventions through tele-mental health platforms to support health-care workers experiencing trauma symptoms.

Case Report: 54-year-old male patient with controlled hypertension, CPAP user for obstructive apnea and right eye keratoconus without refractive correction was hospitalized with confirmed COVID 19. Pulmonology team started treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam, methylprednisolone, dexamethasone and hydrocortisone. Patient maintained good blood pressure control and regular use of positive pressure throughout hospitalization. On the fourth day of hospitalization, he developed sudden bilateral visual acuity worsening, counting fingers one meter apart in both eyes, without improvement with the use of a pinhole. No other abnormalities were identified in the clinical and neurological examination, namely the pupils’ exam, the oculomotricity assessment or the visual fields. Fundoscopy was limited by technical issues related to protective equipment. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed areas of hyperintense signal in bilateral occipital lobes and posterior horns of the cerebellum on T2 sequences, with no water diffusion restriction or anomalous contrast enhancement, as well as no abnormalities in orbits and optical nerve (picture 1). There was progressive improvement, reaching baseline visual acuity at discharge of 20/30 in the right eye and 20/100 in the left eye, according to a previous ophthalmological report. Control MRI one month later (picture 2) showed total regression of the lesions.  Discussion: PRES is a clinical-radiological syndrome with heterogeneous etiologies. Clinical manifestations may include visual symptoms, such as cortical blindness, in addition to similar neuroimaging findings, usually posterior subcortical white matter edema. The pathogenesis seems to be related to disordered cerebral autoregulation and endothelial dysfunction such as arterial hypertension, fluid overload, vasculitis (lupus, polyarteritis nodosa, cryoglobulinemia), immunosuppressive drugs (cyclosporine, rituximab, immunoglobulin), among others. Variations in blood pressure are associated with most cases, either by sustained elevation or isolated peaks.  Conclusion: This is a case report of a patient in the context of COVID 19 who evolved with PRES with good pressure control throughout the hospitalization. Thus, it is interesting to assess the possible association between endothelial dysfunction in COVID 19, as well as the role of corticosteroid therapy and consequent hypervolemia, in the development of the disorder in question.

SARS-CoV-2 infects children far less frequently than adults and when infected, children experience no or benign symptoms. Children further do not transmit the virus in any meaningful way. Despite these facts, many public health authorities recommend that all children above the age of 12 get vaccinated to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2. As a result, many schools, colleges, and universities require proof of vaccination for students to attend class, essentially coercing students to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The rationale presented by public health officials for recommending COVID-19 vaccination for children is threefold: a) To keep children from contracting COVID-19 and becoming seriously ill. b) To stop children from transmitting SARS-COV-2 to each other, teachers, parents and grandparents. c) It is needed to reach herd immunity. Consequently, this research investigates whether these hypotheses are correct and supported by the science and empirical data. If the principal points of departure are flawed, it follows that a policy to vaccinate children against COVID-19 would be irrational. The four main biomedical ethical principles, that is beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice, are defined and explained to provide a universal, moral analytical framework that are that can aid public health policymakers in making morally and ethically sound decisions. The four main ethical principles are then applied to the policy and practice to coerce young people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Bu araştırma Covid-19’un işçilerin sağlığı, işi ve geliri üzerindeki etkilerini ölçmek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Araştırmanın evreni DİSK üyesi işçilerdir. Araştırma tüm DİSK üyesi işçileri temsil edecek şekilde saptanan bir örneklemle yürütülmüştür.
Araştırma 8-15 Haziran 2020 tarihleri arasında Türkiye çapında DİSK üyeleri arasında yürütüldü. Araştırmanın yürütümünde ayrıca DİSK üyesi
sendikaların uzman ve yöneticileri de rol aldı.
Araştırma kapsamında GoogleForms uygulaması üzerinde çevrimiçi (online) araştırma soru
formu oluşturuldu. Soru formu DİSK üyesi işçilere telefon üzerinden gönderildi ve anketi online olarak doldurmaları istendi. Anket uygulaması tekstil ve lastik sektöründe üye sendikalar tarafından elden gerçekleştirildi. Anket formları temsilciler aracılığıyla işçilere ulaştırıldı ve toplandı.
Online (çevrimiçi) anket formu sadece anket bağlantısı gönderilen işçilerce dolduruldu. Araştırma internet üzerinde başkalarının erişimine açılmadı. Anketler üye sendikaların DİSK içindeki üye ağırlıklarına göre kotalı olarak yapıldı. Anket bağlantısının gönderildiği işçi sayısı sendikaların DİSK içindeki oranına göre tespit edildi. Üyelerden gelen anket formları
DİSK üyesi sendikaların DİSK içindeki oranları dikkate alınarak ağırlıklandırıldı. Anketi yanıtlayacak işçilerin seçiminde yarı yapılandırılmış tesadüfi örneklem yöntemi tercih edildi. 2237 Anket değerlendirmeye alındı.

