Since 1996, MDPI has been committed to supporting the research community by providing the latest research freely available and making relevant and useful research available as quickly as possible. The world is current experiencing a pandemic of COVID-19, and researchers are working extremely hard to understand it and find a cure.
The values MDPI holds strongly are particularly important at the moment, and we will continue to publish relevant, peer-reviewed research as quickly as possible in open access format. This means that it will immediately be available for researchers, health professionals, and the general public to read, distribute, and reuse. We believe that scientific advancements will be crucial to overcoming this pandemic, and will do everything we can to support researchers working looking for solutions.
This page contains a variety of information related to COVID-19 available from MDPI, including journal articles, special issues, and preprints, among others.
Recent Publications
Open AccessReview
Combating Pathogens Using Carbon-Fiber Ionizers (CFIs) for Air Purification: A Narrative Review
by
Andrea Radalj, Aleksandar Nikšić, Jelena Trajković, Tara Knezević, Marko Janković, Silvio De Luka, Stefan Djoković, Stefan Mijatović, Andjelija Ilić, Irena Arandjelović and Predrag Kolarž
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(16), 7311; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167311 (registering DOI) - 20 Aug 2024
Abstract
Airborne pathogens, though a minor fraction of airborne particles, can cause infections, intoxications, or allergic reactions through respiration, dermal contact, or ingestion. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has underscored the significance of mitigating airborne microbial threats. Traditional air ionization methods, such as dielectric barrier discharge
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Airborne pathogens, though a minor fraction of airborne particles, can cause infections, intoxications, or allergic reactions through respiration, dermal contact, or ingestion. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has underscored the significance of mitigating airborne microbial threats. Traditional air ionization methods, such as dielectric barrier discharge and metal tip corona discharge, produce ozone, a reactive and potentially harmful byproduct. However, carbon-fiber ionizers (CFIs) generate high concentrations of ions with minimal ozone production, making them a safer alternative. Operating at voltages below 5 kV, CFIs are more efficient than their metallic counterparts. This review focuses on the antimicrobial efficacy of CFIs, which produce unipolar ions that can disrupt microbial membranes, leading to cell death. Compared to ultraviolet light sterilization, CFIs are cost-effective and suitable for small spaces. The literature review highlights the need for comprehensive studies to evaluate the real-world application and effectiveness of CFIs. Many existing studies are limited by small-scale testing and insufficient data reporting, complicating comparative analyses. Our work aims to provide a detailed perspective on CFIs, examining their impact on various microorganisms, ion efficacy, ionization outcomes, and ozone generation levels. By addressing these aspects, the review seeks to offer an updated understanding of CFIs’ antimicrobial capabilities and to identify limitations in current research, paving the way for more informed and effective air purification strategies.
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Open AccessArticle
Metaheuristic Algorithm-Based Proportional–Integrative–Derivative Control of a Twin Rotor Multi Input Multi Output System
by
Ali Can Cabuker and Mehmet Nuri Almalı
Abstract
Metaheuristic algorithms are computational techniques based on the collective behavior of swarms and the study of organisms acting in communities. These algorithms involve different types of organisms. Finding controller values for nonlinear systems is a challenging task using classical approaches. Hence, using metaheuristics
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Metaheuristic algorithms are computational techniques based on the collective behavior of swarms and the study of organisms acting in communities. These algorithms involve different types of organisms. Finding controller values for nonlinear systems is a challenging task using classical approaches. Hence, using metaheuristics to find the controller values of a twin rotor multi-input multi-output system (TRMS), one of the nonlinear systems studied in the literature, seems to be more appropriate than using classical methods. In this study, different types of metaheuristic algorithms were used to find the PID controller values for a TRMS, including a genetic algorithm (GA), a dragonfly algorithm, a cuckoo algorithm, a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, and a coronavirus optimization algorithm (COVIDOA). The obtained graphs were analyzed based on certain criteria for the main rotor and tail rotor angles to reach the reference value in the TRMS. The experimental results show that when the rise and settlement times of the TRMS are compared in terms of performance, the GA took 1.5040 s (seconds) and the COVIDOA took 9.59 s to increase the pitch angle to the reference value, with the GA taking 0.7845 s and the COVIDOA taking 2.4950 s to increase the yaw angle to the reference value. For the settling time, the GA took 11.67 s and the COVIDOA took 28.01 s for the pitch angle, while the GA took 14.97 s and the COVIDOA took 26.69 s for the yaw angle. With these values, the GA and COVIDOA emerge as the foremost algorithms in this context.
