Effectiveness of ivermectin and atazanavir on time to resolution from COVID-19 symptoms: a prospective cohort

Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of Ivermectin and Atazanavir compared to placebo in the time to resolution of symptoms and duration of illness due to COVID-19. Method: observational, prospective, longitudinal, descriptive and analytical cohort study with symptomatic outpatients, followed for 06 months in two Basic Health Units for COVID-19 care in Teresina-Piaui, Brazil, from November to April 2021 identified by 1:1:1 random sampling. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests were performed for laboratory confirmation of suspected infection with the new coronavirus and sociodemographic and clinical evaluation. Results: of the 87 randomized patients, 62.1% (n=54) were male, with a mean age of 35.1 years, had a partner (53.9%), low income (50.6%), eutrophic (40.7%) and without health comorbidities (78.2%). There was no difference between the median time to resolution of symptoms, which was 21 days (IQR, 8-30) in the atazanavir group, 30 days (IQR, 5-90) in the ivermectin group compared with 14 days (IQR, 9-21) in the control group. At day 180, there was resolution of symptoms in 100% in the placebo group, 93.9% in the atazanavir group, and 95% in the ivermectin group. The median duration of illness was 8 days in all study arms. Conclusion: Treatment with atazanavir (6 days) and ivermectin (3 days) did not reduce the time to symptom resolution or the duration of illness among outpatients with mild COVID-19 compared to the placebo group. The results do not support the use of ivermectin and atazanavir for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19.

Space-time risk clusters of COVID-19 in a tourism area in the northeastern Brazil: an epidemiological overview after two years of pandemic

The world is facing a serious viral infection caused by the new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. We aimed to evaluate and map the high-risk clusters of COVID-19 in the State of Alagoas, a touristic area in northeastern Brazil, after two years of pandemic by a population-based ecological study, using COVID-19 cases reported in the State of Alagoas, between March, 2020 and April, 2022. We performed a descriptive and statistical analysis of epidemiological data. We then map high-risk areas for COVID-19, using spatial analysis, considering the incidence rate by municipality. 297,972 positive cases were registered;56.9% were female and 42.7% aged between 20 and 39 years old. Men (OR = 1.59) and older than 60 years old (OR = 29.64) had a higher risk of death, while the highest incidence rates of the disease occurred in the metropolitan region. Our data demonstrate the impact of COVID-19 in the State of Alagoas, through the two years of pandemic. Although the number of cases were greater among women and young adults, the chance of death was greater among men and older adults. High-risk clusters of the disease initially occur in metropolitan cities and tourist areas.

Physical activity and long COVID: findings from the Prospective Study About Mental and Physical Health in Adults cohort.

OBJECTIVES: The study investigated the longitudinal association between physical activity and the risk of long COVID in patients who recovered from COVID-19 infection. STUDY DESIGN: We analyzed longitudinal data of the Prospective Study About Mental and Physical Health cohort, a prospective cohort study with adults living in Southern Brazil. METHODS: Participants responded to an online, self-administered questionnaire in June 2020 (wave 1) and June 2022 (wave 4). Only participants who self-reported a positive test for COVID-19 were included. Physical activity was assessed before (wave 1, retrospectively) and during the pandemic (wave 1). Long COVID was assessed in wave 4 and defined as any post-COVID-19 symptoms that persisted for at least 3 months after infection. RESULTS: A total of 237 participants (75.1% women; mean age [standard deviation]: 37.1 [12.3]) were included in this study. The prevalence of physical inactivity in baseline was 71.7%, whereas 76.4% were classified with long COVID in wave 4. In the multivariate analysis, physical activity during the pandemic was associated with a reduced likelihood of long COVID (prevalence ratio [PR]: 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.69-0.99) and a reduced duration of long COVID symptoms (odds ratio: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.26-0.75). Participants who remained physically active from before to during the pandemic were less likely to report long COVID (PR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.58-0.95), fatigue (PR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.32-0.76), neurological complications (PR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.27-0.80), cough (PR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.22-0.71), and loss of sense of smell or taste (PR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.21-0.87) as symptom-specific long COVID. CONCLUSION: Physical activity practice was associated with reduced risk of long COVID in adults.

