Designing Post COVID-19 Buildings: Approaches for Achieving Healthy Buildings

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the accessibility, social gathering, lifestyle, and working environment to be changed to reduce the infection. Coronavirus spreads between people in several different ways. Small liquid particles (aerosols, respiratory droplets) from an infected person are transmitted through air and surfaces that are in contact with humans. Reducing transmission through modified heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and building design are potential solutions. A comprehensive review of the engineering control preventive measures to mitigate COVID-19 spread, healthy building design, and material was carried out. The current state-of-the-art engineering control preventive measures presented include ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), bipolar ionization, vertical gardening, and indoor plants. They have potential to improve the indoor air quality. In addition, this article presents building design with materials (e.g., copper alloys, anti-microbial paintings) and smart technologies (e.g., automation, voice control, and artificial intelligence-based facial recognition) to mitigate the infections of communicable diseases.

The Impact of New Coronavirus on Cancer Patients

t the end of 2019, a new coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) emerged in China and then spread worldwide. Presently, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a main public health issue. As of August 2021, more than 200 million confirmed cases from coronavirus and more than 4 million deaths have been reported by WHO in 222 countries. The data sources are Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct articles. Publications were searched without regard to time in order to obtain a holistic and comprehensive perspective of the research done on this issue thus far. The SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted from the human-to-human by respiratory droplets and shows great potential for a pandemic. Therefore, on March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was introduced as a global pandemic by WHO. Cancer patients are at high risk for exposure to the coronavirus. In the present article, we discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life of cancer patients and their treatment process. One of these challenges is not visiting the patients in medical centers and hospitals for afraid of contracting the virus. Therefore, the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients may be delayed, which is a serious threat to the lives of cancer patients. In this article, in addition to the impact of coronavirus on the lives of cancer patients, the severity of the disease in these patients, their required medical care, and the vaccination process are discussed.

Use of tocilizumab, remdesivir, and high-dose methylprednisolone prevents intubation in an ESRD patient with COVID-19 pneumonia

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected over 200 million patients worldwide. COVID-19 is transmitted through respiratory droplets from patient to patient or by touching a surface that has been contaminated by an infected patient. Many COVID-19 patients have other comorbidities, such as end-stage renal disease. Currently, management of COVID-19 in patients with end-stage renal disease is unclear. Some studies have shown improvement in this population with the use of tocilizumab, a humanized interleukin-6 monoclonal antibody, in addition to the standard therapy as per guidelines published by the National Institutes of Health. In this case report, we present a patient case where the use of remdesivir, tocilizumab, and pulse-dose methylprednisolone significantly improved symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers associated with COVID-19 in a patient with end-stage renal disease.

Spread of COVID-19 and Its Main Modes of Transmission

The coronaviruses group can affect mammals, including humans, causing generally mild infectious disorders, sporadically leading to severe outbreak clusters, such as those generated by SARS-CoV in 2003 and by MERS-CoV in 2012 and in 2015. The current coronavirus outbreak started December 29th, 2019 in Wuhan (Republic of China) and has progressively expanded to various parts of the world. A human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 occurs directly through individuals showing symptoms. But, recent researches support the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from persons who are asymptomatic. Indirect transmission occurs via touching infected surfaces or through inhalation of small, exhaled virus in respiratory droplets. To effectively fight the spread of COVID-19, it is vital to understand the different factors that promote superspreading of COVID-19. So, the aim of this chapter is to describe the invasion of SARS-CoV-2 in the human body and the different modes of transmission (directly and indirectly).

Environmental Vulnerability: Theoretical Study of SARSCoV-2 Control During Team Water Sports / Vulnerabilidade ambiental: Estudo teórico do controle do SARSCoV-2 durante esportes aquáticos coletivos

This paper analyzes possible chains of transmission of SARS CoV-2 during water sports practice and discuss control measures of COVID-19 adopted through specific national and international health protocols, more specifically related to the insertion of interventions in the city to propitiate the development of aquatic activities. This is explorative research of technical literature review to present the current state of knowledge regarding the occurrence, persistence and possibility of virus transmission during the practice of collective water sports and related activities. National and International health protocols were analyzed in terms of their safety, functionality and premises. The protocols and studies examined emphasize concerns that the airways are the route of transmission with the highest rate of contamination through respiratory droplets and contact with contaminated surfaces. The research confirmed the hypothesis that the current preventive measures established in health protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in aquatic environments if observed, are sufficient to prevent the transmission of the disease in these locations. More specifically, to control the spread of the new coronavirus, it is necessary to avoid close contact with another individual without facial protection, crowds, and places with poor ventilation.

Get vaccinated when it is your turn and follow the local guidelines

The nurse has an important role caring for the patient infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID- 19). It is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The virus can spread from the mouth or nose of an infected person in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing, or breathe. These particles range from larger respiratory droplets to smaller aerosols. It is important to practice respiratory etiquette, for example coughing into a flexed elbow, and to stay home and self-isolate until you recover if you feel unwell. Most people infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and will recover without requiring special treatment. Older people and people with underlying medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, or cancer are more likely to develop serious illnesses. The goal of the research is to propose the best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the disease and how the virus spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by staying at least 1 meter away from others, wearing a well-fitting mask, and washing your hands or using an alcohol-based rub frequently.

A STUDY TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE AND PREVENTIVE BEHAVIOR RELATED TO COVID -19 AMONG HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most people infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. However, some will become seriously ill and require medical attention. The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the disease and how the virus spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by staying at least 1 metre apart from others, wearing a properly tted mask, and washing your hands or using an alcohol-based rub frequently. Get vaccinated when it's your turn and follow local guidance. The disease is highly infectious, and further studies identied that the most important route of transmission to humans occurred via respiratory droplets or direct contact, with an incubation period ranging from 2 to 14 days. Healthcare providers are the primary individuals in contact with patients who are the main source of infections; thus, they are at high risk of becoming infected themselves. Their knowledge and risk perception on covid 19 plays an important role in preventing them from acquiring the disease themselves. In the present study we are trying to assess the knowledge and preventive behavior followed by the medical professionals from NRI medical college, sangivalasa.

Do increased flow rates in displacement ventilation always lead to better results?

Indoor ventilation is essential for a healthy and comfortable living environment. A key issue is to discharge anthropogenic air contamination such as CO $_2$ gas or, of potentially more direct consequence, airborne respiratory droplets. Here, by employing direct numerical simulations, we study mechanical displacement ventilation with a wide range of ventilation rates $Q$ from 0.01 to 0.1 m $^3$ s $^{-1}$ person $^{-1}$ . For this ventilation scheme, a cool lower zone is established beneath a warm upper zone with interface height $h$ , which depends on $Q$ . For weak ventilation, we find the scaling relation $h\sim Q^{3/5}$ , as suggested by Hunt & Linden (Build. Environ., vol. 34, 1999, pp. 707–720). Also, the CO $_{2}$ concentration decreases with $Q$ within this regime. However, for too strong ventilation, the interface height $h$ becomes insensitive to $Q$ , and the ambient averaged CO $_2$ concentration decreases towards the ambient value. At these values of $Q$ , the concentrations of pollutants are very low and so further dilution has little effect. We suggest that such scenarios arise when the vertical kinetic energy associated with the ventilation flow is significant compared with the potential energy of the thermal stratification.