Management of Children Admitted to Hospitals across Bangladesh with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 and the Implications for the Future: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

There is an increasing focus on researching children admitted to hospital with new variants of COVID-19, combined with concerns with hyperinflammatory syndromes and the overuse of antimicrobials. Paediatric guidelines have been produced in Bangladesh to improve their care. Consequently, the objective is to document the management of children with COVID-19 among 24 hospitals in Bangladesh. Key outcome measures included the percentage prescribed different antimicrobials, adherence to paediatric guidelines and mortality rates using purposely developed report forms. The majority of 146 admitted children were aged 5 years or under (62.3%) and were boys (58.9%). Reasons for admission included fever, respiratory distress and coughing; 86.3% were prescribed antibiotics, typically parenterally, on the WHO ‘Watch’ list, and empirically (98.4%). There were no differences in antibiotic use whether hospitals followed paediatric guidance or not. There was no prescribing of antimalarials and limited prescribing of antivirals (5.5% of children) and antiparasitic medicines (0.7%). The majority of children (92.5%) made a full recovery. It was encouraging to see the low hospitalisation rates and limited use of antimalarials, antivirals and antiparasitic medicines. However, the high empiric use of antibiotics, alongside limited switching to oral formulations, is a concern that can be addressed by instigating the appropriate programmes.

Diseminasi Implementasi HKI di Lingkungan Civitas Akademika Sebagai Representasi Peningkatan Kualitas Bangsa

Modal intellectual capital lebih penting dan strategis fungsinya bila dibandingkan dengan physical capital. Hak Kekayaan Intelektual (HKI) dewasa ini merupakan alat yang ampuh dalam upaya peningkatan kualitas bangsa (a powerful tool for quality development). HKI merupakan hak atas kekayaan yang timbul karena kemampuan intelektual manusia. Terjaminnya suatu perlindungan hukum bagi suatu hasil karya, akan menumbuhkembangkan semangat dan kreatifitas untuk berkarya dan mencipta.Indonesia Sebagai salah satu negara yang turut serta meratifikasi Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS Agreement) harus tunduk atas ketentuan mengenai HKI. Namun Saat ini masih digolongkan dalam Priority Watch List dari Amerika Serikat, dikarenakan tingkat pembajakan dalam bidang HKI yang begitu tinggi ( Wikipedia 2009). Tingginya tingkat piracy dan adanya claim budaya Indonesia oleh Negara lain merupakan masalah krusial yang harus segera ditindaklanjuti. Hal tersebut menunjukkan indikasi bahwa implementasi HKI di Indonesia masih kurang maksimal.Diseminasi Implementasi HKI di lingkungan Civitas akademika merupakan hal urgent yang harus dilaksanakan. Perguruan tinggi merupakan lingkungan praktisi akademisi yang sangat kompeten dalam implementasi HKI. Selama ini peran Perguruan Tinggi dalam mengembangkan hak kekayaan intelektual di Indonesia dirasakan masih sangat kurang. Penyebab utama rendahnya perolehan Paten dipengaruhi oleh: (1)Kurangnya diseminasi di lingkungan perguruan tinggi mengenai HKI khususnya bagi mahasiswa; (2) Rendahnya animo civitas mahasiswa trekait dengan rumitnya birokrasi dalam usaha pengaplikasian Hak Paten; dan (3) Mahalnya biaya pematenan.Strategi pencapaian sasaran diseminasi HKI di lingkungan civitas akademika pada dasarnya tidak hanya melibatkan komponen perguruan tinggi saja, melainkan segenap komponen lain yang terkait dalam proses diseminasi HKI tersebut. Proses diseminasi harus melibatkan segenap stakeholder, meliputi: (1) civitas akademika, (2) aparat penegak hukum; (3) masyarakat (pemakai dan pencipta); (4) pemerintah; dan (5) kalangan pers. Upaya diseminasi perlu dilakukan oleh semua stakeholder secara sistematis, terarah dan berkelanjutan. Selain itu target audience dari kegiatan sosialisasi tersebut harus dengan jelas teridentifikasi dalam setiap bentuk diseminasi, seperti diskusi ilmiah untuk kalangan akademisi, perbandingan sistem hukum dan pelaksanaannya bagi aparat dan praktisi hukum.Bentuk diseminasi implementasi HKI meliputi: (1)Diseminasi bertahap, bertingkat, dan berkelanjutan, bentuk diseminasi dilakukan tidak hanya sekali melainkan terus-menerus melalui berbagai even formal maupun non formal, baik secara rutin terencana maupun temporer menurut pertimbangan urgensinya; (2) implementasi pengalaman aplikatif (direct action learning) sebagai suatu pendekatan aksi dan refleksi secara terus menerus; dan (3) regulasi dan mekanisme penganggaran biaya secara jelas didasarkan pada konsep pendidikan untuk semua (education for all) dengan mengoptimalkan kerjasama dengan masyarakat luas guna kontribusi peningkatan kualitas bangsa.

What Do I Need to Know About Cyber Frameworks, Standards, and Laws?