Atividade F?sica e bem-estar mental durante o distanciamento social da pandemia de COVID-19

Objective: This research sought to understand how social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted physical activity levels and mental well-being. Methods: The study included 511 people from 19 Uruguayan states who participated in the study, 69.1% of whom were female and aged between 18 and 24 (43.4%). Participants answered an online questionnaire containing questions about fatigue, PA level before and after the pandemic onset, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, time spent in front of screens and number of people they kept in touch with. The information was kept anonymous and confidential, with no questions that could identify the participants. The survey was conducted during the period of social distancing, remaining available for one month and 12 days. Results: The results showed an increase in physical inactivity and a negative impact on the mental well-being of those who became inactive during the distancing period. Conclusion: In sum, distancing measures caused harm to the physical and mental health of the population, requiring the implementation of measures to encourage PA practice so that people can re-equip and enhance their integral health care.

A study of federal incentives in the period of the Covid-19 pandemic

This work had the general objective of analyzing how the Brazilian Federal Government, through tax incentive laws, has enhanced the economic activity of companies, highlighting the current socioeconomic scenario caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was classified as qualitative, documental, bibliographic, basic and descriptive. The federal rules on tax incentives that exist in Brazil until March 2020 were analyzed, totaling eleven rules. Then, it was verified if there were any changes in the period from March 2020 to December 2021, and if there were publications of new federal rules on tax incentives. The conclusions are that of the federal norms already instituted, in March 2020, six have undergone changes: Rouanet Law;Informatics Law;Audiovisual Law;Sports Incentive Law;Payroll Exemption Law;and Drawback Law. Regarding the federal regulations instituted in the period, there was no institution of tax incentives, which the companies needed to be able to maintain their cash flow, enhance their socio-economic activities and mitigate the impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted a certain slowness in the approval procedures of the Law projects. Possibly, the benefits already granted would need to be extended or adjusted.

Sustainable creative tourism on islands and pandemic: The Creatour Azores project

As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt worldwide, the tourism sector was forced to seek ways of reinventing itself. Two decades prior to this crisis, in varied rural areas and island contexts, small-scale, community-based creative tourism had appeared as a sustainable place-making solution to foster place vitality, competitive distinctiveness, regenerative development and destination resilience. From an island perspective, this article presents the theoretical framework, methodological approaches, and empirical practices of the Creatour Azores project, which was carried out in the North Atlantic archipelago of the Azores from 2019-2022. Given this timeframe, the investigators and pilot projects that implemented this research-practice project were confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, which accentuated the isolation and remoteness that tend to characterize islandscapes, especially peripheral islands such as the Azores. At the same time, however, this devastating global pandemic, which impacted the tourism sector especially, ended up offering unexpected opportunities along with special challenges, seeming to underscore the relevance of studies focused on the isolation and remoteness that characterize islandscapes. After describing the project methodologies and practices, as well as the adjustments adopted due to the pandemic, this article considers future possibilities for creative tourism on islands, in general, and in the Azores.

2023-2027 Capital Project Portfolio: The Strategy and Issues Behind the Challenge to Undertake the New FPSOs Necessary to Fulfill the Company's Pre-Salt Business Plan in Brazil