Arastırma Koordinatörü: Doç. Dr. Aziz Çelik

Veri analizi ve yayın hazırlık: Doç. Dr. F. Serkan Öngel, Deniz Beyazbulut, Zeynep Kandaz

Arastırma hazırlık: Doç. Dr. M. Hakan Koçak, Tonguç
Çoban, Dr. Özgün Milliogulları, Ergün Iseri, Hasan Aktas,
Tevfik Günes, Üzeyir Ataman, M. Dilan Kıran, Ece Göktürk,
Eda Demir

The Covid-19 pandemic has already transformed the social world. The social sciences therefore risk being left behind unless it also changes; now is the time to consider the political economy and move away from outdated theoretical frameworks. Challenging social science’s established orthodoxies, this book is a call for sociology and criminology to embrace new theoretical paradigms and devise research methods to better understand the reality of life in a post-Covid world. Offering an in-depth analysis of the harmful effects of neoliberalism before the pandemic, as well as the intervallic period the world is currently living through, the authors show how it is more important than ever for social science to evolve and take a leading role in contextualising the biggest crisis of the 21st century. This book will be an invaluable resource in contributing to debates about the Covid-19 pandemic and alternative modes of research.

ABSTRACT & RÉSUMÉ & ZUSAMMENFASSUNG : Although Britain has been so far the hardest hit among the EU member states by the corona pandemic, Johnson persists to leave the EU at the end of 2020, whatever the cost. Presumably, the pandemic will have a by far bigger impact on the UK African trade than a no-deal Brexit. In Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa had been arguably the hardest hit country both by Brexit and Corona. However, the poor, mainly working in the informal sector, were more concerned about the economic impact of the pandemic than the disease itself. In Nigeria, many people envisaged Corona as a plague of the rich and the elite. President Buhari shared the hubris of many British that they are less vulnerable to the pandemic and could continue with high-flying Post-Brexit plans. Ghana counts among those countries in Sub-Sahara Africa which has been most severely hit by the corona pandemic. But unlike South Africa and Nigeria, the direct effects of the pandemic on the downturn of its economy are not as significant as in other African states. In Kenya the number of corona-death had been much lower than for the SARS pandemic of 2003, but the transmission of the COVID-19 virus had been significantly greater. Nevertheless, many Kenyan’s saw the Brexit as a disguised blessing because they pined their hope on massive FDI by UK investors. In any case, it is clear beyond doubt that those who are to suffer most by the combined effects of the corona-pandemic and Brexit in Africa (and presumably world-wide) are the poor and vulnerable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RÉSUMÉ : Bien que la Grande-Bretagne ait jusqu'à présent été la plus durement touchée par la pandémie corona parmi les États membres de l'UE, Johnson persiste à quitter l'UE fin 2020, quel qu'en soit le coût. Vraisemblablement, la pandémie aura un impact beaucoup plus important sur le commerce africain du Royaume-Uni qu'un Brexit sans accord. En Afrique subsaharienne, l'Afrique du Sud a probablement été le pays le plus durement touché par le Brexit et Corona. Cependant, les pauvres, travaillant principalement dans le secteur informel, étaient plus préoccupés par l'impact économique de la pandémie que par la maladie elle-même. Au Nigéria, beaucoup de gens considéraient Corona comme un fléau pour les riches et l'élite. Le président Buhari a partagé l'orgueil de nombreux Britanniques selon lesquels ils sont moins vulnérables à la pandémie et pourraient continuer avec des plans de haut vol après le Brexit. Le Ghana compte parmi les pays d'Afrique subsaharienne qui ont été les plus durement touchés par la pandémie de corona. Mais contrairement à l'Afrique du Sud et au Nigéria, les effets directs de la pandémie sur le ralentissement de son économie ne sont pas aussi importants que dans d'autres États africains. Au Kenya, le nombre de décès par effet corona a été beaucoup plus faible que pour la pandémie de SRAS de 2003, mais la transmission du virus COVID-19 a été nettement plus importante. Néanmoins, de nombreux Kenyans ont vu le Brexit comme une bénédiction déguisée car ils portaient leur espoir sur le IDE massif des investisseurs britanniques. En tout état de cause, il est clair, sans aucun doute, que ceux qui souffriront le plus des effets combinés de la pandémie corona et du Brexit en Afrique (et vraisemblablement dans le monde entier) sont les pauvres et les vulnérables. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ZUSAMMENFASSUNG : Obwohl Großbritannien unter den EU-Mitgliedstaaten bislang am stärksten von der Koronapandemie betroffen war, besteht Johnson weiterhin darauf, die EU Ende 2020 zu verlassen, unabhängig von den Kosten. Vermutlich wird die Pandemie einen weitaus größeren Einfluss auf den afrikanischen Handel im Vereinigten Königreich haben als ein No-Deal-Brexit. In Afrika südlich der Sahara war Südafrika sowohl vom Brexit als auch von Corona das vermutlich am stärksten betroffene Land. Die Armen, die hauptsächlich im informellen Sektor tätig sind, waren jedoch mehr besorgt über die wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen der Pandemie als über die Krankheit selbst. In Nigeria stellten sich viele Menschen Corona als Plage der Reichen und der Elite vor. Präsident Buhari teilte die Hybris vieler Briten, dass sie weniger anfällig für die Pandemie sind und mit hochfliegenden Plänen nach dem Brexit fortfahren könnten. Ghana zählt zu den Ländern in Subsahara-Afrika, die ebenfalls mit am stärksten von der Koronapandemie betroffen sind. Im Gegensatz zu Südafrika und Nigeria sind die direkten Auswirkungen der Pandemie auf den wirtschaftlichen Abschwung jedoch nicht so bedeutend wie in anderen afrikanischen Staaten. In Kenia war die Zahl der Koronatoten viel geringer als bei der SARS-Pandemie von 2003, aber die Übertragung des COVID-19-Virus war signifikant höher. Dennoch sahen viele Kenianer den Brexit als verschleierten Segen an, weil sie ihre Hoffnung auf massive ausländische Direktinvestitionen britischer Investoren setzten. In jeden Fall ist klar, dass diejenigen, die am meisten unter den kombinierten Auswirkungen der Koronapandemie und des Brexit in Afrika (und vermutlich weltweit) leiden müssen, die Armen und Verletzlichen sind