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Open AccessArticle
The Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination Side-Effects on Work Attendance among Saudi Healthcare Workers
by
Jawaher Alguraini, Mohamed T. S. Saleem, Nahed N. Mahrous, Abbas Shamsan, Fatima Zia Zaidi, Ohoud S. Alhumaidan and Yahya F. Jamous
Abstract
Objective: This cross-sectional-survey-based study aimed to investigate the severity of side-effects from Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) mRNA (Pfizer, Moderna), viral vector DNA (Oxford-AstraZeneca, J&J/Janssen), inactivated virus (Sinopharm, Sinovac), and other vaccines among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Saudi Arabia, focusing on their impact on work
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Objective: This cross-sectional-survey-based study aimed to investigate the severity of side-effects from Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) mRNA (Pfizer, Moderna), viral vector DNA (Oxford-AstraZeneca, J&J/Janssen), inactivated virus (Sinopharm, Sinovac), and other vaccines among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Saudi Arabia, focusing on their impact on work attendance. Methods: A total of 894 HCWs residing in Saudi Arabia participated in this study from March 2023 to May 2023. Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing demographic information, vaccination status, comorbidities, vaccine side-effects, and missed work information after vaccination. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used for data analysis. Results: The majority of participants were female (83.7%) and aged 25–34 years (42.8%). Most participants were predominantly vaccinated with mRNA vaccines. Common side-effects included pain at the injection site, fatigue, fever, and chills. However, no significant association was found between vaccine type, side-effects, and work absenteeism. While demographic factors such as age and healthcare profession did not influence work absenteeism, variations were observed among different racial groups. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccination among HCWs in Saudi Arabia is associated with common side-effects, but their impact on work attendance is not significant. Understanding these implications can inform strategies to support the healthcare workforce and mitigate the impact on patient care and staffing during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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Open AccessReview
Best Practices in the Management of Clostridioides difficile Infection in Developing Nations
by
Rafael Mendo-Lopez, Carolyn D. Alonso and Javier A. Villafuerte-Gálvez
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a well-known cause of hospital-acquired infectious diarrhea in developed countries, though it has not been a top priority in the healthcare policies of developing countries. In the last decade, several studies have reported a wide range of CDI
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Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a well-known cause of hospital-acquired infectious diarrhea in developed countries, though it has not been a top priority in the healthcare policies of developing countries. In the last decade, several studies have reported a wide range of CDI rates between 1.3% and 96% in developing nations, raising the concern that this could represent a healthcare threat for these nations. This review defines developing countries as those with a human development index (HDI) below 0.8. We aim to report the available literature on CDI epidemiology, diagnostics, management, and prevention in developing countries. We identify limitations for CDI diagnosis and management, such as limited access to CDI tests and unavailable oral vancomycin formulation, and identify opportunities to enhance CDI care, such as increased molecular test capabilities and creative solutions for CDI. We also discuss infection prevention strategies, including antimicrobial stewardship programs and opportunities emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, which could impact CDI care.
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Open AccessArticle
Prevalence and Seasonal Patterns of 16 Common Viral Respiratory Pathogens during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Gauteng Province, South Africa, 2020–2021
by
Bhaveshan Reddy, Andiswa Simane, Hloniphile Mthiyane, Bonolo Mashishi, Nonhlanhla Mbenenge and Florette K. K. Treurnicht
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread morbidity and mortality, but generally, the diagnosis of other respiratory viruses was limited. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of other
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread morbidity and mortality, but generally, the diagnosis of other respiratory viruses was limited. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of other respiratory viruses during the 2020/21 pandemic among patients of all ages who accessed care at public healthcare facilities in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Laboratory diagnosis for respiratory viruses, with or without SARS-CoV-2, was conducted via multiplex real-time polymerase chain reactions using respiratory specimens. A total of 1776 patients were included from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021, of which 766 (43.1%) were positive for respiratory viruses other than SARS-CoV-2. RV (368/1776; 20.7%) was the most prevalent, followed by RSV (304/1776; 17.1%), AdV (112/1776; 6.3%) and EV (105/1776; 5.9%). hCoV-OC43 (39/1776; 2.2%) was the most prevalent common coronavirus. SARS-CoV-2 co-infections were detected in 4.8% (24/500) of patients. Only 27.1% (482/1776) of patients were admitted to high-care or intensive care units. A decrease in respiratory virus detections was observed, except for RSV, EV and hCoV-OC43. RSV prevalence increased in 2021, while influenza A/B viruses remained undetected.
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Open AccessArticle
Enhancing Biomedical Question Answering with Large Language Models
by
Hua Yang, Shilong Li and Teresa Gonçalves
Abstract
In the field of Information Retrieval, biomedical question answering is a specialized task that focuses on answering questions related to medical and healthcare domains. The goal is to provide accurate and relevant answers to the posed queries related to medical conditions, treatments, procedures,
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In the field of Information Retrieval, biomedical question answering is a specialized task that focuses on answering questions related to medical and healthcare domains. The goal is to provide accurate and relevant answers to the posed queries related to medical conditions, treatments, procedures, medications, and other healthcare-related topics. Well-designed models should efficiently retrieve relevant passages. Early retrieval models can quickly retrieve passages but often with low precision. In contrast, recently developed Large Language Models can retrieve documents with high precision but at a slower pace. To tackle this issue, we propose a two-stage retrieval approach that initially utilizes BM25 for a preliminary search to identify potential candidate documents; subsequently, a Large Language Model is fine-tuned to evaluate the relevance of query–document pairs. Experimental results indicate that our approach achieves comparative performances on the BioASQ and the TREC-COVID datasets.