The ambitious five-year strategic business plan for Petrobras presented a challenge for its Surface Installation Engineering Department. This paper explores the business case behind the strategy, initiatives and identified issues that enabled Petrobras to design, plan, contract, build and deliver more than fifteen new O&G production systems. The company transformation relied on strategic parallel initiatives. Four areas concentrated the efforts: Corporate Integration, Surface Installations, Subsea Systems and Reservoir Wells. This article focuses on the analysis of the technical actions in the Surface Installation department. Nonetheless, it summarizes the related essential efforts, as well. The optimization process started with high level assumptions, for instance to reinforce one company value. That is, to keep and develop a strong in-house technical knowledge. This allowed to continue a previous development initiative to create internal Concept and Basic Design Engineering for Standard FPSO Design. The major challenge occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Petrobras mobilized its longest and largest Organizational Response Structure (EOR) team in its history. It involved all company departments with direct contribution of more than a thousand employees assigned for two years. With deep respect to the lives impacted and lost, there were lessons learned in this process, although Petrobras managed to continue its essential operations. From Corporate Integration perspective, Petrobras actively managed its asset portfolio to reduce the company's debt. Combined with favorable commodity prices, it allowed the company to restore and increase its financial situation to invest in oil production development despite observed volatility in the macroeconomic scenario. Regarding Reservoir and Wells, innovative technology created conditions to reduce the overall completion time. Subsea Systems layout optimizations and a more efficient resource management like the PLSV assigned fleet present significant contribution to the results. standardization process to evolve. Optimization in system machinery design templates saved time while respecting each project unique input design conditions. One of the results was a new series of FPSOs with All Electric concept design. It consequently tends to increase efficiency and overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Another key point identified was the interface among Petrobras, its supply partners, and shipyards. Through a permanent FPSO market monitoring committee, the process of procuring technical qualification was updated and stimulated early engagement of critical equipment suppliers. Furthermore, Petrobras have been continuously improving the drafting of contract terms for each FPSO project to stimulate shared interest. Finally, there were also improvements during FPSO construction and commissioning phase. The above mentioned efforts are expected to increase the chances of Petrobras delivering its strategic plan and sustainable growth. There are lessons learned to undertake fifteen O&G production systems in a synchronous manner. This is a considerable number of offshore projects for any operator company. © 2023, Offshore Technology Conference.

Deaths by COVID-19 in a hospital from a city from Legal Amazon region: what lessons could be learned?

Objective: Describe the epidemiology of COVID-19 deaths within a hospital in the Amazon region in a period of 64 days, which corresponds to the growth curve of the COVID-19 first-wave pandemic in 2020. Method(s): The data were obtained from medical records of 152 deaths registered for adults and elderly hospitalized. The data were also compared with the number of deaths in previous years during the same period studied to assess the impact of the pandemic on this hospital. The study also assesses the impact of intra-hospital transfers, accounting for the number of times patients who died performed transfers between sectors of the hospital. Result(s): During the period analyzed, there was an increase in deaths compared to the previous years. The majority of dead patients were male, aged between 34 and 96 years. The deaths were associated comorbidities such as arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and kidney disease. The SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed in 91 cases. Among them, 15 individuals were admitted without conditions related to SARS-CoV-2 infection;they had a three-fold higher number of hospital transfers than those admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection symptoms. Sixteen patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection developed respiratory symptoms just after hospitalization. The diagnostic exam for SARS-CoV-2 infection was performed on average 4 (+/- 6) days after the onset of symptoms and 6 (+/- 6) days after admission, and the average time from the onset of respiratory symptoms to death was 4 (+/- 6) days. Conclusion(s): These data suggest the high presence of hospital infection by SARS-CoV-2 in the Brazilian Amazon region, which may be related to the number of sectorial transfers, delay in confirming the diagnosis, and lack of management. We report a serious public health problem, as it demonstrates the fragility of healthcare institutions in the hospital environment.Copyright © 2023 Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto - U.S.P.. All rights reserved.

Contingency Measures in the Face of the Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic in a Higher Education Institution

On November 17, 2019, the first known case of COVID-19 in the world emerged. It was diagnosed in the Chinese province of Hubei, Wuhan (observer, 2019). Little or nothing was known until then, but the virus quickly spread around the world. More than three months after the first cases appeared in Wuhan, China, COVID-19 was no longer considered an epidemic and was, for the first time, declared by the WHO as a pandemic on March 13, 2020 (Publico, 2020). The world never thought to live a drama of this dimension, airplanes stopped, desert cities, schools closed, with students studying at distance and almost all people working from home. Given its transferability, there was a need for higher education schools to reorganize and implement contingency plans in order to mitigate the spread of the disease. In this work, we intend to show how this implementation in situ was achieved, so that the classes return to a possible normality, taking into account the imposed conditions. A comparing between the case of a national educational establishment and those of another country was made.

