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Higher education is constantly changing, both in relation to the characteristics of the different agents that constitute it (particularly teachers and students) and in relation to the particular experiences from this formative context. With the Covid-19 pandemic, new pedagogical challenges have emerged due to what were the emergency circumstances that we all experienced. Classrooms and teaching dynamics inevitably had to reinvent themselves, to get closer to the specific references and practices of distance teaching and learning. With this chapter, the authors present a plural set of experiences developed during their teaching experiences. Through reflection on these practices, five areas that were established as variables with special pedagogical value: i) availability of teachers and students; ii) programmatic content as a mean and not an end; iii) the centrality of interaction between peers; iv) the plurality of resources and perspectives and v) evaluation at the service of learning.

Available studies and reports, as well as real-time experiences, attest to profound, extensive, long-lasting effects on the supply chain caused by the pandemic. It is thus paramount to rethink the supply chain for medication and health care supplies to build a more resilient and adaptable management process. Data obtained from the NHS portal monthly reports from January 2017 to August 2020 – indicates that at the hospital level the impact was felt the most on the scheduling of medical appointments and prescriptions. Two forecasting methods were selected for this study: Simple Linear Regression and Holt-Winters with the trend and additive seasonality. There was a change in the behavior of hospital patients in the first year of COVID-19 pandemics. This change was shown in two main indicators, the number of hospital consultations and medication expenses. This changed behavior resulted in a decrease in demand for scheduled hospital services, 1.9M less than would be expected under normal conditions, and a foreseeable increase of €432M in the consumption of medicines in the last quarter of 2020, €103M more than in the same period. from the previous year.

These files include the survey questions for data collection as well as the 6 messaging appeals used in this research project.

Prispevek predstavlja izhodišča za razpravo o jezikovnih smernicah in učnih ciljih v vrtcih in šolah s slovenskim učnim jezikom v Tržaški in Goriški pokrajini ter v večstopenjski šoli s slovensko-italijanskim dvojezičnim poukom v Špetru. Izhaja iz rezultatov kvantitativne raziskave o poteku pouka na daljavo med epidemijo covid-19, izvedene med pedagoškim kadrom, dijaki in starši otrok, ki obiskujejo vrtce in šole s slovenskim učnim jezikom in dvojezičnim slovensko-italijanskim poukom v Italiji. Izsledke dopolnjuje analiza petnajstih polstrukturiranih globinskih intevjujev z učitelji o didaktično-metodičnih izzivih pri poučevanju učencev, katerih prvi ali primarni jezik ni slovenski, slovenščina pa tudi ni jezik okolja, v katerem živijo.

SARS-CoV-2 viruses engage ACE2 as a functional receptor with their spike protein. The S1 domain of the spike protein contains a C-terminal receptor-binding domain (RBD) and an N-terminal domain (NTD). The NTD of other coronaviruses includes a glycan-binding cleft. However, for the SARS-CoV-2 NTD protein-glycan binding was only observed weakly for sialic acids with highly sensitive methods. Amino acid changes in the NTD of Variants of Concern (VoC) shows antigenic pressure, which can be an indication of NTD-mediated receptor binding. Trimeric NTD proteins of SARS-CoV-2, Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron did not reveal a receptor binding capability. Unexpectedly, the SARS-CoV-2 Beta subvariant strain (501Y.V2-1) NTD binding to Vero E6 cells was sensitive to sialidase pretreatment. Glycan microarray analyses identified a putative 9- O -acetylated sialic acid as a ligand, which was confirmed by catch-and-release ESI-MS, STD-NMR analyses, and a graphene-based electrochemical sensor. The Beta (501Y.V2-1) variant attained an enhanced glycan binding modality in the NTD with specificity towards 9- O -acetylated structures, suggesting a dual-receptor functionality of the SARS-CoV-2 S1 domain, which was quickly selected against. These results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 can probe additional evolutionary space, allowing binding to glycan receptors on the surface of target cells. Graphical abstract: Synopsis: Coronaviruses utilize their N-terminal domain (NTD) for initial reversible low-affinity interaction to (sialylated) glycans. This initial low-affinity/high-avidity engagement enables viral surfing on the target membrane, potentially followed by a stronger secondary receptor interaction. Several coronaviruses, such as HKU1 and OC43, possess a hemagglutinin-esterase for viral release after sialic acid interaction, thus allowing viral dissemination. Other coronaviruses, such as MERS-CoV, do not possess a hemagglutinin-esterase, but interact reversibly to sialic acids allowing for viral surfing and dissemination. The early 501Y.V2-1 subvariant of the Beta SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern has attained a receptor-binding functionality towards 9- O -acetylated sialic acid using its NTD. This binding functionality was selected against rapidly, most likely due to poor dissemination. Ablation of sialic acid binding in more recent SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern suggests a fine balance of sialic acid interaction of SARS-CoV-2 is required for infection and/or transmission.

