scholarly journals COVID-19 detection by dogs: from physiology to field application—a review article

2021 ◽  
pp. postgradmedj-2020-139410
Author(s):  
Rania Sakr ◽  
Cedra Ghsoub ◽  
Celine Rbeiz ◽  
Vanessa Lattouf ◽  
Rachelle Riachy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Testing Procedure ◽  
Field Application ◽  
Efficient Tool ◽  
Disease Evolution ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Olfactory Ability ◽  
Study Setting

For years, the dog, man’s best friend, was the most widely employed scent-detector tool for civilian and military purposes. Recently, many studies highlighted the role of canine olfactory ability in the medical field, specifically in detecting different infectious, metabolic and neoplastic conditions. The objective of this literature review is to clarify the rationale behind dog’s ability to detect diseases, to assess the possible application for COVID-19 detection and to discuss the evidence available on the matter. Available evidence shows that properly trained disease-detector dogs are an efficient tool for identification of specific disease-associated volatile organic compounds marker profiles for a particular disease. And since COVID-19 positive persons have a specific volatilome different from non-infected persons, they can be recognised by the dogs, by sniffing different body fluids consequently aiding in the diagnosis of COVID-19. Possible applications of dogs as COVID-19 detectors will be an easy real-time mobile diagnostic aid with low cost and good performance. More evidence is needed to be able to describe standardised measures concerning the best fluid to test, testing procedure, time of possible detection according to disease evolution, risks associated with the dog exposure and to translate the good results in study setting into the real-life operational one.

Understanding the Role of Chlorine and Ozone to Control Postharvest Diseases in Fruit and Vegetables: A Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-461
Author(s):  
Gabriela M. Baia ◽  
Otniel Freitas-Silva ◽  
Murillo F. Junior
Keyword(s):  
Chlorine Dioxide ◽  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Residual Effects ◽  
Pathogenic Microorganisms ◽  
Postharvest Diseases ◽  
Post Harvest ◽  
By Products

Fruits and vegetables are foods that come into contact with various types of microorganisms from planting to their consumption. A lack or poor sanitation of these products after harvest can cause high losses due to deterioration and/ or pathogenic microorganisms. There are practically no post-harvest fungicides or bactericides with a broad spectrum of action that have no toxic residual effects and are safe. However, to minimize such problems, the use of sanitizers is an efficient device against these microorganisms. Chlorine is the most prevalent sanitizing agent because of its broad spectrum, low cost and well-established practices. However, the inevitable formation of disinfection by-products, such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), is considered one of the main threats to food safety. Alternative sanitizers, such as chlorine dioxide (ClO2) and ozone, are becoming popular as a substitute for traditional post-harvest treatments. Thus, this review addresses the use of chlorine, chlorine dioxide and ozone emphasizing aspects, such as usage, safe application, spectrum of action and legislation. In order to ensure the quality and safety of final products, the adoption of well-prepared sanitation and sanitation programs for post-harvest fruits and vegetables is essential.

PyDOSS: An open-source Python-based communicable disease outbreak surveillance system designed and used in a COVID-19 community care facility (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Fang ◽  
Jonathan Kia-Sheng Phua ◽  
Terrence Chiew ◽  
Daniel De-Liang Loh ◽  
Lincoln Ming Han Liow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Disease Outbreak ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Healthcare Team ◽  
Increased Risk

BACKGROUND During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, community care facilities (CCF) were set up as temporary out-of-hospital isolation facilities to contain the surge of cases in Singapore. Confined living spaces within CCFs posed an increased risk of communicable disease spread among residents. OBJECTIVE This inspired our healthcare team managing a CCF operation to design a low-cost communicable disease outbreak surveillance system (CDOSS). METHODS Our CDOSS was designed with the following considerations: (1) comprehensiveness, (2) efficiency through passive reconnoitering from electronic medical record (EMR) data, (3) ability to provide spatiotemporal insights, (4) low-cost and (5) ease of use. We used Python to develop a lightweight application – Python-based Communicable Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (PyDOSS) – that was able perform syndromic surveillance and fever monitoring. With minimal user actions, its data pipeline would generate daily control charts and geospatial heat maps of cases from raw EMR data and logged vital signs. PyDOSS was successfully implemented as part of our CCF workflow. We also simulated a gastroenteritis (GE) outbreak to test the effectiveness of the system. RESULTS PyDOSS was used throughout the entire duration of operation; the output was reviewed daily by senior management. No disease outbreaks were identified during our medical operation. In the simulated GE outbreak, PyDOSS was able to effectively detect an outbreak within 24 hours and provided information about cluster progression which could aid in contact tracing. The code for a stock version of PyDOSS has been made publicly available. CONCLUSIONS PyDOSS is an effective surveillance system which was successfully implemented in a real-life medical operation. With the system developed using open-source technology and the code made freely available, it significantly reduces the cost of developing and operating CDOSS and may be useful for similar temporary medical operations, or in resource-limited settings.

scholarly journals Aging of atmospheric aerosols and the role of iron in catalyzing brown carbon formation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hind A. A. Al-Abadleh
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Secondary Organic Aerosol ◽  
Organic Aerosol ◽  
Atmospheric Oxidation ◽  
Carbon Formation ◽  
Brown Carbon ◽  
Volatile Organic

Extensive research has been done on the processes that lead to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) including atmospheric oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from biogenic and anthropogenic...

scholarly journals Vanadium doped CaTiO3 cuboids: Role of vanadium in improving the photocatalytic activity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harsha Bantawal ◽  
Sandhya U. Shenoy ◽  
Denthaje Krishna Bhat
Keyword(s):  
Photocatalytic Activity ◽  
Water Splitting ◽  
Dye Degradation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Physicochemical Stability ◽  
Photocatalytic Dye Degradation