The role of anxiety, fear and resilience in preventive behaviors against COVID-19: a cross-sectional study with nursing students

Objectives: This study aims to explore the relationships between resilience, fear of COVID-19, anxiety and use of preventive behaviors related to COVID-19 among nursing students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 220 first-year nursing students during 2020. Results: A significant relationship emerged between resilience (p <.05), fear of COVID-19 (p =.01), anxiety (p <.01) and use of preventive behaviors. Overall, the independent predictors were fear of COVID-19 (p =.003) and male sex (p =.016). Conclusions: It is essential to develop resilience among students further to increase their preventive behaviors against COVID-19.

CIBERCORPOS INDÓCEIS: o outro público da educação pública

This article problematizes the 2016 coup, the attacks on public education and the fabrication of subjects by the social machine. It addresses the emergence of (in)docile bodies and the engendering of new pedagogical practices in the contingencies of the Covid-19 pandemic and life avatarized through screens in a cybercultural context. It highlights that these bodies produced in other registers, prosthetic and ubiquitous, carved in social movements and expanded with the intensification of sociabilities mediated by technologies of encounter, inflame the terrorists of normality and create other possible aesthetics for public education - with all audiences - despite unequal access. It argues that what happened in physical isolation and in the imminence of death, with regard to the relationship between education and digital technologies, may have traced paths of connection with the other, pointing to the writing of broader lives. Finally, it defends the creation of existences that move in the virtuality of networks and that announce a becoming-people in the anti-people 'spacetimes' of educational institutions. © 2022 Curriculo sem Fronteiras. All rights reserved.

Dynamics and Heterogeneity of the Lung Immunopathology in Severe COVID-19

Background: The key impact of SARS-CoV-2 is its ability to cause a life-threatening infection in the lung. Aim(s): Using spatially resolved multiplex imaging the present study decodes the immunopathological complexity of severe COVID-19. Method(s): Autopsy lung tissue from 18 COVID-19 patients was used to map immune and structural cells in acute/exudative, intermediate and advanced diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) through multiplex immunohistochemistry and spatial statistical analyses. Cytokine profiling, viral, bacteria and fungi detection and transcriptome analyses were also performed. Result(s): All cases displayed concomitant patterns of DAD. The spatially resolved multiplex data revealed intricate patchworks of mm -size microenvironments representing distinct immunological niches. In-depth analysis of DAD areas revealed that the temporal/spatial DAD progression is associated with expansion of adaptive immune cells, macrophages, CD8 T cells, fibroblasts, angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. Viral load correlated positively with acute DAD and negatively with disease/hospital length. Cytokines correlated mainly with macrophages and CD8 T cells. Pro-coagulation and acute repair markers were enriched in acute DAD whereas intermediate/advanced DAD had a molecular profile of elevated humoral and innate immune responses and extracellular matrix production. Conclusion(s): Our unraveling of the spatio-temporal immunopathology in COVID-19 cases exposes the heterogeneous dynamics of acute viral infection and subsequent responses that occur side-by-side in the lungs. This complex disease feature has important implications for disease management and development of novel immunemodulatory treatments.