Asthma, COPD, COVID-19, EGPA, Lung cancer, and Pneumonia are major chronic respiratory diseases (or CRDs) affecting millions worldwide and account for substantial morbidity and mortality. These CRDs are irreversible diseases that affect different parts of the respiratory system, imposing a considerable burden on different socio-economic classes. All these CRDs have been linked to increased eosinophils in the lungs. Eosinophils are essential immune mediators that contribute to tissue homeostasis and the pathophysiology of various diseases. Interestingly, elevated eosinophil level is associated with cellular processes that regulate airway hyperresponsiveness, airway remodeling, mucus hypersecretion, and inflammation in the lung. Therefore, eosinophil is considered the therapeutic target in eosinophil-mediated lung diseases. Although, conventional medicines like antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and bronchodilators are available to prevent CRDs. But the development of resistance to these therapeutic agents after long-term usage remains a challenge. However, progressive development in nanotechnology has unveiled the targeted nanocarrier approach that can significantly improve the pharmacokinetics of a therapeutic drug. The potential of the nanocarrier system can be specifically targeted on eosinophils and their associated components to obtain promising results in the pharmacotherapy of CRDs. This review intends to provide knowledge about eosinophils and their role in CRDs. Moreover, it also discusses nanocarrier drug delivery systems for the targeted treatment of CRDs.

A fluvoxamina é um antidepressivo utilizado principalmente no tratamento da depressão e ansiedade. Evidências recentes apontam para que o tratamento com fluvoxamina em doentes com Sars-CoV-2, melhore os sintomas da Covid-19, reduzindo a cascata inflamatória. Assim, torna-se relevante explorar o mecanismo anti-inflamatório da fluvoxamina. Rever as evidências científicas de estudos in vitro e in vivo, centrados na compreensão do efeito anti-inflamatório da fluvoxamina. Este trabalho consistiu numa revisão sistemática e resume os efeitos anti-inflamatórios in vitro e in vivo da fluvoxamina na base de dados Pubmed. Foram incluídos estudos que avaliassem o efeito ou moléculas inflamatórias, e que abordassem a fluvoxamina. As evidências sugerem que a fluvoxamina reduz significativamente a produção das interleucinas IL-6, IL-1, NO, IFN-γ, COX-2, TNF-α e o cortisol. Por outro lado, verificou-se que este fármaco leva ao aumento da produção de IL-4, IL-10, TGF-β e melatonina. Foi ainda verificado que fluvoxamina é um agonista do recetor sigma-1, através do qual controla a inflamação. Os dados sugerem que a fluvoxamina é dotada de propriedades anti-inflamatórias por múltiplos mecanismos de ação. No entanto, será importante realizar mais estudos que explorem a atividade de mediadores inflamatórios, tais como COX-2, LOX e TNF-α.

This collection of teaching resources for medical undergraduate students is radically different to conventional teaching. It was specifically created for emergency remote teaching through months of COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, to help students in their learning. My aim was to engage and enthuse students during an exceptionally difficult time, using out-of the box teaching methods. The intensely positive feedback from the majority of students encouraged me to create this website for wider access to facilitate learning beyond my own classroom.

From an Ancient Egyptian plague to the Black Death and Spanish flu, epidemics have often spurred societal transformations. Understanding why can help us create a better world after covid-19

Cough signal analysis for understanding the pathological condition has become important from the outset of the exigency posed by the epidemic COVID-19. The present work suggests a surrogate approach for the classification of cough signals - croup cough (CC) and pertussis (PT) – based on spectral, fractal, and nonlinear time-series techniques. The spectral analysis of CC reveals the presence of more frequency components in the short duration cough sound compared to PT. The musical nature of CC is unveiled not only through the spectral analysis but also through the phase portrait features – sample entropy (S), maximal Lyapunov exponent (L), and Hurst exponent (Hb). The modifications in the internal morphology of the respiratory tract, giving rise to more frequency components associated with the complex airflow dynamics, get staged through the higher fractal dimension of CC. Among the two supervised classification tools, cubic KNN (CKNN) and neural net pattern recognition (NNPR), used for classifying the CC and PT signals based on nonlinear time series parameters, NNPR is found better. Thus, the study opens the possibility of identification of pulmonary pathological conditions through cough sound signal analysis.