CaTiO3 has attracted enormous interest in the field of photocatalytic dye degradation and water splitting owing to its low cost, excellent physicochemical stability and structural tunability. Herein, we have developed...

scholarly journals Calibrating the CreditRisk+ Model at Different Time Scales and in Presence of Temporal Autocorrelation †

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (14) ◽  
pp. 1679
Author(s):  
Jacopo Giacomelli ◽  
Luca Passalacqua
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Default Risk ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Statistical Error ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Calibration Procedure ◽  
Industry Standards ◽  
Default Rate

The CreditRisk+ model is one of the industry standards for the valuation of default risk in credit loans portfolios. The calibration of CreditRisk+ requires, inter alia, the specification of the parameters describing the structure of dependence among default events. This work addresses the calibration of these parameters. In particular, we study the dependence of the calibration procedure on the sampling period of the default rate time series, that might be different from the time horizon onto which the model is used for forecasting, as it is often the case in real life applications. The case of autocorrelated time series and the role of the statistical error as a function of the time series period are also discussed. The findings of the proposed calibration technique are illustrated with the support of an application to real data.

scholarly journals Calculators as Facilitators of Understanding Computational and Mathematical Contexts

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-183
Author(s):  
Jan Guncaga ◽  
Lilla Korenova ◽  
Jozef Hvorecky
Keyword(s):  
Soft Skills ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Complex Phenomenon ◽  
Learning To Learn ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractLearning is a complex phenomenon. Contemporary theories of education underline active participation of learners in their learning processes. One of the key arguments supporting this approach is the learner’s simultaneous and unconscious development of their ability of “learning to learn”. This ability belongs to the soft skills highly valued by employers today.For Mathematics Education, it means that teachers have to go beyond making calculations and memorizing formulas. We have to teach the subject in its social context. When the students start understanding the relationship between real-life problems and the role of numbers and formulas for their solutions, their learning becomes a part of their tacit knowledge. Below we explain the theoretical background of our approach and provide examples of such activities.

scholarly journals Do Institutional Transplants Succeed? Regulating Raiffeisen Cooperatives in South India, 1930–1960

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Maanik Nath
Keyword(s):  
South India ◽  
Financial Regulation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Credit Market ◽  
Rural Credit ◽  
Market State ◽  
The Government ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Rural Credit Market

The government in British-ruled India established cooperative banks to compete with private moneylenders in the rural credit market. State officials expected greater competition to increase the supply of low-cost credit, thereby expanding investment potential for the rural poor. Cooperatives did increase credit supply but captured a small share of the credit market and reported net losses throughout the late colonial and early postcolonial period. The article asks why this experiment did not succeed and offers two explanations. First, low savings restricted the role of social capital and mutual supervision as methods of financial regulation in the cooperative sector. Second, a political-economic ideology that privileged equity over efficiency made for weak administrative regulation.

scholarly journals Current role of ultrasound in hemodialysis access evaluation

2021 ◽  
pp. 112972982110346
Author(s):  
Meola Mario ◽  
Jose Ibeas ◽  
Jan Malik
Keyword(s):  
Turning Point ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Wireless Systems ◽  
Future Perspectives ◽  
Maturation Period ◽  
Surveillance Programs ◽  
Dialysis Nurses

Physical examination (PE) is considered the backbone before vascular access (VA) placement, during maturation period and for follow-up. However, it may be inadequate in identifying suitable vasculature, mainly in comorbid patients, or in detecting complications. This review highlights the advantages of ultrasound imaging to manage VA before placement, during maturation and follow-up. Furthermore, it analyses the future perspectives in evaluating early and late VA complications thank to the availability of multiparametric platforms, point of care of ultrasound, and portable/wireless systems. Technical improvements and low-cost systems should favor the widespread ultrasound-based VA surveillance programs. This significant turning point needs an adequate training of nephrologists and dialysis nurses and the standardization of exams, parameters, and procedures.

scholarly journals Towards a Glass New World: The Role of Ion-Exchange in Modern Technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4610
Author(s):  
Simone Berneschi ◽  
Giancarlo C. Righini ◽  
Stefano Pelli
Keyword(s):  
Ion Exchange ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
High Speed ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Happy Marriage

Glasses, in their different forms and compositions, have special properties that are not found in other materials. The combination of transparency and hardness at room temperature, combined with a suitable mechanical strength and excellent chemical durability, makes this material indispensable for many applications in different technological fields (as, for instance, the optical fibres which constitute the physical carrier for high-speed communication networks as well as the transducer for a wide range of high-performance sensors). For its part, ion-exchange from molten salts is a well-established, low-cost technology capable of modifying the chemical-physical properties of glass. The synergy between ion-exchange and glass has always been a happy marriage, from its ancient historical background for the realisation of wonderful artefacts, to the discovery of novel and fascinating solutions for modern technology (e.g., integrated optics). Getting inspiration from some hot topics related to the application context of this technique, the goal of this critical review is to show how ion-exchange in glass, far from being an obsolete process, can still have an important impact in everyday life, both at a merely commercial level as well as at that of frontier research.

Rembrandt’s nature

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 322-347
Author(s):  
Joost Keizer
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Live Model ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
Artistic Training

In seventeenth-century Holland, the role of the live model in the making of art and, importantly, as a vehicle for artistic training had become a topic of contention. No other aspect of artists’ education had received more criticism than the use of real-life models. Artists ran the risk of drawing too much attention to the live model, leaving the model’s features visible in their works. These works would look too much like life itself. This essay argues that seventeenth-century theorists devised an intricate concept of style in order to keep life in an artwork at bay. To train artists was to discipline them in style.

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