Differentially expressed genes in Diffuse Alveolar Damage (DAD) patterns of COVID-19

Severe COVID-19 induces DAD, a condition with temporal-spatial heterogeneity. We determined the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the histological patterns of DAD. Twelve fatal COVID-19 cases were classified in acute DAD (n=5) and intermediate/advanced (IA) DAD (n=7). Autopsy lung RNA was extracted from COVID-19 and 4 control cases. RNA sequencing was performed on the Illumina NovaSeq 6000. Enrichment analysis was performed with clusterProfiler using Genome-wide annotation for Human R package. GO terms and KEGG pathways were considered enriched if adjusted p<=0.05. Principal component analysis showed that IA-DAD samples were grouped, while acute DAD samples were scattered. The differential expression analysis between these two groups and the control cases revealed: 261 DEGs in the acute DAD (143 Up- and 53 Down-regulated), 244 DEGs in the IA- DAD tissues (67 Up- and 116 Down-regulated), and 61 DEGs were shared between them (45 Up- and 16 Downregulated). Patients with acute DAD had up-regulated genes related to oxidative phosphorylation, blood coagulation, megakaryocytes differentiation/regulation, and platelet degranulation/activation. Patients with IA-DAD had DEGs related to immunoglobulins and extracellular matrix. The shared up-regulated DEGs between both patterns are involved in innate and adaptive immune responses. We selected 3 DEGs in each DAD pattern for validation by realtime PCR. There were no differences in acute DAD DEGs, but DEGs overexpressed in intermediate DAD (COL3A1, IGLV3-19, IGHV1-58) were significantly higher. Genes related to thrombotic events occur at the acute stage of DAD, whereas immunoglobulin production and remodeling occur at later stages of DAD.

Correlation between lung inflammatory cells, viral load and cytokines in fatal COVID-19

SARS-CoV2 infection induces a complex interaction between virus and host immune system, activating multiple inflammatory pathways and leading to hyperinflammation, diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), ARDS, and multiorgan failure. We aimed to correlate the quantification of viral load, inflammatory cells and cytokines in lung tissue of fatal COVID-19. We assessed inflammatory cells by multiplex immunohistochemistry, cytokines by Luminex xMAP Assay and viral load by real time PCR in autopsy lung tissue of 18 COVID-19 patients. Correlations were considered statistically significant if p<0.05. Macrophages correlated with IL-1beta (r=0.54), IL-10 (r=0.5), IFN-alpha2 (r=0.72), IFN-gamma (r=0.6), CCL20 (r=0.5), TGF-beta1 (r=0.6), TGF-beta2 (r=0.6). CD4+T cells correlated with CCL20 (r=0.6), MDC/CCL2 (r=0.53), CCL17 (r=0.5), IP-10 (r=0.6), CXCL9 (r=0.6). CD8+T cells correlated with IL-1beta (r=0.54), IL-4 (r=0.63), IL-6 (r=0.7), IL-8 (r=0.63), IL-10 (r=0.6), TNF-alpha (r=0.6), IFN-gamma (r=0.74), CCL20 (r=0.7), TGF-beta1 (r=0.7), TGF-beta2 (r=0.56), TGF-beta3 (r=0.54), MDC/CCL2 (r=0.7), CCL17 (r=0.64). Langerin dendritic cells (DC) correlated with symptom onset to death interval (r=0.6), hospitalization length (r=0.65), mechanical ventilation (MV) length (r=0.6), ICU stay (r=0.6), exudative DAD (r=-0.5), viral load (r=-0.6). Myeloid DC correlated with symptom onset to death interval (r=0.8), hospitalization length (r=0.8), MV length (r=0.8), ICU stay (r=0.8), exudative DAD (r=-0.5), viral load (r=-0.7). Viral load correlated with symptom onset to death interval (r=-0.7), hospitalization length (r=-0.8), MV length (r=-0.7), ICU stay (r=-0.8), exudative DAD (r=0.6). There is a complex temporal inflammatory modulation in severe COVID-19.

