The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Endurance and Ultra-Endurance Running

Background and objectives: The COVID-19 outbreak has become a major health and economic crisis. The World Health Organization declared it a pandemic in March 2020, and many sporting events were canceled. Materials and Methods: We examined the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on endurance and ultra-endurance running (UER) and analyzed finishes and events during the COVID-19 pandemic (observation period March 2020–October 2020) to the same time period pre-COVID-19 outbreak (March 2019–October 2019). Results: Endurance finishes decreased during the pandemic (459,029 to 42,656 (male: 277,493 to 25,582; female 181,536 to 17,074; all p < 0.001). Similarly, the numbers of endurance events decreased (213 vs. 61 events; p < 0.001). Average marathon finishing times decreased during the pandemic in men (5:18:03 ± 0:16:34 vs. 4:43:08 ± 0:25:08 h:min:s (p = 0.006)) and women (5:39:32 ± 0:19:29 vs. 5:14:29 ± 0:26:36 h:min:s (p = 0.02)). In UER, finishes decreased significantly (580,289 to 110,055; p < 0.001) as did events (5839 to 1791; p < 0.001). Popular event locations in United States, France, UK, and Germany decreased significantly (p < 0.05). All distance and time-limited UER events saw significant decreases (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on endurance and UER, and it is unlikely that running activities return to pre-pandemic levels any time soon. Mitigation strategies and safety protocols should be established.

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Modelling the impact of COVID-19-related control programme interruptions on progress towards the WHO 2030 target for soil-transmitted helminths

10.1101/2020.11.01.20220376 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Veronica Malizia ◽

Federica Giardina ◽

Carolin Vegvari ◽

Sumali Bajaj ◽

Kevin McRae-McKee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Control Programme ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

World Health ◽

Preventive Chemotherapy ◽

Soil Transmitted Helminths ◽

Individual Based Models ◽

Control Programmes ◽

Catch Up ◽

Health Organization ◽

The Impact

AbstractBackgroundOn the 1st of April 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended an interruption of all neglected tropical disease control programmes, including soil-transmitted helminths (STH), in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper investigates the impact of this disruption on the achieved progress towards the WHO 2030 target for STH.MethodsWe used two stochastic individual-based models to simulate the impact of missing one or more preventive chemotherapy (PC) rounds in different endemicity settings. We also investigate the extent to which the impact can be lessened by mitigation strategies, such as semi-annual or community-wide PC.ResultsBoth models show that even without a mitigation strategy, control programmes will catch up by 2030. The catch-up time is limited to a maximum of 4.5 years after the interruption. Mitigations strategies may reduce this catch-up time by up to two years and can even increase the probability of achieving the 2030 target.ConclusionsThough a PC interruption will only temporarily impact the progress towards the WHO 2030 target, programmes are encouraged to restart as soon as possible to minimise the impact on morbidity. The implementation of suitable mitigation strategies can turn the interruption into an opportunity to accelerate the progress toward reaching the target.

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Novel Coronavirus 2019 Outbreak: A Global Epidemic

Letters in Drug Design & Discovery ◽

10.2174/1570180817999200802033916 ◽

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.

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

10.2196/preprints.21321 ◽

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

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

International Breastfeeding Journal ◽

10.1186/s13006-021-00377-1 ◽

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.

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

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/10105395211026099 ◽

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.

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

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care ◽

10.1177/2327857921101057 ◽

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.

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

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-94624-4 ◽

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.

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Labour-use Efficiency of Assam Gramin Vikash Bank: Branch- and District-level Analysis

Studies in Microeconomics ◽

10.1177/23210222211024374 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 232102222110243

Author(s):

Mohuya Deb Purkayastha ◽

Joyeeta Deb ◽

Ram Pratap Sinha

Keyword(s):

Efficiency Score ◽

Significant Variable ◽

Data Envelopment ◽

Tobit Regression ◽

Second Stage ◽

Time Period ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

The Mean ◽

The Impact ◽

Observation Period

The present study estimated labour-use efficiency of 48 branches of Assam Gramin Vikash Bank at its branch level, covering three districts of Barak Valley, which falls under Silchar region of the bank for the time period from 2010–2011 to 2017–2018. The study applied data envelopment analysis for estimating labour-use efficiency. In the second stage, the study applied censored Tobit regression for determining the impact of several contextual variables on efficiency. The study reveals that the mean labour-use efficiency score of the selected branches is 76% when averaged for the in-sample branches over the observation period. Results of the Tobit regression identified cluster 2 and total business of the branches as the significant factors for determining efficiency and the number of employees as a significant variable influencing inefficiency. JEL Classifications: G2, G20, G21, J3

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

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins13070451 ◽

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.

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COVID-19 PANDEMIC UPDATES AND PERSPECTIVES. NEED FOR AN INTEGRATED AND EQUITABLE APPROACH.

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/a-1535-8807 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Grigoris Gerotziafas ◽

Mariella Catalano ◽

Ioannis Theodorou ◽

Patrick van Dreden ◽

Vincent Marechal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mitigation Strategies ◽

World Health ◽

Learning Technology ◽

Pharmacological Interventions ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Patients At Risk ◽

Physical Barriers ◽

Risk Of Disease ◽

One Year ◽

Health Organization

One year after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and despite the implementation of mandatory physical barriers and social distancing, humanity remains challenged by a long-lasting and devastating public health crisis. Non-pharmacological interventions (NPI) are efficient mitigation strategies. The success of these intense NPI is dependent on the approval and commitment of the population. The launch of a mass vaccination program in many countries in late December 2020 with mRNA vaccines, adenovirus-based vaccines, and inactivated virus vaccines has generated hope for the end of the pandemic. Current issues: The continuous appearance of new pathogenic viral strains and the ability of vaccines to prevent infection and transmission raise important concerns as we try to achieve community immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. The need of a second and even third generation of vaccines and the possibility of potentially harmful side-effects of the vaccines (i.e. venous thromboembolism ) have already been acknowledged. Perspectives: There is a critical and urgent need for a balanced and integrated strategy for the management of the COVID-19 outbreaks organized on three axes: (1) Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, (2) Detection and early diagnosis of patients at risk of disease worsening, and (3) Anticipation of medical care (PDA). Conclusion: The “PDA strategy” integrated into state policy for the support and expansion of health systems and introduction of digital organization (i.e. telemedicine, artificial intelligence and machine learning technology) is of major importance for the preservation of citizens’ health and life world-wide.

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