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Sequencing Techniques and Genomics Technologies to Help with Diagnostics and Virus Characterization – Focus on COVID 19
edited by
, Hugh E. Olsen, and
submission deadline
15 Apr 2021
| 10 articles
|
Viewed by 58286
Keywords: Genomics technologies; Sequencing techniques; Metagenomics; Virus sequencing; Genetic diagnostics; qPCR; Nanopore sequencing; Single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing; Next-generation sequencing (NGS); Third-generation sequencing; Virus characterization; Long-read sequencing; Comparative genomics; Functional genomics; Diagnostic tests; Infectious diseases; Pandemic; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Genomic epidemiology; Population stratification; Genetic susceptibility; Host interactions
Economic and Social Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic
submission deadline
31 Aug 2024
| 100 articles
|
Viewed by 337672
|
Submission Open
Keywords: functioning of states; activities of state groupings; functioning of public and private enterprises; e-commerce markets; courier services markets; operation of retail enterprises; logistics; including storage and transport of goods; supply chains; trade and services; construction sector; functioning of passenger transport; including urban transport; the energy sector in a pandemic; functioning of the tourism and catering industry; banking sector; sustainability of farms; functioning of the labor market; including remote work; public finance sector; the functioning of society in the COVID-19 pandemic; functioning of social groups; sustainability of professional groups; functioning of education and remote education; sustainability in the activities of universities; differences in the lives of urban and rural residents
Economic and Social Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Energy Sector Ⅱ
submission deadline
31 Aug 2024
| 5 articles
|
Viewed by 8780
|
Submission Open
Keywords: changes in the energy sector as a result of COVID-19; the energy market during the pandemic; changes in energy balance as a result of COVID-19; retail and wholesale energy prices during the pandemic; adaptation measures in the energy sector during the pandemic; the energy consumption in the private and public sectors as a result of COVID-19; the energy consumption by individual consumers and businesses during the pandemic; innovation in the energy sector and the energy market during the pandemic; innovation in other sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic affecting energy consumption; renewable energy during the pandemic; alternative energy sources during the pandemic; shifting energy-related ecological and environmental patterns as a result of COVID-19; projected social consequences of COVID-19 on the energy market and the energy sector
Advances in SARS-CoV-2 Infection—Third Edition
submission deadline
31 Aug 2024
| 5 articles
|
Viewed by 4542
|
Submission Open
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; spillover; epidemiology and pathogenesis; clinical presentation; advanced diagnosis; therapeutics; vaccines; variants; long-COVID syndrome; opportunistic infections; multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C)
(This special issue belongs to the Section
Virology)
State-of-the-Art Webinars on COVID-19
WEBINAR 1: How to Avoid a New Lockdown?
The first webinar in the series, held on 17 April 2020, saw both Prof. Dr. Antoine Flahault, Director of the Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Switzerland, and Prof. Dr. Evelyne Bischof, Associate Professor, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai, China and Research physician, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland speak on this topic.
The recording can be found here.
WEBINAR 2: Coronaviruses: History, Replication, Innate Immune Antagonism
The second webinar in the series, entitled “Coronaviruses: history, replication, innate immune antagonism”, saw Prof. Dr. Susan R. Weiss, Professor of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania speak on this topic.
The recording can be found here.
WEBINAR 3: Could the COVID-19 Crisis be the Opportunity to Make Cities Carbon Neutral, Liveable and Healthy
The third webinar in this series was presented by Prof. Dr. Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, a world leading expert in environmental exposure assessment, epidemiology, and health risk/impact assessment with a strong focus and interest on healthy urban living.
The recording can be found here.
WEBINAR 4: COVID-19 - Global Supply Chains and the SDGs
For the fourth webinar of this series, Prof. Dr. Max Bergman, Dr. Dorothea Schostok and Prof. Dr. Patrick Paul Walsh gave a presentation on Global Supply Chains and the SDGs.
The recording can be found here.
WEBINAR 5: The New Role of Family Physicians in Times of COVID-19
The fifth webinar of the COVID-19 Series saw Prof. Dr. Christos Lionis discuss the new role of family physicians that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recording can be found here.
WEBINAR 6: Survey on Symptoms/Signs, Protective Measures, Level of Awareness and Perception Regarding COVID-19 Outbreak among Dentists
In the sixth webinar of this series, Prof. Dr. Guglielmo Campus and Prof. Dr. Maria Grazia present and discuss the risk and the preventions that can and should be taken by dentists during this pandemic.
The recording can be found here.
WEBINAR 7: Living with COVID-19: An Early Intervention Therapeutic Strategy to Control the Pandemic
The seventh webinar of the COVID-19 series, Dr. Hamid Merchant discussed the different therapeutic strategies that can be adopted in the early stages of the infection.
The recording can be found here.
WEBINAR 8: Impact of COVID-19 on Routine Immunization, Reproduction and Pregnancy Outcome
For the eighth COVID-19 webinar, Prof. Dr. Jon Øyvind Odland discussed the effect that COVID-19 seems to have on pregnant women; whereas Prof. Dr. Giovanni Gabutti discussed the role of routine immunization as a way of fighting COVID-19.
The recording can be found here.