An account of the negative aliens' relatively recent agendas with respect to, once again, resorting to bio-viral weaponization and bio-warfare using a viral agent such as the so-called coronavirus as to try to depopulate Earth with the underlying mission to establish a so-called New World Order to create a completely docile human race that could be readily controlled via the advent of artificial intelligence through such technologies as transhumanism and alien hybridization, has been presented, herein. It should be emphasized that such tactics for effecting genetic mutation and hybridization are not new by any stretch of imagination, as they go as far back in the history of human enslavement by the negative aliens, the more recent accounts of which that go back to WWI and WWII in order to depopulate and create genocide in human population, has been alluded to in the present paper. In a companion paper, much deeper root of negative aliens' interference in human consciousness affairs, that set the precedence for 'human consciousness reversal' through distorting human bioenergetics-genetics, has been explicated. Although the more devastating result of the present virus is devised to be as to incite anxiety, fear, and pandemonium in the humanity by threating human population with fear of survival through genocide, countless

The COVID-19 infection fatality rate for children under the age of 17 is less than 0,003%. Children are at extremely low risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and children do not spread the illness in any significant way. Once a vaccine becomes widely available for schoolchildren, will lawmakers leave it up to parents and guardians to choose whether to vaccinate their children or will they mandate schoolchildren to get a COVID-19 vaccine to attend school? This article assesses both arguments for and against mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for school children. The article further analyzes applicable international bioethical and human rights norms and standards with regard to informed consent as contained in the various international treaties to hold states legally accountable for their actions under international law. To determine whether states may impose vaccine mandates for school children in terms of international human rights law, a proportionality test is applied. The critical focus of this article is explicating the rudiments of the bioethical and human rights standards relating to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of schoolchildren that must be confronted to ensure that children, that is, humanity's most valuable asset for the future, are afforded their fundamental human rights. Ultimately, it highlights the importance that these international bioethical norms are built into decision-making by public authorities when measures to prevent the spread of infectious disease with a case fatality rate of less than 0,003% in children are instituted.