Elevated Fibrosis Level in Patients Coinfected with Hepatitis and Covid-19 during a Longitudinal Study

Introduction and Objectives: Altered biochemical and hematological markers have been associated with the aggravation of covid-19. There is limited information on the evaluation of the degree of liver injury, especially fibrosis, in infected patients who already have a history of liver injury. This study aimed to evaluate the level of fibrosis in patients coinfected with hepatitis and covid-19 during a one-year follow-up. Material(s) and Method(s): This is a longitudinal observational study. Two hundred and thirty individuals were recruited for a period of 12 months during the years 2020 to 2021. Blood was collected for hematological and biochemical tests for fibrosis calculation by using APRI index. Nasal and oropharyngeal swab samples were submitted to RT-qPCR test for detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Result(s): Mean age of the population was 48 years (+/- 17.09;11-90) and half of them were women (115/230). Among the study participants, 40% (90/230) had hepatitis, and of this group, 14% (13/90) had covid-19. Compared to the group without hepatitis (140), 27% (39/140) had only covid-19 and high fibrosis grade (FIB-4) presented as a risk factor for this group. Notably, during the longitudinal study, it was noticed that there was an elevation in the degree of fibrosis among the coinfected patients when compared to the other groups. At the beginning of follow-up and during the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection, coinfected patients presented a low grade of fibrosis (F0);after one year, and in a post-COVID setting, a high grade of fibrosis (F4) was observed in this group. The increase in fibrosis grade was not observed among monoinfected COVID-19 or hepatitis groups. Conclusion(s): We observed an increased level of fibrosis among COVID-19 patients with liver disease as a post-covid condition in this group, which may represent an impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with a history of liver injury.Copyright © 2023

OPTIMIZATION OF MOLECULAR METHODS FOR SARS-CoV-2 QUALITATIVE DETECTION AND GENOTYPING IN RESPIRATORY SPECIMENS FROM PATIENTS WITH LIVER DISEASE

Introduction and Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 active infection diagnosis is currently performed through RT-qPCR. Despite the fact that PCR-based assays can provide results relatively fast, these techniques require capable professionals, specific equipment and adequate infrastructure. In order to facilitate COVID-19 diagnosis in remote areas, an alternative to RT-qPCR would be loop-mediated isothermal (RT-LAMP) amplification. SARS-CoV-2 variant genotyping through high-throughput sequencing (HTS) allows SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance, especially for patients with a higher vulnerability. This study aimed to optimize RT-LAMP and HTS methods for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection and genotyping, respectively, in respiratory samples from patients with liver disease. Material(s) and Method(s): A total of 142 respiratory secretions were obtained from individuals with SARS-CoV-2 RNA detectable by RT-qPCR (N1 Ct <= 30), divided into groups with (n=18) or without (n=124) liver disease. The study also enrolled 55 individuals who had SARS-CoV-2 RNA undetectable at RT-qPCR. For RT-LAMP methodology, primers were used for ORF1 gene amplification. As for HTS genotyping, the steps of cDNA synthesis, complete SARS-CoV-2 genome PCR amplification, preparation of genomic libraries and sequencing in MinION device were performed for 26 swab samples. Result(s): Samples with viral RNA detectable by RT-qPCR had a mean Ct value of 24.3 +/- 3.75. Referring to RT-LAMP, it was observed a sensitivity of 71.1% (101/142). When considering RT-qPCR mean Ct value, RT-LAMP sensitivity was 88.9% (16/18), associated with a mean Ct of 23.3 +/- 3.5 for patients with COVID and hepatitis. A specificity of 100% (55/55) was observed since all negative swabs tested by RT-qPCR were negative at RT-LAMP. Through sequencing by MinION, SARS-CoV-2 lineages gamma (7/26;27%), zeta (1/26;3.9%), delta (6/26;23%) and omicron (12/26;46.1%) were genotyped and detected by RT-LAMP. Conclusion(s): RT-LAMP demonstrated high sensitivity for molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for patients with high viral load. Besides, RT-LAMP was capable of detecting all SARS-CoV-2 lineages genotyped by MinION in both groups.Copyright © 2023

Revisiting the debate on institutions, the state and institutional change: The relevance of institutional theory to public administration teaching

