scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on Electricity Prices in Italy, the Czech Republic, and China

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 8793
Author(s):  
Safwan Ghanem ◽  
Ghaeth Fandi ◽  
Vladimír Krepl ◽  
Tarek Husein ◽  
Osama Rzek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Electricity Markets ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
World Health ◽  
Electricity Prices ◽  
Functional Link ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Power Resources ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

COVID-19 is likely to be the 2020s’ deadliest pandemic according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There have been more than 3.7 million confirmed deaths after 15 months spread. Besides the loss of human lives, COVID-19 has other unfavorable impacts on society, education, and the economy. Due to successive lockdowns and the continuous quarantines, the demands on power resources have reduced. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on electricity prices (EP). In this paper, a set of six economic factors that are affected by COVID-19 and affect EP are considered. These factors were fed into a functional link artificial neural network (FLANN) to model the relationships between them and the EP. An empirical equation was formulated to help decision makers and strategic developers in the electricity markets come up with more appropriate plans. Italy, the Czech Republic, and China were used as case studies in this research.

Novel Coronavirus 2019 Outbreak: A Global Epidemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 1458-1464
Author(s):  
Sweta Kamboj ◽  
Rohit Kamboj ◽  
Shikha Kamboj ◽  
Kumar Guarve ◽  
Rohit Dutt
Keyword(s):  
World Health ◽  
Upper Respiratory Tract ◽  
Global Epidemic ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government ◽  
Tract Disease ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Background: In the 1960s, the human coronavirus was designated, which is responsible for the upper respiratory tract disease in children. Back in 2003, mainly 5 new coronaviruses were recognized. This study directly pursues to govern knowledge, attitude and practice of viral and droplet infection isolation safeguard among the researchers during the outbreak of the COVID-19. Introduction: Coronavirus is a proteinaceous and infectious pathogen. It is an etiological agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Coronavirus, appeared in China from the seafood and poultry market last year, which has spread in various countries, and has caused several deaths. Methods: The literature data has been taken from different search platforms like PubMed, Science Direct, Embase, Web of Science, who.int portal and complied. Results: Corona virology study will be more advanced and outstanding in recent years. COVID-19 epidemic is a threatening reminder not solely for one country but all over the universe. Conclusion: In this review article, we encapsulated the pathogenesis, geographical spread of coronavirus worldwide, also discussed the perspective of diagnosis, effective treatment, and primary recommendations by the World Health Organization, and guidelines of the government to slow down the impact of the virus are also optimistic, efficacious and obliging for the public health. However, it will take a prolonged time in the future to overcome this epidemic.

Characterizing the effectiveness of COVID-19 mitigation measures: A data-centric approach (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukman Olagoke ◽  
Ahmet E. Topcu
Keyword(s):  
Control Measure ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
The World ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND COVID-19 represents a serious threat to both national health and economic systems. To curb this pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a series of COVID-19 public safety guidelines. Different countries around the world initiated different measures in line with the WHO guidelines to mitigate and investigate the spread of COVID-19 in their territories. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of these control measures using a data-centric approach. METHODS We begin with a simple text analysis of coronavirus-related articles and show that reports on similar outbreaks in the past strongly proposed similar control measures. This reaffirms the fact that these control measures are in order. Subsequently, we propose a simple performance statistic that quantifies general performance and performance under the different measures that were initiated. A density based clustering of based on performance statistic was carried out to group countries based on performance. RESULTS The performance statistic helps evaluate quantitatively the impact of COVID-19 control measures. Countries tend show variability in performance under different control measures. The performance statistic has negative correlation with cases of death which is a useful characteristics for COVID-19 control measure performance analysis. A web-based time-line visualization that enables comparison of performances and cases across continents and subregions is presented. CONCLUSIONS The performance metric is relevant for the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 control measures. This can help caregivers and policymakers identify effective control measures and reduce cases of death due to COVID-19. The interactive web visualizer provides easily digested and quick feedback to augment decision-making processes in the COVID-19 response measures evaluation. CLINICALTRIAL Not Applicable