The systematic review focused on the prognosis, mortality, medications, and promising vaccines for COVID-19. COVID-19 severity varies. Mild cases often recover within two weeks, while people with severe diseases may take 3 – 6 weeks to recover. Among people who died, the time from the onset of symptom to death ranged from 2 – 8 weeks. Children constitute a small percentage of reported cases, with around 1% of cases under 10 years and 4% aged 10 to 19 years. The risk of death is below 0.5% in those younger than 50 years, while more than 8% in those older than 70. Most of the people who die of COVID-19 have pre-existing conditions, including diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. The impact of COVID-19 and its rate of mortality are different for both men and women; mortality rate is higher in men. As of May 2020, it is not known if past infection provides long-term and effective immunity in those who recover from the viral disease. Some of the infected people were reported to develop protective antibodies; the acquired immunity is presumed possible, based on other coronaviruses’ behaviour. The total infection fatality rate (IFR) is estimated to be 0.66%. No approved vaccine to treat the disease yet. International research on medicines and vaccines in COVID-19 is underway by academic groups, industry researchers, and government organizations. As of May 2020, there are over 300 active clinical trials underway. Many existing medications are under evaluation for COVID-19 treatment, including remdesivir, chloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, and lopinavir/ritonavir combined with interferon beta; as of May 2020, there is tentative evidence for remdesivir efficacy. Other candidates in trials are vasodilators, immune therapies, lipoic acid, corticosteroids, recombinant angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, bevacizumab, etc. Preliminary evidence suggests hydroxychloroquine might have anti-cytokine storm properties. Transferring concentrated and purified antibodies produced by immune systems of those who recovered from COVID-19 to those who need them is being investigated as non-vaccine method of passive immunization.

Education has always been subject to change through public policies over time. It brings with it themes such as public school, linked to actions and adversities, which require constant adaptations, when cases of endemics, epidemics or pandemics occur. The scenario caused by Covid-19 revealed economic, financial, cultural and social weaknesses in the lives of families, also affecting the educational system, which underwent transformations, especially in public schools, causing even more social inequality. This article aims to systematize aspects related to education, public schools and the consequences of the pandemic in the school network. The methodology applied in this investigation was based on bibliographical and documental research.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of countries worldwide have introduced severe limitations on the freedom of assembly, if not an outright lockdown, in many cases complemented by restrictions on further civil and political rights. Although restrictions were generally considered necessary to save lives and protect health care systems from overburdening, they also pose the risk of government overreach, that is, governments may use the pandemic as a convenient opportunity and justification to impose restrictions for political purposes. In this sense, COVID-19 may give yet another substantial boost to a global trend that has been unfolding since the early 2000s: the shrinking of civic spaces, which is characterized by an increase in government restrictions that target civil society actors and limit their freedoms of assembly, association, and expression. The aim of the paper is to assess civic space restrictions that have been imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ...

The Corona virus epidemic started in late 2019 in Wuhan, China and spread rapidly throughout most of the countries in the world. Due to this, the World Health Organization declared it as a pandemic. With the increasing number of cases and increasing prevalence, many people, including healthcare professionals, started to face psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Racist Danger Waiting For The World.  The racism, xenophobia and stigmatizing of Chinese people is spreading just like the virus is.Humanity is transformed by those who take the highest lessons from tragedy. We’re going through times of disaster. However, these disasters will not only concern one country or region in the world; they will be universal in terms of their impact.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of countries worldwide have introduced severe limitations on the freedom of assembly, if not an outright lockdown, in many cases complemented by restrictions on further civil and political rights. Although restrictions were generally considered necessary to save lives and protect health care systems from overburdening, they also pose the risk of government overreach, that is, governments may use the pandemic as a convenient opportunity and justification to impose restrictions for political purposes. In this sense, COVID-19 may give yet another substantial boost to a global trend that has been unfolding since the early 2000s: the shrinking of civic spaces, which is characterized by an increase in government restrictions that target civil society actors and limit their freedoms of assembly, association, and expression. The aim of the paper is to assess civic space restrictions that have been imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a view to exploring their immediate consequences as well as their potential mid-term implications for civil society organizations in general and contentious civic activism in particular. We do so by, first, providing evidence from multiple data sources about the global spread of COVID-19-related restrictions over time and across countries. Second, we identify key dynamics at work in order to assess the immediate consequences and the potential mid-term implications of these restrictions. These dynamics are illustrated by looking at experiences from individual countries (including Cambodia, Germany, Hungary, and Lebanon).