Global disruptions are marking our days and calling on individuals, institutions, and the State for institutional change. Given the need to understand changing processes and their implications for society and public policy, it is vital to equip Public Administration students with the knowledge of relevant theories to assess the complexity of such institutional dynamics. Interpretation of institutional changes in motion can benefit from revisiting the Institutional Theory. This article analyzes the works of Douglass North and Ha-Joon Chang, two preeminent contributors to Institutional Theory. Their distinct views on institutions, policies, institutional change, and the State contribute to our understanding of current worldwide socio-economic and institutional challenges. Contemporary phenomena, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term climate change effects, and the recent Russia-Ukraine war, require the use of institutional theories that have proved to be still relevant. © The Author(s) 2023.

Understanding kidney injury in covid-19, a pressing priority

The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a newly defined infectious and highly contagious acute disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ( (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 is mainly characterized by an acute respiratory disease however it can also affect multiple other organ systems such as the kidney, gastrointestinal tract, heart, vascular system, and the central nervous system. Kidney involvement is frequent in patients with COVID-19 and this review aims to explore the available data on kidney and COVID-19. In conclusion, COVID-19 infection can affect renal function and may cause acute kidney injury (AKI), due to several mechanisms that need to be fully elucidated. As only supportive management strategies are available for treating AKI in COVID-19, it is necessary to identify and preserve renal function during SARS-CoV-2 infection.Copyright © 2021 The Author(s).

A novel ensemble CNN model for COVID-19 classification in computerized tomography scans

The COVID-19 is a rapidly spread infectious disease caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome that can lead to death in just a few days. Thus, early detection of the disease can provide more time for successful treatment or action, even though an efficient treatment is unknown so far. In this context, this work proposes and investigates four ensemble CNNs using transfer learning and compares them with the state-of-art CNN architectures. To select which models to use we tested 11 state-of-art CNN architectures: DenseNet121, DenseNet169, DenseNet201, VGG16, VGG19, Xception, ResNet50, ResNet50v2, Inception V3, MobileNet, and MobileNetv2. We used a public dataset comprised of 2477 computerized tomography images divided into two classes: patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and patients with a negative diagnosis. Then three architectures were selected: DenseNet169, VGG16, and Xception. Finally, the ensemble models were tested in all possible combinations. The results showed that the ensemble models tend to present the best results. Moreover, the best ensemble CNN, called EnsenbleDVX, comprising all the three CNNs, provides the best results achieving an average accuracy of 97.7%, an average precision of 97.7%, an average recall of 97.8%, and an F1 average score of 97.7%

Trends in research: carbon footprint reduction in universities as a way to achieve a green campus

Purpose: Reducing our carbon footprint (CF) or decarbonizing is a sustainable development goal. Although there has been an increase in research on this topic, little is known about the status of CF research within universities. The purpose of this paper is to identify the initiatives implemented in universities aimed at reducing CF in their efforts toward creating a Green Campus. Design/methodology/approach: Using a bibliometric method, the status of this field of research was examined for the purpose of identifying the main publications and the most central researchers in terms of productivity and citations. Also, by using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the regions of the world with the most active research, as well as the direction of research, were identified. Findings: The survey identified the region that published the most on the subject in the past 10 years, as well as the most relevant authors in the publications. Through this factor analysis, it was possible to identify, among the 105 publications analyzed, four distinct factors (clusters) with different thematic strands that appear to define a difference between the related studies on this topic. These factors were identified as campus management: supply and consumption operations;greenhouse gases emissions assessment: CF calculation;university air travel;sustainable food systems. The changes in people's attitudes and in the use of university spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the CF was also noted as a point that can be investigated in future research. As well as the reflection of the reduction in academic air travel and the "forced” occurrence of online events during the same period. Originality/value: The paper aims to innovate by applying the multidimensional scaling method and EFA to scientific articles on the topic of decarbonizing campuses and identifying the clusters that constitute this field of study. The research seeks to contribute to current metric knowledge on the topic and to the creation of a specific research agenda. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.