scholarly journals The impact of coronavirus outbreak on breastfeeding guidelines among Brazilian hospitals and maternity services: a cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Walusa Assad Gonçalves-Ferri ◽  
◽  
Fábia Martins Pereira-Cellini ◽  
Kelly Coca ◽  
Davi Casale Aragon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
World Health ◽  
Breastfeeding Support ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Maternity Services ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Skin Contact ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The World Health Organization recognizes exclusive breastfeeding a safe source of nutrition available for children in most humanitarian emergencies, as in the current pandemic caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Despite the Brazilian national guideline protecting breastfeeding practices, there are many concerns about protecting infants from their infected mothers. This study aimed to analyze how the Brazilian hospitals and maternity services promote and support mothers suspected or diagnosed with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional and multicenter study which collected data from 24 Brazilian hospitals and maternity services between March and July 2020. Representatives of the institutions completed a questionnaire based on acts to promote and support breastfeeding, the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, and Brazil’s federal law recommendations. Results The results showed that in delivery rooms, 98.5% of the services prohibited immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact between mothers and their infants and did not support mothers to initiate breastfeeding in the first hour. On the postnatal ward, 98.5% of the services allowed breastfeeding while implementing respiratory hygiene practices to prevent transmission of COVID-19. Companions for mothers were forbidden in 83.3% of the hospitals. Hospital discharge was mostly between 24 and 28 h (79.1%); discharge guidelines were not individualized. Additionally, a lack of support was noticed from the home environment’s health community network (83.3%). Hospital and home breast pumping were allowed (87.5%), but breast milk donation was not accepted (95.8%). There was a lack of guidance regarding the use of infant comforting strategies. Guidelines specific for vulnerable populations were not covered in the material evaluated. Conclusions In Brazil, hospitals have not followed recommendations to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding during the COVID-19 outbreak. The disagreement between international guidelines has been a major issue. The absence of recommendations on breastfeeding support during the pandemic led to difficulties in developing standards among hospitals in different regions of Brazil and other countries worldwide. The scientific community needs to discuss how to improve maternal and infant care services to protect breastfeeding in the current pandemic.

Defining Preterm Birth and Stillbirth in the Western Pacific: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 101053952110260
Author(s):  
Mairead Connolly ◽  
Laura Phung ◽  
Elise Farrington ◽  
Michelle J. L. Scoullar ◽  
Alyce N. Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preterm Birth ◽  
National Level ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Preterm birth and stillbirth are important global perinatal health indicators. Definitions of these indicators can differ between countries, affecting comparability of preterm birth and stillbirth rates across countries. This study aimed to document national-level adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) definitions of preterm birth and stillbirth in the WHO Western Pacific region. A systematic search of government health websites and 4 electronic databases was conducted. Any official report or published study describing the national definition of preterm birth or stillbirth published between 2000 and 2020 was eligible for inclusion. A total of 58 data sources from 21 countries were identified. There was considerable variation in how preterm birth and stillbirth was defined across the region. The most frequently used lower gestational age threshold for viability of preterm birth was 28 weeks gestation (range 20-28 weeks), and stillbirth was most frequently classified from 20 weeks gestation (range 12-28 weeks). High-income countries more frequently used earlier gestational ages for preterm birth and stillbirth compared with low- to middle-income countries. The findings highlight the importance of clear, standardized, internationally comparable definitions for perinatal indicators. Further research is needed to determine the impact on regional preterm birth and stillbirth rates.

Household and Population-Level Behavioural Changes Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: A Smart Thermostat Based Comparative Data Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Kirti Sundar Sahu ◽  
Arlene Oetomo ◽  
Niloofar Jalali ◽  
Plinio P. Morita
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Population Level ◽  
World Health ◽  
Motion Sensors ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Smart Thermostat ◽  
The Impact