This narrative describes the deeper root of bio-viral weaponization and consciousness warfare in distant human history with the negative aliens. It is explicated that this form of nefarious strive to create genetic mutation and consciousness-bioenergetic reversal goes as far back as humanity was first thriving as a 12D crystalline solar organic consciousness being in the Nebadon Universe, which most likely goes back as far back as 550 million years ago, and only 10 million years after its embodiment to experience physical experiential sojourns within the first 9 dimensions of this universe. In fact, the main problem started after the Lyran Wars, when the negative aliens having constructed a black hole system through making rips in the space-time and joining the resulting wormholes to one another, later began to engage in wars culminating in blowing up the 12 th universal stargate that was Lyra. Beyond, this, with the failure of the Metatronic Collective to attempt to put the pieces of the Lyran grid back together after having fallen into the Milky Way Galaxy and in pursuit of repairing the stargate system and the universal 12D grid and its timeline structure, it led to the advent of 'Metatronic Reversal' through a 'Fibonacci form of consciousness progression sequence' and the advent of the 'Yahweh matrix,' and what is referred to as the 'Caduceus Network,' whose symbol our medical industry today ignorantly boasts to display as its plaque representing healthcare and medicine. Thus, as they say, "the rabbit hole is much deeper as it seems," as the parasitic negative aliens have constantly used these technologies to invade our Lightbody and nadial system, not to only consistently siphon our precious divine energies to feed themselves and their nefarious AI machinery, but to inflict 'death seals' upon humanity, culminating in humanity undergoing a series of futile cycles of birth and physical death through repetitive reincarnations, confining us within a timeline loop that has been seemingly endless. And, the advent of this current, purportedly pandemic bio-viral infection referred to as the "Coronavirus," epitomizes yet another one of their ploys in bio-viral weaponization and warfare, with the delusional intent to, once for all, make a fully docile race out of humans as automatons subjecting us to their AI machinery or whims, through what is now to be followed by a transhumanistic-hybridization movement, using electromagnetic energies and radiation poisoning together with the aid of nanotechnology, devising yet another retrovirus against us. However, the time of their atrocities and crimes committed against humanity and its consciousness is now over, with the advent of a group of benevolent extradimensional and transdimensional and much higher frequential consciousness beings helping us to finally collect up our fragmented soul pieces in order to be restored to our original 12D DNA strand crystalline genetics, that we refer to as full Ascension.

How did a health crisis translate to an economic crisis? Why did the spread of the coronavirus bring the global economy to its knees? The answer lies in two methods by which coronavirus stifled economic activities. First, the spread of the virus encouraged social distancing which led to the shutdown of financial markets, corporate offices, businesses and events. Second, the exponential rate at which the virus was spreading, and the heightened uncertainty about how bad the situation could get, led to flight to safety in consumption and investment among consumers, investors and international trade partners. We focus on the period from the start of 2020 through March when the coronavirus began spreading into other countries and markets. We draw on real-world observations in assessing the restrictive measures, monetary policy measures, fiscal policy measures and the public health measures that were adopted during the period. We empirically examine the impact of social distancing policies on economic activities and stock market indices. The findings reveal that the increasing number of lockdown days, monetary policy decisions and international travel restrictions severely affected the level of economic activities and the closing, opening, lowest and highest stock price of major stock market indices. In contrast, the imposed restriction on internal movement and higher fiscal policy spending had a positive impact on the level of economic activities, although the increasing number of confirmed coronavirus cases did not have a significant effect on the level of economic activities.

This article critically examines the recent literature on stigma that addresses the overspread association among the COVID-19 pandemic and racial and ethnic groups (i.e., mainland Chinese and East Asian populations) assumed to be the source of the virus. The analysis begins by reviewing the way in which infectious diseases have historically been associated with developing countries and their citizens, which, in turn, are supposed to become prime vectors of contagion. The latter extends to the current labeling of COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” that—along with a number of other terms—has fueled race-based stigma against Asian groups in the United States and overseas. This review further discusses the limitations of current COVID-19 antistigma initiatives that mostly focus on individual-based education campaigns as opposed to multisectorial programs informed by human rights and intersectional perspectives. Finally, the article ends with a call to the international public health commu...