The question “What do I need to know about cyber frameworks, standards, and laws?” distills the complex landscape of cyber risk laws, requirements, and standards. The chapter begins with a case study on Nielsen Holdings’ legal and business trouble with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It distinguishes compliance from security—explaining how readers can achieve both—and clarifies the dynamic, complex legal landscape in a world of ever-evolving cyber risk. It reviews legislation relating to cyber risk including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GBLA), the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), and GDPR. The chapter describes the importance of adopting the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework, creating a cyber policy/act/law/regulation “watch list” and purchasing cyber insurance. At the chapter’s end Falco shares Embedded Endurance strategy insight from his experience leading a team developing a cyber standard of care.

Determination of Antibiotics, Pesticides, Herbicides, Fungicides and Hormones in Water Bodies in Italy in Occurrence with European Watch List Mechanism by Using an UHPLC-MS/MS System: Method Validation, Quantification and Evaluations

In recent years, the quality of aquatic ecosystems has received increasing attention from European institutions. The Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/840 drafted a Watch List (WL) of compounds to be monitored in Europe. In this study, we report a method based on solid phase extraction with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography, coupled with a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer (UHPLC-MS/MS) to analyze the whole water sample. The method was developed and validated for the determination of 12 listed compounds. The employment of solid-phase extraction by a horizon system ensures the analysis of the entire body of samples and minimizes sample manipulation. Different ng L−1 detection limits (from 2 to 50 ng L−1), linearities (from 2 to 500 ng L−1), accuracy (from 70 to 130%) and levels of precision (RSD less 20% at LOQs levels) were assessed to be satisfactory for quantification and confirmation at the levels of interest. The developed method was applied for quantitative analysis for Watch List compounds (with the exception of hormones) in surface water samples from different Italian sites during monitoring activities by the Regional Environmental Protection Agencies in the years 2019 and 2020.

Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) Inhibitors as Emergent Environmental Contaminants: Advanced Remediation and Analytical Methods

Pharmaceuticals, fundamental in therapy and the prevention of known pathologies, are responsible for environmental pollution. These substances, called “emerging contaminants,” are harmful to human health because they enter the environment in quantities exceeding the natural self-capacity purification of the ecosystems. Furthermore, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) cannot remove these substances, which can undergo chemical/biological transformations in the environment, thus forming by-products, sometimes more toxic than the parent molecules; successively, they move into rivers and could reach the drinking water supplies. All these phenomena represent a severe public health problem. Therefore, the Water Framework Directive by European Union imposed the monitoring of drugs’ levels in aqueous matrices. Every two years, the EU carefully updates the list of potential water pollutants, called the Watch List, including pharmaceuticals, to evaluate their risk on the aquatic environment. The last Commission Implementing Decision (EU 2018/840) comprises several substances of primary concern. In addition, the scientific community is giving particular attention to other pharmaceuticals not yet on the Watch list, whose markets are in growth; particularly, the Phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors used for the pharmaceutical treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men. This review discusses the presence of PDE-5 inhibitors in environmental systems, their toxic effects, the different kinds of removal, and the analytical methods normally adopted for their detection. In addition, the study helps figure out the best possible strategy to tackle pharmaceutical pollution by using analytical and advanced diagnostic methods.

Pandemic worsens human trafficking in South-east Asia

Significance Malaysia was downgraded to ‘Tier 3’ -- the lowest category -- over alleged forced labour involving migrant workers in some of its plantations and factories. Thailand was demoted to the ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ due to concerns about exploitation in its fishing and agriculture industries. Impacts Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore will remain key destinations for trafficked workers despite ongoing travel restrictions. Post-coup instability in Myanmar will likely promote an increase in illegal outbound border crossings. Cross-border movement of unvaccinated forced migrants could fuel fresh coronavirus outbreaks throughout the region.

Effects of the Antidepressants Citalopram and Venlafaxine on the Big Ramshorn Snail (Planorbarius corneus)

Depression is a serious health issue and, being such, treatment for it has become a topic of increasing concern. Consequently, the prescription rates of antidepressants have increased by about 50% over the past decade. Among antidepressants, citalopram and venlafaxine are the most frequently prescribed in Germany. Due to the high consumption and low elimination rates of both antidepressants during wastewater purification, they are frequently found in surface waters, where they may pose a risk to the aquatic environment. For the present study, we conducted experiments with the big ramshorn snail, which we exposed to environmentally relevant and explicitly higher concentrations (1–1000 µg/L) of the antidepressants citalopram and venlafaxine. We investigated apical endpoints, such as weight, mortality, behavioural changes, B-esterase activity, Hsp70 stress protein level and superoxide dismutase activity, as well as the tissue integrity of the hepatopancreas in the exposed snails. Citalopram and venlafaxine had no effects on the B-esterase activity, Hsp70 level and superoxide dismutase activity. Citalopram exposure resulted in weight reduction and tissue reactions in the hepatopancreas of snails exposed to 1000 µg/L. In contrast, venlafaxine did not induce comparable effects, but impacted the behaviour (sole detachment) of snails exposed to 100 µg/L and 1000 µg/L of the antidepressant. These results revealed that venlafaxine can affect snails at concentrations 10 times lower than citalopram. For this, in 2020 venlafaxine was introduced in the “Surface Water Watch List”, a list of potential pollutants that should be carefully monitored in surface water by the EU Member States.