The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. To inhibit the spread of COVID-19, governments around the globe, including Canada, have implemented physical distancing and lockdown measures, including a work-from-home policy. Canada in 2020 has developed a 24-Hour Movement Guideline for all ages laying guidance on the ideal amount of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep (PASS) for an individual in a day. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes on the household and population-level in lifestyle behaviours (PASS) and time spent indoors at the household level, following the implementation of physical distancing protocols and stay-at-home guidelines. For this study, we used 2019 and 2020 data from ecobee, a Canadian smart Wi-Fi thermostat company, through the Donate Your Data (DYD) program. Using motion sensors data, we quantified the amount of sleep by using the absence of movement, and similarly, increased sensor activation to show a longer duration of household occupancy. The key findings of this study were; during the COVID-19 pandemic, overall household-level activity increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic times, there was no significant difference between household-level behaviours between weekdays and weekends during the pandemic, average sleep duration has not changed, but the pattern of sleep behaviour significantly changed, specifically, bedtime and wake up time delayed, indoor time spent has been increased and outdoor time significantly reduced. Our data analysis shows the feasibility of using big data to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the household and population-level behaviours and patterns of change.

scholarly journals Lower peripheral blood Toll-like receptor 3 expression is associated with an unfavorable outcome in severe COVID-19 patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Clara Saad Menezes ◽  
Alicia Dudy Müller Veiga ◽  
Thais Martins de Lima ◽  
Suely Kunimi Kubo Ariga ◽  
Hermes Vieira Barbeiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Ventilation ◽  
Peripheral Blood ◽  
World Health ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Pyrin Domain ◽  
Peripheral Blood Gene Expression ◽  
Severe Group ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe role of innate immunity in COVID-19 is not completely understood. Therefore, this study explored the impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on the expression of Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) in peripheral blood cells and their correlated cytokines. Seventy-nine patients with severe COVID-19 on admission, according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification, were divided into two groups: patients who needed mechanical ventilation and/or deceased (SEVERE, n = 50) and patients who used supplementary oxygen but not mechanical ventilation and survived (MILD, n = 29); a control group (CONTROL, n = 17) was also enrolled. In the peripheral blood, gene expression (mRNA) of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9, retinoic-acid inducible gene I (RIGI), NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), interferon alpha (IFN-α), interferon beta (IFN-β), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interferon lambda (IFN-λ), pro-interleukin(IL)-1β (pro-IL-1β), and IL-18 was determined on admission, between 5–9 days, and between 10–15 days. Circulating cytokines in plasma were also measured. When compared to the COVID-19 MILD group, the COVID-19 SEVERE group had lower expression of TLR3 and overexpression of TLR4.

scholarly journals The Search for Natural and Synthetic Inhibitors That Would Complement Antivenoms as Therapeutics for Snakebite Envenoming

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 451
Author(s):  
José María Gutiérrez ◽  
Laura-Oana Albulescu ◽  
Rachel H. Clare ◽  
Nicholas R. Casewell ◽  
Tarek Mohamed Abd Abd El-Aziz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Snake Venom ◽  
Serine Proteinase ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Variable Chemical ◽  
Snake Venom Metalloproteinase ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Natural And Synthetic

A global strategy, under the coordination of the World Health Organization, is being unfolded to reduce the impact of snakebite envenoming. One of the pillars of this strategy is to ensure safe and effective treatments. The mainstay in the therapy of snakebite envenoming is the administration of animal-derived antivenoms. In addition, new therapeutic options are being explored, including recombinant antibodies and natural and synthetic toxin inhibitors. In this review, snake venom toxins are classified in terms of their abundance and toxicity, and priority actions are being proposed in the search for snake venom metalloproteinase (SVMP), phospholipase A2 (PLA2), three-finger toxin (3FTx), and serine proteinase (SVSP) inhibitors. Natural inhibitors include compounds isolated from plants, animal sera, and mast cells, whereas synthetic inhibitors comprise a wide range of molecules of a variable chemical nature. Some of the most promising inhibitors, especially SVMP and PLA2 inhibitors, have been developed for other diseases and are being repurposed for snakebite envenoming. In addition, the search for drugs aimed at controlling endogenous processes generated in the course of envenoming is being pursued. The present review summarizes some of the most promising developments in this field and discusses issues that need to be considered for the effective translation of this knowledge to improve therapies for tackling snakebite envenoming.

scholarly journals Assessing Habitat Vulnerability and Loss of Naturalness: Applying the GLOBIO3 Model in the Czech Republic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5355
Author(s):  
Vilém Pechanec ◽  
Ondřej Cudlín ◽  
Miloš Zapletal ◽  
Jan Purkyt ◽  
Lenka Štěrbová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
New Equation ◽  
The Impact