In early December 2019, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) causing a cluster of pneumonia of unknown etiology originated from Wuhan, China, and spread rapidly throughout the world. The WHO (World Health Organization) changed the status of COVID-19 outbreak from epidemic into pandemic on March 11, 2020. →What this article adds: Since the emergence of COVID-19, the number of publications on this topic has dramatically grown. About 84% of COVID-19 documents are open-access. The focus of COVID-19 literature in terms of countries, journals, institutions, terms, and keywords which all were discussed in detail sets out the research hotspots and important topics in this field.

In 2019, a novel virus emerged in Wuhan, China that caused a febrile respiratory illness, sometimes rapidly fatal and thought to be transmitted by droplet contact. It likely originated from another species (possibly the bat), but later, spread occurred from human-to-human. Over a period of months, this disease disseminated to more than 100 nations as a highly infectious pandemic, reminiscent of disease associated with other coronavirus agents in 2002 (SARS) and 2012 (MERS). This COVID-19 virus also caused other forms of clinical illness, albeit in the minority, and most infected patients (over 50%) had few symptoms or remained completely asymptomatic. Prominent in some patients was watery diarrhea, often lasting less than a week, but sometimes without any respiratory features, such as fever, cough or shortness of breath. It is believed that fecal-oral transmission may result. The virus attaches to the surface of human respiratory and intestinal cells, gains entry into these cells, ultimately leading to production of new virions intraluminally. Fecal shedding may occur for extended periods, even after respiratory secretions become negative. Apart from preventive measures, vaccine development remains the most important strategy.

The paper aims to investigate the theoretical assumption that the value system (according to the Schwartz model) is associated with compliance with recommendations to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the theoretical assumption, persons whose value system emphasizes social focus and whose values are self-transcendence and conservation will comply with measures to a greater extent. On the other hand, people whose value system is focused on personal focus and whose values self-direction and openness to change will be less compliant with measures for combating the spread of the virus. The research was conducted in three Southeastern European countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia using a survey of 1024 students. The Schwartz scale on basic human values was used as a research instrument. The research was conducted at the very beginning of the pandemic (March and April 2020). The results of the hierarchical regression showed that the values of openn...

In a crisis scenario caused by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemics, a number of social, political, and economic vulnerabilities, which were coming up in the past few years, are aggravated. This set of vulnerabilities do not limit itself to a local reality, since it exposes some deficiencies at the national and international levels. Regional mechanisms for integration and multilateralism, promoted by international organizations, have been an option used as countries are facing the virus. The exchange of information and data about infected people worldwide, the development of a cure, or even a vaccine have been at the top of international institutions' discussion agenda, and the Southeast Asian countries apparently do the same.

Social role disruption is a state involving upheaval of social identities, routines and responsibilities. Such disruption is presently occurring at a global scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which poses a threat not only to health and security but also to the social roles that underlie people’s daily lives. Our collective response to combat the virus entails, for example, parents homeschooling children, friends socializing online, and employees working from home. While these collective efforts serve the greater good, people’s social roles now lack continuity from what was authentic to the roles before the pandemic began. This, we argue, takes a psychological toll. Individuals feel inauthentic, or alienated and out-of-touch from their “true” selves, to the extent their social roles undergo change. As evidence, we report survey (Studies 1 & 4) and experimental (Studies 2 & 3) evidence that COVID-19-related role changes indeed increase inauthenticity. This effect occurs independent o...

Education systems and its actors are generally responding to quarantine and large-scale shutdown (partial) of cities with a sudden shift to Web-Based Learning. However, given that a pandemic of this nature and scale is novel, there is a knowledge gap as to how teachers and learners should respond to the shift, and what the likely impact and the key considerations should be. This study aims to extrapolate and theorize from the existing knowledgebase about the use of Web-Based Learning, as well as from an expert and practitioner wisdom and experience, to offer high-level guidance for policymakers and education system actors that are forced to make decisions in fast-moving and very challenging circumstances with little guidance or relevant experience. It is an early attempt at theorizing the impact of the pandemic on two key actors (Learners and Teachers) and one interface (Content), all across eight dimensions of learning. The analysis is based on Khan's (2001) dimension of Web-Ba...

