SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Western Romania, March to June 2021

Background and Objectives: The extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection among a population may be assessed by the presence of serum SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, which indicates previous exposure. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the adult population from Western Romania. Materials and Methods: Samples of 2443 consecutive individuals, referred for routine laboratory investigations, were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using the Elecsys immunoassay that targets the nucleocapsid protein, for identifying the presence of the total antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Results: The overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was 45.60%. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was significantly higher in age group 30–49 years (53.94%) compared to age groups 50–69 years (43.53%) and 70–91 years (30.79%) (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). No significant difference in seroprevalence was observed between females (44.83%) and males (47.05%). Conclusions: Our data revealed a high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the adult population from Western Romania and indicate the rapid and significant spread of the virus. The estimated prevalence of 45.60% was 6 times higher than the rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in the study area. This indicates the magnitude of virus transmission in the community.

Geomechanical parameters of sedimentary rocks of Southern Sakhalin

The samples of terrigenous rocks of the Sakhalin were selected for geomechanical studies: the rocks of the Nevelskaya and Kholmskaya Formations from the Petropavlovsk quarry; ones of the Kholmskaya Formation on the west coast of the south of Sakhalin, rocks of the Junonskaya Formation on the east coast. The Kholmskaya Formation N1hl is represented by siltstones and interlayers of fine-grained sandstone. The Nevelskaya Formation N1nv is represented by siltstones with inclusions of tufogenic material. The Junonskaya Formation T2-Jun is represented by variegated greyish-green jaspers. Their static and dynamic parameters (strength limits, static Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio, cohesion and angle of internal friction) were determined. The obtained results are characterized by a significant spread of values, which is likely explained by the significant fracturing of the initial samples and the effect of anisotropy.

Cerebral and spinal neurological complications in patients with COVID-19: authors’ clinical experience and literature review

Objective ‒ to highlight the high probability and features of neurological complications in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.Materials and methods. A retrospective cohort study was done of 57 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who were treated at the COVID-location of the Department of Vascular and Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery and Neurology of the Clinical Emergency Hospital of Lviv in the period from June 29 to September 28, 2020 (91 day).Results. Out of the 57 patients 14 (24.6 %) were selected by prospective analysis that had a clear association between COVID-19 pneumonia and neurological complications. Neurological complications of COVID-19 were manifested as ischemic stroke in 57.1 % of patients, encephalopathy with convulsions and without seizures ‒ in 35.7 %, polyneuropathy with tetraparesis, secondary purulent-inflammatory lesions of the spine ‒ in 7.2 %. Neurological complications occurred on average (20. 4 ± 6.1) days after the onset of the disease.Conclusions. Lesions of the spine and structures in the spinal canal after coronavirus infection had a significant spread along the axis of the spine and severe course. The largest (57.1 %) was the proportion of ischemic stroke in the structure of neurological complications of COVID-19, which indicated the severity of the coronavirus infection and its aggressive effect on the nervous system. The effectiveness of treatment of COVID-19 neurological complications depends on the urgency of hospitalization of patients, as evidenced by the correlation between favorable treatment outcomes and the time from disease onst to admission to either therapeutic (r = + 0.37) or neurological department (r = +0.32).

Development of Reliable Models of Signal-Controlled Intersections

The paper considers an approach to building various mathematical models for homogeneous groups of intersections manifested through the use of clustering methods. This is because of a significant spread in their traffic capacity, as well as the influence of several random factors. The initial data on the traffic flow of many intersections was obtained from real-time recorders of the convolutional neural network. As a result of the analysis, we revealed statistically significant differences between the groups of intersections and compiled their linear regression models as a basis for the subsequent formation of generic management decisions. To demonstrate visually the influence of random factors on the traffic capacity of intersections, we built distribution fields based on the fuzzy logic methods for one of the clusters consisting of 14 homogeneous intersections. Modeling was based on the Gaussian type of membership functions as it most fully reflects the random nature of the pedestrian flow and its discontinuity.

Schottky diodes based on 4H-SiC epitaxial layers

Forward and reverse current-voltage (IV) characteristics of Cr-SiC (4H) Schottky diodes based on epitaxial layers with doping (1-3)· 1015 cm-3 were studied in the temperature range of 300-550 K. It is shown that in many cases the IV characteristics are close to ideal, but a significant spread of the forward IV characteristics of diodes manufactured in the same way on the same epitaxial layer was found, probably due to the spread of the Schottky barrier heights reaching 0.3 eV. Heating of the diode, as well as packaging, can also change the Schottky barrier height. An alternative explanation suggests the presence of a powerful shunt.