Global and regional biodiversity loss is caused by several drivers including urban development, land use intensification, overexploitation of natural resources, environmental pollution, and climate change. The main aim of our study was to adapt the GLOBIO3 model to the conditions of the Czech Republic (CR) to assess loss of naturalness and biodiversity vulnerability at the habitat level on a detailed scale across the entire CR. An additional aim was to assess the main drivers affecting the biodiversity of habitat types. The GLOBIO3 model was adapted to CZ-GLOBIO by adapting global to local scales and using habitat quality and naturalness data instead of species occurrence data. The total mean species abundance (MSA) index of habitat quality, calculated from the spatial overlay of the four MSA indicators by our new equation, reached the value 0.62. The total value of MSA for natural and near-natural habitats was found to be affected mainly by infrastructure development and fragmentation. Simultaneously, intensity of land use change and atmospheric nitrogen deposition contributed primarily to the low total value of MSA for distant natural habitats. The CZ-GLOBIO model can be an important tool in political decision making to reduce the impact of the main drivers on habitat biodiversity in the CR.

scholarly journals The Impact of Climate Change on the Sugar Content of Grapes and the Sustainability of their Production in the Czech Republic

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 222
Author(s):  
Miroslava Navrátilová ◽  
Markéta Beranová ◽  
Lucie Severová ◽  
Karel Šrédl ◽  
Roman Svoboda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Vegetation Period ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Growing Region

The aim of the presented article is to evaluate the impact of climate change on the sugar content of grapes in the Czech Republic during the period 2000–2019 through selected indicators on the basis of available secondary sources. Attention is focused on the developments in both the main wine-growing regions of Moravia and Bohemia. In the field of viticulture and wine-growing, the sugar content of grapes, as a basic parameter for the classification of wines, plays an important role. In the Czech Republic, the average sugar content of grapes has had a constantly growing trend. This trend is evident both in the wine-growing region of Bohemia and in the wine-growing region of Moravia. The impact of climate change, especially the gradual increase of average temperatures in the growing season, cannot be overlooked. It greatly affects, among other things, the sugar content of grapes. Calculations according to the Huglin Index and the Winkler Index were used to determine the relationship between climate and sugar content. These indexes summarize the course of temperatures during the entire vegetation period into a single numerical value. The results show that both indexes describe the effect of air temperature on sugar content in both wine regions of the Czech Republic in a statistically significant way. The Huglin Index shows a higher correlation rate. The Winkler Index proved to be less suitable for both areas. Alternatively, the Winkler Index calculated for a shorter growing season was tested, which showed a higher degree of correlation with sugar content, approaching the significance of the Huglin Index.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic: A review of the global lockdown and its far-reaching effects

2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 003685042110198
Author(s):  
Helen Onyeaka ◽  
Christian K Anumudu ◽  
Zainab T Al-Sharify ◽  
Esther Egele-Godswill ◽  
Paul Mbaegbu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The World ◽  
Education Delivery ◽  
Environmental Air ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact

COVID-19, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 11th of March 2020, leading to some form of lockdown across almost all countries of the world. The extent of the global pandemic due to COVID-19 has a significant impact on our lives that must be studied carefully to combat it. This study highlights the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on crucial aspects of daily life globally, including; Food security, Global economy, Education, Tourism, hospitality, sports and leisure, Gender Relation, Domestic Violence/Abuse, Mental Health and Environmental air pollution through a systematic search of the literature. The COVID-19 global lockdown was initiated to stem the spread of the virus and ‘flatten the curve’ of the pandemic. However, the impact of the lockdown has had far-reaching effects in different strata of life, including; changes in the accessibility and structure of education delivery to students, food insecurity as a result of unavailability and fluctuation in prices, the depression of the global economy, increase in mental health challenges, wellbeing and quality of life amongst others. This review article highlights the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown across the globe. As the global lockdown is being lifted in a phased manner in various countries of the world, it is necessary to explore its impacts to understand its consequences comprehensively. This will guide future decisions that will be made in a possible future wave of the COVID-19 pandemic or other global disease outbreak.

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