Physical activity plays a vital role in the prevention and treatment of Type2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) (Hayes and Kriska, 2008). During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical activity is shown to be imperative in helping support a strong immune system (Chastin et al., 2021) and patients with COVID-19 who have been consistently physically inactive have a significantly higher risk of severe outcomes than patients who were doing some activity (Sallis et al., 2021). Therefore, the objective of this qualitative study was to evaluate the sufferer's perception of physical inactivity and its social determinants among people with diabetes. Interviews were conducted with 14 participants with diabetes aged 40-60 years old living in the UAE in June-July 2021. The barriers of physical activity were explored through in-depth, semistructured, audio-taped interviews. Barriers for physical inactivity were grouped around five themes: (1)Life-altering COVID-19: the pandemic that changed the world (2)Social and cultural norms: Islamic faith and family are the two most important influences among Arabs (3)Fatigue: prolonged sitting (due to long commute and sedentary jobs) and in some participants post-viral fatigue syndrome due to COVID-19 infection (4)Fear of illness: due to hyperthermia and comorbidities (5)Impact of lockdown. The prevalence of physical inactivity is high among Arabs. Weather restrictions and cultural obligations may lead to reduction in physical activity levels. Therefore, meeting physical activity guidelines can reduce the risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes among infected adults and is likely to prevent increases in diabetes incidence in this population.

Due to increasing prevalence of the COVID-19 virus, athletes were unable to train optimally. This study aimed to determine the differences in aerobic capacity, body mass, and body mass index in soccer players as the effect of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: Fourteen male participants were recruited from the university soccer team. Anthropometric characteristics were as follows: age = 20.75 ± 1.48 years, height = 174.35 ± 5.59 cm, body mass = 68.95 ± 6.17 kg, and body mass index = 21.92 ± 0.94 kg/m 2. Single-group pretest and posttest designs were selected to conduct this study. A multistage fitness test determined aerobic capacity. ANOVA test was used to identify aerobic capacity, body mass, and body mass index differences between pretest and posttest on university soccer players. Results: The pretest and posttest were similar in anthropometric characteristics, and there were no significant differences in age (P = 0.382), height (P = 0.106), and body mass (P = 0.068). Our findings showed significant differences between pretest and posttest for aerobic capacity (P = 0.042) and body mass index (P = 0.037) in university soccer players. Conclusion: We conclude that there was a significant effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the soccer player's aerobic capacity and body mass index. These findings may have implications, namely, as functional test's organization, administration, and outcomes while testing the players. Team coaches, trainers, and physiologists must consider the effects of lockdown on the players' performance while preparing players for competition. Further researchers should be established to modify other types of tests, conduct studies with a larger sample and population, and add other variables.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a surge of demand for medical supplies and spare parts, which has put pressure on the manufacturing sector. As a result, 3D printing communities and companies are currently operating to ease the breakdown in the medical supply chain. If no parts are available, 3D printing can potentially be used to produce time-critical parts on demand such as nasal swabs, face shields, respirators, and spares for ventilators. A structured search using online sources and feedback from key experts in the 3D printing area was applied to highlight critical issues and to suggest potential solutions. The prescribed outcomes were estimated in terms of cost and productivity at a small and large scale. This study analyzes the number and costs of parts that can be manufactured with a single machine within 24 h. It extrapolates this potential with the number of identical 3D printers in the world to estimate the global potential that can help practitioners, frontline workers, a...

Before entering the cell, the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein receptor-binding domain (RBD) binds to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) receptor. Hence, this RBD is a critical target for the development of antiviral agents. Recent studies have discovered that SARS-CoV-2 variants with mutations in the RBD have spread globally. The purpose of this in silico study was to determine the potential of a fruit bromelain-derived peptide. DYGAVNEVK. to inhibit the entry of various SARS-CoV-2 variants into human cells by targeting the hACE binding site within the RBD. Molecular docking analysis revealed that DYGAVNEVK interacts with several critical RBD binding residues responsible for the adhesion of the RBD to hACE2. Moreover, 100 ns MD simulations revealed stable interactions between DYGAVNEVK and RBD variants derived from the trajectory of root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), radius of gyration (Rg), and root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF) analysis, as well as free binding energ...