Stem Cells in Orthopedic Web Information: An Assessment with the DISCERN Tool

Objective Regenerative medicine is experiencing a strong expansion worldwide, including the treatment of some common orthopedic pathologies, with an increase in physicians adopting these technologies. This growing interest has been associated with an equally significant spread of websites dedicated to public information on this topic, often lacking scientific bases. This study aims to evaluate the quality of information on the World Wide Web about stem cells for cartilage disorders in orthopedic practice. Design On February 19, 2021 we performed a search on Google using as keywords “cartilage stem cells,” considering only the freely accessible sites in Italian, English, French, and Spanish. We selected the first 50 valid results for each language and evaluated them using the DISCERN scale. Results A total of 249 sites were observed, of which 49 were discarded as duplicates (8) or not relevant to the topic (41). Of the 200 sites surveyed, 47 were affiliated to a singular surgeon (23.5%), 31 to private stakeholders (15.5%), 73 to information sites (36.5%), 8 to public hospitals (4%), 13 to universities (6.5%), and 28 referred to international scientific journals (14%). Only 76 sites (38%) were rated as fair or better, while the remaining 124 (62%) were classified as poor or very poor. Conclusions The quality of the information promoted for stem cells in orthopedics is generally low, although a significant minority of the sites offers good quality information. A greater commitment on the part of surgeons and other stakeholders is desirable to promote information on regenerative medicine through scientific criteria supported by adequate literature.

Intensive therapy emergency states in acute intestinal infections in children

Despite the successes achieved in the fight against many infectious diseases, the problem of diarrheal diseases in Uzbekistan, as well as throughout the world, continues to be relevant. The medical and social significance of the problem is de- termined not only by the significant spread of diseases, but also by the high fre- 150 quency of severe complicated forms of the disease, especially among young children. In addition, diarrheal diseases indirectly contribute to an increase in the incidence of other infections, as they lead to depletion and, as a result, to a decrease in the body's resistance. Despite the sufficiency of literature data on the study of diarrheal diseases and their treatment, many clinical and organizational aspects of the problem of acute intestinal infections, especially in young children, remain unresolved. Treatment of an emergency in acute intestinal infections (ACI) often reduces only to the elimination of various degrees of exsiccosis using oral and intravenous rehydration.

Community Perceptions, Attitudes and Behavior on The 3M Program to Avoid The Spread of Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic with its high existence and significant spread requires efforts to break the chain of distribution, including with 3M (washing hands, wearing masks and maintaining a distance). This study aims to examine the perceptions, attitudes and behavior of the community towards the implementation of the 3M program in avoiding the spread of covid-19 in Sutawinangun Village, Kedawung District, Cirebon Regency. Qualitative research was chosen as a method to explore and understand meanings ascribed to social or human problems, focusing on individual meanings, and translating the complexity of a problem. Descriptive data was developed from the results of obtaining a number of written and oral information from observations. After conducting the research, it can be concluded that after a member of the community was exposed and declared the red zone of Covid-19, then there was a plan to relocate Covid sufferers in Sutawinangun, just to grow awareness of implementing 3M. Community solidarity is an important factor as social capital to fight Covid-19. The community focuses on implementing 3M, a clean and healthy lifestyle and reducing crowd mobility in the community to avoid the virus.

Design Floods Considering the Epistemic Uncertainty

The Design Flood (DF) concept is an essential tool in designing hydraulic works, defining reservoir operation programs, and identifying reliable flood hazard maps. The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology for deriving a Design Flood hydrograph considering the epistemic uncertainty. Several appropriately identified statistical distributions allow for the acceptable approximation of the frequent values of maximum discharges or flood volumes, and display a significant spread for their medium/low Probabilities of Exceedance (PE). The referred scattering, as a consequence of epistemic uncertainty, defines an area of uncertainty for both recorded data and extrapolated values. In considering the upper and lower values of the uncertainty intervals as limits for maximum discharges and flood volumes, and by further combining them compatibly, a set of DFs as completely defined hydrographs with different shapes result for each PE. The herein proposed procedure defines both uni-modal and multi-modal DFs. Subsequently, such DFs help water managers in examining and establishing tailored approaches for a variety of input hydrographs, which might be typically generated in river basins.

A clinical view on the possibility and feasibility of using decamethoxin during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background. Due to the significant spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the available contact route of transmission, there is a growing interest in the possibility of using antiseptics to prevent contagion of this viral disease. However, the list of antiseptic drugs for local application is limited. The aim: to investigate the possibility and feasibility of clinical use of decamethoxine as an antiseptic during the infectious COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods. Researches and systematic reviews published between 2001 and 2020 were studied using PubMed and Google Scholar searches. Results. It is shown that decamethoxine is an active antiseptic drug, the clinical effectiveness of which has been proven in patients with various pathologies (including bronchial and pulmonary diseases). Decamethoxine can be used in various ways, that provides a variety of routes to deliver the drug to the patient, and it has a strong antiviral activity against different groups of viruses. Conclusions. The analysis demonstrates the feasibility of using decamethoxine solutions to prevent the occurrence and spread of COVID-19 infection.