Sentiments are mental attitudes and play an important role in forming opinions. Sentiment and emotion are interchangeably used, however have different meanings. The sentiment is a mental attitude or a thought influenced by emotion and has an important role in forming opinions and influencing future decisions of others. Employees are knowledgeable assets for any organization, and their sentiments about their organization, managers, co-workers, etc. create an opinion. The emotional well-being of employees has a direct relationship with the performance of the organization. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Many countries declared lockdowns, with unimaginable restrictions to control the spread of this pandemic. This resulted in organizations swiftly adapting to work-fromhome methods, almost overnight. This paper studies the sentiments and emotional wellbeing of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted undertaking a review of the literature and adopting a framework for sentiment analysis and emotional wellbeing. The study shows that employees have mixed sentiments of feeling excited, positive, anxious, angry, and negative. Most of the participants with positive and excited sentiments believe that this pandemic has created a challenge as well as an opportunity.

Fundamentos. Se diseñó e implementó un programa de promoción de la salud destinado a personas que trabajan con jóvenes y adultos con discapacidad intelectual. Los objetivos perseguidos fueron evaluar la eficacia de un programa de promoción de la salud grupal, online sincrónico y promover el bienestar de los trabajadores. Método. Se trata de una investigación con un enfoque cuantitativo, exploratorio descriptivo e interactivo, con un diseño cuasiexperimental, pre pos test para muestras pareadas. Instrumentos: Cuestionario de Salud General (GHQ 12), Índice de Felicidad de Pemberton, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Inventario de ansiedad de Beck (BAI) y una ficha sociodemográfica ad hoc. El programa de intervención desarrollado, “Bienestar y salud”, constó de 8 sesiones grupales, online, sincrónicas (por Google meet), de frecuencia semanal, con una duración de 120 minutos. La participación fue voluntaria y firmaron un consentimiento informado. Resultados. Participaron un total de 35 trabajadores con una edad promedio de 31.11 años. Tras la intervención, se observó un incremento en el bienestar personal y la realización personal en el trabajo y una reducción en el nivel de malestar psicológico, ansiedad, agotamiento emocional y despersonalización. Se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las puntuaciones pre pos test del malestar psicológico y de la dimensión agotamiento emocional del MBI. Conclusión. Los hallazgos permiten concluir que participar en un programa de promoción de la salud en formato grupal en línea sincrónico resultó eficaz para incrementar el bienestar y la salud de los trabajadores.

Este livro tem como público-alvo todos aqueles e todas aquelas que, independentemente da formação acadêmica, estudam, pesquisam e aplicam as normas contidas no importante Código Tributário Nacional. A obra representa um repositório de profundos estudos, produzidos, especificamente, no propósito de entregar ao leitor estudos e reflexões que orientarão como utilizar essas virtudes do Código Tributário Nacional, tão atual qualquer que venha a ser a circunstância, por ser ele um documento normativo elaborado pela inteligência dos melhores cérebros de nossa Ciência do Direito Tributário.

BACKGROUND: Obesity, common condition among patients with COVID-19, contributes to illness severity during hospitalization. To date, knowledge on the prevalence, risk of hospital and intensive care units (ICU) admissions and mortality is limited. Therefore, systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted using a PRISMA guideline. PURPOSE: The study aimed to address the prevalence, risk of hospital and ICU admissions and mortality among patients with COVID-19 and obesity. METHODS: The Newcastle–Ottawa scale was used to assess the quality of a study. Primary outcomes were the prevalence and risk of hospitalization, and secondary outcomes were the risk of ICU admissions and mortality risk. Mantel–Haenszel with random effects was applied, and the effect measure was odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Nine studies were included in the systematic review, and only four studies for meta-analysis. Among 29,776 patients with COVID-19, obesity was identified as the s...

Officials worldwide have sought ways to effectively use mobile technology to
communicate health information to help thwart the spread of Covid‐19. This study
offers a preliminary exploration of whether state‐level (N = 6) and local‐level (N = 53)
wireless emergency alert (WEA) messages might contribute to impeding the spread
of Covid‐19 in the United States. The study compares changes in reported rates of
infections and deaths between states and localities that issued WEA messages in
March and April of 2020 with states that did not. Small sample sizes and differences
in the rates of Covid‐19 spread prohibit robust statistical analysis and detection
of clear effect sizes, but estimated effects are generally in the right direction.
Combining statistical analysis with preliminary categorization of both WEA message
content and social media themes suggests that a positive effect from WEA messages
cannot be ruled out.